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A07544
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Abrahams sute for Sodome a sermon preached at Pauls Cr[o]sse the 25 of August, 1611 / by Robert Milles, preacher of Gedny fenne, and Sutton St. Edmonds in Holland Lincolneshire.
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Milles, Robert.
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1612
(1612)
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STC 17924.5; ESTC S4786
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25,909
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110
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Citizens this one sin want of compassion and brotherly affection hath possessed head and taile better and worse and all conditions and callings Esa 9.15 O where shall wee find a lamenter of sinne a reprehender of sinne a mourner for iudgement executed for sinne a reclaimer of sinners or with Abraham a pitifull petitioner to God for sinfull Sodome The indulgent parent ioyeth in his lewde children and applaudeth his prodigall Absalon as olde Eli did his sonnes and thinketh all well without any contradiction or correction of their sins The pampering mother glorieth in her proude darling delighteth in her pride and maintaineth her in all lasciuiousnes as Herodias did her dauncing tripped Salomon and findeth no fault in sinning Looke further among all sortes of men and see how remisse euery man is in this point to reclaime his neighbour to reprehend his brother or to rebuke a sinfull person Yea this sinne of flattering men in sinne is now adaies gone so far and hath infected so many as it is sometimes found in the house of Leui and in the Schooles of the Prophets and against this God crieth out in high discontent Ierem. 8.11 From the Prophet to the Priest euery man dealeth falsely for they haue healed the hurt of the daughter of my people with sweet words saying Shalom Shalom Veen Shalom Peace peace and there is no peace And surely blessed beloued as it is odious in the sight of God so it is hatefull to euery good man when a mealy mouth Minister shall superficially and nicely glaunce ouer sinne as men walke onice When Ministers who ought to bee Boanerges the sonnes of thunder as Christ called Iames and Iohn Marke 3.17 when they I say shall either feare with smoothing Zidkijah to speake the truth 1. King 22.24 or forbeare with white-liuered Amaziah to rip vp the bowell of sinne Am. 7.13 I make no better of such temporizers then of forsworne and vnconscionable Country Church-wardens who praesent Omnia benè when all the parish is out of square Iob vtterly misliked this Iob 32.22 I may not giue titles to man least my maker take me away suddenly And the Apostle was afraid thereof If I should please men Galy 10. I were not the seruant of Christ Let vs all then Blessed brethren imitate the life of our faithfull father Abraham let vs with him sorrow and grieue for our sinfull brethren let vs with Abraham pray for Sodom and let vs after the example of Abraham entreat God and labour him by continuall praiers to be mercifull to sinners And herein we shall performe that excellent worke commended by the sonne of wisedome Solomon Pro. 11.30 Lekak Nepashoth Kakam i. He is wise that winneth Soules To fold vp this part in a narrow plaite and to winde vp in a word there is no such manifest signe of true loue and godly friendship among men as one to finde fault with another for sinne and to rebuke a friend for his inordinate life And therefore howsoeuer Scipio distasted Bias in opinion Ama tanquam osurus I take his meaning thus that wee ought so to loue a friend as therewithall we should hate his bad conditions embrace the man but hate his manners and this is the priuate duty of one towards another and a Christian office which ought to bee found in the heritage of Iacob And among many morall praecepts and ciuill Lawes established by God himselfe in the common wealth of Israell this was enacted for one Leuit. 19.17 Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart but thou shalt plainely rebuke thy neighbour and suffer not sinne vpon him And the Apostle hath a worthy saying Acknowledge your faults one to another Iames 5.16 and pray one for another that ye may be healed For the praier of the righteous auaileth much if it be feruent Salomon shutteth it vp thus Pro. 27.5 Open rebuke is better then secret loue But more plaine is the holy Ghost by the Prophet Shubu Vehashebu Returne Eze. 13.30 and cause others to returne and that man which returneth himselfe to the Lord and with him maketh others to returne hee mav sit downe and say with ould Iacob ioyfull of Iosephs life Rab I haue ynough Gen. 45.25 Thus at last I come to the last part namely in Sodome wherein ten righteous persons could not bee found the small number of the elect and fewnesse of good and faithfull men in the Church The estate and condition of the Church of God is elegantly set foorth by the princely Preacher of Israel Solomon Eccle. 