saith Moses Psal. 90. 8. set our iniquities before thee our secret sinnes in the light of thy countenance But thou wilt say to me What sinnes should I call to mind all that is an endlesse worke I know not where to begin nor where to make an end Psal. 40. 12. They are more in number saith David then the haires of my head How much more wilt thou say are my sins innumerable I answer 1. The more sinnes thou canst call to mind the better it will be for thee This we may see Ezek. 20. 43. where this is promised as a singular grace God would worke in his peoples hearts You shall remember your wayes and all your doings you have beene defiled and yee shall loath your selves in your owne sight for all your evils that ye have committed Therefore also when the Lord prescribeth unto Aaron the course hee should take in making an attonement betweene God and the people he tels him Levit. 16. 21. he must confesse over the live goat all the iniquities of the children of Israel and all their transgressions in all their sinnes And therefore it is good when thou goest about this worke to take the helpe of the glasse set the glasse of Gods Law before thee and examine thy wayes according unto it Rom. 3. 20. By the Law commeth the knowledge of sinne Secondly take heed thou dost not in thy examination willingly forget or passe by any sinne Either 1. out of a conceit that it is but small For Gods curse is due to the smallest Deut. 27. 26 Nor. 2. out of favour thou bearest to it and loathnesse to leave it For if thou regardi niquity in thine heart the Lord will not regard thee Psal. 66. 18. and Prov. 28. 13. Hee that hideth his sin shall not prosper Thirdly and lâ—stly Be thou yet in this examination of thy selfe specially desirous and carefull to call to mind the foulest and grossest of all thy sinnes that ever thou commiettdst though it were long agoe Deut 9. 7. Remember and forget not how thou provokedst the Lord thy God to wrath in the wiâ—dernesse Thus did David in the exercising of himâ—selfe unto repentance thinke oft of the sinnes of his youth Psalm 25. 7. Remember not the sinnes of my youth nor my transgressions So did Paul oft call to mind his foulest sinnes 1 Tim. 1. 13. I was a blasphemer and a persecuter For the heart will sooner bee brought to remorse and sorrow by remembrance of these then of smaller sinnes which was the cause why the Publicans and Harlots those grosse sinners repented sooner then the civill Pharisees Matth. 21. 32. No hard matter for you that have beene adulterers blasphemers persecuters theeves oppressours drunkards to bring your hearts unto godly sorrow if you would take but a little paines with them You that have lived more civilly as that rich young man had done that concerning the Commandements of the second Table could say unto Christ Matthew 19. 20. All these things have I kept from my youth up must take the more paines in this work The second thing we must doe in this examination of our selves is this When we have found out and called to mind our sinnes then must wee consider and weigh with our selves the hainousnesse of them aggravate them against our selves and lay them so to heart as we may bee affected and moved to remorse and sorrow for them Men are oft blamed for this that they laid not their sinnes to their heart considered not so of them as to bee affected with them Esay 47. 7. The Caldeans are blamed that they did not lay to their hearts the oppressions they had done to Gods people And the Iewes Esay 57. 11. that they laid not to heart their Idolatry Now the way to lay them to our heart is to consider well the hainousnesse of them and the circumstances whereby they are aggravated Paâ—l did use thus to aggravate his sinnes against himselfe Ephe. 3. 8. I am lesse then the least of all Saints 1 Tim. 1. 15. I am the chief of all sinners The circumstances whereby sinne is aggravated are many I will name a few of them First Consider thy sinnes have beene committed against many and strong meanes of grace Remember what Christ saith Matth. 11. 24. to Capernaum because of this I say unto thee that it shall bee more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgement then for thee Oh! consider with thy selfe that if the sinnes of Indians and other barbarous people that never enjoyed any ordinary meanes of grace shall justly be punished in Hell fire as doubtlesse they shall For as many as have sinned without Law shall also perish without Law saith the Apostle Rom. 2. 12. If the sinnes of Infants doe justly deserve damnation as certainly they doe Death hath raigned saith he Rom. 5. 14. even over them that have not sinned after the similitude of Adams transgression that is not actually What degree and measure of punishment and torment thinkest thou is most justly due to thy sinnes that have beene committed against such meanes of grace as thou hast enjoyed Secondly Thy sinnes have not beene committed upon ignorance but against thy knowledge And if the elect Iewes were so pricked in heart for the sinne they committed ignorantly Act. 3. 17. how much more cause hast thou Remember what Christ saith of this circumstance Luk. 12. 47. That servant which knew his Lords will and prepared not himselfe neither did according to his will shall be beaten with many stripes Thirdly How voluntary thou hast sinned how weake and light the tentations have often beene that have drawne thee to it nay how thou hast drawne and provoked thy selfe to it And say thou to thine owne heart If God were so much offended with Ahab though he had so strong a tempter as Iesabel his wife I Kings 21. 25. Alas what cause hath he to bee offended with mee that have beene mine owne tempter Remember what the Holy Ghost speaketh of this circumstance Esay 33. 1 Woe to thee that spoilest and wast not spoiled 5. 18. Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity sin as it were with a cart rope Fourthly The◠〈◊〉 â—â—mber of thy sinnes Say they were in their 〈…〉 so small yet the number of them and thy multiplyiâ—g of them so ofâ— makes the burden â—f them intolerable Consider how the Lord aggravates sinne by this circumstance Ier. 5. 6. A Lyon out of the forrest shall slay them and a Wolfe of the eveningâ— shall spoile them a Leopard shall watch over their cities every one that goeth out thence shall be torne in pieces because their transgressions are many and their backslidings are increased See what weight this very circumstance gave unto Davids sinne in the sense of his Conscience Mine iniquities saith he Psal. 40. 12. are more then the haires of mine head therefore mine heart faileth mee The sands though taken severally they
apprehension and sense of mine owne unworthinesse and sinne how can I be importâ—nate with God in my prayer How can I pray in faith or be confident that He will heare me This must needs deprive a man of all boldnesse discourage and make him afraid to speake unto God This effect the sense of sinne seemes to have had in David when he cryed Psal. 40. 12. Miâ—e iniquities have taken hold upon me so that I am not able to looke up they are more than the haires of mine head therefore mine heart faileth me But to this I answer that no faithfull man hath cause to feare this For Gods people have never beene so strong with Him in prayer as when they were most abased and dejected in themselves insense of their owne weakenesse and unworthinesse When I am weake saith the Apostle 2 Cor. 12. 10. weake and dejected in my selfe through sense of mine owne infirmities and afflictions then am I strong strong in the Lord and fittest to do Him service in an acceptable manner See an example and type of this in Iâ—cob Gen. 32. 25 26 Never was he so strong with God as when the hollow of his thigh was out of joynt He had power over the Angell over Christ the Angell of the covenant saith the Prophet Hos. 12. 4. and prevailed He wept and made supplication unto Him He found Him in Bethel Why wept he so Certainly from the sense of his owne infirmity and unworthinesse but he prevailed with God in his supplications neverthelesse but much the more for that See this also in the good woman of Canaan do you not thinke she was much abased in her selfe upon those three repulses that she had received Mat. 15. 27. yet was her prayer then most strong and effectuall with God Vers. 28. And this is surely another cause why our prayers for our brethren have beene so weake and without force with God we are too strong too well perswaded of our selves to do Gods people any good with our prayers Fourthly We must bring with us unto prayer an unfeigned desire and a full purpose and resolution of heart to reforme that that is amisse both in our selves and others and so to remove the cause of Gods displeasure that is kindled against us Certainly this would give wonderfull force unto our prayers This was that that gave such force unto the fasting and praying of the Ninivites Ion. 3. See their care and desire Let them turne every one from his evill way say the King and his Nobles in their proclamation Verse 8. and from the violence that is in their hands See also both the performance of that they resolved to do and how nothing so much prevailed with God for the successe of their prayers as this Verse 10. God saw their workes that they turned from their evill way and God repented of the evill that He had said He would do untâ— them and He did it not Therefore hath it been usuall with Gods people in their solemne fasts not onely to make full and particular confession of their sinnes but also to vow unto God that they would leave and forsake them yea they were wont solemnly to bind themselves unto this All this is evident â—eb 9. 12 38. 10. 29. When Phinehas stood up and executed judgement upon Zimri and Cozbi as Moses and the Iudges had before done of many others that were joyned unto Baal-Peor Numb 25. 4 5. and so removed the cause of Gods displeasure the plague was stayed saith the Prophet Psal. 106. 30. All the weeping of the whole congregation before the doore of the tabernacle of which we read Numb 25. 6. could do nothing without that O that God would put into the hearts of all our Magistrates not onely to appoint and keep solemne and generall fasts but also by severe execution of the lawes to remove the causes of all our plagues Our King and State blessed be God have made good Lawes against idolatry swearing prophanation of the Sabbath murther and drunkennesse but alas we want such as Phinehas to see the lawes executed upon any of these offendors and therefore it is no marvell though the plague be not stayed While these fowle sinnes are winked at and go unpunished what hope can we have that either our owne prayers or the prayers of all the Saints upon earth should prevaile with God for our Land Till the Achans be found out and punished as found they may easily be for they do every where declare their sinne as Sodom they hide it not as the Prophet speaketh Esa. 3. 9. but till they be punished as God did say to Ioshua Icsh. 7. 10 11. Get thee up wherefâ—re lyest thou thus upon thy face Israel hath sinned so will He to us why do you thus fast and pray and make such shew of humiliation as you do find out the sinnes and punish them that are the causes of Mine anger and then I wil be appeased toward you and your Land Certainly one chiefe cause why our fasting and praying hath done so little good is because this â—aâ—h not beene done Nay many of these lewd men that are guilty of these foule sinnes intrude themselves into our assemblies and joyne with us in these holy duties And we know that the sacrifice of the wicked is abomination unto the Lord Prov. 15. 8. Let me therefore exhort you beloved that as you desire to please God in this profession of humiliation that you make and to benefit your selves or your brethren by your prayers resolve both to forsake every knowne sinne and vow unto God this day amendment of life in such particulars as thine owne heart can tell thee thou hast most offended God by and which of us all is it that hath not something to reforme remembring alwayes that speech of the Prophet Psal 66. 18. If I regardiniquity in my heart the Lord will not heare me as also 2. to do what lies in thee to reforme others Fiftly and lastly We must joyne workes of mercy with our prayers 1. Let no man thinke he shall be a looser by that that he gives out of conscience towards God unto the poore He that hath pitie upon the poore lendeth unto the Lord saith the Holy Ghost Prov. 19. 17. and that that he hath given will He pay him againe 2. Of all almes that is given that is best and most pleasing unto God that is given in our Church-assemblies for it is an ordinance of God and even a Sabbath-duty that collection should be made for the poore when we meet together as is plaine by that speech of the Apostle 1 Cor. 16. 1 2. And of that that is thus given you may have much more assurance that it shal be given to them onely that have need than you can have of much of that that you give at your doores 3. There is great force in this worke of mercy to further the good successe of our prayers els would not the Angell have said thus unto Cornelius
