we are not admonished by once or twise wee regarde not till we bee chastened and then like wretches murmur at our paines enuie at our sufferings and rebell at his iudgements wee open that which he would couer that is our pride and we destroy that he would saue that is our soules then shall his weakest instruments worke our greatest calamitie To make my vine waste and to pill off the barke of my figge tree to make it bare and to cast it downe that the branches thereof be made white Now the Prophet telleth them where this nation should conquere that is among the vines and figge trees which were very common in Iudea being the sustentation of the poore and the delight of the wealthie and these should all be broken all bee barren and all bee withered and left fruitlesse From hence we may obserue this doctrine that the fruites of the earth are destroied for the sinne of man what had these vines offended that they should be wasted or what had the figge trees sinned that they should be broken downe Surely nothing but the men that vsed or rather abused them were the onely cause that the iuice was dried and their sweetenesse denied them For this cause said the spirite of God by Dauid Psal 107 34. A fruitfull land maketh he barren for the sinnes of them that dwell therein This is a iudgement worth the noting that we might knowe how to amende our land when it cannot yeelde her increase which is to compasse it with our sorrowfull harts and water it with the teares of our eies And this may serue for euidence in our times against them that thinke all is in good order and there needeth no farther reformation Yes verily the earth it selfe crieth out for a reformation for she may say as Naomi saide to her friends I went out full but I returned emptie or as Iacob saide to his sonnes You haue robbed me of my children it is wee that haue inclosed great fruit in a little storehouse for our sinnes haue blasted it and the earth is made barren The reasons of this doctrine are these because there is nothing that will so mooue vs as want will and therefore we are punished with that which goeth neerest vnto vs. Nehem. 5. 3. 4. The want of corne made the people to sell away their houses and their lands yea their owne children they solde to buy them bread what woulde haue made them thus seruile but famine or what would haue greeued them so farre as this And this selfesame complaint haue many among vs taken vp being ready if any would giue them any money to sell their owne children May not this admonish vs that our land aboundeth with iniquitie that is thus filled with the miserie of the poore yes verily and if it bee not speedily preuented the richest and wealthiest shall feele it as well as the basest The prouerbe is almost verified in famine which was woont to be in warre that the great men make the warres and the poore men beare the blowes so the rich mens sinnes haue made the dearth but the poore men liues abide the death Another reason hereof may be this because by this meanes the best and the greatest come into miserie as well as the smallest not so soone I graunt but in continuance of time it is effected Iere. 14. 3. The noblest send their seruants for water but alas they returne emptie and couer their maisters heads with shame Therefore let vs learne what shall bee the pinching estate of the poore when the noblest men thus wring and how are the seruants plagued when the maisters are thus famished Looke vpon it my deere brethren for not one of you shall escape it if this calamitie continue your iewels shall bee woorth nothing your pearle shall perish with you your money which you haue gotten by oppressing the poore shall rather afflict you then comfort you You haue as it were in sport began to make a dearth and it maketh you laugh inwardly to see the coine come so fast into your cofers beware least the Lord turne it into good earnest and laugh as hartily at you to see the soules goe out of your bodies The vses which we must make of this doctrine are these the first is the same which the prophet exhorteth vnto Hag. 1. 5. That euery one of vs consider our waies since the continuance of this famine came vpon vs. Consider you rich men whether you haue not scored vp many sins that might cause this miserie consider O yee poorer sort whether you haue not added many vnthankfulnesses that thus are reuenged with want Consider O you drunkardes and belly gods whether your appetites haue not brought this scarcitie and your fulnesse this emptinesse thinke with your selues O yoong men if it be not likely that your costly pleasures and chargeable pastimes haue cried for a penurie on the earth and a deere reckoning on the Lords benefites If you finde these things then begin a new consideration and thinke with your selues whether the earth crie not for vengeance and the Lords ministers for repentance Take vp a lamentation and say with our selues O Lord it is we and our fathers house that haue caused thy heauie hand to be powred vpon vs for our sakes haue many poore men laboured many women sorrowed and many children perished we haue their blood vpon vs and thou maist iustly require it at our hands but pardon thou our sinnes increase thou our repentance remooue thou thy iudgements and multiplie the fruites of the earth So shall you not satisfie the iniuries done but the expectation of your brethren and the crie of the poore that are yet liuing For assuredly if you helpe not to beare this burden in your bodies you shall weare it in your soules and if you fast not with vs in this life you shall famish without vs in the life to come Cōsider I beseech you your waies auoide that enimie that by your often sinning would destroy both body and soule Oh our dearth may be perpetuall our griefe is immortall your paines shall be eternall your liberalitie but temporall your want if any want but externall but your and our ioyes shall be continuall therefore consider how long we haue sinned how little we haue amended how much we haue transgressed and how soone wee may bee confounded Amende euery man one then shall families be saued amend families and then shall villages bee blessed amende villages then shall cities be cleansed amende cities then shall countries bee sanctified amende countries and then shall the whole world be conuerted For the world consisteth of countries countries of cities cities of villages villages of families families of seuerall persons therefore if seuerall persons will amende then all the worlde shall be amended Another vse which we may make heereof shall be this to imitate the example of the godly Iewes Ezr. 10. 9. that is that we weepe and tremble for the raines and
