keepe his Sabbaths Avoide all the signes of condemnation and labour after all the signes of salvation Above all things take heed of sinne for that is the very out-throat of the soule and of all goodnesse Tremble therfore and sin not for if you sin mark what followeth Six great dangers in sinne God seeth His Angels beare witnesse The Conscience pricketh Death threatneth The Divell accuseth Hell devoureth You see then that sinne is no scar-crow or jesting matter Every sinne that a man committeth is as a thorne thrust deep into the soule which will not be got out againe but with many a sigh and many a sorrowfull Oh oh Every sinne is 〈…〉 Iron â—er 17.1 and the point of a Diamond upon the conscience and shall in the last day when the Booke shall be opened accuse us and give in evidence against us Note this If a man commit sin with pleasure the pleasure posseth away but the conscience and sting of the 〈◊〉 abideth and tormenteth deadly but if a man doe well though with labour and painfulnesse the paine passeth away yet the conscience of well-doing remaineth with much comfort But the best end of sinne is alwaies repentance if not in this life then with we and was when it is doe late Therefore take heed in time take heede I say of sin for Six most hurtfull effects of sinne Sinne hardens the heart Heb. 3.13 Sin gnawes the conscience 1 Sam. 25. Sin fights against the soule 1 Pet. 1.11 Sinne brings forth death James 1.15 Sinne makes ashamed Rom. 6.21 Sin procures plagues of body and soule Deut. 28. Behold therefore the evill effects of sinne For this cause Zophar the Naâ—mathite speakes very wisely to Job saying Job 11. When thou shalt life thy face out of thy sin thou shalt be strong and shalt not feare thou shalt forget all sorrow thou shalt remember it as the waters that are past Where Zophar pleinely sheweth that the avoiding of sinne is our strength and the committing of it our woâ—â—â—ing according to that of Solomon Proâ— 2â— 1â— The way of the Lord is the strength of the upright man Therefore wâ—â—â—e in the way of God and take heede of the wayes of sinne for God punisheth every sin his way some one way and some another and no sin can escape unpunished For because God is just therefore hee must needs punish sin in all men though in divers manners as the wicked in their owne persons the godly in Christ Beware of it therefore and flatter not your selfe in your sins Remember how every disobedience and every transgression hath had a just recompence of reward Nâ—â—â— how God in all ages hath pâ—â—â—hed the breakers of his â—â—w â—â—od 32.10 God hath in all ages matched the cause with the effect that is sin with the punishment of sin The Israelites for breaking the first Commandement in making other gods were often smitten by the hand of God â—â—v 10.2 Nadab and Abibu the sons of Aaron for the breach of the second Commandement in offering strange fire upon Gods Altar were consumed with fire Numb 15. Hee that blasphemed and transgressed the third Commandement was stoned to death Num. 15.52 Hee that brake the fourth Commandement in gathering stickes on the Sabbath was likewise stoned Absalom transgressing the fift was hanged in his owne haire 2 Sam. 18. Gâ—â— 4.15 Cain transgressing the sixt in slaying his brother Abel was branded with the marke of Gods wrath Gen. 34.26 Sichem the son of Hamor transgressing the seventh in defiling Dinah the daughter of Jacob was slain by Simeon and Levi the sons of Jacob. Jos 7.25 Achan sinning against the eighth Commandement in stealing the wedge of gold and the Babylonish garment was stoned to death Ananias and Sapphira sinning against the ninth in lying and dissembling Act â—5 6 were suddenly smitten with death Ahab transgressing the tenth Commandement 1 〈◊〉 21.24 in coveting and discontentment was devoured of dogges Or if you will have originall sinne therein onely forbidden then infants are therefore punished with death Rom. 5.14 Thus wee see there is no dallying with God but if wee sin wee are as sure to be jerkt for it as the coate is on our backe Therefore let us not deceive our selves nor make light of sinne for sin is no scar-bug and wee shall one day finde it so And howsoever wee make light of some sins yet in very deed all sin is odious in the sight of God yea all sin is hainous and capitall in this respect that it is against a person of infinite being it is against God himselfe it is against the highest Majestie For the greatnesse of the person offended doth inhaunse and increase the greatnesse of the sinne As for example If a man rail at a Justice of Peace he shall be stocked if he cast at one of his Majesties privy Councell he shall be imprisoned but if hee raile at his owne Majestie hee shall be hanged So then you see how a sin is increased by the dignity of the person offended Now then sith all mortall Princes are but dust in the sight of God and hee is a person of infinite and incomparable Majestie how hainous and how slagitious a thing is it in any wise or after any sort to sin against his most royall and sacred person Well then to grow to some conclusion this I doe advise you as to shunne all vice so to embrace all vertue as to put off the old man so to put on the new man Remember often and alwaies what shall become of you after this life where you shall be forty yeers hence in Hell or Heaven Looke well to that in time and therefore to live that you may live alwaies Consider often is your serious cogitation Nine profitaâ—le consideratiions What you have been What you are What you shall be What God hath done for you What he doth What he will do Gods judgements past Gods judgements present Gods judgements to come Awake at last and take care for your salvation Sâ—â—â—s no longer in sinne lest yes perish eternally For verily there is a reward for the righteous doubtlesse there is a God that judges the earth Psal 58 1â— And this is the best counsell I can give you Asun Your counsell is very good I pray God give me grace to follow it and so to live that I may please God and go to heaven in the end Theol. You must take heede you speake not these words of course and for fashion sake having no settled purpose in your heart to follow those directions For there be numbers that can skill to give good words but they will doe nothing They thinke they highly please God with their good words and that God will take them for payment as though God regarded words They would faine goe to heaven but they will take no paines they will leave no sinnes they will not forget their lusts and pleasures They would
lusts and fleshly delights and that is the cause why you are deafe on this care I will therefore adde a word or two more out of the Oracles of God to that which hath beene spoken Pro. 6.31 〈◊〉 The wise King saith Hee that committeth adultery with women destroyeth his owne soule and so is accessâ—ry to his owne death which is no small matter For we use to say if a man hang himselfe drowne himselfe or any manner of way make away himselfe that he was cursed of God that Gods hand was heavie against him that the Divell ought him a shame and now he hath paid it him And all the countrey rings of such a strange accident when and where it falleth out and the Crowner of the countrey doth sit upon it How much more may all the world wonder at this that a man should destroy his owne soule and wittingly and willingly cast away himselfe for ever Now the holy Ghost saith The adulterer doth such an act giveth such a venture and willingly murthereth himselfe Oh therefore woe unto him that ever hee was borne for sure it is that the great Crowner of heaven that crowns whom hee will crowne shall one day sit upon it and give judgement Moreover as the adulterer sinneth against his soule so also hee sinneth against his bodie after a speciall manner 1 Cor 6.13 as witnesseth the Apostle Also hee sinneth against his goods and outward estate as the holy man Job testifieth saying Job 5â— 12 Adulterie is a fire that devoureth to destruction and it will root out all our increase Furthermore hee sinneth against his name Prov. 6.33 For the Adulterer shall finde a wound and dishonour and his reproach shall never be put away Item hee sinneth against his wife who is his companion Mâ—â—â— 14 15. and the wife of his covenant And God saith in the same place Let none trespasse against the wife of his youth keep your selves in your spirit and transgresse not Last of all hee sinneth against his children and posterity as the Lord said to David Because thou hast despised mee 2 Sâ—â— 12 1â— and done this therefore the sword shall never depart from thy house Behold I will raise up evill against thee out of thine owne house Now therefore to conclude this point wee may see how many deadly wounds men make themselves by committing of adulterie They wound themselves in their soules they wound themselves in their bodies they wound themselves in their goods they wound themselves in their names they wound themselves in their wives and in their children What man except hee were stark mad would thrust in himselfe in so many places at once The Adulterer with his one sinne of adultery maketh all these deadly wounds in himselfe and it is an hundred to one hee will never get them cured but will die and bleed to death of them Lo thus you see the dangerous quality and condition of this sin Shall wee now therefore make light of it Shall wee say It is but a trick of youth Shall wee smooth over the matter with sweet words when the holy Ghost maketh it so hainous and capitall Shall wee make nothing of that which draweth downe Gods wrath upon the soule body goods name wife and children That were an intolerable blindnesse and most extreme hardnesse of heart An ancient Writer hath long agoe passed sentence upon us Basil in Epist who make so light of this sinne for saith hee