Lord is nigh saith he to them that are of a broken heart If we would strive in our daily prayers when wee make confession of our sinnes to doe it with feeling and not formally it would not onley make our prayers more effectuall with God but keepe our hearts from hardning and bring them to a good temper Luk. 18. 13 14. When the Publican made confession of his sinnes with that feeling smiting upon his breast and saying God be mercifull to mee a sinner It is said â—ee went home to his house justified rather then the other Fourthly This daily accustoming our selves unto this worke of calling our selves to account and afflicting our hearts for our sinnes would make it more easy and familiar unto us when we shall have extraordinary occasion to betake our selves to it That which is said by the Prophet of the Lords chastening of us may fitly be applyed to this chastening of ourselves Lam. 3. 27. It is good for a man that he beare the yoke in his youth and to have beene accustomed to stoop unto and to beare patiently the Lords afflicting hand By this that hath beene said you see it is good for us to be doing somewhat in this worke every day Yet are there five speciall times and seasons that will yeeld us great helpe in this businesse more then other times will doe The first fit time to worke our hearts to godly sorrow is presently after some fall we have received some grosse sinne we have slipped into A great advantage it will be unto us to humble our soules for it presently and without delay For first sinne newly committed may be better knowne and remembred with all the circumstances whereby it is aggravated And that is a great helpe to the humiliation of the soule as wee may perceive in Davids speech Psal. 51. 3. For I acâ—nowledge my transgressions and my siâ—â—e is ever before me Secondly The heart will not be so hardned by sinne that is newly committed but more easily wrought upon and softned then when sin hath lyen long upon it As a bone that is out of joint the longer it is neglected will be set againe with more difficulty and paine A Leopard may as soone leave his spots an Ethiopian his blacknesse as he can do his sinne that hath lyen long in it Ier. 13. 23. Secondly Another fit season for this worke is when wee prepare our selves to renew our covenant with God in the holy Sacrament For 1. at that time God requires of us a speciall care to examine our selves and call to mind our sins and to judge our selves for them else it is not possible we should receive worthily 1 Cor. 11. 28. 29 31. When thou bringest thy gift to the altar saith our Saviour Mat. 5. 23. as at the Lords table we doe offer and present our selves unto God our soules and bodyes as a holy reasonable and lively sacrifice unto him and there remembrest that thy brother hath ought against thee Teaching us that at that time specially we should remember and call to mind what our brother and much more what our heavenly father hath against us 2. At that time men if they have any spark of grace in them are apt to find in themselves some stirrings of their affections unto goodnesse some motions of Gods spirit some dispositions unto devotion and remorse for sinne Ministers that use to deale privately with their people at that time shall find them more easie to be wrought upon and so shal every man his own heart then at other times These good motions should bee followed without delay As it is said that they that lay at the poole of Bethesda stroue to get in so soone as euer the Angell had stirred the water Iohn 5. 4. And Iosuah so soone as God by a vision had stirred him up to search and find out the sinne that had provoked God against Israel Iosh. 7. 16. went without delay immediatly about it So should we doe in this case When we feele God begins to soften our hearts and to stirre up these good dispositions to devotion in us then should wee set our selves seriously to this worke of calling to mind our sinnes and bringing our hearts to sorrow for them For 1. when God stirs up such motions he knocks at the doore of our hearts and sheweth himselfe willing to enter in Rev. 3. 20. 2. Satan will bee ready to quench the spirit in these good motions As it is said he watched the infant to devoure it so soone as ever it should be borne Rev. 12. 4. Thirdly The dayes and times wee set apart for fasting and prayer upon whatsoever just occasion are a most fit season for us to goe about this work For 1. we find Gods people have had their hearts wonderfully softned at such times The Israelites in the fast that they kept for successe against Benjamin came into the house of God and wept Iudg. 20. 26. And in the fast they kept as Mispeh they wept so abundantly that they are said 1 Sam. 7. 6. to have drawne water as by buckets full out of their hearts and to have poured it out before the Lord. 2. This exercise of a religious fast is a great help and furtherance to this work As wee see heere in Davids example Psal. 35. 13. I humbled my selfe with fasting 69. 10. I wept and chastened my soule with fasting Fourthly When any judgements of God lye heavy upon our selves or our brethren that is a fit season to goe about this work When these men were in misery David fell heere to afflicting of his soule Psal. 35. 13. For 1. the Lord by every one of his judgements doth testify from Heaven that he hath matter against us as Naoâ—i saith Ruth 1. 21. Why doe you call mee Naomi seeing the Lord by taking away my husband and my children hath testified against me and the Almighty hath afflicted me 2. God by his judgements doth call upon us to examine our wayes and humble our selves before him Hag. 1. 5 6 7. Now therefore saith the Lord of Hosts coâ—sider your wayes yee have sowen much and brought in liâ—le thus saith the Lord of Hosts consider your wayes And Esa. 22. 12. In that day did the Lord God of Hosts call to weeping and to mourning 3. God by his judgements softneth the hearts of men and worketh in them more remorse more pronenesse and aptnes to repent then at other times Iob 23. 16. God maketh my heart soft saith Iob and the Almighty troubleth mee A man shall find himselfe fitter to pray then then at other times and we should take the advantage and opportunity of this time for it Iam. 5. 13. Is any afflicted let him pray This hath beene oft seene even in many notable hypocrites who how profane soever their hearts have beene at other times yet in their affliction have found in themselves a disposition to pray and to repent Psal. 78. 34. When he slew them then they sought him
of heart wherin we are to be principall agents our selves for we may do much in this worke our selves are these 110 1. We must make choise of a fit time to goe about this worke 111 2. We must separate our selves from company and make choise of a fit place to doe it 118 3. We must seriously and impartially examine our owne hearts 119 4. We must cry earnestly to God to helpe us in this worke to blesse our indeavours in it 128 SERMON VIII NEcessary to have notes and signes given us whereby sincere and saving sorrow for sinne may be discerned 130 1. He that is truly humbled mournes more for the evill of sinne then for the evill of punishment 133 2. He mournes for sinne not so much in respect to himselfe as unto God because he is offended and dishonoured by his sinne 137 And 3. notes to try whether a man doth so 141. 142 THE AVTHOVRS Prayer before his Lecture THy Word O Lord is holy and pure as is thine owne Majesty and being sincerely preached worketh either to the salvation or condemnation of the hearers And we all that are heere assembled before thee at this time are of uncircumcised hearts and eares utterly unworthy by reason of that sinne wherein we were conceived and borne and of those actuall transgressions that wee have multiplyed against thy Majesty in thought word and deed from our first being untill this present houre once to set foot into thy Temple or to heare thy Word at all Vtterly unfit and unable by reason of our custome in sinne and the hardnesse of our hearts to profit by it when as we heare it So that Lord we are at this time in danger to be unprofitable hearers of thy holy Word and by being unprofitable bearers of the same we are in danger of thy heavy displeasure Yet forasmuch as it hath pleased thee in mercy to command us this exercise to appoint it to be the onely ordinary meanes whereby thou wilt worke Faith and repentance in thy children and the principall meanes whereby thou wilt increase them to promise also graciously that thou wilt accompany the outward ministery of thy Word with the inward grace and blessing of thy Spirit in the hearts of them that shall be reverently and faithfully exercised in the same We therefore in humble obedience to this thy holy commandement and in full affiance and confidence in this thy gracious promise are bold to present our selves before thee at this time Beseeching thee in thy sonnes blood to wash away all our siâ—â—es so as they may never bee laid to our charge againe either in the world to come to our condemnation or at this time to bring a curse upon this our exercise Good Lord so sprinckle that blood of thy Sonne upon our consciences that we may be assured of thy love and favour towards us in him By it sanctify us at this time and thy word to our uses opening and enlightning our understanding so as we may be able to understand and conceave of thy word aright strenghtening our memories so as we may bee able to remember it softning our hard and stony hearts so as wee may be able to beleeve it to yeeld unto it to apply it to our owne soules to meditate and conferre thereupon to practise it in our lives and conversations to stirre up one another to the obedience thereof That this our exercise may tend to the increase of our knowledge and of our obedience of our Faith and of repentance the glory of thy blessed name and the everlasting comfort of our owne soules Heare us O Lord in these our requests in what else soever thou knowest good for us or any of thy Church for Iesus Christ his sake our Lord and only Saviour In whose name wee continue our prayers unto thee as he himselfe hath taught us Saying Our Father which art in Heaven c. SERMON I. AVGVST III. MDCXXV PSAL. 35. 13. But as for me when they were sicke my clothing was sackcloth I humbled my selfe with fasting and my prayer returned into mine owne bosome NOt to take up time in speaking of the former part of this Psalme these words have this coherence and dependance on that which went before David as a type of CHRIST having many mortall enemies doth in this Psalme by a Propheticall spirit pray against them or rather foretell what should befall them In this Verse and the former to shew what cause he had to do so he aggravateth their sin by their unthankfulnesse in dealing so badly with him that had deserved so well of them The parts of this Verse are two viz. a profession of 1. The kindnes he shewed to these men wherin observe the Time when he did it and the occasion he tooke to doe it When they were sicke Dutie wherby he expressed his love he prayed for them which is amplified by the extraordinary manner of it set forth by the Outward helpes he used in it Sackcloth Fasting Inward disposition of his mind in it he humbled or afflicted his soule 2. The successe and comfort he found in it Observe first Davids practise he was wont when these men were sicke to be affected with their misery which teacheth us that GODS people ought to take to heart the miseries and calamities of others the judgements of GOD that do befall others Seâ— for proofe of this both the examples of his servants and then GODS commandement also When Eliphaz Bildad and Zophar heard of Iobs misery they came to mourne with him Iob 2. 11. But he was a rare man for piety and authority also you will say see therefore another example of this duty performed towards them that were not so Did not I weepe for him that was in trouble saith Iob Chap. 30. 25. was not my soule grieved for the poore Yea see an example of this towards most wicked men Iudg. 21. 2. The people of Israel came to the house of GOD as we do now to professe their sorrow for the extreme misery that the wicked Benjamites were most justly fallen into Yea we are straityly charged by the LORD to do so to remember and thinke of them as if their case were our owne Remember them that are in bonds saith the Apostle Heb. 13. 3. as bound with them and them that are in adversity as being your selves also in the body Yea to do it with hearty commiseration Rom. 12. 15. Weepe with them that weepe Yea if the judgement be famous and exemplary we are commanded also to make publique and solemne profession as we do at this day that we are affected with their misery Levit. 10. 6. Let your brethren the whole house of Israel bewaile the burning which the LORD hath kindled Three speciall reasons and grounds there be for this Doctrine for we should take to heart the miseries and calamities of others First In respect had to them that are afflicted For admit they were not our fellow-members in CHRIST nor