times yea if it can be most times to cast away ioy to put away pastime to depart from mirth to stop thy eares from musick and thy heart from laughter giuing ouer foolish and vnlawfull iesting merie and pleasant friends and companions and so enter into a deepe consideration of thy sinnes and dangers and troubles and life and death that it may worke an exceeding lamentation for all thy sinnes Remember Moses which forsooke the court of all Pharaohs disports to liue among his poore brethren which daily laboured in making bricke gathering staw and bearing many a heauy burthen and so if we should be exercised in a voluntarie and willing submission vnto teares and weeping sorrowes and lamenting crosses and enduring afflictions we shall kill the hearts of many sinnes and stop the breath of many euils and auoide the danger of many troubles Better it is saith Peter to suffer for well dooings then for euill now when in the feare of God we chastice our selues we suffer for well doing but if we tarrie till famine or warre or sickenes or pouertie or age or death then we suffer for our sins as a thiefe or murtherer for his robbing and killing The twelfth Sermon Vers 13. Girde your selues and lament yee priestes howle yee ministers of the altar c. THe exhortations to the people being finished the prophet goeth on to the priestes and giueth them a speciall direction how to behaue themselues in this time of dearth and famine And this part as hath bin alreadie declared is contayned in this chap. and in the second wherein he putteth thē in mind of their duties which may be reduced to these generall heads particular members First he exhorteth them to a farther humiliation giueth reason for the same vers 13. as that they should be girded with sackcloth vnto lamentation Secondly that they should bee all night long in sorrowing for the same afterward in this chapter he biddeth them sanctifie a fast vers 14. and in the second chapter vers 1. he biddeth them shew the people their woefull danger For the fast he telleth them how it should bee solemnized namely with all the people in the house of God Secondly with praier and the forme or example to pray by is described vers 15. and so to the end of the chapter First when he calleth vnto the priests to be farther humbled whom alreadie he had said to be mourning and lamenting for this matter vers 9. hee thereby giueth vs to vnderstand that there are none so forward in any good action but they haue neede of a farther prouocation and may receiue good instruction to proceed in their godly enterprise For this cause the Apostle 2. Peter 1. 12. telleth the faithfull in his time that he would neuer be negligent to put them in minde of their duetie although they had knowledge and were confirmed in the truth The which thing may reprooue many in our daies which will not abide any wholesome word of exhortation especially there are in the ministerie those which hauing rare gifts and great learning and therefore despise both men and meanes which shall any way put them in minde of their duetie thinking it a disgrace to their persons if any of the inferiour sort shall note vnto them their slips and infirmities But Peter had more modestie which easily yeelded to the reproofe of Paul Would God that men were as much ashamed to commit euill or omit goodnes as they are to be blamed for any default and it were to bee wished that they would as hardly abide the temptation of their enimie the diuell as they will the reprehension of their most christian friends Againe we haue many which haue a little shew of religion and an vnprofitable forme of seruing God the which thinke all knowledge is lapped in their braines and all holines practised in their liues and therefore they despise sermons and preachers reading and hearing conuersion and repentance and will say flatly they haue enough alreadie and therefore will receiue no more Against those let the exhortation of this Prophet and the example of these priests preuaile that they may both either shame them for their folly or reclaime them for their stubbornnes The reasons of this doctrine are these First because it is a true token that we are the Lords when we are exhorted to farther righteousnes Ioh. 15. 3. so that on the other side it is a fearefull signe that wee are none of his when we stop our eares and harden our hearts against the exhortations of the godly ministers wherfore let them which with Peter and Iohn would haue heauen to be on the earth and make a dwelling for their faith on a worldly mount instead of heauēly Sion let them I say know that as the desire of the apostles could not be performed in this life so in this life although they haue clymed vp neuer so great hils of knowledge and secret hidden mysteries and haue seene the graces of God as plainely as they sawe Elias and Moses yet must they come downe againe and labour to goe further before they come to heauen But me thinkes the earnest consideration of this point should make vs all more earnestly to thirst after our spirituall gaine of godlines and neuer to giue ouer till all our vices are remooued all our vncleannes purged and all our wickednes forgotten Doe we not see how the earth after one showre of raine thirsteth for another and so following euery yeere euen so exhortations and reprehensions are like showres of raine to make our hearts to beare fruit the which wee should desire for the loue of more holines as the earth desireth for the encrease of more fruitfulnes Another reason is because it is a notable assurance vnto a mans soule when he beareth exhortation increaseth in knowledge that he hath tasted of the goodnes and grace of God 1. Pet. 2. 3. A yoong childe tasting his mothers milke groweth thereby a sicke man tasting his phisitions potion is strengthened thereby and desireth more phisicke and more meat and therefore if wee can desire to bee more righteous more holy more faithfull more zealous and more carefull of good things we may be assured that our soules are in good and perfect health But alas how many faile herein which taste but finde no relish in the graces of God and suffer the most wholesome foode of their soules to perish in their stomacks they had rather eate the grasse of their own gathering then the meat of the Lords prouiding Stolne bread is swete vnto them that is that which is forbidden them they delight in but that which is commaunded and allowed them they cannot away with they loue better to liue in one forbidden sinne then to liue in a thousand commanded and authorized vertues From this doctrine we may make these vses First seeing there is none so holy and so good in this world but he hath neede of more holines and goodnes then it
wicked pastimes and so haue we they were warned to turne all into lamentation and so must we be Therefore if now you looke on the miserie of our time you shall finde it high time for all to be humbled Let the elders beginne the yoonger will followe yea the little children will crie for companie Let vs all take vs to the houses of mourning olde men bicause they haue seene good daies yoong men bicause they haue liued ill liues and children bicause they are appointed to fearefull destinies parents bicause they haue begotten sinne children bicause they were borne in sinne rich men bicause they haue gathered much married folke bicause they haue loued too much and poore men bicause these daies are but the beginning of sorrows Death calleth for the old let them weepe age calleth for the yoong let them bee sorrowfull correction calleth for children let them crie warres call for strong men let them lament and repentance calleth for all men therfore let al mourne But some will say doe you condemne all mirth that is vsed in our times and shall we liue eate drinke marrie and die in continuall sorrow then can we not account it anie benefite to liue in the world To whom I answere that this is no where commanded that men should so liue in continuall sorrowe but rather Eccl. 2. 24. Salomon saith That it is the onely portion of a man to reioice in the things that God giueth him for all men in health shall conceiue a naturall ioy by their eating drinking as Bohaz Ruth 3. 