Oh how doth this magnifie religion the professors therof vnto the which they are more indebted then to their own liues let vs offer this sacrifice for the Lord will take any thing at our hand in good part ifit be little because we haue but little he maketh much therof if it be much because we haue much he maketh more thereof then say we all If God doc thus accept then will we giue it Let vs not reason with him as the woman of Samaria did Iohn 4. when hee asked for water but let vs speedily giue him his request as Rebecca did to Abrahams seruant who asking but a little yet she gaue him more Another vse let vs serue the Lord before our liues for else we make our selues gluttons and feede our bellies and the Apostle saith of this kinde 1. Cor. 6. 15. Meate for the belly and the belly for meate but God shall destroy both it and them Wilt thou spende all on thy belly and nothing on the Lorde thinkest thou that thou possessest all for thy selfe and nothing for the Lorde doest thou so liue to thy meate and with thy meate as if thou were onely borne for it and that were onely made for thee then surely take thou heede for God shall destroy both it and thee Giue therefore to him and to his vses in his church if thou faile thy store shall faile and if thou repent not thy life shall perish Who was euer famished for meate that gaue it to the Lord or begged for his bread which spent it at the altar or was empouerished by maintaining religiō surely none but with them was the saying of Salomon performed There is that giue and haue nothing the lesse Eate not I beseech you your destruction in your meat and drinke not your damnation in your abundance if you will saue your life you shal lose it but if in this case for the Lords cause you wil lay downe your life you shall finde it If when wee haue but little we giue from our selues to the Lorde we do as poore Iacob did which sent his store into Egypt with his sonnes where was more store but through his little hee gained both his sonnes he saued his owne life and sustained all his familie so let not vs doubt or feare to bestow on the Lord for looke what wee loose we sowe for more encrease what we giue we shall gaine and what in peasure we dispende in paine we shall lament The xxiiij Sermon Vers 15. 16. Blowe the trumpet in Sion sanctifie a fast call a solemne assemblie gather the people sanctifie the congregation gather the elders assemble the children and those that sucke the brests let the bridegroome go foorth of his chamber and the bride out of hir bride chamber OF the blowing of the trumpet wee haue spoken in the beginning of this chapter so also we haue handled the proclaiming of a fast the calling of an assemblie both of the people and of their elders al which to stande vpon againe were but needlesse Therefore wee will to the next wordes The yoong children and them that sucke the breasts That is euery one among you from the least to the most Some will saie vnto me what good can the sucking children do in the Lordes seruice I grant in sight they cannot but seeing Dauid saith that the brute beastes do seeke their meate at God which they doe not by praying or speaking so may Ioel assigne the yoong sucking babes to want their meat that with their mothers they might poure foorth most lamentable teares and terrible cries into the eares of the Lord and for this cause to increase mourning doth the prophet inuite them to the fast From hence we may obserue that the wrath of God must bee appeased with a generall repentance Olde men and babes yoong men and maidens rich and poore prince and people must all bee humbled at the Lordes anger as we may reade Ion. 3. 8. Yea the very cattle of the Niniuites were couered with a mourning weede wherein wee may see that it is no maruaile if the Lorde were so long angrie with vs bicause we were not generally humbled If parents haue repented yet children haue not sorrowed if children mourne parents haue beene dissolute if the old men were humbled the yoong men rebelled Therefore our misery remaineth bicause some remaine obstinate The reasons First bicause the Lord hath a quarrel against al sexes ages degrees and conditions of men Ierem. 12. 12. the which ought to be a sufficient cause to haue euery one to be humbled and let not one escape I muse much that many christian parents haue so little regarde to their children that they care not with what vanities and toies they delight and allure them thinking they are not bounde to any exercise on Sabbaoth daies nor that any oath or foolish talke doth annoy them But heere wee see not onelie those which can speake must practise religion but also if they bee able to crie let them feele the Lordes commandement Some will thinke that these little children are innocent and therefore neede no repentance for it is a common saying if it goe not well with children howe shall it goe with olde men meaning that children are without sinne Vnto which I answere that they are sinfull by nature euen the heires of wrath Eph. 2. 2. and if they were not yet bicause God requireth it who dare refuse it and the rather bicause the brute beastes are inuited thereto which neither can nor euer shall sinne Another reason bicause whosoeuer doth not thus humble himselfe shall be iudged of God 1. Cor. 11. 31. We know it an vsuall thing in the worde of God to spare neither man woman nor childe and to take the sucking babes and to dash their braines against the wall If they be subiect to punishment why not to religion if to death why not to the Lordes seruice Therefore let all bee humbled children because they are borne in sinne olde men bicause they are weary of sin yoong men bicause they liue in sin and striplings bicause they grow in sin or else shall euerie one die in condemnation Let vs not therefore prouoke the Lord 1. Cor. 10. 22. but consider how fearefull it is to stirre a lion from his den or to meete a Beare robbed of hir whelpes or to prouoke a prince to displeasure of which it is saide That the anger of a king is the messenger of death but I saie if the Lorde more fierce then a lyon more raging then a Beare and more powerfull then a prince bee stirred vp to strike vs wee can hardely hurt him hee can easilie destroie vs wee can hardlie mooue him but more hardly pacifie him See you not that the newe borne babes shall repent it yea sometime they feele it before they bee borne Oh thinke vpon it the blood of olde men the strength of yoong men the beautie of women and the loue of children
defend them against the force of men Christ to fight for them against the rage of Sathan Let vs therefore learne to giue all diligence that wee may bee sure of the fauour of God Psa 23. 6. And for this cause Peter biddeth vs giue all diligence to make our election sure meaning that this is the greatest worke of the world that men should be certaine of the promises of God When we haue the promises and cannot certainly yeeld vnto them then are we like sicke men which haue good phisicke but cannot be perswaded to take it because they thinke it will doe them no good so wee thinke these promises vncertaine and some they haue holpe but some they failed But we must know that the promises neuer failed if the men were not vnfaithfull for as men will not plant corrupt impes and graftes so God will not make vnstedfast promises but as the ground doth many times alter a good plant that it groweth not so men doe choke the promises that they helpe not Therefore if God bid thee not feare then cast away feare if he bid thee not weepe then cease from teares as when hee biddeth thee not kill thou refrainest from murder The assurance of the Lordes fauour must growe by a continual practise of repentance as the Apostle teacheth when he saith Patience worketh experience Rom. 5. and therefore this benefite wee may reape by our often sorrowes that we may come with confidence to the throne of grace Another vse seeing the promises of God must be so auailable in vs that they must expell all feare of euill then let vs especially bee armed with them against the feare of death that euery one of vs may say with Iob. 13. 