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A38823 The Gospel treasury opened, or, The holiest of all unvailing discovering yet more the riches of grace and glory to the vessels of mercy unto whom onely it is given to know the mysteries of that kingdom and the excellency of spirit, power, truth above letter, forms, shadows / in several sermons preached at Kensington & elswhere by John Everard ; whereunto is added the mystical divinity of Dionysius the Areopagite spoken of Acts 17:34 with collections out of other divine authors translated by Dr. Everard, never before printed in English. Everard, John, 1575?-1650?; Brooks, Thomas, 1608-1680.; Barker, Matthew, 1619-1698. 1657 (1657) Wing E3531; ESTC R29421 513,595 936

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full of silver and gold and Balaam was covetous for Iude mentions his sin Hired with the wages of unrighteousness 5. Wisemen who wanting the true fear of God they are Diaboli delitiae The Devils delight Fit men for his turn and therefore They as most Fit must be set on work to act for him his Subtil and Cunning devices his Glorious Stratagems His splendida peccata Those glistring sins generosa scelera Noble Projects Honourable policies and Scarlet sins These be His Grave Black and Sage Complotters Cunning Engineers these are the fittest to carry on his Sage and Grave Mysteria iniquitatis Mysteries of Iniquity nay and some of his Mysteries of iniquity must carry a Divine face A reverend shew of holiness and Religion or else they cannot be effected and accomplished And what 's the ground of all this But Covetousness But why should I stand to deal with particulars severally Covetousness is an Epidemical plague common to rich poor it is a disease incident to the several ages of man Childehood Manhood Old age incident to the several Complexions of men none free from Covetousness The Thief in the old Law Covetousness caused him to steal God made a Law for the Thief to restrain him from coveting that which was not his own Exod. 22. 1. If he kill or sell it He should restore five Oxen for one Ox four sheep for one sheep It was not a law then to Hang a man and cut off the thred of his life for Thirteen pence half peny but to make Restitution to the Owner and not as it is now The owner to be bound to prosecute if he accuse and lose all himself and all that can be found of the Malefactors to fall to the King and if the owner take restitution of or to himself to be as lyable to the Law as the Thief himself Yet questionless it is meet that the Restitution should be given in a Legal way and openly and not covertly underhand and secretly as it then was whereby the Thief was known and detected and condemned to make restitution according to the Law it could be wished these things were well considered by those whom it concerns Our Saviour gives a special caveat against this sin of Covetousness Men think O if they had but such a thing as such a man hath Oh how it would content and please them such a mans house such a mans horse such a mans Estate I am now possessed of an hundred a year O could I make it two hundred and then three thousand then five thousand a year and thus the Devil deludes the vain heart of man and steals from him this rare Iewel of Contentment and intoduceth and juggels in the room thereof that Ugly and Gaping Fiend Covetousness Therefore our Lord bids us beware of this devouring foul Fiend Luk. 12. 15. Take heed and beware of Covetousness for though a man have abundance yet his life standeth not in his riches This is such a Taking Evil with the sons of men Christ had need bid them beware again and again some other dangers and evils if they be but seen t is sufficient to make men eschew and avoid them but for this of Covetousness ye must give item upon item and caution upon caution and caveat upon caveat and yet how few Take heed and beware of Covetousness● A word or two of the Intention the third part of this Indictment Are given unto Covetousness This doth very much Aggravate this sin of Covetousness and so all other sins when men in this kinde do not onely peccare but peccatum facere not onely sin but sin with delight this is that which is exceedingly acceptable to the Devil for as God commanded Exod. 35. 5. that they should not onely bring offerings but bring them from a willing heart whether gold or silver or brass or silk blue or purple or scarlet c. or of goats-hair if never so small the free and willing heart was all in all So when men not onely sin but sin with a willing heart when men are not onely Covetous but given up to it are covetous with a willing heart what more acceptable to Satan and what more adominable to the Lord And hereupon when men thus Give themselves up freely to sin so that they choose it and delight in it then God himself gives them up to it likewise and lets them follow after the gods whom they have chosen as 1 Iohn 3. 