coniugall Couenant that is betweene God and man God hath promised to be our God and we haue promised to be his People but eyther side promiseth to the other exclusiuely God promiseth to be our God and the God of none as he is ours and wee promise to be his People and to be the People of no other God as we are his This appropriation of our selnes vnto God is that which the Apostle speakes of 1 Cor. 8. Though there be that are called Gods whether in heauen or in earth as there be Gods many and Lords many yet vnto vs there is but one God God the Father and one Lord Iesus Christ This made Dauid to say Psal 73. Whom haue lin heauen but thee Psal 139. and there is none in earth that I desire in comparison of thee Yea doe I not hate them that hate thee I hate them with a perfect hatred as if they were mine enemies Psal 16. but all my delight is in thy Saints which are on the earth As man in his zeale doth so proceede exclusiuely towards God so doth God towards man for God taketh the Church for his peculiar Exod. 19. therupon promiseth Abraham I will blesse them that blesse thee and curse them thâ—t curse thee This is true coniugall Loue of each side and vpon this knot commeth in zeale which is otherwise called iealousie and is nothing but the affection of eyther part whereby it so desires to enioy the other as that none other either haue it or wrong it for if eyther the wife communicate her selfe to any other or be by any other wronged the iealousie of the husband is stirred vp against his wiues enemies or against his wife Against his wife so speakes God Ezekiel 16. And I will iudge thee as women that breake wedlocke and shed blood are iudged and I will giue thee bloud in sury and iealousie And as hee proceedeth in iealousie against his adulterous wife so doth he against enemies that wrong her thereupon the Prophets expresse his anger against them by iealousie and the Church Esay 62. desiring reuenge saith Lord where is thy zeale In this place the zeale respects reuenge vpon the enemies not vpon the Spouse you may perceiue it by the coherence of this Text with that which goeth before where mention is made of a deliuerance and Christ is here brought in as the Deliuerer the ground of the worke is zeale Finally marke that whereas Gods glory doth as well appeare in our deliuerance as our owne good yet in working thereof God seemeth to be moued rather with his loue to vs than care for his owne glory and giueth a good patterne vnto vs that we likewise in seruing of God must respect not so much our owne saluation as his glory And so haue you heard the Warrant of this Doctrine what remaines but that I vse vnto you the words of the Psalmist Be yee lifted vp O yee gates be yee lifted vp O euerlasting doores and the King of glory shall come in Who is the King of glory euen the Lord of Hosts hee is the King of glory You haue heard him described and haue heard the substance and excellencie of his Person and State Behold God is our saluation let vs trust and not bee affraid the Lord Iohouah is our strength and song he also is become our saluation therefore with ioy let vs draw waters out of this Well of Saluation O Lord that art able and willing let me feele the efficacie both of thy power and will in making me partaker both of the Person and State of Christ and the excellencie of both So shall all my power be set on worke by all my will to make me wholly thine as thou art pleased to be mine Grant this mutuall knot may bee so knit that I neuer breake it so shall I be sure that thou wilt euer hold it IHS SIXE SERMONS VPON The Second of HAGGAI HAG. 2. Vers 6 7 8 9. For thus saith the Lord of Hosts Yet once it is a little while and I will shake the heauens and the earth and the sea and the dry land And I will shake all Nations and the desire of all Nations shall come and I will fill this house with glory saith the Lord of Hosts The siluer is mine and the gold is mine saith the Lord of Hosts The glory of this latter house shall bee greater than of the former saith the Lord of Hosts and in this place will I giue peace saith the Lord of Hosts ALthough the fruits of seruing God be not his The first Sermon but our owne welfare yet if it were not more furthered by him than it is endeauoured by vs wee should neuer fare well because wee should neuer serue him Our impediments are two and they are two extreames Carelessenesse and Curiositie Carelessenesse keepes vs backe when we should beginne and when we should goe forward Curiosity slakes our zeale Sometimes we doe not serue God because we doe not care for him and sometimes we grow cold in pietie because we thinke our best endeauours are not worthy of Gods maiestie Thus the euill Angell whether hee appeare in his darkenesse or in his counterfeit light both waies gaines vpon vs. This Prophecie of Haggai doth little else but propose an example of eyther impediment and the remedie that is applied thereunto the Iewes yeelde the example but the remedy is from God The Iewes in acknowledgement of Gods great goodnesse should vpon their returne out of the Babylonian captiuity haue made their first work the re-edifying of Gods house but they were otherwise minded and busied themselues about their owne houses That memorable speech King Dauids religious meditation neuer came into their hearts which is recorded 2 Sam. 7. Lo saith hee I dwell in a house of Cedar but the Arke of God lodgeth vnder Curtaines therefore I will build him an house But these Iewes could finde in their hearts to dwell in sieled houses and let the Temple lye in its â—uines Wherefore God corrects and reformes this their carelessenesse corrects it with rebukes and stripes reformes it by his word and spirit By these meanes were they brought at length to begin the worke They beganne but were quickely wearied and it was curiosity that wearied them They were contented indeede to build a Temple vnto God but not except it might be so goodly a one as was that of Salomâ—n and because their ability would not reach so farre many of them gaue ouer working and fell to weeping Behold a wicked curiosity which vnder colour of Gods honour would not honour him at all Well God must remedie this impediment also and he doth it by teaching the Iewes two excellent rules in Religion The first is wee must not iudge of Gods workes as wee doe of mens In mens workes by the beginning wee make coniecture of the ending and a iudicious man when hee seeth a foundation will easily ghesse what pile of building will be raised
