quodammodo vacillare he shews himself somwhat wavering that cannot be defended for the motto of a just man is semper idem always the same and it is the ungodly man who is unstable in all his ways his heart is not established 3. But he smiteth home when he saith verum quidem est secundam partem versus affinem esse blasphemiae the second part of the verse to be near a kinne to blasphemy quia obmurmurat insimulat deum unimiae tarditatis because he murmured and accused God of too much slacknesse Yet Mr. Calvin healeth him again pardon him in this for he was in Angusto in a strait jealous of having the honour of God touched by the Prophet and yet tender of any touch of the charity that he did owe to the Prophet and therefore having delared his holy love to God he doth his best to excuse the Prophet saying of him fraenum sibi injicit occurrit mature Se temperat ut praeveniat nimium fervorem he tempers himself that he might allay this too great heat And in the end he confesseth quia non potest se expedire rebus tam confusis disceptat potius secum quà m cum deo because he could not get out of this maze that he reasoned with himself rather then God For my opinion I acquit the Prophet from any suspicion of inordinate affection in this his complaint so long as he doth do God the right to acknowledge him both eternall and equal I wonder not if he and all that consider him aright in his ways be swallowed up in the depth of admiration of them Let any man observe that which followeth in the Prophets complaint and he shall see great cause of wonder but whensoever such occasion is offered to us to behold the like let us do our God the right to confesse him holy and just and to resolve that which way soever things go there can be no fault in him therefore let us say with David Domine tu justus es justa sunt judicia tua thou art just and thy judgements are just It is a good saying of old Eli the Priest Ps 3.18 when Samuel told him of the judgments of God upon his house It is the Lord let him do what seemeth him good Yet is it not unlawful for the children of God reverently to consider the ways of God yea it is a work for the Sabbath to take the works of God into regard O Lord how great are thy works and thy thoughts are very deep Ps 92.5 A bruitish man knoweth not neither doth a fool understand this It argueth a great defect in judgement when we shall think a thought which may derogate any thing from the glory of our God for it is true fecit quicquid voluit he hath done whatever he would so it is true omnia bene fecit he hath done all things well and we say truly of him He hath done all things for the best for so he doth even then when his ways do crosse ours and when those things that he doth do seem to us and to our reason as most opposite To help which our weaknesse we are taught to pray fiat voluntas tua thy will be done Let us come then to a view of the particulars which the Prophet recounteth which God doth behold and not yet punish And herein we shall find the Prophet an Orator setting forth the iniquity of the times and the miseries of the Church then so as we may say his heart hath indited a good matter and his tongue is the Pen of a ready Writer Here be the Prophets grievances 1. The first is treason Wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously Mr. Calvin renders it quare aspicis transgressores and so doth the Geneva translation render it Why lookest thou upon the transgressors But that is somewhat too large for that includeth all sorts of sinners Jun. Cur intuereris perfidos so the Chaldaeans of whom the Prophet complaineth here are set forth as you heard by the Prophet Isay Dolus an virtus quis in hoste requirat Isa 12.2 Treason is not wrought by a profest enemy in times of open warre and proclaimed defiance neither do we call the secret practices of enemies working underhand by the name of treason they are military stratagems but it is called treason when by corrupting some of the opposite side the enemie doth take advantage And this is commonly one of the mines which is carried under the states of great Kingdomes to destroy them and blow them up And the Author and Finisher of our salvation though he was assaulted by profest warre of the chief Priests Scribes and Pharisees yet he was put into their hand at last by treason one of his own twelve betrayed him And it is the chief use of the new order of Jesuits in forrein States to corrupt the affections of subjects ut prodant that they may betray This is a great grievance for treasons be commonly carried with great secresie yet the Prophet saith that God looketh on he beholden all the conveyances both of Projection and Execution and that is it which amazeth the Prophet that God who loveth not treason should look on and behold it in all the ingresse and progresse of it and not stop it Beloved we have a lesson from hence The Lord seeth treason Doct. Not only the great treasons wrought against States and Kingdomes but the particular falshoods in common friendship the private insidiations for the goods the chastity the good name the life of our neighbours It is not any negligence in Gods government of the world or any over-sight or any forgetfulnesse or any approbation of evil that doth keep God so quiet that he sitteth in heaven he keepeth Israel and he neither slumbreth nor sleepeth Yet he looketh on while thieves come in the night and break open a way into mens houses gather together and rifle and carry away their goods He seeth whilst the secret enemy watcheth his brother upon the way or goeth forth with him as Abel did with Cain God knew that Abel was to be killed that day When Joab and Amasa met God saw it a death he knew that embracing would prove a stab Sometimes God doth detect and defeat these treasons betimes sometimes he letteth them go on to the very moment of execution yet then he disappointeth them but sometimes he looketh on and seeth them performed and hindreth them not This is that which the Prophet would fain know why God that loveth no evil and hath power at hand to prevent it doth look on and see it done for amongst us quinon vetat peccare cum licet jubet he that when he may hindreth not a fault commands it and for man it is a true rule that all the evil which we might have hindred and did not shall be put upon our account This rule holds indeed with us but God is not so limited he maketh both evil creatures that is devils
the rod of the Spanish inquisition long subject to the sugillations of the Jesuits their mortall enemies But now the sword of massacre is drawn against them before there were some attempts made upon the persons of some few of the Religion or some encroachment made upon their goods They thought it gain to lose all for Christ so that they might win him and be found in him but now the poor distressed Church heareth the voyce of the daughter of Babel crying out against her Nudate Nudate First discerning them and then but who can tell what then the true Church lying at the mercy of Rome shall find her mercies cruel We cannot but take notice of it that the Church of Rome is both a strong and a bloody enemy she is not yet stupannated nor past teeming she aboundeth in continuall sucerescence of new seed Cardinal Bellarm. under the name of Tertus doth wonder why our King should fear the cruell dominion of the Pope under whom all his Tributaries do so well And the humble Supplicants to his Majesty for the liberty of conscience as they call it and for Toleration of the Romish Religion have urged the peaceable state of our neighbours in France where the Papist and Protestant do both exercise their Religion in Peace We now see they feele and smart for it that there can be no peace with Jezebel of Rome 2 Reg. 9.22 so long as her whoredomes and her witchcrafts are so many She lieth lurking in the secret places to murther the innocent her patience is limited with no other bounds but Donec adsint vires till they have strength Nuni proximus ardet Vcalegon They have declared themselves here what they would have done Our comfort is in this Vision and we must tarry and wait the Lords leasure Haman the Jesuit hath got a decree against the Reformed Church in France to root it out and the sword is now drawn against them the Protestants in Bohemia have felt the edge of the Romish sword she that cals her selfe mother of the Christians ostendit ubera verbera producit she pretendeth love Savus amor docuit natorum sanguine matrem commaculare manus And the Church makes pitiful moan saying Shall they therefore empty their not and not spare continually to stay the nations Hab. 1.17 But we know that God is good to Israel to such as be true of heart God hath a sword too and he is whetting of it he hath a quiver and it is full of arrows he is bending of his bowe and preparing his instruments of death and he hath a right hand and that shall find out all his enemies How shall we wear out the weary houres of time till God come and have mercy upon Sion we have many ways to deceive the time 1. The idle think the time long whilst we have therefore time let us do good we have work enough to work out our salvation with feare and trembling to make our Calling and Election sure ro seek the Lord whilst he may be found to wash us and make us clean to put away the evil of our works to cease to do evil to learn to do well to get and keep faith and a good conscience to walk with our God They that well consider what they have to do borrow time from their natural rest from their meats from their recreations to bestow it on the service of God There be that overcharge themselves with the businesses of the world with the care of gathering riches with ambitious thoughts of rising higher with wanton desires of the flesh with sensual surfeits in gluttony and drunkennesse and the day is not long enough for these children of this world to whom I say with the shepheard Quin tu aliquid saltem potius quorum indiget usus Virg Alexis Are these the things you look upon non relinquetur lapis super lapidem There shal not be left a stone upon a stone Walk circumspectly not as fools but as wise redeeming the time because the days are evill Remember your Creation to good works that you should walk in them and whilst you have the light walk in the light Ambulate in luce Ambulate digni luce 2. To sweeten the delay of the vision and to shorten the time of our expectation let us heare our Saviour saying Search the Scriptures There 1. We shall find the promises of God made to his Church in all ages thereof beginning in Paradise at semen mulieris the seed of the woman and so continuing to the fall of the great strumpet the ruine of Babylon in the Revelation wherein we shall find God to be yesterday and to day and the same for ever 2. We shall read the examples of Gods mercy to his Church and judgement of the enemies there of all the Bible through It is a work for the Sabbath as appeareth in the proper Psalm for the day To praise God for this Psal 92. to sing unto the name of the most high The Church professeth itâ—â—◠〈…〉 Thou Lord hast made me glad through thy work Vers 4. I will triumph in the works of thy hands The works of God are these When the wicked spring as grasse and when all the workers of wickednesse do flourish it is that they shall be destroyed for ever For lo thine enemies O Lord for do thine enemies shall perish all the workers of iniquity shall be scartered But my horne shall be exalted like the horne of an Vnicorn I shall be annointed with fresh oyl Mine eye shall see my desire upon mine enemies mine eares shall heare my desire of the wicked that rise up against me The righteous shall flourish like a palme-tree he shall grow like a Cedar in Lebanon Those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the Courts of our God They shall bring forth more fruit in their age they shall be fat and flourishing The use of all To shew that the Lord is upright he is my rock and there is no unrighteousuesse in him These be meditations of a Sabbath of rest and the word of God giveth full examples of this truth and daily experience in our own times offereth it 3. The Scripture doth put into our mouths Psalms and Hymns and spiritual Songs teaching us to sing and to make melody to God in our hearts Excellent to this purpose are the Psalms of the Bible and if we sing merrily to the God of our salvation this will passe away the time of our waiting for the promise of God cheerfully we shall not think it long For this did David desire to live Oh let me live and I wil praise thy name 4. The Scripture is full of heavenly consolations to establish the heart that it shall not sinke under the burthen of this expectation for in the Scriptures the Spirit of God speaketh Let him that hath ears to hear hear what the Spirit speaks to the Churches this Spirit Christ hath left in his Church
The rule therfore is that he that willeth the same thing which God willeth doth the same thing which God would have done sinneth except he willeth and doth the same thing in the same matter and for the same end which God projecteth Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus arme your selves with the same mind That mind is an armour against the wrath of God 1. Pet. 4.1 we know we cannot displease him so long as there is an harmonie of our mind with his that mind is an armour against the revenge of men for if we be abundant always in the work of the Lord we know that our labour is not Eph. 4.23 cannot be in vaine in the Lord for we must be renewed in the spirit of our mind we must not be like the axe and hammer in the hand of the artificer which knoweth not who useth it nor what he doth nor why we are living instruments and our minds must set our hands awork we must know what we do for whom and why or else our work is against our selves We do nothing but as God doth guide the hand so he frameth the heart and affections to it if he do not also enlighten our understandings and apply our minds to it we are carried as bruit beasts we are not led as men So then I leave those Chaldaeans though the armies of God at this time and doing the will of God ignorantly yet for the corruption of their intention culpable and in as ill case as they whom they persecute and overcome All the injuries that we do by word or deed to our brethren they are done with Gods privity Vse he knoweth thereof he disposeth them to their punishment who suffer by us or for the exercise of their patience or the tryal of their charity to them that hurt them or their constancie in obedience to him Let us not so much consider what good God doth work out of us to them as what evil breedeth in our heart and so no thank to Iosephs brethren that he is the second man in Aegypt All the fat of the land of Goshen and the sweet exchang of their pinching famine for a swelling plenty will not still the clamorous accusing voice of their guilty conscience for the sinne of their evil intention against their brother for as soon as their father died their fear revived they doubted that Joseph would revenge that fault The old word was animus cujusque is est quisque every mans mind is himself and so when David saith of the just man the floods of many waters shall not come near him it is expounded it shall not come so high as his mind to the disquieting thereof it shall not come so high as his faith to the weakning thereof Remember this when you pray fiat voluntas tua thy will be done that you desire of God not only a correspondence with his hand that you may do that which he would have done but correspondence of Will that you may do it for the same cause 2. How far the punishment shall extend 1. To a full Conquest 2. To a proud triumph Divis p. 78 The full Conquest is set forth vers 6. They shall march through the bredth of your land to possesse the dwelling places that are not theirs v 9. They shall come all for violence and shall gather together the captivity as the sand Wherin is described a full possession of the land of the Jews and a deportation of the people a losse even of the birth-right and the blessing The land of Canaan is called the land of promise for God promised it to Abraham and swore to him that his seed should inherit it but by way of Covenant which had reference to their obedience of the law of God for so Moses forewarned them If thou forget the Lord thy God c. I testifie unto you this day yee shall surely perish Deut. 8.19 as the nations which the Lord destroyeth before you so yee shall perish because ye would not be obedient unto the voice of the Lord your God And Moses saith unto them Behold I set before you this day Deut. 11.26 a blessing and a curse Blessing if you obey the Commandments of the Lord c. And the curse if you will not obey Now God is free of his promise and oath that he made to them for they have disobeyed him they have corrupted their ways they have contemned and slacked the Law of God therefore they have forfeited their estate in that good land and their persons stand obliged to the punishment of their disobedience The lesson is Doct. that all the promises of Gods favour to men are not absolute but conditional and are referred to the obedience or disobedience of men For man is mutable Reason God is unchangeably just he must not he cannot favour disobedience his love goes not in the blood but in the faith of Abraham Israel the posterity of Abraham is no more to him then the posterity of Canaan who had his fathers curse except that Israel do serve him better then they do He hath told them so by Moses for seeing there was no merit in them to deserve his love at first and no means for them to continue his love but their obedience that failing they are to him as heathens Christ teacheth us that if any be wilful and will not obey the Church he must be to us as an Heathen and a Publicane we can never excommunicate such ex communione charitatis out of the communion of charity for as much as in us lieth we must have peace with all men and we must never hide our selves from our own flesh and we must do good unto all men but we may we must exclude them ex Communione Ecclesia from the Communion of the Church we must not admit them to our Congregations nor esteem them members of the Church till they be reconciled Religion is the knot of true union that knitteth us to God that uniteth us to one another that once dissolved farewel fair weather we must turn all into chiding and reproof and as the Apostle saith come to them with the rod. We must complain of them to God and awake his Justice upon them So that if we would keep our land from invasion and depopulation our persons from captivity and deportation our goods from direption and deprecation let us serve the Lord in feare and obedience in holinesse and righteousnesse before him all the days of our lives 2. The punishment shall extend to a proud triumph which is exprest v. 10. They shall scoffe at the Kings and the Princes shall be a scorne to them and they shall deride every strong hold This is another of Gods rods Doct. he punisheth the despisers with scorne and contempt as you heard out of Obadiah Behold I have made thee small Vers 2. thou art greatly despised Therefore Saint Paul repeating this prophecie doth by way of
