preuent this imminent distres which was euen at their shore ready to assault them is swiftly to saile away in the waters of repentance euerie man to betake himselfe to his oares of true contrition and inuocation vnto God to labour painefully in the sea of their sinful hearts though they be well washed drenched with the waues thereof for their owne safetie and preseruation Wash thine hart from wickednes Ve Deus te in fauorem recipiat That thou mayest be saued In the handling of which I will first speake of the sence of the words secondly of the vse For the first the word in the originall signifieth Salutem opena opitulationem A versu quinto either safetie helpe or aide and here it may fitly beare a double sence first by the relation of matter going before for in the former part of this Chapter many iudgements are exemplified by many figures to come vpon Ierusalem by Nabuchadnezzar and the Chaldeans who shoulde cut them downe with the sword lay their land waste Now this being so the Prophet stirs vp Ierusalem to repentance that she may be saued that is to say In this common calamity and iudgement which is to fall yet that she may be secure and safe from the touch thereof and bee restored to the fauour of God and therefore that the faithfull among them should not despaire but rather lift vp their heads and cheare themselues with a hope of safety in time of danger as also to crosse the crooked generation of hypocrites shewing that there is no way to appease Gods wrath by any shiftes but by true conuersion which must beginne at the hart Or thus Repent that thou mayest bee saued in the day of iudgement by the redemptiō of Christ because without repentance there is no saluatiō And so for the sence The vse followes vse 1 In time of daunger or of prosperity or whensoeuer is any thing sweeter vnto vs then our life or more precious then the breath of our owne nostrils Why sayes the Deuill when hee enformed against Iob Iob. 2.4 Skinne for skinne and all that euer a man hath he will giue for his life Be it a life of sorrow miserie and vexation yet naturally wee loue it better then death Tanti est contemplatio coeli lucis ipsius c. So wee may beholde heauen and the light thereof in our owne estimation it is so much worth that we are content to endure any miserie for it I will appeale to no other witnesses at this time then to the Gibeonites Iosuah 9.24 who did that which they did and became slaues to the hoast of Israel For feare of their liues they were content to endure any slauerie and bondage so as they might escape with life And therefore that action of Cleombrotus may seeme strange that reading Platoes discourse of the immortalitie of the soule fell from the top of an high wall of purpose to breake his neck the sooner to attaine to immortalitie Howsoeuer this action of his as one sayes was Potius magnè factum quà m bene factum a great act rather then a good acte It seemed likewise that Achaemenides the vnfortunate companion of Vlisses Comes infoelicis Vlissis Virgil. Spargite me fluctus vastoque immergite ponte 1. King 19. little regarded the benefite of life and thought it rather a glorie to die so it might bee manibus hominum in some manlike manner And that of Elias in the sacred volume sauoreth much to this purpose It sufficeth Lord take away my soule from me let me not liue any longer to bee eye-witnesse of that miserie that Iezabel hath thretned vnto me Well howsoeuer to let them passe that are so weary of their dearest friend sure it is euerie thing in nature desireth being from the greatest to the smallest and this great benefite repentance brings with it life in the middest of death safetie in time of calamitie preseruation against iudgements deliuerance in time of danger O Ierusalem if when Nabuchadnezzar shall come as a fierce Lion from his den the Chaldeans as cruell Tygers to deuoure thee when mine indignation shall be thy portion to drinke and whē destruction vpon destruction shall befall for the execution of my vengeance yet if thou wilt be saued when others must be destroyed here 's thy remedie Wash thine heart from wickednes So you see the Prophet reasoneth with them a fructu poenitentiae from the benefites arising from repentance To giue you the taste of it in a word If the seas which are as a girdle to this Iland enuironing and encompassing the same about were at our command or that the Lord should put the raines and gouernment of the mightie waters into our handes that wee might rule them as wee list for the subuersion of our enemies or that our land were walled with brasse and strengthened with the strongest defence against our Nabuchadnezzar of Spaine and our enemies the Caldeans Yet would not all this make so much for our safetie as if we had repentance in our hearts a speciall antidote against any iudgement In deed we feare the forces of our forraine foes and we may iustly but our greatest enemies are our home-bredde sinnes We stand quiuering and shaking vnder the rod of his Iudgement the feare whereof hath so possessed vs that we runne hither and thither and are almost at our wits end as if there were no God to goe before the shields of Israel What is the cause hereof Alas our guilty consciences doe accuse vs and we can not but confesse