must be by an excrement bread is the interest of thy continuall labour this is the yoke of the sins of Adam God in punishing the Israelites will remember the land which he gave them Leviticus 26. 42. and they must suffer the punishment of their iniquitie yea when you shall remember your own wickedness yee shall judge your selves worthy destruction for your iniquitie in the thirty sixth of Ezekiel and the thirty first Paul in the first of the Corinthians the ninth and the fifteenth saith it were better for him to die than not to doe his duty The use of the Scripture Now this sentence upon Adam hath this use for us spinae tribuli the thorns and thistles when we walk in the field speak to us as Gods book doth and make us a Sermon telling they should not have grown there but for us the earth should not have been cursed with barreness but for our wickedness if the thorn prick or the nettle sting thee it will say hoc propter te I was first brought and still I grow to make thee remember thy obedience so that the very nettle that is good for nothing shall put thee in mind of thy 〈◊〉 Be not angrie with the earth if it be barren for it will say it was so non propter se sed propter te To conclude this point well saith a Father we must have not only sensum poenae in corpore the feeling of punishment in our body but sensum irae divinae in mente the seeling of Gods wrath in our soul. But now not to leave you plunged in despair with consideration of grievous punishment in a word I will touch the alay of this punishment be comforted though God be just yet he is mercifull non est Crux sine Christo hast thou a Cross then hast thou Christ to comfort thee Mercies in this Sentence are five God hath left five signes of his mercie in this sentence which the ancient Fathers term vestigia miserantis gratiae impressions of Gods mercifull favour 1. The first is non dixit maledictus tu cursed be thou as he said to the Serpent but terra maledicta cursed be the earth the nature that sinned is not cursed nor is it like Cains curse in the fourth Chapter and eleventh verse for there is he cursed from the earth but here the earth of which Adam was made not Adam himself was cursed 2. Secondly he is punished but with a little labour to his great sinne with a watry drops of sweat and the sweat is but an easie sweat of the face not like Christs sweat in his prayer the twenty second of Luke the fourty fourth verse which was like drops of blood trickling down to the ground 3. Thirdly God might have suffered the earth to have been fruitless let man have laboured never so much but that man for all his sinne yet with his labour shall make the earth fruitfull in my opinion is a great mercy which I ground out of the one hundred twenty eighth Psalme when thou eatest the labour of thy hands saith David thou shalt be blessed It is a blessing when the Wife is fruitfull as the Vine upon the house side when thy Children are as the Olive plants about thy Table and it is a blessing that yet with labour the earth shall bring forth fruit It is a comfort that your labour shall not be in vain as St. Paul speaketh the first to the Corinthians the fifteenth and the fifty eighth God in mercy sendeth rain to water the earth what to doe Isaiah telleth you in his 55. chapter and 10. verse to give not only bread to the eater but even seed to the sower It is a comfort when we sowe that we shall reap he that soweth eareth reapeth thresheth doth it in hope the first to the Corinthians the ninth chapter and tenth verse God giveth bread to the hungry and the seed to further increase by labour dat acquisitum that thou hast gained through thy labor 4. Fourthly it is a great mercie to call it panis taus thy bread thou shalt eat of thy own bread this is mercy I say to terme that mans which is Gods Lastly this labour hath a date and an end it hath tempus refrigerii upon the amending your lives God will put away your sinnes and a time of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord Acts 3. 19. Let this be lastly your comfort that though you labour long yet you shall have a resting after your labour In sudore vultûs tui vescitor cibo donec revertaris in human cum ex eâ desumptus fueris nam pulvis es inpulverem revertêris Gen. 3. 19. October 〈◊〉 1598. NOw are we to handle the other part of Adams Sentence and punishment The ground and nature of the Sentence and in the Sentence we are to consider the ground of it and the nature or form of it Disobedience is the ground of this sentence and this Sentence is made even a Law for according to that of Paul Romans 6. 2. The Law of life which is in Christ Jesus hath freed me from the Law of sinne and of death so that sinne is the cause of death Hence sprung the Pelagian heresie condemned by the Councell of Carthage Concil Carth. 7. That said that though we sinned yet we were freed though we lived never so dissolutely yet we were saved After Christs comming death was not the reward of sinne but mark what St. James in his first chapter and thirteenth verse saith When lust hath conceived it 〈◊〉 forth sinne and sinne when it is finished bringeth forth death and St. Paul in the fifth to the Romans the nineteenth and the twenty first saith Death That as by one mans disohedience many were made sinners so by the obedience of one many were made righteous and further That as sinne reigned unto death so grace by righteousnese might reign to eternall life Truth it is that through sin came death and that death hath rule over all Adam at the first by sinne brought death the last Adam by obedience brought everlasting life and as Paul in the first to the Corinthians the fifteenth chapter and the twenty sixth verse saith That the last enemie that Christ should destroy was death for as it is in the same chapter As in Adam all die so in Christ all shall be made alive and the very wages of sinne is death but the gift of God is eternall life saith Paul in the sixth to the Romans and the twenty third verse The nature and form of sinne Touching the nature and form of the sinne God is not cause of sinne God is not the agent in sinne but the cause of sinne is only from Adam himself And according to that of the Wise man in his first chapter and thirteenth verse Adam and sin cause of death God hath not made death neither hath he pleasure in the
