tokens of Gods wrath euery way appeare let vs be humbled vnder his hande and séeke him in righteousnesse and lowlinesse and wee in like manner shall finde sure helpe and safetie for our selues in Christ Iesus to whom is due al thankesgiuing all honour glory and power for euer Amen The sixth Sermon The Text. 5 WOe to the inhabitants of the Sea coast the nation of the Cherethims the woord of the Lord is against you O Canaan the land of the Philistines I will euen destroy thee without an inhabitaunt 6 And the sea coastes shal be dwellinges and cotages for shepherdes and sheepefoldes 7 And that cost shal be for the remnant of the house of Iudah and to feed therevpon in the houses of Ashkelon shall they lodge toward night for the Lord their God shall visite them and turne away their captiuitie 8 I haue heard the reproch of Moab and the rebukes of the Children of Ammon whereby they vpbraided my people and magnified themselues against their borders 8 Therefore as I liue saith the Lord of hostes the God of Israell surely Moab shal be as Sodome and the children of Amon. c. The argument and vse of this place THe prophet hauing exhorted the godly to constancie of faith commeth to the 3. part of his sermon wherein he thretneth destruction to the Gentiles being their enemies These were the special causes of this discourse the 1. is the corruptiō of nature wherby it cōmeth to pas that for the most part we looke vnto others when we be afflicted do think that we are worse delt wtal thē we deserue if so be the any feare better then we our selues Which may be séene by Peter Iohn 21. whē he was by christ Iesus admonished of suffering the punishment of deth for the doctrin of the truth sought not as he ought to prepare himself ther to but what should becōe of Iohn whō he saw that christ loued more then the others An other is the stumbling block that was laid in the way of the godly to their great grief when they saw the wicked malapertly triumph ouer thē being afflicted vnder the crosse frō thence to take occasion to speake euill of faith true religion which thing was done when the people were led away to Babylon Abdia Psal 137. but the Prophet foreséeing this teacheth them that God in déede will begin with the Iewes to punish but wil passe from them to the nations adioyning which must vtterly be destroyed that to the profit of his owne people which at the length being returned frō their captiuitie shall inioy al this land of the Heathen their enemies And amōgst these he nameth the Philistins the Moabits c whom we know to be the auncient enemies of the Church which vnder the cloak of a league had before very notoriously mocked Ezechia al the people of God Isay 20. Lastly hée addeth vnto these the Babylonians which must also be punished of God so soon as they haue finished their course But this place conteineth a generall doctrine and consolation For first we are here taught that God is the God not only of his people but also of other nations that he doth bend the rygor of his Iudgement against al men secondly we sée that it is no new thing if any time we perceiue that the Church is very roughly dealte withall and that no man ought to bee offended therewith for then also hath God especially an eye vnto it who as hee doeth refourme it with correction so in the ende he turneth his iudgement against them that persecute it He threatneth the Philistines But because in our sermon yesterday he began to speake of the destruction of the Philistines that he might as it were with this example make the Iewes afraide he doeth of them begin this discourse and in the entrance hee describeth the situation and manners of that nation that thereby it may be knowne of whom he speaketh and for what causes especially they must bee punished Woe to the inhabitours of the sea coast the nation of the Cherethims the woord of the Lorde is against you O Canaan the land of the Philistines He calleth the line or cost of the Sea that countrie that is stretched euē vnto the sea For by a figure called Synecdoche or Metonimia a line is takē for a lot or share falling to any mā because men do vse a line in measuring or parting of ground So doth Moses call Iacob Deut. 32. that is to say Israel the line of the Lordes inheritance and Dauid sayth the lines are fallen to me in a faire grounde Psal 18. and by and by after expounding the same he sayth that a goodly inheritance befell him But it is well knowne by them that haue written of countries to describe their situations that all this coast bordering vpon the Sea was in times past very famous by reason of fiue cities whereof the Prophet hath alreadie named fower as Amos also doth which a little before threatned them with destruction Gaza lay more towardes the South then any of the other this was famous by reason of a hauē there which Constantinus afterwarde after his own name called Constantia But Iulianus restored vnto it againe the olde name perhaps because of the hatred he bare to Constantinus and for that he was delighted with the remnantes of Gentilitie or Heathennesse Next vnto this was Geth where Goliah the Giaunt was borne and is heere omitted eyther because it was vtterly rased or else was of lesse value then that it shoulde come in any reckoning the third was Ashkelon where Antipater the Father of Herod