Adultery is the very hook of the Divell whereby hee draweth us to destruction And another godly Father saith Gregor that adultery is like a furnace whose mouth is gluttony the flame pride the sparkles filthy words the smoak an ill name the ashes poverty and the end shame And so wee plainly see that howsoever wee regard not this sinne but flatter our selves in it yet those whose eyes the Lord hath opened have in all ages condemned it as most flagitious and horrible yea the very Heathen wil rise up in judgment against us who have spoken and written many things against this filthy and beastly vice Phil. Now indeed you have sufficiently branded the vice of adultery and laid out the uglinesse thereof that all men may behold it stark naked and abhorre it If any man notwithstanding all this will venture upon it hee may be said to be a most desperate monster For what doth hee else but as it were put his finger into the Lions mouth and as it were take the Beare by the tooth and they may well know what will follow and what they may look for Let all men therefore in time take heed to themselves and to their own soules as they will answer it at their uttermost perill at the dreadfull day of judgement when the secrets of all hearts shall bee disclosed But now one thing resteth to wit that you should shew us the speciall roots and causes of adultery Theol. There be five speciall causes of it The first is our naturall corruption for the very spawne and seed of all sinne is our corrupt nature and this of all other is a most inherent sinne as witnesseth the Apostle James saying James 1.15 When lust hath concâ—ived it bringeth forth sinne and sin when it is perfected bringeth forth death The second is gluttony and fulnesse of bread for when men have filled their bellies and crammed their paunches as full of good cheere wine and strong drinke as their skinnes can hold what are they meete for or what minde they else but adultery and uncleannesse And therefore well saith one Great nourishment and grosse food is the shop of lust The Heathen Poet could skill to say Sine Cerere Baccho sâ—igeâ— Venus without meat and drinke lust waxeth cold And to this effect the wise King saith Prov 23 â— 35 that their eyes shall behold strange women whose hearts are set upon wine and belly cheere And therefore he adviseth all men not to looke upon the wine when it appeareth red when it sheweth his colour in the cup or stirreth very kindly and that for feare of this after-clap An ancient writer saith to the same purpose Gregoriâ—s Nâ—â—â—anâ— Hee that delicately pampereth his belly and yet would overcome the spirit of fornication is like to him that will quench a flame of fire with oyle Therefore to close up this point sure it is though men pray heare and read much and be otherwise well disposed yet except they be abstemious in diet they will bee much troubled with lust The third cause of adultery is Idlenesse for when men are lazie luskish and idle having nothing to doe they lye wide open to adultery and lust creepeth into them Some Historiographers write the Crab-fish is very desirous to eate Oysters but because shee cannot perforce open them shee watcheth her time when they open themselves unto the sun after the tide and then shee putreth in her claw and pulleth out the Oyster Even so Satan watcheth
his opportunity against us that hee may infect and breathe into us all filthy lusts and adulterous desires when wee lye open unto him by idlenesse Wisely therefore to this point saith the Greeke Poet Hesiodus Much rest nourisheth lust And another Poet saith Quaeritur Aegystus quare sit factus adulter In promptu causa est dâ—sidiosus erat Slothfull lazinesse is the cause of adultery And therefore another saith Eschew idlenesse Our 〈…〉 and cut the very sinews of lust The fourth cause of Adultery is wanton apparell which is a minstrellesse that pipes up a dance unto whoredome But of this enough before The fift and last cause of adulterie is the hope of impunity or escaping of punishment For many being blinded and hardened by Sathan think they shall never bee called to any account for it and because they can blear the eyes of men and carry this sinne so closely under a cloud that it shall never come to light they thinke all is safe and that God seeth them not And therefore Job saith Job 24.15 The eye of the adulterer waiteth for the twi-light and saith No eye shall see mee And in another place Job 23.13 How shall God know Can hee judge thorow the dark cloud But verily versly though the adulterer do never so closely and cunningly convey his sinne under a canopy yet the time will come when it shall be disclosed to his eternall shame For God will bring every work to judgement Eccl. 12.24 with every secret thought whether it be good or evill Psal 9â— For hee hath set our most secret sinnes in the sight of his countenance 1 Cor. 4. And hee will lighten the things that are hid in darknesse and make the counsels of the heart manifest For this cause Job saith Job 10. When I sinne thou watchest mee and wilt not purge me from my sin Phil. Now you have shewed us the causes of adultery I pray you shew us the remedies Theol. There be six remedies for adultery which no doubt will greatly prevail if they bâ— well practised Phil. Which be they Six remedies of adultery Theol. Labour Abstinence Temperance Prayer Restraint of our senses Shunning of womens company and all occasions whatsoever Phil. Well Sir now you have waded deepe enough in the second signe of damnation I pray you let us proceed to the third which is Covetousnesse And as you have laid naked the two former so I pray you strip this stark naked also that all men may see what an ugly monster it is and therefore hate it and abhor it Theol. I would willingly satisfie your minde but in this point I shall never doe it sufficiently For no heart can conceive nor tongue sufficiently utter the loathsomenesse of this vice For covetousnesse is the foulest fiend and blackest Divell of all the rest It is even great Beelzebub himselfe Therefore I shall never be able fully to describe it unto you but I will doe what I can to sttip and whip it stark naked And howsoever the men of this earth and blind worldlings take it to bee most sweet beautifull and amiable and therefore doe embrace it entertaine it and welcome it as though there were some happinesse in it yet I hope when I have shewed them the face thereof in a glasse even the true glasse of Gods Word they will be noe more in such love but quite oâ—t of conceit with it I will therefore hold out this glasse unto them St. Paul to Timothy brandeth this stâ—ne in the forehead and boareth it in the eares that all men may know it and avoyd it 1 Tâ—â— â— 1â— when he saith Covetousnesse is the root of all evill Our Lord Iesus also giveth us a watch-word to take heed of it saying Take heed and beware of covetousnesse 〈◊〉 12.15 As if hee should say Touth it not come not neare it it is the very breath of the Divell it is present death and the very ratsâ—bane of the soule The Apostle layeth out the great danger of this sinne and doth exceedingly grinde the face of it â—â—il 5 19. when he saith That the end of all such as mind earthly things is damnation Let all carnall worldlings and muckish minded men lay this to heart and consider well of it lest they say one day Had I wist Phil. Good Sir lay open unto us the true nature of covetousnesse and what it is that wee may more perfectly discerne it Theol. Covetousnesse is an immoderate desire of having Phil. I hope you do not think frugality thriftinesse and good husbandry to be covetousnesse Theol. Nothing lesse For they be things commanded being done in the feare of God and with a good conscience Phil. Doe you not thinke it lawfull also for men to doe their worldly businesse and to use faithfullnesse and diligence in their callings that they may pâ—ovide for themselves and their families Theol. Yes no doubt And the rather if they doe these things with calling upon God for a blessing upon the workes of their hands and use preyer and thanksgiving before and after their labour taking heed all the day long of the common corruptions of the world as swearing cursing lying dissembling deceiving greedy getting c. Phil. Wherein I pray you doth covetousnesse especially consist Theol. In the greedy desire of the mind For we may lawfully doe the workes of our calling and play the good husbands and good huswives but wee must take heed that distrustfullnesse and inward greedinesse of the world doe not catch our hearts For then wee are set on fire and utterly undone Phil. Sith covetousnesse is especially of the heart how may we know certainly when the heart is infected Theol. There be four speciall signes of the hearts infection Phil. Which be they Theol. The first is an eager and sharp set desire of getting Therefore the holy Ghost saith Pâ—oâ— â—8 Hee that hasteth to be rich shall not be unpunished Pâ—o. 20.2 And againe An heritage is hastily gotten at the beginning but the end thereof shall not be blessed Deâ—â—stâ—â—nes in Olinth 2. The heathen man also saith No man can be both justly and hastily rich The second is a pinching and niggardly keeping of our owne that is when men being able to give will hardly part with any thing though it be to never so holy and good use And when at last with much adoe for shame they give something it cometh heavily from them God wot and scantly The third is the neglect of holy duties that is when mens mindes are so taken up with the love of earthly things that they begin to slack and cool in matters of Gods worship The fourth and last is a trusting in riches and staying upon them as though our lives were maintained by them or did consist only in them which thing our Lord Iesus flatly denyeth saying Though a man have abundance Luk. 12.15 yet his life consisteth not in the things that
