Selected quad for the lemma: mercy_n
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A09253
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A sermon of the prouidence of God Preached at Paules Crosse, the 25. of October. 1607. By Iohn Pelling Bacchalaur of Diuinitie.
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Pelling, John, 1561 or 2-1621.
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1607
(1607)
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STC 19567; ESTC S114107
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26,712
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54
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A SERMON OF THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD. Preached at Paules Crosse the 25. of October 1607. By IOHN PELLING Bacchalaur of Diuinitie PROVER 4.13 Take hold of instruction and leaue not for she is thy life LONDON Printed by Nicholas Okes for Nathaniell Butter dwelling at the signe of the Pide Bull neere S. Austins gate 1607. TO THE RIGHT HONORABLE AND RELIGIOVS LORD THE LORD EDWARD SEIMAVR EARLE OF Hertford and to the right Honorable and virtuous Lady the Lady Frauncis Countesse of Hertford Gods abundant graces and blessings for this life and for the life to come RJght Honorable my singular good Lord and Lady your Honours both hauing from time to time exceedingly comforted and encouraged me in my labours of this kind J rest assured you will gladly accept and protect to your vtmost this sermon of mine published my good Lord at your command Whereas some of good sort and iudgment moued your Lordship to put me to it for a further good to Gods Church and whereas also your Lordship out of your honourable and religious care procured the right reuerend father in God the Lord Bishop of London my especial good Lord to require it of me and seing hereupon his Lordship hath vouchsafed to peruse it and by his authoritie hath allowed it hauing duely waighed all this J professe that I accompt God hath had a directing and a working hand in all and haue therefore obeyed leauing all excuses which I might probablie haue made euen so Gods will be done When a publique good in a mans calling is likely to be effected excuses for priuate respects in my conscience haue no place Had I but imagined in time that it should haue come to this at length by Gods help it had beene better and yet his goodnesse it is that it is no worse it is truth and it is needfull that J dare and do auouch for my part to take it well and to vse it wel may make it good and profitable for your Honors first and so for others to whom God shall giue opportunitie and grace J haue beene earnestly moued to set it out as I preached it of the words I am sure I haue mist very few of the matter nothing Your Honours are well knowne to to pray together to heare sermons together to receiue the communion the blessed body and bloud of Christ Iesus and that in your publique Parish-Church together God grant more of your state for examples sake for their owne soules sake and for Gods glorie sake to do the like If together also your Honors wil be pleased sometimes to reade and conferre seriously of this diuine matter heer consecrated to your Soueraigne good let me be blamed and most seuerely censured if you finde cause to repent your well bestowing time and paines this way The Lord God of mercies fill your noble hearts with heauenly graces and powre vpon both your Honours and all yours his richest blessings for his deare sonne Christ Iesus his sake London the 25 of Nouember 1607. Your honours most bounden and deuoted chaplaine IOHN PELLING 1. PETER 5.7 Cast all your care on him for he careth for you BEing to prouide me for this time and place right honorable right worshipfull and welbeloued in our Lord and Sauiour Christ Iesus I haue with Gods direction I trust setled vpon these words for my Text which I haue heer read vnto you I meane by Gods helpe not to idle out any time in handling them your faithfulnesse in hearing on your part may with Gods blessing proue to you well worth the while Obserue therefore I pray you the words the doctrine and the vse The wordes importe a commandement and a reason to induce men to obey it The doctrine is the doctrine of Gods prouidence which all that talke of vnderstand not the truth nor the depth of The vse is so manifold and profitable that any good man may be diuerse wayes bettered by it either he may be informed of that he knew not or be resolued in that he doubted of or be put in minde of that he remembred not or be perswaded to that he affected not or be comforted in his sorrowes or be moderated in his ioyes or be incouraged in his wel-doing or be deterred from euill some all these waies some by more then these may be singularly benefited God in all duely serued and his name glorified The words importing the commandement are Cast all your care on him the words inciting men to obey it are these For he careth for you Next before my text we reade Humble your selues vnder the mightie hand of God that he may exalt you in due time and so comes in my text Cast all your care on him it must be meant on God for he that is God careth that is prouideth for you for you most especially and most beneficiallie that cast all your care on him For men to cast all their care on God presupposeth mens taking some care for themselues and implyeth that men should not ouercharge themselues with care nor build vpon their owne but vpon the care that God hath of them who is better able to prouide for them then they can for themselues So that to care to care moderately and to accompt it a mans best prouidence to depend most vppon Gods prouidence is that which we are here commanded and incited vnto Sith no man can care in that measure or manner nor relye in all his courses vpon Gods care Gods prouidence as he ought either not knowing or not duely considering what Gods prouidence is we will by his assistance plainely and truely deliuer the doctrine touching that great matter plainely that it may be vnderstood truely that it may be beleeued and so by Gods grace also well applyed and vsed In opening this doctrine I must shew first what Gods prouidence is 2. what things are subiect vnto it 3. Gods manner of working by it In the writings of the godly learned we finde it thus described Prouidentia Dei est actio Dei externa temporalis qua omnia et singula quae sunt conseruat et quae fiunt omnia singula disponit ad finem quem ipse determinauit secundum libertatem voluntatis suae idque vt in omnibus et singulis glorificetur The prouidence of GOD is an outward and a temporarie action of God by which he doth preserue all things that are vniuersall and singular and doth dispose of all things general and particuler that are done and doth determine the end of them according to the libertie of his owne will and that to this end that in all things generall particuler he may be glorified And thus Prouidentia Dei est eternum et immutabile decretum Dei de rebus omnibus et singulis ad suos certos vsus et fines perducendis secundum illum ordinem quem ipse praefiniuit ad suam gloriam Gods prouidence is an eternall and an immutable decree of God touching all things whatsoeuer
