or holes of his body Hence issued saith the Scripture both bloud and water Iohn 19.34 bloud because without shedding of bloud there was no remission water to signifie the continuall washing of our sinnes in the bloud of Christ 1. Iohn 2. 5. This is that Iesus Christ saith Saint Iohn that came by water and bloud not by water onely but by water and bloud and it is the Spirit that beareth witnesse for the Spirit is truth For there are three which beare record in heauen The Father the Word and the holy Ghost and these three are one And there are three which beare record in the earth The Spirit and Water and Bloud and these three agree in one If we receiue the witnesse of men the witnesse of God is greater for this is the witnesse of God which hee testified of his Sonne He that beleeueth in the Sonne of God hath the witnesse in himselfe Hee that beleeueth not God hath made him a lyer because hee beleeueth not the recorde which God witnessed of his Sonne And this is the record that God hath giuen vnto vs eternall life and this life is in his Sonne He that hath the Sonne of God hath life and he that hath not the Soune of God hath not life Here beloued is life here is water of life offered vnto vs. Ho euery one that is athirst come saith the Euangelical Prophet come buy without siluer that will not the Pope doe he will not sell his pardons without siluer but the Prophet saith Come buy without money without penny or pennie-worth Esay 55.1 Therefore it was that our Sauiour himselfe cried out in the last and great day of the feast If any man thirst let him come vnto me and drinke Iohn 7.37 And likewise saith vnto the vvoman of Samaria John 4.10 If thou knewest the gift of God and who it is that sayeth vnto thee Giue mee drinke thou wouldest haue asked of him and hee would haue giuen thee water of life And in the last of the Reuelation The Spirit and the Bride say Come and let him that heareth say Come and let him that is athirst come and whosoeuer will let him take of the water of Life freely Reuel 22.17 Vse Now to make vse of all this let vs call to remembrance what the Eunuch saith vnto Philip in the eight of the Acts See saith he here is water What should let me to be baptized Philip answered If thou beleeuest with all thine heart thou mayst Act. 8. So may you all say vnto me beloued Here you propose vnto vs Water and here you propose vnto vs water of Life What should let that wee should not bee saued I answere you all in generall and euery one in particular out of my Text If thou wash thine heart from wickednesse thou mayest be saued Thou art a Christian and the badge of a Christian is Baptisme As Water doth serue to wash away the filth of thy body so the effect of Baptisme is to wash away the filth of thy soule Thou art buried by Baptisme into the death of Christ that like as Christ was raysed vp by the glorie of the Father so thou shouldest walke in newnesse of life Rom. 6.3 1. Pet. 3.18 For Christ as St. Peter saith hath once suffered for our sinnes the iust for the vniust to bring vs vnto God and was put to death as concerning the flesh but was quickned in the Spirit By which Spirit he also went and preached vnto the spirits that are in prison which were in time passed disobedient when once the long suffering of God abode in the dayes of Noah while the Arke was preparing wherein few that is eight soules were saued in the water To the which also the figure that now saueth vs euen Baptisme agreeth not the putting away of the filth of the flesh but in that a good conscience maketh request to God by the resurrection of IESVS CHRIST from the dead Allusion Gen. 7. By which allusion of the Apostle it is nothing obscure to be collected that the water wherein Noah was saued the Red Sea Exod. 14. and after the Riuer Iordan wherethrough the children of Israel passed Iosh 3. together with the two Prophets Elias and Elisha 2. King 2 5. whom St. Cyprian compareth to Christ and Christians Elias to Christ Elisha to Christians Also the Cloude which passed ouer the Israelites in the Wildernesse Exod. 17. The washing of Naaman the Assyrian the Poole of Bethesda in Ierusalem Ioh. 5. these all of them were types and figures of our Baptisme like as our Baptisme is and should be vnto vs a badge or token of our new Birth or Regeneration that so in the water of true Repentance we should daily wash our hearts from wickednesse The which mysterie the Apostle Paul doth make more plaine vnto vs in his first Epistle to the Corinthians and tenth Chapter where speaking of the Fathers liuing vnder the old Law he saith That they were all baptized vnto Moyses in the cloude and in the Sea and did all eate the same spirituall meate and did all drinke of the same spirituall drinke meaning with vs Christians For they dranke saith he of the spirituall Rocke which followed them and that Rocke was Christ 1. Cor. 10. But as in many of these Iewes God had no delight so with many of vs Christians that are baptized only with the outward Water of Baptisme God is not pleased because together with the signe of Baptisme wee doe not care for the thing signified that is to wash our hearts from wickednesse Saint Paul telleth vs that Circumcision vnto the Iewes was nothing but the keeping of the Commandements of