7. and Salomon saide That wine maketh glad the heart of man the which is lawefull for Christians and necessarie for health Againe there is another ioy which is spirituall and heauenlie which is called the ioy of the holie Ghost Rom. 14 17. This maketh all our afflictions seeme light and little to be regarded Rom. 5. 7. and without this inward ioy one can hardly be a christian the which is neuer lost though we endure neuer so many torments yet in repentance it is darkned and seemeth vtterly gone howbeit it returneth againe with greater measure as the sunne rising But whether naturall ioye bee lost in repentance it is hard to say for sometime a hart that is humbled hath no more ioy in meate and drinke then a sicke person As for carnall ioies which are inuented by iniquitie practised with greedines and loued with too much affection they are neither lawfull or necessarie for a christian and whosoeuer receiueth any comfort by them hee may iustly suspect that his sorrowe was not godly but some other heauie conceit which is easily remooued by company or ioy conceiued of pleasure The xxv Sermon Vers 17. Let the priests the ministers of the Lorde weepe betweene the porch and the altar and let them say Spare thy people ô Lord and giue not thine heritage into reproch that the heathen should rule ouer them Wherefore should they say among the people where is their God NOw the prophet sheweth vnto the priests how they must behaue themselues namely that they should weepe and hee telleth them the place betwixt the porch and the altar that is in the vtter court where the people waited for the blessing after the sacrifice For the people must now be gathered as we haue heard and it was not lawfull for them to come within the precincts of the priests wherefore the priestes must come foorth to them and in their place and assembly make their lamentation By the description of this place for the priestes to weepe and pray in we may note that all the publike exercises of the ministerie ought to be done in a place where the people may heare and see them and for this cause are they commaunded to weepe betwixt the porch and the altar So wee may read did Iehoshaphat 2. Chro. 20. 5. when hee made prayer for the people against the children of Moab and Ammon I thinke there is not any in their right mind but they will confesse the necessitie hereof except those which care not whether they pray for or against themselues standing aloofe in the Church as if they were afraid to heare what the preacher saith Let men therefore labour not only to pray but to come with diligence into the Lords house and publique place of praier where they must bestow thēselues with such care as they may pray when the pastor prayeth and heare when the word is preached that there be not one in a congregation but hee may depart better instructed and better edified The first reason because they can haue no knowledge of that which they heare not and vnderstand not 1. Cor. 14 15 16. alas it is a maruell to see that so many haue so little regarde what is prayed or taught in the congregation especially the poorer sort who are thrust behinde the doores in the greater assemblies by which it commeth to passe that all that is taught is little regarded and whatsoeuer is prayed for is coldly desired it is your duetie to presse into the middest of the assembly that you may hear vnderstand the mysteries of saluation modestie in chusing places is not to bee regarded where danger followeth too much curtesie Another reason in a conuenient place of hearing our harts are more touched and awaked by the word Act. 1. 13 14. there can bee no zeale in them that cannot heare the voice of the preacher neither any reuerence to almightie God and it is much better that they come not at all or depart out of the church then to sit there without obedience to God attention to the word or profit to their owne soules Let vs therefore so sorte our selues in the congregation where our eares may be beaten with an vnderstanding sounde and our hearts bee touched with a heauenly power that the coales of zeale may bee enflamed and the light of knowledge may be kindeled Therefore let this bee the forme of a congregation that the minister so speake and the people so heare that with one soule their praier may ascende to heauen and so wee may reade Acts. 4. 24. that the Apostles with one consent lift vp their voices to God and the place shooke where they were assembled one spake and all agreed their eares were attentiue to his wordes and all their harts were lifted vp at once to the Lord. The which honourable practise commendeth a congregation when as they being many make but one man at praier as the wheate-cornes being many make but one loafe at table Our Sauiour hath taught vs that if two or three shall agree on any thing in earth the same shall bee sealed and confirmed in heauen Agreement in battle getteth victorie consent in a common weale maketh peace vnitie in musicke maketh harmonie and the fellowship in praier conquereth the diuell getteth peace of conscience and soundeth sweetely in the eares of God Therefore if euerthou come into the place of any godly exercise ioyne thy mouth
churches reade our bookes and beleeue not our Sermons Now thinke with thy selfe that hast liued thus long in a strange place yet knowest not nor obeyest the Lord of that place art thou not in danger to be arraigned for rebellion Yes verily and so are all those that liue with good men and know them not that may haue the truth and labour not for it that might be saued and yet will be reprobated Be not therefore an enimie to godlines or to any member of the church for if thou heare them not their words will hurt thee if thou helpe them not their wants will witnesse against thee and if thou oppresse them the Lord himselfe will iudge thee The xl Sermon Vers 13. Put in your sithes for the haruest is ripe come get you downe for the wine-presse is full yea the wine-presse runneth ouer for their wickednesse is great 14. O multitude ô multitude come into the valley of threshing for the daie of the Lorde is neere in the valley of threshing AT the length by the assistance of God we are come to the last part of the execution contained vnder the allegorie of an haruest and threshing of corne In the haruest and wine-presse we must consider their death and vnder the threshing their condemnation For the first where hee compareth their destruction to a haruest he doth but as it is vsuall in the Scriptures both olde and newe to set foorth a massacre of men by cutting downe of corne the which is applied to the latter iudgement in the Reuelation onely heere is mention made of sithes but there the angels are saide to reape with sickles the matter is all one for as one saide Non multum refert an vno grandi fluctu an paulatim aqua subrepente nauis submergatur It commeth all to one thing to haue a shippe drowned either with one great waue or by a leake and it is no matter whether a mā be killed with a sword or a rapier so the iudgement is alike both with the sickle and with the sythe By the allegorie both of the haruest and of the wine-presse wherein there is not a stalke but it is cut nor a grape but it is pressed out we may note that not one shall escape the iudgement of God Amos 9. 