can bee against the one and not against the other but in diuerse respects it may be one thing may be Contra voluntatē reuelatam against Gods reuealed will his law it beeing the rule of right and wrong to the creature the measure of sinne and yet not praeter voluntatem occultam not besides Gods secret will it beeing not to the creature any rule of right or wrong but it respecteth euery thing whatsoeuer sub ratione boni as it is good as it is a mean to Gods glorie and so reductiue whatsoeuer it be it is good And further we are to know acknowledge that to permit that which is vnexcusably sinne in man is not sinne in God fo we haue an other infallible rule in diuinitie Quum is qui permittit inhibendi poteslatem habet absque vlla obligatione vt is cui permittitur agendi absque vlla coactione Actus vtrobique est voluntarius in priore absque culpa in posteriore absque excusatione when he that permits hath power to forbid is free from any tie to permit or not to permit to forbid or not to forbid and that he which is permitted hath power to doe without constraint the action in both is voluntary in the former that is in GOD the creator without sinne in the later the creature man or Angel without excuse But how can GOD any way permit sinne and yet bee no way the author of sinne fist sine approbatione without approuing it 2. denegatione gratiae by denying the partie grace and leauing him to himselfe as God may doe if he will it is therfore iustly done because he doth it 3. peccatum determinando ne latius serpat by limiting it that it shall not go so farre as the tempter or the sinner would Lastly ordinando as in Adams fall the Diuel wrought most subtilly tentādo man wrought actually peccando God wrought prouidently dirigendo Sathan in malice tempted man to sinne to despight God man in folly sinneth to please himselfe God in his prouidence directeth al to the shewing of mercie by sending his sonne to redeeme some and to the shewing of his Iustice in bringing confusion on them that dye without redemption Gods mercie and his iustice tend and worke both to Gods euerlasting glory which is the maine and most blessed end of all Yet had it not beene better that Adam had beene created better that as he was created bonus good so he had beene created immutabiliter bonus immutably good I answer no for first looke how God created him that was best therefore best because he created him so then to be immutabiliter bonus immutably good is an essential propertie of God It were very simple for any man to imagine that the creature man or Angel should be made the creator God To conclude this point our God with whom we haue to doe is the Loxd dominus primus supremus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 liberrimus The first the highest sole Lord of himselfe and most absolutely free the first before all in eternitie the highest aboue all in infinite Maiestie sole of himselfe he depends on none but all of him he is absolute at his owne libertie his will alone is an absolute warrant for him to doe withall vnder him whatsoeuer he will to make or to destroy to make poore or rich to exalt high or bring lowe to reiect or saue at his free pleasure he is subiect to no controwle or check say he do he decree he execute he what hee will where when and on whomsoeuer And if any man will let him with any thing a good minde looke into any the workes of God any one the vnlikeliest to mans reason yet shall he finde it without defect deformity disorder or any iniquitie if he consider it wholie and intirely togethe cōpare the beginning with the end consider the means determinatly working from the beginning to the end you shall finde that he hath done and doth all things well As in the working of Arras tapistry or the like in a loome or frame you shall lee heer a leg and there an arme and yonder a head a very imperfect peece of worke if there were all but when it is finished euery part brought in as it is at last in due proportion then behold the cunning head and hand haue brought it to an excellent worke So consider Gods workes not piecemeale but wholly entirely part not the beginning from the end nor these from the meanes where God vseth any Consider Dauids adulterie and murther Peters denialls and cursing but withall the harty repentance of them both Consider faire Absolons death but with all his treason Sampsons eies cruelly pulled out by the Philistines but withall his blind lust to lewd Dalilah Consider the little children torne in pieces by beares but withall their mocking of Gods Prophet Consider Adams fall but withall Christ promised Consider Christs ignominious death but withall his glorious resurrection Take one thing with another in all Gods workes I say to any man as Augustine saith attende totum lauda totum consider the whole it will well appeare that God is to be praised that God hath done and doth his parte in euery parte aright Eliphaz in the 5. of Iob discourseth the whole chapter through of this argument of gods working in his prouidence especially vpon man the last of his words are loe thus haue we inquired of it and so it is heare this and know it for thy selfe we haue enquired as hee did at God so it is as from God you haue heard you haue heard it all let euery man know it for himselfe that is let euery man make a good vse of that which touching this great matter he hath heard for he is now vnexcusably if he know it not First therfore you must accompt this doctrine true necessary profitable and euery way a good doctrine Being true as it is infallibly true then not to belieue it is erroneous to argue against it is impious to delight in discourse about it without any care or purpose to settle positiuely in it is vanitie prophane curiositie the way to blasphemous Atheisme It being also a necessarie doctrine then to be carelesse whether euer one heare of it or noe let God in his workes do or in his word speake what he will not to accompt it concernes a man but let the world goe which way it will neuer to trouble ones head about such matters this is dull stupiditie neere to a dead fearing of the confcience neere to a reprobate sense It is so profitable a doctrine that well learned and well vsed it informes a mans vnderstanding with the knowledge of God and himselfe it conformes the will to religious resolutions it reformes the courses of a mans life to christian obedience it armes a distressed and an iniured man with patience it humbles a man full of prosperitie that he burst not with pride it tempers a man giuen to his lasciuious