to have destroyed the Northern Heresie as Colman in his Letters called the Protestant Religion This is fresh in every ones memory and there are upon Record the Injustice and Cruelties practised in Bohemia Silesia and Hungary what bloody persecutions have formerly been and now are acted in France and in the Palatinate Are we quite infatuated Have we forfeited common Sense and Reason that we leave a back Door open for Rome to pour in her Emissaries upon and to blow the Fire of Division among us The Inland and Foreign Priests who come over with all freedom say as many Masses and may be more than are Sermons every day preached in the City and use all possible means to undermine our Holy Religion and the Government too thô it be not minded which is a great Sin and may happen to be soon followed with a heavy punishment But I must return to my main design which tends to perswade Men to leave Sin and all to gain Christ to Love Fear Honour and Obey him Out of these Considerations let us all for God's sake and our own good in our several Stations do something for him who hath done so much for us Leave off punish and discourage Sin Christ died for us therefore for his sake (a) Colos 3.5 Let us mortifie our Members which are upon Earth Fornication Vncleanness inordinate Affection evil Concupiscence c. He was Crucified for us then let our old Man and his deeds be Crucified with him never preferring to please one Member one Sense one Passion before him who is alltogether lovely ought to be the desire of our Souls as (b) Haggai 2.7 He is the desire of all Nations and (c) Isai 63.1 mighty to save that Strong One out of whom came forth Sweeness called (d) Rev. 5.5 the Lion of the Tribe of Judah whom in the New Testament we read of is transformed into a Lamb and so all along after represented by a Lamb as it had been slain of whom may well be said what we read of Sampson one of his Types (e) Judg. 16.30 the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life O that I could so indear this blessed Saviour to the Souls of Men as to prevail with the proud for his meekness sake to part with his Pride with the unclean for his holiness sake with his uncleanness and so with every sinner else to part with his Sins in al kinds or else resolve to lose Christ for ever for Christ hath no Concord with Belial be not mistaken God will be sanctified either by or on us all The Song touching the Vineyard must be minded Isai 5. it was planted in a very fruitful Hill fenced the Stones gathered out of it planted with the choicest Vine a Tower built in the midst of it and nothing wanting that labour and industry could afford to improve it yet after all this Care instead of bringing forth Grapes that ungrateful Vineyard brought forth wild Grapes This is the literal Sense of the Parable but there the Prophet declares the moral Sense of it how the house of Israel is the Vineyard of the Lord of Hosts to whose Judgement he refers the Case betwixt him and his Vineyard so just and so plain it is against it and thereby sets before their Eyes their ingratitude and God's mercy Now what the Apostle saith in another Case may well be appli'd to this (a) Rom. 4.23 24. it was not written for his sake alone but for us also Thus I may say England thou art the Vineyard God hath planted thee in a pleasant and plentiful Country thou hast enjoyed the light and warmth of the Sun the former and the latter Rain the upper and the nether Springs and all Blessings from Heaven yet how barren of late and now more than ever are we under those means of Grace instead of Grapes and Figs bitter and sowr Fruits the Olive Vine and Fig-trees are turned into Thorns Bryars and Brambles How plainly abundantly and gloriously hath God's Word been Preached here I dare say more at least as much as in any other Country since the coming of Christ but what fruits of Repentance Faith Charity Holiness and Justice have we brought forth Now the generality is quite degenerated and God hath as much cause to say to us as he did to the House of Israel (a) Isai 5.7 I looked for Judgment but behold Oppression for Righteousness but behold a Cry Most if not all follow the imagination of their evil Heart we are over head and ears in Sin and what the Apostle saith of (b) John 5.19 the whole World we may say the most part of the Nation lyeth and is suffered to lie in wickedness This should make us afraid of the Vineyards doom (c) Isai 5.5 I will tell you what I will do to my Vineyard I will take away the Hedge thereof and it shall be eaten up and break down the Wall thereof and it shall be trodden down and I will lay it waste it shall not be pruned nor digged but there shall come up Briars and Thorns I will also command the Clouds that they Rain not upon it That is he will withdraw his Graces The Navy is England's Hedge and Wall which of late hath been Tottering and hath not appeared with that Glory Vigour and Strength as it did formerly whereby we lie more than ever open to an Enemy and the fear and danger of it is upon many So there are Dangers Fears and Judgments and we should remember the Flood how of so many Millions in the old World only Eight Persons escaped drowning and of Sodom Gomorrah and the other wicked Towns only Lot and his Two Daughters were saved from that signal Judgment And if God was pleased after the War to send Plague Famine and other grievous Judgments upon us besides that of Sin which we are overflown with and we should say (d) Jer. 5.19 wherefore doth the Lord our God all these things unto us Then shalt thou answer like as ye have forsaken me and served strange Gods in your Land so shall ye serve strangers in a Land that is not yours As if he had said as you have done against me so shall it be against you and your punishment shall be of the same nature as your Sin hath been wherein the Prophet foretells their Captivity and have not many of us instead of God served the Idols of their ambition pleasures and riches and forsaken Piety Virtue and true Honour Are we not guilty of the like Sins as was the House of Israel which the Prophet mentions with a (a) Isai 5.11 Woe unto them that rise up early in the Morning that they may follow strong Drink that continue until Night till the Wine inflame them and (b) v. 22. that are mighty to drink Wine and Men of strength to mingle strong Drink Is not this the Case here is not drunkenness
THE TRUMPET IN SION SOUNDING A General Alarm IN THE NATION By J. G. G. Blow the Trumpet in Zion and sound an Alarm in my holy Mountain Let all the Inhabitants of the Land tremble for the day of the Lord cometh for it is nigh at hand Joel 2.1 LONDON Printed And are to be sold by Dan. Browne at the Black-Swan and Bible without Temple-Bar 1700. TO THE READER AMongst great many and frequent Dangers 't is a Blessing to have Warning given and to take it for by these means Evil may be prevented This World is like a Wilderness full of fiery Serpents and other hurtful things which on all Sides we are compassed about and can one go upon hot Coals and his Feet not be burnt Which should put us in mind of the Prophet's Question Who can or shall dwell with everlasting burnings Which in Hell shall be a Punishment for Sins committed here if not pardoned in the way to Salvation We have Enemies within and without Our Heart is false Corruptions strong the World wicked Temptations common and powerful the Devil is subtle and Sin deceitful which all to resist we must Repent Believe and Pray for converting confirming and restraining Grace This Reader is my advice and warning to you You shall know more after the perusal of the following Sheets Remember that without Repentance no remission of Sins and as without Faith it is impossible to please God so without Holiness no Man shall see the Lord. ERRATA THey are very few whereof the First and Fourth are material which the Reader may be pleased to Correct with a Pen. In Page 5. line 8. instead of care not read take care Page 11. line 21. read plaister for plaistering Page 56. line 2. friendly for friend Page 64. last line assoon for also Page 79. line 17. for War read Warrant Page 104. line 9. for earth read land THE TRUMPET IN SION CRY aloud spare not Isai 58.1 lift up thy voice like a Trumpet and shew my people their Transgressions and the house of Jacob their Sins These are the Words of Eternal and Almighty God to a great Prophet who was considerable not so much for his extraordinary Parts and Royal Extraction for he was the Son of Amos Brother to Azariah King of Judah as for the Excellency of the signal Visions and Revelations which the Lord was pleased to honour him with and he being dead yet speaketh to us Seeing all God's Actions are so wise and so just we must conceive such an express and positive Order not to be given without a weighty Cause for God never in vain employs his Servants nor indeed none of his Creatures which are all his Servants Ps 119.91 The Occasion of this Commission and Command to the Prophet was at that time a Complication of Sins among the People whereof Hypocrisy and want of Charity were some of the chief but though by their shews of Piety as seeking God daily drawing near unto him Fasting c. they imposed upon Men yet could not do so upon God who will have his Prophet with diligence and severity to reprove Sinners for their Sins though for some more sharply than for others As for me thô I be no Prophet nor Son of a Prophet yet I thank God Prophets are no strangers to me for I daily am conversant with Prophets and with Apostles too out of whose Writings after several worthy Persons whose heart God hath stirred up to appear against the great and many Sins of the Times as 't is every one's Duty in his station to do I hope I may give in my Evidence 'T is a great Work that requires many hands Multorum manibus grande levatur onus Sometimes God makes use of several instruments inconsiderable in themselves in different ways to carry on his works thô all be tending to the same end and although through the perverseness of Mens hearts the Effect doth not always answer the Design Ezek. 2.5 yet they shall know that there hath been if not a Prophet among them yet an Admonisher who hath given warning May the Lord be pleased to bless with success the weak Endeavours of all that are desirous to promote his honour and service with the good of Souls and to enlarge the Kingdom of Christ in a time when we see the Sins of all Ages of all Nations and in all kinds more and more discovered and practised among us Isai 1.6 From the sole of the Foot unto the head as the same Prophet complains of here the Disease is become Epidemical and its Fits very frequent if not continual The house of Israel wanted being told of their Sins so doth England thô told often but who can tell the number diversity and frequency of them However I by the grace of God shall endeavour to run over the most palpable and conspicuous I shall speak first of the Sins after of the Punishments according to God's threatning due and inflicted for them The Sins are of two general Kinds some in Doctrine others in Practice otherwise called Error and Vice Errors in Judgment are usually followed by those in Practise As Sin is extended over every Faculty of the Soul and Member of the Body so there are Sins seated in the Mind as well as there are in the Heart as indeed without a sound Mind the Heart can hardly be Sound When the Soul's Eye is blind how great must her darkness be The mistakes of the Understanding which commonly from the Latin word are named Error are by the Greeks called Heresie relating to Religious Matters which is a division in the Church caused by some erroneous Opinion against the Fundamentals of Religion And thô all such be bad enough yet some there are worse then others according as they more or less strike at the Root of Christian Religion Those Paul calls perverse things and Doctrines of Devils and Peter Damnable Heresies Acts 〈◊〉 30. 