the world Fourthly from the strangenesse of it Dare any of you He speaks interrogatively verse 1. It is a strang thing that you should come to that impudency against the Gospel of Christ one would think that you would tremble and quake at such a thing as this is What is there never a wise Christian amongst you never an understanding Professor that is able to take up a controversie or decide and judge between his brethren what a strange thing is this Then he backs it with four Arguments 1. Because they were brethren verse 6. Brother go to Law with brother 2. Because it was about things of this life What hath God made you Judges of heavenly things of Angels and are you unfit to judge of the things of this life 3. It was about smal matters verse 2. whereas you shall sit upon men and Angels and the weightiest matters in the world the greatest things of Gods Law judging them to the greatest penalty and punishment even to eternal damnation and are ye unworthy then to judge even of the smallest matters 4. And lastly Because it was about such things as the meanest Christian in the town might have taken up and have ended Set up them that are least esteemed Do you not know that the Saints shall Judge the world I need not go far for a point the word affords it The Doctrine is That the Saints shall judge the world It is an old truth yea as old as the World it self you may read it in the fourth verse of Judes Epistle That Enoch the seventh from Adam prophesied saying Behold the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his Saints God will not only come to judgement himself but he will come attended with all his Saints even with all the godly to execute vengeance upon all the world So our Saviour told Saint Peter and not only him but all that follow him in the regeneration They shall sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel Matth. 9. 18. They shall judge the Nations and have dominion over the people Wis 38. And now because doubt is the best way to attain unto knowledge let me answer a doubt that may creep in by the way How shall the Saints judge the world Ans Not by pronouncing of judgement upon the world for that Christ only shall doe Then shall the King say to them on his left hand Depart ye cursed Matthew 25. But the Saints shall judge the World these four wayes 1. They shall judge the world by their consent unto Christs judgement God trains up his children in this world and educates them and teacheth them how they may judge the world hereafter he teacheth them in this life how to assent with his proceedings in the world to that they are able to say Righteous art thou O Lord and just are thy judgements Psal 119. 137. Now if the Saints be trained in this life to assent unto Gods proceedings with the world much more then will they be able to know and consent unto Cstrists judgement when he shall come with his Saints to judge the world Now the Law saith that consenters are agents and therefore because the Saints shall consent to the judgement of Christ therefore they are said to judge the world 2. The Saints shall judge the world by their applause of Christs judgement they shall not only give consent unto the judgement of Christ but they shall also applaud it and commend it when God shall say to all drunkards swearers lyers Sabbath-breakers and to all unbeleeving impenitent and gracelesse sinners Depart ye cursed into hell fire then though it was his own father that begat him or his mother that bare him though it were his own brother or sister wife or child that hath been as dear as his own life and soul to him yet they shall clap their hands for joy and applaud the most righteous sentence of God upon them and they shall sing Hallelujah salvation and honour and power be to the Lord our God for true and righteous are his judgements Rev. 19. 1 2. Let them go accursed as they are for it is a righteous sentence passed on them 3. They shall Judge the world by their Majesty they shall not only stand against the wicked and consent to and applaud that sentence that Christ shall passe against the wicked but they shall be invested with robes of majesty and with a diademe of glory then shall the righteous shine as the stars in the firmament and the wicked shall be amazed and astonished at the sight of them as you may read in the platform of judgement Matthew 25. where Christ sets his Saints over against the world that so the world may look upon them and be confounded at their sight 4 They shall judge the world by their lives and conversation as Ambrose saith rightly then is the world judged by them when as the courses and manners of the world are not found upon them Therefore it is a pretty observation of Hilary if it be the meaning of the Text I will not say it is upon the 2 Ps Be wise ye judges God hath appointed you to be Judges to sit on his bench with his Sonne learn then to be wise get to be indued with spirituall wisdome and understanding and to shine in all integritie and righteousnesse and then turning his speech to the wicked he says Kisse the sonne leâ—t he be angry However it be yet this is a truth that by the lives of his Saints he wil judge the world their faith shall judge the worlds infidelity their repentance shall judge the worlds impenitency their accepting of and taking the Lord Jesus shal judge their rejection and neglect of Christ Jesus their zeal shall judge the worlds luke-warmnesse and their holiness shal judge the worlds prophanenesse 1. Because of the mysticall union that is betwixt Christ and his Saints He is the head and they are his members now that which the head doth we ascribe it to the whole body when the head speaks the whole body speaks when the head sees the whole body sees so when Christ judgeth the world the whole body of Christ may truly be said to judge the world In as much as you did it unto one of these saith Christ you did it unto me so in as much as Chhist passeth sentence even all the members of the mysticall body of Christ judge with him Secondly in regard of compassion I speak not of the word compassion as it signifies pity but of compassion of suffering with Christ seeing that Christ was reproached contemned hated misused and condemned by the world the Saints are likewise with him seeing they partake of the afflictions humiliations and debasements of Christ here they shall also be made partakers with Christ in his glory Here the wicked judge the Saints and call them hypocrites and dissemblers and laugh and scoff at them and wonder at them as the Prophet brings in Christ speaking Isaiah 8.
know them you would not doe it for had they knowne the Lord of life they would not have crucified him 1 Cor. 2. 8. so if such as doe persecute Gods children did but know their worth and that they were his children they would not do it Let us esteem godly men and women as persons of great worth The Saints of God have alwaies done so Saint Lawrence being demanded by his persecutors wherein the worth of the Church lay the story saith he gathered a companie of poor people together and pointed at them and said there lies the worth of the Church so I have read of an ancient King who made a great feast and invited a company of poor people which were Christians and he bade his Nobles also now when the Christians came he had them up into the Presence Chamber but when the Nobles came he set them in his hall Being of the Nobles demanded the reason he answered I doe not this as I am their Kyng here for I respect you more then them but as I am a King of another world I must needs honour these because God doth most honour them and then they shall be Kings and Princes with me soe doe you esteeme of them according to their worth and shew it If they be persons of such great worth here you may be directed how to get a name of worth in the world to be honoured of God This is the way labour to be beleevers serve God and close with the godly be of one minde and of one heart with them Honour is the thing that all desire according to that of Saul to Samuel Honour me before the Elders of my people so we are all ready to say oh that I could be honoured in the heart of those that I converse withall I say then thou must labour to serve and honour God in thy heart let that be thine honour It is a meere folly for men to think to get honour by swearing by lying by cutting and slashing and drunkennesse c. The sweet ointment of a good name is not compounded of stinking ingredients That should serve to comfort the godly that seeing they are of so great worth what though they be disgraced here let this suffice thee God that knows the true worth of every thing he accounts thee worthy what though dogs bark and crie out against thee for thy holinesse let them alone and know thou this that the time will come when never a curre of them all but will wish oh that mine end might be like his and that they might goe as thy dogge to heaven with thee when they shall see thee sitte at his right hand where are pleasures for evermore Lastly you that approve your selves to be of the number of the godly labour to walke worthy of the Lord. Colos 1. 10. Doth God thus advance you then strive you to honour him with inward and outward worship God hath not done these things for you that you may live as you list no you are a chosen generation c. 1 Pet. 2. 19. Ergo you must shew forth the vertue of him that hath called you You that are parents of children the more you doe for them the more you look they should honour you the more God hath done for you the more you ought to feare him God hath drawn you out of darkenesse into a marvellous light and will you yet walke as vassals of Satan This was that kept Josoph from committing adultery even the favour of advancement and how then can I doe this great wickednesse saith he so thou art advanced to honour from a childe of the devill to be the son of God how then canst thou commit wickednesse Consider I say how God hath advanced thee from being a slave of Satan to be his adopted son and shall I now become a covetous person shall I be a companion of Gods enemies when you are enticed by the divell or wicked men to any sin say what shall such a man as I consent shall I flie from my colours what a Kings son and flie Consider this THE TIME OF GODS GRACE Is limited In a SERMON By WILLIAM FENNER Minister of the Gospel sometimes Fellow of Pembroke Hall in Cambridge and late Lecturer of Rochford in Essex London Printed by E. T. for John Stafford THE TIME OF GODS GRACE Is limited GEN. 6. 3. The Lord said My Spirit shall not alway strive with man because he is but flesh and his dayes shall be a hundred and twenty yeares IN this Chapter is continued the History of the decay of the World wherein is described Gods purpose of destroying mankind in which are these two parts First the meritorious deserving Cause wherein God gives an account what he doth how inexcusable the world is and how just God is unto the. 14 verse Secondly a direction unto Noah to make an Arke where we may see that God in his judgement remembers mercy The meritorious deserving cause is described first from the quantity of those persons in those evill dayes a great many verse the first men began to multiply in places populous where there are some good there are many bad Secondly by the quality of those persons the Sons of God when they saw the daughters of men the sonnes of God viz. the posterity of them that maintained Religion they began to be carelesse and carnally confident they did looke after the profits and pleasures of this life and then it was high time for God to enter into Judgement Thirdly by the kind of sinne They lusted after unlawfull Marriages c. and the root of this was originall corruption the Imaginations of mans heart were onely evill and that continually verse 5. These words are a Proclamation of Gods purpose to bring it to an end in which are four things First the Lords complaint in these words The Lord said Secondly the proclamation it selfe in these words my Spirit shall not alwayes strive with man Thirdly the reason because he is but flesh Fourthly the limitation of the time a hundred and twenty years in which time if they repent I will repent but if they will not my Spirit shall not alway strive As if the Lord had said I have tried all conclusions and used all means partly by Mercies to allure them partly by Judgements to terrifie them partly by my word to recall them and by all meanes possible to bring them to my selfe yet they remaine incorrigible I now am resolved to strive with them no more From the words thus opened there will naturally arise these two points First that the Lord of Heaven and earth doth strive mightily with a company of poore Rebells and all to bring them unto himselfe but on this I intend not to insist The seond is this viz. that there is a time when God will strive with men â—o more and that in this life The scope of this aimes at the whole world but what is said in generall may also be said
the Almighty p. 20. And let thy complaint be 1. Full of sorrow 21. 2. A full complaint of all thy sins ibid. 3. A complaint aggravating all thy sins by all their circumstances ibid. 4. A self condemning complaint wherein the complaint of Ezra is illustrated in eight particulars 22. 4. Let meditation when it hath searched out thy case and made it appear how wofull it is cast thee down before God 23. Four Motives to stir up the soul to Meditation Consider it is the part of a fool not to meditate It is madnesse for a man to walk on in a course and not to consider whither it will tend 24. 2. Consider not to meditate is the brand of a Reprobate ibid. 3. He that meditates not robs God of his honour 25. 4. All the service that a man performeth unto the Lord will be abominable if he meditate not before it and after it ibid. The reason why we have so many vain thoughts in our holy exercises is because we prepare not our hearts thereunto by meditation The Contents of the third SERMON Proverbs 1. 28. 1. THe opening of the context in five particulars 29. 2. The opening of the words of the Text in four particulars 30. 1. Doctrine Those that will not hear the Lord when he calleth upon them by the ministry of his word and voyce of his Spirit the Lord will not heart them when in their misery they call upon him 21. Three Reasons of the point 1. The law of Retaliation of rendring like for like requires it ibid. 2. Because Gods two Attributes of Mercy and Justice have their season in this life and when Mercy hath acted her part then cometh Justice upon the stage for to act her part 32. 3. Because it is Gods manner for to do so in temporall things and therefore much more in matters of grace and salvation 33. God giveth to men a day and no Man nor Angel knoweth how long this day lasteth or when this season of grace shall have an end 35. And as there is a personall day so there is a Nationall day 36. Objection 1. A man may be called at the eleventh or twelfth hour of the day 37. Answer Those that were called at the first hour came in at first hour those that came in at the twelfth hour were not the same that were called at the first hour ibid. Objection 2. The day of grace lasteth as long as the day of life ibid. The Objection is cleared under three particulars Answer And it is answered that the day of grace may end to a particular man long before his death 1. Because God may harden a mans heart 38. 2. Because God may sear mens consciences ibid. Objection 3. Suppose I go on in my sin and repent upon my death bead will God hear me Answer The answer is negative 39. Objection 4. Suppose I humble my self by fasting and prayer will not God hear that The answer is negative if thou neglect the day of grace ibid. Object 5. At what time soever a sinner repents he shall find mercy Ans It is true if he repent from the bottom of his heart but a man may have many a degree of repentance and yet never repent from his heart ibid. Self love may make a man do much ibid. 2. Doctrine It may be this very day even this particular Sermon this instant hour may be thy day that art now in thâ— sins that if thou repent not at this very one Sermon thou neglectest eternal life for ever 40. Four Reasons of the point 1. Because Gods patience is in his own breast and who can tell how long it will last ibid. Wherein Joel 2. 12. is opened in five particulars ibid. 2. God usually giveth some signes of death beforehand 41. But the day of grace may end and a man never have any warning of it Because Gods patience giveth no marks or inkling of its ending before it ends ibid. 3. Because God keepeth a strict account how many opportunities he hath vouchsafed 42. 4. Consider it is a wonder that the day of grace is not ended already and that thou art not now in hell 43. The Contents of the fourth SERMON upon upon Philip. 3. 18 19. 1 AN Explaination of the severall parts of the Text in five particulars 43. Doctrine That those whose minds and thoughts run habitually on earth and earthly things their end must needs be destruction 44. 6. Reasons 1. The curse of God is the desert of vain thoughts ibid. 2. The curse of God is the event of vaine thoughts ibid. 3. The man whose thoughts are habitually on the things of the world can never truly repent 47. 4. Because that man whose thoughts run habitually on earthly things hath no part in Jesus Christ 48. 5. Because so long as a mans thoughts run habitually on things of the world that man hath no true love of God in him ibid. 6. Because so long as a mans thoughts run after the world he can never depart from his sins 49. 2. Uses 1. For humiliation because these vain thoughts bearing sway in the heart they make that mans end to be destruction 50. 2. For the terrour of those men who suffer their hearts to be taken up with vain thoughts 51. Objection But I think of God and of Christ of faith and repentance 52. Answ 1. Consider whether thy good thoughts be meerly cast into thy heart or whether they be raised by thy heart ibid. A wicked man may have a thousand good thoughts and yet goe to hell in the midst of them 53. 2. Thou hast good thoughts but consider whether they be fleeting or abiding thoughts 54. There are two kinds of vaine thoughts 1. vaine because the matter and substance of them is vaine 2. vaine for want of durance and lasting though not vaine for the matter of them ibid. 3. Thou thinkest of God but consider whether thy thoughts be studied or accidentall thoughts 55. A godly man not only thinketh of God but he studieth how to think of God ibid. 4. Thou thinkest of God but consider whether thy thoughts of God be profitable or unprofitable thoughts ibid. Thoughts how free and not free Free from mens knowledge and mens Courts Not free 1. From Gods knowledge ibid. 2. They are not free from Gods word ibid. 3. They are not free from the wrath of God 57. Three meanes in the use whereof we may rid our selves of vain thoughts 1. Love the word of God ibid. 2. Go unto God by prayer ibid. 3. Consider thou hast not so learned Christ 58. All vaine thoughts arise from these three Heads 1. From the variety and abundance of the thoughts of the world ibid. 2. From the Fountain of corruption that is in mens hearts ibid. 3 From the damned malice of Satan and his temptations both within and without ibid. Thoughts become vain four manner of wayes In respect of the Matter In respect of the Forme In respect of the Efficient In respect of the
End 1. Thoughts are Meterially vain When the matter of them is vain ibid. Such are the thoughts of the world our calling or recreation these are evil 1. When we think of them primarily that is before we think of God 59. 2. When we think of them too usually too often ibid. 3. When we think of them too savourily 60. 4. When we think of them without counsel ibid. 5. When they are thoughts needlesly ibid. 2. Thoughts are vain formally when though the matter of them be never so good yet the manner of thinking them is evill 61. It is possible for a man to go to hell though he perform the same things for the matter of them that a godly man doth ibid. 3. Thoughts are vaine efficiently when the heart that thinketh upon them is earthly and vaine 62. 4. Thoughts are vain when the drift and end of the soul in thinking on them is vain 63. Wicked men will be thinking of God 1. To make God amends for their dishonouring of him by their wicked thoughts ibid. 2. To collogue with God and to flatter him 64. 3. To smoother and choak their own consciences ibid. The Contents of the fifth SERMON 1 Corinth 6. 2. 1. AN Explanation of the Text together with the veses foregoing and following 67. Doctrine The Saints shall judge the world 68. Objection How shall the Saints judge the world 69. Answer 1. By their consent unto Christs Judgement ibid. 2. By their applause to Christs judgement ibid. 3. By their Majesty then shall they shine as stars in the firmament and the wicked shall be amazed at the sight of them ibid. 4. By their lives and conversations their accepting of the Lord Jesus Christ they shal judge the worlds rejecting of him ibid. Three Reasons of the point 1. First because of that mystical union that is betwixt Christ and his Saints so when Christ judgeth the world the whole body of Christ may be said to judge the world 70. 2. In regard of their sufferings with Christ as they are judged by the world so they shall be judges of the world ibid. 3. For the greater terror to all wicked men at the day of judgement ibid. 4. Because the mouthes of wicked men may bee stopped and that they may have no excuse for themselves ibid. Use 1. For information in five particulars 1. Hence we may learne that the Saints by their now being Saints do now judge the world 71. Wherein Heb. 11. 7. is cleared from an Objection 2. Hence let the world learne that when any one sinner is converted there is one Judge more to sit upon them 72. 3. Hence we may learn that it concerns all the world to take notice of every grace in Gods children because there is never a grace in any of the Saints but it shall make for the condemnation of them that want it ibid. 4. Learne hence that if the Saints then much more the word that begets them shall judge the world 73. 5. Learne hence also that the Ministers of God by every Sermon they preach shall judge the world ibid. Use 2. For to condemn the world who see not an amiablenesse in the faces of the Saints who shall one day be their Judges who shall judge both Saints and Angels 74. 2. This sheweth the folly of the wicked who prepare not for these Judges ibid. Lastly it condemnes all those that do not see glory and majesty in the face of Gods Saints he that revileth the Saints revileth his Iudges ibid Who shall judge the World 1. God the Father by way of authority all judgement is originally from him 75. 2. God the Son by way of dispensation ibid. 3. God the holy Ghost by way of conviction 76. 4. The Word of God by way of form it being the platforme according to which Christ will judge the whole world ibid. 5 All the Ministers of God shall sit as Justices in common 77. 6. All the Saints from one end of the world to the other shall assist the just Iudge of Heaven and Earth ibid. So that the wicked shall not be able to plead ibid. 1. Their Ignorance ibid. 2. Nor their Poverty ibid. 3. Neither their sinning at their masters command 78. 4. Neither Callings or Trade ibid. 5. Neither the sinfull times they live in ibid. Use 3. First for the just reproof of many of the Saints of God because they are not so circumspect over their wayes as they ought how will they be able to rise up in judgement against the wicked for such sins as they them selvs live in ibid. 2. It may serve to condemne some of the Saints of God in regard of that little difference that is to be found betwixt the wicked of the world and them in their lives and manners it is hard to tell which is a Saint and which is a Reprobate by their conversations 3. It may serve to condemn the scandalousnesse of many persons in their behaviour and actions 80. The Contents of the sixth Sermon on 1 Cor. 11. 30. Doct. 1. FRom the 18. v. that whosoever will come to the holy Communion they must examine themselves that so they may come warthily 83. The Apostle gives three Reasons of it 1. From the end of the Sacrament 2. From the wrong men offer to Christ if they come in their sins ibid. 3. From the wofull wrong that a man doth to his own soul that cometh without preparation ibid. The Uses of the point are these 1. For the reproof of those that coming unpreparedly get no spirituall strength thereby ibid. 2. For terrour to unworthy receivers 85. 3. To shew they make themselves liable to Gods temporary plagues ibid. 4. For instruction to examine our selves ibid. 5. He concludes with an use of exhortation 86. An Explanation of the Words Doct. 2. God doth most severely punish the unworthy receivers of the Lords Supper 87. Foure Reasons hereof 1 Because Christ himselfe instituted it ibid. 2. Because Christ is the matter of it and therefore the more heynous the defilement 89. 3. Because Christ is the forme of it wherein confirming grace is sealed to the soul 90. 4. Because Christ is the end of the Sacrament ibid. Use 1. For Instruction shewing whence sicknesse weaknesse c. come 91. From whence comes hardnesse of heart c. 92. Use 2. For comfort unto every poor afflicted soul c. 93. Use 3. For terror to those that come unpreparedly 94. Object Do all that come unworthily eat and drink their own damnation Answ A man may eat and drink his own damnation three ways 1. In regard of guilt and liablenesse to Gods wrath 96. 2. In regard of the seal and obligation in the conscience ibid. 3. In regard of the sigillation in heaven ibid. Lastly the conclusion denouncing terror to all those that dare rush upon this holy ordinance 205. But for comfort to all them who with all diligence set upon the preparing of their souls for this great Ordinance ibid. The Contents
of the seventh SERMON on 2 Cor. 11. 28. The words of the Text explained Doct. 1. WE must not rush upon the Sacrament 102. There are none of the Ordinances of God that a man may rush upon without examination ibid. Three Reasons hereof 1. Naturally we are not invited guests to the Sacrament ibid. 2. Though we are invited yet it may be we are not disposed for naturally we are strangers to God and the covenant of God all this indisposition must be wrought off before we can come comfortably to the Sacrament 103. 3. This is a solemn Ordinance and therefore an Ordinary disposition will will not serve the turn ibid. Many a reprobate may eat and drink in Christs presence ibid. Use To forewarne men lest they unpreparedly rush upon any of Gods Ordinances especially upon the Sacrament of the body and bloud of Christ. 104. The text divided into four parts The matter of the duty ibid. The manner how to be performed ibid. The rule of direction concerning it ibid. The benefit of following that rule ibid. Doct. 2. There is a necessity that we should receive the Lords Supper and receive it often 105. Doct. 3. The manner of performance of duties is to be regarded ibid. Five Reasons hereof 1. The Lord commands the manner as well as the matter 106. 2. Circumstances overthrow actions if they be not rightly and duly observed ibid. Its instanced 1. In grayer ibid. 2. In preaching ibid. 3. In receiving the Sacrament 107. 4. In brotherly reproof ibid. 5. In eating drinking and marrying ibid. 3. Because only the manner of doing duties gets the blessing 108. 4. Because Christ himself is an example unto us in this he did not only obey his Father in the matter of his commands but in the manner of them ibid. 5. Because otherwise we cannot glorifie God ibid. Use 1. First to condemn that natural Popery that is in the hearts of men c. 109. Use 2. For discovering why people are so willing to doe duties for the matter and not for the manner 110. The Reasons of it are these 1. Because the matter of duties is easie but the manner is difficult ibid. 2. Dutres for the matter of them may be done with a proud heart 111. 3. They may be done with an unholy life 112. 4. The matter of duty bringeth not the crosse and may zealous for the matter and persecutors of goodnesâ—e ibid. Use 3. To exhort men to labour and perform duties aright 113. Three Motives to perswade people to perform duties after a right manner 1. Because no Ordinance at all else can be effectuall unto us ibid. 2. All is but hypocrisie if the manner be not regarded ibid. 3. It is only the right manner of duing duties that pleaseth God 114. Doctrine 4. Every man mast prepare himself before he come to the Lords Table 115. Four Reasons hereof 1. Because the Sacrament is Gods ordinance ibid. 2. Because the Lord Christ hath made great preparation in providing it 116. 3. Because Christ in this ordinance offers to come into the soule and he looks for good entertainment ibid. 4. Because the Sacrament is a part of Christs last will and Testament therefore when we know our Lords will we must prepare for the doing of it 117. The Contents of the eighth SERMON upon Proverbs 29. 1. 1. A double exposition of the Text. Doctrine FRom the first exposition viz He that reproveth another and is guilty himself in the same kind or in any other kind and hardeneth his own heart in it that man shall be destroyed without remedy 122. Seven Reasons hereof 1. Because the office of a reprover bindeth him to be blamelesse ibid. 2. Because such a reprover as is guilty himself can never reprove to a right end ibid. 3. Neither can he doe it in a right manner 123. 4. Such a reprover is an hypocrite ibid. 5. Such a reproving of another mans sin makes him inexcusable in his own 124. 6. It is an absurd thing for a person to reprove another for that whereof he is guilty himself ibid. 7. Such a reproving is a sign of impudency ibid. Objection Shall not a wicked Magistrate or Minister reprove others c 125 Answ He is bound to reprove in regard of his office but it bound in conscience to amend himself first ibid. Use 1. For instruction first Let every reprover take heed lest he make himself inexcusable ibid. 2. Let him endeavour to walk unblameable and inoffensive ibid. Two Doctrines from the second Exposition of the Words viz. Doctrine 1. The Lord doth not not destroy man willingly but for sinne 127. Doctrine 2. It is a great mercy for man to be reproved for his sinne 128. Three Reasons of second Doctrine 1. Because reproofs primarily come from love ibid. 2. They tend to the good of a mans soule 129. 3. It s brutish not to take reproofs in good part 130. Use 1. First for information that God is bringing destruction upon a Kingdome when he takes away reprovers from them ibid. Use 2. For the reproof of those that despise the reproof of the wise they despise not men but God 131 The grievousnesse of their sin who stand out against reproof is aggravated under severall heads 132. Doctrine 3. The Lord proportions punishments to mens sins ibid. Three Reasons of the third Doctrine 1. Because hereby a mans punishment appears to be so much more equal and worthy ibid. 2. This stops mens mouths and convinceth their consciences ibid. 3. All the standers by may see the equity of it when the punishment is according to the sin 133. Use 3. For instruction 1. To teach men notto complaine of Gods dealing with them if their punishment be for the the kind of it according to their sin but rather let them learn to see Gods immediate hand in it 134. 2. To teach men to consider how God many times proportions punishments to sin 1. For Kind ibid. 2. For Quantity ibid. 3. For Quality 135. 4. For Time ibid. 5. For Place ibid. The Contents of the ninth SERMON Isaiah 55. 7 Doct. 1. THose whose minds or thoughts run habitually on earthly things are yet in the state of misery 139. Four Reasons 1. Because a man is in the state of misery till he hath repented and untill a man hath forsaken his vaine thoughts he hath not repented ibid. 2. Because a man is in a state of misery untill he is in Christ and a man is not in Christ till his thoughts be sanctified ibid. 3. Because a man is in the state of misery that doth not love God and a man can never love God untill he forsake his vaine thoughts 140. 4. Because that man is in a state of misery that doth not forsake sin and a man can never forsake sin till he leave his vaine thoughts ibid. 1. Because vaine thoughts are great sins ibid. 2. They are sins of the highest part of man ibid. 3. They are the breach of every Commandement ibid. 4.