9.14 A little Citie and few men in it c. This small City with few men in it representeth the Church militant on earth which is daily assaulted by the strong man vp in armes Sathan Luke 11.21 and was deliuered by the pollicy of the poore wiseman Iesus Christ Colos 2.3 and yet none is thank full for his paines hardly one to tenne as it fell out among the leapers So that whereas Babylon is said to bee a great City Luke 17.17 and Niniuy to bee very spatious Dan. 4.28 forty and odde miles about Iob. 1.2 yet the Church of God is but a little one and as it is small so there be but a few therein This was apparent in all ages that most in the world were badde and that the Kingdome of Sathan alwaies exceeded Gods At the deluge the wickednesse of man was great and the whole world corrupt and there were onely eight that found grace in the sight of the Lord. Iust Ioseph in Aegypt tanquam Rosa inter spinas as a rate rose among a world of thornes Iob in the land of Huz a blacke Swanne to keepe himselfe vpright in an heathen Nation Nicodemus the night-walker with Ioseph of Arimathea and a small handfull of others in the whole Synagogue of the Iewes And in this City of Sodom besides Lot and his houshould God apposed citie and suburbs with the number of tenne The Arke of Noah praefigured this paucity and defect of the faithfull and of such as should bee saued in the Church when the number of vncleane beasts exceeded the number of the cleane And euen in these daies when the whole world swarmeth with multitudes of people and men surpasse in number the moates in the sunne and sands on the shore If GOD should looke from heauen Psalm 14.3 or come in progresse to iudgement hee shall finde but a few good hardly fifty in a Citty tenne in a Corporation three in a village two in a house good nay I feare mee greatly we would send him away discontent as from Sodome for want of ten righteous persons and cut him short of his tith It is no meruaile then if God call his Church a Vineyard Isay 5. Psalm 80.8 which is but a small spot and a little plot in respect of the slender quantity of vines which it containeth and euill quality of grapes which it
the founder of your Milo and tower of Shechem Christian Citizens gaue the Snaile in his Ensigne with this Motto Lentè festinandum Softly and fafely And Gods poesy although it be Tardus ad iram Slow to wrath and that with Qu. Fabius the Romane Cunctando restituit rem although God be long in comming and flow in doing and march faire and easie in punishing sinne yet at last when God can forbeare no longer nor endure our indignities nor brooke our contempt of his honourable mercies 2. Reg. 9.20 then like Iehu the soone of Nimshi he marcheth furiouslie and at once hee payeth vs home for all Icre 10.24 and against this let euery good man pray O Lord correct me but with iudgement not in thine anger least thou bring me to nothing Furthermore it resteth yet and that appertinentlie to consider why God especiallie singled out Sodome and chiefly bent his force against it and wherein Sodome sinned aboue all other places besides in so much that Sodome is famous or rather infamous in the course of Scripture First the people are said to bee Cattaim ladonai meod valdè peccatores coram domino Gen. 13.13 and againe Deut. 32.32 The Iewes vine is like the vine of Sodome and Gomorrah and againe They declare their sinnes as Sodome Esay 39. and againe The iniquitie of my daughter Ierusalem is greater then Sodome Lamen 3.6 and againe Contemners of the Gospell shall haue easier iudgement then Sodome Matth. 