read and they returned saying Never man spake like that man If they that run from the word may be taken thus with a glance upon it you may soone conceive what effect it may work in those that run to it that are swift to hear that hunger and thirst after righteousnesse If they that hear or read the word immediately aliud agentes may perceive the mind of the Lord by the plain opening thereof much more they that come of purpose and run to it that come with appetite and desire after it with delight in it with purpose to profit by it and with due Preparation of the heart by earnest Prayer for the holy blessing of God upon the Ministry and hearing of it therefore quid Scriptum est quomodo legis what is written how readest thou 2. The assurance that he gives of the performance of his purpose in due time The Vision is yet for an appointed time but at the end it shall speak and not lie Next verse It will surely come it will not tarry This is Rhetorically set down For 1. Here is veritas decreti the truth of the decree The Vision is yet for an appointed time 2. Here is veritas verbi the truth of the word it shall speak it shall not lye 3. Here is veritas facti the truth of the deed It will surely come it will not tarry 1. Decretum the Decree The Vision is here put for the thing seen as you have heard and that is the declaration of Gods just judgment in the cause of his Church against the Chaldaeans for he saith the time is appointed meaning in his own holy and fixt decree which is unchangeable 2. Verbum the Word God will speak his minde by this Vision and declare what he intendeth against the Chaldeans and therein he will deal truely and faithfully for he is truth he cannot lye For these be two Premises or Antecedents to one conclusion for we may conclude both wayes 1. The Decree of God is past Ergo veniet non tardabit he shall come he will not tarrie 2. The Word of God is past Ergo. From thence we are taught Doctr. That whatsoever God hath decreed or spoken shall certainly take effect in the appointed time The holy word of Scripture confirmeth this Indeed who should alter Gods decrees for he himself will not I may say truly he cannot change them for the Apostle saith he worketh all things after the councell of his will Eph. 1.11 And the Will of God is himself And he cannot deny him self 2 Tim. 2.13 Neither can he repent as Samuel told Saul The strength of Israel will not lye nor repent 1 Sam. 15.29 for he is not a man that he should repent And if God himself be without variablenesse and shadow of change his Will being established by his counsell and wisdom we may be sure that there is no power beneath him that can swerve him from his own ways for the wiseman saith There is no wisdom nor understanding Pro. 21.30 nor counsell against the LORD One reason may serve of this Doctrine God is equall infinite in his wisdom justice and mercie to conceive him infinite in power to do whatsoever he will and not infinite in wisdom to decree whatsoever he will do were to make him a Tyrant not a King but David saith The Lord is King and we do ascribe it to him Tuum est regnum potentia thine is the Kingdom and power for power without equall proportion of wisdom must needs degenerate into cruelty This wisdom foreseeth all things that shall be this wisdom decreeth all things that he will do which his power after in the times appointed doth performe and bring to act Against this Doctrine is Objected Object 1. Why then do so many texts of Scripture tell us that God repenteth Sometimes he repenteth of the good that he hath done for to make man upon the earth was a good work yet it is said And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth Gen. 6 6. and it greived him at his heart So to make Saul King over Israel was a good work for it was his own choise yet himself saith It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be King 1 Sam. 15.11 Sometime God is said to repent of the evil that he hath done malum poenae the evil of punishment is there to be understood So after the great plague when David had made a fault in numbring the people When the Angel stretched out his hand upon Jerusalem to destroy it the Lord repented him of the evil 2 Sam. 24.16 and said to the Angel It is enough stay thy hand And concerning his Word we have frequent examples in Scripture of events contrary to the letter of his Word For example His word was to Hezekiah by Isaiah set thy house in order for thou shalt dye non vives Yet Hezekiah did live 15 years after that his word was to Nineveh by Jonah 40 days and Niniveh shall be destroyed yet yet it fel not out so and the story saith God repented of the evil that he had said that he would do to them Joh. 3.10 To all we answer Sol. 1. That the Will of God that is his counsell decreeing what he will do is constantly the same and unchangeable as we have taught 2. Where it is in Scripture charged upon God that he doth repent we say with Chrysost it is verbum parvitati nostrae accommodatum a word accommodated to our weaknesse Hom. 22. in Gen. For we are said to repent when we change our mindes now the God of wisdom and power never changeth his minde but sometimes he doth change his operations there is not mutatio mentis but mutatio dextrae Exclesi as St. Aug. Paenitudo dei est mutandorum immutabilis ratio by which he without changing of his own decree maketh alterations in the disposition of things mutable This for want of understanding in us to comprehend the ways of God is called repentance and greif in God but as Aug. saith Non est perturbatio sed judicium quo irrogatur poena as Saint Paul I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh 3. I approve that received distinction of the Will of God 1. Voluntas signi of the Signe 2. Voluntas beneplaciti of his good Pleasure 1. God doth reveal his ways to the sons of men and sheweth them what he would have them do and openeth to them the knowledge and tendereth to them the use of fit means to performe that which he would have them and so it is said he would have all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of his Truth According to this revealed Will of God he doth offer mercy to all and he doth withall threaten judgment to such as forsake their own mercy as Jonah saith And when he seeth cause to call in either his mercy from them
have nothing but vanity and lyes to support their staggering and reeling estate of temporal felicity God is not in all their wayes nor the direction of God to manage them and therefore not the protection of God to defend them he leads them into temptation but he doth not deliver them from evill But God is a Rock for foundation and a Castle for defence to all such as put their trust in him 3. The patient expectation which he requireth in the Prophet for the peformance of this promise Though it tarry wait for it We must not not think long to tarry the Lords leasure Doctr. it is the Prophets rule He that beleeveth shall not make haste Isa 28.16 Ps 37.34 and it is Davids precept Wait on the Lord and keep his way And we have Jobs example All the dayes of my appointed time will I wait The promise of the Messiah was made in Paradise The seed of the woman shall bruise the head of the Serpent This was the Gospel that God himself preached to the Serpent and all the sacrifices of the old law and all the Prophecies of former ages and all the Types in the Old Testament were Commentaries upon this text the Fathers in all ages of the Church before Christ rested on this the Apostle saith of them These all died in faith not having received the promises but having seen them a far off and were perswaded of them Heb. 11.13 and embraced them 1. Because this doth best fit the constant decree of God that we do rest in it Reas 1 for it were in vaine for us to serve a God whom we might not trust and upon whose word we could not build assurance It is the Apostles rest Scio cui credidi I know whom I have beleeved 2. Because this doth best declare our faith Reas 2 for faith being of things not seen in themselves the Apostle saith here we see in a glasse faith is a Christian mans Prospective through which he beholdeth all things far off as if they were near at hand 3. Because this is an exercise of our patience Reas 3 for ye have need of patience Heb. 10.36 that after ye have done the will of God ye might receive the promise For yet a little while Vers 37. and he that shall come will come and will not tarry 4. This also doth exercise our hope Reas 4 for hope is nourished and fed with future objects as sense is with present and hope hath that wise forecast that as soon as the seed is cast into the ground hope is at work to gather in the harvest Rejoyce in hope Saint Bernard doth teach us to make use of this doctrine Vse of awaiting Gods leasure for first he layeth a good foundation Tua considero in quibus tota spes mea consistit 1. Charitatem adoptionis 2. Veritatem promissionis 3. Potestatem redditionis upon this he buildeth Dicit fides parata sunt magna inexcogitabilia bona à Deo fidelibus suis Dicit spes mihi illa servantur Dicit charitas curro ego ad illa We must be very tender how we do invade the royalties of God Christ saith that his Father hath kept the times and seasons in his own power he will have the alone managing of them They that cannot tarry the Lords leasure do commonly fall into one of these two evils 1. Either they murmure impatiently at God and quarrel his delay as Israel did when they came out of Egypt 2. Or else they seek unlawful means to accomplish their desires so the woman of Endor gets customers Against these Jam. 1.4 Let patience have her perfect work that ye may be perfect and entire wanting nothing This work is thus perfected 1. Let us not be too busie to search into the wayes of God to know things to come It pleased God before the coming of Christ in the flesh to reveale much of his purpose concerning the time to come by the ministry of his Prophets and the Devill finding men taken with this desire of the knowledg of future events did erect his oracles whose giddy and dubious predictions did so infatuate the world that few did undertake any matter of moment without consulting the oracle the Devill grew rich by the offerings and presents that were given him for divination when the successe sorted and he lost nothing of reputation or belief when it failed because all his oracles were of ambiguous sense for to carry if need were contrary constructions And it is a thing admirable which the wisdome of observation hath recorded to the honour of Christ that at his coming into the world all oracles grew speechlesse to shew that he that should dissolve the works of the Devill was come The head of this Serpent being now by his coming bruised the way to establish our hearts is to rest in the Lord and not to be too busie with the Key of his Closet and to content our selves with so much knowledge of things to come as either 1. The wisdome of foresight may read in the volume of reasonable discourse 2. Or the faith of Gods holy ones may read in the written word of holy Scripture 3 Or the judgment of those Sholars of nature may finde by searching the great book of the creatures for these open things are for us and here qui potest capere capiat he that can let him receive it It hath been the fault of many that they have so anxiously discrutiated themselves with the solicitous inquisition of the future that they have too much neglected the present and desiring to know what God would do for them hereafter both themselves lose the sense and God the thanks of that good that he was then doing God hath his wayes and his paths where his footsteps are not seen 2. Let us take the word of God for his promise and threatnings whatsoever appearances do put in to counterswade In the case of my text The oppressed Church must tarry they have two promises One of their own deliverance and restauration Another of their enemies confusion and ruine God hath promised both yet against this promise the Church which hears of comfort feels smart and their threatned enemies rejoyce and divide their spoyle the assurance is God cannot lye and repentance is hid from his eyes Why should man desire better assurance then the word of God to fix and establish his heart seeing al things had their being from the word and no man now in being doth not live by bread only but by every word that proceedeth from the mouth of God 3. To perfect our patience that we may wait the Lords leisure we must beforehand consider that the Vision may tarry the promises of God which shall be fulfilled in their fulnesse of time may be foretold long before Christ was promised in Paradise some do think the first day of the world to man i. e. in the day of mans creation the eve of the first Sabbath but he was
God and the Lord Jesus Christ 2 Tim. 4 1◠who shall judge the quick and dead at his appearing and his kingdome Preach the word be instant in season and out of season reprove rebuke exhort with all long-suffering and doctrines God hath given and committed to us the Ministry of the Word of faith by which we must live and if we be not found faithful in the dispensation thereof our souls shall answer for the sins of the People which are committed by our negligence and for want of our giving warning 2. To you it is a provocation of you to be swift to hear to take heed how you heare to heare with meeknesse to hear willingly to hear attentively to meditate in the Word that you hear to search the Scriptures to believe the word spoken to be obedient to the forme of doctrine delivered not to despise him that speaketh in our ministry it is said of Lydia that she heard us This was the outward means of her saith This had never done good alone for he that planteth is nothing and he that watereth is nothing but God that giveth the increase He is nothing saith the Apostle that planteth that is the Minister of the Word is nothing There were two things much amisse amongst the Corinthians at that time 1. One was they did too much depend upon their Ministers and ascribe too much to them wherein he that sent them had wrong 2. They were partial in their estimation of their Ministers some affecting and preferring one some another that it came to a schisme To remove which double disease in the Church the Apostle telleth them that the Minister is not any thing his meaning is not to disgrace the Ordinance of God to defile his own nest to dishonour his own high-calling but to bring them to true judgment of it and to let them understand that the Ministry of men is outward that God hath no need of it he can convert and establish souls without it And further whatsoever the Minister doth it is by the suggestion and help and efficacy of the Holy Ghost The purpose of the Apostle is to withdraw us from dependance on outward means he doth not seek to discourage the use or to disparage the honour of them or to question their necessity but to shew that as planting and watering of a tree are to the bearing of fruit so is our preaching to your good life except God do give the encrease the means in it selfe is not any thing Therefore let us search deeper for the power of God in the increase of our faith and we shall find it a special work of the Holy Ghost 2 Cor. 4.31 and so Saint Paul speaking of the spirit of faith doth give us to understand that faith is wrought in us by that Spirit of God which bloweth where he listeth So it is said of Lydia that the Lord opened her heart The manner of the operation of this Spirit in the work of faith in thus 1. It worketh upon the supreme part of the soul that is the understanding 2. Vpon the inferior part that is the Will and affections 1. Upon the understanding and there it openeth to us three things 1. The Excellency of our Creation 2. The misery of our fall 3. The remedy thereof 1. The Excellency of our Creation For man was made in the image of the Trinity that is in holinesse and righteousnesse he had Free-will to have continued that happy estate and he had the tree of life whereof he might have eaten and have lived for ever in the state of his creation It is necessary that we be instructed in the story of mans creation that we may understand the power wisdome and goodness of God shewed in man who out of so base a matter composed so excellent a frame as this of mans body and inspired it with a reasonable soule endowing it with heavenly light and giving to man the lordship of the works of his hands leaving it in his own free-will to perpetuate the tenure of his happinesse This is called mans state of innocency wherein 1. His knowledge 2. His holinesse was full and perfect 1. His knowledge was full 1. Of God 2. Of himself 2. Of the creatures 1. Of God knowing him so farre forth as a fraile creature was capable of the knowledge of an infinite nature and therein man was no whit inferiour to the Angels of God Coloss 3.10 for God created men and Angels in his own image and this knowledge is the image of God so saith the Apostle Created in knowledge after the image of him which created him 2 Of himself for he was then sensible of all that God had done for him and I cannot doubt but that light which God set up in this excellent creature did shew him the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of himself so that he knew the secret of his own composition the admirable faculties of the intellectual animal part the Symmetrie the Anatomy the use of every part of the body the end use of his creation 3. Of the creatures for as all the creatures were brought before him to declare to him his dominion over them so for more expressure of his lordship he gave to every creature a name surely the light of his understanding penetrating so deep as to the secret nature of all things sublunary as also well read in the great volume of the celestial bodies and furnished with all science whereby either the content of the minde the honour of his high place being lord of all or the use of his life or the glory of his Maker might be maintained or procured Such was man in the state of innocency in respect of his knowledge and though his fall eclipsed that light very much and much of that particular knowledge which Adam had perished in him yet sure that which remained after the fall which was the stock wherewith he set up in the world did give the first rules and lay down the grounds of all arts and sciences which being perfected by observation study and experience in the long life of the fathers descended upon succeeding times like rivers which gather in some brooks to mend their streame as they hasten to the sea and so improve their strength in current and dilate their banks Much of this maketh much against man for in this exellencie of his knowledge extending it self so to the creature no doubt but he knew the Angels also and knew of their fall I cannot suppose that so excellent a creature as man bearing the image of God that made him and of the Angels that stood and kept their first estate could be ignorant or that God would conceale from him such an example of weaknesse in so excellent a creature of justice in him I cannot suppose but that he knew into what condition the fall of Angels had dejected them and how farre their sinne had corrupted them he could not but know them hating of and
me out of his belly shall flow rivers of the water of life John 7.38 These be sure proofs of sincere faith which though it be weak yet it will gather strength and being able to fight will in the end be made able to overcome all our enemies 3. How faith may be preserved This seemeth a needlesse question because we have cleare evidence of Scripture that sincere faith cannot be lost True it cannot finally be lost it is assured to God but we must preserve it so as that in temptations and afflictions we may not be cast down with fear that it is lost Neither that we do bear our selves too bold upon it so farre as to presume Therefore we are bound to the use of all those means ordained by God to preserve faith If it be an hypocritical or a temporary Faith it may be lost if it be a true Faith this is one certain sign of it The same means that breede Faith in us the same means do nourish it therefore If thou standest by Faith be not high minded but fear It is a Tenet of the Church of Rome Rom. 11.20 and it is now revived of late by the Anabaptists in a book of the last yeer that a man may finally fall away from saving grace And many false shewes are made out of Scriptures not rightly understood to maintain this heresie I say no more but as the Apostle doth Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall He that is once assured of his standing 1 Cor. 10.11 cannot fall because the same Spirit which witnesseth to our spirits that we are the sonnes of God doth also teach us all things and bring all things to our remembrance which Christ hath taught us The means are The Word the Sacraments Prayer 1. The Word for as we are born anew by the immortal seed of the Word so we must as new born babes desire the sincere milk of the Word that we may grow thereby 2. The Sacraments of Baptisme and the Lords Supper for these also serve to strengthen Faith 1. By visible representations to the sense of the inward graces of Gods spirit that walking here by Faith and not by sight we may have something to fasten our eye upon which may be to us as the brazen serpent lifted up 2. By the vertue of consignation because these Sacraments are the Seals of Gods Covenant of grace obliging God the giver to continue his love to us and reciprocally binding us to return duty and love and obedience to him 3. By the efficacy of mediation because they be the means in the Ordinance of God whereby he doth convey his spiritual graces to us so that Baptism is called the cover of regeneration and by Baptism Christ is put on The Supper of Christ presenteth Christ to us our spiritual food and therein we do eat and drink his body and blood This admonisheth us to be swift to hear and to neglect no opportunity for the same To renew our Baptism by often repentance to frequent the Table of the Lord as the feast of our souls This advanceth our ministry of these by which this Serpent is lifted up on high and set on a pole for all that desire health to look upon it They that are carelesse and negligent in these things will soon make shipwrack of that temporary faith that they seem to have for they that live in the neglect of these things do forsake their own mercy and declare plainly that their Faith is not sound and sincere but their whole righteousnesse is like the morning dew soon dried up 3. Prayer 1. for that shewes of whom we hold not of our selves but of God 2. That bringeth us into Gods acquaintance and familiar conversation whereby we do more perceive Gods love to us and declare our love to God 4. How Faith must be used The handling of this point draweth in the third word of my text which is life The just shall live by Faith The right use of Faith is to live by it as I have shewed in the exposition of the words 1. There is use of it in the natural life 2. In the spiritual life 3. For the eternal life 1. In the natural life for 1. In prosperity 2. In adversity there is use of it 1. In prosperity 1. Faith is a shield to bear off all the flattering temptations of the flesh Heb. 11.24 the world the Devil so it is said of Moses By Faith Moses when he was come to yeers refused to be called the sonne of Pharaohs daughter And by Faith Joseph when he was tempted by his unchaste mistris whose offer tendered him all sensual delight refused her and would not sin against God 2. Faith is the contentment of the righteous in those things that they possesse they beleeve them to be the gifts of God and they are satisfied with his allowance so by Faith Daniel was content with his pulse and refused the Kings meat they that do beleeve that God knows better then they what is good and sufficient for them are content with what they have 3. Faith is the acknowledgment of all our good from God for thanksgiving is a work of Faith and giveth God his due 4. Faith dependeth upon God for the time to come Psal 16.5 as David saith thou maintainest my lot I have set the Lord alwayes before me Psal 16.8 he is at my right hand I shall not be moved Upon which ground the faithful do build things hoped for and commit their wayes to the Lord. They cast all their care upon God for he careth for them And surely it is for want of Faith that the filii saeculi hujus the men of this world do rise so early and go so late to bed and eate the bread of carefulnesse robbing God of his service and breaking the Sabbath and often doing wrong to their brother to build up themselves it is a signe that they dare not trust God A strange inference 1. For we beought nothing with us into the world 2. We cannot deny but that whatsoever we have or possesse in the world it is the gift of God for aperiente manum de implet omnia we have no interest in any thing being born in sin the right is in him the gift from him 3. We must confesse that very little will serve our necessities whilest we do live in the world 4. We shall carry nothing away with us and why should we discruciate our selves with cares for others seeing that is the care of God our children also are his inheritance I know and beleeve that our children are under the Covehant and Promise of grace Ero Deus tuus seminis tui Let us study to breed them to the love and service of God let us not waste unthriftly what we may spare from our own necessities and for the charge of their education Let us use all honest and lawfull means to provide for them Thus are we discharged