15. that although God slay vs yet will we trust in him What doth more trouble all the worlde then doth the departure out of the world for it maketh good men pray with Dauid I will not die but liue and it maketh euill men at their wits end to thinke on the paines of death therefore blessed is the remedie of the sweete promises of God which enable vs against death Daniel being once preserued among the lions aliue would neuer be afraide to be cast among them againe so we which once were not and now are once were dead and now aliue once were vnder the diuell but now vnder Christ let vs not I say feare the gates of death or the sorrowes of the graue To whome doe I speake but to them that shall passe vnder the hande of death therefore learne attentiuely what is deliuered when thou beginnest to drawe towarde the sunne setting of thy life I meane thy death then looke vpon al the promises of God which euer thou heardest at Sermons or didst read in the Scriptures laie them to thy soule bidding it not to feare death for the Lorde hath commanded thee not to feare it But peraduenture it will replie vnto thee say the paine of death is intollerable how can I but feare it then tell it againe that it is not so for death hath lost hir sting as the apostle saith O death where is thy sting what is an adder a viper or a serpent when they haue lost their sting Surely euerie yoong childe may play with them and handle them And as the paines of a trauailing woman do bring foorth a man child so thy paine shall worke pleasure thy life shall bring death thy sorrowes shall gaine ioyes thy friendes shall bee turned into saints thy parents into angels and thy gouernours into God himselfe If thou bee a woman hee will be thy husband if thou bee a man hee will be thy wife and if thou be a seruant hee will bee thy Lorde Oh feare not death but learne the promises of God to comfort thee against it and thinke what shall bee thy blessednesse to forsake the worlde to goe to heauen to forsake thy pouertie to goe to riches to forsake thy sicknes to go to health to forsake thy friendes to goe to God and to forsake a liuing of house and lande for a whole kingdome Oh trust in God in life that thou maiest trust in God in death beleeue in Christ in health that thou maiest beleeue in him in sicknesse praie vnto him in thy ioyes that thou maiest praie vnto him in thy sorrowes And be not afraide while thou art liuing of the power of man that thou maiest not be afraide when thou art dying of the power of death and condemnation For God shall Nowe hee giueth them the reason of this exhortation why they shoulde not feare bicause the Lord would do mightie things for them whereby wee may note that the vnspeakeable power of God shoulde make men to reioice Esay 14. 27. For what can better assure vs of his promises then this that hee is able to performe them and therefore as the godly comfort themselues with this saying The Lorde is king bee the earth neuer so vnpatient so let vs lift vp our selues in comfort in the kingdome glorie maiestie power and mercie of God that hee can doe what hee will and will doe what we praie for The first reason bicause for the godlies sake hee worketh myracles Exod. 15. 12. and therefore wee ought to reioice in his power We may reade Marke 2. that for one myracle all the people gaue praise vnto God Wee haue many myracles and woonders done for vs and who is able to tell what God hath done for his soule therefore yet let thy heart reioice when thy toong is not able to expresse the power of God Another reason bicause nothing can stande against the saluation of his elect Psal 107. 14. For the sea shall be emptied the earth shall be remooued the rockes shall be broken and the heauens shall bow themselues that the power of God may be manifested and his saints be saued Let vs learne by consideration of his power to serue him more earnestly as Dauid doth Psal 118. 27. when he had tolde howe mightilie God destroied his enimies as a fire of thornes then hee presently addeth Binde the sacrifice with coardes vnto the hornes of the altar As God is powerfull to saue so is hee powerfull to destroy and therefore bee afraide least as hee is able to blesse thee if thou doe well so hee curse thee if thou doe euill Pilate woulde haue had Christ haue answered bicause he saide hee had power to loose him or to deliuer him but hee was rebuked for his labour let vs much more answere the Lorde for hee hath absolute power to doe with vs whatsoeuer he will Againe let vs learne by consideration of the power of God to beleeue in him more confidently as Abraham did Rom. 4. 21. although hee sawe no reason howe the promise of God shoulde be fulfilled if Isaac were sacrificed yet this did animate him that God was able to raise him from death to life and so let vs bee obedient to the Lordes commandements when they are
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
rebukes of sin for the Lord. Hos 4. 4. cōplaineth of the desperate estate of the people for he saide they rebuked the prophet This is the sin of England for there are among vs that will teach wise men and themselues being fooles they will controule learned men themselues being ignorant they will sohoole preachers yet they cannot heare they will rule magistrates themselues being subiects and they will seeme to doe all things being able to doe nothing But this is the point woorthie to be stoode vpon they will reprooue the minister of the Gospell If they suspect vs they condemne vs if there be but an vncertaine rumour they make it a certaine sclander so that our life our liuings our doctrine our calling and all our preaching is contemned by them Our life to be idle our liuings to be too great our doctrine to be suspitious our calling to be burdensome and our preaching to be onely for a worldly respect Oh incurable vndurable mischiefe why do men at once set Christ to schoole teach God to be wise refuse the Gospels gouernment and choose the tyranny of sinne Why do they rebuke vs and yet thinke they do well if the rod of magistrates light on vs for our sinnes let vs abide it but to let euery drunkard and ruffian and seruingman and euery base companion to crow against the Gospell and our calling let vs neuer abide They hate vs because they loue sinne they loue liberty because they abhorre discipline they regard not the ministery because they regard not God and therefore looke for a present and speedie calamitie for since that base fellowes became ministers base fellowes haue regarded none so that now we may preach out our hearts and pray out our soules and weepe out our eies yet we shall receiue nothing but scoffes and scornes rebuke and scander for our labor Weepe and howle hauing bidden them to be ashamed now he biddeth them to bee sorrowfull for well hee knew that their hope and health was lost when their corne and fruites were destroyed wherein they trusted more then in GOD. And from hence wee may obserue that if the worshippe of God bee once decaied there is not any so desperately wicked or dissolute but he shall smart for them we may say Esay 9. 10 11 12. That the wicked make great bragges if they were depriued of preaching the word they say they would turne brickes into hewen stone and tymber into Cedar trees but the Lorde telleth them that their enimies shall beset them and he will cut off both honorable and taile So is the course of his iudgement that when hee hath taken away his worship which is a helmet of proofe to keepe his wrath from vs then he sendeth greatest calamitie when we thinke we shall liue in greatest securitie The filthie Sodomites thought that they were well when Lot was gone from among them but there followed presently fire and brimstone from heauen By this our gallants may perceiue that if the Gospell be in the wrath of God translated from our countrey their brauerie and pride and wealth and prosperitie shall be ouerturned into perpetuall miserie They thinke it a burden intollerable to liue vnder the checke heereof but let them know that the little finger of humane tyrannie shall bee heauier on them then the loines and body of all christianitie Oh how do men deceiue themselues with sweete promises of great and incredible ease which they shall reape by the abasing of the ministerie by the decay of good men and the abandoning of all goodnes when they shall haue libertie to commit any kinde of sinne O miserable wretches saith one to whom it is lawfull to do wickedly surely you shall come out of a little brooke and runne headlong into the maine sea The reason of this doctrine is this bicause the wicked shoulde knowe that all goodnesse which they receiue is for the Gospels and godly mens sake Prou. 11. 11. there is not any thing in the worlde which the godly haue not a title vnto insomuch as all the wicked men are but vsurpers of the goods and landes and wealth and dignities they enioy so long as a godly man is liuing The worlde is a bodie religion is the soule thereof which being remooued is dead and fit for nothing The worlde is a building and the worship is the pillar postes thereof which being remooued it must needes fall as the house wherein Sampson slewe the Philistines So that it is most plaine that when our knowledge is turned to ignorance and the preachers of the worde of God cease to speake in the name of God and when the Gospell is banished from our lande and there bee a free libertie to doe what they list then I saie will the heauens threaten destruction the mindes of men shall be made blinde their vnderstanding shall bee taken from them and they shall liue as other people do without God his word to be slaues to their enimies drudges to their labours beastes in their liues enimies to God haters of good things and diuels by their death The vses which commeth from this doctrine is first of all that wee labour with speede to amende those things which are amisse among vs for else that iudgement which the Lorde once threatened to the Ephesian church Reuel 2. 