10.15 and againe Sodom and the Cities there about were wicked 2. Pet. 2.6 Jude 7. and made examples for vngodly liuers Let vs then take a glaunce if not a suruay of Sodoms sinnes and see what they were for which God destroied them The Spirit of God maketh no long beaderowle of them but abstracteth them and like soure Coach-horses which draw the Chariot of iniquitie yoaketh them thus Ezekiel 16.49 Pride Fulnesse of bread I dlenesse Contempt of the poore this was the iniquitie of thy Sister Sodom What were heere all Sodoms sinnes and all that God could obiect against it or charge Sodome withall Vnder this number of foure their manifolde sinnes are inferred as For three transgressious of Damascus and for foure For three transgressions of Tyrus Amos 1.3 and for foure For three transgressions of Moab and for foure whereby a multitude is meant And as Leah called her first childe Gad Bagad a companie commeth Gen. 30.11 presaging her increase of issue so these foure mother sinnes and capitall vices of Sodom had many fellowes many followers and partners like trait'rous Absalon and Achitophel 2. Sam. 15.12 which by their flattery drew many mens hearts after them The first sinne of Sodome like to Pharaohs desperate fore-horse Exed 14.23 which set first foote in the Sea it is Pride which alwaies loueth superioritie and prioritie If there were seauenty times seauen deadly sinnes Pride would be first Pride affecteth principalitie Pride will haue the highest roome and Pride is heere placed first as Vriah by Dauid in the forefront of the battell 2. Sam. 11.15 And worthily hath Pride preheminence for it was the first sinne which vsurped heauen intruded it selfe into Paradise and hath now like conquering Alexander ouer-runne the whole world Superbia in caelo nata est sed velut immemor qua via cecidit illà c nunquam redire potuit Pride saith Hugo was bread in heauen but could neuer yet call to minde which way it fell nor finde the way thither againe And the Wiseman saith more Eccle. 10.3 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. Pride is the beginning of sinne Since the fall of our great beldame Euah Pride is held the womans sinne and posted off to her 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as to the weakest vessell If therefore women would see themselues and their pride in a glasse 1. Pet. 3.7 I referre them to the Prophets Cristall it may bee called the womans Chapter where God threatneth and crieth out against all the new-fangled toies Esay 3.16 infinite fashions and disguised garments of that sexe whereby their Pride as the Tauerne by the Yuy-bush is descried for Sodomiticall And for proud men otherwise in heart which will be aut Caesares aut nulli commaunders or no body like to Saul higher then any of the people by head and shoulders 1. Sam. 9.2 the Apostle stoppeth their mouths strangely God resisteth the proud 1 ames 4.6 To this purpose it is memorable how the ancient Romains portraitured Pride like the Diuell with a triple Crowne on his head On the first was ingrauen Transcendo on the second Non obedio on the third Perturbo A proud man first aimeth at a high place of authority then hee makes lawes and keepes none but liueth as hee listeth and at last perturbat omnia Dauus there is no quiet no peace where hee dwels nothing but trouble and discontent They that neuer saw a Pope beholde this picture and you shall hardly know whether hee bee a Sodomite or a Deuill In a word I will say no more of a proud man then Innocentius will sweare for mee Omnis ferè vitiosus diligit sibi similem solus superbus odit superbum Whereas among other sinnes the drunkard loues his fellow the theefe his partner and the adulterer his consort yet one proud man if two bee neighbours neuer brooketh the other but like Eteocles and Polynices smoke their breath is odious pro contrà So that this proude sinne and sinne of pride it brought with it enuie malice hatred wrath discord sutes quarrels and breach of brotherly loue The second sinne of Sodome is Fulnesse of Bread a sin whereof God gaue Israel warning aforehand that when they should come into the promised land of Canaan Deut. 6.11 and there had glutted themselues and were full then beware lest thou forget thy Lord c. This was Baltazars sinne who at his riotous banquet in excesse of wine amongst his Princes wiues and concubines forgat the Lord so farre Dan. 5.6 as Gods finger chalked his follie on the walles In this fulnesse sinned churlish Nabal 1. Sam. 25.11 in forgetfulnesse of poore Dauid and his tired followers And in this fulnes perished the giuttonous belly-god in the Gospell who would rather choake with the crust Luke 16.21 then hungerbitten Lazarus should haue the crummes O I feare me Blessed Brethren that wee haue in these daies many Sodomites boone companions and sensual good fellowes quite drowned and ouerwhelmed in this sinne of fulnesse of bread and drinke These are those beasts 1. Cor. 15.32 with whome the Apostle encountred at Ephesus after the manner of men whose chiefe schoole point was this Let vs eate and drinke for to morrow wee shall die Against these gormandizing Epicures God grieueth and denounceth a woe that eate the lambes of the flocke and calues out of the stall drinke wine in bowles and annoint themselues very costly But no man saith he