the Greate was afterwardes borne in the fourth place was Azotus which among all the cities of Syria as Herodotus writeth abode the longest siege when Psalmeticus was King of Egypt whereby it may appeare that it was very well furnished for the warres Meta calleth it the mart of the marchandise of all Arabia which was the cause that it was so corrupted with riot and delicatenes that the manners of Azotus grewe into a byword With these is Akron reckoned being builded vpon the maine Land Furthermore the Prophet tearmeth al that country by twoo names whereby he sheweth foorth their manners First he calleth them the nation of the Cheretims that is to say of thē that destroy and plucke vpp by the rootes By which name one of Dauid his legions was called being alwaies next vnto or at the kings hand Wee knowe that Warriours are roughe and cruell and it is too bee beeleeued that they gotte them that name as bloody and cruell men are woonte too doe which séeke for prayse by murdering and ouerthrow of whole nations Then hee calleth them the Canaanites partely because they came of the offspring of those that remained of the Canaanites partly that hee might shew that howsoeuer they were outragiously bent GOD made no more account of them then of the Canaanites which erastwhile
Christ in Luke propoundeth of the foolish and sumptuous proude rich man wherof we may see very many examples euery day wherby the frowardnes of men ought more to bee lamented which can be moued by no examples or perswasions to geue ouer the outragious paines taking to waxe riche and to séeke the kingdome of God and to apply themselues too godlinesse which hath promises of this life and of the life to come 1. Tim. 4. He threatneth the winning and sacking of the Citie Furthermore because the wicked doe on euery side reache after waies to escape and doe put their confidence in externall assistance he now describeth more at large that which he had threatned before in generall wordes and he taketh al things away that they were wont to obiect either in sport or good earnest He shewet that God is their enemie First they thought that there was no man that durst attempt any thing against their nation fenced on euery side with so many garisons therfore he saith The day of the Lord is at hand He setteth before their eies the day of the Lorde that they may vnderstand that this shal be the work of God who can weaken their force and strengthen any enemies against them whatsoeuer In the meane season he forewarneth the godly by this speache that in the time of captiuitie they may acknowledge the hande of God and that they should not think that any thinge came to passe by chaunce or fortune But from hence wee may gather a generall doctrine namely that no man put his trust either in his own strēgth or contemne such enemies as are sent of God For if the day of the lord that is to say the time of destinie bée at hande wherein God hath ordained to punish any nation our owne strength cannot helpe vs and the counsell of the most wise shal be to no purpose as wee may beholde in the examples of many nations euen from the beginning of the world Againe whosoeuer they be that are punished let them thinke that they are punished of God and let them returne vnto him which thing to doe is the onely way of safetie in the time of aduersitie as the scripture teacheth according to that saying Be ye turned vnto me and I will be turned vnto you He sheweth that it is neere at hand Secondly they referre this day of the Lorde vnto the time yet long to come that by prolonging the time they myght take their pleasure Hée sayeth therefore That it is at hande and that by repeating the same hée addeth and it maketh hast By the which words he admonisheth that the iudgements of God are not to be wayed according to the presēt state of things but after his worde which is grounded and sure howsoeuer it séemeth otherwise too flesh and blood For although he doeth at sometimes defer the punishment yet he doeth it of his iust iudgement and determinate counsell when eyther the faith of those that be his must be exercised or the mesure of the wicked fulfilled But in the meane time that iudgement slacketh not wherewith they must be punished neyther doth the destruction sléepe which God appoynted for them For as we waxe olde without any féeling although gray hayres créepe vpon vs and wee perceiue it not so vpon them that bée carelesse and hauing nothing lesse in their mindes that day commeth on very fast wherewith God will punish the wickednesse of all men Wée sée examples here euery day when those that bée richest of all others are stripped out of their wealth diseases comme vppon them vnlooked for while they take their pleasure in securitie and those that a little before might bée thought to bée no lesse then halfe Gods are thrust downe from the highest steppe of renowne into the lowest state of reproch ignominie and shame and that that commeth to passe vpon some of priuate condition wée see also to befall whole kingdomes and nations publikely what doeth not the Apostle say that that last day shall then come when most men being deceaued with the pleasures and carelesnesse of the flesh shall say peace peace O that wée would oftē bethink vs of these things that in shorte time wee might profit greatly in