5. shall take holde namely that the Lord will take away his candlesticke from vs if the light bee gone we shal liue in darknes if the word be gone we shall liue in blindnes if God his worship be taken from vs wee shall die in miserie This onely is the meate which if wee want will consume vs it is a sworde and if it bee not in our handes it will wounde vs it is a scepter which if the king of heauen holde not foorth we shall be condemned Feare the want of the Lords worship for if it goe from vs then he will depart if he depart then our prosperitie will cease and there shall not be a man aliue which will not desire to die Consider I beseech you if you haue enioyed great possessions goodly landes faire houses many friends delicate liues and many children but in one night thy aduersarie stealeth away thy euidence whereby thou holdest thy lande and then thou art turned out of possession thy landes are taken from thee thy friendes forsake thee thy children crie on thee and thou bee constrained either to harde labour or vnlawfull beggerie how wouldest thou take it but wish for a thousande deathes to bee deliuered from this shame So shall it bee with thee in the Gospell which is the euidence of thy peace thy health thy landes thy ioy and the kingdome of heauen the which being taken from thee thou canst neuer enioy any of these then thou shalt weepe without comfort sorrowe without hope liue without ioy die without peace and be damned without mercie Oh whose heart is not cleaued asunder to thinke vpon the danger of his soule Loue the
better to weepe for your sinnes in your prosperitie then to weepe in aduersitie for the losse of children of goods or health or houses or wiues or husbandes or friends or libertie or foode or raiment or death and not be comforted remember what the prophet heere saith that ioy shall be withered from you in the daies of worldly aduersitie The reasons of this doctrine may bee these first because they are not moued at the troubles of others Amos. 6. 6. If men looke to themselues they shall see that their estate is neuer so secure but that there is left vnto them one iust cause or other to lament bitterly yet if they finde none in themselues let them looke on other and mourne for the affliction of Ioseph The church of God is neuer freed from inward and outward troubles and therefore euer hath occasion of inwarde or outwarde lamentation Now seeing that we should mourne with them that mourne let vs weepe with the saintes of God that suffer although wee suffer not that being made partakers of their afflictions we may also bee made partakers of their glorie It is a token of an vnmercifull hart that doth not looke on the crie of a beast and helpe an vnreasonable creature from his oppressour howe much more vnmercifull are wicked men which will not bee mooued at the lamentable teares of godly men He that stoppeth his eare at the crie of the poore shall crie himselfe and not be heard In like maner those which will not be humbled for their owne sinnes dangers belonging to them nor for the pittifull oppression of good and godly men they shall come into vnauoidable mischiefes bicause they were not mooued in prosperitie for the righteous saith Salomon shall come out of trouble but the wicked shall come in his steade Another reason is because men which haue fat and hard harts do not onely liue in their pride but also desire to draw other into miserie Psal 137. 2. 8. The Edomites that reioyced and encreased the calamitie of the people of God are destinated to eternall and most assured aduersities wherein we may see that if men do not winne themselues to the church they ioyne themselues to the enimies if they take not part with the repentant they take part with the vnrepentant For if we be not possessed with goodnes of necessitie wee must bee professed in euill Oh therefore seeing we cannot walke in any meane betwixt faith and infidelitie religion and Atheisme let vs speedily resort to the bande and army of Iesus Christ for if he finde vs not among his souldiers he will take vs for his enimies although we fight not against him and if we ioine not with the armie of God the diuell will take vs vp for to be of the companie of accursed creatures The vses which arise from this doctrine are these first let vs iudge our selues that wee be not iudged of the Lord 1. Cor. 11. 31. If our estate be so miserable that we cannot auoide iudgement yet the Lord hath shewed vs a meane to mitigate our extremitie if we be but our owne iudges Abigaijl by condemning her husbands hardnes pacified Dauids wrath and saued her whole family from the sword of vengeance And the Syrians by putting halters on their necks comming willingly to the king of Israell saued all their liues Oh with whom haue we to do with meeke king Dauid or with mercifull Ahab No no but with the father of vs all who is king of heauen and earth whose loue towarde vs is more tender then the loue of a mother and more sure then the faith of a friende and more kinde then the bande of the married Let vs therefore be Abigaijles by offering our liues and our wealth accusing our selues and our natures vnto the Lord of hostes and then will he blesse vs as Dauid blessed Abigaile yea and marrie vs to his owne selfe Arise out of your resting places and goe with ful store to appease the wrath of God if you stay till he come vnto you what shall be your ende Oh what shall be your destruction Now accuse your birth though it be noble as stayned with sinne accuse your life though it be christian as defiled with the diuell accuse your wordes though they be humble as sauouring of euill and condemne your workes though they haue beene charitable as desiring death eternall Iudge your selues worthie of all shame because of pride accompt your selues woorthie of all sorrow because of mirth esteeme your selues lesse then all creatures because of death and professe your selues woorse then all men because of sinne Say of your nature that it is Sathans bondslaue say of your beautie that it is the glasse of iniquitie say of your strength that it is the power to euill say of your youth that it is the time of sorrow say of your wealth they are the prouokers of licentiousnes and say of the world it is the bed of danger What shall I say more vnto you Was not Christ made accursed for vs that we might know that we are cursed for our selues Then think how your eies are cursed beholding vanitie your eares are cursed hearing falshood your toongs are cursed speaking lies your legges are cursed running to euill your armes cursed touching pleasures your children cursed borne in sinne yea thinke all accursed that your soules be not cursed in another world Another vse of this doctrine may serue to reprooue their securitie that thinke it is lawfull for them to be mery while they may and neuer to enter into the house of mourning till their mirth and ioy departeth from them and from hence it commeth that they put far away from them the day of wrath Amo. 6. 3. Children are suffered to be wanton because their yeeres are tender youth is permitted to bee licentious because their age is lustie rich men are mooued with vanitie because it is their portion poore men accustomed with folly because they liue in want and old men drowned in one kinde of superstition or other because they are neere their graues Oh would not this grieue the heart of man to see so many so great so aged so wealthie so tender to abhorre all mortification and the sorrowfull way to life but to embrance all condemnation and the ioyfull high way to hell fire Know you not that ease slayeth the foolish and the restie oxe is prepared for the slaughter why then do you thirst still for more pleasure and hunger after more vanitie Man must not liue by bread onely which maketh him full fedde and thorough fat but by the word of God which maketh him many times to fast being sweeter then his meate and many times to be leane being safer then his health Who is he that accounteth not abstinence a God preseruatiue for health and labour an earnest procurer of a good life euen so there is none but must thinke that it is most necessarie for health and most wholesome for life many
