Sermon EDM. CALAMY A SERMON PREACHED AT A FAST Before the Honorable House of COMMONS EZEK. 36. 32. Not for your sakes doe I this saith the Lord God be it known unto you be ashamed and confounded for your owne waies O house of Israel WE are here met this day to keep a day of humiliation to out-cry the cry of our sinnes by the cry of our Prayers and teares to wrastle with God with our hearts and with the devill With God for a blessing upon England Ireland with our hearts to get and keep them in a frame sutable to the worke with the devill least he steale away the benefit of this day Now as the Wiseman saith Who knowes what a day may bring forth Who knows what a mercy such a day as this may bring forth Who knows what a rare successe this day may have throughout all England The Lord give a blessing unto it To help you in the work of this day I have chosen this Text It is the skill of a workeman not only to make good work but fit worke A garment is not well made though never so good if not fit made This hath been my care to choose a fit text It cannot be denyed but that God hath done much for England and that England hath done much against God Now my purpose is to lay the sins of England against God in one scale and the mercies of God to England in the other scale and to call upon you this day to be humbled and ashamed and broken in heart before the Lord that ever you should sinne against such a God There are but two wayes to breake a stony heart As there are two wayes to cure a stone in the bladder either by cutting out the stone or by dissolving it with soft medicines So there are but two wayes to cure a stony heart either by the heart-cutting threatnings of the Law or by the heart-melting mercies of the Gospell I have this day chosen the latter way I will not carry you up to Mount Eball or Mount Sinai But to the Mount of Blessings And I shall labour by the heart-dissolving mercies of the Gospell to breake your stony hearts It is the duty of a Minister to follow God in his providence When God sends judgements upon a Nation then must we preach judgements to that Nation But when he sends mercies then must we preach mercy Now God hath brought England into the schoole of mercy and hath placed it in the highest forme and hath made it Captaine of the schoole And it is my duty to teach you what lessons you are to learne in this schoole This Text holds forth one lesson which is the proper lesson for this day and that is to be confounded and ashamed that ever we should sinne against such a God I read in the second of Judges that there came an Angell of the Lord from Gilgall to the people of Israel in Bochim and preached a Sermon of mercy in which he commemorates First Gods kindnesse in bringing them out of Egypt and into Canaan and secondly Their unkindnesse in disobeying of God And all the people when they had heard this Sermon lifted up their voyces and wept in so much as the very place was called Bochim that is Weepers This Angell was not an Angell properly so called but a Minister as most thinke And therefore he is said to come from Gilgall not from heaven The Rabbines say it was Pbine has the sonne of Eleazar God hath sent me hither this day as his Angell upon the same Embassage I am to reminde you of Gods merciâ—…s to us And of our ingratitude against him O that it might have the same effect That we may all of us lift up our voyces and weep and that the Church may be called a Bochim a place of weepers In the words themselves we have foure parts 1. A mercy supposed in these words I will do this which intimates That God had promised to do something for the house of Israel 2. The Author of the Mercy proposed in these words I will do this saith the Lord God 3. The false reason of this mercy deposed by way of proclamation in these words Not for your sakes do I this be it knowne unto you O house of Israel 4. The true use of the mercy imposed in these words Be ashamed and confounded for your owne wayes O house of Israel 1. The mercy supposed I will do this If you looke backe into the Chapter you shall find that God promises many rare and great mercies to the house of Israel Mercies in Folio Mercies unspeakable God promises to gather them out of all Countries And to bring them backe to their owne land To cleanse them from Idols And from all filthinesse To sprinkle cleane water upon them To give them a new heart and a new spirit And to take away their hearts of stone and to give them a heart of flesh And to multiply all outward blessings upon them c. Observe from hence That God doth sometimes shew mercy to a Nation when it least deserves it and least expects it This is apparent out of the text When Ezekiel wrote these words the house of Israel was in the house of bondage Captive in Babylon Their condition was so desperate in regard of their misery that Ezekiel compares them to dry bones in the grave chap. 37. And God demands of Ezekiel Can these drie bones live He answers O Lord God thou knowest for my part I know not Their estate was hopelesse and helplesse And it was as desperate in regard of sinfulnesse as appears in the 17 18 19 