can alledge to defend it the greatest plot that ever the Divel had and so it is with Popery they 'l alledge the same Scriptures together with us Secondly The bitterest enemies that ever the Church of God had have been those that have owned the same Scriptures with themselves as the Samaritans and the Jews and the Papists unto us for hereby wickedness comes under the title of a Duty John 16.2 They shall suppose that they do good service and Paul saith I verily thought that I ought to do many things against the name of the Lord Jesus he did it in Duty and did Sin conscientiously as I may say c. Vse The Lord hath given you Liberty in many things such as we could not have expected that ever our eyes should have seen done Now let me exhort you Do not turn this Grace of God into vantonness Use not your Liberty as an occasion â—o the flesh Take heed of this way of sinning above all other to make the Word of the holy God a Patron of Lust abhor those men above all other men next the Divel that are best skill'd in Scripture to this end that they may justifie an evil way Truly I shall say better our old bondage or suffering again if this be the use we make of it if our new liberty be a liberty in sinning One disputes for Free-will and Universal Grace and he hath Scripture for it another he disputes against the regulating power of the Law and he hath Scripture another against Prayers but when the Spirit moves him and he hath Scripture another against the Sabbath and others for all manner of wickedness for they say we live in God and others plead for swearing for it 's an Ordinance of God Thou shall swear by his Name and others plead for mixt multitudes in Ordinances and they have Scripture and others act for every ignorant and confident fellow to preach in our publike Congregations for say they the Scripture says as every man hath received the gift so let him minister c. whereas we know the publike ministery is an Office and it is committed unto some and not to all 2 Cor. 5.17 Consider but these four things and I have done First Is this the return you make for all the goodness of God towards you Consider the evil of it First hereby you do dishonour God in that which is highest to him and which he has most exalted next to his Son Psalm 138.2 His Word is exalted above all his Name Now to lay the Word of God aside and to count it as a strange thing Hos 8.12 is a great evil much more to turn it against the Lord and gather rules from the Word to justifie that which the Lord himself abhors Secondly Hereby you do gratifie the Divel for that hath been his great Design First when the Lord hath at any time powered out a higher measure of light as in Luthers time then rose up abundance of heresies and so in the days immediately succeeding the Apostles and when the Lord works any great changes tending to Reformation for cast Satan down in one kind and he will rise in another as when Rome Pagan was cast down now there is a floud upon Rome Christian c. and by degrees to be at last gathered together into the See of Rome Thirdly No men brings on themselves greater destruction then these men do who turn the grace of God into wantonness by bringing into the Church damnable heresies 2 Pet. 2.3 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they are men ripe for destruction and as I have told you the Lord will make it eminently appear that they are the greatest enemies to his glory and his Churches good and therefore God reserves them for worse punishment then other wicked men shall have God looks on them as men of Blood Bloody men that are drunk with the blood of souls the sons of perdition men of sin 't is an Hebraism that signifies an eminency in every one of those kinds of sin that wicked men are guilty of and it is not only reserved for them hereafter God will not stay till he gives punishments and rewards at the day of Judgement as he will do to all men both good and bad but they shall receive an earnest of damnation here in a special manner as well as hereafter God will exalt their damnation above other mens Primogenitus Sathanae Hereticks are the first born of the Divel and they shall have a double portion with the Divel in his Inheritance Fourthly This is a dangerous fore-runner of destruction to any Nation or Church Truly if if you bear with the woman Jezabel God will not bear with you for he is tender of his Truths and prizeth them above all the world Heaven and Earth shall fail before one tittle of that shall fall to the ground Christ made that the great signe of the destruction of Jerusalem that it was neer There shall arise false Christs and false Prophets many and so 1 John 2.18 There are many Antichrists and hereby we know it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and it s not spoken of the end of the world but of the destruction of the Jewish state and it drew very neer upon this ground because many Antichrists had turned the grace of God into wantonness and made use of the Word of Christ to the dishonour of Christ in opprobrium Christi and it was the over-spreading of heresie that did give the Sarasins footing in the Eastern Empire and seeing they are willing to be deceived the Lord let out that floud upon them therefore oh all you that fear God that desire to serve him as he has revealed himself in his Word whose spirits God has drawn forth to prize the truth of the Gospel Take heed of false Teachers Hold fast the Faith that was once delivered to the Saints For if damnable heresies do creep in amongst you Consider nothing threatens destruction so much as they do THE Just Mans End AT THE Funerall of William Ball Esquire a Member of the House of Commons ESAY 57.1 The Righteous perish and no Man lays it to heart IN these words are four things to be considered First here 's a godly man described in his life and that either in respect of his inward disposition or his outward conversation In his disposition of soul hee is a Righteous man and a merciful man also A Righteous man hee had need have good eyes that finds out such a one for Psal 53.4 The Lord looked down from Heaven upon the children of men and he found none righteous Indeed in a legall sence there is none but hath an allay in a Gospel sence there is arighteousness that is imputed upon justification and there is a new image infused upon sanctification and both these must concur in the righteous man and the merciful man 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the man of mercy who hath attained mercy himself and who is ready to shew mercy unto others
