not haue Gods paines so wasted vpon him hee would haue it sort a good effect and make him to bee as without blame in regard of Innocency so without spot in regard of Sanctitie we must desire that wee may bee renewed aswell as discharged as thoroughly renewed as fully discharged that we may be acceptable in Gods eyes and comfortable in our owne Put now these two together the description of Miserie and the Petition for Mercy and you shall finde diuerse remâ—akable things therein First that Miserie presenting it selfe vnto Mercy doth take a right course Nathan did charge Dauid with sinne and threatned him many plagues you finde not heere that he doth mention Gods plagues but his owne sinnes he spends his desire not in deprecating the Plagues but in ridding himselfe of his Sinnes And this is good spirituall wisedome for seeing plagues come for sinnes wee are sure that we shall neuer eate of that Fruit if we plucke this Tree vp by the roots if sinne cleaue not to vs we need not feare Gods wrath either we shall not feele it or we shall bee the better for it Pharoah and Pharoah-like Men haue an eye to their plagues not to their sinnes and therefore as he so they are eased of one plague to fall vnder another if Gods Mercy heare our Prayers and ease vs of any Affliction and doe not rid vs of our sinne let vs assure our selues that we are but like a Prisoner reprieued that may bee hanged when he least feares death Secondly Miserie must learne of King Dauid to lay it selfe fully open that it may be fully cured Ambros Quis nostrum qui peccatum confitetur non perstringendum potius quam repetendum putet When we repent happily we can be contented to glance at our sinnes but we will bee loath to looke farre into them and search our wounds to the quicke But King Dauid doth not so hee doth aswell amplifie Sinne the Cause of his Misery as he doth distinctly sue for the branches of Gods Mercy Gods Mercy And indeed God is the Person to whom he sueth for Mercy he directeth his Prayer vnto him from him he doth expect this Mercy But here is a Paradox for he that is ougly in his owne eyes how can he but be odious in Gods and how dares a guilty Prisoner offer himselfe at the Bar of his Iudge Gods face is against those that do euill Psal 34.15 to root out their remembrance from the earth This is true and yet Dauid goeth to him and no maruaile there is no flying from him but to him hee only can restore a sinner restore him to his owne fauour and rid him of that that intercepteth the influence of the coÌ„fortable beames of grace the Church confesseth it in the Collect it is Gods property to haue mercy and it sayth it according to the Scripture Daniel confesseth it 2. Cor. 1.3 To thee O Lord God belongeth Mercy and forgiuenesse Saint Paul maketh God the Father of Mercies Moses or God rather speaking to Moses sheweeh vs that it is an especiall branch of Gods glory in that Proclamation which hee maketh Exod. 34. The Lord the Lord God mercifull and gracious long suffering c. But as Mercy is Naturall vnto God so it is not comfortable vnto vs but as it is deriued through Christ therefore we must marke the Words Chesed and Racham words wherein King Dauid doth expresse Gods Mercy for they note 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Affection the bowells of a Father towards his Children Now God is not a Father vnto vs but by Adoption and we are not adopted but in Christ which is the onely Sonne God doth except vs in his Beloued in him it is that he hath Mercie vpon vs Therefore these very Words louing kindnesse are in the New Testament applyed to Christ comming in the flesh Christ also in the Old Testament is noted by the Propitiatory or Mercy-seate and in the New Testament he is called our Propitiation 1. Iohn 2.2 Heb. 2.17 and Mercifull high Priest The nature of sinfull men without Christ and God that is iudge of all the World are Infestissimi inimici they will neuer agree together our infirmitie will be ouerwhelmed by the diuine Maiestie but it is Christ that turneth the dreadfull Tribunall into a Throne of Grace Neither must we seeke onely for Gods kind affection in Christ but his gracious Actions also no hope of Dele nor Laua but in him and by him It is true that God by the Prophet tells vs that it is he that blots out our sinnes for his owne sake Esay 43 44.59 27. and bloâ—teth them out like a cloud and casts our sinnes into the Sea But hee doth not this immediately hee doth it by Christ Daniel teacheth Chap. 9. Coloss 2.14 that Hee was to finish wickednesse seale vp sinnes and reconcile iniquitie Saint Paul teacheth it saying that Christ fastened and cancelled the Obligation that was against vs on his Crosse Finally the Father sent him and he sent his Apostles with power to remit and to retayne sins which must needs implie that Dele blot out belongeth to Him And as Dele so Laua Zacharie foretold it In that day meaning the dayes of the Gospell there shall be a fountaine opened to the House of Dauid Zâ—ch 13. and to the