shall receiue them and such large ones too as none can be larger For as God is greater then all so are his gifes larger then all Thinke on these things for your good and so let vs passe from this first point whereby Christs kingdome is set out and come to the second which is the inuincible power thereof For as his kingdome is large reaching ouer all the world so it is powerfull being able to beate downe all opposition that is made against it This is set downe in the 9. verse in these words Thou shalt crush them with a scepter of iron and breake them in peeces like a potters vessell The speech is allegoricall being drawne part of it from kings as mention is made here of a king who are armed with authoritie and power to punish those that do offend or rise vp in rebellion against them in regard whereof some scepter noting out the same is wont to be carried before them and here this scepter is sayd to be of iron rather then of gold siluer brasse wood or the like because iron is the strongest and fittest to beate downe all things before it And part of it also from potters who do many times so breake their earthen vessels into peeces which they do dislike withall that they can neuer be soudred fast together againe By this then is meant that the enimies must be destroyed and that in such a fearefull manner as that they may neuer be able to recouer their former estate againe or haue any the least hope left vnto them for the same And marke you here how God doth enioyne this duty vpon Christ his sonne and command him for to do it There are other vses of the power of Christ For this inuincible power is granted vnto him as well for the defence and good of his subiects who are loyall and faithfull vnto him as for the destruction and ouerthrow of his aduersaries But yet this latter is onely touched here because mention was made before onely of his aduersaries and nothing was spoken of his friends So that when the Lord doth command him to crush and breake them in peeces he doth not vnderstand by the word or name of them all the heathen whatsoeuer which he gaue vnto him for his inheritance nor all the ends of the earth which he bestowed vpon him for his possession but he meanes onely such rebels as did rise vp against him which were touched in the three first verses those he must destroy and bring to nothing but the rest he was to fauour and to do good vnto Looke then how Dauid gaue his sonne Salomon a charge when he lay as we say vpon his death-bed and was ready to depart out of this world touching Ioab that slue Abner and Amasa and touching Shimei that cursed him and threw stones at him when he fled from Absolom his sonne conspiring against him that he should not suffer their hoare heads to come to the graue in peace as it is in the beginning of the second chapter of the first booke of the Kings So doth the Lord here giue his sonne Christ Iesus a charge touching those as did rebell against him that he should not suffer them to liue but vtterly to destroy them for euermore accordingly as they had deserued But here two questions may be moued the one is whether Christ did it the other is the manner how he did it For the first it is answered in a word that He did it as was shewed before and therefore not now againe to be stood vpon And as for the second the manner was manifold For some of his enimies he doth destroy with some sudden and extraordinary death Others he doth torment with griefes and wounds of soule which are almost intollerable and by the meanes whereof they haue no peace within themselues but do lie in continuall despaire of their owne saluation Not a few of them are tortured in their bodies by horrible diseases and made also desolate and poore for wealth hauing no maintenance to relieue them Thousands and ten thousands he giues ouer to hardnesse of heart that they commit sinne with all greedinesse and make themselues fat against the day of slaughter But to passe all other wayes whether of infamie or the like which happen vnto them here in this world that is the wofullest way of all when he throwes them downe into hell and there doth keepe them in flames of fire that cannot be quenched boyling and rosting for euermore And this all of them shall be sure of as we may see in Math. 25.41 when he saith vnto them Depart from me ye cursed into euerlasting fire which is prepared for the Diuell and his angels For as his kingdome is not of this world so commonly are not his punishments in this world but in the world to come in that hideous and euer-tormenting place As we stood not vpon the vniuersality and largenesse of Christs kingdome in the former verse so will not we stand now vpon the inuincible power and might of his kingdome in this verse neither yet presse any further the destroying of his enimies spoken of therein First because mention was made of them before and secondly because occasion will be offered to speake somewhat of them againe hereafter in the end of this Psalme Here at this time Doct. in that God the Father doth commaund his Sonne to destroy his enimies we may obserue this doctrine that malefactors and euill persons that do offend must not be spared but must be punished according to their deserts and wretched wayes Betimes