and in the eyes of God doth grace and commend vs as if it were ours But if you looke to sanctification that redounds from Christ vnto vs it maketh vs starres in the spirituall firmament though of vnequall magnitude and vnequall glory St. Paul is cleare for it 1 Cor. 3. Wee with open face behold the glorie of God and are transformed into the same image from glorie vnto glory euen by the powerfull spirit of Christ. When the Apostles did but see Christs transformation in the Mount though themselues were not transfigured yet they thought it so happy a sight that they cryed out Bonum est esse hìc Let vs pitch our Tabernacles here And what would they haue thought if themselues also might haue been partakers of the same glorie if themselues might haue appeared like vnto him if they might haue beene as he was yet such is our condition in Christ The last morall shall be that whereas other things that fill vs proportion themselues vnto and take vp whatsoeuer capacity they finde it is not so with Christ whatsoeuer he filleth that he enlargeth Aug. Confes and the more we haue of him the more capacity we haue the more capacity of glory for that is that wherewith he filleth all other things deale worse with vs they straighten our capacitie or fill vs with vanitie Wherefore were we as wise as we should be wee would suffer no bodie to take vp any roome in vs but only Christ wee would leaue no corner for the diuell or the world or our corrupt lusts And indeede who would with-hold any part from him to continue a straight a darke a filthy dungeon that by his presence may bee made a large a light a glorious habitation And yet so it is some of vs steale our heads from him and entertaine errour some steale their hearts from him and therein lodge sinnefull lusts there is no man that doth not with-hold some part and keep that part the worse for it But this should bee to euery one of vs his votiue prayer To thee O Christ I consecrate totum me and totum mei my whole selfe and all that is in me humbly desiring that nothing may inhabit me but thy selfe and that which commeth from thee This is that whereunto I aduise my selfe as I aduise you And that I aduise not in vaine let vs lay this text to the former there we heard of a desire here of a filling Salomon hath a good rule A desire accomplished delighteth the soule So that if we profited so much by the last sermon as to make Christ our desire we may be comforted by this which assures vs that our desire shall be filled Yea whereas desire is sinus cordis the bosome or lappe as it were of the heart if we doe enlarge it God will replenish it But let vs bee sure that this sermon doth little concerne vs if the former tooke no place in vs. Dauid no sooner heard that Obed Edoms house prospered by hauing the Arke but hee was stirred vp with a godly zeale to bring it vnto Sion to bring it to his owne Citie What shall I wish vnto you but that hauing heard the blessing that Christs presence brought to Zorobabels Temple euery one of you would striue to lodge him in your Temples the temples of your bodies the temples of your soules So may he fill these mysticall as he did that typicall Temple so fill them here with the glory of his grace that they may bee hereafter filled with the grace of his glorie Psal 24. Wherefore lift vp your heads O yee gates and bee yee lift vp yee euerlasting doores and the King of glorie shall come in 85. Saluation is near them that feare him that glory may dwell in their Land LEt thy worke O Lord be seene towards thy seruants and thy glorie vpon their children that in the sensible sweet comfort thereof wee may all now and euer sing Glory bee to thee O Lord most high Blessing honour glory and power bee vnto him that sitteth vpon the throne and vnto the Lambe for euer and euer Amen THE FOVRTH SERMON The siluer is mine and the gold is mine The glorie of this later house shall bee greater than the glory of the former THe bountie which Christ vouchsafed that Temple which was built by Zorobabel is by this our Porphet set forth absolutely and comparatiuely Of the absolute consideration thereof I spake last I will passe now on to the comparatiue exprest in those words which now I haue read vnto you Of this comparison we must obserue 1 the preface and 2 the contents The preface will teach vs what Christ can the contents what hee will doe Christ can in point of bountie doe as much as he will so much the words of the preface import The siluer is mine the gold is mine And he will doe more than the Iewes doe desire for they would haue beene contented if they might haue had a Temple but as goodly as that of Salomon Christ will doe more for them The glory of the later house shall be greater than the glorie of the former But more distinctly These points of Christs power and his will must be opened first seuerally then ioyntly If wee looke into them seuerally then wee shall finde that the preface which sets forth Christs power doth in the outside of the words entitle him to these earthly mettals gold and siluer but the inside will informe vs that he is owner of much more precious mettals of gold and siluer that are heauenly As for the contents the comparison therein presented vnto vs may be conceiued eyther of fabricke to fabricke or furniture to furniture I will touch at both that so you may the better see of whether and how far my text may be iustified Hauing thus opened the points seuerally I will ioyne them together and shew you that first Christs power is set downe before his will that the Iewes should not thinke he doth promise more than hee can performe secondly that his will beareth correspondencie to his power and he giueth gifts not sutable to the narrownesse of our desire but to the widenesse of his owne store Of these particulars I shall now God willing speake briefly and in their order God grant we may so listen to and profit by that which shall be said concerning Christs power and will that it may bee his gracious will alwaies to sustaine and blesse vs according to his all sufficient power Come we then to the preface and first to the outside of the words The siluer is mine the gold is mine If so we reade the preface it doth entitle Christ to these earthly mettals gold siluer and his title is iust and clear he that made all is owner of all now all things were made by Christ and without him nothing was made that was made Iohn 1. therefore wee may conclude with the Psalmist Psal 24. The earth is the Lords and the fulnesse thereof the
liue amongst Beasts and vpon his acknowledgement of the Lord of Heauen and Earth was restored againe maketh this cleare Canutus a King of this Land when flatterers magnified his power and did almost deifie him to confute them caused his chaire to bee set by the Sea shore at the time of the floud and sitting in his Maiestie commanded the waues that they should not approach his Throne but when the tyde kept his course and wet his garments Lo saith hee what a mighty King I am by Sea and Land whose command euery waue dareth resist Though then they are mighty yet there is much weakenesse ioyned with their might Not so Christ It appeares in the Epithite that is added vnto El which is Gibbor importing that he is a God of preuailing might In Daniel he is called El Elim The Mighty of mighties whereupon Moses magnifying his might saith Who is like vnto thee Exod. 15. O Lord amongst the gods Which words abbreuiated the Maccabees in their wars against their enemies did bear in their standard and therehence as the learned obserue did take their name of Maccabees Certainely this Epithite is a lust ground of that which King Dauid perswades Psalme 29. Ascribe vnto the Lord O yee mighty ascribe vnto the Lord glory and strength But there are two Eminences in Christs might by which hee is aduanced aboue all Creatures The first is that he is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 mighty of himselfe The second is that he is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 almighty 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 other Creatures haue their power from him and therefore their power depends vpon him so that he can at his pleasure intend or remit theirs but his owne continueth euer the same Secondly they can doe but euery one so much as is permitted him and neuer was there any creature to