which there is no resistance For to say that the effectuall grace of God can be resisted is to deny it to be effectuall It implieth a contradiction and it is blasphemie to affirme that God with his effectuall grace is subiect to mans resistance That of Saint Paul Rom. 9.19 Who hath resisted the will of God being an Interrogation of a denier implying that no man hath or can resist it is in very reason it selfe most certaine For the superiour cause can neuer suffer of the inferiour therefore if mans will should goe about to resist or frustrate the will of God it were euen against reason it selfe for then should Gods will suffer of mans will which is an impossibilitie Saint Augustine hath a fit saying for the establishing of this truth It is in his booke De corrept grat cap. 14. Deo volenti saluum facere nullum hominum resistit arbitrium If God be willing to saue a man no will of man can resist him Sic enim velle nolle in volentis aut nolentis est potestate vt diuinam voluntatem non impediat nec superet potestatem for to will or not to will is so in the power of him that willeth or willeth not that it neither hindreth the will of God nor ouer-commeth his power Thus much by occasion of Rupertus his exposition Let vs goe on Can a bird Dionysius the Carthusian will tell you that this fowler according to the Expositors is either the Deuill or man or God and that their snares are either Laquaei culpae or Laquaei poena either snares of sinne or snares of punishment That the Deuill is in holy Scripture compared vnto a fowler I deny not for I reade of his wiles Ephes 6.11 where we are aduised to put on the whole armour of God that wee may be able to stand against the wiles of the Deuill I reade likewise of the snares 1 Tim. 3.7 2 Tim. 2.26 His snares are the snares of sinne by which he entrappeth men and leads them captiue But that the Deuill is the fowler in my text I affirme not Nor may it be denied but that man also is in holy Scripture compared to a fowler To a fowler he is compared in a two-fold respect in respect of others and in respect of himselfe Man is a fowler in respect of others Hee hath snares and cords and nets and grinnes to catch others with Such fowlers were King Dauids enemies his proud enemies Saul and Doeg of whom Psal 140 5. he thus complaineth They haue hid a snare for me and cords they haue spread a net by the waies side they haue set ginnes for me And such are they those wicked men Ierem. 5.26 They lay wait as he that setteth snares they set a trap they catch men And such are they of whom the complaint of the faithfull is Lament 3.52 Mine enemies chased me sore like a bird without cause They chased me like a bird It is true then Men are fowlers in respect of others fowlers they are to catch others Yea and fowlers they are in respect of themselues euen to catch themselues Such a one is he Psal 7.15 He made a pit and digged it and is fallen into the ditch which he made And he Psal 9.15 16. In the net which he hid is his owne foot taken he is snared in the work of his owne hands And he Prou. 5.22 His owne iniquities shall take himselfe and he shall be holden with the cords of his sinnes Not amisse then hath Carthusian affirmed that men sometimes doe fall in laqueum culpae into the snare of sinne by their owne inclination or naughtinesse For as Origen witnesseth Quamuis non essent Diaboli adhuc homines concupiscentijs pulsarentur though there were no Deuils at all yet should men be ensnared with their owne lusts Thus we see Man is a fowler a fowler to catch others and a fowler to catch himselfe and his snares are laquei culpae the snares of sinne Yet that man is the fowler in my text I affirme not It remaineth then that by this fowler God must be intended For God is a fowler too and he hath snares too but his snares are laquei poenae they are snares of punishment Of snares of this kinde hee hath no want He powres them forth like raine This is that we reade Psal 11.6 Vpon the wicked shall the Lord raine snares fire and brimstone and a burning tempest this shall be the portion of their cup. Behold a raine of snares vpon the wicked King Dauid deuoting his enemies to destruction Psal 69.22 Wisheth their table to become a snare vnto them and that which should be for their welfare to become a trap vnto them The place Saint Paul alleageth with some little difference Rom. 11.9 Let their table be made a snare and a trap and a stumbling blocke and a recompence vnto them And here behold a mans owne table and that which should yeeld him much comfort becomes a snare and a trap for God to entangle and catch the wicked with Remarkable is that of the Prophet Esay chap. 8.14 where it is said of the Lord of Hostes himselfe that to both the houses of Israel he shall be for a stone of stumbling and for a rocke of offences and to the inhabitants of Ierusalem for a ginne and for a snare and that many of them shall stumble and fall and be broken and be snared and be taken And here againe behold The Lord of Hosts he that is euer to the faithfull a rocke of refuge and saluation he is to the wicked and the vnbeleeuing a ginne and snare to ensnare and take them with It is not to be denied but that God may very well be resembled to a fowler And him I take to be the fowler in my text Now the resemblance betweene God and a fowler stands thus As snares wherewith birds are catched fall not on the ground at all aduentures and by chance but are laid of purpose by the skill industrie and fore-sight of the fowler so the calamities and miseries of this life wherewith men are vsually taken and snared come not by chance but are sent among vs by the prouidence of God So this text is as before I intimated an adumbration of the prouidence of God by which he ruleth all things The point of doctrine which from hence I would commend vnto you is this Nihil accidere nisi à Deo prouisum that nothing falleth out in this life no calamitie no misery nothing good or euill but by Gods prouidence Aquinas 1. quaest 22. art 2. makes this demand Vtrum omnia sint subiecta diuinae prouidentiae whether all things are subiect to the prouidence of God For the resolution whereof his conclusion is Sith God is of all things the prime cause and knoweth all things in particular it is of necessitie that all things are subiect to his prouidence not tantùm in vniuersali sed etiam in singulari not only in genâ—rall but
and command vs to remoue Iosephus a noble Captaine in the warre of the Iewes after the losse of the Citie Iotapata which Vespasian the Roman Generall tooke being assembled with diuers of his souldiers in a caue where for a while they lay hid from the fury of the Enemie when they would take no way but that they would kill one the other rather than they would be taken by their enemies the Romans vseth vnto them a very patheticall speech as Egesippus lib. 3. de excidio-Hierosolymitano hath recorded it Thesaurum nobis optimum Deus dedit The Almightie God hath giuen vnto vs our life as a most precious treasury he hath shut it and sealed it vp in this earthen vessell and giuen it vs to be kept till himselfe doe aske for it againe And were it not a fault now as on the one side to deny it when he shall require it againe so on the other side to spell and cast this treasure forth which was thus committed to vs before he doe demand it If we should kill our selues Quis nos admittet ad illa sanctarum animarum consortia Who is he that shall admit vs into the company of good soules Shall it not be said to vs as once it was said to Adam where art thou so where are yee Where are yee who contrary to my commandement are come from whence yet you should not because yet I haue not loosed you from the bonds of your bodies Where are yee Where The same Iosephus in the same speech of his as himselfe hath deliuered it lib. 3. de bello Iudaico cap. 14. will tell you where it is most likely they are Quorum manus in seipsos insanierunt eorum animas tenebrosior Orcus suscipit the soules of them who haue killed themselues are descended into Hell And so much Saint Hierom seemes to affirme in an Epistle of his to Paula concerning the death of her daughter Blaesilla where he makes God thus to speake Nullam animam recipio quae me nolente separatur à corpore I will receiue no soule which against my will goeth out of the body to which I haue committed it Beloued without Gods exceeding mercy whereof no man can presume nay great and mighty preiudice is to the contrarie it will be very ill with them who doe aduenture to slay themselues Let then those of the Heathen whom euen now I mētioned Cato Vticensis Antony Cleopatra and Thraseas let Abimelech and Saul let others be famous for killing themselues let it be said of them that it was not bloud but honour that gushed out of their sides yet are they not warrants for vs Christians to doe the like We haue a better Master Christ Iesus the Righteous He hath taught vs a better lesson namely that aduersity and bitter affliction must be borne with patience that in our miseries and calamities we are to expect what end God will make and not to hasten the issue in our selues Maior animus meritò dicendus est qui vitam aerumnosam magis potest ferre quà m fugere August de Ciuit. Dei lib. 1. cap. 22. He is worthily said to haue true fortitude that can with patience beare the sorrows which are assigned and allotted out for his portion whereas he that fearefully flyeth from them is no better than a coward Quis enim ignorat foemineae timiditatis esse Cequaeus Comment in August de ciu Dei lib. 1. cap. 24. muliebris formidinis ne moriare mori velle Iosephus in that his Oration now cited out of * De Excid Hieros l. 3. c. 18. Hegesippus Who knowes it not to be effeminate timorousnesse and woman-like faint-heartednesse to be willing to die that thou die not to kill thy selfe that another kill thee