otherwise with a thousand oathes Antil It is the custome to sweare Theol. But a wicked and divellish custome Antil I hope Sir wee may sweare as long as we swear truly and swear by nothing but that which is good Theol. It hath beene answered before that in vain matters you may not swear at all Antil As long as wee do no worse than that I hope God will hold us excused Theol. God will not hold you excused when you break his commandements and continue so doing Antil What say you then to them that sweare wounds and bloud and such like in a bravery thinking that it setteth out their speech very well Theol. Hell gapeth for them and they shall know one day what it is to blaspheme God Antil What may wee thinke of such as sweare by Gods life Gods soule Gods body Gods heart Theol. That their case is most wofull and dangerous and I quake at the naming of them They are most horrible monstrous and outragious blasphemies enough to make the stones in the street to cracke and the clouds to fall upon our heads And wee may thinke that all the Divels in hell are in a readinesse to carry such blasphemous villaines headlong into that lake which burneth with fire and brimstone for ever Antil Do you find in Scripture that God will so severely punish swearers Theol. Yes verily For besides that which hath beene spoken before wee have diverse other examples First of Senacherib the King of Ashur who for his outragious blasphemies against the God of Heaven was in most fearfull and tragicall manner slaine by his owne sons Adramalech and Sharezor and that in the temple when hee was worshipping his Idol-god Nisroch And yet behold a more fearfull example of Gods wrath against blasphemers 2 Kin. 19.37 Wee read that an hundred thousand of the Aramites were slaine by the Israelites in one day for blaspheming God 1 King 20.29 and seven and twenty thousand being left and flying into the city of Aphek for refuge were all slaine by the fall of an huge great wall What shall I here speake how the seven sonnes of Saul the King of Israel were hanged up before the Lord in mount Gibeah for the breach of the oath made to the Gibeonites long before 1 Sâ—â— â—1 In these examples we may plainly see that the just God even in this life somtimes will be revenged of blasphemers and oath-breakers And therefore the very heathen in all ages have beene very carefull for the performing of oathes as Pharaoh King of Egypt willed Joseph to go up into the land of Canaan to bury his father according to his oath made to his father Phil. Mee thinketh these so terrible and fearfull examples of Gods vengeance against swearers and blasphemers should strike some terrour into the hearts of our blasphemers Theol. One should think so indeed if any thing could do it But alas they are so hardened in it and in all other sinne that nothing can move them except peradventure there were a law made that every swearer and blasphemer should hold his hand a quarter of an houre in boyling lead This or some such like severe law might peradventure curb them a little and make them bite in their oathes But otherwise they will never feare any thing till they are in hell fire when it will be too late to repent Phil. What may be the cause of this so often and great swearing for surely it is no inherent and inbred sin in our nature as some of the other sinnes be Theol. No verily But these three I judge to be the causes of it Custome Want of admonition Want of punishment Phil. What then are the remedies of it Theol. The remedies are these Disuse Prayer Friendly admonition Some sharpe Law Phil. Well Sir now wee have heard enough of swearing I pray you proceed to the next sign of condemnation which is lying Theol. Swearing and lying bee of very neere kindred For hee that is a common swearer is for the most part a common lyer also For hee that maketh no conscience of swearing will make no conscience of lying And as the Lord hateth the one so also he hateth the other And as he punisheth the one so will hee punish the other Therefore Solomon saith Prov. 12.23 Lying lips are an abomination unto the Lord. Rev. 21.25 St. John saith Without shall be dogges enchanters whore-mongers murtherers and whosoever loveth or maketh lyes Rev. â—1 8 Againe the same holy man of God saith The lyers shall have their part and portion in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone which is the second death Phil. These Scriptures which you alledge doe manifestly declare that God abhorreth lyers and hath reserved great torments for them Therefore the Princely Prophet David saith that hee would banish all lyers from his house Psal 101.7 He that telleth lyes saith hee shall not remain in my sight Prov. 6.16 17. A lying tongue is one of the six things which God doth hate and his soule abhorre Yet for all this we see by lamentable experience how many have even taught their tongues to lye as the Prophet saith and there is no truth in their lips Jer. 9. This vice is almost as common as swearing For it is hard to finde a man that will speake the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth from his heart in simplicitie and plainnesse at all times in all places and amongst all persons without all glozing or dissembling either for feare gaine flatterie men-pleasing hiding of faults or any sinister respect whatsoever Where I say is thâ—s man to bee found I would faine see him I would faine looke upon such a man it would doe my heart good to behold him I would rejoyce to set mine eyes upon such a man Theol. Such a man as you speake of is hardly to bee found among the sons of men They bee bâ—ack Swans in the earth they bee white Crowes they be rare birds For there bee very few that will speake the truth from their heart yet some such I hope there be But for the most part and amongst the greater sort lying dissembling and fraud doe beare all the sway There is no truth no honesty no conscience no simplicity no plaine dealing amongst men in these most corrupt times Faith and truth are parted cleane away And as the Kingly Prophet saith Psal 1â— The faithfull are failed from among the children of men They speake deceitfully every one with his neighbour flattering with their lips and speaking with a double heart Men now adayes study the art of lying flattering fawning glozing and dissembling they have a heart and a heart They have honey in their mouth and gall in their heart Their tongues are as soft as butter and oyle but their hearts are full of bitternesse poyson and worme-wood They are full of outward courtesie and civility full of Court-holy-water when there is no truth nor plainnesse in their inward
bed they lye upon They know well enough the poore men are not able to wage law with them and therefore they may doe what wrong they will and shâ—w what cruelty they list Hence come the teares of the oppressed henâ—e câ—mmeth the weeping and wailing of the poore But alas poore soules they may well weep to ease their hearts a little but there is none to comfort them remedy they can have none But yet assuredly the everlasting God doth looke upon them and will be revenged For the cries of the poore the fatherlesse and the widowes have entred into the cares of the Lord of Hosts who is an avenger of all such things yea a strong revenger as Solomon saith Pro 23.14 Enter not into the field of the fatherlesse for their revenger is strong hee himselfâ— will plead their cause against thee And againe he saith Rob not the poore Pro. 22.6 because hee is poore neither tread downe the afflâ—cted in the gate for the Lord pleadeth their cause and will spoile their soule that spoile them We see then that the most just God will â—e revenged of these unmerciful tyrants He will not alwayes put up these wrongs and injuries done to the poore In the eighth Chapter of the Prophet Amos he sweares by the excellencie of Jacob that he will never forget any of their works And againe he saith by his Prophet Jeremy Shall I not be avenged on such a nation as this Surely he will set his face against them to root them out of the earth For indeed they are not worthy to crawle upon the face of the earth or to draw breath among the sons of men It is written in the booke of Psalmes that God will set these fellowes opposite against him as a But to shoot at Psal 21.12 that hee will put them apart and the strings of his bow shall hee make ready against their faces Be astonished at this O ye heavens and tremble O thou earth Heare this O ye cruell Land-lords unmercifull oppressors and bloud-suckers of the earth You may well be called bloud-suckers for you sucke the bloud of many poore men women and children you eat it you drink it you have it served in at your sumptuous tables every day Job 24.5 you swallow it up and live by it And as Job saith The wildernesse gives you and your children food that is you live by robbing and murdering But woe woe unto you that ever you were borne For the bloud of the oppressed which ye have eaten and drunken shall one day cry for speedy vengeance against you as the bloud of Abel cryed against Cain Their bloud shall witnesse against you in the day of judgement and the teares of many poore starved children orphans and widowes shall cry out against you 1 Kin. 21. Was the Lord revenged of Ahab for his cruell and unjust dealing with poore Naboth and shall hee not be revenged of you Did the Dogs lap the bloud of Ahab and shall you escape No no you shall not escape The Lord will be a swift witnesse against you as he saith in Malachie Mal. 3. Was the Lord angry with the rich of the people for oppressing the poore so as the cry of the people and of their wives Neh. 5. against their oppressours was heard of the Almighty and do you thinke you shall escape scot-free Doth not the like cause bring forth the like effect the