Selected quad for the lemma: lord_n
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A01804
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The succession of the bishops of England since the first planting of Christian religion in this island together with the historie of their liues and memorable actions faithfully gathered out of the monuments of antiquity. VVhereunto is prefixed a discourse concerning the first conuersion of our Britaine vnto Christian religion. By Francis Godwin now Bishop of Hereford.; Catalogue of the bishops of England
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Godwin, Francis, 1562-1633.
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1625
(1625)
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STC 11939; ESTC S105686
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74,779
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749
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could not enjoy his Paramore All these as they live in their sins here and so are dead whilest they live and so are miserable making the greatest evill their chiefest good so when they come to die as we all must doe one day and how soone and how suddenly we know not wee carry our soules our precious soules as precious water in a brittle glasse soone cracked and then we are spilt like water which none can gather up againe or but as a candle in a paper lanthorne in clay walls full of cranyes often but a little cold comes in and blowes the candle out and then without a through change of heart before wrought from all sinne to all godlinesse they will die in their sinnes And all and the utmost of all miseries is spoken in that one word and therefore Christ when he would summe up all miseries in one expression tells the Pharisees they should die in their sins Iohn 8. 28. Vse 2. ANd let us consider further that if sin be thus above measure sinfull that Hell that followeth death is then likewise above measure fearful And so it is intimated to be a punishment without measure Ier. 30. 11. compared with Isa 27. Punish them as I punish thee sayes God to his owne but I will punish thee in measure And indeed sinne being committed against God the King of Kings it can never be punished enough But as the killing of a King is amongst men a crime so hainous that no tortures can exceed the desert of it we use to say all torments are too little any death too good for such a crime Now peccatum est Dei 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as I said before a destroying God as much as in us lies and therefore none but God himselfe can give it a full punishment therefore it is called a falling into Gods hands Heb. 10. 31. which as he sayes there is fearfull For if his breath blowes us to destruction Iob 4. 9. for we are but dust heaps yea his nod he nods to destruction Psal 80. 16. then what is the weight of his hands even of those hands which span the heavens and hold the earth in the hollow of them and if God take it into his hands to punish he will be sure to doe unto the full Sinne is mans worke and punishment is Gods and God will shew himselfe as perfect in his worke as man in his If sinne be malum catholicum as hath been said that containes all evils in it then the punishment God will inflict shall be malum catholicum also containing in it all miseries it is a cup full of mixture so called Psal 75. 8. as into which God hath strained the quintessence of all miseries and the wicked of the earth must drink the dregges of it though it be eternity unto the bottome And if one sin deserves a hell a punishment above measure what will millions of millions doe And we reade that every sinne shall receive a just recompence Heb. 2. 3. oh let us then take heed of dying in our sinnes and therefore of living in them for we shall lie in prison till we have paid the very utmost farthing And therefore if all this that I have said of it wil not engender answerable apprehensions of it in you this being but painting the toad which you can look upon and handle without affrightment I wish that if without danger you could but lay your eares to hell that standing as it were behind the skreene you might heare sinne spoken of in its owne dialect by the oldest sonnes of perdition there to heare what Cain sayes of murthering his brother Abel what Saul of his persecuting David and the Priests of Iehovah what Balaam and Achitophel say of their cursed counsels and policies what Ahab sayes of his oppression of Naboth what Iudas of treason and heare what expressions they have with what horrors yellings groanes distractions the least sin is there spoken of If God should take any mans soule here and as he rapt His into the third heavens where he saw grace in its fullest brightnesse so carry any ones soule into those chambers of death as Solomon calls them and leading him through all from chamber to chamber shew him the visions of darknesse and hee there heare all those bedlames cry out one of this sinne another of that and see sinne as it lookes in hell But there is one aggravation more of the evill and misery sinne brings upon men I have not spoken of yet that it blinds their eyes and hardens their hearts that they doe not see nor lament their misery till they be in hell and then it is too late Vse 3. BUt what doth sin so exceed in sinfulnesse and is the venome of it boyled up to such a height of mischiefe that there should be no name in heaven and earth able to grapple with it and destroy it Is there no antidote no balme in Gilead more soveraigne than it is deadly Surely yes God would never have suffered so potent and malicious an enemy to have set foot in his dominions but that he knew how to conquer it and that not by punishing of it onely in hell but by destroying it onely it is too potent for all the creatures to encounter with This victory is alone reserved for Christ it can die by no other hand that he may have the glory of it which therefore is the top of his glory as mediator and his highest title the memory of which he beares written in his name JESUS for he shall save his people from their sinnes Mat. 1. 21. And therefore the Apostle Paul his chiefest Herauld proclaimes this victory with a world of solemnity and triumph 1 Cor. 15. 36. Oh death where is thy sting oh grave where is thy victory the sting of death is sinne the strength of sinne is the Law but thankes be to God that gives us the victory through our Lord Iesus Christ which yet again addes to the Demonstration of the sinfulnesse of it for the strength of sinne was such that like Goliah it would have defied the whole host of heaven and earth It was not possible the blood of Bulls and goats should take away sinne Heb. 10. 4. nor would the riches of the world or the blood of men have beene a sufficient ransome Will the Lord be pleased with rivers of oyle shall I give my first borne for my transgression No sayes he there is no proportion for thy first borne is but the fruit of thy body and sinne is the sinne of thy soule Mich. 6. 7. it must cost more to redeeme a soule than so Psal 49. 9. No couldest thou bring rivers of teares in stead of rivers of oyle which if any thing were like to pacifie God yet are they but the excrements of thy braines but sinne is the sinne of thy heart yea all the righteousnesse that we could ever do cannot make amends for one sinne for suppose it perfect when as yet it is but