8. He that committeth sin is of the Devil that is he that Committeth himself to sin he is a free and willing servant to sin He hath chosen Sin to obey it and to be his Lord and Master Men ●ust give themselves up unto sin and then God in his righteous judgement gives them up according to their own hearts lust and according to their own choise and desire And is not this a righteous thing with Almighty God judge ye As Moses to Pharaoh God sent him to Pharaoh to let his people go who told him if he would not these and these plagues would follow Pharaoh hardens his heart and would take no Beware no Caveat then the Lord said as it were Seeing it is so seeing he is hardned and he chooses to be so he shall be hardned I will also harden his heart that I may shew upon him my mighty wonders Beloved Do not your hearts Ake while you hear of these things do you not tremble had you not need to take heed and boware of Covetousness especially of the love of Covetousness For if once you are delivered up to this first by your own choosing secondly by God Almighty in his righteous judgement truly you are in a wo case Then it may be said of you as the Prophet Ieremiah concerning the Israelites when they had voluntarily forsaken the Lord Ier. 13. 23. Can the Black amore change his skin or the Leopard his spots then may ye also do well who are accustomed to do evil In all which regards take heed and beware of Covetousness for a mans life cansisteth not in abundance But having food and raiment let us be therewith content Fourthly and Lastly for the punishment of this sin here threatned which is onely implyed in this word For with reference to the former verses which I may call as I did at the beginning The Zarah of my Text. The sin goes before and the punishment follows But here like Iudahs two Sons Pharez and Zarah the last put forth his hand first to the birth and they tyed a red thred to his finger saying This is born first but he pulled it in again and let his brother come first So though the punishment offered it self first by this first word in my Text For yet sin being always the forerunner of judgment this word For pulled back its hand and comes now last to the birth namely To be handled and spoken to wherein also I must be very brief
or none Evil Actions as they are Actions that are in Scripture attributed to Satan that are not likewise ascribed to God either for things External or Internal Truly friends I may not keep back any part of Gods counsel for fear of the Iews Although they be Angry at the preaching of these things First For External Actions If we look upon Iob Did the Sabeans come and take away his Oxen and slew his servants and was that done by Satan upon that Commission given to him Iob 1. 12. All he hath is in thine hands why yet we know it was God gave him that very Commission who is the Lord of all Hosts yet acted by Bands of Sabeans and Armies of men Did the Chaldeans set upon his Camels drove them away and slew his servants know as David saith The Lord teacheth my fingers to fight And the mouth of the sword of the Chaldeans could not bite till God bad it Did the fire burn up his sheep and his servant yet we know that it is the Lord God Who raineth snares fire and Brimstone Psal 11. 6. and in that very History it is called Ignis Dei The fire of God Job 1. 16. Did a great wind come from the wilderness and blew down the house and killed Iob● children yet 't is certain He that is the Lord Bringech the windes out of his treasure Psal. 135. 7. Iob saith The Lord hath taken away c. Job 1. 21. But to come nearer yet Did the Devils enter into the Girgasites swine So that they ran headlong into the sea and were drowned but yet they did not could not enter into them till Christ bade them go no no He that sends is greater then he that is sent the Lord is above the servant though the Devil may desire to do mischief yet he cannot accomplish it till he be authorized and impowred by God himself Now to come to spiritual Actions and such as may seem to have a Near and almost inseparable●ffinity ●ffinity with the worst sort of evil Sin for the other were but Medicines Nocumenta Documenta Nocuments are Documents Did the Devil Harden Pharaohs heart yet the Text saith plainly of God I will harden Pharaobs heart Exod. 7. 3. Obduration and hardness of heart is a grievous sin and a Heavy punishment yet God saith I will harden Did the Devil tempt Absalom to take his fathers Concubines yet 2 Sam. 12. 11. saith God I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house Yet again Thou didst it secretly but I will do this thing before all Israel Did a Lying spirit that is the Devil Seduce Ahab that he might go up and fall at Ramoth-Gilead yet it is recorded in the same place Behold the Lord hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy Prophets saith Micaiah 1 King 22. 23. I will sum up all in HIM who is the sum of all Christ Jesus Ioh. 12. 40. who citing that of the Prophet Isaiah Isa. 6. 10. where God commands to make the heart of this people fat and shut their eyes c. Christ saith plainly Ioh. 12. 40. HE hath blinded their eyes and hardened their heart that they should not see● nor be converted And saith he These things spake Isaias when he had seen the glory of God And then spake of him So likewise did the Devil enter into Iudas his heart to betray his Lord Luk. 22. 3. It was true yet I will say as Austin upon Psal. 61. towards the end of it Malignus Iudas Traditor Christi Maligni persecutores c. Iudas was wicked who betrayed Christ the Jews were wicked who persecuted him with malice to death all of them were impious and miserable wretches to crucifie the Lord of life And yet Paul saith to the Romans Rom. 8. 