to faile 357 Three Directions what is to be done in such times 1. Let us shake off the love of all things here below ibid. 2. Let us lay our heads upon the block and be willing that God should doe what he will with us 358. 3. Let us pray and cry mightily to God before we dye even all the time we have to live for mercy peace and truth ibid. The Church of England like the ship of Jonah 359. The Authors Admonition to the People ibid. More then ordinary Faith requisite for these times of danger ibid. The Contents of the five and twentieth SERMON on Heb. 11. 28. THe Coherence of the text with the context 363. Doctr. 1. That it hath heen the property of wicked men and is still to think whatsoever the godly have is to good for them 364. Reasons 1. Because God hath chosen them out of the world ibid. 2. Because the wicked know not the godly ibid. 3. Because the wicked measure others by themselves ibid. 4. Because there is and ever will be a contrariety between the seed of the woman and the Serpent 365. Use 1. This should teach godly men when they are hardly dealt with not to be discouraged ibid. Use 2. Though the world deale hardly with you yet see that you doe not measure like for like ibid. Doctr. 2. The world and the things of the world are of little worth 1. In respect of God 1. Because they can not make us the better esteemed with God 366. 2. They cannot assure us of Gods love ibid 3. They do not make us the more mindfull of God ibid. 2. In respect of themselves 1. They cannot enrich a mans soul with grace 367. 2. They are not able to free a man from any spirituall evill ibid. 3. They cannot give any solid content ibid. 4. We can hove no assurance of them 368. Use To teach us to take off our hearts and affections from pursuing the things of this life 369. Doctrine 3. True beleevers vre persons of great worth ibid. 1. In respect of the worthy names that are given to them ibid. 2. In respect of the great prince that is paid for them ibid. 3. In respest of the consciences of the wicked 370. 4. In respect of the priviledges that God hath been pleased to dignify them withall ibid. Which are these 1. Their Royall descent ibid. 2. Their Royall attendance ibid. 3. Their hig places ibid. 4. Their extraordinary fare ibid. 5. Their Royall apparell ibid. 6. Their freedome from debt ibid. 7. Their free accesse to the throne of grace ibid. 8. All thigs work together for their good 371. 9. They are Gods beloved ones ibid. 10. They have the free use of Gods Creatures ibid 11. They are a safeguard to the places where they live ibid. 12. Great things are reserved for them in the world to come ibid. Use 1. This serves for terror to the wicked who wrong the children of God ibid. Use 2. To teach us to esteem such men as are persons of so great worth 372. Use 3. To direct us how we may be honoured of God scil by honouring such as he honours ibid. Use 4. This serves to comfort the godly however disgraced here ibid. Use 5. To teach us that if we account our selves of that number we be carefull to walk worthy of the Lord 373. The Contents of the six and twentieth SERMON on Gen. 6. 3. THe words opened 377. Doctr. 1. The Lord doth mightily strive with a company of poor rebels 378. Doctr. 2. There is a time when God will strive no more with men ibid. This handled in six particulars 1. Proved by testimonies of Scripture 379. 2. The manner shewn hâ—w God is wont to deale with rebellious people ibid. 3. God at length gives men over to their lusts 380. 4. God hardens such men as he hath given over ibid. 5. God lets such men build upon false bottoms 381. 6. God witholds such means as he had formerly afforded them ibid. What persons they are whom God thus deals with shewn in four particulars 1. Those that have lived long under the means of grace and have not profited by them 372. 2. Those that have had much means and many secret workings of the Spirit and have not made good use of them ibid. 3. Those that have much grieved the good spirit of God in bringing in some sin contrary to the light of conscience and the suggestions of the good spirit ibid. 4. Such as have a vile and contemptible esteem of the Gospell and the Ministers thereof 383. The grounds of this point or why God gives men over and will strive with them no more are taken 1. From the justice of God ibid. 2. From the wisdom of God ibid. Severall Objections propounded and answered 386. Use 1. Seeing that God strives with some men and at length gives them over go home and blesse God that he hath not dealt so with thee ibid. Use 2. Take heed there come not a time when God will strive with thee no more 387. Use 3. Wo to the wicked who are thus left ibid. Their case is miserable in three respects 1. Because if God forsake thee all forsakes thee 388. 2. When God goes restraining grace goes ibid. 3. If God leaves thee common protection leaves thee ibid. The Authors Exhortation Redeem the time and yeeld to the good motions of Gods spirit Four Motives to it 1. Consider the fearfull condition of such as are given over 389. 2. Consider the great danger of putting off ibid. 3. Consider the time past and present ibid. 4. Consider that though God shouldbe all the day long calling and egging â—s on yet our lives are but short ibid. The Contents of the seven and twentieth SERMON on Colos 3. 5. THe Text explained and divided 394. Doctr. 1. If we look to have any benefit by or interest in Christ we must mortify our sins and corruptions 396. Three Reasons 1. Because Christ is a Saviour to save us from our sins 397. 2. Because it is impossible for sin and grace to subsist in one subject 398. 3. Because it is impossible to enter into the kingdom of Heaven if we mortifie not our sins ibid. Use 1. To condemne all such as goe on in their old courses of deadnesse and security 399. Use 2. To teach us that it is not enough to let sin dye in us but we must kill it 400. Use 3. To teach us that the work of our Redemption is no easy worke as many men thinke it ibid. Use 4. To teach us to examine our selves whether we have mortified our sins or no 402. Which may be known by these markes 1. They that have mortified their sinnes doe live in the contrary graces ibid. 2. They that are mortified indeed and in truth are dead to every sinne 403. The Contents of the eight and twentieth SERMON on Isaiah 58. 4. TWo things mainly considerable in the Chapter 1. The prophets Commission 2. The execution of his
see a pill but his stomack riseth against it Behold I wil hedge up thy way with thorns Hos 2. 6. I wil not be so precise saith the heart I wil go on as I have done I wil go after these and these courses I will hedge up thy way with thorns saith God meditation is Gods instrument and sets a thorn in the way to every sin to bring the heart back again Would the heart lash out into luke-warmnesse Meditation sets a thorn in the way God will spue thee out of his mouth Would the heart sally forth into any sin Meditation sets a thorn in the way Cursed art thou if thou dost err from Gods Commandements The heart cannot step forth into any lust but meditation meets it with a thorn this curse and that curse this plague and that plague Would the heart reach at mercy in its sin Meditation pricks it mercie is vengeance unto thee so long as thou hankrest after sin Would the heart reach after Christ in his sin Meditation pushes it back with a thorn no Christ for thee but a severejudge so long as thou itchest after thy vanities What shal we think of them then which are loth to practice this duty Most men are loth though they be willing enough to meditate on their worldly affairs The Mariner meditates and considers his course by his Compasse or else he might soon runne on the quick-sands a Pilgrim is full of thoughts what am I in my right way He never comes to a doubtfull turning but he stands in a study and muses O which is my right way The Merchant meditates and his mind runs on his Count-book or else he is soon bankrupt The voluptuous man his thoughts run on his pleasure the drunkard on his cups the proud man on his credit But it is one thing to look to that which is thine and another thing to look to thy self Take heed to your selves saith the Lord Deut. 11. 16. Deut. 12. 30. Deut. 4. 9. Exod. 34. 12. as if he should say think on thy self of thy poor soul let thy Meditation run on thy poor soul The heart is untoward unto this duty and as unwilling as a Bear to be brought to the stake the Bear would rather be rambling abroad then be baited so men had rather let their hearts ramble about any thing then bait them for their sins yea men scoff at it saying shall we alwayes be poring on our sins shall we run mad shall we drive our selves to despair cannot men keep themselves well while they are well The poor man he hath no time for this tedious duty the rich man he needs it not the wicked they dare not so no man will No man repented him of his wickednesse saying What have I done Jer. 8. 6. no man would meditate and think with himself what is my case how stands my condition before God what evil have I done in the Ark and in the old Law if there were any beast that chewed not the cud it was a sign of an unclean beast the word implies the bringing up of their meat into their mouths again and sitting down to chew it again But now men like unclean beasts swallow down the food of their souls unchewed and will not meditate thereof that it may turn to good nutriment but like Cormorants they take it down by whole-sale and are never the better So the Word is to them as the Quails to the Israelites while the flesh was yet between their teeth ere it was chewed the wrath of the Lord was kindled against them and smote them them with a very great plague Num. 11 33. So the Word of God sticks in their teeth ere they chew it or meditate upon it the wrath of God falls upon them and strikes them with a very great plague of hardnesse of heart and leanness of soul But the truth is you that will not now see your sins nor meditate on them you shall see them and meditate on nothing but on fear Lord when thy hand is lifted up they will not see but they shall see and be ashamed Isaiah 26. 11. Now the Lets of serious meditation are First vain company When Peter saw the people touched Acts 2. 37. he said unto them Save your selves from this untoward generation verse 40. as if he should say If you love your selves God hath touched your hearts suffer not Satan and these wicked instruments to steal away these impressions of terrour from your Souls If ever you love your souls sort not your selvs with this untoward generation See as it humbles you so let meditation follow upon it so that it may still humble you Ill company brings a man to the gallows as the proverb is and ill company will bring a man to hell say I and meditation cannot be admitted to it David would not have a wicked man to abide in his sight when he was to meditate he wisht that there were never a wicked man in the world much less would he keep company with them My meditation of him shall be sweet let the sinners be consumed out of the earth and let the wicked be no more Bless thou the Lord O my soul ps 104. 35. The second Let is multitude of worldly businesses A dream saith Solomon comes through multitude of businesses Eccles 5. Multitude of businesses causeth the mind so to run on them that they do even dream of them in their sleep as Lucretius Seneca Claudian and many others of the hearthens haue observed He that over-imploys himself his meditations of heaven are dreaming meditations his thoughts dreaming thoughts he can never seriously meditate on the good of his soul Many ingrosse businesses into their hands never thinking they have enough they are so greedy after the world and so carelesse of heaven So they make their hearts like high-way-ground the word sown in their hearts is like seed sown in the high-way where is such a throughfare and a broad Carriers road of earthly affairs that all the word and meditation thereof is trodden down as the grasse in the high-way which cannot grow so neither meditation in a busie-bodied heart For a good meditating mind Nemo ad illam pervenit occupatus saith Seneca no man ever came to it surfeited with imployments David although he had abundance of State-affairs both his hands ful yet he would not to be over-charged but that he might meditate in Gods word My hands also not all down to businesse only in the world but also up to thy Law will I lift up to thy commandements which I have loved and I wil meditate on thy statutes Psal 119. 48. Take not too much upon thee like those grasping worldlings that wil have a finger in a hundred things Martha Martha thou art cumbred about many things but one thing is needfull and Mary hath chosen the better part Luke 10. 41. and what was that one thing Mary was sitting and meditating in and pondring Christs words not
as Theophylact expounds it as if we would say Martha Martha thou art cumbred about many dishes but one thing is needfull only only one dish though indeed so it be yet he here speaks not only of one dish but of many cares which hinder that one necessary duty of hearing and meditating of the word of God Thirdly ignorance A man cannot meditate of a thing he knows not nor thou of thy sins if thou be not skilful in Gods Catalogue of thy sins nor of mercies and promises if thou beest not verst in them nor of his Precepts if thou be not expert in them the Psalmist proveth that he had more knowledge than all his teachers Why because he used to meditate I have more understanding then all my Tutors for thy testimonies are my meditation Psal 119. 99. Fourthly aversnesse of the heart The heart is like the swine meditation is like the yoke the Hogge would fain get into forbidden fields for to grub them the yoke that hinders him but he cannot abide it every step he takes he lifts up his foot to strike it off if he could so the heart would fain break through hedges and get into forbidden wayes and if thou wouldest meditate it would every moment lift up it's heel to put thee besides it If it cannot put thee besides it it wil mar it if it can and therefore David praid to God to settle his heart upon the right and put his yoke upon him or it would never be stedfast else upon meditation Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be ever acceptable in thy sight O Lord my strength and my redeemer Psal 19. 14. This aversnesse of the heart consists in three things First in the carelesnesse of the heart the heart prizeth not meditation nor the things of grace that are to be meditated on it will not be at the cost and charge nor at the pains for them To what end is a price in the hands of a fool seeing there is no heart to get wisdom Prov. 17. 16. The heart will not be brought to Gods price it would fain have the wares at a cheap rate Secondly in runnings of it the heart is like a vagrant rogue he would rather be hanged than tied to his parish Thou canst not bring it to prayer but it will be a gadding on by thoughts thou canst not bring it to a Sermon but it will be roving after wandering imaginations thou canst not bring it to a meditation but it will be a gossipping forth When Christ came to bind men with his blessed cords and bind their hearts to him Psal 2. they fall a meditating afterwards but it was meditating and imagining vain things verse 1. and when they saw they were to be tyed up Tush say they let us break their bonds asunder and cast their cords from us verse 3. What do Ministers call us to such strictnesse thinking to imprison our hearts in their stocks away with their bonds no we will have none of it Thirdly in the wearisomness of the heart It is as weary of meditation as a Cur is of the whip and the chain Oh how it barks and maunders till it be loose yea though it be never so eager upon it at the first it 's jaded presently When God called the Jews to sanctifie his Name they thought in their hearts O what a wearinesse is this I and ye have snuffed at it saith the Lord ye brought which was lame and torn and sick Malac. 1. 13. What a wearinesse is it to meditate saith the heart it snuffs it is untoward it is lumpish it would fain tear off a piece of the duty or bring it wanting a leg or without soundnesse and sincerity yet some of them saith Calvin were so humbled that they thought on the name of the Lord Malac. 3. 16. they thought and meditated and forced their hearts to consider throughly This may serve for terror unto all those who for all this that hath been spoken dare sit down without it yea the world will not beleeve these things nor meditate therein yea they blame Gods messengers that call so sore upon them Habakkuk was so served he preached the mercies of God to the humble and the judgements of God to the wicked they ask him why he was so mad well sayes the Prophet I will stand upon my watch and see what the Lord sayes unto me that I may answer to them that reprove me Hab. 2. 1. What did the Lord tell him Write the vision and make it plain upon Tables that he may run that reads it verse 2. Will they not beleeve Will they rove Will they not meditate steadily upon these things Will they not let their hearts stay and meditate and consider The vision shall be so plain that he that runs may read it If thou wilt not stay and meditate herein the word is so plain to thy condemnation that if thou didst not but think of it with a running thought thou maist read thine own vengeance thine own woes in regard of the multitude of them He that runnes by a way full of holes and pits though he stand not meditating where are the pits yet he may run and see them The book of God is full leaves and cover and all of woes against thee Lam. 2. 10. It is written without there thou maist read thy sins written it is written likewise within there thou maist read thy plagues Secondly in regard of the greatnesse of them he that runnes along and loe a great town on fire though he stay not to meditate on it what or where it is yet he may run and read it so is the curse of sinners a great curse Zeph. 1. 10. he that runs may read it Thirdly in regard of the proximitie and neernesse of them He that runnes if a sword come out at his throat though he doth not stop to meditate what is this at my throat yet he cannot but see it Behold the Judge standeth before the door James 5. 9. Take heed how thou grudgest or sinnest in any particular behold the Judge standeth before the door behold it and meditate on it with thy heart if not he is nigh enough thou canst not step out of doors unto any sin but though thou runnest thou must needs see the Judge that will Judge thee Iâ—eming thy sins noting thy wayes observing thy courses ready to unhasp the door on thee to hale thee unto hell in thy sins Whose end is destruction Why Even those that mind earthly things Phil. 3. 19. If thy mind and meditation run more on thy ground cattel goods kitchen house businesse earthly talk discourses thoughts more than of heaven thy end is destruction If thy thoughts will not stay here do but runne and thou maist read it Think not that I am come to destroy the Law or the Prophets I am come to fulfill them Matthew 5. 17. Some saith Chrisostome might think now Christ is come it is no
matter though we not be so strict Christ is enough Think not thus saith Christ but rather think and meditate that I am come to fulfill it may self and to see it fulfilled in those I mean to save so as to make it a rule of their lives Themistocles said he could not sleep in his bed for continual thinking and meditating on Miltiades his Tryumphs And how canst thou sleep in thy bed if thou wouldest but meditate on these places of Scripture Retire thy self apart there is no casting up of mans account in a croud Let me alone I am busie so we use to say when we would be private Thou must do with thy soul as Ehud did to Eglon who said I have a secret errant to thee O King and so all went out and he said I have a message from God to thee and so stabd him at his heart Judges 3. 19. So for Ehud was a type of Christ saith Lavator I have a secret errant to thee O my soul and so let all go forth I have a message from God to thee a message of wrath for thy Pride a message of wrath for thy vain hopes Thus saith the Lord Cursed art thou O my soul stab it to the heart with this spirituall Dagger wound it with the blade and haft and all till thou have let out the fat and the dirt the filth and iniquity all out The Prophet speaking of mens looking on Christ whom they have pierced this meditating and laying to heart that they have crucified the Lord Jesus saith that they shall mourn every one in private the house of David apart and their wives apart the house of Nathan apart and their wives apart the house of Shimei apart and their wives apart every family apart and their wives apart Zach. 12. 2. The second meanes if thou wouldest meditate aright observe the times of privacy First the morniug that is the best time for study David chose the morning for meditation Psal 5. 1. 3. Let them hear this saith Chrisostome that arise betimes in the morning to serve their Hoggs and their Doggs their bellies and their backs before they serve God in meditation or prayer unlesse it be the mumbling and roaring a few Lord have mercy upon us that pray not till after many other businesses it may may be not then neither David prayed and meditated in the morning In the morning thou washest thy face and thy hands but thy soul hath more need which thou washest not in the morning thou puttest thy cloathes on thy body but thou puttest not on afresh the new man upon thy soul in the morning thou shakest off sleepinesse from thine eyes but thou shakest not off drousinesse from thy soul Thou lookest into the glasse in the morning to see if thy face be as it should be but thy soul is not composedly looking into the glasse of Gods word In the morning loook up in prayer look up in thansgiving look up in meditation Secondly the night too O Lord I meditate on thee in the night watches Psal 93. not as carnall ones doe when they cannot sleep then their mind runs on their Cow and their Calf their markets and vanities this neighbour and that neighbour like Petronius his dogge that was hunting while he lay asleep in his kennel Thirdly In the evening I prevent the night watches that I might meditate Psal 119. 148. he did not as wicked men doe sleep like a horse in the stable on his litter with his neck tyed to the manger they did go to bed with their hearts roped to the world worldly thoughts this thought and that thought and God knows what Fourthly when the heart is touched at a Sermon or Sacrament or observing of any judgement or mercy or act of Gods providence it is best striking when the Iron is hot David when his heart was touched at the reproches of the wicked then he meditated Psall 119. 23. When the Instrument is in tune then it is good playing upon it when a Churl is in a good mood then it is fittest to deal with him Oft will thy heart be out of tune oft churlish and in an ill mood if thou lettest the good opportunity goe thou knowest not when thou shalt have such another When the fish is nibling at the bait then it is good twiching at the angle-rod when the heart is a nibling at grace then gave a pluck at it by meditation See Acts 17. 11. now while the time lusts see thou maist get into heaven Thirdly Rub up thy self and thy memory call as much to mind as thou canst what evill thou hast done ever since thou wast born what in the womb what in the cradle childhood youth age what a servant what a Master what as a servant what as a son what as a neighbour what as an inferiour what as a superiour either in thought or word or deed how often thou hast omitted good duties or done them by halvs Item for this and Item for that They shall remember themselves and turn unto the Lord Psal 22. 27. First they shall remember themselves and say what have I done O wretch how carelessely have I lived Secondly so meditating they shall turn unto the Lord. Many say Oh! they cannot remember their sins They lye in a thousand particulars for they can remember to commit them well enough See Lam. 3. 19. 20. 21. our Greek translation turns it I spake to my self and meditated as if they should say O what a rebell have I been how unthankfull how unprofitable under all the means of grace I may thank my sins for all the plagues of the Almighty that are upon me if he had damned me I had been well served What follows The heart bowed and was humbled as it is in the text The fourth means Rouze up thy heart As it is with the eye of the body so it is with the eye of the Soul when a man would look wistly upon a thing as if he would look thorow it he sets his eye on it as Paul set his eyes on Elymas Ah thou child of the Devill thou c. Acts 13. 9. Meditation is the setting of the eye of the soul upon a thing set thine eye upon thy selfe and say Ah thou childe of the wicked why hath Satan filled thy heart O wretched heart whence hadst thou thy selfe-love hadst thou not it from the Devill God might do well to send thee to the Devill if thou lovest so to be his Broker Set thine eyes stedfastly upon thine own wayes and thou shalt see infinite hellish evils in thy sins The third Use is for Reprehension What is more usual than this that men make slight account of their sins Nay when God tels them in their hearts Thou shalt not do this thou shalt not doe that yet they meditate and think Why may I not Samuel bid Saul stay for directions from him before he sacrificed unto God It seems that God spoke to his
scales he puts the word of his Gospel in the one and thy goings and obedience in the other Thou art weighed and art found too light thy kingdom is departed from thee saith God to Belshazzer Dan. 5. 27. So if thou be light thou shalt be weighed and so found thou shalt lose the Kingdom of heaven for ever Secondly strip sin and look upon it stark naked sin covers and disguiseth it self with pleasure profit ease and many a whorish garment and so inticeth the heart Even a toad if she were covered over with gold those that saw only the gold would pocket it up if it were naked they would fling it in the kennel Why doe men love covetousnesse Why its hooded with profit Why carding dicing hunting hawking tabring piping and more than the word alloweth Why they are cloathed with pleasure and delight It s the duty of Ministers to unmask and uncase sin and pluck off he vail that covers it from appearing unto men The not doing of this is the cause that men do not meditate on the vilenesse of their sin never are humbled never escape Gods wrath even because they 〈◊〉 discover 〈◊〉 iniquities Lam. 2. 14. Alas the profit of thy sins shall cease the pleasure cease the ease cease and all these goodly suits shall vanish away when the soul comes to dye or to stand before the judgement seat of Christ sin will remain but thy silver and thy gold where will that be then thy laughter and thy merâ—iment what will become of that then thy delight will be gone Meditate therefore with thy self my sin is now gainful and easie and pleasant but what will my sin become when I come to lye on my deathbod what good will it do me when I have most need of succour I will never acknowledge him my friend that will turn against me when I have most need of him Alas I must dye I must come to judgement I I must go either to heaven or to hell the profit that I get now by my sins will it bestead me then the pleasure the ease that I now find in sin will it help me there Alas no it will then be my break neck it will be a Devil unto me the more I have been delighted with it the more it will gall â—e the more I have gotten by it the more it will damne me the sin which I most of all loved will most of all torment me Eccles 11. 9. look thus upon sin The third means Dive into thy own soul and heart There is a tough brain over thy heart that it feels not its sins Now Meditation must look through and come to the heart at the quick and cause the truth to dive into the deep places of the soul When the timber is hard the workman cannot thrust in the nail with the weight of his hand no he must hammer it in Meditation is the hammering of the heart It 's a pertinent phrase Jer. 23 24. Is not my word like a fire saith the Lord and like a hammer that breaketh the rocks in pieces There be two similitudes first of a hammer the Word of God is the hammer meditation is the hand that taketh this hammer and knocks the nail into the rocky heart and makes it enter Wilt thou not feel I 'le make thee feel saith Meditation wilt thou not take notice of thy wretched estate Meditation comes with blow after blow and makes us take notice Secondly of fire the word is like fire Meditation kindles it about the heart A man benummed with cold is senselesse the water frozen with cold though the least pebble would have sunk in it before now a great milstone is able to lye upon it and not sink the water is able to bear it so is the heart be it's sins never so heavy as the hill of Basan yet it bears it and feels no weight but Meditation thawes the heart and then every sin pincheth and oppresseth Is not my word like fire as if he should say think of it and muse of it and meditate of it and thou shall feel it as a fire Meditation is the often smiting of the heart with this hammer so did Ephraim smite upon his thigh Jer. 31. 19. like a man in a miserable agony he thumps his own breast and in a vexation strikes his hand on his thigh Oh miserable wretch that I am So did Ephraim Oh what an unruly Oxe am I how unwilling am I to bear the yoke of the Lord Oh and oh the hardness of my heart oh that I could tell how to beat thee black and blue Many men smite their hearts but they smite them not often enough When Elishah bad Joash smite upon the ground he smote thrice and stayed The man of God said to him in anger Thou shouldest have smitten five or six times for then thou hadst smitten Syria till thou hadst consumed them whereas now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice 2. King 13. 19. So men smite their hearts twice or thrice or so but they will not smite their sins dead it may be they break the head of their sins but they recover again and grow strong upon them as at first Thou must smite five or six times yea fifty times five times till thou hast quite broken the impostume of thy heart Meditate on the mercies of God and with them smite it often and often Meditate on the justice of God and with it smite it again and again Meditate on the wrath of God which is as a consuming fire and with it smite it soundly Meditate on the truth of the Lord this threatning and that threatning this commandement and that commandment this promise and that promise and with all these smite it to powder The fourth means Anticipate and pâ—â—ventthine own heart meditate what thy heart will one day wish if it be not humbled and tell thy Soul as much thou wilt one day wish Oh that I had been humbled under the reproofs of the Lord Oh that I had been wise to have understood my own mercy Cursed be the day that ever I neglected the means of grace so the Lord brings in a foolish obstinate sinner cursing and banning his own soul sobbing and howling at the last O how have I hated instruction and my heart despised reproof and have not observed the voyce of my Teachers nor inclined mine care to them that instruct me Prov. 5. 12 13. I had Ministers to preach to me but I would not come at them or if I did I cared not for their doctrine I had friends that advised me well but woe is me damned wretch I heeded them not Thus thou wilt cast the fool into thine own teeth and fling a thousand curses into thine own face because of thy madness I might have learned but I would not I might have been humbled but I would not I was almost in an evill in the midst of the assembly of the congregation verse 14. I lived where the Saints of God were
