bound up in the heart and the rod of correction drives it away And for actuall Isaiah sheweth that by correction the iniquity of Jacob shall be purged and this is all the fruite to take away his sin Secondly From sinne to be committed I meane to prevent your sinning for time to come Tribulations are not only medicines but also antidotes God in this doth as wise States-men when they see a man busying himselfe much with matters of state at home prying into things concerne him not they send such into the warres abroad so doth God send tribulations to exercise his people and keepe them pure least they fall soule thus did he with S. Paul he had his thorne least he should be exalted c. and thus they are purified both in heart and lift to cuâ—e sin past and prevent sin to come Againe by these they are made white so Dan. 11. 35. And some of them of understanding shall fall to try them and to purge and to make them white even to the time of the end It is not enough to be pure which renders a man holy to God but to be bright and white before men Inward purity makes no great shew before men unlesse whitenesse and unspottednesse doe accompany it now there are two wayes that God will have his people white as well as pure at this time First From their own other mens sins You Right Honourable have confessed justly that the guilt of Idolatry and blood lay upon our fore-fathers I may say of these as of the iniquity of Pâ—or we are not cleansed from it to this day Manassehs sins lay heavy upon the Land in good Iosiahs dayes God will have our Land made white from these Secondly From their own-suspected sinnes Two sinnes the enemies of our peace suspect in you and falsely charge upon you give me leave to speake plainly Disloyalty to our Soveraigne from which your Declarations and proceedings may acquit you and Sacriledge against our God from which the world expects how you will acquit your selves certainely when God hath purified you he will make you white as he did David against Sâ—ul even by his own confession and Ioseph against his Mistris nay as he hath done you already in many things and what remaines you have in promise for the cause is before the Lord who will give a perfect lot Hee hath said Commit thy way unto the Lord trust also in him and he shall bring it to passe And he shall bring forth thy righteousnesse as the light and thy judgement as the noone day Thus the Lord will by tribulation both purifie them in heart and life and whiten them from the spot of other mens sinnes and their own suspected sins Thirdly By these both times and troubles they are tried The Iewes had not only their sprincklings and washings but also their water of jealousie and other meanes by which they were tried so hath God his troubles not only to rid his people of sinne and to render them spotlesse before men but also to try them Gods trials are of two sorts some for humiliation then he leaves them to know all that is in their heart as he did Hezekiah others for confirmation then he assists them as he did Abraham By these tribulations God trieth his peoples Sincerity Graces First He trieth their sincerity if they will stick to a good cause without defection and goe on in a good course without deflection Certainely these times and troubles make the same discovery of men as former did then there were some confessors some Martyrs others Traditors that in time of tribulation went away Errors must be that they that are approved may be knowne and doctrines and practises of liberty must be that well rooted and grounded Christians may be distinguished from children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the sleight of men and cunning craftinesse whereby they lie in waite to deceive Tribulations are like great winds which fasten trees well rooted but throw downe the rest There have been and daily are many both in Church and State thus tryed some Darius-like labour earnestly to the going downe of the Sun and then they goe back It was great triall a while agoe what men would set themselves against the Prelates and their proceedings how men would fortifie their spirits against their summons Courts Censures imprisonments and sore oppressions God hath delivered us thence and after these brings more publike and universall trials how men will stand in and for the publike who be the Calebs and Ioshuahs that will goe on to the accomplishment of reformation against the Anakims and who will lust after the flesh pots of Egypt who will waite upon God and goe when he bids and stay when he stayes and who will goe their own way as they then did we are just thereabouts now and if any fall off we are told before hand it is the issue of their insincerity They went out from us but they were not of us for if they had been of us they would no doubt have continued with us but they went out that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us Secondly He trieth their graces He that hath any grace may now know what he hath I will instance in three First He trieth their Love how fast they are glâ—wed to God and his cause that no affliction can part them whether they are as willing to be turned into a prison for his sake as