So doth God many times make as though hee were leauing or had left vs to incite vs to a more feruent and instant vsage of all holy meanes whereby wee may either keepe his fauour with vs while wee yet haue it or fetch it againe when it is gone Seuenthly God doth thus to commend to vs his mercie to teach vs to make more account of his fauour when by the want of it wee haue felt what a bitter thing it is to be without it and after long misse of it come to re-enioy it againe The present euill is euer the greatest and the fit we felt last seemeth vsually the sharpest But the present good is deemed commonly the least and that that goeth from vs better than that that abideth by vs and albeit the departure of ought from vs make it neuer a whit the better yet any good thing seemeth better when it is going and better yet when it is gone than it did while either there was yet no feare of losing it or it had not yet left vs. We neuer vnderstand the worth of any thing so well as by the want of it The eie cannot so well iudge of an obiect if it be â—…ited too neere it nor if it be continually without any intermission in the eye The continued and continuall enioyment of the best things yea and of those that best please vs though not alwaies the best indeed without intermission or enter-change is wont to breed if not a surfeâ—… yet a glut and a satietie that so dulleth the soules appetite that it maketh vs as lesse apprehensiue of so lesse affected with the benefit that we enioy in them Health is neuer knowne what a jewell it is till by sicknesse wee haue beene some time depriued of it Not doe Gods children know so wel what a blessing they haue of the sense of Gods fauour till by some spirituall desertion they haue been a while berest of it But as health is better esteemed when wee haue beene sicke some time and fire is more comfortable when wee haue beene a while in the cold and our meat is then best relished when we haue fasted longer than ordinary and rest is most delightfull when we haue beene tolled and are tired and libertie is more welcome when we haue beene some time restrained of it than when without interruption we haue constantly retained it So Gods fauourable aspect is much more acceptable and comfortable when the sun-shine of his fauour beginneth to breake forth againe after some black and bitter tempests and stormes of his wrath especially when they haue been of long continuance and much paines hath beene taken for the recouery of it againe Things long looked for are most welcome when they come at the last And that is commonly sweetest that is gotten with most sweat Samuel was the dearer to Anna because shee had stayed long for him and by earnest suit at length obtained him when shee was almost out of hope of him So was Iohn Baptist to his Parents who had long sought him of God and were vouchsafed him in their latter yeeres Iacob loued Beniamin because he paid so deare for him he bought him with the life of his beloued Rachel that died of him and both him and Ioseph because he had them in his old age yea so full of ioy was Iacob when he saw Ioseph againe whom he had long wanted and had cleane giuen ouer for gone that he desired not to liue a day longer It is a good note of Ambroses from a speech of the Apostles that God loueth to haue many sue to him for one that he may haue thankes againe of the more So God loueth to haue his blessings and fauours begged long ere he part with them that we may learne the better to value them and to make more account of them and to be more thankfull to him for them when we haue them For when they come vnsued for we are wont to make the lesse of them Profered ware for the most part is but slightly esteemed of Wee make light of the first and the latter raine of the constant course of the Sunne and the seasons of the yeere though on these things dependeth the stay and the staffe of our life because they come commonly in a constant and an ordinary course But when a little dash of raine commeth after fasting and praier vpon a long drought wee are vsually as more affected with it so more thankfull to God for it than for all the sweet dewes or the plentifull showres that Gods flagons shed downe vpon vs the whole yeere before Oh saith DAVID when he had some space of time found a restraint of Gods fauour that before he had enioyed now if God would vouchsafe to looke louingly vpon him and restore him the wonted sight and sense of his fauour againe he would teach sinners Gods wayes and his mouth should set forth Gods praise and he would offer vp to God any thing that he should desire and would accept of And for this cause no doubt among others doth God make vs many times sue long for it and cry with DAVID How long Lord before it doe come to make it more welcome to vs and vs more thankfull for it when it doth come Lastly he doth so to make vs the more carefull to keepe his fauour and the sense of it when we haue it and the more warie to shunne and auoid all such courses whereby wee may either lose it or hazard the losse of it when wee shall finde by wofull experience that being once gone it is not vsually so easily recalled or recouered That that is hardly earned is wont to be more carefully kept A man will not in haste or vnaduisedly spend