drift was by defence to put clean away all the fault from himself but now he laboureth by excuse to be seen to have as little part in the fault as may be and to have the shew and appearance of that evill to be put away from him that he be not brought within the compasse of the offence His first defence in effect is non feci But now this excuse is feci sed benè feci When that would not serve his turn his third excuse is feci malè sed non multùm q.d. though inceed I cannot deny but I am in the compasse of the offence yet I am not in the fault I did not much of the evill that was done And this is our nature when we cannot defend our selves à toto then we excuse us à tanto as Adam doth which saith you must not lay all the fault on me for God and the woman have parts and shares therein the woman for giving the apple to me and God for giving the woman to me This excuse then hath two parts the woman and God both which we will examine to see where the fault is indeed As it is a foul fault in a man to seek to excuse himself by accusing another so it is another fault worse than that that a man should make a silly woman the matter of his excuse for we say it is manhood in men to pitty and spare especially that sex as the weaker a foul shame to seek to intangle and draw woman into danger or hurt but rather to support and defend them as much as with modesty and honesty we could Adam might have considered that she heing the weaker the first of Peter the third chapter and the seventh verse that it had been his part to have made a buckler for her shelter and defence for men willingly should and naturally are taught to forbear and not to wreck their malice and anger upon woman-kinde But the fault in him which passeth all is this that this woman is his wife which he accuseth as the cause of his evill and bringeth in as the principall in this fact for by this there is perfidia on his part a breach of Faith and wedlock-love for it is most unseemly and unnaturall for a man to accuse his own wife If we consider that he which before in Gen. 2. 24. confessed that he should forsake Father and Mother for her sake yea which before by sinne was content to forsake God and all for her love if he did love her so well why doth he not shew it now for he should have stood out betweene Gods wrath and her for her defence which no doubt would have beene more acceptable to God for it is a thing commended in Moses Psal. 106. 23. and in David 2 Sam. 24. 17. that they offered themselves to be punished to acquit and save others there from for they were content to beare Gods displeasure themselves that others might bee set free but here è contra Adam was willing to bee in the society of the fact and fault but now hee will pull his neck our of the Coller and will not have any society or part with her in the punishment Adam blameth God Now I come to the other part of his excuse in which he layeth part of the blame on God as bringing him also within the compass of this evill committed vtinam hoc tantum dixerat Comedi saith one for to challenge God for giving this woman to him and to come to upbraid God to the face with this The woman which thou gavest mee made me to sinne is another offence most intollerable He will not be content with one excuse but will have two strings to his bowe for fayling that if the woman will not serve to bee his excuse then this may To bring God into the fault and to say directly that he is in the society and had a part therein is intollerable blasphemy The womans excuse which shee alledgeth in the next verse is far better in accusing the devill But to say Data a te dedit mihi sinne was her gift and she was the gift thou gavest me the woman and the woman gave me the apple of offence wherefore if thou hadst not given her to me the apple had not been given and so I should never have sinned against thee q.d. I did not pluck it I was not the author nor cause of it If I have sinned I may thank you for it you were the 〈◊〉 of all which gave her to me you would needes give me a wife if you had meant me that good which you pretended you should not have given me such a one as would give me this forbidden fruit or at least if you must needs make and give her you should not have joyned nor put her together with me in the place and garden where I am but put her in a garden by her self apart and separated from me for I knew not else what she should mean by staying with me Thus we see that his excuse and allegation for himselfe is partly an expostulation with God and partly an accusation against him In both which he seemeth to say this in favor of his fault it did not become me to suspect her of any evill whom thou gavest to bee a meet help and good for me I thought that whatsoever she did or should perswade me to would have become good and helpfull to me ergo I yeelded to it This we see is a foul fault to quarrell with Gods goodnesse and to charge God with sin whereas all iniquitie and sin God doth utterly abhorre There is no affinitie between God and evill for no evill commeth neer his dwelling est ne iniquit as apud deum saith Saint Paul the second to the Corrinthians the sixth chapter and the fourteenth verse to such which thus impudently reason against God What agreement hath righteousness with unrighteousness why then O man dost thou charge God with sinne so that he fetcheth the Pedigree of his sinne which he committed and derived it thus even from God himself The sinne which is came by eating of the apple which was the gift of Eve which was the gift of God Thus to make his sin inmeasurable sinfull he deriveth his sinne from the holiest of all and wrappeth not only the woman his wife in the transgression but also fetcheth God in for company as partner with them in this their evill Tum dixit Jehova Deus mulieri Quid hoc est quod fecisti dixit autem mulier Serpens iste seduxit me comedi Gen. 3. 13. February 12. 1591. IN the end of the last verse before ended the triall of Adams offence for as you have seen from the seventh verse hath been the triall and examination of the crime committed In the seventh verse was the arest in the eighth verse was the second processe which being served on him was of force to shut him close in prison in the bushes in the
recoverie and amendment But for him that was so indurate in malice that to his power exalting himself to be like God added this malicious and envious seeking of the fall of others there was no hope either of pardon from God or of amendment in him for when Christ came into the world he said to Christ Quid nobis tibi there was no hope of him being in the state of a Rebell and so the seeking of the examination and tryall of him as of the other would not avail Now to the first part that is the Reason In which we are to consider this Why God begins not absolutely Maledictus es but Maledictus quia and so renders a reason why he is accursed so executes the sentence though not judicially according to course of Law yet justly that the mouth of all the world might be stopped and that the infernall spirits themselves might be enforced to acknowledge that the Lord is righteous and his judgements just Psal. 119. 137. That the judgement is just though the tryall hold not the reason is quia fecisti hoc he was the doer of that and was the contriver of the platform of that act and therefore God begins with him wherein as the ancient Fathers note God would have us to observe two senses first the sense of the emphasis and the second of difference For the emphasis Gods meaning is because thou hast done this quia fecisti hoc that is that thou hast overthrown Man for whom all things were created and consequently so much as in thee lay hast sought to overthrow my determinate Councell and to bring to naught all that I have made therefore thou art cursed for doing this Then for as much as we see this emphasis of Heaven and Earth it should make us consider the greatnesse of sinne which moved the son of God not only to take our flesh but to shed his blood also even for this hoc That men would remember when they sin that they are about a hoc that brought all the curses which followed after that therefore they should not make a light accompt of it reckoning it a small matter but to reckon of sinne as God quare 〈◊〉 hoc And as it serves by way of vehemencie to aggravate the offence of the offence so it serveth for distinction As if God should say another thing Thou hast done but because thou hast done this therefore the sentence is come upon thee Thou thoughtest in thy self to make thy self equall with God Isay 14. and because thou hast done that that is come upon thee which Christ saith Matth. 