against thee thou hast none to make answer for thee for thy Covenant admits no advocate Lastly if any services be required thou hast none to help thee but thy own might no Christ to strengthen thee no Spirit to help thy infirmities Rom. 8.26 as it is with the people of God in the Covenant of grace Secondly none to bear thy sins or sufferings and so wrath must needs come upon thee immediately it comes upon the godly under the second Covenant and Christ the Mediator stepped between he bare the curse being made a curse for us Gal. 3.13 but when the Lord shall come to pour out his wrath upon thee thou maiest rather hope to prevail with the Rocks and the Mountains then with Christ he will not appear for thee but thou must wrastle it out with the wrath of the great God for ever and it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God Heb. 10.30,31 there must needs be Iudgement without mercy and fury without compassion when the Lord will stir up all his wrath and none step in to bear one drop of this storm for thee for thy Covenant admits no Mediator Thirdly it is a Covenant under which unto man fallen there is no hope of reparation First it promiseth no repentance after sinning it belonâ—s to the second Covenant that Christ shall give repentance unto Israel Acts 5.31 Secondly it promiseth no space to repent but Gen. 2.17 the day thou eatest thou shalt dye and so they had had not Christ stept in Rev. 2.21 space to repent is not from the first Covenant Thirdly if a man did repent this Covenant promiseth no acceptation upon repentance it saith indeed Gen. 4.7 if thou dost well thou shalt be accepted but it faith not if thou dost evil thou shalt upon after repentance be accepted therefore this is a mans miserable condition and this it must be by this Covenant for ever therefore the Devils are in a hopeless Condition because the Covenant under which they stand offers them no mercy after sinning and God hath not revealed unto them any other Covenant and the same is the condition of every man by this first Covenant only men have this priviledge that they have a second Covenant offered unto them upon which they may lay hold with hope of mercy therefore neglect not these glorious offers seek the Lord while he may be found close with the grace in the new Covenant know the day of thy visitation for if thou be found at the last day under Adams Covenant and untranslated thou must expect no other but to bear thy own sin and shame for ever Let this awaken you to seek first for a change of thy Covenant and then afterward for a change of thine Image many men labour to change their waies and to abstain from many sins but whilest thou art under this first Covenant thy Covenant promiseth no grace to perform duties thy Covenant promiseth no acceptance therefore the first thing that a soul should set upon is to seek to God to be translated out of that Covenant that bondage under which by nature he stands FLESH SILENCED BY Gods arising A Sermon Preached before the Lord Maior Aldermen and Commons of London on a Thanksgiving day at Christ-Church London July 26. 1651. ZACH. 2. ver ult Be silent O all flesh before the Lord for he is raised up out of his holy habitation IT is the great honour of the Saints that they are made the Temples of the Holy-Ghost and the Priests of the most high God that they may offer to him spiritual sacrifices acceptable to him through Iesus Christ The sacrifices of the Jews were of two sorts Some were 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Propitiatory Sacrifices for the obtaining of pardon and peace and reconciliation after sins committed there were other sacrifices that were 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 peace-offerings a returning unto God of thanks and praises for blessings received When God did put into the hands of his people a cup of consolation for that is the Prophets expression in Ier. 16. then did they take the cup of salvation the cup of benediction and returned unto God again Psal 116.13 You have both these sacrifices in the spiritual sense of them under the Gospel and the Lord delights in each of them in their seasons Sometimes the Lord calls his people to mourning and it is dangerous to deceive the expectation of God Sometimes he calls them to rejoice Consider in Heb. 12.23 you are by the Gospel taken into Communion with Angels and your Communion with the Angels in a great measure doth consist in bearing a part with them in your praises it is the action of heaven and requires hearts in heaven to joyn with it therefore the hearts of the Saints are so described Rev. 19.1 I heard a voice of much people in Heaven saying Amen Hallelujah it is spoken of the Saints upon earth it is usually in that book styled the Church of God in heaven but how when they praise God they are a great multitude in Heaven The Countries that have most staple commodities in them for exchange you know they have the freest and the fullest traffique The most glorious intercourses between heaven and earth is in mercy and the most glorious return between earth and heaven is in grace praises and the returning of mercies into themselves ad locum unde exeunt gratiae revertantur Bernard saith Bernard it is a returning of mercy into the same fountain the same bosom of love from whence it flows it is indeed the habitation of God that next to heaven he delighteth to dwell in he inhabiteth the praises of Israel These considerations I desire to premse that you may a little observe of what weight and importance the services that you now go about are For the words that I have read to you that you may find out the meaning and scope of the Holy-Ghost in them it is necessary that we look into the story the context and the connexion of the verse which I shall briefly give you and I intreate you diligently to mark The Babylonian Monarchie having trodden down the City of God the holy City and laid wast the Temple and worship of God for seventy years that time being expired the Lord according to his promise delivers his prisoners out of the pit in which there was no water Deliverance was proclaimed by Cyrus the first King of Persia this liberty some of the Jews undervlaued and they still chose rather to abide in the Land of their captivity to them is the speech directed in the 6. ver of this Chapter Ho saith God come forth and stie from the Land of the North they might have had liberty but they embraced their former bondage those that did accept of deliverance and returned into their own Countrie they were no sooner returned but there rose a Samaritan faction their neighbours those that were neither Gentiles by profession nor Jews by religion
