Springs within these Sixty yeares besides a dangerous Autumne that went not long before in which three seasons the Church hath beene so purged that her losse is never like to bee recovered Yet those Physicians were so well rewarded that we doe not wonder if they have left us a seede that would gladly doe us the like service But we shall doe well to know that there are many bodies that take least Physicke and yet are most in health and some humors though peccant sleepe without distemper of the body which being stirred by Physicke cast downe and endanger many a strong body He spake wisely though homely that compared a Physitian to a Laundresse Shee that washeth whitest weareth soonest and I am sure it were better for the Church to be still crasie then so often cured But one Rule of Physicke they observe well for the Diet is not safely Ministred except the body be first purged and being so earnestly disposed to Diet us I cannot but commend their skill if before-hand they would purge us But they shall deserve better thanks if they spare their paines in both the Church needeth Restoratives rather then Purgations He saith Plato that will heale running eyes must first cure the braine and the braine is not recovered except the stomach be amended for these have a dependance one upon the other and a consent each with the other The Churches loosenesse is her sore eyes or rather a sore in mens eyes the Churches ignorance is a defect in her braine and many complaine that divers of her sonnes have too dull and flegmaticke a braine The Churches maintenance is her Stomacke but the World will not understand that she hath too cold a Stomacke that the Source and Spring of her other Diseases arises from the coldnesse of that Where the Authoritie of the Church is so many wayes curbed and the Portion so curtailed what wonder if the unlearned are tolerated and many lewd ones escape unpunished But let the Armes of the Church be unpinnacled let the Heart of the Church be refreshed then the complaint will be more just if her Eyes continue sore if her Braine continue cold then mortifie that Braine pluck out those Eyes but if you take a contrarie course beleeve it howsoever you seeme to restore for the present you prevent not a worse disease That Chimicall Oyle though never so curiously extracted and in never so small quantitie ministred is not without reason suspected upon the receit whereof many men have perished Blame us not if our Neighbours harmes doe make us to beware Or if our Humours doe abound and the world will not beleeve the contrarie but that the Churches Authoritie is too great her Livings be too many the one gives libertie to Sinne the other breeds neglect of many Soules deale with us as with Scholars if we must dye let us dye by the Booke Aske counsell of Antiquitie and let our Fathers teach Learne of them what Physicians they used when as they cured the Physicians of their Soules Moses commends the charge of the whole Law unto the King both first and second Table concerning the Parsons Priests and People were disposed and ordered by the appointment of the King But the King did not proceed herein without counsell Reade the storie of Jehosaphat Joash and Ezechias all good Kings and there you shall find who in these cases were the Kings directors The advice and execution was the Priests the command and power was the Kings Descend to the dayes of Christianitie peruse the Lawes of Christian Emperours see when they assembled whom they used in Councels Come to the dayes of Charlemaine the first German and worthiest Emperour â—et the Historie informe you who made up his reforming Chapter Our Historie may give some light unto us and our ancient Lawes may not be over-slipped by us if we couple these together the uniformitie we sinde in them so ancient so generall deserves to be a patterne to us And indeed if it please us to observe it there are three things necessarily required in them that shall discreetly undertake so great a worke Science Conscience and Experience In Sâ—ience I speake of things of this nature we presume so farre of mens modestie that they will not compare with us if any man thinke otherwise his pride is rather to be chastised then his opinion refuted And for Experience our Neighbour-Countreyes may teach us how little good new-found courses have or will performe promise they never so much good unto us Varietie of Heresies and inconvenient Policies doe now afflict them and I pray God they may be farre from us There remaines onely Conscience which we doe not denie to others and others must yeeld it unto us In these things we should not prejudice one the other but reserre our selves both to God who is the unpartiall Iudge of both Saint Paul is my Author Iudge nothing saith he before the time 1 Cor. 4.5 untill the Lord come who will lighten things that are hid in darknesse and make the counsels of the heart manifest then shall every man have prayse of God But this Rule is transgressed and the Church contrarie to this Rule grievously wounded Are there no Drunkards Adulterers common Barreters but of the Church Or is their excesse in these sinnes growne so extraordinarie that they cannot be repressed by the Censures of their Ordinarie Is Suspension Deprivation Degradation no paine But the Minister must be tryed by God and his Countrey Or