not So is it beloued This same 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 this same 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 this same selfe-killing at the best is no better than the badge of an abiect and a base minde None of the Saints in their greatest miseries nor Ioseph nor Iob nor Dauid nor Daniel nor other thought of any such way to rid themselues out of trouble No. Though they felt the sharpnesse of pouerty the sting of infamie the paines of diseases and the horrour of death yet their courage quailed not but they spurned aside all manner of despaire And for the sweetnesse they found in the fauour and grace of God they were well content not only to be depriued of all worldly delights and earthly pleasures but also to embrace the rod of their heauenly Father and patiently to endure the weight of the crosse laid on them These beloued these are fit patternes for our imitation Wherefore let vs not be dismaid with any crosse or affliction Let not the extremity of the paine nor the sharpnesse of the misery nor the continuance of the sicknesse daunt our courage no though these calamities befall vs in the sight of our enemies Nay though we be giuen vp into the hands of our enemies who will triumph and reioyce at our downefall yet will we not offer violent hands vnto our selues wee will not cut asunder that which God hath ioyned we will not seeke for ease by shortning of our liues Whatsoeuer ill shall betide me I will say with Ieremie Chap. 10.19 Truly this is my griefe and I will beare it And my griefe will be the more if in time of misery mine enemie insult and triumph ouer me This is a case that hath much troubled Gods holy ones as in part you haue already heard It much troubled holy Dauid And therefore he prayeth against it Psal 13.4 Consider and heare me O Lord my God and why Lest mine enemie say I haue preuailed against him and those that trouble me reioyce when I am moued The like eiaculation he hath Psal 38.16 and his reason there is the same Lest mine enemies should reioyce ouer me who when my foot slippeth doe magnifie themselues against me The same Dauid vpon the newes of the death of King Saul and Ionathan his sonne willing to preuent the opprobrious and disgracefull insultations and vpbraidings of the enemie giues a charge for secrecie as much as might be 2 Sam. 1.20 Tell it not in Gath publish it not in the streets of Askelon lest the daughters of the Philistines reioyce lest the daughters of the vncircumcised triumph The little flocke of the righteous the holy Church her selfe is sensible of the insolencie of an enemie Micah 7.8 O thou enemie of mine reioyce not at my fall for I shall get vp againe Vpon these particulars and the like dependeth the truth of the obseruation propounded The calamities or miseries which the Lord in iustice layeth vpon vs for our euill deeds will be the more grieuous vnto vs if our enemies be made priuie vnto them Will they be the more grieuous vnto vs if our enemies be made priuy vnto them What is the reason The reason is because it is a propertie of wicked men enemies to piety wonderfully to
to wisdom It should moue vs b Hereof I spake in a Sermon vpon Hebr. 10.30 to beware of those crying sinnes vsually committed against the first table that we prouoke not Gods vengeance against vs by Idolatrie in worshiping the creature aboue the creator blessed for euer by tempting God in making triall whether his word be true or not by murmuring against God in laying iniustice to his charge quod bonis male fit malis bene for afflicting the godly when the wicked liue at ease by rebellion and contumacie in taking counsell together against the Lord against his Christ by blasphemy in doing despite to the Spirit of grace It may moue vs also to beware of those other sins crying sins too vsually committed against the second table that we prouoke not Gods vengeance against vs by dishonouring our parents and such as God hath put in place of gouernment aboue vs by grieuing our children and such as are by vs to be gouerned by oppressing the fatherlesse and the poore by giuing our selues ouer vnto filthy lusts Beloued in the Lord let vs not forget this though God bee good gracious mercifull and long suffering yet is hee also a iust God God the auenger and punisher Here we see he resolueth to send a fire into the house of Hazael which is the second thing to be considered How God punisheth By fire I will send a fire c. Albeit sometime God himselfe doth by himselfe immediately execute his vengeance vpon the wicked as when he smote all the first borne of Egypt Exod. 12.29 and Nabal 1. Sam. 25.38 and Vzzah 2. Sam 6.7 yet many times he doth it by his instruments c Wigand Syntagm Vet. Test Instrumenta sunt tota creatura Dei All the creatures of God are ready at his command to be the executioners of his vengeance Among the rest and in the first ranke is fire God sent a fire to lay wast Sodom and Gomorah and their sister cities Gen. 19.24 to eate vp Nadab and Abihu Leuit 10.2 to cut of the two hundred and fifty men that were in the rebellion of Korah Num. 16.35 to deuoure two captaines twise fifty men 2. King 1.10 12. I will not load your memories with multitude of examples for this point My text telleth you that fire Gods creature becommeth Gods instrument executioner of his vengeance I will send a fire into the house of Hazael and it shall deuoure the palaces of Benhadad By fire in this place the learned d Lyranus Drusius Ar. Montanus Mercer Caluin Gualter expositors doe vnderstand not only naturall fire but also the sword and pestilence and famine quod libet genus consumptionis euery kind of consumptiō euery scourge wherewith God punisheth the wicked and disobedient be it haile or thunder or sicknes or any other of Gods messengers So farre is the signification of fire though not in the naturall yet in the Metaphorical vnderstanding extended The doctrine which from hence I gather is As is the fire so are all other creatures at the Lords commandement to bee imployed by him in the punishment of the wicked This truth well appeareth by that which I euen now repeated out of Eccles 39. whence you heard that some spirits are created for vengeance as also are fire and haile and famine and death and the teeth of wild beasts and the scorpions and the serpents and the sword yea that the principall things for the whole vse of mans life as water and fire and yron and salt and meale wheat and hony and milke and the bloud of the grape and oile cloathing are all for euill vnto the wicked If that proofe because the booke whence it is taken is Apocryphall like you not giue care I pray you while I proue it out of Canonicall Scripture The doctrine to be proued is Fire and all other creatures are at the Lords commandement to be imploied by him in the punishment of the wicked I proue it by the seruice of Angels and other creatures 2 King 19.35 we read of an hundred fourscore and fiue thousand in the camp of Ashur slaine by an Angell of the Lord. The thing is related also Esay 37.36 This ministerie of Gods Angels Dauid acknowledgeth Psal 35.5 6. where his prayer against his enemies is that the Angell of the Lord might scatter and persecute them 1. Sam. 7.10 we read that the Lord did thunder a great thunder vpon the Philistines Ezech. 14. wee read how the Lord punisheth a sinfull land with his e Ezech. 14.21 foure sore iudgements the sword pestilence famine and noysome beasts The story of Gods visitation vpon Pharaoh and the Egyptians in Exod. chap. 8 9. and 10. is fit for my purpose You shall there find that frogs lice flies grashoppers thunder haile lightning murraine botches sores did instrumentally auenge God vpon man and beast in Egypt Adde hereto what you read Psal 148.8 fire and haile and snow and vapours and stormy winds doe execute Gods commandement Thus is my doctrine proued As is the fire so are all other creatures at the Lords commandement to be imployed by him in the punishment of the wicked The vse of this doctrine is to teach vs how to behaue our selues at such times as God shall visit vs with his rod of correction how to carry our selues in all our afflictions We must not so much looke to the instruments as to the Lord that smiteth by them Here set we before our eyes holy King Dauid His patience be it the patterne of our Christian imitation When Shimei a man of the family of the house of Saul came out against him cast stones at him and railed vpon him calling him to his face a man of blood and a man of Belial a murtherer and a wicked man the good King did not as he was wished to doe he took not away the murtherers life but had respect to the primus motor euen Almighty God the first mouer of this his affliction Shimei he knew was but the instrument And therefore thus saith he to Abischai 2. Sam. 16.10 He curseth because the Lord had bidden him curse Dauid and who dare then say wherefore hast thou done so Suffer him to curse for the Lord hath bidden him Here also set we before our eies holy Iob. His patience be it the patterne of our Christian imitation The losse of all his substance his children by the Sabeans Chaldeans fire from heauen and a great wind from beyond the wildernesse could not turne away his eies from the God of heauen to those second causes They he knew were but the instruments And therefore possessing his soule in patience he said Iob. 1.21 Naked came I out of my mothers wombe and naked shall I returne thither the Lord hath giuen and the Lord hath taken blessed be the name of the Lord. To these instances of Dauid and Iob adde one more that of the blessed Apostles Peter Iohn the rest Act. 4.27