Col. 2.5 p. 91. 5. Church-Officers according to Institution Preached at the Churches choosing of Officers upon Heb. 13.17 p. 109 6. Communion with God good in bad times Preached at Pauls October 14. 1647. Before the Lord Maior and Aldermen upon Psal 73.28 p. 133. 7. The Saints inheritance Preached for Mr. Caryl on his Lecture day at London-Bridge upon 1 Chron. 3.22 following p. 163. 8. The great day At a private fast upon Ierem. 30.7 p. 164. 9. Grace abused At a fast for abused liberty Feb. 28. upon Iude 4. p. 187. 10. The just mans end At the funeral of William Ball Esquire a member of the house of Commons upon Esa 57.1 p. 209. 11. God with us whilest we are with him At a publike fast before the Parliament Iune 9. 1652. upon 2 Chron. 15.2 p. 231. 12. The doctrine of the Iews vocation Preached at Gregories Lecture upon Rom. 11.26 p. 267. 13. Heedless service unacceptable Upon 2 King 10.31 p. 289. 14 Gospel-Exaltation Upon Mat. 11.23 p. 309. 15. The two Covenants Preached in Bartholomew-lane Iune 22. 1652. Upon Gal. 4.21,22 p. 333. 16. Flesh silenced by Gods arising Preached before the Lord Maior Aldermen and Commons of London on a Thanksgiving day at Christ-Church London Iuly 26. 1651. upon Zach. 2.13 p. 357. 17. The duty and dignity of Magistrates Preached at Laurence-Iury Sept. 29. 1651. at the Election of the Lord Maior upon Zach. 10.4 p. 389. 18. Perfect cleansing upon 2 Chron. 7.1 p. 421. 19. A set time for Iudgement Upon Ierem. 8.7 p. 443. 20. One heart and one way Upon Zach. 14.9 p. 465. 21. Grace is wisdom and wisdom the principal thing Preached at a meeting of the company of Black-Smiths Octob. 29. 1647. in Fish-street London upon Prov. 4.7 p. 493. 22 The danger of being worse by mercies Upon Deut. 32.15 p. 513. 23. Unruly thoughts quieted by divine consolations Preached at Pauls Iune 9. 1653. upon Psal 49.19 p. 541. 24. Gods Throne erect in the Assemblies of his Saints Preached at a fast upon Rev. 4.6 p. 567. 25. The Keepers of the Vineyard must keep their own Vineyard At a fast before the Parliament Iune 13. 1650. upon â—ant 1.6 p. 589. 26. State prosperity in keeping close to the Word At a fast in the Parliament House Iune 31. 1653. upon Iosh 1.8 p. 617. 27. Christs instrumental fitness for his Fathers ends Preached at Bartholomew-lane upon Isaiah 42.2 p. 637. 28. The mysteries of Providence Preached at Pauls August 18. 1650. upon Ezek. 1.16 close of it p. 657. 29. Christs care in glory for his Churches good on earth upon Rev. 2.1 p. 681. 30. Gifts and Talents shall be accounted for Preached before the Parliament on a day of Thanksgiving Sept. 3. upon Luke 12.48 p. 705. 31. The upright heart and its darling sin Upon Psalm 18.23 p. 735. The Table of the Scriptures handled explained and opened in these following Sermons  Chapter Verse Page Genesis 3 19 528 17 2 741  7 159 Exodus 10 6 482 Numbers 14 24 741 Deutronomy 6 7 301 9 1 313 32 8 515  10 516  13 517  15 ib. 518 5â—1 Ioshua 1 8 617 24 19 297 703 Iudges 2 1 687 1 Samuel 2 29 522 6 7 302 13 2 241 1 Kings 16 31 472  32 ibid. 18 28 544 2 Kings 10 31 289 292 16 14 484  15 ibid. 1 Chronicles 15 13 92 2 Chronicles 15 2 231 Iob. 6 4 547 22 21 138 28 13 495 34 17 414  30 49 633 Psalms 4 3 141  4 505 8 2 69  6 See pag. 146 follow p. 163 18 23 735 739 742 23 6 See p. 153 follow p. 163 27 4 697 30 3 293 44 23 365 47 9 401 68 12 692 74 14 375 490 80 17 640 90 12 496 94 19 542 107 34 12 110 3 318 119 126 459 127 2 550 140 11 See p. 152 follow p. 163 Proverbs 3 14 504 4 7 493 8 2 276  3 ibid.  30 678 15 24 503 16 31 450 Ecclesiastes 3 14 725 5 1 294  6 687 10 8 462 Canticles 1 6 593 597 2 16 318 4 2 ibid. 6 10 321 7 5 145 8 8 116 Isaiah 5 5 321  17 520 7 00 515 9 1 171 14 12 314 26 20 464 28 13 14  17 726 29 1 236 707 534 723 30 18 See page 155 follows page 163 33 21 732 42 2 637 638 44 25 671 49 4 717 52 7 690 57 1 209 60 12 563 66 14 35 Jeremiah 2 33 459 7 12 690 30 33 290 31 8 277  9 ibid. Lamentations 4 20 398 Ezekiel 1 8 571  16 657 661 664 7 20 315 10 2 13 401 16 7 116  8 ibid.  39 321 37 7 713  24 640  25 ibid. 47 11 1 9 704 Daniel 2 44 2 4 16 660  17 ibid.   400 7 2 526  11 79  12 281  13 278  25 403   563 8 27 288  10 to 12 692 10 20 371 11 40 286  44 ibid. 12 11 281 Hosea 1 3 526  11 168 2 15 68 3 5 276 728 7 6 483 8 14 472 9 10 516 14 18 561 Ioel. 2 3 168 Amos 4 4 484 Micah 4 5 468 6 5 720 7 4 462 Nahum 1 10 671 Habbacuck 2 4 184 3 16 550  17 148  18 ibid. Zephaniah 1 14 169 2 2 554  4 559 Zachariah 2 13 359 365 3 7 143   701 4 6 114  7 ibid. 5 6 449 9 10 394  12 58 558  13 391 396 11 7 482 12 8 668  10 278 13 1 276  21 475 14 8 23  9 468 469 Malachi 4 1 168 Matthew 4 14 312 5 18 430 6 21 144  23 200 11 5 422  23 311 312 13 52 98 15 13 111 16 18 118 216  19 122 18 20 700  15 119 24 9 688  30 278  31 ibid.  51 305 Mark 4 24 303 10 30 149 Luke 1 76 689 10 27 430 12 41 705 710 13 32 48 24 8 295 25 18 ibid. John 2 10 102 3 34 715  35 710 10 16 273 15 2 22  10 157 16 13 625 20 21 124 Acts. 2 28 168 7 55 369 560 9 11 43 20 28 112 Romans 5 12 343 8 28 712 10 18 364 11 12 to 15 287  25 269 12 26 267  3 716 1 Corinthians 3 22 712 4 6 118 5 4 124 10 11 â—1 12 7 117  28 112 14 26 411  32 413 15 24 660  28 71  52 279 2 Corinthians 3 15 270 4 18 317  6 Ibid. 6 1 712  16 573 7 1 421 10 13 717 Galatians 1 6 194 3 19 339 4 4 351  21 333  22 334 Ephesians 2 20 408  21 ibid. â— 7 715  11 95  12 ibid.  13 46  14 483 Philippians 4 10 716  11 ibid.  12 269 Colossians 1 2 117  5 ibid.
