Christ That which they entertained meerly for fear they present to others as a doctrine of Faith These are reeds that bow and hang according to the standing of the winds such a reed shaken with the winds was not John Baptist but rather an Oak which will sooner be broken then bend by the winds by an holy Antiperistasis his zeal was doubled by opposition These false Teachers were like a man that goes to Sea for pleasure not for Traffick if a storm arise he will come back or put to the next shore Like that ship Acts 27.15 they bear not up into the wind Jer. 9 3. they are not valiant for the truth Tit. 1.9 nor hold they fast the faithful Word but let it go if enemies contend to pull it away 3. They were carried about with the wind of pride and ambition They gaped after the breath of applause old truths are of no reputation among the giddy sort hence it was that these were carried to teach that whereby they might be voiced and cryed up for some rare men dropt out of the clouds and seeing further then all the rest of their times They could not tell how to get above others unless they taught something different from others truth was counted but a dull stale business and therefore they chose rather to be accounted such as excelled by being erroneous then such as were onely equall to others Vento superbiae omnes haereses animantur by delivering the truth The wind of Pride is the life and soul of Error it is the element wherein it moves and breaths Seducers were puft up as Paul speaks Col. 2.18 vainly by their fleshly minds a humble soul will not easily either teach or follow an Error It hath ever been the property of Seducers to follow the peoples humour with Errors that so the people might follow them with applause 4. They were carried about with the wind of earthly mindedness They taught any false doctrine for filthy lucres sake 2 Pet. 2. they would rarely be carried with any wind but such as blew them some profit they steered their course by the compass of gain their Religion began at their purse strings They served not the Lord Jesus Christ but their own bellies Rom. 16.18 This was that wind which carried Balaam about from country to country from Altar to Altar he and his followers loved to be of the Kings Religion Thus Erasmus said that one poor Luther made a great many rich Abbots and Bishops he meant that by preaching against him they were wont to get their great livings and preferments Demas forsook truth to embrace the present world OBSERVATIONS 1. The want of the showrs of a faithful Ministry spiritual rain is a singular curse and calamity Consciencious Ministers are clouds and their Doctrine rain As no rain is so useful and profitable as the rain of the Word so neither is it so great a misery to be deprived of any as of this God often in Scripture promiseth Showres and Teachers as great Blessings Deut. 28.12 The Lord shall open to thee his good treasure the Heaven to give thee rain c. Joel 2.23 Rejoice in the Lord your God for c. he will cause to come down for you the Rain c. And for instructours see Jer. 3.15 Jer. 23.4 I will give you Pastours according to mine own heart which shall feed you with knowledg and understanding Isai 30.20 Though the Lord give you the bread of Adversity and the water of Affliction yet shall not thy Teachers be removed into a corner any more God also threatens the keeping away of rain and the taking away of Instructers as dismal curses Deut. 28.23 Jer. 3.3.14.4 Amos 4.7 Isai 3.2 1 Sam. 3.1 Hos 4.5 Ezek. 3.26 Psal 57.9 The Heaven that is over thy head shall be brass thy rain shall be powder and dust Lev. 26.19 I will make your Heaven as iron and your earth as brass Zach. 14.17 Vpon them shall be no rain Never was a greater plague on Israel then when in three yeers and a half it rained not on the earth in Ahabs time And concerning the Prophets the Lord saith Mich. 2.6 They shall not Hebr. drop Prophesie and Isai 5 6. God threatens his Vineyard that he will commands his clouds his Prophets that they shall rain no rain upon it God threatned a great judgment in great displeasure against the people Ezek. 3.26 when he told Ezekiel that he would make his tongue cleave to the roof of his mouth and that he should be dumh and no reprover to them and when he threatned that he would remove away the candlestick of Ephesus out of its place Rev. 2.5 The want of Spiritual is a much greater woe then the want of natural rain The withholding of showâ—s from Heaven can but produce a Famine of bread the want of a faithful Ministry brings a Famine of the Word of the Lord Amos 8.11 And this famine of the Word of the Lord is a Soul-famine And 1 Opposeth not Natural but Spiritual life The separation of the soul from the body is but the shadow of death True death stands in the separation between God and the soul Where vision faileth people perish Prov. 29.18 My people perish for want of knowledge Hos 4 6. Salvation and Life eternal stand in Knowledg Joh. 17.3 1 Tim. 2.4 2. Bodily famine takes away our natural strength and vigor whereby we perform our ordinary and worldly actions but a soul-Famine destroyes that Spiritual strength whereby we are enabled to heavenly Employments Praying Repenting Believing Holy-walking 3 Bodily Famine makes the outward man look pale deformed lean unpleasing soul-famine brings a leanness into the soul deformity and profananess into the face of our conversation Who observes not in Congregations whence the Word is taken the miserable change of men and manners In Elies time sin abounded and the reason is set down 1 Sam. 3.1 In those dayes the word of the Lord was precious 4 Bodily Famine as other external judgments may be a help to bring men to God by causing Repentance and bettering Obedience as in the Prodigal but the famine of the Word puts men farther from God and by it men grow more obdurate in sin 5. Bodily Famine may be recompensed and made up with Spiritual food Isai 30.20 Though the Lord give the bread of Adversity yet he countervailes that loss by giving them to see their Teachers whereas Spiritual famine cannot be recompensed by having bodily food because when God takes away the food of the soul he takes away himself the tokens of his presence and Grace and what can be given in exchange for God himself 6 Of bodily Famine people are sensible they cry out thereof and labour for a supply but the more soul famine rageth the more people disregard their misery and slight their wretchedness by fasting forgetting how to feed and with their food losing often their stomacks too How much then are they
to Israel as was Moses had his grave been known would after his death have been idolatrously worshipped and perheps too consulted with as their guide in the Remainder of their journey into the Land of Canaan Yea Haeres 55. Epiphanius reports that in Arabia Moses for the Miracles wrought by him was accounted a God and that there his Image was worship'd And whereas it may be said that the Israelites could not be so blockish as to have worship'd a dead Moses his mortality being so pregnant a confutation of their idolatry and his Divinity It s answered Idolatry is a sottish sin Spiritual as well as Carnal Whoredome taking away the heart It s just with God that they who lay by his rule should also lay off their own reason Nor yet would the knowne Zeal of Moses while living against such a practice as this have in probability kept the Israelites from this idolatry had Moses his body been discovered considering not only their proneness to that sin and their forgetfulness of holy instruction but also for that they might haply impute the unwillingness of Moses to be worship'd in his life time and while he was among them rather to his modesty and humility then to his disallowing of such a practice after his death when he should be both absent in body and glorious in soul In short needs must that be bad which that evil one is so violent in contending to have effected nor certainly would Satan much have regarded Moses his body had it not been to do hurt to the Israelites souls and he who by his subtilty had once before with so much success drawn the people to Idolatry and almost to destruction by the company of the Midianitish women was much more industrious and hopeful by this means which had a face of greater plausibility and would have proved far more hurtful to have effected the like again OBSERVATIONS 1 The opposition between sin and holiness is universal Observ 1. they never meet but they fight This enmity flies higher then men it reacheth even to Angels also It s in the heart between a man and himself outward between men and men between men and Angels between God and both between Angels and Angels Holiness and sin are irreconcileable Their opposition is reciprocal Holiness can never tamely endure sin nor sin quietly endure holiness These antipathies can never be reconcil'd Such is the opposition between them that they cannot brook one another notwithstanding all the plausible and rarely excellent qualifications that may be mixt with either A Saint cannot love a sinner nor a sinner a Saint as such though either be never so beautiful Affable Noble Learned The Divel meeting with Holiness and Michael with sin though both in an Angel fight and contend with one another It s in this case as with the dressing of some meats though the sauce the mixtures be never so pleasant the dressing never so cleanly and skilful yet if such or such an ingredient be put in the food wil be loathsome to some stomacks and will not down Such a one were a good man saith a wicked person were he not so precise pure And such a one were an excellent companion saith a Saint were he holy and heavenly Between the Wolf and the Lamb there is an antipathy of natures Sir Fr. Bacons Nâ—â— Hist Their guts say some made into Lute-strings will never sound harmoniously together If they live quietly as is prophesied Isai 11.6 it s because the nature of the one is changed They who act from contrary principles by contrary rules for contrary ends must needs thwart one another The people of God may hence be both cautioned and comforted Cautioned not to expect to be altogether quiet if they will be holy Their Legacy left them is in the world to find hatred and trouble Joh. 16. ult They must be men of contention though Angels for their endowments Cautioned a so they should be that they leave not their holiness for then though mans contending with them should end yet Gods would begin and the worlds friendship is bought at too dear a rate when with the loss of Gods favour Cautioned lastly Pax cum viris bellum cum viâ—iis not to hate the person of any under pretence of hating his sin abhor not the body but the sore Zeal must not be destroying but refining fire No man is so good as for all things to be beloved no man so bad as for any thing but sin to be hated The people of God may hence also be comforted when they meet with most contention from men it is but what Angels have met with from Divels nay what Christ hath met with from men and divels As Christ is our Captain so Angels yea Archangels are our fellow souldiers nor shall we any more miscarry then either The worlds bad word is no bad sign Two things much speak a man his company that he keeps and his commendation which he receives Wicked men cannot speak well of them who cry downe their sin nor is their discommendation any disgrace 2 Satan is overmatch'd in his contentions Observ 2. Michael an Archangel a good Angel contends with him Although all the Angels are equal by nature Corpora crassiora inferiora per subtiliora potentiora quodaÌ„ erdinereguntur Omniacorpora per spiritum vitae spiritus vitae irrationalis per spiritum vitae rationalem spiritus vitae rationalis desertor peccator per spiritum vitae rationalem pium justum ille per ipsum Deum Aug. de trin l. 3. c. 3. and created with equal power yet was the power of the faln Angels much impaired by and for their Apostasie and as the holy Angels exceeded them in other qualifications so likewise in this of power Good Angels though they are not Omnipotent yet had they not that chaine put upon them which was put upon the bad immediately after their fall whereby they are both restrained from what they would and oft from what they can This subjection of the bad Angels is manifested by Angustine from that order which God hath placed among the Creatures The bodies saith he which are more gross and inferior are ruled in a certain order by the more subtle and superior All bodies are ruled by a spirit of life and the irrational spirit of life by the rational and that rational spirit of life which fell and sinn'd by that rational spirit of life which is holy and righteous and this holy Spirit by God himselfe Nor do we ever in Scripture read of any contention between the good and evil Angels wherein the good had not the victory Revel 12.8 The Divel and his Angels fought and prevailed not Dan. 10. and ver 9. He was cast out unto the earth The Divel never fights either himself or by his Instruments but he is foyld but he falls Besides the good Angels ever contend for and by a great God
and entomb'd richly and the soul to be tormented eternally As great a folly is the respecting of the vile body joyned with the neglecting of the precious soul as for a frantick mother only to lament the loss of the coat of her drowned child Nor lastly ought this care of the bodies of the departed though formerly never so holy amount to a superstitious reverencing of their Relicks Some think that the prevention of this sin was the ground of Michaels contention with the Divel But sure we are though the divel could not obtain a licence for this sin of Michael he hath obtained command for it Vid. Concil Trident. Sâ—ss 24 from the Pope It 's hard to name that martyr'd Saint who hath not left some limb behind him to be adored to name this folly is to confute it for besides its Idolatry and derogation from the merits of Christ it 's injurious to the Saints themselves giving their bodies only insepultam sepulturam keeping them from their honour of rest Jer 8.1 2. and bringing them into the compasse of a condition threatned as a curse yea Lastly Isa 18.14 16. this popish foppery of adoring relicks is ridiculous The very Popish Historians tell us that the bones of the worship'd have prov'd afterwards to be the relicks of theeves and murderers and common observation proves that the cross of Christ the milk of the Virgin and the relicks of Saints are increased to such a proportion as makes them more the objects of derision then adoration The best reverence we can give to the departed is to respect their spiritual relicks their holy lives and example 7 Satans aim in every contention is to draw to sin Obser 7. The body of Moses Satan regarded not any further then to hurt the souls of the Israelites All his contentions with Christ were purposely to win him to sin If ever Satan desired any thing which was good yet 't was after an ill manner or to a wrong end He would not contend against your estates lives liberties were it not to get advantage against your souls As God in all his contentions with us aimes at the advancing of our holinesse so Satan propounds this as his end of every contention the drawing us to wickednesse He would not have contended against Jobs children goods body c. had he not aim'd to drive him to distrust and impatience He had not winnowed Job of worldly comforts but for the winnowing him of his grace Luke 22 31. Satan saith Christ to Peter hath desir'd to have you and winnow you as wheat but I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail thee not The drift of the Divel was to sift out Peters faith All the storms he raiseth against godly Ministers and Christians are not so much against their persons as to hinder from holy performances When he casts some into prison disgraceth impoverisheth kils them his aim in all this is that he may hinder the doing of good He will allow all worldly enjoyments if thereby he may the better accomplish the end of drawing to sin He is a Spirituall and a malicious enemy spirituall Gratia morsus Diaboli and therefore spirituall morsels are only suted to his pallat Grace like that herb call'd morsus diaboli is that which he nibbles at throw him this head over the wall and with Joab he will soon raise his siege He is a soul-adversary and no blood is so sweet to him as the blood of souls Give me thy soul saith he and keep thou nay I 'le give thee thy goods Our enemies are spirituall wickednesses 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in heavenlies Eph. 6.12 i. e. heavenly things He is a malicious enemy and well he knows that the greatest hurt he can do is to take away the greatest good as he most strikes at the best men so most at the best things in men their grace their soul he is truly a murderer that aims at the heart God deals with his people in a way of chastisement the Divel deals with them for destruction he contends not to take away our gold but our God It s the most diabolical disposition to endeavour to put people upon sin not to be willing to be miserable alone nay not only to be willing to follow and go along with others to hell but to make them follow or go with us what a true born progeny of hell did those Papists shew themselves who drew timorous Christians to recant and then put them to death that so they might be murderers of soul and body at once and who daily by the Jesuits Satans factors compasse sea and land to make proselites let it be the greatest fear of every Christian lest others should be so much as occasioned by them to sin grieve much when any sin most Psal 69.6 when by thy means Pray that none may be confounded for thy sake Our greatest contention should be to advance holinesse all the good which Satan doth to the body is to hurt the soul so all the hurt which any in place do to the bodies of others should be for the good of their souls as Satans lenitives are poysonous so our very Corrosives should be Salubrious 8. Obser 8. Satan can bring colourable reason for the fowlest practices even for that which he intended should be the sin and Idolatrous snare of Israel he can dispute and that with an Archangel It 's probable he here argued for the fitnesse of burying Moses's body in a known place from the eminency of the mans piety and worth while living from the great unseemliness that so faithfull and publick a servant of God should be buried in hugger mugger what Psal 112.6 might he say shal not the just be had in everlasting remembrance Is not an obscure funerall the way to obscure all that ever Moses did and at once to make the people forget Gods works with Moses's name As the worst courses may be coloured over by specious pretences so ther 's none so skilful at this art as Divel he is an expert logician and shew'd himself so in this disputation he can make as the beautifullest grace seem deformed so the most deformed sin seem beautiful He puts as the colour of sin upon grace so the colour of grace upon sin Never could the true Samuel have spoken better then did this counterfeit to Saul at Endor In the deluding of Saul he took the help of Samuels prophecy The Lord hath done even as he spake by mine hand 1 Sam. 28.17 He often kils men as David Goliah with their own sword he winding himself into them and them into sin by that which is the only preservative against sin the Scripture He can alledge something good to hinder from any thing good he can overthrow duty by duty he drawes the fairest glove over the blackest hand and seems to make the worst cause without all danger or absurdity he had that to say Mat. 4.6 which
sensual hinders Spiritual pleasures Hence it was a good rule of Ambrose So to rise from Table as to be fit for Prayer How can he have his heart in Heaven who as they say of the fish called the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or the Ass fish hath it in his belly Grace is starved while the flesh is pampered Meat is to be used as our Medicine Feasting dayes are soul-starving dayes and Easting days are soul fatting dayes 4. They corrupted themselves eternally Destroying themselves soul and body by the loss of those Pleasures at Gods right hand Psal 16. ult to which here in this life they preferred the pleasures of sin for a season Sweetly bitter pleasures sweet in the pallat bitter in the stomack bitter to soul and body for ever How will a fatted Glutton fry in Hell How dismal a retribution wil a River of brimstone be for a cup of Wine 1 Cor. 6.10 Drunkards are in the catalogue of the excluded from the Kingdome of God They who are here drowned in profuseness shall hereafter be drowned in Perdition yea here they begin to be so OBSERVATIONS 1. Observ 1. Cognitio sui intellectue licet praestantior sit quâ vis cognitione brutorum referunt eam ad exercitium operum sensualium Ut satisfaciant appetitionibus carnalibus Lor. in loc How great a confusion and disorder hath sin made in this little world man He whose reason was once wholly subjugated to God and whose appetite was guided by and submissive to his reason hath now an understanding which hath cast off the Government of God and an appetite which hath cast off the guidance of his understanding In the state of Innocency the sensitive appetite of man was ruled by the Golden Scepter of Reason the sensitive Powers were not factious but were willingly subject to the Higher Powers to the intectuals The first bublings of the soul as one saith were pure and Crystaline and streamed out freely without any murmuring or foaming but now alas the soul is full of insurrections The Master waits and the servant is Master The knowledg of the understanding is made a Vassal to this natural knowledg That leading faculty in a man his understanding is now a Page to wait upon the sensual appetite or the knowledg of the senses and all the contrivances and inventions of the former are referred to the service of the latter The Master doth not now lead his horse but the horse drags and hurries the Master even as a beast sometimes draws a condemned Malefactor to the place of Execution All the confusions we see in the world are but derivations from this Reason easts off Religion and then Sense and carnal appetite casts off Reason All the Errors in Doctrine proceed from the former and the irregularities of Practice flow from the latter The servant casts off the Master in the state because it hath first cast him off in the soul 2. Observ 2 Quia nolunt intelligere quae sunt gratiae amittunt sapere quae sunt naturae They who oppose Spiritual Knowledge justly lose even that which is reasonable They grow with these Seducers meer Sensualists not admitting the former deservedly they part with the latter These Seducers opposing the Truth of the Gospel denying the Lord Jesus Christ and becoming enemies to Supernatural knowledg now what they knew they knew but naturally and only with the knowledg of the outward senses They would not be real Saints and they came to be not so much as visible They would not be Saints and at length they ceased to be men Rom. 1.21 24 26 28. The Heathens by opposing even the faint light of nature were by God given up to Uncleanness to dishonour their own bodies between themselves to vile affections and a reprobate mind Seducers grow worse worse He who will put out light revealed shall justly extingnish light implanted It s righteous with God to leave them to Sense who will not be guided by Grace From him who hath not shall be taken away even what he HATH Even appearances of goodness shall be taken away Brass but Silvered over will at length plainly appear to be but Brass A face only beautiful with paint shall when wrinkles grow deep be destitute not only of complexional but even fictitious beauty also How exquisitely do these dayes of ours comment upon this Truth Oh that we could not say that hundreds whose eyes have seemed to be fixed upon the Stars themselves pretending to a Seraphical pitch of knowledg have yet faln into a ditch of beastly sensuality None so shamefully beggarly as he who breaks after much trading Of this more Part 1 pag. 310 and trusting Christians beg of God that your grace may be true and supernatural and then it will be growing but if it be only appearing and not arsiing to true Sanctity it may soon arrive at sensual Beastiality 3. Observ 3. The light of reason is too weak to contend with sensual appetite When these Seducers had bid adieu to Spiritual light notwithstanding their rational light they grew sensual and brutish Should the Skie be furnish'd with millions of Torches they all could not as doth one Sun bestow those influences upon the earth whereby it could be made green and fruitful The light of Grace is only influential upon the heart and life That of Reason produceth no fruit truly favoury That which it doth draw forth is but like the fruit which requiring a hotter soyl and Sunshine when men somtimes plant it in our colder Countries never comes to perfection and hath hardly half heat enough to concoct it The greatest if meer Scholer in the world knowes nothing as he ought to know and therefore loves nothing as he ought to love He sees not without renewed light in any way of God that prevailing transcendent Excellency which outbids the bravery of every other Object The light of Reason in the most knowing Heathen that ever was in the world was but a candle light notwithstanding which he was yet in the night It scattered not the works of Darkness nor did he as one saith well warm his hands at this candle Notwithstanding this famous Moralists have been cold in their Devotions and dissolute in their Practices The wisest Heathens Rom. 1. how sensual and impure were they notwithstanding their most refined Reason and like to Indians Observ 4. Quatuor imperia ostensa sunt Danieli sub similitudine bestiarum non hominum quia non insurrexerunt per viam rationis sed impetu sensualitatis Durand de Orig jurisd which notwithstanding all their Gold and Jewels are yet wont to goe naked 4. Outward Enjoyments make no man excellent He may yea unless he be more then a man he will become a beast by the using of them The four Monarchies of the world were represented to Daniel under the similitudes of Beasts not of men because they were neither erected nor exercised in a way of Reason but
the roots 2 Therfore I understand with Reverend Mr. Perkins and others that these words without fruit are as it were a correction of the former as if the Apostle had said they are trees whose fruit withereth or rather without fruit altogether the fruit which they bear not deserving so much as the name of fruit as trees that bear no other then withering fruit are esteemed no better then unfruitfull trees and thus notwithstanding their withering fruit they may be said to be without fruit in sundry respects 1. They were without fruit in regard that all their forementioned fruits were not produced by the inward life and vigour of the spirit of sanctification in their souls Their fruit grew upon a corrupt tree and proceeded from an unclean bitter root They were not the issues of a pure heart and faith unfaigned but the streams of an unclean fountain The fruitfulnesse onely of slow-bushes Crab-trees and brambles cannot make the year be accounted a fruitfull year A corrupt tree saith Christ cannot bring forth good fruit Mat. 7.18 How can ye that are evill speak good things Mar. 12.24 Their best fruits were but fruits of nature coming from an unregenerated heart That fruit which before his conversion Paul accounted as precious as gold he after esteemed as base as dung 2. They were without fruit in regard their fruits were not brought forth to a Divine end they were directed to no higher an end then selves Riv. in loc Israel saith God is an empty Vine though bringing forth fruit for it followes he bringeth forth fruit to himself I am not ignorant that some Interpreters expound not that Text concerning the fruit of works though yet they grant the place may be by consequence drawn to take in them likewise As these fruits were not fruits of righteousnesse Phil. 1.11 so neither were they to the praise of his glory If thou wilt return O Israel saith God return to me Jer. 4.1 They returned saith the Psalmist but not to the most high The pipe cannot convey the water higher than is the fountain head from whence it comes and these fruits being not from God were not directed to him Fruits brought forth to our selves are rotten at the core they are not for his taste who both looks into and tries the heart 3. They might be without fruit as not producing works in obedience to the Rule The doing of the thing commanded may possibly be an act of disobedience God looks upon all our works as nothing unlesse we do the thing commanded because it is commanded This onely is to serve him for conscience sake A man may do a good work out of his obedience to his lust As its possible for a man to believe 1 Thess 4.3 1 Thess 5.18 not because of Divine Revelation so is it possible for a man to work and not upon the ground of Divine injunction Be not unwise but understand saith the Apostle what is the will of God Eph. 5.17 Mans wisdom is to understand and follow Gods will 4. Without fruit as to their own benefit comfort and salvation The works of Hypocrites are not ordained by God to have heaven follow them at the last day all they had or did will appear to be nothing and when the Sun shall arise then the works which here have shined like glow-worms shall appear unglorious and unbeautiful of all that hath been sown to the flesh shall nothing be reaped but corruption God crowns no works but his own nor will Christ own any works but those which have been brought forth by the power of his own Spirit 5. Lastly Without the fruit of any goodness in Gods account because without love to God 1 Cor. 13. Love is the sweetness of our services If I have not love saith Paul I am nothing and as true is it without it I can do nothing the gift of an enemy is a gift and no gift As love from God is the top of our happiness so love to God is the sum of our duty There is nothing beside love but an Hypocrite may give to God with Gods people it is the kernel of every performance God regards nothing we give him unless we give our selves also Its love which makes a service please both the master and servant Now wicked men in all they bring forth though they may have bounty in the hand yet have no love in the heart they have not a drop of love in a Sea of service This for the Explication of the second aggravation or gradation of the sin and misery of these Seducers they were without fruit The third follows in these words twice dead These words I take to express a further degree of their spiritual wretchedness under the continued Metaphor of Trees 'T was bad to have withering fruit worse to have no fruit at all worse yet to be not only without all fruit but even altogether without life twice dead Two things are here to be explained 1. In what respect these trees may be said to be dead 2. How to be twice dead For the first Death is 1. Temporal and Corporal that which is a privation of life by the departure of the soul from the body 2. Spiritual befalling either the godly or the wicked 1. The godly are said to be dead spiritually three wayes 1. Dead to sin Rom. 6.2 1 Pet. 2.24 the corruption of their natures being by the Spirit of Christ subdued and destroyed 2. Dead in respect of the Law Ceremonial Col. 2.20 dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world Moral Gal. 2.19 So Paul saith he was dead to the Law and Rom. 7.4 Ye are dead to the Law it being not able to make them guilty who are in Christ nor to terrifie their consciences nor to irritate them to sin 3. Dead to the world Gal. 6.4 so Paul was crucified to the world either because the World contemned and despised him as a dead man or else because the world had no more power to entice and allure him from Christ then the objects of the senses have to work upon a dead man 2. Spiritual death befalls the wicked and unregenerate they being without the Spirit of Christ to animate and quicken them which Spirit enlivens the soul supernaturally as the soul doth the body naturally hence they are said to be dead in sins Eph. 2.1.5 Col. 2.13 and dead Mat. 8.22 Luke 9.60 Rom. 6.13 Joh. 5.25 and to remain in death 1 Joh. 3.14 Their works hence are said to be dead Hebr. 9.14 As the immortality of the damned is no life but an eternall death so the conjunction of the souls and bodies of wicked men is not properly life but umbratilis vita a shadow of life or rather a very death they being without spiritual feeding growth working all vital operations and lying under the deformity loathsomness insensibleness in a spiritual sense of such as are dead or according to the resemblance here used by our Apostle which is