the plague if we do not first make our peace with GOD all these are in vaine If we beare in our bosome the cause of the plague if we nourish and increase it daily I meane our sinnes we cannot be sure to keepe it from our townes and houses do what we can Know thou for a surety it is GOD that sends the pestilence as He saith 2 Chron. 7. 13. In this judgement above others we are said to fall into the LORDS hands as David speaketh 2 Sam. 24. 14. And as He sends it so He onely guides it whither it shall go and whither it shall not go whom it shall smite and whom it shall spare And though He do usually send it by outward and ordinary meanes yet alwayes He doth not so Some that live in the thickest of them that are infected and in a most corrupt aire do escape some that flie from the places infected into the purest aire are infected they know not how How many Physitians and Chyrurgions and nurses and keepers that have beene wont to visit the infected to sweat them to dresse their sores to wash their linnen yea how many that have daily conversed with them and lyen in bed with them also have beene knowne to have escaped the infection altogether Whereas many that have beene most carefull to keepe themselves from all that have been infected and to use all good preservatives against the contagion have beene taken by it No man may argue from hence as some foolishly have done that this disease is not in it owne nature more infectious than other diseases are No more than from this that the three noble Iewes that were cast into Nebuchadnezzars furnace received no hurt at all by it Dan. 3. 27. and that oft times one house in a street or roome in a house escape burning in the greatest fires that have beene heard of a man may conclude that fire is not in it selfe of a burning and consuming nature But in this as in the other the finger and power of GOD is to be acknowledged in restraining and setting bonds to this heavy judgement as pleaseth Him And this the LORD doubtlesse doth to hearten and encourage them that are whole to performe all necessary duties of mercy and love to them that are sicke And as the LORD can thus limit the plague of pestilence so can He if He please command it to go through our whole Land before it cease as He did through the land of Israel 2 Sam. 24. 15. from Dan to Beersheba Though we flie from it He can follow and pursue us with it as He hath done many and threatneth I will persecute and follow them with the pestilence saith He Ier. 29. 18. Though we shut our doores against it He can make it come in at our windowes as they complaine Ier. 9. 21. Death is come up to our windowes and is entred into our palaces Let no man thinke he can be sure to avoid this judgement by flying from it if he be not carefull to remove the cause of it and to make his peace with GOD. Do therefore before it come nearer to thee as the LORD Himselfe counselleth thee Amos 4. 12. Prepare to meet thy GOD. And because thou canst have no assurance in thy selfe that thou shalt be able to avoid the danger of the indignation of this King that comes against thee for ought thou knowest with so great a power learne that wisdome that our Saviour directeth thee unto Luke 14. 32. While He is yet a great way off send an ambassage and desire conditions of peacewith Him If thou wouldst be free from the feare of the plague feare GOD aright Be not afraid saith the Prophet Esa. 8. 12 13. sanctifie the LORD of hosts Himselfe and let Him be your feare and let Him be your dread If we could feare the LORD as we ought we should not need to feare any thing els in the world Be sure to make thy peace with Him which how thou mayest doe I will tell thee by and by Thirdly and lastly to cause us to take to heart and to be affected with this fearefull plague consider that if this judgement be neglected as great as it is it wil be but a fore-runner of some more fearefull judgement than this is And as our Saviour speaketh in another case Matth. 24. 8. this wil be but the beginning of our sorrowes There is a judgement that this nation hath hitherto beene preserved from to the astonishment and admiration of all the world that is greater than this for it useth to bring this and the famine also with it I meane warre The sword of our bloudy and mercilesse enemies is worse than the plague This is plaine by Davids choice 2 Sam. 24. 14. Let us fall now into the hand of the LORD for His mercies are great and let me not fall into the handof man And surely we have cause to feare that if this will do us no good GOD cannot endure to have His judgements despised Heare what He saith Levit. 26. 18. If you will not for all this hearken unto Me then I will punish you seven times more for your sinnes And certainly I may say to all you that heare me this day if you regard not nor profit by this fearfull plague you heare of in London and in other parts of the Land GOD will either bring it home to you or a worse plague than it Luke 13. 3. Except ye repent ye shall all likewise perish The second duty that this Doctrine serveth to exhort us to is that we would make right use of this judgement of GOD that is upon the Land unto our selves And that standeth in foure points First seeing 1. GOD gives us in this judgement such cause of sorrow seeing He is angry and 2 not with the Londoners onely but with us with the whole Land and 3. it may be more with us than with them and 4. seeing we know not how soon this fire that burnes our neighbours house may light upon ours We must therfore examine every one of us our own wayes This direction is given us Lam. 3. 39. 40. Wherefore doth a living man complaine a man for the punishment of his sinnes As if the Church there should say why do men mourne and fret and take on so for this judgement of GOD that is justly fallen upon them Why do they not betake themselves to the right course for the pacifying of GODS wrath Which is this and this onely Let us search and try our wayes and turne againe to the LORD Every one of us should say thus within himselfe surely the LORD is very angry with the whole Land with every one of us and what have I done to anger the LORD thus to provoke Him to this wrath Ier. 8. 6 7. The LORD chargeth the Iewes that they did not know His judgement because no man said what have I done And so surely will He judge of us We know not the meaning of the
be such as may be coloured with the best pretences will provoke Him to punish men this way So then to apply all this unto our selves seeing it is evident that we and our nation are guilty of all these sinnes for every one of which we find in the Word that GOD hath brought and threatned to bring this judgement upon His people in former times seeing we have beene 1. most unthankfull unto GOD for our deliverance out of that spirituall Egypt and house of bondage wherein our fore-fathers lived and have shewed too much desire to returne thither againe and have loathed so long the heavenly food of the Gospell of CHRIST more than ever they did that Manna and 2. have brought up and entertained a most slanderous and evill report of the promised Land and of that strait way that leads unto it speaking evill of and scorning the life and power of godlinesse and discouraging others from it murmuring against and hating to the death such of GODS servants as either by doctrine or example do presse and provoke us unto it and 3 are so ready upon every occasion to murmure and rebell against the servants and Ministers of the LORD content indeed to give them the hearing but apt to tell them if they shall deale particularly and roundly with us and require of us obedience to the truth and practise of that that we heare and professe that they take too much upon them seeing 4. whoredome doth every where so increase and abound in our Land and 5. we are every whit as proud of our owne strength and as apt to put trust in the arme of flesh as David was and 6. the holy Sacrament is in all places so commonly prophaned and those holy things given to and received without difference by such dogs and swine as have no care at all dâ—ly to prepare themselves thereunto seeing 7. the publique and solemne worship of GOD is every where so much neglected and 8 we have so hardened our hearts against and profited so little by many other judgements whereby the LORD hath witnessed His wrath from heaven against us and sought to bring us unto repentance and 9. we do continually with so great obstinacy refuse to yeeld obedience to many of the expresse commandements of GOD. Seeing I say we are guilty of all these sinnes that are the proper causes of this judgement let us therefore impute this fearefull plague whereby GOD â—ath smitten the chiefe City and many other parts of our Land unto these our sinnes and justifie the LORD in this judgement the causes whereof are so evidently to be found amongst us yea let us all feare that He will execute His fierce wrath upon us in the same manner except we repent us of and forsake these sinnes And this is the first way whereby we must make right use unto our selves of this heavy judgement of GOD that is upon the Land The second is this that seeing the LORD doth thus declare and proclaime that His anger and fury is kindled and inflamed against us all it behooves us without delay by all meanes to make our peace with GOD and to seeke reconciliation with Him Acquaint thy selfe now with Him saith Eliphaz to Iob. Chap. 22. 21. and make peace with Him thereby good shall come unto thee This and this onely is the way unto true safety and comfort And marke that he adviseth him to do it now Now is the time to do it if ever we will do it now that His hand is so stretched out against us And we are strangely hardned in our sins if howsoever we have wretchedly neglected it hitherto we will do it now If any shall aske me what must I doe and what course must I take to make my peace with GOD I answer briefly and plainly that there be three things thou must do if thou wouldest obtaine peace with GOD and if thou canst do these three things thou needest not doubt to obtaine it 1. Thou must freely and fully and particularly confesse thy sinnes unto GOD even those sinnes which I have shewed to be the chiefe causes of this judgement I said saith David Psal. 32. 5. I will confesse my transgressions unto the LORD and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sinne 2. Thou must unfainedly and fully resolve with thy selfe to cast off and forsake these and all other thy sinnes Prov. 28. 13. Who so confesseth and forsaketh his sinne shall find mercy Though thou canst not quite leave them as who can do that in this life yet if thou canst unfainedly and without dissimulation desire and purpose and resolve with thy selfe to leave them all begging strength of GOD that thou mayst be made able to do it then hast thou forsaken them in GODS account and they shall not hinder thy peace and reconciliation with GOD. In this David tooke comfort I am purposed saith he Psal. 17. 3. that my mouth shall not transgresse and Psal. 39. 1. I said I fully resolved and determined with my selfe I will take heed to my wayes 3. And lastly Thou must strive by a lively faith to lay hold on GODS mercy in CHRIST and to get His bloud sprinkled upon thy heart CHRIST is our peace as the Apostle cals Him Eph. 2. 14. Neither can we with all that we are able to do make our peace with GOD but onely through faith in Him When the destroying Angell saw the bloud of the lambe sprinkled upon the lintell and side-posts of any doore he passed by that house and smote none in it Exod. 12. 23. The third way whereby we must make right use to our selves of this judgement that we see upon others is this it must increase our care to reforme not our selves onely but our families It is a vaine thing for any man to blesse himselfe or take comfort in his repentance without this care say not if I use all good meanes to make peace with GOD for my selfe I hope the faults of my family shall never be imputed unto me Search the Scriptures and you shall find there was never any man that was himselfe reconciled and at peace with GOD but his care was that his family might feare GOD and be in favour with Him as well as himselfe Cornelius though he were a Centurion and kept a great family and had souldiers to serve him yet feared God with all his house Acts 10. 2. So soone as Zacheus himselfe was become a sonne of Abraham a true believer salvation came unto his house too Luke 19. 9. Christ promised he should have a faithfull and a religious family So speaketh Eliphaz also to Iob Iob 22. 23. If thou returne to the Almighty thou shalt be built up thou shalt put away iniquity far from thy tabernacles No man that is himselfe truly returned unto the Almighty need to be discouraged in this if he do his endeavour God hath promised that he shall be able through His gracious assistance and blessing to reforme his family though not to
