can hurrie a body and remove it as he did the body of our Lord from the wildernesse to the pinacle of the Temple and thence to the mountaine Hee can speake in Images it was the divell that spake in some Images of the Gentiles And if popish Images have now and then spoken too as they say they have Bene de me scripsisti said he of Thomas Aquinas Thou hast written well of mee Thomas I make no question but the divell spake in them The divell can doe more then that the divell knowes the secret and hidden vertues in things their sympathies and antipathies their qualities and properties The divels can doe wonderfull things Though they cannot doe miraculous things they can doe wonderfull things Thus the sorcerers in Egypt they did many wonderfull things mira but not true miracles Now fourthly there are mirabilia Dei the wonderfull things of God Indeed there is never a worke of God but it is wonderfull what worke soever it be The very Heathen man could say in every naturall thing there is something in it that is wonderfull But there are some workes of God above all other that are truly miracles not mira but miracula What workes are those Such as exceed the facultie and possibility of nature they are properly and theologically miracles The divell can doe many things by the concurrence of naturall causes but hee cannot worke a miracle that which is properly and theologically called a miracle the divell cannot worke it Now God had wrought many miracles for this people The turning of the dust of the earth into lice this was a miracle the Magicians by the help of the divell attempted to doe this but they could not doe it the art of the Magicians failed them in such a thing as this they could not turne the dust into lice Then he turned the water of the river into blood hee turned the red-sea into drie land hee turned three daies into three darke nights hee turned light into palpable darknesse that no man saw one another nor stirred from the place where hee was for three daies These are wonderfull things truely miracles yet this people forgat God their Saviour that had done such great things for them in Egypt and wondrous things in the land of Ham. Yea and lastly Terrible things in the Red-sea yea God did terrible things for them before they came to the red-sea He did terrible things for them in Egypt if you marke them hee plagued the Egyptians in all things First in their soules with hardnesse of heart hee plagued them in their bodies with botches and blaines hee plagued them in their corne with haile hee plagued them in their beasts with murraine hee plagued them in their houses with froggs hee plagued them in their families with the death of their first-born Here were terrible things when they were in Egypt but the most terrible thing of all was that at the red-sea when hee drowned Pharaoh and all his host that there was not one of them left In the ninth verse of this Psalme you may observe a worke of power in the tenth verse a worke of mercy and in the eleventh verse a worke of judgement The worke of mercy was a great worke the worke of power was a wonderfull worke and the worke of judgement was a terrible worke Yet for all this see the unthankfulnesse of this people They forgat all these But is it possible you will say that they forgat in so little a time all these works that they did not remember them There is a two-fold forgetfulnesse there is a forgetfulnesse of the minde and a forgetfulnesse in affection and action A man may have God in his minde yea in his words in his mouth and yet forget him while hee thinkes of him while hee speakes of him I will shew it you in examples Aske the Idoll-monger Why dost thou make this Idoll He will say To remember God by it It is the usuall word of the Papists Why have you these Images Why To remember God by them But this is no way to remember God this is to forget him because when his Commandement is forgotten hee is forgotten his Commandement is that thou shalt not make an Image They made this calfe to have a visible representation of God before their eyes to remember him O they forgat him now A blasphemer a swearer will have the Name of God in his mouth there are not three periods but hee will have the Name of God in his mouth Will you say that this man remembers God that talkes and speakes of him and swears by him at every word Doth hee remember him thinke you This is to forget God For if hee remembred the Name of God that it is a good name hee would love it If hee remembred that it were a great name hee would feare it If hee remembred it were a glorious name hee would reverence it But hee neither knowes it to be a good name hee forgets that it is a good name and a great name and a glorious name and that makes him to forget God even when hee remembers him and speakes of him To conclude let mee onely make a little application I thinke if any Nation may call God