in whole assemblies but I mockt them I hated them I misliked them for being too precise I was not ashamed of my security no not in thy sight Thus thou wilt cry out one day if thou wilt not yeeld unto meditation which must make this as present with thee Know thou O my soul the time of thy visitation is at hand thou wilt curse thy selfe hereafter if thou dost not now be moved by Gods mercies thou shalt never see mercy more Now be awaked by Gods judgments or else thou shalt feel them for evermore now or for ever thou shalt â—oar for them Then thou shalt curse thy gains and thy profits that bewitched thee thou shalt curse thy pleasures and delights that besorted thee curse thine one heart and thine own soul and thine own conscience that have damned thee Meditation may tell thee thus it will be with thee unlesse thou obeyest now Hear ye me now Oh yee Children and depart not from the words of my mouth verse 7. hear the word now and obey it let it not depart out thy meditation Now be humbled with grace or then thou shalt be humbled with horrour then thou shalt wish Oh that I had been ruled When thou art in hell then thou shalt meditate Oh it was good counsel that such and such a Minister gave me good counsel that such a friend and such a brother gave me but wretch that I was I had not grace to follow it I had more mind of my pleasures more mind of my vanities than of grace Oh if it were to do again I would not do so for a thousand worlds but alas it is now too late Therefore let Meditation presse this upon thee before-hand Now follows the third thing how to put life to Meditation Four duties are to be done to this purpose 1. Let Meditation haunt the heart let meditation dog thee with the hellish looks of thy sinnes and follow it with the dreadful vengeance of God haunt it with promises haunt it with threatnings haunt it with mercies and haunt it with judgements and haunt it with Commandments The heart is like the Beaver when it perceiveth it cannot possibly escape from the Huntsman it cuts off the Member for which it is hunted and flings it down and so escapes saith Aesop So pursue thy heart with its sins with the hue and cry of Gods mercies pursue it with the bubbub of Gods judgements let meditation haunt it and let thy soul see it shall never be rid of the haunt at last it will be content to part with its lusts Let Meditation say Wilt thou forsake thine own mercies If thou livest thus and thus If thou prayest thus and thus dead-heartedly thou kickest against thine own mercy wilt thou rush upon the prickâ— This mercy thou mayst have if thou wouldst amend that vengeance thou shalt have if thou do not amend Either cut off thy sins or else God will cut off thy soul Return O Shulamite return return it s the voice of Christ to thee Let Meditation say Return O my soul return return and thou mayst be saved return or else thou shalt be condemned Now what was the effect of this haunting meditation Or ere I was aware my soul made me like the Chariots of Aminadab verse 12. That is my soul musing and meditating on these and these commandments it so humbled my soul that it made me yeeld yea and made me run as fast as the Chariots of Aminadab freely and willingly to Christ Deal with thy heart as Iunius his father dealt with him he seeing his Son was Atheistical he laid a Bible in every room that his son could look in no room but behold a Bible haunted him upbraiding him Wilt thou not read me Atheist Wilt thou not read me And so at last he read it and was converted from his Atheisme So let meditation haunt thy heart hold forth the commandements promises threatnings of the Lord that thy heart may see them let meditation haunt thee in thy luke-warmnesse prayest thou thus luke-warm This prayer will break thy neck one day Repentest thou This luke warm repentance will cause God to spue thee out of his mouth Hearest thou speakest thou thinkest thou These lukewarm duties wil confound thee ere long if thou lookest not to it Let meditations haunt thee as they haunted Nehemiah with warnings ten times saith the Text they sent to Nehemiah they will be upon thee Nehem. 4. 12. Beware of the danger the enemy will be upon thee ten times they warned him never giving over till Nehemiah looked about him verse 13. So do thou haunt thine own heart they will be upon thee this curse this wrath that hardnesse of heart this security wil be upon thee Ten times yea a thousand times ten times never give over thine own soul untill thou hast made it to submit Indeed there be some let God send Meditations to haunt them and follow them saying Repent leave this or that sin why wilt thou be damn'd with this sin Oh forsake it presently they will gagge the mouth of meditation and of conscience and strike them stark dead as Abner when Azahel would haunt him and follow him and turn neither to the right hand nor to the left but follow him at the heels Turn aside saith Abner but he would not turn aside from following him Turn aside from me sayes Abner again or I will kill thee but he would not turn aside he would follow him close Then he up with his Spear and slew him 2. Sam. 2. 19. 20 21 22 23. So many deal with the Meditation of conscience when conscience would dogg them and weary them out of their sins they will not when conscience would haunt them they will not be haunted therewith when conscience would follow them up with their desperate wilfulnesse they gall and wound and murder conscience to be quiet But David haunted his heart and would have it haunted The second duty Let Meditation trace thy heart as it should haunt thee so also let it trace thee in the same steps So would the Church Let us search and try our wayes and turn again unto the Lord Lam. 3. 40. The word in the originall sayes Buxtorf signifies track her steps step by step this step was in the ditch that in the mire that step awry track them all that we may undergo them all again and turn unto the Lord. Never pray but let Meditation track thy prayer this passage was right that passage was amis Never keep a Sabbath but let Meditation track thy keeping of it this duty was sincere that was rotten Never do any thing but let Meditation track it This thought this word this action was warrantable that was out of the way track thy heart as the Lord tracked Eliah he trackt him in the wildernesse he trackt him under the juniper tree he trackt him in the cave What dost thou here Eliah go forth 1. Kings 19. What dost thou here Eliah go return He tract him in
then they shall be glad to be converted then they shall be glad to come out of their sins then they shall be glad to get grace and seek reconciliation with God but alas they saw not this then but God foresaw it well enough then shall they call but I will not answer they shall seek me early but they shall not find me Lastly here is the frustration of their hope which hath two things in it First in regard of themselves in regard of the flaw in their seeking it being not aright Secondly in regard of the Justice of God who rewards every man according to their works But I will not hear them Whence observe this point of Doctrine Those that will not hear when he calleth them God will not hear them when they call unto him Those that will not hear the Lord when he calleth upon them by the ministery of his Word and voyce of his Spirit the Lord will not hear them when in their misery they call upon him Thus the Lord dealt with the people in Ezekiels dayes the Lord called them to repentance and obedience but when they stood out and neglected the opportunity of grace and seasons of conversion see how God deals with them though they cry in mine ears with a loud voice yet I will not hear them saith the Lord. When men have gone beyond the time of Gods mercy and out rowed the tyde of Gods forbearance and will not returne the Lord sets it down with himselfe that his wrath shall return upon them he will no longer forbear they had a time wherein the Lord did pity them and offered grace and mercy unto them but they neglecting this season and withstanding this proffer of grace God resolves with himselfe they shall never have it again There was a time wherein God did pity them but now he will not pity them any more twenty five years he called unto them and sought to bring them home but because they stood out and refused the Lord saith I will love Ephraim no more Beloved there is a double day a white day and a black day there is a day of salvation Isa 49. 9. this is the day in the which the Lord said to the prisoners Come forth and to those that lye in their sins repent and beleeve Now if any man will come forth and humble his soul before the Lord let him come and welcome for it is a day of salvation But there is another day of damnation which is a dark day a black and a duskie day wherein the Lord will visit the sinnes of the world and revenge the quarrell of his Covenant Hos 9. 7. The day of visitation is come yea the day of recompence the people shall know it the Prophet is a fool and the spirituall man is mad Beloved we are fools and all the spirituall men under heaven are mad that lay not this day to heart For the day of the Lord is a day of visitation and all the world shall rue it though now men sleep in securitie If once mercie be rejected and God turn away his ear from a man then grace shall be no more the door of life shall for ever be shut up against him and when once this day comes he hath lost his own place and deprived himselfe of eternall happinesse Now there are three reasons of this point the first is the law of retaliation of rendring like for like which is the justest law that can be made with man for to give unto every man according to his works to make him take such as he brings as the Heathen calls it to give a man quid for quâ— Now if God call upon thee and thou wilt not hear it is righteousnesse with God yea equity with God that is more that when thou callest on him he should not hear thee For thus runs the tenor of Gods Word Prov. 28. 9. He that turns away his ear from hearing the Law euen his prayers shall be abominable He that turns away his ear from Gods Law God will turn away his eare from his prayer He that turns it is spoken in the present tense that is he that now turns away his ear his prayer shall be abominable in the future tense that is the Lord marks what master or servant what father or mother what husband or wife what man or woman it is that turns away the ear of his head or the ear of his heart from hearing his will and obeying of his Commandements the Lord takes speciall notice of it and sets it down in his Calendar and records it in his Memoriall keeping a strict account thereof as if God should say Well is it so I now call and will not this man or that woman answer Do I now stretch out my hands and will not they take care to obey me Well let them alone saith God there is a day coming that I shall be a hearing of them times of sorrow and misery will take hold of them and then they in their affliction will cry unto me but I will not hear they will beg for mercy but I will not regard they will seek me early but they shall not finde me It was one of the Articles of high Treason brought in against Cardinall Woolsey that he had the pox and a stinking breath and yet durst come into the Kings presence So it shall be an Article against thee of high treason before the King of heaven if thou come into his presence with the stinking breath of thy sins living in thy lusts and wallowing in thy filthinesse all thy prayers are but as so many stinking breaths in the nostrils of the Lord and every dutie that thou performest unto the Lord shall be as so many Articles of high treason against thee to condemne thee because thou livest in rebellion and a Traitor against God His prayer shall be abominable he doth not say I will turn away mine ear from hearing his prayer which turns away his ear from hearing my law that is the true exposition of the words no but like for like is sometimes injustice for if a man should strike a Magistrate a box on the ear it were not justice for him to give him another for it is a greater sin to strike a Magistrate than any other common person and therefore a greater punishment the Law requireth So God doth not say he will turn away his ear from hearing his prayer but will serve him in a worse kind he will count it abominable yea abomination in the abstract it shall be loathsome yea lothsomnesse it selfe in the worst manner Galat. As a man soweth so shall he reap if thou sow sparingly thou shalt sparingly if thou sow a dull ear to Gods Word thou shalt reapaâ—dull ear from God to thy praier for God will reward every man according to his works Secondly because of the time of Gods Attributes both mercy and justice VAIN THOUGHTS ARRAIGNED At the Barre of Gods JUSTICE SET FORTH In a
and displease him A wicked man will swear and blaspheme the Name of God and by and by it may be he will cry God mercy and so he thinks of God The man breaks out it may be into wrath and malice fury and passion and then it may be a thought will come into his mind to cry God mercy for it and thus he thinks of God The man is carelesse earthly dead and lukewarm in the performance of good duties and because his Conscience tells him it is not good he will aslo God forgivenesse he will be proud vain and rotten in his speeches and then it may be a thought will come into his mind to ask God forgivenesse and so he thinks of God he will think of the world of his pleasures profits of his lusts and sins and then it may be a good thought will come into his mind and then it may be he will think a little of God too Beloved this is carnal and devillish thinking of God thy thoughts then of God must be joyned with the fear of God Fourthly and lastly thou thinkest of God but the question is whether thy thoughts of him be profitable or unprofitable thoughts a godly man thinks of repentance and repents upon it he thinks of calling on God more faithfully and fervently then he did before and he accomplishes his thoughts for he goes a bout it and his heart is the better for it Thus it was with David when he said I thought on my way ways and turned my feet unto thy testimonies Psalm 119. 59. I thought on my wayes there was his good thoughts and turned my feet unto thy testimonies there was the profit of his good thoughts but on the contrary thou thinkest of God but God hath never the more service of thee thou thinkest of leaving of thy good fellowship and merry companions but for all thy thought thou retainest them still thou thinkest to give over all thy deadnesse and luke-warmnesse and so get more zeal fervency yet day after day and year after year thy heart is as dead vain and secure as before as ever before Examine thy self and see thou hast good thoughts thou saist but where is the profit of them thou thinkest of leaving thy wrath and of bridling thy filthy passions but art thou enabled by thy thoughts to put up an injury the better it may be thou thinkest of death but is thy life the more holy and sanctified by it Thou thinkest of Christ and his blood but is thy heart purged by it Oh the wretched misery of the most men in the world because of the unprofitablenesse of their thoughts they have many good thoughts but they want the profitable use of them they get no good by by them There is an excellent description of the thoughts of wicked men though it be Apocrypha The heart of the foolish is like a Cart-Wheel and his thoughts like the rowling Axeltree As the Cart-wheel goes round all the day and yet remains on the Axeltree so is it with wicked men their thoughts wheel and wheel them up and down a thousand thousand times their thoughts run upon this thing and then upon another thing and so they rowl up and down continually yet their heatt is at the same passe it was still an earthly heart it was and so it is still a prophane heart it was and so it is still a carnall proud heart it was and so it remains still But let these know that the time hastens wherein God will judge them even for their very thoughts Where are they then that say thought is free It is true indeed it is free from mens knowledge and from mens Courts but not from Gods they are not free from Gods all-seeing eye and knowledge Thou hast tryed and known me saith the Prophet thou understandest my thoughts afar off Psal 139. Beloved as you are in the Ale-house or gaming house as you walk abroad in the fields as you are imployed in your callings or about any holy duty God seeth all thy thoughts what is going in and what is coming out there is never a thought in thy heart but God sees it how then can thoughts be free God will weigh the thoughts of men Prov. 16. 2. Beloved what a fearfull day will that be when God shall take his Scales and weigh not mens bodies and estates for then in may be that rich men and fat and grosse men will out-weigh them that are better but he will take mens thoughts and weigh them he will weigh their souls he will take mens good thoughts and put them in one scale and their bad earthly carnal and unprofitable thoughts into another scale and to try which weighs heaviest Now if thy earthly and sinfull thoughts weigh heaviest then down thou goest into eternall damnation Secondly as thoughts are not free from Gods knowledge so are they not free from Gods Word for Gods Word can meet with them for it is lively and mighty in operation and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart Heb. 4. 12. Doth the word of God discern the thoughts of mens hearts Then much more doth the God of this word and therefore how can thoughts be fee Thirdly and lastly they are not free from the condemnation of hell and and damnation I am he saith God that search the heart and reins and I will give to every one of you according to his works or as some translations have it according to your thoughts Revel 3. 23. Now if God will so severely punish thoughts take heed then how thou retainest any evil thoughts I should here give you some meanes in the use that so you might rid your selves from vain thoughts First love the word of God if ever thou wilt come out of them prize the truth of God and labour to get thy mind and thoughts to be set on better things and then the thoughts of the world and all vain things will vanish away This course the Prophet David took Psal 119 113 I hate vain thoughts but thy Law do I love How came it to pass that he hated vain thoughts namely by loving Gods Law if he had not loved Gods Law and those excellent things therein and set his heart on them he could never have hated vain thoughts The way then to break off thy league with vain thoughts is to be in league with good thoughts Dost thou complain of vain thoughts in prayer in hearing the word in receiving of the Sacraments and art thou stuffed and filled with them that thou canst not think upon God and holy things thou dost hereby bewray thine own rottenesse and corruptions And therefore know that if thou lovest the Lord and his Word and didst set thy thoughts upon him thou wouldest never have them so much imployed about such base things Secondly if ever thou wouldest rid thy heart of vain thoughts especially when thou art in holy action thou must go unto God by prayer there is no greater
shalt be found out and the Lord will keep thee out by his spirituall plagues and thy sin shall never be done away but be required at thy hands and stand in everlasting record against thee O my brethren that you would but seriously consider it and look about you it being so weighty a thing that so nearly concerns every one of you But I would not have any poor broken heart and humble Soul to mistake me and so thereby be discouraged but give me leave I pray you to use the words of the Prophet though spoken in another sense Psal 115. Not unto us O Lord not unto us but unto thy Name give the glory So let me apply this doctrine unto the comfort of all poor broken-hearted sinners and beate off all carnal prophane wretches that live in their sins not unto you O drunkards swaggerers not unto you whoremasters and unclean persons that wallow in ungodlinesse I say not unto you but unto the poor afflicted soul and contrite spirit that lieth bleeding and gasping under the weight of his sin and that trembles and fears being opprest with the sense of its own unworthiness panting and breathing after Christ Jesus and suing earnestly unto the Throne of grace for mercy and forgivenesse unto thee only belongs this comfort and therefore take it home to thee and know it for thy self Art thou troubled with a hard heart and an unbeleeving soul and art even wearyed and tyred out with thy many sins and infirmities Come thou with comfort unto this holy Communion for thou shalt be sure to find saving good by it to thee it shall be a spirituall medicine to heal all thy diseases and to cure all thy strong and prevailing corruptions and if thou come unto this holy Table of the Lord it shall make thee as it is recorded of Saint Laurence able to suffer Martyrdom and to get victory over all thy unruly affections yea at last thou shalt tread Satan thy arch-enemy under thy feet Thefore be not dismayed for the Lord Jesus invites thee to come What if thy infirmities be many yet the mercies of God which he tenders to thee in this Communion are many more Samson who was the strongest Souldier and Companion in his time that was in Israel to overcome the Philistims he yet began his strength in weaknesse being at the first overcome by a woman So though the Lord intend to make thee a strong Christian he will make thee to begin in weaknesse to perfect thy power to begin in sin and misery that he may make thee to end in glory I know Gods children here may receive temporal punishments and bring temporal scourges upon themselves as we may see amongst the Corinthians here but it shall be for their good and amendment namely for their correction and not for their ruine and destruction that so being chastened by the Lord they might not be condemned with the world Therefore if thou comest carelesly and unprofitably God will chastise thee with the rods of men as he did Peter who receiving the Sacrament with his Master over night yet the next day thrice denyed him but God whipt his soul and scourged his conscience for it and beat him black and blew so that he went out and wept bitterly Nay he could scarce with off that sin and recover himself again whilst he lived Wherefore let us take heed of unprepared coming to the Sacrament for God will not hold such guiltlesse Yea if his own sonnes or daughters transgresse thereby he will make them to feel the smart of it But now to come to all such as come moneth by moneth hand over head without any examination and repentance in their uncleannesse and abomination making no conscience of their reformation let me tell them that it shall be one of Christs demands of them in the day of judgement How oft hast thou been at my Table How oft hast thou been partaker of that holy Communion which I gave unto thee Hast thou come preparedly or received worthily or no Hast thou eat bread at my Table with me and lift up thy heel against me Did I command and thou wouldest not obey Did I send my Ministers to thee to reform but thou wouldest not be reformed Did I check and reprove thee for thy pride blasphemies drunkennesse covetousnesse anger wrath malice fornication hypocrisie and prophanenesse in the matter of my worship and yet wouldest thou still live in these sins Where are all the Sacraments that thou hast received How hast behaved thy self Where are the sins that thou hast forsaken and pleasing corruptions that thou hast abhorred What grace and holinesse hast thou received by the means thou hast enjoyed and how hast thou manifested the same through thy whole conversation Oh! woe woe unto thee yea and a world of woes unto thee and unto all such as shall be silent and speechlesse to those or the like demands of Christ for they cannot say they have come out of their sins and have been reformed by the means of grace and have received spirituall nourishment and refreshing from the heavenly banquet of the Communion of the body and bloud of the Lord Jesus Christ A man will especially regard the last words of a dear friend who is as a mans Soul when he is to speak upon his death-bed and will be carefull to remember them and dost thou not more regard the last Will and Testament of our Lord Jesus Christ we count it a horrible sin to alter the last Will of a man that is dead Beloved the Lord Jesus before he left this world instituted this blessed Sacrament as his last Will and Testament and hath given us a charge that as we would not eat and drink our own damnation by bringing the guilt of his body and bloud upon our Souls so that we should discern the Lords body and not come unpreparedly in our sins and abominations without reverence and respect of such holy and high mysteries as if there were nothing more to be received and looked for after then the bare and naked element of bread and wine or as if we did come to communicate with unclean Devils O my brethren if you had but faith you would be able to discern Christ in the Sacrament and therefore when thou comest unto it thou must prepare and sanctifie thy selfe to communicate with him in those holy Ordinances and heavenly mysteries of his most pretious body and bloud for if so be that thou retainest thy sins and so come unworthily unto this holy Table of the Lord thou art a great Covenant-breaker with God For thou never comest unto the Communion but thou makest and renewest thy covenant with God wherein thou promisest thus much or the like in effect Lord I have been formerly a drunkard but now I promise to give it over and never to be a drunkard more I have been a scoffer at Religion and a mocker and derider of thy children but now I faithfully promise Lord that I
hearken unto instruction and give ear unto councel now whiles that the Lord offers it unto you that so you may not harden your hearts any more but may hear and obey that your souls may live and so coming together to this holy and blessed Communion for the better and not for the worse you may return home with the blessing of children THE DUTIE OF COMMUNICANTS OR Examination required of every COMMUNICANT In a SERMON preached By that Vigilant and Painfull Minister of the Word WILLIAM FENNER B. D. Sometimes Fellow of Pembroke Hall in Cambridge and late Pastor of Rochford in Essex London Printed by E. T. for John Stafford EXAMINATION Required in every COMMUNICANT A SERMON preached by Master WILLIAM FENNER Minister of GODS Word 1 Cor. 11. 28. But let a man examine himself and so let him eat of that Bread and drink of that Cup. IN the later part of this Chapter the Apostle treats of the Sacrament of the Lords Supper and first he reproves the Corinthians for their unworthy coming to it as we see in verse 18. There were Errors and Schismes contempt of the poor drunkennesse excesse disorder and unprofitablenesse in the duties of God they waxed worse and worse by the Sacrament All these and sundry other abuses were among them so that they did not eat the Lords Supper aright as they ought Secondly he reduceth them back to the first prime institution of it by Jesus Christ as we see in verse 23. that hereby they might both see how grievously they had abused the Sacrament and likewise see how they might sanctifiedly use it Thirdly he shews the danger of unworthy receivers and this he sets out two wayes First by the grievousnesse of the sinne such a person makes himself guilty of the body and bloud of the Lord as we see verse 27. Secondly by the doleful consequence that follows upon it He eats and drinks damnation to himself as we see verse 29. Now in this verse that I may not trouble you with speaking of any more matter than what is necessary for the present Theme he shews how we may prevent escape and avoyd this danger how we may take an order that we do not fal into this grievous sin that we do not plunge our selves into this grievous misery Let a man examine himself and so let him eat of that Bread and drink of that Cup. A man must examine himself sift his own soul and labour to prepare himself before he dare to venture on this sacred businesse In these words before we set upon the particular handling of them we may observe that We must not rush upon the Sacrament There must somewhat be done before we can receive it Let a man examine himself and so let him eat of that Bread and drink of that Cup. There are none of the Ordinances of God that a man may safely rush upon Wouldest thou offer any sacrifice to God but thou must stay first and examine thy self whether there be not something yet undone It may be thou hast offended God in something or other It may be thou art out with thy brother thou must first go and be reconciled to thy brother and then offer thy guift Matth. 5. So wouldst thou reprove thy neighbour It may be there be somewhat out of order some indisposednesse in thee thou art not yet in case to set on this duty it may be thou art faulty and guilty thy self it may be thou hast a beam in thine own eye First saith the Text pull the beam out of thine own eye and then thou mayest see clearly to pull the moat out of thy brothers eye Matth. 7. 5. So would'st thou reform thy outward man But it may be thy inward man is not reformed there is some lust in thy heart some pride in thy will some stubbornnesse in thy spirit some Idoll in thy bosome First cleanse the inside of the platter Matth. 23. 26. There is never an ordinance of God that can be done but there must be somewhat done first a man must do something before As in the choice of officers as Ministers as Deacons other Officers in the Church first they must be proved before they be chosen so in all the Ordinances of God Would we come to the Sacrament There is somewhat must be done first we must examine our selves and root out all unsanctifiednesse and indisposition that cannot stand with the right communicating in the Lords supper And so in every other good duty The reasons of this are First because naturally we are not invited guests we are not such as are invited to the Lords Supper we are children of wrath and as long as we are in such an estate we cannot come aright to the Communion This is childrens bread and it cannot be given to dogges Christ whensoever he sets his dainties before his people he tels us for whom they are Take eat this is my body that is broken for you This is the supper that is made for you as it is in this Chapter verse 24. First we must prove our selves invited guests It is true the Lord Christ invites every man to the Lords Supper but he invites him methodically he must be in such an estate but every man is not so fitted a man must be a member of Christ that means to partake of Christs death he must be one that is in Christ he must be able to prove that he is ingrafted into Christ he must be able to shew the mark of the Lord Christ on him As it is with the some of your great dinners and feasts in this City you have tickets and all that are admitted to the feast must shew their ticket before they are admitted So thou must be able to shew thy ticket that thou hast an invitation from Christ thou must have a mark and token from Christ that thou comest and comest with his warrant A second reason is though thou be invited it may be thou art not disposed If a man will do a thing that he is naturally indisposed to there must be somewhat done before of necessity So the Lords supper it is a thing that naturally we are indisposed unto therefore somewhat must of necessity be done first Naturally we are unholy we are unthankfull and carnall we are in our sinnes strangers from God and the Covenant of God and from the seal of the Covenant all this indisposition must be wrought out before we can comfortablely come hither If Christ would have the very Chamber first trimmed before he instituted the Passeover and the Sacrament much more will he have the soul disposed for him and the heart cleansed from all filthinesse If he that was of the Peace-offering being indisposed having his uncleannesse upon him was to be cut off from his people Levit. 7. 20. what will God doe to such people as come hither in their uncleanness and indisposition unsanctified and unqualified Thirdly suppose we were both invited and disposed yet
this it not enough This is a solemne Ordinance of God and an ordinary disposition will not serve the turn Though every child of God be ordinarily disposed to every good word and work to pray and to hear the word of God he is prepared and furnished to every well-doing ordinarily and habitually but a man must be disposed farther There is a solemne preparation required to the Communion as in Deut. 16. 15. there were solemn feasts in the Law so there is this solemn feast in the Gospel and there are solemn preparations required thereto When we come to the Communion to eat the Lords Supper it is not eating and drinking in Christs presence for so may any reprobate do and yet Christ may say to him Depart from me thou worker of iniquity It is not to come and sit in your Pewes and wait till the Bread comes and take it and till the Cup comes and drink it so many a Reprobate may doe as the Corinthians did that did eat and drink their own damnation But there must be a solemn preparation to it to be sealed with the Spirit of Promise to be righteous by faith in the body and bloâ—d of Christ For a man to be humble and empty of his sin to be â—â—â—â—sâ—y aâ—â—â—â— the precious bloud of Christ to be fed and built up in the promises It is a weighty thing to come to the Communion a man must be a worthy man or else he hath nothing to do here As Solomon said of Adonijah if he be a worthy man not a hair shall fall from his head but if wickednesse be found in him he shall dye 1 Kings 1. 52. So if we be worthy men and women not a hair of our heads shall fall to the ground none of the curses shall light on us that light on unprepared persons but if wickednesse be found in us if we be guilty of any sin if we live in any lust not mortified if there be any prophanenesse in our lives in our families in our courses and callings though we catch hold of the horns of the Altar though we partake of these holy mysteries yet we shall be so far from having any mercy as that we shall hasten our own ruine we set a seal on our own judgement and make our case worse than it was before Let us take notice of it and never dare to rush on any of Gods Ordinances You know what became of the foolish man in the Gospel that when they were invited to come to the marriage supper he thought it was nothing but to come with them that came to crowd in with them and sit down among the rest he considered not what he went about that he might be prepared accordingly the event was this he was cast out into utter darknesse Matth. 22. 13. It is dangerous rushing on any of Gods ordinances To rush upon prayer for a man to fall down upon his knees and to utter any thing before the Lord hastily with his mouth not considering that God is in heaven and he on the earth A mans word may damn his own soul and pull vengeance on his own pate his prayers may prove a curse his prayer for mercy may be turned into vengeance So the higher the service the greater the danger As the servants of Abigail said to her Consider what you do when evill was determined against them so consider what you do when you come to the Sacrament you come to a weighty thing to that that will either set you neerer to the Kindome of God or hell and condemnation But I let this passe and come to the words themselves Let a man examine himself and so let him eat of that Bread and drink of that Cup. In these words observe First the matter of the duty commanded that is to eat of that bread and drink of that cup. Secondly the manner of doing the duty not only to eat of that bread but so to eat and not only to drink of that cup but so to drink Thirdly the rule of direction how to come in a right manner to partake of it that is by examining of our selves Let a man examine himself and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup. Fourthly and lastly the benefit following that direction and that is in this word But let a man examine himself He had said before He that eats and drinks unworthily is made guilty of the body and bloud of the Lord and he discerneth not the Lords body verse 27. But saith he as if he should say if a man would prevent this if a man would take order that he be not guilty of the body and bloud of Christ that he do not come undiscerningly to these heavenly mysteries but with comfort and title to the promises with hope and confidence and speeding there of the benefits of Christ exhibited then let a man examine himselfe and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup. Now I will passe over some of these points namely that we are to eat that bread and drink that cup. There is a necessity that we should receive the Lords supper I need not stand on this you know it sufficiently proved by the Sacrament of the Law which was the fore-runner of this Sacrament that soul that did not partake of that was to dye the death he was to be cut off from Gods people Num. 9. 13. If the Lord was so carefull of those Sacraments that were inferior to these and yet they were of the same substance as these that the man that neglected to come to them to partake of them was to be cut off to be excommunicated from the people of God and to be rent off from the congregation of the Saints then how much more for these heavenly and weighty and glorious Ordinances of the Gospel which are farr more glorious than them of the Law But I will not stand upon that I might here take notice too of the frequency of the duty for so it hath dependence on those words formerly As oft as you eat this bread and drink this cup ye shew the Lords death and so that is as oft as ye eat do it in this manner This is the command of God that we oft receive the Lords Supper In the Primitive times St. Basil observes that they eat it three or four times in a week on Wednesdays Frydays and on the Lords day but that was a time of persecution I will not stand upon that I think it not neeedfull But it should be often we should not thurst it only upon Easter and Whitsuntide and Christ-tide three or four times in the year Again I might observe here from this mystery received in that he calls it Bread I might observe against the Papists Transubstantiation that the bread received is not transubstantiated but is bread still and against that of receiving in one kind So let him eat of that bread and drink of that
