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death_n	destroy_v	life_n	sin_n	6,349	5	4.8398	4	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A68105	The way to well-doing. Or A sermon of faith and good vvorkes Preached in the chappell of Buntingford, in the county of Hartford, at the beginning of their publike lecture. By Iohn Gore, rector of Wenden-lofts in Essex.	Gore, John, Rector of Wendenlofts, Essex.; Gore, John, Rector of Wendenlofts, Essex, Summer sermon. aut; Gore, John, Rector of Wendenlofts, Essex. Winter sermon. aut	1638 (1638)	STC 12087; ESTC S116024	20,619	38

intercession to God against Israel Good men in former times were wont to make intercession to God For the people not Against them Abraham prayed for the wicked Sodomites Ieremy prayed for the Idolatrous Israelites till God forbad him and gave him a countermand Pray no more for this people for I will not heare thee Ier. 11. 14. The Husbandman in the Parable entreates his Master for the unfruitfull tree that he would spare it and not cut it downe and doth Eliah differ from all the rest and bend his prayers against the people and pray for the vexation and undoing of his Country How could this stand with that good Religion and that good affection which so holy a man should beare towards the people of God Answer Three things there are in my weake judgement that may seeme to warrant and beare out Eliah in praying for a judgement 1. Authoritas Prophetica Prophets might doe more then ordinary persons and Eliah had the spirit of Prophesie and knew by revelation from God that such a judgement was a comming therefore he might the more warrantably and unoffensively frame his desires to Gods appointments and fit his prayers to Gods purposes Thus must we conceive of those bitter execrations and imprecations wherewith David did so often in the Psalmes curse and banne his enemies Let their Table be their snare let their children be vagabondes and begge their bread c. A man would thinke it could not stand with the piety and charity of a godly man to wish such wicked events such uncharitable wishes to proceed out of his mouth but onely that we know he was a Prophet of God and did it per afflatum divinum by the direction and inspiration of the Holy Ghost he knew by the spirit of Prophesie they were such as were accursed of God being Gods enemies as well as his and therefore might the more warrantably and safely doe it It is not for us to use Davids curses unlesse we had Davids spirit David and Eliah had that gift which the Apostle cals 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the discerning spirits they knew by instinct from heaven who were blessed and who were cursed of God It is not so with us God hath hid those secrets from our eyes and therefore it is our part and duty to pray in love and charity That God would have mercy upon all men But what use then are we to make of those curses in the Psalmes that are read so often to us Answer Thus we may doe we may apply them to the enemies of the Church that seeke the ruine of the true Religion and professe an open enmity to the Gospel and faith of Iesus Christ Who is God blessed for ever we may safely take our Saviours part and curse all those that are enemies to him So let all thy enemies perish O Lord Iud. 5. 31. But for our owne enemies that have done us some private wrong or bare us some secret grudge to curse them and ban them in this kinde as the usuall manner of some is it is both unwarrantable uncharitable and ungodly But the best and safest use that we can make of those curses is to appropriate and apply them to our selves to acknowledge and adjudge our selves worthy to undergoe all those deadly evils and that God may justly doe so and more than so unto us if hee should deale with us according to our sinnes by this meanes we shall save God a labour and our selves a paine For as on the contrary to blesse our selves is the way to make God curse us Deut. 29. 20. Hee that blesseth himselfe when hee heareth the words of these curses saying I shall have peace though I walke in the imagination of my owne heart adding drunkennesse to thirst marke what followes The Lord will be revenged upon the soule of such a one his anger and his jealousie shall smoke against that man and all the curses that are written in this booke shall light upon him and the Lord shall blot out his name from under Heaven This a man gets by blessing of himselfe whereas if thou wouldst be blest of God I doe not say that thou shouldst curse thy selfe farre be it from any servant of Christ so to doe but this I would advise thee to doe even with a sorrowfull and a sad heart to say Amen to all the curses in the Booke of God to acknowledge and confesse that thou hast justly deserved and that it is Gods onely mercy that thou hast escaped them So much for the first reason that may warrant Eliahs prayer the next may be this 2. Convenientia temporis the fitnesse and order of time when this was done it was done in the time of the Law which was used to such judgements they were then accustomed to more terrible wonders than are now sutable to the sweete and saving time of the Gospel observe the wonders that Moses wrought in Egypt what terrible what hurtfull what mischievous wonders they were he turned all their water into blood all their dust into Lice and spoyled all the fruits of the earth and undid the whole Land What a dreadfull wonder was