ordinarily without feare or shame commit filthinesse with the same young woman and so doing doe prophane my holy name they cause my name to bee blasphemed and ill spoken of Two things are heerein remarkable One is the sinne heere obiected to the Israelites the other is the consequent of this sinne The sinne is poynted at in these words A man and his father will goe in vnto the same mayde the consequent in these to prophane my holy name The sinne is vnlawfull pleasure taken either in incest or in adultery or in fornication or in any other vncleannesse the consequent is the prophaning of the holy name of God The doctrine arising from both I deliuer in this one position Incestuous persons adulterers fornicators otherwise shamelesse sinners are oftentimes the cause of prophaning the holy name of God Incestuous persons adulterers and fornicators all are starke naught but the first are the worst Incest adultery and fornication each of them is a sinne that throweth the sinner into the euer-burning lake yet the most greeuous of them is incest Incest It is one of the grossest vices of lust Euery mixture of man and woman of the same kinred within the degrees forbidden by the law of God is Incest It is forbidden in the seuenth Commandement wherein although adulterie be onely mentioned yet vnder that kinde of vncleannesse are comprehended and noted Sodomitrie incest rape simple fornication all the rest together with their causes occasions effects antecedents and consequents But more precisely is incest forbidden in the eighteenth of Leuiticus from the sixth verse to the eighteenth In the sixth verse the inhibition is generall None of you shall approach to any that is neere of kinne to him to vncouer their nakednesse I am the Lord. It is then the Lord that speaketh to you None of you shall come neere to any of your kinne to vncouer their shame But what kinred meaneth hee There is a kinred by society of bloud it is called consanguinity there is also a kinred by marriage it is called Affinitie And to both these kinreds will the Lord haue his inhibition to extend You shall not approch to any that is neere of kinne to you to vncouer their nakednesse that is you may not marry with or otherwise lustfully abuse any of your kinred be they of your kinred either by Consanguinity or by Affinity Now to treat of all these degrees that are in the eighteenth of Leuiticus forbidden were needlesse at this time One aboue the rest will fit my text It s that in the eighth verse The nakednesse of thy fathers wife thou shalt not vncouer Thy fathers wife that is thy step-mother not thine owne mother Her nakednesse though shee bee but thy mothâ—r in law thou shalt not vncouer This might haue beene the sin of these Israelites in my text Heere you see A sonne and his father went in vnto the same maide If this maide were wife vnto the father then was shee stepmother to the sonne and the sonne was incestuous This vncleannesse the very Heathen haue detested S. Paul acknowledgeth as much 1. Cor. 5.1 It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you and such fornication as is not so much as named amongst the Gentiles that one should haue his fathers wife Not so much as named amongst the Gentiles What doe not Heathen histories yeeld examples of this vncleannesse They doe They giue vs to vnderstand of n Plutarch in Demetrio Antiochus sonne of Seleucus how he burning with the incestuous loue of his mother in law Stratonice got her by his Fathers assent to be his wife They tell vs of o Plutarch in Artaxerxes Darius sonne of Artaxerxes how he obtained of his father by request that he might take to wife his mother in law Aspasia They relate vnto vs how p Aelius Spartianus in Antonino Caracalla Peretius in Mellificio historico parte 2. pag. 202. Antoninus Caracalla Emperour tooke to wife his mother in law Iulia. Antoninus bewitched with her beautie and desiring to marrie her with sighes said vnto her Vellem si liceret Mother if it were lawfull I would make you my wife Shee monster as she was shamefully replyed Si libet licet An nescis te Imperatorem esse leges dare non accipere Sonne you haue called me mother if you list to make me your wife you may Know you not that you are Emperour you giue lawes you take none With this her answere Antoninus inflamed matrem duxit vxorem he married his mother Other examples of this vncleannesse Heathen histories haue affoorded vs. How then is it that S. Paul in the but now-alledged place saith that this vncleannesse is such as is not so much as named among the Gentiles We need not fly to an Hyperbole to excuse the Apostles assertion His meaning is that though such vncleannesse were sometime practised among the Gentiles yet that among the very Gentiles lawes were made against it and that the better sort of the Gentiles did detest it as a filthie strange and monstrous villanie Was this vncleannesse held in such detestation by the Gentiles who were guided onely by natures light No maruaile then is it if the Lord here in my text do so sharply reproue Israel for this vncleannesse among them Israel They were the people of the Lord they were his inheritance they had the lampe of the word of God to be their guide Yet Israel rebellious and disobedient Israel hath played the harlot A man and his father went in vnto the same maide Vnder this one kinde of incest are comprehended all the rest And not incest onely but adulterie also yea and fornication too So that indeed the Israelites are here reproued in generall for their filthie lusts They were so inordinately vicious and so disolute that they blushed not once to pollute themselues with fornication with adulterie with incest with all manner of filthinesse and hereby was the holy name of God prophaned It is true Peccatorum turpitudine violatur nomen Dei sanctum such is the filthinesse of sinne that through it the holy name of God is often violated It was violated by Dauids sinne Dauid the man after Gods owne heart yet conuicted of murther and adultery Of murther for q 2. Sam. 12.9 killing Vriah the Hittite with the sword and of adulterie for taking to wife the wife of Vriah is by the Prophet Nathan reprooued for prophaning the name of the Lord. In 2. Sam. 12.14 they are the expresse words of Nathan vnto Dauid By this deed thou hast giuen great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme Dauid you see was the sinner others thereby tooke occasion to blaspheme the name of God The name of God was likewise blasphemed for the sinnes of the Israelites The Israelites r Ezech. 37.23 defiling themselues with the Idols of the Heathen with their abhominations with their iniquities are in the Bookes of the Prophets reprooued for prophaning the name of
effect Vnderstand wee therefore that the threatnings and denuntiations of Gods iudgements are either absolute or conditionall If absolute then are they irreuocable and must take effect but if conditionall then vpon humiliation and repentance they will bee changed they will bee altered Absolute was the denunciation that concerned the eating of the forbidden fruit Gen. 2.17 In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die This threatning was absolute and peremptory not to be reuoked If Adam had prayed all his life long that he might not die but returne to his former condition yet the sentence of God had not beene reuersed Peremptory and absolute was that threatning of the Lord against Moses and Aaron Numb 20.12 Because yee beleeue me not to sanctifie me in the eyes of the children of Israel therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I haue giuen them Moses and Aaron both are threatned that they shall neuer enter into the land of Canaan Moses vnderstanding the threat conditionally besought the Lord that hee might goe ouer Iordan into that good land But the Lord was wroth with him and would not heare him but said vnto him Deut. 3.26 Let it suffice thee speake no more vnto me of this matter Speake no more the sentence was peremptory and might not be reuersed As absolute and peremptory was that threatning by Nathan from the Lord vnto Dauid 2. Sam. 12.14 Because by thine adultery thou hast giuen great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme the childe also that is borne vnto thee shall surely dye The childe shall surely die Dauids hope was that this threat was but conditionall and therefore with fasting weeping and prayer he besought God for the child and said Who can tell whether God will be gracious vnto mee that the child may liue Yet as the Prophet had denounced the child died So peremptory was the sentence and not to be reuersed So then its euident that some of Gods iudgements denounced against the sonnes of men are absolute and peremptory not to be reuersed Oâ—hers are conditionall to be vnderstood with this exception except they repent and amend The condition is sometimes expressed sometimes it is not The condition is expressed Ierem. 18.7 8. At what instant I shall speake concerning a nation and concerning a Kingdome to plucke vp and to pull downe and to destroy it If that Nation against whom I haue pronounced turne from their euill I will repent of the euill that I thought to doe vnto them It is likewise expressed Ezech. 33.14 15. When I say vnto the wicked Thou shalt surely die if he turne from his sinne and doe that which is lawfull and right he shall surely liue he shall not die Each of these Comminations is with an expresse condition The first was Such a Nation such a Kingdome I will plucke vp I will pull downe I will destroy The Nation the Kingdome performes the condition repenteth and turnes from euill and God reuerseth his sentence I will not plucke vp I will not pull downe I will not destroy it The second was The wicked man shall surely die The wicked man performes the condition repenteth and turnes from euill and God reuerseth his sentence He shall surely liue he shall not diâ— Sometimes the condition is not expressed but onely to be vnderstood So is it Ierem. 