and notorious our sins are the more wee dishonour him Ezek. 24.7 8. Shee hath set her blood her bloudy sins upon the top of a rocke shee powred it not on the ground to cover it with dust that it might cause fury to come up to take vengeance So by our repentance wee doe honour and glorifie God Phil. 1.11 All the fruits of righteousnesse are by Iesus Christ to the glory and prayse of God And the more open and notorious our repentance is the more is God honoured by it Matthew 5.16 Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good workes and glorifie your father which is in heaven This consideration hath beene of great force to make Gods people forward unto this duty and hath armed them against the chiefe impediment that useth to hinder and keepe men from it that is to say the carnall respect to their credit and reputation among men When Michal had told David how hee had disgraced himselfe by leaping and dauncing before the Arke he answereth her 2 Samuel 6.21 22. It was before the Lord and I will bee more vile then thus and will bee base in mine owne sight and of the maid-servants which thou hast spoken of of them shall I bee had in honour Two parts there are of his answer As if hee had said 1. What tellest thou mee of disgracing my selfe I did it in honour to God and to gaine honour to him I will bee willing to endure any disgrace among men 2. I know well that by disgracing my selfe in this kind I shall loose no manner of credite or reputation at all nay this is the only sure way unto true honour and reputation even with men For thus God hath bound himselfe by promise 1 Samuel 2.30 Those that honour mee I will honour And Luke 14.11 Hee that humbleth himselfe shall bee exalted And that which our Saviour saith of our life may bee sayd also of our credite and good name Matthew 16.25 Whosoever will save his credite shall loose it and whosoever will loose this credite for my sake shall find it Secondly Gods people have bin thus forward to publish their repentance out of a respect they have had to themselves and to their owne comfort that so they might both have the better evidence to themselves of the unfeinednesse of their repentance and set it forward also and further it by their willingnesse to take shame upon themselves in this sort So that the thing that keepeth other men from it I will not confesse my sinne to the congregation saith hee because I will not shame and disgrace my selfe is a chiefe thing that draweth the true penitent to it I will therefore confesse my sin to the congregation saith hee because I will take shame upon my selfe For 1. No man hath truly repented that doth not judge himselfe worthy of shame and disgrace for his sinne This is the voice of the true penitent Daniel 9.7 O Lord to us belongeth confusion of face open shame And againe verse 8. O Lord to us belongeth confusion of face to our Kings to our Princes and to our fathers because wee have sinned against thee And the Apostle maketh this a note of true repentance 2 Cor. 7.11 when a man is willing to take revenge upon himselfe which is no way better done then by taking shame upon our selves in this sort 2. This shame is not only a signe of true repentance but a a great helpe and furtherance to the increase of it And therefore the Apostle speaking of the end he aimed at in enjoyning that publike penance to the incestuous person saith 1. Cor. 5.5 it was for the destruction of the flesh mortifying of his corruption that the spirit might bee saved in the day of the Lord. And surely this respect to themselves even to the peace and comfort of their owne consciences by testifying the truth of their repentance and furthering it this way hath mightily prevailed with many of Gods people to draw them even to a voluntary confession of their sins and profession of their repentance in publike This was it that drew Iohn Baptists hearers to it Matthew 3.6 and Pauls at Ephesus Acts 19.18 and in the time of the ten persecutions so many to publike confession that the Church was faine to make a law to restraine them from it They could not satisfie their consciences unlesse they had done it they found much peace in doing of it And this peace of God passeth all understanding as the Apostle speaketh Phil. 4.7 and is such a jewell as they that want it will not stand upon termes of reputation but will bee content to redeeme it with the losse of their reputation among men or with enduring any disgrace can be put upon them in the world Thirdly and lastly Gods people have beene willing to publish their repentance thus out of a respect they have had unto others And their respect to the Church they declare by it three wayes First In shewing their obedience to the Church that hath enjoyned them this duty Every member of the Church though hee were never so great a man is bound to submit himselfe unto the discipline of the Church and to shew himselfe obedient unto it in all lawfull things You know the commandement Hebr. 13.17 Obey them that have the rule over you and submit your selves for they watch for your soules and Matt. 18.17 If he neglect to heare the Church let him be to thee as an heathen man and a Publican Esteeme him no Christian no member of Christs Church that will not obey the Church in all lawfull things Secondly In shewing their care to edifie others by this their good example and to keepe them from sin For this open shame that is done unto sin hath great force to stay and terrifie others from sinning in the like kind Them that sin saith the Apostle 1 Tim. 5.20 he meaneth that sin scandalously and to the offence of others rebuke before all that others also may feare Thirdly and lastly In giving this way satisfaction to the Church for the wrong and offence they have done unto it No man may say in this case when his grosse sin is come to light and become notorious I have offended God by my sin and to him I will confesse it and humble my selfe and abuse the words of the Prophet here verse 4. Against thee thee alone have I sinned but as for the congregation I have done them no wrong nor no satisfaction will I give them For by sins of this nature not the Lord only but the Church and congregation wherein they are committed is wronged For 1. they give all Gods people just cause of griefe and feare Lots righteous soule was vexed from day to day by the sins of the place he lived in 2 Pet. 2.8 And the Apostle telleth the Corinthians 1 Cor. 5.2 that they ought to have mourned for the sin of the incestuous person And David complaineth Psal. 119.53 Horrour hath taken
the Scriptures and bringing the Word unto their remembrance he should be their Comforter 2. And for a conclusion of my speech touching this third meanes of patience let me say to such as are despisers of the Word that have not so much as a Bible in their houses or if they have take no delight in the reading or hearing of it but say unto God in their hearts with the Atheist in Iob 21.14 Depart from us for we desire not the knowledge of thy waies if persecution should come and the sword of the enemy with what patience and comfort will you suffer that have no grounded knowledge out of the Word whether the religion you professe be the truth or no No man can with comfort suffer for the truth that is not certaine it is the truth When Paul prayeth for the Colossians that their hearts might be comforted Col. 2.2 he prayeth that God would give them all riches of the full assurance of understanding to the acknowledging of the mystery of God He that is fully assured with understanding that that is the truth of God that he suffereth for he may suffer with comfort and none but he Nay I will say more unto you what patience or comfort can such as you that make no more reckoning of the Word have on your death beds whensoever that houre shall come Certainely none at all for as you have heard there is no true patience nor comfort nor hope to be found but in the knowledge of the Scriptures And therefore it is spoken of as the very upshot of the misery of a wicked man Pro. 5.23 He shall die without instruction O they are in a miserable case that die without instruction and alasse how many thousands are miserable this way Let me therefore say to every one of you as Solomon doth Pro. 19.20 Heare counsell and receive instruction that thou mayest be wise in thy latter end If nothing else will cause you to esteeme of the Word yet let this do it that you may die with comfort that you may finish your course with joy Fourthly He that would be able patiently and meekely to beare afflictions and to submit himselfe obediently to the will of God in them must labour to get a true knowledge and sense of his owne sinnes Nothing hath more force to tame the heart of man and to breed patience in it under the crosse then this hath I will beare the indignation of the Lord saith the Church Mic. 7.9 Because I have sinned against him This is also plaine in the order of the three first Beatitudes Mat. 5.3 5. Blessed are the poore in spirit and then blessed are they that mourne and then blessed are the meeke Poverty of spirit sight and sense of sin will cause mourning and humiliation and these two will make us as meek as lambs under the corrections of the Lord. It is the privie pride of our hearts and the having too good a conceit of our selves that is the chiefe cause of all our impatiency and murmuring under the crosses that lye upon us If we knew our sins well and were truly humbled for them we would easily acknowledge that that which we endure is nothing to that that we have deserved at Gods hands we would say with David Psal. 103.10 He hath not dealt with us after our sins nor rewarded us according to our iniquities And with holy Ezra 10.13 Thou our God hast punished us lesse then our iniquities deserve It was the sense that David had of his sins that made him thus to cleare the Lord when he so sharply judge and corrected him and to beare it so patiently as we have heard he did Let us all therefore when Gods judgements lie heavie upon us hearken to that counsell which the Church in her extreame affliction from her owne experience doth give us Lam. 3.39 40. Wherefore doth a living man complaine a man for the punishment of his sins Let us search and try our waies and turne againe to the Lord. But some will object This is bad counsell certainely If when the Lord hath cast me downe by any of his judgements I should also cast downe my selfe by calling my sins to remembrance this were the way to bring me to despaire to make me utterly unable to beare any thing to make me to faint and to sinke under mine affliction And from this conceit it groweth that men cannot abide no not upon their death beds that either themselves or their friends should be put in mind of their sins But to these I answer that the sight of sin when it is joyned with true sorrow and humiliation of soule for it is not the way to despaire it is the onely way to bring us unto true comfort He is worthy to be beleeved that said so Mat. 5.4 Blessed are they that mourne for the poverty of their spirits he meaneth for that want of grace and aboundance of corruption they find in themselves for they shall be comforted God that comforteth those that are cast downe saith the Apostle 2 Cor. 7.6 comforted us Let me apply this in a word or two to you al that are now shortly to go to the Lords Table This holy Sacrament is a Feast wherein every Christian soule may receive more sound joy and comfort then by any meanes that God hath given us under heaven besides It is said that at the receiving of the Passeover in Hezekiahs time 2 Chron. 30.25 26. all the congregation rejoyced and there was great joy in Ierusalem And yet that Sacrament was not so effectuall a mean to breed joy and comfort in the hearts of Gods people as ours is It is also said of the noble Eunuch that he found great comfort in the Sacrament of Baptisme Acts 8.39 He went away rejoycing And yet there is not so much comfort to be received by that Sacrament neither as by this This is the Supper of the Lord wherein the Body and Bloud of our blessed Saviour is represented and exhibited by the elements of Bread and Wine creatures that God hath given above all things to strengthen and make glad the heart of man Ps. 104 15. But alasse how few are there that receive any sound comfort by this holy Sacrament or that go away rejoycing from it Would you know the true cause of it Certainely this it is we go not to it with soules humbled and mourning for our sins and how then should we go away comforted from it Christ was anointed and appointed of God to bind up the broken-hearted to comfort such as mourne Esa. 61.2 3. and not such senslesse creatures as we are He biddeth such to come to him as labour and are heavie laden Matth. 11.28 and promiseth to give them rest He never promised to give rest and comfort to such as we are that when we come to him never feele our sinnes to be any burden unto us In time of Popery at this time of the yeare all men held themselves bound in
then to behold evill and canst not looke on iniquity Hee will by no meanes cleare the guilty as the Lord speaketh of himselfe Exod. 34.7 Therefore shall thy campe bee holy saith the Lord. Deuterono 23.14 lest hee see any uncleane thing in thee and turne away from thee Now let us come to the third point I told you was to bee considered though there be so much filthines in us and all our best services and though the Lord doe so loath all filthinesse of sin yet doth he not loath us nor our services but hath great respect to us and to them for all that And this shall appeare unto us in foure points especially First He taketh notice of all the good things that his poore servants doe and will not forget the least of them but keepeth a register of them I know thy works and thy labour and thy patience and how thou canst not beare them which are evill saith Christ to the poore Angell of the Church of Ephesus Rev. 2.2 that had lost his first love and was much decayed and fallen away in his goodnesse There is not any patience that the poore weake Christian hath shewed in suffering ought for Christs sake not any paines hee hath taken to get to heaven not any zeale hee hath shewed against sin but the Lord taketh notice of it bee it done never so secretly Actes 9.11 Yea he will remember it also and never forget it David knew this and therefore prayed Psal. 56.8 Put thou my teares into thy bottle are they not in thy register Hee taketh notice of the teares wee shed for our sinnes and in our prayer and will not forget them And surely this is a matter of great admiration and so David conceived of it Psal. 144.3 Lord what is man that thou takest knowledge of him or the son of man that thou makest account of him Secondly As hee doth take notice of the least good duties wee doe in love and obedience to him so he taketh not notice of nor regardeth those staines and spots whereby the best services of his children are defiled but passeth by them and imputeth them not unto them but seeth them as it were through his fingers Even as sundry blemishes that are in our children as a mole in the face or pock holes or a squint eye which to another man seeme great deformities to us seeme none at all even so is it with the Lord in this case Hee seeth no iniquitie in Iacob as Baalam himselfe was constrained in the spirit of prophecy to confesse Numbers 23.21 nor transgression in Israel Hee doth not for these spots and blemishes that are in our services wee doe unto him reject us or our services but accepteth of them and taketh them in good part as if there were no spot or defect in them at all He did not reject the service that Rahab did him in saving of the spies though she had blemished and stained it with a lye Ioshua 2.4 5. but accepted and commended it Hebrewes 11.31 The prayer that Ioshua made when out of impatiency he cryed Iosh. 7.7 Would to God wee had beene content and dwelt on the other side of Iordan and never come into Canaan the Lord rejected not for all that When David in his prayer was so full of infidelity that hee said in his hast I am cut off from before thine eyes neverthelesse saith hee Psalme 31.22 thou heardest the voice of my supplications when I cryed unto thee And at another time when he was in that distresse that he saith his soule refused to bee comforted hee remembred God and was troubled and his spirit was overwhelmed as he saith Psal. 77.2 3. A poore prayer you may thinke it was that a man in that case could make yet did not God reject that prayer that was so foully stained but as he saith verse 1. when he was in that case I cryed to God with my voice even to God with my voice and hee gave eare unto mee When Moses had shewed a great deale both of impatiency and infidelity when God bad him only speake unto the rocke before the people as you shall read Num. 20.10 11. yet did not God reject his service for this but wrought with him and shewed his marvellous power even in that work neverthelesse And surely so he doth still he doth not reject our prayers for our manifold infirmities he doth not refuse to work with and blesse our poore labours that are his ministers though alas we bewray much of our owne ignorance and other our corruptions in them when we preach best of all And even in this also his marvellous goodnesse and mercy is to be admired by us which maketh the Church breake forth into that speech of admiration and so would wee all if wee did rightly consider it Mic. 7.18 Who is a God like unto thee that pardoneth iniquitie and passeth by the transgressions of the remnant of his heritage Thirdly Hee delighteth in us and in our poore services notwithstanding all these corruptions whereby they are desiled The Lord taketh pleasure in them that feare him saith David Psal. 147.11 and 149.4 The Lord taketh pleasure in his people If yee will obey my voice indeed saith the Lord to the children of Israel Exodus 19.5 and keep my Covenant then ye shall be pecuculiar treasure vnto me above all people And Mala. 3.17 They shall be mine saith the Lord of hosts in that day when I make up my Iewels and I will spare them as a man spareth his owne sonne that serveth him Yea those poore duties wee performe to him in his service which our selves take so small comfort in yet hee delighteth in them Hee delighteth in the way of a good man saith David Psalm 37.23 And Solomon Prov. 15.8 The prayer of the upright in his delight Thy voice is sweet saith Christ to his Church Cant. 2 14 In which respect hee compareth the hearts of his people that are able to pray Revel 5 8. unto golden vialls full of sweet odours And the faithfull minister is said by the Apostle 2 Cor. 2.15 to be unto God a sweet savour of Christ in them that are saved and in them that perish whether the people receive good by our labours or no. And for this cause also hee desireth to heare us pray to see us keepe his Sabbaths preach and heare his word give almes to his poore members c. as much as ever man did desire any thing hee most delighted in Let me see thy countenance saith Christ to his Church Cant. 2.14 let me heare thy voice And Iohn 4.23 The father seeketh such worshippers as worship him in spirit and truth as a great man would seeke farre and neere for a faithfull and profitable servant And have not every one of us cause to wonder at this and to say to the Lord as Iohn Baptist did to Christ Matth. 3.14 I have need to bee baptized of thee and commest thou to me I have need to seek to
