I deliuer in this position The ministerie of the word of God freely exercised in any nation is to that nation a blessing of an inestimable value I neede not be long in the proofe of this truth you already giue your assent vnto it The word of God it s a Iewell then which nothing is more precious vnto which any thing else compared is but drosse by which any thing else tryed is found lighter then vanitie it s a trumpet wherby we are called from the slippery paths of sinne into the way of Godlinesse It s a lampe vnto our feete it s a light vnto our paths Psal 119.105 It s the g Matth. 4.4 Luk. 4.4 Ierem. 15.16 Ezech. 3.3 Revel 10.9 Ezech. 2.8 Wisd 16.26 foode of our soules by it our soules do liue Deut. 8.3 It s 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1. Pet. 1.23 incorruptible seede Seede committed to the earth taketh roote groweth vp blossometh and beareth fruit So is it with the word of God If it be sowen in your hearts and there take roote it will grow vp blossome and beare fruit vnto eternall life In which respect S. Iames chap. 1.21 calls it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an engrafted word engrafted in your hearts able to saue your soules Sith the word of God is such doth it not follow of necessitie that the ministerie of it freely exercised in any Nation will be to that Nation a blessing of an inestimable value Can it be denyed The Prophet Esay chap. 52.7 with admiration auoucheth it How beautifull vpon the mountaines are the h Nahum 1.15 feete of him that bringeth good tidings that publisheth peace that bringeth good tidings of good that publisheth saluation that saith vnto Zion Thy God reigneth S. Paul is so resolued vpon the certainty of this truth that Rom. 10.15 he resumeth the words of the Prophet How beautifull are the feete of them that preach the Gospell of peace and bring glad tidings of good things Conferre we these two places one with the other that of Esay with this of Paul and we shall behold a heape of blessings showring downe vpon them to whom God sendeth the ministers of his Gospell for they bring with them the word of saluation the doctrine of peace the doctrine of good things and the doctrine of the kingdome Such is the Gospell of Christ First it is the word of saluation The Gospell of Christ is called the word of saluation first because it is the power of God vnto saluation as S. Paul speaketh Rom. 1.16 It is the power of God vnto saluation that is it is the instrument of the power of God or it is the powerfull instrument of God which he vseth to bring men vnto saluation And secondly because it teacheth vs concerning the author of our Saluation euen Christ Iesus An Angell of the Lord appeared vnto Ioseph in a dreame and saith vnto him Ioseph the sonne of Dauid feare not to take vnto thee Mary thy wife for that which is conceiued in her is of the Holy Ghost And she shall bring forth a sonne and thou shalt call his name i Luk 1.31 Iesus for he shall saue his people from their sinnes Matth. 1.21 He shall saue his people that is he shall be their Sauiour Iesus he is the Sauiour of his people merito efficacia by merit and by efficacie By merit because he hath by his death purchased for his people for all the elect the remission of their sinnes and the donation of the holy Spirit and life eternall And by efficacie because by the Holy Spirit and by the preaching of the Gospell he worketh in the elect true faith by which they doe not onely lay hold on the merit of Christ in the promise of the Gospell but also they studie to serue God according to his holy commandements An Angell of the Lord relating the natiuitie of Christ vnto the Shepheards Luk 2.10 11. saith vnto them Feare not For I bring you glad tidings of great ioy which shall be to all people For vnto you is borne this day in the Citie of Dauid a Sauiour which is Christ the Lord. Vnto you is borne a Sauiour where you haue what you are to beleeue of the Natiuitie of Christ He is borne a Sauiour vnto you Vnto you not onely to those shepheards to whom this Angell of the Lord speakes the words but vnto you Vnto you not only to Peter and Paul and some other of Christs Apostles and Disciples of old but vnto you vnto you vnto euery one of you in particular and vnto me When I heare the Angels words Christ is borne a Sauiour vnto you I apply them vnto my selfe and say Christ is borne a Sauiour vnto me In this perswasion and confidence I rest and say with S. Paul Gal. 2.20 I liue yet not I now but Christ liueth in me and that life which I now liue in the flesh I liue by the faith of the Sonne of God who loued me and gaue himselfe for me Christ is borne a Sauiour vnto me Peter filled with the Holy Ghost seales this truth Act. 4.12 There is no Saluation in any other then in the name of Iesus Christ of Nazareth There is no other name vnder Heauen giuen among men whereby we must be saued then the