that of trees dead they are spiritually dead because without and severed from that root of every good tree the Lord Christ The old Adam is the root upon which they still stand and therefore they are without all spiritual and supernatural life as from the root flows life into all the branches of the tree so from Christ all who are united to him by the Spirit through Faith have by those means the life of holiness derived unto them as in Adam the first root who hath now lost the moisture and vigour of holiness and is become a dryed root all die so in Christ shall all and onely they who are really united to him live Hence it is that as they are without the root and therefore without life so without all spiritual growth and fruitfulness the inward principle of life being wanting needs must the effects that flow from that principle all vitall operations be wanting likewise for though abiding John 15.5 and living by Christ we bring forth much fruit yet sever'd from him we can do nothing It is true that as the wicked have something from Christ like the Spirit of life Heb. 6.4 1 Cor. 12.6 7. so thereby they bring forth something like to good and spiritual fruits I mean those forementioned fruits of gifts assent to the truth sweet affections acts of external obedience but though in the producing of these the Spirit helps them yet it never changeth the nature of the trees but they still retain the natural sowrness of their roots and though God gives them the Spirit to edifie others yet not to sanctifie themselves though Saul had another spirit and sundry Matth. 7. did prophecy and cast out Divels yet all these were but works of ministration not renovation though the Spirit works as an outward efficient cause breathing on them and is in them as in Organis Instruments and Ministers yet not as in domiciliis as in habitations Members for as the soul works not as a form to any part that is not united to the body so neither doth the Spirit of Christ work savingly but in the body of Christ In the wicked it may be spiritus movens a moving spirit in the godly t is onely spiritus inhabitans an inhabiting indwelling Spirit The Spirit of God in an Hypocrire is like an Angel appearing in some outward shape of which he is only an assisting not an informing form for which cause his assumed body hath neither life nor nourishment but the Spirit of God in the godly is like the soul in the body not only assisting but informing and working in them spiritually vitall and supernatural operations And notwithstanding the best workings of the Spirit of God in the wicked they are oft left more fleshly self-confident less poor in Spirit and sensible of their want of Christ then before And thus these Seducers were spiritually dead Or 3. Death is eternal the effect of the former which eternal death is that most miserable condition of the Reprobate after death wherein they are deprived of all the blessedness and glory of heaven standing in the enjoyment and unitive vision of God Visi◠unitiv◠T is indeed the spiritual death continued and perfected As in heaven or eternal life in the enjoyment of God by Christ is begun in this life and completedin the next so is hell or eternal death in the losse of God begun in this and consummate in the next world The presence of God is the heaven of heaven the joy of heaven the life of heaven and of all who shall come thither 2. For the second In what respect these Seducers may be said to be twice dead The word twice Gr. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is taken two wayes sometimes indefinitly or as a definite put for an indefinite a certain for an uncertain number 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as Job 33.14 Thus Job 33.14 God speaketh once yea twice yet man perceiveth it not That is God doth by his gracious ways and means sufficiently abundantly and frequently acquaint man with his will although man be so stupid and senseless as not to understand what the meaning of God is therein So Psal 62.11 God hath spoken once twice have I heard this that power belongeth to God that is God hath abundantly oft several times or sundry wayes by his Word and works asserted and discovered that he is eminently and transcendently powerfull Thus the Apostle commands That the Elders that rule well 1 Tim. 1.17 should be accounted worthy duplici that is multiplici honore double much manifold honour So the Prophet prayes Jer. 17.18 that his enemies may be destroyed with a double destruction i. e. with a severe through totall destruction so 2 Kings 2.9 Elisha desired that a double portion that is a large abundant portion of the Spirit might be upon him Thus some take the word twice in this place as if by the signification of the very word the Apostle intended that these dead trees were finally dead and past all hopes of recovery such as could never be bettered by all the pains and cost digging dunging c. that could be laid out upon them That our Apostle here intends that these Seducers were like Trees irrecoverably and totally dead I easily grant but withall because trees may be said to be twice dead in respect of their very dying twice or a second time this word twice seems to import in this place a definite certain number and to intend a double or twofold death of these Seducers who are here compared to trees in their dying twice as well as in all the other three respects viz. Their having withered fruit their being without fruit and being pluckt up by the roots Trees then are said to be twice dead thus the first time a tree is said be dead when in the former spring it decayes fades withers in its leaves blossoms or newly formed fruit from this decaying or dying for a dying it is as to leaves and fruit a tree is oft by pruning dressing recovered but if in autumn or the later spring which is the critical or climacterial time of Trees to discover whether their disease be mortal or not the tree fadeth again if then the leaves or what ever it bears wither the rine grow dry and it be as they say sick the fault is then ab intra the root is rotten and the very substance of the tree is inwardly corrupt and putrified no more labour or cost is now bestowed upon it it s now dead twice or the second time and therefore totally and irrecoverably and as I have understood from those who are exactly skill'd in the nature of trees it hath been oft known that trees which have seemed to die in the former spring have afterward been recovered but never did they know that any languishing in the former spring and then after some overtures of reviving in the later spring fading and decaying again ever were recovered and restored
Which is the second branch to be opened 2. The inducement encouraging to the duty of looking for the mercy of Christ It was a mercy whereby they should bee brought to eternal life Of this though wee shall enjoy it so much yet can we speak but little Under two words eternal life the Scripture frequently sets forth the state of the Saints of heaven which for its blessednesse is câ—lled life and for its durablenesse eternall 1. Life There is a threefold Life 1. Naturall consisting in the conjunction of the body and soule 2. Spirituall which is eternall life begun in respect of grace here 3. Eternall life in respect of glory hereafter whereby is understood all the happinesse to be injoyed in heaven As under the word death the greatest of evills are comprehended all the miseries inflicted for sin in this and the next state so in that of life of all things the most precious and the most set by are contained all the blessings to be enjoyed here and hereafter but because our happinesse cannot be perfect and consummat til we come to heaven that condition is principally and frequently called life Which life stands in our immediate communion with God in an unitive vision or in seeing and enjoying him Mat. 5.8 1 Jo. 3.2 Psal 16. ult c. Heaven is a low thing without God saith Angustin Whatever is lesse then himselfe is lesse then our desires In him is contain'd infinitely more then either we want or all other things in the world have his presence shall be our life and as it were enliven all things else which without him as here they are so there would be dead things In the immediate full and perfect not in respect of the object but subject uninterrupted reflexive unmixed enjoyment of this God stands life 2. Which in respect of its duration is call'd eternall as never to be interrupted and intermitted so without any end or amission and indeed this it is which makes all the enjoyments of heaven to be truly such and as the faggot-band whereby all the particular parcells of happinesse are bound and tyed together and without which they would be all scattered and lost Frequently is the life of glory said to be eternall Joh 3.15.8.51.11.25 c. pleasures for ever more a treasure in the heaven that faileth not Luk. 12.33 Extra jactum fortunae Extra periculum jacturae an eternall weight of glory 2 Cor. 4.17 a treasure beyond the reach of theefe and moth c. God the fountaine and treasury of life can never be exhaust The saints can never be willing to part with this God Enemies shall never be able to separate them A compleat happinesse to be truly and necessarily happy also OBSERVATIONS From the whole part 1. Obs 1. The hope of salvation is an helmet to keep off tentations to sin Eph. 6.8 The looking for the mercy of Christ quickens us in our course of Christianity The Apostle directs them to contend for the faith by looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus c. 1. It purgeth the heart from fin Whosoever hath this hope purifieth himselfe 1 Joh. 3.3 He who looketh for Christ looks to be like him and therefore he conformes himselfe to Christ in purity He who lookes for great revenues within a few yeares will not cut off his hopes We may say of sinners as of some men who are adventurous in the world they have no thing to lose but rather remove impediments The looking for mercy and the living in sin cannot stand together The love of sin is the confutation of our hopes 2. The looking for this mercy damps our affections to the things of the world He who beholds the glorious sunshine of Christs appearance hath his eyes so dazled that he can behold no beauty in any thing besides He is like Jacob who when he was to goe to a rich Egypt and a deare Joseph was not to regard his stuffe Earthly objects which to earthly mindes seeme glorious 2 Cor. 4.16 to be a beleever have no glory by reason of that glory which excelleth Though Jezabel paints her face he throwes her down and treads her under foot 3. It makes us conscientious in holy duties Paul chargeth Timothy to keep the command without spot by an argument drawn from Christs appearance and upon this ground of looking for a reward from the chief Shepherd Peter warneth the Elders to feed the flock As we cannot conceive what manner of mercy for its glory it is which we look for so neither can we express what manner of persons we should be 1 Cor. 15.58 or what manner of performances ours should be for holinesse What manner of persons saith the Apostle ought we to be 2 Pet. 3.11 4. It engageth to patience under every difficulty and distresse Behold I come quickly hold fast that thou hast Rev. 3.11 Thus. 1 Joh. 2.28 Little children abide in him that when he shall appeare we may have confidence c. Non sunt condigna passiones ad cul pam quae remittitur ad gratiaÌ„ qua immittitur ad gloriam qua promittitur He who beholds a Kingdome appointed for him will abide with Christ in his tentations The drawing nigh of the Lords coming is the Apostles ground of patience Jam. 5.8 and 2 Thes 1.6 7. John Hus and Jerom of Prague appealed from the unjust sentences of men to the righteous judgment of Christ This dayes misery is not worthy of that dayes mercy Rom. 8.18 2 Cor. 4.17 No more comparable with it then is the uncovering of the head a trouble comparable to the honour of receiving a crown 1 Sam. 10. ult Saul held his peace though he were despised because hee was King How easily should our sea of honey swallow up our drop of vinegar Though godlinesse brings sufferings yet it affords encouragements like Egypt which though it were full of poysonous creatures yet full of Antidotes The reason why wee are cast away in tempests is for want of this anchor of hope of the mercy of Christ Let then O Christians the looking for this mercy engage you to duty Remember such mercy to be received deserves better services to bee performed Psal 36.5 As Gods mercy and faithfulnesse are put together so let not his mercy and our faithfulnesse bee severed Brethren if any shame could befall the Saints at the day of judgement it would be for this that they who have done so little on earth for God should receive so much in heaven from God Mercy It s mercy not merit Obs 2. that must stand us in stead at the last day Of this largely pag. 100. Part. 1. as also to this part may be reduced Pag. 101 102 103 104 105. Obs 3. the six Observations there handled concerning Gods mercy Of our Lord Jesus Christ How much are they mistaken who expect mercy and yet have no interest in Christ 'T is the mercy of Christ Christlesse persons are mercilesse
filthy dreamers in the Greek is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 qui videt in somnia signifying properly such who are dreaming in sleep Beza renders the word sopiti such who are fast or sound asleep in a deep dead sleep Erasmus and Vatablus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Arist Delusi in somniis such who are deluded in dreams The Vulgar wholly omits the translation of the word but the word properly signifies such who in their sleep are dreaming and thus Joseph is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a dreamer and Acts 2.17 It 's said your old men 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 shall dream dreams importing likewise thus to dream in sleep And these of whom our Apostle here speaks may be termed dreamers in sleep either 1. In a proper or 2. In a metaphorical sense If 1. In a proper sense then these seducers were dreamers in their natural and bodily rest and sleep thus they mentioned Acts. 2.17 dreamed dreams in their naturall sleep and thus Gagneius Vatablus Salmeron understand this place as if the Apostle had intended Redundat effusior libido vsque ad nocturnas inter dormiendum pollutiones Vatab. that these impure seducers did put forth and expresse their filthy lustfulnesse in their very dreams when they were asleep Thus likewise our own learned interpreters understood this dreaming in sleep as is plain by their rendring the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by filthy dreamers as conceiving that these seducers in their unclean dreams had defiled and polluted their bodies when they were in their naturall sleep not that the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 admits of the interpretation of filâ—hy dreams by the force of its own signification it's Acts 2.17 us'd in a good sense namely of holy and pure dreaming but the foresaid interpreters were pleas'd so to refer this word to the following expression viz. defile the flesh that they interpreted it of that dreaming in sleep wherein these seducers defiled their bodies by nocturnal pollutions which uncleannesse as some think is the same with that of him mentioned Lev. 15.16 Whose seed went from him A strong inducement hence may be gathered that I may note it by the way for every one as to hate that odious and I fear too common a sin of self-pollution which by some Casuists is accounted a greater sin then adultery and by others to have even murder in it so to keep their hearts with all diligence from those impure thoughts in the day-time which may otherwise make them filthy dreamers in the night and when they go to sleep to beseech God to keep the key of their phansie that so it may not run out into dreaming impurely But secondly others and those the most better interpret this dreaming whereof Jude speaks metaphorically or in a borrowed sense conceiving that the Apostle here in calling these seducers dreamers in sleep doth compare them to such and that 1. In respect of sleeping 2. Of dreaming in sleep 1. In respect of sleeping 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Septuag these seducers may be compared to dreamers in sleep they were spiritually drown'd overwhelmed in a deep sound sleep of sin such a deep sleep as the Prophet mentions Isa 29.10 Isa 29.10 The Lord hath poured upon you the spirit of a deep sleep a dead and midnight sleep 1 Thes 5.6 Let us not sleep as do others Matth. 25.5 while the bridegrome tarried they all slumbred and slept c. This spiritual sleep in sin is threefold as divines observe 1. That natural sleep whereby every one is overtaken and is both unable and unwilling to move himself to the least supernaturall good till God awake him by his spirit and effectually say unto him Awake thou that sleepest and stand up from the dead 2. That slumber or the remaines of that natural sleep in the godly continuing in them even after they are awakened out of their dead sleep of nature they being hereby oft overtaken with spiritual slumber by reason of the relicks of sin still abiding in them This the Spouse acknowledgeth Cant. 5.2 I sleep but my heart waketh 3. The third is a judicial and penal increase of that naturall sleep and that deadnesse of heart by the custom and continuance in sin This is properly that forementioned deep sleep Isa 29.10 pour'd upon the impenitent Jewes and this last is that which is here attributed to these seducers And in two respects may such sinners be compared to men in a deep sleep 1. In regard of the causes 2. The effects of sleep 1 The causes of sleep 1. The sleep of the body cometh from obstruction and binding up of the senses by vapours which arise out of the stomack so the spirituall fumes of worldly cares and desires obstruct the senses of the soul Luke 21.34 therfore our Saviour speaks of being oppressed or overcharged with surfetting and drunkennesse Prosperitie is a vapour which if it overcome not yet weakneth the brain as strong waters do This was the cause of Davids and Solomons and Asa's sleep 2. Sleep ariseth from wearinesse and want of spirits and there is a wearinesse causing spiritual sleep namely that which ariseth from too much expence of the strength of the soul upon other matters impertinencies that concern not its true happinesse and welfare 3. Oft sleep comes from want of exercise and when there is a cessation from spirituall exercises Prayer Hearing Sacraments Meditation there followeth a spiritual sleep these are the fewel of grace and he that will not exercise himself to godlinesse Tim. 4 7. shall never keep himself long awake 4. Sleep may come from sleepy yawning and slâ—thfull company the company of spiritual sluggards causeth spirituall sleep cold formal persons cast a damp upon the heat of others Spirituale gelicidium Ames frozen company derive a spirituall icinesse into the souls of those who converse much with them 5. Some are made to sleep by singing and musick and many by the flatteries and sinful soothing of false doctrines of Libertinism or Arminianism c. and by the unfaithfulnesse of those who dare not reprove for but sooth in sin are cast into a spirituall sleep 2. Sinners may be compared to men in a deep sleep in regard of the effects of sleep and that in respect 1 of their want of shame and bashfulnesse in sin they who are asleep Jer. 8.12 though their nakednesse with Noah's be uncovered yet they blush not these seducers proclaimed their sin like Sodome See before Part 1. concerning the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they could not blush saith the Prophet a blushing colour is not the colour of such mpudent ones 2. Of their unarmednesse and liablenesse to danger in sleep the preciousest thing men carry about them may be taken away without resistance they suffer that to be loose which they held fast before be it never so rich a jewel Sisera was slain in his sleep and Ishbosheth upon his bed and
they wheras they deserve damnation both for the corruption of nature and the fruits thereof also some dream thus because of the faults of the godly mentioned in Scripture they making that an argument of boldnes in sinning which should be an argument of fear to sin some because they are ignorant and not Book-learn'd whereas ignorance though simple only somewhat extenuates but it excuseth not sin keeps not from hell but only from such a degree of torment as that of unfruitful knowledg and wilful now the common ignorance increaseth both sin and punishment as shewing that men will willingly suffer the damage of ignorance to enjoy the freedom of sinning Som dream that the imployments of their callings may excuse them for the neglect of holy duties as if callings were made to call us away from God or as if eternity were to give way to trifles Others fondly dream that outward tentations the counsels or commands of others inticing them to sin shall sufficiently excuse them whereas the outward tentation could do nothing without the compliance of the inward corruption and the disobeying of God for mans command is a disobedience with a greater disparagement to God then if man had said nothing Endlesse it would be to mention all those spirituall dotages and deluding dreams of sinners about their actions as that they may sin because they dream some places of Scripture will give them allowance or that much good will ensue of their sin that they may take liberty though excessive in things because lawfull that they may do evil because they make account to make amends for it afterward or upon pretence that they do it only for tryall to learn the vanity of sin or that the necessity of their living urgeth them or upon presumption of Gods mercy or by the painting of sin with the colour of vertue To these may be added a sinners dreaming that good duties may be omitted because they are difficult or because of their many other important occasions or because ther 's a purpose of doing them hereafter or in regard of their troubles threatned or because they have done enough good already or more then others or by reasoning from predestination as if being ordained to salvation though they live never so wickedly it shall never disadvantage them c. All which with many more are the vain dreams and delusions of sinners whereby with these seducers they take liberty to offend God and thereby to overthrow themselves OBSERVATIONS 1. Spirituall judgments are the sorest Observ 1 Insensiblenesse in sin and self-delusion were judgments which made these seducers miserable They are judgments which seize upon the soul No blessings so sweet as soul-blessings and no judgments so sore as soul-judgments The soul is the excellency of a man the body is a body of vilenesse the soul is precious excellent every way but only as depraved with sin It s noble in regard of its original functions endowments If all be well with the soul all is well with the man though the body be never so miserable If it go ill with the soul the man is wretched let the body be never so happy The funerall of a noble man is much spoken of when a Prince dies all lay it to heart when his Page dies it is never regarded The body the souls page is not to be lamented from which the soul parts but the soul from which God himself parts And further the distempers which befall the soul are of all others hardest to remove There is no herb in the garden no receipt from the Physician no medicine in the shop that can cure the soul men are only parents and physicians of the body he that made the soul can only mend it the Father of spirits is the only Physician of spirits 'T is omnipotent strength that recovers a sin sick and raiseth and rouzeth a sleeping soul man can cast thee into thy sinful sleep only God can awaken thee outward helps cannot cure the inward man he that sits in heaven can only touch and teach the heart And further the distempers of the soul uncur'd are of all others the most deadly and destructive A scratch on the finger we call a slight wound but a wound that reacheth to the heart is deadly Whatever befals the body is comparatively slight and to be slighted The worst things which befall the body may be sent in mercy they part between us and contemptible enjoyments yea oft they make way for the enjoying of the best blessings but they which befall the soul sever from him in whom all blessednesse is laid up spiritual comforts or miseries are true real the temporal of either are but opinionative Fear not him saith Christ that can kill the body but fear him that can throw both body and soul into hell To conclude Spiritual judgments are alway inflicted in displeasure in the last place as the forest of all as a reckoning for all other faults when all other chastisements are despis'd when God is shewing mercy the last mercies are the best and the further he goeth in mercy the sweeter he is and when he is punishing the last punishments are the forest and the further he goeth the bitterer he is the judgment of pining away in iniquity is the last of all that dismal catalogue Lev. 26.39 The spirit of a deep sleep is contiguous to hell it self Rev. 22.11 he that is filthy let him be filthy still is the last judgment we read of befalling in this life in all the new Testament yea the more God inflicts it the more he is provok'd to inflict it outward punishments move God to pity but this being a sin as wel as a punishment the more it lies upon man the more it offends God 2. Observ 2 All the sinfull sleepinesse of Saints differs much from that of the wicked Cant. 5.2 I sleep but my heart awaketh saith the Spouse The godly have ever in them a regenerate principle that is waking when they seem to be most sleeping that is contending against natural self The godly as one speaks are more pained and laborious in their sleep Laboriosius dormiunt quam vigilare potucrunt then in their waking it more troubles them to be idle then to do their Lords work their souls yeild not to that slothfulnesse wherewith their senses are overtaken Sensuall sinners sleep all at once all in them and of them sleeps but the Saint keeps his heart watchful The very business of the wicked is but vanity and dreams but the sleeps of the godly are busie and vigilant the wicked sleeps and trifles when he is most serious to work his wickednesse but when the righteous sleepeth his heart riseth and worketh upwards toward God in whom only he finds rest when thus imployed The wicked man sleeps and loves to sleep laies himself to sleep shuts the door draws the curtaines puts out the candle chargeth that none wake him but a Saint is like