saith Dauid will I destroy all the wicked of the land that I may cut off all the workers of iniquity from the city of the Lord as it is in Psal 101.8 so that he would spare none that were wicked and licentious and did rebell with an high hand against the Lord. Phineas the sonne of Eleazar the sonne of Aaron was greatly commended for his zeale towards the Lord when he executed death vpon the adulterer Zimri the Israelite and the adulteresse Cozbi the Midianite and did runne them both through with a speare euen through their belly as they were in the tent committing the act of their filthinesse together as it is in Numb 25.7 c. The law of the Lord was amongst the Israelites and in the policy of their gouernment the equity whereof doth belong to all common wealth and states of gouernement whatsoeuer though the bodie of that people be dissolued and their policie came to an end that idolaters blasphemers disobedient children to their parents murtherers adulterers witches and other notorious sinners should be put to death and be cut off from amongst men as we may see at large in the booke of Moses Exodus Leuiticus Numbers and Deuteronomie and as for other faults there were other punishments appointed according to the qualitie of the offence and the trespasse therein committed By all which we may see that God had a speciall care from time
hunger and other calamities which fell vpon them they broke out into murmuring and blasphemous speeches against God and into open rebellion and insurrection against Moses and Aaron their gouernours insomuch as they had stoned them to death had not God by an out-stretched arme preserued thē Numb 14.10 The third is their wilfulnesse or obstinacie For they being with Narcissus in loue with themselues and doting vpon their owne waies will not hearken vnto the charmer charme he neuer so sweetly as appeareth by Christs speech in Math. 11.17.18.19 But as Ieremy doth well obserue of them in Chap. 5.3 They make their faces harder then a stone and do refuse to returne In regard whereof the Lord sending foorth his seruant Ezechiel to preach vnto his people he tels him that they will not heare him and that because they are impudent children and stiffe-hearted Ezech. 2.4 The fourth and last is their vnbeliefe or vnfaithfulnesse For as Christ doth well obserue of his owne Disciples that they were dull of heart and slow to beleeue Luke 24.25 So they distrusting God and not relying vpon him with a stedfast faith do depart away from him and commit grieuous abominations against him according to that in Ier. 5.23 But this people hath an vnfaithfull and rebellious heart they are departed and gone So then these foure vices reigning amongst them do like a violent streame carry them to all kind of rebellions The causes of their rebellion being thus touched Vse now let vs come to the vses of the doctrine They are in number foure For first here we may learne in that all do thus rebell that the greatest number in the world is not the best but the worst The flocke of Christ is a little flocke according to his owne words in Luke 12.32 when he saith Feare not little flocke for it is your Fathers pleasure to giue you a kingdome But the flocke of the diuell is a great flocke according to that in Reuel 20.8 Where his armie that he gathered together against the Saints of God out of the foure quarters of the earth euen Gog and Magog is compared to the sands of the sea for number Oh weigh this well and with a religious heart and let neither Popery tell you of multitude which they make to be a marke of Gods Church nor the carnall Gospeller of the generality of the world which they make to be the rule of their liues but euer looke for truth and goodnesse in the smallest number For many according to Christs words do go in at the wide gate and broad way that leadeth to destruction and but few at the straight gate and narrow way that leadeth vnto life Math. 7.13.14 Secondly here we may learne that we must not care for the loue liking of the world nor hang vpon the multitude for their applause fauour for they are against the Lord not for him Surely as they are most vnconstant in their waies turning vpon euery small occasion like the weather-cocke at the blast of the wind this day one being a man with them to morrow a beast this day none better with them to morrow none worse this day a god with them to morrow a diuell as we may see by their dealing towards Christ Paul So their loue and fauour must needes be bent towards the worst seeing they themselues are bad and do oppose thēselues against the Almighty Remember alwaies what Christ said vnto his Disciples about this matter If ye were of the world saith he in Ioh. 15.19 the world would loue his owne but because ye are not of the world but I haue chosen you out of the world therefore the world hateth you Wherefore as they that runne at tilt looke to the iudges what they say and not what the vulgar people say so I beseech you looke you euer what your iudge in heauen doth allow or approue and care not what the world and the people thereof do thinke or say Thirdly here we may learne that the multitude and the common people will be enimies vnto you and labour to resist you whensoeuer you shall