will the diligence of the Civill Sword make amends for the negligence of the Ecclesiasticall Censure I will not particularize such crying sinnes as reigne amongst us and yet the Civill Sword authorized thereunto is slow enough to root them out nay it is if not the breeder yet the a better of some of them a thing not observed and therefore not much remedied Therefore let us both remember the Apostles Rule 1 Tim. 1.8 We know the Law is good if a man use it lawfully Your Law is good and ours is good but we are both sick of one disease wee have not so much grace as wee should have to use it lawfully Wee should therefore pray one for another amend one the other and beare one with the other A popular seditious Roman was wont in their Parliaments to advise the Commons to marke well the fiâ—st words of the Bill If it began with Siquis Dictator Consul Praetor c. If such or such a Magistrate shall doe thus or thus hereafter his paine shall be such and such they should passe the Bill and not weigh it were there never so much rigorousnesse in it his reason was Sciant ad se nihil pertinere What need they stick at it when others must smart for it But if the Bill began Si Pop. Romanus aut si Quirites aut Plebs That if the Commons did thus or thus such should be their punishment then they must heed it sift it and crosse it lest their libertie be
shall find rest for your soules but they said We will not walke therein Also I set Watchmen over you which said Take heed to the sound of the Trumpet but they said We will not take heed At another time being recalled they answered desperately Jer. 18.12 Surely we will walke after our owne imaginations and doe every man after the stubbornnesse of his wicked heart The Word that thou hast spoken to us in the Name of the Lord Jer. 44.16 we will not heare it of thee but we will doe whatsoever thing goeth out of our owne mouthes The Prophets every where challenge them for choosing their owne way following their owne counsell and fulfilling their owne lusts Such workes were their owne And if we will make their case ours we may easily judge which of our workes God will reckon for our owne even all those in doing whereof we wittingly and willingly withdraw our obedience from Gods Word and Spirit But before I leave this point the Texts opportunitie and some mens importunitie occasioning me I must more fully open the difference betwixt Gods workes and ours and remove that false imputation of humane invention that is layd upon many a publike one of ours We must then further observe that of our two Guides the Word and the Spirit the Spirit is not severed from the Word it is received by the Word and being received it inlightens us to understand and inables us to obey Gods Word That the Spirit is received by the Word the Apostle teacheth 2 Cor. 3◠calling the preaching of the Gospel the ministration of the Spirit and to the Galathians he writes that by the preaching of the Gospel Gal. 3.2 they received the Spirit Againe that being received it inlightens us to understand and inables us to obey the Word our Saviour Christ teacheth us who speaking of the comming of the Spirit saith Joh. 14.26 He shall teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance which I have told you And againe He shall lead you into all Truth Ioh. 16.13 Ioh. 17.17 which Truth is Gods Word as he elsewhere expounds it In this sense must be understood the Spirits Vnction it anointeth us to understand the Word the Spirits obsignation it sealeth unto us an assurance of the Word the Spirits sanctification it purifieth us to obey the Word Saint Chrysostomes rule is true Siquis eorum qui dicuntur habere Spiritum Sanctum dicit aliquid de seipso non ex Euangeliis non creditur siquis dicta Christi sequitur Spiritum Sanctum habet c. This must be observed against old and new Enthusiasts who thinke they can see into the secrets of Heaven without the Looking-Glasse of Heaven That they can sound the Mind of Christ without hearing the Voice of Christ That they can conferre with the Spirit without the Language of the Spirit But we must resolve That no man is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 except he be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 no man is taught of God but by the Word of God I hope this place hath not any nor this Land many that have as yet received that evill Seed if it be rooted in any their case is to be pittied and those that are too forward by their fall must timely be admonished Our second Guide is Gods Word wherein many things are necessarily concluded which are not therein literally expressed In matters of Faith and Manners we are not tyed to the strictnesse of the Letter but the fullnesse of the Sense Our Saviour Christ is our Master in this course He proveth the Resurrection of the Dead Mat. 22.32 being an Article of our Faith against the Sadduces and the use of the Sabbath being a rule of life Mat. 12.7 against the Pharises by an inference made upon the Scripture not by any evidence of the Letter of the Scripture Christ is herein followed by the Apostles by Councels and Fathers Nazianzene hath comprehended the Doctrine in this rule Quaedam in Scripturis sunt dicuntur quaedam insunt etiamsi non dicantur and he addeth That the sticking to the Letter is oftentimes but a pretext of impietie And indeed this