good word and work If these Rules be not observed the Rules of Gods blessed word the actions themselves are altered though the things be commanded of God yea they are cursed and abominable things when the true form and fashion of them is not regarded though they be never so godly A garment though it be never so good if the Taylor handle it not well it is marred in the making if he bring it not to a right form and make it in a right manner the man that is to have the garment is disappointed So Timber though it be never so excellent though it be all Oak or Elm or whatsoever tree though it be never so fit for building if the Artificer deal not well in handling it the inhabitant that comes there may curse the day that ever he came there if it be not well built it may fall on his head and kill him and all that belong to him So it is in all the Ordinances of God and the matters of Religion we must not only do them for matter but for manner too for that either makes or marrs them Thirdly another Reason is because only the right manner of doing duties gets the blessing A man may pray a thousand times and never be heard he may hear a million of Sermons and never be converted a man may come to all the Sacraments in the year all his life long and never be sealed against the day of redemption A man may do the things and never get the blessing all the blessing lies in the right manner of doing Blessed is that servant whom when his master comes he shall find so doing Matth. 24. 48. He saith not Whom when his master cometh he shall find doing Christ when he cometh to judgement shall find many doing it may be he will come in prayer time it may be he will come in the morning when many thousands shall be at their prayers in their families it may be he 'l come at night when all are at prayers in their houses it may be he will come on the Sabath when all the country is at Church hearing of Sermons he shall finde many thousands doing and praying But blessed is that servant whom his Lord when he comes shall find so praying so hearing so receiving the Sacrament He shall find many believing but so beleeving gets the blessing many professing but it is so professing that gets the comfort I say all the blessings of God are promised to the right manner of doing Now what is it when we do duties what do we look for Is it not for a blessing Why do we do the duties if we doe not do them so as we may get the blessing Now except we observe the right manner of doing them all is to no purpose Fourthly another Reason is the example of Jesus Christ Christ hath given us an example that we should do as he did Now he did not onely do that which his Father bid him do for matter but for manner both in all the words he spake and in all the deeds that he performed For the words he spake As the Father hath said unto me even so speak I John 12. And in John 14. 31. As the Father hath given me commandement even so do I. Mark he did not only obey his Father in the matter of his command but in the manner of it And as Christ hath done thus so all that are Christs all the servants of God in all ages they have been very carefull especially of the right manner of obeying God As it is said of Noah Gen. 6. 22. As the Lord commanded Noah even so did he just as the Lord commanded him he did not only make an Ark but so he made all the rooms so he made it in the same form and figure and in the same similitude just as the Lord set him down in the pattern even so did he So the Lord sets down the pattern of every good word and work of all our prayers and Sermons and hearing and conference and keeping the Sabath and speaking holily all our actions have their pattern set down in the word of God Now as we are to do the things so we are to do them in the same manner as the Lord commands even so must we do Fifthly and lastly except we do it in a right manner except as we come to the duty so we come to the right manner we can never glorifie God The glory of God lies in the manner of doing of things So let your light shine before men that they may see your good works and glorifie your father which is in heaven Matthew 5. 16. Mark the light must not shine only in our lives and conversations but so that the duty must be a means to the glorifying of God Now the means must have i'ts proportion and likenesse and nature and mold and frame from the nature of the end Look how the end is that the dutie looks unto so must the frame and fashion of the duty be Now if the end of all our actions be that God may be glorified that must put a form and fashion upon every duty that it may be so that he may have glory Suppose a man pray every day in his family and call all his housbold his servants and wife and children and all under his roof about him every morning and evening he may dishonour God by prayer every day on this fashion if a man pray coldly and carelesly for form and fashion without saith and life he makes all the ordinances of God vile and all the works of God contemptible his houshold sleeps one snorts it may be another is infinitely prophane it may be and though there be divers that would fain be quickned and wakened yet his prayer is so cold there is no life or heat nor warmth in it that God is exceedingly dishonoured and all are thereby rather worse than better So for a mans preaching though it be never so good a duty yet he must labour to preach so as the Apostle speaks of his preaching and labour in the work of his Ministery how he may edifie others and save his own soul So fight I not as one that beats the ayr but so as I may get the mastery We must so preach that we may attain the conversion of the people or else we may rather do as Hophni and Phineas the sonnes of Eli that made the table of the Lord contemptible and the Sacrifice of the Lord loathsome in the eyes of the people So may we do with the ordinances of God Take any duty of religion if it be not done aright God hath no glory by it Suppose thou wouldest reprove thy brother and tell him of his fault and check him for his back wardness or omission of some duty and for the commission of some sin if thou do it do it with a spirit of compassion and bowels of Jesus Christ with an humble heart with a feeling
Jews Prayer without preparation it as a carkesse without the soul that is a loathsomething so is prayer without life and without a right manner of powring it forth Let us labour therefore in the fear of God to pray and pray aright to hear and to hear aright to seek God and to seek him with all our hearts aright and to do every thing in the right way Let us consider first wee doe not pertake of any ordinance at all except wee doe it in a right manner I remember a fit place for this in Numbers 11. 14. It is said there The stranger shall eat the Passeover and partake of of it according to the ordinance and the manner of it Where the text puts in the Ordinance of the Passeover and the manner of it For it is all one they are Synonima's So the Ordinance in every duty Gods ordinance in praying in hearing the Word in the Sacramement in reproof in every good duty it is all one as the self-same thing So that if we pray and do not pray in a right manner we have not prayed we do not partake of the ordinance So when we come to the Sacrament the ordinance and the manner of it is all one it is one compleat concrete action we do not partake of it except we partake of both Secondly consider it is nothing but hypocrisie when a man prayes and doth not pray in a right manner when a man doth any dutie to God and not in right wise it is nothing but hypocrisie Mark how our Saviour Christ sets forth the hypocrisie of the Pharisee Luke 18. 11. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himselfe hee marks this manner of prayer hee doth not say Hee stood and prayed this these words but Thus he prayed he did not pray in a right manner there was his hypocrisie and that was the reason he went home not justified Thirdly consider it makes the ordinance of God of no effect Thus they make the Conmandements of God of none effect Matthew 15. 6. Hee speaks there of their duties that they did in a wrong manner and their expounding the Scripture that they did in a wrong wise and their sacrifice their offerings and tithings their precepts and many things that were all done after another fashion than God had commanded therefore saith Christ Thus they make the Commandement of God of none effect So we make all the duties of Gods worship of none effect Wee know there is never an ordinance of God but it hath great effect if it be rightly performed Prayer is of great effect it is able to rend heaven it is able to pull down God to the soul it is able to wrastle out a blessing to quicken the heart to obtain of God every thing we want but if a man pray not aright a man may pray and go away never a whit the more holy nor more quickened nor neerer to heaven nor comfort So preaching and hearing they are admirable Ordinances what powerfull effects have they wrought when they have been done in a right kind People have cryed out and been converted at them and many a man hath been pulled out of the power of Satan to the Kingdom of Jesus Christ They had royall glorious effects upon many thousand souls But what is the reason that our hearing is so uneffectuall Because we hear not in a right manner this makes the Ordinance of God of none effect it makes prayer of no effect the Word of no effect the Sacrament and Sabbaths of none effect you see people partake of these things and are never the wiser Lastly it cannot please God it is onely the right manner of doing duties that pleased God as in 1 Thessalonians 4. 1. As ye have received of us How ye ought to walk and to please God Marke there is the manner That we may know HOW to walke and by that to please God It is not enough for a man to walk in good duties that a man may do and not please God but saith he ye haue received the manner HOW to walk and to please God It is the manner how that pleaseth God A man may walk to hell upon heavens ground he may go to hell in the wayes of God it is possible Suppose a man should go and take if it were possible all the surface of ground between this place and York and lay it between this place and Dover a man might go to Dover upon York ground So many a man lays the Ordinances of God in hell way he walks in the way to hell and there he lays his prayers and there his hearing and his good duties he prayes every day and hears every day and doth good duties every day and yet walks to hell he goes to hell on heavens ground The reason is because he doth the duty and doth not observe the manner how he doth it The third thing is the rule of direction how we may come to the right manner of receiving the Sacrament that is by preparing of a mans self and the preparation is here set down by the specification of it namely in examining himself Let a man examine himself and so let him eat of that Bread and drink of that Cup. The general scope of the words and the Apostles meaning in them is this That Every man must prepare himself before he come to the Lords Table I cannot stand on this I will only name it As in the Sacrament of the Passeover there was preparation for the Passeover In John 19. 14. it is said of the Disciples of Christ that they made ready the Passeover In Matthew 26. they made the Lamb ready and the room ready and themselves ready and the Table ready and every thing ready So in the Sacrament of the Lords Supper wherein Christ is the true Pascall Lamb when we come to eat of him we must make every thing ready faith ready and repentance ready and interest in the promise ready and hunger and thirst after these spirituall dainties ready every thing must be ready Or else like a man that comes into the field to battell that hath not gotten his sword nor his weapons ready that is the way for himself to be killed so it is when we come to the Communion and have not all things ready it is the way to be damned The Reasons of this are First because the Sacrament is an ordinance of God Now all the Ordinances of God require preparation they are all spirituall and naturally a man is carnall and therefore cannot be prepared As it is with wood there is never a tree in the wood but it is unprepared for building Is there any tree in the wood of the fashion of a Chimney or of a Lintell or a Door It must first be prepared as it is in Prov. 24. 27. First prepare thy work without and then build thine house So every ordinance is to build a man up in the fear of God
against his reproof The greatnesse of the ill is set down two wayes First by the great sinfulnesse of the thing it is called the hardening of a mans own neck Secondly by the greatnesse of the punishment that God inflicts upon this sin and that is he will destroy him and that without remedy For the first namely what a great mercy it is for God to let a man be reproved for his sins It may be proved by many places of Scripture only I find Scripture is to be brought as an aggravation of sin when they sinned against reproof Hosea 5. 1. saith he they are profound to commit sin though I have been a rebuker of them all As if he should say Though I have been so mercifull as to shew them the danger of sin to tell them what would become of their wretched courses though I have called them to repentance and have given them warning what would be the issue of these things yet for all this for all my mercy they have gone on in their sinnes though I have reproved them This Though is a word of aggravation as we see in the speech of Daniel to Belshazzar Thou O King hast not humbled thy self though thou knewest this as if he had said though the Lord let thee know the punishment upon thy father and the plagues of Nebuchadnezzar thy grandfather though the Lord have let thee understand what it is for thee to exalt thy self against him yet thou art not humbled he aggravates his sin So this aggravates a mans sin when he goes on notwithstanding he is reproved The Reasons are First because when God reproves a man of sinne the reproof primarily comes out of love therefore when he reproved Laodicea and told her she was luke-warm and said I would thou wert either hot or cold and since she was neither he would spue her out of his mouth he tells her whence the reproof flowed because I love I reprove As many as I love I rebuke Revel 3. 19. It is not out of ill will that I tell thee of thy lukewarmnesse and threaten to spue thee out of my mouth I tell thee these things that thou mayst avoid that ill I say Gods reproofs flow primarily from love to men whereby he would have them lay aside their wretched courses and avoyd the judgements Nay it is an argument of hatred when a man doth not reprove his brother of sin If God let a man go on in sin and never tell him of his drunkennesse nor never find fault with his pride and security never convince him or wound or touch him nor deal with him about his unsetled estate and his rotten conditions It is a sign God hates the man But when God reproves a man from day to day Man thou art a proud creature thou shalt to hell for thy pride and hypocrisie and security and hardnesse of heart When the Lord reproves a man from day to day this is an argument of love the other is an effect of hatred not to reprove Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thy heart saith Moses but shalt in any wise reprove him and not suffer sin to be upon him Levit 19. 17. Thou hatest thy brother when thou seest him sin and doest not warn him and knowest he is guilty of sinfull courses and doest not reprove him and when thou hast time and place and opportunity and fit circumstances to reprove and yet thou wilt not do it it is a sign thou hatest thy brother it is the greatest degree of hatred on them If a man deny food for the body and let a man rather dye of hunger than he will give him meat or let a man fall into a pit rather than he will prevent the mischief a man is guilty of bodily murder but thou art guilty of the soul of thy brother if thou let him fall into sin Thou thinkest thy brother is harsh he will not bear with thee he is hasty and testy no thou art in an error That man that hates reproof erreth saith Solomon Indeed a man should not be too sharp but first tell his brother in private that he is in an error for reproof is a means of grace it flows from great love it is the providence of God that hath cast it about that thou shouldest have reproof given thee if thou have a heart to take it It is an argument of love Another reason is taken from the primary end of reproof which is to bring a man to good to reduce him into a right way to convert a man to save his soul that is the primary end of reproof aud admonition therefore to go in sinnes contrary to it must needs be a great evill As Solomon brings in the wisdome of the Father Jesus Christ calling upon people O yee fools how long will ye love folly turn at my reproof Mark what follows to what end I will pour my spirit on you There is the end he tells them O ye fools wretched people without understanding that go on in sinne and harden your own hearts that repent not nor turn not to God that will not submit to his wisdom nor imbrace his word yee fools that wrong your own souls Oh turn at my reproof Why This is the reason that God reproves a man on this fashion it is that a man may have the Spirit of God granted him If thou have an ear to hear reproof and a heart to drink it in and to wear it as a crown of gold on thy head and as a chain about thy neck thou shouldest have the Spirit of God for thy labour the Lord reproves thee that thou mightest return back and have the Spirit and have mercy and forgivenesse This is all the ill-will that Gods Ministers bear thee and all the hatred that reprovers shew when they tell thee of thy sinnes whatsoever they be that they may stop thy steps from going down to Hell When the Lord sends thee Sermon upon Sermon Preacher after Preacher thou art called on day by day as you hear in this place This is the infinite goodnesse of God towards your souls therefore your sin is infinite great if you do not amend as the wise man saith He that hates reproof shall surely dye Prov. 15. 10. there is no remedy for that man That man that puts off repentance God reproves him from day to day on the Sabbath day and on the week dayes he goes to this man and here he is reproved and to another and there he is reproved and yet he goes on in his deadnesse and formality in the ordinances of God that man shall surely dye there is no remedy he sins against the infinite mercy of God Thirdly there is no reason in the world why reproof should be taken otherwise than with all willingnesse and thankfulnesse and chearfulnesse If a man have but the reason of a man in him he must needs take reproof in good part he must be a beast that doth
shall be destroyed The word signifies to shatter all in pieces Thirdly the irrecoverablenesse of it without remedy Fourthly the suitablenesse of it his punishment is according to his sin Mark as he hardened his own heart against God so God will harden his heart against him as no remedy would turn him from his sin so no remedy shall turn God from his wrath As his sin was in hardening his heart like a stone so God shall deal with him as a stone is dealt with he shall destroy him The word in the originall signifies broken to peeces as a stone is broken that is the Lord will deal with him just in his own kind Hence I might observe this doctrine that The Lord proportions punishments to mens sins Just as a mans sin is so is the punishment David sinned in numbering the people 2 Sam 24. 15. and God punished him in that Pharaoh sinned in destroying and drowning the males of the Israelites God smote his first born He drowned their babes and he himselfe was drowned in the sea I might bring abundance of examples Now the Reasons of this are First because hereby a mans punishment appears to be so much the more equall and worthy Retaliation is a most equall punishment to the sinne there is no inequality in it but this that it is too mercifull An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth burn for burn wound for wound You know an eye is equall for an eye so when God punisheth a man just in his own kind quid for quo that as there was no remedy would turn him from his sin so there shall be no remedy shall turn God from his wrath Herein Gods punishment appears the most equall Revelations 16. 5. 6. Thou art righteous O Lord in that thou judgest thus for she hath shed the bloud of thy Saints therefore thou hast given them bloud to drink for they are worthy Thou thirstedst after blood there it is for thee so this is most equall when men have dealt thus and thus with God when God shall deal so and so with them they cannot find fault When a man drinks as he brews and reaps as he sows and finds as he brings what inequality is here It shall come to passe that as when I called they would not hear so when they call I will not answer Zach. 7. When God calls upon thee and thou wilt not hear afterwards when thou callest for mercy if he do not hear thee it is just Secondly another reason is because this stops a mans mouth it convinceth a mans conscience when a mans conscience finds that he is served in his own kind that he is paid in his own coin it stops his mouth Adonibezck he had cut off the thumbs and toes of 70 Kings afterwards he was served just so as he had dealt with others he had cut off their thumbs and toes made them gather orts under his table so afterwards his thumbs and toes were cut off Now mark what his conscience saith Judg. 1. 7. As I have dealt so God hath dealt with me As if he had said God knows wherefore the children of Judah have done this they know not why they cut off my thumbs and the reason why they cut off my toes God knows what they looked at in punishing me thus but Gods just providence hath dealt thus with me in this kind I served others This is so palpable a punishment so equall and just that though the sin were committed twenty years agoe yet a mans conscience will find out his sin twenty years after As Josephs brethren sold him and after cast him into a pit two and twenty years after when Joseph was harsh with them see what their conscience saith Doubtlesse we are guilty of our brothers blood when we saw the anguish of his soul and he besought us and we would not hear As if they had said What is the matter why the man is thus harsh He never saw us before why should he be so harsh and we be strangers Nay saith conscience you are well served remember you were harsh to your brother if you dealt so with him marvell not if you be dealt so with And after when they came to their Inne and found their money they wondred What is this that God hath done Their conscience I warrant you hit them in the teeth without doubt they thought the money that they took for selling of their brother had haunted them as a Ghost did not we pay the man money for his corne that we bought Nay saith conscience you are rightly served here is the money you sold your brother for though it were not so without doubt conscience upbraided them Naturally we are apt to find fault with Gods judgements and quarrell but when conscience sees the equity of them we have nothing to say Thirdly all the standers by may see the equity of it when the punishment is according to the sin Nay Divinity makes this Argument that there is a God to judge the earth because men are punished in their own kind I will shew you one example of Abimelech that wretch that slew seventy of his brethren upon one stone Judg. 9. 7. afterward when he came to stand under the Tower of Abel a woman flung a piece of a milstone upon his head and killed him This was strange all the standers by might say that Abimelech should be killed with a stone no question the woman thought nothing she flung the stone because she had nothing else to fling it was strange that it should hit him so pat it might have hit another as well as him the stone might have fallen to the ground as well as on him and that it should be by a woman and a milstone too Milstones are not used on the top of a Tower and a milstone broken that a woman could lift it and that he should be killed by a milstone and not with a sword nay might all the standers by say This God hath done he was the son of a strange woman and a woman hath killed him he killed his brethren upon one stone and now a stone hath killed him all the world might be able to say This God hath done The Use of this is First let no creature in the world complain of Gods dealing if he punish us according to our kind he that kils with the sword shall be killed with the sword He that stops his ears from hearing the poor what shall his punishment be He shall cry and not be heard He that shews no mercy how shall he be punished He shall receive no mercy James 2. 13. Wo to thee that spoyledst and wast not spoyled when thou ceasest spoyling others shall spoyl thee Isa 33. 2. Judge not saith Christ what if I do Then thou shalt be judged Thus God recompenceth the fruit of a mans doing Here is no Momus can complain no Aristarchus that can find fault with the justice and judgement of God Secondly
It is not amisse to consider and see how God proportions punishments to sins In Kind Quantity Quality Time Place and other Circumstances In Kind He shall eat the fruit of his own wayes that is he shall be punished in kind It is a similitude from a tree every tree brings forth according to its own kind if it be an Apple-tree it brings forth Apples if a Crab-tree Crabs a Pear-tree Pears So every sinner shall be punished in their kind a Minister shall be punished in his kind wicked Masters in their kind Servants in theirs Rich in theirs poor in theirs If a man be a drunkard he shall be punished in one kind if he be an adulterer in another Every man shall eat the fruit of his own wayes Every sin brings an homogeneal punishment according to the nature of it I cannot stand to follow this though it he very clear in Scripture Secondly it is in Quantity God proportions the punishment according to the sin he that sowes sparingly shall reap sparingly but he that sowes bountifully shall reap bountifully Little sins little punishments and great sins great punishments There are little sins moat sins gnat sins and there are Camel sins so there are little and great punishments some meet with many some with fewer stripes Just according to a mans sins so the Lord shapes out the punishment for great sinners great plagues and for every one according to his own measure God hath a pair of ballances that he means to weigh men in As he weighed Belshazzar so he will weigh thee and look how much sin thou puttest in one scale so much punishment God will put in the other He will not abate thee one oath not one idle thought not one breach of the Sabbath not one neglect of hearing the Word or of other duties the Lord will put wrath in one ballance as thou puttest sin in the other he will make the scales even to a haire as he dealt with Belshazzar He will lay righteousnesse to the line and judgement to the plummet and weigh thee out in the scales and thou shalt have just according to thy sins As the Lord deals with his own people he will not abate so much as a cup of cold water but it shall be rewarded he will reward all from the greatest to the least so he will deal with the wicked there shall no sinne passe unpunished Again there is a proportion in the Quality If Adam sin in eating he shall be punished in eating if the women of Judah sin in apparel they shall be punished in apparel Isa 3. 24. In Wis 11. 16. A man shall be punished in that that he sins in If Absalom sin in his hair he shall be punished in it Nebuchadnezzar might find his sin in his brutish condition and the Prodigall might find his sinne in the Hog trough so if thou find thy self in want consider if thou hast not wasted thy means if thou hast not been vain in building and prodigal in spending or gaming or unnecessary bounty and im moderate liberality beyond thy means Art thou punished in thy Trade or Children c. see if thou hast not sinned in them for where there is sin God will proportion the punishment to the sin Fourthly God proportions the punishment to the sin in regard of the time The same hour that Belshazzar was drinking and quaffing in the Temple the same hour the hand of God was upon him if it be not upon thee the same hour it may be to morrow at the same hour It may be thou hast sinned this day at such an hour it may be God may strike thee to morrow at the same time or this day seven-night it may be the next year Nebuchadnezzar was warned of his pride this year and the same time twelvemoneth the Lord drove him from among men So in Acts 13. 42. one Sabbath day the Jews heard Paul preach and went out before the Sermon was quite done they were not able to stand to the blessing the same day seven-night the Lord made the Apostles shake off the dust of their feet against them and leave them to a reprobate sense Fifthly the Lord proportions his punishments to the place It is strange many times that the drunkard should get his death in the same Alehouse where he got his liquor In Judg. 7. in that story of Oreb and Zeeb Oreb at the rock Oreb devised against the children of Israel and upon the same rock he was killed And Zeeb another persecuter of the Children of God so the Psalmist calls them he at the Wine presse of Zeeb took victuals from the children of Israel and in the same place his own life was taken away Just as Judges and Magistrates at this day they hang up men where they have done the villany As they do with Dogs and Cats they carry them to the place to the Cellar or the Buttery where they do the mischief But the beasts themselves though they have no reason are able to pick out the meaning of it The Lord punisheth sinners in the same place Here where thou hast been deaf to hear the word of God when thy heart riseth against the Preacher in the same place it may be the Lord wil deliver thee up to a reprobate sense In the same place at the Lords Table where thou comest unworthily thou shalt eat and drink thine own damnation THE NECESSITY OF SELF-DENIAL In a SERMON By that laborious and faithful Messenger of CHRIST WILLIAM FENNER Sometimes Fellow of Pembroke Hall in Cambridge and late Minister of Rochford in Essex London Printed by E. T. for John Stafford Practicall DIVINITIE OR GOSPEL-LIGHT Shining forth In severall choyce SERMONS on divers Texts of Scripture Viz. 1. The Misery of earthly thoughts on Isa 55. 7. Viz. 2. A Sermon of Self-denial on Luke 9. 23. Viz. 3. The efficacie of importunate Prayer in two Sermons on Luke 11. 9. Viz. 4. The necessity of Gospel-obedience in two Sermons on Colos 1. 10. Viz. 5. A Caveat against late Repentance on Luke 23. 24. Viz. 6. The Soveraign vertue of the Gospel on Psal 147. 3. Viz. 7. A Funeral Sermon on Isa 57. 1. Preached by that laborious and faithful Messenger of CHRIST WILLIAM FENNER Sometimes Fellow of Pembroke Hall in Cambridge and late Minister of Rochford in Essex London Printed by E. T. for John Stafford THE MISERY OF Earthly Thoughts ISA. 55. 7. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts and let him return unto the Lord c. I Have heretofore begun the Doctrine of the Thoughts of men Now I desire to finish it Whence we had this Point that Those whose minds run habitually on earthly things are yet in the state of misery First Because a man is in the state of misery till he hath repented Now untill a man have forsaken his old thoughts that man hath not repented Oh Jerusalem wash thy heart Jer. 4. 14. A man must not only â—id himselfe