25. Ever lasting fire is prepared for thee But now because thou wast not content with that but hast mingled poyson whereby thou hast venomed and poysoned others because thou hast been an homicide for that is his second fault John 8. 44. there is thy punishment for doing this Now we see the ground of Gods proceeding with him The sentence in it self consists of four parts which we reduce to these two one concerns himself the other us That which respects him is in this verse that which concerns us is in the next The first is threefold First That he is cursed above all Cattel and above all the Beasts of the field Secondly That he shall goe and creep upon his belly Thirdly He shall eat the dust of the Earth Wherein as in the beginning generally so here in special you are to consider the Analogie of every part of his punishment First then he is maledictus and the reason is quia maledixerat maledictio doth in justice befall him quia loquutus est malè as you may see in the five verses before not that God had done it but it came of himself for he had defamed God speaking evill of God great reason it is then that evill speech should befall him So there is an equality between the Devils sinne and his punishment Now in regard of the second which is in the 15. verse That he should goe upon his bellie for as much as he doth take upon him to exalt himself Isay 14. And for that he tells Eve If yee eat of it eritis sicut Dii therefore he is cast down the proportion to him that will flie is by the contrary to creep not to goe on his leggs but on his bellie So the Serpent because he would flie up into the highest place is made to creep on his bellie So the second part of the Sentence stands with equity As also the third for his temptation was that they should eat of the forbidden fruit now cibi prohibita poena is that he that lusts after that he should not eat shall be forced to eat that he would not as Augustine saith In Psal. 106. they that long for meat which they ought not to desire shall be punished with eating that which their soul most abhorreth that is for the equity kept in the three branches of this Sentence Concerning the Serpent himself In the first branch which is thou art cursed are two points very necessary to be considered First That God saith Maledictus es and not Maledictus sis for thereby God plainly sheweth that it comes not from him but from the Serpent for then he would have said Maledictus sis but it is Maledictus es shewing that the Serpents curse comes from himself So all the curses miseries and calamities of this world and torments of the world to come proceed not from him but from himself as Job calls them sparks Job 5. 7. So they are the very sparks of the fire of concupiscence of sinne that is kindled in us as also the Prophet saith the fruit and crop of that seed of sinne is calamitie and miserie Hos. 10. 13. which was is and ever shall be the fruit of it therefore called the Revenues of sinne Prov. 12. 16. and the wages of sinne Rom. 6. that is there was an evill in him first to speak evill of that partie in whom was noe evill and so malum ad se malum trahit one evil brings another the Serpents evil speaking is the cause that evill is spoken of him for that is it that makes the difference as Pro. 26. 2. there is a curse that is causlesse and that shall return upon himself as Shemeis curse against David 2 Sam. 16. So should the curse of Balaam if he had cursed the People of God but he was wiser and said How shall I cursewhere the Lord blesseth but it is otherwise when Noah a just man 〈◊〉 Canaan Gen. 9. And when Elisha cursed the Children that called him baldhead 2 Reg. 24. they were cursed indeed for when it is a just curse and hath root in 〈◊〉 es then it takes place for we see there was a maledictio in those persons whom Noah and Elisha cursed they had spoken evill before and therefore evill is spoken of them for one evill is a loadstone or jet stone to draw another evill It is that which Jerome notes upon 1
Genesis and the eighteenth verse 2 In the wrâ—…ten law In the law of nature we see it is first and so it was first in the law of Moses for before he spake of any worship he willed that they should sacrifice unto the Lord their God in the third chapter of Exodus and the eighteenth verse 3. As in the old so in the new So is it the first not only in the old Testament but in the new for the first service performed to Christ the son of God was the oblation of the wisemen in the second chapter of Matthew and the eleventh verse 2. For the generality both offered and why Secondly for the generalitie As mention is first made of oblation so it is said generally that Cain and Abell offered For there is no Religion be it true or false that is without offerings and sacrifices Not only the Jewes had them but the 〈◊〉 also And of them not only such as were godly as it is said of Job that be offered a sacrifice in the first chapter of Job and the fifth verse but even those Gentils that were not regarded of God had their sacrifices as 〈◊〉 had his service altars upon which he offered oxen and rams to God Numbers twenty third Our Christian Altars the Lords Tables And for the Christians that they have alwayes had their offerings is plaine for of them the Apostle saith Nos habemus altare in the thirteenth chapter to the Hibrewes that is as the Jewes had their altars upon which they offered those sacrifices which did praenunciare mortem Domini so the Altar of the Christians is the Lords table whereon they doe anunciare mortem Domini in the first Epistle to the Corinthians the eleventh chapter and the twenty fifth verse As the Jewes Sacrifices were figures so our Sacraments are memorialls of Christs passion in the twenty second chapter of Luke and the nineteenth verse Facite hoc in memoriâ 〈◊〉 2. The kindes of offering Secondly the kindes of their offering are as the Apostle saith in the fifth to the Ephesians and the first verse 1. Oblation An oblation of a sweete smelling savour 2. Sacrifice and a sacrifice which the Hebrewes call Minchah and Zebach and the Greekes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Latines Oblatio and Sacrificium So the Apostle she weth the division where he saith Preists were appointed to offer up to God on the behalf of the people gifts and Sacrifices for sinne in the fifth chapter to the Hebrews and the first verse These were offered in the Tabernacle in the ninth chapter to the Hebrews and the twelfth verse and had their ground in Cain and Abell after whose example their posterity offered those oblations to God The oblation was a thing offered up whole as it was without alteration But the Sacrifices were changed and consumed with fire Such an oblation was that which Abell offered And therefore the Apostle saith it was a