heare Now let vs consider the manifold dangers which we make our selues subiect vnto by lending our eares to the counsell of wicked men Salomon saith Can a man carrie fire in his bosome not be burnt Prou. 6.27 No more can we imbrace wicked counsell but we bring dammage vnto our selues As appeareth by the example of Roboam the king of Israel who refused the counsell of the graue and wise ancients who willed him to speake kindly and deale louingly with those that came vnto him but not regarding their counsel he took the aduice of wicked and desperate youths who aduised him to speake roughly or churlishly vnto them saying My least part shal be heauier then my fathers loynes if my father did chastice you with rods 1. Reg. 12. I wil correct you with scourges or scorpions But what followed a lamentable sequell The kingdome of Dauid was rent a sunder and the Tribes of Israel diuided Also we read of the young Prophet being perswaded to eate bread by the old Prophet where the Lord had commanded the contrarie and by that meanes he procured to himselfe a fearefull death 1. King 13. being slaine with a Liō So Michaiah was perswaded by the kings Chamberlaine to speak vnto the king like vnto all the rest of the Prophets who said vnto him by these words let thy words be like vnto theirs and surely he had many reasons to moue him thereunto among the which this might be one speciall reason 1. King 22. that there was 400. Prophets that consented and ioyned together to speake good vnto the king 2. Another reason was this that he was aduised by a great courtier and a man of account but this aboue all might be a sufficient motiue to induce him that to contradict the counsel of so many prophets might cost him his life Exod. 13.2 But Michah had learned this lesion that he must not follow a multitude to do euill and therefore hee returned this answere as the Lord liueth what the Lord speaketh vnto me that will I speake And therfore we are not to follow high nor low young nor old friend nor kinsman any further then is agreeable to the word of our eternall God Nay we are not to follow the godly any further then they follow Christ Phil. 3.17 For Paul biddeth vs to follow him as he was a follower of Christ Then much lesse may we follow the counsel of wicked and prophane men Further let vs heare what that Lord saith by Moses vnto Israel If thy brother Deut. 13. the sonne of thy mother or thine owne sonne or thy daughter or thy wife that lieth in thy bosome or thy friend that is vnto thee as thine own soule intice thee secretly saying Let vs go and serue other Gods c. thou shalt not consent vnto him nor heare him neyther shall thine eye pitie him thy hand shall be first vpon him meaning to see him punished So that we see that wicked counsell specially in the seruice and worship of God must not go scot-free or vnpunished how much lesse are we to suffer our selues to be ledde as captiues by them howsoeuer they seeme to affect vs for it is the policie of Sathan many times to vse those that are neere vnto vs to alienate and draw our hearts from God and that wee should not perfourme those things which the Lord hath commanded vs as it appeareth by the practise of Sathan who vsed Peter the Apostle to stay our Sauiour Christ from Ierusalē as the Euangelist recordeth that when our Sauiour begā to tel his Disciples of his going to Ierusalē and of his suffering there Peter tooke him aside and began to rebuke him saying Master pitie thy selfe this shall not be vnto thee then our Sauiour looked back said vnto him Get thee behind me Sathan thou art an offence vnto me Mat. 16.12.23 because thou vnderstādest not the things that are of God but the things that are of men Againe we may reade in Amos of politike Amazia who gaue counsell vnto the Prophet Amos to flee into the land of Iuda and there to eate his bread and to prophecie vsing these words as a reason to perswade him that it was the Kings chappell and the Kings court Amazia fearing that his prophecying there might be a meanes to turne the King but the Prophet was so farre from hearkening vnto him that hee thundred Gods iudgements against him Amos 7.12.13 saying Thus sayth the Lorde thy wife shall be a harlot in the citie and thy sonnes and thy daughters shall fall by the sword and thy land shall be diuided by lyne and thou shalt die in a polluted land and Israel shall surely go into captiuitie forth out this land Thus if wee will be Christs souldiers and stand for him and the glory of our God let vs set our selues against Sathan and his instruments putting vpon vs our spirituall armour and not fearing them but as Christ commanded vs to learne of him humilitie Matth. 