32. The FATHER● spared not his own Son but delivered him up for us all 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 tradidit BETRAYED HIM yet it was HIS FATHER And Ephes. 5. 2. tradidit seipsum And He gave up Himself and yet Iudas He betrayed him What shall we say herein Dispone si potes distingue sipotes dispose and distinguish if thou canst To that end Let us then take the counsel of our Saviour Let us give unto God the things that are Gods and unto man what is mans let us 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with boldness give unto God as the SOLE SUPREME Agent The Glory of all Actions of what nature or kind soever as actions As to the soul The power and act of seeing but of seeing doubly or dimly to the organ it useth so God gives to the soul the Act and power of Hearing smelling tasting speaking thinking Going and Doing and the like but for the Evil and viciousness of any or all these to the organ they use and imploy In b●ief Take this as the sum of all let God have all the glory honour and praise of all actions they belong to him alone but to our selves let us take shame and confusion Baldness to every head and shame upon all faces Ezek. 7. 18. Gods righteousness in all these is like the great mountains and his ●udgements are a great depth Psal. 36. 6. like the mountains indeed Eternal and Eternally mountains though we climb never so long never so high They are still past finding out and are like the great DEPTH Depth still though we sink never so low and therefore Cusanus speaks learnedly to this point Omnia creat Deus etiam alterabilia mutabilia corruptibilia contraria c. that is God creates all things alterable changeable corruptible contrary yet he created not Alteration Changeableness Corruption nor Contrariety for seeing that he is HIMSELF Entity Life and Substance Essence and Being He doth not cannot create Non-Entity Destruction Death or Ruine but Hee is Alone BEING LIFE and SUBSTANCE And yet so it musts needs be for God is the God of Order and order implyes plurality and diversity And then secondly what harmony or musick is made upon one string or if it be a Monochorde yet there must be divers f●ets and stops and cliffs In this case you know The sweetest Harmony is made where there is the greatest discord and Variety To go a step or two further In that famous and memorable story of Ioseph his Brethren t is said sold him to the Midianitish Merchants in their malice and they into Egypt where he was tempted by his Mistris An act worse then the other yet when he makes himself afterwards known to his brethren Gen. 45. 5. Ioseph saith plainly Misit me Deus c. God sent me hither before you into Egypt They did it and God did it they indirectly God directly yet Ioseph saith it was not you but God sent me before So also in that act of Shimei he was set on by the Devil to curse David yet David saith Let him alone let him curse the Lord hath
doing so and if there was at any time any good in thee know that is none of thine that is his own work and no praise belongs to thee at all Now what sayest thou Davids heart smote him when he had numbred the people so should ours in numbring our sins Nay farther consider that not onely all thy own sins are laid upon thee but all the sins of all the men in the world that ever were are or ever shall be Because thou art of that Body of that Race A member of that sinful body and race proceeding from our first Parents which stained the Race and House in the very root by rebellion and Treason And that all this hath been in doing by thee almost this 6000 years so that when thou wert but six dayes old thou wert a 6000 years sinner when thou wert little above a span long thou wert an Everlasting Transgressor As in the body of Christ All the Members have right and interest in all the excellencies and graces of the whole body the Faith of Abraham the Zeal of Iosiah the Patience of Ioh the Meekness of Moses and adde to that whatever virtue is in the head Christ which is in Heaven They are all thine Thou sharest in all so that we may then say Thou art all fair my Love there is no spot in thee So thou being of that sinful race and body thou hast right and thereby art intitled to all the vilest sins that ever were committed in the world As it was said concerning those that crucified Christ that God might bring on them all the sins that ever were committed from the bloud of the righteous Abel What canst thou now say for thy self O wretched Off-spring of the race of flesh and bloud but that Nebuchadnezzars Oven should be heat seven times hotter will it not be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgement then for thee What canst thou say is not Tophet prepared of old and prepared for thee O thou foul and leprous creature The pile and fuel thereof is fire and much wood and the breath of the Lord like a stream of brimstone shall kindle it Esay 30. 