20. verses of this Chapter When they were in their owne land they were as abominable before the Lord as the uncleannesse of a menstruous woman And when they came into Babylon they were so wicked as that the holy name of God was prophaned by them while the Babylonians out of scorn contempt said These aâ—…e the people of the Lord and are gone forth out of his land And yet behold God doth here promise to performe rich and unexpected mercies to such an undeserving Nation My desire is that this Doctrine may be a Looking-glasse for this Nation in which we may behold the severall miracles of mercy that God hath bestowed upon us A Nation not worthy to be beloved and yet beloved above all Nations of the world God hath made us like Saul taller by the head in mercies than all other Nations There was indeed a time when this Island was called Albion ab albis Rupibus but at that time it was black and defiled worshipping of stockes and stones even the Devill in stead of God We had our Druides our Flamines and Archiflamines We offered our Sonnes and daughters alive in sacrifice Non ad honorem sed ad injuriam religionis Our religion was Tristissimum superstitionum Chaos as Cambden saith but it pleased God presently after the death of
Manoah If the Lord did intend to destroy England surely he would never have bestowed so many mercies upon England Eightly let us make these mercies as so many meanes and instruments of service Let us serve God with our health wealth and parts Let us serve him Cheerefully liberally thankefully fruitfully lest God send upon us that curse threatned Deut. 28. 47 48. Because thou servedst not the Lord thy God with joyfulnesse and with gladnesse of heart for the abundance of all things Therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies which the Lord shall send against thee in hunger in thirst in nakednesse in want of all things And he shall put a yoke of iron upon thy necke untill he hath destroyed thee Let us rend our hearts and not our garments and turne to the Lord for he is gracious O give thankes unto the Lord for his mercy endureth for ever There is mercy with thee O Lord and therefore thou art to be feared Let us feare to sinne against a God of such mercy Let us admire these mercies and admire him for his mercies And say with David Who am I O Lord and what is mine house that thou shouldest bring me hitherto and is this the manner of man O Lord God And let us pray that excellent prayer Domine da gratitudinem cum misericordia nolo misericordiam sine gratitudine Lord give us thankefull hearts with thy mercies Lord give us obedient hearts with thy mercies Rather let us be without mercy than not to have grace to glorifie thee with thy mercies The third part of the Text is the false reason of the mercy deposed and that by way of Proclamation Be it knowne unto you O House of Israel that it is not for your sakes that I doe this Nec per vos nec propter vos Neither by you nor for you It is I that doe it saith the Lord and for my owne names sake I doe it Not for your sakes This Proclamation is very often inculcated for feare lest men should ascribe mercies to their owne merits which all are very apt to doe It is said in the 22. verse of this Chapter Say unto the House of Israel Thus saith the Lord I doe not this for your sakes O House of Israel but for my holy names sake which you have prophaned among the heathen whither you went Thus Ezekiel 20. 44. And you shall know that I am the Lord when I have wrought with you for my names sake not according to your wicked wayes nor according to your corrupt doingâ—… O ye house of Israel saith the Lord Thus also Deuteronomy 9. 4. Speake not thou in thine heart for many will thinke so in their hearts though ashamed to speake it with their tongues after that the Lord thy God hath cast them out from before thee saying For my righteousnesse the Lord hath brought me to possesse this Land But for the wickednes of these Nations the Lord doth drive them out from before thee This is repeated againe at the 5 verse that it may not be forgotten Not for thy righteousnes or for the uprightnes of thy heart dost thou goe to possesse the land c. This is also againe repeated verse 6. Understand therefore that the Lord thy God giveth thee not this good land to possesse it for thy righteousnes for thou art a stiffenecked people And in the 7. verse he cals upon us to remember it and not forget it Hence observe That Nationall mercies come from free grace not from free will Not from mans goodnes but Gods goodnes My desire is that this Doctrine may be a third Looking-glasse for England If any shall aske How it comes to passe that England hath beene like Noâ—…s Aâ—…ke safe and secure when all other Nations have beene drowned with a sea of blood Why England is like Gideons dry fleece when all other Nations are like his wet fleece bedewed with miseries and lamentations No other answer can be returned but Gods free grace and mercy I will have mercy upon whom I will have mercy May I not doe what I will with mine owne May not a man that hath two debtors equally indebted to him spare the one and not the other as he pleaseth Be it known unto you O house of England It is not for your sakes for you are a stiffe-necked people but for my holy names sake But doth not God indent and Covenant with a Nation upon its repentance to shew mercy how then is Gods mercy free Repentance it selfe is of Gods free grace 2 Tim. 2. 