1 Tim. 4.1 2 Pet. 2.1 Now there is in England too many of those as strike at the very Foundation of our Holy Religion First Here are Atheists not that properly speaking any can be such for there is no Man in the World but at one time or other hath within himself convictions that there is a God for such a degree of Knowledge is naturally in Men Hence it is that there was never in the World so Barbarian and Ignorant a Nation but owned and worshipped some Divinity or other for 't is only the fool that saith in his heart there is no God Ps 14.1 yet he is not such a Fool as to publish it for he dareth not for shame but saith it in his Heart where against the Light of Nature and Testimony of Conscience he would smother the sense of a Godhead because he wishes it But the Atheists I mean are those who speak and live as if there was no God and these I may well call worse then David's Fool for they blunder out Atheistical words indirectly
are those not the Wise except it be in their own Conceit but Fools for long ago by Solomon's Pen God hath proclaimed them for such when he said Fools make a mock at Sin Prov. 14.9 now in Solomon's and David's stile the Fool is the Wicked Man who at the latter end shall appear to be the greatest Fool of all No jesting with Holy Things nor with God who will not be mockt and Men who believe otherwise are much deceived and if their Conscience tells them not before shall at last find they were so Sabbath-breaking is one of the Chief and Epidemical Sins of the Nation Every one that can read Scripture may know how strict and severe God was against Sabbath-breakers by his immediate command they were (a) Numb 15.32 35. stoned to death The holy Observation of that day was what he mostly required of that People not only now and then here and there but he made it the Fourth Commandment of the first Table of the Law greatly complain'd of the breach thereof and severely punish'd it upon Persons and the whole Nation There is the same reason for the Christian Sabbath in Scripture call'd the (b) Rev. 1.10 Lord's Day and several breakers thereof God hath in the Christian Church made Examples of his Judgments A great one we had in this Nation of that Prince who at several times having with Stage-Plays polluted the Lord's-Day and by means of a Book of Sports allowed and encouraged others to do so was out of the same Place where he had seen them acted brought upon the Scaffold where he lost his Life I do not pretend to dive into the secret Causes of God's Judgments but I must take notice how the Circumstance of the Place is very remarkable and we may be allowed to say how upon that Ground as well as upon others (c) Ps 76.12 God is terrible to the Kings of the Earth This is Matter of Fact Thô in his Son's Reign Piety was little regarded yet then we saw Acts of Parliament for the better Observation of the Lord's-Day to come out but now 't is thought not to be worth looking after in (d) That of 29 Ch. II. 1677. one of those Acts the Sale of any Wares Merchandizes Fruits Herbs Goods or Chattels whatsoever upon the Lord's Day or any part thereof was forbidden upon pain that every Person so offending shall forfeit the same Goods so cryed or shewed forth or exposed to sale Sabbaths were never more prophan'd then of late and now The generality of People make Play and Sport Days of them On that day we see Markets set up in many Places Children publickly at play Taverns Alehouses Coffee and Chocolate-Houses doors open and full of People and those Beasts which in the 4th Precept God had a regard to must not rest upon that day though upon every other in the Week they labour with all imaginable hardness which is a Cruelty for (e) Prov. 12.10 a righteous man regardeth the life of his beast Yet these must be for the Service of many Sabbath-breakers When the Drunkard is so fuddled that he without Reeling and Staggering cannot go he must have a Coach to carry him home We have but one true Christian Holy-day which ought to be employ'd only for Holy uses He who makes no Conscience to break the Lord's Holiday will make no Scruple of breaking any of the Ten Commandments and he who delights to observe it will the use Authority to make others observe it too 'T is strange yet true that some who in the Church have been and still are most fond after the reading of every Commandment of the fourth as well as of every one else to say Lord have merey upon us and incline our hearts to keep this law such as Pocklington Heylin and the Highest Church-men in their Writings Sermons and Discourses declared much against the Morality of the Sabbath or Lord's-Day how then can they pray to God to incline their Heart to keep a Law which they believe and profess to be abrogated But if herein one was to consult with Man's Opinion besides the Judgment of several Divines that of the good Pious and Learned James Vsher Primate of Ireland is with me of greater weight then the Authority of all Anti-Sabbatharians and all know how much in his judgment and practice he was for the strict observation of the Lord's Day One thing more though by the by and not to my present purpose I shall observe out of the Words Incline our Hearts to keep this Law it appears how the Opinion of those who compiled the Common-Prayer-Book and appointed these words to be said after every Precept was that Men cannot incline their Hearts to keep God's Law but must pray to God to do 't and consequently that to believe and obey doth not depend upon Man's Will but upon God's working upon and inclining it There is another crying Sin in the Nation which hath several branches as Lying Swearing Cursing and Perjury We have a sort of People who in this kind offend in the least Degree yet thereby contract a Guilt upon themselves out of an ill Habit and Custom upon most or any trivial account saying O Lord O God which is to take that Holy Name in vain and a Breach of the Third Commandment But others worse impiously take the Lord by his Bloud Wounds c. and swear by the Creatures 't is abominable sometimes to hear in the Streets Children of Eight and Ten years old and upwards to Curse and Damn themselves and others which ought to be the Care of Parents to prevent a horrid Sin God hath given us a Tongue to Bless not to Curse him nor our Neighbour or our selves yet some as soon as they are able to speak rap out Oaths A Curse in God's Name never falls without an Effect either against the Curser or Cursed That abominable Sin of Perjury and Swearing falsly in God's Name is too common Forswearing Covenant-breaking and Burning are so grievous a Sin as that in every judgment we undergo we may therein see a Grain of it as the Jews did in theirs in relation to the Golden Calf The Sin of Vncleanness is Loud and Epidemical in its several branches of Fornication and Adultery and there is too much cause to name Incest and Sodomy for which the Earth affords no sufficient Punishment therefore in Fire and Brimstone God as it were rained down Hell from Heaven upon Sodom and Gomorrah Uncleanness is among People of all Conditions Ages and Kinds now as common frequent and publick as between Dogs and Bitches without Curb and Restraint put upon 't so that Whoredom is certainly one of the Master Sins of the Nation Bawdy-Houses are tolerated and even in high Places want no Advocates to speak for them at any time specially towards the Evening one can hardly go up and down the Street but he meets with Inticements and Temptations Sometimes an honest Woman who goes about her
