to speak to us or wee have libertie to speak to him Lastly The consideration of this infinite Greatnesse of God serveth to give us comfort and confidence in all our troubles The Lord useth this argumeÌ„t to Aâ—RAHAM to encourage him I am God Alsufficient saieth he walk before me and be upright and I will be thy exceeding great reward so when he sent Moses to the children of Israell to assure them that he was to deliver them out of the Egyptian bondage Hee declared to him his Name which signifieth his greatnesse and commanded him to reveale it unto them thus shal thou say unto them said the Lord Exod. 3 14. I am or Hee that is hath sent me unto you as if he would have said feare not hee hath spoken it who is the great and infinite Being who maketh every thing to bee that he will and giveth being unto all his promises In like manner the Lord reasoneth Isal 40. where he comforteth the fainting hearts of his people even ready to murmure with this consideration of his greatnesse Why sayest thou O Jacob why speakest thou O Israel my way is hid from the Lord and my judgement is passed over from my God Hast thou not known hast thou not heard that the everlasting God the Lord the Creator of the ends of the earth fâ—inteth not neither is weary of his understanding there is no searching Hee giveth power to them that are faint and to them that have no might he encreaseth strength Even the youths weary and faint and the young men shall utterly fall But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength they shall mount up with wings as eagles they shall run and not be weary and they shall walk and not faint Thee is no trouble nor distresse against which this infinite greatnesse of God cannot comfort us Are thou weak and thy enemies strong yet remember that the power of this great God of whose greatnesse ther is no end is greater then all thy weaknes or their might Are thou oppressed with the greatnes of thy sinnes Remember that thy sinnes how great soever are small in respect of his mercies who is infinitly great in that as well as in other perfections Are thou perplexed and seest no outgate in thy difficulties Remember the Wisdome of Him that is infinitly great can find out the way In a word His infinite greatnesse can supply us in all our evils and wants Let us therefore seek our comfort hence against the manifold evils which afflict us or are imminent over our heads There is no day almost which bringeth not some evill with it and some tydings that are sorrowfull I shall instance but in one particular the death of your Reverend and worthy Pastor whereof yee lately heard I may truly say The losse of him was not a small losse He was a man endued with singular and excellent gifts especially of Learning and Devotion His Judgement was solid and piercing his Conception was most cleare he was strong in reasoning distinct and sweet and pithie in his expressions and by the diligent use of these gifts highly esteemed at home and famous abroad amongst the best learned as I very well know How comfortable his travels were to you how plainly and perfectly he instructed you how sweetly and powerfully hee exhorted and comforted you from this place I appeale to your own consciences But that which is most of all I am perswaded he had the true feare of God in his heart in his wayes he set him before his eyes and was fervent and frequent in the devot service of him He made not a shew of devotion but God Who seeth in secret I trust hath now openly rewarded him Hee had indeed an apprehension of death a long space before his end and I very well know that he was most earnestly and devotly prepared for it His preparation was fruitfull for God gave him a sweet and calme and holy departure which joyned with integritie of his life assureth us that he is now translated from this valley of teares into his Fathers house and to that City that hath foundations whose Builder and Maker is God For my self I make no doubt at all but that he is with this great God and is now entered into his joy So it is well with him but alace These and the like losses are matter of sorrow and heavinesse to us yet as I said we must not be too much cast down There is comfort against this in all our evils in that infinite greatnesse and sufficiencie of God whereof I have been speaking The Lord grant us confidence in him and that for the merits of Christ Iesus to whom c. A SERMON Vpon the CXXXIII Psalme Jule 22. 1638. A song of degrees of DAVID Vers 1. Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unitie 2. It is like the precious ointment upon the head that ran down upon the beard even Aarons heard that went down the skirts of his garments As the dew of Hermon and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion for there the LORD commanded the blessing even life for evermore THis Psalme is one of the 15. songs of degreâ— The 1. wherof is the cxx the last the cxxxiv. Why these Psalmes are called particularly songs of degrees it is not certaine Some think they are called so from the fifteen degrees by which they ascended to the temple of Jerusalem whereupon they were sung upon particular occasions Some think they are so called in reference to the ascending of the Jews from Babylon to Jerusalem after their deliverance from captivitie foreseene by DAVID by the light of Gods Spirit But to leave things uncertaine This is certaine that these Psalmes are singularlie excellent and well agreeing to men that are sojourning here and ascending by degrees of pietie and vertue to the heavenly Ierusalem They are full of divine instructions affections wherby we may be directed and inflamed to make progresse and ascend in the way to our heavenly countrey and city In particular this Psalme which of the fifteene is the last except one though short is a most sweet and heavenly song wherin most divinlie DAVID commendeth brotherly love the coÌ„munion of the saints he representeth the beautie of it most liuelie it is very necessar to all to look thereupon that they who have concord peace may be thankfull to God for it and be carefull to maintaine it that they who have it not may desire seek after it And therfore it shall be fit for us this day to Behold how good how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unitie Behold saieth DAVID This word calleth us to attention and to the present view and inspection of the beautie of brotherly love He setteth and presenteth it as it were before our eyes and therfore saieth Behold Beside he doth not simply call us