Canaan she sought the Lord God of Heaven and earth she was of the cursed stock of Cham whom the Lord commanded to destroy yet she repented and became of the faith of Abraham to see if the Lord would own her but the Lord seemed to reject her and suffered the devil to possess her daughter Now what might not this poor woman think she had made a sorry change of religion seeing that God the author of it would not own her but suffered the devil to possesse her daughter But see the importunity of this woman she would not be quiet untill she had found Christ Mark 7. 24 25. Christ could not be hid No What could he not hide himself in some corner No. no thinks she there is a Christ and if he be to be had under the cope of heaven I wil have him Even so it is with the soul that is importunate in prayer it is restlesse What if Christ do hide himself in the Word c. and will not own a poor soul yet the poor soul knowes there is a Christ and if he be to be found in the whole world he wil have him I wil saith he turn over all duties I will go to all the Ministers that are neer I will use all the means Now Christ cannot be hid from such a soul that is thus importunate Now as it is a prayer that will take no nay so first it will take no privative nay of silence Secondly no possitive nay of denial First no privative nay of silence A man that is importunate in prayer must and will have some answer he is not like Baals Priests that could get no answer 1 King 18. 26. nor like wicked men that pray in their pewes they know not what nor whether God hears them or no but an importunate prayer will have an answer like the woman of Canaan Have mercy on me O Lord saith she but Christ answered her not a word Hath she done then No she cries so much the more Have mercy on me O Lord yea she was so importunate that his Disciples were ashamed to hear her yet she cried Have mercy on my daughter the devil hath my daughter and misery will have me unlesse thou wilt have mercy on us Christ answered her never a word It was much trouble to her to have her daughter vext with a devil but this troubled her much more that Christ in whom all her hope was would not hear her nor lend her one look What might she think Is this the merciful Saviour that is so ful of pitty compassion Is this he that hath made proclamation to all the world saying Come unto me all ye that are weary c and I am tyred and wearied by reason of the devil that possesses my daughter c. yet he regards me not Thus she might have said yet these discouragements could not put her off but she cried so much the more yea so that the Apostles were ashamed that Christ should let her stand on that fashion yet she stood it out and prevailed Secondly it will take no positive nay of deniall For when she had an answer and that flat against her it was like bellowes to the fire she was so much the more inflamed she doubles her forces Have mercy on me O Lord c. Chist put her off with a deniall I am not sent but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel I come for sheep not for goats you are of the Canaanites on whom I have set a brand of damnation a servant of servants a slave of hell and darknesse These are all of your blood but I come to save them of the house of Israel But the deniall of an importunate soul is like the stop in a passage of water the more it is stopt the more violent it is so this poor woman is so much the more eager with Christ she did but cry before now she worships him verse 24. 25. as if she should have said Lord help me now I am one of thy lost sheep I confesse I am a Canaanite I am of that damned blood yet Lord help me I am perswaded that thou canst take a course whereby to help me Thou canst cast some mercy on a Canaanite Thus you see an importunate soul will take no deniall but will renew its forces at the Throne of grace Thirdly an importunate Prayer will take no contumelious repulse suppose God should answer never a syllable of thy prayer yet thou wilt pray suppose he do answer and that against thee yet still thou wilt pray Nay suppose he call thee all to naught making thy conscience tell thee of all thy sins and abominations making thee think that heaven is shut up against thee and God hath shut his ears calling thee Dog hell-hound and wretch c. yet nothing can break thee off if thou be importunate indeed So this woman was not beaten off with Christs sending the Devill into her Daughter nor with Christs hiding himselfe when she sought him nor with Christs answering never a word nor with the Apostles frumps nor with his deniall nor contumelious repulse for he called her dog vers 26 Hence dog I had as lieve â—ling my mercy on a dog as on thâ—e What creature but an importunate one could have gone so far But see here the nature of importunity it gets within Christ and takes advantage she confest the cause saying Truth Lord thou hast hit me right I am a dog or a wicked woman let me then have the priviledges that dogs have though dogs may not be equal with children at the cable yet they may wait under the table I acknowledge that thy children are so plentifully fed that some crummes fall from the table therefore let me have the priviledge of a dog Naaman the Syrian was a dog as well as I Rahab the harlot was a dog as well as I Ruth a dog as well as I yet these got câ—ums truth Lord I am a dog yet thy mercy can metamorphose a dog Of these stones thou canst raise children to Abraham Thus it is with an importunate soul though God call it all to naught and cast all ignominious terms upon it as I had as lieve thou shouldest offer me swines blood as to speak in my hearing yet if thou be importunate thou wilt bear any contumelious repulse Fourthly an importunate prayer is impudent in an holy manner And as an impudent begger that is needy counts it no manners to hold his peace from begging although he be bidden Or as a poor petitioner to the King the King bids him hold his peace yet he will not but still he goes on The officers say Thou filthy fellow wilt thou never have done dost thou not see that the King is angry Yet he still cries Help me Lord ô King So the Canaanitish woman or an Importunate prayer is an impudent prayer yet in a holy manner I remember a story of a poor woman in Essex condemned to die she falls to
Thirdly from Satan Fourthly from a mans own sluggishnesse For the first The best children of God have corrupt natures and when they have done what they can distractions will fasten on them They would perform good duties better if they were able saying with Paul The good which I would I do not c. Secondly from nature as it is curbed The more grace binds nature to its good behaviovr the more rustling it keeps Even a Bird being at liberty keps no stir but being in a cage it flutters about because it is abridged of its libertie so when thou hast curbed thy corrupt flesh it will be skittish in every good dutie thou goest about and hence it is that the Apostle useth this phrase viz. I find another law in my members rebelling against the law of my mind c. When grace curbs the law of sin then nature rebels Thirdly from Satan as in Job Satan stands at his right hand as a Plantiffe as Aegidius compares it which puts in all Cases to hinder the Defendant Even so the Devil puts in all bie-thoughts that he can devise to hinder a mans suit for going on before the throne of grace But thou must do as Abraham did when he was sacrificing when the birds came he drave them away so must thou do by thy bie-thoughts if thou wilt have fruit of thy supplications before God Fourthly they come from spiritual sluggishness that creeps on the best if they take not heed And this was the reason the Apostle cryed O wretched man that I am c. I speak not now to the children of God who are troubled with bie-thoughts in their praiers For they the more bie-thoughts they have the more earnest they are in prayer they mourn with David in their prayer Consider O Lord saith he how I mourn Psal 55. There was something in the Prophets prayer that did vex him and that made him so much the more to mourn before God But as for you that can have bie-thoughts in prayer and let them abide with you your praiers are not importunate the Heathen shall rise up against you and condemn you I remember a storie of a certain Youth who being in the temple with Alexander when he was to offer incense to his god and the Youth holding the golden Censer with the fire in it a coal fell on the Youths hand and burnt his wrist but the Youth considering what a sacred thing he was about for all he felt his wrist to be burnt yet he would not stir but continued still to the end This I speak to shame those that can let any thing though never so small to disturb them yea if it were possible lesser things then nothing for if nothing come to draw their hearts away they themselves will employ their hearts Baals Priests shall condemn these who did cut themselves with knives and all to make them pray so much the more stronglie What a shame is it then that we should come on life and death to pray for our souls and yet come with such loose and lazie praiers Think you that a male factor when he is crying at the Bar for his life will be thinking on his Pots and Whores c Was it ever heard of that a man at deaths-door should be thinking on his Dogs can he then think on them Do you think that Jonah prayed on this fashion when he was in the Whales belly or the Thief on the crosse or Daniel in the Lions den or the three Children in the fierie furnace or Paul in Prison Do ye think that these prayed thus What shall I be at praier and my mind in the fields No no if I will pray I must melt before God and bewail my sins and be heartily affected in prayer But as long as I pray thus I pray not at all And as God said to Adam where art thou so may he say to thee Man where art thou art thou at prayer and thy mind at mill is thy mind on thy Oxen and art thou at prayer before me what an indignitie is this Should a man come to sue to the King and not mind his suit will not the King say Do you mock me know you to whom ye speak The Lord takes this as a haynous sin when men come into his presence with such loose hearts Now seeing these things are thus take a word of exhortation to labour for importunate Prayer Prayer is the art of all arts it enables a man to all other duties it is the art of Repentance c. Samuel confessed if he had not had the 〈…〉 Prayer he could not have had the art of preaching 2 San. 12. 2â— See the antithesis between these two words God forbid as if he should say God forbid that I should cease to pray for you for then I should not teach you the right way A Minister can never preach to his people that prayes not for his people It is the art of Thanksgiving a man cannot be thankful if he cannot pray Psal 116. 12. It was the means whereby the Prophet David would be thankful to God he would take the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord. A man hath not a good servant unlesse he can pray for his master see the story of Abrahams servant Gen 24. Prayer helps to perform all other good duties How dost thou think to have benefit by the Word unlâ—sse thou be fervent in prayer with God to get a blessing upon it We can do nothing but by begging Secondly as Prayer is the art of all arts so it is the Compendium of all divinitie Therefore to call zealously on the name of the Lord is to be a Christian Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord c. It includes repentance humiliation sorrow for sin joy in Gods goodnesse thanksgiving for mercies obedience to his commandements yea the whole dutie man therefore we must labour to be importunate in prayer A Reasonable soul is eminently all souls so Prayer is eminently all good duties Psal 72. The prayer of David the son Jesse that is all his repentance in all passages he did humble himself before God all Davids duties are included by the name of the prayer of David the son of Jesse And therefore thou hadst need to make much of Prayer for thou canst never repent unlesse thou pray well Thirdly Prayer is a mans utmost refuge a man cannot have Christ but only by Prayer 'T is bad enough for a man to be a Drunkard or to live in any other sin but yet after all this if a man have the spirit of prayer there is hope of this man if after all his sinnes committed he can pray to God there is hope But for a man to sinne and not to be importunate in prayer is dangerous What saith the Psalmist They are corrupt and become abominable they have not called on the name of the Lord Psalm 14. 4. Oh fearfull condition Fourthly Prayer is that which Gods
mock at preaching c. Tush thou wilt not be so precise If ever thou be one of his thou wilt not only obey him but also be circumspect in all thy obedience nay if thou be broken in heart thou wilt not only stoop to every commandment of God but also count it thine honour and glory though it be the meanest office in his service Thou art my glory sayes David David that was broken from his pride counted it his glory to obey God his glory to serve God yea his glory to be reproched for his sake Thou art not broken in heart till thou count it thine excellency to serve God We use to say such a ones excellency is in his learning or wit c. but he is too precise and too holy as if it were not a mans excellency to be pure and zealous and to serve God But I tell thee if thou count it not thine honour to be forward for God and to be nicknamed for Christ thine excellency to lie in this that thou art godly and heavenly thou art a proud fool when John Husse was to write upon the Epistle of Saint James he counted it such an high office of dignity that he was confounded at his own indignity saying unto God Hei mihi laudare te contremisco he counted it such an honour to doe any thing for God that he was ashamed at his own vilenesse O my brethren God is called the excellency of Jacob it was not their valour nor wisedome but this was their excellency that God was their God thy riches are proud riches if thy excellency lie in them more than in God if thou dost not go about every commandment as thine excellency thy obedience is proud This is a third signe of a heart broken from sin if it be broken from its pride A Funerall SERMON Preached By that laborious and faithful Messenger of CHRIST WILLIAM FENNER Sometimes Fellow of Pembroke Hall in Cambridge and late Minister of Rochford in Essex London Printed by E. T. for John Stafford A Funerall SERMON ISAI 57. 1. The righteous perish and no man layeth it to heart mercifull men are taken away none considering that the righteous are taken away from the evill to come IN the end of the former chapter the Prophet reproveth the speciall sin of Idol-shepheards who followed their own pleasures and profits not regarding their flock Now he reproves the generall sin of security in the people and namely in this that whereas the righteous perish yet no man layeth it to heart and mercifull men are taken away none considering c. This verse is a complaint of the Prophet touching the people in generall for that they considered not the Iudgements of God upon them in taking away the righteous from among them In the words themselves we are to consider First the work of the Lord viz. the righteous perisheth and mercifull men are taken away Secondly the peoples sin in not considering it not regarding this work of the Lord which is that the righteous may be delivered from the evill to come By righteous is here meant not such as are legally righteous by the works of the law for so no man is righteous but by righteous is here meant such as are Evangelically righteous by the righteousnesse of faith in the Gospell Perisheth that is from the earth for otherwise the righteous perish not No man considering that is no man lamenting mourning or grieving for the loss of them The first thing then to bee considered is from the first part and it is plain out of the words of the text That all men must dye even the most holy and most righteous for they are all subject to the stroak of bodily death as well as the wicked There is no remembrance saith Solomon of the wise more than of the fool and how dyeth the wise man even as the fool Eccles 2. 16. so zachar 1. 5. Your fathers where are they and the Prophets â—o they live for ever so that we sce Prophets and fathers dye as well as other men yea those Worthies recorded in the Scripture Noah Abraham David c. they are all gone the same way they are all dead The first reason is because it is appointed unto all men once to dye and after that comes the judgement Heb. 9. 27. God hath thus decreed it and therefore it must be so Secondly because all men and women are of the dust and therefore must return to the dust again dust thou art saith God and unto dust thou shalt return Gen. 3. 19. Thirdly because all have sinned even the most righteous man now the wages of sin is death Rom. 6. 23. The most righteous man must dye Fourthly because as death came into the world by sinne Romans 5. 12. so sinne must goe out of the world by death and therefore it is needfull that the righteous dye that so they may be freed from sin But some may object and say Hath not Christ abolished death why then do the righteous dy I answer he hath abolished death as he hath abolished sin now he hath not taken sin quite away from us for we see it doth still remain in us neither hath he quite abolished death from the righteous for we see they all dye but he abolished the dominion of sin so that it doth no longer reign in us and so he hath taken away the dominion of death so that it doth not rage as a Tyrant over us so that it is not hurtfull unto us as a punishment but as a means to convey us into a better life Christ hath taken away the sting both of sin and death though not the things themselves away from us yet he will one day free us from them both so then the righteous must suffer death as well as the wicked though not in the same kind Let no man then look to be exempted from death for his righteousnesse nor from any outward miseries that may befall the sons of Adam nay if we are the servants of Christ we must look for a greater share in these than other men greater crosses greater afflictions greater sicknesse and harder pangs of death do oft befall the righteous as â—â— did unto this our brother who though he were old and stricken 〈◊〉 yeers yet the pangs of death were strong upon him Those whom 〈◊〉 will make heirs of Eternall life he suffers them to have a greater poâ—â—â—on in these afflictions But the wicked are fat and full and die with â—â—eir bones full of marrow as Job speaks they commonly have little sicknesse and an easie death but the godly do ordinarily undergo greater pangs let none therefore think that for his righteousnesse he shall be free Secondly consider we here how few amongst us have learned this Arithmetique namely to number our dayes and they are but short even a span long who is there almost that thinks on death who prepares himself for it and yet all even the most righteous must die for
his providence from them why stayest thou but for a night verse the 8. as if they should have said it is marveilous strange that thou behavest thy self so like a stranger thou seest our sorrowes and dost not help us thou perceivest our troubles and thou regardest us not It is strange it is strange that the God of Israel stands as a man astonished that thou that hast heretofore received us should'st now stand as a man amazed and astonished as if thou wert weary of this thy work and couldst do no more as if thou should'st say Jerusalem cannot be saved and Judah cannot be succoured Secondly they desire that God would not take away his presence from them leave us not to our selves say they let us see thy face though we die yet let it be in thy presence yea though thou help us not yet it doth us good to look upon our Saviour and thou canst help us and thus you see the arguments where with they presse the Lord how sweet they are viz. First thou art the hope of Israel Alas if thou forsake us we are all lost our hope is not in the meanes only but our hope is in thee leave us not for thou art the hope of Israel it is the task that thou hast taken upon thee leave us not therefore Secondly thou hast made thy self a Saviour and now is the time of trouble therefore now performe what thou hast undertaken Thirdly thou art in the midst of us that is thou art a great Commander amongst us always ready to succour us and wilt thou now see us perish thou art more neer to us than the Ark in the midst of the Campe 1 Sam. 4. 6. As if they should say he lives in the midst of us and will he not save us Fourthly we are called by thy name and therefore we have interest in thee to whom should wives go but to their husbands to whom should children go but to their fathers to whom should servants go but to their Masters to whom then should we go but to thee our God and Saviour leave us not therefore and we will meddle with none but thee Secondly though God might leave them yet they beg that he would not that is the Amen to their praiers though thou stand and wilt not help us yet let us die in thy presence and this is the great request of the Saints they desire not to be left of God although God might leave them whence learn that God might cast off a people Israel did fear it and it is that which they prayed against God might leave them I doe not say that God will cast off his elect ones eternally but those in outward covenant see Isaiah 1. verse 2. c. Heare O Heavens Hearken O Earth I have nourished and brought up children but they have rebelled against mee The Oxe knoweth his owner and the Asse his Masters Crib but Israel hath not known my People have not understood c. and verse the seventh see the judgement your cities are burnt with fire strangers devour your land in your presence and it is desolate like the overthrow of strangers There is an out ward Calling as well as an effectuall Calling God may reject for many are called but few chosen saith our Saviour My brethren cast your thoughts afar off and see what is become of those famous Churches of Pergamus and Thyatira and the rest mentioned Rev. 1. verse 11. And who would have thought that Jerusalem should have been made an heap of stones and a vagabond people and yet we see God hath forsaken them shewing us thereby that although God wil never forsake his own electones yet he may forsake such as are in outward covenant with him The Lord is said to dis-church or discharge a people Hosea 1. 9 there God saith call his name Loammi for ye are not my people and therefore I will not be your God And as I may so say he sues out a bill of divorcement as it was in the old Law they that had any thing against their wives they sued out a bill of divorcement against them and so doth God see Hosea 2. 2. Plead with thy Mother tel her she is not my Spouse nor my beloved but let her cast away her fornications out of her sight and her adulteries from between her beasts lest I make her as at the first that is as she was in Egypt poore and miserable As if God should now say to England plead plead with England all ye that are my Ministers in the way of my truth and say unto her let her cast away her rebellions least I leave her as I found her in the day of Captivity and bondage under the blindnesse of popery and superstition Ob. But how doth God cast off a people Sol. I answer first when he takes away his love and respect from a people and as his love so the token of his love which in his word and Sacraments the means of salvation Secondly when he takes away his providence I mean when he takes down his walls that is his Magistracy and Ministery Thirdly when in stead of Councelling there comes in Bribing and in stead of true teaching there comes in daubing with untempered mortar when God takes away the hedge thereof Isaiah 5. 5. or the stakes grow rotten and are not renewed then is God going away Fourthly when God takes away the benefit of both these helps they are signes of Gods departure Use May God un chu ch or discharge a People and cast a Nation off Oh then let this teach us to cast off all security for miseries are night at hand in all probability when we observe what God hath done for us all things are ripe to destruction and yet we feare it not but we promise to our selves safety and consider not that England is ready to be harrowed and yet we cannot entertaine a thought of Englands desolation when there are so many prophesies in it of its destruction yet we cannot be perswaded of it but in our Judgements it must not be it must not be as yet as if it were unpossible that God should leave England as if God were a cockering Father over lewd children God may leave a Nation and his elect may suffer and why may not England Englands sins are very great and the greater because the meanes are great and our warnings are and have been great but yet our mercies are farre greater England hath been a mirrour of mercies yet now God may leave 〈…〉 make it the mirrour of his justice Look how God spake to the people that did brag of their temple Jer. 7. 4. saith God Trust not in 〈…〉 words saying the Temple of the Lord this is the Temple of the Lord but 〈…〉 saith the Lord by the Prophet in the twelfth and fourteenth verse 〈…〉 now to my place which was in Shiloh where I set my name at the beginnâ—â—â— and behold what I did unto it for the wickednesse of my
that doth the office of prayer and yet never gets the end of prayer A man hath never gotten the end of his prayers till he hath gotten that he prayed for It is not with praier as with a Physician that may give the best physick under heaven and yet the Patient may die under his hands and therefore one gives counsel that a Physician never meddle with a desperate man But if the soul be an effectuall suitor with God it can never faile of its suite because it is an unsatiable Suitor that never leaves his prayer till it terminates the end of it I cryed unto the Lord with my voyce and he heard me out of his holy hill Selah Jerom translates it for ever Psal 3. 4. never doth a child of God pray but he prayeth so as that his praier and Gods eare may be joyned together I cried unto the Lord and the Lord heard me This also sheweth how the Prophet cried and prayed namely so as his crying and Gods hearing were coupled together But some may object How can a man be unsatiable in his prayers till he speed must a man be alwaies a praying God calls men to other duties of his worship and of his own particular calling after morning I must have done till noon after noone I must have done til night whether God hear me or no must I be alwaies a praying till I speed then I should doe nothing else but pray how then are we to continue our praiers till God hear us and give the grace that we pray for to this I answer A man must give over the words and times of prayer for other duties but a man must not give over the suit of prayer A poor begger comes to a house-keepers gate and begs but none hears him now he being a poor man hath somthing else to do and therefore he sits down or stands and knits or patches and then he begs or knocks and then to his work again though he do not alwayes continue knocking or begging yet he alwaies continues his suite O that my suite might be granted me or that I might have an almes here so when the soul is begging of any grace though it doth not alwaies continue the words of praier yet it alwaies continues the suite of praier David he would dwell in the house of the Lord for ever Psal 23. 6. A wicked man it may be will turne into Gods house and say a prayer c. but the Prophet would and so all godly men must dwell there for ever his soul lyeth alwayes at the throne of grace begging for grace A wicked man he prayeth as the cock croweth the cock crows and ceaseth and crowes again and ceaseth again and thinks not of crowing till he crowes again so a wicked man praies and ceaseth praies and ceaseth again his mind is never busied to think whether his praiers speed or no he thinks it is good Religion for him to pray and therefore he takes that for granted that his praiers speed though in very deed God never hears his praiers nor no more respects it than he respects the lowing of Oxen or the gruntling of hoggs He is found in his praiers as the wilde Asse in her moneths Jer. 2. The wild Asse in regard of her swiftnesse cannot be taken but in her months she hath a sleepy moneth and all that while she is so sleepy and dumpish that any man may take her in her months you shall find her so a wicked man hath his prayer moneths his praier fits it may be in the morning or in the evening or day of his affliction and misery you shall have him at his prayers at his prayer fits then you shall find him at it but otherwise his mind is about other matters But the child of God what ever he ailes he goes with his petition presently to the throne of grace and there he never removes till he hath it granted him as here we see the praiers of the Church consisting of many years yet are counted but one suit The application follows Use 1. Try therefore and examine whether thy praiers be unsatiable praiers yea or no and for helpe herein take these markes first if thy prayers be unsatiable praiers then it is a begging prayer thou praiest as if thou hadst never praied before as if thou hadst never begun to pray and thou never thinkest that thou hast done any thing till thou hast done the deed As a hungry man eats as if he had never eat before so the unsatiable soul praies as if he had never praied before till he hath obtained that he hath praied for but a wicked man he prayes not thu Job speaking of carnal professors Job 27. 10. Will he call upon God at all times seest thou a wicked man go to a good duty go to praier do you think that he will hold out alwayes he will never do it for a wicked man he reasons with himselfe I have called upon God thus and thus long I hope I need not pray any more for this thing and so he gives over But a godly man he will be alwayes calling upon God Beloved there is a beginning to an action and a beginning of an action thou never beginnest to lift up a weight till thou stirrest it from the ground indeed thou maist begin towards the action by pulling at it by reaching at it but thou never beginnest the lifting up of the weight till thou stirre it from its place thou mayst give a pull at prayer and tugge at a grace but thou hast not so much as begun that duty till thou seest God begin to hear thee till thou seest the grace a coming therefore the Prophet David when he prayed and had not that he prayed for his praiers returned into his own bosome Psal 35. 13. there to lie to be a continuall suit unto God A wicked man praies and he leaves his praier behind him in his pew or in his hall or chamber but a godly man praies and his prayer is in his heart his prayer is not out till the grace be in Secondly an unsatiable prayer it is evermore a proceeding praier you would think that these are two contraries and one opposite to the other but they are not only they are two severall things as it is ever a beginning praier because in his own thoughts he reckons or thinks that he hath nothing till he speeds so the soule that is unsatiable in prayer he proceeds he gets neer to God he gains something he windes up his heart higher As a child that seeth the mother have an apple in her hand and it would fain have it it will come and pull at the mothers hand for it now she lets go one finger and yet she holds it and then he pulls again and then she lets go another finger and yet she keepes it and then the child pulls again and will never leave pulling and crying till it hath got it from his mother So
Isaiah 27. 11. He that made them will not have mercy on them and he that formed them will not pitty them It is commonly beleeved if men come to Church heare the Word and call upon God that then presently they are good Christians Beloved it is not so Mat. 7. 21. Not every one that saith Lord Lord shall enter into the Kingdome of Heaven Men are ready when they can but call Lord have mercy on me O sweet Saviour pitty me most mercifull Lord Jesus have compassion on me if they can pray in their families and pray at Church c. to think now all is well with them and Christ cannot but save them and give them the Kingdome of Heaven but our Saviour puts a not upon it and saith not every one that saith Lord Lord it is noâ— a Lord a Lording of Christ with the tongue onely it is not a taking up of an outward profession of Christ only that is sufficient for a man that shall inherit the Kingdome of Heaven no saith Christ but he that doth the will of my Father which is in Heaven But of this by the by Secondly there are needlesse discouragements which doe much hurt in prayer Nee lesse discouragements do much hurt to many a poor soule that hath forcible wouldings and wracked desires after grace and holinesse and yet is held by discouragements yea many a Christian heart lieth a long time under it wrestling and striving under its wants and yet kept out from grace and from growing in grace because of discouragements yea the best and strongest of God Saints have been kept off and have hung much on discouragements Fear not saith God to Abraham Gen. 15. 1. So fear not Joshua saith God to Joshua Josh 1. 9. Intimating that both Abraham and Joshua were afraid of discouragements they were afraid that many evils would befall them that they should meet with many rubs and difficulties that would be too hard for them therefore the Lord calls to them fear not be not djsmayed nor discouraged I â—ou saidst fear not Hence observe That God would not have any Christian soul to be discouraged in prayer Thou saidst fear not For our clearer prooceeding herein first let me shew you what discouragement is and secondly how it comes to be dangerous and hurtfull in prayer What is discouragement It is a base dismayment of spirit below or beneath the strength that is in a man under the apprehension of some evill as if it were too hard for him to grapple with it There be foure things in this diffinition First I say it is a base dismayment of spirit and so I call it to distinguish it for there is an humble dismayment which a Christian is commanded A man is bound to be dismayed for his sinnes I say 32. 11. Tremble ye carelesse women that are at ease be troubled ye carelesse ones these carelesse ones went on in their sinnes and feared not God calls to them and bids them to be dismayed But the dismayment and the discouragement I speak of it is a base dismayment of spirit which is either when he is dismayed that ought not or he is dismayed at that whereat he ought not to fear where no cause of fear is As he that riding along upon the high way spying a mans shape thought it was some Spirit and thereupon he sickened and died So many a poor soul looking in the perfect Law of God and seeing his own uglinesse and filthinesse he is discouraged and thinks himself undone his heart waxeth cold within him and he begins to fear that he is but a dead and damned man Secondly it is down beneath the strength that is in a man that man is properly said to be discouraged not that he hath no strength at all in him nor no courage at all for such a one is an infeebled man not a man discouraged but a discouraged man is a man put besides the courage that is in him when a man hath strength enough to grapple with the evill before him but through dismayment of spirit he cannot put it forth Have not I commanded thee saith God to Joshua Be strong and of a good courage be not afraid neither be thou dismaied Iosh 1 9. God had given Joshua strength enough whereby he was inabled to observe and do according to all that Law which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded him God had now doubled his Spirit upon him yet he commands him be not afraid neither dismayed as if he had said Joshua if thou beest dismayed and discouraged though thou hast strength and power to go through the businesse that I have called thee unto yet thou wilt not be able to use it nor to put it forth if thou beest discouraged Thirdly it is at the apprehension of some evill I say not at the sight of some evill for a man may be dismayed at the apparition of good as Mary when she saw nothing but a good Angell Luke 1. 29. she saw nothing but a glorious Angel neverthelesse she was afraid and discouraged Why because she had a secret apprehension of some evill either of some evill proceeded in the salutation or some unworthinesse in her selfe to receive such a gracious salutation it cannot be the apprehension of any good that discourageth a man but the apprehension of some evill Fourthly not of every evill neither for if the evill be but small courage will stand it out but it is of such an evill as he fears he is not able to grapple withall If the evill before him be inferiour to him he scornes it as the barking of a toothlesse Dog If it be but an evill equall to his strength then he makes a tush at it because he knowes or thinkes himselfe able to encounter with it But if it be an evill above his strength then his spirit melts and droops before him See this in Saul 1 Sam. 17. 11. and his people When they saw the Champion of the Philistims coming against them when they saw him so hugely and marvelously armed and heard him speake such bigge words they thought they were not able to stand and to encounter with him and therefore saith the Text when Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistim they were dismayed and greatly afraid Thus you see what discouragement is Now we come to the second question to shew how discouragements come to be hurtfull in prayer such discouragements the Lord would not have our hearts to be in when we pray unto him For first God cannot give ear to that man that is out of heart in his prayers Thou canst never pray if thou beest dismaied in prayer When the soul begins to feare and reason O I am so unworthy that God will not looke at me I am so sinfull so blockish so dead and dull to all good that God will never regard me Thou canst never pray Rom. 10. 14. How shall they call on him in whom they have not beleeved If