like sin the like punishment Know therefore for certainty that the Lord hath costers full of vengeance against you and one day he will unlocke them and bring them forth into the sight of all men Know also that the timber of your houses and the stones of your walls which you have built by oppression and bloud shall cry against you in the day of the Lords wrath as the Prophet Habakkuk telleth you Hab. 2. The stone saith hee shall cry out of the wall and the bâ—ame out of the timber shall answer it Where the Prophet telleth you that the walls of your houses built in bloud shall cry out loud and shrill and play the Choristers in that behalfe so as they shall answer one another on either side The one side singeth Behold bloud the other Behoâ—d murder The one side Behold deceit the other Behold cruelty The one Behold pilling and polling the other Behold covetousnesse The one Behold robbery the other Behold perjury And thus you see how the stones and timber of your houses shall descant upon you And howsoever you put on your brâ—zen browes and harden your hearts against these threatnings of the most terrible God and Lord of Hosts yet one day you shall spice of your hearts will ye nill yee be brought forthâ—nes judgement you shall once come to your reckoning you shall at last be apprehended convented and arraigned at the barre of Gods Tribunall seat before the great Iudge of all the world Then sentence shall passe against you even that most dreadfull sentence Goe yee cursed into hell fire Mat. 25. there to be tormented with the Divell and his Angels for ever O then woe woe unto you Mat. 16. For what shall it profit a man to winne the whole world and lose his owne soule saith our Lord Iesus Surely even as much as it one should winne a farthing and lose an hundred thousand pound For if he shall be cast into hell fire which hath not given of his owne goods righteously gotten as our Saviour avoucheth where then shall he be cast that hath stollen other mens goods And if hee shall be damned that hath not clothed the naked what shall become of him that hath made naked them that were clothed Oh therefore repent in time O yee cruell oppressors seeke the Lord while hee may be found call upon him while hee is neere lay aside your savage cruelty visit the fatherlesse and widow in their distresse deaâ—e your bread to the hungry help them to their right which suffer wrong deale mercifully with your Tenants Rack not your rents any more pinch not the poore soules for whom Christ di d pity them I say but pinch them not deale kindly and friendly with them remember your great acâ—oâ—nâ—s consider the shortnesse of your dayes and the vanity of your life rent your hearts and not your clothes Turne unto the Lord with all your heart with weeping fasting and mourning prevent Gods wrath with a sacrifice of teares pacifie his anger with the calves of your lips and with a contrite spirit be grieved for that which is past and amend that which is to come stand it out no more at the swords point against God for it will not boot you to strive he is too strong for you Your onely wisedome is to come-in Come-in therefore come-in yee rebellious generation submit your selves to the great King humble your selves under his mighty hand cast downe your swords and targets yeeld unto our God So shall you escape the vengeance to come so shall God
thy God Deuâ— 38. cursed shalt thou be in the towne cursed also in the field cursed shall be thy basket and thy store cursed shall be the fruit of thy body and the fruit of thy land and the increase of thy kine and the flocks of thy sheep Cursed shalt thou be when thou comest in and cursed also when thou goest out The Lord shall send upon thee cursing trouble and shame in all that thou settest thy hand unto Deut. 27. And further he saith That he will breake the staffe of their bread that ten women shall bake their bread in one oven and they shall deliver their bread againe by weight and they shall eat and not be satisfied You do therefore apparently see that these sins will draw down Gods wrath upon us and all that we have Phil. What hurt do these sinnes to our good name Theol. They bring reproach shame and infamy upon us and cause us to be abhorred and contemned of all good men They do utterly blot out our good name For as vertue makes men honourable and reverend so vice makes men vile and contemptible This is set downe where the Lord threatens Israel 2 Kin. 197. that for their sinnes and disobedience hee will make them a proverb and common talke yea a reproach and astonishment among all people Ezek. 5.5 In sundry other places of the Prophets hee threatens for their sins to make them a reproach a shame an hissing and nodding of the head to all Nations Phil. I do verily thus think that as sinne generally doth staine every mans good name which all are chary and tender of so especially it doth blot those which are in high places and of speciall note for learning wisedome and godlinesse Theol. You have spoken most truly and agreeable to the Scriptures For the Scripture saith E cles 10.1 As a dead Flie causeth the Apothecaries oyntment to stinke so doth a little folly him that is in estimation for wisdome and for honour Where Solomon sheweth that if a Flie get into the Apothecaries box of oyntment and die and putrifie in it shee marreth it though it be never so precious even so if a little sin geâ— into the heart and breake out in the forehead of a man of great sinne for some singular gifts it will blurre him though hee be never so excellent Phil. Shew me this I pray you more plainly Theol. Wee observe this in oll experience that if a Noble-man be a good man and have many excellent parts in him of curtesie patience humility and love of Religion yet if he be covetous the common people will have their eye altogether upon that and they will say Such a Noble-man is a very good man but for one thing hee is exceeding covetous oppresseth poore men and dealeth hardly with his Tenants keepeth no house doth little good in the Countrie where he dwelleth And this is it that marreth all Moreover let a Iudge a Iustice or a Magistrate be endued with excellent gifts of prudence policy temperance liberality and knowledge in the low yet if they be given to anger or taking of bribes oh how it will disgrace them amongst the people for they will say He is a worthy man indeed but there is one thing in him that marreth all hee is an exceeding angry and furious man hee is as angry as a waspe he will be in a pelting chase for every trifle he will fret and fume if you do but blow upon him And besides this hee is a very corrupt man he is a great taker of bribes hee loveth well to be bribed hee will do any thing for bribes Furthermore if any Preacher be a man of great gifts the common people will say of him Oh he is a worthy man indeed an excellent Scholar a profound Divine a singular man in a Pulpit but yet for all that he hath a shrewd touch which marreth all he is an exceeding proud man he is as proud as Lucifer He hath very great gifts indeed but I warrant you he knoweth it well enough For hee carrieth his crest very high and looketh very sternly and disdainfully upon all other men He is unmeasurably puft up with overweening and thinketh that he toucheth the clouds with his head Thus therefore wâ—â—re how the dead Flies marre all and how some one sinne doth disgrace a man that otherwise doth excell Phil. What is the cause why some one sin doth so blot and smut the most excellent men Theol. The reason hereof is because such men are as a candle set upon a candlesâ—icke or rather upon a scaffold or mountaine for all men to behold and looke upon And sure it is they have a thousand eyes upon them every day and that not onely gazing upon them but also prying very narrowly unto them to spy out the least mote that they may make a mountaine of it For as in a cleane white paper one little spot is soone espied but in a piece of browne paper twenty great blurs scant discerned even so in Noble-men Iudges Magistrates Iustices Preachers and Professors the least spot or speck is soone seene into but among the baser sort and most grosse livers almost nothing is espied or regarded Phil. Sith the eyes of all men are bent and fixed upon such men as are of some note therefore they had need very heedfully to look to their steps that they may take away all advantage from them that seek it Theol. Yes verily And furthermore they had need to pray with David alwaies Psal 119.13 Direct my steps O Lord in thy word and let no iniquity have dominion over mee Psal 41.12 And againe Order my goings that my foot-steps slip not uphold mee in my integrity For if such men be never so little given to swearing to lying to drinke or to women it is espied by and by and therewithall their credit is cracked their fame over-cast their glory ecclipsed and the date of their good name presently expired Phil. Now as you have shewed what great hurt these sins doe bring upon our soules bodies goods and name so also I pray you shew what danger they bring upon the whole Land Theol. Questionlesse they pull downe the wrath of God upon us all and give him just cause to break all in pieces and utterly to subvert and overthrow the good estate both of Church and Common-wealth yea to make a finall consumption and desolation of all For they be the very fire-brands of Gods wrath and as it were touch-wood to kindle his anger and indignation upon us For the Apostle saith Col. â— 6. For such things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience Phil. Declare unto us out of the Scriptures how the Lord in former times hath punished whole nations and Kingdomes for these and such like sins Theol. In the fourth of Hosea Hos 4.1 the Lord telleth his people that hee hath a controversie with the Inhabitants of the Land and the reason