God S. Paul Rom 7.19 What then can Baptisme be vnto vs Christians but the washing away of our sinnes in the bloud of Christ Which thing we shall doe if we truely repent and beleeue the Gospell and bring forth fruits worthy of Repentance daily and hourely labouring to wash our hearts from wickednesse As Dauid washed his Couch with weepings and as Mary Magdalen washed the feete of Christ with her teares which was a true token of her vnfayned repentance And thus much haue I spoken concerning washing or cleansing Note 2 Next we must consider what must be washed namely our hearts Cor pro anima sensu acceptum As the Prophet Ioel saith Rent your hearts and not your garments So saith Ieremie here Wash your hearts and not your clothes And a little before in this Chapter he saith Breake vp the fallow ground and sow not among thornes be circumcised to the Lord and take away the foreskin of your hearts Jerem. â— 4 The heart of Man as some thinke is the seate of the soule And true Repentance indeed must be from the heart and soule therefore God craueth that chiefely My sonne giue me thine heart Prouerb But whether the heart or the braine of man be the seate of the soule we
will not dispute sure I am now the heart of man is the sinke of sinne as our Sauiour saith Out of the heart proceede euill thoughts Adulteries Fornications Murther and the rest And God himselfe who is the true 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and onely searcher of the heart pronounceth that the heart of man is euill continually And our Prophet in another place affirmeth that the heart of man is deceitfull of all other things who can finde it out Ierem. 17.9 there are so many concauities and hollow places in the heart so many hidings and so many turnings that it hath neede of a great deale of skill and care to cleanse and wash the same and much filth is left behinde in secret foldings which we know not of Insomuch that he must be a very wise carefull and diligent Man that can finde out but euen the corruption of his owne heart Hence is it that there are so many Hypocrites in the world that hiding many foule and secret sinnes in their hearts can yet make shew to the world that they are very holy and religious Many men there are that desire to be taken for godly and faithfull men yet the question may still be demanded Where shall one finde a faithfull man such a one as Nathaniel was euen a true Israelite in whom there is no guile Ieremie is commanded in the next Chapter to our Text to runne too and fro by the streets of Ierusalem and to enquire in the open places of the same if he can finde a man that executeth iudgement and speaketh the truth from his heart that God might spare that Citie to punish it Ierem. 5.1 And in the two and twentieth Chapter of Ezechiel God complayneth that he sought for a man among them that should make vp the hedge and stand in the gap betwixt him and the Land that he might not destroy the same but could find none Therefore saith the Lord haue I powred out mine indignation vpon them and consumed them with the fire of my wrath their owne wayes haue I rendred vpon their owne pates saith the Lord. Ezech. 22.30 And it is greatly to be feared how we should fare if the Lord should looke downe from heauen vpon vs that liue in this last age of the world as he did vpon the old world a little before he destroyed it to see the greatnesse of the wickednesse of men vpon the earth and that all the imaginations of mans heart are euill continually And who knoweth whether the Lord be ready to come out from heauen or to send his Angels because the sins of our Land are exceeding grieuous and the crie thereof very great to inquire whether we haue done altogether according to the crie that is euen ascended to the heauens or no Let vs therefore beloued if we will haue any care to preuent the fierce wrath of the Lord which is readie to fall vpon vs returne speedily vnto the Lord by true and vnfayned Repentance or to vse the wordes of our Text Let vs wash our hearts from wickednesse that we may be saued Obiect But Christ saith vnto Peter He that is washed needeth not saue to wash his feete Ioh. 13. 10. Answ I answere that by feete there is meant all our filthy affections which proceede from the heart of man therefore with Christ to wash our feete and with Ieremie to wash our hearts from wickednesse is all one The Iewes about the time our Prophet preached this and afterward were very ceremonious and superstitious too in their washings they thought and perswaded themselues if they did or could obserue the outward rites or customes of their Fathers touching their eternall cleansings and washings it was well enough nay rather very well But Ieremie here wisheth them to wash their hearts because they drew neere vnto God with their mouthes but their hearts were farre from him Esay 29.13 Our Sauiour himselfe reproueth these Iewes very sharply Matth. 