wrought this act and that the fire issued out of the earth which consumed these cities but Strabo vnderstood not the Scriptures nor the power of God he is but a prophane author and we are not to credit his report Wee haue Moses and the Prophets and we must heare them and they say The Lord rained vpon Sodome and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of Heauen Fearfull raine Tertullian saith that the City called Vulsinium in Italy was destroyed with fire from heauen Histories say that in the yeare of our Lord 717. when the Arabians and Saracens lay at the siege of Constantinople fiery haile fell from heauen and burnt their Nauie In Exodus 9. 24. It rained haile and fire mingled with the haile very grieuous such as there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a Nation Here it rained brimstone and fire mingled with the brimstone very grieuous such as there was none in all the world since it was a world From whence came it from the Lord out of heauen Indeed the Philosophers say there is an element of fire aboue and though the elementary fire bee of its owne nature vncapable to moue downward vnlesse it be forced as also vncapable of voracity vnlesse a consuming faculty be supernaturally added to it yet wee know God can and it may be at this time did indue that simple fire with those qualities to make the miracle the greater Iobs cattell and his seruants were burnt with fire from Heauen the fire of God So likewise fire came downe from heauen at Eliah's call and burnt the two Captaines and their fifties But there are no veines of brimstone aloft what though it may be God borrowed brimstone of the earth it may be he did command the Sunne to exhale vp some to intermingle with his potion which he administred to diseased Sodome it may be he turned ayre into brimstone as hee did water into wine Whatsoeuer fire it was simple or compound and wheresoeuer he had the brimstone it matters not much to dispute sure I am it was the Lords doing raine it he did and though it be maruellous in our eyes because supernaturall the Heauens not vsing to poure downe brimstone drops yet to him it was no more difficult to say to the brimstone Burne thou Sodome than to say to the snow Be thou vpon the earth Alas what became of the inhabitants What became of them naught became of them they were all euery mothers childe fried in brimstone flames a terrible iudgement take it into your consideration and wonder at it The same morning the sunne did arise in his wonted manner deckt all the plaine of Iordan with his glorious raies and before it was climb'd vp to the meridian tota rogus regio est Sodome is all in a flame her citizens bee all in a fire her soile is poyson'd with sulphur her vines and oliue trees bee blasted with filthy fume the earth yawn'd and denounced the ruines of the buildings that were not of combustible matter together with the ashes of the inhabitants those that whilere did boile in lust doe now boile with fire God meeteth their strange lust with strange fire quencheth the heate of their concupiscence with the heate of brimstone fils their swallowes that were accustomed to bee fill'd with sauorie meates with stifling smoke consumeth all their bodies their goods their cattell yea their whole territory with a shoure of fire from heauen Infamem vitam famosa poena consumit A famous punishment finisheth an infamous life Some were smitten with blindnesse and rather run into than from the scorching flames Others no sooner cry Fire fire but their tongues burne with fire to stop their clamour A third scuds out of the City and a sheete of fire like to a swift Herauld maketh after him arrests him and executeth the will of God vpon him Some leape into the water hoping thereby to be rescued from the fire because of the naturall contrariety that is betwixt those two elements and as in the Egyptian plagues I shall now tell you a wonder fire and water were made friends together for that day the fire had power in the water forgetting his owne vertue and the water forgot her owne quenching nature In one streete the hote tiles spring from off the flaming roofes braining those that passed vnder in another lane the scalding lead drops downe out of the gutters and lights vpon the hairy scalph of such as had gone on in their wickednesse Here is a hideous noise heard with the downefals of houses there is a piteous cry to be heard made by people sorely tormented in that flame The heauens thunder fearfully the lightning flasheth dismally the brimstone burnes inquenchably the people shreek vniuersally the cattell bellow miserably God is angry terribly because they had sinn'd abominably The flakes of fire like Sampsons foxes with fire-brands at their tailes in the fields of Philistia scoure thorough the fields of Sodom and Gomorrah and the adiacent Cities and burne vp the standing corne with the vineyards and oliues For all this Gods anger is