is added because there was no truth nor mercy nor knowledge of God in the Land By swearing lying killing stealing and whoring they breake out and bloud toucheth bloud Therefore shall the Land mourn and every one that dwelleth therein shall be cut off Here then wee see what it is that will incense God against us and cause us all to mourne So likewise the Lord threatneth by his Prophet Amos that for the cruelty and oppression of the poore he would plague the whole Land Amos 3.8 Shall not the Land tremble for this saith the Lord and every one mourne that dwells therein Againe the Lord saith by the Prophet Jeremy Jer. 7.19 1. Doe they provoke mee to anger and not themselves to the confusion of their owne faces Therefore thus saith the Lord Behold mine anâ—â—r and my wrath shall be poured upon this place upon man and beast upon the trees of the field and upon the fruit of the ground and it shall burne and not be quenched Jer. 2â— 5 Againe the Lord saith If yee will not heare these words I sweare by my selfe saith the Lord that this house shall be waste and I will prepare destroyers against thee every one with his weapons and they shall cut downe thy chiefe Cedar-trees and cast them into the fire Likewise the Lord threatneth by his Prophet Ezekiel Ezek. 5.7 saying Because you have not walked in my Statutes nor kept my Judgements therefore behold I even I come against thee and will execute judgement in the midst of thee even in the sight of the Nations and I will doe in thee that I never did before neither will I doe any more the like because of all thine abominations For in the midst of thee the fathers shall eat their sons and the sons shall eat their fathers Againe by the same Prophet the Lord saith Ezek. 7.23 27. The Land is full of the Judgement of bloud and the Citie full of crueltie Wherefore I will bring the most wicked of the Heathen and they shall possesse their houses I will also make the pompe of the mighty to cease and the holy places shall be defiled When destruction cometh they shall seeke peace and not have it Calamity shall come upon calamity and rumour upon rumour Then shall they seek a vision of the Prophet but the Law shall perish from the Priest and counsell from the Ancient The King shall mourne and the Prince shall be clothed with desolation and the hands of the people in the Land shall be troubled I will do unto them according unto their waies and according unto their judgement I will judge them and they shall know that I am the Lord. Last of all the Lord saith by his Prophet Jeremy Heare O earth Behold Jer. 4.19 I will cause a plague to come upon this people even the fruit of their owne imaginations because they have not taken heed to my words and to my Law but cast it off Almost innumerable places to this purpose are to be found in the writings of the Prophets but theâ— may suffice to prove the maine point to wit that the just God doth punish whole nations and kingdomes for the sins and rebellions thereof Phil. Sith all these sins for the which the Lord did execute such universall punishments upon his owne people doe abound and over-flow in the Land may wee not justly feare some great plague to fall upon us And the rather because our transgressions doe increase daily and grow to a full height and ripenesse so as it seems the harvest of Gods vengeance draweth neere and approacheth Theol. We may indeed justly feare and tremble For if God spared not the Angels that sinned how shall hee spare us If he spared not his owne people what can we looke for If he spared not the naturall branches how shall hee spare us that are wilde by nature Are we better then they Can we looke to be spared when they are punished Are not our sinnes as many and as great as theirs Doth not the same cause bring forth the same effect Is the Arme of the Lord shortned Or is not God the same just God to punish sin now that hee was then Yes yes assuredly And therefore we have great cause to mourne and lament to quake and tremble because there is a naked sword of vengeance hanging over our heads Thus did Jeremy Jer. 4.19 Amos 5.6 Hab. 3.16 thus did Amos thus did Habakkuk when they plainly saw the imminent wrath of God approaching upon the people of Israel and Judah Phil. I thinke wee may the rather doubt and feare because the punishment of these fore-named vices is neglected by the Magistrate For commonly when they that beare the sword of Justice doe not draw it out to punish notorious offendors and malefactors the Lord himselfe will take the matter into his owne hands and be revenged in his owne person which is most dreadfull and dangerous For Hâ—b 10 3â— it is a fearfull thing to fall into the hands of the living God Theol. You have spoken a truth For if those which are Gods Deputies and Vicegerents in the earth doe their duties faithfully in punishing vice and maintaining vertue in smiting the wicked and favouring the godly then assuredly evill shall be taken out of Israel Gods wrath prevented and his judgements intercepted as it is written Psal 109.32 Phineas stood up and executed judgement and the plague was stayed But if they for feare favour affection gaine flatterie bribery or any other sinister respect will be too sparing and remisse in punishing of grosse offenders and be rather ready to smite the righteous then doe they exceedingly provoke Gods wrath against the Land and against themselves Phil. One thing I do greatly lament that there be either none at all or very slender censures either by the Civill or Ecclesiasticall authority for divers of these fore-named vices as pride covetousnesse oppression lying idlenesse swearing c. Theol. It is a thing to be lamented indeed For where doe we see a proud man punished a covetous man punished an oppressor punished a swearer punished a lyer punished an idle person punished Now because they know they cannot or shall not be punished therefore they are altogether hardened and imboldened in their sins as the Wise man saith Because sentence against an evill worke is not executed speedily therefore the hearts of the children of men are fully set in them to do evill Phil. One thing I doe much muse at wherein also I desire to be further satisfied viz. what is the cause that under so godly a Prince so many good lawes and so much good preaching and teaching there should notwithstanding be such an excesse and over-flowing of sin in all estates Theol. The causes hereof are divers and manifold But I will nominate foure especiall ones in my judgement The first is mans naturall corruption which is so strong as almost nothing can bridle it The second is ill presidents and
impenitent sinner the carefull and the carelesse sinner the sinner whose sins are not imputed and the sinner whose sins are imputed the sinner that shall be saved and the sinner that shall be damned For it is one thing to sin of frailty another thing to live in it dwell in it and trade in it and as the holy Ghost speaketh to suck it in as the fish sucketh water Esay 5.18 and to draw it unto us with cart-ropes and cords of vanity To conclude therefore there is as great difference betwixt a sinner and a sinner as betwixt light and darknesse For though Gods children be sinners in respect of the remnants of sin within them yet the Scriptures call them just and righteous because they are justified by Christ and sanctified by his grace and holy Spirit And for this cause it is that S. John saith Hee that is borne of God sinneth not 1 John 4.6 Antil What I pray you did you never sin Theol. Yes and what then what are you the better Antil You Preachers cannot agree amongst your selves one saith one thing and another saith another thing so that you bring the ignorant people into a mammering and they know not on which hand to take Theol. The Preachers God be thanked agree very well together in all the main grounds of Religion and principall points of salvation But if they dissent in some other matters you are to trie the spirits whether they be of God or no. You must trie all things and keep that which is good Antil How can plaine and simple men trie the spirits and doctrines of the Preachers Theol. Yes For the Apostle saith The spirituall man discerneth all things 1 Cor. 2.15 And S. John saith to the holy Christians 1 John 2.26 You have received an ointment from that holy One and know all things that is all things necessary to salvation Those therefore which have the Spirit of God can judge and discerne of doctrines whether they be of God or no. Antil I am not book-learned and therefore I cannot judge of such matters As for hearing of Sermons I have no leisure to goe to them I have somewhat else to doe Let them that are bookish and heare so many Sermons judge of such matters For I will not meddle with them they belong not unto me Theol. Yet for all that you ought to reade the Scriptures and heare the Word of God preached that you may be able to discerne betwixt truth and falshood in matters of Religion Antil Belike you thinke none can be saved without preaching and that all men stand bound to frequent Sermons but I am not of your mind in that Theol. Our Lord Iesus saith My sheep heare my voice John 10.2 And againe hee saith â—â—hn 8.47 Hee that is of God heareth Gods Word Ye therefore heare it not because yee are not of God You see therefore how Christ Iesus maketh it a speciall note of Gods children to heare his Word preached Antil But I thinke we may serve God well enough without a Preacher For Preachers are but men and what can they doe A Preacher is a good man so long as he is in the Pulpit but if hee be out of the Pulpit hee is but as another man Theol. You speak contemptuously of Gods messengers and of Gods sacred ordinance But the Apostle doth fully answer your objection saying Faith comes by hearing Rom. 10. and hearing by the Word of God