godlynesse c. He sheweth the greatnes of the punishment Thirdly they thought that this punishment should bee but light which peraduenture shoulde passe lightly ouer their country and in Isay cap. 28 these sayings of the wicked are well knowne Wee haue made a league with death and a couenaunte with hell though a scourge runne ouer and passe through it shall not come nye vs c. Hée méeteth them therefore and calleth it the great day of the Lorde because hée had appoynted too punishe them with a peculiar and vnwoonted kinde of seueritie For he addeth to expound himselfe with all The voice of the day of the Lord is bitter He calleth the howling and crie of those that must then be punished the voice of the day of the Lorde They shall crie sayth he and bewaile their calamitie very bitterly which notwithstanding they cannot escape but hee seemeth to set these outcries against the sermons of the Prophets which called them dayly to repentance though in vayne by offering vnto them the woord of God Whether also that may bee referred that is spoken by Zacharie in his first Chapter It shall come to passe that as God hath cryed and they haue not heard so they shall cry and I will not heare them sayth the Lord of hostes This ought to be wel marked as oft as God seemeth to deale hardly with vs if at any time he do speedily deliuer vs calling vppon him let vs then thinke how often we haue passed ouer his voice with deafe eares and then wee shall perceiue that hee doeth vs no wrong Furthermore that which he addeth belōgeth to the enlarging of the mischiefe saying There the strong man shall crye that is the calamitie shal be so great that it shall constrain the most valiaunt and strong men to howle very miserably and by and by after he doth by a collection geather or heape vpp together what soeuer may make for the setting out of the calamity of that time That day is a day of wrath that is he hath appointed this day for his wrath and indignation which you haue set on fire by your wickednes A day of trouble and affliction a day of destructiō desolatiō that is that time shall be ful of calamitie that which way soeuer you turn you al shal be a miserable and huge wastnes also a day of clowdes darknes a day of obscuritie blacknes By the darknes he vnderstādeth extreme euils thretneth that they shal not know their own state which thing he sheweth afterward more plainly by the parable of thē that be blind but this is the ende of this destruction that he purposeth to scare these froward Hypocrites which so securely haue flattered them selues in their owne wickednes
death For Luke saieth Chap. 13. Doe ye thinke that they were sinners more then all others I say vnto you nay but except ye repēt ye shal likewise perish But the great goodnesse of God appeareth in this that when hee may take sodaine vengeance vppon vs as often as wée sinne against him yet he vseth these forewarnings that he may prouide for the safetie of those that be his But I would to God we would marke this in these daies for what nation is there in all the world vpon the which God hath not shewed examples of his Iustice within these 50. or 60. yeares what desolations destructions and miseries haue we not séene neither doth the course of God his Iudgements containe them selues within the bounds of that part of the worle that is known but wayes also of the vnknown sea haue bene opened vnto couetous and rashly disposed men that they also that from the beginning of the worlde hitherto haue liued naked and without armour and hauing no knowledge of this our part of the world should also knewe what belongeth to the force of warres But how fewe there be that herein acknowledge the Iudgement of GOD the matter it selfe declareth For most men following the example of the Iewes doe either persecute the trueth and make warre against God himselfe or els vse the pretence therof vnto a headlong libertie of offending It is not therfore without good cōsideration that certaine prudent and wise harted men do thinke that some great mischiefe and a certaine generall destruction is readie to fall vppon all the worlde which cannot be escaped by any other way then if we followe the counsell of God presently set before our eies Thou shalt feare mee saieth he and receiue my correction In two members hee comprehendeth all the way of godlinesse for the feare of God cannot consist without his knowledge and a true fayth nay that feare that is such as children beare to their parents commeth hereof which is adioyned with the loue of god which is the beginning of true wisdome bringeth lowlines which maketh a man by the obedience of fayth wholy to submitte himselfe vnto God and his word But by the worde correction is noted a minde that doeth patiently beare chastisment which is alwayes accompanied with a godly and honest lyfe and which in euery poynt is agréeable to the fayth and profession of a christian man whosoeuer doth set these things before themselues to be considered doe waxe wise by other mens examples and doe easily escape the Iudgement of God or at the least being bettered thereby do obtaine euerlasting life He denounceth the punishment But GOD addeth a most heauie thretning to their frowardnes and his rebuke saying Therfore waite you vpon mee vntill the day that I ryse vp vnto the pray c. The