2. The which thing the Lorde by this plaine similitude woulde haue vs obserue that euery day wee might see our miserie and learne to mitigate the wrath of God towarde vs. Neither is the estate of the wicked more tolerable bicause it seemeth they are heere compared to corne for it is but the woorst and basest corne such as is cut with the sythe not reaped with a sickle For although they are corne yet they are not for the Lordes spending Dauid saith they lie like sheepe in hell are they the better in hell bicause they are compared to sheepe no verily no more are they the happier bicause they are resembled to corn The reason of this vniuersall iudgement is because the Lorde will bring euery action whether it be good or bad vnto iudgement Eccl. 12. 14. If he will bring euery action then much more euerie man for euery man hath a thousand actions all which shall be so adiudged as we shall know the particular censure of God vpon euery one of them Seeing therefore there is not one man in the worlde but hee must come to iudgement as there is not one stalke in a corne-fielde but it must be cut downe and as the apostle saith 2. Cor. 5. 10. that wee must euery one appeere before the iudgement seate of God then let vs liue in the continuall expectation thereof A man that is wrongfully imprisoned thinketh it long till the iudge come who will set him at libertie because he knoweth his iniurie in like sort a man that is a christian is a prisoner in this worlde hauing his flesh for his gaole his sinnes for his irons the diuels for his keepers and Christ his Sauiour for his iudge thinketh long till his iudge come and set him at libertie and therefore desireth euery day to come into the presence of God A iudgement we must all vndergo therefore they are happy men that desire the same let not any be so wilfull as to wish there were none for they which cannot like iudgement doe denie iustice and they which denie iustice shall certainely feele it Appeere before the Lorde often with thy praiers that hee may knowe thee at the generall iudgement Be not as vnwilling to come before him as a theefe that careth not for the face of the iudge but as Ioseph thought long till hee sawe his father Iacob after he knew hee was aliue so doe thou thinke euerie daie manie yeeres till thou haue seene the Lorde in his kingdome Againe when in the second place he mentioneth the wine presse saying it runneth ouer and their wickednesse is great he thereby noteth the qualitie of sinne namely if God had not set a measure thereof it would growe immeasurable for as the measure of the wine presse neuer staieth till it bee full and when it is full it ceaseth not till it runne ouer so will the sinnes of men neuer cease til they exceede measure Ier. 9. 3. whereby we may see a wonderfull worke of God for there is not one man liuing but he hath in him the seede and spawne of all sinne now it is wonderfull that euery one groweth not and that any man liuing should haue in him any little drop of goodnesse We may also lament our corrupt and sinfull estate that during the time of our life we are subiect to all sinne for there is no subiect so true but if God let him fall he will become a traitor no woman so honest but she may become an adulteresse no man so righteous but he may become a theefe and to conclude there is not any so glorious but hee may be as infamous for as we are subiect to all sicknesses so are we to all sinnes O miserable men that wee are who shall deliuer vs from these bodies of sinne it is borne with vs it groweth with vs it liueth with vs and it dieth with vs it is the death of it selfe and the death of vs the death of it selfe by killing vs and the death of vs by exceeding measure for as the sonnes of Zeruiah were too strong for Dauid although he was king so our sinnes are too strong for vs although we shoulde rule them We were happy men if our sins were not or if they were not so immesurable They will com at the first to be our slaues as the Philistines but in the end they will be our lords as they would be to Israell Oh woulde God we might conquer them and driue them out of our soules as they expelled the Philistines out of Ierusalem The reason is because the power of sathan which is the efficient cause of sinne doth encrease to deceiue vs 2. Thess 2. 9 11. The diuell
their body were changed into wormes as Herods was should not this neither Oh yes but seldome times will you say are these things wrought I graunt it so indeede but much seldomer are men amēded by hearing of them in other or feeling them in themselues Tarry not to conuert I beseech you till these wonders be wrought againe tempt not the Lord of heauen and earth with deferring the day of repentance For bee you assured that contemning the riches of his grace and abusing the patience of his long suffering while his word and Gospell is preached and not beleeued he will verifie that prophesie vpon you that was long agoe pronounced Reuel 19. 17. vpon the enimies of Christes Gospell Come ye foules of the heauen to the great supper of the great God that yee may eate the flesh of kings and captaines and mighty men of horses and riders offree and bond of small and great Oh then will it be too late to cast away pleasures to curse your delaies to imbrace the Gospell and to crie peace when the sword of God is dipped in blood Another vse hereof may be this that seeing the greatest and strongest creatures were by nature and creation subiect to man now not onely they but also all other both great and small through our transgressions are become either our enimies or else our conquerors This must teach vs how odious and abhominable a thing is sinne and wickednesse in the presence of the eternall God and his vnreasonable creatures it was forbidden by God it was condemned by angels it is reuenged by beastes and punished by diuels it droue Adam from paradise it kept Moses from Canaan it destroyed the inhabitants of Ierusalem and hath excluded infinite thousandes from the kingdome of heauen It was committed by the blood of soules it was redeemed by the life of Christ it was reprooued by the death of martyrs and yet it is maintained by the practise of multitudes Oh whose hart is not diuided to see such a monster more made of than all good things which was hatched by the diuell and fed by the life of soules and yet raigneth that it may winne millions of soules to condemnation Shall reasonable men rescue it when vnreasonable beastes fight against it euery creature in his kinde cries vengeance against it It made the angels damnable it made the world abhominable it maketh the beastes corruptible and it maketh men miserable Miserable I say by birth for they are borne in it miserable by life for they are vexed with it and most miserable by death for they are cursed with it We haue already heard that the sinnes of Egypt were punished and reuenged by lice and the sinnes of Herod were requited by wormes and vnto these adde the sinne of the prophet that reprooued Ieroboam 1. Reg. 13. 