is a learned ignorance and herein Augustine joyns with them who saith * Quid inter sc distant has vocabula dicant qui possunt si tamen possunt probare quod dicunt Ego me ista ignorare confiteor Enchirid c. 58. How those names of Angels differ let them speak who are are able if yet they are able to prove what they speak I profess my ignorance herein And this by way of Explication of the first Party here contending Michael the Archangel It follows that we speak of the second who is here said to be the Devil 2. Of the word Devil in the Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I meet with sundry Interpretations among the learned Some as Gerson and Bonaventure say that the word signifies falling †q. Deorsum fluens Gerson Tr. in Magnificat Bonavent l. 2. Sent. dist 5. q. 1. Dictus est Diabolus quia deorsum fluxit ex hoc in suâ malitiâ firmatus est Diabolus non valens conscendere sed compulsus descendere odit Deum justum invidet excellentiae ejus and tending downward and the Devil say they not being able to keep up in his former height of glory and excellency but compell'd to descend from it is not to be moved from his malice Others also with more wit then strength say that the Word Diabolus comes from Dia which they say is as much as two and Bolus signifying a draught taken up in a Fishers net because when the Devil draws man into his net he makes of him as it were a double draught by destroying both body and soul The ordinary and true derivation of the word is from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to slander calumniate and falsly to accuse and hence the appellative name of Devil is often in Scripture used for any false accuser thus Judas is called Devil Joh. 6.70 One of you saith Christ is a divel 1 Tim. 3.11 The wives of Deacons must not be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 slanderers and 2 Tim. 3.3 The Apostle speaks of some who are treacherous false accusers or devils c. So Tit. 2.3 concerning the aged women he saith that they must not be false accusers or Devils in which sense some understand that command of Eph. 4.27 Give not place to the Devil or to any false accuser or slanderer who shall come with slanderous reports against another the Apostle giving that precept as a direction to the observing of what went immediatly before namely that the Sun should not go down upon our wrath False accusers being make-bates and kindle-coals between persons are to be oppos'd and resisted More specially the word Divel is taken for an evil spirit or Angel Mat. 13.39 Luc. 8.12 Acts 10.38 and 13.10 1 Pet. 5.8 2 Tim. 2.26 c. and yet more specially the term Devil is attributed to the chief or Prince of Devils call'd so by way of eminency Mat. 4.1 he tempted Christ Apoc. 12.7 he and his Angels fight with Michael and his See Mat. 25.41 Thus it is taken here And clear reason there is why Satan should thus be called a slanderer or false accuser Some say because of his accusing of God to man and that principally by that first accusation wherin he accused God of falshood by saying notwithstanding what God had threatned that they should not die and of Envy by telling them that God knew that in the day they did eat thereof they should be like gods And this is the opinion of Justin Martyr 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Justin in Paraen ad Graec. p. mihi 21. in that excellent exhortation of his to the Greeks The Scriptures saith he call that enemy of mankind the Devil from that first slander or calumny which he brought to man And thus he is still a slanderer laying his accusations sometimes against Gods Justice perswading sinners that God allows them in their sins Sic Tert. 2. Cont. Marc. cap. 10. Deo imposuit prohibitionem esus omnis ligni mendacem comminationem mortis invidiam cujusdamdivinitatis Vide Chrysost hom 2. in 2. Ep. ad Corinth so driving them to presume sometimes laying them against his mercy perswading those who are humbled that their sins are greater then can be forgiven so driving them to despair sometime against his faithfulness omniscience c. frequently against his providence making men beleeve that God hath no care of the ordering and governing of things in the world the good are miserable and the wicked happy When Christ was on Earth he was accus'd by the Devil to be an Impostor that cast out Devils by the help of Beelzebub c. Falsely did he accuse God to Christ by clipping his word and perverting the Scripture to a pernicious sense 2. He is according to others called an accuser for accusing man to God This is the opinion of Lactantius The Devil saith he is calld an accuser because for those very faults to which he tempts and allures us Vid. Chrysost ubi supra Diabolum criminatorem vocamus propterea quod crimina in quae ipse allicit ad Deum defert Lact. lib. 2. Instit cap. 8. he accuseth us by laying them before God The accuser of the brethren Rev. 12 is cast down which accused them before our God day and night He objecteth things before God for the disgrace and hurt of the godly Thus he accused Joshuah the High Priest for his sins noted by filthy garments Zech. 3.1 3. As also Joh for self-seeking Satan espies the least sins in them these he aggravates and for them pleads their unworthiness of the least mercy the sins which in them are weaknesses he represents as wickednesses the sins which they condemn in themselves and for which they condemn themselves he layes before God to have him also condemn them for them claiming the justice of the Law and the execution of the curse against and upon them This accuser diminisheth wresteth their best actions as if performed to a wrong end and hypocritically thus he accused Job of serving God only for wages hereby representing all his services to be void of sincerity In nothing is the malice of Satan so clearly discovered as in accusing the godly before God For 1. Hereby he shewes his desire to do them the greatest hurt which is to bring them out of favour with God to separate them from their only friend by being a tale-bearer and slanderer Revel 12. He accused them before our God And 2. Such is his malice that he will endeavor that which he can but endeavour never effect yea in the undertaking whereof he is sure to miscarry Oppose them he will though hurt them he cannot and is sure to hurt himself putting forth his poyson though he have no power he accusing Saints before a God who sees the falsness of his accusations whose Power Justice and Mercy ever makes him rebuke the accusing Divel Zech. 3.1 2 3. pity the accused Saints And in respect of this accusing the Faithful to God I
God tempted Christ to worship him Order is the beauty and safety of places They who are weary of it are weary of their owne happiness But of this more before in Part 1. page 638 5. Observ 5. The divel is an hurtful spirit His work is to do mischief his name Divel speaks him a Destroyer and wounder of names and all his names import mischievousness He and his angels are called Cacodaemons Evil Angels frequently in Scripture Evil Spirits not evil only in regard of the bad which is in them but also of the hurt which is done by them The Divel is Abaddâ—n Rev. 9 11. Perdition he is perdition or destruction it self not only Passively but even Actively also and as we call a wicked man scelus wickedness for most wicked so is the Divel call'd perdition or destruction it self because he is the chief Rev. 9 11. cruel skilful industrious Destroyer seeking whom he may deuour compassing the earth as a Fouler doth the tree where the bird sits or as Besiegers do a City to plant murdering Engines He seeks not whom to scratch bite or wound but whom to destroy devour swallow up 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1 Pet. 5.8 To Abaddon is added his name in the Greek whereby he is also noted to be acrue destroyer Apollyon He is in Scripture called a murderer an old bloody one such from the beginning Compared also to a Lyon a Serpent Râ—v 12.3 a Dragon a red bloody fiery 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Dragon He is bloudy in being thirsty after and imbrued in blood in all the blood of the Saints since the beginning of the world His Works prove him more hurtful then his Names Hurtful he is to the bodies of men These he hath often possessed counting the tormenting of them all his pleasure and ejection out of them his torment These he hath thrown into fiâ—e and water cutting also and wounding â—hem rending them when compelled to leave them Hâ—mâ— malâ—â—â—elam Dâ—abâ—â— by his instruments wicked men his weapons martâ—ring mangling and murdering them from Abel till now afflicting them with noâ—som and destructive diseases Hurtful to the Estates of men by tempests winds fires as appears by his dealing with Jâ—b whom he made both in body and estate his very anvil upon which he laid all his angry and cruel strokes Hurtful he is to the souls of men either tempting to corrupting in or else tormenting or afrighting them for sin Hurtful to the name he is by slanders and false accusations They who are freed from consuming by the former shall not escape totally from sindging by this latter Where he cannot devour with the mouth of the sword he will wound by the sword of the mouth Where he cannot strike with his hand he will spit with his mouth and bite with his teeth And lastly the properties of his hurtfulness shew it more then its workings for he is anciently hurtful he began many thousand years ago with the first man How hurtfull do we account that thief and murderer who hath been mischievous for some few years No Muderer so old an one as Satan He is maliciously hurtful not being so by accident or beside his intention but aiming to be so He kils none by chance-medly but all his Murders are wilful 't is his meat and drink his recreation his only ease if he could be said to have any His hurtfulness is incessant his trade his work as well as his 〈◊〉 He cannot give over this Employment 't is his Element nor can he any more live without it then a fiâ—h out of the water He is restless in sin When he is not in places where he may do much hurt he is said to walk through dry places a baâ—reâ— un-inhabitable wilderness and there he finds no rest his only rest is an hurtful motion A sinner sleeps not till he sin but the Divel alway sins and never sâ—eeps he is a vigâ—lant Dragon He never rested one moment since the beginâ—â—ng of the world As he never wanted so he never would have rest he hath no Holy-dayes He gos up and down continually seeking whom he may devour Upon the Sabbath as much as nay more then other dayes and he never doth more hurt then when he seems to do least nay when he seems to do most good He is universally hurtful in respect of the Object he is hurtful in intention at least to all mankind to good and bad to his enemies yea his friends to the former because the less he can the more he would do The more God loves the more he hates and labours to hurt as in all the forementioned respects He had rather find one Pearle then a thousand pibbles Oh how sweet to him is the fal of a Peter a David a Noah the bloud of a Stephen a Paul a Godly Minister He winnowes the best wheat most and beats the tree most that bears the best fruit Our great Lord himself must not go without his marks Nay he is hurtful to his owne greatest friends Those he hurts most who serve him most A cruel Master that wounds and starves all his slaves wounds the conscience wears out the body Sinners are his hackneys whom he whips and spurs all the day of Life and at night he lodgeth them worse then in the day he used them Never suffers he them to feed upon one morsel of the bread of Life gives nothing but wind and wormwood vanity and vexation Lastly he is skilfully hurtful he is skilful to destroy and hath an equal mixture of the Lion and the Serpent He hath seven heads Revel 12.3 and many devices in them all Elimas ful of all subtilty and mischief Acts 13.10 is aptly therefore called the child of the Divel Our worst enemy sometimes comes to us as our best friend He disguiseth his person like the Gibeonites that so he may get within us He seemed to Eve to be more friendly then God himself He oft seems to compassionate the sinner to the profane he propounds an easie loose Religion to the Proud he suggests the unfitness of suffering himself to be trampled on c. He never kisseth but 't is to kill and this Crocodile never sheds tears but 't is to shed blood He chuseth his fittest times for his tentations as in time of conversing in bad company so he set upon Peter in time of solitariness so he set upon Christ and Joseph In times of trouble of conscience then he suggests we are hypocrites like Simeon and Levi who killed the Shechemites in their soreness In times of security and ease so he set upon David like enemies who fal upon one anothers Quarters in their mid-night sleep If he cannot hinder from good he can blemish it by sinful meanes an undue manner a bad end He can by a thousand Arts disparage a holy Duty to those that behold it if he doth not mar it in the performance This hurtfulness of the Divel shewes whom they resemble that are
might thereby be drawn to give Moses Divine adoration Deut. 34.6 Michael in zeal to the honour and obedience to the will of God opposed the Divel and contended that the body of Moses should be buried in a seeret place Vid. Chrysost Hom. 5 in Mat. August To. 3. p. 731. Ambr. 2 Offic. c. 7. where no man might know of his Sepulchre This last is the opinion of most if not of all Modern Writers both Protestant and Popish and of sundry of the Antients The most think that Satan in his contention aim'd at stirring up the people idolatrously to worship the very dead body of Moses and some affirm though I suppose without ground that after his death his face retained its former shining lustre and to prevent the idolizing of Moses his very Rod they conceive that Moses took it away with him when he went to dye it being that Rod whereby he had wrought so many Miracles and which was called the Rod of God Others rather think that Satan intended to have put the Israelites upon the idolatrous worshipping of Moses soul or Ghost by the discovery of his Sepulchre this opinion seems to me very probable I know not that the worshipping the reliques of dead mens bodies was an idolatry used in those times I suppose it will not be denyed but that it was the practice of the Heathens to worship the ghosts or souls of the dead who in their life time had been eminent for their greatness and beneficence hence Jupiter Mercury Esculap c. were counted Deities after their deaths for that good which their survivers had received from them while living and Heathens used this their idolatry by occasion of their having among them the Tombs and Sepulchres of the deceased Thus the Cretians worshipped Jupiter for their God whose Sepulchre they boasted that they had among them And hence Lactantius holily and wittily derides them Quomodo potest Deus alibi esse vivus alibi mortuus alibi babere Templum alibi Sepulchrum Lactant. l. 1. c. 11. for honouring a God who as they thought was in one place living in another place dead who in one place had a Sepulchre in another a Temple The Roman Emperors after their deaths were Deifi'd at the burning of their bodies which being burnt their souls were worshipp'd by the name of manes and upon their Sepulchres they engraved these words To the gods Dijs manibus the ghosts or souls of the departed they blindly believing that the souls of the departed did reside about or were present at the places where their bodies were buried and these soules of the departed Heathens were wont to worship and consult with at their graves and Sepulchres a practice which from heathens was received by the Israelites also Hence we read Isaiah 65.4 of the idolatrous Jewes who remained among the graves and lodged in the monuments namely to consult with the spirits of the dead as is clear from Isaiah 8.19 where the Prophet reproves the people for consulting for the living with the dead i e. with the souls or ghosts of those who were dead and departed And at these graves and Sepulchres of the dead were idolaters wont idolatrously to Feast and Banquet with those sacrifices which they had offered to the honour of the dead Hence we read Psalm 106.28 of the great idolatry of the Israelites in eating the sacrifices of the dead And this idolatrous custome of seeking to the dead at their Tombs or Sepulchres the Divel invented that these deluded idolaters who expected to consult with dead men might indeed and really receive answers from and so worship him for though he perswaded his Vassals that they who were dead gave them their answers yet indeed those answers came from him And to this practice the Divel might easily have brought these Israelites could he have obtained the discovery of Moses his Sepulchre which containing the remains of so famous a Law-giver and one so eminent above all the men in the world for acquaintance with God would in probability upon all exigencies have drawn idolaters to it for the adoration of and consultation with Moses especially considering the great and constant need of direction in which the Israelites stood whâ—le they were in the Wilderness for their passage to Canaan though indeed the name of Moses was to have been but a stale or stirrup to have advanced the adoration even of the Divel himself who as he was the sole contriver of this idolatry so would have been pleased most with it and honoured onely by it it being as much beyond the power of idolaters or Divels to deal with a true since dead Moses as it ever was against the will of Moses to have any such dealing with them If it be here objected that the Israelites did not worship at the Sepulchres of Abraham Jacob Joseph and the other Patriarchs and therefore that neither they would have idolatrously worshipped Moses if they had known the place of his burial It s answered that there was far greater likelihood and danger of their idolizing Moses then any of the fore-mentioned Patriarchs and that both in regard of the honour that Moses had received from God and also of that good which the Israelites had received by Moses 1. In respect of the former none of the godly Ancestors of the Israelites were so illustrious as was Moses for working Miracles and so many renowned performances both in Aegypt and after the Israelites came out of it none by the testimony of truth it self being like Moses whom God knew face to face none who had the reputation of being so frequently and long with God and of being a Law-giver to the people and a Mediator between God and them to fetch them Lawes from God and to carry their desires again to God to be taken up that he might converse with God to the top of a flaming Mount the foot whereof no other person might touch upon pain of death to have a face so gloriously shining upon descent from God as if God had imparted to him a kind of ray of Divinity In a word To have God say of him as he did to and of Moses I have made thee a God a speech haply not yet forgotten by Israel to so great and puissant a Monarch as Pharaoh 2. In respect of the great benefits that God bestowed upon the Israelites by Moses never did they receive the like by any other Instrument in any age who ever was there besides Moses by whom God sent so many miraculous plagues upon their Enemies by whom at the holding up of a Rod he divided the Sea and sent six hundred thousand men through it dry-shod and afterward caused it to return upon and swallow up their Enemies by whom he split the Rocks into Cups and gave them water in a scorching Wilderness and fed them with miraculous showres of bread from heaven c. It s therefore probable that one so eminently honored of God and beneficial
security not overthrow faith awaken not dishearken them And ever as the servants of God are afflicted so are they fitted for his service God is but trayning them to a due expertness in high emploiments The more any one contends for God the more let him expect to contend with Satan They who most stop the divels mouth least stop his malice Reckon upon Satans wrath if thou goest about Gods work they deceive themselves who expect to be quiet and serviceable at the same time such groundless apprehensions are but the inlets to apostacy and make us to forsake our duty because we cannot perform it with our outward ease To conclude Satans opposition should not discourage us from duty nay we should look upon it is an hopeful sign of the conscionable discharge of our duty Let us be sure that we are imployed by God in his work and that we labour to perform it after his mind and then let us account opposition our encouragement and crown as being that which almost only meets us in a good Cause 6 Decent burial belongs to the bodies of the departed Observ 6. God himself buried Moses nay as most think the grand Argument whereby Satan disputed with the Archangel Vid. Jun. in loc for the publickness of Moses his Sepulcher was the known fitness of bestowing a comely burial upon the bodies of Gods servants nor did Michael at all contend that Moses might not be buryed but that the Divel might not be at the Funeral or not have the interring of him Gen. 23. Nature it self teacheth a decency of Burial The very Heathens readily entertained Abrahams motion to sell him a Burying place yea they had it in their own practice Ver. 6. In the choice of our Sepulchers bury thy dead And want of burial is so hateful that some have been more restrained by the fear of not being buryed Gen. 25.9 Gen. 47.30 Gen. 50.25 then of dying Abraham was buryed in the same cave with Sarah after him Isaak Jacob Joseph there also was Rebecca bestowed And when the Kings and Judges of Israel are recorded their Burials with their places are also mentioned of which there are three ranks 1 Some deserving ill only buryed in the City of David the upper part of Jerusalem wherein was the Temple and Davids Palace but not in the Sepulcher of their fathers thus was Jehoram 2 Chron. 21.19 Joash who fell to Idolatry 2 Chron. 24.16 and Ahaz 2 Chron. 28.27 2. Others who were good Kings were buried in the City of David and in the Sepulchers of their fathers And 3. Some of the highest Merit were buryed in the City of David 2 King 9.37 in the Sepulchers of their fathers and in the upper part of the Sepulchers of the Sons of David as Hezekiah 2 Chron. 32.33 Nor was it a smal judgment that God inflicted upon Baasha and Jezabel Jer. 22.19 that they should be buryed in the bellyes of dâ—gs that Jehoiakim should be buried with the burial of an Ass drag'd out by the heels and cast into a ditch Isal 14.20 Psal 63 11. and that the King of Babylon should not be joyned with the Kings in burial Neither was it a slight imprecation which fell from David Let them be a portion to Foxes nor a smal threatning Jer. 14 16. That the bones of the Kings Priests and Prophets should be taken out of the grave and laid open to the Sun and Moon 2 Sam. 2.5 Hence David highly commended the burying of Saul though a bad man for a good work As of a sore judgement doth the Church complain The dead bodies of thy servants have they given to be meat to the fouls of the Heaven c. there was none to bury them Sutable it is Psal 139. that so choice and curious a piece of Gods work-manship as mans body should not be carelesly laid aside yea it hath been repaired redeemed as well as made by God Gal. 4.4 5. Eph. 1.1.7 1 Cor. 6.20 partner in Redemption with the soul and bought with the precious bloud of Christ The body also God hath sanctified it 's his Temple The Oyntment of Sanctification rests not only upon the head the soul but diffuseth it self to the body the skirts also 1 Thess 5.23 The chair where the King of Glory hath sate should not be abused With the bodies of our deceased friends we had lately sweet commerce The body of the wife was lately entertained with dear embracement The body of our child a piece of our selves The body of a dear friend what was it but our self divided with a several skin The body of a faithful Minister an earthen Conduit-Pipe whereby God conveyed Spiritual comforts to the soul The body when living was a partner with the soul in all her actions it was the souls brother twin what could the soul do without it Whatever was in the understanding was conveyed by the sense The soul sees by the bodies eyes hears by its ears works by its hands c. yea even now still there is an indissoluble relation between the dust in the grave and the glorious soul as the union of Christs dead body to the deity was not dissolved in the time of its lying in the Sepulcher Burying places were not among the Jewes called the houses of the dead but of the living The body is sown not cast away it is not dead but sleepeth The grave is a bed and the Church-yards sleeping places In short the glory of the bodies future estate challengeth the honour of burial All the precious Oyntments bestowed upon the dead of old had been cast away had it not been for the hope of a Resurrection A great Heir that shal hereafter have a rich Inheritance is regarded though he be for the present in rags And this decent burial of the dead discovers the more then heathenish barbarousness of Papists who do not only deny but recal the granting of burial to the dead bodies of the Saints Paulus Fagius Pet. Martyrs Wife digging them up again as they did at Oxford and Cambridg in Queen Marye's time Herein worse then heathens as testifies the greater humanity of allowing Interment in Alexander to the body of Darius Hanibal to that of Marcellus Caesar to Pompey The comfort of Saints it is that the happiness of their sâ—uls is not confined to the burial of their bodies Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his Saints Psal 116.15 Psal 139.16 who carefully keeps every one of their bones and as he left not one out of his book when he made them at first so to be sure neither shall one be missing when he will remake them their very bodies being the members of Christ and part of that lump whereof he was the first fruits Câ—r 15.20 To conclude this the care yet of a dead body should not be comparable to that of a â—â—ving soul What profit is it for the body to be embalmed
the Son of God himself could not refuse he disputed against him though fallaciously with Scripture Arguments Promissionem objâ—â—iâ— conditioâ—â—m aâ—â—â—â—it had he had a Psalter he would have shewn Christ the very place nor is there any sinner whom he cannot furnish with a Scripture to defend his lust and such a Scripture as the deluded novice hath neither skill nor will to answer The truth which Satan speaks ever tends to destroy truth In alledging of Scripture he both colours himself and his motion and frames himself according to the disposition of the Parties with whom he deals He knows the authority of Scripture alway swayes in the School of the Church It s our safest course to hold up against Scripture-light all the plausible Reasons or Scriptures which Satan brings for any opinion or practice to ponder with Prayer and study every allegation and to consider whether in their scope end they are not against other direct Scriptures and the Principles of Religion for Gods Spirit never alledgeth Scripture or propounds Arguments but to lead us into the knowledge and practice of some truth This was Moses his rule Deut. 13.1 to try a false Prophet by his scope If any Scripture or Reason be alledged to put us upon sin though the Text be Gods yet the gloss and allegation is the Divels 9. Observ 9. In dealing with our greatest Adversaries we must do nothing wilfully but with the guide of Reason Michael did not though he could have done it here shake off his opponent without answer or a rational disputation though he deserved none but to shew that he did not withstand Satans motion meerly of a wilful mind but upon just ground he answers him and disputes the case with him Christ himself did not put off this very Adversary of Michael Matth. 4. without an answer and when he refused the most unreasonable request of the sons of Zebedee he gave a just Reason Mark 10.40 It is not mine to give but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared It s good though our Adversaries are stubborn yet to manifest the ground of all those opinions and practices wherein we oppose them our courses should be so good as to deserve to be justified though our Adversary may so bad as not to deserve to be answered and we shall hereby though not recover him yet both acquit and quiet our selves and possibly preserve others from being infected with that sin which rather our Reason then Resolution is likely to prevent 10. Observ 10 Satan delights to put people upon giving that honour which is onely due to God to something else besides God He here contends for the Servant against the Master and for the worship of Moses against the worship of God Satan makes people give that honour to the creature which is due to God two wayes 1. Inwardly 2. Outwardly 1 Inwardly 1. By making people to put their trust and confidence upon something besides God to make flesh their arm to put confidence in man Joh. 31.24 Psal 20.7 Prov. 3.5 to trust in Horses and Chariots 2. By making people to set their love and delight upon other things more then God to love their pleasures more then God 2 Tim. 3.4 Phil. 3.19 Eph. 5 5. to make gain their godliness to be idolaters by covetousness to set their heart on that which was made to set their feet upon 3. By making them to bestow that fear upon the creature which is onely due to God to fear mans threats more then Gods and him who onely can kill the body Isa 8.13 Isa 7.2 Isa 51.12 13. Hos 5.11 more then him who câ—n throw both body and soul into hell to walk willingly after the though wicked Commandment 2. Outwardly Satan makes people give the honour to the creature which is due to God two wayes 1. By the worshiping that for God which is not thus the Heathen worship false gods Mars Jupiter Diana Dagon Baal Mâ—loch Mahomet and thus Papists give Divine worship to Reliques stocks stones a breaden God 2. By worshiping God by other means and after another manner than he hath appointed That cannot be Gods worship which is devised by another the manner prescribed by himself being refused the worshipping of God according to mans devises and traditions shall be as far from acceptation as ever it was from his institution He best knows what he loves best Nor is it a wonder that Satan thus opposeth Gods worship not onely in regard he is an Adversary to God and strives to break insunder those bands of allegiance whereby the creature is tyed to the Creator and to deprive God of his homage as also because an Adversary to man whom he endeavours to draw into Gods displeasure but by the making men to worship thecreature in stead of God he aimeth to advance his own honour and worship in the room of Gods If men come once to be children of disobedience and sons of Belial such as will not submit to Gods will and bear his yoke Eph. 2.2 John 14.31 2 Cor. 4.4 Joh. 8.41 Acts 13.10 they walk according to the Prince of the power of the ayre he is their Father Prince God both in regard of his own usurpation and their acceptation In all Divine worship whatsoever is not performed to God is performed to the Divel there being no mean between them in worship God and Satan divide the world of worshippers for although in the intention of the worshippers the Divel be not worshipped yet worshipped he is in respect of the invention of the worship which was Satans devise and appointment and hence it is that we meet in Scripture such frequent mention of the worshipping of Divels The Gentiles 1 Cor. 10 20. yea the Jewes Psal 106.37 Lev. 17.7 sacrificed to Divels And the truth is Satan his contention that the people might find the way to Moses's Sepulchre was but that they might lose the way to Gods service and find the way to his own as was more fully shewn in the Explication Oh how lamentable is it that so bad a Master should have so much service that he who sheds our blood should be more willingly and frequently served then he who shed his own bloud for us To conclude if holy Michael here contended that others might not worship any other than God let us more contend that we our selves may not do so If Satan throw us down yet let us not cast our selves down We have another a better Master his will let us study the voice of his Word and Spirit let us hear Be above all those baits where with Satan a lures to the adoring of any thing in stead of Christ Know nothing great or good but the service of Christ 11. Observ 11. Satans great design is to make the holyest persons the greatest occasions of sin He had much rather that a Moses who had so zealously opposed Idolatry should be Idolized then