his penny that hee hath laboured hard and taken much paines for especially if he know not how to get so much againe but with the like difficultie when that is gone But lightly come we say and lightly gone young Gallants that neuer knew what the getting of money meant are readie when they come to it to let all flie abroad as if they could haue it againe with a wish or a word when they would If God when for iust causes best knowne to himselfe and for the most part for euill desert and bad demeanure on our part he hath turned his face away from vs and carried himselfe strangely toward vs hee should by and by sodainly vpon the first and least bend of our hamme or formall sob or superficiall sigh or a forced teare or twaine or some faint and heartlesse prayer turne it againe toward vs and looke kindly againe on vs it is to be feared that euen the best of vs would be ouer-much carelesse of retaining it when we had it But now when wee shall finde by wofull and dreadfull experience
that their calamitie And first they lay downe this for an vndoubted and vndeniable position That there is no euill that befalleth any either person or people but the Lord hath his hand in it Dare any man say they say that ought commeth to passe and the Lord hath not appointed it Doth not both good and euill come out of his mouth But what then Doth God as earthly fathers doe who in an idle humour sometime correct their children without cause Or doth God take pleasure in stamping vpon his people and in vexing and grieuing of them No hee doth not willingly or from the heart punish and afflict the sonnes of men It is a griefe to him to be grieuous vnto vs it is a paine to him to be punishing of vs. It goeth as much against the heart with him to afflict as it goeth against the haire with vs to be afflicted Why but what is the cause then that he dealeth so harshly with vs that hee carieth himselfe so austerely towards vs Wherefore is the liuing Man afflicted Man suffereth for his sinne We haue sinned and rebelled against him and hee hath not spared vs. God is good of himselfe hee hath his harshnesse from vs it is our corruption that requireth it A disordered patient maketh a cruel Physitian By our disordered courses wee enforce him to anger in whom anger is not and euen wrest and wring that from him that in some sort is not in him Therefore saith hee haue I smitten thee with the wounds of an enemie for the multitude of thine iniquities and because thy transgressions are grieuous What these sinnes of theirs therefore were doe they desire and purpose to make Search that so comming to vnderstand the true cause of their calamitie they may set vpon some course for meanes of recouery And in like manner ought we to doe vpon the like occasions say as Iob doth Shew me O Lord or make knowne to me wherefore thou contendest with me doe as DAVID did when in Israel they had had a long time of dearth He went to aske of God for what cause it might be make a search into take surueigh of our hearts and our liues labour as Salomon speaketh to finde out the plague the cause of it at least in our hearts and in our courses And for our better furtherance herein we may consider 1. What sinnes especially God hath in his Word threatned such Iudgements against as are present on vs or any part of his Church For if such sinnes bee now found rife or reigning among vs there is iust cause to suspect that God by such Iudgements doth make good his Word sealeth vp the Truth of it and thereby sheweth that His menaces are not vaine or vneffectuall that his Prophets words as the prophane people sometime spake are not windie 2. What sinnes God hath formerly inflicted the like plagues for on others which if these times be found to imitate those in it may well bee deemed that God in Iustice as hee findeth vs like them in practise so he maketh vs like them in punishment as he findeth the like sinnes among vs so he powreth the like plagues vpon vs as hee sindeth vs sicke of the same sores so hee plieth vs with the same plaisters 3. How we haue abused those things or our selues in those things wherein or whereby God doth punish vs. For there is oft an Analogie and a proportion betweene mens practises and Gods punishments betweene their transgressions and his Iudgements Looke wherein men offend therein vsually are they punished And blessings abused are turned oft into curses as the staffe sometime into a Serpent that men may be crossed and plagued in those things which they were not thankfull for or vsed not well when they were blessed in them DAVID was too indulgent a Father to his children and he smarted shrewdly for it in Ammons rape of Tamar Absoloms murther of Ammon and both Absoloms and afterwards Adoniaes rebellion When Gods people abused those temporall blessings of gold and siluer corne and wine wooll and flax that hee had bestowed on them God threatneth to returne and take them againe away from them And in like manner he threatneth them when they obserued not his Sabbaths that their Land during their captiuitie should rest and lye waste vntilled and vntoiled because it rested not on their Sabbaths when they dwelt in it As also that because they set light by the word of God when they had it hee would send a famine of hearing