24. which was rewarded by a lion Thus doth the earth crie woe vnto it for it cursed her thus doth the heauens hate it for it destroyeth her children thus doth the starres fight against it because it dazeleth their light and thus doe wilde beastes warre against it because it encreaseth their grones Oh then let not vs men bring vp that mōster hatch vp the coccatrices egs which so soone as it is deliuered and conceiued it giueth our liues mortall woundes If wicked Herod in slaying the children of Bethleem thinking thereby to slay Christ did not refraine his crueltie from his owne houshold but also put his owne sonnes to death least they should afterward trouble him for his kingdome how much more ought we not to imitate his crueltie but his policie to bridle our natures to chaine our affections to subdue our lustes to conquer our desires and to forsake our pleasures that we might bathe the sword of God his lawe in the blood of our owne sinnes seeing if it liue we must die and if it die we shall liue It commeth vnto vs with the Sirens song it embraceth vs friendly as Ioab did Abner but while it saluteth vs with one hand it stabbeth vs with the other It promiseth vs faire as Iael did to Sisera and it giueth vs milke in steede of water it serueth vs in plate it clotheth vs in purple it lodgeth vs in ease but in the end it slaieth our soules as she did Sisera it maketh much of vs as the high priests did of Iudas it maketh vs gentlemen of rascals it maketh vs rich men of beggers it maketh vs companions of princes it deliuereth vs when others are endangered but in the ende it tieth the halter to our necks and maketh speede for our execution it serueth vs as the harlot did the yoong man Prouerb 7. it kisseth vs it flattereth vs it pleaseth vs and it promiseth vs all sugred ioyes but yet it draweth vs as the oxe is drawen to the slaughter it biddeth vs take our ease followe pastimes auoide preaching loue not the prophets come not at the churches and forget all manner of godlinesse but in the ende it serueth vs as a noble man doth his olde spannell commending some to the gallowes some to the prisons some to noysome sicknesse some to pouertie some to slauerie some to madnesse some to vntimely death and some to vnmercifull hell Therefore heare and follow Salomons counsell Prou. 7. 24. Heare O my children let not your hearts decline to her waies and walke not in her pathes for she causeth many to fall downe wounded and strong men are slaine by her her house is the way vnto the graue which goeth downe to the chambers of death The sixth Sermon Vers 5. Awake O yee drunkards and weepe and howle O yee drinkers of wine because of the new wine for it shall be pulled from your mouth NOw we are to handle the exhortations of the prophet made and grounded on the premised calamitie The which exhortations for our more orderly and formall proceeding I will thus diuide some of them concerne the miserable ouerthrowe of their countrey by famine whereunto they are prepared by the prophets sermons and these are in this first chapter and to the twelfth verse of the second chapter the other generally stirre them vp vnto repentance from the twelfth to the eighteenth The first of these whereby the inhabitants of the land are admonished prepared for the iudgement is either for the people as in ver 5. 8. 11. or for the cleargie or ministerie as in the 13. of the first chapter the first of the second chapter That part which is directed to the people is by speciall names notes of persons described which are of two sorts either for their manners as drunkards ver 5. or for their occupation or trade of life as husbandmen ver 11. And also these exhortations haue their seueral reasons to mooue the people withall as in this we haue in hand he moueth the drunkards either to awake or to lament ver 5. 8. Vpon these causes the first concerne themselues vnto the nienth and from the nienth to the
father hell is our bondslaue but their hangman We reioice as if we reioiced not but they reioice as if they were borne for nothing else we sorrowe as if we wept not but they haue their eies weeping in life their harts weeping in death and their soules weeping in hell Thinke nowe my beloued that this is our time of lamentation and this is our lamentation of time to see men weeping that should reioice men reioicing that should lament Woe be vnto them for they haue their consolation Therefore if once the worlde turne with the wicked then shall happines be like ise their pleasure like a sommer dewe their friends shall forsake them their feare shall possesse them and their miserie shall ouercome them Seeing therefore this is the case of the wicked that know not nor feare not God hence ariseth this most assured and fearefull and yet comfortable vse to be knowne that such as is the life of the wicked such shal be their end Amo 4. 1 2 3. The prophet in the saide place calling vpon the heads and rich men of Israell by the name of the kine of Bashan that fedde in the mountaine of Samaria telleth them that the Lorde hath sworne that seeing they behaued themselues like beastes he woulde also vse them like beastes for the thornes should stifle them and their posteritie shoulde be taken with fish-hookes and they shoulde go out of the gaps and breaches forwarde like kine and they shal be cast headlong out of the pallaces And these kinde of beastes are the oppressors of the poore the deuourers of meate and drinke the neglecters and despisers of the Lords worship and such as prophane the Lordes sacrifices with their owne inuentions vers 1. 4. 5. Consider nowe if euer there were mo beastes in Israell then are in England O lamentable world wilt thou euer proceed to prouoke the Lordes wrath to oppresse thy owne flesh to spill the life of thy owne brother and to shed the bloud of thy owne soule dost thou not yet knowe that if thou delight in cursing thou shalt receiue cursing and bicause thou louest not blessing it shall be farre from thee Yea I will adde this also thinkest thou not that thy cruell life shall haue a cruell death and thy mercilesse hart shall receiue a mercilesse plague doth not the scripture say That the same measure shal be heaped on thee that thou didst powre vpon other Hast thou lead all thy life in swearing and dost thou thinke thou shalt die with blessing hast thou walked wantonly passed the time pleasantly pampered vp thy owne bodie delicately consumed thy strength lecherously wasted thy wealth prodigally despised the ministerie wickedly frequented euill companie ioyfully vsed all maner of gaming greedily and wilt thou hope for all this to die the death of the righteous and to make a blessed latter ende Then is it not true which is most true that such as men sowe such shall they reape and if their life be the season their death is the haruest Oh that I coulde perswade you to liue well as you perswade your selues to die well then shoulde your times bee happie your liues be godly and all our endes bee blessed Therefore on the other side wee that are in league with the Lorde of glorie howe happie is our case seeing as wee liue so shall wee die our wearied bodies shall rest in his kingdome our sorrowfull soules shall bee refreshed in his kingdome our wounds shall be healed in heauen our teares shall be wiped from our eies our liues shall be disburdened of slaunders and to conclude seeing we being aliue are buried with Christ by our profession wee shall also at our death be raised vp with Christ to his euerlasting possession Secondly another vse which doth arise from this point is this that seeing the wicked are so beastly in their sorrowes and so desperate in their afflictions that sometimes wickednesse is rewarded in this life though not alwaies for their comfortlesse estate is the iust punishment of their wretchlesse behauiour We haue manifold examples hereof in the sacred worde of God who was more cruell then Adoni-bezek who cut off the thumbes and toes of seuentie kings and afterward by the Lords commandement he was so serued himselfe Iudg. 1. 