that of Elisha 2 Reg. 2. when he cursed the children of Bethel that mocked him for his baldnesse One would have thought that a little discipline a little correction or sending to their Parents or Masters would have sufficed and beene a sufficient revenge for waggish unhappy boyes that did not know their duty to a man of God but hee lookes upon them with a direfull countenance and cursed and banned them in the name of the Lord and immediately two Shee-beares came out of the Wood and tare two and forty of them in pieces what a horrible what a terrible what a mischeivous wonder was this Of the same kind was that of Eliah 2 Reg. 1. When the Captaine came with authority to bid him come downe and come before the King he might have answered I cannot come or the Lord appointed me some other way to goe c. but the next word we heare is a word of Iudgement and Vengeance If I be a man of God let fire come downe from heaven and consume thee and thy company and so it did both them and the rest that came after on the same message Such wonders as these were usuall in the time of the Law But now looke to the Miracles and Wonders of our Saviour in the Gospell and you shall finde them to be of another nature all of goodnesse and mercy all mercifull all beneficiall all healing Miracles no way hurtfull or destructive of any mans life We read of many a mans life that he saved many that hee recalled and restored none that he destroyed no not one being so reviled as he was so persecuted so laid for so betrayed apprehended condemned and crucified yet what one man did our Saviour strike dead for all these haynous indignities Nay he was so farre from revenge that he prayed for their lives that sought

and wrought his death The most terrible wonders that ever our Saviour did were but two and those no wayes prejudicious to the person or life of any man woman or childe The one was his cursing and blasting of the barren Figge-tree and this was but symbolicall not done in any spleene to the poore tree but onely to shew his indignation against all unfruitfull profession when men make an outward shew of piety to God but when the poore and hungry come to them as Christ came to that Figge-tree hoping to pull some fruite of charity and mercy from them there is nothing to be found but leaves good words perhaps and that is all beleeve it such men are nigh unto cursing and it is Gods infinite mercy if he doe not blast their estate as Christ did the Fig-tree that it shall never prosper to them nor theirs The other wonder of Christ that did any hurt was that Matth. 8. The drowning of the Swine and yet that was the devils doing Christ onely gave way to these evill spirits which seeke the destruction of man and beast to carry them headlong into the sea as they would carry us too but that God above who stiles himselfe The preserver of men is pleased in mercy to keepe out of their clutches and this was symbolicall too to let us understand how God hates all those that are of a swinish disposition that is all drunken sots that like swine have neither wit nor grace to moderate themselves in the use of Gods creatures and all lazy beasts that minde nothing but their bellies as you know a Swine is one of the laziest creatures that a man can keepe it doth him no worke nor service at all or lastly All hoggish worldlings and miserable mucke-wormes of the earth that never doe good till they come to dye let all such tremble and feare and call to God for mercy least in his just judgement he deliver their soules into the hands of those hellish Fiends to carry them headlong as they did the Swine into the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone for evermore there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth These are the two severest wonders that ever our Saviour did or suffered to be done as for all the rest looke into the Stories of the Gospell which are the Acts and Monuments of Iesus Christ you shall finde to be all gracious all beneficiall all healing and saving wonders Never any man came to him for sight that went away blind never any came to him for hearing that went away deafe never any came to him for health that went away sicke In a word you shall never finde that ever any man or woman came to our Saviour for any helpe or mercy that ever went away confounded or disappointed of their hopes Now beloved Christ is the same Iesus still that then hee was Coelum non animum as wee say though hee have changed his place he hath not changed his nature but is still as favourable as indulgent to mankind as ever he was if we doe but as truely seeke unto him for our soules health as they did for their bodies So you see the nature of these wonders is altered from that they were in Eliahs times the severity of the Law suites not with the lenity of the Gospell and wee must now imitate our Saviour in workes of mercy and not follow Eliah in prayers for judgement Wee see Luke 9. 