his sinne lie at the dore there it lay rapping and beating and told him that his carelessenesse and negligent sacrificing to God was not accepted and therefore no marvell if Cain be so cast down in his countenance and that he fall to despaire O beloved when sinne lieth bouncing and beating at the doore of thy heart when thy sinne whatsoever it is search thy heart and finde it out lies knocking and rapping at the dore of thy conscience day by day and moneth by moneth and thou art content to let it lie and art unwilling to use meanes to remove it and art loth to take the paines to get the bloud of Christ to wash thy soule from it or the Spirit of Christ to cleanse thee from it then thy soule wil despaire either in this world or in the world to come But let us take heede then that our conscience condemne us not in any thing or course that we allow in our selves for if that doe then much more will God who is greater than our consciences and knows all things The Apostle hath an excellent Phrase Rom. 8. 1. There is no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus c. As if he should say there is not one condemnation there is none in Heaven God doth not condemne them there is none in earth their own heart and conscience doth not condemne them to him that is in Christ Jesus that walks not after the flesh but after the Spirit there is none no not one condemnation to him none neither in Heaven nor in earth no word no commandement no threatning condemns him But if thy conscience condemn thee and tell thee thou lettest sinne lie at the doore rapping at thy conscience day after day and moneth after moneth telling thee that yet thou art without Christ that yet thou never hadst any true faith in the Lord Jesus that yet thou hast not truly repented and turned from thy sins this will at last drive thy soul into heavy discouragements if not into final despaire O beloved religion and piety and the power of Godlinesse goe down the wind every where What is the reason of it but because of these discouragements that men live and go on in Men pray and pray and their prayers profit them not men run up and down and come to the Church and heare the Word and receive the Sacraments and use the meanes of grace but to no end they are unprofitable to them they remaine in their sinnes still the ordinances of God bring them not out of their lusts and corruptions hereby they disgrace and discredit the ordinances of God in the eyes and account of the men of the world making them think as if there were no more power nor force in the Ordinances of God than these men manifest There is no life in many Christians mens spirits are discouraged these secret discouragements in their hearts take away their spirits in the use of the meanes that though they use the meanes yet it drives them to despaire of reaping good or profit by them Beloved I could here tell you enough to make your hearts ake to hear it First All your complaints they are but winde Job 6. 26. Doe you imagine to reprove words and the speeches of one that is desperate which are as winde Jobs friends taking Job to be a man of despaire they accounted all his words but as wind Doe thou nestle any discouragement in thy heart thou maist complaine of sinne as much as thou canst yet all thy complainings are but as winde thou mayest cry out against thy corruptions with weeping and teares and pray and fight against them and yet all thy weeping mourning and praying is but as the winde thou maiest beg grace thou maiest seek after God thou maist heare the Word receive the Sacraments and yet all will be to thee as wind all will vanish be unprofitable not regarded Secondly discouragements drive us from the use of the meanes If ever we meane to come out of our sinnes if ever we meane to get grace and faith and assurance and zeale we must constantly use the meanes 1 Sam. 27. 1. David saith There is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape into the Land of the Philistins and Saul shall despaire of me to seek me any more David thought in himself if I can make him out of hope of finding me certainly he will give over seeking of me So when the soule hath any secret despaire of finding the Lord that soul will quickly be drawn from seeking of the Lord in the use of the meanes What ever you doe then O be not discouraged lest you be driven from the use of the meanes if you be driven from the use of the meanes woe is to you you will never finde God then Be not driven from prayer nor driven from holy conference nor driven for the Word nor driven from the Sacrament nor from meditation nor from the diligent and strict examination of thy selfe of thy heart and of all thy wayes for these are the wayes of finding the Lord. If you nourish any thoughts and fears of despaire in you if you be discouraged you will be driven from the use of the meanes which is a lamentable thing therefore be not discouraged Thirdly discouragements will make you stand poaring on your former courses This I should have done and that I should have done woe is me that I did it not it will make a man stand poaring on his sinnes but never able to get out of them So it was like to be with them in the Ship with Paul Acts 27. 20. In the tempest at Sea they were utterly discouraged from any hope of safety now indeed Paul told them what they should have done if they had been wise Sirs you should have hearkned to me and not have loosed verse 21. as if he had said you should have done thus and thus but now doe not stand poaring too much on that you should have hearkned to me and not have launched forth c but that cannot be holpen now therefore I exhort you to be of good chear c. So beloved when the soul is discouraged upon these thoughts I should have prayed better I should have heard the Word of God better and with more profit I should have repented better I should have performed this and that religious and good dutie better but ah wretch that I am I have sinned thus and thus it is alwayes looking on this sinne and that sinne this imperfection and that failing when now I say the soule is discouraged it will be alwayes poaring upon sinne but it will never come out of its sinne alwayes poaring upon its deadnesse and unprofitablenesse but never able to come out of it O beloved be of good cheare and be not discouraged it is true you should have prayed better you should have heard the word of God better heretofore you should have been more carefull and circumspect of your wayes than you
and hearken O earth Secondly the groans of the creatures are witnessing groanes I call heaven and earth to record against you know that you shall shortly perish said Moses to the Israelites Deut. 4. 26. So beloved let me say to you I call heaven and earth to record against you that woe and damnation shall be to that man that obeys not the commandments of God Cursed be that man that goeth on still in his wickednesse The heavens write his curse and the whole earth do witness his vengeance that will not give over his lust at the commandment of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ As Joshuah said unto all the people Josh 24. 27. Behold this stone shall be a witnesse unto us for it hath heard all the words of the Lord which he spake unto us it shall be a witnesse c. so may I say unto you the walls of this house shall cry the timber of the Church shall answer this Sermon that you have heard this doctrine that hath been preached unto you if you will not repent if you will not humble your selves and obey the voyce of your God all these shall witnesse against you another day that you had a time that you had a day to repent in you had the word of God calling you to it but you would not Dost thou commit a sinne and none by but the stones in the streets even they see thee like Joshuah's stone with seven eyes and they shall witnesse against thee Dost thou pray thy lazie prayers unto God thoughtlesse of God and none by but the walls of thy Closet or thy bed or thy hangings they shall witnesse against thee Dost thou swear and blaspheme the King of Heaven though none were present but the fowles of the aire they shall carry thy voyce and declare the matter Eccles 10. 20. If the creatures groan against thee then they are sensible in some sort to witnesse against thee Beloved mens hearts are so stubborne that we the Ministers of God may do as the Prophet did 1 King 13. 2. who cried O Altar Altar thus saith the Lord. What was the Prophet sent unto the Altar had the Altar eares No he was sent unto Jeroboam his message was to him but he knew that he would not hear nor believe nor obey therefore he turned from the King and spake to the sencelesse Altar So may we say for all the hearing some will afford us O walls walls thus saith the Lord cursed is the man that obeyeth not O House of the Lord witnesse against this rebellious generation So Jeremy he cried out O earth earth earth hear the Word of the Lord this saith the Lord write this man a cast-away that shall never prosper Jer. 22. 29. he meant wicked Jeconiah the King but because he was a deaf Adder he preacheth to the dead earth as being more likely to listen than he O fearfull doom When Jeconiah will not hear God he roars so loud that he makes the dead and sencelesse earth to hear Beloved in the fear of God take heed if there be any dead worldly-hearted Professor here if there be any loose prophane sinner here any impenitent wretch that hath not repented if after the Lord hath sent his Ministers to thee his Word and Gospell to thee and thou wilt not hear take heed lest the Lord direct his speech to the dead earth and say O earth earth earth hear the Word of the Lord write these men men that shall never prosper they will still covet and lie they will still fret and chafe they will still content themselves with forms of godlinesse they will still be lukewarm or key-cold they do still pray as they did rub on as they did seven years ago no more holy no more zealous no more heavenly they will not be bettered O earth earth earth hear the Word of the Lord write them a people that shall never prosper a people that shall never be converted write them men damned for ever let them come and hear Sermon after Sermon but write them men that shall never prosper let them pray and let their prayers never prosper let them go on in their dead-hearted profession but write them men that shall never prosper Beloved God forbid that it should so be written against you but woe be to you if ever it be for if once the earth hath wrote this eternall decree of God upon thy soule it can never be altered I will warrant thee thy damnation sure Thirdly they are accusing groanes they shall accuse thee for casting thine eye upon a creature without taking notice of God They shall accuse thee for thy touching tasting handling using any of the creatures without adoration of God Dost thou think of a creature speak of a creature meddle with a creature or take possession of a creature they shall accuse thee if thou dost not live to the glory of God the Creator Fourthly these groans are judging and condemning groans He shall call the Heavens above and the earth to judge his people Psal 50. 4. The creatures groan why then dost thou not groan the creatures account themselves oppressed and fore afflicted because they are constrained to serve sinne why then dost thou injure them If the King should build him a stately Palace and one should willingly deface it or abuse it or pull it down would not the very Ravens judge him a Traytor The creatures are Gods Palace and thou demolishest their beauty by making them the instruments or abettors or matter or incentives of sinne thou shalt be adjudged of High treason against the King of Kings for we know that every creature groaneth with us and travelleth in pain together untill now Now we come to a third use Of Exhortation doth the creature groan to serve sinne take heed then you do not abuse the creatures of God There is not any one of them but if it be abused to sin or by sin but it will presently make its complaint like a little child to his Father with groans unto God Labour to be a true Convert unto God otherwise if thou beest not regenerate and a Convert every creature that thou hast is in bondage under thy hands and it groans unto God against thee till God recover it out of thy hands again I will recover my wooll and my flaxe saith God Hosea 2. 9. the creature groaned under thraldome because it was possessed by them that were carnall and therefore God sayes he would recover it Secondly labour not to sinne against God For if thou sinnest against God thou canst not meet with a creature but it groanth against thee When Jonah had sinned against God the Sea roared against Jonah and he at last knew it well enough for when the Marriners askt what he was I am an Hebrew saith he and I fear God the God of Heaven which hath made the Sea and the dry Land Ionah 1. 9. as if he should say I fear the Lord for now I see
not Christian neither will Christ own thee for his but will slay thee with curses as an enemy of his crosse and not as a follower of his death These mine enemies that will not that I should reigne over them saith Christ Luke 19. 27. Bring them hither and slay them before me Thou canst not look for a Saviour to have mercy on thee if thou wilt not be ruled as a Disciple of Christ but thou shalt be damned in the presence of Christ Slay them before me saith Christ Christ Jesus which is the Saviour of the World will damne thee and see thee confounded before his face he himselfe will see thee in hell thou mayest cry for mercy and for the blood of Christ yet if thou wilt not live as Christ lived but wilt rebel and sin against Christ Christ will see thee in hell and though he look on thee yet he will destroy thee without mercy If ever thou beest in Christ thou must walke as Christ walked thou must be a Christian like to that good Martyr who to all demands answered that he was a Christian When they asked him what his name was he answered it was Christian his thoughts were Christian his words and actions Christian his countrey his hopes his aime all that ever he did they could get nothing out of him but all was Christian and so he gave testimony to the Lord Jesus So I tell thee thou must be a Christian all over a Christian in thy thoughts in thy words a Christian in thy calling and in all thy imployments being swayed by the Gospell of Christ or else thou art not in Christ The third reason is taken from the essentiall or rather rather from the integrall union that is between Christ and all these that are in Christ they are all members of his most gracious body Ye are the body of Christ and members in particular 1 Cor. 12. 27. now we know that all the members have the same life and are quickened by the same soule the soule is whole in the whole body and whole in every member of the body so if Christ be our head we are his members and the christian life of Christ must be diffused thorough us so that one man cannot be a drunkard another a worldling another an Epicure another a swearer another a whoremaster another a lyar another a lukewarmeling another a mocker another a vaine-Jester another a man-pleaser and yet be a member of Christ All the members of Christ must have one life As in a mans body there be veines arteries and nerves that are the channels to convey life and motion and sense to every member that all the members may have the same life dispersed through the body So it is in the body of Christ every member of Christ hath faith for his veines to convey the same life and the same spirits and the same gratious motions to all the body that it is not now the member that lives but Christ that lives in it Gal 2. I live not saith the Apostle but Christ liveth in me As in the body it is not the eye that seeth if we speak proporly but the man that seeth with the eye it is not the ear that heareth but the man that heareth with the ear so in the body of Christ it is no more the man that speaketh but the truth of Christ speaking in him We have the minde of Christ saith the Apostle 1 Cor. 2. 16. if we be in Christ Christ thinkes in us Christ speakes in us Christ walkes in us Christ doth all in us As in the same body the soule rules and quickens every member The body of Christ cannot be a monster like those Locusts spoken of Revel 9. 7. that had shapes like horses heads as it were like crownes of gold and their faces like the faces of a man and had haire like women and teeth like Lyons this is a monster and not a simple body such a one cannot the body of Christ be a mocker for one member an ignorant sot for another an hypocrite for another a carnall gospeller for another a covetous worldling for another As in the body of a man every member in this mans body must be this mans member and not the member of another man As for example Peter must have Peters legs and not Simon Magus his legs Peter must have Peters eys not Alexanders eyes Peter must have Peters hands and not Judas hands you cannot take the eye of an Horse the leg of a Dog and the paw of a Beare and put them together and say here 's a man no this would be a monster every perfect body must have its own members So it is in the body of Christ every member in Christ his Body must have Christ his Members every member in a mans body acts with reason so every member of Christ acts with direction of Christ it is informed by Christ his minde is quickened by Christ his life so that a man cannot be a member of Christ but he must walke as Christ walked I know the best Christian may fall seven times a day though he be in Christ it doth not therefore follow that every particular action savours of Christ but as every member in the body lives the life of the whole body or else it is a dead member so thou must live the life of Christ or else thou canst never be saved You know that all the actions of a man are guided by reason yet there are some particular actions that he doth and not by reason as it may be he shakes his head or moves his hand and jogs his foote and considers not what he doth they are the actions of a reasonable man though not reasonable actions so there may be many actions that are the actions of Christians though not Christian actions The sinnes of the godly they are the actions of a Christian but they are not Christian actions there may bee stoppings in the body though the same life and quickening runnes through the whole body yet through the stopping of the liver and the pipes distempers and ill humours may be raised in the body so it may be in the body of Christ and so many a Christian may fall through infirmity but the course of a Christian the life of a Christian the ordinary trade of a Christian the walke of a Christian is to live with the same spirit that lived in Christ to walke in the same way that Christ walked in The last reason is taken from the neere relation that is to be betweene Christ and every member of Christ They are not onely the Servants and Disciples of Christ but they are the children of Christ by his begetting of them If all that are in Christ are the children of Christ they must needs walke as Christ walked Like begets the like Indeed a godly man may beget a wicked child a gracelesse sonne the reason is because he begets his sonne not as he is a godly man
but as he is a man corrupt by nature with sinne but Christ begets as he is God and therefore as he is without sinne in himselfe so he never begets any but by an eternall spirit and therefore they cannot but be like him Be ye followers of God as dear children Ephes 5. 1. The Apostle grounds his exhortation upon a necessity in grace Consider if you be the children of God it can be no otherwise but you must be followers of Christ as dear children The begetter communicates himselfe to the begotten if the begetter be flesh he begetteth flesh so Adam begot a sonne after his own likenesse That that is born of the flesh is flesh John 3. and is of a fleshly nature That that is borne of the spirit is spirit If we are begotten again by the Spirit of God then are we spiritualized of God so that a man cannot be in Christ unlesse he be the child of Christ and walke as Christ walked Christ was perfect Christ was mercifull be you so saith Christ Matth. 5. Be you perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect as if he should say you cannot be the children of your Heavenly Father unlesse you be perfect as he is perfect mercifull as he is mercifull holy as he is holy righteous as he is righteous walke as he walked Is it so that all that are in Christ walke as Christ walked then all wicked men blaspheme the name of Christ that do not live the life of the Lord Jesus These blaspheme the holy and sacred name of Christ Oh saith one I hope I am a Christian yet the man is a drunkard or a whoremaster or a gamester or a worldling a proud man a covetous man What was Christ a drunkard was Christ a whoremaster was Christ a gamester a worldling proud covetous it were blasphemy for any to say so of Christ and it is also blasphemy for thee who walkest not after the Gospell to say thou art a Christian As I am a Christian saith another yet the man is a filthy speaker Was Christ such a one a swearer c. Thou blasphemest the name of Christ I hope we are all Christians saith a third and yet they are men that live in security and prophanesse What was there security in Christ was prophanesse in Christ Oh what blasphemie is it for thee to stile thy self by the Name of Christ to say thou art in Christ Revel 2. 9. saith Christ I know the blasphemy of them that say they are Jews and are not that say they are the children of Abraham but doe not the workes of Abraham If a man did blaspheme God to stile himselfe a Jew or a child of Abraham that did not the workes of Abraham what blasphemy then is it for thee to say thou art a Christian and yet dost not the workes of Christ could not a man take the name of Abraham but he did blaspheme unlesse he did the workes of Abraham how then durst thou take the name of Christ upon thee and not doe the workes of Christ not walk as Christ walked Beloved is any man a Christian he hath holinesse engraven in his forehead to the Lord in his heart in his thoughts in his words and in all his wayes he is one that gaspeth after holinesse Art thou a Christian of all sinnes under Heaven God cannot endure the sinnes of a Christian that hath the name of Christ put upon him When Gods materiall temple was defiled by buyers and sellers Christ whippes them out and after told them that the dayes would come wherein there should not be left of it one stone upon another God would not endure the Temple because it was dedicated to his name called his house when it was made a den of theeves Doth God care so much for stocks and stones that are dedicated to his Name will he not endure an unholy stone and will he endure an unholy Christian Thou that art dedicated unto God and unto his service thou that art dedicated to prayer to hearing thou that art dedicated to an holy conversation thou that art called the Temple of God and the House of God wilt thou make it a den of theeves a denne of vain thoughts a denne of wicked words of dead and ungodly workes wilt thou defile the Temple of the Lord then know the Lord will not let one stone lie upon another but will cast thee down and damne thee body and soule in hell for ever Thou sayest thou art a Christian how so thou saiest thou wast christened thy condemnation is the heavier if thou saiest thou hast been baptized into the Name of Christ and hast not put on Christ Examine thy self hast thou put on Christ otherwise it is no matter for thy baptism Can I say that man hath put on his cloths that hath not a ragge on his back nor a shooe on his foote nor a hatte to his head nor a ring on his finger so when there is never a Christ in thy thoughts never a Christ in thy speech and conference never a Christ in thy walke never a Christ in thy calling in thy buying and selling never a Christ shining forth in thy life and conversation canst thou say thou hast put on the Lord Christ Can any man say that a beggar hath put on Royall robes when he hath nothing but ragges and patches upon him so if I see a man with ragged thoughts of the world with ragged speeches of the flesh and a ragged course and conversation according to the course and conversation of the world I can never say that such an one hath put on the Lord Jesus Christ Dost thou say thou hast put on Christ why then shew me the signs of Christ in thee Shall I see it by thine apparell it may be that is garish Shall I see it by thy speech and conference it may be that is earthly and carnall Shall I see it by thy thoughts it may be they are vaine sinfull and worldly Shall I see it by thy company it may be they are wicked and gracelesse Shall I see it in thy course and conversation it may be that is loose and prophane How canst thou then demonstrate that thou art a Christian it may be now and then thou wilt give a praier unto Christ turne up the white of thine eye to Christ it may be thou wilt look into the Church and lend an eare to Christ in his word Is this to be in Christ if thou be in Christ then thou must live the life of Christ in all thy wayes The life of a man is a continued thing A man is not alive at his dinner and dead when he hath done alive at his work and dead when his work is done so it is not enough for thee to prove that thou art in Christ that thou art alive at prayer or at preaching life is a continued thing thou must be alive after prayer as well as before alive after Sermon as whilest thou art at it if thou hast
the life of Christ in thee it is a standing life it will not make thee alive at prayer and dead when thou hast done it will not make thee holy and Spirituall at a Sermon and leave thee dead and carnall when it is done not holy and heavenly in discourse and conference and worldly and prophane when it is done not to be holy and lively c. in a good moode and leave thee dead-hearted secure and loose afterwards this is not to be in Christ no the life of Christ is a standing and a continuing life it will make thee alive after all thy services after every duty as thou wast before or in the duty He that saith he abideth in him c. In this word He there are three Notes a note Of Indignation Discrimination Scrutiny First Indignation The Apostle doth as it were point at a certain man in his congregation as if there had been some mâ—n that he knew was not in Christ What man soever whether in this pewe or in that pewe whether on this forme or on that forme if he abide in Christ he ought to walke as Christ walked Hence observe That a Minister is bound to preach home in particular so that he may summon this man and that man in the Church as the Apostle doth here he that saith if there be any one amongst the whole multitude that saith he abideth in Christ he ought also himself to walke as he walked And this commission God gives unto all his ministers Mark 16. 15. Go preach the Gospell to every creature he doth not say preach the Gospell before every creature so they may doe and preach in generall but to every creature that every creature may feele the Gospell bearing on his heart that every creature may see his sins that so the Gospell may be applyed to his heart All the names given to Ministers shew thus much They are called Seeds men now a Seeds man doth not take a whole croppe or a whole bushel of corne and throw it in a heap in his field but he takes it and scatters it abroad that every place may receive some So they are called Builders now a builder doth not onely frame the whole building but he layes every particular bricke and every particular stone in his building So they are called Shepheards a Shepheard doth not onely looke to his flocke in generall but to every Ramme and to every Lamb in his flocke So Preachers must not onely preach the word of God in generall but they must preach in particular The ground of this will appear if we consider three things in particular First particulars are most operative it is not fire in generall that burns but t is this or that fire so it is not sinne in generall that will humble a man it is not repentance in generall that wil turne a man it is not faith in generall that will save a man but this fiâ—ne and that sin this repentance and that repentance this faith and that faith All actions they are of singulars An universall man cannot reason an universall man cannot dispute an universall man cannot see nor hear No it is this man and that man that seeth and hears and disputes Particulars are most operative preaching to men in particular is powerfull preaching that workes upon mens consciences How came the Prophet to preach powerfully to the people He declared to Jacob his sinne and to Israel his transgression Micha 3. 8. I am full of power by the Spirit of the Lord saith the Prophet here was the way whereby the Prophet preached powerfully so that the Spirit went and rent mens hearts and consciences and made them tremble how why he made every soule see his sinnes so that Minister that would preach powerfully to the consciences of his people he must make every one of them to see their sinnes against God and his commandements so that they may confesse I see I have been a grievons sinner and I am in the state of damnation and I must repent or else I shall be damned Secondly particulars are most distinct when the preacher preacheth only in generall it workes a confused knowledge knowledge of sinne in generall a confused repenta nce a confused humiliation and a confused faith in the generall it may be it may make a man see he is a sinner in the generall but there are many thousand thousand sinnes in particular that he takes no notice of but swallows them down in the generall it may be his sinnes may be discovered in the generall but alas there are many yea multitudes of deceits of turnings and windings of the heart in particular that are never discovered to them All the religion of these men is only generall I love God with all my heart saiâ—thone and yet the man is grossely ignorant of God Aske him any particulars how he can prove his love to God and the man cannot shew any So I serve God with all my heart but goe to particulars and bid him manifest what he speakes so I feare God I worship God but bring them to the particular workes of these graces and they aregone presently they are lost and know not what to answer Thus the people in Malachies time they thought they had much knowledge while the Priest preached thus overly to them but when the Prophet came to preach home and to come with particulars to them they thought the Prophet was madde they knew not what he meant You have despised the Lord saith the Prophet wherein say they Mal. 1. 6. You have prophaned the worship of God You have polluted the table of the Lord saith the Prophet ver 7. wherein said they You have wearied the Lord with your words said the Prophet Chap. 2. ver 17. wherein said they You have robbed God Chap. 3. ver 8. wherein said they See your words have been stoute against the Lord said the Prophet yet they said what have we spoken ver 13. they could not tell wherein till the Prophet told them herein have you robbed God herein have you despised the Lord herein you have prophaned the worship of God c. So should the minister of God come to men and tell them in particular thou art an enemy to Gods grace thou hast abused Gods patience wherein sayest thou Thou art one that scornest the word of God and thou defilest all the Ordinances of God Wherein sayest thou Thou art one that putst farre from thee the evill day wherein sayest thou Now when the minister of God can come to particulars and shew men wherein then they cry out against them and think they tell them lies and preach false things to them but the Ministers of God are bound to preach so as they may discover mens particular sinnes not so as people may point one at another but so as every conscience may feele its owne sinnes Thirdly particulars are most sensible If the Minister preach home in particular there is not a false heart then