no divided hearts 3. Thou mistakest the cause of thy disease and thy Physitian for thou thinkest it to be some propension in thee to sin which needeth some preventing physick wheras it is a coroding plaister to eat out dead flesh yet flesh and blood hath many inventions we use to shoot another arrow after the first and like Balak try in anoth place and see if it will prosper there Vers 14. For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea 3. The effect Vide sura pag. IT is plaine that Gods remissenesse in the execution of his just judgments upon the proud and cruel Babylonians and the miserable face of the Church disfigured with tears her voyce hoarse with roaring for help her throat dry her heart aking and no relief appearing all this had not only made the ungodly and profane confident that there was no such thing as Providence but it appeareth by this Prophet that the faith of Gods children was staggered hereby But when God shall declare his justice against these his enemies then he shall recover his glory then shall they both know that Christ is the Lord both the oppressour shall know it and the delivered shall know it and they that are no parties to the cause of any side shall all understand The words of God in this text are full of marrow and fatness for God is rich in mercy aper it manum implet so he dilateth his favours 1. In the latitude all the earth over 2. In the plenitude the earth shall be filled 3. In the magnitude the knowledge of Gods glory 4. In the profundity as the waters cover the sea We are taught from hence Doctr. 1 that the delivery of Gods Church from the power of the enemies and his vengeance upon them doth give honour to the name of God upon earth so David we are in great misery Help us O God of our salvation Bs 79 9 for the glory of thy name and deliver us 1. Because if the wicked overcome the Church Reas 1 they will triumph against God So Moses Wherefore shall the Egyptians speak and say Ex. 32.12 he hath brought them out maliciously to slay them Rabshakeh the General of Senacheribs forces proudly insulteth Who is he among all the gods of these lands Is 36 20. that hath delivered their Country out of my hands But God delivering his Church and punishing the enemies thereof is magnified thereby Isa 37.20 as Ezechias did pray Now therefore O Lord our God save thou us out of his hand that all the Kingdomes of the earth may know that thou only art the Lord. 2. Because as the Schoole saith Reas 2 gloria est clara notitia cum laude and what doth more make the name of God known with praise then his present help to his Church his quick vengeance upon the enemies thereof The Heathen shall say the Lord hath done for them great things 3. Because this declareth the justice of God Reas 3 for First He is just and faithful in performing the gracious promises that he hath made to his Church Secondly He is just in the punishment of oppression and iniquity which his soul abhorreth Vse The use of the point is to teach us that whensoever we see the Church or any part thereof delivered from the hands of their enemies and so the righteous God taking vengeance upon them that we ascribe glory to God for the same Moses song is a good example of this duty for when the Egytians that pursued Israel into the red sea were covered and destroyed by the returne of the waters of the sea upon them Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the Lord and spake saying I will sing unto the Lord Exod. 15.1 for he hath triumphed gloriously the horse and his rider hath he throwne into the Sea This deliverance was a type of the final deliverance of the Church from all her enemies and therefore in Johns Vision it is said They sang the song of Moses the servant of God Rev. 15.3 and the song of the Lamb saying great and marvailous are thy works Lord God Almighty just and true are thy wayes thou King of Saints Who shall not fear thee O Lord and glorifie thy name for thou only art holy for all Nations shall come and worship before thee Verse 4. for thy judgments are made manifest We have great and gracious examples at home of this our blessed Queen of happy memory Queen Elizabeth Anno 1588 after defeat of the Spanish Armado came in person to the chief Church in her Kingdom where having upon her knees devoutly given the glory of that deliverance to God she heard the Sermon at Pauls crosse and taught her people by her godly example to know the glory of God for in those dayes Spaniards loved us not and we thought it a great favour of God to be delivered from them The like publike declaration did our Soveraign that now is make of the glory of God for the deliverance of his royal person Crown and posterity the Religion and peace of the Kingdom in the last session of that first Parliament delivered by the hand of God from the bloody designe of the Papists whose Religion was also in those times thought dangerous to this Common-wealth his speech and recognition of the protection of God is extant in print And as States and great Common-wealths have their dangers and deliverances wherein as every one that is a member thereof hath their share of benefit so from every one is growing a debt of duty Isa 38.19 to acknowledge the same so that as Ezechiah faith The father to the children shall make known the truth of God So in our particular estates we have many tastes of the sweetnesse of God in our deliverances from dangers at sea on shoare from sicknesse imprisonment infamy and many other evils which annoy our life in all which God revealeth to us the knowledge of his glory and we shall do him but right to give him as David faith the glory due to his name and to invite our brethren as David did I will tell you quid Deus fecil animae meae what God hath done to my soul Seeing God promiseth to fill the earth with the knowledge of the glory of God Doctr 2 we are taught that God is glorious and so we ought to conceive of him our Saviour hath taught us so to acknowledge in the close of the Lords Prayer Tua est gloria thine is the glory St. Stephen saith The God of glory appeared to our fathers Act. 7.2 And of this God is so jealous that he saith My glory will I not give it another Hold this fast the Devill when he tempteth us to sin Isa 42 8. Reas 1. doth not finde an easier way to fetch us about then to blemish the glory of God and to dim that to our sights and
the Church and the Common-wealth Yet they that are thus overtaken do commonly excuse themselves that they have been amongst their friends but this pot-friendship which hath the power to divide a man from himselfe will scarce prove a glue strong enough to unite and knit him to another The kisses of such friends betray thee and thou maist say rather Thus was I wounded in the house of my friends It was Davids prayer let it be thine Let the righteous smite me for that is a benefit Ps 141.5 and let him reprove me and it shall be a precious oyle that shall not break my head but Incline not mine heart to evill that I should commit wicked works with men that commit iniquity and let me not eate of their delicates nor drink neither It is a good observation of Cardinal Bellarm. here ubique nocet conversatio malorum sed nusquam magis quam in conviviis compotationibus This is no new danger but a disease of former ages infectiously transmitted by imitation to our times and in them grown epidemical Saint Ambrose describeth a surfetting and drunken meale De Helia Jenin 6.13 primo minoribus poculis velut velitari pugnâ praeluditur verum haec non est sobrietatis spes sed bibendi disciplina ubi res calere caeperit poscunt majoribus poculis certant pocula cum ferculis Deinde procedente potulongius contentiones diversae magna certamina quis bibendo praecellat Nota gravis si quis se excuset All you that call God Father and do desire either the honour of his name or the coming of his Kingdom or the fulfilling of his will make conscience of this great sin call it no longer good-fellowship for St. Ambr. saith vocatis ut amicos emittitis inimicos Ibid. c. 14. Vocas ad jucunditatem cogis ad mortem invitas ad prandium efferre vis ad sepulturam vina praetendis venena suffundis Say to him that tempteth thee to drink drunk vade retro me Sathana get thee be hind me Satan the Kingdom of God is not meate nor drink God shall finde thee out thou hast his woe upon thee and thou shalt see anon how he will punish thee 1. Ad quid ut videant nuditatem It is the boast of brave drunkards how long they have sat at it how many pots and pottles they have swallowed how many they have made drunk this is thy nakednesse Litterally drunkennesse doth make men do things uncomly some use this lewd practise to make way for their lust some to take advantages otherwise Modesty cannot utter what unclean provocations do arise from drunkennesse what lewd and unchaste actions are done what profane and filthy words are spoken Noah himself full of wine doth lie uncovered in his tent and sheweth his nakednes St. Ambrose complaineth of women That full of wine did come immodestly into the street singing and dancing Ibid. c. 18. irritantes in se juvenum libidines Coelum impuro contaminatur aspectu terra turpi saltatione polluitur aer obscenis cantibus verberatur O the miserable state of man in whom sin reigneth he is not only tempted to do evil horrible and shameful evil to drink drunk but to be his neighbours devil to draw him into evill by making him drunk and also this propter malum even to discover the nakednesse of his brother Some shew themselves in their pots like lyons furious and quarrelsome others are dull and heavy only serving for whetstones to sharpen the wits of the company others drowsie and sleepy others talkative every man in his humour all in their nakednesse To do evil that good may come of it is an heinous sin for God needs not Satans help But to do evil our selves to draw others into evil for so evil an end this doth make sin out of measure sinful 1. Take nakednesse literally for the discovering of those parts which modesty doth hide out of sight so after the transgression the man and woman saw that they were naked and they were ashamed being but themselves alone in the garden and they sowed fig-leavs together to hide their nakednesse from each others sight so much remained in them that having left primas sapientiae they yet retained secundas modestiae and could not for shame behold each others nakednesse The Apostle saith These members of the body which we think to be lesse honourable 1 Cor. 12.23 upon these we bestow more abundant honour and our uncomely parts have more abundant comelinesse The honour here meant is the decent hiding of their nakednesse and the modest covering of our shame Where the Apostle doth declare the care that is in the natural body the comely parts which need no hiding from sight do cover the uncomely parts from sight Therefore they that uncover nakednesse do shew themselves to be no members of the body so that such drunkards as give strong drink to their neighhour to this end to discover their nakednesse declare themselves to be no parts of the body of the Church Surely much nakednesse is discovered in many drunken meetings and no marvel when men and women having laid aside reason and temperance religion and the fear of God if they then turn beasts and do those things that are uncomely 2. Take this nakednesse in a spiritual sense then St. Ambrose will tell you Lib. de Noe Arca c. 30. Omnis impius quoniam ipsedevius disciplinae est aliorum lapsus pro sui erroris solatio accipit quod consortes invenerit culpae Then is the season for the Cosener to invade the purse of his neighbour for the cunning insidiator to take advantage of words to find out the infirmitits of his brother that he may keep him in aw thereby I cannot dive so deep into this mystery of iniquity as to declare all and again I fear to go farre in it least I might teach the ignorant sinner more cunning then he had before This I dare say that it is not love that maintaineth drunken acquaintance for true love is a coverer of nakednesse if literal you may see it in Sem and Japhet if spiritual you may hear it from the Apostle love covereth a multitude of sins And out of that love David weeps fot them that keep not the law It becomes them best in my text who know not God but were abominable and to every good work rebrobate to make men drunk to make them sport but these things must not be so much as named amongst those that call God our father that come to Church that hear the word that offer themselves to be guests at the Lords boord Bur I remember the wise man saith Rods be for the backs of fools What greater folly then to sell our inheritance in heaven for strong drink a worse bargain then Esaus and an harder penny-worth The rods for this are 2. Poena peccati the punishment of sin 1. Thou art filled with shame for glory 2. It shall be thine own
if any escaped to re-inhabit might be taken away This justice of God in avenging the wrongs done to brute beasts by calling them to an account for their sinnes that did the wrong doth teach us 1. That the providence and care of God doth stoop so low as the regard of our catted Christ made good use of it Considerate volatilia caeli consider the souls of heaven God feedeth them quanto magis vos how much more you 2. It teacheth us to use our dominion of these creatures moderately lest the Asse of Balaam do reprove his owner 3. It sheweth how much God doth make of any thing that serves him the text saith that these beasts did make the Chaldeans afraid and for this they suffered predation for the service they did to God and his Church against their enemies in Christs argument how much more will he defend us if we fight his battels against his enemies 4. We learne here that when God cometh to execute vengeance he surveigheth the whole catalogue of offences and as he saith in David I will reprove thee and set them in order before thee the wrong to the Cities to the men to the beasts to persons to places all comes into an account and the offenders shall smart for all Vers 18. What profiteth the graven Image that the maker thereof hath graven it the molten Image and a teacher of lies that the maker of his work trusteth therein to make dumb Idols 19. Woe unto him that saith to the wood awake to the dumb stone arise it shall teach behold it is laid over with gold and silver and there is no breath at all in the midst of it 20. But the Lord is in his holy temple let all the earth keep silence before him HEre God denounceth his judgment against their Idolatry The words of this text have no obscurity in them Thus much then shall serve for the opening of this text that all this commination of woe and judgment of which you have heard is the voyce of the true God declaring his just proceeding against the sins formerly mentioned and to this purpose he doth here lay open the vanity of false gods What profit can there come saith he of a graven Image that the maker thereof hath graven he asketh men this question and appealeth to the light of naturall reason can that profit a man meaning in the power and goodnesse of a Divine nature which is the work of a mans hands be it either a graven image wrought upon by art of the workman or a molten Image cast in any metall can this profit a man He calleth the Image thus carved graven or molten a teacher of lies for it is a meer illusion that any man should so befoole himselfe as to beleeve that such an artificiall composition wrought by the hand of man should be esteemed a god This is amplified and the wonder encreased for though other men may be carried away with a superstitious over-weening of such an Idol yet that the maker of it should trust in it who when he was at work peradventure as the Poet saith Incertus scamnum faceretne Priapum maluit esse Deum It was at his curtesie whether it should be an Idol or some other thing Therefore vers 19. God saith Woe unto him that saith to the wood awake and to the dumb stone arise that is woe to him that trusteth to an Idol for defence against evill or deliverance out of danger for that is one of the uses that is made of Idols to succour in time of distresse as the Disciples did awake their Master in a storme You see that when the workman hath put his hand upon it and shewed his best skill here God doth call it wood and a dumb stone still He proveth it thus It shall teach although it be dumb yet the dumbnesse thereof shall declare it to be an inanimate impotent thing For howsoever the matter of the Idol be it wood or stone or metall be laid over with gold and silver as superstition is costly enough in adorning their gods yet there is no breath at all in the midst of them and having no life in them they have no power to give help to them that serve them Vers 20. But the Lord is in his holy temple for having shewed the vanity of Idols he cometh now to reveale himselfe to them This some understand that the Lord is in heaven the temple of his holinesse and though the heaven of heavens cannot containe him yet he hath said Heaven is my throne and Christ teacheth us to say qui es in caeli who art in heaven So the temple at Jerusalem where he said I will dwell is the temple of his holinesse and as the Babylonians and other heathen had their Idols and their Temples for them to which they did resort so he produceth in opposition to them the God of Israel in his holy Temple to whom the Jewes may resort for help against all their enemies Let all the earth keep silence before him In which words either he discourageth all power that should rise up against him or he requireth the voluntary submission of the earth to him as to the supreme Soveraigne of all the world for Keeping silence is a signe of reverence and submission as Job speaking of his former glory when God had abased him saith that when he came forth The Princes refrained talking Job 29.9 and laid their hand on their mouth De verbis hactenus The parts of the text are two 1. False-worship 2. True Religion In the first 1. Peccatum that is idolatry 2. Poenae Vae Woe In the first here is 1. A description of the idolatry of the heathen Babel 2. A derision of the idolaters 1. Idolatry is a trust in and an invocation of graven and molten images dumb idols First here is trust then followeth invocation and that is the Apostles method in all religious adoration How shall they call on him in whom they have not believed Rom. 10.14 This doth open to us the occasion of this last imputation to them of idolatry for what hath made them so proud so cruel so covetous so voluptuous as the opinion that they have in the protection of their gods therefore now at last God overthroweth that also and doth shew them that in religion they are most of all wrong If you desire a general definition of idolatry which comprehendeth all kinds I think this is full of comprehension It is Cultus Religiosus exhibitus Creaturae A religious worship given to the creature Learn then that no nation of the world did ever deny a divine Power but acknowledged some God in whom they trusted and whom in their necessities they called upon and because this invisible Godhead was out of sight they devised idols which they erected for representation of their gods which they also worshipped with divine honours and this we call idolatry or the worshipping of idols They saw that there was much