23. as we reade in the Gospell for this their hypocrisie for that they were ouer-carefull to make cleane the vtter-side of the cup and platter but their hearts were full of all rauening and wickednesse Therefore wisedome willeth vs to consecrate our hearts vnto God Not that God wil not haue the hand as wel as the heart the worke as well as the vvill the body as well as the soule and all the members and faculties both of body and soule sanctified vnto his seruice As St. Paul exhorteth to giue our bodies a liuely sacrifice vnto God but because the heart is the chiefest part and the fountayne from whence all our thoughts wordes and workes doe arise therefore the heart must first be washed and cleansed purified by faith in a good conscience to serue the liuing God For if the fountayne be foule the waters that issue from it cannot be cleane And as St. Austen saith well Deus magis cordis intentionem quà m actum operationis intendit God doth more respect the intention of the heart then the operation of the worke whatsoeuer Man iudgeth according to the outward appearance but God seeth the heart For he is the only searcher of the hearts and reynes All things are naked before him Can any hide himselfe in secret places Ierem. 23.24 saith the Lord He vnderstandeth all thy pathes yea euen thy priuy pathes of pride of dissimulation of disdayning thy brother of fornication of couetousnesse of briberie theft extortion and the like though acted by thee neuer so secretly God saw and discouered Achans vvedge of gold though hid in his Tent God saw Achab sicke at the heart for Naboths Vineyard God saw Gehesies heart and made Elisha to see him also Did not my heart go with thee saith the Prophet that is did not I see thee when thou rannest after Naaman for a bribe God grant we haue not among vs too many Achans too may Achabs too many Gehesies that couer many foule sinnes vnder their gownes or cloakes of hypocrisie that make a goodly shew to the world that they are godly but their hearts are full of wickednesse that wash their hands cleane euery day but their hearts scarce once in the yeere scarce once by their liues with the water of true repentance yet still my text saith Wash thine heart from wickednesse Wash thine heart If Pilate had washed his heart as cleane as he washed his handes he would neuer haue condemned an Innocent to death for feare of the people The feare of man chased away the feare of God as the Wiseman saith contrary wise As the face of the King chaseth away euill from his Throne so the feare of God driueth out wickednesse from the heart of man Prou. Vse The vse of all this is to haue God and his feare alwayes before our eyes so that what sinne soeuer we are tempred to commit wee may say with godly Ioseph How shall I commit this wickednesse and so sinne against God Therefore the Scripture sayth Blessed is
them long sithence Therefore if there be any sparke of grace left within vs if there be any feare of Gods iudgements if any dread of hell torments let vs now turne vnto the Lord by true vnfayned repentance for the quieting of our consciences in this life and for the sauing of our poore soules in the life to come And so much for the first point I obserued That it is of Gods infinite patience and mercy towards vs that he hath so long expected our Repentance that we might be saued The second point The second point I obserued was The care that all good Prophets and Pastors haue to exhort vs to Repentance for the saluation of our soules But vpon this point there is no need to stand long Noah and all the Patriarks Samuel and all the Prophets CHRIST IESVS and all his Apostles all their whole care and trauaile was to call people to Repentance Iohn Baptist began with this doctrine Repent and beleeue the Gospell CHRIST IESVS the Sonne of God did the same Repent for the Kingdome of God is at hand And after Christ his resurrection he cōmanded his Apostles and all good Preachers to publish the vertue of his Death and Resurrection to this end as Luke reporteth it That Repentance and remission of sinnes Luke 24. should be preached in his name among all Nations beginning at Ierusalem euen the same Ierusalem though not the same people which our Prophet Ieremie exhorteth here to wash their hearts from wickednesse that they may be saued And elsewhere he saith Be instructed O Ierusalem c. Ier. 6.8 Vse 1 The vse of this point may be first to teach all Pastors and Preachers not to thinke it any disgrace vnto them though they do not alwaies soare on high vpon the wings of speculatiue Diuinitie garnished with plumes of Rethoricke and Philosophie though either of them may well attend on Theologie but sometimes if not oftentimes to touch vpon the point of Repentance for the preaching of that doctrine did neuer that I reade of breede any Schisme in the Church of Christ Mens hearts rather then Christ his coate will be rent in pieces by the preaching of Repentance Vse 2 And a second vse may be here to warne all people to expect and desire no doctrine rather from the mouth of the Preacher then the preaching of Repentance though I grant such Preachers are called the playne Preachers now-adayes and indeede they that preach the doctrine of Repentance well had neede be playne that is haue no need to spare any Persons or Professors nor to colour or couer any vices whatsoeuer But it is not to heare such playne preaching that all people flocke so much to Sermons in this Age but it is either to heare newes or nouelties or invectiues that makes many people to presse so neere this place But beloued Christian one thing is necessary namely