33. Hast not thou by thy so often sinning Even trod the bloud of the Covenant under thy feet and done despight unto the spirit of grace hast not thou chosen thy sins and lusts before thy Saviour and hast therein cryed out for a Barabbas to escape and concerning Christ hast cryed crucifie him crucifie him What will ye crucifie your King I say you crucifie Him cruci●ie Him His Bloud be on us and on our children c. Yet thou condemnest Iudas when thou readest how Villanously he betrayed and sold his dear Meek and precious Master I ask thee Who now hath sold his Master what for 30 pieces nay for the pleasure of one darling sin which will for ever destroy thee And thou condemnest the Devil who sinned but once and was thrown down from his place and thou condemnest Adam who eat but once of the forbidden fruit and was immediately cast out of Paradise and will not that weight of sin that as a TALENT of Lead lies upon thee make thee once groan or complain many aggravations by circumstances might be presented before thee for circumstances alwayes aggravate nay sometimes create the sin Friend What sayest thou to this charge if thou canst say nothing to me then what shall I say to thee Then thus Onely the blood of Jesus Christ purgeth from all sin if thou hast not right and part in that all thy sins lie upon thee And what ever he performs in thee that God accepts and nothing else for be assured what ever prayers what ever sighs what ever groans thou puttest up to him he loaths all but what his Son makes but all His requests are heard and granted I know you can in words have present recourse to that saying That though we are sinners indeed and grievous sinners yet the blood of Christ purgeth us from all sin I know that this very word were it spoken by Christ himself is enough indeed to silence Death and Hell and all the powers of darkness and is armour of proof against all Satans fiery darts and it is a most undoubted truth b●t then say I it is Christ himself must pronounce this saying to thee The blood of Iesus Christ purgeth thee from all sin If Christ pronounce these words then art thou indeed for ever acquitted but if thou sayest this of thy self to thy self and by thy self thou art not acquitted I know if Christ speak these words it is present death to all sin and unbelief they are the utter destruction to Sin and Sathan but if spoken onely by thy self they do but harden thee in sin they do but give new life to sin Thus much have I spoken to thee that thou mayest come to this first work of Humiliation namely Condemnation of our selves But O my Dear Brethren what are my words if Christ speak not by me he must preach his own truth to thee And this I say except thou first come to this work of Condemnation thou wilt never come to the second which is Annihilation not to any of the rest For every step is one above another These steps are ascending for as Solomon prayed that God would hear the prayers of all those that came and prayed in that house of the Lord and did see the plague of their own heart 2 Chron. 6. for except they saw that their prayer was in vain so say I not that it is in vain to pray but it is vain to trust to faith in vain to trust to Christ it will do no good except you see the plague of your own heart for thou mayest pray long enough and believe in Christ long enough if thou doest not see thy just worthiness of being destroyed if thou doest not see just cause of censuring and condemning thy self to the lowest Hell and that thou seriously confess That hell was not made in vain but that it was justly made And for thee and that it were just and righteous that God should cast thee thither nay not onely so but that you feel your souls in the Bitter agonies of Hell already and that the Torments thereof are seized upon you then there were hope That thy spirit would be saved and delivered Till thou art come to this never tell me of the blood of Christ That it purgeth from all sin but thou art none of them to whom it belongs for thou hast neither part nor portion in this matter If ye suffer with Christ then also shall ye be saved by him and reign with him SERMON VII ROM 8. 17. If so be that we suffer with him that we may be also glorified together BEloved I will trust your memories for that which I have delivered before out of these words and come immediately to the second of these six steps which I have
ascribed to him He gave them favour and he hardened the heart of Pharaoh and He bid Shimei cur●e David and the like Be assured whatever clashing and dashing thou observest in the world So as to thy thinking all will come to Nought and Miscarry yet be assured He it is that keeps all Guides all from dashing one against another but so far as his wisdom will have it so and it must be so for the accomplishment of his most holy ends O therefore let Vain man and his ignorance Nay his wisdom and his will stoop yea stoop to the very dust before him and leave all to him and be afraid To Censure His doings or to say concerning the Almighty Such an action was not well done Such a man O it were well if he were Removed Oh! he doth a great deal of hurt Oh! let him be cut off Oh! Beloved know God Almighty is a God of Infinite wisdom and art thou wiser then he must it needs be as thou conceivest no no you are deceived submit your judgements to him Expand and give up your selves and all you are and have to his Wisdom and Soveraignity and do not once dare to oppose