kind of study since the Church cast out Musick 2 In respect of Gods service the more pompe and solemnity is used the more glorious is the house of God made and the more differing from our common house of habitation 3 In respect of our selves we have need to have the help of outward things to draw us on with delight to entertain our thoughts with cheerfulnesse to incite and move our affections to quicken our devotion and to blow the fire of our zeal and to relieve our naturall wearinesse in Gods service These reasons brought in the song and instruments into the Church and gloriously was it setled in Solomons time in the temple according as his Father David had left it in the tabernacle where he designed to that service men of cunning 288. 1 Chrom 25.7 Ob. But Christ and his Apostles and the primitive Church had no such musique in Churches Sol. They had no Churches but in their meetings they sung Psalmes so did Christ and his Apostles in the roome where he kept his last Passeover and in the Emperour Trajanes time Mat. 26.30 which was before the death of St. John Pliny writeth to the Emperour of the manner of the Christians this one amongst the rest that They did meet together early in the morning and sung Hymns to their Christ But after Religion had found favour with Princes and began to appear in peace then came in Churches and Church Ornaments then were Liturgies devised and used then were instruments of musique intermixed with the service and God glorified in all St. Aug. Confess 9. Cap. 6. Quantum flevi in Hymnis Canticis svave sonantis Ecclesiae tuae voces illae influebant auribus meis eliquabatur veritas tua in cor meum ex ea aestuebat inde affectus pietatis currebant lachrymae benè mihi erat cum eis In the next Chapter hee tels how the Arrians attempted the taking of Ambrose B. of Millain whom they accused of heresie and Justina the Empresse bearing them out in it they meant him a mischief he went to the chief Church and much people followed him ready to dispatch their holy Bishop St. Augustine and his Mother were amongst them and there Aug. saith Tunc institutum ut Hymni Psalmi canerentur more orientalium Ecclesiarum ne populus moeroris taedio contabesceret quod ad hodiernum diem retentum est c. The Hymns and Psalmes were ordained to be sung c. Ob. It is a means often to carry away our thoughts more with the tune then with the matter St. Augustine maketh it one of his Confessions that he was so transported Sol. And may not the same happen in our singing of Psalms let us not lay our faults to the charge of the Church what good shall we go about but we shall finde Satan busie to divert us from it Obj. It is costly to maintain Musique in our Churches and that mony were better bestowed on the poor and other better uses Sol. What better bestowed on the poor then upon God himself is the cheapest religion the best they had poor in the time of the Law and yet that hindered not the magnificence of the Temple and the Ornaments thereof and the maintainance of Gods worship alit pauperes 288. in Templo ut ante The earth hath not the like glory now to shew as that of Gods House And shal Aaron that vvas but for a time be thus glorious and shall Melchizedeck a Priest for ever vvant honour It is true that it hath been policy in these later times to keep the Church lean and to strip it out of all outward pomp and to transfer Gods inheritance into the hands of strangers But remember the great Commandement Thou must love God above all things and so doing he shall have the best of all that thou art the best of all that thou hast Our prayer is Sicut in coelo as in heaven and Christ promises is to the just that they shal be as the Angels of God in Heaven Reve. 15.3 there they sing the song of Moses the servant of God and David saith Blessed is the people that can rejoyce in thee Psa 89.15 we have more cause to use both voices and instruments in his praise because he hath redeemed us from Satan hath made us all Priests of the high God to offer to him the calves of our lips and with such sacrifices God is well pleased Ver. 2. O Lord I have heard thy speech and was afraid O Lord revive thy work in the middest of the years make known in wrath remember mercy THis vvhole Psalme as it is in the composition of a mixt kind of verse so in the matter of it mixt for it consisteth 1 Of supplication and petition ver 2. 2 Of celebration of the prayses of God 3 15. 3 Consternation before God ver 16 17. 4 Consolation in God 1 Of the supplication O Lord I have heard thy speech that is all that thou hast said in the former Chapter in defence of thy justice and in propheticall revelation of thy holy will both concerning thy Church how that shall be afflicted and concerning the enemies of thy Church how they shall be punished in the end And I was afraid fear came upon me when I heard thee recompt thy judgements O Lord revive thy work in the middest of the years here be three quaeries 1 What he meaneth by the vvork 2 What by the middest of the years 3 How this work should be revived 1 Thy work Lyranus saith Opus tuum in punitione Chaldaeorum qued fiet virtute tua magis quà m humana 2 Beza by the work of God here understandeth the Church of God the people of Israel So do Tremelius and Junius for they parellel this place vvith those vvords of God in the Prophet Isa Ask me of things to come concerning my sons Isa 45.11 and concerning the work of my hands command ye me Where he calleth his Church opus manum my work Thus doth Master Calvin here understand statum Ecclesiae the state of the Church vvhich is called The vvork of God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as being the most excellentest part of his work wherein he is most glorified So David prayeth for the Church under that appellation Psa 138.8 Forsake not the works of thine own hands So doth Isaiah name them Thy people also shall be all righteous Isa 60.21 they shall inherit the Land for ever the branch of my planting the work of my hands that I may be glorified Isa 61.3 So in the next Chapter Christ is anointed for the good of his Church Isa 61.3 that they may be called the trees of righteousness the planting of the Lord. 3 Novv there is such a correspondence betvven the head and the body betvveen Christ and his Church that sometimes that vvhich is literally spoken of the Church is mystically applyed to Christ Jeremie expressing the great
knovvn he re-inforceth his former petition novv desiring that God vvould reveale his gracious purpose of succouring his Church and triumphing over the enemies thereof In the mean time vvhile thy Church is groaning under the burthen of their exile make thy vvill knovvn to them This favour of God vvil svveeten the adversity of their banishment vuhen they shall knovv the loving purpose of God tovvard them In wrath remember mercy They confesse that they have given God cause of displeasure and have provoked him to vvrath they feel the smart thereof in a strange land and they have no plea but mercy they dare not make so bold vvith him as to entreat him to turn avvay all his vvrath from them because they are so guilty to themselves that they have provoked him and deserved his indignation Onely they desire that in the midst of his vvrath he vvould remember mercy By vvrath in this place is not meant any such affection in God vvhereof his unchangeable and constant nature is not capable for God is semper idem ever the same vvhom hee loveth he loveth vvith an everlasting love and he cannot at any time be angry vvith them But vvhom he loveth upon occasion he rebuketh and chasteneth every son vvhom he receiveth and this love sometimes bringing forth the effects of that vvhich in man is called vvrath vve speak after the manner of men and avouch it of God Thus then the text is literally to be understood O Lord I have heard vvhat thou hast spoken in the defence of thy upright justice I have heard vvhat thou purposest in the punishing and in the avenging of thy Church in the mean time preserve it and make it knovv thy love tovvards it and vvhilst thou art punishing of it remember mercy The parts of this are tvvo 1 The preparation to prayer 2 The prayer it self 1 In the preparation I observe Motum the motive Metum fear 2 In the prayer I observe 1 Subjectum the subject 2 Petitiones the petitions The petitions are three 1 O Lord revive thy Work in the middle of the years 2 O Lord in the middle of the years make knovvn 3 In wrath remember mercy First of the preparation 1 of the Motus O Lord I have heard thy Speech The Word of God is vvell bestovved on them that vvill hear it vvith reverence and receive it vvith humility here vvas a maze the Prophet and the Faithfull of the land had lost themselves they knevv not vvhat to think till they had put the matter to God himself Cap. 1. and God having made a ful ansvver novv the Prophet saith in his ovvn name and in the name for whom he consulted God I have heard thy speech All the Scripture is full of examples of the Children of God hearkening to his word of precepts and admonitions to us to hearken of promises to them that do hearken The reason is because it is a speciall note of Gods children to heare his Word even as our Saviour himself saith He that is of God heareth Gods Word ye therefore hear them not Joh. 8.47 because ye are not of God And now seeing God hath given over speaking by miracles extraordinarily to his Church St. John saith We are of God 1 Joh. 4. he that knoweth God heareth us he that is not of God heareth not us hereby we know the Spirit of Truth and the spirit of errour The Spirit of truth is left in the Church by our Saviour and he speaketh in such who by the Ordinance of Christ are the Priests of the new Testament of whom Christ saith Qui vos recipit me recipit qui recipit me recipit eum qui misit me he that receiveth you receiveth me and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me we must hear him before he hear us for St. Paul telleth us true Rom. 8.26 We know not what we should pray for as we ought The art of prayer is not so quickly learned as some forward proofessours make themselves believe John besides his continuall preaching to his Disciples taught them also to pray And never had any Disciples a better Master then the Disciples of Jesus Christ yet they living in the eare of his Doctrine and in the eye of his holy example were glad to come to him to be taught to pray he taught them the Lords prayer privately which after he taught the whole multitude in a Sermon openly My observation is that his Word must minister matter to our prayers Doct. and all our petitions must be grounded thereupon The reason is because God heareth not sinners John 9.31 and David saith If I regard wickednesse in my heart the Lord will not hear me But the prayer of a righteous man prevaileth much Jam. 5.16 if it be fervent Against sin we have no such remedy as the word So David Thy word have I hid in my heart Psal 119.11 that I might not sin against thee Our Lessons from hence are 1 We must take it for a great favour of God to us that he giveth us his word for that is a lanthorne to our feet that is our counsalor as David calleth it This word is given us to profit withall and it is deposited 1 In the Books of the Canonical Scripture which we have not as the Church of Rome shut up in an unknown language but translated faithfully into our own tongue that all of us may be partakers of it 2 As in the time of the law the Priests lips did preserve knowledge and men were to require the law at their lips so in the time of the Gospel St. Paul saith of the Apostles and of all the Ministers that should succeed them in their office in the Church 1 Cor. 5.19 God hath committed to us the word of reconciliation he hath so committed it to his Son first as he gave him power to transmit it in the Priesthood of the New Testament to all ages of the Church till his second coming The spirit which Christ left to comfort and instruct his Church was not given at large to all men but in perticular ordinance to them whom he sent to teach all Nations as the Apostle saith 2 Cor. 3.6 Our sufficiency is of God who hath made us able Ministers of the New Testament not of the Letter but of the Spirit for the Letter killeth but the Spirit giveth life So we are the Ministers of the word that giveth life and there is no life to be had but by our Ministry This gives us interest in your affections in your understandings in your goods in your prayers 2 Now we know where we may hear God we are taught also not to neglect him speaking to us for as the Author to the Hebrews saith Heb. 12.25 See that ye refuse not him that speaketh for if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth much more shall not we escape if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven
and was afraid In thy word I see how corrupt I am for that sheweth me what thou requirest my conscience feareth those sins of which it is guilty for which I come to thee for mercy O give me through Iesus Christ our Lord that which my prayer without him dare not presume to ask Here is spirituall boldness through Iesus Christ our Lord here is fear in respect of our selves for we must serve the Lord in fear and rejoyce in trembling it is vvell that that is not branded vvith a mark of contradiction We have to do vvith three sorts of persons 1 The prophane and carnall 2 The generation the Wise man nameth of such as are wise in their own eyes yet want washing 3 The truly zealous faithfull ones that do worship God with fear and trembling First concerning the prophane and carnall These do not pray at all the reason is because they do not fear Psa 9.20 of such David saith Put them in fear O Lord that they may know they are but men for when they know that they will see and confesse that they have need of help Thus was Saul converted there suddenly shoon a light from heaven upon him a voyce spake to him he was cast down to the earth Then trembling and astonished he said Lord Act. 9.6 what wilt thou have mee do then was hee fit to be wrought To such wee must preach as Paul did to Felix of righteousnesse Act. 24.25 temperance and the judgment to come to put them into trembling better to put them between the two mil-stones of the law of Moses and the lavv vvritten in their hearts and to grind them as small as the dust of the earth then to let them make sinne out of measure sinfull by holding out to be abominable and to every good vvork reprobate We cannot open the gates of hell too vvide for such to shevv them the anger to come a fit text for a generation of Vipers vve cannot lift up our voyces too loud in the deaf ears of such to tell them their transgressions and to put them in fear David vvept rivers of vvaters for such and that is a good remedie let the faithfull vveep for them for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 vvhich signifieth to vveep comes of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 frango So vvhen the man of God looked on Hazael 2 Reg. 8.11 and fore-savv the cruell butcheries vvhich his bloody hand should perform he vvept this vveeping of the Prophet brake the heart of Hazael for the time and he said Is thy Servant a dog that he should do these things So St. Paul putteth them together What mean you to weep and to break my heart Act. 21.13 their vveping brake his heart The hearts of the prophane are hardened with the custome of sinning St. Bernard Aperiatur vena ferro compunctionis vve must dravv bloud of them by the preaching of the terrour of the Lord to them This bloud is the tears of compunction of vvhich David My soul melteth or drippeth for heaviness St. Augustine saith that Lachrymae compunctionis be sanguis vulnerati cordis Epist 199. vvhen the remembrance and consideration of their sins hath vvounded them and left them half dead then the good Samaritan vvill come vvith his Wine and Oile even the Oile of gladnesse and the poor patient vvill say Thou hast put gladnesse into my heart This was Sauls hard heart broken in pieces first and he that before did carry the crosse of Christ to torment others now rejoyced in nothing but the crosse of Christ himself whereby the world was crucified to him and he to the world Thus vvhen the lavv hath humbled the prophane under the mighty hand of God he turneth all into tears full of the fear of God and vovveth vvith himselfe as he did in the Poet In fontem frontem atque in flumina lumina vertam then is he fit to pray and to call upon the name of the Lord saying Sana animan mean quia peccavi contrate heal my soul O Lord for I have sinned against thee 2 Wee have to doe vvith that generation vvho are vvise in their ovvn eyes these have a good opinion of themselves that they knovv more then others and they are not in conversation like to the Publican and therefore they look God in the face they dravv neer to him they stand and pray these are so ful of the spirit that they need no help in their prayers they can pen their ovvn petitions their hearts endite good matters their tongues are the pens of ready vvriters they can talk vvith God Almighty ex tempore Dabitur illa hora. Self-opinion is a kind of spirituall drunkenesse and therein of like effect it maketh men daring and fool-hardy the prophane care not for God there is no fear of God before their eyes these make tvvo bold vvith him they also must take a little physick to purge the exuberancy of their presumption vve must give them a doze of fear and teach them to drink of the cup of trembling next their hearts there is no such antidote against tumor as timor swelling as fear It is the Wise mans counsell Be not rash with thy mouth Eccle. 5.2 and let not thy heart be hasty to utter any thing before the Lord for God is in heaven and thou upon earth therefore let thy words be few He addeth Vers 3. a fools voice is known by multitude of words that is further urged In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin Prov. 10.19 For this Christ teaching us to pray beginneth at Our Father which art in heaven that we upon earth might consider that he to whom we pray is in Heaven that we might compose our selves with fear and reverence to come before him and to present him with our prayers And again he comprehendeth all that we may aske of God in a very short prayer to teach us that our words must be few And to that purpose in his Sermon he taught Mat. 6 7. But when ye pray use not vain repititions as the heathen do for they think they shall be heard for their much speaking They that come in presence of great persons speak their words by number and by weight the very presence doth stamp in them an impression of reverence and fear now seeing God to whom we pray is invisible our faith must behold him before us in glorious majesty as hee saith I have set God always before mee and like Abraham the neerer we come to his presence and the more that we solicite him the more shall vve be shaken vvith this holy fear considering him vvho dwelleth in the light that no man can attein unto and considering our selves that we are but dust and ashes the heathen could teach deos caste adeunto let men go reverently and inwardly cleave before their gods 3 There are yet another sort of them vvhom their sins do oppress as a burthen too heavie for them to bear