is the father and furtherer of War and revenge It divesteth God of his Office God alone knowes how to punish our enemies without passion and inequality It makes him in stead of a Judge only an Executioner It takes the sword out of Gods hand and drives him from his dominion What difference makes it between the party prâ—voking and provoked save that the last is last in the offence against God both are equally displeasing to him whose Law is by both broken and supposing that our enemy hath deserved to be hated why hath God deserved to be disobeyed Nor doth revenge less oppose our own welfare then Gods pleasure The Divel by this sin bereaves a man of his reason and like a bird of prey which seizing upon a dead Carkass first pecks out its eyes he blinds his understanding and then leads him into what wickedness he pleaseth By revenge we lose all that good which we might get even by injuries Holy patience turnes every injury thrown at us into a precious stone and makes it an addition to our Crown Qui injuriam patitur magis dolere debet de peccato injuriantis quam de injuriâ sibi allatâ He who hath received an injury if wise to improve it hath received a fauour a reward and it s against the rule of Justice to return evil for good What madness is it because our enemy hath done us wrong to do our selves more because he hath hurt our bodies to damn our souls that we may kill our enemies Ass his body to kill our selves that we may tear his garmentâ— to lose our own lives What unmanly folly is it to hate those in their sickness or madness whom we love in their health to hate those wronging us whom we would love when they do us good When our enemies are most unkind they shew more distemper in themselves then they do hatred to us and therefore deserve more pity then opposition What greater cruelty then to cut and wound one who is dead I mean Spiritually What more ridiculous then because one hath taken a way something from us therefore to throw away all that is left behind because he hath stoln away our Cloak or twenty Pounds therefore to throw our coat or whole Inheritance into the sea When one hath taken from us the cloak of our good name Ridiculum est odio nocentis innocentiam perdere Senec. or a little of our worldly estate how wild a folly is it therefore to throw away by revenge the beautiful garment of our Innocency yea the inheritance of Heaven It s ridiculous for the hatred of him that hurt us to cast away that which never hurt will alwayes be helpful to us and because we are bereaved of something which we had our goods therefore to throw away all we are our souls What madness comparable to that whereby in our prayers we daily powre forth curses against in stead of requests for our selves Who would not think him weary of his life who being struck by one whom he knowes to be full of Leprosie and Plague sores will spend his time in grapling and contending with him again None can avenge himself upon another without Spiritual defilement and Infection and which is most inexcusable that malice for which he is so much enraged against another he loves in himself The empty transitory though reproachful expression of his brother he layes to heart but the sword of revenge with which the Divel endeavours to kill him he contemns and disregards In a word what temper is more childish then that of revenge whereby like children men desire and delight to strike that thing which hurt them It s folly to beat the Instrument which wounded us our wisdome it is to labour that the wound which is given us may be healed and sanctified Yea there is more of brutishness then manliness when we are kick'd to kick again Nothing more honours a man then the overcoming of revenge He who can master his own revengeful heart hath a spirit truly noble and fit to govern others Upon Davids sparing of Saul wisely did Saul say thus to David The Lord hath delivered me into thy hands 1 Sam. 24.18 20 and thou killedst me not And now behold I know well that thou shalt be King He only hath something supernatural in Charity who requites evil with good who loves his enemies doth good to them that hate him wearyeth them with patience and writes after a heavenly Copy Matth. 5.14 More of this Part 1. pag. 131 132. 6. Observ ult The consideration of our having a God to whom we may commit our cause is the best meanes to make us patient under wrongs Michael was a servant to a great Lord and to him he appeals and layes the controversie before him The Lord rebuke thee There would be more bearing in the world were there more believing Did we look more upon him that is Invisible we should less regard the evils which we see and feel Walk before me saith God to Abraham and be perfect Nothing either of pleasure or pain will seem great to him in whose eye there is this great Lord. The greatest prop in opposition is to have a God to fly unto The greatest loss for him shall be made up again by him When David considered that God was his portion Psal 16.4 5. he abhorred to go to other Subterfuges They who believe they have a God to right them will not wrong themselves so much as to revenge their own wrongs God they know will do it as more equally so more beneficially And the true reason why there is no more willingness either to forbear any sin or to bear any sorrow is because we think not of this great Lord so as either to fear or trust him They who can call God Father may with Christ pray concerning their enemies Forgive them They who can see heaven opened and Christ at the right hand pleading for them may with Steven â—ead for their enemies and pray Lord lay not this sin to their charge VER 10. But these speak evil of those things which they know not but what they know naturally as brute beasts in those things they corrupt themselves IN this verse our Apostle accommodates and applies the comparison of Michael the Archangel or further shewes wherein the holy and humble carriage of Michael did make the sin of these Seducers appear more sinful and abomnable The Angel was a Creature not only of the greatest created Might and Power but also of Wisdom and Understanding and knew what the Divel was nameâ—y a wicked Creature and destined by God to eternal perdition accurately also he understood that the cause wherein he contended with the Divel was Just and righteous he knowing the pleasure and will of God concerning the hiding of Moses his Sepulcher but these saith he speak evil of what persons and things they know not are outragious though ignorant active though blind And this want of due
of Brutish Sensuality A mâ—â— may be laden with Gold and yet be as a Brute His being changed from Poor to Rich is but a poor change unless he be changed from Natural to Spiritual from an old to a new man Even the Wealthy Psal 49.10 is called a Fool and a brutish person and ver 12. Man being in honour abideth not he is like the Beast that perisheth Nero was a Lion Herod a Fox The Princes of Israel Wolves Kine of Bashan notwithstanding worldly glory Outward Ornaments make no inward alteration Hence see what is the true standard of Honour Lust is the souls degradation even in all earthly abundance only Grace makes us excellent it destroyes not but elevates nature Sensual objects do not elevate but corrupt us 5. Observ 3. Sensual appetite is deceitful When these Seducers knew things naturally with sensual knowledg they were led to corruption An ignis fatuus leads men into bogs and precipices Natural knowledg carryes men like filly beasts into a snare If the blind lead the blind both must fall into the ditch The Lusts of the sensitive appetite are foolish 1 Tim. 6.9 and therefore foolish because they make men fools who are led by them and Ephes 4.22 the old man is said to be corrupt according to decitful lusts 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 As man sheweth his infection with original pollution principally by his Lusts so those Lusts principally discover themselves in their Deceitfulness When they tempt a man to sin they promise pleasure and contentment they perform nothing less but leave the poor seduced sinner spoiled of his happiness and corrupted both inwardly outwardly and eternally Sensual delights strangle with a silken halter Latrones quasi laterones viatoribus amiâ—è se quasi 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 â—djungunt ut incautos cò facilius grassentur kil a man in the embracing him and like Theeves wil ride friendly and pleasantly with the Passenger that so unawares they may the more easily destroy him Saint James saith a man is drawn away of his own Lusts and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 inticed They bait over every hook Oh that when a man saith How can I forbear the bait 〈◊〉 he would ask himself How can I endure the book Oh will the comfort countervail the corruption the spoiling not only of my body of my Goods but the loss of my Soul my Grace my Heaven my God my All. Consider the bitter farewel of al sinfully sweet morsels view them with a Scripture Prospective look upon them as going away as well as coming Behold their back their black side they are venenatae deliciae Poisoned Pleasures T is easier to pass by then get out of the snare If thou be a man of appetite Prov. 23.2 put a knife to thy throat Lust betrayes with a kiss Al carnal delights go out in a stink and commonly it is that of Brimstone As we cannor walk in this life by sight in respect of Glory so should we not in respect of Sensuality As we are absent from heaven in regard of Sense and present there in regard of Love so though we are present among earthly enjoyments in respect of Sense yet should we be absent in regard of affection To conclude this consider the difference betwixt Spiritual and Sensual pleasures The former are good in Harvest the latter only in Seeds-time They who sow to the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption Gal. 4.6 They who sow to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting The former are bitterly sweet the latter sweetly bitter The former turn water into wine as the latter do Wine into water In that which a man knows Spiritually and to which he is led by the guidance of the Spirit in that he preserves himself And its observable how the Apostle opposeth the deceitful Lusts in ver 22. of Ephes 4. to the Truth in Jesus ver 21. Christ is Truth Lust is vanity and deception Christ gives true happiness and more then was ever expected Lust deludes disappoints corrupts To end this needful Point In all worldly pleasures wisely draw off thy soul by comparing such sordid puddles with the crystal rivers of eternal joyes Let Moderation and heavenly Discourse be two dishes at every Banquet A Souldier supping with Plato who had provided nothing but green herbs said He who sups with Plato shall be better the next day Tertullian said of the Primitive Christians that they did not Tam coenam coenare quam disciplinam One would have thought they had been at a Sermon not at a Supper Oh that Spiriritual delights were more tasted He who lives at the Table of a King despiseth scraps and such are all worldly pleasures esteemed by him who hath tasted how sweet the Lord is The more pleasant any thing is to us the more suspected let it be by us Satan lies in ambush behind our lawful enjoyments as the body is the temple of the Holy Ghost so is Christian temperance the aedituus Tertullian or Keeper of that Temple VER 11. Wo unto them for they have gone in the way of Cain and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward and perished in the gainsaying of Core AT this verse and so on to the seventeenth our Apostle prosecutes the thrid part of that second Argument whereby he puts the Christians upon contending for the faith against Seducers That second Argument was taken from the certainty of the destruction of those Seducers and it s prosecuted from the fourth to the seventeenth verse of this Epistle Pag. 1. Part 2. In the managing whereof as hath been said before the Apostle having first set down several examples of Gods wrath upon others in former times for their sins from the fourth to the eighth verse And secondly Having declared that these Seducers lived in the same sins which God had formerly punish'd in others from the eight to this eleventh verse 3. He now thirdly concludes that these practising their impieties shall partake of their plagues And this conclusion he prosecutes throughout this eleventh verse and forward unto the seventeenth In the handling of which Conclusion the Apostle concludes the destruction of these 1. By propounding 2. By expounding it Or 1. By a Denunciation thereof 2. By a Delineation thereof 1. By propounding and denouncing thereof in those words of this eleventh verse Wo unto them 2. By an expounding or delineating thereof in the following expressions of this and the other verses unto the seventeenth and he expounds it by a mixed description of their sin and misery And he mixedly describes their sin and miseries the effects of their sins three wayes Nominat hos tres prae aliis quia hi tres fuere Dei fidei sanctitatis hostes ac fideles seducere Ecclesiam perdere voluerunt unde fuerunt Simonis Gnosticorum haereticorum typi prodromi Cor. Lapide in loc 1. From the sutable examples of Cain Balaam Core in this
eleventh verse whom he rather mentions then any others in regard of their great hurtfulness to the Church by cruelty seduction and sedition they being the types and forerunners of these Seducers 2. From sundry elegant comparisons ver 12 13 3. From the certain and infallible Prophecy of Enoch propounded and amplified ver 14 15 16. This eleventh verse then consists of these two parts 1. A Denunciation of Wo and Judgment 2. An Amplification thereof from the three forementioned examples of Cain Balaam Core 1. The Denunciation of Judgment in these words Wo unto them EXPLICATION It may be demanded In what sense the words Wo unto them are here used and how to be understood The uttering of this word Wo denoting in Scripture grievous calamities and miseries either present or approaching is used three waies 1. Vae condolentis imprecantis praedicentis There is vae dolentis and condolentis when woe is used as an Exclamation of grief pity and commiseration and then it imports as much as if the Apostle had said Alas how am I grieved in consideration of their approaching ruine for these wretched sinners that are running to their own destruction and thus the word wo is often taken in Scripture as Mich. 7.1 where the Church resenting the general corruption of the times and her smal number cryes out Wo is me for I am as when they have gathered the Summer fruits as the gleanings of the Vintage The good man is perished out of the earth and there is none upright among men Thus also the Prophet Isaiah chap. 24.16 laying to heart the wickedness of the people and the Judgments which were to follow expresseth his holy sympathy in these words Wo unto me the treacherous dealers have dealt treacherously c. Thus the same Prophet again chap. 6.5 Then said I Wo is me for I am undone because I am a man of unclean lips c. for mine eyes have seen the King the Lord of Hosts c. So Jer. 4.41 and 6.4 Jer. 13.27 and 45.3 Lam. 5.16 Now though it cannot be denyed but that the faithful do and ought with holy commiseration to lay to heart the miseries of others yet I understand not this expression of wo in this place in this sense for besides that Jude knew that these Seducers were ungodly men and appointed to this condemnation his scope was not to express his sorrow for them but to warne the Church of them by discovering the Judgements of God against them 2. There is vae imprecantis a wo of cursing and imprecation used sometimes by Godly men against the implacable and irrecoverable enemies of God Thus the Prophet Habakkuk utters it against the Caldean who wasted the Church Hab. 2.6 9 12 15 19. Psal 40 14 15 59.14 Thus David Psal 109.6 7 8 9 c. prayeth for the destruction of his enemies That the Apostles had this power of cursing the incurable enemie of the Church whose destruction the Lord had extraordinarily revealed to thâ—â—â—nd that they used it is very evident Paul prayeth 〈◊〉 2 Tim. 4.14 that the Lord would reward Alexander the Copper-smith according to his work And its hard to deny Non dicit Apostolus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 reddet sol 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 reddat Sunt vota imprceantis non verba praedicentis Rivet in Psal 40. that Jude in this place doth put forth that power against these Seducers Sure I am Paul Gal. 5.12 prayeth that the false Teachers might be cut off who troubled the Church and he who enabled the Apostles to foreknow the ruine of Seducers certainly without error might help them to desire it holily without revenge And never did either Christ or his Apostles express so much heavenly vehemency against any as against those who hindred the eternal salvation of souls witness the woes eight times repeated by Christ against the Scribes and Pharisees Matt. 23. As also Pauls carriage towards Elimas the Sorcerer Acts 13. Some indeed of this impious rabble who were not so obstinate malicious and subtle as others Jude might spare he desiring the Christians afterward that on some they should have compassion putting a difference And if it be here demanded How the Apostle could lawfully say Wo unto them I answer 1. He expresseth not this wo unto them in respect of his own cause but the cause of God not as they were his but Gods enemies 2. He directs not his imprecations against persons curable but incurable and he might know them to be so by some extraordinary inspiration 3. His affections herein were not carnal but Divine and Spiritual stirred up purly by Zeal to Gods glory and the safety of the Church In a word If this wo here pronounced by Jude were a wo of imprecation he was carryed to the uttering thereof by the same Spirit by which he penned the Epistle 3. There is a vae praedicentis a Wo of prediction and denunciation whereby imminent and impendent evils are foretold and denounced against others and in this sense it s â—â—â—monly used and uttered in Scripture Eccles 4.10 Eccles 10.16 Isai 3.9.11 28.1 30.1 31.1 Hos 9.12.24 Matth. 24.19 and most commonly by the Prophets Isai 3.11 Wo unto the wicked for it shall be ill with them Isai 5.8 Wo unto them that joyn house to house c. And ver 11. Wo to them that rise early in the morning that they may follow strong drink Matth. 24.19 Wo to them that be with child and give suck in those dayes c. And this sense though some Learned men exclude not that which was last mentioned we may safely admit in this place our Apostle concluding that undoubtedly they who were as bad as the worst of former sinners in respect of sin should be as miserable as they were in regard of punishment OBSERVATIONS 1 Spiritual and eternal woes Obser 1. are the true woes To be woful indeed is to be under the wrath of God This is the wo here by Jude denounced against and by God inflicted upon these Seducers Whatever wo comes without Gods wrath may have more of weal in it then of woe Other woes touch the skin these the soul Other woes part between us and our Estates names worldly comforts but these between us and God in whom is laid up all happiness How foolish is every sinner to fear the name the shadow and not to tremble at the thing the reality of woe like the beast who is more affrighted with the flash of the fire and the noise of the report which is made in shooting off the Gun then with the fear of the bullet Eternal woes come with less noise and therefore with more neglect then others They kill though they do not affright The fear which Christ commands is of him who kils the soul Of this more Part 1 p. 282. What proportion of misery is there between the souls leaving the body and Gods leaving the soul Bodily miseries are but opinionative and appearing
the beasts from that booty which they intend to make their own and that they bidding men look upward should cast their own eys only downward Thou O man of God saith Paul speaking of coveteousness 1 Tim. 6.11 to Timothy flye these things A man of God must not be a man of the world a slave to Mammon a meer muck-worm or rather a moving muck-heap A Star of heaven nay an Angel must not degenerate into a clod of earth What likewise more profane then to barter away precious souls heaven Christ God himself for base pelf filthy lucre to make Merchandize for a piece of earth of Christians and Christianity How unsuâ—able and disproportionable a prize is Silver when for it that soul is sold for which Christ died In short How impious is it to sell that Truth for dung which we ought to buy with our bloods 2 In its Hypocrisie and dissimulation Who ever broached or taught an Error professedly for gain nay without a pretence of advancing Truth and of aiming at Gods glory and the good of souls What cozenage so vile as that which seems pious All deceit is abominable and that most which shrouds it self under the wing of Religion for gain to be the meaning and Godliness the cloak Is not this as bad as for Jacobs sons to hide their cruelty against Shechem with Circumcision for Abner to cover his revenge against Ishbosheth with the Divine Oracle Quaerunt discipulos quos petuniis emungeâ—e possunt non quâ—d salutem animarum procurare curabaut Mont. App. Sec. 28. Absolom his Treason with a Religious Vow Jezabel her murder with a Fast This odious dissimulation of these Seducers made them like the Kite to be eying the prey on the dunghil gain when they seemed to sore up to the clouds in their instructing of souls It s most unsutable for Satans servants and Mammons Drudges to be cloaked with Christs Livery to deliver Doctrines for gain and yet to pretend Conscience Religion The third particular to be opened is After what manner they followed the Error of Balaam for reward 3 Branch of Explication Jude saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 They ran greedily after it The word properly signifieth they poured out themselves it being a resemblance taken from the pouring out of water And according to this Resemblance taken from the pouring forth of water the word may note either 1. A pouring forth in point of Destruction dissolution and overthrow such as whereby in regard of their total and irrecoverable ruin and perdition these Seducers with Balaam became utterly lost as water poured out Thus the Psalmist as a Type of Christ describing his extreme debilitation and approaching dissolution complains Psal 22.14 that he was as water poured out So the woman of Tekoah setting forth a desperately lost estate saith we must needs dye and are as water spilt on the ground In this sense its said Josh 7.5 when the Israelites were smitten before the men of Ai Qui roborc excellens eras aut esse debueras factus es debilis attenuatus viribus omnibus destitutus Ita aptissimèqua drat oppositio Qui eras principium robor is mei effusus es sicut aqua liquefactus es exhaustus viribus ita ut nihil à te deinceps sit expectandum magni heroici Rivet in Gen. 49. that the hearts of the people melted and became as water and thus also I understand that expression of Jacob concerning Reuben Gen. 49.4 whom though in respect of what he might have been by the right of primogeniture he calls his might the beginning of his strength the excellency of dignity and the excellency of power yet in regard of what he was to be in the losse of this power and dignity Jacob saith that he was unstable or poured forth as water that is was to be weak brought low and so emptied of strength that nothing great and heroick was to be expected from him How fitly this dissolution and lost estate agreed to Balaam and these seducers that sought to heighten and strengthen their condition by error and unrighteousness who sees not their sin could not be a stable and solid foundation of greatness but it made them vanish and perish like water poured forth they perisht in their names estates bodies souls And therefore the Arabick renders this place in mercede exaruerunt in their reward they dryed up or decayed as after the pouring forth of water there follows driness in that thing out of which the water is poured 2. Or this pouring forth as water according to others better may import a pouring forth in respect of the forwardness force violence Acts 2.17.18.33 So Acts 10.45 Sic dicimas effundere se in li bidine in questus lacbrymâ—â— vota effundere furorem iram minas querelas rabiem vires vocem honores in mortuum Lor. in loc and impetuousness of these wicked men in the sinfull prosecution of their lusts and thus this resemblance of pouring forth as water is ordinarily used in Scripture as Hos 5.10 I will pour out my wrath upon them like water Amos 5.24 Let judgment run down as waters and righteousness as a mighty stream Jude then here intends that these Seducers put forth themselves in the prosecution of their lust like water poured out As a forcible swelling stream breaks down the banks and violently bears down all before it so these were so mad upon their gain that they could not be restrained but violently broke down all the banks and bounds which were set to keep them in And probably the Apostle may here refer in his setting down the violent eagerness of these seducers upon their reward to that furious march and impetuous progress of Balaam when he journeyed to Moab upon promise of wages whom neither Gods prohibition before he began his journey nor the crushing of his foot nor the speaking of the Asse nor the drawn sword of the Angel in his journey nor the ineffectualness of all his enchantments afterward could hinder from pursuing his covetous design but early in the morning up he gets breaks the bounds of Gods command begins his journey furiously strikes madly answers his Asse wildly lays about him breaks through all difficulties at length comes to Balac and then runs from Altar to Altar with inchantments and in a word would not give over till the sword which he saw drawn before his eyes was sheathed in his bowels And this violent impetuousness put forth by Balaam these seducers and other wicked men this running greedily in the prosecution of their lusts is notably set forth in Scripture and that principally by these two considerations 1. The means used for the hindring and reclaiming them have not stopt and hindred them like the man possest with Devils no chains are strong enough to hold them Hence 't is that the prosecution of lust is sometimes compared to the effusion 1 Pet. 4.4 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Isa 57.20 Jer. 2.23