pretext is used by the Church of Rome who excludes that from the Scripture which is apparantly concluded within the sense of the Scripture in the Doctrine of the Trinitie the Sacraments and some other points of moment and having raysed this mist closely conveyes Articles of Faith and Rules of Life into the Doctrine of the Church not onely besides but contrary to the Scripture and yet in their late many and wordie Pamphlets would perswade men that our Doctrine is our owne and not Gods that theirs is not their owne but Gods Let the true Christian conferre the proofes and for his owne eternall comfort judge whether they deserve not the censure of Christ Math. 15.9 In vaine doe they worship me teaching the Doctrines of Men. Another worke there is which must bee examined because the World is therewith much perplexed I meane the Ceremonies and Discipline it must be inquired Whether the observance of them be a worke of Gods or ours And heere these three Rules are of all hands acknowledged First No Discipline or Ceremony must be contrary to the Word of God Secondly None must be equalled thereto Thirdly Both must edifie us therin These three Rules being observed I say First whatsoever thing is in its owne nature indifferent may by lawfull power be limited Secondly Being lawfully so enjoyned it must be obediently used Thirdly No Man with a good Conscience may forgoe his Vocation for this cause onely because he cannot be released from the use of such a thing The reason of all is plaine for the deniall of the first takes away the Magistrates lawfull power the deniall of the second argueth ignorance of Christian obedience and the third proveth that such mens credit is the measure of their care and they are more wedded to their fancy then truly zealous of Gods glory These poynts have beene largely amplified and Fatherly recommended but as yet the world will not be satisfied the Church cannot intreate so much of her Children as to be dutifully obeyed It is thought by too many a meete deliberation who should yeeld whether the Fathers which stand for that which is well grounded and lawfully authorized or the Children which stand against the Fathers of their Country and Fathers of the Church It were meete the foundations were razed before the buildings be ruined and the Reasons answered before the Church be altered But they have found at least a Simile to make good their cause The Church is like mans body Our Soveraignes new entrie may bee compared to the Spring Saint Pauls comparison is acknowledged and for our Spring the Lord be blessed But what then As mans body so the Church this Spring time must be purged An old Simile new furbished For indeed our Church evidences doe tell us of two such
same God is mercifull power belongeth unto God and to thee ô Lord mercy The blessed combination of which Attributes in God is easily perceaved if we consider his government of the world for he rewardeth every man according to his works Lo then in a word what is the substance of this text it is true it is cleare God can he will reckon with us all and deale partially with none The paraphrase of the Text to judge what is in God by that which proceeds from him We have warrant from Gods owne mouth under the Test of K. David witnessing that the Indifferency of Gods judgments is the evidence of his nature The points to be considered are two the persons from whom we take this resolution and the resolution that we take from the persons the persons two the author and the witnes and the resolution consists of two parts first what God is secondly how he deales with man First Of the persons the first whereof is the Author the Author is undeniable for it is God God spake Between God and man the Apostle puts this difference Let God be true and every man a lyar for man is but a meere man man may deceave or be deceaved but neither of these are incident unto God nec actu nec potentiâ God doth not he cannot lie God is not he cannot bee deceaved And no wonder seeing he is not only the originall of all truth but also truth it selfe by nature So that it is no more possible for falsehood to be at one with God then for darknesse to consort with light both import a reall contradiction Whereas the greatest commendation of the best man is but this They speake in veritate mentis without simulation without equivocation or mentall reservation The praise due to God is that hee speakes in certitudine veritatis no mist or fraud or errour can overcast his wisdome or his holinesse his word is tryed to the uttermost like silver as the Psalmist speaketh seven times tryed in the fire What then is our lesson Surely this we must not be ashamed of Iulians scoffe he derided the Christian beliefe because it had no other proofe then Thus saith the Lord. But Nazianzen replies well they which allowed and captivated their judgment to a man have no reason to accept against that which relyeth upon the authority of God especially seeing they received principles of Philosophy which were examinable by reason But we credit only mysteries of Religion wherto no approches can be made by the naturall wit of man Finally they build on a professed scholar of the father of lies and we on him whose style is The Lord God of Truth The Conclusion that ariseth here-hence is God spake or the Lord hath said must goe currant