their Saviour next this people surely I thinke wee may doe it Consider how God saved us in 88. Was not that a great worke Remember how God saved us in the Gun-powder treason Was not that a wonderfull worke Remember how God saved our lives from death five yeares since in that same great and heavie plague Was not that plague a terrible worke Yet surely brethren have not wee forgotten God have not wee forgotten these workes of his Our falling from our first love our sliding back again to Egypt our neutrality in Religion our little hatred of Idolatry and Superstition such is our pride such is our wanton excesse such is our oppression such our false weights and such our false oathes and such our false faces Our waies that wee walke in are so unworthy of the Gospell of Christ that I am affraid God may charge us as truely as hee charged this people Wee have forgot God our Saviour that hath done so great things so wondrous things and so terrible things for us FINIS PSAL. 106. 23. Wherefore hee said that he would destroy them had not Moses his chosen stood before him in the breach c. I Have done with that same fearefull sinne of this people I am now in the verse that I have read to shew you the fearefull punishment of God upon them for this sinne He said hee would destroy them had not Moses his chosen stood before him in the breach to turne away his wrath lest bee should destroy them In these words you have two things The sâ—ntence that God pronounceth against this people for this sinne He said hee would destroy them You have secondly the revocation of this sentence the meanes whereby God was kept from the execution of this judgement
ELEAVEN CHOICE SERMONS As they were Delivered By that late reverend Divine THOMAS WESTFEILD DR in Divinity BISHOP of BRISTOLL 2 CORINTH 10. 11. Now all these things happen unto them for ensamples and they are written for our admonition upon whome the ends of the world are come HSAL 43. 1. Blessed is he that consideresh the poore The LORD will consider him in the time of trouble LONDON Printed for J. D. and part of the impression to be vended for the use of Thomas Gibbes Gent. 1655. I have perused these Sermons upon PSALME 106. 19 20 c. and judging them to be pious and profitable I allow them to be printed and published John Downame To the READERS Friends MAn is very prone to evill having a spring of naturall corruption in him which being as it were pumped out by example the stream runs more violently All the Kings of Israel for ought I read were bad enough but many of them are notoriously branded for this especially their imitation of Jeroboam the son of Nebat It hath been said that this our Nation is very prone to imitate others and it is to be feared that together with their exotick fooleries wee are guilty of many of their gross enormities However it will certainly hold between Israel and England as will appeare in the ensuing Discourse Our mercies have not been inferiour to theirs Our sinnes have if not out-vied yet at the least runne parallel with theirs And for our miseries sad experience is more then a silent testimony The former subject of this Book though it be for the most part sad treating of Sinnes and Judgments yet the wisedome and sweetnesse of the reverend Authour hath brought honey out of the Lion For the latter part Concerning communicating to the necessity of the Saints the practise of this worthy man was a patterne even to admiration The most of these Sermons were preached at High-gate which indeed was highly exalted by the painfull preaching of this Minister of Christ And I wish that our Saviours prediction of Capernaum and Davids wish to the Mountaines of Gilboa may be ever spiritually and literally far from it And thou WEST-smith-FIELD that wert watred so long a space with the heavenly drops of this worthy VVESTFIELD as formerly by the bloud of so many couragious Martyrs who weekely suffered in thee having beene thus honoured become not like the beasts in thee that perish And if there be any that had relalation to him who like wanton children trifled out the time while this resplendent taper was burning and shining let them at least make use of this inch of light which with Gods blessing may purchase them commodities for eternity In honour of his memoriall and for the furtherance of all that will make use of this help I have erected this his owne pillar upon his grave By which and the like advantages that both you and I may be edified is the desire of T. S. PSAL. 106. 