and weaknes he saith not all spirits or all that are holy just wel-deserving wealthie or noble but all flesh shall come The poore have accesse aswell as the rich to poure out their heart before God the base aswell as the noble the unlearned aswell as the learned the sinfull Publican aswel as the Pharisee even the sinner I say if he have begun to compt his sin a miserie may come to God and bevaile his miserie and implore his mercie All these I say may come and shall be heard If any man come and is not heard it is because he cometh not as he ought nor seeketh aright Here first consider that latlie we came to God offered up our prayers to him as for other benefits so for a seasonable harvest We have found by experience that the Lord hath heard our prayers though having in them many defects and worthie to be cast back as dung in our faces We have found as the PROPHET speaketh in the end of this Psalme that he hath visited the earth and enriched it with the river of God blessed the springing of it hath crowned the year with his goodnes and hath made his paths to drop fatnes Let us no think that this was from chance or nature but let us with thankful hearts acknowledge it to be as indeed it is the visitation and blessing of God Let every heart and every mouth say Blessed be the Lord who-hath not put back our prayers but notwithstanding of our sinnes hath so visited blessed and enriched vs. Secondly if we would be still partakers of this great benefit let vs be carefull to continue our thankfulnes still There are many things that we stand in need of for which we must pray to him to purge away our iniquities as he saieth in the next verse To still the noise of the sea and tumults of the people to blesse the fruits that he hath given us that his wrath come nor upon us while it is betwixt our teeth Let us therefore that it may be well with us for ever resolve to performe not only this day but also all the dayes of our life our vows of obedience and to praise him with our life aswell as with our mouth As for the earthly blessings which he hath given us as on the one part we should esteem highly of them soon the other part Let us remember they are but the pleadges of better things abyding us in our countrey if his riches be so great toward us in our sojourning what may we expect when we shall sit down in his house at his table to be satisfied with the fatnesse of it If the river of God passing through the earth so refresh us here how shall we be delighted with that river of pleasures which maketh glad the citie of God The Lord grant that our hearts may be there and that we may walk in the way that leadeth into it and that for the merits of Christ To Whom c. FIRST SERMON UPON the Lamentations of JEREMIAH Chap. V. Verse 19. Thou O Lord remainest for ever Thy throne from generation to generation 20. Wherefore dost thou forget us for ever and forsake us so long-time 21. Turne us unto thee O Lord and we shall be turned renew our dayes as of old The holy PROPHET having made a pittifull complaint to God of the great desolation that had come upon Sion or the Church of God Ierusalem being taken and burnt the people of God being killed or lead in captivitie he in end shutteth up all and closeth with a fervent prayer Thou O Lord remainest for ever c. In this prayer two things are to be cōsidered First the ground of the PROPHETS petitions Thou O Lord remainest for ever thy thro◠from generation to generation Secondly the petitions themselves which are espetially two the first is set down by way of expostulation wherefore doest thou forget us forever and forsake us so long time which includeth this petition Lord forsake us not but restore thy favour to us againe and renew our dayes as of old The second is in the next words turne thou us unto thee O Lord and we shall be turned To returne againe to the first part which is the ground of the PROPHETS supplication and of his hope confidence to be heard it is set down in the first words we have in it three Prerogatives ascrived to God the first that he is UNCHANGEABLE Thou O Lord remainest Sayeth he secondly he ascriveth to him absolute Dominion imported by this that Hee is the Lord and hath a Throne Thirdly Eternity is ascrived both to him and his Kingdome Thou O Lord remainest for ever c. Let us consider these points shortly both in themselves and with a reference to the PROPHETS petitions Thou O Lord remainest c. Here the PROPHET to strengthen his hope the hope of the Church fixeth the eyes of his faith upon the Vnchangeablnes of God thou sayest he remainest The word in the originall signifieth to dwell to abide or sit still importeth when ascrived to God his constancie immntabilitie For clearing of this we are to consider that this is in God in a most excellent manner He is simple Vnchangeable both in his nature and in his decrees or purposes both which are meaned here In his nature at his perfections he is Vnchangeable If any chāge of this kynde could have place in him it should be either from imperfection to perfection or from perfection to imperfection but neither of these can be no new perfection can haue place in him because as we said before in him is the infinite fulnes of perfectiōn which is not capable of any increase o◠accession Neither can he change to any imperfection for none of his infinite perfections can be lossed They are one the same with his own nature and being Now his being is necessar for he hath it not from another and therefore as it ever was so it can never cease to be and consequently is Vnchangeable for Vnchangeablnes is nothing else but a necessitie of being that which he was before Thus it i◠most evident that God in his nature essentiall perfections is Unchangeable the acquiring of any new perfection being repugnant to the infinite fulnes of being that is in him and the losse of his perfection being contrate to the necessitie or infinit firmnes or stabilitie of his being or Nature Secondly as he is Vnchangeable in his naturall perfections so in his decrees and purposes toward us we often change our resolutions and purposes and the reason is we do not perfectly perceive and consider the good or the evil the conveniencie or inconveniencie of that which we are about therefore when thereafter we find our own errour we change and retraite the will and purpose which we had before This cannot have place in God who from all eternitie hade a most clear sight of all the good