not come so neer our truth our truth will confute it and the God of Truth wil not suffer his truth to fail Yet if our unthankfulness to God for his light so long shining in our Church if our evil lives so unanswerable to our outward profession if our contentions so displeasing to the God of peace our want of zeal and devotion in prayer do turn away the face of God from us we may thank our selves and his justice may say Perditio tua ex te Thy destruction is of thy self 2 The Petitions these are three vide p. 29. 1 Revive thy work in the middest of the years that is as we have expounded it literally in the mean time preserve thy Church In which Petition we are taught That the Church of God is the work of God 1 Doct. ye have heard it so acknowledged by God himself Ask me concerning my sons and concerning the work of my hands Isa 45.11 command ye me Wherein God confesseth his Church to be his own work and therefore so comprehended in his care that they may challenge his protection Again He calleth his Church thus The Branch of my planting the work of my hands Isa 60.21 that I may be glorified And David upon this prayeth Forsake not the works of thy own hands Psal 138.8 The reasons why the Church is thus called Because the Church is not an Assembly that doth gather themselves together as we say That Birds of a feather do fly together but it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it is a congregation of such as the free election of grace hath called out of the world by the ministery of the Word of God and the Sacraments The first Church of God in whom God was glorified consisted of Angels intellectuall spirits whereof many kept not their first estate but were excōmunicated never to be redeemed The first Church of God on earth were our first Parents whom God created in his image The Creation miscarried by the fall of our Parents who might have stood if they would The election of grace remained unchangeable and continued a Church in Adam in Abel in Seth which separated from Cain and his issue in Noah and Sem and in Japhet perswaded to the tents of Shem in the calling of the Gentiles so that all that have the election of grace do come to be members of the Church by vertue of an effectuall calling election designeth them vocation declareth them to be the members of the Church and both these are the work of God Will you take it from Gods own mouth who saith Levit. 20.26 Ye shall be holy unto me for I the Lord am holy and have severed you from other people that you should be mine The Church is called the work of God in respect of his perpetuall presence with it and preservation of it both by his own speciall providence which is the priviledge of the Church also by the subordinate ministery of his holy Angels 1 For his own providence he hath declared it in a promise I will not sail thee Josh 1.5 nor forsake thee in which promise what interest the Church hath and every member thereof the Authour to the Hebrews shevveth Let your conversation be without covetousnesse and be content with such things as you have Heb. 13.5 for he hath said I will never leave thee nor forsake thee So that we may boldly say The Lord is my helper I will not fear what man shall do unto me For which gratious protection 1 Pet. 4.19 St. Peter willeth us to commit our souls to him in wel-doing as to a faithfull Creatour so called saith Lyranus quia secure conservat gloriose coronat non relinquit opus He not onely buildeth but standeth to reparations 2 For the ministry and subvention of Angels the Psalmist saith Psal 91.11 12. He hath given his Angels charge over thee to keep thee in all thy wayes They shall bear thee up in their hands Are they not all ministring Spirits sent forth to minister for them Heb. 1.14 who shall be heirs of Salvation The Church of God is called the Work of God to honour God for God is not so glorious in any thing that he hath wrought as in his Church for therein mercy and truth met together righteousnesse and peace kissed each other our election adoption is to the praise of the glory of his grace Ephes 1.6 Is 60.21 You heard himself say of his Church The work of my hands that I may be glorified For God is more glorified in those things which he hath wrought by Jesus Christ in our flesh and in those things which he doth for his sake then in all the other works of his hands This will one day appear it is revealed already in part to us for whatsoever God did work sine verbo incarnato without the word incarnate it all shall fail and come to dissolution or to a worse condition that is an eternall being in wo. For example the heavens and the eath shall all perish and new shall be made in their place a nevv heaven and a nevv earth vvherein God vvill plant righteousnesse The Angels that fell and the reprobate shall suffer eternall flames What remains now but Angels and just men the elect Angels and the holy Church of God the one sort elected in Christ established in blisse by Christ the other redeemed by Christ these are reserved to glory the just shall be as the Angels of God in heaven In this Church then God is most glorified The Church is called the Work of God to give honour to it here on earth for God would have the World knovv that he owns his Church and that they are a peculiar people a chosen generation a royall Priesthood that he delighteth in in them And again the faithfull delight in nothing but what he hath vvrought in them and from them So Augustine bringeth in the Church saying Opus tuum in me Domine vide non meum nam meum si videris damnum tuum si videris Coronas Behold thy work in mee c. It is Davids glory I am thine All things else have the same maker that have any being but the Church hath the honour of curious and costly vvork all the rest of the vvorks of God are not vvorth the cost that he bestovved in the vvhite vvashing of this vvork To turn this point into profit 1 Seeing vve are the vvork of God in regard of election of grace of creation and protection this teacheth us to live godlily righteously and soberly in this present vvorld and to keep our selves unspotted of the vvorld 1 For election Ephes 1.4 He hath chosen us that we should be holy and without blame before him in love 2 For creation Ephe. 2.10 We are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works that we should walk in them 3 For all his other favours as that we are a royall priesthood
an holy nation a purchased people it is that we should shew forth the praises of him 1 Pet. 2.9 who hath called us out of darknesse into his marvellous light Survey thy soul peruse thy vvhole conversation vvithout search thy heart vvithin suffer not the Work of the Lord in thee to be defaced and defouled vvith the uncleannesse of grosse and foul sins If Satan have been too strong for thee that he holdeth thee captive and bindeth thee and maketh thee go vvhere thou vvouldest not and do vvhat thou abhorrest yet declare it by thy resisting of him that he hath usurped thou hast not yielded him possession let not sin set up a stool of vvickednesse vvithin thee let it not reign in thy mortall body Do thy Maker so much right to preserve and keep his vvork as clean as thou canst from the defiling of the vvorld 2 Gather boldnesse from this consideration to solicite God in prayers for so it is used as an effectuall argument Vivifica opus tuum revive thy Work as David I am thine O save So Solomon enforceth his suit to God for Israel for thou didst seperate them from all the people of the earth to be thine inheritance Therefore 1 Reg. 8.52 53. he prayeth that the eyes of God would be open to their supplications and that he would hearken to them in all that they pray for 2 In the petition that God vvould revive and quicken his Church in the mean time that is during the affliction and vexation of it vve are taught That afflictions and the withdrawing of the light of Gods countenance from his Church for a time 2 Doct. is such a deading of it that except it be quickened with some beams of grace and light and have some lucida intervalla it is a burthen more then they can bear Satan is a cunning Serpent a roaring Lion when he can get leave to assault he putteth his whole strength to it as in the sifting of Peter and in the buffering of Paul and in the afflicting of Job If Peter had not he had Christs ego oravi pro te I have prayed for thee and Paul had not heard his sufficit tibi gratia mea thy grace is sufficient for me and Job had not had the preserver of men to friend how had it gone with them And great reason there is for this why the Church should faint under the crosse if it were not strongly supported by grace For there is no lesson so hard for a child of God to take out as to take up the crosse of Christ and to follow him to suffer the smart of affliction with patience and thanksgiving For in the very regenerate man the flesh is both strong and unruly and nothing so contrary to the flesh as affliction and tribulation is Therefore doth God measure to his Children their portion and draught of this cup because he knowes whereof we be made So the Psalmist saith Psal 125.3 The rod of the wicked shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous lest the righteous put forth their hand unto iniquity And for this St. Paul saith God is faithfull 1 Cor. 10.13 who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able but will with the temptation also make away to escape that ye may be able to bear it Wherein note for comfort in tribulation 1 That though Satan have no stay of his fury and malice in our temptations yet God will not suffer us to be tempted further than he thinks fit For there is good use to be made of some temptations as St. James saith My brethren Jam. 1.2 count it all joy when you fall into divers temptations he meaneth temptations of tryall by which we do approve our faith and our patience St. Peter saith That the triall of your faith being much more precious than gold that perisheth though it be tried with fire might be found unto praise 1 Pet. 1.7 and honour and glory at the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ 2 We see that all the elect children of God have a measure of strength to bear temptation and he that gave them their measure and knoweth what it contains will not suffer them to be tempted further then they are able Herein many mistake themselves and think their ability to bear affliction lesse then it is for indeed till God put us to it we do not know how much we are able to suffer and many great examples in Church story we finde of those Christians young men and aged tender Virgines that have feared their own weaknesse much who have filled the catalogue of Gods confessours and martyrs with invincible constancy 3 We see that when God openeth a way out of tribulation that the faithfull see an issue though for the time the temptation be more then our strength yet the issue in-sight doth put mettle into us to bear it Howsoever the flesh will be more then a looker on in this conflict Heb. 12.11 because no chastning for the time seemeth to be joyous but grievous For many fears arise in the hearts of the afflicted and Satan is still suggesting that God hath forsaken him that is afflicted Especially such a great affliction as this that was now threatned to the Church the sword of the Chaldaeans depopulation of their Cities and Towns destruction of the temple deportation into the land of their enemies and seventy years captivity this shaketh their faith in the promise of God made to his Church and maketh them to doubt that God hath forgotten to be gratious and will shew no more mercy Let us learne of the Prophet what use we must make of afflictions in this kind even prayer O Lord revive thy work let us comfort our selves in all tribulations that we are the work of Gods hand and let us commend our selves to his fatherly love Prayer is fidelis nuncius a faithfull messenger we may dispatch away this messenger from Babylon from the Lions den from the belly of the whale from the fiery furnace of heaven and it will do our errand to God faithfully and effectually It is St. Augustines comfort In Psal 65. Cum videris non à te amotam deprecationem tuam securus esto quia non est amota misrecordia ejus 2 Petition In the midst of the years make known That is in the mean time whilst thy Church is in captivity reveal to thē thy gratious purpose of restoring avenging them The true comfort in afflictions groweth out of a right understanding of the will and purpose of God therein that is Doctr. that he beareth a constant love to his Church however he punish them 1 This maketh them able to bear affliction Reas 1 1 Cor. 10.13 when we see that God maketh a way to escape as you heard from St. Paul And this is very cleer in this people for God made known to them his purpose concerning their bondage in Aegypt his vvill vvas thus
God is armed vvith povver to punish evill doers 4 That in all this God vvas glorified First the consideration of former mercies doth strengthen faith in present troubles Therefore do they commemorate the manner of Gods glorious comming from Teman and of Paran vvherein he had glory in the heavens and prayse upon the earth David did make good use of this point often For vvhen my distresse came he found comfort in this remembrance Novv thou art farre of and goest not forth with our armies Thou makest us turn back from the adversary Psal 44.9.10 and they which hate us spoile for themselves c. To comfort this affliction he beginneth that Psalme We have heard with our ears O God and our fathers have told us what thou didst in their days and in the times of old How thou didst drive out the heathen with thy hand and planted them c. So Psal 74 9. again complaining of great afflictions We see not our signes there is no more any Prophet this is his comfort God is my King of old working Salvation in the midst of the Earth Thou didst divide ehe Sea by thy power c. So again Psal 77.2 In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord my soar ran and ceased not and in the night my soul refused comfort Then I considered the days of old Verse 5. Psal 4.1 and the years of ancient times Thou hast enlarged me when I was distrest The reason why this doth minister comfort to the Church 1 Reas is because we have learned that our God is constant in his love whom he once loved he ever loveth for he is without variablenesse and shadow of changing as the Apostle and the Psalmist saith But thou art the same thy years shall have no end Ps 102.27.28 The children of the servants shall continue and their seed shall be established before thee The goodness of God endureth continually Psal 52.1 Reas 2. Because the commemoration of former benefits is a work of thanksgiving and prayse and that is the highest service that we can perform to God in his worship this is Sicut in coelo it is heaven upon earth For it is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord and to sing prayses to the Name of the most High Psal 92.1 Ps 50.23 It is good for God for He that offereth me praise glorifieth me and for that he made us It it good for us for with such Sacrifices God is well pleased there is our happiness for in his favor is light Reas 3 Again the thankfull commemoration of former mercies of God to us doth draw on new benefits for thanksgiving as it is Gods crop which he gathereth from us of the seed of his many favours so it is our seed which we cast into the ground of Gods kindness and it bringeth us an harvest of new blessings Every man thinks his seed well bestowed in good ground that yeeldeth an encrease and God hath said Them that honour me I will honour 1 Sam. 2.30 This point is of excellent use Vse to stir us up to a wise consideration of the constant love of God to such as fear serve him Benefits are soon forgotten therefore as David saith I called upon the Lord in my trouble so he stirreth up himself to thankfulness My soul praise thou the Lord and forget not all his benefits He found great comfort in this looking back When he undertook Goliah and Saul discouraged him as unable for it he looked back to the time past and remembred how God had delivered him from a Lion and a Bear and from that experience of Gods good help he resolved to attempt the uncircumcised Philistine And in his declining years when age grew upon him he comforted his drooping spirits thus Thou art my hope O Lord God Psa 71.5 even my trust from my youth Vpon thee have I been stayed from the womb thou art he that took me from my mothers bowels Cast me not off in the time of age forsake me not when my strength faileth There be three sorts of men that do even run themselves upon the edge and point of reprehension we cannot here forgive them a chiding 1 Those that tanquam prona pecora as groveling beasts do look onely upon the time incumbent mistaking St. Paul who saith I forget that which is behind Lyranus understandeth him legalia terrena Theophilact better Praeteritarum virtutum nihil reminiscor nec memoria repeto Phil. 3.13 sed ea omnia post tergum relinquo So we must forget all the good we have done as being short of perfection that we may mend our pace in the ways of Gods Commandements But the Apostle did look back to times past to see what Christ had done for us how he loved us when vve vvere his enemies how he washed us in his bloud how he forgave him his sins and how he obteined mercy of him because vvhat he did he did it ignorantly through unbelief 2 Those also are here reproved vvho look only to the time past and see therein nothing but Gods temporall favours but regard not the times present and consider not Gods spirituall graces Some that lived in the time of Popery do prayse those dais then vvas good house-keeping easie rents a constant fashion of apparrel that many Gentlemen had the lands of their grandfathers in possession and their cloaths on their backs then vvas no seeking of reversions or buying of offices no market of Church-livings Israel did so Remember the fish that we are in Aegypt for nought the Cucumbers and the Melons and the Leeks and the Onions num â—1 5 and the Garlick I deny not but when the people of this Land vvere fewer and the vanity of the pride of other Nations and many of their foul sins kept home and were not imported hither there were better times for the belly then these are But let us see the state of souls at that time they were then in the house of bondage under Pharaoh of Rome Beef and Mutton Wheat and Barly were cheap but the two Testaments the two breasts of the Church vvere like a Fountain sealed up and like a Garden enclosed But when Queen Elizabeth began to rest in this Hemisphere like the Sun to run her race she turned that night into day and maintained this light till she vvas taken up into heaven and she that vvas a shining star on earth and blest the Church of God here vvith benigne aspect and influence vvas made a glorious ever blessed Saint in heaven In the beginning of her raign God came from Teman The Holy one from mount Paran God revealed himself in the glorious Sun-shine of his Gospel of peace 3 They are also reproved vvho out of too much fore-casting fear of the times to come do quite forget both the former and the present mercies of God and astonish themselves vvith representations of hideous formes of ensuing