Inhabitants of Ierusalem for sinne and for vncleanesse Saint Paul sheweth the accomplishment of it Ephe. 5 Christ loued the Church and gaue himselfe for it that he might sanctifie it and clense it by the washing of water through the Word that hee might make it vnto himselfe a glorious Church not hauing spot or wrinckle or any such thing but that it should be holy and without blame Neither must we be beholding to Christ only for these gracious Actions רב but for their measure also The Text tells vs that there is not onely Mercy in God but that Mercy is of a large size it is called here Rob we translate it Multitude it signifieth also Magnitude The Conscience of a Sinner is afflicted some times with the Number sometimes with the excesse of sinne least we should sinke vnder either burden this word must specially be heeded which doth assure a distressed Conscience that there commeth not only Mercy from God but Great Mercy also so Great as that his Mercy reioyceth ouer his Iudgement there lieth an Appeale from God vnto God from God the Righteous to God the Gracious and God in regard of his Mercy is in a manner Greater then himselfe with this Moses presseth God significantly Num. 14. Now I beseech thee let the power of my Lord be Great according as thou hast spoken saying The Lord is slow to anger and of Great Mercy c. in the whole period hee importuneth him to shew that his Mercy exceeds his Iustice. The Scripture doth amplifie this point by setting downe the dimensions of his Mercy telling vs sometimes 〈◊〉 3. 〈◊〉 11 33.
sinners euen such sinners of whom I am chiefe Now then J beseech thee let the power of my Lord be great according as thou hast spoken The Lord is slow to anger and of great mercie and forgiueth iniquitie and sinne Be mercifull J beseech thee to the impietie of thy seruant according to thy great mercie let the vngodlinesse of my heart of my mouth be blotted out of thy remembrance let it not bring vpon me the vengeance J deserue but create in me a new heart and touch my tongue with a cole from thine Altar that J which am vnworthy by reason of my scandalous crying sinne to meditate on or make mention of thy glorious Maiestie thy diuine Wisedome may haue a heart alwayes enditing good things and my blasphemous tongue may be turned into an instrument of thy glorie So shall my soule be filled as it were with marrow and fatnesse when J shall prayse thee with ioyfull lips and J shall sing forth thy wonderous mercie all the dayes of my life Heare me ô Father of mercie for giue me amend me and establish in me this holy purpose of my repentant heart to thy glorie and the comfort of enormous sinners for Jesus Christs sake by the powerfull operation of thy Holy Spirit Amen A SERMON PREACHED AT St ANDREWS IN WELLES A SCHISMATIQVE DOING PENANCE WHO HAD FOR MANY YEERES ESTRANGED HIMSELFE FROM THE COMMVNION OF OVR CHVRCH 1 CORINT 3.18 18 Let no man deceiue himselfe if any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world let him become a foole that he may be wise A Particular visible Church is built vpon two foundations Vnion and Communion a louing vnion of the faithfull and an holy communion in sacred things Both these must be preserued or else that Church will come to naught Now there were amongst the Corinthians that did vndermine these foundations some rent the vnion and the communion was corrupted by other-some St Paul wrot this Epistle to amend them both And marke what a distinct course he taketh He first setleth the vnion before he offereth to purge the communion And there is good reason why for though the louing vnion of the faithfull be vnprofitable if it be without a holy communion in sacred things yet is a holy communion in sacred things impossible if you take away the louing vnion of the faithfull Therefore lest St Paul should lose his labour in redressing of the communion he first taketh care of repayring the vnion The first thing then that in the Church of Corinth he reformes is Schisme and he spends well-nigh foure Chapters in reforming thereof in throughly searching into the disease and applying thereto a soueraigne remedy The words that now I haue read vnto you belong to the remedy and you shall find them to be a principall branch thereof Let vs come more closely to them Of medicinall remedies some are preseruatiue some are restoratiue The preseruatiue are for the sound the restoratiue are for the sicke You shall find them both in my Text and you shall find that they are Catholica remedia such remedies as doe or may concerne vs all The preseruatiue remedy is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 prouidence or the preuention of Schisme you haue it in these words Let no man deceiue himselfe The restoratiue is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 repentance or the recouering of a Schismatique it followeth in these words If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world let him be a foole that he may be wise But more distinctly In the preseruatiue we are to