meaning is I haue hitherto done al thinges which might soften you and make you relēt but that you are more hard thē the stones I haue also for a time wtheld mine indignatiō that there should not want space of repētāce but I looked for it in vain seing ye are become worse ye thinke that I am like vnto your selues Now therefore waite you vnto that day wherein I will arise to pray and tearing in péeces as you haue deserued and you shall not waite in vaine as I haue done for this now is my Iudgement and vnchangeable decrée That I wil gather together all nations all kingdoms that I may powre out mine indignation and the furiousnes of my wrath vpon them c. But that that he speaketh here in fewe wordes is more at large set out in Ieremy where these things are to be found Iere. 25. for that ye haue not hearkened to my wordes therefore I will sende for all the families of the north saieth the Lorde and for Nabuchadnezar the king of Babylon my seruant and I will bring them into this Land and vpon all these nations which are round about and will destroy them vtterly and cut them vp by the rootes c. And by and by after he maketh a catalogue or scrowle of those kingdomes and kings that must be rooted vp And that none should promise to themselues deliueraunce by their strength he addeth Because in the fire of my Ielousie all the earth shall be consumed Hee attributeth zeale vnto him selfe as also in the ten commaundementes least any man should imagine that God is like an Epicure or idle And he compareth him to fire the force whereof cannot be ouercome Moreouer he threatneth the whole world least they should thinke that they should escape all the whole reason of God his Iudgement is expressed in these wordes The reason of Gods iudgmēt For in that he biddeth them waite and nameth the day also wherein hee will rise to the pray he sheweth that he is not caryed away with a blinde outrage but that hée doeth order all thinges by his iust Iudgement and hath his appoynted times when hée will render to euery one as they haue deserued Furthermore he testifieth that all nations are subiect to his iudgement For whosoeuer sinneth without law saith Paule Rom. 2. shall perish without law and who soeuer sinneth in the law shal be iudged by the law Moreouer we are taught that they cannot be escaped of all those that with their stubborne contempt of his worde prouoke his wrathfull indignation and surely histories beare recorde that it was in déede fulfilled that hee threatned them by his prophets which also doth set before vs many examples wherby we are taught that the Iudgements of God cannot be escaped by any force or counsel of man Let vs in these dayes be minedfull of these things and for as much as wee want neither admonitions nor examples wherewith GOD calleth vs into the way let vs giue héede vnto them and feare the Lord and submit our selues to the yoke of his correction so it shall be giuen vs to inioy the hoped for and promised saluation in Iesus Christ our Lorde to whome all thankes giuing honor glory and power be due for euer Amen The tenth Sermon The text 9 SVrely then I wil turn to the people a pure language that they may al cal vpon the name of the Lord to serue him with one consent 10 From beyond the riuers of Ethiopia the daughter of my dispersed praying vnto me shall bring me an offering 11 In that day shalt thou not be ashamed for all thy works wherin thou hast transgressed against me For then I wil take away out of the mids of thee them that reioyce of thy pride thou shalt no more bee proud of my holy mountaine 12 Then will I leaue in the mids of thee an humble and poore people and they shal trust in the name of the Lord. 13 The remnant of Israel shall doe none iniquitie nor speake lyes neither shall a deceitfull tongue be found in their mouth For they shal be fed lye down none shal make
their heartes to abhorre sinne and shall perceiue that a new and vnaccustomed care of godlines beginneth too spring and wil also be ashamed eyther to speak or doe those thinges before God wherof they would be ashamed in the beholding of any honest man So the Apostle Paule in the 2. Cor. 6. teacheth vs to vse this consideration For when he had brought the words of God which we alleaged before by and by he addeth out of Esay Esay 42. wherefore departe out of the middest of them and separat your selues saith the Lorde and touch no vncleane thing But heere appeareth the desperate corruption of our nature All men confesse that God is present euery where that he séeth all thinges that he heareth all thinges that he knoweth all thinges in the meane season a man shall finde very fewe that trust in him that stay vpon him or that in his presence doe giue themselues to christian godlines and holines of life without the which as the Apostle witnesseth no man seeth God Who therfore seeth not that the most of them that confesse him in their mouth do deny him in their déedes and that they be of the number of those that say in their heart there is no God the Lord séeth not neither doth the God of Iacob vnderstand c. Nay that wee may let passe these that be common which beeing violently carried away with beastly pleasures doe thinke very seldomely of God or heauenly things what shal we say of the diuines which when they teach not onely that presence