with us as an indemonstrable Principle of our faith and an incontrollable precept for our life it must goe currant if God speake it if he speake but once how much more if as it followeth in my Text he speake once or twice I will not trouble you with divers readings of these words I take them as our Church doth read them and read them as may be borne well by the originall But touching the meaning of these words there are diverse observations For some take the words definitely as if David meant precisely twise some indefinitely as if by twise he meant often And they that take them definitely have not all the same conceipt Referre them to the Creation and Redemption of man in both which God really spake that he was powerfull and mercifull to reckon with and to reward man Psal 49.8 15. And indeed as much may be gathered out of the forty ninth Psalme and Saine Peter and Saint Iude argue from Gods proceeding with the world upon the Creation to that which we must respect in the state of Redemption Othersome apprehend this voyce in Gods workes and in his wordes Ps 19.2 3 In the nineteenth Psalme King David observeth this twofold voyce and not amisse for what are Gods workes but visible words and his words but audible workes the Hebrew word Dabar comprehends both God preacheth the same power and mercy in both wee may know that they are in him by that which proceeds from him A third sort understand only the words of Moses and of the Prophets Abraham remembreth these two voyces to Dives in hell they have Moses and the Prophets let them heare them There are two voyces of God the voyce of his Precepts and the voyce of examples for what is contained in the Law is applyed in the Prophets and both say nothing but that of his power and mercy we have as many monuments as there be lawes of God and lives of men Some are satisfied with none of these but report an outward and inward voyce that sounds the one in the eare the other in the Conscience Saint Paul hath specified this double voyce the Conscience shall beare witnesse accusing or excusing it that day when God shall judge the Consciences of men by Iesu◠Christ according to my Gospell Rom. 2. There shall be then as there should be now a concent betweene Gods voyce speaking within us and without us the effect whereof is The judgement of men according to the Gosspel and what is the Gospell but a blessed mixture of the power and mercy of God There remaines yet an exposition more and that is not an idle one God speakes ordinarily and extraordinarily ordinarily in the Canon of the Scripture by the Pastors of his Church extraordinarily when in the distresses of his children hee vouchsafeth to be an immediate remembrancer unto them of those comforts which are notwithstanding in generall contained in the Covenant betweene them and him not speaking any new matter unknowne to them but by speaking immediately himselfe making the greater impression in them And this was usuall untill the death of the Apostles We have instances in the old and new Testament of the extraordinary voice it is needlesse to speake of the ordinary my selfe am now an instance unto you Gen. 15.1 Gen. 16 3 24. Gen. 28.4 but of the extraordinary is that Genesis 15. Feare not Abraham I am thy buckler and thy exceeding great reward The like hath had Isaac Gen. 26. and Iacob 28. In the new Testament how many times did God appeare to Saint Paul in the Acts and memorable to this purpose is the answere My grace is sufficient for thee my strength is made perfect in weakenes King David deare unto God and exercised under the crosse might nay it is plaine in the bookes of Samuel that he sundry times did heare this extraordinary voice And though all other expositions in themselves are true yet unto this place I take this last to be most apt But howsoever in understanding these words you have heard great variety and yet no contrariety onely by laying them together this wee learne that they which understand them definitely by differing each from the other and yet not
the priviledg of the whole Church and the true Church they appropriate to themselves being but a part and but the worst part Finally the same floud that drowned the world did beare up Noahs Arke and the same fire that shall consume the world shall make the Church of God more glorious more illustrious as gold is in the fire of a different condition from stubble This was figured by Moses bush and you had a tast of it in the fierie furnace the flames whereof consumed them that threw in the three Children but could not singe their haire or clothes that lived and walked in the midst of it you see some reason of the comparison drawne from Noah and Christ the Arke and the Church the sloud and the fire But wee must take a more generall lesson that is insinuated in the comparison which is that God in all judgements past gives us a fore-tast of his judgements that are to come So doth Saint Iude send men unto Angels God spared not Angels he will not spare men Ieremy sends Iudah to Israel Ierusalem is of no better condition then Shiloh Saint Paul sendeth the Gentiles to the Iewes If the true Olive were broken off how can the graft of the wild Olive if it be as unfruitfull presume that it shall scape the fire Our Christ here sendeth a world to a world the world that is to that that was shewing that they