points it appeareth what pleasure lewd men take in the falls and sins of Gods people But ô that thou wouldest see thy sin and danger that art of this humour First This argueth that there is no love in thee to Gods people nay this argueth the height of malice against them to rejoyce in their sins Charity rejoyceth not in iniquity saith the Apostle 1 Cor. 13.6 And what comfort canst thou have either in life or death what hope canst thou have in God if thou be void of charity if thou nourish malice in thy heart specially toward them thou art most bound to love He that loveth not his brother saith the Apostle 1 Iohn 3.14 abideth in death in the state of damnation And verse 10. In this are the children of God manifest and the children of the divell whosoever doth not righteousnesse is not of God neither he that loveth not his brother And so he proceedeth to shew to the end of verse 15. that the chiefe fruit of righteousnesse that manifesteth a man to be Gods child is the love of the brethren and the chiefe sinne that manifesteth a man to bee the child of the divell is the hatred of the brethren But secondly which is worse this argueth that thou rejoycest in the dishonour that is done to God and in the shame that is cast upon his holy name For the Lord is more dishonoured as we have heard in the Doctrine by the sinnes of his owne people then by the sinnes of any other men And if thou canst rejoyce in the shame and dishonour that redoundeth to God be thou sure God will also rejoyce in thy confusion I will also laugh at your calamity saith the Lord to such men Pro. 1.26 and mocke when your feare commeth But let us leave them to God Let us that feare God learne That it is our duty out of these two respects to mourne when we see or heare of the falls of any of Gods people Paul blameth the Corinthians 1 Cor. 5.2 because they did not all mourne for the incest that one of that Church had fallen into See how himselfe was affected with it 2 Cor. 2.4 Out of much affliction and anguish of heart saith he I wrote unto you with many teares Nay we should bee grieved at the heart to heare the slanders to heare of the faults that Gods people are even unjustly charged with Remember Lord the reproach of thy servants saith the Psalmist Psal. 89.50 51. how I beare in my bosome the reproach of all the mighty people wherewith thine enemies have reproached ô Lord wherewith they have reproached the footsteps of thine Anointed Observe five points in the words 1. The mighty men men of chiefe place and power in the country were wont to reproach and slander and cast odious aspersions upon Gods servants Gods anointed ones nay all the mighty people did so he was not counted worthy the name of a Gentleman if he could not doe this Princes did sit and speake against me saith David Psal. 119.23 2. They that did so were Gods enemies though they pretended to dislike onely a sort of precise fooles that will needs be holier then all their neighbours and not for their holinesse neither but for their hypocrisie yet in very deed they that take such pleasure in reproaching Gods servants beare more spite to God then they doe to them they are Gods enemies Ye shall be hated of all men for my names sake saith our Saviour Matth. 10.22 The name of Christ the religion of Christ the spirit of Christ that is in them is the true cause of this hatred whatsoever els is pretended 3. Remember Lord saith he the reproach of thy servants The Lord taketh notice of he will remember he will not forget the slanders and reproaches that are cast upon his servants 4. The Prophet did beare the reproaches of Gods servants in his bosome he tooke them to heart he was much affected and troubled with them 5. Lastly he desireth the Lord to remember him for this hee tooke comfort in this even before the Lord that hee could doe so and doubted not but God would take notice of it and reward him for it And this is the first sort that are to bee reproved by this Doctrine The second are worse then these And those are they that impute all the sins of Gods people to their religion and take occasion thereby to insult against religion and to hate it the more If the weakest the meanest person that professeth religion doe but swerve from their duty any way though but a woman though but a servant as I shewed you the last day out of 1 Tim. 6.1 and Tit. 2.5 the name of God and his doctrine shall straight-way bee blasphemed by these men These are your professours will they cry this is their religion there is none of them any better they are all such kind of persons fie upon such a religion as this is Three things there be that may discover unto these men their sin and their danger too First If malice had not blinded thee thou wouldst never impute the faults of professours unto their religion nor blame their religion for it For 1. All professours are not such persons But there are many thankes bee to God yea and many that thou knowest that shine as lights in the world as Paul saith of the Philippians 2.15 2. Admit all professours were naught yet is the religion that they professe pure and undefiled it alloweth of none of those faults that thou usest to blame them for For it hath no other rule or ground but Gods Word and that alloweth of no sin All the words of my mouth are in righteousnesse saith the Lord Pro. 8.8 there is nothing froward or perverse in them If any professour be covetous or malicious or proud or censorious or unfaithfull or idle blame not his religion for it it teacheth him no such thing it teacheth him the contrary it teacheth him as the Apostle saith Tit. 1.12 To denie all ungodlinesse and worldly lusts and to live soberly and righteously and godly in this present world No professour of the Gospell dares justifie himselfe in the least of his corruptions much lesse in grosse crimes by the rules of his religion but will bee ready to cleare his religion and lay all the blame upon himselfe as the Apostle doth Rom. 7.12 The law is holy and the commandement is holy and just and good And verse 14. Wee know that the law is spirituall but I am carnall sold under sin Secondly I must say to thee that railest thus against religion that hatest it thus for the sinnes of them that professe it as Gamaliel spake to the Councell Acts 5.39 take heed wha◠thou dost for if this way be of God in hating it in railing on it thou wilt be found a fighter against God And as the Lord saith to Sennacharih Esa. 37.23 Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed and against whom hast thou lifted up thy voice Even
4â— The Lord 〈…〉 the Church daily such as should be saved And as Maâ—th 11 12. The kingdome of heaven suffered violence and the violent tooke it by force In those cases 〈…〉 have beene said of us as Esa. 32.20 Blessed are yee that sow beside all waters that send forth thither the feet of the Oxe and the Asse Men might have called us blessed and happy men in the fruitfulnesse of our ministery the ground God gave us to till and husband was a most fruitfull soile But those daies are gone no such thing is to be seene now we now plow and sow in stony and thorny and barren ground you heare still but with no such affection love and delight as once you did you feele no such power in the Word to reforme you and draw you unto the practise of that you learne as once you did So that I may say to many of you as the Apostle doth Heb. 10.32 Call to remembrance the former daies Thirdly consider well what may be the causes of this that though there bee as much preaching and hearing as ever there was yet men profit now adaies nothng so much in the life and power of godlinesse as once they did First it cannot be denied but that one cause why the ministery of the Word is so weake and unprofitable is the want of that due inspection that Christ hath lest to his Church to make it fruitfull and effectuall The Minister is by Gods ordinance not onely to teach but to oversee his slocke Act. 20.28 Take heede to the slocke over which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers Heb. 13.17 Remember them which have the rule over you who have spoken unto you in the name of the Lord. They have authority from God not only to teach you his will but to oversee all your waies at home and abroad to observe how you profit by that which you heare to require at your hands the practise of that they teach you Matth. 21.34 The Lord sends his servants to demand fruit of them that occupie his ground The Guides of Gods Church have also authority from God not onely to admonish and reprove you if you be unfruitfull but also to correct you by executing the censures of Christs Church upon you Paul speakes of a rod that God hath committed to his servants to that end 1 Cor. 4.21 Shall I come to you with a rod Certainely Gods vineyard and garden hath need not onely of such as plant and water it but of such as take continuall care of it to looke unto it to dresse and husband it Luk. 13.7 8. If it be not pruned nor digged no marvell though it beare briers and thornes rather then any thing that is good Marke that curse Esa. 5.6 I will lay it wast it shall not be pruned nor digged but there shall come up briers and thornes And surely this is a great cause why the ministery of the Word doth so little good 1. That Ministers take so little care of their people how they live whether they profit or no by that they heare but thinke if they preach constantly unto them they have done asmuch as God requireth of them Whereas it is a chiefe part as I have told you of the Ministers office to oversee the flocke 1 Pet. 5.2 Taking the over-sight thereof and to take care of them 1 Tim. 3.5 If a man know not how to rule his owne house how shall he take care of the Church of God 2. That the people generally are sonnes of Belial will not beare Christs yoke but conspire together against it and say Psal. 2.3 Let us breake their bands asunder and cast their cords from us They will be content to heare us now and then in our publique ministery but if we offer to deale with them in private and come in our Masters name to demand fruit of them they will be ready to offer all violence and despite unto us as they did Matth. 21.35 Secondly another cause of the unfruitfullnesse of the ministery is this that the Lord for the contempt men have shewed unto the Word doth denie to give his blessing unto it in their hearts Even as if he should say of many places as Esa. 5.6 I will command the clouds that they raine no raine upon it And as Matth. 13.14 By hearing ye shall heare and shall not understand and seeing yee shall see and shall not perceive Many aone there is and would to God there were none such among you that seemed once to be fruitfull and to profit much by that they heard that are now growne so senselesse so sottish so hardened in their evill courses as if for their apostacy God had pronounced of them in his decree as once he did of the figtree Mat. 21.19 Let no fruit grow on thee hence forward for ever Thirdly but the chiefe cause sure why we profit no more by the Word is in our selves Esa. 59.1 2. The Lords hand is not shortned that it cannot save but your iniquities have seperated betweene you and your God And as the Apostle saith of praying Iames 4.3 Ye aske and receive not because ye aske amisse so may I say of hearing ye heare and heare often but receive no profit at all because you heare amisse It is therefore necessary for you all to be directed how you may heare to profit by your hearing how you may heare so as your hearts may feele the divine power of God in this his ordinance This direction then consisteth of three parts For such as would profit by their hearing must do something before they come to heare something during the time that they are in hearing and something after they have heard the Word For the first As Physicians before physicke use to give somewhat to prepare the body that their physick may worke the more kindly so must the soule be prepared for the receiving of this heavenly physicke or it will never worke kindly upon it But you will object There is no such need of this The Word hath wrought mightily to the conversion of some that never prepared their hearts to receive it as in that convert mentioned 1 Cor. 14.24 25. Yea in some that came with that in their hearts as might utterly have hindred the saving operation of it even with hatefull hearts and with full purpose to cavill and oppose it As in the case of the pursevants that were sent to apprehend Christ Ioh. 7.32 46. And in those Iewes that immediatly before Peters sermon mocked him and the rest of the Apostles and said they were full of new wine Act. 2.13.37 And in those Athenians who when they came to beare Paul esteemed him no better then a babler Act. 17.18 34. To this I answer 1. That I speake not now to the unconverted for such I know can do nothing to prepare their owne hearts seeing they are dead in their sins Ephes. 2.1 but to Gods people and such as are regenerate 2. I speake of the
receive whatsoever God shall teach you With such a heart came Cornelius to heare Peter Act. 10.33 We are all here present before God to heare all things that are commanded thee of God It is the suit of Christ to his Church Cant. 5.2 Open to me my sister my love my dove shut not thy heart against me and my Word To this also a promise is made Ps. 24.7 Lift up your heads ô ye gates and be ye lift up ye everlasting doores and the King of glory shall come in And Revel 3.20 If any man heare my voice and open the doore I will come in to him and will sup with him and he with me Certainely if men would come to the Word with such open and teachable hearts ready to receive and learne whatsoever God shall teach they would profit must more then they do But alas most that heare us come with prejudicate and forestalled hearts they have certaine imaginations and errors of their mind which they are resolved to hold concerning the Sabbath and recreations and even this point that I have now so largely handled touching the necessity of living under a sound and profitable ministery and diverse other things And these imaginations and errors of their judgement serve as strong holds to keepe Christ and his truth out of their hearts 2 Cor. 10.4 5. With this mind many a one comes to heare us I know the preacher well enough he differs from me in judgement in sundry things but it is no matter I can heare him and hold mine owne well enough I like his gifts well and will receive his doctrine so farre as I judge it to bee true but if once he fall upon his owne conceits there I will leave him And do so still in Gods name if any preacher teach his owne conceits though he had the gifts of an Angell beleeve him not Gal. 1.8 9. But take heed thou count not that his conceit which he teacheth thee by good warrant of Gods Word For in that case if thou receive not whatsoever he teacheth thee I will assure thee that that which thou seemest to receive will doe thee no good For certainely these men that in their hearing do thus limit and gage the Word and spirit of God would if it lay in their power as those wicked men mentioned Esay 30.10 Say to the Seers see not and to the Prophets prophesie not unto us right things speake unto us smooth things And those that did so the Lord calls despisers of his Word verse 12. Sixthly come with a heart resolved to obey and practise whatsoever God shall teach and command thee With such a heart came David to the Word Psal. 119.33 34. Teach me O Lord the way of thy statutes and I shall keepe it unto the end give me understanding and I shall keepe thy law yea I shall observe it with my whole heart To this the promise is made Ioh. 7.17 If any man will do his will he shall know of the Doctrine whether it be of God or whether I speake of my selfe Such shall attaine to a setled and certaine knowledge of the truth And Luk. 8.15 They that with an honest heart heare the Word keepe it and bring forth fruit with patience Mica 2.7 Doe not my words do good to him that walketh uprightly And how can they then profit by the ministery of the Word that in their hearing seeke nothing but knowledge intend nothing lesse then to practise ought they heare like those Ezek. 33.31 They heare thy words but they will not do them But rather resolve before hand they will be still as they were they will do as their neighbours doe as Zeâ—echia did 2 Chron 36.13 He sâ—iffaed his worke and hardned his heart from turning unto the Lord God of Israel No preacher shall alter them they can heare them they trow and ver do still as they list What Wee were wise men indeed if wee should practise what we heare leave our good fellowship bring religion into our families so should we be counted Puritans God forbid we should ever become such fooles Oh take heed God forbid it not indeed When Pharaoh had hardned his owne heart against the meanes God had used to soften it Exod. 8 15. ye read oft in that book afterward that God hardned his heart Exod. 9.12 O therefore take heed of this Heb. 3.7.8 If ye will heare his voice harden not your hearts Seventhly come in faith to the hearing of the Word and in a certaine expectation to receive that good from the Lord in this his ordinance which he hath promised to doe and worke by it We should thinke and meditate of the promises God hath made to this duty and expect by faith the performance of them Christ hath promised he will be with his servants in their ministery to the end of the world Mat. 28.20 Beleeve this and expect his gracious presence to make his ordinance effectuall in thine heart He hath said Luk. â—1 28 Blessed are they that heare the Word Consider who spake this beleeve him of his word and expect a blessing from him in thy hearing The Lord hath said Psal. 19.7 The law of the Lord is perfect converting the soule And Rom. 1. â—6 â—t is the power of God unto salvation Thou feelest sundry corruptions which thou wouldest faine have power to overcome and thy heart converted from them unto the Lord beleeve this which God hath said of his Word and expect to finde this converting power of God in this his ordinance So the Lord hath said of this ordinance Acts 20.32 that it is able to build his people up and to persit the worke of grace begun in them and thou wouldst grow and art troubled that thou growâ—st to better come in saith to it and looke to receive this benifit by it So the Lord hath said Esa. 57.19 that he createth and ordaineth the fruit of the lips to be peace peace to them that are nâ—are and to them that are a far of And thou wâ—ntest peace in thy conscience beleeve what God that cannot lie hath said and look verily to have peace wrought in thy heart by this meanes In a word God hath said of this his ordinance Esa. 55.3 Heare and your soule shall live And Iam 1.21 That it is able to save your soules beleeve this then and expect life and salvation by it How should the most of our hearers then receive any good by this ordinance of God when few or none come to it in this faith They never stirre up themselves to thinke of these promises or to expect any such good by it As it was with them that desired to receive good by Christs divine power in working miracles they must bring faith with them Marke 9.23 Iesus said to him that came to have his sonne dispossessed If thou canst beleeve all these things are possible to him that beleeveth And still according to their faith so they sped Matth. 9. â—9 So