of life When Adam came againe to God hee receiued the promise of life when the creatures came to Noahs arke hee kept them from the floude when the Egyptians came to Ioseph he saued them from famine and when the people came to heare Christ preach he relieued their fainting Come you likewise to the ministerie they will giue you the promises open vnto you the kingdome deliuer you the corne and satisfie your soules most plentifully that you shall neuer faint till you come to the euerlasting abiding place Except the priestes had stoode in the riuer of Iorden the children of Israell coulde neuer haue passed ouer euen so wee stande in the troubles of this world to keepe them from you else you shoulde neuer come into Canaan Oh therefore come while wee stande and beare the Lordes arke or else the waters of heresie and Atheisme will come againe and then farewell your hope your health and your saluation The xiij Sermon Verse 14. Sanctifie a fast call a solemne assemblie gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the lande into the house of the Lorde your God and crie vnto the Lorde THat is call and prepare a fast to the which some may say that they might well enough fast seeing their meat corne was alreadie withered and they had more need to seek to saue their liues then to go to fast to endanger themselues farther Vnto which I answere that the forenamed calamitie was but prophetically foretold therefore as yet there was not such want but only it shoulde bee if they repented not Hee biddeth them prepare a fast that is a general humiliation for all the people wherein shoulde bee nothing but mourning and abstinence and this kinde of fast is a great and good part of the worship of God Esay 58. 13. Therefore from hence wee obserue that God taketh occasion by threatning of his wrath against vs to mooue vs to worship him more earnestly so wee may see Iudg. 20. 26 27. when the Israelites in a good cause had beene ouercome of the Beniamites and lost the liues of many braue men it mooued them againe to goe to humble themselues before the Lorde with fasting and bitter weeping and lamentation And surely this seemeth to be the continual course of the Lords dooing in the church that as the grounde is plowed that it might yeelde more fruite so the church is afflicted that it may giue him more worship Wee are for the most part like the disciples which knew not howe to fast or to afflict themselues till Christ was taken from them and then they fasted Mark 2. 20. So when wee are either generallie molested or particularly endangered howe doe we cleaue to the churches and turne ouer the bibles and runne ouer the worde but in times of more ease wee are more idle and take libertie of sinning when wee feele the greatest liberalitie of our Sauiour If wee haue no other cause to reioice in our pouertie and sicknesse and infamie and danger and hunger and famme and all our tribulation then this that we are by them better fitted for the Lordes seruice yet let this make vs clap our harts and hands that we may any waie glorifie our creator And as the Israelites were as willing to fight with the Canaanites as to possesse their lande so let vs bee as willing to fight with manie troubles as to possesse many pleasures The reasons of this doctrine are these bicause such kinde of miseries lamented by such kinde of worship doth turne away our captiuitie and appease the Lordes wrath Lament 2. 14. and therefore wee may take great comfort in the forewarning of our miseries seeing we may be prepared therby against all danger to auoide all wrath if the Lorde did not by the ministerie of his worde humble vs we shoulde euer be subiect to mortall confusion and immortall condemnation But so hee ordereth all things in his church that as the ouerflowing Nilus maketh the earth more fertill so the floudes of troubles going ouer the bodies and liues of his members maketh them more peaceable once the disease purged the bodie is well quieted and once the pride of our sinne and natures scoured and rubbed awaie the soule is more strengthened Another reason is bicause that the Lorde will haue that thinge worke the good of his church which worketh the desperation of infidels for wicked men in their troubles are at their wits ende as wee may see Mich. 4. 5. so was it in Cain and Edom and the Egyptians and Saule and Herod which all perished through affliction The nature of the wicked is like iron which will neuer swimme though it be neuer so little except it be nailed to some woode or other substance so the wicked being banished from the godly they fall downe and sticke fast in an vnresistable mire of afflictions so that wee may see as the crosse of Christ was the life of the church but the death of the diuell so are many other crosses the life of the Lordes deare children but the death of his despitefull enimies The vses which come from this doctrine are these First seeing wee are by our affections stirred vp to serue the Lorde let vs keepe our soules in continuall chastisement that we may continually be mindfull of the Lordes seruice 1. Peter 4. 7. Those which lie in garrisons although they seldome fight yet euery day they discipline and traine their souldiers so although wee seldome lie vnder great danger of exceeding slaughter yet let vs continue our soules in correction and obedience If Dauid had alway vsed this he had not so easilie forgotten himselfe and brought Vrijah to death and himselfe into filthie adulterie Euen so the want of this priuate chastisement and continuall afflicting of our soules for our sinnes maketh vs wanton in wealth proude in prosperitie presumptuous in health and often subiect to sathans temptations Afflictions may rightly bee compared to a hedge which hath thornes on both sides so that that which is within cannot come out and that which is without cannot come in in like manner when our liues are hedged with troubles the good thinges which are in our soules cannot goe out of vs and the euill thinges which are without vs cannot come into vs. Weepe often for thy sins that thou maiest alway bee sorrowfull pray often for thy amendement that thou maiest still bee penitent Thinke manie times on thy later ende that thou maiest neuer bee arrogant so shalt thou saue thy selfe from many euils and gaine thy conscience great peace and procure thy soule euerlasting blessednes for if this life bee contrary to the life to come then it followeth that as there shall bee neuer ceasing ioy for the ceasing of sinne so heere ought to be a neuer ending sorrow for the continuance of sinne Another vse which commeth of this doctrine is seeing our euils make vs more fit to serue God then is it a miserable thing to be made more vnfit
worldly tortures to bring vs to death therewith he would bee contented but it is yet a more fearefull thing when we are subiect to all these and more also to leade an endlesse and easelesse life in the euer burning and neuer dying flames of hell The vses which wee must make of this doctrine are these first that wee learne to feare none of them that kill the body but onely him that is able to cast both bodie and soule into the fire of hell Mat. 10. 28. But I know euerie one will subscribe vnto me and say that they feare him aboue all when as this feare is such a weake dampe that it putteth not foorth any sinnes and it holdeth as much godlinesse in their harts as a sieue will holde water in the open aire Moses was afraide of a serpent and it made him run away what feare is this that possesseth our gospellers mindes that will not cause them to be as much afraide of the sting of sinne as Moses was of the sting of the serpent Ioseph saide for the feare of God he could not commit follie with his lady and if the feare of God had any rooting in your harts you could not leade such licentious liues as you doe The Israelites were afraide to sacrifice a sheepe in Egypt because it was abhomination to the Egyptians but you are not afraide to offer your filthy deadly and abhominable lustes to the Lord although they be abhomination to his maiestie yea although there bee an vnmeasurable iudgement hanging ouer your heads Therefore feare the Lord that must rule you and the iudge that must trie you and the sauiour that must keepe you or else you shall feele the deadly paine that shall torment you The poore woman that came before Salomon would rather depart with her childe to her neighbour then suffer it to be diuided in sunder but how much more deere it is to haue your soules cut in sunder feare you not this Therefore with all speede looke vnto the Lorde as humbly as petitioners pray vnto him as mournfully as prisoners tremble at him as fearfully as the hill of Sinai fall downe before him as lowe as Daniel melt at his anger as the waxe before the sunne Another vse is that we alway keepe our confidence in the Lord for if his wrath be but a little kindled then are they blessed that put their trust in him Psal 2. 11. Balaam feared God yet because his faith and confidence was not in the Lord he was slaine among the other enimies of God therefore let me now take occasion to exhort all your harts to a sure confidence in the Lorde because his wrath shall neuer touch those which put their trust in him It is saide Psal 99. 