go about to serue the Lord aright If you shall once begin to seeke Christ and to come vnto him they shall stand in your way to hinder you as they did stand in Zacheus way when he went foorth to see Christ Luke 19.3 If you be once in his presence do begin to call vpon him for mercy helpe they wil rebuke you as they did the poore blind man who cryed vnto him saying Iesus the Son of Dauid haue mercy on me Luke 18.39 If you be sicke or dead in your sins trespasses and Christ doth begin to come home to the houses of your soules to heale you and to raise you vp from the death of your sins they will stop his passage and entrance in if they can as they did when Christ came to the Rulers house to heale his daughter that was sicke yea dead when he came Math. 9.23 But as Christ turned them there out of dores saying Get you hence so must you shake them all off and not communicate with flesh bloud in the matters of your God But do as Abraham did when he sacrificed to God the fowles of the heauen fell on the carkeises which he had prepared for the sacrifice but he droue them away Gen. 15.11 So if any do begin to molest you whē you are going about any spirituall sacrifice resist them and driue them away saying with Christ vnto Peter Auoid satan Math. 16.23 Lastly here we may learne to take heede of the people and in any case not to do as they do For seeing that they do rebell against the Lord and the whole world as Iohn doth say 1. Ioh. 5.19 doth lye in wickednesse we must not follow them nor go after their waies to prouoke the holy one of Israel against vs as they do Fashion not your selues saith Paul like vnto this world but bee yee changed by the renewing of your minds that you may proue what is the good will of God and acceptable and perfect Rom. 12.2 The number and multitude must not mooue vs. For what saith the Lord Thou shalt not follow a multitude to doe euill neither agree in a controuersie to decline after many and ouerthrow the truth Exod. 23.2 Wherfore do I beseech you as Wisedome doth counsell vs for to do If sinners do entice vs to go with them let vs not walke in the way with them but refraine our feete from their paths Prou. 1.15 And as Paul doth require of vs let vs not be companions with them nor haue any fellowship with the vnfruitfull workes of darkenesse but let vs rather reprooue them Ephes 5.7.11 Hitherto of the first point Now followes the second In that this their rebellion was wrought by raging and murmuring and these were the chiefe heads thereof Doctr. we are taught this doctrine that raging and murmuring are two great and notorious 〈◊〉 alwaies to bee
others that would enter to come in But let these things thus spoken suffice and cause vs not onely to see their fault and that woefull miserie wherein they liue but also to behold the sweet and great blessing of knowledge which God hath vouchsafed vnto vs through the happy gouernment of his Annoynted ouer vs who doth permit vs to enioy the Gospell freely for the good of our soules and doth take a care also for the right publishing of the same that so his subiects might not bee ignorant therein but haue the sauing knowledge thereof established within them to their eternall happinesse and euerlasting life Lastly out of this we may obserue what is our owne duty to do and that is this We must cast away our ignorance and become learned in the Lords will we must set his statutes before our eyes and make them the men of our counsell we must call after knowledge and cry for vnderstanding We must seeke after wisedome as after siluer and search for her as for treasures Let the word of Christ saith Paul to the Colossians chap. 3.16 dwell in you plenteously in all wisedome teaching and admonishing your selues in Psalmes and Hymnes and spirituall songs singing with a grace in your hearts vnto the Lord. Here you see hee would not haue them to content themselues with a little knowledge but they must labour to be furnished with a great abundance thereof that they might know how to carry themselues in all matters as well for them of mirth and ioy as for others that were more graue and weightie And good reason too for the word of Christ must bee the stone Ezell to vs that we may know where to stay and remaine as Dauid did 1. Sam. 20.19 It must be our tinne-stone spoken of in Zecharie 4.10 that we may know the measure of the walles of new Ierusalem our glorious and renowned Cittie the foundation whereof is of pearle and the streets of pure gold In a word it must be our starre that we may know which way to go directly vnto all our duties that are here below and vnto all those sweete beatitudes that are aboue Doubtlesse without the true knowledge thereof we are all of vs like to Sampson without his eyes or vnto an hawke that is hooded we shall wander from the Lord we know not whither and commit most grieuous abhominations but we shall neuer serue him aright or doe any faithfull homage vnto him For onely those that know his name do trust in him but others do renounce him as the Scriptures do teach vs. Knowledge we finde by experience doth helpe men exceeding much in the waies of eternall life For it doth direct them aright both what to iudge and what to do in all matters of saith and maners