behold our naturall weakenesse and therefore to learne spirituall carefulnesse St Paul supposeth that we are prone to deceiue our selues and therefore aduiseth that no man should doe himselfe that wrong Let no man deceiue himselfe In the restoratiue we must behold first the distemper of a Schismatique and then the cure fitting to such a distemper The distemper is a carnall selfe-conceit a selfe-conceit for the man thinkes himselfe wise but the selfe-conceipt is but carnall as appeares by the limitation or extenuation rather that is added to his wisedome he is onely wise in this world Such is his distemper Whereof the first cure is an exalting humilitie The first branch is humilitie He must become a foole but he need not be disheartened there followeth an exaltation thereupon He becomes a foole that he may be wise These are the remedies And they are as I told you Catholica remedia such remedies as doe or may concerne vs all The preseruatiue doth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Let no man deceiue himselfe The restoratiue may 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 If any That which hath befalne this man may be the case of the best of vs all These are the particulars which GOD-willing I shall now enlarge and apply vnto this present occasion I pray GOD we may so doe it as that we all not this Penitent onely may be the better for it The first remedy is the preseruatiue and therein the first thing that I pointed out is our naturall weaknesse This St Paul supposeth we may gather it out of that which he aduiseth for in vaine were his aduise if there were not a truth in that which he supposeth but farre be it from vs to thinke that the Holy Ghost doth require any thing in vaine let it stand then for an vndoubted truth that we are prone by nature to deceiue our selues 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from whence the Verbe is deriued which is vsed by the Apostle signifieth a leauing of the right way which putteth vs in mind that in this world we are but way-faring men When we are admitted into the Church we are set in the path which will lead vs to our euerlasting home but when we are in it we may goe out of it It appeares too plainly in Adam and Eue and it is not to be expected that the children should be better then the parents especially seeing our restitution commeth short of that measure of grace which they had in their Creation It being true that we may the question is How it comes to passe that we doe goe out of the way and leaue the straight path wherein we are set the Scripture obserues two meanes the one without vs the other within vs that is the world this is concupiscence the world allures concupiscence inclines Adde hereunto a third that is the diuel he blancheth the world that it may allure more strongly and worketh concupiscence by perswasion that it may yeeld more readily and these betweene them consummate the deceipt whereby we are led out of the way But betweene these we must obserue a great difference that which worketh the deceipt from without is but an occasion that which worketh it from within is the true cause thereof the world the diuel Suadere possunt cogere non possunt they may sollicit powerfully but they cannot inforce vs vnwillingly to goe out of the way Physicall actions may be constrayned morall cannot I may haue
First then God forgiues Exod. 3◠it is one of his properties so to doe to forgiue iniquities and transgressions And without all doubt God ceasing from anger which is contrary to his nature will embrace mercie which is agreeable to his nature if we repent neyther would he euer haue giuen Christ to death for vs if hee had desired our death But our God is mercifull and hath appointed vs Ministers to be sponsores misericordiae to giue assurance of his mercy to penitent sinners and our message what is it but the Gospel that is glad tidings of the Reconciliation of God and man Neyther doth he only redresse the cause but the effect also that is the Woe for Woe is the effect of sinne and where God remitteth the guilt of sinne hee will also remoue the punishment thereof eyther wholly or he will at least irae merum clementia diluere by clemencie much allay the seueritie of his wrath wher 's condonare goeth before there donare followeth after giuing doth accompany forgiuing In the text there are two words God will doe and giue which are not put in vaine for the first signifieth that God will doe that which wee request that is as the Psalme speaketh Psalme 145. Hee will fulfill the desire of them that feare him he also will heare their cry and will saue them In our extremities wee call onely for ease of our paine and God will doe that But that is not the vttermost of his fauour he will also giue vs many good things he will as the Prophets speake delight to doe vs good and as if he did repent of his vengeance hee will multiply his blessings and redeeme as it were the time of our affliction with an extraordinary measure of peace and prosperitie