of Christ for the people which indeed is that thâ—t did the deed but know 1. that when incense was offred Gods people also prayed Lâ—ke 1. 10. And 2. that Christs intercession goeth with our prayers also â—nd is that that makes them effectuall He offâ—eth His incense with the prayers of all Saints Rev 8. 3. 4. In strange and extraordinary judgements that are upon Gods people we are bound not onely to pray for them but to do it in an extraordinary manner When the decree was sealed for the destruction of all the Iewes and Ester resolved to venture her life for the revoking of it then ordinary prayer would not serve the turne but Ester commanded extraordinary prayer to be used in such a case and that for sundry dayes together Ester 4. 16. Go fast ye for me and neither eat noâ— drinke three dayes night nor day 5. In publike and generall calamities that are upon Gods people or hang over them publike and generall prayers should be used for them This course Ieâ—osâ—phat tooke in that case 2 Chroâ— 20. 13. All luda stood before the Lord in that fast And so did the Ninivites likewise Ion. 3. 5. They prâ—clâ—imed a fast and put on saâ—kcloth from the greatest of them to the leâ—st of them And the more publike and solemne the prayers are that are made in this case the more pleasing they are unto the Lord. This appeareth lâ—dg 20. 26. they had before gone up to the house of God and asked counsell of God Vers. 18. they had gone up the second time to seeke the Lord and then did weepe also before the Lord Vers. 23. but prevailed not the third time they prevailed Why What did they more now than they did before 1. They fasted 2. All the childreâ— of Israel â—nd all the people weâ—t up An evident proofe of this that when Gods judgements are publike and generall upon Gods people our prayers and humiliations should be as publike and generall as is possible and the more publike the more pleasing unto God Reason First The Lord is He that both layeth the judgement upon any of our brethren and He that must take it off and therefore the best way we have to helpe them is to seeke to Him in their behalfe It is the Lord that sends the pestilence I have sent among you the pestilence after the manner of Egypt saith the Lord Amos 4 10. And it is He and He only that moderates and sets bounds unto it He saith to it as to the sea Iob 38. 11. Hitherto shalt thou come but no further and here shall thy proud waves â—e stayed He hath set downe in His counsaile and decree whom it shall smite and whom it shall spare The just number that He hath appointed shall die of it use they what meanes they can which they are bound to do because this is a secret unto them to avoid it Ier. 15. 2. Such as are for death that is for the pestilence as it is expounded Ier. 21. 7. to death and such as are for the sâ—â—rd to the sword and such as are for the famine to the famine and such as are for the captivity to the captivity And it shall not touch any of them whom He will have to be spared though they live in never so much danger Psal. 91. 7. A thousand shall fall at Thy side and ten thousand at Thy right hand but it shall not come nigh Thee And it is the Lord onely that removes it when He pleaseth that saith to the destroying Angell It is enough stay now thy hand 2 Sam. 24. 16. And lastly it is He onely that can cure those that are smitten with it 1 Sam. 26. The Lord killeth and â—aketh alive He bringeth downe to the grave and brings up againe So that to conclude this reason we may say with the Prophet Amos 3. 6. Shall there be evill in a City and the Lord hath not done it The plague is in the City and that is one great evill secondly it increaseth there wonderfully that is another evill thirdly the people in the out-parishes will not be restrained nor kept in that is another evill fourthly many perish with famine that is another evill And hath not the Lord done all this What better course then can we take for their good than to seeke to the Lord for them Secondly The Lord hath commanded us to do this He desires and lookes for this at our hands and is highly pleased with it when we seeing his judgements upon our brethren become suiters to Him in their behalfe He hath commanded 1 Tim. 2. 1. Before all things let supplications c. be made for all men Yea He desires it greatly and lookes for it even when He is most offended with a people to be thus sought unto in their behalfe Ezek. 22. 30. I sought for a man amongst them that should make up the hedge and stand in the gap before Me for the land that I should not destroy it Esâ— 59. 16. He wondred that there was no intercessour Yea He is highly pleased with this in which respect Ieremy desires God to take notice of this grace in him and remember it Ier. 18. 20. Remember that I stood before Thee to speake good for them and to turne away Thy wrath from them So that it is a sinne against God to neglect this duty unto our brethren 1 Sam. 12. 23. God forbid that I should sinne against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you Thirdly The force and efficacy that there is in the prayers of Gods people to helpe and relieve them that are in misery is very great The prayers of Gods people have prevailed wonderfully with Him even for wicked men How oft did Moses prayer remove Gods plagues even from Pharaoh Exod. 8. 13. 31. 9. 33. 10. 18 19. When Ahâ—â— and his land were almost consumed with a drought and famine Elias prayer delivered him from that judgement and brought raine yet he was a man subject to the like passiâ—ns that we are lam 5. 17 18. Yea in this very judgement of the pestilence ye shall see the force of prayer For when God hath drawne out this terrible sword of His in His fierce displeasure and consumed many by it and stretched out His arme to smite more the prayers of Gods people have even stayed Him and held His hand and prevailed so with Him that they have even overcome Him and compelled Him to change His mind and put up His sword When wrath was gone out from the Lord and the plague was begun Aâ—râ—n stood with his incense betweene the dead and the living and the plague was stayed Numb 16. 48. When God had said unto Moses against Israel for their idolatry Exod. 32. 10. Let Me alone that my wrath may waxe â—ot againâ—â— them and that I may consume them Upon Moses prayer Vers. 14. The Lord repented Him of the evill which He thought to do unto His people The like He did upon Davids
would have beene glad with all his heart to have fared as his fathers servants did Luke 15. 19. O what sweetnesse found Paul in Christ I determined saith he not to know any thing among you save Iesus Christ and Him crucified 1 Cor. 2. 2. And what made his tast so good He had been deeply humbled in sense of his sinnes as appeares plainly by this that he counted himselfe lesse than the least of all Saints Eph. 3. 8. and the chiefest of all the sinners that Christ came to save 1 Tim. 1. 15. And what sweetnesse did David find in Gods Word and promises Psal. 119. 103. How sweet are thy words unto my taste Yea sweeter then hony to my mouth And how came he to this O he had beene greatly humbled with sense of sinne as appeares Psal. 40. 12. Innumerable evils have compassed me about mine iniquities have taken hold upon me so that I am not able to looke up they are more then the haires of mine head therefore my heart faileth me Yea this makes all Gods mercies relish well and our hearts to rejoyce and be thankfull for them a farthing token is to a very poore man most acceptable This we shall see in Iacobs example hee vowed great thankfulnesse to God if hee would give him but bread to eate and raiment to put on as wee see Gen. 28. 20. because hee was so humbled in the sense of his owne unworthinesse and could say Gen. 32. 10. I am not worthy of the least of all thy mercies 4. It makes them seeke to God more earnestly and pray more fervently As it is said of our Saviour himselfe Luk. 22. 44. that being in an agony he prayed more earnestly his inward abasement through anguish of soule did adde much to the fervency of his prayer So it is also with all his members they never pray so fervently as when they are most humbled and afflicted in spirit Lord in trouble have they visited thee saith the Prophet Esa. 26. 16. they poured out a prayer when thy chastning was upon them 5. And lastly It makes a man fit to walke and converse with God no man can be fit to doe so till then Mic. 6. 8. The Lord requires we should humble our selves to walke with our God We can never walke nor converse with God til we can humble our selves And that both 1. In respect of the Lord who can not delight to converse with any till he be humbled as no great man will be familiar with a saucy unmannerly foole that knowes not how to carry himselfe before his betters nor to give due respect unto him God cannot abide that flesh should glory in his presence 1 Cor. 1. 29. 2 Sam. 22. 28. The afflicted people thou wilt save but thine eyes are upon the haughty that thou maist bring them downe The more we are humbled in our selves the more the Lord delights in us to bee and converse with us Though the Lord be high saith the Psalmist Psal. 138. 6. yet hath hee respect unto the lowly but the proud he knowes afarre of And Esa. 57. 15. He will dwell with him that is of a contrite and humble spirit 2. In respect of our selves wee are never fit to walke with God till we be truly humbled We cannot serve God so as to please him till we can doe it with reverence and feare Heb. 12. 28. Till then we cannot heare the word as we should All thy saints are in thine hands saith Moses Deut. 33. 3. and they are humbled at thy feet to receive thy words Till then we can never pray as we should Till we can consider God is in the heaven of high and incomprehensible majesty and we upon earth base and vile worms wee shall bee apt to bee rash with our mouths and our heart will be hasty to utter any thing before God as Salomon speaketh Eccle. 5. 2. Till then men will never bee fearefull to offend him no wee can never know him nor our selves rightly till we have beene soundly humbled I have heard of thee saith Iob 42. 4. by the hearing of the eare but now mine eye seeth thee Iob had a true and saving knowledge of God before as he had also beene truly humbled in soule before but nothing to that he had when God had thorowly humbled him And so it is said of Manasseh 2 Chron. 33. 12. 13. That when he was in affliction and had humbled himselfe greatly then Manasseh knew that the Lord he was God Till then we cannot yeeld any acceptable and constant obedience unto God Ier. 44. 10. They are not humbled even unto this day neither have they feared nor walked in my Law nor in my statutes that I set before you and before your fathers SERMON V. Octob. 12. 1625. TWo Uses this Doctrine serveth unto principally First for exhortation and then for comfort And first to exhortus that we would all of us strive to aâ—teine to this grace that David heere speaketh of and hath beene commended unto us in this Doctrine that is to be able to afflict our owne soules with godly sorrow And for my better proceeding in handling of this use and for the help of your memory and edification I will deliver unto you 1. The motives whereby you may be provoked to seeke this grace 2. The meanes you must use for the atteyning of it 3. The signes and tokens whereby you may discerne it First Motives I say for you had need to have forcible reasons shewed you why you should desire it none of us desire it as we ought most men abhorre all sorrow they put farre away the evil day Amos 6. 3. and give themselves to all meanes of mirth that they can devise Amos 6. 5 6. And even in these times wherein the Lord by so many meanes cals to mourning and to weeping behold joy and gladnesse every where as it was in the Prophets time Esa 22. 12 13. Every mans heart is in the house of mirth Eccle. 7. 4. You had need therefore have forcible motives given you to persuade you to seeke and labour for godly sorrow for an afflicted and humbled heart In the stone of the kidny or bladder men need not be persuaded to desire or seeke remedy but in the stone of the heart they doe First Consider the examples of Gods servants whom God in his Word hath commended to us and whom we count happy men as the Apostle speaketh Iam. 5. 11. and we shall see they were men of tender hearts they were deeply humbled and much given to mourning and weeping for their sinnes David was much given to weeping for sinne he spent whole nights in weeping abundantly Psal. 6. 6. And Peter when he repented wept bitterly Mat. 26. 75. Paul was so humbled all his dayes for the sins he committed before his calling that hee counted himselfe not worthy to be called an Apostle 1 Cor. 15 9 Yea he judged himself lesse then the least of all Saints Ep. 3.