whom God imparted all his power I speake not of the degree but the parts thereof some things he committeth to Angels which Men cannot doe and some things to Men which Angels cannot doe the earth hath not the power of the heauens nor the heauens of the earth but God is the fountaine of all power there is nothing done by any of these which without these he cannot doe Ier. 23. Nothing is hard vnto him and the Angel Luke 1. Nothing is impossible vnto God therefore hee hath wrought the same effects without these creatures What he doth by his Angels ordinarily he extraordinarily hath done by himselfe and what doth hee by Man which without Man hee hath not done And as for the Sunne and the Starres he hath illightned the ayre without them and without the earth hath he prouided both bread and flesh yea at his pleasure he hath stript all those of their power in an instant in a word He doth whatsoeuer he will both in heauen and earth he cannot will that which he cannot doe nothing resisteth his will but all things readily do serue him If this title be carried through the Gospell euery point of the Gospel will witnesse the truth thereof in Christ it will witnesse that hee hath a preuailing power and that he is therefore worthily called a mighty God When God promised him hee promised him in these words I haue layd helpe vpon one that is mighty Psalme 89. When God exhibits him Luke 1. Zacharie proclaimes him thus God hath raised vp a mighty saluation vnto vs in the house of his seruant Dauid Christ himselfe Mat. 28. All power is giuen to mee both in heauen earth to say nothing of like titles that are remembred in the Reuelation But I chuse rather to obserue vnto you out of both Christs Regall titles how well they fit vs what comfort they doe yeeld vnto vs. Our enemie the Diuell is compared to a Serpent to a roaring Lion hee is full of craft and of great strength and so are his instruments the wicked subtill and violent but wee are silly and we are feeble If we compare our selues to them how can we but feare to be deceiued to bee opprest See how God hath prouided for vs see how hee hath furnished Christ whom hee sendeth vnto vs Hee is a Counsellour and it was a Counsellour that wee needed that â—ight discouer vnto vs the Serpents policie in his end and Sophistrie in his meanes wherewith he setteth vpon vs He pretends that we shall be like vnto Gods when he meaneth to make vs Diuels and by setting an edge on our desire of the Tree of the knowledge of good and euill he would depriue vs of the Tree of life but Christ is at hand to discouer his purposes and to giue vs timely caueats that we bee not abused by them Secondly he still compasseth the world seeking Whom he may deuour and is mighty to destroy And certainely none should escape him were it not that we haue on our side a mighty God the seed of the Woman that shewed himselfe so much mightier than the seed of the Serpent by how much breaking of the head is more than bruising of the heele Wee haue a Dauid for that Goliah and a stronger man that hath entred that strong mans house bound him rifled him and diuided his spoyle So that if now it be doubtingly asked Shall the prey be taken from the mighty or the lawfull captiue bee deliuered we may answer with the Prophet Esay 49. Thus saith the Lord Euen the Captiues of the mighty shall be taken away and the prey of the terrible shall bee deliuered for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee and will faue thy children and all flesh shall know that I the Lord am thy Sauiour and thy Redeemer the mighty One of Iacob Wherefore seeing Christ is become our Counsellour let vs not leane vnto our owne wisedome but be counselled by him It is the second degree of wisedome when wee cannot aduise our selues to bee aduised by others if we faile herein the Philosopher himselfe will censure vs for fooles And remember withall that of the Sonne of Syracke Bee in peace with many neuerthelesse haue but one Counsellour of a thousand cap. 6. hee giues the reason at large cap. 37. And well may we rely vpon the iudgement of this Counsellour who much better than Elizeus can detect vnto vs the plots of the King of Aram of all our Enemies that we may prouide against them yea he can take them all in their owne wilinesse and infatuate their Counsels as he did Achitophels Reade Esay 19. 8. So did Christ deale with the old Serpent and with the broode of the Serpent in all ages our age our country hath had proofe thereof As this must encourage vs to rely vpon his Counsell so must the other title encourage vs to rely vpon his power his preuailing power We walk in the middest of our enemies and they vse the vttermost of their strength to ruine vs yet though we are in the middest of the valley of the shadow of death let vs feare none euill
for they that trust in the Lord are like vnto mount Sion which shall neuer be remoued LOrd guide vs by thy Counsell support vs by thy Power that wee be neyther circumuented nor quelled but by thy direction and protection we may escape both the craft and the force of all our Enemies So shall we euer glorifie thee as our admirable Counsellour and our most mighty God THE FIFTH SERMON The euerlasting Father the Prince of Peace THe Excellencie of Christs Person consists in the indowments thereof which are Regall but Spirituall That they are Regall appeares in his two first titles whereof I haue already spoken and that they are Spirituall it will appeare by the other two whereof I am now to speake Whereof the first sheweth that Christs Kingdome is not of this world He is the Father of eternity the second sheweth that the condition of his people is not worldly Christ is Prince of Peace To begin with the first In the Originall the first of these two titles is so exprest as I haue read it The Father of eternity And the words beare a double sense for either Aeternity is made the Attribute of the Father and so by an Hebraisme The Father of eternity is no more than the eternall or euerlasting Father so some Translations reade it or Aeternity may note that which is subiect to the Father and so the title imports that he is a Father of eternall things and so some Translations reade The Father of the world to come We need not to bee troubled with this variety for the words will beare eyther Translation and both these things concurre in the same person He that is the euerlasting Father is a Father of euerlasting things We will therefore handle both and first shew you that Christ is an euerlasting Father The phrase doth distinguish betweene our Father and our Father the Father of our flesh and the Father of our spirits of whom St. Paul speaketh Heb. 12. Of these two the first is Temporall the other is Aeternall that the first is but temporall wee may gather out of the fift of Genesis where are reckoned vp the longest liued Fathers that euer were in the world but of them all it is said that they begat children and then they dyed they left their children to the world And as they so their posterity come within the compasse of that of Iob Man that is borne of a Woman is but of a short time or as Dauid speakes His dayes are but a spanne long When he hath serued his course he goeth the way of all flesh and sleepes in his graue Neyther is he temporall only in regard that he must dye but also in regard that his affection is mutable Some parents destitute their children inforced by death but not a