your selves unworthy of everlasting life c. You that have heard the word of God apply it to your soules it is a blessed plaister let it lie on your soules go home and say Lord I have been told of this and that sinne of my pride hypocrisie deadnesse and distraction in thy worship and service c. I see they are against thy will and thou commandest me to come out of them and to leave them Lord I beseech thee inable me to leave them all so Lord I have been told this day of such and such graces which thou hast commanded me for to have of such and such duties that thou wouldest have me to take up and performe Lord subject my heart to the power of grace and to every commandement of thy word Take heed if thou doest put off the word of God or any tittle of the word and wilt not walke according to the same thou puttest off eternall life from thy selfe Doe therefore as Gods people did who when Moses had preached the Law and Will of God to them it is said Exod. 12. 50. Thus did all the Children of Israel as the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron so did they So doe you goe home and apply the word to your soules it was spoken for your good make use of it and the Lord be with you Thirdly Scrutiny it is not onely an outward word but a word of the heart if any man say that is if any man think that he is in Christ he ought to walke as Christ did Hence we might observe That a Minister is bound to preach to mens thoughts But time cuts us off THE ENMITIE OF THE WICKED To the light of the GOSPEL In a SERMON By WILLIAM FENNER Minister of the Gospel sometimes Fellow of Pembroke Hall in Cambridge and late Lecturer of Rochford in Essex London Printed by E. T. for John Stafford THE ENMITY OF THE WICKED To the light of the GOSPEL JOHN 3. VER 20. For every man that doth evill hateth the light neither cometh he to the light least his deeds should be reproved THis is part of Christ his parly with Nicodemus concerning regeneration wherein our Saviour doth declare four main points The first is Mans naturall estate and condition without Christ It is impossible that ever he should be saved that ever he should get grace or come within the list of eternall life Christ saith it and bindeth it with an oath ver 3. Verily Verily I say unto thee except a man be borne again he cannot see the Kingdome of God much lesse inherit it Secondly here is Gods gracious provision which he hath taken with the world that though man were in a way of damnation invincibly yet now he is put in a way of probability of salvation ver 16. though he were damnable by nature yet now he is salvable by Christ Thirdly here is a general proclamation upon the condition of faith that this salvability may be attained if a man believe In the same verse God so loved the world that he gave his onely begotten Sonne that whosoever beleeveth in him c. It is a condition of faith put to all none excepted Whosoever he be that beleeveth in Christ he shall be saved Fourthly here is the reprobation of the world he that beleeveth not is condemned already The cause whereof cannot be cast on Christ for God hath not sent his Son to condemne the world but that the world through him might be saved It was Christs primary purpose and the first end of his coming to save the world it is an accidentall end or rather an event of his coming that the world is condemned Christ is not the cause of it he is not the efficient cause for he is a Saviour nor the deficient cause for he is a sufficient Saviour That the cause of their condemnation is from themselves and not from Christ is proved by three arguments First from their own consciences he that beleeveth not is condemned already He cannot here speake of the condemnation of hell for he is not in hell already But he speakes of an apprehensuall condemnation in their own consciences as Chrysostome observes he meanes the condemnation of their own consciences he that beleeves not his conscience tells him that it is his fault that he beleeveth not though it be not in his power to be beleeve yet God hath gone so farre he hath so farre strugled with mens consciences that there is no default on his part They cannot excuse themselves saying I have no power to beleeve their own consciences will tell them that God hath knocked at their hearts and offered them power to beleeve but they rejected it They cannot say I know not how to beleeve his own conscience will tell him that God hath offered instruction to him whereby he might have been taught but that he refused it so that he that beleeves not is condemned already his own conscience riseth within him and tells him that it is his own fault that he doth not Secondly it is proved by experience experience shews that men are the cause of their own condemnation verse 19. This is the condemnation that light is come into the world but men loved darknesse rather then light the meaning of it is this This is the cause of condemnation to the world not Gods predestination not their fatall destiny not their breach of the first covenant nor any other impiety but this sinne of Infidelity If the world stood guilty of never so many sinnes yet if it did beleeve in the Lord Jesus it should be saved So that it is not all the other sinnes that a man commits that damnes him but his infidelity that layes all his former sinnes that ever he committed upon him here is condemnation that though light be come into the world to pull men out of their darknesse and sinnes yea though Christ though grace come to them yet they will not come out of their sinnes men will not have Christ men will not have grace men love darknesse rather then light Thirdly It is proved by reason verse 20. the verse now read unto you For every man that doth evil hateth the light neither cometh to the light least his deeds should be reproved It is a strong argument to prove that if men be damned themselves are the cause of it for if light come into the world to instruct men if Christ come into the world to pluck men out of their sins if Christ come with his bloud and spirit to cleanse and sanctifie men and men will not be sanctified Then if they perish in their sins they are justly guilty of their own condemnation The words comprehend in them two things First the wickeds rejection of the word of grace which is set forth both positively he hates the light and then privatively or rather negatively neither cometh to the light Secondly the cause of the wickeds rejection of the word of grace which is twofold First the qualification of his
gaâ—ling his heart day by day let the minister enâ—er a reproof into his heart againe so it be but once or twice he cares not Why he thinks he can recover himself again from it but let the word of God come into him and gall his conscience continually that every Sabbath he is convicted for a condemned man if he live not otherwise every Sermon the Minister finds him out in his closest and dearest sinnes he can never goe to Church but he heares the Minister reprooving him for some sinne or other telling him that he must to hell for them unlesse he repent and leade a new life thus when the word followes him every Sabbath that he hath no breathing time to recover his lust this makes him to hate the word Amos 7. The Prophet preaching the word of the Lord and denouncing the Judgements of God to the people for their sins Amaziah opposeth him ver 12. and saith unto Amos O thou Seer goe flye thee away into the Land of Judah and there eate bread and prophesie there but prophesie not again any more at Bethell for it is the Kings Chappel and it is the Kings Court He could like it well enough that Amos should prophesie once or twice but if he did prophesie any more he should spoile all theiâ—â—â—â—th he should gall all their consciences go saith he prophesie in Judah and eate thy bread there Amos should prophesie where he would so it were not there he might eat his bread where he would so it were not there Lastly as it is an actuall affection of the heart whereby the heart riseth up against an union so in the last place it is against that that is dissonant and repugnant to his lust For as love is the consonancy of the affection to a thing that hath agreement therewith so hatred must needs be dissonancy of affection to a thing that is repugnant and contrary to it So a wicked man he hates the word because it disagrees and jarres with his lust Indeed a wicked man may love the word so long as it opposeth not against his lust Therefore a wicked man may love three kinds of preaching First Quaint preaching that savours more of humanity then of divinity As long as the Minister commeth with dainty phrases acute stories eloquent allusions and fine transitions they will like it well enough it jarres not with their lust and therefore you shall heare them when they come from Church commend him O he was a fine spokes man a wirty scholar what a learned and excellent Sermon did he make to day so farre as the word opposeth not his lust a man may love preaching The people they did love to hear Ezeki l preach they did love to hear his pleasant words The Babylonians they did love to hear Davids songs it was fine melody to them though they hated the sense so the Phylistins they did love to hear Sampson speak they knew he was a witty man and could speake fine riddles to them but they hated his religion so the people they did love to hear Christ preach and would flock after him they did wonder at his authority c. yet they hated his doctrine for they cried crucifie him crucifie him so if a Minister speake onely of witte learning and memory c. a wicked man will love it it opposeth not his lust Secondly they may love Impertinent preaching when though it be never so pertinent to some in the Church yet if it be not pertineut to him he loves that As the drunkard loves to hear the Minister preach against hypocrisie though never so sharply The prodigall person loves to hear the Minister preach against covetousnesse But if the word come to strike him under his fifth ribbe to discover his corruptions and the plagues of God due to him for his sinnes then he hates it Thirdly he may love preaching in â—anto though not in toto he may love so or so much preaching but not preaching altogether A wicked mans conscience tells him that he must have some religion that he must performe some service to God and therefore so long as the Minister onely calls for some preaching some hearing and some serving of God why his conscience calls for so much The vilest drunkard and blasphemer and swearer that is will be content to hear of calling upon the Lord Jesus at his death the vilest whoremaster and prophane person the earthly worlding c. will yeeld to some preaching and to some hearing and to some reading why otherwise their consciences would not be at quiet but would be as the divells band-dogge bawling and houting at him But if the Minister call for more religion then his lust will suffer for more religion then will subsist with his security deadnesse lukewarmnesse hypocrisie worldlinesse that he cannot yeeld to and â—eâ—aine them then he thinks there is too much of it then he hates it and cannot endure it Thus you see that wicked men hate the word of God I set it forth by three instances Rom. 1. 30. Haters of God They did not hate his being and essence his goodnesse and mercy but they hated him as he was a Lawgiver The devils hate not God as he is God and hath a being but they hate him as he is a Lawgiver and as he is their Judge they cannot endure to be called by this God to be controuled and judged by him Thus was it with the Colossians before they were converted they were enemies to God Col. 1. 21. Our Saviour takes away the whole doubt and speakes it peremptorily and generally of all the world they hated me the whole world so long as they live in their sins hate Christ and hate his word First a wicked man hates the word because he hates the truth and the being of the word he is sorry that the word of God is true he would be glad that the Scripture might prove false that things may not be as the word of God saith they are he hates the being of the word A man loves the being of that which he loves and he hates the being of that which he hates and were it in his power he would destroy it Now though a wicked man cannot destroy the Bible from being in it self yet he will destroy the Bible from being in his life For beloved the word of God should not onely be in the Bible but the Bible should be in a mans life A mans life should he a walking Bible but a wicked man destroyes the Bible from being in his life A civill man would be glad that Aristotles Ethicks were the Bible A worldly man would be glad that the Book of Statutes were the Bible he is sorry that that is the Bible which indeed is the Bible The young man that came to Christ though he loved eternall life and said that he loved the Commandements of God yet when our Saviour told him one thing is wanting goe and sell all that thou hast and give it to
thoughts thy vain words and thy vain lusts and wilt thou not If God had redeemed us with silver and gold that were but drosse no he hath redeemed us with the bloud of his Sonne if now thou wilt part with the bloud of Christ rather then with thy sinnes that the word of God commands thee to part with how great is thy hatred of the word Bloud it is necessary to the life of every living creature I am sure the Bloud of Christ is necessary to the life of a Christian without it a man can never be washed nor never be sanctified nor made acceptable to God That man that will rather part with his bloud rather then lay down his hatred of such an one whom he hates he hates him for ever he hates him to the death Thou that rather then thou wilt part with thy evill courses from those sinnes that Gods word would have thee to to give over and forsake wilt part with the bloud of Christ I say thou hatest the word and thou hatest a reformation of thy wayes for ever with an everlasting and damnable hatred That man that had rather be damned then leave his sinnes that had rather goe to hell then be a new creature he hates the parting with his sinnes he hates to be a new creature It is truth man is a reasonable creature and therefore cannot reason so in expresse words as to say I had rather be damned then to give over my drunkennesse my lying my swearing my lust I had rather goe to hell then be so pure and so holy c. But every wicked man is so unreasonable in very deed for the word of God tells that wicked men that live and die in such sins and such sins shall be damned yet they will not give over their sinnes Doth not your own conscience tell you that as long as you pray no better as long as you walke no better in your profession God abhorreâ— you and all that you doe and will damn you doth not thy conscience cell thee that yet thou hast no assurance of salvation that as yet Jesu-Christ was never given to thee that as yet you never had the Spirit of Christ to kill sinne in you if that thou wilt goe on in thy sinnes and not get Christ and his Spirit into thy heart as the word of God commandeth thee and thy own conscience perswadeth thee I say if yet thou wilt goe on in thy sinnes then thou choosest to be damned rather then to part with sin Doe we not say such a rogue will be hanged that such a hasty furious man will undoe himselfe doe we not say of a rebellious child that he will be disinherited not that any man reasons so in words I will doe thus and thus and undoe my selfe I will steale and be hanged I wil be a rebellious child and be disinherited I will goe on in my sinnes let the world say what it will and be damned But when a man knows that the wages of sin is death that the end of drunkennesse of swearing of lying of pride security hypocrisie formality in religion c. is death When a man knows that the end of that sinne which he lives iâ— is damnation and yet will goe on in those sinnes he wills to be damned Ezek 18. 31. Turne you turne you why will you dye O house of Israle why were any so madde as to be willing to dye to perish for ever yet saith the Prophet why will you dye as if he should say why will you sin that man that wills to sin he wills to be damned that man that will be damned rather then part with his sinne that man loves sin for ever and so hates the light Beloved be ashamed to carry so many plague-tokens upon your hearts so manny sinnes in your soules so many oppositions and rebellious against the word That man that hates and rebells against the word can never be saved by the word You that have had the preaching of the word look that you give way to it take heed that you withstand not the breath of it I could tel you one thing I pray God to send it home to your hearts commonly when God sneds his word to a people those that are wrought upon for the most part are wrought upon at the beginning generally it is so I will give you a convincing place for it Acts. 13. 48. And when the Gentiles heard they glorified the word of the Lord and as many as were ordained to eternal life beleeved Paul and Barnabas were come to Antioch and had preached one Sabbath day and now had preached another The Gentiles glorified the word of the Lord and as many as were ordained to eternal life beleeved as if he had said all that were ordained to eternall life beleeved at those Sermons as if he should say again all that beleeved not at those two Sermons were reprobates Those that did belong to God they did beleeve and hearkened to the preaching of the word to them on those two Sabbaths All that were ordeined to life they beleeved at these two Sermons the rest that beleeved not are branded and marked out for despisers and wonderers Heare O despisers and wonder and perish c. Agree with thine Adversary whilst thou art in the way Matth. 5. Beloved you are now in the way of salvation your Adversary is the Lord himself til he be reconciled unto you you are in the way while you are under the preaching of the word you know not how soon God may take you out of the way you know not how soon God may take his word away or if that continue yet he may withdraw his Spirit and then if God once take away his Spirit then you may seek to be converted but shall never find it you may seek for grace but shall never get it you may seek for Christ but never obtaine him if men stand out against the word and Spirit of Christ while it is beating upon their hearts and offering them grace then Christ will be a swift witnesse against them Malach. 3. 5. Doth Christ come to thee now obey now beleeve now give over thy sins Doth he bid thee now repent c. O give way to the Words of Christ give way to the spirit of Christ otherwise Christ will come swiftly I will be a swift witnesse I tell you the Covenant of grace will not stay long God is about to put up his wares When no Customers come the Merchant puts up his wares so God will even close up all his graces then Preachers may preach but none shall be converted People may heare but never be turned which the Lord deny from ever being amongst us therefore while it is called to day hearken and the Feare of God be with you GODS IMPARTIALITY IN HIS JUDGEMENTS In a SERMON By WILLIAM FENNER Minister of the Gospel sometimes Fellow of Pembroke Hall in Cambridge and late Lecturer of Rochford in Essex London Printed
by E. T. for John Stafford GODS IMPARTIALITY IN HIS JUDGEMENTS ISAIAH 42. 24. Who gave Jacob to the spoile and Israel to the Robbers Did not I the Lord THe Lord in this Chapter by the Prophet Esay doth foretell heavy things against the people and by the way mark the Lords dealings he ever gives warning before he sends any plagues he lightens before he thunders that the people might not say they did not hear of it and that the wicked might be the more inexcusable and that the godly might make an Arke to save themselves in These words and the following verse containe in them five severall things First the Author of this destruction or judgement Secondly the Causes of it Thirdly the Judgement it self Fourthly Who they were on whom this judgement was inflicted Fifthly The effects of it Now by Gods permission I will open these words in order unto you And for the first the Author of it It is laid down by question and answer Question Who gave Jacob to the spoyle and Israel to the robbers Answer Did not I the Lord was it not I the mighty God which am able to order every thing according to my own will But indeed we are ready to ascribe things to chance and fortune and lot to prevent this saies God Who did these and these things did not I the Lord Now by Jacob and Israel is meant the people of the Jews which were called by the name of Jacob. Who though they were his peculiar people yet when they sinned he gave them over God saies Who gave this people of mine to the enemies did not I the Lord therefore God he is the Author of all punishment Secondly the Cause why the Lord did this for some might say why did the Lord overthrow this people whom he did so tenderly respect for his which were as the apple of his eye and the strength of his right arme because they sinned against the Lord and would not walke in his wayes He sets down the Causes First in generall they have sinned Secondly in particular they would not walk in his way nor be obedient to his Lawes Thirdly here is the Judgement it self ver 25. therefore hath he powred upon him the fury of his anger the strength of the Battel and hath set him on fire round about He calleth it the anger of the Lord not of a King or of a great man but the anger of the Lord the fury of his anger shewing the extremity of it he doth not say that God doth drop down his anger but he poures out the fury of his indignation Moreover he saith the strength of battel the Lord cometh like an armed man to fight against them and to destroy them as men in waâ—res doe when they slay both young and old and make no bones of it and are glad when they have done it And as an armed man to slay them so likewise he hath set a fire round about them the Lord hath inclosed them in with indignation so that they could see no way to get out of it or to escape it So then this shews the unavoydablenesse of Gods Judgements Fourthly who were these that were destroyed Jacob and Israel a praying and a professing and a fasting people Fifthly the effect of all this how it did work upon them Yet saith the Lord they know it not neither lay it to heart Oh Lord what monstrous stupidity is this though God did doe it in his anger too yet this poor Nation saw it not nether regarded it till the plague came and when it came they never laid it to heart neither were they humbled by it but did beare the plague and afterwards went down into hell and never minded it Even so beloved stands the case with us The Lord plagues us and we see it not his anger burns round about us and the fierrenesse of his wrath is gone out to battel and yet we perceive it not From the first of these observe namely That God is the author of all plagues and judgements that befall a Nation It was he that drowned the old world and delivered the Children of Israel to the spoylers Shal there be any evill in the City and the Lord hath not dont it saith Amos in his third chapter and sixth verse From whence observe this That God ordains all punishments before they come Acts 4. 28. for to do whatsoever thy hand and counsel determined before to be done And as God ordaineth all thing before they come so he ordereth them and the time when they shal come and they cannot come one moment of time before the Lord would have them The Iews could not lay hold on our Saviour because his hour was not yet come John 7. 30. The wicked cannot pull down punishments upon a Nation when they wil As it s he ordaineth them and the time when so he doth appoint them how long they shall lie upon men Revel 1. 10. There the Lord had appointed the Church of Smyrna ten dayes tribulation and there is measured how much God appoints us The devill could go no further then his commission in afflicting Job As he doth order all so he doth order all for the good of his people and for the confusion of his enemies all things work for the good of those that feare God Rom. 8. 28. and for the hardening and overthrowing of the enemies of the Church that are incorrigible This may stay and comfort the hearts of Gods Children in any heavie crosse that befals them Is God the orderer and disposer of all then this may comfort thy soul O thou poor Child of God I say comfort thy soul with this that the Lord is the temperer of all things and the Physician that stands by and sees how many drammes the Apothecary putteth in The devill indeed may afflict thee and wicked men may punish thee but thou shalt have no more then the Lord sees good for thee Therefore though thine enemies take thee and kill thee and Rabshekah raile on thee and Bonner burne thee yet the Lord is a sweet loving Father and ordereth all things and cannot find in his heart to hurt thee Though they be the Instruments yet God he is the Author and hath appointed how long and how much and for what they shall afflict thee Therefore though the Sword find thee and faggot come yea though thou beest banished or sawne asunder yet the Lord ordereth all things Therefore he saith to the sword and to the the plague as David said to Ioab have a care of my deare sonne onely subdue the rebell but doe not hurt my sonne So saith God use my servants kindly for my sake onely bring under their proud hearts but do not hurt them Therefore have an eye to Gods love and let faith in him over-rule thy heart in spite of all that can come against thee This may terrifie the hearts of all wicked men that are out of Gods favour Is God the Author of
ever we would see good dayes we must joyne our prayers and all our powers against our sins and the sins of others When the Philistins saw that the Arke was the cause of the punishments that befell them then they never rested till they had sent it away so let us ship and packe away our sins if ever we would have our punishments removed from us Say O mine enemie have I found thee thou art the enemies of King and Countrey and Parliament and Gospel and thou art he that brake the last Parliament thou art he that lost the day at the Isle of Ree thou art he that sent so many poor Rochellers to the grave with famine and thou art he that makes division between Kings and commons The Lord give us power and courage for if ever we had need now we have and let us bestir our selves and pray that God would be pleased to stirre up the heart of the King and other Magistrates against these sinnes Oh that Magaistrates in their places would set their hearts and hands against all these sinnes but light execution is done and most Magistrates stand for ciphers in their places and onely take up a room and do nothing We cannot draw them with all the arguments we can use to punish these sinnes We have cause to mourne for they stand like scrare-crowes with a peice in their hands but never shoote and the birds may pick the strawes from their heads so that Magistrates do nothing But to you I speake that are chiefe in Towns and chief Officers you should all joyne hand in hand and heart in heart to pull down these ale houses hel-houses and nurseries of the devil and to supplant wicked nesse We must not be one for them and another against them for in so doing we shall never see good dayes And you Gentlemen when are your hearts and hands against them when did you ever speak or write against them when did you ever set foot in striving to have them supprest men stand with their fingers in their mouthes and their hands in their pockets and dare not stand for God and good causes The Lord be merciful unto us we doe not joyne our forces prayers and powers that we can make for Gods glory Oh that the Lord would be pleased to put his Spirit into our hearts that we may be all of one mind So you Gentlemen in your places and we Ministers in our places and all of us we are with all the strength and courage and mettle that the Lord hath put into us to cry and pray and preach down sinne And all you Masters and Dames you are to reforme your Families for these sinnes bring down punishments upon the Land Therefore labour to find out the wickednsse of your Families and admonish them and reprove them plainly and shew them from Gods word the punishments that are due to them If you would doe these things then there might be something done and if reproof and admonishment will not serve the turne then expell them and banish them as Abraham did Hagar and Ismael You Christians mourne for your sins and joyne your hearts and prayers against the sins of the place where you live If any house be on fire others will come with water to quench it as if it were their own so here is a flame of fire kindled in this Kingdome of England and the wrath of God is like wild-fire coming down upon us from heaven therefore let every one of us bring some water or other to quench this fire that is round about us in every place and almost upon all hearts Let every man sweep his own doore and the streets will be cleane so if every one would purge his own heart what reformation would there be in every place then God and Christ and gospel might be here still and the enemies might be kept out still which if we doe not who knows how soon the enemie may rush in upon us but alas we harbour these traytors in our bosomes I protest against every man that habours sin in his own house or soul that he is a traytor to the Kingdom whatsoever he be if I knew the man I would fasten mine eyes on him and tell him Oh thou vile Achan doest thou harbour these sins and traytors and keep these sins and then cry out of the dangerousnesse of the times If a man did know certainly that the dogge that he keepes in his house would one day pull out his throate would he keep him fatte that he might the better doe it no sure he would rather hang him Or if a man did know that the fire that burnes upon the hearth would burne him would he blow it or if a man did know that the knife which he hath would one day cutte his throate would he sharpen it no surely Beloved this is the case of all us poor wretches that live in sinne they will be the cause of all the punishments that God sends upon us all Now therefore I charge you all men and women and every one of you to make a Covenant and enter into an oath and a curse to search out every sin and find them out in your families wife and children and servants and do what you can to quench them These Townes and Countreys are on fire O that the Lord would be pleased to send his word home to every one of your hearts you I meane that I love as well as mine own soule my deare people I would spend and be spent for you if God would give me strength and though I speak plaine it is for your everlasting good What are those punishments that he threatned to poure upon them in the furie of his wrath He poureth full battails and the strength of battails all this was upon his own deare people Israel even those people the Lord so severely threatens Hence observe this Doctrine That the Lord oftentimes brings fearful and unavoydable judgements and punishments even upon his own professing people even they that offer sacrifice and that pray and call him Father and fast and pray even upon these people he doth often times bring these punissiments Amos 3. 2. You onely have I known among all the Nations of the earth therefore will I punish you for all your iniquities See the whole currant of Gods word did not the Lord punish the Children of Israel in the time of their Judges they had many sore enemies as Eglon and Sisera The ten Tribes they sinned and were carried into captivity and these were Gods professing people And afterward the other two Tribes Judah and Benjamine were carried away captive into Babylon and there they were seventy years Forty yeares after Christs time the Romans came against them and burnt all their Cities And these were Gods own professing people The Churches of Asia were famous Churches but now they are overthrowne with Turkes Now our sins give God just cause to make him come against us with punishments and
judgements upon this Land If a man lie sick and they see death in his face they call it the foretelling signe so the Ministers of God may foresee the death and destruction of a Kingdome I am sure we have better grounds then the Physicians can have And therefore why may not the Ministers which are Gods Physicians doe it The signes of Gods punishments that are coming upon us are these The first is of Gods Ministers which with one voice doe foretel judgements to come Then this is a signe that God hasteneth to battel Amos 3. 7. Surely the Lord will doe nothing but he revealeth his secrets to his servants the Prophets but especially when they agree all in one thing then the Kingdom is dangerously gone Luke 1. 70. The Lord giveth one mouth as he spake by the mouth of all his holy Prophets I will say nothing in this but let me appeale to your consciences whether all good Ministers in the Church of England have not declared by Gods word that judgements are coming out against this Land and us for many yeares together And as our Saviour saith Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in beaven Secondly when sinnes of all sorts doe abound frequently and with a bold face and whorish forehead For when the harvest is ripe then cometh so many sickles to cut it down so when the sinnes of a Kingdome are ripe then it is time to cut that Kinddome down Genes 6. 12. The earth was filled with violence all flesh had corrupted their wayes therefore make an Arke for the end of all flesh is come God will wash away their filthinesse Consider whether it be not thus with England or no. Was ever drunkennesse and blasphemie and scoffing at religion and prophaning Gods Sabbaths nay liberty given so to do was it ever come to that height that now it is were ever great ones as Bishops and Ministers so defiled as now they are our Land hath often been overcome when men were grown desperately wicked then they were destroyed Now what sinnes what blasphemies what hating of God lyeth raging in our times I think there is none in this Congregation but sees and heares how City and Countrey are venomed and benumned and defiled with sinnes of all sorts Thirdly when the devill and wicked men cast bones of dissention that is a signe of ruine When there was a dissention between Rehoboam and the people then God pulled away ten Tribs and much bloud was shed So when King and Commons and all are divided Ephraim against Manasses and Manasses against Ephraim but both against Judah then it is a fearfull signe that that Nation shall be destroyed I say to apply this if ever a Kingdome were divided then this is if we could all accord then we might expect something but now our best bloud is gone and our hearts are gone the Lord in mercie raise us up from dead ashes O consider this I beseech you and lay it to heart Will God deceive his Ministers and make them all blindfold no no. When God puts his Spirit into his Ministers and makes them all with one mouth to call and cry desolation and when all manner of sinnes so fearfully abound and when there is such divisions in the State then let us look for desolation Fourthly the fourth signe of Gods anger on a Nation is when all the hearts of men faile then it is a signe that vengeance is at the door when there is a kinde of Cowardise through the guilt of the conscience Josh 2. 11. It was a certaine signe of destruction when the peoples hearts failed them thus it is with every man almost amongst us every mans heart is faint and sick Iudges 7. 13. When Gideon was to goe against the Midianites being a wonderfull Army one dreamed that a cake of barley bread tumbled into the host and overthrew them Then Gideon said be of good courage for I see that the Lord hath given them into our hands because their hearts were feareful so he took three hundred men and put a trumpet in every mans hand with empty pitchers and lamps and they cried the Sword of the Lord and of Gideon and in the twelfth verse see what followed All the host ran and cried and fled Even so it is with us we faint upon every occasion Gods spirit is gone from England While Sampson had the Spirit of God upon him he was too hard for the Philistins but when the Spirit of God was gone from him he had no heart no spirit no courage then every man was too hard for him and then he was taken and had his eyes pulled out So when the Spirit of God was with this Nation we had courage and got the day but now alas every slavish Nation is too hard for us and every bug-beare scares us O poore England heavy is thy case therefore we may expect nothing but miserie one way or another Now I might set down a Comment or Theame with many teares for this cause that every one may reade his own destruction from this point I am not a Prophet nor the sonne of a Prophet but from the word of the Lord I speak this thing unto you and upon these grounds I can say so That where these signes are destruction and calamities follow at the heeles of them We having all these signes in our State certainely destruction is at our heeles therefore let me giue you some directions what to doe in these dangerous times First let every man knock off the love of the world of houses of lands and corne and flockes they shortly shall leave thee or thou them O therefore cast them quite out of thy heart I would to God I could bring my heart and yours to this pitch that we could give wife and children and all as lost I confesse it is hard so to doe but God will fire us out shortly from these things if we part not from them in these our deepest afflictions Ier. 45. 5. Baruch was so much glued to the world that he began to feather his nest and therefore the Prophet said seekest thou great things for thy selfe seeke them not for behold I will bring evill upon all flesh So let me say to you as the Prophet said to Gehazi Is it now a time to build Therefore at night when thou goest to bed take thy leave of thy wife and children and of thy houses and all and say this house may be mine enemies before the morning or may be set on fire this is not my wife these are not my children As Doctor Taylor said when he was going to his execution when he saw his wife and children he embraced them and blessed them in the name of the Lord and set them down again and made no bones of them and so do you pluck away your hearts from all these things here below and give them all for lost Secondly get divine submission to the will of God let thy heart be