sacrifice in the eleventh chapter of the Hebrews and the fourth verse By faith Abell offered a better sacrifice 2. Kinde of guifts distinguished Which two kindes of gifts or offerings are thus distinguished 1. To please as there are munera placentia such a gift was the Mandrakes which Lea gave to Rachel to please her in the thirtieth chapter of Genesis and the fifteenth verse 2. To pacifie anger And munera placantia to pacifie anger such as Jacob gave Esau when he had offended in the thirty third chapter of Genesis Examples And the brethren of Joseph when they had offended him in the fourty third chapter of Genesis 1. To please Angels offer up praise to God common also to men and why A present of Spices the first kinde of oblation which is to please is common to us with the Angels themselves for they offer up to God praise and thanksgiving because they know God is pleased with them 2. Praises to men to offer guifts to pacifie Gods wrath But the second sort is proper to men only who as they have procured Gods anger by sinning so they are to offer those gifts which may pacifie his wrath 3. The ground and reason why they offered Thirdly the ground and reason why they offered 1. For oblation is first for oblation Albeit God forbad to offer to Idols yet his will is not that we should not offer at all And though we may not offer to God to the end wemight supply his need seeing he is not hungry in the fiftieth Psalme In testimony of thankfulnesse and why Yet he will have us offer in testimony of our thankfulnesse to him as he saith offer to me the sacrifice of thanksgiving So that as a Prince having made a conquest of a City doth distribute it to his subjects at his pleasure yet so as he reserveth to himself a rent or service be it never so little that they may thereby acknowledge that whatsoever they have they hold it of him so God will have us after the example of Cain and Abell in fine dierum On the Sabbath to offer our quit rent to God and why that is on the Sabbath to offer to him our quit-rent we may not come before him empty handed the twenty second chapter of Exodus 1. To acknowledge all we have to have it from him but bring something with us to acknowledge that whatsoever we have we have it from him Not only by a vocall but a reall confession So the people were to bring their first fruits in a basket and to offer to God by the Priest and to make not a vocall but a reall confession of Gods goodnesse and providence for them in the twenty sixt chapter of Deuteronomie As David acknowledged all comes of thy hand Note quod de manu tua accipimus ca damus tibi in the first of the Chronicles the twenty ninth chapter and fourteenth verse Even so as God gives us our spirits in the twelfth chapter of Eccle. 1 To offer in soul spirituall sacrifices We must offer to him spirituall sacrifices in the first of Peter and the second chapter And seeing corpus aptavit nobis in the tenth chapter of the Hebrews And in the fourtieth Psalme 2. In body the 〈◊〉 of our lips We must glorifie him both in our bodies and in our spirits in the first of the Corinthians the sixth chapter that is we must offer up to him the calves of our lips in the fourteenth chapter of Hose that is the sacrifice of praise to God which is the fruit of the lips in the thirteenth chapter of the Hebrews and the fifteenth verse 3. In our substance and why And thirdly it must not be a vocall confession but we must really acknowledge it by offering of our substance to him we must not come emptie handed in the twenty second chapter of Exodus But as we confesse before the Lord that
verse Fourthly he breaks the bond of nature for the party murthered is his brother and so he becommeth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Romans the first chapter Fiftly he feares not to kill him though he know it will be to the great grief of Adam and Eve his Parents wherein he deals worle than Esau who would not utter his hatred against Jacob till the dayes of mourning for his Father were past Genesis the twenty seventh chapter Sixtly it was not done ex irae impetu but ex odii habitu and against such the Prophet prayeth be not mercifull to such as sinne of malicious wickedness psalm the fifty ninth Seventhly his hatred was not open Cloaked hatred under colour of friendship but cloaked and hidden under a shew of love which makes it more grievous It was not mine enemie that did me this dishonour for then I could have born it It was not mine adversary that exalted himself against me for I would have hid my self but it was thou my companion my guid and familiar friend therefore let death seiz upon him Psalm the fifty fifth and the twelfth thirteenth and fifteenth verses Eighthly this sinne is committed after Gods admonition who had uied all means to draw him to repentance Ninthly not only being admonished but seeing his Father made an example of Gods wrath whom he saw daily labouring and moyling in the earth for his disobedience to God Tenthly that which makes Cains sinne out of reason sinfull Romans the seventh is the cause not for any offence that Abel had committed but for doing his duty in Gods service as the Apostle noteth in the first epistle of John the third chapter and the twelfth verse Wherefore slew he him because his own works were evil and his brothers good Cain Patriarch of hypocrites and persecutors of the Godly As before he was the Patriarch of all hypocrites so here Cain is the Patriarch of all persecuting Tyrants for that he slew his brother for no other cause but for well doing and for this good sacrifice whereby he pleased God Abel the first righteous Martyr And as Abel is said to be the first of all righteous men Matthew the twenty third chapter and the twenty fifth verse so here we see him the first Martyr wherein we see the works of the Devill who is a mutherer from the beginning John the eighth chapter and the fourty fourth verse Anger conceived hatred is murther of the soul. for he did not only murther our first 〈◊〉 in Paradise but he makes Cain a mutherer first of his own soul by conceiving hatred against his brother and purposing his death and then by killing the body of his brother Envy the meanes As this is the effect of the Devill so he makes the sinne of envy the means of which sinne the Wise-man saith Proverbs the twenty seventh chapter and the fourth verse Who can stand before envy there is no way but death with them that are envyed Examples The Bretheren of Joseph were content with nothing but the death of their brother but that two of them did withstand it Genesis the thirty seventh chapter It was envy that made the Scribes and Pharisees crucifie Christ Matthew the twenty seventh chapter Of hatred 〈◊〉 murther We see how Cain proceeded against his brother from envie to anger from anger to hatred and from it to murther these degrees must be observed Note that we may avoid them in our selves because there is no man but may sall as well as Cain except the grace of God doe stay him To conclude It is a necessary point that we consider aright of of this matter for the Prophet complaineth in the fifty seventh chapter of Isaiah and the first verse The righteous perisheth and no man considereth it So it is a fault if we do not consider the death of righteous