into their own habitation Love is of this nature Many waters cannot quench Love neither can the floods drowne it Secondly He trieth their Faith Our Saviour Christ is still upon this with his Disciples O ye of little Faith Had men Stephens eyes to see a Iosus in the Heavens when stones were â—â—ying about their eares or a Moses eyes to see the recompence of reward did they by faith see Gods attributes put forth for their helpe they would not stagger what side to take to nor what to doe but would readily answer as those Heroes O King we are not carefull to answer thee in this matter If it be so our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace and he will deliver us out of thy hand O King but if not be it knowne to thee O King that we will not serve thy gods nor worship thy graven images which thou hast set up All the graces which grow among thornes and thistles attending upon faith meeknesse patience c. will now be tried and discovered Thirdly He trieth their Love to one another what sympathy they have to those that suffer with them or for them You have Ministers the Country wants them hither come the godly and faithfull of the land that have suffered the losse of all God tries now what hast you will make Right Honourable
THINGS Now-a-doing OR THE CHVRCHES TRAVAILE Of the Child of Reformation now-a-bearing IN A SERMON Preached before the Honourable House of Commons at their solemne Fast Iuly 31. 1644. By Stanley Gower sometimes Rector of Brompton-Brian in the County of Hereford now Preacher of Gods Word at Martins Ludgate London And one of the Reverend Assembly of Divines MATTH. 24. 21 23 24 25. V. 21. Then shall be great tribulation such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time no nor ever shall be V. 23. Then if any shall say to you Lo here is Christ or there beleeve it not V. 24. For there shall arise false Christs and false Prophets c. V. 25. Behold I have told you before Published by Order of the said House LONDON Printed by G. M. for Philemon Stephens at the signe of the Golden-Lyon in Pauls Church-yard 1644. TO THE HONOVRABLE HOVSE OF COMMONS Now assembled in PARLIAMENT Right Honourable DAniels Prophecie concernes the Jewes in Hypothesi the whole Church of God in Thesi for no Scripture is of private interpretation saith S. Peter and These things hapned to them as ensamples saith S. Paul To them it speaketh two things 1. Their Calamities under the foure great Monarchies now almost at an end 2. Their Consolation afterwards and now approaching To us it speaketh two things more 1. Our Hope living in dayes of trouble but withall of delivery it is not a Tympany but a Child that the Churches of the Saints goe withall if they stick long in the place of birth it is because they are foolish but at length a safe deliverance is promised the man-child of Reformation shall be borne and Heaven and earth shall cry grace grace unto it 2. Our Help for hope deferred maketh the heart sick in this booke two ways it is afforded First From the History of it See here how the Church though it be a little and but a despised flock yet is it of that esteeme with God that for the Churches sake he wheeles about all the Monarchies of the world the Persian shall dash in peeces the Babylonian the Greekes the Persian the Romanes the Grecian and the God of Heaven the Romane Empire and them all and set up the Kingdome of Iesus Christ that stone cut cut without hands which shall become a great mountaine and fill the whole earth Secondly From the Prophesie of it not Humane but Divine that sacred Calendar and great Almanack of Prophesie the foure Kingdomes of Daniel are not only an Historicall but a Propheticall Chronologie of times measured from the beginning of the Jewes captivity till all the Kingdomes of the world should become the Kingdome of our Lord and his Christ a course of time during which the Church and Nation of the Iewes should carry the veile upon their hearts but afterwards should turne to God and be raised up from the death of sinne are turne so strange a delivery so great that it is resembled to a resurrection from the grave To this great Calendar of times the Apostles in the new Testament relate when they call the times of the fourth Kingdome the last times and the latter times of that Kingdome the latter times viz. the latter part of that last Kingdome as saith a learned Interpreter Goe we then to this Propheticall Calendar we have the Romane Monarchy almost at an end and concerning the Iewes whose comming in succeedeth their going out two things foretold The finall end of the Turkish Empire as learned men conceive the only obstacle to those Kings of the East as the Iewes are call'd and the last defence of the Beast whose beginning was about the yeare 1300. and the addition of 350. which is the time times halfe a time doth bring that Turkish tyranny to an end in the yeare 1650. The beginning of their gratious delivery this shall be after a two-fold epoche 1. The taking away of the daily sacrifice which was wickedly done by Antiochus long before but de jure by our Lord Iesus Christ his death destroying all other sacrifices by the sacrifice of himselfe the fulnesse of