of God that is deliuered in the Scriptures but doe also force a bodily presence of Iesus Christ and that with great a doe and yet in the meane tyme both commit and speake such thinges as doe sufficiently beare witnesse that they beléeue nothing lesse then that thing which they doe repeate so often For if they did eyther thinke that God saw these thinges or did beleeue that Christ Iesus were present with his Church vnto whom we must heereafter giue account for euery ydle woorde Surely they woulde neuer writhe the Scriptures so wickedly they would neuer speak so rakehellike of those holy mysteries they would neuer so disquiet the church with these their proude conflictes and brauling contentions much lesse with such reproches defame those faithfull ministers of Christ that haue well deserued of the Church Or tryumph for the blodshed of the holy Martyres Or who would thinke they woulde speake such foolish absurd and thinges against the scriptures if they beleeued there were eyther heauen or hell Now the authority of princes standeth with them but the age to come wil be of an other minde and surely Christ will looke vnto the cause of those that bee his whose name they doe so without all shame abuse He prooueth their helpelesse contumacie But let vs returne to our Prophet who doth more at large lay abrod with this argument also the shamelesse and incureable frowardnes of his time because as yet they were not amended neyther by examples nor yet by any admonitions or warninges but were rather become woorse And surely the force of examples is very great in somuch that they which cannot be mooued by any reasons are ofttimes made afraide from their sinnes by examples when they see that those their offences had an euell ende with others And the Poet affirmed that he is happy whom other mens harmes doe make too beware But they that reiect them togeather with all faithfull admonitions are not only vnhappy men but also of a desperate malice and woorthy to be punished any way But God prooueth that these are such when he sayth I haue destroyed the nations their pallaces are layde wast I haue made their streets desolate that there is none that passeth by c. He doeth not onely alleage simply the destruction of the nations but doeth withall heape together whatsoeuer lamentable and doleful thinges are wont to fall out therein that he may declare that those examples of his Iustice which he shewed were not cōmō wherwith they might haue bin freightned if they had had any féeling at al left in them and hither may be referred whatsoeuer things came to passe from the time that hee had brought their Fathers out of Egypt for then was Pharao destroyed with his horses and charets the country of the Madianits myserably destroyed and made waste Then were the mightie kinges Seon and Ogge punished for their vngodlinesse and crueltie After this there followed many such examples vnder the Iudges and Dauid against the Philistines the Idumeans Moabites Amonites and Syrians all which God punished very grieuously Moreouer those things were freshe in the remembrance of them all which Salmanazar Senacherib had done very cruelly in the land of Israel Iudah and which they knew were executed vpon the ten tribes that for the same sinnes were lead away into Assiria wherof they were cōtinually warned by the Prophetes I wil not now speak of the people of the East that were first oppressed by the armies of the Assyriās were afterward beaten downe afresh by the tyranny of the Babylonians neither yet haue I onely done these thinges saieth God but that ye might vnderstand the vse of them all I haue geuen you prophets by whome I haue spoken vnto you haue said surely thou shalt feare me and receiue my correction And his dwelling shall not bee destroyed That is thy dwelling whatsoeuer I haue appointed as concerning the same for in the prophets the chaunge of persons doe oftentimes come In which wordes he testifieth that he hath prescribed them a very certaine and short way of saluation and hath giuen them sure hope that he wil spare their land if they will but nowe at the last feare him and yéelde them selues to be ordered by him But what did they They rose erly in the morning corrupted all their waies He setteth their self will disobedience against his faythfulnes and care for them As if hee shoulde say as I arose early and shewed my iudgementes by saying admonishing exhorting and reprouing and haue also endeuored to make them afaide with the examples of other nations so they made no lesse spéede to corrupte their owne wayes and are become worse and worse Who would not therefore say that they were altogether remedilesse and worthy of any punishment The vse of examples But these wordes of God do teach what profit they should reape from those examples which are shewed vpō others Namely this that we shoulde thinke that God doth not onely punish them that for their wickednesse haue deserued punishment but also to admonish others that they should call to minde what they haue deserued And that by spéedie turning vnto the Lord they might escape those plagues that are readie to fall vpon them Christ himself teacheth this vse when he reasoneth of the Galileans whose blood Pilate mingled with the sacrifice and those other on whome the Tower of Siloe fell and pressed to