8. Yea they have been brought to the very point brink of despaire before they could come to comfort So was Asaph when he cryed Psal. 73 26. My flesh and my heart faileth And so was Heman when he complained Psal. 88. 15. While I suffer thy terrours I am distracted And so was David also when he said thus in his prayer unto God Psal. 40. 12. Mine iniquities have taken hold upon me so as I am not able to looke up they are more then the haires of my head therefore my heart faileth me But these were fouler sinners thou wilt say then ever thou wert I will shew thee therefore examples of such as whose sinnes were as small as thine Iob was never tainted with so fowle sinnes as thou hast been and yet his eyes were wont to poure out teares unto God 16. 20. He for that very forwardnesse and impatiency he shewed in so great affliction abhorred himselfe and repented in dust and ashes Iob 42. 6. Davids heart was so soft and tender that it smote him when he had but cut off the skirt of Sauls garment 1 Sam. 24. 5. The poore man whose child Christ dispossessed burst out into teares even for the weakenesse of his faith Mar. 9. 24. Paul was marvellously humbled even for his originall sinne Rom. 7. 24. O wretched man that I am who shall deliver me from the body of this death Consider these examples well and thou must needs conclude with thy selfe 1. Surely it must needs be a good thing 2. Surely it must needs be a necessary thing that all Gods people have beene so much given unto Surely I have as much cause as they had to weepe and bee deeply humbled for my sinnes But I will give thee another example farre greater then all these thy blessed Saviour that had no sin was much given to mourning and weeping for the the sinnes that thou and such as thou art have committed Mar. 3. 5. He mourned for the hardnesse of the hearts even of his enemies He wept over Ierusalem Luc. 19. 41. His soule was exceeding sorrowfull unto death Mat. 26. 38. He offred up prayers and supplications with strong crying and teares Heb. 5. 7. Say not I have the lesse cause to grieve for my sinnes because hee grieved so much for them Esay 53. 4. Surely he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrowes For thou must become conformable unto him in his sufferings or thou shalt never have comfort in them Rom. 8. 29. 6. 5. Say therefore to thine owne soule if all Gods people have beene so apt to weep and mourne what am I But before I proceede to the second Motive two questions and doubts must be ansvered that may arise from the first Can I not be in the state of grace unlesse I match these examples and be so tender hearted and apt to mourne as they I answer first thou mayest All Gods children have not beene humbled nor broken in heart in the same measure and degree and two reasons there be of the difference First In the persons themselves Some of them have beene more hainous sinners then others And according to the proportion of mens sins hath and must be the measure of mens humiliation The hainouser the sinne the deeper and of the longer continuance must the sorrow be Of Manafâ—es it is said 2 Chron. 33. 12. He humbled himselfe greatly before God Of David Psal. 51. 8. that his anguish and sorrow for sin was like to the paine a man feeleth that hath his bones broken Of Mary Magdalen that she wept so aboundantly as she could wash Christs feet with her teares Luc. 7. 38. Thinke upon this thou that hast beene guilty of murther persecution whoredome or such like hainous sinnes thy sorrow must be proportionable to the hainousnesse of thy sinnes The second reason of the difference is in the Lord who is the only worker giver of this grace For as in other graces he is pleased to give them in greater measure to some of his elect then to others Mat. 13. 23. In some elect ground the seed of the Word yeelds but thirty in some sixty in some an hundred fold So is it in this Ordinarily the Lord useth by the spirit of bondage and legal terrors to prepare men to their conversion and deeply to humble them to give them the spirit of bondage Rom. 8. 15. But we read of no such thing in the first conversion of Matthew though he had beene a Publican For at his very first conversion he made a great feast to Christ Mat. 9. 9 10. nor in those that Peter converted for though they were pricked in their hearts and deeply humbled before they beleeved Act. 2. 37. Yet did their sorrow and feare continue nothing so long upon them as Davids did they quickly attained to comfort in the assurance of pardon Act. 2. 41. 46 Lydias example I doe of purpose omit for shee though shee beleeved not in Christ till she heard Paul Act. 16. 14. yet was converted and feared God before Verse 13. Secondly Yet know this that all Gods elect 1. Find in themselves this humiliation even with legall terrours at one time or other For Christ was sent to preach the Gospell to none but to the broken-hearted to the captives to the bruised Luk. 4. 18. that is to such as had the spirit of bondage Rom. 8. 15. 2. All Gods faithfull and true hearted people are in some true measure humbled and can mourne and afflict their soules for sinne for they are all oft in scripture stiled by this title They are called the humble Psal. 34. 2. an afflicted and poore people Zeph. 3. 12. the poore of the flâ—ck Zac. 11. 7. 11. poore he meanes in spirit Maâ— 5. 3. Psal. 34 6 3. They hold themselves bound to aime at the best marks and to strive to be like them that have most excelled in this grace of brokennesse of spirit ability to mourne for sin Phil. 3. 17. Brethren be followers together of mee and marke them that walke so as ye have us for an ensample Thou art then in a wofull case if thou neither canst mourne for thy sinne nor strivest to doe it But yet there is a second question to be resolved For we heare may some say that Iob and David Peter and Paul and Hezechia and Iosia and Christ have been much given to weeping in their mourning for sinne they have wept much Can I not bee in the state of grace can I not have truely repented nor beene humbled for my sinne unlesse I can doe as they did unlesse I can weepe for my sinne I answer First That the griefe and mourning for sinne be absolutely necessary unto unfained repentance teares are not alwayes so And I will shew you two reasons of the difference that is to be observed betweene Gods people in this point First The constitution of some mens bodyes makes them much more unapt to weepe then others are Secondly The
very extreamity of griefe sometimes so oppresseth and overwhelmeth mens hearts as David complaineth of himselfe Psal. 143. 4. My spirit is overwhelmed within me my heart within mee 〈◊〉 desolate as they cannot ease themselves either by words or teares Gods people have beene oft in that extreamity of griefe as they could not pray I meane not expresse in words the desires of their heart but with sighes and groanings Rom. 8. 26. In extreamity of sorrow some men cannot weepe It is said of David and his company 1 Sam. 30. 4. they had no more power to weepe So that I may say to thee that if thou canst by the signes that I shall by and by give thee approve that thou art able soundly to mourne and bee humbled for thy sinnes though thou canst not weepe for them thou mayst be in the state of grace for all that But secondly I answer That if the constitution of thy body will serve thee to weep for other things and yet thou couldst never weep for thy sinnes surely thy case is fearefull As to the man that can remember other things well enough a tale a play but a sermon a chapter of the Bible he cannot remember and excuseth the matter thus my memory is naught I may say it is naught indeed with a witnes it is sinfully it is damnably naught so to thee that canst weepe for other things but not for sinne I may say flatter not thy selfe but strive to bee able to doe as thou hearest other the good servants of God have done and that God hath beene so highly pleased with them for strive to bee able to weepe for thy sinnes The second motive to persuade you to seeke for this grace is the consideration of the manifold promises God hath made in his word to them that can afflict their soules and be rightly humbled for sinnes and the great benefite that this grace will bring with it First This sorrow shall not be everlasting Rev. 7. 17. but it shall end in comfort Iohn 16. 20. Yee shall be sorrowfull but your sorrow shall be turned into joy Psal. 126. 5. They that sow in teares shall reap in joy It is appointed unto them that mourne in Zion that they shall have the â—ile of joy given them for their mourning the garment of praise for the spirit of heavines Esa. 61. 3. The Lord who is the father of mercies God of all consolation is cald a God that comforteth al those that are cast downe 2 Cor. 7. 6. Never found Gods people that coÌ„fort in Gods mercy in the assurance of the pardoÌ„ of their sins as when they have beene most humbled and able to weep most for their sinnes Esa. 29. 19. The meeke shall increase their joy in the Lord and the poore among men shall rejoyce in the holy one of Israel The day of humiliation when Gods people afflict their soules before him is called a day of attonement Levit. 23. 27. For so is Gods promise Zac. 13. 1. In that day there shall be a fountaine opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Ierusalem for sinne and for uncleannesse First No man need feare hee shall bring himselfe to desperation if he give way to this tendernesse of heart and sorrowing for sinne For there is no such medicine in the world to free thy heart from legall and desperate feares and sorrowes and to bring thy heart to sweet peace and comfort in God as this is if thou couldst rightly mourne and be humbled for thy sinne When those poore wretches that had crucified Christ and were pricked in their hearts with intollerable feares and sorrowes and anguish of soule for it and cried out to the Apostles what shall we doe Act. 2. 37. Marke what remedy Peter prescribes them verse 38. Repent saith he Why Did they not repent already of that they had done Yes with legall repentance for endaungering themselves but his meaning is repent and mourne that you have offended God And indeed so is Gods promise Esay 57. 15. I will dwell with him that is of a contrite and humble spirit to revive the spirit of the humble and to revive the heart of the contrite ones He may be sure to have his heart revived and comforted that can be humbled enough Secondly Yea there is no such remedy against wordly sorrow as this if when we feele our hearts dejected with any sorrow for any worldly crosse we would labour to turne our heart from the consideration of the crosse to the consideration of our sinne that hath beene the cause of it And this remedy you shall finde prescribed Lam. 3. 39. Wherefore doth a living man complaine chafe and fret and disquiet himselfe a man for the punishment of his sinnes let us search and try our wayes I beseech you lay this second Motive to your hearts every one of you 1. Many of you never yet had any comfort in God in the assurance of the pardon of your sinnes never found sweetnesse in Christ nor in Gods promises 2. Many of you are much disquieted with legall and desperate feares 3. Many of you are alwayes heavy hearted somtimes by reason of crosses you meet with and sometimes you know not why And what is the true cause of all this You were never yet rightly humbled for your sinnes Why will you continue in this uncomfortable estate Learne to mourne and weepe for thy sinnes and that will help all The second promise made unto it and benefit this sorrow will bring is that it will make us capable of and able to thrive in every saving grace This benefit you shall find pressed as a motive unto this 1 Pet. 5. 5 6. God giveth grace to the humble humble your selves therefore saith the Apostle under the mighty hand of God Iam. 4. 6 7 9. God giveth grace to the humble submit your selves therefore to God bee afflicted and mourne and weep Men use not to come to the rock to be well grounded and setled in grace till they have digged deep Luk. 6. 48. Such shall attaine to a cleare and certaine and sanctified knowledge of the truth Psal. 25. 9. The humble he will teach his way Such shall get power over their corruptions 2 Cor. 7. 10. Godly sorrow worketh repentance unto salvation not to be repented of Eccle. 7. 3. Sorrow is better then laughter for by the sadnesse of the countenance the heart is made better These teares are of a purging and cleansing nature no sope no nitre is so effectuall to get the spots and staines out of cloth as these are to wash out the spots of thy soule That which Salomon saith of a slanderer Prov. 25. 23. An angry countenance will drive him away may be said of this if sinne be not cockerd and made much of if we would shew our selves discontented sad and heavy while it tarrieth with us this would drive it away Take this also to heart I pray you 1 Many of