11. so let vs also learne of him courage and boldnesse to resist and reprehend as hee did Peter their wicked counsell who speake vnto vs from Sathan that sent them or els their counsel is carnal 1. Pet. 2. but as Peter saith that fleshly lusts fight against the soule so fleshly counsel fights against the soule and as Salomon saith An angrie countenance driueth away a slaundering tongue Pro. 25. so an angrie rebuke and a sharpe reprehension driueth away a worldly fleshly and diuellish counsellour What gayned Ahab by following the counsell of Iesabel 1. Reg 22. in taking away the vineyard of Naboth surely his reward was death the Lorde meeteth with his wickednesse that he being in his chariot notwithstanding his armour hee was slaine with an arrow which pearced the ioyntes of his brigandyne the like iudgement the Lord inflicted vpon Iehoram his sonne by Iehu 2. Reg. 17. whom the Lord vsed further in the punishing of Iesabel Ahabs counsellour whom he commanded to be cast out of the window and the bellies of hungrie dogs became the sepulchre of her corps And as the Lord recorded the wickednesse of Amelech for opposing himselfe against Israel Exod. 27. so the Lord hath recorded the wickednesse of Ahab Ioram and Iesabel 1. Reg. 21. and sent his Prophet to foretell the iudgements that should ensue What successe had Absolon in following the counsell of Achitophel notwithstanding the scripture reporteth of him to be a man of singular beautie and louelinesse and yet the earth refused any longer to beare him and the heauens would not receiue him and therefore he hanged betwixt heauen earth by the haire of the head whose example may be a looking glasse for all such monsters 1. Reg. 18. who are so in loue with their locks that they bestow more time in trimming of them then in any exercise of religion 2. Sam. 17. and Achitophel his counseller hanged himselfe a iust reward
for rebels and traytors The Prophet Dauid foreseeing the manifold dangers and mischiefes that men fall into by walking in the counsell of wicked men beginneth thus Psal 1. Blessed is that man that walketh not in the counsell of the vngodly which blessednes the Lord graunt vnto all them that feare him Now as we haue heard how dangerous outward enemies are vnto vs and how they labour by all wayes and meanes to ouerthrow religion both generally and particularly so we must also be very watchfull ouer our home-bred enemies which is our owne concupiscence and the vntowardnes of our corrupt nature which maketh continuall warre against the spirit and therefore it is very necessary that wee should labour to expell those traytors out of vs or els it will little boote vs to fight against the enemies abroad Gregorie in moral And therefore one saith it is in vaine to fight against the enemie in the field if we harbour a traytor within the wals There is no worse counseller then that which we carie about with vs which are as dangerous vnto vs as the counsellours of Ahab and Herod which is our corrupt affections which is well called of one a domesticall traytor and a seditious counseller for that it walketh standeth sitteth sleepeth and dwelleth with vs. The Apostle S. Gal. 5. Paul willeth the Galathians to walke in the spirite and then you shall not saith he fulfill the lustes of the flesh for the flesh lusteth against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh But the holy Apostle in his Epistle to the Romaines doth most notablie handle at large this combate betweene the spirite and the flesh Rom. 7. where the Apostle bringeth in his owne deeds to be contrary to the will of the spirit Now if this blessed Apostle and elect seruant of God who was regenerate by the power of the spirite did find in himselfe this imbecillitie and weakenesse how much more may we behold in our selues our grosse impieties and manifold rebellions against our mercifull father and sweete Sauiour Christ whose sides and heart we newly pearce crucifying againe the Lord of life Let vs therefore not onely croppe the branches of sinne as to abstaine from the outward shew of euill but let vs labour rather to plucke vp sinne by the rootes in our selues so that we may wholy giue ouer our selues not as seruants to sinne but as seruants to righteousnesse praying vnto God continually for the assistance of his holy spirite so that all our thoughtes words works and wayes may be ordered by the rule and square of his blessed and reuealed word and let vs bring our actions to the touchstone which is the word of God Iob. 31. that we may trie them as gold is tryed in the furnace and let vs be like vnto Iob that as he made a couenant with his eyes so let vs make a couenant with our heartes that wee suffer them not to stray from the commandements of the Lord. For our heart is the fountaine from whence springeth all our actions whether they be good or euill And this is a generall disease among vs at this day the worser sort are not onely infected with it but many of the better sort can be content to beare a generall good liking towards the word of God and his commandements but seldome or neuer do they labor to approue their hearts before God in the performance of