in an afflicted condition He went mourning all the day long for the oppression of his enemies and the Lord hid his Face And his soul was dejected within him but yet he had hope in God For I shall yet praise him who is the health of my Countenance and my God The Saints do comfort themselves in their saddest condition with their Interest in things to come that the Lord will wait on them and be gratious and will not keep his anger for ever Consider these Eight thiâ—gs Secondly But how shall things to come become the Saints In respect of good and evil things to come 1. They are delivered from temptations to come A man shall be delivered from them and not left unto them and there is a great deal of mercy in the preventing grace of God this way in being freed from temptations The Lord will not lead his People through the Land of the Philistines Exod. though it was the neerest way to the Land of Canaan lest the people see it and their hearts turn back again into Egypt c. And indeed the Lord doth strangely order things in his Providence that temptations may be hid from his Peoples Eyes Satan desires continually to winnow the Saints but the Lord rebukes him and all his temptations 2. If Temptations sometimes assault them yet he doth make provision for them against Temptation Satan hath desired to winnow thee saith our Lord to Peter Luk. 23.31 but I have prayed for thee The Lord lays in consolation for the future tryals of the Saints and as the Temptation was fore-appointed so also is the Consolation Jer. 10.11 When the children of Israel were in Babylon and should have temptations to worship other Gods they were bid to make this Answer The Gods that have not made the Heavens and the Earth shall perish from the Earth and from under these Heavens And 't is very observable that one Answer God puts into their mouths is wrote in the Chaldee Tongue c. So the Saints shall be able to withstand them by vertue of the Intercession of Christ c. 3. Afflictions to come either they shall be delivered from them as Hezekiah thou shalt saith God be gathered into thy grave in peace God had an Ark for Noah and a Grave for Methusalah The Floud was appointed to come upon all the Earth well at the time appointed it comes But first Methusalah must be delivered for he lived until that very Year the Flood came and God provides him a Grave takes him away from the evil to come him does God deliver from it But Noah he must abide the tryal for him God provides an Ark and safely carries him through it Isa 4.5 Upon all the glory there shall be a defence The great water Floods shall not come nigh unto thee or else if they be afflicted they shall be gratiously supported under them The grace of God shall be sufficient for he hath promised When thou goest through the fire I will be with thee Isai 43.2 There is gratia perveniens assisteus in suffering as well as in sins and duties Psal 43.46 We will not fear though the earth be removed for there is a River the streams whereof shall make glad the City of God 4. Mercies to come to the Saints shall prove Mercies indeed Saul hath a Kingdom as wel as David but it was a mercy to David and therefore the Lord did qualifie him for it and gave him Kingly graces and weaned hii soul from the Mercy before he had Bernard Bern. Ecce paratum est cor meum vis me constituere pastorem ovium aut regem populorum My heart is as a weaned child Psal 131.2,3 And therefore it 's sayd Isa 30.18 that the Lord waits to be gracious he doth not defer because he is unwilling to bestow mercies upon us but because we are not prepared to receive Mercie for Mercies to unprepared soules are like unto Cordials unto foul stomacks the which do but increase the peccant humours and therefore the Lord never gives them till the season of them and till he hath prepared the soul to receive them There is a double right that the people of God have to Mercy First there is jus haereditarium a right of Inheritance and that they have as soon as they are converted but yet they are but then as a child in its nonage Secondly there is a jus aptitudinarium a right of fitness that is wanting and the Lord doth not give any Mercy in Mercy till both be found in the soul till there is a right of fitness as well as an hereditary right Fifthly Sins to come If God leaves under any temptation that we are foyled by it as that the best of Gods people may for I know no sin but may overtake such but final impenitency and the sin against the Holy Ghost yet all things shall work together for good to them that fear God Et si omnia qui ni etiam peccata Aug. Aug. If all things then sin it self is not excluded God makes a strange use of sin to his peoples good and benefit either to discover unto a man what is in his heart and so to abate his carnal confidence as the Lord did let Hezekiah fall to that end that the work of Mortification may be perfected and the Sword of Godly sorrow may go the wider and the Plough of Repentance the deeper and that shall be the fruit of it that the man may be more vile in his own sight or else to make him the more instrumental in that kind to do good unto others being able to comfort them with the same consolation with which he himself was comforted of God And being himself converted he may be the better able to convert and strengthen the brethren Luk. 22.32 And the Saints of God do see great Mercy even in their sins to come as well as in their suffering that as some of the Antients have blessed God for the Falls of the Saints those Horrenda naufragia by reason of the comfort and support and admonitions that they had from them So they do see cause many times to bless God for that Grace that brings so much good out of their sins also and so much they may promise themselves from a principle of Faith in regard of sinning as well as suffering Sixtly in respect of the happy and glorious condition of the Church that is promised in the latter daies there is a time coming when all the kingdoms of the earth shall become the kingdoms of the Lord and of his Christ Rev. 11.16,17 and unto the holy people of the most high Dan 17.27 And when the smoak out of the Temple shall vantsh and the Temple shall be opened in heaven and a man may see into the Court of the Testament which is within the vayl The darkness of the preâ—ent dispensation of God shall be done away and new Jerusalem shall come down from God out of heaven
of bread cleaness of teeth invasions of Enemies but never any like unto this and therefore does the Prophet call it an onely evil Ezek. 7.5,6,7 it 's come and it is not a high sound the eccho of the mountains but it shall be so in truth and in reality in which the fury of the Lord shall be poured out upon them he would give the dearly beloved of his soul into the hand of his enemies Secondly there 's none like it if we also compare Gods dealing with them and with other people The Lord hath not dealt so with any Nation as he hath done with Jerusalem and therefore they are afflicted and in captivity with the heathen Nations who are at ease and sit stil Zach. 1.13.14 For judgement must begin at the House of God and there is at the last a worse end remaining for them that obey not the Gospel c. Secondly here 's a consolation also Jacob shall have his time of trouble but it is yet but a time the people of God never enter into affliction without a promise and therefore they are prisoners of hope when they are in a pit in which there 's no water Zach. 9.11,12 There are three great promises that the Saints have under all their afflictions First they are