few put off the affection of Fathers euen in their life and they in that respect also may be termed but temporall Fathers Our Sauiour Christ speaking of the later times telleth vs that the Father shall rise against the Sonne as the Sonne against the Father Saint Paul speaking of former times Rom. 1. amongst other wicked ones reckoneth vp persons that were without naturall affection and it were an easie matter out of Histories to report that many haue dis-inherited many haue murdered many haue deuoured their own children so farre vnnaturall haue they beene In opposition vnto these two cases which apparantly conclude that the Parents of our flesh are temporall temporall in regard that they are mortall in their nature and temporall in that they are mutable in their affections our Sauiour Christ is termed an euerlasting Father death cannot take him from vs for euen in his death wherein notwithstanding his abode was so little that hee saw no corruption the hypostaticall Vnion which made him a father did not cease And as for his affection it is immutable Whom he loueth hee loueth vnto the end of the perpetuitie of his being excellent is that place Esay 63. Doubtlesse thou art our Father though Abraham be ignorant of vs and Israel acknowledge vs not Thou O Lord art our Father and our Redeemer thy name is from euerlasting And touching the perpetuity of his louing the Church there speaketh also Looke downe from heauen and behold from the habitation of thy holinesse and of thy glory where is thy zeale and thy strength the sounding of thy bowels and of thy mercy towards me 〈◊〉 9. â—â—al 27. are they restrained No they cannot bee restrained For as God in this Prophet speaketh elsewhere Can a Mother forget her child If she can yet will not I forget thee saith the Lord And King Dauid When my father and my mother forsooke me the Lord tooke me vp This is the reason why our Sauiour Christ in the Gospell biddeth vs Call none father vpon earth for that we haue but one father which is in heauen hee liueth when the other dye and when the other hateth he continueth his loue and therefore is deseruedly called the euerlasting Father Two good Lessons are implyed herein the one teaching Piety the other Charity We are taught Piety when we are taught that he whom we obey is our Father for if I be a Father saith the Lord where is mine honour Mal. 1. and Moses to Israel Deut. 32. Doest thou so reward the Lord O thou foolish people and vnwise is not he thy Father that made thee c. And as the very name of Father teacheth Piety so doth the name of Euerlasting teach it much more St. Paul argueth so Heb. 12. If so bee wee honoured the fathers of our flesh which are mortall as is our flesh how much more should we honour the father of our spirits which is immortall as is our spirits Great reason haue we to reuerence this Father that neuer ceaseth to be our Father that hath prouided that euen when we lose our fathers we should yet stil haue our Father haue him for our Father which is the Father of Orphanes It is no small comfort nor weake pillar of our faith that we neuer want a Father yea our double birth readeth vs this Lecture For as we come out of our mothers wombe by the help of our mortall Parents so to signifie that we haue immortall parents we are then borne againe in the Churches wombe Neither doth this title teach vs only Piety but Charity also charity one towards another For whereas our mortall parents extend their consanguinity and affinity but to a few this euerlasing father extends his vnto all Malachy worketh vpon this Haue we not all one Father Cap. 2. wherefore then do you iniury one to another The blood should neuer be cold seeing wee are all kinne in the first degree all brethren sonnes of one father euen of him that is here called the euerlasting father But how commeth Christ to be called father who otherwise is called our brother he being the sonne of God and God being his father as hee is ours If you respect the Communion of
thou hast armed with thy power that with a watchfull and single eye they may obserue and represse with a seuere yet a tender hand all vnsound Beleeuers and inordinate liuers that Church and Common weale may blesse them as happy Supporters of this Christian State and themselues may with comfort make their last account to the vnpartiall ludge of quicke and dead and now and euer both of vs may giue glory vnto thee that art our most mighty and most mercifull Lord. Amen Blessed are they that keep iudgement and doe righteousnesse euermore Psalme 106. יהוה A SERMON PREACHED IN OXFORD AT AN ASSIZES 1613. PSAL. 75. Vers 2 3. When I shall receiue the Congregation I will iudge vprightly The earth and all the inhabitants are dissolued I beare vp the Pillars of it Selah THis Psalme was penned if not by surely in the name of some worthy Iudge the people blesse God for the comfort they receiued by him and hee promiseth to redresse the disorders of the people put both their speeches together and you haue a good Commentary vpon the title of this Psalme The title is Ne perdas or rather Non perdes the Hebrew Al-tasheth will beare both and it imports That a good Iudge yeelds the best hope that a disordered State may recouer although it be farre gone Who this Iudge is all are not agreed some ghesse at him by one part of the Psalme some by another and according to their different apprehension giue the Psalme some a mysticall some an historicall interpretation both may stand true as elsewhere so here But being to fit this present occasion my purpose is to passe by the mysticall and insist only vpon that sense which is historicall According to the history the person that speakes seemeth to bee the king of Israel and that king as it is most likely is king Dauid He speaks here first of his owne Tribunall the Tribunall of a king but because that was set at naught by many insolent ones hee calleth them to an higher Tribunall the Tribunall of God and telleth them that it is God which from time to time appoints those that shall iudge here on earth till by Christ he call that great Assizes and fit Iudge of all the world This is the effect of the whole Psalme my Text containes so much thereof as concernes the Tribunall of the king the Dignity the Necessity the Vtility thereof To vnfold it I beseech you to marke therein The person and His work the person is the king whose worke is to iudge I will iudge But of the iudgement wee are farther taught When it shall be executed and How The time is at an Assizes When I shall receiue the Congregation The manner is according to the law to try the vprightnesse of mens liues I will iudge vprightly and that of mens vprightnesse the word Mesharim reacheth so farre As if this were not enough here is a seuerall reason added to each of these branches a reason of calling an Assizes It is no more than needeth there is much amisse in the people The earth and all the inhabitants thereof are dissolued And a reason there is why the king must iudge vprightly and of vprightnesse because if any goe awry if any swerue hee must set and keepe them strait so saith the king I beare vp the pillars of it These be the points that are to bee considered on this Text and that they are to be considered seriously you may gather by the last word Selah the character of a remarkable sentence it signifieth an extraordinary eleuation of the speakers voice which calleth for a more than