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A67744 A Christian library, or, A pleasant and plentiful paradise of practical divinity in 37 treatises of sundry and select subjects ... / by R. Younge ... Younge, Richard. 1660 (1660) Wing Y145; ESTC R34770 701,461 713

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hand c Iob 1.11 and 2. ●● True as Themistocles once said of his son this boy can do more than any man in all Greece for the Athenians command the Grecians and I command the Athenians and my wife commands mee and my son commands my wife so the Churches adversaries in some places may boast what their Father the Devill can do for hee commands the Pope and the Pope commands the Iesuites and the Iesuites command such a King or Emperour Rev. 17. ver 12.13 and that Emperour or King commands his Officers of State and they command the common people And yet to speak rightly even all these can do just nothing of themselvs for hee that sits in the heavens laughing them to scorn commands all Now it must needs comfort and support us exceedingly if in all cases wee do but duly consider that inequality is the ground of order that superiour causes guide the subordinate that this sublundry Globe depends on the celestiall as the lesser wheels in a Clock do on the great one which I finde thus expressed As in a Clock one motion doth convay And carry diverse wheels a severall way Yet altogether by the great wheels force Direct the hand unto his proper course Who is hee that saith and it cometh to pass when the Lord commandeth it not Lamenta 3.37 Suppose the Legions of hell should combine with the Potentates of the earth to do their worst they are all nothing without God as in Arithmetick put never so many Cyphers together one before another and they make nothing but let one figure bee added it makes them infinite So is it with men and Devills if God bee not with them they are all but Cyphers And yet for the praise of his glory and the good of his Church these enemies of his whether they rise or sit still shall by an insensible ordination performe that will of the Almighty which they least think of and most oppose The inhabitants of Ierusalem and their Rulers because they knew him not nor yet the words of the Prophets which are read every Sabbath day have fulfilled them in condemning him Act. 13.27 so that as Saint Austin speaks by resisting the will of God they do fulfill it and his will is done by and upon them even in that they do against his will That even Satan himself is limited and can go no further than his chain will reach wee may see Rev. 20.2 More particularly hee could no● touch so much as Iob's body or substance no not one of his servants nor one limb of their bodies nor one hair of their heads nor one beast of their heards b●t hee must first beg leave of God Job 2.6 Nay Satan is so far from having power over us living that hee cannot touch our bodies being dead yea hee cannot find them when God will conceal them witness the body of Moses and I doubt not but as the Angells did wa●t at the Sepulchre of their and our Lord so for his sake they also watch over our graves he could not seduce a false prophet nor enter into a Hog without licence the whole Legion sue to Christ for a sufferance not daring other than to grant that without his permission they could not hurt a very Swine And when he hath leave from God what can hee do hee cannot go one hairs breadth beyond his commission being permitted hee could bring Christ himself and set him on the Pinacle of the Temple but hee could not throw him down which even a little child might have done with permission As the Lyon 1 King 13 killed the Prophet but neither touched the Ass whereon hee road nor yet the dead carkas contrary to his nature True Satan could boast even to Christ himself that all the world was his and all the Kingdoms thereof but when it came to the push he could not enter into a very Hog without asking him leave and having leave given him hee presently carryed the whole heard headlong into the Sea Why did hee not so to the man possessed no thanks to him hee had leave for the one not so for the other and therefore a whole Legion of them were not able to destroy one poor simple man Matth. 8. ver 31.32 So that all our enemies are curbed and restrained by the divine providence of our heavenly Father Satan may bee his Executioner but God is the Iudge and the Executioner cannot lay on a stroke more than the Iudge appoints I confess Satan is so strong comparatively and withall so crafty and malicious that wee may with reverence and love wonder at the mercy of God in our delivery But this is our comfort first that Spirit as wee have shewn can do nothing without the God of Spirits Secondly wee have the Angells aid as the Prophet Elisha against that bloody King 2 King 6.17 Lot against the Sodomites Gen. 19.10 Iacob against the fear of Esau Gen. 32. ver 24.28 Hezekiah against Senacherib Isa. 37.36 and England against that invicible Navie of the Spaniards in Eighty eight True they appear not ordinarily what then no more do the evill Angels but the Word of God assures us it is so the Angel of the Lord pitcheth round about them that fear him and delivereth them Psal. 34.7 And do but thou get spirituall eyes whereby thou mai'st see as with Moses the invisible God so the invisible Angels do but pray as Elisha for his servant that thine eyes may bee opened and then thou shalt see more with thee than against thee 2 King 6.16 17. Yea had wicked men their eyes opened as Balaam once had they would at every turn see an Angel stand in their way ready to resist what they go about as hee did for this is one of the noble imploiments of those glorious spirits to give a strong though invisible opposition to lewd enterprises Many a treacherous act have they hindred without the knowledge of the Traytor Yea O! God many are the dangers which wee see and fear innumerable those wee neither see nor fear Therefore to take away all attribution to our selv● even when wee know not thou do'st deliver us Now if it bee fearfull to think how great things evill spirits can do with permission it is comfortable to think how they can do nothing without permission for if God must give him leave hee will never give him leave to do any harm to his chosen bee will never give him leave to do the least hurt to our souls Now as by way of concession every greater includes the less hee that can lift a Talent can easily lift a Pound so by way of denyall every greater excludes the less If Satan himself cannot hurt us m●ch less his instruments weak men but for proof of this see also an instance or two that a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without our heavenly Father and that without leave from him our enemies cannot diminish one hair of our heads wee have our Saviour's express testimony Matth.