have no discharge from Gods plagues that make no conscience of keeping Gods lawes there is no prerogative of nature be we as excellent as the Angels no dispensation by Covenant be we as neer God as was the seed of Abraham no advantage of the Gospel above the Law Though the Gentile be in his full age and the Iew in his nonage though we have the truth whereof they had the Types for there is no respect of persons with God Cuivis contingere potest quod cuiquam potest Saint Paul in the tenth Chapter of the first Epistle to the Corinthians gives us this Item all things happened unto our forefathers No Types but they were written to admonish us upon whom the ends of the World are come Our case then is not better then others nay if there bee any advantage either of vertue or vice it is on their part not on ours for it is an undoubted rule that in well doing he that followeth another deserveth lesse praise because he hadâ— precedent to guide him to encourage him but in ill doing the latter deserves the more blame then the former especially of Gods dislike and his wrath manifested to disswade and deterre so that hee that beleeves after Abraham it is well if he may goe as high as Abraham bosome but it shall be easier for Sodome and Gomorraâ— then for Corazin and Bethsaida for that these despised Christ After those Cities had been plagued for not hearing Loe the conclusion is Faelix quem faciunt aliena pericula cautum Wee must make our forefathers case our case in regarâ— of sinne displeasing God except we meane to bee iâ— worser case in regard of plagues when we shall bee â—â—sited of God And thus much of the comparison in generall Come wee now to the proportion of the parts a double proportion of correspondencie and inequalitie First of the correspondencie the correspondencie is double as the persons are of two sorts bad and good In regard of the bad the story doth note the worlds wickednesse and senselesnesse their wickednes for after that the sonnes of God had matched with the daughters of men of them sprang Gyants notorious outragious wickednes Rebells against God Tyrants among men without all pity without all charity But the Scripture doth in very significant manner expresse the measure of their sin and senselesnesse of their hearts saying of the first that the very frame of their imaginations of their heart was evill and that continually even from their youth Could there be any sparke of good in them whom the Scripture setteth forth as so bad they were rotten at the roote for the frame of their imaginations was evil and that not for a moment they were uncessantly evill and that not in some part of their age but even from their youth according to that in the 58. Psalme The wicked goe astray even from their mothers wombe Adde hereunto that which God himselfe complaines of that this sinne had not stinted it selfe within some sew persons but all flesh had corrupted his wayes high and low old and young men and women as it is expresly set downe of Sodome and Go morrah in that impure siege of Lots house so that their recoverie was desperate when the contagion was so generall and the more desperate in that in so great wickednesse there appeared so great senselesnesse for Gods spirit did strive with them in his mercy desirous for to reclaime them but strived in vaine so that being weary he was faine to breake out into this speech My spirit shall strive no more with man And yet see the bowels of a mercifull God that when hee was weary with striving yet hee did not give over striving for unto wordes he added deeds and made Noah that was before a Preacher of righteousnesse in words to be unto them a Preacher of vengeance But now in deedes to see whether hee that could not perswade them to walke holily could strike a terror in them by building of the Arke A visible prophesie of the flood to turne unto God penitently And to this striving God allowed a large terme even 120. yeeres but all was in vaine for they continued the same sinfull and senselesse till the flood seized upon them and tooke all hope of recoverie from them Thus it fared with the old world in regard of those persons that were bad and is it any better with our world In this Chapter Christ parallels the Iewes with this world their destruction with the destruction of the whole and the cause of their destruction even sin and senselesnesse hee proposeth as a looking glasse for all how wicked they were you may reade in the first of Esay from the Crowne of the head to the sole of the foote nothing but sores and blaines he meanes not corporall but spirituall as you may read in the verse going before those words where he cals them corrupt children and seed of the wicked In the same Chapter he describes their senselesnesse shewing that God gave over fatherly to correct them because the more they were smitten the more they did apostatize from him Ieremy doth speake of the like generall sinfulnesse and senselesnesse but specially in the latter end of the booke of Kings and of the Chronicles it is amplified as the just cause of their Babylonian captivity even when they were besieged and wâ—ll nigh famished yet would they not beleeve that either God was offended or their City should be destroyed Touching the second captivity by the Romans our Saviour Christ briefly but very sharpely and yet with