to be desired then gold yea then much fine gold sweeter also then honey and the honey combe 2. Who knowes how soone you may be deprived of it 3. As in all other the parts and faculties of mans body and soule there is a naturall aversnesse and indisposition to that that is good so it is in the eare there is a marvellous unaptnesse and untowardnesse in it to hearken to the Word it is not so soone weary of hearing any thing as of Gods Word Mat. 13.15 This peoples heart is waxen grosse and their eares are dull of hearing Yea we are by nature deafe as well as blind Esa. 43.8 Bring forth the blinde people that have eyes and the deafe that have eares So that it is noted for a speciall worke of Gods Spirit which every one of you which find it in your selves may take great comfort in to be able to mind the word and to attend unto it Esa. 32.3 The eares of them that heare shall hearken And Act. 16.14 It is said of Lydia that the Lord opened her heart that she attended to the things that were spoken by Paul If the Lord had not opened her heart she could not have done it this is not every mans case Our Saviour speakes of some that hearing heare not Mat. 13.13 How can that be will you say Yes very well Men may heare and not mind nor regard what they heare and so in hearing not heare The hearing eare and the seeing eye saith Solomon Pro. 20.12 the Lord hath made even both of them To have an eare able to hearken and attend to the Word is a rare gift of God which made our Saviour say to his Disciples Matth. 13.16 Blessed are your eares for they heare Observe then another cause why the Word is so unfruitfull in Many 1. Some thinke it enough that they come to Church though they shew no desire to heare at all though they sit so as they can heare nothing True it is that it is fit there should be a decent order in the Congregation and above all other places there should there respect be had unto seemelinesse every man and woman should be placed there according to their yeares and degree and should keepe their places 1 Cor. 14.40 Let all things be done decently and in order Paul joyed in the seemely order be beheld in the Church-assemblies of the Colossians Col. 2.5 Among other things the Queene of Sheba observed and admired in Solomons house the sitting of his servants in that decent order was one 1 King 10.5 and if it were fit they should fit in such a decent order in Solomons house much more is it fit they should doe so in Gods house as that decent order did so much commend Solomons house so would it doe our Church-assemblies certainely It is a fault I observe amongst you here that many of you use to stand up upon your formes and seates For 1. It is an unseemely sight and decency becomes Gods house 2. It hinders their hearing that sit behind you and so it is not onely against decency but against edification also 3. You do it without any just cause at all when you may heare well enough though you sit or stand downe All this notwithstanding if you cannot heare where you sit the poorest or yongest of you should not be ashamed or afraid to come up higher and sit or stand nearer to the pulpit You should straine curtesie in this case What a disorder was in that congregation mentioned Luk. 12.3 they trod one upon another and yet because their desire to heare and to be edified by his doctrine forced them to it our Saviour never blamed them for it It is said of Christs hearers that they were wont to Sit about him Mar. 3.34 and Luk. 15.1 that they drew neare to him to heare him and Mary sate downe at his feet when he preached that she might be sure to heare him Luk. 10.39 Yea to helpe their attention and keepe their minds the better from roving they were wont to fixe their eyes upon him Luk. 4.20 Secondly Of them that do heare us few are able to hearken or attend to that they heare Esa. 43.20 Seeing many things but thou observest not opening the eares but he heareth not So that we may justly take up the complaint of the Prophet Ier. 6.10 To whom shall I speake and give warning that they may heare behold their eare is uncircumcised and they cannot hearken Thirdly we should heare the Word with understanding and judgement 1. We must labour to conceive and understand what we heare Christ calls upon his hearers earnestly for this Mat. 15.10 He called the multitude and said unto them heare and understand How should we els profit by any thing we heare Acts 8.30 Vnderstandest thou what thou readest saith Philip. So say thou to thy owne heart in hearing els it is not possible for thee to profit by that thou hearest Mat. 13.13 In hearing they heare not neither understand they that understand not what they heare in hearing heare not Ps. 45.10 Hearken O daughter and consider and incline thine eare 2 Tim. 2.7 Consider what I say Yea 2. We should be able also to judge of that we heare 1 Coâ— 10.15 Iudge yee what I say Iob 21.11 Doth not the eare try words and the mouth tast his meate 1 Thes. 5.21 Prove all things not by thy proud fansy and conceit indeed but by the Word in reverence and humility hold fast that which is good Christs sheepe can put a difference betweene the voice of their true Pastor and of a stranger Ioh. 104 5. Take notice of this for one chiefe cause why the Word is so unfruitfull ye heare without understanding 1. Many understand not what they heare but that heavie judgement is upon them that is mentioned Mat. 13.14 In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esayas by hearing ye shall heare and shall not understand and yet they neither bewaile nor feele it No marvell therefore though they profit not Mat. 13.19 When one heareth the Word of the kingdome and understandeth it not then commeth the wicked one and catcheth away that that was sowne 2. Many that understand well what we say yet here without all judgement can put no difference twixt truth and error Pro. 14.15 The simple beleeveth every word but the prudent man looketh well to his going They cannot judge when the Scripture is wrested and when it is well applyed Vnskilfull they are in the word of righteousnesse for they are babes Heb. 5.13 Lecture VII On the Title of Psal. 51. November 30. 1625. FOurthly labour to heare with affection and delight It was the charge Moses gave to Gods people Deut. 32.46 Set your hearts unto all the words that I testifie among you this day and he gives the reason vers 47. For it is not a vaine thing for you because it is your life It is said of Gods people in the primative Church that they received the Word
it and confer of it and examine the proofes that have beene delivered for the confirmation of it See a notable example of this in those noble and worthy Christians of Berea Acts 17 11 12. They received the Word with all readinesse of mind and searched the Scriptures daily whether those things were so therefore many of them beleeved You would beleeve and be better stablished and setled in the knowledge and perswasion of that which we teach you you would receive and embrace it with more readinesse of mind then you do if you would take paines to examine how it is proved and confirmed and grounded upon the Scripture Thirdly it would much helpe your memories and make you better able to retaine that which you heare if you would thus repeate it in your families Deut. 4.9 Take heed to thy selfe and keepe thy soule diligently lest thou forget but teach them thy sons and thy sons sons As if he should say That is an excellent meane to keepe thee from forgetting them Fourthly it would also much helpe you in your affections and worke in you a feeling of that which you have heard if you would thus conferre of it afterward it would cause the Word to be sweeter to to you and to have more life and power in your soules This you shall finde in that charge God gives to his people Deut. 6.6 7. These words that I command thee this day shall be in thine hâ—art and thou shalt teach them diligently to thy children and shalt talke of them when thou sittest in thine house But that which yee read in your booke thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children the margent of your Bibles saith is read thus in the Hebrew thou shalt whet or sharpen them upon thy children noting that this repeating and conferring with our family of the Word will whet and sharpen it and make it fitter to worke upon our hearts I thinke it meet saith the Apostle 2 Pet. 1.13 to stirre you up by putting you in remembrance This bringing the Word to remembrance againe is a meane to stirre up our affections unto it I pray you therefore take notice of your great sinne in this as another chiefe cause why you profit no more by your hearing 1. Few can bee found that have any heart to speake of that which they have heard Let us heare any newes let a tale be told us though it be of matters that are of no moment that nothing concerne us we cannot hold but the next we meet with we must needs utter it unto only that that we heare at a sermon though it be never so profitable though at the hearing of it we seemed to be much affected with it yet have we no minde to speake of it againe Surely we have all great cause to be humbled for this corruption and to strive against it For 1 this argueth Gods Word is not in our heart Psal. 37.30 31. The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdome and his tongue talketh of judgement For the law of his God is in his heart 2. This silence of ours proceeds from this that we are ashamed to speake of Gods Word Ier. 6.10 Behold the Word of the Lord is unto them a reproach and ô how great a sin is that David was of another minde Ps. 119.46 I will speake of thy testimonies before Kings and will not be ashamed 2. For repeating of Sermons in your families it is generally neglected You are all in your families like Martha to whom our Saviour said Luk. 10.41 42. Martha Martha thou art carefull and art troubled about many things but one thing is needfull You can spare no time for that one thing no not one houre of a weeke in these long winter nights no not on the Lords day And what hope is there that our labour here in the Church should doe you any good when you will do nothing at home which as you have heard you have as expresse a commandment for as we have for the paines we take heere at Church Or what comfort can you have in your profession of religion that have so little care of your families whereas the Christians that Gods spirit gives testimony unto in his Word are ever discribed thus Ioh. 4.53 himselfe beleeved and his whole house Acts 10.2 One that feared God and all his house A fourth thing you ought to do after the hearing of the Word is this that if you doubt of any thing you have heard and cannot by your private meditation and conference resolve your selves in it you should resort to the Minister and seeke resolution from him We should use more to move questions about that we reade The noble Eunuch when he could not understand what he read and God had given him the oportunity of a Minister he made this use of him Acts 8.34 I pray thee saith he of whom speaketh the Prophet this of himselfe or of some other man But specially we should do so when we doubt of and cannot tell how to understand what we have heard in a Sermon So did our Saviours best hearers use to do Mat. 13.36 His Disciples came to him saying declare to us the parable of the field So did they againe Mar. 7.17 So did they also at sundry other times come unto him to be resolved in their doubts that rose in their minds at the hearing of him Mat. 17.10 and 19.10 For Mal. â— 7 as the Priests lips should keepe knowledge so the people of God in their doubts should seeke the law at his mouth for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts This duty also the hearers of the Word do much neglect 1. Sometimes indeed through the fault of some Ministers who count it a great indignity and take it in foule scorne that their hearers should make a question of any thing they teach and not count every thing an oracle that comes out of their mouth But such Ministers should hearken to that which Christ saith Matth. 11.29 Learne of me for I am meeke and lowly in heart He alwaies shewed himselfe most ready to declare the meaning of any thing he taught to them that did demand it and to resolve them in any doubts that did rise in their minds from his doctrine Yea he was wont to offer himselfe unto them this way and to prevent them when he saw them purposed to aske him such questions as Ioh. 16.19 Iesus knew that they were desirous to aske him and said unto them doe ye enquire among your selves of that I said and thereupon he tooke occasion to satisfie them fully in that they doubted of But 2. The neglect of this duty proceeds principally from the people themselves who as they are apt oft times to mistake and misunderstand the preacher so are they as ready to goe away with it and slaunderously to report most absurd and improbable things which they conceive he did teach and all because they will not vouchsafe to come to the Minister himselfe
his hope to receive a reward and blessing from God This a man must beleeve Hebr. 1.6 He that commeth to God must beleeve that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seeke him Yea a man may ground his hope upon this to receive the greatest reward and blessing of all even eternall life 1 Tim. 6.18 â—9 Charge rich men that they be rich in good workes ready to distribute laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come that they may lay hold on eternall life Fiftly I will say more then all this when a man is to seeke comfort and hope to find mercy with God hee must looke first for it heere Wee read Rom. 8.28 30. of certaine degrees whereby the Lord worketh our salvation like the steppes of Iacobs ladder of which we read Gen. 28.12 whereof the highest were in heaven the lowest upon the earth And although the Lord in his worke begin at the highest step and so come downeward 1. Hee foreknoweth us loveth us setteth his affection upon us 2. Hee predestinateth us 3. He calleth us 4. He justifieth us 5. He sanctifieth and glorifieth us Yet in our worke when we would find comfort in the assurance of our salvation wee must begin at the lowest step and so goe upward We must as David did Psal 77.6 Commune with our owne hearts and let our spirits make diligent search what sanctification what goodnesse and soundnesse of grace wee can find wrought in our owne hearts This sanctifying grace is called the Lords earnest and seale which we have received and have the keeping of our selves 2 Cor. 1 22. He hath sealed us and given us the earnest of the spirit in our hearts Commune therefore with thine owne heart and search for this earnest this seale and if thou find it thou mayest boldly reason thus I am sanctified therefore justified justified therefore called called therefore predestinated predestinated therefore loved of God And thus have I finished the first part of my answer to this second objection and shewed you how much is to bee ascribed unto good works in this case Now I come to the second part of it Though therefore good workes be indeed foundations of our hope and comfort as you have heard yet are they but secondary foundations as the Apostles and Prophets are called the foundations of the Church Ephes. 2.20 Revel 21.14 like the fills you lay in the building of your houses that have a stronger foundation under them upon which both the weight of them and of the whole house doth lie the maine foundation of all the hope and comfort wee can have in any of our good workes in any goodnesse that is in us is the mercy of God only This will appeare evidently to you in two points First it was his mercy onely that moved him to worke this grace in us Phil. 2.13 It is God that worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure Who maketh thee to differ from another saith the Apostle 1 Cor. 4.7 and what hast thou that thou hast not received Secondly it is mercy onely that moveth him to accept or reward any good that we do Psal. â—2 12 Vnto thee ô Lord belongeth mercy for thou renderest to every man according to his worke and 130.4 5. If thou should marke iniquities even the blemishes and foule staines of our best services ô Lord who shall stand But there is forgivenes with thee that thou maist be feared or served And that made Nehemiah 1â— 22 to pray thus Remember me ô my God concerning thâ— also and spare me according to the greatness of thy mercy Lecture XX. On Psalme 51.1 2. March 28. 1626. NOw the Reasoâ—s and grounds of this Doctrine why the best of Gods servants have no other ground of hope to fiâ—de favour with God for the pardon of their sins but onely the mercy of the Lord why they have never pleaded their owne goodnesse but his mercy onely are principally two 1. The utter insufficiency that is in their owne goodnesse to ground their hope upon it 2. The all sufficiency that is in the mercy and goodnesse of God to ground their hope and confidence upon it In respect of the first heare the confession of a man that was rare and singular for piety 2 Cor. 2.11 Though he were in nothing behind the very chiefest Apostles yet he professeth he was nothing Three things there be that will make it evident that the best man that is cannot trust to or rely upon any goodnesse that he finds in himselfe First Himselfe knoweth many blemishes and staines in his best workes Esa. 64.6 All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags He hath no light no truth of grace that feeth not this If we say that we have no sinne saith the Apostle 1 Ioh 1.8 we deceive our selves and the truth is not in us Secondly Though himselfe knew no blemish in his good workes no evill by himselfe yet he knoweth the Lords pure eyes may though he cannot 1 Cor. 4.4 I know nothing by my selfe saith Paul yet am I not heereby justified but he that judgeth me is the Lord. This made David cry Psal. 143 2. Enter not into judgement with thy servant for in thy sight shall no man living be justified Thirdly Admit the goodnesse that is in us had no imperfection in it at all that either our selves or the Lord couâ—d find yet were there no trusting in it that for it God should pardon our sinnes past much lesse give us eternall life For 1. It is no more then we are bound to for the present and therefore cannot satisfie for that that is past Luke 17.10 When ye have done all those things that are commanded you say we are unprofitable servants we have done that which was our dutâ— to doe 2. There is no proportion betwixt that goodnesse that is in us and that which we looke to receive from God for it What is all the money we can make all that we can do or suffer towards the paiment of a debt of ten thousand talents and such a debt is our sin Mat. 8. â—4 What proportion is there betweene the service we can doe to God for a few yeares heere to the wages and reward we looke for the eternall happinesse and glory of the liâ—e to come â— Cor. 4.17 Our light affliction which is but for a moment worketh for us fitteth and prepareth us for a farre more exceeding and eternall wright of glory Rom. 8.18 I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared to the glory that shall be reveiled in us Now for the second Reason on the other side the mercy of God is such and so all sufficient as we may safely ground our hope upon it In which respect the Prophet saith Psal. 9.10 They that know thy name will put their trust in thee They that know how mercifull the Lord is cannot choose but put their trust and confidence