26.18 There we reade of Micah the Morushite that he in the daies of Hezekiah King of Iudah prophesied and spake to all the people of Iudah saying Thus saith the Lord of hosts Zion shall be plowed like a field and Ierusalem shall become heapes and the mountaine of the house the high places of a forest Fearefull is the Commination it threatens ruine to their Temple desolation to their City the vtter ouerthrow of their whole Kingdome How did the King and his people hereupon behaue themselues Did they fall into desperation No they did not Did they conclude an impossibility of obtaining pardon Nor did they so How then They conceiuing aright of the commination as fearefull as it was that it was vnto them a Sermon of repentance they feared the Lord they besought the Lord and the Lord repented him of the euill which hee had pronounced against them So was the Commination conditionall though the condition was not expressed The like we meet with Esay 38.1 There is a comminatory message from the Lord vnto the but-now-named Hezekiah Set thine house in order for thou shalt die and not liue The good King conceiues aright of the message that it was no otherwise vnto him than as a Sermon of repentance and therefore he turnes his face vnto the wall prayes and weepes sorely and the Lord repented him of the message he had sent and sends him a new message vers 5. Goe and say to Hezekiah Thus saith the Lord the God of Dauid thy father I haue heard thy prayer I haue seene thy teares behold I will adde vnto thy daies fifteene yeeres And so was the commination conditionall though the condition was not expressed And such is that in the Prophesie of Ionah Chap. 3.4 Yet forty daies and Nineueh shall be ouerthrowne The King of Nineueh though an heathen and an idolatrous King yet conceiues aright of this threat that it was to him and his people no otherwise than a Sermon of repentance The King therefore touched with repentance vnseateth himselfe vnthroneth himselfe commeth as low as the meanest strips himselfe of his kingly robes puts on sack-cloth sits in ashes causeth it to be proclaimed and published through Niniueh that there be a generall fast kept by man and beast that man and beast be couered with sack-cloth and cry mightily vnto God and turne euery one from his euill way and from the violence that is in their hands for saith the King Who can tell if God will turne and repent and turne away from his fierce anger that we perish not Who can tell And God saw their workes that they turned from their euill way and God repented of the euill that he had said that he would doe vnto them and he did it not So also was this commination conditionall though the condition was not expressed But why are these and many other threatnings of the Lord against sinners conditionall Why are they with condition of amendment Why is the condition either expressed or suppressed and only inclusiuely vnderstood It s thus First because Repentance if it follow after Gods comminatory sentence pronounced against sinners it procureth forgiuenesse of sin and taketh away the cause of punishment The cause of punishment is sinne remoue the cause and the effect must cease Let sinne be washed away with the teares of vnfained repentance and punishment shall neuer hurt vs. This is it which but euen now you heard out of Ezech. chap. 33.14.15 They were the words of the Lord When I say vnto the wicked Thou shalt surely die if he turne from his sinne and doe that which is lawfull and right
your cities which are now inhabited Ezech. 12.20 shall be laid waste and your Land shall be desolate yet you take courage to your selues against such terrours Amos 6.3 you put far away from you the euill day you say within your selues Ezech. 12.27 the vision which this man seeth is for many daies to come and he prophesieth of the times that are far off To this purpose Saint Cyril With him agree three great Rabbins R. Dauid R. Abraham R. Selomo They make the Lord here to speake after this manner If a trumpet be blowne in a citie at an vnseasonable houre to giue warning that the enemie is comming the people will exceedingly tremble and be afraid Why then are not you afraid why tremble yee not at the voices of my Prophets My Prophets are my trumpeters by them I giue you warning of the euils that hang ouer your heads and will ere long fall vpon you Why are you not afraid why tremble you not To this application of this sixth similitude our new Expositors for the most part haue subscribed They vnderstand by this Citie the Church of God by the Trumpet the Word of God by the people the bearers of the Word and so thus stands the application When a trumpet giueth a sudden signe by the sound of it out of a watch-tower all the people harken and are troubled and prepare themselues this way or that way according as the trumpet giueth the token So at the voice of God founding by his Ministers we ought to giue eare and be attentiue and be moued at the noise of it and as he giueth warning prepare our selues and looke about vs while it is time lest afterward it be too late Now the lesson which we are to take from hence is this The word of God vttered by his Ministers deserueth more reuerence feare and trembling then doth a trumpet sounding an alarme from a watch-tower For the word of God is a trumpet too and a trumpet of a farre shriller sound The blowers of this trumpet are the Ministers of the Word who in this regard are called sometimes Tuba Dei and sometimes Speculatores They are Gods trumpet and they are watch-men They are Tuba Dei Gods trumpet and hereby are they put in minde of their dutie euen to denounce perpetuall warre against the wicked and to excite men euen to fight against the Deuill and to bid defiance vnto sinne And they are Speculatores they are Watch-men placed by God in his holy Citie the Church Velut in speculâ as in a Watch-tower to watch for the safetie of the people and to blow the trumpet vnto them when any danger is at hand Both appellations are met together in Ierem. 6.17 Constitui super vos speculatores audite vocem tubae I haue set ouer you watch-men hearken to the sound of the trumpet Bishops Pastors Ministers they are these watch-men and wee are to hearken to the sound of their trumpets Their trumpets True For Ministers haue trumpets Their trumpets are two One is Territoria the other is Consolatoria One is a terrifying trumpet the other trumpet is comforting Of the former God speaketh by his Prophet Esay chap. 58.1 Crie aloud spare not lift vp thy voice like a trumpet and shew my people their transgression and the house of Iacob their sinnes So doth hee by Zephania chap. 1.16 A day of the Trumpet and alarme against the fenced cities and against the high towers And I will bring distresse vpon men that they shall walke like blinde men because they haue sinned against the Lord. This trumpet you may call tubam legis the trumpet of the Law because by if the Minister denounceth the curses of the Law the wrath of God misery and calamitie to euery vnrepentant sinner Of the other trumpet of the ministery we may vnderstand that Esay 27.13 The great Trumpet shall be blowne and they shall come which were readie to perish in the Land of Assyria and the out-casts in the Land of Aegypt and shall worship the Lord in the holy Mount at Ierusalem This trumpet you may call tubam Euangelij the trumpet of the Gospell because by it the Minister pronounceth the blessings of the Gospell the loue of God a quiet conscience and true felicity to euery true beleeuer These two trumpets terrifying and comforting that of the Law this of the Gospell are still of vse in the Church of Christ the Minister sounding sometimes woe sometimes weale according as our sinnes shall giue him cause But why is it that the ministery of the Word and the preaching thereof is compared to a trumpet Hector Pintus in his Comment vpon the eight and fiftieth of Esay giueth hereof two reasons One is because as the materiall trumpet calleth and encourageth vnto warre so this spirituall trumpet the preaching of the Word calleth and encourageth vs to fight valiantly against the world the flesh and the Deuill The other is because as the materiall trumpet is blowne at solemnities to betoken ioy so this spirituall trumpet the preaching of the Word should stirre vs vp ad laborem in praesenti ad gaudium in futuro to labour in this life and to ioy in that to come For as he addeth hic est locus vincendi ibi triumphandi hic breuis laboris illic sempiterna quietis hic poenae transeuntis ibi gloriae permanentis Here is the place for ouercomming there for the triumph here of some little labour there of eternall quiet here of paine that passeth away there of glory that endureth The comparison standing thus betweene the preaching of the Word and a trumpet warranteth the truth of the doctrine propounded which was The word of God vttered by his Ministers deserueth more reuerence feare and trembling then doth a trumpet sounding an alarme from a watch-tower This representation of the word of God by a trumpet should euer sound and as it were goe before vs in all our actions in warre in peace in all meetings and ioyfull feasts that all our doings may be acceptable to the Lord our God The doctrine now deliuered standing vpon the comparison that is betweene the preaching of the Word and a trumpet may in termes absolute be thus The preaching of the word of God is to be harkened vnto with all reuerence It is the point I handled in my first Sermon vpon this third Chapter of Amos. My Thesis then was The word of God is diligently to be harkened vnto What proofes and reasons out of Scripture I then produced for the confirmation of that truth and what vse was made thereof I now stand not to repeat Nor need I so to doe The holy Scripture being as the Ocean of waters which can neuer bee exhausted yeeldeth vs great varietie of matter though we speake againe and againe to the same point I proceed then with my Thesis as it is giuen in termes absolute The preaching of the word of God is to be harkened vnto with all reuerence I