4. that Moses and Aaron and Samuel put their trust in God and he deliuered them This was such a trust as was exercised with all Christian vertues the which you must ioyne with them or else you cannot enioy it Forsake your selues imbrace the Lord loue not the worlde and desire Christes kingdome and then you trust in the Lorde confirme your harts with patience beautifie your minds with knowledge reforme your affections by repentance and amende your liues by the whole Gospell of God and then shall the Lord say you haue trusted in him Oh then blessed shall you be for although the world be drowned you shall bee saued although the citie be burned you shall bee deliuered although the people be captiuated you shall be enlarged and although the earth be cursed yet you shall be blessed If sicknesse weare thy body and anguish vexe thy soule and trouble oppresse thy life and losses catch away thy goodes and enimies spoile thy children and death doe ende thy daies yet shall not the wrath of God consume thy ioyes What wouldest thou haue more if God hate thee not hee loueth thee if hee loue thee he will keepe thee if he keepe thee danger shall not oppresse thee if thou be not oppressed then art thou blessed and if thou be blessed be sure thou shalt be saued The xiiij Sermon Vers 16. And ioy and gladnesse is cut off from the house of our God COncerning the former words of this verse we haue spoken in the verse before and now to the next following where the prophet telleth them or rather the Lord that now men could take no delight nor ioy in the outward seruice of his maiestie which was a most lamentable thing when one should come into the house of God where was woont to be most sweete melodie in the harts and voices of men like vnto another paradise now he should finde it full of teares and cries and yelling and sorrowes and euery one ashamed to shewe his face for griefe this doth the prophet offer to the consideration of God Whereby we will note this that the seruice of God must be performed with ioy and delight Deut. 16. 11. I meane the ordinarie seruice and worship of God But in our daies we may almost complaine as this prophet doth that ioy is parted from the house of our God men come almost as willingly to the churches as some goe to execution and tarrie as ioyfully before the preacher to heare the sermon as other doe before the iudge to heare the sentence When we are at our praier they are at their books when we are at our preaching they are at their sleepe when we are at our psalmes they are in the tauernes Maruell you not to see the ioy of these men in the worship of God vnto whome the church is a iaile the minister is a keeper the Lord is a iudge themselues are the prisoners and their zeales are as ioyfull to them as little ease yet for all this we will reioice in the Lorde our God and account one day spent in his courtes better then a thousande spent else where And as Dauid reioyced to see other men goe so will we reioice when our number is increased when our voices are aduaunced and our Lord Iesus magnified The reasons of this doctrine are these first because this ioy in the seruice of God is a token of the presence of God his spirite in the harts of men Rom. 14. 17. so on the other side when men are lumpish and heauie in this worship and heauenly businesse it is a token they like not the matter but are hindered and blinded by the spirit of malice Shall we then say that they are all giuen to the diuell who haue not beene baptised into the Lords spirit and possessed with a delight in the Lordes seruice then must wee say that all hard harted misers wicked minded ruffians fickle brained yoonglings and wind-wauering women which had rather be playing with their loues or their children or else be disporting in brauerie and wantonnesse or bee mumbling a few Paternosters of old angels or new stuffed barnes then yeeld their eares their hart their soule their minde and their whole man to the Lordes most
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
harts when they be ioyfull for as Herod was strooke with death while hee sate vpon his throne of maiestie so are we neuer neerer to our woe than when we are mounted to honour or seated in quietnesse The phisitions say that want of motion and loue of rest breedeth more diseases than all euill surfeits and so must we say that are the phisitions of mens soules that moe perish by ease than by labour by ioie than by sorrow by pleasure than by paine and by idle religion than by earnest and zealous profession The reasons the same that Isay taught chap. 65. 12. because God is refused in his word and good reason why it should be so for as already we haue shewed that the word must be a light for our pathes and a remembrancer to our soules which being forgotten no maruell if in our greatest securitie the Lords wrath ouertake vs. Therefore let the idle followers of the gospell perswade their soules with more zeale and diligence to bee informed by the Lord least the wrath take them sleeping or selling or drinking or playing or dicing or dauncing to their condemnation Secondly another reason because they loue pleasure more than God 2. Tim. 3. 4. therefore as Saneherib Isay 37. was slaine at that instant when hee was worshipping his idoll so shall their bane bee wrought when they are in their belly-worship following their pleasing delights Let vs therefore neuer put danger out of our mindes but then when wee are in most quiet comfort of soule and body let vs trouble our peace with one thought or other Mich. 3. 11. If thou haue children feare their death if thou haue parents feare their wrath if thou haue friends feare their hatred and if thou haue health feare thy sicknesse if thou be ioyfull at a feast thinke on the miserie of famine if at a pleasure thinke vpon the paine of the wounded if at libertie thinke vpon the irons of the imprisoned if in life thinke on the pangs of death Neuer exempt thy selfe from danger but in peace remember warre in youth remember age in play remember labour and in the heauen of the worldes delight thinke vpon the hell of another life Let sorrow be in thy sense mourning in thy soule danger in thy life feare in thy musicke trouble in thy sleepe paine in thy health want in thy plentie dislike in thy loue and distrust in thy desire so shalt thou neuer be called to sicknes but with lesse griefe or to danger but with lesse feare or to death but with lesse trouble or to iudgement but thou shalt be prouided for it Another vse seeing the wicked shall be drawen to iudgement in their greatest securitie then we may learne whether they feare wrath and euil or feare it not yet all is one it shall come vpon them Dauid said that the feare of the wicked shall fall on him and herewee see Ioel saith that though they sleepe yet shall they be awaked with and for their danger so that if wicked men feare their sorrowe is the more and if they feare not their danger is not the lesse Oh miserable captiuitie of wicked men which are hardened to feele more paine and softened to feare more wrath would not this bring vs out of loue with our sinne and make vs earnestly to lament our follies which giue vs no peace till we desire them and no rest after wee possesse them But of this often haue wee spoken before For there will I sit When he saith that he will sit in iudgement we may note that the Lord will with no labour condemne the wicked as it is Mal. 1. 4. euen as one that sitteth in al ease Againe in this that he sitteth in iudgement he alludeth to the iudgements of men which were most lawfull shewing that his proceedings against the wicked were not vniust or extraordinarie but according to equity But this is especially to be regarded when he nameth the persons whom he will iudge saying all the heathen rounde about meaning all those which dwelt neere vnto Israell Whereby we are taught that those which are our neighbours and see our worship and liue neere or among vs and yet be not of vs but are our enimies God will iudge them more seuerly Ierem. 12. 14. For if they which liue among vs and see euerie day the workes of God for vs and in vs will not be ruled by vs or turned to vs they may waite for the heauier iudgement And therefore was Philisthia more iudged then Arabia and Syria more vexed then Ethiopia because they were on the confines of Israell Then surely this may teach the loose Protestants and vaine professors among vs what great daunger they liue in all this while they haue heard the Gospell and not beleeued it the neerer they were to the truth the more is the Lordes wrath against them and the longer they haue liued in our peace and seene the glorious workes of God the more shall bee their heauie iudgement It were better for them that they liued in Rome or in Barbarie or in Tartarie where the gospell is not talked of for then should they be farther from danger but now they liue with vs eating at our tables treading on our Land standing in our churches cloathed with our garments and blessed by our God Oh how deere shall they pay for all these benefits for the Lord will iudge them that dwell neere vs much more them that dwel with vs he will condemne them that dwel about vs much more them that dwell among vs. The reasons of this doctrine are these First bicause they should be subiect to the church Isa 60. 5. The members of the church are the true lawfull kings of the world all other ought to be their subiects therefore when the subiect rebelleth against his naturall prince he is more punished then a stranger so when the neerest neighbours of the church are most of all negligent they are more endangered then other are for when the Lord giueth most meanes of instruction such as is to liue among the godly then he rewardeth such neglect or contempt with more seuere punishment Another reason because they should succour thē in their necessitie Isa 21. 14. but if they will taste of their benefits and not beleeue their sayings or cōfort them in their sorrowes they are the more woorthie to be destroyed The vse let vs neuer meddle against good men Matth. 27. 19. for their iniuries will be rewarded double vpon our heads If thou liue with them honour them if thou heare of them goe visite them if they teach thee beleeue them if they want thee relieue them and neuer be an enimie vnto them The Lord saith that our treading on the earth is sufficient to make vs without excuse if we beleeue him not and then surely it is sufficient to condemne those that liue vnder the Gospell and receiue not the Gospell that they tread on our lande see our