in their urgent occasions to relieve them upon hard and unreasonable terms as to lend Money upon great and unconscionable Interest or else refuse to do 't which is a Cruelty T is also a wresting by force Threatnings or Authority that which is not his due or more than it is as when an Officer doth exact more than he ought or than his Fees come to I am afraid we had of late and now have too many of these Unjust and Merciless Men But let them know that if the Law in a way of punishment takes no notice of their Crime at one time or other God if they continue and Repent not will visit them for it Another kind of Injustice is called Illegal without or against Law and this directly regards the Courts of Judicature I confess 't is sad that Law and Equity do not always agree and that sometimes a Just and Conscientious Judge who as in the Presence of God would discharge the Duty of his Place is not always free in a Cause to follow the Dictates of his own Judgment but must be drawn away with certain Formalities of the Law thô in his mind he be satisfied a Witness Swears Falsly yet he must Judge and Act according to Allegata Probata and not according to his own Judgment but this being not directly to our present purpose I omit and come to that which is The Courts of Judicature are the Seat of Justice the Oracles and Interpreters of the Laws which in the Administration of Justice are there Righted or Wronged Thô I speak not of Persons but of Things I gladly own that upon the Benches sit some Persons of known Abilities and Integrity yet that Profession is not free from Flaws it hath its Sins and grievous ones too is often a Remedy which proves worse than the Disease and for the Truth of this I appeal to those therein concern'd that are sincere and make Conscience of their ways therefore Abuses therein should be Reformed Things Regulated and those Springs when Corrupt Purged to delay Doing Justice to Deny and Pervert it makes many times the Law to be a Grievance and are Three abominable thô different Degrees of Injustice Long and tedious Proceedings at Law are Vexatious Chargeable and make one unnecessarily lose abundance of time Why should one put off till to Morrow that which he ought and can do to Day May be God will take away that Power and thy Life too 'T is an unhappy Inclination of some Men of Business out of a Humour Custom Pride Neglect Prejudice of some other corrupt Motive or Design to prolong time to do things which require Speed So that sometimes it would be better to have to deal with a Bashaw who before Men go out of his Sight will decide a difference and thô sometimes he doth one wrong yet on the other side he doth a Kindness with saying Charges Time and Trouble For what mean the Long Tedious and Chargeable Suits at Law which become endless to the ruin of Persons and Families and the Oppression of the Poor by the Rich who with strength of Money tire and disable them from holding out the Law say some is ever open to all that is for the Rich to Ruin the Poor thus the Remedy is turn'd into Poison which ever keeps things unsettled and at uncertainties and affords continual occasions for one to disquiet and wrong another and sometimes both are serv'd like the two that Quarrel'd about an Oyster they had found one saying he had seen it first the other that he had taken it up for he whom they referr'd the business to did open and eat up the Oister and gave each of them a Shell The Emperor (a) Instit l. 4. Tit. 16. de Paenâ temerè litigantium Justinian appointed punishment against those who went to Law without a just Cause To Deny Justice when due and sued for is another degree of Injustice We know a competent time to Examin and Inquire into the Matter must be allowed but after that one may well expect to see it done I cannot believe any Man in that station can so far forget himself as positively to say I will not do you Justice but not to do 't is by a side-Wind in effect the same Besides the unnecessary Trouble a Plaintiff's put to and made to lose his other Occasions bis dat qui citò dat is with me a good Rule soon to do Justice or a Kindness lays a double Obligation The Judge spoken of in the Parable did not tell the Widow You shall have no Justice from me only (b) Luke 18.4 he would not for a while at last he did nor for Justice sake but out of a Selfish Motive that is to be no longer troubled with her Importunities and in the place for this reason our Saviour calls him (c) v. 6. The unjust Judge After he had passed this Sentence upon himself That be feared not God nor regarded Man But to pervert Justice is the highest Degree of Injustice as is to Condemn the Just and Justifie the Wicked which (d) Prov. 17.15 Both are abomination to the Lord. Or to give one that which belongs to another this happeneth when out of the corruption of the Heart Judges through Bribery Favour or other perverse Motives suffer themselves to be byassed when once any one hath been noted for it he ought for ever to be branded with Infamy as being a Scandal to the Law and a Shame to the Bench the Injustices of Subordinate Judges cry loud for Vengeance to God the Supream Judge of all Would to God there was not so much cause as there is to Complain of it no Court either Ecclesiastical Politick or Civil is free from Abuses and Sins in relation to this last I must give a hint of another Abuse which is When Lawyers undertake for Money to Patronize any Cause whatsoever thô in their Judgment they be convinced it is bad Indeed in dubious Causes for a Fee they may make the best they can of it but to encourage Clients in a wrong way with telling they are in the Right is certainly a Sin for 't is to betray the Truth to engage them in an Ill Cause put them to unnecessary Charges and Trouble and make them run the hazard of being Cast and Losers at the end But a great piece of Injustice very common and Hurtful is among Tradesmen who make a great part of the Nation I do not say every one for some make Conscience of their ways but too many when you come into their Shop then out with their Lies 't is say they the best in the kind cost so much and the like to wheedle one to Buy which the Apostle hath forewarned of and forbidden when he saith (e) Ephes 4.25 Wherefore putting away lying speak every Man truth with his neighbour But the worst is that in such Shops and Houses are kept False Weights and False Measures contrary to what
God so often and so strictly Commanded his People (a) Lev. 19.36 Just Balances Just Weights a Just Ephah and a Just Hin shall ye have Elsewhere repeated (b) Deut. 25.15 But tbou shalt have a Perfect and Just weight (c) Prov. 11.1 a Perfect and Just Measure shalt thou have (d) Ch. 20.23 The contrary God abhorreth For a false balance is abomination to the Lord but a just weight is his delight Again Divers weights are an abomination unto the Lord and a false balance is not good Some have different Weights one to Buy another to Sell by As to Measures would to God there was less cause than we have to complain of it I shall give an Instance which is obvious and thô in some respect the Thing be not of great Moment yet the Sin is not the less rather because it reaches many chiefly the poor People it is the greater In many Alehouses where an ordinary Man goeth for a Quart of Drink out comes a False Measure a Black Pot or the like holding less than it should This for the Master but the Drawer to have his share doth not fill it up but gives Froth instead of Drink so that one hath at least half a Pint wanting of his measure and sometimes but a whole Pint instead of a Quart with some this Observation will seem mean But for all that I would have them to know that it is a great Sin and no Sin may be call'd a mean Sin And seeing I am upon this Subject I farther shall take notice of the Injustice of Brewers who for Instance under pretence of a Shilling Excize given the Government because there is no Assize which upon these Occasions should ever be to prevent Abuses they take may be Two for themselves and so make the Drink small raise the Price and lessen the Measure The like may be said of Bakers who make their Bread Lighter than it should be or raise the Price of it As Butchers do of their Meat Chandlers of their Candles so do other sorts of Tradesmen even as they please without any curb put upon them Thus the generality are left to the mercy of unreasonable Men And for they to plead The Liberty of the Subject is an aggravation to pretend to or desire a Liberty to do wrong and injury Here I speak for the poorest sort who by such dealings are the greatest Sufferers One of the chief grounds of Policy in matters of Government is to Prevent or Remedy Abuses put upon the People about necessary Provisions for Life nothing more apt to cause Tumults and Insurrections than to want Food and Raiment or Money to buy it One thing more I shall observe upon this Head How in common Dealings even without distinction of the Quality of Persons in their Bargains according to their several ways there is abundance of False Dealing Tricking Cheating and Over-reaching and the worst is that when Men have gained their Point they Laugh at it and Brag of it when the Tradesman Sells his Commodities with False Weights and False Measures and not satisfied with a moderate Gain at unreasonable Rates Doth he wonder after if he be ill paid or not at all thô I will neither excuse nor justifie the Buyer but I say 't is Just with God to Retaliate him so others are unjust to him because he hath been so to them So our trivial Saving is very True Honesty is the best Policy There are Sins also which attend the Profession of Physicians as are sometimes to prolong the Cure of their Patients especially when they are Rich to have many Fees and the more to squeeze Money out of their Purse and also when they begin to recover strength to prescribe strong Remedies to weaken them again At other times they without a due regard to the good of the Patient try Experiments upon them to the hazard of Life And withal thô no sort of Men more than they have occasion to observe the finger of God in the Works of Nature wherein his Power and Wisdom are so evident yet none more apt to attibute to Second Causes that which is due to the First and Supreme one We know God hath appointed means to be used and hath tied us to them which we ought not to neglect but Men must not be so unjust as to give them the Praise and Glory which belongs to God who prescribed and whose Blessing made them effectual for when God calls for our Life all Remedies are in vain Contra vim mortis non est medicamen in hortis The recovery of Hezekiah was not so much to be attributed to the Virtue of the (e) King 20.7 Lump of dry Figs thô the Remedy was very proper for the Disease which was a Boil and the dry Fig a great Drawer as it was to God's Blessing who by the Prophet Isaiah appointed it In this same predicament of Profession we include Apothecaries who to put off their Old Drugs which having lost their Virtue can indeed stir Humours but want strength to carry them out and so are rather Poison than Physick in the Body keep the best and thereby do Patients more harm than good they sometimes also lessen the Dose yet will be paid for the whole Besides that often their Bills are unreasonable and unjust and so a Sin in them Under this Classis for at the first in the days of Hippocrates Dioscorides Avicenna Galenus c. One and the same Man professed Physick Apothecarie if I may so call that Art and Chirurgery I leave for Chirurgeons to examine and leave off Sins attending their Profession 'T is a saying of Augustin that Sin amidst the Disorders it hath caused in the World hath left Mans Goods and Estates in the hands of Lawyers his Body in that of Physicians and his Soul to the Care of Divines This is a great Charge indeed and thô every one be bound to look to his own Soul yet God hath been pleased to appoint a sort of Men whose Office is to be Pastors Teachers Overseers Watchmen to Warn Guide and Direct others in the way to Salvation The Care of Souls is a great and difficult Task and a high Trust attended with a world of Le ts Hinderances and Oppositions from the Devil the Flesh the World and from Sin Therefore without God's especial Grace which such Men ought constantly to pray for are liable to great and many Sins of the highest Consequence for sometimes the Eternal Felicity or Misery of Souls doth as to means depend thereupon and (f) 2 Cor. 2.16 Who is sufficient for these things The Clergy or Ministers of the Gospel which use hath made to be the meaning of the Word are called (a) 1 Cor. 4. and v. 1.2 Stewards of the Mysteries of God The Apostle in the same place saith Moreover 't is required in Stewards that a man be found faithful and blameless for (b) Tit. 1.7 A Bishop under which name is understood every Pastour