written in the heart can command and change the heart and destroy in it the love and propension to sin Here is clearly applicable that of the Psalmist Psal 114 5 What ailed thee Oh thousea that thou fleddest thou Jordan that thou wert driven back ye mountains that ye skipped like Rams and ye little hills like Lambs The answer is Tremble thou earth at the presence of the Lord. Who but God can stop the Sun in its career and make it go backward Who but he can stop a Saul in his Journey and make him go back as well in heart as in body and become more earnest in praying then ever now he was in persecuting The Church complaing that she was as a Bullock unaccustomed to the yoak Jer. 31.18 aptly adds Turn thou me and I shall be turned The giving of a clean heart is a work of Creation Create it in me saith David Nor is the Goodnesse of God herein less observable then his Power How great is that love which doth us good against our wills and turned us when we were running greedily to our own destruction when we regarded the perswasions of men no more then doth the wild Ass as Job speaks the cry of the Driver When all the means which friends parents Job 39.7 Ministers could use to reclaim us were lost upon us nay we much worse as was the woman in the Gospel by going to the Physician then what love was it nay was it not for Christ to teach to touch the heart and to turn us when we had run even to Hel gates Nor was the smartest dispensation the most unpleasing stop the most pricking thorny hedg any other then an unspeakable mercy that hindred thee from finding thy way to Hell and running greedily to thine own damnation How much better was it to be diverted then damned 7. They who strive to hinder sinners in their course Observ 7. are like to meet with unkind returnes of opposition Till God turnes their hearts how angry are men with stops and vexed that bridges are broken down when they are running greedily and marching furiously All the hatred which Ministers meet with is because they would stop sinners in their way to hell and will not suffer them to be at peace when they are going on to eternal paines Never did any meet with so many cruel and bloody contradictions from sinners as he who in his life Doctrin and death did most oppose sin Am I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth saith Paul He who was sent to turn people from Satan to God had all the rage of people and Satan turned against him Hatred saith Luther is the Genius of the Gospel Sauls Javelin followed Davids Musick It s very likely that he who is quiet among sinners suffers them to be quiet in sin We should pity sinners though nay because they oppose us if we turn them they will love and thank us and whensoever they come to be their own friends they will be ours However the Lord will reward even unsuccessful faithfulness and to be sure we can much better bear hatred from the wicked for doing then from God for neglecting our duty 8. Observ 8. The best way by which to try our sin cerity is willingness to be stopt in any way in which our lusts would make us run most greedily If sinners run greedily and violently after their Lusts then none but Saints can rejoice when they are stopt in the prosecution of them and bless God as David did for Abigails counsel when they are hindred in any sinful career God promiseth to his Elect a thorny hedg Hos 2.6 if they will be gadding and they look upon it as a singular mercy they being thereby turned back to their first husband Only the people of God love that preaching which most opposeth their Lusts and that Angel most or Messenger of God which stands with the drawn Sword of the Word to hinder them in their unlawful journey Exangue nobile quoddam Martyrii genus The patient and thankful enduring of stops and stroaks when we are sinning is a very Noble though a bloodless Martyrdom a true note of true grace 9 Observ 9. Men have most cause to suspect their courses are is bad when swift When they run greedily that they run wickedly when they run fast that they run wrong When we are in any way of God commonly we do but go or rather creep but in the way of sin after the Error of Balaam we are ready to run and that greedily too we are here carryed with wind and tide our own inclinations and Satans impulsions the Jewes cryed out against Christ they not so much as whispering against Barabbas It was misguided Zeal when the Disciples desired that fire might come down from heaven When ever we are furious in any March we should fear that we are in Balaams Journey I mean we ought to suspect the goodness of that undertaking wherein we are most violent and to doubt that we are sailing to a wrong Port when with a full gale and a strong tide A smooth if a false way should not delight us nor should a rugged if a right way dishearten us It s no sign thou pleasest God or speakest the Truth because men do not oppose thee in what thou dost or sayest We must be wiser then either Christ or his Apostles if we have got the skil to please the most in doing that which is best The peaceableness of sinners is but impiety not opposed Rather should I hope that what I do is right when wicked men most rage and roar against me for doing it When the Divel roars saith Luther it s a sign I have struck him right that is good which Satan hates To conclude this Embrace no opinion because it is maintained with multitudes and violence Fire and faggot of old were but weak arguments to prove the truth of Transubstantiation As strong passions destroy a good so do they not seldom discover a bad cause 1 Cor. 4.19 Non vociferatio sed ratio Paul resolved to know not the speech but the power of them who were puffed up The worship of Diana is cryed up with more rage then that of the true God is advanced with Zeal 10 Observ 10. Little do they who run down the hill know where they shall stop These Seducers poured forth themselves to the utmost Who knows in what a sad agreement the very Parley and Treaty with any Lust may end The more modest motions which it makes at first may end in an excessive immoderate pouring forth and a profuse spending of what we have and are our time estates yea strength of body and soul and all which is in our power to bestow upon it Men foolishly may think that when they have gone thus or thus far they will go no further and stop at their pleasure and that their Lusts will grow dry as he in
a Vessel that corrupts it Necessaries are fitter for the body the souls servant then Delicacies Manna had been better for the Israelites then Quails Numb 11. He was a Glutton who fared Sumptuously And here also is caution to be used as some mens stomacks and estates require more food so others in both respects may have that which is more costly 3. In quality of our food we offend when our meats are incentives to sin Our enemy the flesh is too strong for us though we take away his Armour and fight against him We need not put Weapons into his hand and send him Ammunition We need not should not help the flesh the better part is much in danger of being overmatched though we make not the sensual part two to one by affording it Auxiliaries Our own corruption wants the bridle more then the spur And some to these add 3. The unlawfulness of eating such meat as is too young And they say the prohibition of eating that which wants age is contained in that command Exod. 23.19 Thou shalt not seeth a Kid in his Mothers milk The Creatures are condemned to dye for us and they expect though not our pardon yet our reprieve 3. When we offend in the manner of eating As 1. Say some when we eat too soon too hastily namely before the time of eating without any necessary cause Wo to them that rise early in the morning that they may follow strong drink Isai 5.11 Eccles 10.17 Woe to the Land whose Princes eat in the morning a time wherein the belly is not to be filled First seek the Kingdome of God but the heart ordered and the mind fed with holy Meditations The Tavern is a place never very seemly for a Christian but in the morning very unseemly If Princes should eat in due season much more ordinary people If a Master as Christ speaks gives not his servant leave to sit down at meat till he have first waited upon him we should not suffer the souls Page and servant the body to feed till it have first attended upon the soul in its Spiritual Repasts of Prayer and Meditation 2. When we eat * Animalia ruminantia ruminant post sumptionem cibi sed gulosm ante Perald de Gulâ Tantâ accuratione arte coquorum cuncta apparantur quatenus quatuor aut quinque ferculis devoratis prima non impediant novissima nec satietas minuat appetitum Spretis naturalibus quos Deus indidit rebus quibusdam adulterinis gula provocatur sapoâ—ibus Quis dicere sufficit quot modis sola ova versantur vexantur quanto studio evertuntur nunc quidem frixa nunc assa nunc farsa nunc mixta nunc sigillatim apponuntur Ber. Apol ad Gul. Non cibus sed appetitus est in vitio Amos 4.6 studiously making it our work to provide and prepare for the belly to invent and study pleasing dishes strange meats Forraign Sauces when men live to eat meditating upon nothing but the Treacher As some men by intemperance overthrow the Nature of man so others by this sinful studiousness and exactness in Feasting overthrow the nature of their meat when things are prepared with so much Art that the nature of the Creature is lost and the Eater knowes not what he eats Oh how unworthy is it for a Christian to be alway plodding about and contriving of his meats to lock up his soul in the Kitchin which should be walking in Heaven 3. When we eat with a vehement appetite and greedily Thus men may be gluttonous in feeding upon the coursest fare David though he earnestly desired the water of Bethlehem yet in stead of drinking it greedily poured it upon the ground Gluttons rather devour then eat their meat and rather indeed are eaten up with it They drink of the stream and forget the fountain their greediness swallowes up their thankfulness and as soon as ever they have filled their bucket they turn their backs upon the well 4. When we feast without any difference of times How unseasonable was it for Josephs brethren to eat bread when their brother was in the pit or for the Israelites to eat the Lambs of the flock and the Calves out of the midst of the stall to drink Wine in bowles c. and not to be grieved for the affliction of Joseph To slay Oxen kill sheep c. when God called to weeping and mourning c. when the Church drinks blood and tears we should not drink Wine in bowles we should rejoice with trembling and feast as if we feasted not It s Gods goodnesse that he calls us to feast any day our own Licentiousness if we will feast every day He who fared sumptuously every day shall be in eternal want of so much as one drop 5 When we feast uncharitably feasting the Rich never thinking upon the poor Luke 14.12 13. When thou makest a dinner or a supper call not thy c. rich neighbours but call the poor c. Lazarus must not starve at the gate we must not be like Oaks who with their Acornes only feed Swine 6. When we feast with too much expence of time in Feasting when we dine all day and sup all night when our supper shall tread upon the heels of our dinner Wo to them that continue untill night till wine enflame them Isa 5 11. This expence of time is worse then our expence of meat and money The former may be regained not the latter and yet how frequently do men complain that they have spent too much mony how rarely that they have spent too much time at Feasting Prodigality of time is the worst If the opening of the nature of this sin and shewing what it is do not sufficiently discover the odiousness thereof let us a little further look upon it by other disswasive considerations 1. Gluttony is an enemy to all holiness of life Venter pinguis non gignit tenuem sensum Hieron Mente recta uti non possunt multo cibo potu repletâ— Cicer. Tota chriorum vita insomnium quoddam rationis naufragium It hinders a man from doing himself any Spiritual good It blunts the understanding with blockishness and stupidity Whosoever is deceived by wine saith Solomon Prov. 20.1 is not wise Wisdom is not found in the Land of the Living Job 28.13 The Vulgar reads it in terrâ suaviter viventium in the Land of those who live in delights and pleasures Whoredome Wine and new wine saith the Prophet Hos 4.11 take away the heart The four children Dan. 1.16 17. who lived upon a frugal Dyet were most eminent for Learning and wisdom Wine in Feasts and the not considering of the operations of Gods hands are put together Tabulas legis quas accepit abstinentia conteri fecit ebrietas Ambr. cap. 6. de Helia jejun Sciebat Dei sermonem non posse audire temulentâ—s Hier. â— 2. contr Jov. Viscus Spiritualium pennarum Non currimus onerati Animae
of the least storm Though Christ requires thee not actually as yet to forsake all for him Luk. 14.28 29.30 33. Et aequissimum sperae ad iniquissimum te paerae Vide page 372 373 374. yet he will have thee habitually prepared to do so Sever all worldly comforts from Christ in thy thoughts and try how thou canst love him by and for himself for his own beauty without his cloaths and external ornaments 3. Take heed of the smallest decay or a beginning to remit of thy holiness And to this end 1 Tremble at those sins which are seemingly but small what ever hath the nature of sin must be the object of hatred the least enemy to be sure of the soul must not be despised Though some sins may seem small comparatively yet there is none but must be accounted great considered in it self the least sin herein resembling the Earth which though it be but a point to the Heavens yet is a vast and immeasurable body of it self There is nothing little which offends a great God or hurts an immortall soul Poyson and death are lodg'd in the least sin and as unfaithfulnesse to God is discovered in a smaller as well as a greater sin as towards men in a trifling as well as a weighty thing so commonly doth it proceed from shewing it self in sins accounted slight to manifest it self in courses notoriously and hainously sinfull the decay of a tree first appears in its washy boughs and twigs but by little and little it goeth on further into the bigger arms and from them to the main body and decay of grace is first seen in smaller matters petty oaths slight omissions 2. And therefore secondly oppose sin in its bud beginnings in its first motions overtures solicitations the greatest deludge begins with a drop every sin defiling the conscience makes a man the more carelesse of it He who dares not wade to the ankles is in no danger of having the water reach as high as his neck Sinners increase to more ungodliness when they once descend they know not where to stop the beginnings of sin are modest the progress adventurous the conclusion may be impudent in open apostasie A drop of water may quench that spark which if neglected till it grow to a flame may violently destroy a whole townâ— the greatest Crocodile did at first lie in a little Egg. Yea thirdly Be afraid of the occasions of sin the sparks in a flint let alone are quiet but beat it with a steel they come out Non avis utiliter viscatis effugit alis Ovid Gen. 6.2 Psal 119.37 Job 31.1 and kindle a great fire let not occasions of sin beat upon thy heart it s easier to pass by the snare then to wind ones self out of it if thou wouldst not like long for eat and impart the forbidden fruit gaze not on it a Christians charity it is not to be and his prudence not to behold a provocation to sin God will preserve us in our ways not in our wandrings 4. Never look upon thy self as perfect or thy progress in holiness as sufficient 4. More viatorum nequaquam debemus aspicere quantum jam iter egimus sed quantum superest ut peragamus ut paulisper siaâ— praeteritum quod timide adhuc attenditur futurum Gr. Mor. l. 22. c. 7 Phil. 4 14. he who thinks he hath enough will soon come to have nothing that we have will be gone unless we strive to get more look not backward in thy Christian race to see how many thou hast outstript but look forward on those who have gotten ground of thee consider not so much how far thou hast gone and how many come short of thee as how far thou art to go and how far thou comest short of commanded perfection our greatest perfection in this life is to contend after perfection we must never cease growing till we be grown into heaven Christianity knows no enough he who hath the least grace hath enough to be thankful he who hath the most hath not enough to be either proud or idle He will be stark naught who laboureth not to be as good as the best In rowing up a River that runs with a strong stream if we rest our oats we fall down the stream while we neglect to gain we spend on the stock he who hid his Talent lost it 5. Presume not upon thine own strength and power to stand thou bearest not the root but it bears thee Qui operaturut accedamus idem operatur ne discedamus Aug. de bon pers cap. 7. Praesumptio firmitatis impedit firmitatem Gods power only is our support by it we are kept through faith to salvation they who call not upon God go aside from God Psal 14.3 4. He who first sets us up must also shore and keep us up he who hath brought us to himself must also hold us that we depart not from himself we are poor weak reeds but tyed to the strong pillar of Gods power we shall stand he who relyeth upon himself hath a reed for his upholder we cannot put too much confidence in God or too little in our selves Peters over-ventrousness tript up his heels Mat. 26.33 Let us not be like sick men who when they have had a good day or two think themselves presently well again and so putting off their warmer clothes put on thinner garments and adventure into the fresh air whereupon follow irrecoverable relapses It s the fear of God in the heart which keeps us from departing from him Prov. 3.5 let us fear always if we would fall never Be not high-minded but fear Lean not saith Solomon to thine own understanding he who is his own Teacher hath a fool to his Master 7. God at length discovers unsound empty Obs 7. and decaying Christians to be what they are These fruitless dead trees are at length pluckt up by the roots their inside is turned outward They who going among the drove of Professors are but like sheep shall be detected either here or hereafter to be but goats thus Cain at the first a Sacrificer yet being an Hypocrite was given up to be a Murtherer and was cast out of the sight of the Lord out of his Fathers family from the Ordinances Doeg detained before the Lord 1 Sam. 21.7 about religious offices afterward discovers his unsoundness of heart by his cruelty and more afterward did God lay him open when at his destruction it was seen and said that This is the man that made not God his strength c. Psal 52.1 The like may be said of Judas of whom Doeg was a Type his discovery by his treachery and of Sauls also by that horrid act of murthering the Priests and going to the Witch God also taking away his Spirit from him they who are not of us will at length be suffred to go out from us God leads those who secretly turne aside to crooked wayes with the workers
be abhorred and by heresies as they who are approved are made manifest so truth it self comes to be both approved and manifested And as for heresiarchs and seducers themselves they have been broken in pieces by divisions by disgrace and ignominy by dispair though armed ever to conquer naked truth by externall judgements upon their bodies or else by the everlasting overthrow of their souls they bringing upon themselves swift destruction and what greater shame can possibly be brought forth then that which comes by their own overthrow and destruction and that after nay by their own height and elevation OBSERVATIONS 1. Obs 1. There is no peace to the wicked when they are at the highest The highest waves are yet unquiet notwithstanding a sinners outward swelling and greatnesse he like a limb of the body pained though swelled hath a conscience inwardly vexations He is like a man who hath broken bones under a beautifull sute of apparell disjoynted fingers under a golden glove like a book of direfull Tragedies bound up with a gilded fair cover or as some body once said like Newgate having a comely outside structure but within nothing but howling chains dungeons and blacknesse Ther 's no peace to the proudest richest honourablest sinnner Till the inward distemper of the heart be removed and that trouble-heart sin expel'd outward advancement can no more help him than scratching can cure a man of the itch his bloud being corrupt an dinfected and no inward means used to cleanse it Besides True peace comes from the injoying communion with God and from the apprehension of the removall of true woes and wretchednesse what true peace can appearing comforts bring to that man Fallacia bona vera mala who remains under real wretchedness Outward highness is but seeming and fictitious spiritual miseries are truly and really such He who cannot see that he is delivered from wrath to come cannot be pacified with any enjoyments that are present He is all his life long subject to bondage Heb. 2. and but like a rich or noble prisoner who though he be plentifully fed respectively attended and civily used by his Keeper is yet in an hourly expectation of condemnation A child of God is more quiet upon the wrack than a sinner is upon a bed of down His motto may well be mediis traquillus in undis Though he be in troubles yet troubles are not in him So long as the winde gets not into the bowels of the earth there is no earthquake though the wind bluster never so boysterously about and without the earth If the terrours of Gods wrath and the guilt of sin be kept out of the conscience outward afflictions upon the body cannot cause any true trouble We call it a fair day if there be a clear sunshine and a fair sky over head though it be dirty under foot and if all be well upward if God shine upon us with the light of his Countenance our condition is comfortable though it be afflicted and uncomfortable in earthly respects A Saint hath musick in the house when there are storms without it and when it rains upon the tiles In a word the godly have quiet rest in their motion but the wicked have unquiet motion in their rest how litle are wicked men to be envied in their triumphs how much better is it to have peace with God in trials then to be his enemies in triumph Of this see pag. 116 part 1. And also before and after under the head of Peace very largely 2. Obs 2. The erroneous are oft as disquieting and troublesome where they live as the waves of the sea Like the raging waves of the sea I have before largely spoken of their raging in point of bloudinesse and cruelty Vers 11. but they which are not gone so far as open persecution are yet commonly men very turbulent and unquiet They trouble and disquiet peoples consciences tossing them with the windes of their doctrines not suffering them to hold any truth certainly but with hesitancy and doubting casting in many scruples into their minds with their doubtfull disputations wracking both the Scriptures and their hearers by distracting their thoughts and apprehensions with what may be said for and against the truth never studying to ground and stablish them in the knowledge thereof leaving their Disciples hereby like a cloud tossed with contrary winds and a ball bandy'd between two rackets Their onely work indeed is to unsettle and first to make people believe nothing and to unbelieve or at least to waver in their belief of what is true that so they may be brought to believe that which is false they who are drunken with errour will have the spirituall staggers they are as pendulous and uncertain as a meteor they have no Center for their unsettled apprehensions Schisms rend the coat heresie disquiets and cuts the heart Nor do seducers onely disquiet and trouble others by unsetling them from the truth but also by hurrying and driving people from one errour to another Sectaries rest not in one but oft travel through all opinions One errour is a bridg to another Errours are like Circles in a pond one begets another a lesser makes way for a greater a lower is but a step or stair to help to an higher like a whirl-pool which first sucks in one part and then the other and never desists until it draws in the whole body Heb. 13.9 Vide Danaei annotationes in Lib. Angustini de haerâ—s Seducers grow worse and worse and still increase to more ungodlinesse Heresie is a flood ever swelling and a gangrene ever spreading The Galathians were soon removed to another Gospel Nor are the erronious less troublesome to the outward temporal peace of persons witness the divisions and factions which they have made in families between nearest relations in Congregations Cities Civil States Hereticks are commonly seditious and tumultuary Novatus was as Cyprian calls him a fire-brand to kindle sedition an Enemy to peace turning the world upside down What raging outragious waves wear the Donatists Fax et ignis ad conflanda seditionis incâ—ndia hostis quietis tranquillitatis adversarius pacis ini micus Cypr. 49. ad Cornel. August epist 50. ad Bonif Ep. 68. ad Januar. Circumcelliones Augustine in his Epistles tells us frequently of their rapines robberies how near sundry States in these later times have been to subversion by the Anabaptists they who write their histories have related at large nor will this unquietness of the erroneous seem strange if we consider by whose blowing these waves are raised It is the breath of that Aeolus of hell which stirs them up he will toss and trouble though he cannot swallow up the ship of the Church All hereticks are Satans Emissaries He is the father of lyes and lyars and a lying spirit in the mouth of every false Prophet and needs must they rage and run whom he stirs up Nor is any thing so impatient of
restraint as error No hereticks could ever patiently endure to be oppos'd whensoever ether the windes of Civil or ecclesiasticall power of sword or word have blown against the tide of heresies presently they grow rugged and boysterous These seducers spake evil of dignities Covetousness and pride which oftnest put men upon error are both impetuous lusts and impatient of resistance The thirst after gold and glory hath troubled all the world Seducers run greedily after their own gain and compasse sea and Land to make proselytes The Papists had never raged against Luther if he had not struck at the Popes Crown and the Monks bellyes And lastly the truth is when the heretical rage it s much out of cowardise for though they look highly and scornfully yet they are so conscious of the crazmess of their cause that they cannot but be angry with every adversary A sickly man cannot indure the sharp ayre nor a sickly opinion the sharpness of opposition They who are orthodox and contend for truth should hence be cautious Let them take heed of learning frowardnes of the froward God wants not our passions to promote his truth Let the fury of the blinde promote pitie in those who have eyes and let us break the rage of the waves only by being rocks of constancy resolution and zealous opposition In short let all those Magistrates who will be favourers of the erroneous consider whom they nourish and withall whether it be not the greatest imprudence to cherish their destroyers and to destroy their preservers and whether they never heard of some who in opposition to Church-Government have helpt up those that in opposition to Civil Government have puld down them 3. It is the lot of the Church to be amongst raging waves Obs 3. to be troubled and disquieted in the world The faithful on this side heaven are annoyed with the unquiet carriage of the wicked Psal 69.15 Psal 32.6 Is 59.19 Psal 32.6 The water-floods oft are ready to overflow them they are in the floods of great waters The floods of ungodly men saith David Ps 84.4 made mee afraid The people of God are oft accounted the troublers but they are indeed the troubled of Israel Ther 's no resting place for the feet of these doves in this deluge of sin and sorrow here below they are tossed up and down in their names estates bodies soules by their Enemies as by raging waves There is no more likelihood that they should be at rest upon earth than there is that a man should be quiet upon the sea nor is it indeed fit that it should be otherwise The windes of trouble and unquietness blow them profit and working waves work them much benefit Hereby they are made to long for their haven for that rest which remaines for the people of God If the world were a place of rest they would be too ready here to set up their rest and the thoughts of heaven would be troublesome and they would be ready to say and hope that they should never be removed and its good being here The world is too sweet to them now ' its so bitter they suck at its brests heartily even when the Lord rubs them over with wormwood Peregrinationes aerumnas non sentimus Oh what would they do were the world altogether sweet If they love so much to smell to it when it is full of thorns what would they do were it altogether roses The more Noahs flood increas'd the higher was the ark raised and the troubles of the world raise the thoughts and desires of the faithfull the neerer to heaven The fruitfull over-flowings of Nilus would hinder them from looking up to heaven for rain and refreshment tossings in the world make the people of God to be in the world rather patiently then delightfully Againe by the tossings of the world they are put upon that holy exercise of prayer He that would learn to pray saith the Proverb must goe to sea Raging waves make the people of God call and cry for help The Disciples call'd to Christ when they were tossed even the heathen Mariners in a storme cald every man upon his god Jonah 1. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 à 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The word storme in the Greek is derived from two words which signifie much sacrificing how earnestly did David and Hezekiah pray when they were upon the waves Musick we say sounds best upon the waters and so do the prayers of the Saints upon the waters of worldly troubles When he slew them then they sought him Psal 73.34 In their affliction saith God they will seek me early God oftentimes defers to deliver his people from trouble though they pray that so the praying which he so much loves may stil be continued As we use to deal with some Musicians whom we wil not presently reward for their musick because we desire more of it Again were it not for these raging waves the Saints depending upon and submissiveness to God could not be so manifested Every one will trust him in a calm it s only true faith that can rest upon him in a restless condition and see a haven through all the waves Nor doth God use to teach his people patience but by being passive tribulation saith Paul worketh patience Rom. 5.3 Trouble is esca patientiae food without which patience would starve Some say the Saints never can learn their lesson of patience but in the school of trouble And further the raging of the waves makes the people of God to magnifie their Pilot and preserver for his power wisdome love His power which keeps the Church like another Mesopotamia in the midst of the sea and preserves it from being overturned though not from being tossed and which bounds those proud waves so that they shall not overflow the Church even whâ—n the Sea of the wicked world is so much in power and policy about it His power likewise is seen in that in the floods of great waters they shall not come neere to the godly not to his soule to destroy its grace and oft not to disturb its peace it hereby appearing that even when the floods lift up their voice yet the Lord on high is mightier than the noise of many waters Psal 93.3 4. To conclude How plainly doe the wisdome and love of God discover themselves toward the faithfull when they are tossed by the waves his wisdome in making the very rage of these waves to praise him and in stead of breaking his Church onely to cleanse it and in stead of drowning it to carry it to its haven where it shal never be tossed more and so skilfully to make it saile with every winde His love in that he will not refuse to bear his people company when they go through the waters and to be their companion yea Pilot in a storm and then to give them a great calm within and in a word to assure them that they shall never be cast away
