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A11077
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The onely remedy that can cure a people, when all other remedies faile. By F. Rous.
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Rous, Francis, 1579-1659.
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1627
(1627)
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STC 21346; ESTC S106124
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62,668
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256
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in and by how many Prophets yet euen at the last cast when the sword was whetting and readie to strike a Doore was opened to them Amend your wayes Ierem. 26. 13. and your doings and obey the voyce of the Lord your God and the Lord will repent him of the euill that hee hath pronounced against you What could bee more peremptorie than the prophesie of Ionah against the Niniuites A day was prefixed which stood before them and seemed to inclose them that they should neuer goe beyond it Yet their faith had espyed this doore of Mercy as it were by a little Crany Ionah 3. 9. Who can tell if God will turne and repent and turne away from his fierce anger that wee perish not Behold a strange Faith that so much beleeued in Gods mercy that it seemed to doubt of his truth Nay far bee that from so excellent a Faith They beleeued both the Truth and Mercy of God for they so much beleeued and hoped in his Mercy to penitent sinners that they beleeued that the same Mercy had left some secret way of Truth by which it might passe vnto them and they goe forth vnto it And in this point their faith seemed to exceed the faith of the Prophet For the Prophet thought his owne honour would bee lost if so peremptorie a sentence were not peremptorily performed But these men beleeued it stood well with the honour of God that a peremptory sentence vpon penitence might be dissolued And indeede theirs was true faith and his thought was but an errour For the word of God whose Truth is a true ground of Faith is the very foundation of that which they beleeued At what instant Ier. 18. 7. I shall speake of 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 Thus we see in the denunciation of Gods Iudgements there is an implied Reseruation and this Reseruation is the Doore at which the Nineuites and other beleeuing penitents may finde a way to escape Yea the peremptorinesse of the sentence which seemeth to hedge vs in may be the very meanes to bring vs to the way of escaping For the peremptorinesse of a sentence strikes the sentence strongly as it were a spurre into the sides of resty and dull flesh and bloud and stirs vp mankinde hardly to labour for that Issue which seemes so hard and almost impossible to be found And indeede this finding God vsually proposeth as the scope of his warning He tells vs of Iudgements comming that wee may finde the way to auoid them If he meant to destroy his readiest way were not to forewarne It was Sauls case when he was neere to the period of Ruine The Lord answered him not neither by dreames 1. Sam. 28 6. nor by vrim nor by Prophets Let vs therefore account premonitions to bee Summons vnto Iudgement but yet by a silent and implied Reseruation offering vs Mercie And betweene the time of denunciation and full performance let vs thinke that offer continued to vs. For the Time of warning is commonly a time of Truce betweene God and Man and a time of Respite between Wrath and Punishment Therefore is it called The day of a person or people euen a day of Grace Luke 19. 42 wherin iudgement is suspended and may bee preuented And if in this their day those things are not hid from their eies which may make their peace with God the peace of God will preserue them from the Iudgements of God Wherefore let vs not thinke that euery forewarning is a binding for a prediction ordinarily bindeth no farther than mens impeni tence bindeth it For in it selfe a premonition is an offer of loosing as well as a sentence of binding There is a gate of Mercy in it and man hath a Key wherewith to open it Yea the Iudge himselfe who seemes to inclose vs in prison calls vpon vs to make vse of it and by the hardnesse and difficultie of escaping stirs and spurs vs vp to an earnest seeking of the meanes of our Freedom 4. If any man aske what is the Key by which this gate is opened Spirituall helpes are the true helpes to set vs at liberty from Iudgements 1. Sam. 10. 27. he may plainly see it in the places alledged In euery one of them it is Repenting and Turning from euill waies But flesh and bloud replies in the language of Belial For as the men of Belial said of the King whom God had annointed Shall this man saue vs So flesh and bloud saith of the meanes which God hath sanctified Shal such an ayerie and inuisible thing saue vs Yet most true it is that inuisible things must saue vs or wee cannot bee saued Spirituall things are inuisible and spirituall things must saue vs. And no wonder for spirituall things worke our eternal saluation and if they can worke the greater why should they not be able to worke out the lesser saluation When a question is made concerning the great Saluation Act. 2. 37. 38. Men and Brethren what shall we doe to be saued The first word of the Answer is Repent And why should not the same answer serue for a lesser saluation Againe if wee looke vpon the way wherein wee came to be bound wee shall finde a spirituall way to bee our onely way to loosing If wee looke to heauen we shall finde it is God that bindes vs there and God is a spirit Now Ioh. 4. 24. according to the reason of CHRIST himselfe if God be a Spirit it is a spirituall meanes that can only bee powerfull with a spirit And if wee looke below we shall finde it is sin that prouoketh God to binde man and sinne is a spirituall disease euen a deprauation of the Image of God in the soule and spirit of Man or a fruit of it Now it is plaine that a spirituall remedy can only cure a spirituall disease The soule will not bee fed by the food of the body neither by bodily physicke will it bee cured Wherfore in regard of God who is offended and in regard of thy sinne that hath offended him behold the word of God turning thee from carnall and visible to spirituall and insuisible Remedies Micah 6. 7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of Rams or with ten thousands of Riuers of Oyle shall I giue my first-borne for my transgression the fruite of my body for the sinne of my soule Hee hath shewed thee O man what is good and what doth the Lord require of thee but to doe iustly and to loue mercy and to humble thy selfe in walking with thy God Neither hath God herein giuen meere words but his deeds haue beene as good as his words The Scripture is full of examples that this meanes which the world thinkes to be weaknesse hath beene strong vnto