promised support in the affliction I will be with you and there 's a River the streames whereof do make glad the City of God Gen. 15. there 's a light that goes between the peeces in the middle of the darkness the bush in the fire is not burnt a peculiar providence watches over them to keep them from fainting under the affliction Secondly they are promised Sanctification This is the fruit of the affliction to take away their sins by this shall the iniquity of Jacob be purged they shall be made partakers of his holynesse and of his glory for these light afflictions that are but for a moment shall work for us a more exceeding and eternal weight of glory Thirdly there 's a promise of deliverance out of affliction Israel shall not dye in Aâ—gypt though it be four hundred years before they come forth though the Temple be trodden down of the Gentiles and the woman be in the wilderness 1260. dayes yet she shall not alwaies be in a wilderness estate and though they be in Babylon yet the Lord by the blood of the Covenant will send them forth out of the pit and he will break the yoke from off the neck of the anointing c. And some think as Calvin that to be the meaning of Is 9.1 Her dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation when he first lightly afflicted the land of Zabulon c. that was in the inroads formerly made upon them by Tiglah Pileser and was that greater then the captivity when the City should be destroyed and the Temple burnt with fire and there was no comparison in the affliction but yet the darkness should not be such and the reason is this huic certa permissionem esse additam cum in prioribus nulla esset better be as low as Hel with a promise then in Paradise without it the darkness of the bottomless pit would not be utter darkness if there were but the light of a promise for the soul to look upon for there is a time of the pro nise Acts 7.17 when it will truly speak and not lye But what are the grounds why God will not spare his own people Hence the grounds are these two First God will not spare his own people there 's a time of Jacoh's trouble when even Gods own people shall be reduced to extremity and there shall come upon them a time of straits Secondly Jacobs trouble is but for a time there 's a day of deliverance for them they shall be saved out of it The Doctrine is this Doctrin There is a time of Jacobs trouble Gods own dearest people are many times brought into a time of straits It 's true that through a mans whole life Christianus must be crucianus he must take up his cross that will follow the Lord There 's no son that he receives but he chvstises Affliction is a Childs portion in the ways of holyness their correction is as truly from the hand of their father as their provision is But my purpose at present is to speak of some special times of Jacobs trouble a great day a day of straits And God doth many times bring his own people unto this It will appear to be true from all the dealings of God with the Saints the children of Israel were in bondage in Aegypt long and their affliction was great but there was a time when the bricks were doubled and the opposition heightned so that they were as dead carrion cast out to the Ravens Gen. 15. And though Israel were hated of all the Nations which God called their evil neighbours yet there were some special straits that befell them as in the dayes of Asa 2 Chron. 14.9,10 When there came an Army of the Ethiopians an host of a thousand thousand men and in the dayes of Hezckiah when Senacherib besieged Jerusalem it s a day of trouble of rebuke and of blasphemy Isa 37.3 But yet there was a time of greater straits when they must be carried into captivity and the glory of the Lord removed from his own habitation And the Gospel was no sooner placed in the world but the great Red Dragon raised a persecution the Heathen Emperours and all the Powers of their Empire Rev. 12.1,3 And that Power was no sooner broken and the Church obtained of God a Man-child but immediately there was a flood cast out after the woman the Arrian Heresie and they persecuted the Church more then the Pagans had done before and then the Earth helped the Woman c. Then doth Anti-christ arise and the people of God do prophecie in sackcloth and ashes Witnesses they are and two Witnesses for their paucity and for their sufficiencyâ— and yet there is a time of greater straights that remains for them there is the time of their fulfilling and of their killing so that God doth reserve a time of straits for his own people there 's a time of Jacobs trouble c. First because the Lord will give unto them some eminent experiences of his providence under which they walk it 's true that he is the Saviour of all men but especially of them that beleeve and upon all the glory there is a covering at all times Isa 4.5 but the greater the straits are the more eminent shall the protection be if Daniel be in the Lyons den and the three children in the fiery furnace the wonder had not been so great if the bnsh had not been in the fire but to see it in the fire and yet not to consume that was the greatest sight that ever Moses saw before When the Earth is removed and the Mountains cast into the midst of the sea then there is need of a Song upon
grace of God to another end then that for which the Lord appointed it when men do father their lusts upon the Word of God and bear them up by it and this has always been the custom of a I falâ—e Teachers 2 Pet. 3.16 the word is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they doe put the Scripture upon the Rack and bending them unto their own bow they shall serve their turn which way soever their lusts work there shall be found something in Scripture that they can lay hold of for it And when men doe make use of the Doctrines of the Gospel to serve their own lust and do grow more loose and licentious under them this is to pervert the Gospel of Grace unto an end for which it was never appointed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Justin M. Hence there are two things to be observed First that there is a Wantonness that goes with corrupt Teachers wheresoever they are corrupt doctrines and wicked practises go together There are no men that sin with so much wantonness that is with so much licentiousness liberty and impudency as corrupt Teachers do Secondly they wil wrest the Word of God and of his grace unto this end they wil strengthen their lusts by the word and so pervert it to an end unto which it was never appointed Doct. There is a wantonness in corrupt Teachers there is both wicked doctrines and wicked practises for they both go together in the same men First this will appear by the descriptions every where given of them in the Scripture they are described and placed in the highest rank of wicked men Phil. 3.2.19 Degs they are that is unclean creatures that return unto their vomit and they are joyned with evil workers their God is their belly they meerly serve their own lusts in all that they do and they do it with a great deal of impudencie which is the highest pitch of sinning they glory in that which should be looked upon as their shame The Apostle had sayd 2 Peter 2.14.18,19 That there should bee false Teachers amongst them that should privily bring in damnable or destructive Heresies and hee describes the men having eyes full of Adultery and cannot cease to sin having their hearts exercised with covetous practises cursed children and they allure through the lusts of the flesh and much wantonness It is this that is the bait for