ordinary attention of the hearers eare Consider then I beseech you in the feare of God the particulars that I shall deliuer thereon and God grant you a fruitfull vnderstanding of them all The first is the Person and this person is the King to Iudge is his work At Ierusalem are Thrones set for iudgement saith another Psalme and those thrones belong to the house of Dauid therefore in the Scripture is the kings throne called not onely the throne of Glory but of Iudgement also yea therefore of Glory because of Iudgement the Glory is giuen to countenance the Iudgement So that the plaintiffes speech was though not very courtly yet very true which hee vttered to a king denying him iustice Si non vis iudicare noli regnare implying that it is the proper worke of a king to be a Iudge And indeed God commits the power of iudgement immediately to the king and to that end setteth him vpon his owne Throne But you know what Iethro obserued to Moses Exod 18. and what Moses himselfe in his complaint to God confessed to be true A king in his owne person cannot beare all this burthen if he attempt it hee vainely tireth out both himselfe and his people wherefore it is Gods pleasure that so much as he cannot doe by himselfe he shall doe by his officers Whereupon ariseth a good distinction of a kings person It is either naturall or politique and vnder the politique are contained the Iudges This is cleare by Gods owne fact for when he called the 70. to bee assistants vnto Moses and to that end did qualifie them he saith not that hee will take of his owne spirit though that which hee tooke was the spirit of God but God is pleased to call that the spirit of Moses which he tooke and gaue to the 70. Numb 11. giuing vs to vnderstand that they were alwayes to bee reputed a part of Moses Yea and they communicate also in the same diuine title for I haue said yee are Gods containes not the peculiar title of a king it extends to euery Iudge as Moses teacheth in the Law if it be not plaine enough in that 82. Psalme So then when a king sendeth Iudges hee sendeth his owne eares to heare the complaints of his people his owne eyes to looke into their causes and his owne mouth to pronounce according to that which is heard and seen The person then in my Text though at first sight it seeme to bee onely the king yet now appeares to bee moreouer the Iudge and by I it is most plaine Honourable and Beloued that you are vnderstood The Vse of this point for the people is made by St. Peter 1. Pet. 2. Wee must be subiect to euery ordinance of man for the Lords sake whether it be vnto the King as supreame or to Gouernours sent from him such as are the Iudges the improuement of their persons must make them reuerend in our eyes But there is a Vse also which Honourable and Beloued must be made by you you may not mistake your eares your eyes your mouth you haue of two sorts priuate and publike the priuate you may vse about your domesticall affaires but to the Bench you may bring none but the publicke you must heare there with none but the kings eares and you know that a king is Abimelec my Father the king
vpon whom this Law was made blasphemed but in his rage as appeares yet he dyed for it Wonder not at GODS seueritie he measureth no more to himselfe then he doth to Parents Exod. 21 to Magistrates He that curseth his father and his mother the parents of his flesh must be vsed so and shall not he be vsed so much more that curseth the Father of his Spirit He that speaketh euill of the Ruler of the people must be vsed so and shall not he that speaketh euill of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords The comparison maketh Quicunque in GODS case to be most iust To which root we shall refer your Blasphemie that are the penitent I know not in charitie we hope the best we hope that it commeth from a mixture of grosse ignorance and vnruly passions for these doe rayse euill thoughts and murmurings That it doth so let it appeare in your repentance St Paul in conscience of his Fall by ignorance gaue himselfe no better a title when he had occasion to mention it then Maximus peccatorum the most grieuous of sinners euen when he lead a most holy life he could not forget his fall in the hight of GODS grace And of St Peter the Ecclesiasticall Storie reports that at the crowing of the Cocke the Remembrancer of his Fall euerie night during his life he did wash his bed and water his couch with his penitent teares GOD make you so mindfull and so sorrowfull otherwise you will betray that your Blasphemie sprang from malice and then be sure that the same GOD that commanded such seueritie to be executed here on earth will himselfe execute much greater vpon all those which through irrepentance goe to Hell Yea haply he may euen in this world make you a Spectacle of a forlorne wretch to the terrour of others as he did Sennacherib Hercdot â—â—b 8. vpon whose Statua there is this Inscription 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Let euerie one that looketh vpon me learne to be godly Such a Spectacle I say may he make you if by often recounting and bewayling of this crying sin you doe not quench the fire of his wrath and preuent his iudgements For God will not hold him guiltlesse that taketh his Name in vaine The last point is that it must be done without all indulgence Moriendo morietur he shall surely dye surely be stoned We may not with Eue turne surely into ne fortè lest the Diuel worke vpon vs and we prouoke GOD as Saul did in Agags case and Ahab in Benadads You haue heard the Law A word of those to whom it was giuen and so I end In the entrance of my Text you find that it was giuen to the Israelites the Israelites were the people of GOD and surely it concernes them if any to be most zealous of his glorie who is their Glorie But did it concerne them onely Then it is dissolued because their Common-weale is at an end Take therefore a Rule That if a Law which in the institution thereof was Nationall to the Iewes in the equitie of it be Oecumenicall euerie Christian nation is bound to giue it a Reuiuor though they may varie the punishment as they find it expedient for their State And indeed this hath receiued such a reuiuor in most Christian States Iustinian the Emperour of Constantinopâ—e made it capitall The wise Gothes inflicted an hundred stripes for it and in disgrace shaued the delinquents head and beard and imprisoned him during life Fredericke the Emperour cut out the tongue of all that offended in this kind St Lewis of France caused their tongue to be bored with a hot Iron wishing that his owne tongue might be so vsed if euer he did blaspheme Philip of Vuloys caused their lips to be slit And touching our owne State I haue nothing to say in excuse thereof for that it hath all this while left this sinne onely to Ecclesiasticall censure and hath not prouided some corporall punishment for it but that of Solon who being demanded why he made no Law against Parricide answered that he thought none in his Common-weale would euer be so impious to commit it So I thinke our State thought there would neuer rise such lewd persons amongst vs But seeing there doe it is high time we had some sharpe occasionall Statute to represse them If holy Iob were so carefull to sacrifice for and sanctifie his sonnes ne fortè lest peraduenture they had sinned with what zeale should we be stirred vp when we see the fact is most apparent I conclude