and it is a good bridle vnto their lusts It is most like vnto a clocke whereby thou maiest know how thy life is spent as also vnto a man which striueth to beate the dust out of our cloathing Wherefore I beseech you and that in the bowels of the Lord Iesus Christ haue a care of knowledge and labour by all meanes possible to plant a sauing wisedome within your hearts Remember the reasons that were alledged before to moue your selues to this thinke oftentimes vpon them and if neither your owne beastlinesse by nature who haue grosse and thicke scales of blindnesse vpon the eies of your soules as Paul had vpon the eyes of his body at the time of his conuersion can stirre you nor yet the commodities that comes by the knowledge of the Lords will which are sweete and great can awaken you yet yet I say let the feare of your owne damnation rouze you vp hereunto For it is a most wofull thing to lye burning in hell and yet as it hath bene obserued all ignorant persons do so Suppose here were a fire prepared to burne you and to morrow you must be cast into the same and there lye burning peece after peece till all be consumed would not you doe any thing which any man should command you to do to auoyde this punishment O yes any thing I doubt not And yet will you do nothing to auoyde hell fire which is tenthousand times worse then this where you shall lye burning body and soule for euermore Shall not this moue you vp to get knowledge and vnderstanding If you were blinde in body you would giue great summes of money to haue your perfect sight againe And yet will you doe nothing for the sight of the soule which is blinde and can see nothing at all Will you take no paines to haue that couering that couereth all people and that veile that is spred ouer all nations to be remoued away from you that you may be troubled no more with it Darkenesse was one of the greatest plagues which God brought vpon Aegypt But as for the darknesse of the soule that is worse then that by many degrees For as this doth hinder the iudgement which as an eye should guide our actions from discerning things fit to be done and fit to bee vndone and as it doth let our hearts and minds from going and walking about our workes of godlinesse so that we cannot passe through the sweete fields of true comforts and heauenly meditations to life eternall so it doth make vs fall oftentimes into most horrible sins while we are here and it doth cast vs downe at the last into the bottomlesse pit of hell wherehence we can neuer come out againe so soone as we doe depart from hence And will you then rest in it and not seeke rather to come out of it What could Pharaoh that wicked King vse meanes to come out of that bodily darknesse wherein he was by sending vnto Moses and Aaron for that end and purpose by offering vnto them a certaine kinde of libertie to depart out of his country And will you sit still and not vse meanes to come out of the spirituall darknesse wherein you are which is farre worse then that of his was Remember your selues I pray and do as you ought to do But here some man may say Obiect that it is better for vs to remaine still in our ignorance then to get knowledge vnto our selues because ignorance doth excuse men before God and the more knowledge that any man hath the greater shall his iudgement be at the last if he serue not God according to his knowledge as hee ought to do For the seruant saith our Sauiour in Luke 12.47 that knoweth his maisters will and doth it not shall be beaten with many stripes yea with more then he that knew it not and did it not Here is a goodly shift for men to cosen their owne soules by Ans But know thou ô sinfull man first that ignorance doth not excuse men before God but rather accuse them as all other sinnes do and lay matter of condemnation against them to their eternall woe and death for it is a grieuous transgression in his sight
and vnlesse it be pardoned by the sacrifice of his Sonne which was figured out by those sacrifices which were offered vnder the Law for the sinnes of ignorance it will damne them in hell for euermore and keepe them there in flames of fire that cannot be quenched as thou heardst in effect before Indeed in some cases ignorance doth excuse men in part from the greatnesse of the fault but not in whole from all the fault Secondly that though he shall be beaten with more stripes that knoweth the Lords will and doth it not yet the other which is ignorant of it shall be beaten with stripes and he also shall be cast into hell as well as the former howbeit his iudgement there shall not be altogether so seuere as his And wilt thou willingly be beaten with any stripes and go to that fearefull and euer-tormenting place Lastly that some ignorance doth increase a mans fault and make his iudgement to be the more cruell at the last to wit that ignorance which is wilfull and affected as when a man hath meanes to know the Lords will and yet doth refuse it of wilfulnesse or stubburnnesse euen because he will be ignorant still and not haue knowledge to controll him in his sinnes or to stand vp as a Iudge against him in the end of the world when the bookes of mens consciences shall be opened and euery one iudged according to the things which