it when they should be constrained to seeke farre and neere for and yet not finde that which they then refused when they might haue had it or made no reckoning of when in great plentie they had it And because they did not serue the Lord their God with a good will and with a cheerefull heart in the abundance of all things they should therefore serue their enemies which hee should send vpon them in hunger and thirst and nakednesse and want of all things And as they had serued strange gods in their owne Land so they should serue strangers in a Land that was not their owne 4. How we may haue beene faultie towards others in those things that wee now suffer our selues For there is a iust retaliation oft in such cases with God And there is nothing more equall than such requitals DAVID abuseth the wife of Vriah and his owne sonne abuseth his in the same sort He slayeth Vriah himselfe with the sword and for the slaughter of Vriah the sword haunteth his house Adoni-bezeks cruelty on those that hee had conquered was requited with the like executed through Gods iust iudgement on him by those into whose hands he fell and euen he himselfe acknowledgeth the equitie of it And God threatneth such as oppresse poore widowes and orphans That their wiues shal be widowes and their children orphans 5. What neglects or euill acts being faultie in them we haue beene admonished of or checked for either publikely in the Ministry of the Word or priuately by good offices of friends or others yea or inwardly by the voice of our owne heart or the motions and suggestions of Gods Spirit and yet we haue not regarded to amend and reforme For it is an vsuall thing with God when his Word taken not place nor preuaileth with vs to second it with the Rod as thereby to seale vp and confirme the truth of it so to make vs the more attentiue vnto it He doth as Absolom did with Ioab when he would not come at him hauing sent once or twice for him he caused his seruants to set his corne on fire and then commeth Ioab to him without further sending for to know what he would with him and why he had so
beene in trouble There is no sight of faith when we doe sensibly see and feele as it were the loue and good will of God towards vs in the pregnant and plentifull effects and fruits of his fauour It is the efficacie of faith saith Augustine to beleeue what we see not for it is the reward of faith for vs to see what we beleeue But when it is winter time with vs and the sap is all downe in the root little signe or shew of it to be seene abroad or aboue ground in the branches when all outward yea and inward signes of Gods loue and fauour towards vs and of his care and regard of vs shall seeme to faile and be withdrawne from vs when we shall see and feele nothing but arguments of his anger and wrath troubles without and terrors within Gods face turned from vs or his angry looke towards vs yet euen then through these thicke and blacke clouds to descry and discerne the bright sunne-shine of Gods fauour and contrary to sense and reason carnal sense corrupt reason to beleeue that God loueth vs when he lowreth on vs and seemeth euen to loath vs that we are in fauour still with him when he knitteth the browes and frowneth on vs that he remembreth vs and thinketh on vs when he seemeth to forget vs that hee is a gratious God and a sure Sauiour to vs when he seemeth bâ—…nt to destroy vs this iâ—… the excellencie of faith indeed And for the exercise of this and other the like graces in his doth God oft withdraw himselfe from them as the Nuâ—…e doth from the childe to teach it to exercise the feet and learne to stand and goe of it selfe without helpe or hold Or as the Eagle with her young ones which when they are growne fledge shee turneth out of the nest nor beareâ—…h them euer on her wing though sometimes shee so doe but to 〈◊〉 them to 〈◊〉 â—…lieth from them and leaueth them sometime to shift for themselues God led you along the wildernesse saith Moses to the Israelites to hâ—…mble you and to teach you that man 〈◊〉 not by bread but by Gods word to teach them to swim without bladders to goe without crutches to depend vpon the baâ—…e word of God when bread and water should saile and to learne as with the Apostle not to trust in themselues so not to trust to the mâ—…anes but in him that worketh by them and that can as well worke for vs without them when they faile Thirdly to enâ—…re vs to patience and holy obedience and submission of our wils to the good pleasure of God As a father sometime will crosse his childe in those things that hee hath a minde to yea and it may be are not euill for him neither otherwise and deny him somethings that he doth most of all desire though they be such things as hee is willing enough yea and hath a purpose afterward to bestow on him only thereby to enure him to rest contented with his will and to submit and referre his desires to his pleasure So doth God oftentimes withdraw and with-hold long from his children outward ioyes inward comforts the light of his countenance the fruits of his fauour the things they most desire and that hee purposeth one day to bestow on them though he keepe them back for the present thereby to enure them to patience and childe-like submission that they may learne to