Let all Blasphemie be put out of all our mouthes yea and hearts also and let vs pray GOD to set a watch before our lips and keepe the doore of our mouthes that his grace may rule in our hearts that he may be our feare and his prayse may be our talke that praysing him here on Earth we may be admitted into the number of his Saints which with heart and voyce prayse him for euermore in Heauen A penitent Prayer for a Blasphemer MOST Sacred and most dread Almightie Euerlasting God to whom the Angels continually doe cry Holy holy holy Lord God of Hoasts the glorie of whose admirable and comfortable wisedome reacheth from one end of the world to another mightily and sweetly ordereth all things J the vnworthiest of men the most grieuous of sinners humbly sorrowfully prostrating my deiected disconsolate both soule and body before thy holy eyes pray that the sighes and groanes of a broken and contrite heart may not be excluded from thine offended eares Lord J haue beene deepe in the gall of bitternesse and in the bond of iniquitie Sathan hath filled my heart therewith and out of the aboundance thereof my tongue hath sent forth many flashes euen of the fire of Hell as a brood of the Serpent J haue set my mouth against Heauen J haue blasphemed the holy the reuerend Name of my God and vilified his vnchangeable vnchallengable Prouidence Haddest thou dealt with me as I deserued fire and brimstone from Heauen should haue consumed me or the Earth should haue gaped and swallowed me downe quicke into the pit of Hell J deserued to be made a spectacle of thy iust vengeance that gracelesse wretches seeing my iudgement might feare my offence J confesse this ô Lord J confesse it vnfainedly penitently but woe is me if J haue no more to confesse but these my euill deserts Thy long-suffering towards me putteth me in better hope yea this medicinall confusion whereunto thou now puttest me puts me in good hope that thou hast not forgotten to be mercifull vnto me neither hast thou shut vp thy tender mercie in displeasure Lord J doe not despise this goodnesse of thine that leads me to repentance that workes in me remorce of conscience And from that penitent Blasphemer that proued a most worthy Apostle from his mouth doe J take vnto my selfe that saying worthy of all men to be receiued That Iesus Christ came into the world to saue
And is our case lesse fearefull if we sell our selues Our persons are mysticall they are Temples of the Holy Ghost and are not we verie profane if we merchandize them doe we not run a desperate course and prostitute our sacred selues for things of nought A Heathen-man could say Senâ—â—â— Nihil cuiquam vilius serpso a man setteth lesse by nothing then by himselfe Nostri essemus si haec nostra non essent we would owne our selues if we did not desire to be owners of the world How many sinfull things be there in exchange for which if we should be demanded our Farme or our House we would haply answer Non tanti emam poenitere I will not buy repentance at so deare a rate yet for those verie things we can be contented to giue our selues and thinke silly ones that we are that we haue that verie cheap which costs vs too too deare too too deare I say if we know the price of a Temple of GOD and set our selues at so high a rate as the honour GOD hath done vs requireth at our hands were we but reasonable men we might not so vnder-value our selues as to thinke any worldly thing worth our either ciuill libertie or our naturall life how much lesse then may we equall any of these yea all these things vnto that Adoption of Sonnes and consecration into Temples which are vouchsafed vs of GOD Well if we doe not as we ought prize GODS fauour GOD will as we deserue punish our contempt he that destroyes GODS Temple him will GOD destroy Prosaners of the naturall Temple haue had ill ends and the profaners of the spirituall may not looke for good What CHRIST in regard of the naturall Temple did visibly In Math. c. 21. that saith Origen doth he euerie day inuisibly concerning the Spirituall and beleeue that if he shewed such zeale for the materiall he will shew much more for the Spirituall and if we regard not the Iudgement which he executed with a whip he will one day set vpon vs with his two-edged Sword and if he strooke such terror into the wicked in the dayes of his Humilitie iudge you what terror he will strike into them in the dayes of his Glorie and if we are ashamed of the disgrace of being cast out of the Temple let vs feare the vengeance of being cast into Hell But I told you that this was a preparation for Easter and it is for Easter that you are now to be prepared and you see what your preparation must be The materiall Temple must be rid of all profanesse and so must the Spirituall too purifie the place purifie your selues so may you with comfort eat of CHRIST our Passeouer which is sacrificed for vs and if all the doore-posts of either House be sprinkled with the blood of that Lambe the punishing Angel will passe by vs and the Plagues of Aegypt shall neuer seaze vpon vs. Away then with these things away with Sheepe and Oxen the rich-mans worldly thought away with Turtles and with Doues let not the world here possesse the poore-mans heart let both remember and shew that Holinesse beseeming GODS House for euer When CHRIST spake these words they were so powerfull that all that heard them did readily obey them I cannot hope for such a Miracle Leu. 19. but I will pray That we may all haue grace so to keepe Gods Sabbaoths Ps 5. and reuerence his Sanctuarie that comming into his House in the multitude of his mercies and in his feare worshipping towards his holy Temple we our selues may more and more become Temples of Grace haue GOD dwell in vs vntill we are translated vnto him haue the Oracle of Faith vntill we are admitted vnto his blessed sight and the Altar of Deuotion vntill we attaine our euerlasting vnion This the Owner of the House grant vs through CHRIST in whom we haue this honour to be Houses by the operation of the Holy Ghost the Architect of these Houses To which one GOD in three Persons we render all honour and glorie now and for euer Amen Blessed are they that dwell in thy House O Lord they shall euer be praysing thee A SERMON PREACHED AT GREENWICH PSALME 32. VERSE 5. 5 J said J will confesse my transgressions against my selfe and thou forgauest the iniquitie of my sinne Selah THIS is one of the Psalmes appointed for this dayes Euening-prayer and it fits well the season For it is the second of those that are called Penitentials and Repentance is or ought to be the most of our exercise this time of Lent But when we goe thereabout it is our best way considering our ignorance and negligence to endeauour the exemplification of some worthy Patternes and a more worthy then king Dauid we cannot haue For Regis admirabilem virtutem poenitentia fecit splendidiorem as Theodoret obserues that King was a manifold Worthy but his worth did shine in nothing more conspicuously then in the feeling acknowledgment of his owne vnworthinesse and his Doctrinall practise of that kind is the argument that is handled in this Psalme Let vs looke then into it The Title is a briefe of the whole for Maschil being interpreted is a lesson of happy wisedome and no wisedome so happy as that which makes or keepes our peace with GOD. But these things are done the one by Repentance the other by Obâ—dience these causes