of the Jews shall be resetled there before the end of the world as it was after the return from the captivity of Babylon so that though there have been interruption of possession for so many years there shall be no impeachment of title but their right doth run on till the time appointed for the restoring of them Concerning the calling of the Jews and the restoring of them to the Church St. Paul hath prophecyed so plainly Rom. 11. as there can be no doubt thereof But for the restoring of them to the land of promise we have no good ground in holy Scripture 1 Because they have forfeited their estate therein which they held with condition of obedience When thou shalt beget children Deut 4.25 and childrens children in the land and shalt have remained long in the land and shall corrupt your selves and make a graven image or the likenes of any thing and shall do evill in the sight of the Lord thy God to provoke him to anger I call Heaven and Earth to witnesse against you this day that ye shall soon utterly perish from of the Land whereunto you goe over Jordan to possesse it ye shall not prolong your dayes upon it but shall utterly be destroyed And the Lord shall scatter you among the nations This is not without hope for as by sin they lost their inheritance there so by repentance it was recoverable When thou art in tribulation Verse 3. and all these things are come upon thee even in the latter days if thou turn to the Lord thy God and be obedient to his voyce He will not forsake thee nor destroy thee nor forget the Covenant with thy Fathers This proves their tenure conditional and their restitution to this land after their return froÌ„ captivity was also upon the same condition of obedience as appeareth in the words of Christ How often would I have gathered thy children together Moâ—h 23.37 38 39. even as an hen gathereth her chickens under her wings and ye would not Behold the house is left unto you desolate For I say unto you you shall not see me henceforth till ye shall say blessed is he that commeth in the name of the Lord. That place is plain that the habitation of Jerusalem that is Domus vestra and the temple of which our God said Domus mea now become by abuse Domus vestra shall be desolate till the second comming of Christ 2 The Prophesies do speak plain Thus saith the Lord of hoasts Jer. 19.11 even so will I break this people and this city as one breaketh a potters vessell that cannot be made whole again My conclusion therefore is that Though the argument drawn from the free gift of that land to the people measuring out the same to the tribes do serve to comfort their captivity in Babylon with hope of restitution yet now in these times and ever since the dispersion of the Jews for the cause of Christ this can minister no comfort at all to that nation to promise them their land again I come to matter of instruction 1 These words aime not at the generall scope of this Section in which is declared that The remembrance of Gods former mercies is a sweet consolation of present afflictions 2 Because he nameth the measuring out of the land of Canaan to the tribes the driving in sunder the nations the scattering of the mountains the bowing of the hils 1 Docemur We are taught The best form of thanksgiving is that which maketh perticular commemoration of the mercies of God to his Church or to any member of it 2 That the matter of thanksgiving is an acknowledgment of all benefits as received from the hand and free gift of God 3 From the phrase and manner of speech here used we are taught that figurative forms of speech are in use in holy Scripture In thanksgiving 1 Doct. let us be perticular in our commemoration we have Davids example for it Prayse the Lord Psal 103.2 O my soul and forget not all his benefits so he stirreth up himself to remember them to remember them all The two Psalmes 105.106 are full examples of this perticular thankfulnesse and they are good guides to such as would learn it This is necessary Reas 1 1 Because the more perticularly we recompt the favours of God to us the more we discerne Gods love to us as in the example of this people Deut. 4. Moses saith That God had done much for this people never so much for any read from Verse 32. ad finem 38. And all those favours grew out of one root Because he loved thy Fathers It is the Apostles note Ecce quantam charitatem behold how great love Sic Deus dilexit mundum God so loved the world 2 Seeing Gods temporall favours are not always bestowed in love but are made rods to whip the ungodly Reas 2 this is a certain rule that these favours of God are evermore tokens of his love to such as are thankfull for them and to none else 3 They that keep an inventorie of their receipts Reas 3 and are always reckoning and reporting the bounty of God to them shall finde that their receipts of favours have been more and greater then their issues of prayers For how many great blessings have we from God that we never prayed for so that God giveth us much more cause of thanksgiving and prayse of his name then of prayer and supplication 4 Thanksgiving is a work of justice as David Reas 4 it well becommeth the just to be thankfull and again give to the Lord the glory due to his name that is for every perticular benefit perticular prayse and thanks Thanksgiving doth put us in mind of our unablenesse to requite God Reas 5 we cannot make him amends for his favours done to us we shall finde that our wel-doing extendeth not to him we must therefore do good to all propter Dominum for the Lord. 6 Thanksgiving doth put us in mind of our unworthinesse Reas 6 as Mephibosheth to David What is thy servant that thou shouldst look upon such a de ad dog as I am Jacob Non sum dignus I am not worthy David himself What is man 2 Sam. 9.8 that thou art so mindfull of him 7 If we will forget God will remember us as to David Reas 7 I anointed thee King over Israel I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul I gave thee thy Masters house and thy Masters wives into his bosome Domus Israel Domus Judae Surely Vse we have not well taken out the lesson of thanksgiving to God for to shuffle it up with generall God be thanked for all comes if but coldly and is a poor rependam for all the benefits bestowed upon us St. Augustine upon those words of David And forget not all his benefits saith pro quibus bonis primo quia es cum non esses sedest lapis deinde quia vivis sed vivit pecus
but in the fields and amidst their military preparations when their tents were pitcht as it were in readinesse to give battail which is a Rhethoricall amplification of the greatnesse of their terrour My observation from this place in this The power of God shewed in the terror of the wicked doth prove that there is a God Doctr. and therefore no people on earth can be altogether ignorant of the God-head Why should the tents of Cushan be in affliction Why should the curtains of Midian tremble but that the fear of the Lord is upon them God daunteth and dismayeth them It was one of Gods promises to his people Ye are to pass through the coasts of your brethren the children of Esau which dwell in Sen and they shall be afraid of you Deu. 2.4 This deliverance of Israel from Egypt was a most memorable act of Gods power and made his name great in all the earth it followeth He i.e. Esau knoweth thy walkings through the great wilderness these forty years Vâ—r. 7. the Lord thy God hath been with thee thou hast lacked nothing Rahab that entertained the Spies whom Joshua sent to view the Land of Canaan saved them from the dangerous pursuite of the messengers of the King of Jericho and she said to them I know the Lord hath given you the Land and that your terror is fallen upon us Josh 2.9 and that all the Inhabitants of the Land melt because of it For we heard how the Lord dried up the waters of the Red Sea for you when he came out of Egypt and what you did to the two Kings of the Amorites on the other side Jordan Sihon and Og whom ye destroyed utterly And assoon as we heard these things our hearts did melt neither did there remain any more courage in any man because of you for the Lord your God he is God above in Heaven and in Earth beneath And this is the right way to make God known to the wicked and ungodly of the earth From thence came that prayer of David Put them in fear O Lord that they may know themselves to be but men Psa 9.20 The fear of God vvill smite them vvith such terrour that they shall not have hear to stirre against him So it is said that God is known by executing his judgments Reason Rom. 2.5 For as the Apostle saith the very naturall man hath the work of the law written in his heart The lavv vvritten in the heart of every man is a generall principle both of truth in the understanding vvhich affirmeth a divine nature and of avve in the affections to make him feared And this lavv is not idle but it vvorketh for there is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the vvork of the lavv And this is the true cause vvhy there is no peace at all to the vvicked man because he hath the lavv of nature vvorking vvithin him vvhich is against him and he hath not the lavv of grace to lay the storms vvhich the law of nature raiseth From hence it commeth that the wicked flyeth when no man pursueth as Solomon saith and he feareth where no fear is and Tully could say that all the poeticall fictions of the furies which disquieted men so much were but the pinchings and convulsions of mens guilty consciences who when they had done evill knew that they had broken the law written in their hearts and then feared the power which they saw above them armed with vengeance against evill doers St. Paul teacheth us the use of this point Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power Vse Rom. 31.3 do that which is good and thou shalt have praise of the same Where doing that which is good hath a double reward for it quiteth fear and it crowneth us with praise Me thinks that this consideration of the reward should stirre us up to say What shall we do that we may work the works of God John 6.28 29. Then will Christ tell us This is the work of God that ye believe on him whom he hath sent Faith in Christ taketh away this terrour of the Lord as the Aoostle saith we knowing the terrour of the Lord do perswade men and what is the thing to which the Apostles doe perswade but to reconciliation with God through Christ so that when we preach faith to you wee preach peace even as the Apostle saith peace to them that are neer peace to them are far off and the God of peace sendeth his Son the peace of his Church with the Gospell of peace Wee are taught here that the welfare of the Church is the grief and vexation of her enemies 2 Doct. Cushan and Midian are afflicted and in a cold fit when they hear what God doth for Israel So did the Aegyptians repine at the prosperity of Israel in Aegypt they said Behold the children of Israel are more and mightier then we Exod. 1.10 Come let us deal wisely with them lest they multiply c. You see vvhat the vvorld thinks of their plots against the Church of God they think they do vvisely vvhen they vex the Church this is that wisedome which the Apostle doth call carnall sensuall and divelish And these be the wifemen of which it is said ubi sapiens where is the wiseman and God hath made the wisedome of the world foolishnesse The reason of this opposition is given by our Saviour the world hateth you because you are not of the world Reas 1 and I have chosen you out of the world and for this they weep at the joy of the Church they joy at their weeping the Prophets complaint Truth faileth and he that departeth from evill maketh himself a prey Isa 59.15 So David But mine enemies they are lively they are strong Psal 38.19 and they that hate wrong fully are multiplyed They also that render evill for good are mine adversaries Verse 20. because I follow the thing that good is They began betimes for Cain slue his brother 1 Joh. 3.12 Ratio rationis and wherefore slue he him because his own works were evil his brothers righteous I can easily bring you to the head of these bitter waters so soon as Adam had fallen from grace when God kept his first assise upon earth and convented and arraigned the transgressours the man the woman and the serpent he revealed his eternall counsell of election and reprobation and put a difference between the seed and seed the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent Which is not onely to be understood of the unreconciliable enmity that is between Christ and the Devill For Christ was the seed of the woman quia solus ita semen mulieris non etiam vâ—ri semen sit But hee meant therein that enmity vvhich should be betvvixt the elect vvho are the seed of the vvoman by naturall generation and the holy seed by spirituall regeneration so called Semen sanctum and the seed of the
the first the cutting of a passage through the red sea to bring Jsrael out of Aegypt 3 He nameth the miracle of giving his people vvater out of the rock and loading the stream along vvith the hoast 2 The motive that induced him 1 Affir 2 Neg. 1 There vvas internus motor the invvard motive 1 Affirm his love to Israel and his care to preserve them vvhich is exprest in his riding on the chariots of salvation 2 There vvas externum motivum the outvvard motive and that vvas the oaths of the Tribes even his vvord vvhich he had put to Abraham for that land 2 Non iratus I am not angry 3 The Argument dravvn from hence 2 Neg. God hath shewed himself marvelous to Israel in exitu in their going forth then he divided a sea for them in via in their way then he made rivers to run in dry places after them in introitu in their entrance then he divided Jordan for them Therefore vve may trust in him and commit our selves to his care he will never leave us nor forsake us 1 Of the wonders shewed in the waters and therein 1 Of the division of Jordan This was a great wonder the story of it is recorded so for the day before it was done Joshua said to the people Sanctifie your selves Josh 3 5. for to morrow the Lord will do wonders among you yea God himself said to Joshua This day will I magnifie thee in the sight of all Israel that they may know that as I was with Moses so I will be with thee The wonder is set down thus No sooner did the feet of the Priests which bare the Ark dip in the brim of the water but the waters that came down from above stood and rose up upon an heap very far from the City Adam that is beside the Zaretan and those that came down from the Sea of the plain even the salt Sea failed and were cut off and the people passed over right against Jericho This was so great a wonder that we read When all the Kings of the Amorites which were on the side of Jordan westward Josh 5.1 and all the Kings of the Cananites which were by the Sea heard that the Lord had dried up the waters of Jordan from before the children of Israel untill we were passed over that their hearts melted neither was there spirit in them any more because of the children of Israel And the Psalmist doth celebrate the prayses of God for the same with poeticall streins of divine rapture he putteth both together as this our Psalmist doth both that of the Red Sea and this of Jordan The Sea saw that and fled i.e. it saw that when Israel came out of Egypt Psa 114 2 3. Judah was his Sanctuary and Israel his dominion Jordan was driven back What ailed thee O Sea that thou fleddest thou Iordan that thou wast turned back The things most remarkable in that wonderfull work of God were these 1 That the waters of so great a River as Iordan should recoil towards their head for water being a ponderous body doth naturally fall downward and seeketh still the lower place but God did make a wall of water to stop the decourse of the stream which was a work against nature for the other part of the stream ran on and left the land dry 2 The second wonder was the means that God used to accomplish this great work for the Priests that did bear the Arke must set the first foot into the River for God said Assoon as the soals of the feet of the Priests Josh 3 13. that bear the Arke of the Lord the Lord of all the Earth shall rest in the waters of Jordan the waters of Jordan shall be cut off c. Here was the Arke the Sacrament visible of Gods invisible presence and the Priests of the Lord bearing it they had the warrant of Gods Word to attempt this passage and they did not so much as wet their feet in that river no sooner did the soals of their feet touch the water but they fled from the Lord not from the Priests yet from the Priests as the Lords instruments not that any vertue or efficacie was in the feet of the Priests the vertue was in the Sacrament of Gods presence the Ark which they carried upon their shoulders neither was the vertue of that wonder in the Saerament efficiently and primarily but mediately and instrumentally It was the work of the Lord of all the Earth whose Sacrament was the Arke whose servants the Priests 3 A third wonder was the faith of the Priests that did bear the Arke who could believe a thing in nature so impossible in reason so improbable that they durst attempt it both in regard of their ovvn persons but especially of the Ark of God vvhich they did bear Moses vvanted faith in a lesse matter vvhen God bade him onely speak to the Rock he smote it tvvice once in vain to punish his unbelief once vvith successe to fulfill Gods promise Yet the Priests believed faithfully and obeyed vvvillingly and did not debate the matter anxiously or go on timerously 4 A fourth wonder was in the time Josh 3.15 for it was in the time of the harvest when Jordan overfloweth all the banks when there was a great deal more river then channel and the more water the more wonder 5 We may adde here to a fifth that when all the people were past over Josh 4.5 Joshua did command twelve men out of every Tribe a man to return back again into the midst of the Channel and they were not priests but lay-men and they were not to follow the Ark but to goe before it and from thence they must every man bring upon his shoulder a stone and those were set up in Gilgall for a monument of this passage for the memoriall thereof to their children 6 The last wonder was that when the twelve men returned from the midst of the channell of Jordan to the land which was for them to dwell in The Priests following them with the Arke of God the soals of their feet were no sooner lifted upon the dry land but The waters of Jordan returned to their place and flowed over all his banks as they did before Josh 4.18 But he names river in my Text so Further this mention of the Rivers is yet referred to a former story wherein God declared his power in the Rivers of the Egyptians and that not improperly because then the people were in the house of bondage and the first Plague which God put upon the Egyptians was this All the waters were turned into bloud Exod. 7 20. the fish died and the Waters stanke It may also renew the memory of tvvo more passages over Jordan 2 Kiâ— 2.8 one of Eliah who took his mantle and wrapped it together and smote the waters and they were divided hither and thither so that they two went over on dry
We must do God this right to honour him in his own works Reas 2 because if we be silent and do not our duty herein yet David saith Ps 145.10 All thy works shall praise thee O Lord. 3 We see the enemies of God do not spare to do all they can to rob God of his glory Reas 3 and as one saith Vigilat bostis tu dormis the enemy waketh and dost thou sleep Some gave out amongst the Egyptians that this passage over the sea on dry land was onely an advantage taken by Moses of a great ebbe occasioned by an extraordinary wind which comming of the land at the head of the bay made all the head of the bay dry land for many miles together but the text is against that for it sheweth how the waters were a wall unto them on both hands Again the waters were divided by an East vvind but that vvind blows not from that shore but rather it should have been a Northerly vvind others imputed this to Moses as done by magicall arts vvhich if it had been so no doubt but there vvere vvith Pharcah of his Magitians that could in the learning of the Egyptians have vvrought vvith Moses hand to hand And surely that is the reason that there is so often mention of this vvonder in Scripture to stirre up all faithfull people to vindicate the honour of God against the depravers thereof This admonisheth us both to the hearing and reading the story of the Bible Vse 2 that we may understand what the Lord hath done in former ages Gen. 18.19 God himself made Abraham so much of his counsail for that because he knew that Abraham would teach his children And for that the Sacrament of the Passeover was instituted Ex. 12.26 for that it might teach their children after them For this were the twelve stones set up in Gilgall Josh 4.21 to teach the story of the passage over Jordan and in the New Testament the Sacrament of the Lords Supper was instituted in remembrance of Christ till his coming so many as would learn matter enough to fill their mouthes with the praise of God let them open the two Testaments and read therein let them hear and study that holy story there is enough in it to make a man wise to salvation For this is your wisedom and understanding to know the Lord and to serve him and to honour him for For him that honoureth me I will honour saith our God 2 This reproveth those that swallow the gratious favours Vse 2 of God without any relish or tast of them neither consider the former mercies of God nor his present blessings that live like bruit beasts saying this day is like yesterday and to morrow will be like this day and more abundant and such sensuall and carnal sons of nature there are that reap benefits where they never sowed prayers and gather mercies where they never scattered supplications 3 This chideth the Euchites of our time Vse 3 that are all for prayer and they never give God rest from petitious but like the nine Leapers when they are healed they never return any thanks I have ever commended to you the use of prayer it is a speciall part of Gods worship and God loves both frequent and importunate petitions but if we part praise from it and do not joyn thanksgiving with supplication we have the profit but God hath not the honour of his own favours All our care must not be who will shew us any good we must also offer to him the sacrifices of righteousness as well as call upon the name of the Lord for quid recipiam we must have quod retribuam Seeing God must have the glory of his own great works Vse 4 we must take the pains to search after them not onely content our selves with such as offer themselves to our consideration but we must take delight to look them out so David The works of the Lord are great Psa 111.2 sought out of all them that have pleasure therein His work is honorable and glorious and his righteousness endureth for ever He hath made his wonderfull works to be remembred Which shews that our praising of the name of God is no meritorious act of free-will but an officious service due to him and it is a great injustice in you to deny it to him for David saith He is worthy to be praised This serveth for caution Vse 5 It is a glory to God vvhen vve thankfully remember vvith praise the vvonderfull vvorks that he hath done but it is no honour to him at all vvhen vve report of him more then he hath done and put miracles upon him that he never did The Church of Rome hath long had a busie hand in these false ascriptions the golden legend of vvorm-eaten authority amongst them and their Speculum exemplorum set forth by John Major a Jesuite in Anno 1607 and Cantipatranus a Domican Friers full Volume of miracles set forth Anno 1605. tell fine tails ridiculous even to children yet the implicite faith of Papists doth svvallovv all for canonicall vvherein God is dishonored vvith humane inventions and truth it self vvith lies their legends of their Ladies of Loretto and Hales are of the same coynage and it is the policy of that Strumpet of Rome to keep this mint alvvays at vvork to amaze the ignorant vvith strange vvonders But I say unto them in the vvords of Iob Job 13.7 Will ye speak wickedly for God and talk deceitfully for him Gregory their own Pope upon these words saith Veritas fulciri non quaerit auxilio falsitatis he saith that it is the trick of hereticks It is I am sure the practise of Papists but thou man of God fly these things truth is not honored but vvith truth 2 We must search out and confesse the true cause of all the good that God doth to us Doct. 2 It is Aristotles Doctrine in his Elenches that Elene 1.4 id quod non est causa ut causam ponere to make that a cause which is not is a capatious and sophistical manner of reasoning So the Serpent over-reach't Eve in Paradise for when God had given our Parents there a precise Law Thou shalt not eat of the tree in the midst of the Garden The true cause why God put that restraint upon them vvas to try their obedience to him in a small and easie precept forbidding them a thing in it self good to shew his reservation of his own power to awe them So saith Moâ— 35.10 Saint Gregory But Satan tempting the woman to break this Law and to cast off this light burthen and easie yoak of God suggested another cause Gen. 3.5 God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof then your eys shall be opened and ye shall be as Gods knowing good and evil as if God had dealt too sparingly with man in the communication of his own similitude to him and had set him that bar