Abel The Wiseman complaineth in the seventh chapter of Ecclesiastes and the seventeenth verse In the dayes of my vanity I have seen a good man punished in his justice and a wicked man continue longer in his malice This was Abel's case but when a man shall consider that death was at the first inflicted upon sinne because it is the wages of sin Romans the sixt chapter and the last verse and that 〈◊〉 is the means by which death entred into the world Romans the fift chapter and yet that Abel a righteous man is the first that drank of this Cup in the old Testament as John Baptist was in the new it will make him say Hoc est onus Jehovae as it is in the twenty third chapter of Jeremiah and the thirty fourth verse and hic est durus sermo John the sixt chapter The Apostle saith Godlinesse hath promises both in this life and the life to come in the first epistle to Timothie the fourth chapter and the eighth verse and among the promises of this life long life is one in the sixt chapter to the Ephesians and the third verse which God promiseth to them that honour their Superiors On the other side God threatneth that the blood thirsty and deceitfull man shall not live out half his dayes Psalm the fifty fift And yet Cain lived long and Abel a godly man dyed soon Therefore when we see the righteous dye quickly and the wicked live long we must take heed we stumble not at Gods doings but justifie God and acknowledge that he is just and true and every man a lyar Psalm the fifty first Romans the third chapter Therefore to make this point plain it is true long life is promised as a blessing of God which he promiseth to the observers of his command but withall we must know there are certain causes wherein this rule holdeth not true that the dutifull and holy man shall live long in this world The exceptions are First in respect of the parties themselves to whom this blessing is promised It is with a Godly man as with the fruit of trees if after it is once ripe it besuffered to continue on the trees it will be rotten so it is with good men in this world And therefore the Wiseman saith of Enoch that because he lived amongst sinners God translated him and he took him away least wickednesse should alter his understanding and deceit beguile his minde Sapi. the fourth chapter In such a case it is not a benefit but a detriment for a man to live long And there is no man but in such a respect will be content that God shall break promise with him Secondly Another exception is in respect of the punishment of sinne If a party that pleaseth God should by living long become miserable he would not think long life a blessing and therefore God in mercy took away good Josiah that he should not see the miseries that were to come upon the Jews by the captivitie in the second booke of Chronicles and the thirty fourth chapter this favour he vouchsafed to that godly King
from the Lord For so saith King David the first book of the Chronicles the twenty ninth chapter and the fourteenth verse Quae de manu tua accepimus damus tibi Secondly When we have received any blessing from God then we must give to him as we are exhorted Psalm the seventy sixt and the eleventh verse and Psalm the ninety sixt the eighth verse Bring present and joy into his Courts Of those things that are to be given some are laid upon us of necessity As the tenth of the fruits of the ground which the Lord challengeth to himself Leviticus the twenty seventh chapter and the thirtieth verse and hath set over to the Levites that it should be given to them Numbers the eighteenth chapter Then there are 〈◊〉 or free-will offerings such voluntary gifts as the people gave of their own accord for howsoever they were bound to offer their first born yet they might redeem the life of them Exodus the thirtieth chapter To speak 〈◊〉 of them Gods donation hath two parts Hannahs Prayer and Gods Gift In Prayer we are to observe two things The sense of Want And the desire of the Heart For it is the supply of want which makes her break forth into prayer for 〈…〉 indigentiae Wherefore howsoever the want of so great a 〈◊〉 as is the bearing of a child did move Hannab to break forth into this desire of Prayer Yet it is most certain that the Virgin 〈◊〉 more needed a Saviour for which she confessed her spirit 〈◊〉 than Hannah needed a sonne And as her need was greater so her prayer was stronger than Hannahs prayer for Hannah prayed alone but as for Maries prayer it was accompanied with the desire and prayer of all Creatures as both the Prophets and Apostles doe shew Heaven and earth was reconciled to be God Ephesians the first chapter and Colossians the first chapter and the third verse Therefore they did greatly desire Christs comming And therefore when there was hope of his comming they are exhorted to be glad Rejoyce ye heavens shout ye lower parts of the earth Isaiah the fourty fourth chapter and the twenty third verse and the Apostle saith that the Creatures 〈◊〉 groan waiting for the redemption Romans the eighth chapter much more shall 〈◊〉 desire his comming and therefore the Prophet saith desideratus est 〈◊〉 is gentibus Haggai the second chapter As all Nations did ignorantly worship the unknown God Acts the seventeenth chapter so they all had an ignorant desire of his comming but especially the Saints of God have not only desired in heart but prayed for this gift as Jacob Genesis the fourty ninth chapter I have waited for thy salvation Psalm the fourteenth and the seventh verse O that salvation were given to Israel out of Sion Isaiah the sixty fourth chapter and the first verse Utinam dirumpat caelos descendat such a desire had this Virgin for the comming of her Saviour as she expressed in her song when she confesseth he hath filled the hungry Simeon waited for the consolation of Israel so did Hannah the Prophetisse Luke the second chapter So that whether we respect the Prayer or Desire of Prayer we see that Marys prayer is greater than 〈◊〉 If we respect the effect of the Virgins prayer we shall see it more fully persomed in her than in the other Prayer is compared to a Key wherewith as Elias opened the Heavens when they were shut up Luke the fourth chapter and the twenty fift verse So when God shuts up the wombs of women Genesis the twentieth chapter and the eighteenth verse that they become barren then prayer is the key that opens them By this key was the 〈◊〉 of Hannah opened and she brought forth Samuel But if we consider that by this key God opened the womb of a Virgin that she conceived and bear a sonne that is a greater wonder and a matter more highly to be extolled but so did he open the womb of the blessed Virgin Elias opened the Heavens when they were shut and obtained rain for the earth But the Virgins key of Prayer accompanyed with the prayers of all Gods People in all ages opened the Heaven of Heavens so as they dropped down righteousnesse Isaiah the fourty fift chapter and the eighth verse Even the Sonne of Man that came down from Heaven John the third chapter that is Jesus Christ who is our righteousnesse our sanctification the first epistle to the Corinthians the first chapter and the thirtieth verse The effect of Hannahs Prayer is Dominus dedit which is the inscription of all the things we