candle may soon be put out the most brightly shining Minister shall ere long be put under the bushel of the grave if he be not before blown out by the blast of Satans rage and the worlds persecution your fathers where are they and the Prophets do they live for ever Zech. 1.5 The light of life is but very short but the light of the seasons of grace are far shorter A book which is not our own but only lent us to read on and that but for a day or two we make much hast to read over In the grave there is no more preaching no more hearing of Sermons The living the living they only praise God and preach to men short seasons require speedy services Oh what a shame is it that we should have torn so many books worn out so many Ministers and yet have learned no more lessons I which of us can promise to our selves that our light shall shine half so long as we have formerly abused it and wantond in the shining of it Oh what would damned spirits give for one glympse of ministerial light again would they not think we might they have such a favour plie their work faster then ever they formerly did or now we do we have scribled out much paper to no purpose we are almost come to the end thereof and had we not then need behusband our time and write the closer 2. Let us walk and work accurately in the shining of ministerial light decently precisely Though our light be but star-light in comparison of what it shall be in heaven yet it is sun-light compared with that which shined in the time of the old Law and since in the daies of Popery we are now neither darkned with Jewish shadowes nor popish fogs we live under the clearest dispensation of the covenant of grace we therefore live worse than did they in those times because we live not better How many Kings and Prophets would have thought themselves happy to have seen one of the dayes of the Son of man which we enjoy our great salvation neglected wil be damnation great and heightned what a shame is it for us that many have done their masters work better by dim moon-light than do we by clear sun-light How shameful is it for us in the light of the Gospel to shew our selves in the filth and sordid rags of sin and profanenesse Cast off the works of darknesse in a Land of light 4. Observ 4. It s an high degree of impiety for any especially for those who pretend to be inctructers of souls to mislead and seduce others from the right way The sin of these Seducers it was to be false Lights and wandring and misguiding Meteors who pretended to be the eminent and true Teachers of souls and to be both influential and directing stars Severely do we find Christ denouncing woes against the Scribes and Pharises and with much holy acrimony doth he reprove them for being blind and mis-guiding Guides calling them several times fools and blind Mat. 23.16.17 19. And verse 26. he names the Pharisee Thou blind Pharisee And whosoever saith Christ shall break one of the least of these Commandements and shall teach men so he shall be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven that is shall be contemned and not counted worthy to be so much as a Member of the Church of God in the New Testament The Apostle Paul sharply expresseth himself against seducing Teachers calling them the Ministers of Satan 2 Cor. 11.15 False Apostles deceitful Workers verse 13. Grievous Wolves Dogs Acts 20.29 Phil. 3.2 c. How sad a complaint is that of the Prophet Isa 3.12 They which lead thee cause thee to erre And Chap. 9.16 The Leaders of this people cause them to erre and they that are led of them are destroyed And Jer. 23.13 I have seen folly in the Prophets of Samaria they have caused my people Israel to erre No sins are so eminently and inexcusably sinful as those committed against mens callings and professions What wickedness greater then for a Judge to be unjust for a Physician to be a Murderer for a Seer to be blind for a Guide to misguide T is not so heinously sinful for any as for a Teacher of souls to be a deceiver of souls Who shall shew a soul the way to heaven if a Minister like Elijah who pretending to lead the blind Syrians to Dothan guided them to Samaria where they were in the midst of their Enemies shall lead them the way to Hell Who should save life if they who should break the bread of life give poyson in stead of bread Or if they whose lips should feed many only infect and poyson many And further what seduction is so destructive as soul-seduction Is the misery of leading mens bodies into Ditches and Quagmires by a fools fire comparable to the woe of being led into the pit of perdition and the ditch of hell and damnation by an erroneous Minister he that is mis-guided into hell can never be drawn out again here t is true vestigia nulla retrorsum no coming back The cheating a man of his money though it be a loss it s a recoverable one but he that 's deceived of his soul guld out of his God what hath he more to lose or what possibility hath he ever to repair his damage There is no folly so great as to be coggd and inticed out of life eternal nor any deceit so cruel as to cheat the soul nothing can be light wherewith the soul is hurt Oh how deeply then is God provoked when he delivers up a people to the mis-guidings of Seducers It s better ten thousand times to have a tyrannical Prince over our bodies then to have a treacherous Pastour over our souls and yet how do people groan and sigh under the former and how slightly do they regard the latter Surely if for the sins of a people their Magistrates are oppressive for their sins it is that their Ministers are erroneous How just is it with God that they who will not be Disciples to truth should be Proselytes to errour that when none will follow the seeing Guide many should follow the pernicious wayes of the blind Guide The true deserving cause of peoples seduction is as the Prophet speaks The people love to have it so The Prophets prophesie falsly and the people love to have it so Jer. 5.3 They will not indure sound Doctrine they will not suffer a Micaiah to instruct them and therefore God sends them a Zedekiah to seduce them They who received not the love of the truth had strong delusions sent them from God and upon them the deceivableness of unrighteousness took hold 2 Thess 2.10 11. The Prophet is a fool saith Hosea Chap. 9.7 The spiritual man is mad for the multitude of thine iniquity and the great hatred The instructers of Israel were foolish blind and erroneous because the iniquity of the people in rebelling against the
a worm and no man the taking of beasts in a snare should put us in mind of the snare of sin Ask likewise saith Job of the fowles of the air and they shall tell thee These may support faith and scatter our distracting cares they being fed though they neither sow nor reap Their observing also of their several seasons The Stork in the heavens knowing her appointed times and the Turtle Crane and Swallow observing the times of their coming teach us to know the judgment of the Lord and the day of our visitation what a lively pattern of meknesse and simplicity is the dove the early chirping and singing of the birds in the morning may teach man his duty to praise God as soon as he awakes in the morning as a godly man once said to a Bishop who was sleeping in bed too long in the morning surrexerunt passeres et stertunt pontifices How much greater is the care of Christ in protecting his servants than that of a hen toward her chickens in gathering them under her wings Speak to the fishes of the sea saith Job these have a speech though they are mute The sea it self by its rage fury and foaming shews us the inconstancy and troublesomeness of the world the unquietness of wicked men the power of him who stils it and keeps it within its bounds By its fulness notwithstanding the running of so many floods rivers out of it it directs us to him who is an inexhaust fountain of good having never a whit the lesse for all he gives the running of the rivers into the sea whence they come shews that as all is from him in bounty so all must be returned to him by duty The fish themselves wil teach us the misery of want of government Hab. 1.14 Prov. 10.23 Tit. 3.3 Joh. ult Luke 5.10 Matth. 4.19 when men are as the fishes of the sea that have no ruler over them but the greater devoureth the less Their sporting and skipping speaks the disposition of sinners who sport in sin as their element before they are â—â—â—cht and the power of the gospel whereby they are taken The fewness of those which are catcht in comparison of those which are left shewes the small number of those who are taken with that net compared with those who are left In the catching also of the fish with a net or hook unawares we are taught the folly of men taken with the baits of sin who think not of their time but are taken as fish in an evil net In short the whole creation is a scripture of God Creatiâ— mundi scriptura DeiUniversus mundus Deus explicatus a book and the heaven the earth the waters are three great leaves the creatures contained in these are so many lines by all which we may read a Divinity-lecture Though the creature is not able to lead us into a saving knowledg of the mysteries of Christ yet it gives us such advan tages to know God as willeave us inexcusable in our ignorance How should this doctrine humble us who by our apostacy are become the scholars of the creatures Christians who have both teason and grace may learn from those who have not so much as sense and life Adams knowledg of God led him to the knowledg of the creatures but now man by the creature learns the knowledg of God like Balaams ass the creatures now teach their Master man is now sent to their school put back like an idle truant to the lowest forme How happy were man could he learn of the very ass Oneramus asinum et non curat quia asinus est at si in ignem impellere si in foveam praecipitare velis cavet quam um potest quia vitam amat et mortem timet Bern. which as Bernard observes wil bear any load because he is an ass but if we offer to thrust him down some steep hil or drive him into the fire he holds back and shuns it whereas a blockish sinner hath no fear of that which brings eternal damnation But of all others how justly reproveable are they who in stead of furthering their salvation hasten their destruction by the creatures in abusing them to excess riot gluttony To conclude this point for the putting us upon making an holy use of created objects let us consider that there is a double use of every creature natural and spiritual If we content our selves with the natural use without the spiritual we do not take the one half of that comfort in the creature which God gave it for and indeed what do we more then the brute beast which hath a carnal and natural use of the creature as wel as we These seducers for knowing things only naturally as we have heard are compared to brute beasts let us not therefore as children look only upon pictures and gaies in our books and gaze upon the gilded leaves and cover but let us look to our lesson which we should learn therein And let us know we never use the creatures as their Lords unlesse we see our Lord in them a carnal man profits his body a spiritual man his soul also by them Every creature may be a Preacher to him in whom the spirit first inwardly preacheth A man may be cast into such a condition as whereby he may be hindred from good actions but what unlesse a bad heart can hinder him from good meditation And as it is with Bees though they gather hony from a flower they leave it as fragrant and fresh as they found it so we gathering spiritual thoughts from our worldly enjoyments and employments in stead of hurting and hindring them we benefit and inrich our selves and advance them Ver. 14 15. And Enoch also the seventh from Adam prophesied of these saying Behold The Lord cometh with ten thousands of his Saints ver 15. to execute judgment upon all and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him THese two verses contain the third branch of the description of the lost estate of these seducers in respect of their sin and misery which in these words are further set forth by the ancient and infallible prophesie of Enoch and that prophesie is 1. declared and propounded here in these two verses 2. Applied to these Seducers in the 16 the following verse In the declaration and propounding thereof I consider 1. The Preface prefixed by Jude before it 2. The Prophesie it self 1. The Preface in these words Enoch the seventh from Adam prophesied of these Wherein two particulars are considerable 1. The Excellent person here mentioned Enooh describ'd from his descent and Pedegree the sevenâ—h from Adam 2. His honourable performance He prophesied of these 1. In the Prophesie it self of the last judgement I find 1. A note of incitement to cause a regard to the following description of the judgement
Usurpatur ad indicandam rei praesentis exhibitionem happy is the man whom the Lord correcteth Psal 33.18 Behold the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him 2. As a note of admiration 2. Ad excitandam ex rei mirandae praedicatione attentioonem or to stir up attention for the great and stupendious wonderfulness of some thing that fals out Thus it is taken 2 King 6.17 Behold the mountain was full of horses and Chariots of fire Matth. 27.51 Behold the vail of the temple was rent in twain And 28.2 Behold there was a great earthquake Luke 1â— 16. Act. 1.10.7.56.12.7 Gen. 29.6 Isa 7.14 Behold a Virgin shall conceive 1 Cor. 15.51 Behold I shew you a mysterie c. The word behold in this place may sutably to the subject in hand the coming of Christ to judgment be considered as denoting both these 1. The certainty and truth thereof it being a thing as sure as if it were before our eyes and already accomplished like that minatory prediction of the prophet concerning the house of Jeroboam 1 Kings 14.14 But what even now A thing that ought to sink into the hearts of hearers and that which they cannot too firmly and fixedly believe The infallible predictions of Scripture which must be fulfilled the judgments of God already executed upon some sinners the fears of a natural conscience Gods justice which wil render to every one according to his works And lastly Act 1.11 Matth. 24 3â— 2 Thes 1.7 â— Act 17.32 24 25 Gen 18 25 1 Thes 1.5 2 Coâ— 5 10. Râ—v 20.12 the fitness that the body shal have its due retribution as wel as the soul all prove the certainty of the last judgment The certainty of his coming I have spoken to before part 1. p. 536. 2. The word Behold may be considered as a note of admiration denoting a most wonderful and strange thing like that Behold Hab. 1.5 Behold and wonder marvellously for I wil work a work in your daies which ye wil not believe though it be told you And this coming of Christ is wonderful and strange 1. In respect of the wicked to whom it is unexpected they thereby being unprepared for it it comes as a snare upon them in a day wherein they look not for it in an houre wherein they are not aware Luke 12.46 as a theef in the night When they shall say peace and safety then sudden destruction shall come upon them as travel upon a woman with child and they shall not escape 1 Thes 5.2 2. It s wonderful in respect of the astonishing glory of the coming of Christ to judgment together with the judgment it self of which I have largely spoken pag. 525 Part 1. to 540. I must not repeat OBSERVATIONS 1. Obser 1. Our thoughts only of those things which are truly great and glorious should be high and admiring Behold saith Enoch as noting the astonishing wonderfulness of the last judgment This truly great thing should be looked upon as such It is the folly of most men to look upon smal things as great and upon great things as smal Humane judgments affright and amaze them the last judgment they slight and neglect these want that rectified judgment of the Apostle who cals the day of judgment the appearing of the great God and so preached of the judgment to come that he made Felix tremble whereas he tels us how little he past for mans judgment 1 Cor. 4 3. Thus likewise our Saviour directs his disciples to contemn that which is smal and contemptible fear not him that kils the body and to dread that which is truly great and formidable fear him who can destroy both body and soul in hel Matth. 10.28 When the disciples beheld with wonder and shewed to Christ the beautiful buildings of the temple he with an holy contempt of those outside beauties tells them there shall not be one stone of all those stately structures left upon another that shall not be thrown down and when Satan shewd and offered him all the Kingdomes of the world with their glory he shewd his Contempt of the prospect and promotion with a Get thee behind me Satan but when he observed the faith of the Centurion he wonders and expresseth his admiration to the people Luc. 7.9 2. Observ 2. Great is our naturall backwardness to mindâ— and believe the coming of Christ to judgment Eâ—â—ch prefixeth a note of incitement to his prophesie The wicked take occasion to be secure and to cast off the thought of Christs coming from the procrastination and delaying thereof Men scoff at the promise of the Coming of Christ 2 Pet. 3 4 because say they since the fathers fell asleep all things continue as they were from the beginning of the Creation That servant Luke 12.45 who said that his Lord delayd his Coming in stead of minding and preparing for it did beat his fellow servants and also did eat drinke and was drunken Hence it is that men say peace and safety even when sudden destruction is coming upon them 1 Thes 5.3 Men are naturally led by sense what they see not feel not they beleeve not As Noahs flood was a type of the last judgment so the disposition of men when that deluge approcht resembled that which shall be in sinners at the coming of Christ As in the dayes before the flood there was eating drinking marrying c. so shall also the Coming of the son of man be Mat. 24.38 39. And so great likewise is naturally every sinners selfe love that they love to shun the thoughts of every thing which they love not they are ready to say to themselves as did Peter to Christ Be it far from thee this shall not be to thee they put far from them the last day because they look upon it as the evill day nay the woâ—st day they love the world and their hearts grow to it and therefore t is death to them to think of an unsettlement Their Sodom they so much delight in that like Lots wife they cannot endure to think of a shoure of fire herein resembling some who are therefore unwilling to make their wills because they cannot away with the thoughts of death To rectifie this distemper as we should labour to finde this great day a good day and the great Lord our good Lord to be such that even out of this devouring lion we may take honey so consider that 3. Obs 3. Concerning the certaitnty of the judgment see be fore The last judgment is to be lookt upon as a matter of greatest certainty not as a fiction but as a most reall and undoubted thing We should look upon it to be as certaine as if it were already with us It s the policy of Satan to make us diffident of that which we should be confident of and confident of that of which we should be diffident He presents his own lyes as certainties and Gods truths
about ones heels hinder him from walking and trip them up in his race and therefore the Apostles commands us to gird up the loines of our mindes Hence by some they are not unfitly cald the birdlime of our spirituall wings Visâ—us spiritualium pennarum and by others compar'd to a string tyed to a birds leg with which she flying unto the trees is hamperd in the boughs Inordinate lusts stop Christians progresse heaven-ward Mar. 4.19 1 Pet. 2 1.2 they hinder him in prayer meditation heairng practising they choke the word and from the lusting of the flesh against the spirit t is that the Apostle saith ye cannot doe the things that you would Gal. 5.17 women are led into error with divers lusts 2 Tim. 3.6 2. These lusts are deceitfull so they are cald expressely by the Apostle 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Cupiditates deceptionis ut vir sanguinis homo peccati Vir desideriorum Hebâ— Psal 7.15 James 1.14 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ephes 4.22 and that in severall respects 1. They are not what they seem to be All the pleasures which are found in them are but false and appearing not true and reall and proper But secondly and especially they are termed lusts of deception or error because they doe not what they promise they are deluding and disappointing of that expectation which they raise up in any one They promise honour pleasure riches c. but they performe nothing lesse and make a man more miserable after all his endeavouring to satisfie them then he was before by their imbraces they strangle They who sow to the flesh of the flesh reap corruption lusts end in death and therefore in disappointment Like a Chimney-peâ—ce they are faire without black within They promise a Rachel they give a Leah They give not what but contrary to what they promise What was Achans wedge of gold The brests of lust give winde and wormwood but an instrument to rive his body and soule a sunder and what did his Babylonish garment cloath him with but confusion Hence they who will be rich are said to fall into many foolish lusts that is such as make them fooles who fall into them 1 Tim. 6.9 Solomon speaks of a lustfull foole who went as an ox to the slaughter and a foole to the correction of the stocks 3. These lusts are defiling they are unclean lusts Non faciunt bâ—nos vel malos mores nisi beni vel maliamores Corrupt and corrupting The old man is said to be corrupt according to deceitfull lusts Ephes 4.22 Christ tells us that the lusts which are within defile a man Matth. 15.19 They corrupt and defile the very body as I have shewn before much more the soul making it an unclean cage of unclean birds they defile all we are ye all we doe prayers hearings Sacraments We lift up impure hands if in wrath 4. disquieting lusts 1 Tim. 6.9 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 dammosas cupiditates they are called noysome or hurtfull Every man set upon lust troubles his own flesh How many more are made Martyrs to their lusts than to God himselfe Oh the diseases losses torments disgraces that uncleannesse drunkennesse ambition wrath covetousnesse c. have brought upon their vassals who indeed are no other than very hackneys whipt and driven through thick and thin in obedience to their lusts But most of all doe they fight against the soul 1 Pet. 2.11 by reason of their contrariety they tear and pull it severall wayes They disquiet the Conscience the very worst and foulest dayes of a saint are better than the dayes of a sinners sunshine How many wracks and silent scourges doe sinners carry in their bosomes for satisfying their lusts In a word they drown the soul in perdition and produce an eternity of paine for a moment of pleasure To all this I might add the unquietnesse of mens lusts to others who live near them from whence saith James come wars and fightings among you Come they not hence even of your lusts Jam. 4.1 This for the first particular the denomination of these guides which these seducers followed They were lusts 2. The relation of these lusts to these seducers is mentioned the Apostle calls them their * 2 Tim. 4.3 James 4.1.3 2 Pet. 3.3 Jude 18. OWN and so they were in severall regards 1. In respect of propagation and derivation Lust is the Legacy left by our progenitors T is a natural imbred hereditary propension to sin from which all those unholy motions and inordinate inclinations proceed after which these seducers walked Men are carried to the service of lust by the tide of Nature as well as by the winde of Tentation Lusts are more truly ours then any thing left us by our parents 2. In respect of seat and habitation Lusts are our own because they are in us in our hearts they lie liegers for Satan in the soul and there they are his proxies spokesmen and advocates And therefore Christ saith Matth. 15.19 Out of the heart proceed murders adulteries fornications thefts c. Men lodge not strangers but their own my children are with me in bed Luke 11.7 Lusts are our owne then because we harbour them lodg them bed them give them house-room heart-room 3. Their own in point of provision Men provide for their own children and charge and much more do they so for their own lusts The Apostle speaks of making provision for the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof Rom. 13. ult The high fare the impure dalliances unclean objects of these Seducers were all provisions for their lusts The work of the Covetous Glutton Proud c. is to prog project for and provide fewel for lusts like the poor Israelies that painfully gathered stubble to please their taskmasters 4. Their own in point of protection and defence as men provide for so likewise protect their own These Seducers would not endure the wind to blow upon their lusts Hence 't was that they spake evil of dignities appointed to curb their lusts Hence they were raging waves and gave the faithful hard words Sometimes sinners protect their lusts with denyal with excuses allegations of Scripture appearances of sanctity and if none of these will do with fire and sword open rage and opposition yea with tears and lamentations as those women who wept for Tammuz as if some gainfull good were taken from them as Micah cryed for his gods and as the Harlots bowels yearned over her own child 5. Lastly their own in point of peculiarity of delight and dearnesse Some lusts are peculiarly a mans own such as to which he is given by constitution so some men are addicted to gluttony drunkennesse some to Uncleanness some to Covetousnesse others to Ambition c. By Interest calling the time age or place wherein he lives Psal 18.23 David kept himself as he saith from his own iniquity that is as I conceive by the subject of that Psalm from murdering of