19 20. c. They made a calfe in Horeb and worshipped the molten Image Thus they changed their glorie into the similitude of an Oxe c. YOu have in this Psalme many sinnes of this people set down In the three former verses there is the mutiny of Corah and Abiram against Moses and of two hundred and fiftie men with Corah they envied Aaron the saint of God In these verses you have another sinne of this people a fearfull one the sinne of Idolatry There be some sins of an high nature such wee reckon the sinnes that be directly against God as Atheisme Profanenesse Idolatry c. There be some sinnes directly against nature as Sodomy bestiality incestuous pollution c. Some are directly against humane society as rapes murder oppression effusion of innocent bloud c. Now Idolatry is of the first kinde and of the worst Tertullian excellently me thinkes saith that Idolatry containes under it omnes species peccati all kinds of sinne There is treason in Idolatry the Idolater sets up a new God as the Traytor sets up a new King There is falshood and lying in Idolatry for an Idoll is the doctor and teacher of lyes Habak 2. 18. There is theft in it for what greater robberie then to rob God of his glory There is whoredom in it it is oft in Scripture called by that name it is spirituall whoredome How oft have I read that phrase of men going a whoring after another God Well mark the Text observe three things here First the Idoll after which they went a whoring It is called in the first verse of my Text a Calfe In the second verse an Oxe A young Oxe a young bullocke a young heifer of three yeares old I have observed in the Scripture to be called by the name of a calfe And it was not a living young calfe or a living young bullocke but in the former verse it is called the molten Image of a calfe In the second verse the similitude of an oxe That was their Idoll Secondly consider the work of this people about that Idoll their sin in three things First they made it They made a calfe in Horeb. Secondly they worshipped it They worshipped the molten Image Thirdly They changed their glory into the similitude of it Then marke further the cause of this sinne the root from whence it did spring It sprung from a forgetfulnes of God that God that was their Saviour They forgat God their Saviour And then from a forgetfulnesse of those works of God and those were First magna great workes Then mirabilia wondrous workes And then terribilia terrible workes They forgat God their Saviour that had done great workes for them in the land of Egypt wondrous workes in the land of Ham terrible workes by the red sea This is the summe of the whole Text I may not thinke to goe over all these at one time it is a point that would not easily be passed over There are a generation of men that will compasse sea and land to winne us to Idolatry it were good our hearts were stablished against it I will goe as farre as the time will give leave I begin first with the Idoll it was a calfe or a young bullocke God forbids any Image to be made to the use of Religion of any thing in heaven above or in the earth beneath or in the waters under the earth God specifieth all those places because there is none of those places neither heaven above nor the earth beneath nor the waters under the earth but this foolish vaine heart of man hath found out something to deifie to make a god of Some have worshipped the Sun Moon and Stars the Host of heaven glorious creatures but yet such creatures as God made to serve man and not man to serve them Some of the Gentiles did worship men like themselves Some four-footed beasts Some creeping things of the earth That same Dagon that you read of in the Scripture had the head of a man but the lower
meanes hee would goe at last saith Saint Austine by a familiar violence they drew him once to goe and see those bloudy sports Well saith hee I will goe but I will be absent while I am there I will not looke on it Hee went and when hee came hee sate there among the rest but hee shut his eyes and would not see any of those sports till at length there was a man wounded and then the people shouted Hee had shut his eyes but hee had not stopped his eares hee heard the shout and would see what was the matter hee looked about and seeing the wounded man he then desired to see a little more Thus saith Saint Austine he grew at the last not to be the same man he was when he came thither but to be as one of the company to which hee came and after that time hee desired to see it a second and a third time and at last hee came to be not only a companion of those that went thither but would be a guide to them yet hee would goe not tanquam unus ex illis he would be one of the forwardest And thus hee continued a while till it pleased God by a mighty hand to deliver him from this vanity The eyes are the windowes of the body and if wee shut them not up against allurements wee may happily be forced to crie out as they did Jerem. 9. 