possesse as King David confesseth O Lord all this aboundance is of thine hand the first book of the Chronicles and the twenty ninth chapter But this inscription is peculiarly given to children and the fruit of the womb Psalm the hundred twenty seventh which indeed are an inheritance and gift that commeth of the Lord for he saith Scribe virum istum sterilem Jeremiah the twenty second chapter and the thirtieth verse So he punished Michal which despised David so that she had no child to the day of her death the second book of Samuel the sixt chapter and the twenty third verse But if he blesse this working and so make them fruitfull then is it a blessing and gift to be acknowledged with all thankfulnesse especially when the children are as arrows and darts in the hand of a Gyant that is spiritual in Church or Commonwealth Psalm the hundred twenty seventh for such a child was Samuel therefore Hannah confesseth it thankfully But if we come to the composition we shall finde that Christs gift to us by God is a farre greater gift if we consider that Salus data est 〈◊〉 Isaiah the ninth chapter that God hath manifcsted his love to the world by giving a sonne to us John the third chapter and the sixteenth verse He is Donum Dei John the fourth chapter which if we could receive we should perceive how farre he exceeds Samuel but he is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the second epistle to the Corinthians the ninth chapter and the fifteenth verse Gods unspeakable gift We must not talk of any other gifts for he is the great gift of God to us and that gift which we must offer to God for our sinnes without whom it is in vain to bring burnt offerings and sacrifices for he only putteth away iniquitie Isaiah the fourty third chapter And God having given us such a gift how will he not with him give us all other things Romans the eighth chapter Samuel was a great gift to Hannah for he proved spiritual in the People of God as a dart in the hand of a mighty man but yet he was but a type of Christ who is the greatest gift that ever God bestowed upon mankinde The second Donation is on our part to God In mans judgment if God gives us such a gift we are best to keep it but this gift is given us not to be
in their works 〈◊〉 the first chapter and the sixteenth verse There are diverse sorts of comming First We are said to come to Christ in Baptisme Mark the tenth chapter Sinete parvalos venire ad me Secondly In Prayer for as Augustine saith Preeibus non passibus iter ad Deum Thirdly In the hearing of the word so many reforced and came to Christ Luke the fifteenth chapter and the first verse And we likewise come to Christ when we come to hear his Ministers for he that heareth him heareth us Luke the tenth chapter Fourthly By Repentance as Luke the fifteenth chapter I will goe to my Father But Christ receiveth none of these but that we come to him as he is panis vitae when we come to Christ as he offers himself in the Sacrament to be the lively food of our souls when we come to the same and doe it in the remembrance of his death And there is reason why both we should come to Christ and he should receive us comming First There is reason we should come to Christ in regard of our sinnes already past For we have need of a Sacrifice both in respect of the grinding and upbraiding of our consciences for the sinnes we have committed and by reason of the punishment we have deserved by them This sacrifice we are put in minde of in this Sacrament That Christ hath offered himself to God an 〈◊〉 and sacrifice of a sweet smelling favour wherein we have planted in our hearts the passive grace of God for the 〈◊〉 of our consciences against sinne past by the taking of the cup of Salvation which makes us say 〈◊〉 into thy rest O my soul Psalm the hundred and sixteenth and for the turning away of deserved punishment as the blood of the Paschal Lamb sprinkled upon the dores saved the 〈◊〉 from destroying Exodus the the twelfth chapter So in this true passover we receive the blood of the immaculate Lamb Christ to assure us of peace with God and to deliver us from the destroying Angel As the Heathen had their Altar whereon they offered to their gods so we have an Altar that is the Lords Table where we celebiate the remembrance of that obiation once made by Christ Hebrews the thirteenth chapter and the twelfth verse In respect of sinne to come likewise we have need to come to Christ for thereby there is wrought in us active grace whereby we are enabled to resist sinne For the endowing of our 〈◊〉 with much strength Psalm the hundred thirty eighth and with much power from above is here performed unto us that come aright Luke the twenty fourth chapter And therefore the 〈◊〉 would have us to 〈◊〉 our hearts with grace the spiritual food and not with meat 〈◊〉 the thirteenth chapter For by this means we shall be made 〈◊〉 both to indure the 〈◊〉 of sinne and to be 〈◊〉 over 〈◊〉 and our own corruptions Thirdly For that the eating of the 〈◊〉 of 〈◊〉 and the drinking of the blood is a pledge of our 〈◊〉 up at the 〈◊〉 day verse the fifty fourth and that after this 〈◊〉 we which come to the Lords Supper shall be invited to the supper of the Lamb of which it is said Apocalyps the nineteenth chapter and the ninth verse blessed are they which are called to the Lambs supper Again it is reason Christ should receive us in two sorts First In respect of the communicants or commers for there is no man ever in better state and more disposed to be received than at the celebration of this Sacrament If a contrite spirit for sinne can set a man in state to be received of Christ man is most contrite and broken in heart at this time If Christ will then receive us when he may dwell in our hearts by faith Ephesians the third chapter at this time is our faith at the highest for when we have the body and blood of Christ in our hands then it makes us say with Thomas John the twentieth chapter Domine mi Deus mi If prayer made with 〈◊〉 and confidence may move Christ at any time to receive we never have more confidence in prayer than at that time then is the love of God most of all shed in our hearts by the holy Ghost Romans the fift chapter and the fift verse by which we are received not only to give for no man is to appear empty but also to forgive as Christ willeth That remembring our brethren hath ought against us we leave our gift and be reconciled Matthew the fift chapter If at any one time more than other Christ be more ready to receive then is he maximè receptivus Secondly In respect of the action it self which is a memorial of that sacrifice which he offered at his death to God for sins Then he received the thief that said Lord remember me when thou comest into thy Kingdome Luke the twenty third chapter Then he prayed for his 〈◊〉 Father forgive them Therefore there is a great congruity that now much more he must be carefull to us and receive us when we celebrate the remembrance of his goodnesse and mercie But the chief point is that in the Sacrament Christ himself is received and therefore it is very fit that he which is to be received be ready to receive them that come to him The second Condition is touching the Fathers gift All that my Father giveth Which is a limitation For as many