the saluation of thy soule and no doctrine more necessary for the sauing of soules then the preaching of Repentance The third point And so come we now to the third point lately proposed that is Though there be neuer so much preaching of Repentance except we repent with it and by it we cannot be saued The saying of our Sauiour is right well knowne Except yee repent yee shall all likewise perish Luke 13. Noah preached a long time to the old World and no doubt earnestly perswaded people to Repentance but it was not Noahs preaching that could saue the world from drowning because they repented not The like may be said of Sodom and Gomorrah where Lot doubtlesse gaue many good lessons of Repentance but that did not preuaile with them therefore were they fearefully destroyed with fire from heauen Now as it was in the dayes of Noah so is it come to passe in this last Age of the world as Christ foretold there is now much preaching and calling of people to Repentance but the not practising thereof is still the cause that so few are saued for except we repent we cannot be saued It was the preaching of Saint Peter that pricked the peoples hearts in the second of the Acts and made them to crie out What shall we doe Acts 2. meaning what shall we doe to be saued Then Peter said vnto them Repent and be baptized euery one of you in the name of Iesus Christ for the remission of your sinnes for without repentance there is no remission of sinnes and without remission of sinnes there is no saluation Further this must be noted by the way that when we vrge Repentance as chiefly necessary to saluation we exclude not faith and good workes for true Repentance is the Child of Faith and good Workes are both the fruits of Faith and the true tokens of Repentance Therefore Iohn Baptist preaching Repentance to the people did bid them to bring forth the fruits of Repentance because each tree is knowne by his fruit And when the Iaylor demanded of Paul and Sylas What he should doe to be saued They said vnto him Beleeue in the Lord Iesus and thou shalt be saued and thy houshold Acts 16.31 Now that faith of his brought forth Repentance with the fruits thereof otherwise he could not haue beene saued For albeit it be true as our Church rightly teacheth that we are freely iustified before God by faith yet our Repentance and good Workes must testifie our faith to the world that it is no dead faith as S. Iames speaketh but such a faith as worketh by loue as S. Paul exhorteth Gal. 5.6 whereby it is manifest that the doctrine of S. Paul and S. Iames doe not differ touching our free Iustification by faith as many Papists pretend for that which S. Iames calleth a dead faith Iam. 2.20 is the same faith which S. Paul meaneth that worketh not by loue And howsoeuer our Aduersaries the Papists slander vs Heauen and Earth Men and Angels can witnesse with vs that we vrge good workes in our Sermons as much as they and to better purpose then they by good workes we meane bona opera benè operata such workes as are true tokens of our conuersion and fruits of our faith in Christ by whom only we are saued And we affirme with Saint Austen that bona opera non praecedunt iustificandos sed sequuntur iustificatos Good workes goe not before them that are to be iustified but follow them being iustified for first the person must be accepted with God before any thing that proceedeth from man be pleasing to his Maiestie And whatsoeuer is not of faith is sinne We say also with S. Bernard Bernard that bona opera sunt viae ad regnum non causae regnandi Good workes accompany vs towards heauen but are not the causes of our comming thither And to conclude this point which by way of digression I haue pursued thus farre we all say with Saint Paul By grace we are saued through faith not of our selues it is the gift of
God not of workes lest any man should beast Ephes 2.8 but yet so as followeth in the same Text that God hath ordayned good workes for euery good Christian to walke in And therefore let euery one that beleeueth in Christ be carefull to bring forth good workes to testifie his Faith Repentance without which he cannot be saued Vse 1 The vse of this point may then serue To teach all people to take heede that they linger not their Repentance and put it off from day to day because euery houre they are in danger of death and if they dye without Repentance they cannot be saued Vse 2 To teach vs all neuer to soothe our selues in any sinne though neuer so sweet though neuer so pleasing though neuer so profitable for that is not Repentance that only sorroweth for sinne but that which causeth vs to hate all sinne and to labour to leaue the same to the vttermost of our power In a word true Repentance or conuersion as the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifieth is the whole conuersion of the minde vnto God with a full purpose and holy resolution to denie all vngodlinesse and worldly lusts and to liue soberly righteously and godly in this present world Vse 3 Lastly seeing except we thus repent we cannot be saued let vs pray night and day for this grace of Repentance for it is not in our selues to turne vnto the Lord for euen Ieremie himselfe prayeth Conuert thou vs good Lord and we shall be conuerted turne thou vs