which is not corruptible even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit which is in the sight of God of great price But the more to confirm this Truth another witness joyns with this (h) 1 Tim. 2.9 10. I Will that women adorn themselves in modest apparel with shame fac'dness and sobriety not with broidered hair or gold or pearl or costly aray but which becometh women professing godliness with good works All Women that have some regard to God's words will mind this Many sins are committed in another kind of relation between Parents and Children often when Men want Children they desire to have some and when they have they look or ought to look upon 't as a Blessing of God for thereby they afford Church and State some Members but do they afterwards answer God's end in giving them Children Do they take due care to breed them in the fear of God and put them in a capacity to serve their Maker and their Country Sometimes they be very careful to gather an Estate for them but not to qualifie them how to manage it well If they have a sine Horse they look out for a good and skilful Groom to Break and Order him but often neglect the means to improve the Souls of their Children What they do for them is sometimes not with judgment and often it doth them more harm than good They ought to give them good Counsel and good Example not to fright but to entice them to good things bear with some Humane Frailties especially those which attend the Age but to make use of their Authority to curb and restrain them from evil things shew themselves enemies to every vitious course as much as may be infuse into them a love for Piety Virtue and Honour with a Hatred to all that is contrary to 't they ought to study their Tempers and Inclinations Reform what is Bad and improve what is Good in them When this foundation is laid and there are in a Family several Children 't is Prudence in Parents not to shew themselves too partial for some more than for others for such carriage hath caused great mischief in some Families Yet 't is fit Parents should shew their Approbation of those Children that do well and are virtuously inclined and wisely a dislike of those whose Dispositions are vicious (a) Coloss 3.21 yet do not provoke them but elsewhere I have abundantly written upon this Subject Farther 't is the Duty of Parents according to their Abilities and Quality to provide for Children and dispose of them in the World This Scripture presseth upon them (b) 2 Cor. 12.14 The children ought not to lay up for the parents but the Parents for the children And (c) 1 Tim. 5.8 If any provide not for his own and specially for those of his own house he hath deny'd the faith and is worse than an infidel On the other side How many Undutiful Disobedient and Rebellious Children in the World Some (d) Psal 58.3 are estranged from the womb they go astray assoon as they be born This is a most wicked and unnatural frame of Spirit abhorred by all Nations and by God's immediate Command the Offender was (e) Deut. 21.20 punish'd with death By a natural Right all Men are equal but only in this case there is by nature a subjection of one to another Children ought to Love Honour Obey and Help their Parents But how many now a-days who instead of being the Joy Help Comfort and Support are the cause of their Grief and of Trouble in many ways and instead of a staff in their Old Age especially to support it do rather serve to knock them down but God will judge for such wickednesses I shall now insist upon the sins here committed in another relation between Masters and Servants There are so many notorious examples as any one may see them on the Master's side are Hardness Injustice contrary to Scripture not only Threatnings which the Apostle exhorteth to forbear but also Blows and Violence not considering that (f) Coloss 4.1 their master also is in heaven On the other side Servants are Unfaithful Careless Vicious Despisers when they are Commanded (g) Ephes 6.9 to be obedient to their masters according to the flesh (h) v. 56. and Coloss 3.22 with fear and trembling in singleness of heart as unto Christ not with eye-service as men-pleasers but in singleness of heart as fearing God And they ought to (i) 1 Tim. 6.1 count their masters worthy of all honour 'T is a common guilt with many Servants when their Masters find fault with them to Reply which they are expresly forbidden to do (k) 〈◊〉 2.9 not answering again Another Relation there is between Rulers and the People which hath its Sins great and pernicious this being a slippery step one must be nice and wary upon 't howsoever it being of the highest concernment must not go untouched For suppose we should speak of the Throne but with a due Respect yet those who Sit upon 't are but Men subject to like Infirmities with us Humane Nature is in them attended with Frailties and imperfections for being Kings they cease not to be Men then sometimes happen such Conjunctures as Cross and are Le ts in the way of the Government which yet I say not to excuse those who might do better but only those that cannot help it Besides that in all things we must observe a Governing and Over-ruling Hand of God 'T is too usual and common for Authority to mind its own Honour more than the Glory of God and also not (l) John 5.44 to seek the honour that cometh from God only but that which cometh from men It was as truly as wisely said (m) Prov. 20.8 A king that sitteth in the throne of judgment scattereth away all evil with his eyes that is ought to do so and look upon Evil with a design to disperse it as the Sun doth the Clouds Nay 't is sin him Wisdom to do so these are the words of a Wise King and not mine (n) v. 26. A wise king scattereth the wicked and bringeth the wheel over them 't is not only his Duty but his Interest so to do for (o) Ch. 16.12 the throne is established by righteousness which he gives as a reason of what he said in the beginning of the Verse (o) Ch. 16.12 It is an abomination to kings to commit wickedness they should mind Christ's Interest preferably before their own in this world which in effect is to promote their own if it be not contrary to the Lord's whereby they ought to begin (p) Mh 6.33 (p) Psal 103.13 Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you After that they must procure the good of their People whom they ought to Love and upon some occasions in imitation of God to pity as a father pitieth his children
to discourage Vice and Immorality who having sold their Soul to the Devil to do his Drudgery make no scruple to sell themselves to Men to do all their Will and Pleasure Therefore no wonder if Men so ill qualified do for Self-Interest betray their Trust He who is not True to God will be False to Man thô in different ways some above-board others under and indirectly some by openly opposing their Friend's Interest others with neglecting withdrawing and upon occasion deserting the Service These indeed are loud and crying sins which yet cannot excuse the Folly of those who Intrusted them with what 's near and dear As no Prudent Man will Trust a Bloody Man with his Life So none that is Wise will lay his Estate in the hands of one who is needy and greedy But the Silliness of some and Dishonesty of others do prepare matter for a Judgment to come Thô I already have given some hints against Bribery yet the matter is of too high a concernment to be lightly passed over the more because now more than ever like a mighty Stream it hath overflown all beyond bounds and measure One can neither look nor go any where but 't is to be seen and met with it hath poisoned our very Springs Oh! the abominable wickedness Thus at first the Devil under a specious pretence blinded the understanding of our first Parents corrupted their Heart and seduced them to Rebellion against and Disobedience to their Maker To go about Bribing Men is to do the Devils work and tempt them to commit evil to turn Rogues and Knaves to betray their Judgment Conscience Truth Trust Good Name Friends Relations Countrey with whatsoever ought to be near and dear even God himself as much as ever for Money Judas betrayed his Lord and Master and if they could would deliver him too and to Damn their own Souls I would be for cutting off a Hand that offers a Bag of Gold sooner than that which takes it for if there was no Giver there would be no Receiver and none would be Tempted if there was no Tempter who is the Devil's Tool And to Tempt and Seduce is a damnable Office which in Men argues a mean a base and a wretched Soul A generous Spirit will scorn to take any advantage of the Frailty Corruption and Wants of another or to lay Snares and a Stumbling-block before the Weak which is so contrary to a Christian Frame This is not Policy but Knavery for True Policy is grounded upon Justice and Honour guided by Prudence Wisdom and Experience and through reasonable means tend to good ends Knavery is an effect of a dark Understanding whereof Cheating Tricking Deceiving with over-reaching are the Ingredients When any Person and Party are reduced to such miserable Shifts which banish Honesty out of the World and makes way for themselves to be served as they cause others to be 't is a clear sign that they are at their Wits end and despair of the Goodness and Success of their Cause seeing they would promote it by unlawful means Sometimes they would make specious pretences and even God's Holy Name subservient to their pernicious ends who to them will say as formerly he did to his People Thou hast made me to serve with thy sins thou hast wearied me with thine Iniquities (a) Isai 43.24 And having for a while winked