howe iust our destruction is For were wee penitent sinners and at peace and reconciliation with God we should not neede to feare what man can doe vnto vs but till sinne be remoued out of our hearts and our iniquities as rebels cast out of our soules vntill wee become penitent for the manifest manifold transgressions of our liues alas we must yet liue in feare of the Spaniard neyther may we feare Spayne alone but euen the heauens and the starres in the heauens to sight against vs Iudg. 5. as they fought against Sisera the earth and the creatures on the earth to plot out our subuersion for the Lord will vse them as his men of warre against vs and make them at vtter defiance with vs. Nay wee may feare our hands which we account as our dearest friends for he can make them as the hands of Saul I. Samu. 31.4 euen instruments of our owne confusion If therefore wee will haue peace in our land betwixt Spayne and vs wee must labour for peace in our consciences betwixt God and vs. If we would haue Gods Iudgements remoued from vs wee must labour to remooue our sinnes which are the cause of them and then will the Lord passe his word vnto vs that wee shall bee saued Prou. 16 17. To depart from euill saith Salomon is a fortresse and a bulwarke to preserue the righteous from Iudgements If the whole
his Prophets hath vsed exhortations euen without number to disswade them from the cause of Gods iudgements that is from sinne disobedience and transgression Especially from the beginning of this Prophesie Ieremie hath beene very earnest as in the third Chapter the Lord condemneth Israel for an harlot Lift vp thine eyes Oh Israel vnto the high places see and behold if thou hast not playd the harlot c. Thou hast sitten wayting for them in the wayes as the Arabian in the wildernesse yea the land is polluted with thy whoredomes and abominations yet when Israel had done all this God sayde Turne vnto mee notwithstanding shee returned not as her rebellious sister Iudah saw Againe in the fourteenth verse O ye disobedient children turne vnto me and I will take you one of a Citie and 2. of a tribe and wil bring you into Sion and I will giue you pastors according to mine owne heart that shall feed you with wisedome and vnderstanding The like in the 22. verse and in many other places the Lord seemes to bee mooued with a pitifull compassion and commiseration ouer his owne people their case was pitifull in his sight and their carelesse regard wrought sorrow in his heart when he saw that howsoeuer he was prouident for their saluation yet were they verie forward in their owne destruction and the more carefull he he was for their conuersion the lesse respect had they to his admonition Indeede true it is an auncient father sayth The wicked alacrius currunt ad mortem quà m nos ad vitam they runne farre faster in the way to condemnation then the godly doe in the way to saluation as the Psalmist notes them for their haste when hee describes the vngodly as if they had wings on their heeles Their feete are swift to shed bloud Ps 145. Yet the Lord who as Dauid sayth is merciful gracious long-suffering and of great goodnes laboureth to draw them home his heart breakes within him and his bowels yearne with griefe when he sees Ierusalem that is to say his own people how wilful they are in their owne destruction As I liue sayth the Lord I will not the death of a sinner As if he should say The fault is not mine when sinners drinke the dregges of iniquitie when the scourge of my iudgements fasten vpon them for I haue no pleasure to see the workmanship of mine owne hands perish in confusion As I liue as I liue sayth the Lord I will not the death of a sinner Marcellus Valerius after his souldiers had conquered Syracusa not without the great slaughter of many was so cōpassionate ouer them that he went vp to the highest towre in the Castle and with teares lamēted the ruine ouerthrow therof Plutarch speaks of one Pollio a Romane who hauing inuited the Emperor Augustus to a feast would haue thrown his seruāt into a deep poole in his rage for a smal matter The Emperor beholding his angrie spirit controlde him with these words Homo cuiuscunque conditionis c. A man of what state or condition soeuer he bee if there were no other cause but because hee is a man is more to bee valued and esteemed then all the gold and siluer in the world Well whatsoeuer may bee sayd of Marcellus for his clemencie ouer those whom hee had slain or of the milde and humane spirit of the Emperour Augustus iudging it to be very noble and honourable yet is there no comparison to bee made betwixt him and the Emperour of heauen and earth euen the God of the whole world who as the Prophet sayth is mercifull gracious long-suffering and of great goodnes For if Mercie were not before him and Grace behind him if long-suffering stood not at his right hand and great goodnes at his left if these Peacemakers as I may cal them being qualities in his nature did not mightily preuaile with him why so great is our sinne that the world could not stand but had long ere this time perished like Sodome and had beene destroyed as was Gomorrah Therefore would you know what vpholds the frame and structure of the world why it is Mercy would you know what vpholds the