25. In meeknesse instructing them that oppose themselves if God peradventure will give them repentance Repentance is Gods free gift and therefore Christ is said to be exalted by God to be a Prince and a Saviour for to give repentance to Israel and forgivenesse of sins Repentance is not the cause for which God spares a Nation but onely a qualification of that Nation which God will spare Repentance denotes the Persons whom God hath freely promised to pardon but not the câ—…se for which he promises to pardon as the Gnomon in the Diall is not the cause why the Clocke goes right or wrong but onely an Indication whether it goe right or wrong If Englands mercies come from Gods goodnesse and not our righteousnesse let us not thinke our selves more righteous than Ireland because wee are not wallowing in blood as Ireland Thinke you saith Christ that those eighteene upon whom the tower in Silce fell are sinners above all men that dwell in Jerusalem I tell you nay I that am the Judge of the world I tell you nay The nature of man is prone to censure Germany and Ireland as horrible sinners above others but I tell you nay saith Christ When the Barbarians saw the Viper skip upon the hand of Paul they concluded presently Sureâ—…y this man is a murtherer but they were Barbarians and in this they acted the part of Barbarians It is a barbarous action to censure them that are punished by God to be the greatest of sinners Judicia Deinm sunt tâ—…mere discutienda sed formidoloso silentio vener and a saith Gregory Be it knowne unto you O England it is not for your righteousnesse you are spared not because you are better but because I love you better not for your sakes doe I this saith the Lord for if Ireland be sinfull England hath a great share in this sinfulnesse because it hath taken no more care to bring those Popish Rebels to the knowledge of the Gospeâ—… of Jesus Christ Let England say as Lysimaâ—…hus did who was on a suddaine called forth out of a house where he was at supper by his good Genius as the Heathen say and as soon as ever he was out of doores the house fell down and killed them all which were within Good God saith he to what evill am I reserved So let Engâ—…and say Good Lord to what super-transcendent
that begat him and brought him up c. So to sin against God after mercy is to commit many sins in one it is to break as many bonds and to sin against as many obligatiâ—…ns as we have receivâ—…d merâ—…ies Because every new mercy we receive from God is a new talent for mercies are talents betrusted with us by God as stewards for which we must give a severe and strict account at the day of Judgement and the more talents we sin against the greater is our sin and the more shame to commit it To whom much is given of him much shall be required If the man that had but one talent when he came to give up his account was confounded made speechlesse and bound hand and foot and cast into hell fire for not improving it What shame and confusion of face and how many hels do they deserve that have received not onely one five or ten but many hundred talents of mercies and do not onely not improve them but mis-improve them to the service of sin and Satan Because to sin after mercy is a sin of formall unthankefulnesse There is matâ—…riall unthankefulnesse in all sin because every sin is committed against God that is our Creator Preserver and Redeâ—…mer but to sin against mercy is to be formally unthankefull Now unthankfulnesse is a sin that will make any ingenuous man ashamed to be guilty of it Indeed it is the Epitoâ—… of all sin Ingratum si dixeris omnia dixeris The whole duty of man saith Augustine consists in this Vt animâ—… non sit ingrata Deo to take care that our soules be not unthankfull to God and therefore an unthankfull man neglects the whole duty of man Unthankfulnes is a sin that makâ—… thâ—… times perilous It is a sinne for which God gave over the Heathen to a reprobate mind Because when they knew God they did not glorifie him as God but became unthankefull c. therefâ—…e God gave tâ—…em up to their owne hearts lusts c. And if God dealt thus with the Gentiles for sinning against the mercies onely of creation how severely will he punish us that sin against creating mercies redeeming mercies and against mercies of all kinds For it is a certaine rule The more merâ—…y we receive from God the greater is the unthankefulnesse to sinne against such a God The Romans made a Law that if a Master did free a servant from bondage afterwards that servant proved unthankefull the master had power to re-inslave â—…im The great God hath freed this Nation from Egypt and Babylon from the Gun-powder treason and from many slaveries Now if we prove unthankfull after all these mercies wee may justly expect to be re-inslaved It is a sinne of formall injustice for every deliverance doth bind over the delivered to the service of the deliverer so saith the Apostle You are not your owne for ye are bought with a price therefore glorifie God with your bodies and with your spirits which are Gods and so also Luk. 1. 