54. When the Disciples fingers itched to be revenged on the Samaritans for their base discourtesie in not entertaining our Saviour Master saith they wilt thou that we command fire from Heaven and consume them as Eliah did Wee have a president for it it is a booke case Eliah did so let us doe the like these men deserve it as bad or worse than they with whom Eliah had to doe No saith our Saviour the case is altered ye know not of what spirit ye are the spirit of the Law required severity the spirit of the Gospell requires meekenesse and mercy Farre is it from the good Spirit of Christ and of God to stirre up any mans heart to private revenge not an Eagle but a Dove was the shape wherein that holy and healthfull Spirit made choise to appeare Let us therefore all that are called Christians follow no other president but our Saviour Christs whose onely lesson that ever he set us to learne of him was this to be humble and meeke and so doing we shall find Requiem animabus rest and peace to our owne soules The third and last reason that may warrant Eliah in praying for a judgement was 3. Necessitas rei the necessity of the thing it selfe that holy Prophet had spent his strength in vaine Sermon upon Sermon warning upon warning threatning upon threatning and when he saw that nothing would worke them to goodnesse then he prayes for a judgement not in a vindictive way to be revenged upon them but as a desperate remedy knowing that that or nothing would bring them to good as it is said 2 Chron. ult God sent his Prophets rising early and sending them and used all gentle meanes to reclaime them till there was no remedy then he sent destruction In this sence if a man have a child or a friend or any one that he wisheth well to his soule if he be growne to that passe so hardned in sinne that no perswasions no warnings no threatnings will worke upon him I am perswaded it were neither uncharitable nor unpleasing to God if a man should pray Lord smite him correct him lay some medicinall some healing punishment upon him that hee may see the errour of his wayes and may returne and repent and so be saved Vpon these and the like grounds I suppose Eliah might with a safe conscience pray for a judgement but then the next questionis Why he should make choise to pray for this kind of judgment of drought and dearth for want of raine rather then any other I will tell you what I thinke the reasons may be 1. Because it was an uncontrouleable a convincing judgement if Eliah should have brought any earthly or visible judgement as Sword or Pestilence c. they would have imputed it presently to some secondary meanes and causes now this was a heavenly an invisible judgement the stoppage of the clouds the detaining of Raine and the burning and scorching of the Sunne was a judgement from heaven and such as they must needes confesse to be Digitus the finger of God not Aliquid humani no handy worke of any mortall man For this was the fallacy which the Scribes and Pharisees put upon our Saviour Math. 16. 1. When they had seene all the miracles and wonders of Christ how he cured the sicke c. they conceited that these things might be done by slight of hand by Art of Magicke by Beelzebub or by Conjuration c. but say they Shew us a signe from heaven and then we will beleeve They knew that a Magician or

in another kind nevercease but are wrought daily by the Preachers of the Gospell For you must know that the miracles under the Gospell are of a differing nature from the miracles under the Law those were ocularia miracula as I may fitly call them eye-miracles that were visible and outwardly apparent to be seene but these are Auricularia miracula Eare-miracles secret and invisible wrought in the heart by the Word and Spirit of God entring in at the eare and going downe into the soule Though wee cannot command or forbid the raine to water the earth as Eliah did if we can water and mollifie the earthen hearts of men with the supernaturall raine of heavenly Doctrine and make a dry and barren soule beare fruit to God is not this as great a wonder as the other Though we cannot cause nor command the thunder as Samuel did to terrifie the people for their sinnes yet God hath his Boanerges his sons of thunder still that by ratling from heaven the terrible judgements of God against sinne and sinners are able to make the stoutest and the proudest heart upon earth even tremble and quake and fall downe before the presence of God and is not this as great a miracle as that of Samuel to bring an unhumbled sinner upon his knees and make glad to cry God mercy for his sinnes In a word though we cannot cast out devils out of mens bodies as the disciples of Christ could doe if wee can cast the devill out of mens soules by the powerfull Gospell of Iesus Christ is it not as great a wonder Beleeve it brethren the conversion of a sinner to God and bringing of a soule to heaven is absolutely without comparison the greatest miracle the greatest wonder in the world And these be the miracles wherewith it pleaseth God to grace the Ministers of the Gospell therefore ye observe that the Collect for Ministers runs thus Almighty God which only workest great marvels c. When a soule is sicke to the death with a surfeit of sinne is recovered and revived againe by that same healthfull spirit of grace which God together with his Word doth breathe into the soule it is so great a marvell so rare a wonder that the Angels of heaven rejoyce to see it I have held you over-long in the former part of Eliahs prayer which brought the judgement heare now in a word or two the Reversing of the judgement and I have done And hee prayed againe and the heavens gave raine and the earth brought forth her fruit It well becomes the Prophets of God to be mercifull Good Eliah had not the heart to hold the people too long under a judgement when hee saw he had done enough to humble them he desires God to reverse the judgement As it is observed of the good Angels in the old and new Testament when they appeared to any either man or woman their method and manner was this Primo terrent deinde laetificant they first terrified them and put them into feare then presently comforted them and put them out of feare Thus did Eliah with this people thus did Moses with Pharaoh that good man had not the heart to hold wicked Pharaoh alway under a judgement but upon the least entreaty made suite to God to reverse it So dealt the Prophet with Ieroboam 1 Reg. 13. 