before whom wee stand guilty till he speak peace ther is no solid calmnes in our minds Beside our hearts naturally are full of trouble and tormoyle and therefore cannot have peace unlesse it be created in them Now this is the proper work of God who saieth Isai 57. to this purpose I creat the fruit of the lips peace peace to him that is a far off Lastly so long as sinfull corruption is not healed in our soules their wound remaineth greene which suffereth us to have no rest Now it is God alone who can healâ— the soule and therefore it is he only who can give peace to it Thus the working of this peace in us is the peculiar work of God If he stand by no man nor angell can give it Hence DAVID even after the tydings of peace brought unto him by NATHAN cryeth yet to God for peace and joy Make me to heare the voyce of joy and gladnesse that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoyce Upon the other part as it is God alone who giveth this peace so for our comfort wee are to know that hee can easily give it and keep and preserve us in it It costeth him no more but a word if be but speak peace wee are sure to have it I will heare what the Lord God will speak hee will speak peace unto his people If he but speak the word it is done To this purpose we have a notable place Isai 44. There the Lord is thus descrived The Lord who saieth to Jerusalem be thou inhabited and to the cities of Judah be yee built that sayeth unto the depth be dryed up that saieth to Cyrus his servant thou art my sheepherd and shalt perform all my pleasure So the Lord needeth no more but a word to build Judah to make Jerusalem inhabited to remove all impediments out of the way of his people to perswade the heart of Cyrus an heathen man to be their nursing father Thus Psal 44. the PROPHET saieth to God Thou art my King O God command deliverance for Jacob. If God but send forth his Commandement it shall be obeyed When the sea is most raging and the waves greatest if Christ say be still there shall be a great calm This serveth exceedingly for our comfort that our God whom we serve is able so easily to give us peace and calmnesse in all our troubles and distresses Yee found this latlie by your own experience When yee looked for the help of man yee were disappointed and felt that the Arme of flesh is a vaine thing to trust into but when your Troubles wer come to the hieght your 〈◊〉 desperate then the Lord spake peace to you and whâ—â— hâ—â—aid was performed Would God that yee were sensible of â—his his goodnes and O that yee may be alwayes mindfull 〈◊〉 that by the consideration of so great a benefite yee may 〈◊〉 alwayes stirred up to praise him and to trust in his mercie 〈◊〉 much of the benefite Now I come to the description of them to whom it belongeth Whose minde is stayed on thee c. The words in the originall signifieth the minde or thought is stayed and by some are referred to God by others to the godly Learned CALVIN writting upon this place referreth the words to God thus The counsell and purpose of God whereby he hath decreed to preserve the peace of his servants is unchangeable and therefore he will keep them in peace There can no alterations fall out in this world which may change his immutable minde so there is a secret opposition betwixt Gods thought and ours My thoughts are not as yours Isai 55. neither are my wayes as your wayes but as high as the heaven is above the earth so high are my thoughts above your thoughts and my wayes above your wayes The minde and the counsell of God is immutable whereas our thoughts are changeable every moment upon the least occasion He is the Lord and changeth not and therefore wee are not consumed Secondly The words may bee referred to the godly thus Their minds are stayed and fixed on God and therefore he will keep them in peace Our Interpreters have so expounded the words and this seemeth best to agree with them But yee will ask what is this to have our minds stayed on God I answere unto this first is required that our hearts bee withdrawn from all things else Wee cannot have our minds on God and the creature both for Wee cannot serve two masters Hence our blessed Lord requireth of his disciples that they deny themselves and telleth them that none can be his disciple except he hate father and mother wise and children c. So it wee would have our hearts stayed on God they must settle upon nothing besids him This is necessarie for the obtaining of our peace which wee cannot enjoy so long as our hearts are fixed upon any creature The reasons are cleare First the creatures are transitorie and changeable and therefore the heart set upon them must needs change with them 2. While as the heart is inordinatly set on the creature the affections are contrarie to sound reason and our actions are contrarie to God and his Law so during this inordinat love we have a warre which standeth not with peace 3. As long as the heart doth cleave inordinatly to any creature there must needs bee a continuall feare which is contrarie to the Peace of the minde For either wee feare that wee shall not obtaine that which wee love or that wee shall losse it when it is obtained or that we shall not recover it when it is lost Either we feare that our will shall be crossed or suppose our desires second us in all things yet our guilty conscience accuseth and tormenteth us 4. There is no creature how perfectly soever enjoyed by us that can give satisfaction to out soules without which they can haue no peace Such is the nobilitie of our soule such is the excellencie of our minds and wils that a world yea a thousand worlds known beloved and possessed cannot give them rest contentment Either the Object delighted in is unproportionated to the soule as the sound to the eye or the colour to the eare or at least is unable to equall the infinite desire of it This none can do but God O LORD thou hast made us for thy self saieth holy AUGUST and our hearts are restlesse till they rest in thee Thus when ever we would have peace or have our hearts on God wee must withdraw them from the creatures The next thing that is required for staying our hearts upon God is that we joyne unto him by sincere love and by humble submission of our desires wills to his so that we love nothing but in him or for him desire nothing but his Glory and the accomplishment of his will This is the solid way to Peace when men will and nil the same things then there is true