faults they sin against the congregation and Church of God in depriving it of that right that by the ordinance of God is due unto it namely that they that have wronged given offence to it by their sin should give it satisfaction by their repentance This right these men spoile and rob the congregation of And as the Pharisees taught children to say to their parents that required any reliefe of them Marke 7.11 It is Corban that is to say a gift by whatsoever thou mayest bee profited by mee as if he should say I have given to the treasury and therfore looke for no duty from me so these men teach grosse sinners to say to the ministers and congregations that require satisfaction from them by their publike repentance I have satisfied the Court and to you I will give no satisfaction at all If in any other Court of justice it should bee said to any that were impleaded for wrong done to any one man in his body or goods or good name give somewhat to the Court and care not for the party that thou hast wronged hee shall have no satisfaction from thee all men would cry out and say this were extreame wrong and injustice and is it no sin thinke we for any man to wrong a whole Church and congregation thus Thirdly They sin against the soules of poore sinners whom by this means they deprive of a speciall means appointed of God to bring them to repentance and so unto salvation The corruption and injustice that is done in other courts toucheth but the goods or good names or bodies of men these are called and should bee indeed spirituall courts but if corruption be used in them there is merchandise made of the soules of men And of all covetousnesse of all filthy lucre that is most damnable that is gotten by the sale of the soules of men as the holy Ghost mentioneth it for the last and worst of all the commodities that Antichrist did traffique in Revelation 18.13 He made merchandise of the soules of men And thus have I done with the second sort of men that are to bee reproved by this Doctrine The third and last sort that by this Doctrine of publike confession are to be reproved are such as having sinned publikely scandalously refuse to make publike acknowledgement of their sin and profession of their repentance when they are required to do it It is strange to see what paines men will take yea what cost and charges they will be at to avoid this And that not the richer sort only but even the poorest and basest of the people Now these poore men in doing thus offend three wayes First and chiefly against the Lord in refusing to give glory unto his name and submitting themselves unto his ordinance For by confessing our sins even before men when God would have us to doe it wee give glory unto God as wee have heard in that speech of Ioshuah to Achan Ioshuah 7.19 And it is his ordinance that you should obey them that have the rule over you and submit your selves hee meaneth the ministers and governours of the Church Heb. 13.17 Secondly they sin against the Church and people of God in refusing to give them satisfaction by their repentance when they have given them offence by their sin When Gods people had but taken offence at Peter without any just cause of offence given unto them when hee had by the commandement of God gone to Cornelius and there conversed with the Gentiles see how that great Apostle doth not scornefully resolve them and aske them what had they to doe with his actions but is very carefull to give them satisfaction and to recover their good opinion by shewing them at large the reason why he did so Actes 11.4 It is a perilous signe of an ungracious heart to make no reckoning what Gods people thinke of him Do you not know saith the Apostle speaking of this very sin even of making light account of the judgement of Gods people 1 Cor. 6.2 that the Saints shall judge the world It is a great meanes of peace to our consciences when wee can approve our selves our repentance and conversion not unto God and our owne consciences onely but unto the Church and people of God Shew unto them saith the Apostle 2 Cor. 8 24. that is to Titus and the brethren that are with him and before the Churches the proofe of your love And on the other side it is a great trouble to the heart that hath grace in it to have the censure and hard opinion of Gods people So it was to Anna to be ill thought of by Ely ô how carefull was the poore soule to give him satisfaction 1 Sam. 1.15 16. And it was a great trouble to that good woman that powred the box of precious ointment on Christs head when she saw that the Apostles were much offended with her for it Why trouble yee the woman saith our Saviour Matth. 26.10 And should it not then trouble any such sinner as hath grieved all Gods people in the congregation by his sin and caused them to thinke ill of him Will he not desire if he have any grace in him to recover their good opinion by making knowne unto them his repentance If thou have given offence to any one of thy neighbours even the meanest of them thou art bound in conscience to make him satisfaction and to seeke reconciliation with him Matth. 5.24 Goe thy way first bee reconciled to thy brother c. Neither is he bound to thinke well of thee againe till thou hast professed thy repentance unto him Luke 17.4 If thy brother that hath trespassed against thee turne againe to thee saying I repent thou shalt forgive him And are not men much more bound to give satisfaction to a whole congregation whom they have offended and to seeke reconciliation with it then with any one man Is the congregation bound or can it thinke well of him that hath given publike offence unto it till hee turne againe unto it and professe his repentance This despising of the congregation and the people of God is a greater sin then most men are aware of Take heede saith our Saviour Mat. 18.10 that yee despise not one of these little ones What saith the Apostle speaking of a particular Congregation 1 Cor. 11.22 despise ye the Church of God for the contempt done to Gods people thus resteth not upon them but reacheth unto Christ himselfe as the Apostle plainely teacheth 1 Cor. 8.12 When ye sin so against the brethren ye sin against Christ. Thirdly and lastly These men that refuse to professe their repentance before the Congregation sin therein against their owne soules and as the Prophet speaketh in another case Ion. 2.8 forsake their owne mercie that is the meanes to assure them that notwithstanding their sins the mercy of the Lord belongeth unto them For 1. no man can ever obtaine the assurance of the pardon of his sin till he have repented
esteemed him not And yet all this was nothing in comparison of his inward miseries and sufferings his soule was exceeding sorrowfull even unto death Matth. 26.38 He was so overwhelmed with terror and feare of that death he was to endure that in his prayer he uttered strong cries and roared and shed teares abundantly Heb. 5.7 He sweat drops of blood through the extreamity of his sorrow and anguish so abundantly that they fell upon the ground Luk. 22.44 Being on the crosse he could not containe himselfe but though he knew who were by to heare him Mat. 27.39 44. yet cryed with a loud voice My God my God why hast thou forsaken me verse 46. In a word he was made a curse as the Apostle speaketh Gal. 3.13 The curse of God and the torments due to all the elect were laid on his blessed body and soule to the full Now true faith as I said applieth all this that Christ hath suffered particularly to every beleever and perswadeth his soule that out of his love to him he endured all this It maketh him able to say with blessed Paul Gal. 2.20 He loved me and gave himselfe for me And as Esa 53.4 He hath borne our griefes and carried our sorrowes These sorrowes and terrours and torments were mine and I should have endured them everlastingly if hee had not endured them for me And verse 5. He was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities they were my sins that put him to all these torments Now he that is thus perswaded Christ hath so loved him hath had this respect unto him in particular he cannot choose but he must needs out of love to Christ hate and renounce his sins If the spirit of Christ have perswaded us once that Christ hath so dearely loved us we cannot choose but love him againe We love him saith the Apostle 1 Ioâ— 4.19 because he loved us first The bloud of bulls and goats saith the Apostle Heb. 9 13 14. sprinkling the uncleane sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh that is served the turne to cleanse a man from legall and ceremoniall pollutions How much more shall the bloud of Christ if it be sprinkled and by faith particularly applyed to you purge your consciences from dead workes to serve the living God O there is great force in this particular application of the bloud of Christ and assurance it was shed for thee to mortifie sin in thee The love of Christ saith the Apostle 2 Cor. 5.14 constraineth us Nothing hath that force to curb corruption in Gods childe and to compell him to live in Gods feare as this hath They shall feare the Lord and his goodnesse in the latter daies that is under the Gospell saith the Prophet Hos. 3.5 When the Apostle had prayed for the Ephesians 3.16 that they might be strengthened with might by the spirit of God in the inner man He prayeth further verse 18 19 that to that end they may be able to comprehend with all Saints what is the length and breadth and depth and height and to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge that yee might be filled with all the fulnesse of God If thou didst indeed know the love of Christ aright that out of his love to thee he endured such torments even to save thee from hell thou couldst not choose but be strengthened with might by his spirit in the inner man to withstand and overcome thine owne corruptions I know the Papists prate much against and blaspheme this doctrine of particular application of Christ by faith of the assurance it giveth to a man of Gods speciall love to him in Christ they say it layeth reines on mens necks and openeth a gap to all licentiousnesse But these two things I confidently affirme concerning this Doctrine by warrant of Gods Word First That as a Christian can have no sound comfort without it neither in life nor death so is there no doctrine hath that force in a good heart to make it study and practise mortification as this hath Indeed with hypocrites wrath judgement will do more as David saith Psal. 78.34 When he shew them then they sought him and returned and inquired early after God but it is farre otherwise with Gods child The knowledge even of this more generall love and goodnesse of the Lord to poore sinners that he is ready upon their repentance and turning to him to forgive their sins how great soever they have beene that he offereth Christ unto all men in the ministery of the Gospell and proclaimeth his pardon in the most generall tearmes that can be Ioh. 3.16 and commandeth all to beleeve that Christ died for them Even the consideration of this generall love to all that live in the Church is a most strong and effectuall argument to perswade a man to forsake his sins and turne unto God Nay till a man can be perswaded of that love and goodnesse of God he can never have an heart to repent and to turne unto him This is plaine by that speach of the Evangelicall Prophet Esay 55.7 Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts and let him returne unto the Lord and he will have mercy upon him and to our God for hee will abundantly pardon Having these promises saith the Apostle 2 Cor. 7.1 And what promises meaneth hee Surely those mentioned Cap. 6.16.18 let us cleanse our selves from all filthinesse of the flesh and spirit Secondly That hee that truly knoweth that Christ loved him and gave himselfe for him cannot possibly grow licentious by it He that hath gotten a conceit and perswasion of heart that Christ dyed for him onely out of a carnall and naturall knowledge of the Doctrine of the Gospel may abuse this perswasion I grant and grow the worse by it such a one I know may turne the grace of God into wantonnesse But he that hath beene taught this of God and brought to this perswasion by the word and spirit of God cannot possibly abuse it but it must needs mortifie sin in him See a plaine proofe of this Ephe. 4.20 But ye have not so learned Christ so hee meaneth as to live licentiously still what followeth verse 21 if so bee that yee have heard him and have beene taught by him as the truth is in Iesus As if hee should have said Many live in the Church and make a profession of Christ by vertue onely of an outward calling they have heard and beene taught by many excellent ministers of Christ and by hearing them have attained the knowledge of Christ but they never heard Christ himselfe speaking to their heart in the ministery of his word they were never taught of him as the truth is in Iesus And what is it to be taught by him as the truth is in Iesus To know Christ aright That hee telleth verse 22. That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man which is corrupt according to the deceitfull lusts The man that
this naturall weakenesse there is a sinfull weakenesse also in the best of Gods children even weaknesse of faith which maketh them subject not to naturall feares onely but to sinfull feares also There is much lacking in their faith as the Apostle said of the Thessalonians 1 Thess. 3.10 And this is a chiefe cause of all their feares Why are ye fearefull ô ye of little faith saith our Saviour to his Disciples Mat. 8.16 pointing at the chiefe cause of all our feare When are apt to doubt of Gods favour and of the pardon of our sinnes and who can choose but bee much disquieted in his heart with â—eare when he doubteth of Gods favour When the Prophet complained Psal. 88.15 While I suffer thy terrours I am distracted he telleth us verse 14. what was the cause of those terrours he felt in himselfe Lord why castest thou off my soule why hidest thou thy face from me Hee could not be perswaded of Gods love hee thought God had cast him of And can you wonder then though his heart were full of terrour The second cause of these feares is the Lord himselfe Certainely his holy hand is to be acknowledged in this kinde of affliction as well as in any other These feares are therefore called the Lords terrours Psal. 88.15 and 2 Cor. 5.11 because they come from him And the Lord seeth it to bee good and profitable many waies for sundry of his servants to bee much exercised by them 1. This maketh them carefull by repentance to purge themselves from all their knowne sinnes So the Lord speaketh of the feare which they that travell by sea are in when they see the strange breaches which the whale by his rising doth make in the sea Iob 4â— 25 When he raiseth up himselfe the mighty and most stout hearted are afraid by reason of his breakings they purifie themselves As wee see the mariners that carryed Ionah did Ionah 1.5 The mariners were afraid and cryed every man to his God Every one sought to make his peace with God in the best manner that he could This effect wee know feare usually hath even in all men but much more certainely in Gods children 2. This keepeth them humble fearefull to sinne tractable and willing to obey God in all things This is also a naturall effect of feare to abate the pride of mans heart and to make it humble and tractible Put them in feare ô Lord saith David Psal. 9.20 that the nations may know themselves to bee but men Certainely if the Lord should not now and then visit them with inward terrours and gripes there be many in the world would even forget themselves to be men But this effect it hath in Gods children especially O that there were such a heart in them saith the Lord of his people Deut. 5.29 that they would feare me keepe my commandements alwaies As if he had said Now they are fearefull to offend me in any thing now they are willing to doe any thing I would have them as they protested verse 27. But when was that Surely when by seeing the law delivered in that terrible manner they were brought into a wonderfull feare 3. Lastly This prepareth them and maketh them fit to receive comfort from God Thus the Lord hath beene wont to prepare his servants whom he meant to give most comfort unto Before the Lord delivevered that large and comfortable promise unto Abram Gen. 15.13 21. it is said verse 12. Loe an horrour of great darknesse fell upon him Before Elijah could heare that still and small voice that spake so much comfort unto him concerning himselfe and the whole Church the Lord first affrighted him with a great and strong wind that rent the mountaines and brake the rockes in pieces and then by an earthquake and after that by a fire 1 King 19.11 12. hee deepely humbled him by feare and terrour first that he might prepare and make him fit to receive that comfort You see then that this may bee the case of them that are most upright hearted and such as truly love the Lord they may bee much subject to these feares And this is the first thing I told you I had to say for the comfort of such poore soules The second is this That it is not onely possible that thou maist love God unfeignedly though thou be so subject to these terrours but even while thou art in this case thou hast evident signes in thee that thou dost so and if thou couldst observe thine owne heart well thou wouldst be able to discerne that thou dost love God indeed For First Thou desirest Gods favour above all things in the world and no crosse afflicteth thy heart so much as this that thou thinkest thou hast lost it thou canst not be assured of it this is a certaine signe thou lovest him When the Churches diligence in seeking after Christ when she had lost him is described Cant. 2.1 4. she expresseth the cause that moved her so to seeke after him by calling him him whom her soule loved and this title she repeateth in every one of those verses Certainely if her soule had not dearely loved him she could not in that manner have sought after him So that this griefe and trouble thy heart is in because thou canst not be assured of Gods favour argueth plainely that thou art sicke of love as the Church saith she was Cant. 2.5 and 5.8 Thy love to God is the cause of thy sicknesse and griefe O how happy a thing would it be with many if they were sicke of this disease Secondly Thou darest not doe any thing that thou thinkest would offend God but makest conscience to doe his will therefore thou lovest God Hee that hath my commandements and keepeth them saith our Saviour Ioh. 14.21 is hee that loveth me And 1 Iohn 5.3 This is the love of God that we keepe his commandements we could not els do it constantly nor conscionably Thirdly When thou hast through infirmity done any thing to offend God thou grievest unfeignedly and art troubled with it This argueth that thou lovest the Lord. It was love that made Mary Magdalen to weepe so abundantly for her sinnes as our Saviour testifieth of her Luke 7.47 And this was the onely thing whereby Peter did expresse that though he haâ— so shamefully denied Christ yet he loved him above all things when he had so offended hee went out and wept bitterly Mat. 26.75 Fourthly Thou lovest the Word and ordinances of God and the sincerity of his worship Therefore thou lovest God For the Lord calleth them that keepe the second commandement specially and above all others such as love him Exod. 20.6 And David professing himself Psal. 119 132. to be one of those that did love Gods name declareth it by no argument so much as by this throughout that Psalme even by that love hee bare unto and that delight hee tooke in the Word of God Fiftly thou lovest the children of God even because of the