name of Iesus Christ of Nazareth Againe Act. 15.11 he professeth it We beleeue that through the grace of the Lord Iesus Christ we shall be saued It must be our beleefe too if we will be saued We we in particular must beleeue that through the grace of the Lord Iesus we shall be saued We shall be saued What 's that It is in S. Pauls phrase we shall be made aliue 1. Cor. 15.22 As in Adam all dye so in Christ shall all be made aliue St Austine Ep. 157. which is to Optatus doth thus illustrate it Sicut in regno mortis nemo sine Adam ita in regno vitae nemo sine Christo As in the kingdome of death there is no man without Adam so in the kingdome of life there is no man without Christ as by Adam all men were made vnrighteous so by Christ are all men made righteous sicut per Adam omnes mortales in poenâ facti sunt filij seculi ita per Christum omnes immortales in gratiâ fiunt filij Dei As by Adam all men mortall in punishment were made the sonnes of this world so by Christ all men immortall in grace are made the sonnes of God Thus haue I prooued vnto you that the Gospell of Christ is the word of Saluation as well because it is the power of God vnto Saluation as also because it teacheth vs of the author of our Saluation Secondly it is the doctrine of Peace The Gospell of Christ is called the doctrine of peace because the ministers of the Gospell do publish and preach Peace This Peace which they publish and preach is threefold Betweene God and man Man and man Man and himselfe First they preach Peace
voice of his k Exod. 20.18 19. thunderings and lightnings or with the noyse of a trumpet as he did vpon Mount Sinai when he gaue the Law for then should we runne away and cry vnto Moses or some other seruant of God Speake thou with vs and we will heare but let not God speake with vs lest we dye but by Doctors Pastors and other Ministers men of our own nature flesh of our flesh bones of our bones men subiect to the same l James 5.17 passions whereto we are Admirable and gracious is this dispensation God thus borrowing and vsing the tongues of men to speake vnto men doth it quasi imperans non quasi mendicans as Bernard speaketh Serm. 5. vpon the Canticles he doth it not begging but commanding and in that he doth it indulgentia est non indigentia it is not from any want in himselfe but it is from his indulgence and fauour vnto vs and in doing it non efficaciam quaerit sed congruentiam he seekes not any strength to his owne words but congruence and proportion to our infirmities It s euen so For we were not able to beare the glory of that Maiestie if it did not in some sort hide and temper it selfe vnder these earthly instruments Now therefore when we take the counsels of God from the lips of our sonnes and of our yong men from the lips of our Brethren from the lips of the Ministers of the word of God we may say of them as the men of Listra once said of Paul and Barnabas but renouncing the idolatry of the speach Act. 14.11 God is come downe to vs in the likenesse of men God is he that speaketh from aboue that blesseth and curseth that bindeth and looseth that exhorteth and dehorteth by the mouth of his Ministers For this respect and relations sake betweene God and his Ministers whom it hath pleased him to dignifie and honour in some sort with the representation of his owne person vpon earth they haue euer heretofore bin holden in very reuerend estimation Such was the estimation holden of S. Paul by the Galatians S. Paul himselfe confesseth it Gal. 4.14 15. where he beares them record that albeit through infirmitie of the flesh he preached the Gospell vnto them at the first yet they despised him not or reiected him but receiued him as an Angell of God euen as Christ Iesus yea that if it had bin possible Nature and the Law forbidding it they would haue plucked out their owne eyes and giuen them to him But why speake I of the reuerend regard giuen to Saint Paul or to any other the Ministers of the word of God in the primitiue times of the Church Looke ye but to the dayes of late to the dayes of your Fathers and you will see them in very high esteeme Then though your Priests were but Lignei sacerdotes wooden priests priests of Babylon that were your leaders and your guides you highly honoured them You bestowed vpon them your eareings and your frontlets your lands and reuenewes to maintaine them in their Couents and Cloysters To euery Fryer that drew you aside to confesse you you submitted your selues with Pater meus es tu you are my Father my ghostly Father So farre were you from despising or reiecting them that yee receiued them as Angels of God yea as Christ Iesus himselfe Such honour had the Priests in your fore-fathers dayes No maruaile will some say For then Religion had eaten vp Policie the Church had deuoured the Common-wealth Cloysters were richer in treasure then Kings houses all the wealth fatnes of the Land was swallowed downe into the bellies of Frieryes and Nâ—neryes No maruaile if then Priests were held in high esteeme But now the times are changed and we with them True I grant the times are changed indeed For as a worthy Prelat yet liuing Lect. 34. in Ionam speaketh Now Policie hath eaten vp Religion the Common-wealth the Church and men rob God as God expostulateth Malac. 