6. when hee had smitten him with a judgement and had him at the advantage that his hand was witnered Ieroboam was glad to submit and say Intreate now the face of the Lord thy God and pray for me that my hand may be restored me The man of God had not the heart to deny him but immediately besought the Lord and the Kings hand was restored and became as it was before When a judgement comes then Prophet are in season Abraham is better than a King in this case Gen. 20. 7. Restore the man his owne for he is a Prophet and hee shall pray for thee and ver 17. Abraham prayed unto God and God healed Abimelech c. Goe to my servant Iob saith God to his friends Iob 42. 8. and my servant Iob shall pray for you for him will I accept So Act. 8. 24. When Peter had denounced a curse on Simon Magus he was glad to crouch and cry unto him Oh pray yee to the Lord for me that none of these things which ye have spoken come upon mee Thus yee see that judgements and plagues will bring Prophets into request men commonly deale with their Ministers as boyes doe by Walnut-trees and other fruit-trees in faire weather throw cudgels at us in foule runne to us for shelter In the dayes of peace and prosperity wee are past over as superfluous creatures of whom there is little use and lesse neede but when the wrath of God fals on the naked soule when the conscience is wounded within and body pained without then the Minister is thought on I say no more if you desire their prayers and that God should heare them praying for you in your extremity doe not slight them doe not wrong them in prosperity Remember how Ahab and all Israel were glad to be beholden to Eliah to reverse their judgement and you do not know how soone the case may be your owne therefore as you love your soules love those that have charge of them And he prayed againe c. When I looke into the Story 1 Reg. 18. I can finde no direct prayer that Eliah made for raine But I finde there a twofold prayer that he made 1. A vertuall 2. A formall prayer 1. A Vertuall prayer not for raine but for their conversion Oh Lord saith Eliah bring backe or bring home the heart of this people unto thee vers 73. and this includes all other prayers that can be made A prayer for conversion is a prayer for every thing Ier. 31. 18. When Ephraim prayes for conversion Turne thou me and I shall be turned saith God I will surely have mercy upon him c. Such is the goodnesse of God that he will with-hold no good thing be it raine be it plenty be it any thing that is good for them from them that are converted and brought home by true repentance to him Therefore if thou standest in need of any temporall mercy pray first for conversion and all other good things shall be super-added and throwne in unto thee or if thou prayest for any child or for any friend to doe him good indeed pray for his conversion and thou prayest for every thing that one prayer is instar omnium insteed of all the rest If he be in an ill way desire God to bring him backe and for future things take no care 2. A formall prayer when he saw that the people were truely humbled and that their hearts were indeed brought home to God insomuch that they cryed out with an ingemmination The Lord hee is God the Lord he is God then he buckles his head betweene his knees to shew the humble prostration of his soule and fals a praying to God for raine After humiliation any prayer comes in season Esay 1. Wash ye make ye cleane put away the evill of your doings c. And now come saith God and wee will reason together now let us parle now let us confesse now pray and I will heare you Iud. 10. 17. When the Israelites put away their strange gods and turned themselves to the true God by sincere repentance and reformation the Text saith His soule was grieved for the misery of Israel thus the onely way to case our owne soules of griefe or to be rid of any grievous judgement is to grieve the soule of God that is to humble our selves before him to pray and seeke his face and to turne from our wicked wayes and God will be even grieved with himselfe that ever he punished plagued and put us to griefe and he will returne as he saith and have mercy on us and will do us good after he hath done us hurt Here then in a word is the ready way to prevaile with God either for raine or for faire weather or for any temporall blessing whatsoever to doe as Eliah did buckle our very heads betweene our knees I meane prostrate our selves before the face of God in the humblest in the lowliest in the most dejected manner that we can device and if any meanes under heaven will fetch downe mercy from heaven that will doe it Eliah prayed againe and the heavens gave raine and the earth brought forth her fruit Now to God the Father God the Sonne and God the Holy Ghost be ascribed and given all honour and glory be done and performed all service and duty from this time forth for evermore Amen FINIS