there is hope for a Nation only let vs come to make sure this hope to vs by making sure and right steps vnto it A first should bee praise and thanks-giuing for these great saluations which wee haue already receiued It hath beene shewed before that by thankfulnesse for old benefites God is moued to giue new and that where hee reapeth plentifully he will plentifully sow Therefore we must be thankfull for the former it wee will hope vpon sure grounds to receiue the latter and wee must giue thankfulnesse for blessings past as a pledge and pawne vnto God that hee shall not lose his due thankes and praise for benefites to come And that our thankfulnesse may bee hearty it must proceed from the loue of God for the true taste of Gods goodnesse in blessings cannot but much moue vs to loue him whose sweetnesse wee taste Therefore the Psalmist saith Psal. 116. 1. I loue the Lord because hee hath heard mee And surely true loue will bring forth true obedience Christ who is truth hath said If a man loue mee he will keep my words Ioh. 14. 23. And indeed obedience is the best thankfulnesse It is better than the sacrifice of praisein the calues of the lips But both together are best For who so offereth praise honoureth mee and to him that ordereth his conuersation aright Psal. 50. 23. will I shew the saluation of God Wherefore our Liturgie doth make an entire thanks-giuing for a deliuerance from the Pestilence when it offers the soules and bodies deliuered to be a liuing sacrifice vnto God and withall praiseth and magnifieth Gods mercies in the midst of the Congregation A second step to a sure hope is perseuerance and constancie in the vse of those meanes by which wee attained these blessings already receiued The same meanes to which Gods eare hath beene open it will still bee open yea being now opened already it is much easier to keepe it open than if it were shut to open it Wherefore this doore of mercy being open let vs by pressing into it not only keepe it open but open it wider vntill all mercies bee obtained that may heale our miseries And as repentance and inuocation should by euery one particularly and continually bee set on worke to moue God to continue and perfect his good worke of mercy in vs and vpon vs so it is humbly and heartily to bee desired that the same publike meanes and manner of humiliation may not long bee intermitted vntill God make his face to shine on this Nation in a full deliuerance from generall troubles dangers and straites For why should wee leaue to seeke God by those meanes wherin God doth not leaue to heare vs And why should wee leaue to vse medicines as long as there remaine diseases God hath shewed vs the way how to bee heard and healed Yea hee hath assured vs of healing this way by the earnests of health which this way hee hath sent vnto vs And shall sicknesse giue ouer the Physician before the Physician giue it ouer shall Need bee weary of asking and receiuing before Bounty is weary of hearing and giuing O let vs not shut vp Gods mercies against our selues before God doe shut them vp against vs but while the oyle of mercy is running let vs by humiliation repentance and inuocation enlarge our vessells and open our mouthes wide that hee may fill them If God had denyed vs the example of the Canaanitish woman would haue inuited vs to seeking whose faith was commended and rewarded with a miracle for importunity after rough denyalls But now God hath granted and heard vs were it not a great neglect of Gods goodnesse and our owne happinesse not to goe on in speaking For as it is very fit to be said when the Lord speaketh Speake Lord for thy seruant heareth so it is fit to be said when the Lord heareth Speake seruant for the Lord heareth Gen. 18. Thus did Abraham continue praying for Sodom because God continued hearing and neuer left vntill hee brought the conditions of Sodoms deliuerance to bee so easie that for tenne righteous all Sodom might haue beene spared And surely if our perseuerance in humiliation and prayer shall not stop it may worke the like effect and so our hope may bee sure Rom. 5. For experience saith the Apostle breedes hope and such hope as doth not make ashamed And if hope bee the fruite of experience surely wee had experience that God heareth our prayers and why then shall wee not also haue hope that hee will heare the like prayers hereafter The Apostle that teacheth vs this fruite of experience in his doctrine teacheth it also by his practice For when he hath had experience of Gods goodnesse hee inferreth that trust vpon it which is the ground of things hoped for Who deliuered vs from so great a death and doth deliuer 1. Cor. 1. 10. And now behold his confidence and hope In whom we trust that hee will yet deliuer vs. 22 Neither may our present lowness Our lownesse or the lownes of the Church may not destroy our hope if â—â—yned to â—penâ—nce or the lownesse of those that haue reformed Religion and purged it from Idolatrie take away the hope of Recouery For lownesse is the very way to exaltation and Weakenesse to Strength Wee see here that before S t. Paul came to this experience of Gods deliuerance from whence hee gathers sure hope for deliuerance to come he receiued in himselfe the sentence of death So that a pressing aboue measure and such a pressing as makes an impression of the sentence of death is the way to deliuerance And there are diuers reasons why it should be so First on Gods side God himselfe professeth 2. Cor. 12. 9. My strength is made perfect in weakenesse So that weakenesse is a fit subiect whereon God vseth to glorifie his strength therefore weakenesse may encourage men if they be like-minded to S t. Paul for hereupon he saith I will most gladly glory in my infirmities for when I am weake then am I strong He is so farre from being discouraged that he is encouraged by his weakenesse because weakenesse drawing to it the power of God becomes stronger than the strength of men without God Hee that first brought light out of darkenesse and in Christ Iesus hath brought life out of death he goes on commonly to all his great Workes in a way of contraries that one contrary arising out of another all the honour of the worke may be wholly reserued to God and all eyes turned wholly to him for there is nothing on earth to looke on for a Cause but a contrary and that euen common Reason will tell plainly cannot produce his contrary And this course of God is so vsuall that he hath Titles affixed to him expressing it God who raised the dead and God who brought light out of darkeness and God who comforteth the Abiect Againe the Lownesse of Gods children giues God all