doe any labour in the world then that You that feare God have oft I doubt not met with such servants as would be content to take any paines to doe any drudgery you can put them to so as they be not urged to serve God to come to prayers to be catechised to give account of the Sermons they heare to be kept in on the Sabbath and certainely this is the disposition not of poore servants onely but of the most men to the service of God as the Lord complaineth Mal. 1.13 Ye said also what a wearinesse is this What a toilesome thing this service of God this practise of religion is Now let us consider what should be the cause of this that men even such as call themselves Christians should thus shun and abhorre the service of God that it should be so odious a thing to be religious which is the second thing I propounded to speake of and we shall find whatsoever they pretend they have no just cause at all to doe so Certainely there is an evill report a slaunder raised and received in the world of the service of God as once there was of the land of promise Numb 13.32 that doth discourage men from entering into it See how God expostulateth with Israel about this Mic. 6.3 O my people what have I done unto thee how have I used thee tha thou shouldst thus complaine of my service and wherein have I wearied thee Testifie against me He wondereth what should be the cause why men thinke so hardly of him and of his service It is good for us to enquire a little upon what grounds this should rise Six of the principall of them which I have observed I will mention unto you But the first five of them I will onely name and insist only a little upon the last which doth concerne the point that I am to make application of The first of them is this They see few goe that way And they thinke it an absurd thing that none should be saved but those few Are there few that bee saved saith one to Christ Luk. 13.23 As if he had said It were strange if no more should be saved but those few that follow thee and receive thy doctrine Men see that the most of their neighbours whom they live amongst though they be not religious yet they are good honest men and such as they doubt not shall be saved and if themselves should be more religious then they they should be among their neighbours as an owle among the birds and they would be neighbour like they cannot abide to bee singular This tentation did for a time discourage Eliah himselfe 1 Kings 19.14 I even I onely am left Secondly Another is that they see nothing would make them so odious in the world as to be accounted religious Concerning this sect say they with the Iewes Acts 28.21 we know that every where it is spoken against To bee accounted a thiefe a drunkard a papist or any thing will not make a man so odious to many as to be counted a Puritan A third is that they that are conscionably religious are much subject to trouble in one kind or other Yea and all that will live godly in Christ Iesus shall suffer persecution saith the Apostle 2 Tim. 3.12 On the other side they see that they that are not so religious as themselves live quietly and prosper in the world This is a shrewd tentation and for a while troubled the Prophet himselfe Psalme 73.5 They are not in trouble as the other are and verse 12. Behold these are the ungodly who prosper in the world and increase in riches A fourth is the blemishes they discerne in them that professe religion at this many stumble Wo be to the world because of offences saith our Saviour Matth. 18.7 A fift cause of it is this that the service of God and the practise of religion is spirituall and therefore such as the naturall man cannot savour but counteth it a most foolish and ridiculous thing The naturall man receiveth not the things of the spirit of God saith the Apostle 1 Cor. 2.14 for they are foolishnesse unto him neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned Any will-worship or superstition hee can much more easily brooke and like of though it bee never so painefull such as the Apostle speaketh of Col. 2.23 such as popish confession and penance and fastings and pilgrimage then of the true service of God for that is agreeable to nature and but bodily but this is spirituall and in that respect not sutable to the fleshly and corrupt nature of man But the sixt ground of this hard conceit men have of the service of God is this that it is an hard service and requireth more of men then flesh and bloud is able to doe They cry out of many a duty that God in his Word requireth of his servants as the Iewes did of one of Christs doctrines Iohn 6.60 This is an hard saying who can heare it And of the faithfull Ministers of God as if we were like the task-masters of Egypt Exod. 1.11 that afflict men with the burdens we lay upon them Or like the Pharisees of whom wee read Matth. 23.4 that they bound heavie burdens and grievous to be borne and laid them upon mens shoulders And of whom Peter saith Acts 15.10 that they put a yoke upon the Disciples necks which neither they nor their fathers were ever able to beare Of us they exclaime principally and say that we by our strictnesse and precisenesse make the service and religion of God more burdensome to men then ever God himselfe made it Let us breake their bands asunder say those Psalme 2.2 3. who did indeed set themselves against Christ though they pretended onely to mislike his ministers and cast away their cords from us And certainely this conceit men have of God and of his service as if hee were the hardest master and his service and religion the greatest bondage and slavery in the world such a yoke as no man is able to beare Wee cannot bee religious but wee must bee abridged of all liberty in our mirth and recreations and good fellowship Wee must spend the Sabbath in religious duties wee must spend so much time in hearing wee must pray so oft at Church and in our families and in secret too and many such like things wee must doe yea all this must bee done with our whole heart or else all is to no purpose yea wee must bee so mortified wee must crucifie that flesh with the affections and lusts Galat. 5.24 And who can doe all this Wee know there bee some that professe and pretend they doe all this but certainely they are all hypocrites that pretend this it is impossible for flesh and bloud to doe so indeed These are the conceits that men have of Gods service they thinke the life of a Christian the most uncomfortable life and the service of God the greatest bondage and
taught them And so doe I earnestly exhort and beseech you all in the name of Christ to coâ—tinue constant in this holy Doctrine and truth of God to hold it fast and not to suffer it by any meanâ—s to bee wrested from you For though thankes bee to God these errours that you have heard of doe not trouble us in these parts yet have wee all just cause to judge that this exhortation is as needfull now as ever it was Wee have all cause to feare that as heresie hath beene the scourge whereby God hath formerly plagued and vexed his Church for the contempt of his blessed Gospell so that heresie shall be the way whereby againe he will correct us and by which Satan intendeth to make way for Apostacy and to bring ruine and desolation upon the Churches of Christ. Wee have therefore all need to bee exhorted to continue constant in the faith which wee have received It is the exhortation that the Apostle giveth unto the Hebrewes Heb. 4 14. Let us hold fast our profession And it is the charge that our Saviour giveth to the Church of Sardis Rev. 3.3 Remember how thou hast received and hard and hold fast What will you say would you have us to hold fast whatsoever wee have heard any of you teach whatsoever wee and others in the Church and time wherein wee live have received as it were by tradition for a truth No verily wee require no more of you then the Apostle doth 1 Thes 5.21 Prove all things hold fast that that is good Receive nothing upon the credite of any man Examine all things that you hâ—are even from the best teachers in the world by the written word and even by that touch-stone that I have now delivered unto you out of the word But when you have found that which hath beene taught you to have beene well grounded upon the word when you have felt Gods spirit perswading you of the truth of it and yeelding you comfort in it And such a teacher certainely all the faithfull have They shall be all taught of God saith our Saviour Iohn 6.45 The same annointing teacheth you all things saith the Apostle 1 Iohn 2.27 when hereupon you have received it and embraced it and professed it for the truth of God you are bound 1. To hold it fast and to bee resolute in it Stand fast in the saith saith the Apostle 1 Cor. 16.13 quit yee like men bee strong 2. To love it and joy in it and bee zealous for it Paul praiseth the Thessalonians for this 1 Thes. 1.6 that they received the word with joy of the holy Ghost 3. To hate those false doctrines that are against it By thy precepts I have gotten understanding saith David Psalme 119.104 therefore I hate every false way 4. Wee should not desire nor bee willing to heare what may bee sayd against it but shunne the familiarity of such as are seducers I speake not of shunning all familiarity with all that differ in opinion from you or are unresolved in the truth that your selves doe beleeve but I speake of such as are seducers and perswaders unto errour such as secretly seeke to discredite the truth which you have heard and received to put buzzes and doubts into your heads against it and to alienate your hearts from it Such the Apostle commandeth you Rom. 6.17 to avoid and shunne them The sheepe of Christ will flee from a stranger as hee telleth us Iohn 10.5 It is certainely a dangerous signe for a man to be wavering light of beliefe in the matters of his faith and religion apâ— to hearken unto seducers and to bee corrupted by them and drawne from the truth See how earnest the Apostle is in warning the Thessalonians of this 2 Thess. 2.1 2. Now wee beseech you brethren by the comming of our Lord Iesus Christ and by our gathering together unto him that ye bee not soone shaken in mind By our constancy in the truth wee shall approve unto our owne hearts our election and calling and by our variablenesse and readinesse to hearken unto seducers we shall discover the contrary If yee continue in my word saith our Saviour Iohn 8.31 then are yee my Disciples indeed And one chiefe end doubtlesse that God alwayes hath respect unto in sending or permitting seducing spirits that with some shew both of learning and piety doe oppose the truth and trouble the Church is to make tryall of his people this way There must bee also heresies among you saith the Apostle 1 Cor. 11.19 that they which are approved and true-hearted may bee made manifest among you Lecture CVI. On Psalme 51.6 Decemb. 30. 1628. IT followeth now that we proceed to the second use of the Doctrine which is for exhortation to worke upon our affections and provoke us unto sundry duties And this use of exhortation concerneth three sorts of people especially 1. Such as live where they cannot enjoy the ordinary means of grace conversion 2. Such as do enjoy the ordinary means but want grace to profit by them 3. Lastly Such as both have the means and have also obtained grace from God to profit by them For the first Though wee may not nor dare say that all they are damned that live without the ministery of the Gospell which as we have heard is the onely sufficient and ordinary meanes to bring men to grace because the Lord is not tyed to any meanes but can without meanes if it please him worke grace in his elect as is plaine by Heb. 11.31 that hee did in Rahab while shee lived in Iericho and by Matth. 2.12 that he did in the wise-men while they lived in the East among Pagans and Infidells yet may we confidently say that the present estate of such men is most feare full and such as if themselves could discerne it they could not choose but tremble at it And though they cannot doe it because this is hid from their owne eyes as our Saviour speaketh of Ierusalem Luke 1â— 42 yet ought wee that have heard this Doctrine and doe beleeve it to bee deepely affected with their estate and even weepe over them as our Saviour did over Ierusalem Luke 19.41 And that out of there two considerations First Because wee cannot find in all the word any one ground of certaine hope that such shall ever bee saved but many grounds of feare that they shall perish eternally Of the people of Galilee the holy Ghost saith Matth. 4.16 that before Christ brought the light of the Gospell unto them though they were all Iewes and members of the true visible Church yet till this light sprung up among them they sate all in the very region and shadow of death As if hee had said They were in a damnable estate And though no doubt may bee made but God can save such yet that hee will doe it wee have no ground at all nay wee have great cause to feare the contrary Whosoever shall call upon the name of the
kingdome Feare not little flocke saith our Saviour Luke 12.32 For it is your fathers good pleasure to give you the kingdome Yea which addeth much to all his former favours he giveth them to know that he hath done all this for them Wee have received saith the Apostle in the name of the faithfull 1 Cor. 2.12 the spirit which is of God that wee might know the things that are freely given us of God Hee hath given them the comfortable sense of this his speciall love that he beareth to them above any other in the world They have tasted that the Lord is gracious as the Apostle speaketh 1 Pet. 2.3 Now proportionable to the goodnesse and bounty that the Lord hath shewed unto any must the greatnesse and hâ—inousnes of his sin needs be If a man be treacherous and unfaithfull to his dearest friend to his master to his owne father this we know will make him odious unto all men To whomsoever much is given saith our Saviour Luke 12 4â— of him shall much bee required and to whom men have committed much of him they will aske the more And thus doth the Lord aggravate the sin of his people Deut. 32.6 yea thus will the conscience of every child of God when it shall be awakened aggravate his owne sin Doe ye thus requite thâ— Lord ô yee foolish people and unwise Is not hee thy father that hath bought thee Hath he not made thee and established thee Fourthly and lastly The sins of the regenerate do more hurt then the sins of other men and therfore their sins are greater and more heinous then the sins of other men First The evill example of one Christian of note doth more encourage and harden wicked men in their sinnes then twenty examples of lewd men can doe If any man see thee that hast knowledge sit at meate in the idols temple saith the Apostle 1 Cor. 8.10 and that which he saith of that one sin may bee said of others shall not the conscience of him that is weake be emboldened to eat of meates offered unto Idols So the Lord saith Ezekiel 16.54 that the Iewes were a comfort to them of Sodom and Samaria As if hee should say It is a comfort to lewd men to see professours as bad as themselves And this is that that greatly aggravateth their sin will make it lye heavier on their conscience even when they have repented that they have beene the meanes of the damnation of others And thus God aggravateth the sin of the Iewes Iere. 6.28 They are all corrupters Secondly There redoundeth more dishonour to God from the sinnes of the regenerate then from the sins of any other man Yee shall keepe my commandements and doe them saith the Lord Levit 22.31 32. neither shall yee profuse my holy name As if hee had sayd If yee doe not my Holy Name will bee profaned All the sinnes of professours specially of men of chiefe note for piety will bee imputed by lewd men unto the Lord and cast as dirt upon his Holy Name and religion If but a woman that professeth religion be an idâ—e huswife or unquiet with her husband the word of God will be blasphenied saith the Apostle Titus 2.5 Nay if but a servant that professeth religion faile any way in his duty to his master the name of God and his doctrine will bee blasphemed saith he 1 Timothy 6.1 When Simeon and Levy had dealt so lewdly against the Shechemites Iacob telleth them Genes 34 30. they had made him to stinke among the inhabitants of the land Alas hee had no hand in their sinne hee did shew his utmost detestation to it so soone as hee knew of it True but the world is wont for the sinne of one or two of Gods people to open their mouthes against all of their profession yea to loath and abhorre them all and Gods holy religion it selfe for it In which respect it may bee sayd of Gods owne people as our Saviour speaketh of the Scribes and Pharisees Matth. 23.13 that by their foule and scandalous sinnes they doe even shut up the kingdome of heaven against men they doe utterly alienate the hearts of men from entring into the way that should bring them to heaven And this this is that that above all other things doth make their sinnes out of measure sinfull The sinne of Elies sonnes was very great before the Lord 1 Sam. 2.17 for men abhorred the offering of the Lord they loathed the worship and religion of God for their sin And this was that that the Prophet laid so heavily to Davids charge even after he had repented 2 Sam. 12.14 By this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme O that is an heavie thing Lecture CXI On Psalme 51.6 February 24. 1628. IT followeth now that we proceed unto the uses that this doctrine may serve us unto And they are to be referred all unto three heads principally For 1. Some of them have relation unto the fitnes and falls of other of Gods people which we see or heare of 2. Some of them have relation unto the judgements of God executed upon the Church and people of God 3. Lastly Some of them have relatâ—on unto our owne sinnes who professe our selves to bee the people of God and in the state of grace For the first The Doctrine wee have heard teacheth us how wee should judge of and bee affected with the foule and scandalous sinnes that wee see or heare that the professours of the Gospell and servants of God doe fall into And reprooveth three sorts of men that offend much this way The first are such as rejoyce in the falls of Gods children 1. Most wicked men are of this humour they have no better sport nothing that they do so heartily rejoyce in as in seeing or hearing or talking of the falls of such as have beene of note for piety and religion Heare me saith David Psal. 38.16 lest they should rejoyce over me when my foot flippeth and I catch a fall they magnifie themselves against me 2. Yea they rejoyce not onely in the sinnes that Gods people doe indeed fall into but out of the pleasure they take in it and that they may not want matter of rejoycing this way they devise slanders against them and charge them with such crimes as they were never guilty of They cast iniquity upon me saith David Psal. 55.3 and 35.11 They laid to my charge things that I knew not 3. And the most odious slanders that can bee devised against such men will goe for currant every where and be beleeved as Gospell The words of a tale-bearer of a slanderer in this kind especially are as flatterings saith Solomon Pro. 18.8 as your old translation readeth it that is please a man as much as it doth to heare himselfe flattered and they goe downe to the bowells of the belly that is they are received with such delight that they are perfectly digested In these three