their seuerall duties which they owe vnto God or vnto their brethren but they rather content themselues with the very name or title of Professors of the Gospell when as in the meane time they ought to haue considered that the very neglect of any one dutie commanded vs in the worde and knowne vnto vs redoundeth to the contempt of the Lorde himselfe who is the Law-giuer and therefore the right perusing of the seueral duties commanded vs in his Law will bring vs from our pretended profession to an approued practise of such duties as are commanded vs of the Lord for the Lord beholdeth not the outward obedience alone but he looketh to the obedience of the heart Pro. 23.26 Deut 6. and therefore Salomon saith in the person of God My sonne giue me thy heart and the Lord in Deut. commandeth the children of Israel to loue him with all their heart with all their soule and all their strength Thus we haue heard how king loash hearkened with consent vnto the counsell of his Princes also how the Lord hath punished many other for following of wicked counsell and againe how the godly haue refused to be led by it and againe how wee are to set our selues against home-bred counsellers namely our owne concupiscence and fleshly affections which like traytors and rebels haue conspired our ouerthrow and lastly how we are to approue our hearts before God in the practise of those seuerall duties which he hath commaunded vs in his word and so much for the third circumstance where it is said that he hearkened vnto them Now it followeth to be considered wherein the King is said to haue followed their counsell in these words They left the house of the Lord God of their fathers and serued groues and idols By which words it appeareth that as they left off to serue God according as they had bin instructed and taught by â—ehotadâ— in the lawes and commandements giuen by Moses so also they left the place of Gods worship namely the house of God and the holy temple built by Salomon and serued their Idols in other places of their own inuention But first let vs consider how God is said to be the God of their fathers God calleth himselfe The God of Abraham the God of Isaac and the God of Iacob and bound himselfe by a conenant to be a God vnto them and to their seed for euer and therefore Iacob when he stood in seare of his brother Esau turneth himselfe by prayer vnto God saying Gen. 32. O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac c. As the Lorde would haue no other gods ioyned with him so he gaue commandement for the maner of his worship how it should be performed and also for the place where the Iewes should assemble themselues to offer their sacrifices and other rites and ceremonies commanded them in the Law by Moses Deut. 12.5 as appeareth in Deut. where Moses speaketh thus vnto them You shall seeke the place which the Lord your God shal chuse out of all your tribes to put his name there to dwell and thither thou shalt come And againe he saith Deut. 13. Take heede that thou offer not thy burnt offerings in euery place that thou seest but in the place which the Lord shal chuse in one of your tribes And therefore the Arke which was made did represent Gods presence and was placed in Shilo where some thinke it remayned more then three hundred yeeres and afterwards was remoued into other places till the appointed time that God
Luke 8 there being a throng of many people it should seeme shee stood not vpon her disparagement or discredit which shee might reape by her going to the Sermon of Christ and that also to the sea side neither yet did she much respect her own case for we do not read of any pewes stooles or cushins that were prepared for her No no shee stood not vpon any of these things as many of our tender dames doe now a daies who may if they will heare the word of God in our publique assemblies in the Church and not trauell as they did farre for it but this must be the worke of the spitit of God in thē as no doubt it was in this Ladie and the other woman who went with an earnest desire to profit themselues by the doctrine of Christ which desire if it be wanting in any that vseth to heare the word they shall hardly profit by it And therefore as it is said that Simeon came into the Temple by the motion of the fpirit and found Christ so if we will finde Christ to our saluation Luke 2 let vs craue at the hands of God the assistance of his holy spirit when we frequent the exercises of religion and thus much for the fourth point Now it followeth in the last circūstance And wrath came vpon Iuda Ierusalem because of their trespasse The wrath of God as one saith is not an heat of a troubled mind as it is in vs poore wretches but a iust reuenge and punishment of our sinnes and the scripture doth very notably speake vnto vs according to our capacitie in attributing vnto God wrath furie and indignation and it is because that we for the most part are so