3.8 Men rob God against all equitie and conscience But wherein doe they rob him In tithes and offerings His tithes and offerings are translated to strangers they eat the materiall bread of the Prophets who neuer giue them spirituall foode and they that serue not at the Altar do liue by it whereas many a Minister that serueth at the Altar hath not whereon to liue Hence is the Ministerie growne into contempt and they who should be honoured for their calling sake are for their wants sake very basely thought of I speake not this to taxe you of this place you rob not God but do duely pay your tithes and offerings the Church here hath its right and euer may it haue to your comfort But I do it to moue you to lift vp your hearts to the throne of grace and to blesse the Lord for as much as when the tythes and offerings of some of your neighbour Villages are made appropriate yours are by Gods goodnes exempted from the spoyle and reserued to their proper vse whereby you may in all ages be prouided though not of Prophets and Nazirites such as God raised vp vnto Israel but of Pastors and Teachers such as may be able to breake vnto you the bread of life and to preach vnto you the Gospell of Christ which is the Gospell of Saluation the Gospell of Peace the Gospell of good things and the Gospell of the Kingdome of God Hitherto you haue heard that God bestowed a benefit of inestimable value vpon the ten tribes of Israel in raising vp vnto them of their sonnes for Prophets and of their yong men for Nazirites Now followeth the Testification that such a benefit was bestowed you may call it an asseueration It s propounded by way of question wherein you may obserue Who moues the question To whom it is moued and What the question is The Lord is he that moues the question the children of Israel are they to whom the question is moued the question is Is it not euen thus Is it not euen thus ô ye children of Israel saith the Lord Neither the time nor your patience will giue way to the seuerall handling of these particulars nor is there any neede of enlargment the words are so plaine and without obscuritie The question is vehement it vrgeth the Israelites it calls their consciences to witnes Is it not euen thus ô ye children of Israel saith the Lord Say O ye children of Israel haue I not done so and so for you Haue I not bestowed such and such benefits vpon you Can any of you denie it Vtique nemo saith Rupertus ther 's none of you can be so impudent as to denie it I the Lord who destroyed the Amorite before you and for your sake I who brought you vp out of the land of Aegypt and led you forty yeares through the wildernesse to possesse the land of the Amorites I euen I also raised vp of your sonnes for Prophets and of your yong men
mee I will in no wise cast out Turne but to the second Chapter of the Epistle to the Romans and there shall you finde a promise of glory honour peace and eternall life to such as with patience continue in well doing Rest from labour the asswaging of spirituall thirst an irreuocable admission into the fellowship of Christ glory honour peace and life eternall Such is the issue of our obedience the end of our well-doing Of this issue or end to speake as it deserueth what tongue of men or Angels is able A very small quantity hereof here in life obtained O how passeth it all vnderstanding And who is he that can vtter the sweetnesse of that peace of conscience and spirituall reioycing in God which himselfe hath here in this life tasted And if the beginning bee so sweet how sweet shall the fulnesse bee Of which fulnesse vouchsafe most gracious Father in thy good time to make vs all partakers for Iesus Christ his sake THE Seuenth Lecture AMOS 3.6 Shall a trumpet be blowne in the Citie and the people not be afraid OF the six similitudes here brought by Amos this is the last The first was from trauailers vpon the way Vers 3. The second and third were from Lions Vers 4. The fourth and fifth from Fowlers Vers 5. This the sixth and the last is from Warriours Vers 6. All doe serue for the polishing and adorning of the proposition set downe in the second Verse of this Chapter the substance whereof is God being good and gracious to a people if hee be repaid with vnthankfulnesse will assuredly visit that people and punish them for all their iniquities My method for the handling of this sixth similitude shall be no other then what it was for the other fiue I will first cleare the reading and then proceed to such obseruation as may be for the