subjection Lest by any means when he bad preached unto others he himself should be a cast-away Our securitie is to feare alwayes our strength is to distrust our own strength and to put all our confidence in the Mercie of God and Merites of Christ Who hath prayed for us that our faith faile not Let us therefore say to God every one of us LORD thou hast been my help leave me not neither forsake me O GOD of my salvation Secondly we may perceive from this fall of Peter that one sinne especially if it be grievous draweth another after it and that without stay till Christ look againe upon the sinner Hence sinne is called by S. PAUL The sâ—ure of the devil Ye know when a bird is taken in a sâ—are she is still more and more fastened and entangled If thou give place but to a light lust at the first as Peter did to the servant-maid one to a hundereth but from that thou shalt fall into a greater sinne from that to worse againe as S. Peter from denying came to swearing and from swearing came to extreame cursing of himself This should teach us not to give any place to the devil but to resist him stedfastly and to pray with DAVID Order my steps in thy word and let no iniquitie have dominion over me Thirdly It is observed by holy AUGUSTINE in the place before citted that this fall of S. Peter was permitted by God to make him the more ready to compassionate others when they should fall He was by nature vehement as appeareth by many passages of the Gospell and particularly by cutting off the eare of Malchus He was to be a prime pastor ruller of the Church and to receive the keyes of the Kingdome of Heaven An innummerable multitude of people was to be committed unto him loaden with manifold iniquities Now if he had never fallen himself like enough it was that he would have been the lesse inclind to piâ—tie comiserate others Therefore saieth holy AUGUSTINE The secret of Gods providence was so disposed that he himself was permitted first to fall and that foullie that he might temper the severitie of the sentence against others by the remembrance and consideration of his own fall Thus God hath taught us also by his fall that it is most necessar in a pastor to have a tender heart ready to pitty compassionat others He will never act the part of a pastor faithfully that can do nothing else but rule with authoritie terrifie censure punish That is not the way to win men to God but to drive unstablished souls from God and to cast those that ar weak and distressed into despaire Fourthly It is to be observed that a man may deny Christ although by his mouth he say not that he knowes him not as S. Peter did We may professe that we know him with our mouths and yet by our works deny him as S. PAUL teacheth us Tit. 1. we deny him also wheÌ„ we deny our selves to be his disciples as we see in S. Peter here Now our Lord hath told us That he that will not take up his crosse and follow him cannot be his disciple and that hereby all men shall know that we are his disciples If we love one another And That we must abide it s his word and do the will of his Father If we would be his disciples So also S. PAUL saieth That they that are Christs hath crucified the flesh with the lusts thereof If therefore thou art not content to take up thy crosse with patiencâ— if thou love not thy brother abide not in Christs words art not carefull to do the will of his heavenly Father and to crucifie thy flesh with the lusts of it thou denies thy self to be his disciple consequently denies him In a word Christ is the trueth and therefore if thou believe him not thou deniest him Christ is the way If thou follow not him thou doest deny him Christ is the life therefore if thou be given to the dead works of sinne thou deniest him Thus alace many wayes often-times have we denied him and so have deserved that he should deny us before his Father and his Angels and have need to slie to the mercie of God whereof we may see a notable demonstration in Christ his dealing with S. Peter But there is mercie with God as yee will see most clearly in the next part of my text to which now I come S. Peter having fallen in the manner before declared immediatly whill he was yet speaking the Cock crew the second time and with all Jesus turning looked upon him where upon he remembred and called to minde the words of Jesus how he had said before the cock crow thou shalt deny me thrice and so went out and weeped bitterly Here is the historie of his rising or repentance Two things are to be considered in it First the cause of his repentance 2. the repentance it self for the first the cause of his repentance was Jesus turned and looked upon him Some thinke that the Look of Christ was only spirituall and that he did not look upon him with his bodily eyes But the Text showeth that he did this also for it is said That be turned and looked upon him Now to what purpose should his turning been mentioned if he had not looked upon him with the eyes of his body But say they S. Peter was without and could not be seen with the bodily eyes of Christ Yet this convinceth not but it may bee that he was brought to the court wherein Peter was or that being in an upper roome as the Gospell showeth he might from thence being turned about see him with the eyes of his body Neverthelesse it is certain that his spirituall look was that which pierced into the soul of S. Peter and cleansed and renewed his heart For clearing of this more fully ye are to consider that the spirituall look of God as it is descrived in scripture is somtimes in Justice somtimes in Mercie somtimes to Humble somtimes to Exalt somtimes to Reward somtimes to Punish In Iustice he looked upon the first world when all flesh had corrupted their wayes and the effect of his Look was an universall diludge of waters Thus he looked upon them that were building Baâ—el Gen. 10. and the effect of his look was the confounding of their languages and the scattering of them upon the earth He looked thus upon Sedom and Gomorrah Gen 18. I will go down saieth the Lord and see if it be according to the cry which is come up unto me and the effect was the destroying of them with fire brimstone from heaven Thus he looked upon Sâ—nnacherâ—b Isai 37. And the Angell of the LORD that same night smot a hundreth fourescore and five thousand of his armie He looked thus upon Corah Dathan and Abiram numb 16. and was displeased and in his fiâ—ie indignation he consumed