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
away the peace from the church take away all glory from God and all comfort from men Let vs which liue in these blessed times looke to our selues aboue all other for as God hath made our earthly estate better then other mens so will he doe our condition in the other life woorse then all mens for the abusing heereof Let me lament my countrey as Esaie lamented Israel cap 43. 22 23 24. saying Thou hast not called vpon me ó Englande but thou hast wearied mee Thou hast not brought mee the sheepe of thy burnt offeringes neither hast thou honoured mee with thy sacrifices I haue not caused thee to serue with an offering nor wearied thee with incense Thou hast not bought mee sweete sauour with thy money neither hast thou made me drunk with the fat of your sacrifices but thou hast made mee to serue with thy sinnes and wearied me with thine iniquities O my brethren thus may the Lorde complaine of vs. We haue had peace who hath beene honoured for it we haue had money who hath beene worshipped for it we haue had cattle and corne to whom haue wee sacrificed surely wee haue honoured our policie for our peace wee haue worshipped our goods and landes with our money and wee haue sacrificed our corne and flesh to our bellies What coulde the Lorde giue more then he hath or beare more then he doth or tarrie longer then he must or we receiue more then hath beene cast vpon vs Oh that I could now powre foorth my selfe in words to lament the estate of our times We haue much preaching but little religion for the prophets scant beleeue themselues wee haue much peace but little knowledge of God is reaped thereby we haue great plentie but verie small thankfulnesse our peace hath bred pride our pride hath bred want our want hath caused mourning our mourning hath brought foorth plentie and our plentie hath hatched pride againe Let the harts of men cleaue in sunder to consider this point that now we fall as fast to our former vomites as any ruffian to his former follies We haue beene humbled and God hath heard vs God hath heard vs and we regard it not for the rich men eate their flock in plentie lauish out their money in wantonnesse spende God his fruites in riote and neuer thinke of thankefulnesse This saith hee my friendes left me or I gained by such a bargaine or I wonne at such a game or got by such an office or I saued in my shop and nowe I will bee merrie with it And the Lorde hath no sweete sauour by their money nor any sacrifice by their flockes But to come to the point they beginne alreadie to forget that there was a famine and as the staruen kine in winter become wanton and wilde in the spring so they which of late coulde speake pitifully and mourne bitterly for want now they begin to forget their want and their God and all Oh my deere brethren we are nowe in more danger to perish by plentie then wee were to fall by famine for ease slaieth the foolish and the prosperitie of the wicked shall destroy them When the children of Israell went euery day poore and rich to gather Manna and to eate thereof they liued well but when the quailes came and they eate thereof the plague tooke them while the meate was in their mouthes so not want of foode but want of grace and thankefulnesse destroieth men Therefore now let the magistrates looke to the lawes let the ministers discharge their places let the fathers admonish their children and let all men gouerne themselues least our plentie of fruits cost the death of our soules Nowe be as diligent to render praise as you were woont to bee vigilant in praier let the teares burst foorth for ioy for our peace reioiceth both men and angels We are come to our first heauen I meane the peace of our church if we now waxe proud and grow insolent as the diuels were cast out of heauen aboue so shall we be out of heauen beneath Remember sicknesse followeth health death followeth sicknesse iudgement followeth death and damnation followeth iudgement nowe are our soules sicke let vs recouer thē for else they die if they die they will be iudged if they bee iudged they will be damned Secondly he promiseth that a fountaine shall goe foorth of the house of the Lord to water the valley of Setim meaning that the Gospell should be preached to the Gentiles for it began at Ierusalem as at the spring head and so flowed thorough the whole world of the which the Prophet Ezechiel saw a vision Ezech. 47. 3 4 5 c. whereby wee are taught first that God caused saluation to flow from the Iewes vnto the Gentiles they had both spring and streame and yet wanted grace to drinke thereof whereupon shee speaketh Cant. 1. 5. that they made her the keeper of the vines but she kept not her owne vine Secondly in that the Gospell is compared to a running water we may note that it neuer standeth still but goeth as it were a flood thorough the world and there is no power to resist it And this is the cause why all the kings and counsellers of the world could neuer stop the course thereof onely the Bishop of Rome is that starre called Wormewood Reuel 8. 10. 11. that fell from heauen and corrupted these fountaines of water whereby they beeing made bitter caused the death of many that dranke thereof Thirdly the valley of Setim was a very dry place and these waters made it fruitful so were al the Gentiles wherof we are a part if these waters of the Gospel had not come vnto vs we had remayned vnfruitfull lande verie neere vnto cursing and burning Lastly we may see that no other doctrine or profession whatsoeuer is to be receiued but this which is deriued from Ierusalem We must not fetch our water frō Rome or from Mecha or from any other place but take of these which flowed from the temple And it is verily thought that God would not suffer Ierusalem or the temple to stand nor conuert it into a Bishops-seate least the antiquitie or dignitie of the place should challenge authoritie to send forth what waters and what Gospell they pleased into the world Egypt shall be wasted and Edom shal be a desolate wildernes for the iniuries of the children of Iudah because they haue shed innocent blood in their land Once againe he mentioneth the destruction of their enimies for in their ouerthrowe standeth the felicitie of good men when they shall not be able to molest the church by their power nor to corrupt it by their euil example Hereby we see first of all noted vnto vs that the blood of the Lords saints shal be certainly reuēged although it cost whole coūtries Isa 9. 12. The reasons First bicause they are the images of God Gen. 9. 6. the Lord saith that hee will haue his blood shed that sheddeth
welth nor forsake your life but cast away vaine mirth idle talke wicked hope wretched behauiour leaue your sins to the diuel frō whence they came giue thy soule to the Lord frō whence it came Elisha did but require of Naaman to go into the riuer seuen times he shuld be clean which his seruants tolde him was but a small thing so we require you but to wash your souls with the water of your eies and you shal be as free from death as Naaman was from the leprosie But why should I need to instruct you are you not minded like Ieremie that of himselfe desired riuers of teares to weep for his people so be you not backward but of your own accord so that you may plese the lord desire that you were al teares to lamēt throughly the miseries of the world Oh lament with speed tarrie not or else it wil be too late whē you shal see before your eies the litle infants quartred the aged persons mangled the cruell heathens aduanced the poore christians dying the aire thundering the earth quaking vnder you and the cloudes rayning downe fire and vengeance Another vse is this that we be so minded at the hearing of the Lordes iudgements as if they were presently to be executed It was a great fault in the Israelites that whensoeuer the prophet spake any thing to them they presently thought and saide this shall not bee yet it will be a good while before it come to passe and we neede not care for wee may bee dead and gone out of the way ere this bee fulfilled Ezech. 12. 27. 