at and suffered them to go on in their unworthy courses of Bribing Suborning Corrupting Seducing and taking Advantage of the Weakness Blindness of Mind or Falseness of Heart of others will at last send a blast upon all their contrivances and as in a moment overthrow what through sinful means they had been building for bad ends and to them say as be doth to the Sea (b) Job 2.11 Hitherto shalt thou come and no farther and here shall thy proud waves be stayed And as (a) Ch. 5.12 13. he disappointeth the devices of the crafty and taketh the wise in their own craftiness may be when they least think on 't God to confound all their great contrivances will send Death with this Errand come to give an account of thy self By what is said against the Bribers I intend not to excuse the Bribed in any station or capacity whatsoever no more than shall be those who yield to the Devil's Temptations for both Tempter and Tempted are guilty It availed Adam nothing to cast the fault upon another that is his Wife nor Eve to say The Serpent beguiled me For God passed Sentence of Condemnation upon all Three Is it not a great Crime Is it not a great folly in one to sell his Soul for Money or other worldly Advantage Yet there are those Men in the World who to do an ill thing will assoon and as often take a Bribe as a Lawyer will take a Fee to speak for a Client To Beg is become a Trade full of Abuses which daily may be seen in the Streets 't is a Seminary of Idleness Lewdness c. I know some are fit Objects of Charity but others use it as a Cloak to their evil Designs which ought to be enquired into Remember the Apostles Rule (b) 2 Thess 3.10 That if any will not work when he can neither should he eat Here we have a parcel of Boys known by the name of the Black Guard who by a loose manner of Life inure themselves to all kinds of Vice So there are many young Girls who under the notion of Begging are seen up and down the Streets to drive on the Trade of Pick-Pockets and Whoring As to the Men when they grow older they become wandring and sturdy Beggars and at last High-way Men which if timely minded and remedied might be prevented and consequently their being condemn'd to the Gallows Here I cannot forbear taking notice of a thing which thô it may be is not properly and in it self a Sin yet with Humble Submission to those whom it may concern I say it may become a Sin in its Adjuncts and Consequences for it affords occasion enough of Sin in those uncharitable Sermons which our Boanerges do upon the Anniversary Day fulminate against the Dead and the Living and thereby shew they know not what a Christian Spirit is This is too much like the Antichristian Practice of Popes who every Year on a certain day cause a Bull full of Curses to be read One would think that after Fifty years time there should be a Prescription for such things and 't would be well to forget and forgive that which keeps up Divisions and intails hatred and Revengefulness upon us and our Posterity as if of late we had not Breaches enough but we must still continue the old ones and Superstitiously keep an Anniversary for the Ashes of a Man and with such Religious Circumstances as make the thing much the worse which upon another occasion God grievously complain'd against That (a) Ezek. 43.8 by setting man's threshold by his thresholds and their post by his
posts they prophaned his Temple and defiled his Worship therefore he commanded them to put away the Carkasses of their kings far from him v. 9. whereby Men are stained with a kind of Idolatry and a down-right Superstition a good and proper Instruction for this Case and these Times A thing is sometimes a Sin and sometimes a Punishment for Sin (b) Heb. 3.12 Take heed brethren saith the Apostle lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God here to depart is a Sin in another place 't is a Punishment (a) Matt. 7.23 Depart from me ye that work iniquity So the thing I now speak about may be both a Sin and a Pain for it Besides all these Publick Sins there are in the Nation Secret Sins so called upon several Accounts either because they are the dear darling and bosom Sins in the Heart so beloved that the Sinner is content to part with God with Christ and with every thing else rather than with them such Dalilas they cannot and will not leave thô their Life lay at stake O these prophane Esaus who (b) Gen. 25.33 Sell their birth-right for pottage O the Fools who prefer (c) Heb. 11.25 to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season (d) Psal 16.11 before the fulness of joy in God's Presence and the pleasures for evermore that are at his right hand Else they be called Secret because committed in secret for Shame which from the beginning of the World as we see in our First Parents followed Sin makes the Sinner hide himself as they did Also they are called Secret because sometimes the Offenders see them not and are ignorant of either by reason that they are too many or else not minded which made David pray for Pardon and say (e) Psal 19.12 Who can understand his error Cleanse thou me from secret faults which sometimes are above the rest of so shameful a nature as make the Apostle say (f) Ephes 5.12 For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret These are the works of darkness which he would have us to cast off and instead of them to (g) Rom. 13.12 put on the Armour of light These must be left to God and to the Conscience of Sinners (h) 1 Cor. 4.5 until the Lord come who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness and will make manifest the counsels of the heart For saith Truth it self (a) Luke 8.17 Nothing is secret that shall not be made manifest neither any thing hid that shall not be known and come abroad What Men have done in secret and in dark corners out of Man's sight God hath seen and shall be published upon the House tops Some of these Sins appear and are great in God's Sight for every Sin is the Transgression of the Law of an Infinite Eternal and Almighty God so upon that Account no Sin may be called Small only comparatively as there shall be degrees of Pains so there are degrees of Sins which deserved those Pains Yet these secret Sins are upon some Accounts not so bad as presumptuous and publick Sins which cause God's Enemies to Blaspheme give ill examples and stir up the corruption in Men's Hearts to do the like Here are not only (b) Isai 1.18 Crimson Sins of notorious Sinners but also those of them who struggle against Sin for God's People have their spots too of many kinds (c) Jam. 3.2 for in many things we offend all (d) 1 King 8.46 there is no man that sinneth not 'T is a Lesson Taught by the Light of Nature for saith a Wise Heathen Nemo sine crimine vivit But 't is most proper to leave these to their own Consciences These Sins are fitter to be spoken of in a Pulpit than here insisted upon Besides they are not the crying sins of the Nation and thô sometimes God like a Father gently chastiseth his Children for them (e) Jerem. 30.11 I will correct thee in measure and will not leave thee altogether unpunished yet never overthrows Nations for the same he gives them Repentance of and they mourn fro them in secret As there are sins of Omission and those damnable too as well as of Commission so 't is a Sin not only to commit any I named as not to punish them but also not to use means to reclaim the Sinners 'T is a Christian Duty in a Friend in a proper and charitable manner to warn his Brother and endeavour to bring him off his Sin but if that cannot do 't then other ways ought to be try'd and one must go for help where it may be had In another Case we have Directions which may be useful in this When a Man who hath offended another will not hear him then he must take one or two more and go to him but if he refuses to hearken then he is to go farther and where is some Authority and (a) Matth. 18. tell it unto the Church Thus in this Case if a Man doth Curse Swear or in any other notorious way break the Laws of God and of the Land he that hears him is bound to go to the Magistrate in whose hand lies the executive power and inform against such a one I know some presently will cry our against an Informer which indeed hath been a very odious Name when gotten for Unjust Odious and Unlawful things as to take away a Man 's Good Name Fortune Liberty or Life to serve ill purposes whether of private Men or of a bad Government but the Case is much otherwise when the Honour and Service of God are concerned which any wise to be instrumental to Defend and Assert is in a Man very Honourable And because the Magistrate in whose Hand God hath put the Sword to be (b) Rom. 13.4 an avenger and to execute wrath upon him that doth evil cannot be every where to see and know therefore he stands in need of being informed so there must be those who can and will do 't Let the wicked World do what it can to revile and ridicule so good an Office I will not mind what is against it no more than the Experienced Pilot doth the roaring and tumbling of the Waves or the cross and side Winds but still steers towards his Point As long as we have a sure word of prophesie 2 Pet. 1.19 we do well that we take heed as unto a light that shines in a dark place Our Warrant for this is out of God's Word and we must Obey God and not fear Man (a) Levit. 19.17 thou shalt in any wise or plainly rebuke thy neighbour the words in any wise go far by all means if you cannot directly do 't indirectly if not of thy self do 't by others if thou wantest Power do 't by those that are in Authority what is added is considerable and not suffer