it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 They do allure as with a bait 2 Tim. 3.13 Evil men and deceivers grow worse and worse There is no stay when men once are deceived themselves and do become deceivers and seducers of others the Lord doth commonly give them up in judgement unto all excesse of Riot and they sall to all manner of lasciviousness c. Secondly it must needs be so if wee consider from whence doth Heresie come We have the rise of it Revel 9.1,2 And I saw a Starre fall from Heaven unto the Earth and to him was given the Key of the bottomlesse pit and hee opâ—…ed the bottomless pit and there arose a smoak out of the pit c. It 's spoken of the Judgement of GOD poured out upon Râ—me Anti-christian in the Easterne part of the Empire And the bottomlesse pit is opened and that by a Starre that fell from Heaven For Mahomet was at first a Christian and did prosesse the Christian Religion till at last meeting with Sergius a wicked and corrupt Monk they made up between them this fardle of Heresies and Follies by which they have deceived the world Now this Star falling opened the bottomlesse pit That is it was the Instrument to let out the smoak thereof And so the Armies of Mahomet are called Reâ—el 12.15 The Serpent cast out of his mouth a flood after the woman that 's meant of the Arrian Heresie Now consider what can come out of Hell And what can come out as smoak out of the bottomlesse pit but it must needs be full of filthiness and uncleanness but hence it is that all false Doctrines come out of the mouth of the old Serpent who is uncleanness it self Thirdly they are in Scripture reâ—embled unto the wickedest men that ever were 2 Pet. 2.15 as Balaam it 's said they followed the way of Balaam who was himself a Witch and one that would be easily hired to curse the people of God for a reward and they are Jannes and Jambres 2 Tim. 3.8 who were two famous Egyptians of Aegypt There are not a more wicked generation of men in the world nor men given up to wantonness and loosness more then they Fourthly no men are so industriously wicked as they are and they will compasse Sea and Land to make a proselite and make him tenfold the child of hell when they have done more then he was before Revel 9.10,18,19 They had tayles like to Scorpions of these were the third part of men killed that is of the fire and smoak and brimstone that came out of their mouths For their power is in their mouths and in their tayls It 's spoken of the Mahumetans who as they did conquer used their utmost power to promote their Religion and the corrupt principles thereof by which they have wholly defiled even all the Easterne Chuches they had the Heads of Lyons but they had a stâ—ng in their tayle wheresoever they came they left a sting behind them and they did kill not onely by their hands but by the smoak that came out of their mouthes Their power was not onely in their mouthes but in their tayles also they did a greater mischief by their corrupt Doctrines then they did by all their power and force of arms and the men were in better condition that were killed by their hands then they that surviving were destroyed hy their tayles Fiftly the people of God have abhorr'd them as the wickedest men that ever were in the world and therefore there is no sort of sinners that the Spirit of God hath so set himself and the Spirit of his Saints so much against as these Tit. 3.10 A heretick reject c. And we are exhorted to beware of false Teachers for they come in Sheeps clothing but they were ravening Wolves By their fruits ye shall know them They be thistles and ye shal never gather grapes off them they are thorns and therfore you shal never gather figs off them 3 Joh. 10. We are charged not to receive them into our houses not communicate a word with them not to bid them God speed It was the title that John gave to Cerinthus I know thee to be primogenitus Satanae the first born of the devil Hereticks are they that have received a double portion of this spirit Sixthly they are such sort of sinners as most immediately acted by the Devil of any men in the world they have the most immediate influences from Hell and therefore Revel 16.13,14 The unclean spirit came out of the mouth of the Dâ—agon They are sent forth by his command and they doe receive a
for he knows our frame and in all our afflictions he is afflicted therefore the Lord does as we our selves would do in the same case if we had a child abroad at school and we did foresee some great evil either of pestilence or famine to be neer unto that place where the child was we would send for the childe home beforehand that he might not partake in the misery with the rest so God hath put his people to nurse to school in this world and if there be evil neer he doth send for his people home beforehand and cause them to go forth out of the world to pr serve them from the evil of it 3. Doct. Therefore when godly men are so taken away it is matter of serious consideration and high lamentation unto them that survive and it s their sin if they do it not it is that which David doth complaiâ— of and bewail Psal 12.1 there is not a godly man left and the faithful fail amongst the children of men and they were wicked ones that were exalted on every side Mic. 7.1 the good man is perished out of the earth the godly men were taken away so that when the Prophet did come to seek them he was as men that did seek grapes after gleaning found here and there one and as one that seeks the first ripe fruits but finds none for the good man is perished and there is none upright amongst men for they all do lye in wait for blood every man hunts his brother with a net and when the world is preparing their nets to catch the Saints then God withdraws them from the world and their loss should mightily assect us Consider these three things First The Saints are our glory as they are Gods Iewels so they are the excellent ones of the earth and so they should be to us 2 Cor. 8.23 it 's said they are the messengers of the Churches and the glory of Christ and those that Christ glories in we should also glory in and as we should rejoyce in the addition of any one into the number of the Saints amongst us so we should look upon it with mourning and grief of heart that any of that number be taken away and the more useful any man is to the Church the more honorable he should be in your eyes they are vessels of honor sitted for the masters use Now as scandalous professors are spots in your feasts so sincere ones are stars and it is a great abasement and the eclâ—psing of the glory of a Church to have an eminent light put out of it Secondly When the Saints are taken away it 's a dangerous sign that wrath is determined because the Lord takes away and withdraws the pillars of the Earth from off the earth it was a sign that Samson intended the fall of the house when he pluâ—kt down the pillars the Lord doth commonly before judgement come make way for his indignation and one special way by which he doth it is by taking away those that stand in the gap to divert it the Lord may say to Moses let me alone but yet Moses will still wrastle with the Lord but when Moses is gone now who shall strive with God for his people Thirdly All our protection defence and blessing depends upon the Saints that are amongst us for it is by their Covenant that the world stands and that all the Creatures are continued â—n their being and let me tell you after the Lord has gathered in the wheat into his barn it will not be long ere he does burn he chaff with