pressed upon Christ but there was but one that tou hed that was the woman healed of her issue of blood Luke the eight chapter and the fourty fift verse so many come to the Lords Table but to the end they may be received they must be known by this mark he must be datus à Patre tractus doctus John the sixt chapter the fourty fourth and fourty fift verses There are that are dati ab hominibus or as the Apostle speaks the first epistle of Peter the second chapter and the thirteenth verse ab human â ordinatione that is the most part come not being given or drawn of the Father but compelled by man Their fear is taught by mens precepts Matthew the fifteenth chapter and Isaiah the twenty ninth chapter Again there are that have a shew of Godlinesse the first epistle to Timothie the third chapter Such come not upon any motion of Gods spirit that they feel in themselves but for fashions sake They will not be seen to refuse the order of the Church but doe as others doe but they that are given to Christ of God are such as come of conscience knowing they ought to performe this duty of thankfulnesse to God such as hunger and thirst after the right cousnesse of Christ the spiritual food of their souls in conscience of their own unworthinesse and ill deservings and therefore seek for righteousnesse in him with as great desire as for bodily food they that come with such an earnest inclination as given and drawn of the
God Thirdly They shew they are ready to doe it not like those of whom the Prophet saith I know when I have shewed you what you should doe you will not doe it Jeremiah the fourty third But these are ready to doe whatsoever shall be appointed as a remedy for them Fourthly As they are ready 〈…〉 they confesse their ignorance that of themselves they know not how to rid themselves from sinne As the 〈◊〉 said Acts the 〈◊〉 chapter How can I understand without an Interpreter Fiftly They seek to Peter and the other 〈◊〉 because God had lately 〈◊〉 them with the grace of his spirit and consequently were skilfull and could tell them what to doe and therefore they are bound 〈◊〉 commit themselves to them as to their Physitian to doe whatsoever they shall 〈◊〉 be for the cure of their souls So that if there be any that being in 〈◊〉 of 〈◊〉 doe for all that either think that nothing can or that nothing ought to be done but shall say desparately Jeremiah the eighteenth chapter or as if it were not needfull to be done shall 〈◊〉 to 〈◊〉 if or think they know well enough what to doe without 〈◊〉 contrary to the Apostles opinion in the first epistle to the 〈◊〉 the twelfth chapter Are all Apostles For though first we say 〈◊〉 We 〈◊〉 we all have knowledge the first epistle to the 〈◊〉 the eighth chapter and the first verse yet after he saith every one hath not knowledge and therefore must ask counsell of those that can give it or else shall refuse to be directed by such as doe know therefore are not like to be eased of the sting of conscience but shall for ever have the worm of conscience gnawing them and ever be disquieted The Apostles answer to this question is in the fifty eighth verse Resipiscite c. that is there is something to be done which is an argument of the great Mercy of God and the virtue and power of the Sacrifice of Christ notwithstanding the greatnesse of their sinnes Here are two things set down First By way of precept Repent and be baptized Secondly Things by Christs promises Yee shall have your sinnes forgiven and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost First Peter prescribes them what to doe and so shewes that their 〈◊〉 are remitted which is a signe of Gods great mercy though their sinnes were grievous For he that shall offend his better a man of some credit can hardly hope for pardon much losse if he offend the Prince or some noble Person But these offend the Majesty of God himself which doth farre exceed the Majesty of earthly Princes For of Christ the elect Sonne of God they said in the twenty sixth chapter of Matthew His blood be upon us and they wrought despight to the Spirit of Grace Hebrews the tenth chapter when they blaspheme the Holy Ghost accusing them of drunkennesse which were inspired with the Holy Spirit Acts the second chapter and the thirteenth verse Yet the Apostle telleth these grievous sinners there is hope of forgivenesse that to them which are yet scarce cold from the slaughter of the Sonne of God there is a remedy to help them Wherein the Apostle followeth the rule which Christ had before given the Apostles in the twenty fourth chapter of Luke To preach repentance and remission of sinnes to mankinde beginning at Jerusalem If the doctrine of remission of sinnes be first to be preached to them among whom Christ was crucified much more to the ends of the world and that likes us well But secondly He tells us what we must doe he saith not you shall live to doe nothing but repent and be baptized It is not enough to be pricked in the heart for sinne past but we must doe something And he speaks first by way of precept Repent and that is rest not in that passive part but know that when you are pricked in your hearts repentance must be shewed in your life Wherewithall he sheweth that compunction is not repentance for here to these that were already pricked he saith Repent and 〈◊〉 the thirty first chapter After I converted I repented so in the third chapter of the Acts of the Apostles Repent and turn that your sinnes may be done away so it was given in charge to St. Paul Acts the twenty sixth chapter Repent and turne and doe workes worthy of eternall life So these men shewed forth these workes for as followeth they were devout and liberall distributing to all as they had need the principall actions either removing of the ill that is sinne which did disquiet their consciences or the positive benefit that is the gift of the Holy Ghost which should work in them the fruits of the spirit meeknesse patience Galatians 5. and be unto them an earnest and pledge of their Redemption and Salvation in the second epistle to the Corinthians the first chapter and the fifth verse Ephesians the first chapter and the thirteenth verse Tum alter ad alterum dixerunt Nonne cor nostrum ardebat in nobis dum loqueretur nobis in via dum adaperiret nobis Stripturas Luke 24. 32. April 20. 1600. WHICH is another or second passion that commeth unto men at the preaching of the word for as Acts the second chapter and the thirty seventh verse there were some that suffered a pricking at the heart upon the hearing of the word so here are others that suffer an inflaming or burding in the heart For if we look in verse the twenty first these two disciples with whom Christ travelled were dead in spirit and cold in faith before the word was spoken for they confessed nos autem 〈◊〉 But after our Saviour Christ had spoken with them and opened the Scriptures their hope revived and their hearts waxed warme Which as it is a fruit and effect of the word in the hearts of the hearers so is it a 〈◊〉 signe and argument of the efficacy and operation of Christ which he 〈◊〉 in the ministry of the word as the 〈◊〉 speakes in the second 〈◊〉 to the 〈◊〉 and the thirteenth chapter 〈…〉 in me 〈…〉 so when we feel this burning in our hearts it is a great comfort to us and a signe that Christ speakes in 〈◊〉 and we must in such a case pray to God that he will establish in 〈…〉 things 〈◊〉 he bath begun Psalm the sixty eighth if it work 〈…〉 effect in us we must suspect our selves and pray that we may have a 〈…〉 of the word when wee hear 〈◊〉 that whereas 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈…〉 the second chapter of the Acts of the 〈◊〉 had a pricking at 〈◊〉 hearts and those of Christ fels a 〈◊〉 we may be in the number of those hearers and not of those of whom the 〈…〉 in the sixth chapter of 〈◊〉 and the 〈◊〉 verse 〈…〉 eyes but see not eares but such as are heavy and 〈…〉 heart so as though they 〈◊〉 yet they 〈…〉 〈◊〉 〈…〉 not converi and be 〈◊〉 Which is a