21. Death is entered in at the windowes Lord saith David turne away mine eyes that they behold not vanity Idols are called vanities oft in Scripture Surely wee shoud make a covenant with our eyes that they be not the occasion of our falling I said it the other day I conclude with it now Hee that would have an eye to his heart must have an heart to his eye My fourth caveat that I give is this Take heed how you doe allow your selves to live in any knowne sinne without repentance for this is the way for which God gives men over to this sinne of Idolatry Unrepented of errours in life breed errours in judgement Those 2 Thes 3. v. 10 11. that will not embrace the love of the truth that they may be saved saith the Apostle those men shall have strong delusions to beleeve lies I conclude all with what the Apostle speaking of the heathen saith Rom. 1. 25. They knew God The heathen had some knowledge of God but they were not carefull to glorifie him as God but were unthankfull What punishment came upon them for it This their foolish heart grew full of darkenesse and when they professed themselves wise men they became fooles Fooles Why How did they play the fooles Saith the Apostle which is the very phrase that is here Because when they knew God they did not care to glorifie him as God but were unthankfull therefore God gave them over to this blindenesse to turne the glory of the incorruptible God to the Image of corruptible man and of foure-footed beasts and they served and worshipped the creature more then the Creator that is God over all who is blessed for ever Thus beloved I have now done with that great point concerning the worshipping of Images Now I come to the last thing in my Text that is the roote of this sin whence this sin of theirs did spring it was from forgetfulnesse of God and of his workes They forgat God their Saviour c. The words are many and many things may be observed out of them I will runne them first over with a briefe paraphrase and then speake of that sinne that was the cause of this Idolatry the forgetfulnesse of God They forgat God There was one of the Tribes that was called the Tribe of Manasses Manasses had this name of forgetfulnesse When I looke over this Psalme mee thinkes this people should be all of that Tribe they were so forgetfull In ver 7. They remembred not the multitude of his mercies There the Spirit of God speakes of their forgetfulnesse Then in ver 13. they soone forgat his workes They made haste and forgat them as the words are And now here againe They forgat God their Saviour Three times the Spirit of God in this Scripture speakes of their forgetfulnesse of God It was but three months agoe since God brought them out of the land of Egypt It was little more then one month agoe since God appeared to them in a fearefull manner upon Mount Sinai with thunder and lightning and earth-quakes and yet see they have already forgot God God their Saviour Saviour The word is sometime taken strictly in the Scripture in a narrow sense and sometime it is taken in a larger sense Take it in the narrow sense and then a Saviour is such an one as saveth from sinne from the punishment of sinne from Gods wrath from hell and eternall damnation Thus our Lord is called a Saviour You know what the Angell said to the Shepheards This day is borne to you in the City of David a Saviour which is Christ the Lord. And his very name shewes him to be thus Jesus it signifies a Saviour and the reason is given by the Angell because hee shall save the people from their sinnes Hee saves them First from the guilt of sin Then he saves them from the punishment of sin Then hee saves them from the power of sin Thus the word Saviour is taken when you take it strictly But you may take it more largely and then a Saviour is such an one as is a deliverer a preserver either from wrong from afflictions from oppressions from dangers from temporall death A Saviour that is as if hee should say a Preserver In this sense the Apostle saith 1 Tim. 1. 10. that God is the Saviour of all men that is the preserver of all men but especially of them that beleeve In this sense take the word here God was their Saviour that is their Preserver And doe but consider First the evils from which hee preserved them and those were many Then consider the meanes whereby hee preserved them and those were mighty Then consider the end to which he preserved them and that was glorious that they should be a holy people a peculiar treasure to himself Consider I say the meanes by which the ill from which and the end to which they were saved and then no people may more appropriate God to be their Saviour then this people could Yet behold They forgat God their Saviour Yea and they forgat his works The works of God are set downe here to be of three sorts Great workes Wonderfull workes Terrible workes Great works in Egypt Wondrous works in the land of Ham the land of Ham and Egypt are all one Then Terrible works by the Red-sea Great works The works of God are either workes of Nature workes of Grace The workes of Nature are either workes of Creation or they are workes of Actuall providence in the preserving that that is created The workes of Grace those are many The principall