unquenchable fire if he do but once say to his people Come â—e blessed go ye cursed to the wicked they will quickly follow after and therefore they do so bewail the taking away of Elijah as the Chariot of Israel and the horseman thereof their strength and their fence was gone for this is a truth the strength of a Nation next to God lyes in the Saints they are the shields of the earth for if it be for their sakes that the world stands God will provide a place for them of safety when the rest of the world is consuming as we see in Zoar a place may be preserved for the sake of the people of God and indeed they are the partition wall between wicked men and temporal wrath yea and eternal wrath it is the Saints that keep the wicked so long out of hell whatever the world thinks of them they are a blessing to the world Gen. 12.2 Mic. 5.7 as the showers upon the grass are a blessing so are the Saints by their prayers and their Counsels and their pains and their gracious example and holy conversation every way a blessing so that as Nazianzen saith of Iulian when he was smitten and had a wound it was to him indeed Lethale vulnus But 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 So we may invert it and say this of a saint that dyes 't was indeed a happy wound for him for to be with Christ is best of all but though a saint have advantage by it yet it is a misery to the place to the Church to the Commonwealth where such a one lived â—ea even the whole world is a loser by the death of a saint and therefore Iudah was so sensible of the loss of gracious Iosiah that they made a great publick mourning yea a yeerly mourning for a long time after sine supplicationibus non staret mundus is the Jews proverb the world is upholden by the prayers of the saints Vse Hence learn that the ways of holiness are the best ways for that is the best way that leads a man to the best end there is a double goodness in holy walking First absoluta there is a goodness in it self it being a conformity to the good will of God Secondly There is a goodness in holâ—ness which is respectiva in respect of the end unto which a man is thereby brought and we see finis dat mediis bonitatem amabilem I know that the unworthy would have many prejudices against the ways of holiness the Saints in their lives are afflicted and chastised every moment and they go mourning all the day long and they cannot put themselves in the glory of the world cannot partake of the jollity of the times as he saith spiritus Calvinianus est melancholicus but look not upon their outside but their inside look not upon them in their life but in their death and then let me tell the greatest gallant of you all you will give a world to change estates with them at their death in whose life thou wouldest by no tearms be conformable unto What would Dives have given after all his glory all his delicacy to have changed with Lazarus in his death let it be your work therefore to dye the death of the righteous and to set this the more home upon your spirits take these four considerations 1 Consider the great end why we came into the world was that
men is an abomination in the sight of the Lord Luk. 16.15 and there is many a mans person and actions when they are weighed by the world are conceived to be great weight and yet when the Lord comes to weigh them are found too light and it is his Sentence must stand he is praise-worthy and that man is honourable not whom himself nor whom the world but whom the Lord commends 2 Cor. 10.18 Secondly for the world we know it is unacquainted with and therefore unable to esteem either the comforts or the honours of the Ordinances for they are men of another Generation Luk. 16.8 In estimation a great deal of wisdom and art is seen and that cannot be expected in those whom the Scripture doth every where brand for folly every man may see a precious stone but he must be a Lapidary that knows how to value it every man sees the Sun but he must be an Astronomer that shall be able to measure it and take the quantity thereof they that know no honour but the praise of men it s no wonder if they be not able to judge of the praise of God Act. 17.11 whatever the world counts of honour and descent the Lord saith they of Berea 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they were better descended then the rest of Thessalonica in that they received the word with readiness of mind and searched the Scriptures daily c. Thirdly though they should count it a disgrace yet look upon the Ordinances alwaies as thy honour and value not the Judgement of such men say it s a small thing to me to be judged of you or of mans day let it appear that you as much undervalue their Judgement as they do your waies this was Luthers resolution Luther Non ego opprobrium Bohemi cinominis metuo quae gloria est coram Deo Ita concurrimus utrinque illi extremo furore ego summo contemptu vincit mea audacia in Christo for that thing and that person is honourable and none else who is precious in Gods eyes since thou wast precious in my eyes thou hast been honourable but never till then Vse 2. Strive so to walk towards the Gospel and all the Ordinances thereof that you may make it appear to the world you count it your honour glory and highest advancement in the world This concerns First those that have it not Secondly those that have it First you that have it not strive to get it at any rate for your self for the place in which you live for it is a pearl of great price and therefore you may do well to sell all that thou hast to buy it in other things men will spare no cost to satisfie their ambition give any thing for their honour but in this men have no ambition Infelix prorsus ambitio quae ambire magna non novit Bernard Bernard You that live in the dark places of the earth and are like to Jerico where it may be the Land is pleasant but the waters bitter count it now not only the matter of your misery but also of your dishonour stir up your ambition in this respect to have the Ordinances of the Gospel that may exalt you up to heaven and what difficulty so ever may seem to stand in the way let them not deterr you anime magno nihil est magnum What God will bless your riches honour and advancement in outward things do not you live without this it was the complaint of Bernard of some Bernard purpura induunturcum conscientia pannosa fulgent monilibus moribus sordent it is the very condition of many places in this Kingdom a special ground of it is want of the Ordinances in their power Nay if you have good hearts all these outward things will do you no good if this be wanting the poor woman 1 Sam. 4. ult though they told her Be of good comfort thou hast born a Son yet she answered not neither did she set her mind upon it but called his name Ichabod the glory is departed from Israel the Ark of God a type of Evangelical Ordinances Evangelium sub velo the Ark of God is taken And not only for the places you your selves live in but strive to propagate the Gospel unto others also Not only your duty to God and to the Gospel your love to the souls of your brethren but your reference to the Land it self calls for it it is every Christians duty to raise the Age and as much as in him lies to ennoble and honour the Land and Nation where he lives this is the only way to make this Land to become the glorious Land and to name it Iehovah Shammah the Lord is there Ezek. 48. ult You will say herein what shall we do◠First Consider and strive to be seriously affected with the misery and dishonour of those that want these