contented that God should doe with thee what he will and submit thy selfe to God in the hardest blows and say Good Lord if thou seest no remedy to purge this land and Church but by desolation and the removing of the Gospell good Lord doe what thou wilt if thou wilt have my liberty take it if thou wilt have my children spoiled by the enemy and pitched upon speares points doe it Lord if there be no remedy to purge a sinfull land but by taking the Gospell out of it even I Lord submit my selfe unto it good Lord sacrifice us or burne our Cities doe what thou wilt with us onely save our soules at the last I have knowne some could have no quietnesse at all till they came to this pitch and then they had peace in their minds When Isaac saw that he was to be bound then he yeelded to it and our Lord Christ did this in the garden when he did bear the wrath of God then he said if it be possible let this cuppe passe from me and this he did three times yet not my will but thy will be done if thou wilt have me to drinke of the cuppe I will suck off the dregges and all Also come and lay thy head upon the block and let God doe what he will with thee Ezek. 20. 43. They shall loath themselves for all their abominations and this is the practise of an humble soule and this will bear through all Thirdly pray and cry mightily to God before thou dyest even all the time thou hast to live for mercie and for the peace of the Church of God and for the poor people and posterity Esay 62. 16. I have set watchmen upon the walles of Hirusālem that never hold their peace day nor night You that make profession of the Lord keep not silence let not God rest till he helpe and shew mercy unto our poore land wives and children I am perswaded if dumbe Zachary were here he would open his mouth to pray and crie for this miserable land But alas poor soules many of you are so bound in the chaines of your sinnes that you cannot finde any leisure to pray you save your prayers and teares till you come to hell and then they will doe you no good Oh thy Mother lies a dying and wilt thou not mourne for her O dead and drie-hearted wretches me thinkes the poor Church of England is like the shippe of Jonas and he fast asleep in it the Gospell and all are drawing into a sea of troubles and thou poor wretch art asleepe and canst not pray The Church is like a sick man upon his bed and the Parliament is like a Colledge full of Physitians they cast the state of the Kingdome and then give it over for lost The Lord knows how soon the bell may ring out and yet thou canst not pray nor weep Ah the Lord be mercifull to the hardnesse of our hearts Hast thou but one rear in thine eyes but one prayer in thy heart then spend them now for the poore Church of God Make all sound within and get sound faith in the bloud of Jesus Christ that may support and hold you up as the Ark did Noah in the floud O my dear people of this Parish a fearefull floud is come upon this land therefore make you an Arke of Gopher and pitch it within and without get in it hang not about it but get into your Lord Christ and shut up your selves in him as Noah did in the Arke and never come out This is your safegard if you be in him you shall be supported against all troubles and so shall the case go well with you For as the Prophet said to Ahab High thee hence for here is a sound of much rain and there came a shour indeed So say I high you away to Christ for it may be you shall not hear many Sermons more there is a sound of many punishments and stormes falling downe upon us O thrice happy are we that have Christ upon good termes and good grounds if a floud come it doth me good to see how safe I am for the higher troubles arise the higher the Arke will arise and the higher your faith and comfort will arise and you shall sit like Noah in the Cabin Isai 26. 20. Come my people and enter into the chamber and shut the doores about thee and hide your selves as it were for a little moment untill the indignation be overpast What would Noah have been hired to come out of the Arke no by no meanes nothing would have got him out I may even pitty you my people that have no Faith What will you doe and whither will you flie all you that have not gotten into the Arke and have not made sure worke if the floud should come to morrow you must certainly be drowned If you look to God he is your Enemy if you look within there your consciences dogge you and if thou lookest for comfort to the Minister there is none for thee in all Gods word if thou hang on a Minister he must say as Samuel said to Saul since the Lord hath forsaken thee I can doe thee no good Oh thinke on this and get all thy friends into the Arke with thee as Noah did Let me begge this at your hands get a poor husband into the Ark with thee with thy poor children and shut them all up into the Arke with thee Would it not grieve thee when thou sittest in the Arke to see a poore husband or a child drowning in the floud and going to Hell For the Lords sake O my deere Brethren spare no paines to doe them good Fifthly and lastly get a more strong faith then ordinary deep dangers must have a stronger Faith a man cannot row upon the maine ocean in a paire of scullers but he must have a good ship well ballasted and a good Pilot so doe you think to row upon the maine ocean of Gods wrath in a paire of scullers therefore labour to strengthen your Faith and to get a good ship wel pitcht and ballasted and substantia'l Faith for the wind will trie it whether it be so or not a Summers dublet will not serve the turne in a winters srost so a little strength and comfort will not serve the turne in the storms that are coming on us but we must get winter garments the East wind will try a mans clothes Though a weak Faith may carry thee to Heaven yet not with so much comfort as a stronger especially if it be but a little before the downfall of the Pope for then there will be the greatest combustions that ever was or ever shall be and by all likelihoods the time is now at hand Then thy Faith had need to be greater then ever it was As the Angell said to the Prophet up and eat for thou hast a great journey to goe so say I to thee thou fainting soule make a good meale of Faith strengthen thy Faith upon the
in particular Well then there is a time in this life and not when we are dead and gone for then it is certain there is no more comming unto God but in this life there is a time when God will strive with men no more neither for their good here nor for their everlasting happinesse hereafter For unto every thing there is an appointed time Eccles 3. 1. Now the Lord calls lovingly to allure us but there will come a time of Goe ye cursed the good Spirit of mine which thou hast abused shall never come to thee more this is a marvailous troublesome truth yet most true for men now will have their wills and God must be at their leisure and come forfooth when they please They will live as they list doe as they list and God must shew mercy on them as they list and when they list c. So there is a time when God will strive but when that time is gone God will strive no more To make this plaiue I will lay downe these six things First I will let you see that it hath been so by Testimonies of Scripture Secondly I will shew in or after what manner God deals with a soul in giving it over these fashions leave off cards and dice c. saies the Spirit of God and whatsoever is of evill report yea but I will not for what will Sir John and my Lady say then Turne you unto me saith the Spirit of God no I will not saith the stubborn walker Put him on in a good course yet he will not walk therein speake the truth saith the Spirit of God for all lyars shall be turned out yea but not yet I have got thus much wealth by lying and I will not yet leave it Fourthly Such as have a common base vile and contemptible esteem of the Gospell and Ministers thereof They mocked the Ministers till the wrath of God broke out against them and there was no remedy 2 Chron. 36. 16. A Minister cannot be plaine but wicked men will abuse him in their hearts I called and cried saith Wisedome but you set at nought all my counsell Prov. 1. 24 25. and going away they make a tush at it I saith one Master Minister you mette with mens hearts to day but I beleeve yours is as bad as anothers else how could you have hitte them so right see what the Spirit of God saith of such Isa 22. 21. In that day did the Lord call to weeping c. the text told them of a judgement and nothing to be expected but misery but they make a tush of it and say Come we shall all die ergo let us eate and drink and be merrie while we may the Minister tells us we shall all to hell then let us have the other pot and the other pipe if it must needs be so Oh my beloved can the God of heaven indure to be thus disgraced in his Gospell and Ministers Another sayes care I what the Minister saith I will goe and drinke at every Ale-house and see whether these judgements will come or no. Now I come to the fourth thing which is the grounds of it viz. Why the Lord in this life doth give men over and strive with them no more This truth is troublesome and cursed hearts cannot abide it The grounds of this point arise from these two Attributes of God his Justice and his Wisedome First from the Justice of God God is a just God and is it not just that those who have rejected him that he should reject them I have called but you answered not Jer. 7. 13. c. Now as it is just with God to fulfill every word that he hath spoken and to fulfill all his promises to the faithfull so is it just with God to bring judgement on them that have sleighted him and to fulfill all his threatnings Secondly From the Wisedome of God and his long-suffering and this is because his compassious faile not else the first day of our sinning had been the first day of our rejection yea it is his goodnesse that we have any favour but Oh our God is a wise God A man that knocks at the dore if he be wise will not alwaies lie knocking if none answer he gives over and goes away so the Lord knocks at our hearts by mercies to allure us by judgments to terrify us yet he can find no entrance Is it not wisdom then to be gone Why should I smite you any more saith God Isa 1. 5. As if he should say t is to no purpose I know not what to do with you with you it is wisedome to give over when there is no good to be done on you What could I have done more for my Vinyard c Isa 5. There is no wise man that will alwayes water a dâ—y stake And do you think that God wil alwayes be sending Paul to plant and Apollos to water No our God is a wise God and our mercifull God is a just God you that will have your wayes and wills take them and get you to hell and perish everlastingly Now in the fiâ—t place we come to the Objections Some say If we shall be damned then we must be damned if we shall be saved then we shall be saved why then neede we pray and keepe such a quoile as the Minister speaks of Secret things belong to the Lord but revealed things to us and to our children Deut. 29. 29. ergo doe thou use the meanes and be thou humbled according to the word of God and thou shalt be exalted according to the word of God see what God hath said to thee in his word for neither I nor thou nor the Angels of heaven can tell what the will of the Lord is concerning thee if not revealed in the word Another saith Why do you limit God you take too much upon you you sons of Levi. The Lord saith At what timy soever a sinner doth repent c. yet will you limit God T is true at what time soever a sinner doth repent but thy heart may be given over as Rom. 2. 4 5. c. and what if thou then livest twenty years or more and have not a heart to repent Another saith But I hope my time is not past for the Lord hath given me a tender heart Hath he so it is well and wilt thou then harden it thou mayest repent when it is too late and ergo I tell thee that good and holy desires are joyned with honest endeavours neede makes the old wiâ—e trot as we say so a soft heart will make thee use all good and honest means Seeing that God strives with many and at last gives over goe thou home and blesse God that he hath not dealt so with thee it is enough that the Lord hath brought thee home to himselfe many may say with Paul I was a persecutor I was injurious c. 1 Tim. 1. 14. but I received mercy so thou
it there are two things mainely considerable First a discovery of their sinnes Secondly A rule for reformation set down 6. 7. verses The discovery of their sins is to the latter end of the 5. verse Now in the discovery we find these sins very remarkable First their falsenesse they were a company of stately Hypocrites a company of brave people that could pray as well as any in the world keep a fast from morning till night I say they were people of a stately carriage but of a false spirit The second was their confidence upon their duty as they were stately for their parts and policy so they are as confident as stately when they did pray and fast they could rest upon their duty as in the third verse Wherefore have we fasted and thou seest it not We have punished our selves and thou regardest it not God gives them an account for that and discovers their sins which are the causes of it and they are two First he shews the unprofitablenesse of such kind of services they bring no soule-profit with them Secondly such services are unacceptable to God for saith God in the beginning of this verse all the fasts doe but end in strife and debate Consider the work we are in hand withall and let us apply this to our selves this day saith God by the Prophet in the Text You shall not fast as ye do to day to make the voice to be heard above as if God had said this is not the businesse that I have chosen as in the next verse it follows to hang down his head for a day to droop in his affections to be seemingly humbled and afterward to sprout up again as peart and ready to sin as ever it is not squaling and crying a little while will serve the turne performe the duties of a fast if you will keep a fast aright In the Text are three divine truths partly in it self and partly in what is before and after it they are these three I shal only touch upon the former though I name all The first is this That Hypocrisy or falsenesse in a day of fasting and prayer takes away the life of the duty this shall be confirmed by and by The second is this That false and slight Hypocrites they will be content to be frequent in fasting and prayer The third is this That fasting rightly improved will put an edge upon our prayer I shall only speak a word of each of these for the first and I name it againe I say Hypocrisy in duties of this nature does take away the life of the duty It riseth plainly out of the Text Hypocrisy in duty takes away the life of the duty saith the Lord I have not chose this fast but this is the fast that I have chosen to loose the bonds of wickednesse to take off the heavy burden and to let the oppressed goe free to deale thy bread to the hungry to bring the poor unto thine house this is the fast that I look at I doe not looke that a Sonne of God should come to guild over a day of fasting to weep and houle it out but the thing the Lord requires is to ease the burden of the afflicted to help the poor and oppressed ones this day of fasting and prayer will be the saddest that ever England had if it doe not end in the reformation of the Nation An hypocrite will performe as glorious duties it may be better then you but there he rests and spares all cost he joynes not charity with his pretended sanctity Secondly False and slight Hypocrites will be frequently in fasting and prayer This ariseth from the other part Hypocrites will be very forward they can say we have fasted and prayed we have done this they can take delight in approching to God they will come nere the business and say When will there be a reforming of what is amisse both in Church and state they make a great stirre and in meane time suffer manie poor servants of God to perish for want of sustenance about them In this I doe not meane mistake me not that the servants of God should not doe these duties but all that I say is to prove that an Hypocrite may doe these duties and this considered you will finde that there are not a few such amongst us because all we doe if rightly done must spring from other principles if you should fast every day in the weeke it would not doe unlesse the other duties before named be performed I say not this to discourage any of you from the duty for I set a high esteem upon the duties of this day It is like great Ordnance which will make a breach in a Castle when musket-shot will doe noe good Through Gods blessing this hath done more then all other duties cast out such subtile divels that nothing else could doe Thirdly Fasting rightly improved wil put an edge upon duty especially upon prayer The scripture provs this that fasting and prayer together a fast cannot be kept without prayer Now I returne to the first Doctrine which is the main thing I doe intend which is this namely That Hypocrisy in duty will take away the life of the duty I say falsenesse and hypocrisy in the duty will spoyle that duty Ye shall not fast as ye doe to day to make your voyce to be heard above here you make a great noyse but all the while ye are not heard ye doe not reach the mark and so you lose the game A Cannon may make a great noyse and yet come a mile short of the mark for hypocricie takes away the life of the duty your Cannon Bore is warped so your bullet goes beside the mark it must be a prayer rightly and understandingly made that the Lord will heare There is a phrase to this purpose Deut. 5. 28. and the Lord said I have heard the voyce of the words of this people which they have spoken unto me they have well said all that they have spoken There is a passage about this 2 Chron. 3. Then the Priests and Levites arose and blessed the people and their voice was heard and their prayer came up to his dwelling place even to heaven their voyce was heard because their praier was made in sincerity Your praiers doe not come high enough you doe not speak home enough if you did you should certainly be heard if it be in sincerity Now a Hypocrite may lift up his voice strongly and yet never be heard never come up to Gods dwelling place their prayers many times fall back upon their own faces like spittle against the wind and never come to Gods presence mark I say hypocricle takes away the vigor and life of the duty saith the Lord This is not the fast that I have chosen not the prayer that I would have made these prayers are but Arrows shot out of a weak Bow that come not half way to the mark Now we proceed to open it in the
ariseth from the Covenant of grace Secondly Take this for a note consider in all these actions for in this day we are in clearing our account whether your opposition to sin be carried on strongly and unchangeably you are now come to have sin rooted out of your hearts your affections you are a dealing with a malignant party that hath already got within you now here are the things you should look after consider whether the change of your spirits be continuall at all times except passion and temptation which may eclispe the rarest Christian may be when the Ministers heart is enlarged in prayers and praysing God for you God comes in and enlargeth your heart like a land-floud which doth not hold long godly sorrow for sin should be like a womans sorrow that weepeth for her child she cannot but weep the more you comfort her the more she weepeth aske her a reason she will say she cannot help it so our mourning for sin and opposition against sin must be carried on in a constant course our weeping for the Church of God must not last only for a day this day and end to morrow but it must be constant Lastly when a man fixeth his soule upon the duty in sincerity he shall finde sweet comfort to his soul a man in this case doth not mind what God gives him but how he accepts of his duty that is all he requires but know assuredly God will fill the hungry soule and recompence the well doers no man shall serve God for nought Now I can tell you the reason why you doe not finde more comfort by your fasting and prayers it is for want of a dram of sincerity you should alway when you worke for God when you fast and pray for God doe as the Joyner doth he shaves and brings his rule and measures shaves and measures so should you pray and look up to heaven fast and bring the duty to the word alwayes pray by rule never keep a fast without a rule and then be assured you shall be a workman that needeth not to be ashamed This I have spoken only to prepare you for the work of the day be sure what ever you doe see that it ariseth from a new and living principle let it not be like a land-floud that is dried up assoon as therain is over but let it be like a gliding streame which keeps a constant springing course that so you may walk in the strength of this days fast all the dayes of your life which grant deare Father for Christ his sake Amen REFORMATION UNDER CORRECTION The way to prevent DESOLATION As it was delivered in a SERMON By WILLIAM FENNER Minister of the Gospel sometimes Fellow of Pembroke Hall in Cambridge and late Lecturer of Rochford in Essex London Printed by E. T. for John Stafford REFORMATION UNDER CORRECTION The way to prevent DESOLATION JOB 34. 31. 32. Surely it is meet to be said unto God I have borne chastisements I will not offend any more That which I see not teach thou me if I have done iniquity I will doe it no more THis Text is a pretious pattern of seasonable counsel by Elihu given to afflicted Job wherein resolution to be reformed under the rod of the Lord is both commanded and commended Surely it is meet to be said c. I will not spend time to divide my text into parts nor to observe the various readings thereof but shall briefly observe the doctrine which naturally ariseth from the Text and which will be very sutable to our present occasion viz. Under the rod of the Lord people should resolve to reforme Or thus Resolution to reforme should be upon the heart of all them that smart under the rod of the Lord. Surely it is meet c. There are three things that I intend to speak to in the prosecution of his point 1. What kind of reformation it is that we should resolve upon under the rod of the Lord. 2. What arguments should prevaile with us to resolve to reforme because we feele the Lord strikes us 3. What course we should take for our reforming under his rod. That we are under the rod of the Lord is evident there are smarting rods upon our backs The rod of the continuance and speading of the noysome pestilence The rod of unseasonable weather this droughty pring and unseasonable frost surely then it is meet to say We wil bear chastisements we will sin no more I begin with the first viz. What kinde of reformation it is that God commands and expects from us when we are under this rod This I shall open in six particulars and therein unbowell my Text. 1. In the work of reformation under the rod we must have reference to him that useth the rod goe to God and set our selves to amend what is amisse as under the eye of God under whose lash we smart this lyes in the text Surely it is meet to be said unto God I have borne chastisement c. Go to God and set thy selfe as under the all seeing eye of God endeavouring to reforme what is amisse It is an easy thing for Ministers to be pleasing to a people for Children to give content to their parents for one neighbour to stop the mouth of another But mark what contents God the inside reformation as well as the outside when God and I am alone as well as in companie when I am under Gods hand I must goe to God when I am reforming that is one thing I could shew it you how the Lord Christ struck down Paul when he was breathing out threats and bloud against poor innocent Christians who when he was struck down saith Lord what shall I doe shall I back again to the Scribes and Pharisees and tell them what a blow I met withall or shall I go on to the Saints and tell them what cruelty is intended against them Lord whither shall I goe He looks to God that smote him There is one thing more and this will follow from the former alwayes be sure to be guided by the rule that is the word of God in reforming of that which is out of order whether in your spirit or life That which I see not teach thou me if I have done iniquity I will doe it no more Teach thou me c. Mistake me not I doe not here speak against conferring with Christians consulting with ministers in matters dubitable but alway heed this stick not in the opinion stay not in the Judgement of any be he never so wise never so pious but labour to see a word of warrant from the scripture and trust only to that say I must doe so and so I have it from Gods mouth I may take such a course I have Gods word for it â—â—â—â—ple would not be so giddy in running after new and strange opiâ—â—â—â—â—â—f they would but consider this alway goe to God and say Lord that which I see not teach thou me and if I have
done iniquity I will doe it no more Secondly In reformation under the rodde you must be sure to have your worke guided by God himselfe as Isa 2. 3. He will teach us his ways and we will walke in his paths so Psal 86. 11. Teach me thy way O Lord and I will walke in thy truth knit my heart unto thee that I may feare thy Name Thirdly in the worke of reformation under the rodde you must be carefull to reforme in one particular as well as another you must go through stich with this businesse that which I doe know and may know to be blame-worthy and have borne chastisements for in that I will offend noe more and if any thing further shall be made knowne unto me I will stop in my course and if it can be found out that therein I have sinned I will doe so no more For know assuredly he hath not reformed in anie thing aright that doth not reforme in every thing blame-worthy as Hosea 14. 2. saith the Prophet Thou hast fallen by thine iniquity what followes then saith he ver 3. Take unto you words and turne to the Lord and say unto him Take away all iniquity and receive us gratiously Take away all spare none every eye that offends every hand that sins every lust that provokes though never soe deare unto thee foregoe all manner of profit and credit in regard of thy temporall calling if it prove to be a sinne beare with one and in Gods sight thou bearest withall live in the breach of one of Gods commandments and thou art guilty of the breach of all Fourthly in reformation under the rodde you must not onely reforme in what you your selves doe or may understand to be amisse but you must take direction to know what is blame-worthy be eager and earnest to understand wherein you doe amisse say Good Lord if I doe amisse in relation to others as a husband as a wife as a Father as a child as a Minister as a hearer as a servant as a Master as a doer as a sufferer Lord shew it me Lord shew me my fault that I may reforme Make an earnest desire to God and say Good Lord if any thing be blameable let it have no shelter in me search me if any way of sinne try me if any way of wickednesse be in me and lead me in thy way for ever as it is Psal 139. 23 24. Thus make your requests to God this practice will prove the sincerity of your hearts thus praying you may know what is out of order when you compare your life and the word which is the rule together Mark what he Prophet Jeremy saith Lament 3. 39 40. Wherefore is a living man sorrowfull Man suffereth for his sin let us search and try our wayes and turne again to the Lord Let us looke to our wayes this hath been my opinion my practise my way are they answerable to scripture consonant to the rule the word of God this we 〈…〉 labour to know when we would reforme our wayes Fifthly a Christian under the rodde should be so wrought upon with a Resolution to reforme that he should by solemne covenant binde himselfe to God for the future even all his life long marke the text Surely it is meet to be said to whom to our selves no to be said to God I have borne chastisements c. say Lord thou that hatest every evill way heare me what I have to say that have run out of the way Thou that art privy to all my sinfull affections help me to be reformed I resolve by thy help for the time to come to be more exact in my obedience to thy law that knowest my trouble and affliction make me reformed under the crosse This was Davids care Psal 66 13 14 I will goe into thine house with burnt offerings and will pay thee my vowes which my lippes have promised and my mouth hath spoken in mine affliction When he was in trouble and under the rod he promised something to God and now he resolves to be carefull to pay it Sixthly and lastly Christians under the rod must severally and personally not only joyntly in companie and assemblies reforme what is amisse according to the forementioned rules He doth not speak in the plurall number It is meet for Cities Countries and Kingdomes or Nations but It is meet for me that is for every particular man and woman of what degree estate or condition soever this must be my work my task my care husband apart wife apart child apart servant apart Minister apart people apart For usually that is done to best purpose which is done single in a way of secrecy The souldiers come to John and say What shall we doe the Publicans and sinners What shall we doe every one of them in particular desired to know what belonged to them in reforming this lieth plainly in the text Seventhly There is something else that I meant as a seventh help it is that Christians should not only looke upon their reformation under the rodde as a taske necessary and as a duty commanded but they should looke upon it as an imployment comely and lovely meet saith the text what a beautifull and beseemingthing is it in a Christian resolving to be reformed under the rudde And thus we have done with the first thinge propounded viz. what kinde of reformation it is we should resolve upon under the rod. The second thing propounded is what arguments may prevaile with Christians according to the latitude of this Text thus to reforme under the rodde There are arguments of two kindes that I shall suggest First some in relation to God Secondly some in relation to our selves First in relation to God I shall name six or seven whereof five I shall finde in this chapter First because God that calleth for Reformation under Correction is the author of every blow of every scourge he it is that breaketh the bones that teareth the skin that bruiseth the flesh this you may see in the 13 14 15. v. Who hath given him a charge over the earth or who hath placed him over the whole world If he set his heart upon man speaking of God and gather unto himselfe his spirit and his breath All flesh shall perish together and man shall returne unto dust he doth not say if they will breake themselves to pieces or if infectious aire or unseasonable times will produce a pestilence to sweepe them away but if he shall doe it that is God he is the author of it Consider that place Jer. 5. 3. where the Prophet speakes thus by way of complaint O Lord are not thine eyes upon the truth thou hast stricken them but they have not sorrowed thou hast consumed them but they have refused to receive correction they have made their faces harder then a stone and have refused to returne should not the childs care under the smarting rod be to give content to the angry father know the Lord is the