it is said verse 4 that as the people lift up their voices and wept The second example is that which is mentioned 2 Sam. 1.11 12. When David heard how the Philistines had prevailed and what an overthrow they had given unto Gods people As alas we have heard of a great many overthrowes that within these few yeares Gods people have received from as bad people as ever the Philistines were it is said there that David and all the men that were with him all his souldiers though many of them hated Saul mortally and one would have thought that the cutting off of that wretched man in that battell should have mitigated much their sorrow for the losse of all the rest yet it is said there that David and all the men that were with him rent their clothes and they mourned and wept and fasted for it The third example for this is that of Nehemiah when Hanani and the rest had told him Neh. 1.3 that the remnant that were left of the captivity in the province of Iudaea were in great affliction and reproach and that the walls of Ierusalem were broken downe and the gates thereof were burnt with fire no worse newes then we have often heard of late of many of the Churches of Christ When I heard these words saith he verse 4. I sat downe and wept and mourned certaine daies The fourth and last example is that of the Levites the holy Musicians mentioned Ps. 137. who as they were Church-officers ordained of God for the service of the Temple so did they receive such gifts from God for the discharge of that function as that they did excell in skill all the musicians that have beene in the world Of them we read five remarkable things in that Psalme 1. Verse 1. By the rivers of Babylon they sat downe and wept when they remembred Zion The pleasantnesse of the countrey could not make them forget Zion nor keepe them from griefe nor from weeping when they remembred Zion 2. Verse 2. They hanged up their harps As if the Psalmist had said As great as their skill was they had no mind of musick all that while that they remembred Zion and the miseries she was in 3. Verse 3 4. Though they that carried them captives and were now their masters that had power and authority over them and had heard doubtlesse of their excellent skill that way required mirth of them were earnest with them to use their skill in singing and playing upon their instruments to make them and themselves merry yet could they not get them to sing so much as one of the songs of Zion 4. Verse 5 6. The reason that they give for this If I forget thee ô Ierusalem if I doe not remember thee Marke 1 the change of the number they had spoken all the while before in the plurall number and expressed so the joint affection of them all in this case now they speake in the singular number every man in his owne person so say I and so say I. 2 Marke the reason why they would not obey their masters in this alas saith every one if I should now give my selfe to mirth and musicke it would be an evident signe I remembred not what case Ierusalem is in I had quite forgotten the miseries of Gods Church 5. Lastly Observe in the same verses 4. 5. the imprecation they make against themselves whereby as by an oath and vow they bind themselves from mirth and jollity during the time of Ierusalems misery If I forget thee ô Ierusalem if I doe not remember thee As if they had said one by one If any thing make me forget Ierusalem and her distresses nay if as well as I love mirth and musicke specially this or this kind of mirth or recreation and delight as ill as I could live without it yet if I cannot be content to abridge my selfe of it for Ierusalems sake let some strange curse of God fall upon me And these are certainely two strange judgements that they wish against themselves in this their imprecation 1. Let my right hand forget her cunning 2. Let my tongue cleave to the roofe of my mouth For a Minister whom God hath endued with excellent gifts for his service to have his gifts blasted and taken from him to be strucken dumbe and loose the use of his tongue as Zachary did for a time these are certainely great and strange judgements In all these examples we see beloved how the holy servants of God have beene affected with the afflictions of Ioseph and how they have mourned for them And I doubt not also but you see that we all ought to bee so affected likewise and that we could not choose but be so in some measure if the same spirit were in us that was in them And that you may see they did in this no worke of supererogation I will shew you now which is the second proofe I promised to give you that they did no more the◠they were commanded to do When the Lord had executed a strange judgement but upon two of his servants Nadab and Abihu though the cause why he did it the sinne whereby he was provoked to it was apparant and notorious to all the people yet see what a commandement is given concerning this Levit. 10.6 Let your brethren the whole house of Israel bewaile the burning which the Lord hath kindled That fire was quenched and ended in the death of those two men But the Lord hath now kindled a burning which hath lasted many yeares and burneth still outragiously and hath consumed not two of Gods servants onely but many whole Churches of Christ and ought not then the whole house of Israel all Gods people much more to bewaile such a burning as this which the Lord hath kindled But let us see the reason why this ought to be which is the third proofe of the point which I promised to give you And that is this they that can thus take to heart the miseries of the Church though themselves be in peace may have great comfort in their estate and none but they For first this is a signe that they are true living members of Christs mysticall body If one member suffer saith the Apostle 1 Cor. 12.26 all the members suffer with it he meaneth if they be true living members for a woodden leg or an artificiall eye cānot Say not thou art a member of the Church of England thou art not a member of the Church of France or of Germany or of Bohemiah for all the Churches of the world that professe the same faith and religion are but one body There is one body and on◠spirit saith the Apostle Ephes. 4.4 It is not the distance of place nor the difference of language that can fever us There is neither Iew nor Greek bond nor free saith he Gal 3.28 but we are all one in Christ Iesus I believe one Catholique and Apostolique Church saith the Nicene creed The true Catholique
Church is but one body If thou be not a member of the same body that all those afflicted Churches are certainely thou art no living member of any true Church And how canst thou bee a member of the same body with them if thou have no fellow-feeling of their miseries Secondly This is a singular grace of God and fruit of his spirit that may yeeld us great comfort and which the Lord highly esteemeth of and hath promised to reward when we can find our hearts affected with the miseries of the Church Thus saith the Lord Ier. 31.16 to his people that mourned for the captivity and affliction of his Church refraine thy voice from weeping and thine eyes from teares mourne not immoderatly as they that are without hope for thy worke shall bee rewarded saith the Lord he repeateth this twice in one verse for the undoubted certainty of it Certainely God will not faile to reward this as a singular good worke when hee seeth any of his people mourne in secret for the miseries of his Church I will restore comforts many comforts abundance of comfort to him saith the Lord againe Esa. 57.18 and to his mourners They that have beene partakers with the Church in her sufferings and have mourned for her shall bee partakers also with her in her comforts and none but they Now to make some application of this to our selves Alas how few are there of us to whom these comforts doe belong We heare and talke of the miseries and troubles of the Churches as of a matter that concerneth not us at all We read the Currantoes and listen after this as we do after other newes but are no more affected with it then Merchants use to be when they heare of the casting away of a ship that themselves have no share in No man abateth ought of any of his delights for this matter but we are even as senslesse in this case as if we were rather meere professed enemies to the Churches then their friends and members of the same body with them The King and Haman saith the holy story Est. 3.15 sat downe to drinke when the whole city Shuâ—shan was perplexed We drinke and quaffe we flaunt it out in all kind of bravery we run into all excesse of riot neverthelesse for this that the whole city of Shushan is perplexed that all the Churches of Christ are in so extreame distresse Our long peace and plenty the delights and pleasures of all sorts that we glut our selves withall make us void of all compassion of the miseries of our brethren Like unto those of whom we read Amos 6.6 They drinke wine in bowls and annoint themselves with the chiefe ointments and they are not grieved for the afflictions of Ioseph But marke what followeth in the next words verse 7 8. and tremble at it Therefore now shall they goe captive with the first that goe captive the Lord hath sworne by himselfe saith the Lord the God of hosts I abhorre the excellency of Iacob and hate his palaces therefore will I deliver up the city with all that is therein therefore even because they grieve not nor are affected with the afflictions of Ioseph therefore will I thus plague them In applying of this place to us I cannot say as the old translation without any warrant from the originall readeth it that no man is sorry for the affliction of Ioseph For I nothing doubt but there are in this land many and even among you some that have beene wont sometimes in secret to thinke of and grieve for the afflictions of Ioseph whose eyes with the Prophet Ier 13.17 have sometimes in secret wept sore and run downe with teares because the Lords flock is carried away captive that have sometimes abridged themselves of their lawfull delights even for this cause And blessed be God that hath put it into the heart of the King to proclaime a publique and generall fast to bee kept on fryday next for this cause principally as it hath pleased his Majesty to expresse himselfe in his royall Proclamation that we might altogether professe our sorrow and humiliation for the deplorable condition of all the Churches of Christ. But alas there be few or none in comparison that are at all affected with this matter And if we shall make a shew of keeping a fast for them and bee not at all humbled for them nor touched in heart with a fellow-feeling and griefe for their miseries we shall but play the part of hypocrites be in danger to do them no good at all and our selves much hurt by our fast No temper and disposition of the soule doth so well beseeme us in a fast as sorrow and humiliation Sorrow I say 1. For our own sins 2. For the sins of our own land 3. For the judgements of God present and imminent upon our selves 4. For the Churches of Christ whose case we are to commend to God in our prayers Remember the fearefull sentence of God against that man that shall keepe a fast without this sorrow and humiliation of soule Levit. 23.29 Whatsoever soule it be that shall not be afflicted that same day he shall be cut off from among his people Gods curse will be upon him And to keepe you from this curse to helpe both my selfe and you to this humiliation of soule upon the day of our fast I have thus enlarged my meditations in this point In the other two that remaine I must be the briefer Thirdly We ought in such times as these are not only to informe our selves by the best meanes we can how it fareth with the Churches of Christ and to mourne and grieve for their miseries but also to importune the Lord for them and never to forget them in our prayers unto God Yea that have escaped the sword saith the Lord Ier. 51.50 as blessed be God we have hitherto done stand not still be not idle but doe what you can remember the Lord afarre off and let Ierusalem come into your mind Though we be a great way from them yet may wee not forget them but remember them and put the Lord in mind of them in our prayers continually Yee that are the Lords remembrancers saith the Prophet Esay 62.6 7. For so I read it and so it is in the margine of your Bibles keepe not silence and give him no rest till hee establish and till he make Ierusalem a praise in the earth He hath for many yeares made Ierusalem his poore Churches a reproach and an hissing to the whole world we that are his remembrancers and solicitors as all the faithfull all that have the spirit of prayer are should like the importunate widow in the Gospell give him no rest till hee have established and setled his poore Churches in peace and given them beauty and glory againe even upon earth and in the sight of their enemies Thus did Nehemiah though a great man testifie his compassion of the Churches miseries Nehemiah 1.4 he sat downe and
by promise to them that keepe his Sabbath not onely to worke sanctification increase of holinesse and power over their corruptions which hee professeth in that former place of Ezekiel was the very end hee gave his Sabbath for but also by his spirit of adoption to increase in their hearts a lively sense of his favour assurance that he heareth and accepteth their prayers peace of conscience joy in the Holy Ghost which are blessings the Christian soule prizeth above all things in the world Why may you say may not a man receive increase of grace and spirituall comfort in the use of Gods ordinances on any other day but onely on the Sabbath I answer Yes verily but these promises may give him assurance to receive them more richly and plentifully upon the Sabbath then on any other day The second sort of blessings that the conscionable observers of the Sabbath receive by it are temporall For concerning them also wee have a promise Esa. 58.14 that he that heartily and spiritually keepeth the Sabbath God will cause him to ride upon the high places of the earth he shall have honour and esteeme in the world so farre as it shall be good for him and he will feed him with the heritage of Iacob that is he shall continue and abide safely in the land of Canaan which God promised to Iacob for his inheritance Gen. 28.13.48.4 Yea the Lord will nourish and feed them he shall eat the good things of the land as the Lord promiseth Esa. 1.19 to all that yeeld willing obedience unto him Lecture CXXXVI On Psalme 51.7 December 29. 1629. IT followeth now that we make some application of that which wee have heard touching the Sabbath and so proceed unto the two last particulars of those five which I have proved to be in many a man that is no better then an hypocrite And that which I have to say by way of application is first of all more generall and concerneth all other persons and places as well as this secondly more speciall and concerneth this place principally Of all I may say ô that God would give us hearts to beleeve that which wee have heard taught us concerning the observation of the Sabbath day out of the Word of God by which wee must bee all judged at the great and dreadfull day as our Saviour assureth us Iohn 12.48 O that wee could beleeve that the surest way to make our Church and State to flourish to secure us from enemies abroad and Papists at home to maintaine Gods Gospell and the purity of his religion amongst us that the surest way to make our Townes and families and persons to prosper and do well were to keepe the Lords rest upon his holy day If we could beleeve this then would wee bee the more carefull to keepe the Sabbath better our selves and then would wee doe what lieth in us that it might bee better kept by others also I know our corrupt hearts are apt to have in them many reasonings against the strict observation of the Sabbath day And these imaginations and reasonings that wee have in us against the truth of God the Apostle 2 Cor. 10.4 5. calleth strong holds and high things that exalt themselves against the knowledge of God But of all these strong holds and high things I may say as our Saviour saith in another case and another sense speaking of the faith of miracles Matth. 17.20 If wee had but as much faith as a graine of musterd seed but a little faith to beleeve the promises and threatnings that we have heard concerning the observation or neglect of the Sabbath we might easily remove all these mountaines out of our way Diverse notable good lawes we have had made of late yeares for the better observation of the Sabbath day Some to restraine men from doing their owne workes some other to compell men to doe the Lords worke by frequenting diligently the Church assemblies upon that day And blessed be God that hath given that heart to our King and State to make such lawes In respect whereof it may be fitly said of them as Deborah speaketh in another case Iudg. â— 9 My heart is towards the governours of Israel that offered themselves willingly among the people Blesse ye the Lord. The hearts of all Gods people should be towards the governours of Israel for shewing themselves so willing to provide for the sanctifying of the Lords Sabbath we should all blesse the Lord for them The whole land I nothing doubt fareth the better and hath had the tranquility thereof lengthened the rather even by the zeale that our governours have shewed in this point towards God and towards his house But that which is said of the daies of King Iehosâ—phat 2 Chron. 20.32 33. may fitly be applied to our times Iehosaphat did that which was right in the sight of the Lord. Howbeit the high places were not taken away for as yet the people did not prepare their hearts unto the God of their fathers Our gracious King in Parliament hath done that which is right in the sight of the Lord in making these good lawes Howbeit the Sabbath is still in most places shamefully profaned these good lawes are not executed for the people do not prepare their hearts unto God they have no heart to his honour or service at all And indeed in nothing doth it better appeare that the hearts of the people generally are not prepared unto God but utterly alienated and estranged from him then in this that when they have but the least colour and semblance of law to justifie any of their unwarantable practises whereby they may trouble any of their brethren and devise deceitfull matters against them that are quiet in the land as the Prophet speaketh Psal. 35.20 there they will seeme wondrous zealous for the lawes and presse them hotly they frame their mischiefe by a law as the Prophet speaketh Psal. 94.20 they pretend nothing so much for their deadly hatred against others that are innocent as that they doe not obey the law This was Hamans outcry against Gods people in his time Est. 3.8 These keepe not the kings lawes And of Daniels adversaries against him Dan. 6.13 He regardeth not thee ô king nor the decree that thou hast signed And of those lewd fellowes of the baser sort which we read of Acts 17.5 7. against Paul and the brethren with him These all say they doe contrary to the decrees of Caesar. Whereas I say to colour their malice against God and his people they seeme zealous for the law for the Magistrate Let the Magistrate make lawes that tend most directly to the honour of God that concerne the weightiest matters of Gods law as our gracious Iehosaphat hath done for the observation of the Sabbath for the punishment of swearing for the suppressing of the multitude and disorders of ale-houses the very chiefe nurseries of all profanesse and impiety these lawes you shall find they have no zeale