28. but the Lorde rebuketh that follie and biddeth the prophet tell them that it shall bee shortly performed And so the like rage possesseth the heades and braines of many in our daies which although they knowe that it is true that is tolde them of a destruction yet euery one thinketh it shall not be this yeere nor in our Queenes daies nor so long as the Gospell remaineth and therefore they will possesse al their vanity rather then be humbled But this ought not to beso yea rather hasten out of this securitie as Lot out of Sodom and the Israelites out of Egypt that thou maiest escape it whensoeuer it commeth It is better with the wise virgines to be readie an houre or two or three too soone then with the foolish to tarrie a quarter of an howre too late Therefore admit the danger bee not as yet yet bicause wee are nowe warned let vs now be prepared shall we not make as great account of the Lords louing mercie as of our owne health yes yes my beloued and therefore let vs arise to lamentation bicause the Lord calleth for it although there were no danger following after But wee are like the disciples which coulde not watch but sleepe euen then when Christ was in most danger although our Sauiour did manie times awake them till at length the enimie came vpon them and they were all driuen to forsake Christ so I praie God our like securitie bee not with the like danger awakened for I feare if the mercifull voice of a Sauiour will not mooue vs the terrible crie and swordes of enimies will amaze vs. As a destruction In these wordes is the general cause of the lamentation described bicause the Lords wrath is kindled to make a destruction Wherein there is to bee noted that nothing doth so much feare and terrifie good men as the anger of God Deuter. 9. 17 18. When Moses perceiued that God was angrie hee fell downe flat on his face and besought God neither eating nor drinking for fortie daies and nights togither was not their feare great that made this good man to aduenture his life by so long fasting and his soule by desiring to bee razed out of the booke of life yes verily for the anger of the Lord mooued him more then if he had seene all the worlde on fire about his eares But carnall Gospellers and carelesse Atheists as they thinke it a farre more lesse matter to please God then to please man so they deeme it a lesse matter to haue God angry with them then the prince or some great rich men that may hinder their worldly estimation Alas alas if Saule were fearefull to a thousande Dauid was to tenne thousande and if worldly men may a little terrifie the flesh the God of the worlde may infinitelie plague the spirite Therefore put on this affection that we may knowe what to thinke of the wrath of God if the anger of a prince be the messenger of death much more is the wrath of God the herauld of condemnation When Assuerus was angrie presently Hamans face was couered and he carried to execution woulde not Haman giue all his possessions to haue retained the fauour of the king so likewise aduenture any thing rather then to stirre vp the coales of the Lordes wrath by which thou thy selfe and all thy neighbours shall be burned without mercy Oh therefore studie to knowe howe to auoide his displeasure and to retaine his louing countenance and let not the loue of any sinne so bewitch thee that thou procure his vengeance in working thy desire The reasons of this doctrine are these First bicause none can bee an intercessour or a friende to God being angrie 1. Sam. 2. 25. that is there is not anie mortall man that can doe any such a pleasure as to staie the Lords wrath from falling on him or that may bee able to stande in the gap of the Lordes wrath The which consideration might most effectually admonish all our presumptuous companions which thinke that the Lord is pinned to their sleeues imagining him to be such a childe as might bee lost with an apple and wonne with a trifle againe but they shall finde it a farre more heauie matter when no offers of gold no intreaties offriends no teares of greefe no nor yet the fruit or blood of their bodies shal pacifie or recompence him for their sins This ought to make vs account highly of the mediation intercessiō of Christ and not to tread vnder our feete his glorious blood shedding after we be once reconciled Another reason is because it is a most fearefull thing to fall into the handes of the liuing God Heb. 10. 31. such a fearefull thing as passeth all vnderstanding and therefore who but mad men will run too farre into this danger Although Dauid chose rather to fall into the hands of God then men because he was well assured the iudgement was but a fatherly correction and not a reuenging punishment yet we must know that he knew that it would bee but a corporall or bodily death but we are not assured of halfe so much yea happie were we if the wrath of God did but reach to our bodies and that he would be satisfied for our sinnes if we lost our children and wealth and friendes and health and life or that if we could endure all
idolatrie and the monarchie of the diuel the which I pray God for euer destroy But in this that we said that the abundance of the spirit vnder the time of the kingdom of Christ is shadowed foorth vnder these types of the olde testament so that the kingdome of Christ consisteth of such members as are heere described to bee possessed with the spirit of God to prophesie and such like Whereby we learne that those which auoide the ministerie and other spirituall functions do as much as they can darken and deface the kingdome of Christ Ioh. 5. 39. so that a continuall and an vnwearied studie must be applyed vnto the same there is no wit so fine but herein it may be busied there is no profession so needefull but it must giue place to this For Diuinitie is like Sara and other arts and sciences like Agar and although humane arts haue conceiued with child and gotten more followers then Diuinitie yet they must know they are but handmaides and must be subiect to their mistresse The reasons First because the ignorance of the scriptures is the mother of all abhomination and errour Matth. 22. 25. so that take away religion and Diuinitie although their sciences could make golde yet they cannot stand Secondly in the profession of faith and of religion consisteth the ground-worke and foundation of the church Matth. 16. 18. and therfore they which giue not themselues hereunto doe not onely pull downe the building of christianitie but raze downe the verie foundations thereof I haue followed these things more at large in the beginning and therefore I now touch them lightly Let vs therefore exercise the commandements of God and purge our impure liues by their rule Psalm 119. 9. for so long as our eares are open to his word our liues shal be couered from shame as Ioas prospered all the daies of Iehoijada so shall we so long as the Gospell and religion ruleth in our soules Let vs take that which the angels brought Act. 7. 53. for they brought the law and in nothing are we so like the angels as in the studie of Diuinitie for they behold the face of God in heauen and wee behold him in the scriptures Thirdly when he saith that their sonnes and their daughters shall prophesie we may note that there are not any in the church too rich or too good for the studie of diuinitie Isaie the Prophet was of the kings seed and Salomon the richest and wisest king that euer was would be called a preacher in his wisest and best daies Our gentlemen scorn this priestly trade but set their sonnes to marchandize or to the lawe or to one golden trade or other but they set their sonnes as much to Diuinitie as their daughters yea they thinke their whole family is disgraced if there bee any of their name a priest for so they odiously terme vs otherwise the name is too good for them or vs. The reasons First bicause bodily exercise profiteth little but godlines is profitable to all 1. Tim. 4. 8. One was woont to say that the world was destroyed by three sortes of men by Lawyers for they destroy mens goods by Phisitions for they kill mens bodies and by ignorant Diuines for they damne mens soules now verily I thinke that so it is with vs for there was neuer more contention for wealth or more cost laide foorth on phisicke and neuer lesse care for saluation Such ignorant diuines haue marde all whose heads are as full of learning as a flint stone is of oyle and their liues correspondent to their knowledge so that now adaies there is no difference betweene Aaron and the priests of Egypt betwixt Nadab and Phinehas betwixt Sadoc and Abiathar betwixt Michaiah and Zidkijah betwixt Ieremie and Shemaiah betwixt Christ and the Pharisees betwixt Peter and Simon betwixt the Phisition and the patient betwixt Balaam and his Asse Studie doth not commend a Diuine but a noble mans letter and an angell is more woorth then a preacher Another reason it will amend euery mans way Psal 119. 9. Let therefore the word of God dwell among vs plentifully Col. 3. 16. and let vs exercise the scriptures from our childhoode 2. Tim. 3. 