they shall be forced to remember and that remembrance shall be one of their greatest torments What greater torment have the damned then to remember how often and how willingly God called upon them yet they refused to hearken unto him What greater torment then to remember how easilie they might have escaped these infinite and eternall torments and how easily they might have attained unto eternal joyes Let us therefore take heed than we forget not Christ and if we have forgotten him let us call to minde againe as S. Peter did whose remembrance was most fruitfull for He went out and weept bitterly There was bitternes and grief in his heart and aboundant tears in his eyes Neither at that time only did he weep but as it is reported by Clemens as long as he lived He weept when he heard the cock crow so that at last his tears drew furrows in his cheeks We reade not his words which may bee were chocked with aboundance of his tears but no doubt since he called to minde his sinne repented fruitfully he had thoughts or inward words both of sorrow and confidence When he thought upon his sinne we may well thinke he said within himself Alace miserable man what have I done How do I yet live who have denied him who is the life what wonder though the earth should swallow me up who have denied my Lord and redeemer O wicked mouth how could thou deny that thou knewest him who hath bestowed so many benefits upon thee cursed tongue how could thou abjure him who hath showed so many tokens of his love unto thee In like manner while he thought upon these words of Christ I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not we may think that he hath said within himself I will turne to him who hath turned to me I will look to him who hath looked to me It is he that hath said As I live I love not the death of a sinner I will cast my self down at his feet and say Master and LORD I have sinned against the heaven and against thee and am no more worthy now to be called thy Son Would God we would imitate the Apostle in these tears of unfeigned sorrow Nothing more pleasing to God No face so beautifull in his Eyes as that which is bluddered with tears The teares of a penitent are the pearles which he delighteth in Nothing more profitable to us Hast thou lost thy goods thy tears will not recover them againe Hast thou lost thy children thy tears will not bring them back againe Hast thou lost health thy tears will not make thee better but rather worse But if thou hast lost GOD and his Favour the tears of unfeigned sorrow can bring him back againe and who would not for recovering of so great a good with Peter here weep bitterly with Mary Magdalen wash his feet with tears and with DAVID make his bed to swime with them But it may be ye will say to me I would do so if Christ would turne and look upon me Is not Christ turned to thee when he speaketh to thee in his Word and inviteth thee to come to him doth he not turne and look unto thee when he offereth to thee his own Body and his Blood Look therefore unto him and look unto thy self Look to him sweating his own Blood crowned with thorns scourged buffetted denuded of his garments and all for thee Canst thou look upon this sight without tears what are the tears of thine eyes to the Blood of his sacred Body and to the sorrowes and travailes of his Soul look upon thy self consider thy ungratitude the filthines and defilment of thy soul and body how thou art exposed by thy sinnes to his dreadfull and eternall wrath If thou can consider this aright it will make thee to say with the PROPHET O that my head were waters and that my eyes were fountaines of teares that I might weep day and night Blessed are they that so sow in teares they shall reap in joy but â—o to them that will needs laugh now for they shall mourne and that without comfort for ever The Lord make us wise in time and that for the merits of Christ to whom with the Father c. A SERMON UPON the XV. Chapter of MATTHEW Vers 21. Then Iesus went thence and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon Vers 22. And behold a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts and cryed unto him saying Have mercy on me O LORD thou Sonne of David my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil Vers 23. But he answered her not a word And his disciples came and besought him saying Send her away for she cryeth after usâ—â— Vers 24. But he answered and said I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel Vers 25. Then came she and worshipped him saying Lord help me Vers 26. But he answered and said It is not meet to take the childrens bread and to cast it to dogs Vers 27. And she said Truth Lord yet the dogs eat of the crumbes which fall from their Masters table Vers 28. Then Jesus answered and said unto her O woman great is thy faith be it unto thee even as thou wilt And her daughter was made whole from that very houre I Have made choise of these words at this time which containe a most notable historie and most fit for the worke which we have in hand this day for in it is set before us an exact paterne teaching us how to pray and how to wrestle with God so as we may prevaile and have a blessed successe as the woman here mentioned had who prayed with such faith confidence humilitie and invincible constancie that not only obtained she her desire but much more O woman said our Saviour unto her great is thy faith be it unto thee even as thou wilt The historie is very easie and and plaine and requireth not so much to be explained as to be remarked and applyed Three things are chiefly considerable in it First the description of the person so much commended here Secondly her carriage toward Christ and his behaviour toward her Thirdly the obtaining of her suite and praise of her faith To come to the first The person that was here a supplicant to our Lord was a woman One of the weaker sex by which the devill first prevailed against man expelled him from paradise and the joyes of it Secondly she was a gentile or a heathen woman as S. Mark telleth us she was none of the peculiar people of God but a greek as it is in the original which according to the phrase of scripture is as much as a gentile and so a stranger from the Common-wealth of Israel and had her being among them who worshiped the devil in stead of the true God Thirdly yet more she was a Canaanite as S. Mathew calleth her S. Mark calleth her a Syrophenician both which agree