not turned away but his hand is stretched out still As Christ cursed the fig-tree and said Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for euer so God cursed the land of Sodome and said Let neuer inhabitant dwell in thee more henceforward for euer the children were burnt with their parents that not a remnant of the bloud of Sodomites might remaine Iosephus writes that all that huge Army which Pharaoh led forth against the Israelites consisting of 50000. horsemen and 200000. footmen was so vtterly defeated that there was not one left aliue to carry home newes of the ouerthrow and the Psalmist iustifieth it The waters couered their enemies there was not one of them left A fearfull destruction that not one should be able to come off of such a multitude yet t was not like this of Sodomes though they lost many of their people yet there were more Egyptians left behinde Proletarij to increase and multiply here was an vtter extirpation an euerlasting extinction of the whole race of Sodomites The nurse burnt with the childe at her breast the mother melted with her babe in her belly the father fryed with his posterity in his loynes young men were dissolued to ashes young maidens were consumed to cinders and not one only of a sort but all of euery sort all that gaue sucke all that were great with childe all that had beene that were or might be fit for procreation of both sexes male and female of all ages young and old dyed in that dreadfull fire Quos vna impietas prophanauit vna sententia deleuit So saith St. Ambrose of those that perished by the floud and so say I of those that perished by this fire For all this Gods anger is not turned away but his hand is stretched out still
desire to poure forth his mercy neuer Nurse when her breasts were full of milke was in greater paine for children to sucke them than God is in paine to haue children to draw his mercy from him Iustice commeth from God as a sting from a Bee constrainedly Mercy floweth from him as honey from a Bee most willingly Mercy is as essentiall to him as light is to the sunne or as heate is to the fire hee delights in mercy as any sense or faculty of our soules doe in their actions the eye in seeing or the eare in hearing or the memory in remembring Patience and clemency and mercy and compassion and peace are the fruits of his bowels the off-spring which the diuine nature doth produce fury and rage and anger and affliction and warre and flaming fire are forced into him by the prouoking exorbitances of the world God doth all along the Scripture euen court sinners to turne from their vicious courses the omnipotent Creatour doth euen turne begger to beseech his creatures to walke in his wayes not that t is any aduantage to him if all the world should worship him with a holy worship Can a man be profitable to God as he that is wise is profitable to himselfe Is it any pleasure to the Almighty that thou art righteous or is it gaine to him that thou makest thy wayes perfect saith Eliphaz the Temanite to holy Iob. Our goodnesse extendeth not to him Non eget ipsâ iustitiâ hominis He hath no need no not of mans righteousnesse Neque fonti se quisquam dixerit profuisse si biberit neque luci si viderit A man cannot say he doth the fountain good by drinking of it or the light by seeing by it nor that he doth God good by seruing of him all the worship man performes to God is for mans profit not Gods wherefore a man duely pondering of that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that long suffering which is in God that beareth with many millions of misdemeanours mortall men commit whereby hee is infinitely dishonoured and of that free loue that doth prouoke him to desire mans loue whereby he is in no respect benefited if hee be not reprobate siluer if hee haue any reliques of Religion left in him how can it choose but inflame his soule to loue the Almighty Many a great dishonour did God put vp before hee drowned the old world 1500. years and odde he patiently waited they should amend their manners before hee began to affright them with any mention of a floud yea and after hee had threatned a deluge hee gaue them 120. yeares respit to change their courses afforded them all that time Noah to preach righteousnesse vnto them After all this when the 1500. yeares were ended and the 120. were exspired when the Arke was builded and Noah and his family were aboard in her yet hee prolong'd the time seuen dayes before he broke open the fountaines of the great deepe and opened the floud-gates of Heauen And so for the Sodomites Ipsi extorserunt vt perirent They themselues wrested from God their owne destruction their iniquities like rebels make a head as if they would bid Heauen a battell and dare God and his Angels to doe their worst and God for many yeares carried himselfe patiently at last when no forbearance could beget repentance no procrastination of their affliction in