good estate of Israel of our land His Mercy would you know what continues the dayes of our ancient mother in Israel our gracious Soueraigne that as yet we cannot say of her as was sayd of Moses Deut. 34.7 that her eyes haue waxed dimme in her head or her natural force abated but stil flourisheth as the Palme tree and groweth vp as a Cedar in Lebanon t is Mercy In a word you know the cause of the Gospels continuance amongst vs that yet with freedome we may heare the sound of it in our Temples and with peace behold the open faces of Gods Prophets which bring vnto vs the gladde tidings of saluation why wee enioy other blessings and benefits in the land and are not taken away from vs by the violence and rapine of forraine strangers it is his Mercy his Grace his long suffering his great goodnes that hee bare to thee O Ierusalem euen to vs his owne people Mat. 23 37. our Sauior Christ doth there challenge Ierusalem for great crueltie that hee had sent Prophets but she had slaine them and Apostles but she had stoned them O Ierusalem Ierusalem thou that killest the Prophets and stonest them which haue beene sent vnto thee how often would I haue gathered thee together euen as the hen gathereth her chickens vnder her wings but yee would not The hen was not more tender ouer her yong ones thē I was ouer you sayth the Lord and my loue and kindnes and louing kindnes was not once or twice but often Neither would I haue committed the trust of you to any other but my selfe would haue gathered you together What loue and kindnesse could I more shew but you would not I would O Ierusalem but thou wouldst not How often beloued hath the Lord wooed vs on this maner how oftē hath the heauenly trumpet of his mercie sounded in our eares howe often hath the sweete showres of his mercie fallen vpon our heads euen as aboundantly as the Quailes vpon the Israelites If you should denie it I would aske the starres in the heauens the beasts of the earth the foules of the ayre and the fishes of the sea and all these would witnesse with me How often hath the Lord cried vnto you in effect Yarmouth Yarmouth thou that swellest in the vanitie of thy conceit that sayst with Laodicea Reu. 3. I am rich increased with goods and haue neede of nothing and therefore pride and enuie striue which shall get the vpper hand as the vnruly waues of the sea encoūter one another wickednesse walkes vp and downe among you without controlment and iniquitie runs full sea in the channels of thy streets and the course thereof cannot be stayed Sodome and Gomorrah lie not in the dust for greater abominations then are daily committed thou Yarmouth
sins in the day of Iudgement shall find hee hath too many and let vs weigh the Lords cause in our owne ballance that as we thinke we may iustly complaine when the weight and burden of his iudgementes are vpon vs so let vs thinke the Lordes complaint equall when the weight and burthen of our sinne is vpon him Esay 1.14 Vse 2 Secondly this How long is like Cynthius to pull vs by the eare and admonish vs how we spend our time for God wil haue a reckning of euery idle houre that we spend therfore it should teach vs to walke circumspectly as the Apostle speaks Eph. 5.15 redeeming the time that what time soeuer heretofore hath beene ill spent wee may haue an eye to the time to come that it may be well spent for we know not whether we haue fortie dayes respit allotted vnto vs as the Niniuites had but sure an happy thing is it for him that hath time place for repentance and wofull will it be when the whole course of our life is spent in vanitie and profanenesse and in the ende and vpshotte thereof the Angell of God shall answere vs Time shall bee no more Esau had a time when hee might haue repented but being ouerslipt he had no place for repentance Heb. 12.17 though he sought the blessing with teares These times are not allotted for the bodie but for the soule Rom. 13.11 And now is the time not of pleasure or delight but of saluation if euer we will haue it Therefore let tempus vitae be tempus poenitentiae let the time of our life bee the time of our repentance So much for the circumstance of time How long Now it followes How long shall thy wicked thoughtes remaine within thee HE the hath plāted the eare doth not he heare he the hath created the eye doeth not he see the thoughts of the heart Man can but iudge of actions and outward appearances onely but the Lord knoweth the heart Penetrat Deus vsque ad ine timos recessus cordium Psa 139 15. There is nothing hidden from God eyther in heauen or earth or within the reynes and hearts of our bodies or of the lowest destruction but he seeth it with eyes ten thousand times brighter then the Sunne My bones are not hid from thee sayth Dauid though I was made in a secret place and fashioned beneath in the earth And in the 94. Verse 7 Psalme speaking howe the wicked smote the Lords people and troubled his inheritance slewe the widdowe and murthered the fatherlesse it went to his heart to heare them say Non respicit Iah The Lord shall not see it As if their wickednesse could shrowd it selfe from the all-seeing eye of his eternall Deity They are not onely our actions and words that are apparent vnto the Almightie Thoughts but the thoughts of our