74. That we being delivered out of the hands of our enemies might serve him without feare in holinesse and â—…ighteousnesse c. Among the Romans the parties delivered were the servants of the deliverers And therefore to breake Gods Commandements after deliverance is to be guilty of the horrible sin of injustice Thou art not onely unthankefuâ—…l but unjust which is a brand that will confound any man It is a sin so great that God himselfe stands amazed at it that any man should be so impudent as to commit it Esay 1. 2. Heare O Heavens and give â—…are O earth for the Lord hath spoken I have nourished and brought up children and they have rebelled against mee The Oxe knowes his owner and the Asse his Masters crib but Israel doth not know my people do not consider Ah sinfull Nation a people laden with iniquity c. This is a sinne that makes us worse than the Oxe or the Asse A sin that makes a Nation that is guiliy of it not onely sinfull but laden with iniquity as an Asse with a burden Thus also God calls to the Heavens Jeremy 2. 12. Be astonished O ye Heavens at this and be horribly afraid be ye veâ—…y desolate saith the Lord Why what is the matter For my people have committed two evils they have forsaken mâ—… the fountaine of living waters and hewed them out cisternes broken cisternes that will hold no water This is a sin that breakes the very heart of God and it had need breake our hearts to commit it I am broken saith God of his people Israel for their whorish heart If God be broken with it it is time for us to be broken with it It is a sin so great as that it puts a great aggravation upon every sin It makes the least sinne of us in England greater than the greatest sin of the Heathens of the Christians in Germany and Ireland yea than the sin of the devils themselves 1. Greater than the sins of the Heathen because we sinne against greater mercie Tribulation and anguish upon every soule that doth evill first upon the Jew then upon the Gentile Why first upon the Jew Because the Jewes received more mercies than the Gentiles I may justly adde First upon the Christian then upon the Jew then upon the Gentile because the Christian hath received more mercy from God than either Jew or Gentile You only have I knowne of all the Nations of the earth therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities because you sin against more light more grace and therefore your sin is more ungracious 2. This makes the least sinne of us in England greater than the greatest sin of Germanie or of Ireland because God hath dealt more mercifully with us than with them therfore Christ saith Woe be to thee Chorazin woe be to thee Bethsaida for if the mightie works which have been done in thee had beene done in Tyre and Sidon they would have repented long agoe in dust and ashes But I say unto you it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of of judgement than for you If Bohemia and the Palatinate had had the mercies and deliverances that we have had they would have repented in dust and ashes therefore it shall be easier for them at the day of judgement than for us And thou Capernaum which hâ—…st beene exalted to heaven shalt be brought downe to hell c. God hath listed us up in mercies to heaven therefore we must looke for the lowest hell if we abuse them 3. This makes the sins of England greater than the sin of the Devils though not simply yet in three respects 1. The Devils never sinned against the blood of Jesus Christ Christ never dyed for them but he dyed for us For verily hee tooke not on him the nature of Angels but he tooke on him the seed of Abraham 2. The Devils never sinned
should give them drinke and in so doing we shall heape coales of fire upon their heads The meaning is That this mercy will be like a heape of hot coales either to melt their hearts and make them our friends or if they persist in their enmity to adde fewell to theiâ—… torments in hell God hath heaped many hot coales of fire upon our heads O let this fire burne up our drosse and melt our hard hearts lest if we continue obstinate these Coales of fire serve to adde to our burning in bel I read in the ninth of Daniel When Daniel saw that the time was come wherein God had promised to deliver Israel out of Babylon this mercy made him fast and mourne and confesse his sins with shame and confusion of face c. We hope the time is come yea the set time wherein God intends to shew mercy to England O let us pray and mourne and weepe and take shame for our scarlet abominations If we were sure that God would perfect what he hath begun and consummate our hopes this would mightily disswade us from ever sinning against God It is an argument sufficient that there is a possibility though not a certainty This was enough to worke upon the Ninivites Let us cry mightily to God and every man turne from his evill way Who can tell if God will turne and repent c. Who knowes but that God may reare us up a glorious Church Eâ—…ra blesses God that be had given them a little reviving in their bondage We must doe as the servants of Benhadad Bebold say they We have heard that the Kings of Israel are mercifull Kings let us put sack-cloth upon our loynes and ropes upon our heads per adventure he will save thy life c. And when they came to the King they did diligently observe whether any thing would come from him and did hastily catch at it c. So must we diligently observe and catch at the very first appearance of mercy and lay hold upon the very first opportunity I read Zach. 4. 