how could he have expressed it more fully then in the termes which he hath used To the will I give the keyes of the kingdom of heaven whatsoever ye binde on earth it shall be bound in Heaven c. Whose sinnes soever ye retaine they shall be retained c. Thirdly the manner of our Saviours speech when he promised this Power which is with a serious and vehement attestation Verily I say unto you and the ceremonie used at the performance of it which was by breathing on them with these words receive the holy Ghost these circumstances I say do shew that our Saviour intended to give and did actually give a greater power then is that of declaring a thing to be which already is beside the Repentance of men is a thing which pastors cannot perfectly know and therefore they cannot certainly declare a man to be loosed from sinne For these and other reasons I make no doubt that the Power promised here by our Saviour is not barely a declarative but also an effectuall Power which worketh some effect upon men So the holy Fathers have understood this CHRISOST in his 3. book of the priesthood saith that Christ hath given to men that are upon earth a power to dispose of things that are in heaven This Power saieth he he hath not given to the angels or Aâ—changels for to whom of them hath he said to the will I give the keyes of the Kingdome of heaven and whatsoever thou shalt binde on earth c. Earthly kings sayth he have power to binde loose also but their power extendeth to the bodies of men only whereas this Power reacheth unto the soul and unto heaven That which the servant doth here beneath the LORD confirmeth above and the LORD in a manner denizeth to follow the servant the binding on earth being prior at least in order of nature to the binding in heaven and the loosing on earth being before the loosing in heaven So writting upon the 20 of S. John on these words Whose sinnes soever ye retaine they are retained he sayeth that our Saviour indued his Apostles with such a Power as a king giveth to governours under him when he giveth them power to cast into prison and to take out of it and writting upon these words To thee will I give the keyes of the Kingdome of Heaven Matth. 16. he saieth that Christ hath given to a mortall man the Power of all things that are in heaven for this cause our Saviour addeth here these words on earth whatsoever ye bind On earth To what purpose is this aded but to signifie the amplitude and greatnes of his Power and that how soever it be done by earthly men yet it shall have an authoritie force of a sentence and law in heaven as if a mighty Emperour would say to one whom he much trusted and to whom he had given a most ample commission Whatsoever thou wilt do in the remotest parts of my dominion I shall alow and ratifie it The farrer that servants are from their Masters they use to take to themselves the greater liberty and it is a token of great trust in the master when he committeth power to them in such a case Thus we see that Pastors have properly a power to binde and loose sinners let us now consider more particularly in what manner they do binde and loose and how their binding and loosing is accompanyed with binding and loosing in heaven The Bond wherewith Pastors by vertue of the keyes do binde sinners is directly and immediatly an ecclesiasticall bond exercised about sinue as it as an offence of the Church So their loosing is directly and immediatly an untying and loosing of that ecclesiasticall bond wherwith they have bound a sinner whence of necessity their binding most go before their loosing in this kinde they can loose nothing this way but that which before they have bound But how then yee will say doeth their binding or loosing reach to a mans sinne as it is an offence of God I Ans This is not but mediatly and indirectly in so farre as they do such a thing upon the doing whereof Christ hath promised to binde or loose the sinnes of a man The like we have in haptisme wherin sinne is taken away if he that is baptised put no impediment all that the minister doth is but a washing of the body and an incalling of the blessed Trinitie yet this Action as an instrument or condition carrieth with it the remission of sinne and purging of the soul So in the matter that we have in hand the pastor bindeth the person guilty with an ecclesiasticall bond directly and againe looseth that same bond by ecclesiasticall absolution or reconciliation yet by vertue of Christs promise set down in these words upon the doing of this GOD in heaven doeth binde or loose the sinnes of such a man Thus we see how God not only principally but also alone immediatly taketh away sin for the minister only performeth an ecclesiasticall action upon the doing whereof GOD by vertue of his own Promise taketh away the sinne of such a man Secondly Yee may ask wherein this ecclesiasticall bond consisteth I answer it standeth in a certaine excoÌ„munication whereby a grievous offender is separated in whole or in part from the Church of Christ and from the society of the faithfull and according the loosing opposed hereunto consisteth in the reconciliation of such an one to the Church or in giving him the peace therof whence our Saviour said in the preceeding words If he neglect to hear the Church let him be to thee as a heathen or aâ— a Publican This excoÌ„munication is of two sorts the one is called the lesser excoÌ„munication the other is called the greater In that a man is bound for some grievous offence by debarring him from the society of the faithfull in some things especially in the participation of the blessed mysteries of the body blood of out LORD and by imposing of the works of pennance and humiliation this is called a ponetentiall and medeoinall excoÌ„munication because the chief end of it is to cure him that hath sinned from that disease wherein he hath fallen This kinde of binding we use toward grievous sinners who submite themselves to the direction of the Church and in the ancient Church it was used with great vigor and severitie In the first 300 years when the devotion of Christians was fervent and their puritie great men were not ordinarly admitted to this outward repentance till for a long time with many teares and with great tokens of unfeigned forrow they had earnestly intreated to be admitted in the number of publick penitents when that was granted then they were not immediatly received to their publick repentance but were thrust down as it were first to the degree of the catechumeny or those who were yet unbaptised and did but learne the mysteries of the christian religion and in this degree they were called