and how can they heare without a Preacher In which words the Apostle tels you flatly that you caâ—â—â—ver have faith nor serve God aright without Preaching Antil When you have preached all that you can you can make the Word of God no better then it is and some put in and put out what they list The Scriptures are but mens inventions and they made the Scriptures Theol. We preach not to make the Word better but to make you better As for putting in and putting out it is a meere untruth And whereas you say The Scriptures were made by men it is blasphemy once to think it and you are worthy to receive your answer at Tiburne Antil Now I see you are hot I perceive for all your godlinesse you will be angry Theol. I take it to be no sin to be angry against sin For your sin is very great and who can beare it Antil All this while you speake much for preaching but you say nothing for prayer I think there is as much need of prayer as preaching For I find in the Scriptures Pray continually but I find not Preach continually Theol. No man denieth but that Prayer is most needfull alwaies to be joyned unto Preaching and all other holy exercises for it is the hand-maid to all But yet we preferre Preaching above it because Preaching is both the director and whet-stone of Prayer yea it steereth us aright in all spirituall actions and services whatsoever without the which we can keep no certaine course but are ever ready to erre on this hand or that Now whereas you say you find Pray continually but not Preach continually you might if you were not wilfully blind find also Preach continually For the Apostle saith to Timothy 2 Tim. 3.1 Be instant preach the Word in season and out of season that is alwaies as time and occasion shall serve Antil You extoll preaching but you say nothing for reading I beleeve you condemne reading Theol. Doth hee that highly commendeth gold condemne silver I doe ingenuously confesse that both publike and private reading of the Scriptures is very necessary and profitable and would to God it were more used then it is for it is of singular use both to encrease knowledge and judgement and also to make us more sir to heare the Word preached For such men as are altogether ignorant of the History of the Bible can heare the Word with small comfort Phil. It seemes that this man neither regards the one not the other because for ought that I can see hee cares not greatly if the Scriptures were burnt Antil Oh sirrah you speak very malapertly you may speake when you are bidden Who made you a Judge You are one of his Disciples and that maketh you to speak of his side Phil. No Sir I hope I am Christs Disciple and no mans But assuredly I cannot hold my peace at your vile cavilling and most blasphemous speeches Antil I cry you mercy Sir you seeme to be one of these Scripture-men you are of the Spirit you are so full of it that it runneth out at your nostrils Phil. You do plainly shew your self to be a scoffing Ismaelite Antil And you doe plainly shew your selfe to be one of the folk of God which know their seats in heaven Phil. I pray God be mercifull unto you and give you a better heart For I see you are in the gall of bitternesse and in the bond of iniquity Antil You thinke there is none good but such as your selfe and such as can please
4. Antil 〈◊〉 18. But how answer you this God willâ— not the death of a sinner therefore he hath predestinated none to destruction Theol. God wils not the death of a sinner simply and absolutely as it is the destruction of his creature but as it is a meanes to declare his justice and to set forth his glory Antil God did fore-see and fore-know that the wicked would perish through their owne sin but yet he did not predestinate them unto it Theol. Gods prescience and fore-knowledge cannot be separated from his decree For whatsoever God hath fore-seene and fore-known in his eternall counsell he hath determined the same shall come to passe For as it appertaines to his wisdome to fore-know and fore-see all things so doth it appertain to his power to moderate and rule all things according to his will Antil What doe you call prescience in God Theol. Prescience in God is that whereby all things abide present before his eyes so that to his eternall knowledge nothing is past nothing to come but all things are alwaies present and are they so present that they are not as conceived imaginations formes and motions but all things are alwaies so present befoâ—e God that he doth behold them 〈◊〉 their 〈◊〉 and perfection Antil How can God justly determine of mens destruction before they have sinned Theol. This objection hath been answered in part before For I told you that God condemneth none but for sin either originall onely or else both originall and actuall For howsoever he doth in himselfe before all time determine the reprobation of many yet he proceeds to no excecution till there be found in us both just desertâ— and apparent cause Therefore they deale unsoundly and foolishly which confound the decree of reprobation with damnation it selfe sith sinne is the cause of the one and only the will of God of the other Phil. Well Sir sith we are so far proceeded in this question by the occasion of this mans objections and cavile I pray you now as you have spoken much of reprobation and the causes thereof so let us heare somewhat of election and the causes thereof and shew us out of the Scriptures that God hath before all worlds chosen some to eternall life Theol. Touching the decree of election there are almost none that make any doubt thereof therefore small proofe shall serve for this point Onely I will construct it by one or two testimonies out of holy Scripture First the Apostle saith Blessed be God Ephes 1.3 even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who hath blessed us with all spirituall blessings in heavenly things in Christ as hee hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world that wee should be holy and without blame before him in love You see the words are very plaine and pregnant for this purpose Another confirmation is taken out of the eight chapter to the Romans in these words Those whom hee knew before did he also predestinate to be like to be like to the image of his owne Sonne that hee might be the first-borne of many brethren Phil. Which be the causes of election Theol. The causes of election are to be found onely in God himselfe For his eternall election dependeth neither upon man neither yet upon any thing that is in man but is purposed in himselfe and established in Christ in whom we are elected This is fully proved in these words Ephes 1.5 6. Who hath predestinated us to be adopted through Jesus Christ in himselfe according to the good pleasure of his will to the praise of his glory wherewith he hath made us freely accepted in his beloved Where we see the Apostle telleth us that his free grace and the good pleasure of his will are the first motives or moving causes of our election Phil. But the Papists fetch the first motive of election out of mans merits and fore-seen workes For say they God did fore-see who would repent beleeve and doe well and therefore he made choice of them Theol. But they are greatly deceived For I say againe and againe that there is nothing in us which did ever move God to set his love upon us and to chuse us unto life but he ever found the originall cause in himselfe as it is written Rom. 9. Hee will have mercy upon whom hee will have mercy and whom hee will hee hardneth And againe It is neither in him that willeth nor in him that runneth but in God that sheweth mercy Deut. 7.7 The Lord himselfe also testifieth that hee did chuse his people not for any respect in them but onely because he loved them and bare a speciall favour unto them 〈◊〉 then it is a certaine truth that Gods eternall predestination excludeth all merits of man and all power of his will thereby to attaine unto eternall life and that his free mercy and undeserved favour is both the beginning the midst and the end of our salvation that is to say All is of him and nothing of our selves Phil. Whether then doth faith depend upon election or election upon faith That is whether did God chuse us because we doe beleeve or whether doe we beleeve because we are chosen Theol. Out of all doubt both faith and all fruits of faith do depend upon election For therefore we beleeve because we are elected and not therefore elected because wee beleeve As it is written Act. 13.41 So many as were ordained to everlasting life beleeved Antil If men be predestinate before they be borne to what purpose serve all precepts admonitions lawes c. It sorceth not how wee live For neither our godly or ungodly life can alter the purpose of God Theol. This is a very wicked and carnall objection and sheweth a vile and dissolute mind in them that use it But I would wish such men to consider the end of election which is that we should lead a godly 〈◊〉 As it is plainly set down in the first chapter to the Ephesians ver 3. where the Apostle saith God hath chosen us before the foundation of the world But to what end that wee should live as wee list No no saith hee But that wee should be holy and unblameable before him Againe he saith Rom. 9.16 Wee are predestinate to be made like the image of his Sonne that is to be holy and righteous For most certaine it is that wee can judge nothing of predestination but by the consequents that is by our calling justification and sanctification For when once we feele the work of grace within us that is that wee are washed by the new birth and renued by the holy Ghost finding in our selves an unfeigned hatred of sinne and love of righteousnesse then are we sure and out of all doubt that we are predestinated to life And it is even as much is if God had personally appeared unto us and whispered us in the eare and told us that our names are taken and written in the