specially in such as are publike Therefore wee shall finde that the Lord calleth the Sabbath Levit. 23.2 a holy convocation as if it were nothing else as if the whole day were to be spent at Church and in keeping of holy assemblies And indeed that place proveth well that as much time should be spent on that day in Gods publike worship as the conveniency and edification of the Church will well permit And for this we have the example of our blessed Saviour who though he was able to spend the day in private duties of piety a thousand times better then ever any other man was and though also the Church assemblies that he had then to goe to were never a whit better but worse a great deale then ours are yet it is said Luk. 4 16. His custome was to goe to the Synagogue to the Church every Sabbath day And yet though as I said before our Church assemblies be as well frequented in this Towne by many as in any other place and though there be never a Popish recusant amongst us yet shall you hardly finde in any place more Atheist recusants more that doe seldome or never come to Church that doe so ordinarily and constantly serve the Devill in the Ale-house when we are serving God here in his house then are to be found in this Towne And for the third and last branch of the commandement that injoyneth us to rest from all our owne workes upon the Lords day you shall hardly finde I beleeve such open profession of profanesse and contempt of the Sabbath in children and youth in all the country as in this Towne You teach them to keep the Lords holy day just as your selves use to keepe these holy dayes with more misrule and riot then you use at any time of the yeare besides and as all the Israelites did keepe holy day to the golden calfe Of them it is said Exod. 32.6 That they sat downe to eate and to drinke and rose up to play and Verse 17. It is said that in their sporting and playing they kept such a shouting and noise as Moses when hee heard it wondred what it should meane And surely amongst our youth such a shouting and hollowing may be heard as a man would thinke there were some Bull or Beare baited in our streets every Sabbath day Hath God threatned to burne that Towne with unquenchable fire where men are allowed to doe the worke of their callings upon the Sabbath day as you have heard out of Ier. 17.27 and doe you thinke he can endure to see his Sabbath or any part of his Sabbath spent in ryoting and disorder Specially so openly and with so high a hand No no be not deceived God will not be mocked he hateth ryoting on the Sabbath much more then he doth working on the Sabbath As is plaine by Esa. 58.13 Where in one verse he nameth and forbiddeth twice the following of our pleasures as the chiefe profanation of the Sabbath day I know some of you will thinke this to be great indiscretion in me to preach thus against childrens faults But to these I have two things to answer First that God maketh not so light account of childrens faults specially not of their profanesse and contempt of Religion as you doe And if you did believe the Scriptures and were not Atheists in heart when you read in 2 Kings 2.23 24. what befell the children of Bethel you would be of my mind Secondly In speaking of these faults in the youth I doe not so much reproove them as the profanenesse of their parents and governours that keepe them not in but suffer them to do so yea of the Officers also that have power and authority to redresse these things and doe nothing in it If the names of these children and servants were taken as it is fit they should bee many of them would bee found to bee the children of such parents servants of such masters as would bee thought to bee very honest men and good Christians too It is the hypocrisie and profanenesse of these parents and masters that is the cause why their children and servants doe so The fourth commandement though it do concerne and bind all men yet is it given in charge chiefly to parents and masters of families as is plaine by the words of it Exodus 20.10 I tell thee thou art to answer for the breach of the Sabbath that is committed by any stranger thou receivest into thy house and much more then for that that is done by thine owne child and servant When Nehemiah saw how the Sabbath was profaned in Ierusalem by buying and selling of victuals it is said Nehemiah 13.17 hee contended with the Nobles and Governours of Iudah and blamed them for it And bee yee sure God will one day contend with you whosoever you be that have authority and power to redresse these things and doe it not he will charge you with all this Wee have heard of a ruler of the Synagogue Luke 13.14 that could not see the people doe that which hee thought to bee a profanation of the Sabbath without great indignation O that our Magistrates and inferiour officers that our parents and masters of families had but some of his zeale for the Lords Sabbath that they could not without indignation see or heare of the prophanation of it Then should we doubtlesse have no such buying and selling such loading and travelling no such disorder and hooting in our streets no such ordinary absenting from the Church-assemblies no such sleeping and snorting in our Church on the Sabbath Day as we ordinarily have Lecture CXXXVII On Psalme 51.7 Ian. 5. 1629. IT followeth now that we proceed to prove that the two last points of goodnesse that I told you are to be found in some hypocrites are likewise in themselves very good things and never a whit the more to be misliked because they are found in some such men And for the fourth of them To love the sincerity and purity of Gods holy religion and worship and to hate idolatry with all false worship is certainly a good thing and highly pleasing unto God For the first of these No man is to be blamed for desiring to see warrant in the Word for whatsoever hee doth as a worship and service of God especially or for being afraid to do that which hee can see no warrant for in the Word of God In nothing are wee so precisely tied to the direction of the Word as in the matters of the worship of God The charge that is given us Deut. 12.32 What thing soever I command you observe to doe it thou shalt not adde thereto nor diminish from it that is neither doe more nor lesse than I have commanded that charge I say concerneth the matters of Gods worship principally And how highly this pleaseth God when we doe nothing to worship him by but that onely that he hath given us direction for in his Word is evident by the reason of the
himselfe to be for the Gospell and against Popery may give us great hope of the continuance of this blessing and may seeme to free us from feare of any alteration of Religion in our dayes Yet are there three things that make this exhortation every whit as needefull for our times and for us as it was for the people of God in the Apostles dayes First The great danger wee are in that popery may prevaile and steale in upon us and with it a fiery tryall before we be aware not withstanding all that hath beene said of the hopes we have Surely the great increase of Papists that we daily heare of together with the marvellous declining of many declared by the ready receiving of such Doctrines as any seducing Spirit will offer to them may give us just cause of this feare Secondly admit that wee were in no danger at all of a fiery tryall through popery yet are there a number of other new and strange opinions lately sprung up in our Church that do make this exhortation as needfull now as ever it was They are so many that I cannot name them all unto you though I would and they are some of them so fantasticall some so blasphemous and dangerous that I would not offend your Christian eares with rehearsing of them though I could Every yeare almost yeelds us some new conceit in Religion When the servants in the parable of the tares Matth. 13.27 28 spied their Masters field so full of tares they said unto him Sir didst not thou sow good seed in thy field from whence then are these tares They doe not lay the fault upon the seed their Master did sow The Papists and Atheists when they heare either of Heresies that spring in the Church or of hypocrites and scandalous sinners that break out amongst such as professe Religion are apt still to impute all to our Masters seed This comes of following Sermons a goodly Gospell say they this is that brings forth such fruits And the servants of God themselves that know how good the seed was that their Master did sow in this field how sound and pure the Doctrine hath beene which our state and Church hath professed and which hath beene preached in it above 70. yeares without interruption and see what a number of strange opinions are now risen in it are apt to wonder and cry Lord whence come all these tares But marke what answere the Lord of the field gives unto his servants The enemy hath done this saith he Satan the enemy of God and mankinde is the sower of all these tares the authour of all the heresyes and scandalls too that rise in Gods Church And the men that broach these errours how learned or good soever they may seeme to be as Satan himselfe saith the Apostle 2 Cor. 11.14 is of transformed into an Angel of light are set on work by him his agents his seeds-men they are Our Saviour foretelling the destruction of Ierusalem and of the whole state and the judgements whereby God would plague that nation for the contempt of the Gospell and which should bee signes and forerunners of his taking it away from them and bestowing it upon some other nation that would bring forth better fruits of it names this for one Matth. 24.11 Many false Prophets saith he shall arise and shall deceive many Certainly the many sects and errours that arise in our Church as it is to be esteemed a most just judgement of God upon this nation for the contempt of the Gospell so is it a fearefull signe of a more grievous judgement approching and namely of the removing of our candlesticke and taking away the Gospell from us And surely these false teachers increasing as they doe will steale away the truth of Religion from us before we be aware as the Lord speaketh of the false Prophets in Ieremies time Ier. 23.30 unlesse wee stirre up our selves to hold it fast and to cleave so much the more stedfastly unto it because wee see it so many wayes questioned and contradicted by fantasticall spirits Thirdly and lastly The generall decay of the love of Religion in all places and among all sorts of men and the strange increase of irreligiousnesse and profanesse every where will as an epidemicall disease and common contagion infect us all and by little and little steale our hearts away from all care of Religion and respect unto it if we doe not carefully take heed and stirre up our selves to hold fast both the knowledge and practice of the truth which we have received Our long enjoying of the Gospell of Christ together with our long peace and plenty makes us to esteeme lightly and to grow weary of it as Israel of old was of Mannah though it were both the most wholesome and the most delicate foode also that ever man tasted of In which respect the Prophet Psal. 78.25 calls it Angels foode such a foode as if they had needed meate the very Angels might have fed upon Yet grew they so weary of it that they preferred the cucumbers and onyons and garlicke of Aegypt before it Num. 11.5 6. any thing rather then Mannah then that food that came downe from heaven And so doth the Apostle prophesie 2 Tim. 4.4 of a time that should come and we have just cause to judge that this is the very time hee prophesieth of wherein such as had professed the Gospell should turne away their eares from the truth be turned unto fables No doctrine can be so fabulous and fantasticall but men will be ready to turne unto it and to embrace it rather then the present truth as the Apostle calls it 2 Pet. 1.12 Any thing that will oppose and contradict the present truth this Mannah that is before our eyes as the Iewes speake there Num. 11.6 shall be welcome unto them This is not the disposition of a few of here and there one but it is the humour of the very age and time we live in that strongly inclineth unto epicurisme and irreligiousnesse Therefore the Apostle in another prophesie of his 2 Tim. 3.1 wherein he sets downe the generall sinnes of those perilous times that shall come in the last dayes whereinto we are fallen notes this as a chiefe one Verse 5. Having a forme of godlinesse an outward profession of the true Religion but denying the power thereof that the Gospell should have such a commanding power over them as to restraine them from any sinne they were inclined unto especially if it be in fashion this they should not abide this being the generall disease of the time we shal all be in danger to be carryed away with the streame and sway of it if we discerne it not to be a forerunner of the removall of our candlesticke the Gospell and in time take heed and repent and doe our first workes Rev. 2.5 and if the generall inclination unto profanesse that we discerne in all men cause us not to love the truth and cleave to it
digest So the Apostle chargeth the Church Romanes 14.1 not to trouble the weake Christian with doubtfull disputations And as these two precedents must teach us preachers not to trouble the people more then needs we must with matters of controversy so must this teach you that are Gods people not to busy your heads too much with these high points feed better of your milk before you meddle with strong meat be not like to the child that will be at the latter end of his booke before he have learned the first leafe If any of you shall say but I thanke God my capacity will serve to understand any point of controversie I am past a child in religion I answer First I doubt many that think so well of themselves if they were examined would bee found ignorant enough in the maine principles of our religion Sure I am it becomes the best to thinke more meanely of themselves Our Saviour calls his elect Apostles Iohn 13.33 and the Apostle all the faithfull that he wrote to 1 Iohn 5.21 little children Secondly As though a child can never without danger feed upon strong meat yet a man of yeares may safely eat milk so though the weake Christian can never without danger busy himselfe in intricate questions and controversies yet may the strongest Christian with profit seeke to bee better grounded in the maine principles of religion As new borne babes saith the Apostle 1 Peter 2.2 to all the faithfull desire the sincere milke of the Word that ye may grow thereby The third and last way whereby that desire of knowledge that is dangerous and hurtfull may bee discryed is this when wee desire knowledge onely for knowledge sake without all respect to the use and profit we may make of it for our edificaton in faith and holinesse of life This is the rule that we must follow in preaching to teach that onely that is usefull and profitable Paul did so himselfe Acts 20. I kept backe nothing that was profitable and hee chargeth Titus to doe so too Titus 3.8 These things speaking of matters of faith and practise I will that thou affirme constantly these things are good and profitable unto men And this is the rule you should follow in learning Teach me good judgement and knowledge saith David Psal. 119.66 Such knowledge as will do me good and make mee good The true religion that God hath taught us in his Word is called Rom. 10.8 The Word of faith and 1 Tim. 3.16 The mystery of godlinesse and 1 Tim. 6.3 The Doctrine which is according to godlinesse And if thou desirest the knowledge of any thing in religion to any other end then to increase faith and godlinesse in thy heart thou takest Gods name in vaine even in thy desire of knowledge and be thou sure that God will not hold him guiltlesse that taketh his name in vaine Exod. 20.7 Lecture CXLVIII On Psalme 51.7 October 18. 1631. IT followeth now that we proceed unto the second viz. to shew you the meanes that we must use to keepe our selves constant in the truth of religion and preserve our selves from falling away from it Foure principall directions I find given in Gods Book to this purpose First He that desires to abide constant in the truth must ground himselfe well in the knowledge of it labour to bee assured upon good grounds that it is the truth that hee holds Continue thou saith the Apostle unto Timothy 2 Timothy 3.14 in those things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of No man can hope to continue stedfast in any truth of God that hee hath not learned well nor unlesse hee bee assured upon good grounds that it is indeed the truth of God If yee continue in the faith grounded and setled saith he Col. 1.23 As if he had said No man can continue in the faith that is not grounded and setled in it that finds not good grounds for that he holds and beleeves I have chosen the way of truth saith David Psalme 119.30 31. Thy judgements have I laid before mee I have stucke unto thy testimonies No man can sticke to Gods truth that is drawne by others or carried by example or by the sway of the time to a liking of it but hee onely that hath chosen the way of truth that is hee that hath advisedly and upon good grounds undertaken the profession of it They that are children in understanding are apt to be tossed too and fro and carryed about with every winde of Doctrine as the Apostle saith Eph. 4.14 A man shall be apt to receive Popery or any other heresie if he be either ignorant or weake and ungrounded in the knowledge of the tuth as alas most of our people though they have beene hearers so long and professours of the truth will be found to be if ever a time of tryall shall come On the otherside knowledge will preserve a man from that danger Discretion shall preserve thee saith Salomon Pro. 2.11 and understanding shall keepe thee When a mans judgement is once convinced that it is the truth that he holds it will be hard for him to forsake iâ— because the more light a man hath in his heart the more strongly will his conscience reprove and checke and smite him when he begins to forsake it and to goe against it And that is the reason as our Saviour teacheth us Iohn 3.20 why lewd men shunne and hate this light that their deeds may not be reproved If therefore beloved you desire to hold fast your profession ground your selves well in that knowledge of the truth that you doe professe Wisedome is the principall thing saith the Holy Ghost Pro. 4.7 therefore get wisedome and with all thy getting withall that thou hast gotten and dost possesse get understanding As if he had said sell all that thou hast to purchase this pearle according to that in Pro. 23.23 Buy the truth and sell it not also wisedome and instruction and understanding Now he that would ground selfe well in the knowledge of the truth must observe these two rules First he must acquaint himselfe well with the first and maine principles of Religion and seeke to be perfect in them Though a man heare or reade never so much yet shall he never attaine to a well grounded knowledge in Religion till he be well catechised and instructed in the first and chiefe principles of it This course we shall find the blessed Apostles tooke in teaching the Churches and bringing them unto sound knowledge They gave unto them a summe of the maine and most necessary points of Religion that are clearely and plainly set downe in the holy Scriptures So you shall finde the Apostle Rom. 6.17 speakes of a forme of Doctrine that was delivered unto them And 2 Tim. 1.13 he chargeth Timothy to hold fast the forme of sound words which hee had heard of him which both in the next words Verse 14. And 1 Tim. 6.20 he calls his depositum that worthy thing