you complaine or have just cause to complaine you thrive not in any saving grace you are like Pharaohs kine though you live in never so good pasture yet are you still as ill favoured and leane as ever you were Gen. 41. 19. 21. 2. Many of you are extreamely ignorant and unsetled in your religion unstable soules as the Apostle speakes 2 Pet. 3. 16. 3. Many of you complaine you cannot overcome nor get power over any corruption you cry with the Apostle though not with that successe that hee did Rom. 7. 15. That which I doe I allow not for what I would that I doe not but what I hate that doe I. Learne to know the true cause of all this you were never yet rightly humbled for sinne If thou couldst be humbled and learne to mourne for thy sinne God would give thee more grace Thirdly The Lord hath promised his speciall protection assistance and mercy in the evill day the day of his wrath and judgements unto such as are rightly humbled and can mourne for their sinnes Psal. 18. 27. Thou wilt save the afflicted people and 34. 18. He saveth such as be of a contrite spirit Iob 22. 29. When men are cast downe then thou shalt say there is a lifting up he shall save the humble person And this promise God hath been wont to make good one of these three wayes 1. Either by turning away the judgment that he had threatned as 2 Chron. 32. 26. Hezechia humbled himselfe for the pride of his heart both he and the inhabitants of Ierusalem so that the wrath of the Lord came not upon them in the dayes of Hezechia Yea to shew what sound humiliation is able to doe the very counterfait of it hath beene very effectuall this way for the turning away of judgements 2 Chron. 12. 12 When Rehoboam humbled himselfe the wrath of the Lord turned from him so that he would not destroy him altogether and also in Iudah things went well The like we may see in the example of a worse man then hee 1 King 21. 29. Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himselfe before me therefore I will not bring the evill in his dayes Or 2. by hiding his servants from the judgement and providing for their safety in the common calamity as he did Iust Lot that was vexed with the filthy conversation of the Sodomites 2 Pet. 2. 7. This our God can doe verse 9. The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of tentations For to him belong the issues of death Psal. 68. 20. Or 3. if he see it not good to do either of the former by sealing them setting his mark upon them giving them by his spirit further assurance of his favour and strength of grace to indure the calamity for that is Gods seale and marke Ep. 1. 13. and so did the Lord with those humbled soules that went into captivity Ezek. 9. 4. Goe through the midst of the City through the midst of Ierusalem and set a marke upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abhominations that be done in the midst thereof Consider well of this benefit I pray you 1. We live now in an evill time The plague hath devoured many thousands already and we all may see cause enough to feare it may come neerer to every one of us then yet it hath done 2. The Lord doth also threaten us with the sword You have heard of the intentions of our enemies abroad 3. All mens hearts are disquieted with feare few have any inward peace and security in their minds Learne therefore to know how wee might remedy this Certainly if we could learne to afflict our selves and mourne for our sinnes we need not feare either the plague or the papists God would be a refuge for us a refuge in times of trouble Psal. 9. 9. O that Gods people throughout the land could humble themselves more for sin for the sinnes of the land and for their owne sinnes O that we could doe it that are here now Remember what is said Prov. 14. 26. In the feare of the Lord is strong confidence and his children shall have a place of refuge Fourthly The Lord hath promised that the prayers of such shall prevaile mightily with him both for themselves and others You know what is said of Iacob Hos. 12. 4. He had power over the Angel and prevailed he wept and made supplications unto him And of Hezechiah Esa. 38. 5. I have heard thy prayers I have seene thy teares behold I will adde unto thy dayes 15. yeeres And what need we more examples when we have the Lords expresse Word and promise for this Psal. 10. 17. Lord thou hast heard the desire of the humble thou wilt prepare their heart thou wilt cause thine eare to heare Psal 34. 17. When the Prophet had said The righteous cry and the Lord heareth them he giveth this for the reason verse 18. The Lord is nigh to them that are of a broken heart 2 Chron. 7. 14. If my people that are called by my name shall humble themselves and pray then will I heare from Heaven Yea for others also God will heare them Iob 42. 8. My servant Iob shall pray for you for him will I accept 1. Wee all complaine and not without cause as Iob did Iob 30. 20. I cry unto thee and thou dost not heare me I stand up and thou regardest me not 2. And we account it if we be as we should be the cheif priviledge and comfort we have in this life to have audience and respect with God in our prayers 1 Iohn 5. 14. This is the confidence that wee have in him that if wee aske any thing according to his will he heareth us 3. Take notice of a cheif cause thereof and as thou desirest God should have more respect to thy prayers labour thou to be more humbled for thy sinnes SERMON VI. Novemb. 9. 1625. FOlloweth now the third and last motive that this is the best way to prevent the Lord from afflicting and humbling our soules with his owne hand when we have learned to humble and afflict our owne soules For this is a certaine truth sinne will bring sorrow sooner or later that cannot bee avoided Sinne is therefore called sorrow because sorrow is an inevitable effect and consequent of it Eccl. 11. When he had said verse 9. Rejoyce O young man in thy youth and let thy heart cheere thee in the daies of thy youth and walke in the waies of thine heart and in the sight of thine eyes but know thou that for all these things God will bring thee into judgement he addes verse 10. Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart and put away evill from thy flesh When sinne hath gone before sorrow even sorrow and affliction of soule for sinne will follow Prov. 29. 6. In the transgression of a wicked man there is a snare that is that that will fill their hearts with deadly sorrow and heavinesse
hee sent Shemajâ—h the Prophet unto them to declare unto them the true cause of that judgement and to bring them to an effectuall sight and sense of their sinne and then not before they humbled themselves and confessed that the Lord was righteous Gods judgements and corrections without the word vse not to worke savingly Indeed they serve 1. to prepare and make the heart fitter to receive and profite by the word 2. to stirre up those sparks and make them to burne which the word had before cast into the heart and were covered as with ashes but without the word they use not to worke savingly But the word even without affliction hath done mighty things this way Ier. 23. 29. Is not my Word like as a fire saith the Lord and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces Wouldst thou then have thy heart softned Bring it to this fire if it be as hard as iron it will soften it and make it plyable bring it to this anvile where the hammer smiteth and it wil breake it For first this is ordained and sanctified of God to bee a glasse that will cleerly and evidently discover to us all our spots and deformities as the Apostle teacheth us Iam. 1. 23. Secondly God hath promised to accompany this ordinance of his with the divine power and efficacy of his holy Spirit I will be with you saith our Saviour Mat. 28. 20. unto the end of the world And therefore it is no marvell though it be so mighty this way A likely matter will you say for where have you harder and profaner hearts then such as are daily beaten upon by this hammer I answer First That the hardned and reprobate heart is made the harder by the strokes of this haÌ„mer specially such hearts as once were softned and are growne hard againe even as the Smiths iron is To 〈◊〉 the word is a savour of death unto death 2 Cor. 〈…〉 Secondly The true cause why so many heare us daily and their hearts are never a whit mollified by it is this in many of our hearers the Lord works not with us no alas in these dayes the Lord works with us but in few and if he be not with us if hee worke not with us we can doe nothing When God bad Moses take his rod and smite the rock in Horeb he told him he would stand before him on the rock and then when God stood upon the rock Moses smote the rock and water gushed out of it aboundantly Exod. 17. 5 6. If God had not beene there Moses smiting the rock would have done nothing so is it in this case Thirdly This I say that such as God hath in mercy ordained to give a soft heart unto shall feele their hearts mollified more by this then by any other meanes And if this will not soften thy heart I assure thee nothing will doe it This being so Oh that we who are Gods ministers would more diligently carefully apply our selves to this worke and stir up our selves in our ministry not onely to reprove sinne but to doe it feelingly and conscionably so as may be most effectuall to bring Gods people to sound humiliation for sinne If we would bring them to lament for sinne we must mourne to them our selves as our saviour speaketh Mat. 11. 17. and not by our Epicurisme and riotous lives proclaime unto them that we are far from having humbled soules in our selves for our owne sinnes And O that you that are Gods people would seek for and desire this helpe from us in our ministry to soften your hearts and further you in this worke of humiliation of foule for sinne Certainly you should desire and seek for all good helpes this way When God denounced against his people the heavy judgement of the Babilonish captivity and provokes them to humiliation and repentance for the preventing of it Consider yee saith he ler. 9. 17 18. and call for the mourning women that they may come and send for cunning women that they may come and let them make hast and take up a wailing for us that our eyes may runne down with teares and our eyelids gush out with waters He alludes to the custome they had in funerals and such occasions of mourning to hire certain women that by their skill in singing dolefull songs might increase their heavinesse and make them more apt to mourn But his meaning is to teach them that in such a time as that was wherein they had also just cause to mourne and humble themselves they should use all the best helps they could to provoke themselves unto sorrow And surely we should all learne to doe so in this case seeing humiliation for sinne is so necessary and the ministry of the word is a singular meanes to worke our hearts to it we should therefore desire so far as the good order that God hath established in his Church will permit to heare such as whose ministry is most powerfull and effectuall for the softning of a hard heart The second meane wherein we must use the help of others is the benefit of private admonition and reproofe They that would have their hearts softned to be able to mourne and weepe for sin must not bee unwilling to be admonished and reproved for sin in private by some faithfull friend either Minister or other but count it a great benefit and desire it rather First certainly God hath given authority and a straight charge to all his people to watch one over another and to call upon and admonish and reprove one another Heb. 10. 24. Let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works 2 Thes. 3. 15. Yet count him not as an enemy but admonish him as a brother Levit. 19. 17. Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour and not suffer sinne upon him Secondly God hath sanctified and ordained this for a meanes to reclaime poore sinners to bring them to a saving sight and sense of their sinne and keepe them from hardning their hearts in it Matth. 18. 15. If thy brother shall trespasse against thee go and tell him his fault betweene thee and him alone if he shall heare thee thou hast gained thy brother but if not then Verse 16. 17. take with thee one or two more that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established And if he shall neglect to heare them tell it unto the Church but if he neglect to heare the Church let him be to thee as a Heathen man and a Publicane As if he had said count not his case desperate till this course have been taken with him Thirdly God hath oft blessed this course wonderfully Mel. 3. 16. Then they that feared the Lord spake oft one to another and the Lord hearkned and heard it and a booke of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord and that thought
and returned And Esa. 26. 16. Lord in trouble have they visited thee they poured out a prayer when thy chastning was upon them And we find by experience that at such a time a faithfull Minister may much better worke up on the hearts of men to bring them to remorse and repentance then at another time According to that speach of Elihu Iob 33. 22 24. When a mans soule draweth neere to the grave if there bee then a messenger with him an interpreter one of a thousand to shew unto man his uprightnesse then he is gracious unto him And so speaketh Davidâ—lso â—lso Psal. 94. 12. Blessed is the man whom thou chastnest ô Lord and teachest him out of thy Law This is a singular favour of God when correction and instruction goe together And herein wee are bound to acknowledge the great mercy of God to our Land that in the time of so generall and grievous visitation as hath been upon it he hath put it into the Kings heart to command so much preaching that thereby the hearts of the people might bee effectually wrought upon now the Lord hath so by his judgement prepared them And certainly if in such a time the word doe not work upon mens hearts it will never doe them good Fiftly and lastly When wee feele a secret pensivenesse and sadnesse to come upon our hearts so as they even melt within us like ground that thaweth after a frost so as we could even weepe abundantly this is an excellent season and opportunity to bring our hearts unto godly sorrow in For 1. sadnesse and heavinesse maketh the heart more apt to bee wrought to goodnesse Eccle. 7. 3. Sorrow is better then laughter for by the sadnesse of the countenance the heart is made better 2. This is the way to turne the streame and current of our sorrow the right way by making our sin our greatest sorrow as indeed it ought to bee because it is the onely just cause of all other our sorrowes Lam. 3. 39. 40. Wherefore doth a living man complaine a man for the punishment of his sinnes Let us search and try our wayes and turne againe unto the Lord. And surely to conclude this first point in this we have all cause to acknowledge our owne folly and to bee humbled for it and to impute that want of grace and ability that is in us to mourne for our sins unto this that wee have neglected these times and seasons whereby we might have beene so much helped in this work We know the fittest seasons for the plowing and breaking up of our ground and we carefully observe them but we know not or care not to observe the fittest seasons for the breaking up of the fallow ground of our hearts which yet concerneth us much more then the other doth Breake up your fâ—llow ground saith the Prophet Ier. 4. 3. and sow not among thornes The second thing wee must doe to worke our hearts to godly sorrow is this after we have made choise of a fit time to goe about this work we must also make choise of a fit place for it even such as wherein we may be most free from all distractions For though this also be but a circumstance yet may it yeeld us some help in all exeâ—cises of devotioÌ„ Christ bids us make choise of a secret place for our private prayer Mat. 6. 6. And so did he himsâ—lfe Mar 1. 35. Hee went out and departed into a solitary place and there prayed And Act. 10. 