Captaine and Iudge of Israel Iephte when he had iudged Israel six yeares as Iudg. 12.7 Against this city Hoseah prophesieth cap. 6.8 Gilead is a city of them that worke iniquity and is polluted with bloud Gilead or Galaad or Galeed is also a region or country called Dâ—ut 34 1. The land of Gilead possessed by the Reubenites Gadites and halfe the tribe of Manasseh as Num. 32.33 If Gilead the city be the Gilead in my text it is a figure the figure Synecdoche a part for the whole one city the Metropolitane city for the whole country If the land of Gilead bee the Gilead in my text it is a figure too the figure Metonymia the land of Gilead for the inhabitants thereof The inhabitants of the land of Gilead were Gods owne people his people Israel of the tribes of Reuben Gad and Manasseh against whom the Syrians of Damascus did so rage as that they are noted in my text to haue threshed them with threshing instruments of iron These threshing instruments are not in vse among vs. Yet will I as well as I may out of the ancient and learned describe them to you One of the Hebrew Doctors c Mercer Pagnin iâ— Lâ—â—â—t◠〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 R. Dauid Kimchi makes them to be planks of wood to the which on the nether side are fastned little stones to part the wheat from the huske and chaffe which cannot be the threshing instruments in this place because these were of iron Saint Hierome saith they were a kinde of waines or carts with wheeles of iron and toothed to beat out corne from the huske and to bray or bruise straw and stubble to be meat for cattle when hay is scarce Nicolaus de Lyrâ ioyneth with Saint Hierome in opinion d Iunius Some doe take these instruments to bee * Tribalis ferreis iron flailes or carres or corne carts or some such like instrument of old time in vse for the threshing out of corne Of this opinion Iunius by his translation seemeth to be and Caluin disallowes it not Here some doe â—â—â—er 〈◊〉 â—yâ—â—â—rakâ—◠〈◊〉 Gualtâ—â— â—â—â—re e Rastris ferreis f Trahis ferreis dreyes or sleddes of yron as Marinus in his Arca Noâ— â—â—ure g Rotis ferreis wheeles of yron as Theodotio and Symmachus some h Serris ferreis sawes of yron as the Septuagint and Caluin some * Auec herses de ser harrowes of yron as the French translation Whatsoeuer were the threshing instrumeÌ„ts in this place whether waines or carts or carres or dreys or sleds of yron or wheeles of yron or flailes of yron or rakes of yron or harrowes of yron or sawes of yron it is out of doubt that the holy Spirit by this kind of speech they threshed Gilead with threshing instruments of yron noteth the extreme cruelty practised by the Syrians against the people of God the Gileadites the Israelites of the tribes of Reuben Gad and Manasseh They threshed Gilead Winckleman here noteth a Metaphore or translation put by the holy Spirit to designe or signifie the notorious cruelty of the Syrian Kings vpon the Gileadites but I take it to be a proper speech of a true thing indeed acted by Hazael King of Syria against the Gileadites according to the word of God which came to Elizeus the Prophet touching Hazael 2 King 8.12 where Elizeus weeping thus speaketh vnto Hazael I know the euill that thou shalt doe vnto the children of Israel their strong cities shalt thou set on fire their young men shalt thou slay with the sword thou shalt dash their infants against the stones and rent in peeces their women with child But you will say what is this to the Gileadites I answer very much as you may see 2 King 10.33 where Hazael is said to smite the Israelites in all the coasts of Israel from Iordan Eastward euen all the land of Gilead the Gaditeâ— the Reubenits and them that were of Manasseh from Aroer which is by the riuer Arnon and Gilead and Bashan All these regions did Kng Hazael grieuously torment and bring to much woe and miserie but specially the Gileadites who therefore are twise mentioned in the fore-cited conquest of Hazael The Gileadites did Hazaell King of Aram destroy and make like dust beaten to powder 2 King 13.7 They threshed Gilead with threshing instruments of yron The like torments haue beene inflicted with the good approbation of Almightie God by King Dauid vpon the Ammonites 2. Sam. 12.31 where you shall find that King Dauid after his victorie ouer Rabbah a citie of the Ammonites carried away the Inhabitants that were therein and put them vnder sawes and vnder yron harrowes and vnder axes of yron and cast them into the tile kilne Thus did Dauid guided by Gods owne Spirit deale with the Ammonites His course was warrantable because hee was guided by Gods good Spirit whereof Hazael being destitute could not but grieuously offend God by threshing Gilead with threshing instruments of yron Dauid Gods friend dealt so with the Ammonites a people without God whereas Hazael Gods enemie dealt so with the Gileadites the people of God He threshed Gilead with threshing instruments of yron A course that God can bee content shall be taken with Moab Esai 25.10 Moab shall be threshed as straw is threshed but that his owne people Israel or any part of them as the Gileadites be thus vsed God likes it not Witnesse my text where the Lord protesteth that he will not turne Damascus that is that he will not recall the Syrians from their errour into the right way that he wil not bring them againe into his fauour that he wil leaue them to themselues because they haue threshed Gilead with threshing instruments of yron Now let vs see what lessons may bee taken from hence for our further instruction and meditation Gods dislike with Damascus for threshing Gilead with threshing instruments of yron yeeldeth vs this lesson God is neuer well pleased with too much crueltie This truth will well appeare vnto vs if we doe but consider how God hath euermore rewarded cruelty The cruell tyrant Adonibezek did cut off the thumbes and great toes of seuenty Kings and caused them to gather the crums vnder his table Iudg. 1.7 but what was his reward As he had done to those captiue Kings so did God doe to him againe The Israelites vnder the leading of their captaine Iudah tooke Adonibezek prisoner and cut off the thumbes of his hands and great toes of his feet verse the 6. Agag King of the Amalekites by his sword had made many a woman childlesse 1 Sam. 15.33 but what was his reward You may see in the same verse what Samuel said and did vnto him Samuel said As thy sword hath made women childlesse so shall thy mother be childlesse among other women and Samuel hewed Agag in peeces before the Lord in Gilgal The Babylonians were wonderfull cruell and hard hearted against the inhabitants of Ierusalem they
My propounded doctrine stands good It is a thing very distastfull and vnpleasing vnto God for brethren to be at variance among themselues Now let vs see what vses doe offer themselues to our considerations out of this Doctrine First it may serue for a iust reproofe of these our last and worst daies wherein by experience wee finde true that same m Dr. King B. of London vpon Ionas Lect. 15. paradox in common reason hardly to be proued namely that not friends only or kinsmen but brethren also when they fall to enmity their hatred is greater than that betwixt mortall foes It is come to passe according to Christ his prophecie Matth. 10.36 A mans enemies shall be they of his owne house A mans enemies indeed and his enemies to purpose to worke him most harme shall be they of his owne house May not many now adaies complaine yea cry out with Dauid Psal 55.12 If mine enemy had done me this dishonour I could haue borne it If mine aduersary had exalted himselfe against me I would haue hid my selfe from him but it was thou O man my companion my guide my familiar we tooke sweet counsell together we walked in the house of God as friends Yet hast thou done me this dishonour yea thou hast exalted thy selfe against me Of all the Vials of the wrath of God powred down vpon sinners it is one of the sorest when a man is fed with his own flesh and made drunke with his owne bloud as with sweet wine So the Prophet Esay speaketh Chap. 49.26 The meaning is as a chiefe n B. King Ibid. pillar of our Church expoundeth it when a man taketh pleasure in nothing more than in the ouerthrow and extirpation of his owne seed when he thirsteth not for any bloud but that which is drawne from the sides of his brethren and kinsmen Neuer was there more eager and bitter contention betweene Turke and Christian than now adaies there is betweene Christian and Christian a brother and a brother All we who haue giuen our names to Iesus Christ and vowed him seruice in our baptisme we are all brethren we are fratres vterini brethren from the womb 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 wee haue one father and one mother one father in heauen and one mother the holy Catholike Church militant vpon the earth But it fareth with vs as it did with Simeon and Leui Gen 49.5 We are brethren in euill the instruments of cruelty are in our habitations They in their wrath slew a man and what doe we If our wrath be kindled against our brother we will not sticke Edom-like to pursue him with the sword we will make our sword to be fed with his flesh and drunke with his bloud Thinke not dearely beloued you of the other sex thinke not your selues exempt from this reproofe because in it I haue not made any mention of sisters for vnder the name of brethren I meant you also My speech was vnto Christians and in Christianisme diuersity of sex maketh no difference So saith the Apostle Gal. 3.28 Male and female all are one in Christ To you therefore this reprofe of brethren at variance doth also appertaine If you lay