from him that sitteth upon the Throne to the Beggar upon the Dunghill must we all be since the Man according to God's own Heart so heavily complained (b) Psal 38.4 Mine iniquities are gone over mine head as an heavy burden they are too heavy for me And elsewhere (c) Psal 40.12 Innumerable evils have compassed me about mine iniquities have taken hold upon me so that I am not able to look up they are more than the hairs of mine head therefore mine heart faileth me O that we could every one of us speak of our Sins so feelingly and penitently as He did of His and that God would appoint over us Refiners and Purifiers some Hezekiah and Josiah who also as they begun to Reign shewed their zeal for God and against Sin I hitherto have spoken of our Sins I must now say something of the punishment With Paul I say to my self and to all Sinners (a) Gal. 6.7 8. Be not deceived God is not mocked for whatsoever a Man soweth that shall he also reap For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption But he that soweth to the spirit shall of the spirit reap everlasting life Here is Good and Evil a Gracious Reward and a just punishment offered let us chuse well 'T is of God's Truth and Justice that Punishment should follow Sin he rewardeth both Good and Evil we are told how (b) 1 Cor. 3.8 every man shall receive his own reward and ever it was so (c) Heb. 2.2 for every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward There is a Reward for the Righteous so saith our Saviour (d) Matth. 5.12 Great is your reward in heaven Long before he had by David said that the Obedience to God's Laws was the way to 't (e) Psal 19.11 In the keeping of them there is a great reward and as there is a recompense for the good so there is for the wicked (f) Psal 91.8 With thine eyes shalt thou see and behold the reward of the wicked We for our Sins have felt and still feel Judgments of several sorts for I must come home First the Honour of the Nation is low in the world which doth hit in a sensible part Foreign Countries at this time want the Value and Esteem which once they had for England Time was and 't is not long since when our Neighbours were in fear of and had us in Reverence but now 't is otherwise the reason is plain (g) 1 Sam. 2.30 Them that honour me I will honour and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed that is shall be honoured by Men as they are of God as we have it in the examples of David at the latter end of his Life of (h) 2 Chro 17.10 Jehoshaphat Hezekiah (a) Chap. 32 23 27. and their People under them but now God hath smitten us in that very tender part (b) Prov. 14.34 Righteousness exalteth a Nation but sin is a reproach to any people Also (c) Rom. 2.9 Tribulation and anguish upon every Soul of Man that doth evil The strength of the Nation is much weakened now it cannot do what formerly it could and what remaineth of it is through certain ways and means made useless The Comliness is gone (d) Psal 39.11 For when thou with rebukes dost correct man for iniquity thou makest his beauty to consume away like a moth For God is a consuming fire and we are as stubble before him There is now a concurrence of Sins committed of Judgments inflicted and of others threatned so that not only we feel but also have cause to fear for God's Mercies we by our sins have made our selves unworthy of and deserved his most severe Judgments We seem in our carriage ashamed to Confess and Repent of our Sins thô not to commit them so that 't is a wonder that having so often sinned against Grace and the Gospel we have not quite sinned it away it threateneth to to leave us to go to others who will value it more than now many do among us Also the Riches are lessen'd Poverty is come on apace upon many I know those who formerly Fared plentifully now to want the Conveniencies even the Necessaries for Life Trade once Flourishing is now much decay'd the Mastery of the Sea question'd and a Blast laid almost upon every thing we undertake We have felt the great Scourges Plague Fire War Unseasonable weather one after another and Dearth yet are not returned to God we are troubled with Partialities Factions Hatred and Animosities The Nation is Divided Subdivided Undersubdivided yet we will not return to God but walk contrary to him so no wonder if he walks contrary to us and I am afraid it may at last be in fury For as we have been unthankful under Mercies so we are become uncorrigible under Judgments besides we have God's word for it to be seriously read in the Texts (a) Lev. 26. Deut. 28. Joel 1. and 2. Amos 4 2 Chron. 7.19 20 21 22. quoted in the Margin which contain terrible Judgments but the worst are the Blindness of Mind and hardness of Heart which many are punish'd with who mind not and care not for the Dispensations of God's Providence and are (b) Rom. 1.26 27 28 29 30 31. Given up to vile Affections and to a reprobate mind to do those things which are not convenient being filled with all unrighteousness Fornication Wickedness Covetousness Maliciousness full of Envy Murther Debate Deceit Malignity Whisperers Backbiters Haters of God Despiteful Proud Boasters Inventers of Evil things Disobedient to Parents without Vnderstanding Covenant-breakers without natural Affection Implacable Vnmerciful This is all now written for us as once it was for the Romans for those Sins are among us as they were among them and I look upon them not only as Sins but also as Punishment for Sins For when God leaves Men to themselves from one Sin they by his just Judgment fall into another for these Spiritual and Temporal Punishments are only Warning pieces What then will the Murthering ones be Do we wait and stay till some destroying Angel come upon us Well may we cry out with the Prophet (c) Lam. 3.22 It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed because his compassions fail not We read how once upon an unseasonable weather of Rain and Thunder in Wheat-Harvest time (d) 1 Sam. 12.18 the people greatly feared and cry'd out they had sinned And in another place 't is said that (a) Ezra 10.9 All the men of Judah and Benjamin trembled because of their sin and for the great rain which they look'd upon as a Punishment for it So should we who of late almost every Summer about Harvest time have had such Rains as prejudiced the Corn and other Fruits of the Earth upon the like case as now ours is (b) Micah 6.9 The Lord's voice crieth unto the City
and Country too and what doth the Lord say v. 10 11 12. hear ye the rod and who hath appointed it and for what cause There the Prophet makes an enumeration of several sins the same as now we are guilty of namely Treasures of wickdness in the house of the wicked Scant Measure wicked Balance and Weights Violence Oppression a lying and deceitful Tongue but mind the punishment (c) v. 13. Therefore will I make thee sick in smiting thee in making thee desolate because of thy sins (d) 14 15 16. And so proceedeth to the several kinds of sensible punishments which shall be inflicted upon them These things were written for our instruction that we might mend and be the better for it Therefore before it be too late let us hear the voice of the Rod which saith that according to God's Truth and Justice (e) Psal 137.17 Fools because of their transgressions and because of their iniquities are afflicted Which in David's and Solomon's stile is the sinner this ought to stop our mouth and the consideration that we deserve much more at the hand of God removes all ground of complaint (f) Lam. 3.39 Wherefore doth a living man complain for the punishment of his sins Seeing God doth not in the least proportion reward us according to our Sins nor punish us after our Iniquities The voice of God and of the Rod are but one with this only difference that one is of Precept the other of Providence and say the same thing how (a) Eph. 5.6 Because of those things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience That is the things he named before Fornication uncleanness covetousness filthiness foolish talking jesting which with many more are now the Sins of the Nation The same voice saith to Whormongers Thieves Drunkards and every other sinner remember that God sees thee that thou must Die yet knowest not the time when then thou must (b) 2 Cor. 5.10 come to judgment before Christ that every one may receive things done in his body according to that he hath done whether it be good or bad Then will God set all thy Sins (c) Psal 50.21 in order before thine eyes as it were in order of Battel to fight against thee If Men would seriously mind this and with David say in Truth (d) Psal 16.8 I have set the lord always before me and in whatsoever we do to eye him as present I am persuaded it might be a great preservative to keep many from Offending No Servant will willingly do before his Lord and Master that which he knows will displease him but hides from him as much as he can but with God no Man can he is every where sees knows and rewards all things and when he punisheth for Sin with Paul we may say (e) Rom. 2.2 We are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things Now when I am upon this punishment for Sin before I proceed to another I must out of Scripture bring such examples of God's Judgments upon it as should make all Kings and People to tremble Joash King of Judah I shall begin with during the Life of Jehojadah he did well but after the Princes made obeysance to courted and flattered the King who hearken'd unto them and fell a sinning against God who to reclaim him and them (f) 2 Chro. 24.17 Sent prophets to bring them again (g) v. 19. unto the lord but they would not give ear and killed one of them which highly aggravated the Sins and hastened the Punishment (a) v. 23. For at the end of that year the Army of the Syrians came against Judah and Jerusalem and destroyed all the Princes of the People from a mongst the People who had been the evil Counsellors and that which is remarkable God delivered a very great Army into the hands of a handful of Men for the Syrians were but few and the reason is given (b) v. 24. Because they had forsaken the Lord so they executed Judgment against Joash v. 25 But this is not all His own servants conspired against him and killed him on his bed Abijah said of Rehoboam his Father (c) 2 Chro. 13.7 That he was young when he came to the Throne yet 't is recorded that he was Ch. 12.13 One and forty years old when he began to Reign At that Age no Man may be call'd young therefore 't is to be understood in relation to the ill management of his Concerns to the Succession of the Kingdom over all Israel wherein indeed he acted the part of a young Man But I go farther and find that (e) v. 14. he did evil because he prepared not his heart to seek the Lord so that he was a raw Man no wiser in matters of Religion than in those of State For 't is farther said in the beginning of that Chapter that he forsook the law of the lord v. 1,2 and all Israel with him therefore God punish'd them for Shishak came up against Jerusalem after he had taken the fenced Cities of Judah and took away the Treasure of the Lord's House and of the King's House and the reason was (f) 2 King 15.29 Because they had transgressed against the lord For in God's name a Prophet said to them (g) 2 Chro. 12.6 Ye have forsaken me and therefore also have I left you in the hand of Shishak Here is a punishment for Sin for Solomen's Idolatry and his Son's and People's Apostasie whereby the Glory of the Kingdom already reduced within a narrow compass was Eclypsed and its Riches carried away Which yet was a lighter punishment than that which afterwards was inflicted upon Manasseh whom the Assyrians took and bound him with Fetters and carried him to Babylon So that God spareth neither People nor Princes nor Crown'd Heads when provoked by their Sins This in these times we cannot pretend Ignorance of therefore ought to take warning by In the Kingdom of Israel after the rending of the Ten Tribes by reason of their Sins nothing but destruction and killing one another this among themselves also God brought Foreigners among them for he stirred up Tiglath-Pileser King of Assyria who took several places (a) 2 King 15.29 and all the Land of Naphtali and carried them captives to Assyria (b) Ch. 17.6 And in the next Reign of Hoshea who had killed his Predecessor Pekah came up r Shalmaneser who carried away captive the Ten Tribes and put an end to the kingdom of Israel And the Spirit of God hath left upon Record the cause of it namely their Sins whereof in that Chapter is an enumeration from ver 7. till the 19th So of the Kingdom of Judah when the measure of the Sins of their Kings 2 Chron. 36. and of the People was filled up God sent up Nebuchadnezzar who took Jerusalem ruin'd and destroy'd the Temple bound Zedekiah