with faith in those that heard it And again Heb. â— 1â— They could not enter in because of unbeliefe Here we sâ—e that unbeliefe did bar out the old people from entring into the Land of Promise which was a figure of Gods eternall Kingdome And sure it is that the same unbeliefe doth barre out thousands of us For many will beleeve nothing but their owne fantasies They will not beleeve the Word of God especially when it is contrary to their lusts and likings profits and pleasures Though things be manifestly proved to their faces and both the Chapter and the Verse shewed them yet will they not beleeve or though they say they beleeve yet will they never goe about the practice of any thing but reply against God in all their actions And for the most part when God saith one thing they will say another when God saith yee they will say nay and so give God the lye Some againe will say If all be true that the Preachers say then God help us Thus you see how infidelity doth bar men out of Heaven and cast them into Hell Phil. Let us heare of the second gate which is Presumption of Gods mercy Theol. This is set downe in the 29. Chapter of Deuteronomie where the Lord saith thus When a man heareth the words of this curse and yet flattereth himselfe in his heart saying I shall have peace although I walke according to the stubbornnesse of mine owne heart thus adding drunkenness to thirst that is one sinne to anotâ—er the Lord will not be mercifull unto him but the wrath of the Lord and his jealousie shall smoake against that man and every curse that is written in this booke shall light upon him and the Lord shall put out his name from under Heaven Here we see how the mighty God doth thunder downe upon such as goe-on in their sins presuming of his mercie and saying in their hearts If I may have but a Lord have mercy upon mee three houres before death I care not But it is just with God when these three houres come to shut them up in blindnesse and hardnesse of heart as a just plagne for their presumption Therefore the Prophet David seeing the grievousnesse of this sinne prayeth to be delivered from it Psal 19. Keep me O Lord saith he from presumptuous sins let them not reigne over mee Let all men therefore take hood of presumptuous sins For though God be full of mercy yet will hee shew no mercy to them that presume of his mercy But they shall once know to their cost that justice goeth from him as well as mercy Phil. Let us come to the third gate which is the Example of the multitude Theol. This is proved in the 23. of Exodus verse 22. where the Lord saith flatly Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evill In another place the Lord saith Levit. 18.3 After the doing of the Land of Egypt wherein ye dwelt shall ye not doe and after the manner of the Land of Canaan whither I will bring you shall ye not doe neither walke in their ordinances Against this Law did the children of Israel offend when they said in the stubbornnesse of their heart to the Prophet Jeremie The word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of the Lord wee will not heare but we will do whatsoever goeth out of our mouth and we will do as we have done both we and our Fathers our Kings and our Princes in the Cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem Jer. 44.16 Note here how they doe altogether refuse the Word of the Lord and how they follow the example of the multitude Wee see in these our dayes by lamentable experience how thousands are violently carried downe the stream and for defence of it some will say Do as the most men do and the fewest will speak ill of you Which is a very wicked speech For if we will follow the course of the most we shall have the reward of the most which is eternall perdition Let us therefore take heed of bending with the sway for the sway of the world doth weigh down all things that can be spoken out of the Word of God and openeth a very wide passage into hell Phil. Proceed to the fourth gate into hell which is the Long custome of sinne Theol. This is noted by the Prophet Jeremy to be a very dangerous thing For hee saith Jer. 13.23 Can the Black moore change his skin or the Leopard his spots Then may yee also doe good which are accustomed to doe evill Noting thereby that it is as hard a matter to leave an old custome of sinne as to wash a Black-moore white or to change the spots of a Leopard which because they are naturall is most impossible So when men through custome have made swearing lying adultery and drunkennesse as it were naturall unto them oh how hard it is to leave them For custome maketh another nature and taketh away all sense and feeling of sin Phil. Let us heare of the fifth gate which is the Long escaping of punishment Theol. This is avouched by the Wise man in these words Ecclâ—s 8.11 Because sentence against an evill worke is not executed speedily therefore the hearts of the children of men are set in them to doe evill Where hee sheweth that one cause why men are so hardened in their sinnes is because God winketh at them and letteth them alone not punishing them immediatly after they have sinned For if God should forthwith strike downe one and raine fire and brimstone upon another and cause the earth to swallow up a third then men would feare indeed But it hath beene shewed before that God taketh not that course but though he meet with some in this life yet he lets thousands escape and that makes them more bold thinking they shall never come to their answer even as an old theefe which hath a long time escaped both prison and gallowes thinkes he shall alwaies so escape and therefore goeth boldly on in his thefts But let men take heed For as the Proverb saith Though the Pitcher goeth long to the Well yet at last it cometh broken home So though men escape long yet they shall not escape alwaies for there will come a day of reckoning a day that will pay it home for all Thus you see how impunity leadeth numbers to destruction that is when men are let alone and neither smitten by the hand of God nor punished by the Law of the Magistrate Phil. Let us come to the sixth gate which is the Hope of long life Theol. This is affirmed by our Lord Iesus concerning that rich worldling who when hee felt the world come in upon him with full streame said he would pull dâ—wne his barnes and build greater and say to his soule Soule thou hast much goods laid up for many yeares Luke 12.19 live at ease eat drinke and take thy pastime But our Saviour calleth him
he is heavie-hearted and troubled in his mind How doe you Asunetus how doe you feele your selfe Me thinkes you are very sad Asun I am the better for you Sir I thanke God I never knew what sinne meant till this day It hath pleased God now to give mee some sight and feeling thereof I am greatly distressed in my conscience to thinke what I have been The remembrance of my former sinnes doe strike an horrour into mee When I consider how ignorantly and profanely and how farre off from GOD I have lived all my life it stings and gripes mee to the heart I doe now see that which I never saw and feele that which I never felt I doe plainly see that if I had died in that state wherein I have lived all my life I should certainly have been condemned and should have perished for ever in my sinne and ignorance Theol. I am very glad that God hath opened your eyes and given you the sight and feeling of your misery which indeed is the very first step to eternall life It is a great favour and speciall mercy of God towards you that hee hath so touched your heart you can never be thankfull enough for it It is more then if you had a million of gold given you It is the onely rare priviledge of Gods elect to have the eyes of their soules opened that they may see into heavenly and spirituall things As for the world it is just with God to leave them in their blindnesse Asun I doe feele the burthen of my sinnes I am greatly grieved for them I am weary of them I am sorry that ever I sinned against God or that I should be such a wretch as to incurre his displeasure and provoke his Majestie against mee But I pray you good Master Theologus such you are a spirituall Physician and I am sick of sinne that you would minister unto me out of Gods Word some spirituall physicke and comfort Theol. Truly I must needs thinke that the promises of mercy and forgivenesse of sinne made in the Gospel doe belong unto you and that Iesus Christ is yours that you are truly interessed in him and have a proper right unto him For hee came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance You doe now feele your selfe to be a sinner you are grieved for your sins you are weary of them therefore Iesus Christ is for you all the benefits of his passion belong to you Mat. 9.12 Againe he saith The whole need not the Physician but they that are sicke But you doe acknowledge your selfe to be sick of sinne therefore Iesus Christ will be your Physician he will swaddle you he will lap you hee will bind up all your sores hee will heale all your wounds hee will anoint them with the oyle of his mercy hee will smile upon you and shew you a joyfull countenance hee will say unto you Your sins are forgiven In him you shall have rest and peace to your soule Through him you shall have ease and comfort For hee takes pitie of all such as mourne for their sinnes as you doe Hee biddeth you and all that are in your case to come unto him Mat. 11.28 and hee will helpe you Come unto me saith hee all yee that are weary and heavie laden and I will ease you You are one of them that are bidden to come for you are weary of your sinnes you feele the burthen of them Christ is altogether for such as you are Hee regardeth not the world that is the profane and unregenerate men Hee bids not them come