practise what they daily pray and what our Sauiour as well by practise as by precept hath taught them to say Not my will but thy will be done For as patience maketh triall so triall breedeth patience As by patience and by nothing more is our sinceritie approued nothing putteth our pietie to the proofe more than patience so such trials as these doe enure to patience and obedience As it is said of our Sauiour That though he were the Sonne yet he learned obedience by those things that he suffered a lesson at the first not so easily learned of vs til by continuance of sufferings we haue beene enured to the yoake By these and the like courses therefore God enureth and instructeth his children to beare quietly such burdens as hee pleaseth to lay on them as also to wait his leasure and abide his good pleasure who knoweth what is best for them and will deny nothing in his due season vnto them but as a wise Physitian saith Augustine dieting his patient will both giue them what is fit for them to haue and giue it them then when it is fit for them to haue it Fourthly God dealeth thus many times with his children to worke in them a greater hatred and detestation of sinne whereof this hiding of his face from them is oft a fruit and an effect When you stretch forth your hands saith God by the Prophet I will hide mine eyes from you and though you make many prayers I will not heare you because your hands are full of bloâ—…d And saith the same Prophet speaking in the person of Gods people Thou hast â—…id thy face from vs and hast consumed vs because of our iniquities Yea in the Lamentations the people of God complaine that God had euerwhelmed them with his wrath and couered himselfe with a cloud that their prayers might not passe nor haue accesse to his Highnesse because they had sinned and rebelled against him and he therefore had not spared them And certainly that is one principall cause the sinnes of Gods Church and Children their rebellious courses their vntoward cariage their wickednesse their wantoâ—…nesse their euill demeanure towards him that maketh God to turne away his louing countenance from them and that not only for a time to looke off them till they humble themselues before him but euen for some space of time after also to looke strangely vpon them Hee doth as a wise and discreet Father who when his Sonne hath offended him though vpon his submission hee be reconciled vnto him and be inwardly as well affected againe towards him as euer yet will make some shew of anger still it may be and lowre and frowne on him for a long time after that hee may not suddenly take heart to grace as wee say againe but may by that meanes be drawne to be both more seriously sorie for his offence past and more fearefull for the future of offending his Father So dealeth God with his children when they haue done amisse and runne riot though vpon their repentance he be at one againe with them yet he concealeth it long many times neither is his countenance oft the same for a long time after towards them that formerly it had beene Thus dealt DAVID with Absolom and thus God himselfe with DAVID After that Absolom by a traine had made away his brother Ammon and was fled vpon it to Geshur
in the bitternesse of our spirits that Gods face being once clouded toward vs or turned from vs it must or may at least cost vs many a deepe sigh and a salt teare long looking and much longing euen till our heart faint and our eyes faile much anguish of minde and perplexitie of spirit much striuing and strugling with our owne corruption and weaknesse and much straining and wrestling by earnest suit and supplication by fasting and instancie of prayer ere we can come to preuaile so farre with God as to haue those thicke clouds of his wrath dispelled and that louing and amiable aspect of his vouchsafed vs againe this cannot but make vs if we be not desperately retchlesse exceeding carefull of all good courses that may keepe and retaine it with vs when we haue it and no lesse fearefull of ought that may againe estrange it away from vs. The Spouse in the Canticles when after long search with much adoe shee had at length lighted on her beloued whom by her neglect of him shee had vnaduisedly giuen occasion to withdraw himselfe from her I tooke hold on him saith shee and I will not let him goe againe And Turne away from thy wrath say the people of God to God in the Psalme and Let thy face shine forth once againe on vs and then will we neuer goe backe from thee againe nor giue thee the like cause to turne thy face againe from vs. And thus you see both in what sense God is said to hide his face from his and for a long time oft as both to themselues and to others seemeth to forget them as also for what causes he is wont so to doe Now hence let vs learne then First That we take heed how we censure men as forth of Gods fauour in regard of any outward afflictions yea or inward desertions though they be great and grieuous long and tedious sticking close by them without remouall or amendment producing in them many hideous and fearefull effects so that in the eyes of the world as well themselues as others God may seeme to haue cast them off vtterly and to haue forgotten them for euer It hath been the state of Gods best Saints