6 7. Who was more proud then Nabuchadnezzar yet in this life was his vnderstanding taken from him and he driuen to eate his meate with brute beastes Tzedechias which burned the booke of God was taken by his enimies had his children slaine before his face and afterward had his owne eies put out and died at Babylon Herod that wicked wretch was eaten of wormes Ananias and Saphira were slaine by the Lord himselfe with a great many of like terrible iudgements of God of which you may read both in the scriptures and in the writings of other There are a viperous broode among vs which are not ashamed openly to professe that they care not so much for the pains in another life if they may escape the plagues of this life that is present and notwithstanding they feare the punishment of their sinnes shoulde bee executed on them in this life to their open shame and in the life to come to their vtter destruction yet they will neuer bee amended by Gospel or iudgemen t let such persons thinke what shall be their danger if they continue in this wicked opinion and wretched life For assuredly as Dauid once saide so will we euer say that the same which the wicked feareth shall come vpon them why shouldest thou bee more ashamed to be punished before a few of thy friends in this life then to bee laide open to the full vnto all the world at the latter day Learne therefore to purge thy hands and hart from sinnes wherein thou dwellest and when they shall bee burned thou shalt bee saued thinke that thou art not better then those which are already named and therefore thou maist be hanged with Absolon be stoned with Achan be cursed with Canaan be brained with Abimelech bee eaten with dogs as Iezabel was bee slaine with the sword as Adoniah was and finally fall from the top of honour to the bottome of ignominie as Haman did Because of the newe wine This is the cause why hee biddeth the drunkards and drinkers to awake because they should loose that which they best loued your newe wine that is so sweete to your mouthes wherein you dwell day and night shall bee taken from you And in this the prophet noteth vnto vs the whole corruption of carnall and wicked men that if they be ioyfull or if they be sorrowfull it is onely for the things of this life present when their barnes and storehouses are filled their fieldes clad with cattell their names exalted with worldly honour then they strike vp the ioyfullest musicke to their harts that they can inuent but when their wealth decreaseth or sicknesse taketh them or the famine vexeth them or the rumors of bloodie and
with mourning least they should esteeme the matter lightly that their sinne could be washed away with teares he telleth them plainly that the wine shal be pulled from their mouth and this he doth in my iudgement to driue them to a deeper conscience of their sinnes and consideration of the Lordes wrath So that he may seeme thus to say vnto them it is alreadie decreed that your euill shall not be turned away therefore lament your calamitie And from hence we may note that all the feigned repentance vncōfortable cries of the wicked shall neuer turne away the wrath of God from them So doth the holy Ghost declare Heb. 12. 17. Gen. 27. 38. when Esau with abundance of weeping cried out for the blessing yet he could not obtaine it Wherein there appeereth their endlesse misery that their teares shal be no more accepted of God then are the cries of a beast in the hand of a butcher The Lord knoweth that they are not humbled for his sake but for their owne and were it not more for the fear of their own misery then of his iudgements they would neuer take his name in their mouthes except to blaspheme him The Lord can and will shewe himselfe froward with them that are froward Psal 18. and haue as deafe eares at their cries as euer they had at our sermons he will be as merciles vnto them as euer they were to their brethren no children which seeme innocent no women which seeme penitent no olde men which seeme religious no yoong men which seeme glorious nor any bloode which seemeth precious shall remooue their paines and reuerse his sentence And this doth the holie Ghost alwaies perswade vnto the wicked bicause hee telleth them in other places as Prou. 15. 8. Mich. 6. 7. That their sacrifices are abhomination vnto him and if they woulde giue him the fruite of their bodies for the sinne of their soules yet will he not be mercifull vnto them What did the Lord in outward shewe better accept then sacrifice and what coulde outwardly shew greater obedience then with Abraham to offer vp their owne children yet it being done of a wicked man or womon all were woorth nothing Secondly the Lorde hath appointed a time wherein he woulde haue our conuersion performed which being passed there can bee no redemption Psalm 95. 7. Cant. 5. 6. To day if you will heare his voice then harden not your harts the fruitlesse tree in the Gospell had a time wherein it should beare fruite which being omitted without all mercy is hewed downe Therefore haue you also a time in the which if you be conuerted then shal your death be deare in the sight of the Lord but if you neglect this time your bloud shall be vile in his presence But when will you say is this time and how shall we knowe it Surely if a man in his last testament giue a legacie of money to his sonne or seruant and name not the time of the payment the lawe doth adiudge it to bee due at the death of the testatour so the Lorde hauing set no time in his testament when thou shalt repent either in yoong or in olde age in the day or in the night he thereby teacheth vs that euery day yea euery minute is appointed for our repentance till we haue repented therefore how much we liue without conuersion so much we loose and euerie day calleth vpon vs to fulfill our fathers testament except we be bastards Seeing now that the case of wicked men is so pitiles at the Lords hande let vs see what exhortations we may gather from hence for our instruction and first of all let vs take that which our Sauiour hath left Luk. 13. 24. Striue saith he to enter in at the straite gate for the time shall come that many shall striue and not be able to enter Labour I beseech you for Religion for the knowledge of the Gospell for obedience to the ministerie that your prosperitie may be continued and your aduersitie may be relieued What a shame is it for men of wealth woorth to be shut out of a noble mans gates or rather what a shame is it that the teares and sute of a sonne being in prison or beggerly shall not mooue his owne parents to clemencie so shall it be with you when you shall haue mercy shut against you bicause you cared not for the bloude of Christ and you shall haue your owne father by creation not once acknowledge you to be childrē or pitty your calamity bicause you disobeied him therfore now striue that then you may enter now obey that then you may be receiued now humble your selues that then you may be lift vp let this prouoke you like an iron grate vnto the embracing of the fear of God Presume not on the Lords mercie despaire not of your owne estates say not it is too soon for that is impietie yea the houre now is thinke not it is too late for that is blasphemie but if now thou canst enter now also thou shalt be receiued