violent hands vpon any your husbands your children or other or if with your tongue which the holy Spirit Psal 57.4 calleth a sharpe sword you are giuen to vex them of your owne house or shall back-bite or slander any know that Edom-like you doe pursue your brother with the sword And take I beseech you my propounded doctrine as belonging vnto you also It is a thing very distastfull and vnpleasing vnto God for brethren to be at variance among themselues A second vse is to worke in vs brotherly kindnesse that vertue whereby euery good Christian embraceth the Church of God and the members thereof with the bowels of loue This brotherly kindnesse S. Peter 2 Epist 1.7 commendeth vnto vs as whereto we ought to giue all diligence Dauid Psal 133.1 stileth it with the sweet name of Vnity Behold how good and comely a thing it is for brethren to liue in vnity And therefore commendeth it by two similitudes in the one shewing the sweetnesse and pleasantnesse of it in the other the fruit and profit which commeth by it First it is like that precious ointment which was powred on the head of the high Priest and ran downe vpon his heard and so to the borders of his garments Behold the sweetnesse and pleasantnesse of vnity That sweet perfume and ointment that holy o le powred out vpon the high Priest and his garment was not only pleasant and delightfull to himselfe but did also yeeld a sweet smelling sauour to all that were about him So is it with vnity It is not onely pleasant to them who doe religiously esteeme and keepe it but to others also which are about them Secondly it is like the dew of Hermon which fell vpon the mountaines of Sion where the Lord appointed the blessing and life foreuermore Behold the fruit and profit which commeth by Vnity The dew and wet that fell downe from heauen vpon H rmon and Sion made those hils and the plaine countries neere them fertill so doth Vnity bring with it great fruit and profit If makes them among whom it is sincerely obserued it makes them through Gods blessing fruitfull and plentifull in good workes towards God and in him and for him towards men and one of them towards another This vnity concord brotherly loue mutuall consent and agreement if it bee vnfeigned hath the promises both of this life and of that to come of peace and quietnesse in this life and of eternall ioyes in the life to come One of the notes by which we may be assured of God his speciall loue and fauour is the loue of our brethren Now that we deceiue not our selues in this loue S. Iohn Epist 1. giues vs three rules to direct vs. 1 Christian brotherly loue must not be for any worldly respects or considerations but principally for and in God We must loue our brethren principally because they are the sons of God and members of Christ This rule he intimateth Chap. 5.1 Euery one that loueth him which begat loueth him also which is begotten of him that is whosoeuer loueth God the Father he loueth also the sons of God his naturall son Christ Iesus and his sons by grace and adoption all Christians 2 Christian brotherly loue must not be outward in shew only but inward in the heart This rule he giueth vs Chap. 3.18 Let vs not loue in word nor in tongue onely but in deed and in truth 3 Christian brotherly loue must be not onely in time of prosperity but when most need is This rule hee giueth vers the 17. Whosoeuer hath this worlds good and seeth his brother hath need and shutteth vp his compassion from him how dwelleth the loue of God in him Let these rules beloued be your direction Loue ye euery one that is called a Christian
Ioshua and the elders of Israel to testifie their griefe for the ouerthrow giuen them by the men of Ai rent their clothes fell to the earth vpon their faces and put dust vpon their heads They put dust vpon their heads So 1. Sam. 4.12 the Beniamite that brought the heauy newes of the Arke of the Lord taken by the Philistines and of the death of Hophni Phinehas the two sons of Eli in tokeÌ„ of his griefe came to Shiloh with his clothes rent and with earth vpon his head He came with earth vpon his head The like we read 2. Sam. 13.19 Tamar the sister of Absolon because she was hated of Amnon by whom shee had bin rauished to signifie her griefe she rent her garment and put ashes vpon her head Shee put ashes on her head Other like c Iob 2.12 Ezech. 27.30 Apoc. 18.19 places of holy writ I might produce yet further to shew that the aspersion or sprinkling of earth dust or ashes vpon the head was a ceremonie in vse with such as had in themselues iust cause of griefe heauinesse mourning or lamentation But this is by the places already alleaged sufficiently declared vnto you If to this ceremonie of besmering the head with earth dust or ashes our Prophet here alludeth then are the rulers of Israel and the rich among them here taxed for their hard-heartednesse towards the poore for their couetousnes and cruelty whereby they oppressed the poore to this sense They pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poore They the rulers of Israel and the rich men there They pant after the dust of the earth they greedily desire to see the dust of the earth sprinckled on the head of the poore they make it their pleasure to giue the honest poore man iust cause of griefe and mourning They pant after the dust of the earth The dust sometime it betokeneth a low and base estate 1. Sam. 2.8 Hannah in her song of thankfulnes praising the Lord for his beneficence towards the humble despised saith He raiseth the poore out of the dust and lifteth vp the begger from the dunghill So in so many words saith the Psalmist Ps 113.7 He raiseth vp the poore out of the dust and lifteth vp the begger from the dunghill In both places the latter phrase is a repetition or exposition of the former The Lord raiseth vp the poore out of the dust that is the Lord lifteth vp the begger from the dunghill The meaning is The Lord through his Almighty power and of his goodnes exalteth the poore and abiect amongst men from their vile contemptible estate to some degree of honour Hitherto may we adde that of Dauid Psal 7.5 Let him lay mine honor in the dust Let him lay mine honor in the dust What 's that If saith Dauid I haue rewarded euill to him that was at peace with me let the enemie lay mine honor in the dust that is let mine honor be so put out that there may be no more remembrance of it in the posteritie to come let me euer be held for a base vile and contemptible wretch If to this signification of Dust our Prophet here alludeth then are the rulers of Israel and the rich among them here censured for their cruell and vnsatiable desire to grind the faces of the poore Thus They pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poore That is though the poore doe already sit vpon the dust of the earth and are thereby in the eyes of the world base vile and contemptible yet do the rulers of Israel and the rich among them still pant after the dust of the earth vpon their heads their delight is to behold them euer wallowing in the dust of the earth to see them yet more base more vile more contemptible Yea they can bee contented that the dust whereof Dauid speaketh Psal 22.15 The dust of death be vpon their heads that the d Psal 49.15 graue haue power ouer them that the e Psal 69.15 pit shut her mouth vpon them Hitherto dearely beloued you haue had variety of interpretations Which will you admit You cannot chuse amisse They are all agreable to the analogie of faith They all checke Israel the heads of Israel the Magistrates Rulers and Gouernors of Israel the rich of Israel for their cruelty their couetousnes and their oppression of the poore of Israel and they yeeld vnto vs this lesson God pleadeth the cause of the poore against the cruell the couetous and oppressors By the poore in this proposition I vnderstand all that be in any need necessitie or want widdowes also fatherlesse children that haue lost their head strangers likewise and exiles out of their country for religion and good causes All these if they behaue themselues meekly and seeke to liue peaceably with all men and put themselues wholy into the hands of God God receiueth into his protection and pleadeth their cause Concerning strangers the commandement is Exod. 2â— 21 Thou shalt neither vex a stranger nor oppresse him It is repeated Levit. 19.33 If a stranger sâ—iourne with thee ye shall not vexe him he shall be as one borne amongst you and thou shalt loue him as thy selfe Such is the commandement Doe men regard it Doe they not rather with their churlish and vnkinde words and deeds torment the a king heart of the stranger If they doe so the Lord is ready to auenge the strangers cause and to execute vengeance vpon his oppressors For so much the Lord vndertaketh Exod. 22.23 If thou afflict the stranger in any wise and he cry at all vnto me I will surely heare his cry and my wrath shall wax hot and I will kill you with the sword You see God pleadeth the strangers cause Againe God pleadeth the cause of the widowes and fatherlâ—sse children The commandement concerning them is Exod. 22.22 Yee shall not afflict any widow or fatherlesse childe It is repeated Zach. 7.10 Oppresse not the widow nor the fatherlesse Such is the commandment Do men regard it Doe they not rather adde affliction to the afflicted fatherlâ—sse and widow Doe they not oppresse wrong vexe and grieue them If they doe so God is ready to right their cause and to lay vengeance vpon their oppressors For so much God vndertaketh Exod. 22.23 If you afflict the widow or fatherlesse childe in any wise and they cry at all vnto me I will surely heare their cry my wrath shall waxe hot and I will kill you with the sword and your wiues shall be widowes and your children fatherlesse This protection ouer the fatherlesse and widowes is also ascribed vnto the Lord Deut. 10 18. The Lord doth execute the iudgement of the fatherlesse and widow It is very comfortably deliuered Psal 68.5 God in his holy habitation is a father of the fatherlesse and a iudge of the widowes You see God pleadeth the cause of the widowes and the fatherlesse So also he pleadeth the cause of