of his dearest Children of his faithfullest Seruants yea of the only Sonne himselfe the Saint of Saints when he bare the burden of our sinnes So that as DAVID speaketh if we should so deeme if we should goe by this rule and thereby iudge of mens estates we should condemne not Gods only Sonne only which some sometime did as forth of Gods fauour but the whole progenie of Gods children the whole race of the righteous whose Lot and Portion it hath oft beene to be in this wofull condition and to drinke of this bitter cup that Christ their head began to them and to passe this sharpe triall this fiery and bloudie baptisme that their Sauiour past before them If we cannot see how such courses may stand with Gods loue we must remember that Gods waies and his workes and dealings with his are wonderfull and vnsearchable far aboue our reach and such as we are not able to comprehend For my waies saith he are not as your waies nor my thoughts as your thoughts But looke how farre the heauen is higher than the earth so far are my waies aboue your waies and my thoughts aboue your thoughts And yet may we in some sort euen by humane courses conceiue how such things as these are may well stand euen with the greatest loue For God as the Heathen man well obserueth hath as well a fatherly discretion as a motherly affection His loue is not a foolish and an vndiscreet loue such as many fond mothers haue but a wise a discreet a iudicious loue such as wise and prudent parents haue He so loueth his children as he hath a care of their good and disposeth and administreth all things so as may be for it A fond mother would haue her sonne alwaies by her good will at home with her and neuer out of her sight would haue him crossed in nothing but let him haue his will in euery thing though it be to his owne euill But the wise parent driueth him out at doores sendeth him forth to schoole bindeth him apprentice it may be or boordeth him abroad where hee seeth him but seldome breaketh him oft of his will frowneth on him and correcteth him when he doth otherwise than well and yet loueth he him no lesse than the fond mother doth yea he doth all that he doth in this kinde out of loue Againe further it may stand well with such a fathers loue not to correct his child only for his faults when he doth amisse but when some disease shall require it to hire the Surgion to cut him and to leaue him fast bound in his hands and either to withdraw himselfe while the thing is a doing or if he be by to refuse to vnbinde him or to doe ought for him when being in feare or in paine he shall cry and call vpon him to stay the Surgions hand or to helpe to vntie him Nor would the Surgion himselfe were he to cure or cut his owne childe vse a blunter launcet in the cutting of him or not cut him so much or so deepe the disease requiring it as he would doe with a meere stranger And why may it not stand then with the loue of God to deale thus harshly and sharply with his dearest children when either their outward euill courses or their inward corruptions by way either of correction or of cure and yet what is correction it selfe but a kinde of cure shall require it Hee may loue them no lesse though he hide himselfe from them than the nurse or the mother doth her childe when shee hideth her selfe a while from it and yet to saue her owne life would be full loth to lose or to leaue it Not to adde that the courses that God vseth in this kinde are oft-times as well exercises for those that bee in health and good plight for the present as Physicke for those that be crasie and sicke surprised with some deadly or dangerous disease Secondly This may be a warning to Gods children to take heed how they take libertie to sinne vpon assurance of Gods fauour and presumption of his goodnesse and fatherly louing kindnesse For though God doe loue vs yet he doateth not on vs. If we carry our selues saucily or stubbornly towards him he will not beare it if we take bad courses he will not endure it He will not suffer vs through his forbearance of vs to be hardened in euill but by some meanes or other he wil be sure to bring vs home againe if at least we belong to him and to his election of loue And though he cast vs not off vtterly though he damne vs not eternally yet he may
cleaue constantly to him though hee dâ—…e nothing but crosse mee and abide still with him though he seeme wholly to neglect me or whether I will leaue him and giue ouer adhering vnto him if he doe not vse mee as I would that hee should And therefore I will resolue that I may not proue vnsound to keepe constantly with him and not hearken to Satan nor yeeld to such indirect courses as by him shall be suggested for the procuring either of ease or of deliuery whatsoeuer shall come of it Such constancie shall seale vp vnto vs our sinceritie and shall not want with God a rich and a royall reward For hee that shall so continue depending vpon God when all humane helpes shall faile him and all lawfull meanes of releefe choosing rather to endure griefe and paine all his life long and to liue a life more bitter than death it selfe than to make triall of any vnlawfull course to procure ease and releefe such a man so dying saith Chrysostome shall haue his place in heauen among the Martyrs