heart whether they be good or euill Thus the LORD sawe Ierusalems thoughts Wicked and he beheld them wicked according to that of the Prophet The Lord knoweth the thoughts of men Psal 94. that they are but vayne or vanitie it selfe Verse 11 Quod ipsae sunt vanitas traiectio And Gen. 6.5 The Lord sawe the imaginations of the thoughts of mans heart euill The thoughts of the heart are like vnto a gadding seruant whē he should employ him selfe to his masters busines at home he runneth and rangeth after his own pleasure so when our thoughts should bee attendant to the heart for the seruice of God they are here and there and abroad after their owne vanities nay many marre them Cogitationes vanitatis sic Cal. super ter as foolish parents doe their wanton children by too much cockering and fauouring of them and by giuing them too much liberty without restraint but suffer them to followe their owne lusts winding themselues so much into fauour with vs that they preuayle so far as from an vnchaste imagination the body is carried into an vnchaste action and from a proud an angry thought comes forth many times a blasphemous othe yea they will vrge and presse vs onward vnto euill wee can no sooner shake off a wicked thought but with the Egyptian flye it will light vpon vs againe Genes 6.14 Therefore as God commanded Noah to pitch the Arke within without that no water should get in so shoulde wee pitch the arkes of our soules that no violent and disordered thoughtes might rush in to oppresse vs or as wee hedge our vineyardes from wilde beastes so shoulde we hedge our heartes with the graces of the Spirite from vnruly and vntamed affections not to giue them the least ground of aduantage but to obserue that heauenly principle of an heathen Poet Principiis obsta Withstand beginnings because they may bee compared to Panthers who haue sweete smelles but deuouring mindes and the conceite of a wicked thought may seeme pleasing and delightsome but in the ende it deuoures like a two edged sworde Captains Mat. 8.9 Wee should bee masters of our thoughts as the Centurion was ouer his seruantes that when wee say to a wicked thought Goe it should depart and when to a good thought Come wee should then embrace it But if with deceyte Ios 9.23 like the Gibeonites they get themselues within vs and like hypocrites fayne themselues otherwise then they are let vs with the hoste of Israel set them to hew wood and to draw water employ them to the seruilest and basest duties or rather slay them out of hand lest the Lord slay vs for they be not the actions or words onely of the oppressour adulterer or proud man that shall be punished but he will scatter the proud or any other whatsoeuer in the imaginations of their hearts Cogitationibus cordis ipsorum Luk. 1.51 for our thoughts wee must come to Iudgement Well the Lord heere deales with Ierusalem as a Physicion with his patients who prescribes such a medicine for their maladies that hee would not any corruption should bee left behind whereby they might either seeme lothsome vnto him or deceyue themselues with a vayne hope of securitie when there is no such matter For what though the whole world had iudged well of Ierusalē or though by any outward ceremonies they had seem'd conformable if still the thoughts of iniquitie had * Pernoctare hospitari murmurare sic enim hebraice significat lingred in their wicked hearts which would haue bene as an inward corruption festering in a woūd and in the end haue brought greater miserie vpon them Instru ∣ ction 1 Where note that when we see any Iudgement ready to fall vpon vs in the matter of our repentance wee must deale with simplicitie and not to dreame of any shift or vayne excuse to beare vs out against any Iudgemēt whatsoeuer we may doe with men yet must we deale in singlenesse of heart with the Lord for there is neyther thought any shift excuse or
credite with the Lord and countenanced of him as the Empresse of the world her glorie is here threatned to bee layd in the dust Gē 11.2 Let Nimrod and his companie build a Citie whose towres and turrets may reach vp into heauen yet shall Babel bee Babel the thing it selfe shall bee the confusion thereof The whore of Babylon may aduaunce her selfe in pleasures Reu. 18.8 and in the pride of her heart say she sits as a Queene and shal see no mourning yet shall her plagues come at one day death sorrow and famine and shee shall bee burnt with fire for strong is the Lord God which will condemne her Reu. 18.8 Therfore if we assure our selues of the continuance of Gods fauour amongst vs by our outward prosperitie or thinke to stand hereafter as wee haue stood hitherto wee are deceiued for were we as deere and neere vnto the Lord as Ierusalem or answerable vnto it either for brauerie of buildings commodities of marchandize store of munition to driue backe the force and fierce assaults of our enemies yet are they not sufficient to driue back the gun-shot of Gods displeasure when for our transgression hee entendeth our destruction Vse 4 Fourthly seeing wee see Ierusalems estate to bee this it teacheth vs to cōmend our prayers and supplications vnto GOD for this speciall blessing of perseuerance Simile for what profiteth a man to sayle a long voyage prosperously and with