hee prayeth not for them Joh. 18. â— I pray not for the world saith hee They have no part nor interest in him They have nothing to doe with him or with his merits and righteousnesse Hee is onely for the penitent sinner and such as mourne for their sinnes He is a Pillow of Down to all aking heads and aking consciences Be of good comfort therefore feare nothing for assuredly Christ and all his righteousnesse is yours He will clothe you with it Hee will never impute your sins unto you or lay any of them to your charge though they be never so many or so great hee will forget them and forgive them as hee saith by the Prophet Esay â—â—ay 1 1â— Though your sins were as crâ—mson they shall be made as white as snow though they were red like scarlet they shall be as wooll And againe he saith by the same Prophet â—â—ay 4 2â— I have put away thy transgressions as thicke as clouds and thy sinnes as a mist By another Prophet he saith Micah 7.19 Hee will lay aside our iniquities and cast all our sinnes into the bottome of the sea Againe he saith by the Prophet Esay Esay 43.25 I even I am he that put away thine iniquities for my owne sake and will not remember thy sinnes And yet more sweetly hee speakes to us by the Prophet Jeremy Jer. 3 12. saying Turne againe unto mee and I will not let my wrath fall upon you For I am mercifull and will not alway keep mine anger And againe by the Prophet Hosea hee saith Hos 11.6 I will not execute the fiercenesse of my wrath I will not return to destroy Ephraim for I am GOD and not man Be of good cheere therefore comfort your selfe with these promises you have cause to rejoyce seeing GOD hath wrought in you a dislike and a griefe for your sins which is a certaine token that your sins shall never hurt you for sinnes past cannot hurt us if sinnes present doe not like us You are growne to an hatred and dislike of your sins you mourne under the burthen of them therefore you are blessed For blessed are they that mourne Why therefore should you be so heavie and sad Remember what Saint John saith If any man sinne 1 Joh 1. we have an Advocate Jesus Christ the righteous and he is the reconciliation for our sinnes Saint Paul saith Rom. 3.13 that Jesus Christ is set forth to be a reconciliation through faith in his bloud Againe the holy Ghost saith Heb. â— 1â— Hee is perfectly able to save all those that come unto God by him seeing hee ever liveth to make intercession for us The Apostle saith Hee is made of GOD for us 1 Cor 1 3â— wisedome righteousnesse sanctification and redemption Marke that hee saith All is for us all his for his Church for every member of his Church and therefore for you Christ is made of God righteousnesse sanctification and redemption for you Christ is your Mediator and your high Priest and hath offered up the everlasting sacrifice even for you that he might pay your ransome and redeem you from all iniquity Heb. 9 1â— By his owne bloud hath hee entred once into the holy place and obtained eternall redemption for you Christ is not entred into the holy places which are made with hands which are similitudes of
fill you full of joy and peace in beleeveing that you may abound in hope through the power of the holy Ghost Antil The Sunne drawes low Asunetus it is time for you and mee to be going Phil. Indeed the night will approach by and by and therefore we must of necessity break off Theol. Sith it is so wee will here surcease and go no further Asun Sir I will now take my leave of you I can never be thankfull enough for all the good instructions and comforts which I have heard from you this day I hope I shall remember some of them whilest I live I do therefore praise God for you and for your counsell and for this day which I hope shall be the first day of my repentance and true conversion unto God Theol. The Lord for his infinite mercies sake grant it And I most humbly beseech the Almighty God to establish you with his free spirit that you may proceed and go forward in a Christian course unto the end Phil. I pray you good M. Theologus pardon my boldnesse for you see I have been very bold to propound many questions unto you wherein you have fully satisfied me to the great joy and comfort of my soule I do therefore praise God for you and I hope I shall never forget some things you have uttered But I will now commend you to God and to the word of his grace which is able to build us further Theol. Farewell good Philagathus The Lord blesse you and keepe you in all your wayes and the God of heaven preserve us all and continue us in his feare unto the end All glory be given to God A Table containing all the principall matters handled in this Booke and directing to the Page where they are set down MAns naturall corruption pag. 5 Mans misery in nature pag. 6 Mans nature corrupted but not destroyed by Adams fall ibid. Some sparks of Gods image still remain after the fall pag. 7 Man in the state of nature cannot do any thing that pleaseth God pag. 8 Man naturally neither sees nor feeles his misery ibid. Man in nature is under the tyrannie of Satan and curse of the Law pag. 10 Man growne to yeeres living and dying in the state of nature perisheth for ever pag. 12 Man continueth cursed till he be borne againe ibid. None can be saved but onely the Regenerate ibid. Regeneration what pag. 13 The quality of Regeneration pag. 14 Remnants of sin after Regeneration ibid. Regeneration unperfect in this life pag. 15 Meanes of Regeneration pag. 24 Eight infallible signes of salvation pag. 30 Eight signes of damnation pag. 31 Nine manifest tokens of damnation ib. Pride described pag. 33 Pride of gifts condemned pag. 35 Pride in apparell condemned pag. 42 Rules of the Word for apparel pag. 52 53 54 Whoredome and the dangers thereof pag. 58 Excuses of whoredome pag. 59 The fearfull effects of whoredome pag. 60 The punishment of whoredome pag. 61 62 The causes of whoredome pag. 65 66 Remedies against whoredome pag. 69 Covetousnesse what pag. 70 Covetousnesse wherein it doth consist ibid. Foure notes to discerne the inward covetousnesse of the heart by pag. 72 The evill effects of covetousnesse pag. 74 The vanity of this world and all worldly things pag. 77 Excuses of covetousnesse pag. 94 Remedies against covetousness pag. 101 102 Gods providence for his children in the things of this life pag. 103 For the things of this life Gods blessing is all in all pag. 119 Outward meanes alone doe not uphold us pag. 120 Gods children sometimes are brought to great distresse pag. 123 Gods children alwaies sure to be delivered out of trouble pag. 128 The great priviledges of Gods children pag. 129 Contempt of the Gospel a grievous sin pag. 135 136 Contempt of the Gospel punished pag. 137 Contempt of the Gospel the sin of this Age. pag. 138 Contempt of the Gospel a sure signe of wrath to the Land pag. 147 Swearing and the punishment thereof pag. 154 Excuses for swearing pag. 163 Causes of swearing pag. 166 Remedies against swearing pag. 167 Lying flattering and dissembling ibid. Punishments for lying pag. 175 176 Excuses for lying pag. 177 Causes of lying pag. 178 179 Remedies against lying ibid. Drunkennesse and the evil effects thereof pag. 110 181 Excuses of drunkennesse pag. 184 Causes of drunkennesse pag. 185 Remedies of drunkennesse ibid. Idlenesse and the wofull effects thereof pag. 190 Causes of idlenesse pag. 197 Remedies against idlenesse ibid. Oppression a most horrible sin pag. 198 Many woes denounced against oppressours pag. 199 Sundry kinds of oppression pag. 200 201 Causes of oppression pag. 215 Remedies of oppression ibid. Sinne hurts men in their bodies goods and name pag. 216 Sinne brings great danger to the whole Land pag. 224 Nine predictions of wrath to the Land pag. 229 The prayers and teares of the faithfull keep back the wrath of God from the Land pag. 322 323 Prayers of the Elect of great force ibid. The wicked fare the better for Gods children pag. 242 The best course to prevent Gods judgements and to keep backe his wrath from our Land pag. 244 Ten speciall things concerning the continuance of our peace pag. 250 251 Nine signes of a sound soule pag. 252 Saint Peters eight markes of salvation ibid. Seven infallible tokens of salvation pag. 253 Assurance of salvation in this life proved pag. 254 255 Objections against the assurance of salvation answered pag. 259 The ground-worke of our salvation pag. 261 Some doubts may stand with the assurance of faith pag. 262 It is no presumption to be perswaded of our salvation pag. 265 The wicked cannot be assured of their salvation pag. 266 The security of salvation which the wicked brag of is vaine pag. 267 268 Nine things required of all that shall be saved by Christ pag. 271 272 Many say they hope to be saved by Christ but few can give a reason why Christ died for them particularly and by name pag. 273 Few shall be saved proved by Scriptures reasons and examples pag. 277 278 But few even in the visible Church shall be saved pag. 284 Objections against the small number of the Elect answered pag. 285 Objections of Atheists and unbeleevers answered pag. 286 Reading of the Scriptures much commended pag. 294 Deferring of repenting dangerous pag. 299 God no Authour of mans condemnation but himselfe pag. 300 Objections against Predestination answered pag. 301 302 Gods decree no cause of Adams fall pag. 305 The decree of reprobation proved pag. 306 Prescience in God what pag. 307 The decree of election proved pag. 308 The first motive of election is in God himselfe pag. 309 Fore-seen faith and fore-seen workes no motives of salvation ibid. Faith dependeth upon election not election upon faith pag. 311 A reason yeelded why there is no end of cavilling and objecting against the truth pag. 315 Nine bars out of heaven pag. 316 Nine gates into hell ibid. The ignorance of the world pag. 32â—