amendment of our liues For the reading first Shall a trumpet be blowne in a citie and the people not be afraid This Trumpet with the Vulgar Latine is Tuba but with Tremelius and Iunius with Mercerus and with Drusius it is Buccina Tuba is the Hebrewes a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ioseph Antiq. Iudaic l. 3. cap. 11. Chatsotsrah Buccina is their b Sophar Gracè 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Hier. Hos 5 8. Schophar and so are these two Chatsotsrah and Schophar translated by the author of the Vulgar Latine Hos 5.8 Claugite buccinâ in Gabaâ Tubâ in Româ Saint Hierome vpon that place puts a difference betweene Buccina and Tuba Buccina pastoralis est cornu recurno efficitur Tuba autem de aere efficitur vel argento According to this distinction Buccina is the Cornet and Tuba the Trumpet So is that place Englished in our newest translation Blow yee the Cornet in Gibeah and the Trumpet in Romah And so my text should speake of a Cornet not of a Trumpet Shall a Cornet be blowne in a City and the people not be afraid Shall a Cornet be blowen The Hebrew is Schophar But this distinction of these two is not perpetually obserued The old interpreters of the Bible doe sometime confound them and doe render c 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Schophar by Tuba the Trumpet and d 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Chatsotsrah by Buccina the Cornet And therefore the reading here will be indifferent either way whether you reade Cornet or Trumpet But I take the Trumpet to be the fittest for vs now to follow because the Translators of our new Church Bible following the ancient Interpreters doe preferre the Trumpet That which followeth admitteth a two-fold reading One is Shall not be people be afraid the other is Shall not they run together Each reading is commended vnto you by our late Translators the first in the text the second in the margent The difference ariseth from the Hebrew word e 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Charadh which signifieth either to be afraid or to run together Shall a trumpet be blowne in a citie and shall not the people either be f Pauere expauescere afraid or g Properè accurrere run together We shall the more easily vnderstand what this interrogation intendeth and what answer is to be made vnto it if wee consider what the ancient vse of Trumpets was The ancient vse of Trumpets is deliuered by a writer of greatest antiquitie from Gods owne prescription Moses in the tenth of Numbers is commanded to make two Trumpets of siluer which were to be for present vse and for vse in time to come For the present they were to serue h Numb 10.2 for the calling of the assembly and for the iourneying of the campes There is a double vse of them commanded for the time to come one in time of warre the other in time of peace The vse of Trumpets in time of warre was to assure them that God would then remember them for good and saue them from their enemies Vers 9. The vse of them in time of peace was for their times of ioy and appointed festiuities In the day of your gladnesse and in your solemne dayes and in the beginnings of your mouthes yee shall blow with the Trumpets ouer your burnt offerings and ouer the sacrifices of your peace offerings that they may be to you for a memoriall before your God Vers 10. Oâ— this double vse of the Trumpet Saint Hierome maketh mention in his Comment vpon Hos 5. Tubâ in bellis ac solonnitatibus concrepabant they blew with the Trumpet in time of warre and in their solemnities So doth Isidore in the eleuenth booke of his Etymologies chap. 20. Tuba adhibebatur non solum in pratijs sed in omnibus festis diebus The Trumpet was vsed not onely in warre but also vpon their feast-dayes Whence is that Psalm 81.3 Blow vp the Trumpet in the new moone in the time appointed on our solemne feast-day And why was the Trumpet to be blowne vpon the solemne feast-day but to call the people together to their holy assemblies So saith Dâ—usius Ad sonum buccinae accurrebat populus cùm ad sacra vocaretur At the sound of the Trumpet the people met together for the hearing of diuine seruice The Trumpet then called them together as now the Bells call vs. This vse of the Trumpet was meerely Ecclesiasticall There were also ciuill vses of it euen in the time of peace as when the people were to be called together to heare some charge giuen them or to giue or take aduisement concerning the affaires of the Common-wealth These vses of the Trumpet as well Ciuill as Ecclesiasticall Drusius hath touched in his sacred obseruations lib. 14. cap. 18. There he saith that at the sound of the Trumpet the people were wont speedily to come together Vel ad audiendum aliquid vel ad orandum vel denique ad agendum sine consultandum de republicâ they came together either to heare somewhat or to pray or to deliberate and consult