exercise loving-kindness judgment and righteousness in the Earth for in these things I delight saith the Lord and not in Sin which I abhor Once there were great outcry 's against the Sins of the late Reigns and there was cause for it as God's Judgments which are always just declared But are we now better in the least On the contrary we can observe those same Sins to increase and daily grow stronger and more frequent upon us Have any of the guilty and offenders against God and the Country been punished for their notorious Offences How can the Effect cease if we remove not the Cause and what signifies to find fault except we mend I look upon 't only as an aggravation We know yet act not according to knowledge neither do we improve the means and opportunities which God had put into our hands to assert his Honour and his Truth to reform Abuses redress Grievances promote the good of the Nation prevent Evil restrain Sin punish Sinners and with greparing our Hearts unto God to fit ourselves for further Mercies Rather with continuing as we do in our Sins and through our unthankfulness we provoke the Lord and are in a way to draw his vengeance upon us The most notorious Sins of the late Reigns were Whoredom and Adultery taking other Mens Wives and without Shame living with them in the sight of the Sun Also downright and open Idolatry yet such were Prayed for as our Religious Kings and Defenders of the Faith when they were about destroying it So was Hypocrisie in pretending to be Protestants tho' actually Papists yet 't was made Treason to say the King was a Papist or Popishly affected which I say to shew how any Society or Assembly of Men chiefly when guided by Interest and Passion is apt to Err and be mistaken and thereby Men were made guilty of Death for telling the Truth Well these Sins and many more in Church and State were under the late Reigns the cause of our Complaints and have been the grounds for our Deliverance But what are we the better for it Tho' God (a) Ezek. 16.50 hath taken away some of the Sinnners as he saw good if the same Sins in the same degree nay in a higher do still continue among us and are become our master Sins is not there Cause to put this Question after God hath so graciously and wonderfully wrought for us are these Distempers remedied and all the great Abuses we complained of Reform'd nay are we so much as in earnest about to do it Tho' we may say some few are in a small degree yet far from it as to others for specially those relating to God ' Honour and Service are increased and without restraint daily multiplied We have bad Examples whence we expected good ones How careful are Men to promote their worldly selfish Interest and how neglectful of God's as if it was not worth minding Hence it is that we see obscene blasphemous and impious Books publickly exposed to Sale in Shops Auctions c. without any Curb and when there hath been other Books in opposition to those how much unfaithfulness tricking and unfair dealings have been used to smother or mangle them about the time of the coming out nay after that for Love nor Money one could not get them put into the Gazzetts among the Advertisements tho' desir'd more than once So that Diana's Interest wants no Demetrius of several kinds among us Some think they may be of no Religion others of any and profess what they please some do vent and publish their Opinions whilst others cheat and revile their Neighbours and wrong them in their good Name Fortune Liberty and sometimes in their Life without little or no Curb at all which is a bringing in a-pace of Confusion and Anarchy and all this some would call the Liberty of the Subject which is with Impunity to abuse one another and to run into all manner of Licentiousness Some think themselves Priviledged to Defraud others of their own nay others go further to Strike those Persons whose Character ought to be Respected and that in such Places as require a special Punishment and upon such occasions as deserve Thanks and not Blows Thus in one kind or other (a) Judg. 17.6 Every one doth that which is Right in his own Eyes as we read it was when there was no King in Israel Thus God in his wise Providence suffereth Abuses to Creep in and sometimes to Prevail of which we may say what our Blessed Saviour speaks of Offences (a) Luke 17.4 It is impossible but that Offences will come but Wo unto him through whom they come by Right it should be so with those who commit Abuses but also he from time to time raiseth Instruments in his hand for his People's good and makes them as Paul would have us to be (b) Rom. 12.11 Acts 17.16 Fervent in Spirit Serving the Lord. As we read how his Spirit was stirred in him in Athens when he saw the City wholly given to Idolatry Not Lukewarm in his Service for such (c) Rev. 3.16 He speweth out of his Mouth Nor such as (d) Jer. 48.10 Do his Work deceitfully For such are Cursed But for his Honour and the benefit of his People he makes use of such as Love Fear and Serve him with their Heart such a one was Moses to deliver Israel out of Aegypt and Joshua to bring them into the promised Land After the Babylonian Captivity God chose Zerubbabel to carry them home Ezra to reform their Manners settle Religion and build the Temple then Nehemiah to build up the Walls of Jerusalem So he never wants Instruments to do his Work and if some Men ly as Blocks in his way he knows well how to Remove them Happy those whom he is pleased to make use of for so good a Work But as Rules back'd with Examples make a greater impression so I shall mention some whom Scripture hath proposed as Patterns in matters of Religion for after Ages to follow Asa I begin with for after the falling off of the Ten Tribes he was the first Reformer of the Kings of Judah To his commendation 't is Recorded of him that (e) 1 King 15.11.14 He did that which was Right in the Eyes of the Lord as did David his Father and that his Heart was perfect with the Lord all his days Whereof Instances are given to shew how he minded the true Worship of God and removed Abuses therein Committed 'T is with every collective Body whether Ecclesiastical Civil or Politick as with the Natural in this ill humours and destructive are sometimes Bred and Formed which 't is necessary to Purge away Thus often Corruptions which cause Distempers do creep into the sore-named Bodies which to preserve the whole ought to be taken away and Remedied This good King began his Reign with minding things of Religion 't is just that God should be served first The Right way for a
very zealous for the Glory of God and when he was Twenty he abolished Idolatry and restored true Religion in Jerusalem and in Judah and so continued to do in the (d) v. 6. Cities of Manasseh Ephraim Simeon and Naphtali which belonged not to his Kingdom and because he would not trust others to do 't without him this great Work he would see it done with his own Eyes For 't is said (e) v. 4. They brake down the Altars of Baalim in his presence and the Images that were on high above them he cut down and the Groves and the carved Images and molten Images he broke in pieces and made dust of of them and strowed it upon the Graves of those that had sacrificed unto them The Altar in Bethel which Jeroboam had built and the high places he brake down he defiled Tophet put down the Chemarims or Idolatrous Priests whom the Kings of Judah had ordained to burn Incense in the high Places He brake down the Houses of the Sodomites and so we may think he did of Baudy Houses if there were any for he aimed at a general Reformation whereof we (a) 2 King Chap. 22. and 23. read the particulars How much grieved was he when he heard the Words of the Law seeing he thereupon rent his Clothes This his tenderness of heart as of having humbled himself the Lord took notice off by the mouth of (b) 2 Chr. 34.27 Huldah the Prophetess Now judge of the happiness of having pious Kings by the good effects and consequences thereof for not only they do good but by their example influence others to do so Often the good King makes his Subjects good Regis ad exemplum many times the People follows the King's Example hence it is that in Scripture we read that when the Kings were good or bad the Subjects were commonly such as they so like Prince like People Because (c) Chap. 35.7 8 9. Josiah gave to the People of the Flock Lambs and Kids all for the Passover-offerings to the number of Thirty thousand and Three thousand Bullocks and 't is expressed these were out of the King's Substance So in the next verse we read how that good example was followed and his Princes gave willingly unto the People to the Priests and to the Levites And to their immortal Praise not only their gifts are specified but also the givers Names are upon Record Josiah's Princes were acted by the same Zeal and they not only worshipped God but helped others to do so These examples are insisted upon in hopes that at this present Time and in this Conjuncture when Sins overflow and there is a necessity of a