10. Who hath despised the day of small things The Prophet speakes of the rebuilding of Jerusalem which at the first was so small that Sanballat Tobiah and the rest of the enemies of Gods Church laughed them to scorne and said What doe these feeble Jewes will they fortifie themselves will they make an end in a day will they revive the stones out of the heapes of the rubbish which are buâ—…nt even that which they build if a Fex come up he shall even breake downe their stone wall c. Yet notwithstanding they did go on and build and finish the worke and all the mountaines of opposition became a plaine before them And therefore let us not despise the day of smal things It is with the friends of the Church as with the enemies of the Church when the Churches enemies begin to fall before Gods people they shall certainely fall As Hamans wise men told him if Mordecai be of the seed of the Jewes before whom thou hast begun to fall thou shalt not prevaile against him but shalt surely fall before him Marke those words if he be of the seed of the Jewes that is of the people of God And when they fall they fall by degrees as it is Exod. 14. First God troubled the Egyptians then he tooke off their wheeles from their Chariots then he drowned them in the Red Sea So it is with the friends of the Church If they begin to rise before the enemies of the Church they shall certainely rise and be advanced higher and higher And therefore when a little crevice of light appeares when God doth but begin to looke towards us as he did upon Peter let us weepe bitterly that ever we should sin against such a God When a Cart is in a quagmire if the Horses find it comming they will pull the harder God is now drawing neere to us in mercy we have been in a deepe-quagmire like Jeremy in his Dungeon and God is beginning to pull us out O let the free mercy of God and his unparalleld love breake our hearts for and from sinne If this be true then all our Ministers will be found lyars for they have prophesied the certaine ruine and desolation of England Jonah was no lyar when he preached Yet forty dayes and Niniveh shall be destroyed because he was to be understood conditionally So are all our threatnings to be understood with an If c. We Ministers preach what God in his ordinary way is wont to do what God in his word hath threatned to a Nation guilty of such sins as ours are But God hath dealt with England not according to his ordinary rule but according to his Prerogative England if I may so speake with reverence is a Paradox to the Bible The Bible tels us what sinnes will make a Nation ripe for destruction and we finde these sinnes in our Nation But if God will leave his ordinary road and except us from the generall rule and miraculously save us by Prerogative and free grace who can hinder a free agent This is a rare act of his Prerogative the more mercy there is in it the more ought we to be confounded for our apostasies whoredomes abominations and rebellions against this God Men brethren and fathers if all that I have said this day wil not worke upon your hearts give me leave to name some other kind of mercies unto you For I am all for mercy this day 1. Consider What a mercy it is for God to make you men when he might have made you toads I doubt not but you have heard the story of the two Bishops that being riding to the Councell of Constance and espying by the way a poore Country man weeping turned towards him and asked him why he wept he answered I weepe to see tâ—…is toad that lay upon the ground before him because I never blessed God sufficiently for that he made me a man and not a toad This answer made them goe away astonished and ashamed for their owne unthankfulnesse And it may justly worke the like effect in us 2. Consider What a mercy it is to be not onely a man but a rich man a Gentleman Knight or Lord c. There is none here but such whom God hath lifted up above thousands in outward mercies What a shame is it for a poore Cobler to doe more service for God than it may be some of you doe that have received so much from God May not Christ say to you as he did to the Jewes I have done many great workes among you for which of these doe you stone me I have done many great things for you I have given you health wealth credite wit and honour and for which of these is it that thou blasphemest my name and despisest my Sabbaths and refusest to obey my Commandements It is said of Heliogabalus that he provided