that Infinite Infinite Wisdom of God in comparison of whose wisdom all the wisdom of all men and Angels put together is but folly before him He chargeth his Angels with folly and the Heavens are unclean in his sight what art thou then Poor Crawling worm to lift up thy self in his presence But thus to see God Doing all This is that Moses saw by the eye of faith in this Burning Bush It is He that Overturns the world It is He that burns every Creature New-forms and New-shapes The whole Universe He is that Great Potter that makes destroys and Re-makes at his pleasure what vessels he pleaseth He maketh vessels of honour and dishonour He alters and changes every Creature New-moulds and New-makes all and yet he destroys nothing And know this and set to thy seal that whatever He doth He cannot but do all things well superlatively well so well as it cannot be better And hereby the Lord will also set His seal to this soul so that He and It are so joyned together and made One that they will never part But he that looks upon the bare vision in the bare letter he cannot see these things What is it to him that Moses saw the vision That is gone and past But dost thou see what Moses saw Dost thou see all acted altered and changed by him Dost thou see Him alone doing all That it is He that Vn-makes and New-makes That it is He that makes men yong and makes men Old That it is He that bringeth to the grave and turneth man to destruction and saith at his pleasure return again ye sons of men That it is He that maketh and formeth man and all Creatures and bringeth them back again to their first principles and thereof Creates Raiseth and re-makes new Creatures Dost thou Thus see That the whole Universe is but a Body acted and guided by one soul by one spirit And that it is nothing else but a Carcase moved and led up and down by one spirit And that He is the substance of all and of every Creature the meanest the smallest the vilest as well as of the most glorious Dost thou see HIM in the midst of all this changing and tumbling up and down That it is He that destroys and preserves all things Unmakes Re-makes as the Potter doth and yet the clay is the same but that it is he which is still producing new forms Dost thou see that it is He that doth all these things that it is He that preserves all and weighs all so that nothing is lost For did not he Preserve all entire in themselves every element in its Property and Nature and keep them within their own bounds which is His Excelling glory they would presently devour and Overcome one another Fire if it did predominate were not bounded it would turn all things into Fire it would make all things like it self And so of Water it would turn all to Water and so of the rest But he hath set them their bounds which they cannot pass hitherto shalt thou come and no further and here shall thy proud waves be stayed So that he keeps all things Entire in their own Element and every thing in its Proper place And in all this change or alteration and tumbling of the elements together Herein is His power seen That there is nothing lost nor diminished Dost thou see all this and that it is He that ruleth the Nations and that it is He alone that reigneth and that HE commandeth and ordereth the affairs of Princes all Nations and that all the Kings of the earth are in his hands My times are onely in thine hand saith David And know though thou thinkest That Kings and Rulers and others walk according to their Own wills and contrary to thine and thou art therefore offended yet know They all walk according to my will and pleasure saith God and though thou and they think otherwise and though they have no such purpose to obey my will but to please themselves and fulfil their own wills and not mine yet I have them so in my hand that they shall all in the end serve to my praise glory yea even in that they think they serve themselves and their own ends Poor Ignorant souls Alas when as they glory and pride themselves in their great pomp attendance and command and think that it is They that Rule when as they see not Psal. 66. 7. that it is He that ruleth by his power for ever and ever And Dan. 4. 17. The most High ruleth in the Kingdoms of men He it is alone that doth whatsoever He will and not they wil He sendeth the sword giveth it a Commission The Sword never awakes Till he say awake O sword And t is said of our Saviour That he came to bring peace unto men Luk. 2. 14. Peace on earth and good will towards men And yet our Saviour saith again Matth. 10. 34. I come not to send peace but a sword and vers 35. I am come to set a man against his father and the daughter against her mother and the daughter in Law against her mother in Law c. what strange contradictions are here What flesh and blood can reconcile these Scriptures yet both very true Again dost thou see That it is he that shall change these our vile bodies and make them like the glorious body of Iesus Christ Phil. 3. 21. Jesus Christ will purifie tho●● that cleave to him and purifie them like unto himself Fire I told you never rests working and purifying till it hath brought All things to be as pure as it self So That Divine Fire Jesus Christ will never leave purifying and cleansing His people till he