Ordinances Cant. 8.8 we have a little sister and she hath no breasts Secondly Enquire study set your thoughts on work about it whether you may relieve her What shall we do for our sister in the day that she shall be spoken for Can we do nothing by our pains by our purses by our friends c. Thirdly resolve thou wilt do thy utmost as they do if she be a wall we will build upon her a Pallace of silver if a door inclose her c. Fourthly when you have done all pray to the Lord of the Harvest to send forth Labourers Mat. 9.37 pray that the Gospel may run and be glorified as it will that it may go forth with speed and strength prevailing over difficulties and conquering all opposition that it may go forth as the Sun when it goes forth in its strength Secondly you that enjoy the Ordinances of the Gospel and by them are exalted up to heaven First prize it as highly as you do your highest honour it is worthy of all acceptation to be received 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1 Tim. 1.15 Acts 17.11 Say as St Chrysostoms hearers Satius esse ut sol non luceat quem ut non doceat Chrysostomus c. Secondly preserve it and defend it as you will do your honour if men seek to take it away or to hinder the Gospel in any kind contend earnestly for the faith that was once given to the Saints Jude 3. for the Gospel is committed to the custody of the Pastors of the Church to preach it but to the Princes and people of the earth to defend it to be a guard about it against al the opposition and malice of the enemies little do they consider what the cost of our poor fore-Fathers was to transmit the Gospel and the Ordinances thereof unto us the blood of Martyrs spilt the blood of Ministers spent and all was to transmit it to your hands Rom. 3.2 Rev. 13.16,17 take heed through carelesness and cowardliness we betray not the trust committed unto us but that we also by a publike profession and an earnest
soul to feed upon in the expectation of mercy he gave them to be meat to his people in the wilderness Psal 74.14 so former Judgements are meat also for the soul to feed upon in the expectation of future for the wrath of God breaking in upon a people is like a breach in awall where the enemy will be sure with all violence to break in if no man stand in the gap to make resistance impossibile a patente porta iram Dei non procedere For by a lesser Judgement God makes way for his anger for a perfect and an utter ruine Psaul 78.50 Let us see whether the same way be not made with us as it was with them First all Nations about them were against them Ier. 12.9 Mine inheritâ—nce is as a speckled Bird the Birds round about her are against her as a strange Bird seldom seen the Birds usually fall upon and set themselves against her if we did wisely consider the estate of this Kingdom how it is a speckled bird and how the Nations about her are against her as a strange bird it were easy to conceive and what expectations most of them have from the present state of things amongst us it is not hard to guess Secondly the general corruption and decay of truth and wisdom of men in places of greatest trust their silver becomes dross and their wine mixed with water Isa 1.22 their Judges and Officers and men in authority growing daily more and more corrupt the best of them is a Briar Mich. 7.4 that is a poor man flies to them for shelter as a sheep to a thorny hedge and instead of defending they do fleece him in and what follows the day of thy watchmen and thy visitation cometh now shall be their perplexity what hath been the condition of this state we all know how servants have ruled over us and there was none to deliver us out of their hands men of servile birth and education and servile spirits in so much that there hath been no peace either to him that went out or to him that came in for God did vex us with all adversity 2 Chron. 15.6 Thirdly the subversion of fundamental Laws of the Kingdom which the Scripture calls the foundation upon which a Kindom stands which was a bitter complaint of the Church of God in this state all the foundations of the earth were out of course Psal 82.5 what invasions have been made upon us and our Laws hath been abundantly of late discovered and Solomon tells us that he that breaks a hedge a Serpent shall bite him Eccl. 10.8 he speaks it of this hedge by which a people are defended and kept several that all do not become first a Common and then a Wilderness Lastly private and intestine divisions amongst us the fore-running of Gods last and fiercest wrath upon that people Ephraim against Manassch and both against Iudah Isa 9. ult which the Lord saith is as if one member in the same body should be injurious to another as if a man should eate the flesh of his own arm and how far the wrath of God is at present stretched forth against this Nation we all know and complain of what secret whisperings and murmurings what jealousies and fears there are one of another and what parties and how for these divisions there do arise great thoughts of heart we can never sufficiently bewail which doth continnally threaten that the Lord will take us and dash us one against another as Potters Vessels These were the fore-runners of Judgement with this Nation which did show them that the time of Judgement was at hand and these are now the sins of the times which may justly occasion us to conceive that the time of Judgement is at hand let it not be our sin which is here reproved as theirs that we should not know the time of the Judgement of the Lord. Vse Use for direction only in five things First not to know the time is misery enough therefore men are taken suddenly unawares insnared in an evil time as birds in an evil share and as fishes in an evil net Eccl. 9.12 Secondly that you may know the time to improve this promise Whosoever keepeth the Commandment shall find no evil a wise mans heart shall discern time and Iudgement Eccl. 8 5. Thirdly a wise man foresees the evil and hides himself but fools pass on and are punished Prov. 22.3 First by a work of humiliation Hab. 3.16 When I heard my belly trembled rottenness entred into my bones I trembled in my self that I might rest in the evil day Secondly a work of reformation Zeph. 2.3 Seek righteousness seek meeknesâ— it may be you may be hid in the day of the Lords wrath Thirdly improve all the promises that perfection to which you are called Isa 26 ult come my people enter into your chambers the Promises and Attributes are the chambers of the godly but you must come into them else they will afford no shelter upon all the glory shall be a defence Fourthly be much in prayer to lay in for this time will be profitable for you for know prayer never proves ineffectual to a spiritual end it never in this respect comes too late because God never comes too late 1 King 18.45 Luke 21.36 Watch therefore and pray continually that you may be accounted worthy to escape all those things that shall come to pass fidelibus orationibus Deum ambimus coelum tundimus Fifthly betake thy self to the mediation of Christ Mich. 5.5 for this man shall be the peace when the enemy comes into the Land he is a refuge from the storm a defence from the wind a river of water in a dry place and the shaddow of a great Rock in a weary Land Isa 52.2 therefore return you to your strong holds you prisoners of hope Zach. 9.12 Remember his name is Shilo the peace-maker and he is so called everywhere when the Scepter departs from Judah Gen. 49.9 there must needs be nothing but trouble yet then he is the peace-maker then doth Shilo come