all their shadowes and defacto by Titus Vespasian who tooke away the place of sacrificing when he destroyed the Temple 2. The setting up of the abhomination of desolation or which maketh desolate this was wickedly attempted by the Iewes in the dayes of Iulian the Apostate he in contempt of Christ gave licence to the Iewes to build their Temple and renew their Iewish worship hereupon they tooke up every stone of the old foundation but before they laid any new one they were dispersed by a speciall hand of God A fearfull earthquake in the night destroyed all their workâ— a sudden fire consumed all their tooles and themselves so dispersed that from that time the Iewish superstitions did for ever cease Cyril Bishop of Ierusalem who admonished them of this Prophesie of Daniel but after no disswasion could prevaile he openly professed that now the time was come which our Lord fore-told that there should not be left one stone upon another Now understand we this to be the epoche Iulians reign fell out in the yeare 360. to which adde 1290. they make up 1650. the very time formerly designed for the finishing of the Iewes dispersion These things being so I knew not Right Honourable a Text speaking more to You Vs Our times then what I preached on and by your Authority have exposed now to more publike view To you it speakes by way of Caution that no spot nor blot nor shrinking back be found amongst you that are repairers of our breaches and restorers of pathes to dwell in To us it speakes by way of Crisis it discovers the temper of the sick body of both Church and State under you our great and under God only Phisitian your physick stirs the humours makes some better some worse To our times it speakes by way of comfort they are troublesome but trying times and after triall there shall be delivery to those that are purified made white and tried but destruction to those that doe and will doe wickedly true wisedome and understanding is hid from them and reveal'd to the godly wise Let then a bloody crew fight on and fill up their measure and let a foolish people refuse to assist you as they ought the Lord himself hath said the word to you as to Cyrus He is my shepheard and shall performe all my pleasure even saying to Ierusalem Thou shalt be built and of the Temple Thy foundation shall be laid and to them the Lord will throw downe his haile upon them that stand against Reformation and rend their hearts with indignation and blasphemy he will goe an end with his worke though they sweare and storme till he have utterly consumed them from the face of the earth Perfect is the work of God and as the
all times being the words of the Holy Ghost but also seasonable for so they are at this time they are our very Crisis 1. The Times alike purifying whitening trying times 2. The Persons alike some wicked some wise 3. The Properties alike they act accordingly none of the wicked understand but the wise doe understand So that I may say of my text as our Saviour Christ did of his taken out of another Prophet This day is this Scripture fulfilled in your eares We reade that the same day that the Lord thundred and rained the people greatly feared the Lord This day God thunders many wayes and in my text he also lightens God grant the effect may be answerable So much for the Time Scope I come now to the text Many shall be purified c. It is propheticall and in such we consider The Credit of the Prophet Prophesie it selfe The Credit of the Prophet is not only this that he was an excellent man as we have shewed but that he was also the Holy Ghosts pen-man Wicked Porphyry enemy to Christian Religion makes him little better than an impostor and affirmes this booke was an History writ by some prophetick-wise that lived in or after the dayes of Antiochus Epiphanes but the Septrogint have translated this booke into Greeke 100. yeares before that Antiochus and Iosephus tells how Iaddus an high-Priest shewed Alexander the Great that Prophesie in this booke which fore-told of a King of Graecia that should destroy the Persian Monarchy in confidence whereof Alexander proceeded to that warre and this was at least 60. yeares before Antiochus as Chronologers compute Some Robbins dreame that the booke was writ by the wisemen of the great Synagogue who were in the time of Ezra but how came it then that Daniel is so oft named in the booke and that the Title of the booke in Hebrew is The booke of Daniel But both the one and the other are confuted by our Saviour Christ which determines it both to Daniel and that he was a Prophet and bids us by the way when we reade consider the words of Daniel the Prophet in the verse next following my text And therefore this booke is not to be placed amongst those Scriptures which they call Holy writings but amongst those they call Prophets The Prophesie it selfe of these words is you see of great siding and each side acting accordingly something before the time of the Iewes conversion In which consider two different Subjects Wicked Wise Predicates Different in Effects Many shall be purified made white tried but the wicked shall doe wickedly Degree None of the wicked shall understand but the wise shall