to keep him from attaining the perfection thereof So Eve deceived her self for when God gave her Issachar her fift son Ge 30.18 she said God hath given me my hire because I have given my maiden to my husband Wherein she deceived her self for by adding one wife more to the number of Jacobs Wives she did violate the state of matrimony vvhich in the institution vvas in these words I will make him a help meet for him not helps and so Adam understood it Gen. 2.24 for he said A man shall forsake Father and Mother and cleave to his wife not wives and they shall be one flesh Which lest the friends of Poligamie might understand of many wives Christ citing this place addeth by vvay of interpretation And they twaine shall be one flesh Mat. 10.8 So Saint Paul understood it Mat. 19.5 1 Cor. 6.16 two shall be one flesh So the Prophet Malachy understood it for charging his people with this sin of breach of Wedlock he speaketh as to one man Thou hast dealt treacherously against the Wife of thy youth Mal. 2.14 yet is she thy companion and the wife of thy Covenant And did not he make one yet had he the excellency of spirit and wherefore one that he might seek a godly seed So that this giving of her maid to her husband was no good service done to God that she should expect wages it was rather a trespass of vvedlock hovvsoever it pleased God to dispense vvith it in the fathers of former ages but our rule is quomodo fuit in principio hovv vvas it at the beginning for vve knovv that he vvho had abundance of spirit could have created many Wives for Adam if he had thought it fit and then for the encrease of the seed of man and the speedy peopling of the vvorld there vvas more need of Poligamy then vvas ever since I urge the fallacy here Non causa pro causa So Micah vvhen he had made him gods and gotten a Priest into his house flattered himself Now I know that the Lord will do me good Judg. 17.13 seeing I have a Levite to my Priest This vvas Idolatry one of the greatest provocations of God to anger that could be yet he vvould flatter himself that this vvould turn a cause of his vvel-doing These three examples do sufficiently open our sense to perceive the cunning of this fallacious suggestion in ourselves The Doctrine of merit vvhich the Church of Rome teacheth is a naturall Doctrine as God said to Cain If thou do well shalt thou not be accepted it is true that God accepteth even vveak services from us but as vve say it is more of his courtesie then our deserving if vve call it vvages that he giveth us in revvard vve over-ween our ovvn vvorks And this is a special sin vvhervvith God doth punish the sins of the ungodly in the Church of Rome the seat of Antichrist as the Apostle plainly describeth it God shall send them strong delusions 2 Thes 2.11 that they should believe a lye They believe that to be the cause of their salvation that is not The reason of this Doctrine Reason Why vve must fasten upon the true cause of Gods favour to us is Because faith not rightly grounded is not faith but presumption True faith can find no rest but in the assurance of Gods goodnesse to us God doth many favours to the vvicked here in this life vvhich he doth not for any love that he beareth to them but for the use that he maketh of them to vvhip and scourge others by them as for example God to Ezekiel Son of man Eze 29.18 Nebuchadnezzar King of Babel caused his Army to serve a great service against Tyrus every head was made bald and every shoulder was peeled yet had he no wages nor his Army for Tyrus for the service that he had served against it Therefore thus saith the Lord God Behold I will give the land of Egypt unto Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon and he shall take her multitude and take her spoile and take her prey and it shall be the wages for his Army Because they wrought for me 1â— saith the Lord God Here is the King of Babylon doubly rewarded with successe and victory against Tyrus with the possession and spoile of Egypt not for any favour that God did bear to the King of Babylon but to punish the iniquity of Tyrus and of Egypt Let not Nebuchaduezzar boast of the favor of the Lord that he set him a work and paid him his wages the sins of these ungodly people not the goodness of God to the King of Babylon did all this We see daily that the vvicked do compasse about the righteous the poor Church of God bleedeth in many places of Christendome the enemy proscribeth imprisoneth beheadeth hangeth cutteth out the tongues smiteth off the hands of Gods faithfull Servants and deviseth nevv tortures to make death more terrible and more painfull This svvelleth the enemies of God vvith pride and they impute all this successe against the Church of God to the love of God tovvard them and the justice of their cause is mainteined by the Jesuits abetments and acclamations But thus did Babylon prevail against Gods ovvn Israel for a time the distressed part of the Church vvhich groaneth under these burthens doth not hang the head for this They knovv that their sins have deserved these rods they have had the light and have not vvalked vvorthy of that light therefore is this evill come upon them yet let them take courage and say Why beastest thou thy self in mischief thou mighty man Psal 52. â— the goodnesse of God endureth continually there is our Selah the rest of our musique this is the joy of the Churches harvest And great is the profit of this point Vse 1 1 When vve have found the true cause of Gods favours to be in himself and not in us we may assure our selves that his mercy endureth for ever for his gifts and calling are without repentance 2 A greater comfort then this is that godlinesse hath not onely the promise of this life but of the life to come also 3 We may rise in comfort a degree higher to assure our selves that this favour of God will give us our fruit unto holinesse for these go together Gods love to us and our comfort and hope in him for this fruit Rom. 6.22 as the Apostle joyneth them Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God even our Father 2 Thes 2.16.17 which hath loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good help through grace Comfort your hearts and stablish you in every good word and work This blessing of the Apostle doth shew that when the love of God is setled there followeth grace and expressure of his favour that bringeth forth inward consolation of the spirit present good hope for the time to come an establishing of the heart in holinesse This I name as the
2 It serveth for the good of our Brethren Hâ—b 5.19 for it is the end of all strife I wil not enter into the lists with the Anabaptists to confute their weak arguments against the lawfulnesse of an oath you hear it warranted by reason and examples grow thick in the book of God to justifie it 2 Quaere Whether every oath be to be kept To that we answer in a word every lawfull oath is to be kept so is every lawfull promise If a man vow a vow unto the Lord nuâ— 30.3 or swear an Oath to bind his soul with a bond he shall not prophane his word he shall do according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth Every oath and every promise engageth our faith that is our fidelity and so it is a bond upon our souls and though it it be to our hinderance we must not break Remember how the breach of the oath of the Lord made by Joshua and the elders of the people to the Gibeonites smarted in the house of Saul Zedekiah had engaged himself by oath to Nebuchadnezzar an heathen King and brake and rebelled against him indeed it was before the doctrine of Rome was afoot Fides non est servanda cum haereticis no faith to be kept with hereticks But here the Prophet Shall he escape that doth such things Or shall he break the Covenant and be delivered Eze. 17 15 And after saith God As I live surely mine oath that he hath despised Ver. 19. and my Covevenant that he hath broken even it will I recompence upon his own head For he said He despised the Oath by breaking the Covenant when lo Vâ—rse 18. he had given his hand A lawfull promise and oath hath three notes to justifie it Truth Righteousness Judgement Jer. 4.2 1 In truth the heart joyning with the Author 2 In righteousnesse seeking Deo proximo servire serve God and our neighbour 3 In judgement it is deliberation and advice 4 Doctr. God declareth his power sometimes openly to the comfort of his Church and the terrour of the enemies thereof gathered from these words Thy Bow was quite naked for as before there was abscontio roboris the hiding of his strength when God revealed himself to his Church onely upon Mount Sinai so there was now revelatio roboris a revealing of his strength when he had made his Bow quite naked 1 For the setling of his Church in obedience to him Reas 2 so saith the Psalmist after commemoration of the wonder All works of God done for Israel That they might keep his statutes Ps 1â—5 45 and observe his Laws 2 For the glory of his name Reas 2 that he might fill the mouthes of the faithfull with his praise and this effect it wrought with Israel a while for when God had done great things for them Then they sang his praise Ps 106.12 3 For the credit of his Word Reas 3 that they might settle their faith in his promises so it is there said Then they believed his Word 4 To convince the ingratitude of men Reas 4 if they notwithstanding the manifestation of his power to them do start aside and rebell against him so doth the Psalmist taxe them where repeating the manifest and naked bow of God revealed to them it is the burthen of his song Yet they sinned more against God by provoking the most High in the wildernesse he repeateth more of his great works Psa 78 17. and addeth For all this they sinned still and believed not for all his wondrous works he repeateth more and saith Yet they tempted and provoked the most high God and kept not his testimony c. 5 To instruct posterity that should succeed them Reas 5 That the generation to come might know them even the children which should be borne Psa 78 6. who should arise and declare them to their children That they might set their hope in God and not forget the works of God but keep his Commandements This is the way to keep the bow of God still naked that all the ends of the world may see the salvation of our God God layeth his Bow quite naked in the sight of the world that the Egyptians may see that God fighteth for Israel against them and may fly from them that the world may see that all their consultations against the Church shall faile of successe and it will turn to bitternesse in the latter end You may easily discerne how all this is directed to our instruction Vse To awake us to a consideration of the revealed power of God for if God shew it it is that we may see it it was the cause of Israels so many rebellions For whereas God did so great things for them Ps 78.7 That they might not forget his works They forgate his works and his wonders that he hath shewed them and that made them children of disobedience To direct to the right use of this mercy of God which is as you have heard 1 In respect of God to give him due praise that he may have the honour due to his name 2 In respect of our selves to confirme our hope and faith in his word and in the arm of his strength believing that bow and the whole quiver of arrows belonging to it is on our side and we need not fear what man or Devil can do against us 3 In respect of this life that we passe the time of our dwelling here in fear living in the obedience and service of this Almighty Maker and preserver of men by keeping his statutes c. 4 In respect of posterity that we leave them our good example and the light of our knowledge to instruct them in the wonderfull works of God that generation may praise him to generation and declare his power 5 In respect of our enemies that they may see and know whom we have trusted and may know that our help is in the name of the Lord who hath made heaven and earth so that we shall not need to fear their bow nor their arrows upon the string ready to goe off against us there is a Bow on our side and an arme to weild it Verse 10. The mountains saw thee and they trembled the overflowing of the water passed by the deep uttered his voice and lift up his hands on high THese words have reference to the former wonders of Gods works in which the Holy Ghost Poetically and Rhethorically doth give life to things in-animate to expresse their yielding and giving vvay to Gods extraordinary operations some understanding that For such impression did the power of God make in the everlasting mountains as he calleth them before ver 6. and in the perpetuall hils that they gave way to his people as if they had seen God himself and that the feare of God had been upon them to make them tremble The like Poeticall streine we have in the Psalmist What ailed ye mountains that ye skipped like
the west Country This is the help in trouble ready to be found let us awake this help with the loud voice of our importunate supplications saying O Lord help now O Lord now give prosperity Let us give him no rest till he hath bowed the heavens and is come downe to visit the distresses of his faithfull servants Our Saviour comforteth us well saying My Father worketh as yet and I work and if our labour which is opus in Domino a work in the Lord be not in vaine his labour which is opus Domini a work of the Lord will prosper in his hand He is as strong in the river of Rhine as in he was Jordan and his Church is as dear to Him now as ever it was and he is as diligent in making inquisition for bloud and as attentive to the complaints of the oppressed as he was Verse 11. The Sun and Moon stood still in their habitation at the light of thine arrows they went at the shining of thy glittring spear 12 Thou didst march through the Land in indignation thou didst thresh the heathen in anger 13 Thou wentest forth for the salvation of thy people even for salvation with thine Anointed thou woundest the head out of the house of the wicked by discovering the foundation to the neck Selah 14 Thou doest strike through with his staves the head of his villages they that came out as a whirlwind to scatter me their rejoycing was as to devoure the poor secretly I Read all this together because I conceive it hath reference to one story and that is recorded in the book of Joshua For after Israel came into the land of Canaan and had destroyed Jericho and the City of Ai the Gibeonites terrified with this news craftily pretending themselves to be a people dwelling in a far Country and for the name of Gods sake whose wonderfull works they had heard of they desired to make a league with Joshua Joshua and the Elders were deceived and confirmed a league with them by oath But after the fraud was detected Israel made the Gebeonites serve them but they were under the protection of Israel This league of Gibeon with Joshua did much trouble the neighbouring Kings for they feared Gibeon being a strong City therefore five Kings do make war against Gibeon to smite it The Gibeonites send to Joshua for succours Ioshua according to his oath of confederacy with them came from Gilgal he and all the people of war with him Ver. 7. and all the mighty men of valour he gave the assault to the five Kings and their Army he discomfited them and made them fly Then the Lord rained stones from Heaven upon them Ver. 11. there were more that died with the hailstones then they whom the children of Israel slow with the Sword Then spake Joshua to the Lord Ver. 12. in the day when the Lord delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel Sun stand thou still upon Gibeon and thou Moon in the valley of Ajalon And the Sun stood stil Ver. 13. and the Moon stayed untill the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies Is not this written in the book of Jasher so the Sun stood still in the midst of Heaven and hasted not to goe down about a whole day And there was no day like that before it nor after it Verse 14. that the Lord hearkned to the voice of a man for the Lord fought for Israel This is the wonder that Habakkuk our Prophet doth here commemorate a miracle yet fresh in the memory of the Church yet by computation of times from the time of Joshua when this was done to this time of Habakkuk when this is remembred were past more then 700 years Habakkuk doth well to remember this for of all the miracles that God wrought for Israel this was the greatest here Heaven fought against Earth the Sun and Moon stood still to give light to the Battail and the faithfull witnesses of Heaven so the Sun is called staid his course to bear witnesse how God fought for Israel We may truly say to Israel Tibi militat aether Observe the words of the Prophet how well they follow the history in Joshua Habukkuk saith The Sun and Moon stood still in their habitation they stood in their severall sphear wherein they move for these be their habitations and note that they both stood stil Sun and Moon For the Moon borrowing all her light of the Sun had she kept her course while the Sun had stood still the length of a day there had been great irregularity of motion in these Caelestiall bodies from the constant order set them by their Maker in their Creation Observe also that he doth not say the earth stood still but the Sun it had been as some said the Earth and the Moon stood still as the Sun and the Moon and our understanding would have as soon apprehended if that new Astronomy had had been then revealed which some of our Empericks and Journeymen in that excellent Science of Astronomy have of late revived in their Almanacks telling the world that they have long been in a wrong belief that the Sun moveth and the earth is fixed for they believe that the Sun is fixed and the earth is moved And to evade the cleer evidence of this text which tels it for a wonder that the Sun stood still they say this is spoken to our capacity because to our sight it so seemeth that the Sun moveth and the earth is fixed but indeed it is otherwise Our capacity I think hath much wrong done in this for if the Word of God had told us that God had created the Sun to stand still and the Earth to move it is more likely that we should have taken his Word for it and have believed it as it is as well as now we believe it as it appears We are neither incapable nor incredulous but that many against the letter of Scripture have written and made more believe that the Sun stands still from the creation The common defence of this opinion grounded upon Gods application of himself to humane capacity doth make figures in story where is no need and maketh David a man of small judgment in the knowledge of the Sun who saith that God hath set a tabernacle for the Sun in the Heavens called here an habitation Which is a Bridegroome comming out of his chamber and rejoyceth as a strong man to run his race His going forth is from the end of the Heaven and his circuit unto the ends of it Doth not this Prophet speak of the glory of God declared in the motion not the station of the Sun or in the glory of God shewed in our opinion of the Suns motion not in the truth thereof Greater secrets then this are revealed in holy Scripture which are against the vouchie of the outward sense or the rationall discourse of man and no doubt but if the Sun had stood