9. Peter went up to the top of the house to pray So though it be no shame for a man to weepe for his sinnes as we have heard Gods people have done abundantly in their solemne fasts yet is a solitary and secret place the fittest to worke our hearts unto godly sorrow Commune with your own hearts upon your beds in secret saith David Psal. 4. 4. and be still Hâ—Zechiah turned his face to the wall when he prayed and wept so sore Esa. 38. 2 3. And Ieremiah 13. 17. saith his soule should weepe in secret And Zâ—ch 12. 12. it is said they should mourne every family apart the husband apart and the wife apart And Ieremy describing the man that is humbled under Gods hand aright saith Lam. 3. 28. Hee sitteth alone and keepeth silence Thirdly When wee have made choise of a fit time and a fit place also for this businesse then must we examine our hearts seriously and impartially And in this examination two things are to be performed by us 1. We must labour to find out and call to mind our sinnes for which wee should bee humbled 2. We must lay them to our hearts and so consider and weigh with our selves the hainousnesse of them and aggravate them against our selves that we may be affected with them For the first Hee that desires to have his heart humbled and to bee able to mourne for his sinnes must labour by diligent search and examination to finde out his sinnes and call them to mind and set them before his face Bring it againe to mind ô yee transgressours saith the Lord Esa. 46. 8. Let not man be affraid or unwilling to doe this To commit sinne is dangerous and hurtfull to thy soule but to call thy sinnes to remembrance hath no danger in it will doe thee no hurt at all to have an enemy or a mortall disease upon thee is dangerous and hurtfull but to be aware of them to know them when thou hast them may doe thee much good Iob knew this well and therefore prayeth earnestly to God to helpe him in this Iob 13. 23. Make mee to know my transgression and my sinne For 1. till then thou canst never truly mourne for thy sin and repent of it Ier. 8. 6. No man repented himselfe of his wickednesse saying what have I done To know in generall and in grosse that thou art a sinner wil never huÌ„ble thee aright thou must know thy sins in particular or thou canst never truely repent This was that that humbled Gods people so in the dayes of Samuel 1 Sam. 12. 19. Wee have added to allour other sinnes this evill to aske a King This was that that humbled those 3000. mentioned Act. 2. 36 37. and pricked them at the heart God made knowne to them their sinne in particular even that hainous sinne of crucifying the Lord of life 2. It is profitable for us in another respect For the more carefull we are to remember our sinnes and call them to mind the more ready will the Lord bee to forget them and cast them behind his back This is plaine by that prayer David maketh Psalm 51. 1 2 3. Have mercy upon me ô God wash me throughly from my iniquity for I know my transgressions and my sinne is ever before mee But if thou strive to forget them never to thinke of them to cast them behind thy back bee thou sure God will remember them and never have them out of his eye Thou hast
sinnes that have provoked God to those judgements trouble him most I will declare mine iniquitie saith David Psal. 38. 18. and be sory for my sinne And Ezek. 7. 16. They shall be on the mountaines like the dâ—ves of the valleyes all of them mourning every man for 〈◊〉 iniquity Yea even wheÌ„ Gods judgements do presse and humble him most yet â—he is more troubled for his sinne then for the affliction that is upon him as wee shall see in that prayer of David Psal. 25. 18. Looke upon my affliction and my paine and forgive all my sinnes And so it is said of Gods people in Ezras time when the Lord by a judgement of immoderate raine had testified his displeasure against them Ezra 10. 9 They trembled because of this matter their sinne in marrying Idolaters and for the great raine Their sinne was the chief thing they trembled for Let us then examine our sorrow by this first note alas many blesse themselves in this that they have beene much given to sorrow and heavinesse 1. If sorrow be good saith many a one I have had enough of that Yea upon this they ground their hope that they shall escape the wrath to come because they have endured so much sorrow in this life I have had my punishment in this life saith he Alas poore wretch of all thy sorrowes that thou hast endured I may say as our Saviour doth in another case Mat. 24. 8. All these are but the beginning of sorrows worldly sorrowes are but the beginning of hellish sorrowes The Devils also beleeve and tremble after this sort as the Apostle speaketh Iam. 2. 19. They are troubled exceedingly more then ever thou couldst be with the apprehension and sense of the punishment which they undoubtedly bâ—leeve is prepared for them 2. Many of you are oft troubled with sadnesse and heavinesse of heart and can say as Iob 23. 16. God maketh my heart soft and the Almighty troubleth me O that thou couldst turne the streame of thy sorrow the right way from sorrowing for thy affliction to sorrowing for thy sinne One houre spent in sorrowing for thy sin will yeeld thee more true comfort then a thousand spent in sorrowing for thy affliction will doe 3. And we all now assembled to professe our humiliation for the manifold tokens of Gods anger upon his Church and this land must examine the truth of our hearts in this whether we can aswell mourne for the sinnes of the land as for the judgements of God that are upon it and are threatned against it See a notable example of this in Nehemiah Chap. 1. when he heard of the great affliction and reproach Gods people were in at Ierusalem verse 3. How the wals of Ierusalem were broken downe and the gates thereof burnt with fire he sat downe and wept and mourned certaine dayes and fasted and prayed before the God of Heaven as he saith verse 4. But what is it that most humbled and troubled his heart in this his fast Surely not so much the judgement whereby God had shewed himselfe to be angry with them as their sinnes whereby they had made him angry as you shall see verse 6. 7. and surely the sinnes of the land ought to trouble us more then any of the judgements either persent or imminent though they bee very great and fearefull For 1. they give us cause to feare far heavier then these be and God hath said of England as hee said once of the Kingdome of Iuda Ezek. 21. 27. I will overturne everturne overturne it and it shall be no more 2. If it were not for the sinnes of the land these judgements would vanish or doe us no hurt at all 1 Cor. 15. 56. The sting of death is sinne And of one sinne the sinne of Idolatry specially being openly committed and alas our land standeth guilty of that and of many more it is said Exod. 32. 25. Moses saw though every blind foole could not see it that the people were naked for Aaron had made them naked to their shame before their enemies Alas the sinnes of the land make us naked to our enemies abroad and to our treacherous and bloudy Papists at home do what we can to defend and arme our selves till our sinnes be repented of till they be removed we shall be found to be a naked people We cannot stand before our enemies till the accursed thing till Achâ—n betaken away Iosh. 7. 13. and alas we have many Achans amongst us So many of you therefore as have hearts that can mourne that can be humbled mourne for the sinnes of the land and by the first note approve unto God and to your owne hearts the truth of your humiliation that you professe this day And so much for the first note Secondly He that is truly humbled mourneth for sinne not so much in respect to himselfe of the hurt and danger that his sinne bringeth upon himselfe as in respect to God because he is offended and dishonoured by his sinne Saving sorrow is therefore called 2 Cor. 7. 10. Godly sorrow 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sorrow that respecteth God and is opposed to worldly sorrow that respecteth onely the crosses and miseries that sinne maketh us subject unto I graunt 1. It is not unlawfull to bee troubled for sinne even out of respect to the punishment and misery that it will bring upon us As a man may have respect to this in his feare that keepeth him from committing sinne so may he also in his sorrow for it after it is committed Iob giveth this for a reason why he durst not sinne For destruction from God saith he Iob 31. 23. was a terrour to me And so doth Paul 2 Cor. 5. 11. Knowing therefore the terrours of the Lord we persuade men 2. Sound and saving humiliation for sinne useth to begin in this legall compunction and terror which hath respect onely to the misery that sinne bringeth us to And not one of an hundred doe ever come to mourne for sinne in respect to God till they have first learned to mourne for sinne in respect to themselves this prepareth maketh way for and draweth in the other as the prick of the needle doth the threed So it is said of those three thousand that were converted by Peter Act. 2. 37. that they were first pricked in their hearts that is with this legall sorrow and feare But though this bee a lawfull and good thing to mourne and be troubled for sinne even in respect of the misery it maketh us obnoxious unto yet is not this sufficient to prove our humiliation and sorrow for sinne to be sound and sincere for many an hypocrite hath gone so farre they have beene greatly humbled and troubled for their sinnes O how Pharaoh complained and cried out of his sinne Exod. 9. 27. He saith to Moses and Aaron I have sinned the Lord is righteous and I and my people are wicked And so did Iudas Mat. 27. 3. 4. He repented himselfe cryed out saying
I have sinned in that I have betrayed innocent blood Did not these men mourne for their sinnes thinke you Yes that they did but it was not out of any respect to God whom they had offended but onely out of respect to themselves and the hurt they had done themselves thereby as appeareth plainly in their stories Now the true repentant though he be humbled for his sinne in respect to himselfe and the danger and hurt that he feareth his sinne will doe him yet he resteth not there but he is also humbled for his sinne in respect to God and chiefly because he hath offended and dishonoured God by his sinne This was that that troubled David most Psal. 51. 4. Against thee thee onely have I sinned When God had threatned heavy things against him by God he cryeth not as Pharaoh Exod. 10. 17. Take away from mee this death only but as 2. Sam. 24. 10. I beseech thee ô Lord take away the iniquity of thy servant Yea he was well content to beare that punishment so his sinne might be pardoned that he might have Gods favour verse 17. Let thy hand I pray thee be against me and my fathers house The punishment that his sinne hath brought or is like to bring upon him troubleth the true penitent nothing so much as the offending of God and losse of his favour Hee lamenteth after the Lord as it is said Gods people did 1 Sam. 7. 2. And as he mourneth for his sinne in respect to God more then to the punishment of his sinne so doth hee joy and take more comfort in the assurance of the pardon of his sinne then in deliverance from any judgement whatsoever This is the thing that David gloried in Psal. 32. 5. Thou forgavest not the punishment as the old translation reads but the iniquity of my sinne O let us examine our selves by this second note whether we have sorrowed for oursinnes in respect unto God or to our selves onely Thy sinnes doe trouble thee because thou knowest they deserve hell and damnation thou knowest they deserve Gods curse in thy children in thy estate in every thing thou takest in hand Thou dost well in this but if this be the onely thing or the chief thing that maketh thy sinne such a burden to thy heart thou hast not yet repented aright When those that heard Peter were pricked in their hearts with these legall sorrowes and asked him what they should doe to come to comfort he bad them repent Act. 2. 37. 38. As if he had said This is a good preparative but this is not repentance This is a chief note of sincerity in every grace and so in this when we doe that that God requireth when we mourne for our sinnes in respect unto God and not to our selves Thus God upbraideth the hypocrites Zac. 7. 5. When yee fasted and mourned did yee it at all to mee even to mee Rom. 14. 6. He that regardeth a day regardeth it unto the Lord. I will give you therefore three other notes to try this by whether your sorrow for sinne be in respect to the Lord because you have offended and dishonoured him or noe First Then your sinnes will trouble you aswell in the days of health and prosperity as in sicknes and affliction else you doe no more then an hypocrite may doe For it is said of the wicked Israelites Psal. 78. 34. When he slew them then they sought him and returned and enquired early after God Secondly Then you will be troubled for one sinne aswell as for another for every thing you know to be a sinne for God is offended and dishonoured by one aswell as by another Whosoever shall keepe the whole Law saith the Apostle Iam. 2. 10. and yet offend in one point he is guilty of all I doe not say we should be troubled so much for one sinne as for another for God in his Law hath put a difference betweene sinnes and as some dutyes that God requireth of us so some sinnes are weightier then others Mat. 23. 23. Iudgement Mercy and Fidelity are called by our Saviour the weightier matters of the Law and it is made there the note of an hypocrite to be more troubled for small sinnes then for great Matthew 23. 24. to straine at a gnat and swallow a camell But this is also certaine that he that is troubled for sinne because it is sinne in resepect unto God because he is offended and dishonoured by it will be troubled for one sinne aswell as for another So we shall find David was humbled not for his adultery and murder onely but for all his sinnes Psal. 51. 9. Hide thy face from my sinnes and blot out all mine iniquities The Apostle speaking of the loose performing of spirituall duties of coming to the sacrament without due preparation saith we must judge our selves even for that 1 Cor. 11. 31. And saith that even for this sinne God strucke many with sicknesse and mortality because they would not judge themselves for such sins God did judge them 1 Cor. 11. 30. Davids heart smote him even for cutting of the lap of Sauls garment 1 Sam. 24. 5. When Saul counted the sparing of Agag and of the fattest of the cattell specially for sacrifice but a matter of nothing Samuel telleth him disobedience to God is as bad as witchcraft and idolatry 1 Sam. 15. 23. O therefore know thou art not troubled for any sinne in respect to God if thy very unprofitablenes idlenesse peevishnesse unconstancy playing fast and loose with God do not trouble thee Yea the man whose heart is truly humbled for sin is conscious of the sinfull depravation of his nature and is humbled for that which is the root asmuch if not much more then for his actuall sinnes which are the fruits of it All sins that defile a man come from within from this fountaine Mar. 7. 23. David was humbled for this Psal. 51. 5. Behold I was shapen in iniquity and in sinne did my mother conceive me And so Paul though he had lived a most innocent life even before his calling to Christ Phil. 3. 6. Yet see how he was troubled even for this Rom. 7. 14 24. Thirdly If you be humbled for your sinne out of respect to God because God is offended and dishonoured by it then will you be able to mourne for the sins of other men for God is aswel offended and dishonoured by them as by your own 1. I shewed you before that the man that is truly hūbled for the Iudgments of God upon this land will mourne more for the sinnes of the land then for the Iudgements themselves So must we 2. bee able to mourne for the sinnes of the places and townes we dwell in specially if they be of note for religion This is prescribed as a duty 1 Cor. 5. 2. Ye should have mourned that he that hath done this deed might be taken away This is commended by the Holy Gost as a great vertue and grace in Lot