good Lord and we shall be turned Let vs know that this is a businesse that of necessitie must be done whatsoeuer be left vndone if we will be saued and the sooner it is done the easier it is to be done and the better accepted put not off thy Repentance therefore any longer lest Gods wrath fall vpon thee to thine euerlasting destruction Thinke vpon the end of thy Creation thinke vpon the price of thy Redemption it was to this end that thou mayest be saued for this end was Prayer Preaching and Sacraments commanded and ordayned that thou mayest be saued In a word this is the end of thy faith as S. Peter saith The saluation of thy soule Therefore not without great cause is it that our Text saith Wash thine heart from wickednesse that thou mayest be saued And so much for the Exhortation being the first generall part of our Text. Wherein we haue obserued first Who exhorteth Ieremie secondly Who is exhorted Ierusalem thirdly Whereunto to Repentance fourthly For what end That they may be saued Second part Now come we to the second and last part of our Text which is the Reprehension in these words How long shall thy wicked thoughts remayne within thee The Prophet hauing so louingly exhorted vs to Repentance by willing vs to wash our hearts from wickednesse he falleth now to reprouing vs for lingring so long our Repentance saying How long shall your wicked thoughts remayne within you Wherein we may obserue things worthy of obseruation both in the manner and in the matter of this reproofe The manner In the manner I obserue the dutie of a good Pastor and Teacher who must often-times ioyne with Doctrine and Exhortation Reproofe and Reprehension as also the Apostle S. Paul exhorteth when he saith Improue rebuke exhort 2. Tim. 4.2 Examples of this kinde of teaching we haue store in all the Prophets Euangelists and Apostles which being so well knowne to all I shall not neede to relate any of them but in stead thereof will take vp a reproofe which I thinke euery one of vs must be cōtent to beare of what estate or calling soeuer we are of either in the Church or Common-weale that is That euery one almost can be contented to heare the Preacher patiently so long as he is in his generall doctrine and exhortation or if sometime he reproue sinne in some generall sort for that which seemeth to be spoken to all is taken many times as spoken to none But if the Preacher once begin to fall vnto more particular reprehension As haply when there is great cause to reproue the Magistrate and Gouernors of some remissenesse in their duties that they suffer sinne and sinners as Idolaters Adulterers Drunkards Swearers Prophaners of the Sabbaths and the like to goe vnpunished yea vncontrolled and that not in corners but in publike places to the great offence of Almightie God and to the scandall of our holy profession Or when sometimes many zealous Preachers taxe others of their owne profession for neglecting of their callings or reproue Merchants and men of Trades for their seuerall deceits or Land-lords for inhansing their Rents or Lawyers for delaying of their Clyents or mightie Men for oppressing the poore or Noble men and Gentlemen for sacriledge or Rich men for vsurie or Gentlewomen for their excessiue pride in their apparel or women of lower degree for following of the fashion or any one of these or the like for their seuerall sinnes whatsoeuer Oh then that Preacher is either too precise or peremptorie he leaueth his Text and falleth to rayling as some thinke Notwithstanding like a paynefull Silke-worke he draweth his reprehension out of the very bowells of his Text and doth no more then God commands him To shew the people their sinnes and the house of Iacob their transgressions Esay 58.1 O beloued if this gentle kinde of preaching vsed in our dayes be so hard to be digested how would you take it if Preachers should take libertie by the example of the Prophets to reproue sinne and sinners in such playnenesse and boldnesse that they single them out by name as Esay Amos Ieremie Iohn Baptist haue done though it cost them full deare for their labour But they knew their reward was with the Lord and their labour with the Almightie One thing more we may not passe vnremembred in the manner of the reproofe and that is the vehemencie of the interrogation which our Prophet vseth when he saith How long shall your wicked thoughts remayne within you Text. for it is a reproofe with a certayne kinde of indignation striking to the very heart of them whom he reproueth such force doth the Maiestie of Gods Word carry with it When it is preached with authoritie and in the zeale of Gods Spirit It is then liuely and mightie in operation Heb. 4.12 as the Apostle speaketh and sharper then any two-edged sword and entreth through euen to the diuiding asunder of the soule and the spirit and of the ioynts and the marrow and is a discerner of the thoughts and the intents of the heart How long shall your wicked thoughts remayne within you Vse 1 The vse drawne here-hence may be First to teach Preachers which are to fight the Lords battell against the sinnefull Amalekites to take courage vnto themselues and like Samuel the Lords Prophet in pieces To cut and hew Agag 1. Sam. 15.33 with the sword of Gods Spirit and not to