successe if at length hee makes shipwracke beeing ready to enter into the hauen So what will it auayle vs my brethren sayling in the full sea of Gods blessings and in the flouds of his aboundant mercies with the winds of prosperitie and before we come to our iourneyes end make shipwracke of fayth and a good conscience It is not sufficient for vs that wee runne but we must so runne as wee may attaine It will not auaile vs to begin well if wee doe not continue to the end if wee haue begunne in the spirit Gal. 3.3 there is no perfection to be looked for in the flesh That seede is in vaine cast into the ground 〈…〉 man filleth not 〈…〉 of haruest 〈…〉 Gospel is 〈…〉 purpose except we perseuere vnto the end Obiect Now it may be demanded Why did the Lord looke for such measure of obedience perseuerance and other fruits in Ierusalem more then in the Caldeans Answ The reason is Because he had bestowed greatest blessings vpon them and the Lords maner is where he bestowes greatest blessings there he lookes for greatest obedience and where there is greatest preaching there doth hee expect greatest practise That Parable of the fig-tree Luk. 31.6 planted in a vineyard serues fitly for the illustration hereof A certaine man sayth hee had a figtree planted in a vineyard and because hee had planted it he came and sought fruit thereon but found none Then sayd he to the dresser of the vineyard Lo this 3 yeere haue I come and sought fruit thereon hauc found none cut it down why keepeth it the ground barren This vineyard beloued is the Church of 〈…〉 fig-tree though it bee there 〈…〉 estate of the Iewes yet by 〈…〉 vnderstood the estate of euery seuerall soule the planter thereof is Christ the dressers are his seruants the Prophets Nowe sayth Christ I haue planted a fig-tree great cause therefore that I should haue fruit of it Well any time these three yeres haue I come and sought fruit thereon but haue found none Neither is it onely fruitlesse it selfe but it makes the ground barren and fruitlesse likewise Surely my purpose is it shall bee cut downe and cast into the fire O Lord beloued an happie thing were it if in our vineyard wee had no such vnprofitable fig-trees if in our Church wee had no such vnprofitable professors vpon whom Gods Prophets and ministers haue bestowed cost and of whom no doubt the Lord hath expected and wayted for not three yeres but many yeeres the fruits of his blessings but alas wee deceiue his expectation long hath he thought for and sought after the fruits of his Gospel but loe nothing but weedes of disobedience spring vp amongst vs. What will bee the end of this Surely we may iustly feare the like iudgemēt that befell to the fig-tree Cut it down why keepeth it the ground barren Wee may I confesse bee suffered to grow for a time to flourish for a season yet vtter destruction wil happē in the end We know heretofore how the Lord hath dealt with vs for wee haue playd the hypocrites with him and therefore hath hee made the earth and the creatures thereon to play the hypocrites with vs. The Lord hath expected the fruits of our obedience but behold it is like vnto a shadow something in shew but nothing in substance or euen as Ephraims righteousnesse Ose 6.4 like to the morning dew so wee in former yeeres haue expected the fruits of the earth from him yet haue wee beene partakers of the curse that Iob speakes of Iob. 31.40 That thistles haue growne in steade of wheate and cockle in steade of harley so as the husband-man sorrowed and sighed within himselfe when hee saw no better fruit of his labours Thus hath the Lord caused the earth to deceiue our expectation because wee haue deceiued his and though now on a sodaine hee hath equally diuided the pipes and cunduites of his mercie and opened the windowes of heauen and hath sent downe a gracious raine vpon the ground of the good and of the bad of the iust and of the vniust filling our bosomes with aboūdance of blessings that our vineyards clap their hands and our fields doe reioyce and sing yet let vs beware that this sodaine prosperity and plenty bee not to fat vs against a day of slaughter Let vs therefore consider our estate what wee are and what wee haue beene euen a people blessed of the Lord but wee may speake of our selues as Pliny speakes of a certaine countrey that ex siccitate lutū ex imbre puluerē c. drought hath caused durt and raine hath stirred vp dust amongst vs for what hath the sunshine of his mercies but caused vs to lie in the mire of our abominations and what hath the moysture of his graces but euen dryed vp the fountaine of grace in vs so as wee are giuen ouer to worke transgression with greedinesse the increase of his blessings haue encreased our iniquities and the aboundance of his mercies haue brought forth aboundance of sinne in vs for what haue wee but in steade of obedience rebellion in steade of knowledge ignorance Is there no complaint of oppression to be heard in our streetes doe not rich men grinde the faces of the poore plucking their skinnes from their bodies and their flesh from their bones as the Prophet speakes Is not one man readie to pull out the throat of another vrging and vsing extremitie rather then a good conscience in matters of law Is there no swearing and forswearing no