speedy Remedy it will not be in vain Neither can any just exceptions be taken against what I say for 't is not I that speak but God all is out of his holy Word The Trumpet of Sion must Speak or Sound in the Language of Sion Happy those who can understand the Language of Canaan 't is a gracious promise as a Blessing to the Gentiles (a) Isai 19.18 In that day shall Five Cities in the Land of Egypt speak the Language of Canaan and Swear to the Lord of Hosts I write as a Christian for Christians about the things of Christ therefore I lay aside human Reason Wisdom Considerations and Stile to express my self in Christs that is Scriptural Phrase to please God and not Men (b) Gal. 1.10 for if I yet pleased Men I should not be the Servant of Christ But my design is if possible after (c) Rom. 10.19 God's Example without distinction of Persons to move Men to Emulation and Godly jealousie to out-do one another and upon this as upon every other occasion to practise the Apostles exhortation (d) 2 Cor. 14.31 Whatsoever ye do do all to the Glory of God Chiefly Rulers who are publick Springs whence the People draw whose carriage the Subjects Eyes are fixed upon and when the Princes heart is affected with zeal for God's Honour and Service it commonly passeth upon and influenceth the People whose Head he is Therefore he should be careful of the way he leads them by either into Salvation or Destruction In the Christian Church also after many Persecutions Heresies and wicked practises God raised Instruments to do his Work suppress Errors defend his People and purge his Church of notorious Vices Such were the Constantines the Theodosius's and other Christian Emperors whom God made Nursing Fathers to the Church So in the last Age at the beginning of and since the Reformation from the abominations of the Romish Church some pious Princes in Germany and other Northern Countreys and in some Southerly parts of Europe whose Names are to their high Commendation Recorded in History And here Pious young King Edward VI. never to be mention'd without Elogy who for Zeal in his tender years might have been compared to Josiah if God had been pleased to have allowed him a longer Life he upon all occasions expressed his Piety and Abhorrency of Popish Idolatry besides that Providence made this Conformity between those Two good Kings both died young One by the Sword the other as strongly suspected by Poison Josiah not long before the Destruction of Jerusalem and the Babylonian Captivity And Edward just before the Judgment and violent Persecution under Bloody Queen Mary Commonly such matters as these admit of necessary Cautions thus when I was upon the point of Slander to which what I intend now to say hath some affinity I spake of some who under specious pretences as that they hate not the Person but the Hypocrisie or such other thing which they invent do put abuses upon others and thus to satisfie their Hatred Malice Revengefulness or some other disordinate Passion would bring in their false accusations under the Name of the cause of God and by these means impose upon imprudent and credulous Men or easily perswaded those that are as ill disposed as themselves whom Solomon sets this brand upon A wicked doer gives heed to false lips (a) Prov. 17.4 and a lyar gives ear to a naughty tongue for similis simili gaudet Now in this place I must enter a Caveat which is this That about the great Work of Reformation of Life Manners and other Abuses the Magistrates in the Execution of the Laws must be very Cautious how they receive Accusations and Informations from private Men against their Neighbour specially when the accused are for one quality or other Eminent above the Vulgar sort thus the Apostle charges his disciple against an Elder receive not an Accusation (b) 1 Tim. 5.19 but before two or three Witnesses They ought not to believe every thing they hear but must first endeavour to know who the accuser is and whether he is biassed for in such Cases sometimes (c) Gal. 2.4 to speak in the Apostles Words false Brethren creep in privily to spie out occasions of doing mischief and avenging their grudges
and quarrels selfish Men who would make God's Holy Name and Cause subservient to their own ends And if through their base way of Calumniating they gain their Point they are pleased with and applaud themselves in 't and as the Prophet saith they rejoice and are glad (d) Habak 1.15.16 therefore they Sacrifice unto their Net and burn Incense unto their Drag And like the Assyrian boast of the Mischief which through the Credulousness of others they have done and say by the strength of my hand I have done it and by my wisdom for I am prudent Therefore when you are about suppressing one evil have a great care not to make way for another Hot headed and fiery Men are not proper Instruments for the work of Reformation they are fitter to Destroy than to Build up and commonly they will use means not conducing to the true End But the manner of doing things is that which Men should be very Cautions in 't is not enough to do a good thing but it must be well done in a due manner the saying is true Prosunt verba parum prosunt adverbia multum Non bona tam pensat quam bene facta Deus Will you get rid of Slanderers then frown upon them for an angry Countenance driveth away a backbiting tongue or else who can be safe Si accusare sat est quis erit innocens A zeal for God's Glory is with some nothing but a pretence when it breaks the rules of Charity without which no true Piety 'T is highly Commendable when sincere and real but withal it must not be inconsiderate rather according to knowledge and managed with meekness and Christian prudence for (a) Prov. 25.23 the Servant of the Lord must be gentle to all Men. What such Men call Zeal is only an Effect of the violence and imperuosity of their Temper and not a real desire of God's Honour 't is more to please their passion than to serve God (c) 1 King 19.11.12 13. When God appeared to Elijah he was not in the (b) 2 Tim. 2.24 great and strong Wind nor in the Earthquake nor in the Fire but in the still small Voice God doth so when he comes in the way of Mercy if otherwise 't is in Judgment and as God is Merciful Just Men are commanded to be so one to another Peragit tranquilla potestas Quod violenta nequit Saith a Latin Poet which is true therefore gentle and fair means must be try'd before you come to hard and rough ones for they effectually work upon some Tempers when the contrary do not For this Reason I would have private Men that are willing to promote the work of Reformation the more to gain upon the Spirits of Men to make use only of perswasion and leave the way of compulsion for the Magistrates whose Office is to see the Laws executed against hardned and refractory Offenders but ever to avoid base and false ways But when all is said Reformation is properly God's work who turns the hearts disposes things and Persons and blesses means in order to 't But now to our Times for we are more nearly concerned The Nation is wholly overgrown with Sin in Soul and Body we are quite overspread with that Spiritual leprosie so that with the Leper we may well cry out (a) Levit. 13.45 unclean unclean And out of God's holy Word the experience of all Ages and of our own with a witness we may know the sad effects and consequences of Sin not only on the low Shrubs but also upon the talest Cedars I can remember so may many more how within this half Century God's Thunderbolt hath thô in some different degrees lighted upon the Heads of several Countrys I can name Six nay Seven whereof (a) Charles I. one lost his life and (b) James II. his Son his Kingdom (c) Frederic III. K. of Denmark another for a while lost his Kingdom and was a long time besieged in his Capital City (d) Christina Q. of Sweden died in Rome Two others left their Crowns and Country not so willingly as they would have had (e) John Casimir K. of Poland died Abbot of St. Germain in Paris seemed to be and went to Travel and died in Foreign parts (f) Alfonso K. of Portugal a Sixth one was Transported out of his Kingdom confin'd in a Prison and his Brother raised upon his Throne All these were Christians thô of different Perswasions the Seventh (g) Mahomet IV. the present Sultan's Father Emperor of the Turks Dethroned and his Brother made his Successor God forbid I should pretend to dive into God's Secrets and assign the particular Causes of these Judgments but I may boldly say Sin was the general One for except they had been Sinners they should have been no Sufferers but let this make us all adore and tremble at those Effects of God's wise and just Providence The great (a) Psal 76.12 God is terrible to the Kings of the Earth as well as to other Men When it seems good unto him he can drive (b) Dan. 4. Nebuchadnezzar from his Throne and make his dwelling among the Beasts of the Field till he had humbled himself before him for the most High Ruleth in the Kingdom of Men and giveth it to whomsoever he will herein the Psalmist concurs with the Prophet when he saith (c) Psal 75.7 God is the Judge he pulleth down one and setteth up another He hath Angels whereof (d) 2 King 19.35 one can in one Night destroy an Hundred fourscore and five thousand Men of Sennacharib's Army and send him home to be killed by his Sons The same God who then did doth now Govern the World and his Hand is not shortned but that he can still reach his Churches Enemies yea such ones as in Cruelty and Falsness have outdone all the Nebuchadnezzars and Sennacheribs in the World and some wait to see what in God's due time will be the end of such Pharaohs and Oppressors as now are alive When God chastiseth Men and his Arrows are fast in them they may and must own themselves to be the Cause of it and and with King David say (e) Psal 38.18 I will declare mine iniquity and will be sorry for my Sin It were well to say and do so before the Judgment hath overtaken us to prevent it therefore bring forth Fruits worthy of Repentance We know the Doom of the fig Tree that bare no fruit (f) Luke 13.7 cut it down why cumbreth it the Ground For Three years he had been looking for fruit but found none God hath been waiting for fruit from some of us not only Three but Thirty years and more yet we are barren still at the desire of the dresser of the Vineyard there is a reprieve granted for a year longer lord let it alone this year also till I shall dig about it and dung it and if it bear not fruit then after that