with those effects are the foure parts whereinto we may fairely breake this Psalme My Text is found in that part which teacheth Repentance for thereof Confession is a principall branch and the doctrine of Confession is redoubled in this verse whereof I haue chosen the latter clause So then we haue now to doe with Penitentiall Confession and are out of this Scripture to learne what it is and how it speeds What it is we shall see in King Dauids Practise and in his Successe how it speeds But more distinctly In the Practise we are to consider the matter confessed and the manner of confessing The matter is Sinne his owne sinne Of this he had a sense manifested by an euidence The euidence is a Confession a penitentiall confession for it layeth the blame where it is deserued he confesseth against himselfe and seekes reliefe where it may be found he confesseth vnto the Lord. He confesseth doe I say I say too much for he was come no farther then Dixi confitebor he did but professe his resolution the action was to come Thus farre the Text doth open his Practise In that which remaines it reports his Successe He sped remarkably well Well He in humilitie gaue glorie vnto GOD and GOD did gratiously relieue him But marke here also the matter wherein and the manner how He relieued him in that which he confessed in Sinne the iniquitie of his sinne and this reliefe was a Release it was the Forgiuenesse of that sinne But here obserue and wonder at the goodnesse of GOD King Dauids Practise was but a purpose but
you that are the Penitents that it doth not you should not be here to doe penance if you had such doome as GODS Law requireth you are therefore bound to thanke GOD for the clemencie of the State and make good vse of this time of grace remembring that though you scape the corporall fire there is another fire which you haue cause to feare which St IVDE telleth vs was figured out in the perpetuall burning of Sodome and Gomorrha the fire of Hell and assure your selues that if the Land of Canaan spued out those impure persons Heauen will receiue no such and if they that transgressed MOSES Law perished ciuilly without all mercie most wofull shall their destruction be that are reserued for that fire which shall deuour the aduersaries the fire of Hell You shall doe well therefore to quench that fire before you come at it and there are three waters with which you must quench it The first is the water of your teares you must imitate King DAVID who all the night long washt his bed watered his couch with his teares there he sinned and there he bathed himselfe so must you But mans teares are too weake a water to wash away either the guilt or staine of sinne which are the fewell of that fire you must therefore moreouer vse two other waters the water of CHRISTS blood to wash away the guilt and the water of his Spirit to purge out the corruption of your sinne If you make good vse of these three waters that fire will neuer seize on you otherwise assure your selues that though we spare you GOD will not spare you he will one day punish you most seuerely And it were good that our Law did not spare so much as it doth considering the growth and ouer-spreading of impuritie It were to be wisht that our temporall Sword did strike as deepe as the Sword of MOSES did it may when it pleaseth the State and it shall not doe it without example of other Countreys Or if that may not be obtained at least it were to be wisht that the old Canons of the CHVRCH were reuiued and ghostly discipline exercised more seuerely for certainly the scandall is great which such sinnes bring vpon the CHVRCH and they that slander vs without a cause when they haue iust cause how will they open their mouthes against vs Our care then should be to stop their mouthes but principally we should prouide that there be no wickednesse amongst vs which is the end of the doome and the last point of my Text. I will touch it briefly The Iudgement was seuere but it was necessarie Necessarie for the State which is to preserue it selfe free from guilt there must no wickednesse be amongst you No wickednesse that is impossible in this world for viuitur non cum perfectis hominibus they that haue most of the Spirit haue some-what of the Flesh and the Field of GOD till haruest will haue Tares as well as good Eares and the good eares will haue chaffe as well as good graine and the good graine will haue bran as well as flower We may not looke then for any State wherein there is no wickednesse The Law therefore requireth onely that there be Nullum scelus no haynous wickeduesse no tantum scelus as the Vulgar speaketh enormous transgressions there must be no crying sinnes the State must haue a vigilant eye vpon such sinnes and execute vengeance vpon notorious sinners they must not be amongst vs. But they will the Serpent will be in Paradise yea Lucifer was in Heauen the Arke had a CHAM and amongst CHRISTS Disciples there was a IVDAS Be then they will amongst vs. But the meaning of the Law is they must not be indured by vs they must not scape vnpunished if they doe they will proue contagious such sinnes are like fretting Gangreenes they are like vnto Leauen they infect all about them and if they doe not infect they will make guiltie and for sparing such a one GOD will not spare a whole State And there is good reason for Qui non vetat cum potest iubet GOD taketh them for abettors that will not when they may reforme inordinate liuers Therefore the State must put away from amongst them such inordinate liuers 1 Cor. 5. Hierusalem below must as neere as may be be like vnto Hierusalem aboue Apoc. 22. of that aboue St IOHN saith Extracanes impudici no vncleane person commeth thither neither must any be indured here so soone as they appeare they must be made expiatorie Sacrifices and their death must free the State from guilt But I draw to an end A word to you that are the Malefactors Origen Ad paenitentiae remedium confugite qui praeuenti estis tam graui peccato Seeing you haue beene ouertaken with so foule a fault neglect not the remedy which GOD hath left you heartie and vnfained repentance for your sinne the rather because you haue to do with a most mercifull Iudge who doth not onely moderate the punishment but commute it also commute the punishment which you should suffer in Hell with a punishment which the CHVRCH inflicteth here on Earth Consider the qualitie consider the quantitie of these different punishments and you will confesse that it is a most mercifull commutation Cast then your eyes backe and consider what you haue done how haynous your offence hath beene and cast your eyes forwards likewise and consider what you haue deserued how great a danger you haue incurred by inioying a short and beastly pleasure Thinke vpon both these often and thinke vpon them seriously so shall you yeeld GOD the greater glorie for the mercie which he vouchsafeth you and he shall worke the greater comfort in your soules by assuring you of the remission of that sinne wherewith you haue so greatly prouoked him And to vs all this I say Eligamus priùs affectus castigare quà m propter ipsos castigemur Let vs plucke out our eyes cut off our hands rather then by retayning them to be cast into Hell-fire Let this spectacle remember vs often to set before vs the shame of the world and the horror of a guiltie conscience which befall enormous sinners in this life And if that will not hold in our corrupt nature let vs set before vs the neuer-dying Worme the euer-burning Fier Or rather 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Let vs begin here our life in chastitie Nazian that we may one day be in the number of those Virgins that follow the Lambe whether soeuer he goeth Reuel 14. And let Magistrates and Ministers both be iealous ouer the State with a godly iealousie that as by the Ministry of the Word and Sacraments it is espowsed to one Husband 2 Cor. 11. so it may be presented as a chast Virgin vnto CHRIST when those heauenly Nuptials shall be solemnized wherein standeth our euerlasting happinesse This God grant for Jesus Christs sake by the operation of the Holy Spirit To which one