Such promises and such performances we reade in the Scripture and our hope may entertaine them as belonging to our selues if we be deuoutly penitent Yet must you obserue as it followeth in the text that God doth dispence this double grace grace of forgiuing and grace of giuing discreetly according to mens wayes As all men are not alike deuout so God intreates them not all alike Hee rewardeth euery man according to his workes as the Scripture speakes Rom. 2.6 Faber est quisque fortunae suae Men shall finde God as God findeth them surely Gods prouidence proceedeth so if you looke vpon the second causes touching the first and St. Pauls maxime 1 Cor. 4.7 Quis te discernit a point that much troubleth the world at this day it is no time now to dispute the plainest and shortest resoluion is that of the Prophet Hosea 13.9 Perditio tua ex te Israel exme salus They that perish must blame themselues but they that are saued must giue the glory thereof vnto God But the waies according to which God dealeth with men are eyther inward or outward God dealeth with men according to their inward waies for God seeth not as man seeth neyther iudgeth according to the outward appearance but according to the inward disposition The reason is twofold 1. because vera bonitas malitia sunt tantùm in corde true goodnesse and malitiousnesse are only in the heart in the outward actions they are not farther than they are deriued from thence according to the rule in the Schooles Our actions are so farre vertuous and vitious as the will hath a hand in them A second reason is this The knowledge of the heart is the strongest proofe that can bee produced in iudgement and because Gods iudgement is the most infallible the euidence produced therin is the most vndeniable his euidence is such and none but his for He and He only knoweth the hearts of the children of men as Salomon addeth He is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the searcher of the heart and reines he is more priuie to our secret thoughts than we our selues are and as St. Iohn saith 1 Iohn 3.20 greater than our heart Therefore God in iudgement non facta numerat sed corda when he commeth to reckoning look how many good hearts hee findeth so many good men and so many ill men as hee findeth ill hearts Men in their iudgements cannot proceede so exactly for want of this knowledge of the heart they are faine to rest vpon weaker proofes which though they satisfie in humane cognizance yet may they possibly be false and the person arraigned may bee mis-deemed and mis-doomed Two things follow out of this Doctrine the doctrine that God onely knoweth the hearts The one is that God often taketh not off his heauie hand notwithstanding we humble our selues because wee doe not turne to the Lord with all our heart The second is that God taketh away many a man in the Act of his Repentance lest he should relapse and malice change his heart Wee must therefore not be out of heart if God should take away any of vs euen in the middest of this good worke As God dealeth discreetly in dispensing of his grace so that supposed He dealeth vniuersally He dispenseth the grace with euery man according to his waies as euery man is sensible of his own ill case or not sensible so God applieth or applieth not a remedie thereunto no penitent man but may speed of the grace no impenitent man may looke for it for God will deale with euery man according to his waies You haue heard what Gods Acceptance is It remaineth that you now heare whereat it aymeth it aymeth at the amendement of Israel God vouch safeth Israel grace that Israel may feare him Psal 130. And so saith the Penitentiall Psalme With thee Lord there is mercy that thou mayst bee feared Gods iudgements are not onely penall but medicinall therefore are they called Corrections because they set vs straight that went awry Eruditions because they ciuilize vs that were growne wilde Castigations because they make vs spiritually chaste that went awhooring And what is Repentance but renascentia animae a renuing of our minde by putting off the old man crucifying the flesh becomming new men Tertullian saith right Penitentia sine emendatione vitae vana quia caret fruclu suo cui eam Deus seuit In vaine is that Repentance which is not followed by a better life because it beareth not that fruite for which God planted it that is the saluation of men or it bringeth not forth the peaceable fruit of righteousnesse vnto them which are exercised thereby Heb. 12. Mercy is shewed propter spem for hope of amendement so Parents spare their children Masters their seruants Princes their subiects and we may not expect that God will spare vs vpon any other condition therefore when we vnderly Gods heauie hand wee must say with Ephraim bemoaning himselfe Thou hast chastised me and I was chastised as a bullocke vnaccustomed to the yoke turne thou mee and I shall be turned thou art the Lord my God surely after that I was turned I repented c. Ier. 31. God spares vs not that we