yea such a one is no other then a Martyr indeed hee is as good a Martyr as he that leaueth his head on the block or is burnt to ashes at a stake for the testimonie of Gods truth and the keeping of a good conscience All the difference betweene the one and the other is this that to the one it is said Deny Christ or thou shalt die to the other it is said Doe euill or thou shalt liue wretchedly thou shalt liue a life little better if not worse than death He is once for all a Martyr that will rather endure the one he is oft yea euery day a Martyr as Paul saith of himselfe that he died daily that chooseth rather to vndergoe the other Too prone wee are to stray from God when he vseth vs well when he dealeth louingly with vs but a most blessed thing it is when our hearts are so linked to him that we will not stir an inch from him though he seeme to carrie himselfe neuer so harshly towards vs. Lastly Would we haue God in these cases to remember vs let vs be carefull then to remember him yea let vs then learne to remember our selues Let vs take heed how we forget him if we would not haue him to forget vs for our forgetfulnesse of him and our dutie to him is for the most part the cause that moueth him to forget vs. As indeed what can be more iust or what more equall than for God to forget vs when we forget him and to neglect vs when we regard not him to refuse to heare vs when wee refuse to heare him Or how can wee with any colour complaine of the one when we are guiltie of the other Yea when God seemeth to haue forgotten vs if we would haue him againe remember vs Let not vs then be backward to remember our selues But let vs apply our selues to make a right vse of the crosse helpe to further the effect of it doe not crosse or hinder the worke of it The more speedie successe Gods hand hath with vs the sooner it is like to be remoued away from vs. DAVIDS strugling with it and hanging backe and refusing to yeeld to that that God thereby required of him was a meane to continue it the longer vpon him and to put him to the more paine And this vndoubtedly is one maine cause of the long continuance of many euils that men are humbled as Bernard speaketh and yet are not humble they will breake in sunder ere they will bow or bend vnder Gods hand Let vs apply our selues therefore to that which by the crosse God requireth of vs if we desire to haue the crosse remoued againe away from vs. Now this that we may doe First Wee must endeuour to enquire and finde out the cause of the crosse and the ground of Gods auersion of his face away from vs. A disease can neuer be well cured till the cause of it be discouered Nor can we take any right course for the remouall of a crosse vnlesse that that hath procured it be in some sort discouered The voice of the Lord saith the Prophet Micah crieth vnto the Citie God by his iudgements preacheth not verball but reall Sermons vnto vs. Hee preacheth euen without preaching as Basil speaketh As he is said to hold his peace though hee doe speake when he doth not punish so is he said to preach though he speake not when he doth punish His very Iudgements are reall Sermons of reformation and repentance They haue a voice saith the Prophet But euery one vnderstandeth not this voice They speake in a strange language to many to the most as Pauls companions when Christ spake to him they heare a noise and no more The foolish saith the Psalmist conceiue it not and the brutish vnderstand it not But a man of wisdome the wise man saith the Prophet knoweth what it meaneth And as the Psal mist speaketh of Gods workes of mercie Who so is wise to obserue these things such shal vnderstand the louing kindnesse of the Lord So of his workes of Iudgement saith Ieremie Who so is wise to vnderstand these things to him the Mouth of God speaketh and he is able to declare what this Voice of God saith And of both of them the Prophet Hoshe Who so is wise will vnderstand these things and who so is of vnderstanding will know that the Lords waies are strait and euen and the iust shall walke in them but the wicked shall fall in them To vse Chrysostomes comparison yea and Augustines too Lay you a booke open before a childe or one that cannot reade he may gaze stare on it but he can make no vse of it because he vnderstandeth nothing at all in it But bring it to one that can reade and that vnderstandeth the language it is written in and he can reade you many stories or instructions out of it It is as dumbe and silent to the one it speaketh to and talketh with the other In like manner is it with Gods Iudgements as Augustine also well applieth it all sorts of men see them but few are able aright to reade them or to vnderstand them what they say But what is it that the wise man is by them admonished Surely to listen to the Rod saith Micah and who or what it is that hath procured it to enquire saith Ieremie what is the cause why the Land is spoiled and lieth burnt vp like a wilde wildernesse that no man passeth thorow that is to search out the cause of the present crosse To which purpose also Gods people in the time of their captiuitie Let vs search say they and sift out our workes and our waies They had before entered into some discourse and dispute with themselues what might be the cause of