the persons of the Gyants in Canaan in respect of ther strength and stature How sinfully did David admire Saul when against Gods promise he said he should perish by his hand thus the Israelites sinfully admire the Egyptians when upon the sight of them notwithstanding the word and works of God they tell Moses in their march that he tooke them away to dye in the wildernesse Exod. 14.11 Who art thou that thou shouldst be afraid of a man that shall dye c and forgettest the Lord thy maker Isa 51.12 The fearing of man is the forgetting of God 6. When we admire mens goodness or what of God we see in men their persons loving the message for the messenger the liquor for the vessel holy instruction for the sake of him who gives it and so hearing the word of God as the word of man this is to prefer a man of God before God in a man or rather man before God And contrary to what Tertullian speaks not to judg of persons by faith but of faith by persons 2. Admiration of persons is sinful as it concerns Man and 1. As it concerns the admired and so admiration of persons is sinfull 1. When we admire such persons as are not able to bear their own admirations A proud man having done any thing commendably is not yet fit to be commended Some weak braines will be turn'd with a small quantity of wine others more strong will indure more Herod was intoxicated with applause when the people cryde him up for a God but Paul and Barnabas rend their clothes and are ready to sacrifice themselves when the people meditate a sacrificing to them A weak stomack cannot concoct fat morsells he is a man of strong grace who can hear his own commendations without hurt Nothing more discovers a man then the praising him It s as the fining pot for silver and the furnace for gold Prov. 27.21 2. When we so admire persons as thereby to make a prey of them or to overthrow either their bodies or soules Thus the Herodians Matth. 22.16 admired and honoured Christ telling him that he was true and taught the way of God in truth and regarded not the person of man but all this was but to intangle and destroy him by bringing him on to answer to a captious question Thus afterward Christ was betrayd with a kisse and not seldome have we known that men have laine in ambush behinde the thickets of commendation and admiration and so unsuspectedly faln upon the unwary and credulous hearer Jael gives her nail soon after her milk and poyson is oftnest drunke in gold Thus after the death of Jehoiadah the Princes of Judah came and made obeysance to King Joash whereby they prevaild with him to leave the house of the Lord 2 Chr. 24.17 and to serve groves and Idols and thus as Ecclesiastical history tells us Simon Magus cry'd up Nere above the clouds and accounted and cald him a God to make him the greater Enemy to the Christians Thus Tertullus admired the person of Felix that thereby he might stir him up against Paul Act. 24.2 3. When we so admire persons as to cover hide and excuse their sin because of their greatnesse A sin the greater in regard that greatnesse ought to be so far from being a cloke for that it is an aggravation of sin and makes it the more hainous A wicked person in scripture phrase is but a vile person by so much the more vile by how much the more he corrupts and abuses any eminent gifts and endowments which God hath bestowed upon him The word speaks as basely of rich wicked ones as they think contemptibly of Gods people That wicked King was very low in the eyes of the holy Prophet who said were it not that I regard the person of Jehoshap at King of Judah I would not look toward thee nor see thee 2 King 3.14 See more of this before pag. 2. part 14. Unsanctified greatnesse is most likely to be pernitious and therefore should be most reprehened 2. Admiration of persons is sinfull as it concernes the admirer and so 1. When we so admire persons as thereby onely to advance and advantage our selves and that 1. either in profit and gaine or 2. in honour or reputation 1. In profit and thus these seducers here admired great ones and honoured their greatnesse for their own advantage servilly cringing and crouching to them for filthy lucre they gave them great titles and flattered them in sin and assented to them in every thing that they might fill their purses and as Peter speaks through covetousnesse did they with feined words make merchandise of people hereby shewing that they neither served Christ nor indeed those whom they flatterd but their own bellies at once laying off both the Christians and the Man 2. In honour and and reputation and for this end sometimes the persons of great men are admired as Mr Fox tells us that the bloody Tyger Steph. Gardiner was wont to admire the person of Henry the 8. speaking of him to others with greatest honour and calling him his gracious Lord and Master onely to be lookt upon as his favourite though he knew that the King never loved him But for honour hypocrites commonly admire the persons of good men admire their persons I say though they imitate not their practises Thus Saul desired the presence of Samuel to be honoured before the people Thus the Scribes and Pharises admired the dead Prophets onely to be accounted as they were holy 2. When we so admire persons as withall to imitate their sins and imperfections Thus these seducers were so admired as that many followed their damnable errors putting no difference between their faces and the warts their speaking and stammering The falls and folly of the admired are commonly the snares of the admirers and the error of the master oft the tentation of the scholar It s very hard to admire the person of another and not to imitate his imperfections 3. Admiration of persons is sinfull as it concernes and hurts others and so 1. When for some commendable actions or endowments we so admire a person who is in most things very discommendable and a known wicked person that thereby we give occasion to the hearer who is though wicked yet not so wicked as he to judg his own condition very good and to blesse and flatter himselfe in his sin as thinking that he deserves Commendation as well as or better then the other This I have ever thought to be one stratagem whereby the hands of the wicked have been strengthned in sin and a stumbling block which some either weakly or wickedly have laid before others Thus I have oft heard even with grief when in funerall Sermons a prophane drunkard a swearer an adulterer or one perhaps at the most but civilly honest hath for some few good deeds been cryed up and even sainted by the Preacher that the wickedest persons have been ready to
saint themselves and to say If such an one were commendable and voiced by our Minister for a good man I thank God t is much better with me I never was guilty of halfe his extravagancies and I see I may be a good man yea and commended when I am dead notwithstanding my failings so he calls his allowed wickednesses though I be not so pure as such and such are Oh how unsutable is it that by funerall Sermons men should be made more unfit for death to paint those in the pulpit who are punisht in hell and that a Minister should be strewing that dead body with flowers whose soule is bathing in flames For my part though I should not deny due commendation even at a funerall to some eminently exemplary saint or publiquely usefull instrument yet mostly I thinke his speech concerning the deceased may suffice who said If he were good he did not desire If bad he did not deserve praise 2. When we so admire the persons of some instructers as to neglect and despise others who haply deserve better then they the sin of the Corinthians when the Apostle tells them 1 Cor. 3.21 of their glorying in men some teachers being so gloried in peculiarly as if they were onely worth the hearing and none else to be regarded Some accounted Paul the only teacher some delighted onely in Apollo some magnified Peter as the alone worthy man thus they thought of men above what was meet and they were puffed up for one against another They gloryed in some disdaining all others as not to be named with them though teachers of the same truth because they had an high conceit of their learning wit cloquence holinesse or the like qualifications A great sin doubtlesse and I fear the common sin of this City How unthankfull for the bounty of Christ doe men make themselves hereby who gave all the Ministers of the Gospell to be theirs for their good all things saith the Apostle are yours whether Paul or Apollo or Cephas 1 Cor. 3.21 22. It s unthankfulnesse to a bountifull Prince when he bestowes many Lordships on his favourite if he should regard one of them onely and despise all the rest Yea how injuriously is the Spirit of Christ hereby reproached For the despising of those who are of small gifts is a reproaching of the Spirit of God as if he were defective in his gifts whereas their variety sets forth the fulnesse and freenesse of Gods spirit who divideth to every man severally as he will and worketh all these 1 Cor. 12.11 Besides this sin is oft the maine cause of schismes in the Church It makes people to divide themselves under different teachers whom they admire and it causeth teachers to take away those that affect them from other teachers whom they affect not so much Now this sin of schisme in it selfe very great as afterwards shall be shewn God willing on the 19. ver is made much the greater by being occasion'd by those very gifts of men which God bestowed upon them to this end that there might be no scisme in the body but that the members should have the same care one of another 1 Cor. 12.25 Nor is there any sin which doth more expose Christian Religion to so much contempt and obloquy then this kinde of admiring of persons for hereby severall Companies of Christians are made like the severall schools of Philosophers some whereof followed Plato some Aristotle some Epicurus and the doctrines of faith are but accounted as the proper opinions of severall teachers and all zeal for them is conceived to arise not from a certaine knowledge of heavenly truth but from peculiar humour and strength of fancy And how great a stumbling block must this needs be to those who are without how will it hinder them from embracing the truth and lay it open to derision yet further the sinfulness of this sort of man-admiration appears in that hereby both the despised person is so greived and discouraged that he is infeebled and disabled in his work and also he who is admired is not onely puffed up with pride and thereby occasion'd to adulterate the word invent and broach errors that stil he may be advanced above all others by going in a different way from them but also put upon the pleasing of men by sinfull flatteries in stead of profiting them by faithfull reprehensions To conclude this consideration nothing begets so great an aptness in men to receive errors as this sinfull admiration nor hath any seed of heresies and superstitions proved so fruitfull as this affection commonly makes men take down falsities and error is easily received from them whom we much admire and God doth often leave admired teachers to erre for tryal of the people and the punishing of their vanity in making Gods truth to stand at the devotion of the teacher for its acceptance and trampling upon the holy and perhaps learned labours of those who are more seeing and faithfull than the admired 3. When we so admire mens persons as to give all respect to men in outward greatnesse though perhaps wicked despifing the poor Saints because poor this James reproves my brethren have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ in respect of persons James 2. When wickedness in robes is magnified and holinesse in raggs contemned Oh how unworthy is it that the gold ring and costly apparell should be prefer'd before the robe of Christs righteousnesse and the jewel of grace that godliness and good examples should be rejected for their want of a gold ring that he who shall have a throne in heaven must here be a footstool upon earth 4. When Elections and offices are passed and bestowed partially for freindship favour money kinred a sin by much agravated when men have taken oaths to a Corporation to the contrary and it s ost a great tentation to the party who enters by money to sell justice dear 5. When we so admire the person of one as to do injustice in judgment whether Civil or Ecclesiastical which is when our affection doth so blind our judgment by some outward respect or appearance that we will not determine righteously the cause being over ballanced with such forreign considerations as have no affinity with it Thus men are in judicature sometime swayed with foolish pitty sometime with cowardly fear both these the Lord forbids Levit. 19.15 Thou shalt not respect the person of the poor Deut. 1.17 nor honour the person of the mighty This sin would make God a patron of iniquity the sentence being pronounced from God OSERVATIONS 1. Obs 1. The oondition of men in greatest out ward emiuency and dignity is oft very miserable None have so many flatterers and therefore none so few freinds as they flatterers as worms breed in the best fruit When a poor illiterate man is admonished for sin a rich a learned man is admired in nay haply for sin As the bodies so the sonls of Kings and great men
prejudice against nor novelty an inducement to the entertainment of truth 6. Give not way to lesser differences A little division will soon rise up to greater small wedges make way for bigger Our hearts are like to tindar a little spark will enflame them Be jealous of your hearts when contentions begin stifle them in the cradle Act. 3â— 38 Paul and Barnabas separated about a smal matter the taking of an associate 7. Beware of pride the mother of contention and separation Love not the preheminence rather be fit for then desirous of rule despise not the meanest say not I have no need of thee All schismes and heresies are mostly grafted upon the stock of pride The first rent that was ever made in Gods family was by the pride of Angels ver 14. and that pride was nothing else but the desire of independency 8. Avoid self-seeking he who seeks his own things and profit will not mind the good and peace of the church Oh take heed lest thy secular interest draw thee to a new communion and thou colour over thy departure with religion and conscience 1. Thus we have spoken of the First viz. what these seducers did separate themselves 2. The cause of their separation or what they were in these words sensual not having the spirit Wherein 1. Their estate is propounded They were sensual 2. Explained having not the spirit EXPLICATION But 1. In what respect were they Sensual In what respect were they 2. Not having the spirit 2. Why doth the Apostle here represent them to be such 1. For the first 1. The word here translated sensual in the Gr. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 cometh from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 anima the soule so that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifieth primarily one who hath a soule Animalis ab anima non ab ab animo And in Scripture the word is used three wayes 1. Sometimes it s joyned with the word body in opposition to a glorified body and then the body is called a naturall body that is such a body as is informed governed moved by the soule or is subject to animall affections and operations as generation nutrition augmentation c. or such a body as is sustained and upheld by the actions of the soule as it receives from it life and vegetation that is by the action of the vegetative power Vid. Aquin. Cajet Estium Pareum in 1 Cor. 15.44 Homo in puris naturalibus confideratus qui nihil eximium habet praeter animam rationalem Piscat Homo non alia quam naturalis animi luce praeditus Bez. the chiefe whereof is nutrition which cannot be without nourishment so that this naturall body wants the constant help of nourishment for its preservation in which respects it is distinguisht from a glorified body 2. This word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is in Scripture opposed to regenerate and so imports one who hath in him nothing excellent but a rationall soule who is governed onely by the naturall light of reason who hath in him onely naturall abilities and perfections And when thus it s taken our learned translators translate 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by the word naturall 1 Cor. 2.14 intending one who is guided by naturall reason he being there opposed to 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the spirituall man who is indued with and guided by a divine and supernaturall illumination 3. It s taken for one who being guided by no better light than that of his own naturall reason or rather who Anima significat animalitatem cum ab animo i. e. parte superiori distinguitur Lapide in Jude Sapimâ—â— animo fruimur anima fine animo anima est debilis being altogether addicted to the service of that part which 1 Thes 5.23 is call'd 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the soule whereby is meant the sensitive and inferiour part of the soule the sensuall appetite common to man with the beasts as distinct from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the spirit or intellectuall and rationall part followes the dictates of that his sensuall appetite and the inclinations of his sensitive soule and his onely benâ—â—â—nd intent is upon satisfaction by worldly delights his study and care is for the sensitive and vegetative part and for those things which belong to the animall and present life and hence it is that some learned * Vid. Lorin in loc men conceive that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sensuall comes from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is in scripture used to denote life and the functions of life common to us with beasts Vox Arabica exponitur per sibi viventes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Oecum Haeretici vocantur animales ab animâ sensitivâ vegetativâ cui toti serviunt quia ut animalia non rationem sed sensum sequuntur viâ—unâ—que in concupisceâ—tiis carnis non spiritus sed sensus puta gulae avaritiae libidinis c. Lapide Thus Christ Mat. 6.25 saith Take no thought for your life 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 what you shall eat or what you shall drinke c. is not the life 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 more then meat c. And in this notion of sensuality Tertullian after he began to favour Montanisme took the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 when he fastned that odious name of Physici upon the orthodox because they refused to condemn second marriages And in this place likewise with submisson to more mature judgements I conceive that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is intended to denote their brutish and unruly sensuality Thus the Arabick interpreter and Oecumenius with sundry others likewise understand it Thus likewise our learned translators thought who interpreted the word sensual as conceiving that Jude intended that they altogether served their sensitive and vegetative soul and as beasts followed their senses and lived in the lusts of the flesh not according to the spirit prosecuting those carnall objects with all industry which tend to preserve their present life Ii dicantur animales qui animae indulgent et ea quae ad vitam tuendam valent curiosius sectantur Gnostici animales sunt mortalia bona avidè concupiscunt usque adeo ut ecclesiam potius sibi desereÌ„dam putent quaÌ„ corporeis voluptatibus careant Justinian in loc Praesenti loco congruit ea significatio quâ animales dicuntur qui sectantur eas cupiditates quae sunt secundum animam sensitivam i.e. qui senfibus acsensuum voluptatibus obsequuntur Estius in loc and chusing rather to leave the church then to abridge themselves of any bodily pleasures And the Apostle by this word seems to me to make their bruitish sensuality and propensions to be the cause of their separation as if he said they will not live under the strict discipline where they must be curb'd and restrain'd from following their lusts no these sensualists will be alone by themselves in companies where they may have their fill of all sensual pleasures and where
such a sympathy or compassion of heart as enclines us to relieve the miserable But as attributed to God and Christ in glory as here it notes either 1. A gracious disposition or inclination to help and succour us in our distresses De Na. Dei l. 4. c. 4. q 1 As for sympathy and compassion they are not as learned Zanchy observes essentiall to mercy in selfe but accidentall to it in regard of our present state 2. The effects and expressions of mercy or the actual helping of us out of our distresses and so God is said to have mercy on us and shew mercy to us Now these effects of mercy are either common or special Common such as are afforded to all men and creatures Psal 147.9 Luke 6.36 c. Special bestowed upon the elect who are the vessels of mercy and who onely have the inward effects of mercy in preventing and following grace the outward in justifying and glorifying mercy bestowed upon them And thus mercy is principally to be taken in this place and that peculiarly for those gracious expressions and discoveries of mercy which shall be shewn toward the faithful in acquitting and delivering them at Christs second coming or coming to judgment And this is called mercy in scripture 2 Tim. 1.18 where the Apostle speaking of Onesiphorus prayes that he may find mercy of the Lord in that day And deservedly its so called For 1. It comes from the purpose and intention of free favour and good will Joh. 6.39 This is the Fathers will that hath sent me that I should lose nothing c. Luk. 12.32 Fear not little flock it is your fathers good will to give you the kingdome The means and the end the bestowing of grace and glory are both referred to the Fathers pleasure Election to this state was from free grace And in that regard the Elect are called vessels of mercy 2. In it there are the greatest effects and discoveries of mercy A removal of all bad sin sorrow tears temptations outward inward eternal evils Woes from our selves other men devils God himselfe A confluence of all good of perfect grace in the soul glory on the body and soule By it we enter into the vision and fruition of the cheifest good a supply of all exigencies A fulnesse of joy Rivers nay a fountain of pleasures In one word in this respect 't is not so much a mercy one mercy as a bundle of mercies and the perfection and consummation of them all It s call'd by the Apostle 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the mercy that mercy by way of excellency God here had much mercy in his heart but his hands will be full of mercy at the coming of Christ 3. It s mercy in respect it s bestow'd upon the miserable Indeed the saints are vessels of mercy and in comparison of the reprobate happy in this life but yet in comparison of the glorified they are miserable and that in respect of the remainders of sin in the soule the frequent eclipses of Gods lightsome and loving countenance tentations from devils opposition and persecution from a cruel and unkinde world they are here in a valley of teares surrounded with shame sicknesses paines losses deaths Their eyes run down with rivers of teares they are men of sorrow yea sorrow is not only their condition but their duty but sorrow and sighing shall flee away Luc. 17.7 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Arist pol. 1. ◠4 Rom. 8.17 Gal. 4.7 Rom. 11.35 1 Cor. 4.7 Phil. 2.13 Bonum opus in quantum est naturae est impuratum in quantum gratiae non est nostrum 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Basil in Psal 14. and all teares shall be wiped from their eyes when this mercy comes 4. It s mercy because bestowd upon those who could not merit and deserve it Rom. 6.23 Eternall life is the gift of God It could never be deserved by doing nor suffering The best men are unprofitable servants Al our good is either ipse aut ab ipso either God or from God all we doe is due debt all we receive is from free grace Our very sufferings are not worthy of the glory that shall be revealed in us Rom. 8.18 We are not purchasers but heirs of this happinesse our works as they are good are not ours but Gods meer gifts as they are ours they are impure imperfect Besides none can give any thing to God equivalent to what he hath already received therefore he cannot deserve that which he hath not received I am les◠saith Jacob then the least of thy mercies What shall I render for them saith David Gen. 32.10 Psal 116.12 There 's no proportion between a finite worke and an infinite reward a reward no lesse then the infinite rewarder himselfe It s the alone free grace of this God whereby we come to partake of his glory 2. But why is it the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ 1. It s his ratione meriti he hath purchased it by his merit The obedience of Christ was not onely satisfactory but meritorious by reason of the infinitenesse of the person there being an infinitely greater excesse and proportion of vertue in his obedience then of malignity in our disobedience by vertue of which merit a purchase is made of this mercy as well as there is a removall made of our misery Christs merit at his first procures mercy at his second coming 2 It s his respectu praeparationis he hath prepar'd us for it Parat quodammodo mansiones mansionibus parando mansores Aug. Trac 68. in Job by sending his Spirit into us to make us meet to partake of this mercy He hath bestowed upon us the earnest of our inheritance and the first fruits of the Spirit given us a part in the first resurrection The heaven without us is from his merit the heaven within us from his Spirit 3. 'T is his respectu donationis of giving and exhibiting it at his coming 'T is he who shall be the Judg to acquit the saints that shall pronounce the blessed sentence Come ye blessed c. that shall give his faithfull souldiers a Crowne of righteousnesse at that day 2. Tim. 4.7 That shall present us faultlesse before the presence of glory Jude 24. Secondly in this first branch we are to consider what is this looking for this mercy Gr. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 noting properly an earnest receiving of it or taking it to us as some welcome guest or stranger whom we take in A disposition commended in and commanded to the saints Tit. 2.13 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 looking for that blessed hope and Christ commands his to be like men 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Luke 12.36 Rom. 16.2 that looke for their Lord. And this comprehends severall particulars under it as 1. Meditation of this mercy I may thinke of that which I doe not look for but I cannot look for that of which I do not think The wife that lookes for the returne of her welcome
distance of the Commands as if they could not be brought together Holinesse never destroyes holinesse There 's a Connexion betweene every duty The faithfull prefer not one duty before another but are uniforme in observing the Commands 2. 2. Obs Col. 3.12 Compassion is most sutable to a Christian They have obtained mercy they are elect of God and put on bowels of mercy They are peculiarly commanded to be mercifull from the patterne of Gods mercy Luk. 6.36 to sympathize with others in their afflictions 1 Pet. 3.8 Christ and all the saints are herein our copy Jer. 9.1 Mat. 9.36 Luk. 19.41 2 Cor. 11.29 Grace dryes not up but diverts the streame of our affections Holy men have ever been most tender hearted Insensiblenesse of others miseries is neither sutable to us as men or Christians According to the former we are the same with others according to the latter grace hath made the difference If Christians be hardhearted who should be soft and tender 3. The soules of people are true objects of mercy No misery is so great as that of soules Obs 3. they who are spiritually miserable cannot pity themselves though their words speak not yet their woes doe We weep over a body from which the soule is departed and shall we not doe so much more over a soule from which God is departed What in this world is so noble excellent precious as the soule We pity not so much a base-born beggar in his distresses but when we behold some high borne Prince brought to beggery how doe our bowels yearn The soule is heaven-borne noble in regard of its originall and endowments Oh weep to think that hell should have such excellent furniture as precious soules that these who are Acts 20. or rather were once so high should fall so low I wonder not at Pauls industry intreaties wooings 2 Tim. 2. sollicitations in doing good to soules his advice to Timothy to be instant in season and out of season to exhort c. Paul was an excellent Orator and all his oratory was to woe and win upon soules and to perswade men to be saved Never did malefactor so plead for his own life as did Paul plead with men to accept of life Though the more he loved the lesse he was beloved though the more he sued to people the more he suffered from them yet he patiently suffered all this for the Elects sake He labours abundantly He becomes all things to all men that he might by all means save some 1 Cor. 9.22 2. Cor. 10.1 Eph. 4.1 Rom. 12.1 2 Thes 2.1 He besiegeth soules with beseechings throughout all his Epistles It s impossible to be too importunate with soules Even impudency here is holy Courtesie must vaile to Christianity 4. Obs 4. Compassion is not to be denyed to the faln as if there were no hope of their restitution and salvation Paul commands that they should be restored who are overtaken with a sin Gal. 6.1 As the best of saints have sometimes faln so they have also been raised and afterward better then ever before He who doth but stumble gets ground by his stumbling Jonah Peter and David stumbled yea fell fouly but they were raised and received and afterward were more holy and watchfull then ever before And although Christ saith that whosoever shall deny me before men shall be denyed before my Father c. Heb. 6.4 5 6. yet this is meant of a totall and finall denyall and although a wilfull malitious universall renouncing of the known truth admit of no sacrifice for sin yet the gospel excludes none from pardon that can be humbled and sincerely sorrowfull for their falls Greatly therefore did the Novatians erre in teaching that sins committed after Conversion are unpardonable Christian meeknesse must as wholly restrain unjust so temper even just anger our zeal must not transgresse its due limits We live not among the perfect but such as are subject to many slips And we have frequent want of Gods meeknesse and gentlenesse towards us in our daily falls and follies Considering what we both have been and may again be we should pity the fallen If two travellers fall into a deep ditch the one being helpt out must not deny help to the other 5. Obs 5. Wisdome is requisite in every one that would recover a fallen brother There must be a wise discerning between offender and offender The setting of a soule in joynt is a point of skill and dexterity It is not for every horseleach to meddle with this art Every unskilfull workman is not to tamper with mens soules The Apostle puts those that are spirituall Gal. 6.1 upon this employment such as had received a greater portion of the graces of the Spirit 1 Cor. 14.37 and were stronger then others He who speaks a word to the weary Philip. 3.13 must have the tongue of the spiritually learned The wisest course must be chosen for recovering of the fallen The Physician administers not the same medicine to every patient but he varies his prescriptions according to the nature of the disease or the constitution of the diseased Oh that Christians would employ their wisdomes for God we see how wise men are to damn and undoe their soules and how witty seducers are to mislead others into sin and errour why should not Christians then study the heavenly art of saving and delivering the soules of others The gifts of God are not bestow'd upon us for our selves alone but for the good of others Obs 6. Every Private Christian in some sort should be a publick good The possession of our gifts belongs to us but the use of them to others also No Christian is a treasurer but a steward of Gods gifts The more spirituall any man is the more he is bound to restore others The hotter the Sun shines upon the wall the more it warmes the passenger The more mercy hath relieved thee the greater obligation lies upon thee to relieve others As any man hath received the gift so let him minister unto others 1 Pet. 4.10 'T is not the having of good in us but the doing of good by us that makes us called good 2. The Apostle directs these Christians how to carry themselves towards others more obstinate and pertinacious sinnesrs namely with holy severity In these words And others save with fear pulling them out of the fire hating even the garment spotted by the flesh The words consist of two parts 1. A duty enjoyned To save others with fear 2. The manner of performing it 1. Vehemently and earnestly pulling them out of the fire 2. Vigilantly and warily hating even the garment spotted c. 1. For the first The duty others save with fear EXPLICATION 1. What intends the Apostle by these others 2. What by saving 3. What by saving them with fear 1. For the first by others he means those who were to be lookt upon as unlike to those of whom hee had spoken