15. that so wee may haue God in our selues religion in our hearts and holines in our liues that our auncients may teach better our youth may liue better our children may learne better that our houses our hearts our liues our fathers our sons our daughters may bee blessed Fourthly hee saith Hee will powre foorth his spirite vppon their seruaunts and maidens who in olde time were baselie accounted of especially if they were not of their owne nation From hence wee may note that it is the dutie of christians that liue in these times since this Gospell was fulfilled to haue care to make their seruants religious Prou. 14. 35. or else to make choise of such when they want A good christian wil be alway a good seruant and therefore if thou wouldest haue good seruants make them good christians He is a better seruant that liueth well then hee that laboureth well for thinke not that hee will euer make conscience of thy businesse that maketh not conscience of the Lordes businesse Col. 3. 22. The reasons First because thou maiest safely giue all into his handes as was in Ioseph Gen. 39. 8. Againe hee may profit thy sonnes and doe them more good then thou canst Prouerb 17. 2. Therfore let seruants bee handled like christians not like slaues like men and not like beastes Leuit. 25. 39. They are your brethren despise them not 1. Timoth 6. 2. They are the Lordes free men abuse them not 1 Cor. 7. 22. Command them no euill offer them no wrong hinder not their faith torment not their liues forsake them not in age nourish them in sicknesse pay them their hire feede them sufficiently empaire not their credite reuile them not correct them for euill commende them for godlinesse and be such masters to them as Christ is to you Againe let seruants make choise of christian maisters not where they may haue most wages but where they may haue most instruction not where they may haue most ease but most information 1. Timot. 6. 6. You were better eate herbes with a godly master then a fatte oxe with a wicked you were better fare harde and worke harde where your soules may bee gouerned then fare well and worke little where your soules are endangered Be subiect to thy master 1. Pet. 2. 18. Serue not an Atheist for any money nor a papist for any meat nor a neuter for any hire nor a knowne hypocrite for any wages but serue thy master looke to his wealth tranaile for his profite mispende not his substance defende his credite make much of his children and praie for his saluation Care not for ease spende nothing in riot carie no tales keep within the house and remember God in thy worke that
hee may remember thee in thy death for as thou seruest thou shalt be serued againe The xxxj Sermon Vers 30. And I will shew woonders in the heauens and in the earth blood and fire and pillars of smoke 31. The sunne shall bee turned into darkenes and the moone into blood before the great and terrible daie of the Lorde come 32. But whosoeuer shall call on the name of the Lorde shall bee saued for in mount Sion and in Ierusalem shall be deliuerance as the Lord hath saide and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call NOw we are come to the last parte namely the manifestation of the power of God by great and fearfull signes in heauen and secondly by giuing saluation to the faithfull Concerning the great and feareful woonders much hath already beene spoken and nowe the lesse shall suffice For the interpretation take thus much That when Christ is come and ascended into heauen and the worlde conuerted from infidelitie vnto him then shall appeere manie extraordinarie tokens of the Lordes power both in the heauens and in the earth the lights shall bee most fearefully ecclipsed being in shew turned into darkenesse and blood the aire shall bee troubled and many terrible and strange things shall be seene So that heerein is described the constitution and euent of all thinges at the change of the worlde when God shall come to take vengeance on his enimies as it is in the chapter following I will briefely touch euery thing that I purpose to handle in this vers First in that hee telleth vs of these fearefull woonders presently to succeed or rather to accompanie the preaching of the Gospell the powring foorth of the spirite and conuersion of the worlde we may learne that God will giue vs temporall calamities with spirituall benefits Luk. 21. 9. So that there is no maruaile that in our times there haue been seene so many terrible things in heauen and earth seeing the Gospell hath beene preached vnto vs for calamities make vs to beleeue it more willingly Hos 5. 15. And if the Gospell bee not shadowed in this trouble and wee not ouerthrowne by them then haue wee a notable triall of the Lordes promise towarde vs Luk 21. 18. For as Gedeons fleece was drie when all the earth about it was wet so shall we be safe when many shal be cast down Let vs learne to commit our soules vnto him 1. Pet. 4. 19. that although the heauēs fall down the earth be remooued the sea be dried and the light be darkened yet we may possesse our soules and our soules may possesse our Sauiour for it is God that sendeth woonders ruleth all signes the same cloude did leade the Israelites to Canaan that brought other to destruction the same signes are for our saluation which are for other mens condemnation Secondly when hee saith hee will set woonders in heauen wee are taught that God will manifest his wrath before it commeth Rom. 10. 18. Heauen is in the sight of all and naturally we are inclined to looke vpward so that whatsoeuer we there see we know it commeth from God and therefore there are the signes manifested because euery one might see them The reasons first because wee may either confesse them or be confounded by them Isai 2. 18. Secondly that the greatest enimies of God may be stilled Psal 8. 2. Therefore learne so soone as you see the rod to feare him that ordained it Mich. 6. 9. Againe let vs make a good vse of the signes that wee haue alreadie seene and not trie the Lords patience any longer or tempt the power of God any more Amos 5. 18. The wicked Iewes would haue had Christ shewe them a miracle when he was on the crosse and then they woulde beleeue him but yet they were wicked and so you which desire more tokens of the Lords power that you may be amended are still wicked for if you cannot beleeue the liuing word you shall not beleeue the dead miracles Thirdly when he saith that all these shall come before the great and terrible day of the Lord we must note that all the woonders and signes in the aire must prepare vs to iudgement Isa 29. 6. Oh how can the Lorde change vs when he thus changeth the world and how doth hee prouide for our safetie and preach our repentance by all the woonders of heauen and earth Darknesse putteth vs in minde of hell fire putteth vs in minde of the latter day blood putteth vs in minde of destruction smoke doth admonish vs of the vanitie of our life the earth would moue vs to repentance by remoouing her selfe the light would couer our sinnes in darknesse by withdrawing it selfe and the cloudes would call vs to heauen Let vs learne to feare the power of God more earnestly in his creatures that if these strange things come vpon vs yet we may not forget our Sauiour who shall come in the cloudes But whosoeuer Least wee should thinke that these troubles shoulde ouerturne and ouercome all in the world when there shall be no light but darknesse no peace but thunders no comfort but fires nor any appeerance but wrath and iudgement the prophet in these words telleth them that then euen in those most desperate miseries God would remember to heare the praiers of his children for the godly cannot choose but feare mightily when they should see all the world in an vprore and heauen and earth roaring to their destruction Whereby I might note that good men must endure the feare of those euils which shall come on the world Isa 33. 4. because they loue their life too much Psal 119. 108. and because their whole life must bee mortified and mangled with many sorrowes Rom. 8. 36. yet let vs not so feare that we despaire how neer soeuer we seeme to destruction Isa. 41. 14. but be obedient as Noah was Heb. 11. 7. though the waters and cries of all the world be as neere to vs as they were to him First when he saith that all that call on the name of the Lorde shall bee saued we may note that saluation must bee praied for before we can haue it Heb. 7. 25. Saluation commeth not as honour came on Dauid which made him a king before hee thought on it but it must come on vs as cleannesse and health came on Naaman which he trauelled for and praied for and washed for seuen times in Iorden before he could be cleansed And as the poore Canaanitish woman entreated Christ a good while before he would graunt so the Lord looketh that men should entreate for saluation many daies and nights and times with many teares and sighes and grones thorough many sorrowes and cares and troubles before they can be saued The reasons first because saluation is the Lords Psal 3. 8. and therefore it must be praied for secondly we must be saued by faith now faith is no faith that praieth not for grace Ephes