blockish as that we cannot apprehend as we ought the greatnesse of his diuine Maiestie neither yet seare his iudgements the wrath of God is so fearefull a thing that no consuming fire or the most terrible things that are vsed of the Lord to correct his people cannot at the ful sufficiently informe vs of the great vehemencie thereof the Prophet saith If a man will not turne he will whet his sword he hath bent his bow and made it readie he hath prepared the instruments of death Psal 7.12 he hath prepared his arrowes against the persecutors c. The Lord will not suffer the wicked to goe scotfree and vnpunished for so it standeth with his iustice and yet he is slow to anger and such a one as is sorie for our offences We haue many excamples in the scripture how hee meeteth with all sorts of sinners yea the Lord spared not our grand parents Adam and Eue but for their offences he banished then out of Eden which was a most fruitfull and delightfull place and also inflicted a grieuous punishment vpon them first saying to the woman I will greatly increase thy sorrowes and thy conceptions In sorrow shalt thou bring forth thy children Gen. 3. and thy desire shal be subiect to thy husband and he shall rule ouer thee Also vnto Adam he said Because thou hast obeyed the voyce of thy wife and hast eaten of the tree whereof I commaunded thee saying thou shalt not eate of it cursed is the earth for thy sake c. And further he saith In the sweat of thy face thou shalt eate bread till thou returne to the earth Gen. 7. For sinne the old worlde was destroyed with the flood Gen. 18. Sodom was consumed with fire and brimstone Corah and his company went downe into the bowels of the earth The Israelites were grieuously punished many times for their disobedience and manifold rebellions as appeareth in the books of Moses and the Prophets Dauid lost threescore and ton thousand men Chro. 1. chap. 21. whom the Lorde destroyed with the pestilence Saul was deposed from his kingdome afflicted and vexed with a diuell and after slaine as also his owne sonnes his armour bearer and his men in one day Roboam the sonne of Salomon of 12. tribes lost ten Sedecias was ledde captiue into Babilon 2. King 4. Exod. 14.27 and his eyes put out Pharaoh with his chariots ouerwhelmed in the red Sea Herod came to a horrible end Senacharib slaine by his owne seruants Chron. 2. chap. 32. Iesabell cast out of the window Ionas cast into the sea Ionas 1. A certaine Prophet slaine by a lyon 1. Kin. 20. The children that mocked the man of God Elizeus were torne with Beares Infinite are the examples of Gods wrath and heauie displeasure vpon the wicked and prophane as wee may reade of Esau Absolon Achitophel Iudas with many other Yea the Lorde hath punished many Kingdoms for sinne the Romaines the kingdom of the Chaldeans the kingdome of the Persians the kingdom of the Macedonians the Carthaginians nay the Lord hath not spared the famous citie of Ierusalem with the holy temple where his Namedwelt But as he did often afflict the Iewes his chosen people so at the last he made Ierusalem euē with the ground neuer to be reedified againe which was especially for the contempt of his word which hee sent vnto them by his Prophets and also for reiecting of our Sauiour Christ with his doctrine and myracles which he wrought among them and therefore our Sauiour prophecyeth of their perpetuall destruction Paul preached to the Colossians Hierapolitans and Laodiceans but they contemned his doctrine and therefore one witnesseth Oriofius lib. 7. cap. 5. that the earth opened and swallowed them vp But what should I say the reward of sinne is death and the soule that sinneth shal die and to draw to an end this punishment which the Lord laid vpon Ioash the Princes and people may be sufficient to admonish vs to beware of Idolatrie or any other sinne least we pull the like iudgements vpon our owne heads and let vs remember what one saith the punishment of one is an example for all then it remaineth that as we haue heard that God is iust in punishing of sinne as well in his children as in the wicked that we labour to preuent his wrath by turning vnto him before wee feele the like iudgement and let vs not passe by any affliction or trouble which hee vseth to lay vpon any or vpon our selues but rather to lay them to our hearts making that vse of them for the which they are sent which is that we may by them he made more fitte for God this vse made Dauid of his troubles when he said Psal 119. Ecclc. 7. It was good for me that I was in trouble c. and Salomon saith It is better to go to the house of mourning then to the house of feasting for the liuing will lay it to his heart So it is better sometime to be inaduersitie then in prosperitie for good men will make vse of it but it is the policie of Sathan that wee should neuer apply God his iudgements which we see to be vpon others vnto our selues in such sort as wee