of his den if he haue taken nothing THat a people chosen by God himselfe to be his peculiar aboue all the Nations vpon the earth honoured with many singular and super-eminent priuileges aduanced to the custody of Gods holiest Oracles should be so stif-necked so vncircumcised of hearts and eares so disobedient so rebellious as to set at nought the threatnings of the Lord to account them vaine to esteeme of them as of sports could it euer be imagined Yet thus stood the case with the people of the ten Tribes the children of Israel with whom this our Prophet Amos was to deale Amos to meet with such their grosse stupidity and to reforme their erronious conceits of those fearefull threatnings which the Almighty by the mouth of his holy Prophets vseth to giue forth against sinners and wicked men instructeth them by similitudes The similitudes which here he bringeth are in number six They are all taken from vulgar experience and such as is incident to a Shepherds walke Of the first taken from way-faring men from two trauellers vpon the way I spake in my last exercise occasioned thereunto by the third verse of this Chapter This fourth verse now read vnto you will yeeld vs two other taken from the custome of Lions old and young From the custome of the old Lion in these words Will a Lion roare in the forest when he hath no prey From the custome of the young Lion in these Will a young Lion cry out of his den if he haue taken nothing at all Of both in their order and first of the old Lion Will a Lion roare in the forest when he hath no prey The answer should be negatiue No he will not Will he not It seemes he will Else how may that bee vnderstood which is spoken of our aduersary the Deuill 1 Pet. 5.8 that he as a roaring Lion walketh about seeking whom he may deuoure There it seemes the Lion roareth before hee haue his prey That he doth so many of the Ancient haue affirmed it It s affirmed by R. Dauid he saith When the beasts of the forrest heare the Lions voice they by and by through feare stand still and the Lion taketh for his prey which of them hee will So saith Lyra Ad rugitum Leonis praeda sequitur the Lion roareth and then he takes his prey So Dionysius the Carthusian Leo cum famem patitur mox vt bestiam viderit rugitum dat quo audito territa bestia gradum figit capitur The Lion saith he when he is hungry if he see a beast roareth the beast terrified with the Lions voice stands still and is taken Saint Basil saies as much for substance His words are in his ninth Homily vpon the Hexaemeron Nature hath bestowed vpon the Lion such organs or instruments for his voice that oftentimes beasts farre swifter than the Lion are taken 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 onely by the roaring of the Lion The Lion roares the beast stoopes and is taken Saint Cyril likewise he that was Archbishop of Alexandria he hath the like obseruation and he takes it from those who with much curiosity and diligence haue sought into the nature of wild beasts The obseruation is that the hungry Lion espying some beast fit for his food through his hideous and vncouth roaring seizeth vpon it for his prey Now if a Lion will roare before he haue taken his prey as by the now produced authorities it seemes he will to what end serues this interrogation Will a Lion roare in the forrest when he hath no prey I must answer as I did out of Carthusian to the former similitude that Amos here speaketh secundum communem cursum according to the common course and communiter verum esse that its commonly true that a Lion will not roare in the forrest when he hath no prey Commonly it is true yet not euer so Mercerus hath a Solet to expresse the meaning with Will a Lion roare in the forrest when he hath no prey Non solet haud dubiè Without doubt he vseth not so to doe Drusius hath likewise a Solent for the saluing of this question Leones non solent rugire nisi praedam ceperint capturine sint Lions they vse not to roare vnlesse they haue taken some prey or are ready to take it They vse it not though it may be sometime they doe it But why will a Lion roare when he hath gotten his prey Should he not then rather be quiet and fall to the deuouring of his prey Plutarch in a treatise of his concerning this question Which creatures haue more reason they that liue on the earth or they that in the water thus speaketh of the Lion The Lion when he hath gotten a prey vseth to roare thereby to call his fellow-lions to be his partakers in the prey But I will not now diue into the secrets of nature Why the Lion roareth when he hath his prey it much skilleth not it is plaine he roareth It is plaine by the 22. Psalme where Dauid complaining of the cruelty of his enemies vnder the name of the Bulls of Bashan saith of them vers 13. They gaped vpon mee with their mouthes as a rauening and a roaring Lion It is likewise plaine by the 31. of Esay At the fourth verse of that Chapter you may see the Lion roaring on his prey In the 22. of Ezechiel verse 25. you may behold in Ierusalem a conspiracy of Prophets like a roaring Lion rauening the prey Well then is it demanded by Amos in my Text Will a Lion roare in the forrest when he hath no prey Thus farre of the old Lion It followeth of the young Will a young Lion cry out of his den if he haue taken nothing This young Lion in the originall is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Chephir Leo-iuuenis â—unculus in the Septuagint he is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Vulgar Catulus Leonis the Lions whelpe The property of this young Lion or Lions whelpe is to lie close in his den without making any noise at all till such time as the old Lion brings him a booty for his food then doth this whelpe rouze vp himselfe giues forth his voice cryeth and roareth It is Saint Cyrils obseruation Petrus Lusitanus likes it well Hee thus deliuers it Leunculus in latibulo suo jaceus tacet The Lions whelpe couching in his den makes no noise at vbi praedam à Leone adductam ceperit tunc vocem dat exultat but when he hath taken his prey brought vnto him by the old Lion then for ioy he leapeth then he giues forth his voice cryeth and roareth Now to the question as it is made by Tauerner Cryeth a Lions whelpe out of his den except he haue gotten some thing or as it is in our newest English Will a young Lion cry or giue forth his voice out of his den if he haue taken nothing My answer must be as it was to that of the old Lion and out of Mercer too Non solet
haud dubiè Out of doubt the young Lion or Lions whelpe vseth not as he lieth in his den to giue forth his voice to cry or roare except hee haue gotten somewhat Hee vseth not so to doe Some Expositors there are that will haue these two branches of the Lion and the Lions whelpe to be all one and the latter to be but a repetition of the former mutatis verbis in other words So R. Dauid and Lyranus But Saint Cyril is of opinion they are not all one but are different So is Saint Hierome So R. Abraham So Albertus Rupertus Carthusian and others and with these accordeth our present exposition The exposition thus giuen descend we to the application that we may vnderstand what this Lion is and what the Lions whelpe Will a Lion roare in the forest when he hath no prey The Lion is God the forest the world the prey of the Lion the people of the world the roaring of the Lion Gods threatnings by his Prophets You may thus apply it As a Lion will not roare in the forest vnlesse he haue a prey So neither will God by his Prophets threaten any euill vnlesse he bee thereunto vrged by the sinnes of the people Such commonly is the application of this second similitude With Rupertus likewise this Lion is God but the Lions prey is omnis electus euery one of the Elect who wheresoeuer he be because he is predestinate vnto life ab ipso Deo requiritur is sought for of God himselfe that at his voice whether it be vttered by an Angell or by a Prophet or by the Scriptures he may tremble may be humbled may repent him of his sinnes and be saued The application which he maketh is after this manner Nunquid rugiet Leo in saltu nisi habuerit praedam Will a Lion roare in the forest vnlesse he hath a prey Idem est ac si dicet It is as if he said Is it worthy of God there to speake or thither to send a Prophet where he knoweth there is none worthy of eternall life Is it seemely is it any way fit that God should there vtter his voice or send his Messengers thither where hee knoweth there is not any one ordained vnto saluation By all congruity of reason the answer must be negatiue No it s altogether vnseemly it s not any way fit The Lion in the forest roares not vnlesse he haue his prey This exposition of Rupertus is by Ribera mentioned with some approbation but Petrus à Figueiro saith it is nimis violenta too violent too far fetched And well may it be so Arias Montanus by this Lion and Lions whelpe vnderstandeth Sennacherib and Nabuchodonozor two Assyrian Kings two mighty enemies to the state of the Kingdome of Iudah According to him thus must the application be As a prey that is betweene the Lions teeth or within his pawes cannot escape away so shall not the people of Iudah escape from out the hands of Sennacherib or Nabuchodonozor But this application of his is not so fit for this place because whatsoeuer is here spoken it is spoken not to the people of Iudah but to the people of the ten Tribes If great Albert must be followed this Lion must be vel Deus comminans vel meliùs inimi us inuadens vel homo vel Diabolus This Lion must be either God threatning or