are written therein for this doth make him to be the more abhominable before the Lord and doth procure vnto him the heauier plagues to be executed vpon him I will shew this vnto thee by a familiar example taken euen from thy selfe Thou hast two seruants the one of them doth reuerently hearken vnto thee to vnderstand thy will and pleasure and he is content to learne it to the vttermost but yet he will do nothing accordingly the other doth so far scorne thee and thy worke that as he will do nothing for thee nor according to thy mind so he will not come into thy presence to heare what thou wilt say vnto him or standing before thee will giue no heede to thy words Which of these two I pray thee is the worse and the viler in thine eyes and which of them wilt thou beate most Is not the latter Yes I must needs confesse that wilt thou say for he doth commit a double fault he will neither heare nor do but the other doth commit but a single fault though he will do nothing yet he is content to heare So euen so must thou iudge of most ignorant persons who do liue now in our dayes For they cōmit a double sin in that they will neither learne the will of God nor do it wheras others cōmit but a single sin in that they only neglect it not do it And therefore I say they are most abhominable before the Lord and shall at the last be beaten of him with more stripes then others shall be Wherfore let this be no impedimēt to thee but rather a spur in thy side to prick thee forward to get knowledge and vnderstanding But what course shall I take maist thou say to attaine vnto it Thou must performe these things First thou must pray earnestly vnto the Lord to intreate him to disclose his minde vnto thee and so to circumcise thine eares and heart that thou maist vnderstand his will and see the wonders of his law For wisedome comes by prayer as Iames doth shew in chapter 1.5 saying If any of you lacke wisedome let him aske of God which giueth to all men liberally and reprocheth no man and it shall be giuen him Secondly thou must regard the Ministery of the word most reuerently and frequent alwaies the holy exercises thereof watching daily as Salomon doth speake in Prouerbes 8.33 at the gates of Wisedome and giuing attendance at the postes of her doores For this is an excellent meanes to beget and to increase knowledge within vs as Paul doth well obserue in many places of his Epistles and namely in the fourth chapter of his Epistle to the Ephesians as we our selues do find to be most true by our daily experience both in our selues and others Thirdly thou must meditate carefully with thy selfe both day and night in the law and word of thy God For as the infant doth grow from strength to strength to be able to go by it selfe by sucking and plucking his mothers breasts so doth the child of God grow from knowledge to knowledge by hanging continually vpon the two breasts of the Lords booke the old and new Testament Fourthly thou must conferre and talke considerately with men of GOd and with such as cary knowledge in their lippes and are able to discouer vnto thee the secrets of the Almighty For they shall make thee to vnderstand that which thou couldst neuer attaine vnto by thy selfe and cause thee to see those points after some cleare and euident manner which were before vnto thee as dark as a riddle it selfe as thou maist see by the example of Philip and the Eunuch spoken of in the eight chapter of the Acts of the Apostles Fiftly thou must teach others circumspectly that which thou thy selfe dost know already and rehearse the waies of the Lord euermore vnto them For by teaching another a man doth teach himselfe and ripen his owne knowledge and iudgement exceeding much as many by their owne practise haue found it to be most true to the great ioy and comfort of their soules Finally thou must abstaine most prouidently from all such things as will hinder thy knowledge and bring a spirituall darknesse vpon thee For as he that would haue a perfect sight to behold all things clearely must beware of euery thing which will blemish his eye so all those that would haue a good vnderstanding in the coūsels of the most High must take heed of all such matters as are a stop and impediment therevnto Now these are in number chiefly three The first is a lodging of the affections of the heart and the cogitations of the minde vpon this world for as outward darknesse groweth sometimes by two much gazing vpon bright and glistering things as in experience we finde by white snow white paper and the like so doth inward darkenesse grow also by fixing the minde too much vpon the glistering glory of this world the pompes and pleasures that shine in it Proofe hereof is that rich glutton that wealthy Barne-builder in the Gospell and that turne-coate Demas of whom Paul speaketh who all were blind you plainly see with gazing too much vpon this tempting world The second is a cōtinuing in euil a doing of things which are wicked naught For as outward darknesse groweth by long being in darkenesse as in a prison or elsewhere for by experience it is found so often so by long custome of walking liuing in the outward works of darkenes groweth a strong thicke inward darkenes in the heart of man or woman