him could procure an alteration of manners in them Then the Lord rained vpon Sodome and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of Heauen Or you may if you please let this Then in my Text answer to the When in the Verse next before it When Lot was entered into Zoar Then the Lord rained vpon Sodome and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of Heauen And from thence you may make an obseruation how deare in the sight of the Lord a righteous man is Sodome could not bee burnt before Lot was departed Haste thee escape to Zoar for I cannot doe any thing till thou be come thither saith the Angell to Lot the Angell had giuen him in commission to be as prouident in Lots preseruation as to bee diligent in the Sodomites destruction Haste thee escape thither for I cannot doe any thing till thou come thither A speech the more I meditate vpon it the more I am amazed at it St. Augustine saith a certain Platonist as Simplitianus told him said those words of St. Iohns Gospell In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God the same was in the beginning with God were fit to be written in letters of gold and to be set vp to be read in the highest places of all Churches and the reason of this his high commendation of that saying is because t is such a strong text to confirme Christs diuinity For as Ambrose well noteth erat erat erat erat ecce quater erat vbi inuenit Arrianus quod non erat the word was it was it was it was behold St. Iohn saith foure times it was in the beginning and where doth Arrius finde that it was not in the beginning Verily this Scripture Haste thee escape thither for I can do nothing til thou be come thither deserueth to be inscribed vpon euery mans heart that God should so tender the welfare of his seruant as to professe plainly hee could not vindicate himselfe vpon his foes vntill hee had taken order for his safety I am rapt to reade it pray you all to take speciall notice of it When Lot was entered into Zoar Then and not before then the Lord rained vpon Sodome and vpon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of Heauen And to say continually as the Psalmist doth Blessed is the Lord which hath alwaies pleasure in the prosperity of his seruant Wicked men may likewise make to themselues aduantage by this obseruation and learne to respect the righteous because they fare the better for it Mundus est magna homilli domus The world is the great house of little man and faithfull men are the buttresses and pillars to vphold it from ruine and confusion they stand in the gappe betwixt the world and Gods wrath as Moses his chosen did in the breach betwixt the Israelites and Gods anger when they had vext him at the waters of strife to turne away his indignation from them lest hee should destroy them The Nurse fareth the better oftentimes for the Childs sake and so doe the wicked for the children of Gods sake Abraham could haue compounded with God for tenne righteous men for Sodomes sinnes and so haue saued the place and the inhabitants from destruction Yea Ierusalem iam iamque peritura euen now vpon the push of being destroyed is offered to Ieremiah to be spared if there could but a man bee found in it that executed righteousnesse At such a high rate doth God value one righteous man that his holinesse
to Theodorus a Senatour of Rome As the Iudge of a people is himselfe so are his officers and what manner of man the Ruler of a City is such are they that dwell therein Now that the Rulers of Sodome should be such as did not only conniue winke at wickednesse but euen tolerate nay approue yea partake with the people in their abominations it was ominous it did portend some dreadfull iudgement comming vpon the whole Nation when the vices of inferiours are dissembled and winked at by gouernours they are reserued for the iudgement of God I had as liue see a blazing starre burning in the Heauens as a wicked man in a place of power an earth-quake is not so prodigious as a wicked Ruler Before God broke downe the wals of Babylon and burnt the high gates with fire hee threatned to make drunke her Princes and her Wisemen and her Captaines and her Rulers and her mighty men An inundation of vngodlinesse must needes ouerflow a Land when those that haue the ouersight doe superintend and should bound wickednesse are themselues boundlesly wicked Religion must of necessity go downe the wind as it did in Sodome when those that should vphold it doe most prophane it one of the first in authority and one of the last in Christianity Ethelbertus King of Kent in the Heptarchy was wont to say t was a signe of a very euill man singulus quisque homo c. Euery particular man is a part of the City and Kingdome wherein he was borne be it neuer so ample as a letter is part of a word saith Augustine Some bee like to capitall or text letters as great men some to smaller characters as men of low degree some be like to vowels