is no more partaker of the intercession and prayers of the Church and of the blessings which thereby are plentifully obtained to those that are within it In a word such an one is left to himself as a wretched and forlorne creature destitute of the presence assistance and protection which God graciously giveth to his Church and to the Members thereof and wherewith he covereth it as it were as the cloud did the tabernacle and so is exposed to the will the furie of the devil as a sheep without a shepherd to the Wolf for the kingdome of the devil is especially without the Church of God There he ruleth and reigneth in the children of disobedience Hence according to the judgement of many such are said 1. Cor. 5. To be delivered over unto Satan albeit it be true also that in the Primitive Church for the greater terrour of disobedient persons who suffered themselves to bee excommunicat◠Diverse of them were given over to Satan as to an Executioner to have their bodies afflicted by him So some think that the incestuous Corinthian 1. Cor. 5. was not only excommunicated but also delivered to the Devil to be afflicted bodily and so they think also of Alexander and Hymeneus of whom S. PAUL saith 1. Tim. 1. That he had delivered them to Satan that they might learne not to blaspheme This is the most dreadfull sentence of the Church which Christ promiseth here to ratifie and confirme in heaven It were better for a man saieth Augustine in his first book against the Adversaries of the Law and Prophets and 17 Chapter that he were stoned to death or killed with the sword or torne with the teeth of beasts then to be strucken with this sentence Hee that is bound this way saith he is bound with more grievous and terrible bonds then if they were of iron and adamant The principall Intention of the Church is not to reclaime the person guilty in this Excommunication for it is exercised against such who are incorrigeable and refuse to heare the voice of the Church It is true the reclaiming of such an one is secondarlie intended for he is separate from the society of good Christiās that he may be ashamed that so he may come in end to a sense of his own sinne but the maine intention of the Church is to purge it self from such rotten and infecting Members which obstinatly go on in an evil course and there is none but may see that this proceeding is full of equity if a member of the bodie be corrupted and the rest of the bodie in danger to be infected thereby it must needs bee cut off In all well governed Cities Leprous persons those that are infected with the Plague at separated from others in a word Those that ar obstinatly disobedient and refractarie in any wel governed society or at least cast out of that society and is it not reason that they who are disobedient to the voice of the Church who are ready to infect others with an infection that tendeth to everlasting death be removed and debarred from the fellowship of the faithfull Hence yee may observe first what is the reason that we so slowly proceed to the pronouncing of this sentence of excommunication against those that are disobedient to the voice of the Church Some that have zeal but without sufficient knowledge accuse us for this as negligent or favouring the errours of those persons God knoweth we detaste their errours and that the true cause of out leasurlie proceeding is that knowledge which we have of the terrour and dreadfulnesse of this sentence A physitian will use all means to cure a diseased part of the body before he proceed to the cutting it off and when he is forced to do that he will not do it but with grief and sorrow It is reported of the Emperour Titus who was called the delight of mankinde that even at the just executions of malefactors he used to sigh and monrue Though Absolom had rebelled against his father David and would have taken from him both his crown and his life yet when his army went out against him he said Deale gently with the young man and when he heard that he was killed he cryed out O Absolom Absolom my son Absolom would God I had died for thee and yet the love of spiritual father ought to be greater toward their children then the love of any carnall father can be as CHRIS observeth Is it any wonder then that we are loath to cut any off by the terrible and dreadfull sentence of excommunication and to deliver them to Satan the enemie of mans salvation especially since we are taught by the Apostle 2. Tim. 2. That the servant of the LORD should he gentle and patient in meeknes instructing them that are contrarie minded if GOD will give them repentance to the acknowledgement of the truth that they may escape out of the snares of the devil who holdeth them captive at his will Secondly Ye may perceive hence how wofull and lamentable is the state of those persons who by their obstinate disobedience to the voice of the Church draw upon themselves this fearfull and terrible sentence It is not without cause that such are compared by an ancient writter to those that are mad Mad persons though they be most strongly bound yet they esteem nothing of their bonds for they are not sensible of their own misery so is it with those of whom I speak They contemne all that is done to them in this kinde and yet in the meane time they are bound both in earth and heaven by GOD and by man Would God that their eyes were opened that they might see the miserable estate of their own soules which are fertered with most strong chains that will draw them unto eternall condemnation Heaven and Earth may passe away but this Word of our LORD shall stand firme Whatsoever ye binde on earth shall be bound in heaven Let them not therefore flatter themselves with this that they see not now the visible judgements of God immediatly ceasing upon men and women that they see not their bodies afflicted by the devil or any such thing GOD is a Patient and Long-suffering GOD but in end recompenseth the delay of punishment with the weight of it if we despise his Goodnesse and by so doing Treasure up wrath to our selves against the day of wrath revelation of the righteous Judgement of GOD. Lastly I beseech you all to remember that it is your duty to esteeme those to be bound both by GOD and by his Servants whom we do binde by this fearfull sentence of excommunication and to carry your selves toward thē as if they wer heathens and publicane So is the Commandement of our Saviour urged againe againe by the Blessed Apostles who requireth that we withdraw our selves from such persons In the ancient Church they did so shune the company of persons excommunicat that scarce they would