considered that considering how God hath plagued them in the Devil we should beware that we fall not into the like sinnes Touching the Curse of God As it is the first so the greatest part of this Sentence And is a punishment most fearfull for all men doe abhorre to be cursed and to incurre the displeasure of a man much more of God whose word is his deed so that he no sooner speaks but it is done Jacob was loth to doe any thing to deceive his Father because so saith he I shall bring a curse upon me and not a blessing Genesis the twenty seventh chapter Indeed as the Wise-man speaks the curse that is causelesse and proceeds from foolish people shall not light upon a man Proverbs the twenty sixt chapter and the second verse But if a godly man such as Jacob and Isaac were doe curse it shall not fail but come to passe Much more shall the curse of God take effect for it shall come into a mans bowels like water and like oyle into his bones Psalm the hundred and ninth the seventeenth verse For the meaning of this Curse the Holy Gohst hath set down a large commentary in 〈◊〉 the twenty eighth chapter and in Leviticus the twenty sixt chapter and the Prophet saith Gods curse is a flying book twenty cubits long and ten cubits braad containing the curse that gotth over the whole earth 〈◊〉 the fift chapter and the third verse It is a book written within and without with lamentations mournings and woes Ezekiel the second chapter By these places it appeareth how large Gods Curse is in respect of this life But if with this we joyn that which Christ addeth concerning the life to come that is everlasting fire prepared for the Devill and his Angels Matthew the twenty fift chapter his curse will appear to be farre more large Secondly There is no malediction but in regard of some evill The evill that procured this curse unto the Devill was the evill of his malice which he shewed not only in speaking evill of God but in seeking to destroy man both in body and soul And his malice appears herein because he did those things being not provoked thereunto and for that he did it without any 〈◊〉 to himself As the Devill is malicious so are all they that are of that evill one Cain had no other cause to hate his Brother and to slay him but because his works were righteous and his own evill in the first epistle of John the third chapter and the twelfth verse The 〈◊〉 persecuted Christ not for any evill that they found in him worthy of death but only of envy Mark the fifteenth chapter and the tenth verse Thus to sinne of malice is a thing so displeasing unto God as albeit he did in mercy forgive men when they sinned through frailty yet he will punish their own inventions Psalm the ninty ninth and the eighth verse and therefore against such the Prophet prayeth Be not mercifull to those that offend of malicious wickednesse Psalm the fifty ninth and the fifth verse But consume them utterly in thy wrath that they may perish verse the thirteenth Where the Lord saith Cursed art thou and not be thou he sheweth that the curse commeth not from God but from the Devils malice and so whatsoever misery betideth us it is nothing else but the sparkles of our own sinnes Job the fift chapter and the ninth verse and as the Psalmist saith They are the dreggs of Gods wrath Psalm the seventy fift for as the Prophet speakes Wee our 〈◊〉 batch the 〈◊〉 egge that is sinne and the Serpent that is bred of this egge is the curse of God inflicted upon us both in this life and the life to come We doe first by sinne as it were cast the seed and the crop that we 〈◊〉 is all manner of misery and calamity Isaiah the fifty ninth chapter and in Justice God doth reward us thus for the wages of sinne is not only punishment with sicknesse povertie and such like in this world but hereafter with eternall death and destruction both of body and soul Romans the sixth chapter the twenty third verse In that God speaks by way of comparison Cursed art thou 〈◊〉 all beasts he doth not drop a curse upon the Serpent but as Daniel speaks the curse is 〈◊〉 upon him Daniel the ninth chapter and the eleventh verse And that this curse was verified in the visible Serpent appears hereby that not only Men but even all beasts doe shun the Serpent as a Creature principally accursed of God much more it is true in the invisible Serpent the 〈◊〉 for not only the godly but even the wicked that are of their Father the Devill 〈…〉 stick to curse him The visible Serpent being an unreasonable creature could not be so malicious But the invisible Serpent the more policie he hath the more pernitious and hurtfull he is 〈◊〉 he is so malicious that as he himself is fallen from his first estate and hath plunged himself in the bottom of Hell so he laboureth to bring all men into the same estate therefore thus was his malice rewarded Now to the two other branches of this Sentence where we shall finde two 〈◊〉 punishments for two sorts of sinnes for pride must have a 〈◊〉 and lust must loath and we shall see that they are both rewarded accordingly as Salomon saith That Pride goeth before dejection Proverbs the sixteenth chapter and the eighth verse So the Devil having 〈◊〉 himself must be thrown down to creep upon the ground for it is great equity that he that would fly should creep And as it was meet that glory should end in shame Philippians the third chapter so is it as meet that God should punish inordinate last with loathsomnesse And this is the course of Gods Justice as the Wise-man saith in Proverbs the twentieth chapter and the seventeenth verse The bread that is gotten by deceipt is sweet but at the last it will fill the mouth with gravel All the sinnes of the world may he reduced to these two that is The desire of greater glory than God hath appointed to us And of greater pleasure than is lawfull for us First we are to inquire How the first of these two punishments is verified in the visible Serpent for we know that all Creatures saving Man are dejected and creep as it were upon their belly and as one saith 〈◊〉 their breast between their feet only man being lift up with his countenance is taught not to set his minde upon earth but to meditate upon heavenly things But as Jonathan went of all four when he climbed up to the rock upon his hands and feet the first book of Samuel the fourteenth chapter and the thirteenth verse so doth man somtime grovel and creep upon earth when he is earthly minded But the difference that is between the Serpent and other beasts is this The Serpent having no legs lyeth flat upon his belly and is therefore