understand Now if the least filing of gold is pretious then of Truth yet shall I but name some severals and insist only according to my time and your patience upon one Proposition I might observe then 1. Godly men are wise and wicked men are soules This appeares from the opposition of subjects Wicked Wise It should be either Wicked Godly or Foolish Wise By rendring therefore as opposite to wicked wise it shewes that wicked are not wise and by tearming those that are not wicked wise it imports that the wise are not the wicked but the godly indeed the word used for wise is applied to godly Teachers ver 2. but when it is opposed as here to wicked it signifieth not teachers only but others too Receive it therefore for a divine maxime I pray you That piety is the best pollicie and godly men are in the Holy Ghosts judgement the wisest men 2. There are many godly wise If many shall be purifide made white and tryed then God be thanked and the Lord encrease the number of them there are many such and not only many but many great men too the word in the Originall signifies both many and great many in number and great in condition as when it is said Many are the troubles of the righteous that is to say many in number great in nature It is indeed rare to have great men good a little goodnesse stands for a great summe amongst great men but yet it is no singular thing there are many such be not ashamed therefore you that are great to be and to be thought to be godly 3. Best may mend and shall be mended They shall be purifide made white and tried that their drosse may be purged The Lord hath his â—laile to thresh out their chaffe his water and sope to make them white and his fire to melt and try them and therfore they are proud not perfect that think they have sound an Hercules pillar to write a ne plus ultra upon 4. Wicked men doe and shall doe wickedly 5. The reason why they doe so is because none of the wicked shall understand 6. The godly wise shall understand when none of the wicked shall Now none of these severals I can insist upon what of them my time and your patience will permit me to speake of I shall graspe in this one Proposition that containes the summe of the verse That the same times and troubles in them which make godly wise men better make wicked men worse And I will not speake so much of Times which comes in more properly in the verse following as of troubles in those times these are hinted in the words purified made white and tried My method for the doctrinall part shall be to shew 1. What tribulations they are by which God doth purifie make white and try his people 2. How they are by these purified made white and tried 3. What is the reason that they have such different effects upon the godly and the wicked For the first They are not all of one sort nor size Here there are three sorts lighter sprincklings in allusion to Iewish purifyings heavier rubbings in allusion to Iewish cleansings and sharpest trials in allusion to Iewish trials The Apostle else-where reduceth them to two Inward fightings outward feares but it matters not so much what they are as whereto they serve for they are but a meanes to an end their bettering and therefore as we say of meanes so much as will serve so doth the Lord proportion the tribulation to the good of his people so much and no more as will serve to purifie mâ—ke white â—â—â— try them For the second I will shew you how the Lord by these doth 1. Purifie 2. Make White 3. Try them The Iews had their purification so have Christians There is Christs Blood Heb. 9. 14. Word Ioh. 15. 3. Spirit Mat. 3. But I am noâ— speaking of these which doe directly and properly tend thereto but of afflictions which by accident serve to that end as you may see Isa. 4. 4. By these now Gods people are purified 2. wayes First From sin committed both originall sin and actuall For originall Solomon tells us Folly is
wombe Why am I this He saith Two â—â—â—iâ—ns are in thy â—â—â—beâ—â— and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels c. God is now about to purge his â—â—oore and never was there a time of Reformation which differâ—â—ced good and bad but it was a time of troubles when the Jewes came out of Egypt into Cannan the five Bookes of Moses tell you their troubles when out of captivity ere they got up their City and Temple 〈◊〉 and Nâ—â—â—â—â—â—h tell you what trouble and when they shall come out of Judaisme ver. 1. of this Chapt. tels you it shall be a time of trouble such as never was since it was a nation to that time When the Gentile Church came out of the Heathen persecutions Revel. 