namely a waiting and expectation that men would come in and repent So Luke 13. 17. These three yeeres have I come seeking fruit but have found none There was an expectation a longing a desire it would bring forth fruit Oh when shall it once be sayes God Ier. 13. last In the last place that other attribute of long suffering which is the third is but as a further degree of patience but patience lengthened out farther that is when God hath beene thus patient hath forborne and waited for their comming in and that not for three yeeres but haply thirty forty yeeres and still they turne not his patience then begins as we would think to be as it were worne out and his anger begins to arise as if he could forbeare no longer as it was towards that tree Why cumbereth it the ground Cut it downe yet hee goes on to spare a man another yeere and many more yeares still after that and endureth with much long suffering as Rom. 9. 22. the vessels of wrath endures to wonderment above measure beyond all expectation all patience as it were this is long suffering The second generall head is that there are riches of this his goodnesse c. expended on us It is a rich goodnesse patience and long suffering Rich in themselves in regard of their abundance as they came from him and rich also in regard of their precious usefulnesse unto us as they may be improved by us First in themselves they are rich if wee consider what is expended all that while Hee layes out not simply his power to sustain and uphold all things and to maintaine us freely so to doe is nothing to him For whilst he doth but so nothing goes out of purse or is detracted from him as I may so speak he feeles not the expence either of power providence c. All this cost him but words For he upholds all creates all by the word of his power Hebr. 1. And thus to maintaine the Angels and to have maintained all mankinde before they fell had beene no more But my brethren when now he maintains us sinners not simply power goes forth from him but his glory is expended and taken from him and for the while wasted detracted from he loseth at present every day infinitely by us and he is sensible of it every sinne takes glory from him robs him as he himselfe complaines that he who made the world upholds it keeps it together as the hoops doe the barrell it would fall to pieces else to nothing in whom all live as fishes in the Sea yea upon whom all live that He should live unknown unthought of unserved yea disgraced dishonoured in the world and have this world lost to him as it were and sinne the Devill wicked men to have all the glory from him to be exalted to carry the whole world afore them This spends upon him he had need of Riches to doe this Secondly consider the multitude of sinners that thus spend and live upon these riches no lesse than all the world Hee had need of multitudes of patience in him He forbeares not one but all and every one We looke upon one man and seeing him very wicked wee wonder God cuts him not off we wonder at our selves that God did not cut us off before this when once our eyes are opened nay then cast your eyes over all the world and stand amazed at Gods forbearance towards it Take the richest man that ever was to have millions of men in his debt it would undoe him soone All the world are in Gods debt and run still in debt every day more and more and yet he breaks not nay breaks not them Nay thirdly to manifest this abundance yet more consider not onely the multitude hee forbeares but the time he hath done it to forbeare much and to forbeare it long he hath forborne and beene out of purse from the beginning of the world since men were upon the face of the earth five thousand yeeres and a halfe already and how long it is yet to the day of Judgement wee know not And yet ye see He is as patient and as bountifull now in the latter dayes of the world as he was at the first Did that greatest Convert that ever was that had not lived past thirty yeeres in his sinfull estate for he was young when he held the stoners clothes that stoned Stephen and yet was the chiefest of sinners did he yet as himselfe sayes thinke himselfe a patterne of long suffering 1 Tim. 1. 16. though it a great matter God should forbeare so long what is the whole world then if he being but one small poore vessell was so richly laden with the riches of Gods patience how is this great bark of the world then fraught that hath gone over so vast a gulfe of time how much of these his riches have been laden in it And then fourthly adde to this the expensive prodigality of all these sinners in all ages every sinner spends something and how lavish are men of oathes All the thoughts of mens hearts from their youth up they are evill and onely evill and continually and how much then hath every man spent him every sin is a debt In the second place this is a rich goodnesse and patience in regard of the preciousnesse and usefulnesse First precious in regard of what all these manifestations of his goodnesse and forbearance cost even the blood of his Sonne who as a Lord hath bought and purchased all wicked men their lives and their reprivall all that time that here they live and all the blessings and dispensations of goodnesse which here they do enjoy Christs mediation so far prevailes with God for all the world that it puts a stop to the present proceedings of justice which otherwise had said of all that day thou sinnest thou dyest So that as Christ may be called the wisdome and the power of God so also the patience and the long suffering of God For for his sake and through his meanes it is exercised God would not shew a drop of mercy but for his Sonne Which I take strongly and clearly intimated in that dealing of his with the Jewes Exod. 23. 20. compared with Exod. 33. 2 3 4 c. Immediately after God had given the Law by the rules and threatnings whereof God the Father in his government was to proceed and after they had transgressed it He there declares that he could not goe with them rested thee and told thee this world was no place for thee for hell is onely our owne place Acts 1. 25. thou shoulest have beene executed the first day And is not so much time of ease from punishment infinite mercy Cast but your thoughts upon the Angels that fell that have been in hell from the first moment of their sinning doe but thinke with your selves what they would give to have so much time cut out of that eternity they are to