rather some enemy inuading be he man or Deuill The Deuill must be this Lion in the construction of diuers as Carthusian hath obserued for as much as the Deuill like a roaring Lion walketh about seeking whom he may deuoure Semperque sitit animarum damnationem rugit vt eas deglutiat and euer thirsteth of the damnation of the soules of men and roareth that he may swallow them vp I may not deny but that the Deuill for his extreme fiercenesse and cruelty ioyned with force and hurt to annoy mankind is by Saint Peter likened to a Lion to a roaring Lion yet I cannot thinke that he is the Lion in my Text no though this in my Text be a roaring Lion But may not some man an enemy a tyrant an oppressor one or more be meant by this Lion this roaring Lion in my Text It s not to be doubted but that such are diuers times in the holy Scriptures compared to Lions The wicked man who is euermore an enemy to the godly is likened to a Lion Psal 10.9 He lieth in wait secretly as a Lion in his den he lieth in wait to catch the poore Dauids enemies are as Lions He so speakes of them Psal 22.13 They gaped vpon mee with their mouthes as a rauening and a roaring Lion Tyrants and oppressors of the Church are as Lions Such a one was Nero Saint Paul calls him a Lion 2 Tim. 4.17 I was saith hee deliuered out of the mouth of the Lion The Lion not the Deuill as Ambrose saith nor Festus the President of Iudaea as Primasius affirmeth but Nero proud and cruell Nero persecuting Nero as it s expounded by Chrysostome Theodoret Theophylact Oecumenius Aquinas and Eusebius Hist Eccles lib. 2. cap. 22. Be it then granted that Men enemies to the godly Tyrants and oppressors are in holy Scripture sometimes compared to Lions yet can it not thence be inferred that therefore by this roaring Lion in my Text Men are to be vnderstood It remaineth then that God either solely or principally be here intended Sic communiter omnes intelligunt saith Christophorus à Castre So doe all Expositors commonly vnderstand this Text that God should be this Lion And not only the old Lion but the young one too God is compared to both as wel to the young Lion as to the old To both he is compared Hos 5.14 There thus saith the Lord I will be vnto Ephraim as a Lion and as a young Lion to the house of Iudah I euen I will teare and goe away I will take away and none shall rescue him So likewise Esay 31.4 Thus hath the Lord spoken Like as the Lion and the young Lion roaring on his prey when a multitude of Shepherds is called forth against him hee will not be afraid of their voice nor abase himselfe for the noise of them so shall the Lord of hosts come downe to fight for mount Sion and for the hill thereof In both places you see God is compared not onely to the old Lion but to the young one too to the Lions whelpe So is he here in this Text of mine Now the meaning is As a Lion will not roare in the forest except hee hath a prey nor the young Lion cry out of his denne except he hath gotten somewhat No more will Almighty God roare from Sion or vtter his voice from Ierusalem except there be a prey ready for him He will not by his Prophets and Ministers giue forth his threatnings except there be iust cause for him to be auenged vpon a people for their sinnes My obseruation is If by our sinnes we prouoke
any place be of sufficient secrecie to conceale the vices of Kings Now if Kings secrets done in Court if their secret vices be made knowne much more shall it be knowne that is proclaimed in Court And therefore is the Proclamation here enioyned to be made in the Palaces of Palaestina and Aegypt in their Princes Courts that the same thereof flying abroad into all the coasts of those dominions the rest of the people might vnderstand thereof and beare witnesse to the iudgements of God which he executeth vpon his people for their sinnes that they are very iust By this iniunction for the Proclamation now expounded you see that Heathens the Philistines and Aegyptians aliens from the Common-wealth of Israel and vtter enemies to that State are inuited to be spectators of the euils which God in iudgement was to bring vpon that his people the Israelitish Nation And this was to make the euils which the Israelites were to suffer the more grieuous vnto them Hence ariseth this obseruation The calamities or miseries which the Lord in iustice layeth vpon vs for our euill deeds will be the more grieuous vnto vs if our enemies be made priuie vnto them This is it the Lord saith to Ierusalem Ezech. 5.8 Behold I euen I will execute iudgement in the midst of thee in the sight of the nations thine enemies In the sight of thine enemies will I doe it It could not be but an exceeding great griefe to the Virgin daughter of Zion that the Lord had caused her enemie to reioyce ouer her and had set vp the horne of her aduersaries Lament 2.17 The reproach and ignominie that commeth from an enemie in time of misery is to some farre more grieuous than death it selfe who rather choose to die though it be by their owne hands or the hands of a friend than they will endure dishonour from an enemie Examples of such a resolution there are many in prophane Histories as in Plutarch of a Tom. 3. vit in Catone Catâ— Minor b In Antonio Antonius and Cleopatra in c Annal. lib. 16. Tacitus of Thraseas These of the Heathen killed themselues through impatiencie as not being able to endure the reproach and shame which they feared the one from Caesar two of them from Augustus the fourth from Nero. Nor is the Sacred story void of examples of this kinde Abimelech sonne of d Ierubesheth 2 Sam. 11.21 Ierubbaal he whom the Sichemites e Iudg. 9.6 made their King when at an assault of his giuen to the tower of Theber he had his scull broken by a peece of a Milstone which a certaine woman had cast vpon his head he called hastily vnto a young man his armour-bearer and said vnto him Draw my sword and slay me that men say not of me A woman slew him And his young-man thrust him thorow and he died Iudg. 9.54 Such was the end of that ambitious and cruell tyrant He is slaine of a woman and when he sees he is to die hee is desirous to blot out that infamie he will not haue it said of him that a woman slew him That a woman of the enemies side slew him he will not by any meanes haue it said of him Kill him rather than it should be said A woman slew him Such was the impatience of Saul Saul he that was the first King of the Israelites when the Philistines had gotten the day against him 1 Sam. 31.2 1 Chron. 10.2 had slaine three of his sonnes Ionathan Abinadab and Malchishua and himselfe was wounded by their archers he thus spake vnto his Armour-bearer Draw thy sword and thrust me thorow therewith lest these vncircumcised come and thrust me thorow and mocke me Which vile act his Armour-bearer refusing Saul became his owne executioner took his owne sword and slew himselfe 1 Sam. 31.4 He takes his own sword and slayes himselfe And why so Lest saith he these vncircumcised Philistines come and thrust me thorow and mocke me See he will die that he may not die he will be thrust thorow that he may not be thrust thorow he will kill himselfe that the Philistines may not kill him Hee will not endure to come within the power of his enemies I commend not Saul for his valour in killing himselfe nor Abimelech for his in causing his Armour-bearer to thrust him thorow It was not valour in them but cowardise or impatiencie For if they could with patience haue borne and endured their troubles they would not haue hastened their owne death Selfe-killing is a sinne so grieuous that scarce there is any more hainous before the Lord. Many reasons may be alleaged to shew the vnlawfulnesse of this fact and I hold it not amisse to bring a few especially in the iniquitie of these times wherein wretchednesse hath so fearefully preuailed in some persons and almost daily doth preuaile that they dare plunge themselues into this pit of terrible destruction My first reason shall be because it is forbidden in that Commandement Thou shalt not kill Exod. 20.13 In that Commandement is forbidden the killing of any man without lawfull authority But no man hath authority ouer himselfe because no man is superiour to himselfe and therefore no man may kill himselfe Out of S. Augustine lib. 1. de Ciuit. Dei cap. 20. I thus frame the reason Thou shalt not kill that is the Law The Law is not Exod. 20.13 thou shalt not kill thy neighbour limiting it as it were to some but indefinitly Thou shalt not kill extending it largely to all and therefore a man may not kill himselfe My second reason I take from that other Law Thou shalt loue thy neighbour as thy selfe It is giuen in the Old Leuit. 19.18 Matth. 5.43 22.39 Rom. 13.9 Galat. 5.14 Iames 2.8 and is oft repeated in the New Testament Thou shalt loue thy neighbour as thy selfe Where the loue of our selues is made measure for the loue of our neighbours Thou oughtest to loue thy neighbour but as thou louest thy selfe The example of thy charity is drawne from thy selfe at home Thy soule thy preseruation the good wished to thy selfe should be the true direction of thy deeds vnto thy neighbour But it is vnlawfull for thee to lay bloudy or murthering hands vpon thy neighbour and therefore thou mayest not make away thy selfe It is more vnnaturall for thee to shed thine owne bloud than thy neighbours Thy neighbours thou mayest not shed much lesse mayest thou shed thine owne Thirdly for a man to kill himselfe it is an iniury to the Common-wealth wherein he liueth for thereby he maimeth the Common-wealth and cutteth off one of her members The King thereby shall want a man when he hath vse of him This is an iniury to the State therfore a man may not kill himself Fourthly our life is giuen vs of God God hath placed vs in this world as in a watch or standing from whence we may not stirre a foot till God call vs