flesh will persecute him that is borne after the spirit Gal. 4 29. When CHRIST was borne all Ierusalem was troubled and Herod cut the throats of all the children in Bethlehem Matth. 2.3 to 22. All was quiet at Ephesus before St. Paul came thither but then there arose no small strife about that way Acts 19.23 c. Again Sect. 6. Fifthly Are you scoft and scorned how can the world pleasure or honour you more First for Honour Reproach in Gods service is the best preferment For as in the Wars to have the hottest and most dangerous service imposed upon them by their Generall is accounted the greatest honour Neither will he confer the same upon any but the stoutest and most valiant So even bearing the Crosse with Christ is as great a preferment in the Court of Heaven as it is in an earthly Court for the Prince to take off his owne Robe and put it on the back of his servant as you may perceive by the Lords speech to Paul Acts 9.15 16. 23.11 And our Saviours words to his Apostles Acts 1.8 Yea sayes Father Latimer to suffer for Christ is the greatest priviledge that God gives in this world And the story of Iob is a book-case to prove it Yea the same Iob professes that if his adversary should write a Booke against him he would esteem it his crowne Job 31.35 36 37. Whence Moses esteemed the rebuke of Christ greater riches then all the treasures of Aegypt Heb. 11.26 Whence Peter and Iohn when they were beaten and imprisoned departed from the Councell rejoycing that they were counted worthy to suffer rebuke for Christs Name Acts 5.41 They esteemed it a grace to be disgraced for him And so it hath been accounted by the best and wisest ever since They that reproach me saith St. Austine do against their wills increase my honour both with God and good men And another of the Fathers It is the highest degree of reputation to be evill spoken of for well doing It is no small credit with the vile to have a vile estimation Tertullian thought much the better of Christianity because Nero persecuted it Calvin made the reproaches and evill speeches of his enemies a matter of great joy to him To be disliked of evill men sayes Picus Mirandula is to be praysed for goodnesse their dispraise is a mans honour their praise his dishonour Never did Neckarchife become me so well as this chaine said Alice Drivers 〈…〉 a Rope was put about his fellowes neck Give me that Gold chaine and dub me a Knight also of that noble Order And shall we grutch to beare a few scoffs for CHRIST No but in our greatest streights and extremities let us acknowledge it a favour and give GOD thanks And indeed it is the sum of all Religion to be thankfull to GOD in the midst of miseries But if thou canst not beare a few ill words for thy Saviour without murmuring and impatience how wouldst thou endure wounds for him yea how wouldst thou afford him thine ashes and write patience with thine own blood Then Sect. 7. 2ly For profit Let a good man be scoft and scorned for a fault he will be the better for it to his dying day His enemies by their evill tongues shall beget in him a good and holy life For happily they shall bring to his remembrance sins forgotten wean him from the love of the world discover whether he be sincere or no make him humble exercise and improve his patience and all his other graces and augment his glory Yea his patient suffering shall be rewarded here as well as hereafter Deut. 23.5 2 Sam. 16.12 Blessed are they which suffer for righteousness for theirs is the kingdome of heaven Matth. 5.10 to 14. They that suffer here for well doing shall be crowned hereafter for well suffering And certainly nothing that we can suffer here can be compared with those woes we have deserved in Hell or those joyes we are reserved to in Heaven By our crosses sanctified weight is added to our Crowne of blisse Our Enemies saith Bernard are but our Fathers Goldsmiths working to add pearls to the Crowns of the Saints Whence Moses chose rather to suffer affliction with the people of God then to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season Heb. 11.26 And hence it is that the Holy Ghost calls upon us to rejoyce and be exceeding glad when men shall revile and persecute and say all manner of evill against us falsely for Christs sake and tels us we are blessed and happy for that the spirit of glory and of God does so much the more rest upon us which on their parts is evill spoken of but on our part is glorified 1 Pet. 4.12 13 14. Mat. 5.11 12. Phil. 1.28 29. Rev. 2.13 And this hath made thousands to embrace the very flames when they might easily have been freed by exchanging eternall happiness for temporary and transitory Your cruelty is our glory said the Martyrs in Tertullians time to their persecutors For the harder we are put to it the greater shall our reward be in Heaven It is to my losse said Gordius the Martyr if you bate me any thing of my sufferings Sect. 8. Now if in conclusion the most malicious practices of our worst and greatest Enemies by the blessing of God and our well hushanding of them prove no other in effect to us then did the malice of Josephs brethren Mistris and Lord to him then the malice of Haman to Mordecai and the Iewes Then Balacks malice to the Children of Israel Then the Devils spight to Job Then the malice of Achitophel Shimei to David Or then the Arians malice to Paphnutius all which made for their inestimable good benefit and advantage Then grutch not at it neither mutter at the matter but receive what ever comes with humility patience piety and thankefulness Yea if none but evill men do it and that because you do better or fare better then they and that what you suffer is nothing to what Christ the best of Saints have exceeded you in Let it make you no less joyfull then thankefull Yea let it cause you to cry out O the wonderfull and soveraign goodness of our God! that turns even our poysons into cordials And henceforth thinke it no shame but count it your glory Be not grieved when you have so much cause to rejoyce for it shews you to be borne of God your enemies to be the seed of the Serpent The worlds hating you shewes that Christ loves you and hath chosen you out of the world Yea this is to your Adversaries a sure token of perdition but to you of salvation and that of God Yea do not only beare with them but pitty and pray for them for they need no helpe to be miserable As who sets them on worke but he that will pay them with damnation though God offers them better wages Nor is it so much they as the Devill in and by them It is his