as any that they could heare yet could they receive no comfort or benefit at all by it Moses spake so saith the text Exod. 6. 9. unto the children of Israel but they hearkned not unto Moses for anguish of spirit and for cruell bondage 3. Admit we were never so able and fit to minde this matter then and to go about this weighty businesse admit we could be then more apt to seeke reconciliation with God than at any other time yet have we just cause to feare that because we have wilfully neglected this worke so long and presumptuously put it off till the last houre the Lord in his righteous judgement will refuse to be found of us at that time Thus we shall find the Lord hath threatned to do Prov. 1. 24 26 28 29. Because I have called saith he and ye refused I have stretched out mine hand and no man regarded I also will laugh at your calamity I will mocke when your feare commeth Then shall they call upon me but I will not answer they shall seeke me early but they shall not find me for that they hated knowledge and did not choose the feare of the Lord. Now if you shall aske me how may this be done I answer That he that would make this sure to himselfe that when he dies he shall go to heaven must do these three things 1. He must repent of all his knowne sinnes He must call them to mind bewaile them unfainedly confesse them to God and crave earnestly of him the pardon of them and resolve with himselfe to forsake them all For 1. Sinne is the sâ—ing of death as the Apostle cals it 1 Cor. 15. 56. And if that be once done away and forsaken death can never hurt a man nor hath he any cause to feare it at all 2. On the other side no man can hope to go to heaven with his sinnes unrepented of Know ye not saith the Apostle 1 Cor. 6. 9. that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdome of God Be not deceived neither fornicators nor idolaters nor adulterers nor effeminate nor abusers of themselves with mankind nor theeves nor covetous nor drunkards nor revilers nor extortioners shall inherit the kingdome of God Any one of these sinnes unrepented of will certainly exclude a man utterly out of the kingdome of heaven 3. Though it be dangerous for a man to live in sinne yet is it a matter of farre greater danger to him to die in sinne and to be over-taken by death before he have repented of it This our Saviour noteth as the extreme unhappinesse of the wicked Iewes and repeats it often Iohn 8. 21. 24. that they should die in their sinnes 2. Get good assurance by a lively faith that Christ is thine and then shalt thou be able to die in peace and in a certaine hope to go to heaven when thou art dead When old Simeon had seene Christ whom he had waited for by faith and longed to see and was thereby confirmed much in that faith he had in him before He blessed God anâ— said Luke 2. 28 29 30. Lord now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace for mine eyes have seene thy salvation They that have once seene and embraced Christ as he did spiritually by faith I meane and not corporally onely shall die in peace and none but they can do so For 1. It is Christ onely that hath overcome death for us and taken away the sting of it When the Apostle had said 1 Cor. 15. 56. that sin is the sting of death But thanks be to God saith he Verse 57. which giveth us victory through our Lord Iesus Christ. Death is overcome so that it cannot hurt the true believer at all but him that is nor in Christ it will sting unto death even unto the second death 2. We can have no hope to come to heaven but onely through him Christ is in you saith the Apostle Col. 1. 27. the hope of glory There is no hope to come to glory but onely by Christ. Nay there is no hope to come to glory through him unlesse he be in us unlesse he dwell in us by a lively faith 3. If thou wouldst be sure to go to heaven when thou diest labour whilest thou livest to lead an unblameable a godly and fruitfull life even to do all the good that God gives thee power and opportunity to do As we have opportunity saith the Apostle Gal. 6. 10. which none of us can tell how soone it may be taken from us let us do good unto all men especially unto them that are of the houshold of faith See what comfort Hezechia found in this when he was to die Remember now O Lord I beseech thee saith he Esa. 38. 3. how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart have done that which is good in thy sight Now on his death-bed his conscience gave this comfortaâ—â—e testimony unto him that he had lead a holy life and now doth he even before the Lord comfort himselfe in that against the feare of death See also what a testimony the holy Apostle gives unto good workes even to the workes of charity and mercy in this case Charge them that are 〈◊〉 in this world saith he 1 Tim. 6. 17 19. that they 〈◊〉 good that they be rich in good workes ready to distribute willing to communicate laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come that they may lay hold on eternall life Workes of charity not as a meritorious cause of salvation but as a sure evidence that by a lively faith we have interest and title to the merits of Christ shal be rewarded with stable and durable riches in time to come and will make a man able with confidence of hope to lay hold on eternall life And that which the Apostle saith of certaine bad men 2 Cor. 11. 15. that their end shal be according to their workes may be said of all good men also their end shal be according to their workes A good life will certainly end in a blessed and comfortable death Foure things are wont to be objected against this which I will briefly give answer unto Experience sheweth daily that many do die willingly and quietly and comfortably also that have neither lived so unblameably and fruitfully nor used any such means to prepare themselves for death as you have prescribed To this I answer 1. That we may not thinke that every one that dies quietly and speakes gloriously of his willingnesse to die and of the peace and comfort that he finds in the assurance of his salvation doth die happily and comfortably indeed For the Holy Ghost speaks of some that were most wâ—cked and wretched men that have no bands in their death Psal. 73. 4. In outward things all things aswell in death as in life fall alike to good and bad as Salomon saith Eccles. 9. 2. 2. We have just cause to suspect the peace
and quietnesse of conscience that seemes to be in that man that was never troubled nor disquieted in his mind for his sinnes Because the spirit of bondage and feare useth to go before the spirit of adoption and comfort as is plaine by the Apostles speech Rom. 8. 15. 3. And lastly it is certainly a grievous judgement of God and such as we should all tremble at to see a man that hath beene in his whole life time notoriously wicked to have no sight at all nor trouble of mind for his sinnes before he dies Our Saviour pronounceth them to be happy men Mat. 5. 3 4 6. that are so poore in spirit that they mourne for it and hunger and thirst after righteousnesse And if this be a blessed thing in every child of God how unblameable and civill soever his life hath been at all times even in the time of his best health and prosperity to see and feele in himselfe so just cause of mourning and trouble of mind as breeds in him an unsatiable desire after the righteousnesse of God in Christ then must it needs be a most wofull and cursed thing in a man that hath been notoriously wicked to be void of all sight and sense of his sinnes of all trouble of mind for them even then when he is summoned by sicknesse and death to appeare before the judgement-seat of God to go to hell in a sleep and never to have his conscience awakened till he come there And indeed so the Prophet speaketh of this as of a most dreadfull judgement of God when he gives up wicked men unto this blindnesse and senslesnesse of heart The Lord hath powred out upon you saith he Esa. 29. 10. the spirit of deepe sleepe and hath closed your eyes so as you cannot see nor be sensible of your owne estate But we see also on the other side in daily experience say some that many who have seemed most religious in all their life time and carefull to live well have yet shewed very great unwillingnesse and feare to die more a great deale then other men usually do To this I have two things to answer First that it is indeed possible enough even for a faithfull and godly man to feele in himselfe an unwillingnesse and feare to die Good Hezechia wept sore Esa. 38. 3. when the Prophet brought him word in his sicknesse that he must die and not live and David also prayed oft against death and that he might live still Psal. 6. 4 5. and 30. 8 9. and 88. 9 12. It is with many of Gods people in this case as it was with Lot when he would leave Sodom Though Lot had so small comfort in Sodom while he lived in it 2 Pet. 2. 8. yet see how unwilling he was to part with it Gen. 19. 16. He lingred so that the Angels were faine to pull him out as it were by strong hand they laid hold upon his hand saith the sacred text the Lord being mercifull unto him and brought him forth and set him without the City Some unwillingnesse to die our Saviour tels Peter he should find in himselfe even then when he should suffer martyrdome for his sake When thou shalt be old saith he Ioh. 21. 18. thou shalt stretch forth thy hands and another shall gird thee and carie thee whither thou wouldest not And there is good reason to be given for this For 1. Death being a great enemie to the nature of man and even the dissolution of it there must needs be in all men naturally some feare of it Such as haue beene long and inward and deare friends cannot part for adieu as we say without much unwillingnesse and expression of griefe as we see in the example of Ionathan and David 1 Sam. 20. 41. And where were ever found in the world so long inward dear friends as the soule and body have beene 2. Who can thinke of his personall appearance before the Majesty of God without some feare 3. Lastly the best of Gods servants though they know and believe that when they die they shall not come into condemnation as our Saviour speaketh Iohn 5. 24. but are already passed from death unto life and therefore have no just cause in respect of their future estate to feare death at all but rather to welcome it and to rejoyce in it yet are they regenerated and consequently do believe but in part And though the spirit the regenerate part indeed be willing as our Saviour speaketh Mat. 26. 41. yet the flesh the unregenerate part will be apt to shew it selfe weake and unwilling to die But then I answer secondly that there is no man that hath lead a godly life but 1. He discernes and bewailes his owne corruption in this his unwillingnesse to die he yeelds not to it but strives against it by all meanes and even in this case finds in himselfe that combate betweene the flesh and the spirit that the Apostle speakes of Gal. 5. 17. The flesh lusâ—eth against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh and these are contrary the one to the other 2. He doth in the end overcome this corruption and is by Gods grace made most willing and desirous to die before God cals and takes him away according to that gracious promise made unto all Gods people to all that have been carefull to serve and please him Psal. 29. 11. The Lord will give strength unto his people the Lord will blesse his people with peace But then there is yet another thing objected against this that hath been said touching the assurance they may have to die happily and well that have been carefull to live religiously and well namely that many who have beene most precisely religious have not onely beene void of comfort when they should die but full of terrour in their conscience calling in question the truth of their faith and of whatsoever goodnesse hath seemed to be in them apt to despaire utterly of the mercy of God in Christ. My answer to this objection must consist of three branches 1. It is possible indeed even for a man that hath lived a most innocent and holy life to expresse in his last sicknesse much terrour and to breake forth into speeches that tend unto desperation and even unto blasphemy also against God For 1. There is no disease so violent and extreme but the child of God may be subject unto it and die of it also aswell as any other man All things come alike to all in this respect as Salomon speaketh Eccl. 9. 2. And these things that are objected as causlesse feares and terrours ravings blasphemies fierce speeches and actions both against themselves and others are knowne to be the very naturall effects of some violent and extreme diseases 2. It cannot be denyed but that Satan also is wont to shew the uttermost of his fury and power against Gods servants in their last sicknesse The last combate that they have with him