in their deportation and return 3 Under the title of Hindes feet I contein the mercy of expedition whereby they are delivered from their captivity in Babylon 4 Under the title of walking upon high places the mercy of restitution to their own land and of constitution and establishing of them in their land The just live and are supported by faith apprehending these full mercies 1 Of Salvation The Church of God hath need of salvation and therefore great cause to rejoyce in it 1 In respect of her spirituall enemies for your adversary the Devill goeth about like a roaring lyon seeking to devour saith the Apostle These spirituall enemies do assault the Church 1 Out of their own malignity and envy to man and to this purpose the powers and principalities of darknesse do go always armed both with temptations to corrupt them and with fiery darts of provocations to destroy them for this it is that Satan goeth and cometh to survey the earth and to pry and search where he may fasten any hold where he may gripe so St. Bernard saith Hostes indefessi nos assiduè oppugnant modò apertè modò fraudulentèr he gives this reason Invidet humano generi quia praevidet horum Deum futurum 2 By way of commission for God doth employ Devils in the Church amongst his holy ones both for probation of their faith for exercise of their patience for preservation of them in humility for punishment of their sin for sweetning to them the hopes and quickening their desires of a better life and for the polishing and burnishing of their example that others that be lookers on may know before hand that this life to a just man is militia a warfare and they that will joyn with the Church must know before they put their hand to the plough what hazards they must run lest they look back and make their sin more then it was by apostasie departing away from the living God It is cleer in Jobs example that Satan had commission from God himself to try the faith and love and patience and humility of Job and to make him an example And as clear it is which the Psalmist saith of Isratl when they started aside from God Psal 78.21 that a fire was kindled in Jacob and anger came up against Israel and in these executions God doth uphold the ministery and service of evill angels as he did against his enemies the Egyptians of whom it is so said He cast upon them the fiercenesse of his wrath Verse 49. anger and indignation and trouble by sending evill angels amongst them St. Paul confesseth that least he should be too much exalted with that Metaphysicall rapture above measure 2 Cor. 12.7 There was given me a thorn in the flesh the messenger of Satan to buffet me lest I should be exalted above measure Thus in respect of spirituall enemies without us we have need of a salvation the rather because our own corruptions within us are false to us and ready to joyn with Satan against us 2 In respect of humane opposition for the regiment and Kingdom of Christ is thus assigned to him Be thou ruler in the midst of thine enemies David doth well expresse this For they have consulted together with one consent Psal 83.5 they are confederate against thee The tabernacles of Edom and the Ishmaelites of Moab and the Hagarenes Gebal and Ammon and Amalek the Philistines with the inhabitants of Tyre Ashur also is joyned with them they have hâ—lpen the children of Lot Here is no mention of this sweeping broom of Babylon that comes in the Reer of this march and carrieth them clean away Christendom hath for many years suffered from the Turke whose invasions encroach upon the bounds thereof and gain ground of it daily And even within our selves the Pope and all the friends of his Hierarchie do hate and persecute so much of the true Protestant Church as they either can or dare attempt and the earth hath nothing to shew more bloudy and cruell then the Spanish Inquisition nothing more cunning and dangerously plotting then the society of Jesuits so that in respect of humane opposition there is great need of a salvation 3 In respect of the punishments deserved for sin for what Nation hath so kept in their sins to themselves that wee have not found means to impart them even into the Church Solomon could not take a wife out of Egypt but his wisdom proved too weak a fence against the temptation to Idolatry Nehemiah presseth this example Did not Solomon King of Israel sin by these things yet among many Nations was there not a King like him who was beloved of his God and God made him King over all Israel nevertheless even him did out-landish women cause to sin The children of Israel could not eat of the fat and fruits of the land of Goshen to relieve their famine but they were mingled with the Egyptians and learned their works and worshipped their gods Therefore in regard of their many and great sins they needed salvation These sins endangered their heavenly hopes for the wages thereof is death This Doctrine may turn to great profit to us 1 If wee apply our selves to the means Vsâ— by which wee may apprehend this salvation For this generall apprehension of Gods mercy in Christ which the most part of common professors trust to will never justifie any man in the sight of God except 1 He be by the law of God brought to a sight and sense to a confession and acknowledgment of all his sins 2 To a true sorrow and mortification of the flesh for them 3 To a serious deprecation of the wrath of God due to them in the justice of God 4 To amendment of life ruled and governed by the holy Word of God rightly understood 5 To a faithfull application of the sufficient merits of Jesus Christ to our selves which faith doth so root and ground us in Christ that wee become one with him so that wee may lay the burthen of our sins upon him and put the robe of his holy righteousness upon us For so doing we may rejoyce in our salvation as his free gift to us and as our full acquitall and discharge from all our sins before God So that the ignorant person that liveth in darkness not knowing the mystery of his salvation And the blinded Papist who trusteth either to the power of his own free will or to the merit of his own works or righteousnesse or to the mediation of Saints and Angels or the mother of our Lord to propitiate on his behalf or that trusteth to the Popes indulgence and pardon of all his sins Or that believeth to have salvation by the dispensation of the Church treasure the supererogate works of over-doers that have done more then the Law of God hath required of them Also the unconscionably prophane that go on in their sins without check of the inward man their hearts never smiting them for that
they mis-do all these are excluded from this salvation Jesus Christ died for none such and goeth not forth with his anointed amongst them These shall have no salvation hereafter they can have no true joy here and therefore when the evill day commeth they are shaken with the terrour of the Lord and they finde no balm in Gilead their sins do appear to them greater then the mercies of God Let those who have the comfortable assurance of their salvation rejoyce therein in the Lord Vse 2 and take heed of presumption of Gods mercy which is one of the worms of faith let them take heed of receiving the grace of God in vain of recidivation and relapse into their former sins of murmuring at the Lords chastisements of quenching the spirit of crucifying again the Lord for we see that it is possible Heb. 6.4 5 for those who were once enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and were made pertakers of the holy Ghost have tasted the good Word of God and the power of the world to come to fall away which putteth Jesus Christ to open shame Therefore the joy of our salvation must not be rooted and grounded in our selves but in the Lord that the whole honour of it may redound to him as the whole benefit and profit of it doth redound to us Our salvation is onely of God Doct. 2 It is Jonahs faith Salvation is of the Lord. It is Davids faith Salvation belongeth onely unto the Lord. Jonah 2.9 Psal 3.8 Ps 43.11 God taketh it upon himself I even I am the Lord and beside me there is no Saviour He giveth it as a reason of his first Commandement Ose 13.4 Thou shalt know no God but me for there is no Saviour beside me I may call heaven and earth to record this day to avouch the truth of this for who is it that supporteth the great frame of the whole universe who is he that knoweth the numbers of the stars and calleth them all by their names that sendeth forth the Sun as a bridegroom out of his chamber and as a mighty gyant to run his race who is it that maketh and keepeth the covenant between day and night to take their turns for the use of man who is it that clotheth the lilies that feedeth the birds of the ayr that can neither labour nor spin that preserveth man and beast but the Lord Psal 36.6 All these look up unto thee and thou givest them their meat in due season It is glory and happinesse enough for the Angels in glory to behold the face of God always Hail and snow stormy winds and vapours the dragons and all deeps mountains and all hils fruitfull trees and all cedars beasts and cattel creeping things and feathered fouls Kings of the earth and all people yong men maids old men and children all Queristers in this great temple of the world and this is the matter and argument of their song salus Jehovae salvation is of God for their being is derived from him their supportation is borrowed of him their operation is guided by him their whole addresse is directed to him The Angels that kept not their first estate of glory man that kept not his first estate of innocency could not lose could not forfeit their existence and being their happy being they might they did forfeit he preserveth the Devils and the reprobate and he maketh them immortall that he may be glorious in his just punishment of them But especially he is the salvation of his elect so St. Paul We trust in the living God 1 Tim. 4 10 who is the Saviour of all men especially of those that believe He is the saviour of all men by universall providence but of them that believe by singular and especiall grace And that is the salvation here meant our preservation in this life our sanctification for a better life our glorification in heaven is of the Lord. Because the Kingdome is his and none hath power to make us Kings but he Reas 1 whose Kingdome ruleth over all and salvation maketh us Kings Because salvation is a work of power and none can give it but he who is able to put all our enemies under our feet and none but God can do this Because salvation is a work of glory of glory to him that worketh it of glory to them upon whom it is wrought for he maketh his Saints glorious by deliverance and the saved do serve him and glorifie him in earth and in heaven These three we ascribe to him in our Lords prayer for thine is the Kingdome the power and glory Salvation is a work of mercy and David saith Apud te est misericordia with thee is mercy and God hath committed the dispensation of mercy to no creature it is one of the glories of his Crown and prerogatives of his supream Diadem onely his son who thought it no robbery to be equall with him hath the dispensation of his mercies This teacheth us where to seek and finde salvation Vse 2 God saith seek ye my face We are wise enough in our quest of temporall either protection or preferment to observe which is the way to the fountain of honour and to direct our observance that way let us not be wise for this life and fools for the life to come With men on earth there be some small brooks of a present life but apud te est fons vitae with thee is the well of life and the brooks and cisterns that we seek after do derive themselves from this fountain These brooks doe often change their channell for men have their breath in their nostrils they die and their thoughts perish but God is the same and his years do not fail And our Saviours method that he teacheth his Disciples is seek ye first the Kingdome of God and the righteousnesse thereof and then all these things shall be cast upon you This also serveth to stir us up to a godly life Vse 2 for that hath the promises of this life and of the life to come David putteth us in good comfort Psal 84.11 For the Lord God is a Son and shield the Lord will give grace and glory no good thing will he with-hold from them that live uprightly and the Apostle saith For the eyes of the Lord are open to the righteous 1 Pet. 3.12 and his ears are open to their prayers but the face of the Lord is against them that do evill And who is he that wil harm you Verse 13. if you be followers of that which is good Let the wicked take root in the earth and spread his boughs never so far God hath not denyed him this yet his face is against him and though the Sun shineth on him for a time and the early and later rain do make him grow and flourish yet our Saviour will tell us that Every plant which his heavenly father hath not planted shall be rooted out This
serveth to reprove the doctrine and faith of the Church of Rome Vse 3 who teach that God hath committed to his Son the dispensation of Justice but to his sons mother the dispensation of mercy which opinion was no sooner afoot but they turned Domine into Domina Lord into Lady and so in the Church of Rome the Virgin Mary hath more Devotoes vowed to her service then Christ hath she hath more temples dedicated to her honour then Christ and far more miracles ascribed to her then to Christ Yea they shame not in print to tell the world that she hath saved some from hell whom her son had condemned thether and she hath released many from hell whom her son had already sent thither I onely alleage against them the plain words of our Saviour Thou hast given him power over all flesh Joh. 17.2 that he should give eternall life to as many as thou hast gived him Therefore beware of the leaven of the Scribes and Pharisees the poisonous doctrines of the Church of Rome which take salvation out of the hands of God and ascribe the donation thereof to creatures This was wont to be called Idolatry in the sermons and writings of the learned to invocate the Virgin Mary as they do in their Rosaries and Letanies of the holy Virgin Mother of mercy Gate of heaven our salvation she that hath bruised the head of the serpent They make their vulgar Latine Bible say so Ipsa conteret caput tuum There be two Psalters both printed in Paris in French and set forth with the approbation of the Sorbonne one called St. Bonaventures Psalter in which wheresoever God is named for Dominus they have put Domina printed in Anno 1601. The other Psalter is digested into fifteen demands printed the same year with the same approbation wherein the Virgin Mary is called the first cause of our salvation the finder out of grace and putteth her before Christ even in gloria Gloria Virgini Maria Jesu Christo What think you doth that Church wish the salvation of of any man in good earnest that swerveth us from the God of our salvation and directeth us to seek it from a creature Yet this is the religion which is now grown in fashion with many in these doubtfull and giddy times which as it robs God of one of his highest prerogatives and doth divest him of his power of salvation so the professours thereof will finde it a thief in their things temporall for in ordine ad Deum the Church will engrosse all the Apostles of that Church wil not be content till all be laid at their feet Let me commend to you the Kings Majesties confession of his faith published in Latine and in English directed to all Christian Kings in this perticular his words are For the blessed Virgine Mary I yield her that which the Angel Gabriel pronounced of her that she is blessed amongst women and that which she prophecyed of her self in her Canticum that all generations shall call her blessed I remember her as the mother of Christ whom of our Saviour took his flesh and so the mother of God since the divinity and humanity of Christ are inseparable and I freely confesse that she is in glory both above Angels and men her own Son that is both God and man onely excepted But I dare not mock her and blaspheme God calling her not onely Diva but Dea praying her to commend and controul her Son who is her God and her Saviour You see what opinion his Majesty hath of the Doctrine and practise of Rome in this point he doth call it mocking of her and blaspheming of God to ascribe salvation to her or to seek it from her I hope you have lived too long in the light of the Gospel to be taken with any of these baits and to be befooled with any of these inchantments of palpable heresie I hope if an Angel from heaven should come and teach you this doctrine to seek your salvation any where else but from God you would answer him 〈…〉 as Nehemiah did answer Sanballat There is nothing as thou saiest but thou feignest it out of thine own heart Beloved let all that love Jesus Christ and his holy truth joyn as one man against popery and seek to the light of the Word whil'st it shineth upon us that we may not lose the way of salvation which that Word revealeth Popery robbeth the Church of this Word and putteth this candle under a bushell it sendeth us the wrong way for salvation and like the blind Aramites it leadeth them into the midst of Samaria even putteth them into the hands of their enemies God did much for this land when he gave us this light let not our unthankfulnesse to him or our peevish waiwardnesse amongst our selves or our evill and unworthy conversations forfeit this light or remove our candlestick So long as we know where our salvation is setled and who hath it in keeping for us so long as we look that way and direct all our obedience and worship our thanks and prayse that way we are safe for Blessed is the people that be in such a case blessed is the people whose God is the Lord for ipse est qui dat salutem 2 Ground of their hope The Lord is my strength This comfort supporterh in afflictions and this is that which is our ability of which the Apostle saith But God is faithfull 1 Cor. 10.13 who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able for what are we able surely of our selves to nothing that is good for us the name of man ever since the fall of man hath been a name of impotency and weaknesse Cease ye from man Isai 2.22 whose breath is in his nostrils for wherein is he to be accompted of Christ hath told us sine me nihil potestis facere For by strength shall no man prevail 1 Sam. 2.9 Psal 71.10 I will go in the strength of the Lord God and I will maeke mention of thy righteousesse even of thine onely The words of my text are Doctrinall Doct. The Lord is the strength of his Church Consider this which way you will 1 In eo quod sumus in that we are In him we live 2 In eo quod facimus in that we do the good that we do he doth it himself O Lord thou hast wrought all our works in us Isai 26.12 The skill that we have in our severall professions and trades and mysteries it is his spirit that giveth it the strength that we have to labour in our severall callings is his strength and that blessing was included in the curse of man Gen. 3.19 Thou shalt eat thy bread in the sweat of thy face that God would give man strength to earn his bread and his labour should be his physick it should make him breath out evill and noxious vapours in his body which might offend health in sweat And if