God in three Persons be rendred all honour and glorie now and for euer Amen Marriage is honourable amongst all men and the bed vndefiled but fornicators and adulterers God will iudge A SERMON PREACHED IN THE CATHE DRAL CHVRCH OF WELS AT WHAT TIME FOVRE PERSONS DID PENANCE FOR INCEST COMMITTED BY ONE MAN WITH HIS WIVES DAVGHTER BY THE OTHER MAN WITH HIS WIVES SISTER DEVT. 27. VERSE 22 23. 22 Cursed is he that lyeth with his sister the daughter of his father or the daughter of his mother and all the people shall say Amen 23 Cursed is he that lyeth with his mother-in-law and all the people shall say Amen WHEN GOD had deliuered the Children of Israel out of Aegypt he was pleased to enter into a Couenant with them at Mount Sinai the manner of it is set downe Exod. 24. But the Israelites quickly brake with GOD and GOD entred into iudgment with them he made them for the space of fortie yeeres to wander in the Wildernesse and in that space he so consumed them that of 600000 men remained aliue onely IOSVA and CALEB After so long displeasure GOD returned againe in mercie to them he vouchsafed to haue his Couenant renewed againe the forme of the renuing he prescribeth in this 27 of Deut. A most solemne forme for therein were to concurre three remarkable acts First The Law was to be fairly written vpon great plaistred Stones that the people before-hand might see whereunto they were to bind themselues for GOD would haue them enter into his Couenant aduisedly Secondly there was an Altar to be erected and thereon they were to offer whole burnt offerings and sacrifices of thankes-giuing which were to be reall acknowledgments that they did wholly deuote themselues to GOD and giue thankes for that GOD of his goodnesse would againe renue his Couenant GOD would haue them enter into his Couenant religiously Thirdly GOD commanded that the twelue Tribes should sort themselues into two diuisions sixe should stand vpon the descent of Mount Gerezzim and sixe vpon the descent of Mount Ebal both diuisions with their faces towards the mid Valley where the Arke of GOD the Type of his visible residence amongst the Israelites was borne vp by the Priests In this Theater as it were did GOD require that the Israelites should heare the Articles of Agreement betweene GOD and them both blessings and cursings and professe their conformitie thereunto GOD would haue them professe themselues party to his Couenant openly in the sight both of GOD and Men. In this third act you shall find a rehearfall of sinnes first in particular then ingenerall and a doome pronounced against the committers of those sinnes both by Priest and People Of the particular sinnes my Text specifieth two and specifieth withall the doome that belongeth to either of them The sinnes are vnlawfull matches one collaterall a brothers lying with his sister and because a woman may be sister more wayes then one here is an exegesis the word is expounded whether she be daughter of the mans father or daughter of his mother The second vnlawfull match is in the right line a mans lying with his mother-in law Of these matches you haue these penitent spectacles here presented before you The Text goeth on and tels these Penitents and whosoeuer else shall presume to be like vnto them what is their doome it is set downe in one word but that is a sharpe one they are cursed But farther obserue concerning this doome who doth pronounce it and who doth approue it They that pronounce it are the Leuites so we read verse 14 and they are willed to pronounce it with an audible voyce so audible that all Israel may heare They that approue it are the people they are required to say Amen in token that they all assent to that which they heare all the people must say Amen You haue the briefe of my Text I purpose GOD willing now to enlarge it I pray GOD I may so doe it as that we that stand may take heed least we fall and these that are fallen may learne to rise againe I begin with the sinne wherein we are first to make you see that the Text doth fit this occasion For neither of the matches therein specified seemeth to agree with theirs that are vnder the present Censure Not the collaterall for my Text speaketh of a sister by consanguinitie and these Penitents were brother and sister onely by affinitie not that in the right line for my Text speaketh of a mans lying with his mother in-Law or his wiues mother but this man here is censured for lying with his wiues daughter And so you may thinke that neither of these couples come within the compasse of my Text and therefore are neither of them guiltie of the sinne neither need feare the doome To take away this doubt you must take notice of two rules in Diuinitie The first is that affinitie makes persons as neere in the Law as consanguinitie doth The reason whereof is plaine Affinitie is grounded vpon mariage and by mariage two become one flesh and consequently their kinted whether ascendent or descendent or collaterall become alike neere on each side to the other Your wiues father and mother brethren and sisters sonnes and daughters are vnto you by her as neere as if they were of your owne blood This being true you perceiue that it was no lesse vnlawfull for this man to couple with his wiues sister then with his owne sister the daughter of his father or the daughter of his mother The other rule is That more then is exprest in GODS Law is to be vnderstood when by analogie it may fairly be deduced there-from GOD himselfe is our direction to take notice of such analogie for if you compare this Chapter with the 18 of Leuit. you shall find that this verie instance of a man lying with his mother-in-law which is mentioned here is omitted there whereupon you may well conclude that some particulars which GOD forbids are not named in the Letter though they are within the meaning of the Law and that the meaning is as wide as analogie will suffer I will shew you in a word what this analogie is it is that persons which are not forbidden expresly and in the letter of the Law are there forbidden implicitely and in the meaning of the Law where others in the same distance of Consanguinitie or Affinitie are expresly forbidden As for example the Law forbids expresly a nephew to marrie with his aunt it saith nothing of an vnckles marrying with his neece yet these being as neere in degree as the other we may of them reasonably conclude that they also are forbidden in the meaning of the Law the exception of the Romanists is friuolous To our purpose by the letter of my Text a man may not marrie with his mother-in-law which may be either his wiues mother or his fathers wife if not with his mother-in-law which is his fathers wife then in the