Exhorting one another Salvation is large enough for our selves and others If Gods eye be good ours should not be evill The doing good to others soules is encouraged Jam. 5.20 And rewarded Dan. 12.3 It s the nature of grace to propagate it selfe The Spirit appeared in the likenesse of fiery tongues and both fire and tongues are very communicative the one of it selfe and heat the other of sound and voice Our relations of Brethren fellow members c. call for this expression of love Yea the contrary practice of sinners who damne and defile one anothers soules may put us upon this duty How great then is their sin who destroy the soules of others by error and seduction and ungodly example c. who watch over others for evill and to make proselites for hell who are factors for Satan and agents for that Prince of darknesse If their own sin and damnation will be so heavie a burden what will other mens sinnes and damnations also be to them in hell O what a holy covetousnesse should be in every Saint to propagate holinesse and leven others with grace in the world Oh pray Lord let hell never be the fuller for me or mine but heaven for both In respect of the priviledge of saving of soules it s by some said that saints on earth excell the very glorified in heaven 2. Obs 2. Others Necessity should be the mother of severity Others i. e. they who will be by no other means reclaimed upon whom compassion will not worke must be saved by feare First gentle meanes must be used severe afterwards Severity though good is but accidentally good not in it selfe but onely because of mans stubbornenesse Medicines were only brought in and kept up by sicknesse The Bee gives its honey naturally its sting onely when provok't We should run to Compassion but be driven to rigor If the birds will be driven away its needlesse to shoot them our will must bring forth peace necessity war Paul was much more willing to come to the Corinthians with the Spirit of meeknesse then with the rod of severity Even when we are most deeply engaged in rigor let all see that in afflicting others we more afflict our selves 3. Obs 3. Others Severity is to be regulated not by outward respects but by the merit of the offence Others that is they who are more obdurate not who are further from us in relation or poorer c. should be affrighted Though the nature of the offence should should make us put a difference in our rigours yet other considerations forraigne to the cause should not Some are fiery hot in terrifying the poorer sort whereas the rich are like the mount that might not be toucht Having mens persons in admiration An ungodly base respecting of persons Of it see at large before pag. 536 537. Part. 2. 4. Save Even a man may be a saviour of soules Obs 4. See the proofs in the Explication Paul speaks of labouring by all meanes to gaine some And we read of those who catch men and win soules and Christ mentions the gaining of thy brother How great an honour doth God cast upon weak wormes 1. If the supreme Cause be pleas'd to attribute salvation to men because of ministry should not men attribute salvation to God in regard of efficacy How carefull should we be to honour that God who so dignifies dust and ashes Lay that Crown at his feet which he sets on thy head How industrious should this likewise make us in doing good to others The Lord reckons it as our own Though he guided thy hand every letter yet he saith thou hast written the faire copie whereas indeed onely the blots and blurs were thine Though thou didst but lay on the plaister yet he attributes the cure to thee who couldst never put vertue into the salve To conclude this how fearfull should any be of despising the ministry of man Though salvation sometime be attributed to our selves that we may not be negligent and properly to God that we may not idolize man yet it s often ascribed to others that we may not contemn their help 5. Save with fear Obs 5. Severity should be exercised to this end to save The scope of using the sharpest rebukes by spirituall Physicians should be cure Mercifull intentions must be lodged under severest performances The end of Excommunication must be the saving of the Spirit Tit. 1.13 The most cutting reproofs must be given to others that they may be sound in the faith Even the dreadfullest Censures of the Church are not mortall but medicinable In the body of the Church members are wounded and cut that themselves and the whole body may be saved And herein Ecclesiasticall censures excell civill punishments the latter being to preserve the publick peace and for warning to others the former being principally to save the offenders soule How sharply did Peter reprove Simon Magus when he said Thy mony perish with thee and thou art in the gall of bitternesse and yet he addeth repent and pray c. We must not reprove men to disgrace their persons but to shame their sins and neither insulting over mens falls nor despairing of their risings And therefore let not people sume and rage against the constrained rigour of the faithfull especially Ministers for 't is not butchery but Surgerie As reprehension faithfully ministred shewes the strength of zeale so meekly received the sincerity of grace A godly heart would not one threatning lesse to be in the Bible 'T is a bloodlesse martyrdome humbly to embrace the strokes of a reprover To conclude how ridiculously prophane are the Papists whose loudest thunderings out of excommunication are against the holiest persons But Christs Spirit is not in their counsells nor will he refuse graciously to meet thee unjustly ejected as he did the blinde man sinfully cast out by the Jewes 6. Save with feare Obs 6. Severity to sin is mercy to the soule This affrighting made way for saving Holy severity is a wholsome thing even rending Mastiffes are very usefull to kill woolves The nipping frosts of winter though not so pleasant as summer Sunshine yet are as needfull for the earth they killing the wormes and vermin Jacob is said to * Every one according to his blessing Gen. 49.28 Nonnul lis bene dixit maledicendo blesse his sons and yet he sharply censured three The smitings of the righteous are desirable to a saint They are precious ointment They slay sin and save the soule How wilde a madnesse is it then to be angry with them who by telling thee truth love thy peace There 's none but fools that oppose faithfull reprovers and who are such that if the truth be told them will not be pleased and if they be pleased the truth is not told them Such a disposition as this is an evident token that God hath a purpose to destroy them 2 Chron. 25.16 How much is this cruelty to their
own soules to be pitied by every reprover They oppose reproofs and their own happinesse both at once Let them read their dismall doome Prov. 29.1 He who being often reproved hardneth his neck shall suddenly be destroyed and that without remedy To conclude this let those whom God hath appointed to be reprovers take heed lest like drones they lose their stings If sinners be not saved it should be their trouble if they be neither reproved nor saved Mr. Daniel Rogers Davids cost it s their sin also Oh let not the sinners Phrensy drive any Minister into a palsie 7. With fear Wicked men are oft fearlesse in sin Obs 7. though on hel's brink These sinners were to be made to fear but otherwise they were fearlesse they were without feare or shame bold presumptuous sinners The sweetnesse of sin doth so bewitch that the bitternesse of sin doth not affright Sinners looke upon wrath through the wrong end of the prospective glasse so that it seemes remote They put on Satans spectacles which greatens mercy Of this before part 2. pag. 576. 577. and lessens wrath to the eyes of sinners they are faithlesse therefore fearlesse Vlt. With fear Obs Vlt. Bold presumption makes way for fear These libertines who fed themselves without fear and feared no judgement but mock't at the promise of Christs coming if ever they came to salvation went by the way of fear Oh that you would thinke of this in your bold adventurings upon sin your audacious undertakings must all be undone and pick't out stitch by stitch That which was thy glory thy rejoycing thy valour will afterward be thy shame thy sorrow thy fear And truly 't is happy if the Lord make it so before it be too late Holy fear is no signe of unmanly cowardize Of this at large Part 2. pag. 108. This for the first part the duty Others save with fear The second followes the manner of performing it and first for the vehemency and holy earnestnesse thereof pulling them out of the fire This hath two branches 1. A sinners woe 2. A saints work The first is to be in the fire The second is to pull them out of the fire EXPLICATION 1. What is meant by their being in the fire 2. What by pulling out of the fire 1. For the first Not to enlarge upon the severall Metaphoricall acceptations of the word Fire in Scripture 1. It s sometime used to set forth sin 2. Misery and punishment 1. Sin All sin Isa 9.18 Wickednesse burneth as the fire More particularly the burning lust of uncleannesse Rom. 1.27 they burned in lust one toward another Ignis Sodomiticus And 1 Cor. 7.9 It s better to marry then to burn Thus with this fire Sodome burnt before it burnt with fire from heaven Sine Cerere Libero friget Venus Venus in vino and this agrees to these impure wretches compared to Sodomites ver 6. for sin and punishment and this fire of lust hath gluttony for its fewell 2. Misery and trouble And these are compared to fire 1. As probatory and refining Thus Isa 31.9 fire in Zion and furnace in Jerusalem So 1 Pet. 4.12 Fiery tryall which is to try you Or 2. as its painfull and tormenting in which respect hell torments may be compared to fire Or 3. As its violent and irresistable 4. As its diffusive and spreading 5. As it smutcheth and takes away beauty 6. As it s dangerously destructive and consuming hence the wrath of God is compared unto fire fire is kindled in my anger which shall burne upon you So Ezek. 22.31 and Heb. 10. Our God is a consuming fire Hence the people returned from Babylon is said to be a brand pluckt out of the fire Zec. 3.2 to which place Jude haply alludes and this I take to be the meaning of the holy Ghost in this place where he speaks of these seducers as being in the fire to set forth their dangerously miserable estate and destructive courses These sinners without recovery by Christians were certainly to be destroy'd and consum'd here and hereafter They corrupted themselves ver 10. and they who sow to the flesh reap Corruption Gal. 6.4 And the consumption and destructivenesse of this fire is worse then that of naturall fire 1. Because a sinner lying under wrath is consumed spiritually His precious souleâ—is destroyed and this is worse then if his house his money his childe his body were consumed in fire The fire which destroyes the soule consumes not the drosse but the gold 2. In this fire a sinner is destroy'd insensibly he feeles no paine fears no hurt Men shun materiall fire but they run into this fire Fooles makes a sport of sinne and wrath sin is their Element they are displeased with any who would pluck them out of it Like the horse they wil not stir though they be in never so much danger by the approaching flames 3. He is destroyed pitilesly there are few that rescue and pluck him out of the fire Every one will quench the fire which burns the house few labour to quench the fire which burns the soule There are few faithfull reprovers Who warns his neighbour of Gods wrath most are afraid to black or burn their fingers Most men poure oyl rather then water to these flames 4. He is destroy'd everlastingly Naturall fire consumes so as it ends and eats up that which it burnes this fire is ever destroying never destroyes Without the blood of Christ its unquenchable a sinner shall ever burn in it but never be burnt up in it Mors vivacissima That which makes other fire so dreadful namely to make an end of things would make this fire mercifull 2. For the second the plucking out of this fire Gr. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The word properly signifies the souldiers violent rushing or seizing upon a town or Castle for plunder or prey The Kingdome of heaven suffers violence and the violent 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 take it by force c. And more particularly This plucking sinners out of their misery as out of fire imports 1. Speedinesse When a thing is in the fire it endures no delayes Sin like poyson admits of no dallyance The abiding in spirituall fire but a little longer Venenata non patiuntur inducias In sacris non est deliberandum may make the recovery impossible no deliberation so dangerous It s needlesse here to call a councell While we are lingring and doubting the fire is devouring Satan like a subtle Enemy never desires to treat but for his own advantage 2. It imports sollicitousnesse and care an holy feare of the future event the ruine of that which is to be pluck't out of the fire Paul was afraid of the Galathians Gal. 4.19 holy love is sollicitous doth its best but fears the worst Titus had an earnost care for the good of the Corinthians and their burning calamity caused in Paul burning care Who is offended saith he
and I burne not 2 Cor. 8.16 3. Pity and Commiseration The more violence and speed is used in plucking a good thing out of the fire the more tender pity is expressed If pity should be shewed to thy neighbours beast or to his house much more to his owne body but most of all to his soule It s reported of Aeneas that his pity made him take his father upon his shoulder and carry him out of the flames of Troy It s storyed Gen. 19.16 that while Lot his wife and daughters lingred in Sodome upon which fire was falling the Lord being mercifull to them the Angels brought him forth and set him without the City This mercy in this spirituall plucking out is here imported 4. Esteem and appreciation Men pluck that with eagernesse out of the fire which they value and set by A peice of pot-sherd they neglect but a costly garment some rare book or much more a deare child Oh how earnestly are they snatch't out of the flames The estimate which ought to bee had of souls is much greater Heaven-born beautifully endowed eternal souls are so precious that Christ shed his blood for them and Satan only delights in shedding theirs 5. Hazard and indangering of him who plucks the party out of the fire They who will take a thing out of the fire commonly burn their own fingers The most zealous adventurers for soules have seldome escaped the scorching rage and fury of the wicked Hatred is as Luther calls it the Gâ—spels genius truth begets hatred both in others and oft in him whom we labor to save Satan will not let go his hold willingly All the militia of hell is raysed against the faithfull saving of souls All the holy Prophets Apostles Minâ—â—ters more or lesse must feel the scorching of the fire if they will bee plucking out of souls The Saviours of soule must bee sufferers for souls and herein resemble the great Saviour who for souls was the greatest sufferer 6. Diligence earnest industry This is principally here intended according to the signification of the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 They who pluck a precious thing out of the fire do it with putting forth all their vigour and pains They who will save souls must apply heart and head to this employment Faithfull Ministers are ever laborious They are peculiarly called Labourers They labour in the word and doctrine As much as in me is I am ready to preach the Gospel Rom. 1.15 This work hee made his businesse and he gave himselfe to it In comparison of this his diligence for other things was but negligence For three years together he warned every one with tears Act. 20.31 He was willing to spend and be spent 2 Cor. 12.15 He was fervent in the spirit in this serving of the Lord. In plucking a precious thing out of the fire the finger is not held up but violently is the thing layd hold upon and drawn forth with our hand OESERVATIONS 1. Obs 1. The fire The hell of a sinner is begun in this life Hee is even here in the fire hell-fire is but his greater sensiblenesse of that fire of wrath wherein he even now is As heaven so hell is now in this world in semine In hell the damnation of the wicked is but displayed Here it is though wrapt up as the flag about the staffe Sinners in this life are treasuring up of wrath put sinne into its best dresse it is but gilded damnation The fire of Gods wrath is kindled on this side hell and it burnes inward onely in hell it blazeth out The incorrigible are condemned already They are even here the children of perdition and there is nothing between them and the fire of hell but a thin wall of flesh And therefore 2. Obs 2. How madly merry is every sinner Fond creature to bribe and sooth thy burning soul with toyes and rattles How unseasonable and unsutable is thy mirth when thou art burning thy soul and yet as the idolaters of old when they sacrificed their children to idols makest musick and singing This doth every secure sinner Oh how much better is it here to mourn and shed the teares of godly sorrow especially to get the blood of Jesus Christ to quench the flames before they blaze out in hell where they will be unquenchable 3. Obs 3. Per quot pericula itur ad majus periculum The Divel hath his martyrâ— nay the most are burnt for irreligion Wicked men here burn themselves not as Saints to escape but in regard of the end of the work to embrace eternal burnings It should be a shame to consider how mad sinners are upon and patient in the flames of wrath and sin and how impatient Saints are in those flames out of which all the heat and hurt is taken 4. Obs 4. Even they who are in the fire may be pulld out There 's a peradventure mention'd of Gods giving repentance even to opposers 2 Tim. 2.25 Such saith the Apostle were some of you 2 Cor. 6.9 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 such trash such rubbish Manasseh Magdalen and Paul the greatest of sinners and those Christians hatefull and hating one another serving divers lusts and children of wrath found mercy Eph. 2.1 Tit. 3.3 God sometimes turnes people in their race of sinne when they are gotten almost to their gole hell-gates and receives prodigals who smel of the hogs-trough and recovers brands which are smutch't singed yea almost consumed The freenesse of his grace the riches of mercy the depth of his wisdom the greatnesse of his power are all hereby magnified we must not despair of the most seemingly desperate We may censure the actions not determine the ends though of great sinners To conclude the greater the miseâ—y and the more scorching the fire is out of which any oâ— us have been pluckt the stronger is the engagement upon us to save others and to serve our Saviour 5. The faithfull are very useful and beneficial to the world Obs 5. T is a misery when any thing deare to us falls into the fire but this is by much the greater when there 's no man neer to pluck it out of the fire They who save our goods from the flames are commended for helpfull people But they who save souls from the wrath of God and the fire of hell are much more necessary The people of God are falsly accounted the troublers and incendiaries of the world whereas their work is to recover out of the fire not to cause and encrease the fire There are none so miserable as they who may be suffred to lye in sinne as long as they please without controlers or recoverers who may bee as bad as they please without check or reprehension 6. The greatest diligence in recovery of souls Obs ult is very excusable The most earnest plucking of our treasure or child out of the fire wants not an apology The best things require most labour about them Trifles fancies
riches honours deserve not our diligence Cum periculo iguis temporalis eripiendus est peccator ex igne aeterno No perswasions should be so vehement no paines so great as those wee take for souls We may easily be too importunate and painful when we labour for our bodies but its impossible to be so when we labour to benefit ours or others souls T is an holy impudence to be impudent in urging any to pity their better part It s a sinfull bashfulnesse to bee so courteous to forget christianity Wee can never warn men too much of their spiritual danger It s very good manners in christianity to stay and knock again though we have knockt more then thrice at the door of a sinners conscience Either here or hereafter his conscience will commend us though now his lusts bee angry with us How willing therefore should people bee to take holy importunity for their souls good in good part If importunity overcame an unrighteous judg to do good to another how much more should it prevail with us for our own good Let not Ministers complain that they spread out their hands to a gainsaying people 2. In this manner of recovering these offenders the Apostle enjoynes in the second place that it should bee done with vigilancy and warynesse In these words hating even the garment spotted by the flesh And this he adds to the former to warn the Christians that in their conversing with these offenders when they laboured to recover them they should take heed of getting any hurt from them they being onely to deal with them as physicians not as companions Explicat EXPLICATION Two things are here briefly to be explained 1. The thing to be hated the garment spotted c. 2. How and why it was to be hated 1. For the first the garment spotted with the flesh Many impertinent and overcurious expositions by Popish writers are given us of this place some understand this garment spotted by the flesh properly as if Jude intended that the filthy uncleanness and obscenities of these impure sinners did not only defile their manners and actions but even their very clothes garments by reason of their nearness to their defiled flesh and even these say they Jude bids these Christians to shun or not touch to shew their hatred of carnal uncleannesse Levior mihi sensus videtur quam ut gravitatem Apostolicam deceat Justinian in loc But Justinian seems rightly to conceive that this is an exposition of more lightness then to savour of apostolical gravity Others by this garment understand that natural unholinesse which Paul calls the old man with his deeds and commands the Christians to put off as an old filthy garment Col. 3.9 But this is not agreeable to the scope of the Apostle which is not to direct the Christians what to put off from and hate in themselves but to shun and hate that which might bee conveyed from others to themselves The best exposition is that given by learned Calvin and some others who say that by this garment spotted by the flesh the Apostle intends that which seems to have any affinity or neernesse to the vices of these sinners which were among them And this is very much confirmed 1. by the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 here translated even which as Calvin notes ad amplificationem valet hath the force of amplification and imports as if the Apostle had said in a full speech hating not onely the flesh it selfe but even the garment spotted or infected by the flesh and also 2. by that apt allusion which in these metaphorical expressions Jude makes unto that commanded rite of the ceremonial law whereby the Israelites were ceremonially unclean not onely by touching the flesh of one who had a running issue or the matter it selfe that issued forth but even by touching the seat bed saddle garments of such a person Levit. 15.4 5 6 17. c. so that this direction of hating the garment spotted by the flesh imports as much as if Jude had said Know Oh Christians though I have exhorted you to have compassion of the persons of these sinners and to labour with them that they might bee pluckt out of their miserable estate yet I would have you warily to take heed to your selves lest while you are about the curing of them they infect you and lest that while you lend them your hand to draw them out of the pit they being stronger then you pull you in to them Nay so far must you be from allowing and likeing their grosse and ungodly practices that you must abstaine from whatever hath any neighbourhood or nearnesse to their sins For not onely would I have you kept from touching the infecting and defiling flesh the sin it selfe but I exhort you to hate even the very cloathes or that which fits any thing near to it or borders upon it or hath affinity to it And this direction principally comprehends two particulars 1. That they should hate all incentives occasions inducements or inlets to sin and that both in respect of themselves and others 1. In respect of themselves It s safest keeping far from the brinke of the river He who bath fallen and yet will walke in slippery places shewes that yet he hath not been bruised enough Thus Eves looking on the apple so as that it drew on her appetite her parly with the Serpent should have been avoided 2. In respect of others Paul was very carefull to avoid occasions of making others sin though things which he avoided were neither sinfull in themselves nor to him Pauls eating of flesh was lawfull in it selfe and lawfull to him and yet rather then he would offend his weak brother 1 Cor. 8.13 Rom. 14.21 Gal 4.19 he would never doe it while the world stands Paul was sometimes here travelling in birth with his little children and was like a careful mother that is with child who forbears many meats for fear of doing her childe hurt Thus Paul refused to circumcise Titus fearing the confirmation of the Jews in their errour Gal. 2.3 2. That they should avoid that which carries a shew of evill and is liable to misconstruction Thus Paul refused the using his liberty in taking a lawfull maintenance for his labours lest a sinister interpretation of covetousnesse and mercenary affection should have been put upon it by his adversaries Though here it must be noted that in all necessary duties we must yield absolute obedience to God though to the world it appear never so evill Christ preached himselfe the bread of life though the Jewes were offended Joh. 6. Daniel will pray three times a day though it cost him his life John will preach against Herodias though all the Court be offended For though evill must not be done that good may come of it yet good must be don though evill may come of it Thus in doctrine wee must abstaine from such speeches which though they may have a right