Another vse heerof doth the Lorde himselfe make Esay 17 13. That euen the same things wherein we trusted being in prosperitie shall if they can deliuer vs vp when we are in aduersitie when thou criest saith the Lorde the things that thou hast gathered togither shall deliuer thee but the winde shall take them away vanitie shall pull them away but he that trusteth in me shall inherite the lande and possesse my holie mountain The Lord mocketh and derideth at the wicked men as if he should say vnto them in this sorte you olde men you haue gathered many fables you yong men you haue hoarded many pastimes you women you haue laid vp many trifles you rich men haue encroched many purchases you noble men haue encreased your wordly honor now call to these your gods in sicknes in famine in warre in pouertie in miserie in death but I will blow them from you they cannot helpe you you shall onely knowe that they which haue relied on my blessing beleeued in my promise delighted in my truth they onely shall haue the earth for their possession and the heauens for their inheritance How foolish are men that seeke not for these things before hande that knowe not that in their wealth they choose for their life which they must abide and cannot auoide when they are in distresse either godlinesse which procureth their worldly ignominie and their heauenlie glorie or else wickednes and vnlawfull riches that causeth their worldly maiestie but their euerlasting miserie The eight Sermon Vers 6. For a nation commeth vpon my land mightie and without number whose teeth are like the teeth of a lyon and he hath the iawes of a great lyon NOw the Prophet commeth to his metaphoricall allusions whereby sometimes hee mooueth the people somtimes he describeth the persons which are the workers of this calamitie as in this vers where hee resembleth the beastes to a nation
bodie of Saul doe when his soule was so laden with sin for he knew that the Philistines must needes haue his life and the diuell his soule in like manner will the enimie bewitch you when you are in aduersitie Therefore cast down your castles and defences for sin as the Lord exhorteth Hos 10. 14. before the diuell make them inuincible For as the raigne of Abimelech was the slaughter of Gedeons sonnes and the raigne of Athaliah was the ouerthrow of all the kings seede so is it betwixt vs and our sinnes if they raigne we must die if we put them downe we shall liue Let vs therefore cast them downe betimes for as the Israelites did at the first spare the Canaanites afterwarde they could neuer destroy them so if at the first we dallie with our sinnes in the end they will grow vnresistable Oh that we might liue to say of our sinnes as Christ said of the temple that there might not one sinne be left vpon another Let vs bury our sinnes as Ieremy said Iehoijakim should be buried Ierm 22. 18 19. that their deaths be not lamented but let them be cast out of our soules as a dead asse is cast out of a citie for as a dead corps procureth nothing but wormes and stinke and feedeth fowles so our sinnes cause nothing but woe and sorrow and feed diuels Againe let vs not onely cast away our sinnes in heart as many say they haue done but in words and works professe and shew the same Hos 14. 3. for by our words we shall be saued and by our words we shall be condemned A repentant man is knowne by his confession as Rahabs house was knowne by the thred that was tied in her window which caused her all her kindred to be spared and so if we would be spared at the great day of the Lord let vs confesse our selues to be of his family Many I know there be which thinke it sufficient to leaue sin and neuer to make confession thereof so also there be many that thinke it sufficient to beleeue the Gospell although they neuer professe it but in my opinion the one and the other are both deceiued For wee must not bee of Abrahams heart and of Belials life wee may not beare the soule of Dauid and the shewe of Pharisees Good king Iehoshaphat being in shewe like wicked Ahab was in danger to be slaine for Ahab so are all those in danger of death who haue inwardly good heartes and outwardly euill liues Confesse thy sinnes thy faith thy God thy sinnes to thy brethren thy faith to the church and thy God to the whole worlde that thou maiest bee as farre from note of euill as euer is light from the shewe of darknes The xviij Sermon Vers 7. They shall runne like strong men and goe vp to the wall like men of warre and euery one shall goe forwarde in his way and they shall not staie in their paths NOwe the Prophet commeth to the last similitude wherein he compareth these deuourers to souldiours for in truth there is not any mischiefe like to the mischiefe of warre which is well termed the slaughter house of mankinde and the hell of this worlde And in this treatise following I must enter into martiall affaires that as I haue hitherto taught you to be christians so now I must instruct you to bee soldiours and learne you the arte of warre Wherein this Prophet toucheth two things The first is the order of an armie vers 7. 8. Secondly the ouerthrowe or sacking of the conquered For the first he noteth what manner of men souldiors shoulde be namely Strong men Exod. 17. 10. For God hath so ordeined that all men haue their crosses and callings to humble them If thou be bee wise thou art emploied in gouernment if thou bee strong thou art busied in warre if thou be weake thou art tormented in want if thou be a woman thou art vnder subiection if thou bee a foole thou liuest in contempt Therefore thou which art a souldier make this vse of this point that thou encrease thy strength and cast away feare Deuter. 31. 8 Vndoe not thy strength by quarrelling or drinking or watching or fasting or feasting or whooring but keepe thy body in strength to benefite thy countrey Againe make another vse which the Lorde taught Iosuah the most noble captaine and souldier of the worlde who had the leading of sixe hundred thousand men and ouercame thirtie and one seuerall kinges in a little time this exhortation is set downe Ios 1 8. That alway in warre thou looke to the worde of God whether thy cause bee iust thy heart bee willing and thy calling be lawfull whether thy handes strike when God biddeth and thy foote stande when God calleth Looke to this I saie and robbe not kill not and fight not but against a lawfull enimie But alas Iosuah is dead and al those which sawe his doings now in warres there is gaine in steade of godlines courage in steade of equitie bloudthirstines in steade of valour policie in steade of iustice and you seldome see a souldier of any religion and neuer praieth till he bee in danger of death Another instruction ariseth out of this verse when the prophet saith Like men of warre whereby we obserue that souldiers should bee disciplined and instructed before they be sent into wars or else they cannot be like men of war This benefite Dauid acknowledged that he receiued of God Psal 18. 34. it is a dangerous matter to aduenture a whole army vpon yoong souldiers and more dangerous it is to vndoe any through want of skill The reason is bicause men must not onely haue strength but wisedome and cunning in their weapons and sometime vse the stratagems of warre where policie and experience is woorth tenne thousand mens handes as wee may see in Iosuah cap. 8 4 5 6. and in the Israelites Iudg. 20. Wherfore make this vse in thy warfare of this doctrine howsoeuer thy cause be good thy strength be great and thy experience much yet neuer fight til thou haue cōmended the victorie to God 2. Sam. 10. 12. for God is the warrior which daunteth euery enemy and directeth euerie dart to the person appointed Be not too bold as the Israelites were Deut. 1. and were chased backe againe by the Amorites but vse deuotion to God and discretion in thy busines remember well that the sword cannot cut except the Lord whet it that thy arme cannot strike except God enable it that the enimie will not flie except he discomfort him and that victorie will not follow thee except God be on thy side Againe if thou bee an able man for the warre both in strength and skill come willingly when thou art called and refuse not to fight in a good cause although it bee against thy own brother Yeeld obedience to them that shall teach thee and as the captaine in the Gospell said that his souldiers did