this Teaching of GOD this hearing and learning of the Father doeth not condemne the outward ministrie of preaching or deny the necessity of it ordinarly For our Lord himself at this time was preaching outwardly the word and S. PAUL accordingly Rom. 10. 17. tels us That faith is by hearing for which effect preaching is needfull and therefore he with the Prophet sayeth there how beautifull upon the mountaines are the feet of them that bring glad tydings that bring glade tydings of good things Hence we reade in the 8. of the Acts that when it was the Will of God to convert the Ethiopian Eunuâ—h he miraculously sent Philip to him by an angell but he would not convert him by the Angell But you will say If man have any hand in this teaching Why is it called the teaching of God I Ans It is called so justly First Because the Word that is preached is not the word of man but the Word of God 2. Because man concurreth onely but outwardly as an instrument proposing the Word but it is God who worketh inwardly upon the soule he hath his Chayre in heaven that teacheth the heart without whose powerfull assistance all our words are but an empty sound as S. AUGUSTINE speaketh in his 3. Treatise upon the 1. Epist of S. John so writting on the same place he saieth God is the teacher of them that learne because that which is given and revealed within is from him Paul may plant and Apollo may water but it is God that giveth the increase so neither is he that planteth nor he that watereth any thing but God who giveth the increase 1. Cor. 3. 7. So then our Saviour by commending the teaching of God the bearing learning from the Father doth not exclude the necessity of the out Ministry but sheweth the power and efficacie of God Who is the principall Agent But it may be some man will yet say If no more be imported here by this teaching of God then that which hath been said it would seeme that there should be no difference in this betwixt them who lived under the Old Testament and those who live now under the New Which difference is plainly intended both by our Saviour by the Prophet There would seem I say to be no difference because God concurreth with his word preached then also and it was he that did work faith and love in the hearts of men I Ans This is true yet notwithstanding there is a great difference for the teaching of God then ordinarly was limitate to one Nation whereas now it is offered to all the world throughout al the world al the Children of the church of the Faithful are made really partakers of it 2. The manner of teaching now is more excellent because the Revellation of God is more cleare and the Love of God more aboundantly poured into the hearts of men Whence the PROPHET Isaiah Chap. 11. 7. speaking of this time saith That the whol earth shal be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea Now let us come to the Vses of this Doctrin First Wee may learne hence That we have no ground from this place to leane to private Revelations motions not warranted by the Word of God as if without the Meanes we might be taught by God and learne from him Some Phantastick persons in this last age have gone exceeding farre this way and by this mad conceat have stirred up horrible Confusions and have drawn many with themselves into perdition Farre be it from us to imagine any such thing God hath ordained meanes whereinto although he hath not tyed himself yet hath he tyed us to these meanes to wit his Word his Sacraments Prayer Meditation these ar as it were the conduits of his grace as it wer the veins by which we must search after the heavenly Wisdom If thou neglect the meanes thou but temptest God deceivest thine own soul And though the meanes seem to thy carnal minde base yet remember they are the Ordinances of God Nâ—aaman thought little of the the waters of Iordon he said The revers of Damascus were better thâ—n all the waters of Israel he disdained to go there and put off his clothes and waâ—h seven times in it at he was commanded but had he not used this meanâ— he had gone home as Leprous as he came forth Secondly Wee should consider That our Heart is deceatful and Sathan is subtill who can transforme himself into an Angel of light and make us beleeve that his Illusions and Fancies of our own hearts are the Inspirations of God when wee take not heed unto Gods word Many are deceived in this kind Some think their own Conceats to be the very light of God when indeed there is in them nothing but darknesse their carnal affections to bee the motions of Gods Spirit their wrath they think Zeale their pride courage c. And this deceat is commonly incident to proud and presumptuous men yea somtimes the saints of GOD are in some measure this way deceived and think the Indictment of their own spirit to proceed from God himself So we see Nathan being consulted by David concerning the building of the Temple said unto him Go and do all that is in â—hine heart for the Lord is with thee yet in the meane time the Lord had not said so as Gregory observeth For he appeared immediatly thereafter and forbade the Work albeit he approved the Intention Upon the other part men somtimes are so deceived in this kinde that they think that to bee but a Fancie of their own which is indeed the motion of the Spirit of God and so also it pleased God somtimes to exercise his own in time of temptations that they may be the more tryed and that they may grow in humility and other vertues These are like to the Disciples S. Mark 6. 49. who in the Tempest when they saw our LORD himself walking on the waters they thought it was but a Ghost Thus somtimes we take evill for good and good for evill and therefore we must not seperate the inward Word from the outward Wee must not beleeve every spirit but wee must try the spirits if they be of God Wee ought to try them by the Word of God and should have our recourse diligently to them to whom the dispensation of the Word is committed who should be more skillfull in discerning of the spirits according to Gods Word which is committed unto them To conclude this point then we ought not to despise the outward meant but should highly esteeme of them and should greatly praise GOD for the occasion which we have of them We have particular reason of thankfullnes in this respect There is no Nation under heaven with which GOD hath dealt more bountifully in this kinde then with us who live in these three NATION ES. No Nation hath the Gospell in greater plenty and purity No Nation