as men in authority some to mutes and liquids as the vulgar sort all men goe to the making of a City or Kingdome as all letters go to the making vp of words And as in a word if one letter be amisse though but a mute it may danger to marre the word though not so much as if a vowell bee defaced so in a City or Kingdome if one man be blotted with sinne say but a meane man it may bring a destruction to that City or Kingdome yet not so soone as if a man of higher place be blurd with impiety Here were sins enow to set patience in a rage and to transforme the God of mercy into wrath and yet God respited their subuersion so long vntill their sins came bellowing vp into Heauen and were ready to lay an imputation of partiality vpon his iustice Three hundred and forty yeares Chronologie saith passed betwixt the drowning of the world with water and the burning of Sodome with brimstone and fire all or a great part of which time God was grieued with that generation and if euer they would haue bethought themselues to alter their conditions had there beene but a sprinkling a gleaning of good people in her one honest soule for a thousand reprobates God would haue repented him of his purpose at last when the Lord looked nay sent downe from Heauen saw there was no hope they were altogether corrupt and become abominable in their doings there were none that did good no not Ten Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord ut of Heauen T is recorded of Iulius Caesar that hee neuer entertained hatred against any man so deeply but he was willing to lay downe the same vpon occasion offered and the author doth instance in this when C. Memnius put-in for the Consulship hee befriended him before others of the Competition notwithstanding that C. Memnius had made bitter inuectiues against him Our God to whom all the Caesars Kings of the earth are tributaries and homagers doth neuer hate I take hatred as t is an intention of God in punishing so irreconcileably but true humiliation will worke a reconciliation that maketh him say Patientia Dei pios turbat Gods patience doth euen distract good men maketh them to wonder at him how hee can indure such palpable dishonour and suspend vengeance When Dauid saw the prosperity of the wicked hee saith his feet were almost gone his steps had well nigh stipt And when God because the Niniuites had turned from thier euill waies repented of the euill which he said he would doe vnto them and did it not it displeased Ionah exceedingly and hee was very angry Hee hath suffered likewise among wicked men for his clemency the damned Atheist draweth an argument from thence against his omnipotency saith he cannot because hee doth not banish all euill out of the world Auerroes the Philosopher draweth an argument from thence against his prouidence thinkes hee meddleth with nothing below the spheare of the Moone because of his slownesse to anger Ceacilius in Munitius Faelix inferres a conclusion from thence against his iustice saith that he is eyther inualidus impotent and not able to redresse euils or else iniquus vniust and not willing to rectifie them He doth preuent a man with the blessing of goodnesse He renueth his kindnesse euery morning He must be called vpon once twice thrice to render vengeance Lord how long shall the wicked how long shall the wicked triumph how long shall they vtter and speake hard things I dare say by a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Dolet quoties cogitur esse ferox T is a griefe to our God so often as men constraine him to bee cruell His soule is grieued for the misery of Israel His bowels are troubled for Ephraims sake The rainbow is an embleme of Gods mercy t is planted in the clouds if you marke it as if man were shooting at God and not as if God were shooting at man The situation of the Propitiatory or Mercy-seat was an argument of his mercy God commanded it should be planted ouer the Arke in which was the testimony the booke of cursings that so mercy might bee neare at hand to pronounce sentence of absolution when iustice is in hand to denounce sentence of condemnation Of such infinite compassion was our Lord and Sauiour Christ Iesus that he would haue pardoned Iudas it Iudas had had grace to haue askt forgiuenesse Augustine saith that some of them were forgiuen that murdered Christ. In the 34. of Exodus where himselfe proclaimeth his nature by adiectiues hee begins with mercifull The Lord the Lord God mercifull c. as if mercy had a priority in him In the 116. Psalme Verse 5. he doubles the epithite mercifull Mercifull is the Lord and righteous yea and our God is mercifull as if he had two quantities of mercy in him for one of iustice as if no act of iustice could passe from him but thorow the gate of mercy Longanimity is as Gods naturall childe the holy Deity is in trauell with it euen as any thing great with young doth desire to bee rid of the burthen so doth God