soule that it may stande in all stormes swimme in all seas abide in all dangers liue in all deathes and raigne in all glorie So you shall know that I am the Lord your God dwelling in Zion my holy mountaine then shall Ierusalem be holy and no strangers shall goe through her any more Now the Prophet drawing to a conclusion of his Sermons shutteth them vp with many sweete promises of the Lords fauour as first of all his presence then his bountie his presence in this verse which shall sanctifie them and keepe them from enimies Concerning the former part of this verse where the Prophet saith they shall know him to be their God dwelling in Zion sufficient hath beene alreadie spoken and I will not stand any longer thereon but referre you to the former chapter This therefore his promise vnto Ierusalem that it should be holy teacheth vs the perfection or greatest honour of the church namely Holines Ephes 1. 4. when the Lord promiseth that his church should bee holy hee thereby teacheth vs that all gifts and goodnes and mercy and glorie and dignitie of the church proceedeth from this that she is holy neither can the Lord in this world bestow any greater benefit vpon his church then hir sanctication This Holines consisteth not in learning nor in studying nor in knowledge nor in prophesie nor in miracles nor in church-offices but in a good life and in all them so that a holy man is a perfect christian Now verily when the Lord promiseth Ierusalem to be Holy he giueth hir all things for he giueth hir grace to be righteous his fauour to be honorable and his benefits to be glorious Without holynes men are heathens but with it they are christians without it they cannot enioy the earth but with it they may enioy the heauens without it they are sathans slaues but with it they are the Lords sonnes and to conclude Holines is the will of God the ende of our redemption the fruit of the Spirit the cloathing of our soules the ioy of the godly and the perfection of the church By Holynes landes are established euil is banished kings thrones are maintained and it maketh a nation dwell without danger no enimie can touch them no famine can dismay them no misery can ouerthrow them because they be holy and so may euery mans soule by Holynes driue away the diuell continue in the church and obtaine the kingdome of heauen The first reason because in nothing do we resemble God more then in holines Exod. 22. 23. who is only holy Reuel 15. 4. Holines and righteousnes was the image wherein God created vs and therefore he caused to bee wrote vpon the breast of the high Priests roabes Holines to the Lord. Contrarie vnto this holines is prophanesse when men abuse whatsoeuer is appointed to be holy whereby I see that they are verie iustly termed prophane men who haue no maner of shew of holines God his fearefull name which is holy they blaspheme the sabbaoths which are holy they prophane religion which is holy they contemne the congregation which is holy they persecute praiers which are holy they seldome vse and to be briefe al the lawes of God which are holy they violate these are carnall men these are miserable men these are subiect to all abhominations So that as there is no blessing but it belongeth to the holy so there is no curse but it belongeth to the prophane Another reason is because holynes is freed from sin hell Isa 11. 8 9. now to be freed from sin is the greatest blessing in this world to be freed frō hel is the greatest blessing in the world to come indeed one followeth another for whosoeuer is freed from sin is also freed from hell But there are many that thinke it a great paine vnto them to be free from sin because they cannot endure to be free from the meanes of sinning yet let vs know that this is or ought to be our prayer that wee may once be freed from committing of sinne that whereas we haue a minde to idolatrie or Poperie it may be turned from it or if we be inclined to swearing we may fall to leaue it and hate it and if we be addicted to be enuious we may be charitable or to lusts we may be chaste or to falshood we may bee true or to couetousnes we may be liberall or ignorance of the scriptures we may be learned in them and finally if to any vaine or vnlawfull thing we may no more desire it then children do the rod oh happy were we if we were thus cleansed from sinne that we might be thus sanctified Let vs learne that exhortation of the Apostle 1. Pet. 1. 15 16. That seeing God which hath called vs is holie so let vs bee holie that wee may purge our selues from all filthinesse of the flesh and spirite And surely this reason of the Apostle is very effectuall to mooue vs vnto holinesse when hee telleth vs that God which called vs is holie Therefore looke to thy selfe that hearest the Gospell preached and leadest a lewde and prophane life for I tell thee that this very call of God whereby thou art seuered from Iewes and Turks shall at the latter day tell thee of thy euill which wouldest not walke in holinesse although God which called thee were holie The first image of God created in thee is decaied and it can neuer be repaired but by holinesse wouldest thou be glorified thou must first be sanctified thy bodie must be holy abstaining from pleasure thy soule must be holy not yeelding to temptation thy affections must be holy not corrupted with vanitie and thy life must be holy not drowned in sinne Oh be holy as God is holy it is a part of his essence so let it be of thine it is neuer parted from him so let it be euer with thee it is alway found in him so let it be alway found in thee God is holy in the earth so be thou he is holy in the church so be thou he is holy in the day so be thou he is holy in the night be thou so also and he is holy in heauen oh that we may be so his iudgements are holy so let thine be his words are holy so ought thine to be and his works are holy so let thine be Oh that we could be holy as he is holy that we might be perfect as he is perfect holy without sinne holy without want holy without loue without sinne that they were pardoned without want that all graces might be supplied and without loue that life and health and world and pleasure and lands may giue place to holinesse for holy people are redeemed of the Lorde but the wicked and prophane are damned to hell Another vse is that now we are exhorted to holinesse let vs learne how to bee holy which Iohn teacheth vs 1. Ioh. 3. 2 5. which is first by expectation of Christs