my God and â—or the offices thereof And indeed there is no way whereby we can expresse our love to God so well as by loving and delighting in and taking care for the house and pure worship of God Therefore in the reason of the second commandement as I told you the last day they that make conscience of that commandement that use and love that worship onely that he hath in his Word appointed are called such as love God Exodus 20.6 and they that are addicted to will-worship and care not for the true worship of God are called ver 5. haters of God Thus did David expresse his love to God Psal. 26.8 Lord I have loved the habitation of thy house and the place where thine honour dwelleth He that careth not for the house and worship of God whether it be maintained in purity or be corrupted whether it prosper or no certainely hath no love of God no zeale of Gods glory in his heart And this shall serve for my first sort of proofes which I told you should be more generall Now you shall see the point opened and confirmed unto you in foure particulars First He that hath the spirit of Christ will rejoyce to see religion prosper to see the purity and sincerity of Gods worship restored and set up See what Ioy there was in Ierusalem in the daies of David when the Arke of God was brought to Ierusalem 1 Chron. 15.28 And in the daies of Hezekiah when the Sacrament had beene celebrated according to the first institution of it which it had not beene of a long time before in such sort as it was written saith the Text 2 Chron. 30.5 and verse 26. from Salomons raigne to that time there had not beene such a Passeover kept it is said ver 25 26. All Gods people did marvellously rejoyce in it So when Nehemiah had reformed and purged the house and worship of God from sundry corruptions and restored it to the primitive purity and sincerity thereof It is said Neh 12.43 That Gods people did rejoyce for God had made them to rejoyce with great joy their wives also and their children rejoyced so that the joy of Ierusalem was heard even a farre off Nay he that hath the spirit of God in him will rejoyce to see any beginnings of reformation in places that were rude before to see religion get any entrance or footing any beginnings of a Church in such places It is said Ezra 3.11 that all Gods people shouted with a great shout when they praised the Lord because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid On the other side he that hath the spirit of God in him cannot chuse but grieve to see or heare that the true religion and worship of God is banished from any place and that Idolatry and a false worship is set up in it Old Ely is noted by the Holy Ghost 1 Sam. 4.17 18. to have grieved much more deepely for the taking away of the Arke of God then either for Israels flying from before the Philistines or for the great slaughter that had beene made of Gods people or for the death of his two sonnes Hophâ—i and Phineas It came to passe saith the Text that when the messenger made mention of the Arke of God hee fell from of his seate backward and his necke brake and hee died And this is also noted to have beene the chiefe griefe of his daughter in law and maine cause of her death too verse 22. this would never out of her mouth in all the extreamity of her paine and anguish while breath was in her body the glory is departed from Israel for the Arke of God is taken away And this was that that troubled that zealous man of God Eliah and made him even weary of his life through griefe and discontentment 1 King 19.10 The children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant saith he they are fallen from thy holy religion they have throwne downe thine altars that is they have abolished and shewed contempt and hatred to thy true worship and why should I desire to live any longer in such a time Hee that hath any love or zeale of God in him cannot but grieve to see or heare that idolatry is set up in any place that it groweth and increaseth any where specially in any place where God was truly worshipped before We read of blessed Paul Acts 17.16 that when hee saw even the city of Athens where God had never beene truly worshipped wholly given unto idolatry his spirit was stirred in him he was incensed with zealous griefe and indignation to see it O how would it have troubled the good man to have seene or heard of such a thing in Corinth or Galatia or Ephesus that were true Churches of Christ where the Gospell had beene and still was faithfully and plentifully preached Nay hee that hath any true love or zeale of God in him cannot but grieve at the least Eclipse that religion suffers in any place though the substance of it doth still remaine yet if it have lost any thing of that luster of that purity sincerity and power that once it had even that is sufficient cause of griefe to every good man Wee read that when in the dayes of Zerubbabel the foundation of the second Temple was laid and Gods people that had seene no better did greatly rejoyce in it Ezra 3.12 Many of the Priests and Levites and chiefe of the fathers who were ancient men that had seene the first house wept with a loud voice even when the rest shouted for joy and the noise of their weeping was as great every whit as the noise of the others rejoycing And why did they so Surely it grieved their hearts to see how farre the house that God was now to have in Ierusalem was short in beauty and glory of that that God had had before in that place Secondly He that hath the spirit of Christ in him will joy in the frequency and fullnesse of the Church-assemblies When David to aggravate the misery of his present estate Ps. 42.4 speakes of the joy and comfort that he had formerly taken in going to the house of God he names this twice in that verse as a maine cause of that great joy he tooke in going to the house of God that there went such a multitude with him And this is noted for one cause of that great joy the people of God expressed at the celebration of that Passeover in Hezekiahs time 2 Chron. 30.26 that the number of the communicants was so great as it is said verse 13. There assembled to Ierusalem much people to keepe the Passeover a very great Congregation On the other side even this hath grieved Gods people to see the Church-assemblies neglected and unfrequented to see the Congregations much thinner then they had wont to be I wil gather them saith the Lord Zeph. 3.18 that are sorrowfull for the solemne assembly who are of thee to whom the reproach of it
few of the most important passages of the story are And why hath the Lord done this Surely because he saw it was necessary for poore humbled sinners that it should be so surely because he saw how apt his poore children would be partly through the corruption of their owne heart and partly through the subtilty of Satan when they had fallen into grosse sinnes to despaire of mercy to thinke their sinne is greater then can be pardoned that there is no hope of finding mercy with God if they should turne unto him and repent that there was never child of God that sinned as they have done For their sakes it is to keepe them from despaire to encourage them to rise out of their sinnes and to turne to God by repentance the Lord would needs have these foule sinnes of his dearest servants recorded who though they sinned as grossely as any humbled sinner can possibly now doe yet upon their rising againe by repentance and turning unto God did find mercy with him And that this was a maine end God respected in this the Apostle plainely telleth us 1 Tim. 1.16 He fell so grievously and yet obtained mercy that God might make him a patterne to all his poore servants that should come after him of his readinesse to receive the foulest sinners unto mercy upon their unfeigned repentance This then is a second end God had in permitting his servants to fall and in letting thee to know of their falls that thou when thou art fallen and humbled for thy fall mightest be encouraged to rise againe and dost thou pervert it to a quite contrary end even to embolden and incourage thy selfe to fall These examples which the Lord intended onely for the helpe of the humbled sinner as a cord to pulâ— him out of the water thou that art a presumptuous sinner and hast therefore nothing to doe with them dost let Satan use them as a cord to pull thee into the water and to keepe thee there to thine owne perdition And this is the first thing I have to say unto these men Secondly Thou hast no cause at all to comfort thy selfe in thy sins by the falls of any of Gods people thou readest of in the Scripture or observest in thine own experience For none of all their sinnes are like unto thine If thou wert such a sinner as they were thou wert an happy man They committed more hâ—inous sinnes then ever thou didst it may be yet were they not so heinous sinners in Gods sight as thou art Thou canst not find in all the Scriptures an example of any one child of God that sinned as thou dost Three maine differences are to be observed betweene them and thee First Thou readest of no child of God that sinned but thou readest also that he repented and was humbled for his sinne yea that the measure of his humiliation was proportionable to the measure of his sinne David was deepely humbled for his sinne as appeareth in the 8. verse of this Psalme Hee watered his bed with his teares Psal. 6 6. Manasses humbled himselfe greatly before the Lord 2 Chron. 33.12 Peter wept bitterly Matth 2â— 7â— If thou couldst do so thou mightest take comfort in the examples of their falls but thou knowest it is farre otherwise with thee Secondly None of them after their repentance did ever fall into those foule sinnes againe Noah was never drunke but once David turned not aside from any thing that God commanded him saith the Holy Ghost 1 King 15.5 that is to say not in any grosse and scandalous crime all the daies of his life save onely in the matter of Vria the Hirtite The like may be said of Peter and all the rest And therefore what comfort can the common drunkard and adulterer and blasphemer take in their examples who though he hath fiâ—s of remorse for his siâ—s yet cannot leave them possibly Thirdly and lastly There was never any child of God that fell into any foule sinne but it was against the purpose of his heart I have said that I would keepe thy words saith David Psalme 119.57 this was his resolution and the setled purpose of his heart A wise mâ—n feareth saith Solomon Pro. 14.16 and departeth from evill hee purposeth not to fall into sinne And therefore the Apostle calleth the falls of Gods child an over-taking in a fault Gal. 6 1. when he falleth into sin it is through the malice and eager pursuit of his corrupt nature or of the divell whereby he is suddenly taken and as it were circumvented and overcome contrary to his purpose and resolutions But on the other side thou never purposest or resolvest to keepe Gods commandements and to resist tentations or if thou do yet thou hast no care to performe thy vowes and promises of obedience thou dost sleight and despise the waies thou shouldst walk in as Solomon speaketh Pro. 19.16 The third and last thing I have to say to these men is this That admit thy case were in all respects such as theirs was yet shalt thou find no cause to imbolden thy selfe to sinne by their example if thou wouldst consider well how they smarted for their sinnes It is true indeed Gods owne people many of them have sinned shamefully but it is as true which thou hast heard proved at large in the Doctrine that the Lord did never so sharply scourge any other in this life for their sinnes as he hath done them And if thou couldst well weigh with thy selfe how dearely they paid for their sinnes thou wouldest bee loath to purchase the pleasure or profit that any sinne can yeeld thee at so deare a rate And therefore it is to bee observed that as the sinnes of Gods people are recorded in the Word so are the fearefull judgements also recorded that followed them for these sinnes Noahs drunkennesse is recorded and so is the fearfull curse also that by occasion of that sinne fell upon his sonne Ham and all his posterity Gen. 9.25 Lotâ— incest is mentioned and so is the judgement also that followed it Gen. 19.37 38. the cursed posterity that came of that sinne were a scourge to Gods people for many generations as you may see Psal. 83.8 Solomons fall is mentioned and so is the judgement that fell on his posterity for it 1 King 11.31.33 I shall not need to speak of David of Hezekiah of Manasses or of Peter all whose sinnes are recorded indeed in the Word but it is as well and as carefully recorded how they smarted for them And to conclude of every sinne of theirs I may say to thee as Abner spake to Ioab in another case 2 Sam. 2.26 Knowest thou not that it was bitternesse in the latter end Lecture CXII On Psalme 51.6 March 3. 1628. THe second sort of uses that this Doctrine serveth unto hath relation unto the judgements of God executed upon others specially upon his owne Church and people The Doctrine which we have heard teacheth us how to judge and how to
be affected with the strange severity the Lord hath shewed for these sundry yeares and doth yet shew towards all the Churches almost upon earth that professe his Gospell And it serveth to reprove two great faults that we are all too much enclined to in this case The first is an over heavie rigorous censure we are apt to passe upon the persons of such as we see the Lord afflicteth in an extraordinary manner The second is an over-light esteeme of the judgement it selfe that God inflicteth upon any in an extraordinary manner For that we are not apt so to be affected with it nor make that use of it as we ought to doe For the first We are all apt to judge them greater sinners then other men whom we see the Lord doth afflict and plague more then other men we are apt to thinke that rare and extraordinary judgements doe alwaies argue rare and extraordinary sinnes in them on whom God inflicteth them Naturall and wicked men have beene wont alwaies to judge so When Shimei saw the strange judgement that fell upon David how his owne sonne sought both his kingdome and life he cryeth out 2 Sam. 16.7 8. Come out thou bloudy man thou man of Belial the Lord hath delivered thy kingdome into the hand of Absolom thy sonne and behold thou art taken in thy mischief because thou art a bloudy man And this hee complaineth was the common cry of all his enemies Psal. 71.11 when they saw him in any great affliction they were wont to say God hath forsaken him persecute and take him for there is none to dliver him Thus the Pharisees argued against the poore man Iohn 9 34. that he was altogether borne in sinnes that is a greater sinner even by nature then any other because he was borne blind And the Barbarians Acts 28.4 when they saw the Viper hang on Pauls hand concluded no doubt this man is a murderer And it is no marvell though wicked men judge thus of the poore members of Christ whom God is pleased in any strange manner to humble either by inward or outward afflictions for thus the Prophet Esay saith Esa. 53.12 our Saviour himself was numbred with the transgressours was accounted a most wicked man and that by reason of the strange afflictions he endured above others We esteemed him saith the Prophet Esa 53.4 our whole nation esteemed him stricken smiâ—ten of God and afflicted They esteemed him to be hated and abhorred of God for his owne iniquities when they saw the extreame misery that he did endure But this is not the censure and verdict of naturall and wicked men only Gods own children are too apt also to judge so The Disciples themselves when they saw the man that was borne blind say unto Christ Ioh. 9.3 Master who did sin this man or his parents that he was borne blind Either himselfe or his parents they were perswaded were guilty of some extraordinary sinne or els such a judgement sure would never have befallen him And Iobs three friends though they were not holy men only but wise learned men too yet had they all too much of this humour in them They judged him to have been a most lewd and vile man Is not thy wickednes great saith Eliphaz to him Iob 22.5 and thine iniquities infinite Yea though they being his inward and speciall friends as they are called Iob 2.11 had been doubtlesse witnesses of the piety and integrity he had shewed in his whole conversation yet now they thought all that had been but in hypocrisie And so Eliphaz twitteth him with it Iob 4.6 Is not this thy fear thy confidence the uprightnesse of thy waies and thy hope As if he should say We may see now what all that goodnesse was thou madest such a shew of And mark in the next verse Iob 4 7. the premises whereupon they inferre this conclusion against him Remember I pray thee saith Eliphaz who ever perished being innocent or where were the righteous cut off He saith not who ever was afflicted being innocent but who ever perished and was cut off Who ever died so miserably who ever was so strangely plagued of God as thou art if he had any goodnesse in him in truth if he were not notoriously wicked And I nothing doubt but this sentence hath beene passed by many against Gods poore Churches in Germany and Rochel The strange hand of God that hath beene upon them all this while that we have enjoyed such peace plenty hath made us apt to thinke that they have beene greater sinners then we that the Lord loveth and liketh much better of us then he did of them or els he would not have kept us so free from all the miseries that have been upon them So that the examples of Gods severity we have seene upon them which should have humbled us and made us afraid have had a quite contrary effect in us they have made us more secure they have puffed us up and made us think better of our selves then we did before You will aske me then Is it unlawfull for us to take notice of the sins of men in the judgement we see God executeth upon them May we give no judgements of the sins of men by the judgements of God that we see upon them as Physitians doe by seeing the Vrine and feeling the pulse of their patients May we not say sometimes that for these and these sins God hath thus and thus plagued them My answer to this question must consist of two parts For I will shew you 1. How farre forth this is lawfull to be done 2. How farre forth it is unlawfull It is lawfull for us first to judge every man to be a sinner whom wee see to be in any affliction For we may be sure God afflicteth not any who hath not by his sins deserved it sin is the first cause of all judgements And we may safely say with the Church Lamenta 3.39 Man suffereth for his sinne A man may safely conclude with the Apostle Rom 5.14 that infants are sinners because they do dye and are besides subject to so many paines and miseries And of Iob himselfe a man may be bold to say he was a sinner because hee was so grievously afflicted yea of him as good a man as he was and consequently of the holiest man that liveth upon earth we may safely say as Zophar said to him Iob 11.6 how extreame soever their afflictions be know thou that God exacteth lesse of thee then thine iniquity deserveth The holiest man that is hath by his sins deserved much more affliction and misery then he doth endure Secondly Where the grosse sins of any have bin notorious and manifest unto us before ever we saw Gods judgements upon them such as the Apostle speaketh of 1 Tim. 5.24 Some mens sins are open before-hand going before unto judgement specially such sins as God hath threatned to punish with such judgements In this case it is not unlawfull for