12. tels you what troubles and when they shall come out of the Antichristian persecution the same book tels you of their severall sorts of troubles whilst we made brick for Prelates and suffered the Egyptian taske-masters to lay on us all their burdens we did not resist unto bloud as now we doe since we have cast them off and whilst Satan keepes possession all things are at peace but when the stronger then he comes to bind him he rents and teares What working against Christs comming in the flesh from Abel to the birth of Christ what attempts against the Prophets Apostles and Ministers of Christ that offered and preached the Redemption wrought by Christ and what resisting of the Holy Ghost comming to apply the grace so offered therfore stand not amazed at our troubles now Christ is about a great work of Reformation and therefore there will be opposition Ierusalem is to be built both wals and streets in troublous times Thirdly it showes the reason why the Lord stands so farre off in trouble this was alwayes a great affliction to the godly in times of trouble not so much that they were troubled as that the Lord stood farre off from their cry and from the voyce of their rearing We fast and pray and yet we are not delivered why is it thus why it is because the godly need yet more purifying and the wicked must yet doe more wickedly for that they neither doe nor can understand View each of these distinctly First it is because none of the wicked will understand they might else take notice of Gods avenging hand every stroake proclaimes him a sin-revenging God and of Gods protecting hand the bush burneth and is not consumed Religion Lawes and Liberty have as Candles under water strangely been preserved Their project was by oppression to keepe them downe the oppressours now are oppressed they would keepe off Parliaments or breake them if they could not serve themselves of them there is now a standing Parliament to plague them they would bring in first Rebels to helpe them and imploy bloudy Papists now three Kingdomes are in one Covenant and their ships are broken at Eziâ—â—-Gâ—ber the Lord hath every where said to them Associate your selves and ye shall be broken in pieces and give eare O ye of farre Countries gird your selves and ye shall be broken in pieces gird your selves and ye shall be broken in pieces Take counsell together and it shall come to nought speake the word and it shall not stand And he hath said to us Feare not their feare nor be afraid Sanctifie the Lord of hosts himselfe and let him be your feare and let him be your dread and he shall be for a sanctuary c. but the wicked will not understand any thing at all three wayes is this expressed here if we marke it strictly First they will doe wickedly that is to say they will goe on in â—inne securely so elsewhere Let favour be shewed to the wicked yet will he not learne righteousnesse in the land of uprightnesse will he deale unjustly c. Salomon saith The prudent man seeth the evill and hydeth himselfe but the simple passeth on and is punished so did the old world so did old and new Babylon so shall it be also in the dayes of the Son of man Wicked men are as ignorant and blind as those Philistines If he goe up the way of his own coast to Bethshemesh then he hath done uâ— this evill but if not then we shall know it was but some chance that happened to us They neither see the hand of God that smites them nor their owne desert that provokes the Lord thus to smite them Strangers devoure his strength but he seeth it not yea gray haires are here and there upon him but he knoweth it not as saith the Prophet Secondly they will be more wicked for the trouble this is not ordinary with all wicked men some like Ahab will be humbled for the time but with the wicked of our times we are here foretold it will be so and Saint Iohn in the Revelation speaking of Antichristian enemies all along their going downe tels us the same that they will breake forth to further wickednesse even to blasphemie against the Name of God and looke at Reformation as rebellion It was a brand upon Ahaz that when he was in distresse on every hand yet in his distresse he did trespasse yet more against the Lord And a concomitant of their destruction in Esay They shall fret themselves and curse their King and their God And it is foretold concerning these last times that Wicked men and seducers shall waâ—â— worse and worse deceiving and being deceived and we see all this made good upon the men of this generation the more God plagues them the more they sinne Thirdly They will not understand i. to repent and give glory to God to give him the glory of his Soveraignty in whose hands all troubles are to inflict order and remove them the glory of his truth and justice to acknowledge the justice and truth of God by reason of their doings which have procured all these plagues to themselves as the godly doe Thou art just in all that is brought upon us for thou hast done right but we have done wickedly they contrarily keepe wickednesse sweet within their mouth and the glory of his mercy that they are not consumed Surely the sins before reformation in reformation since reformation and now most of all that men hate to be further reformed might make men tremble but this is one of their plagues that they cannot see they cannot repent This is now one reason why the Lord stands so far off wicked men will doe wickedly and not understand and therefore more plagues must come that they that will not see may be made to see There is another reason and that is because godly wise men are not so purified made white and tried as they shall be and indeed there is more cause to feare this than the other God can soone take order with the wicked were but his people