reâ—us Temporalibus c. B. Abbot of Sarisbury for his Book in Defence of Master â—â—â—â—ins Bâ—â—ingâ—â—â— for his Workes Bishop cake for his learned Sermons Bishop Davenant for his Praelectiones de duobus in Theologia controversis Capitibus c. and other Tracts Bishop White for his Book against Fisher Bishop Carleton for his Book against Arminianisme The Lord Primate of Armagh never to be mentioned without honour for his unparallel'd Workes and many others whereof some are fallen asleep and some remain to this day and long may they live to the performances of the like services Who hath so plainly discovered unto us a See Bishop Mâ—rton his Book of that Argument THE GRAND IMPOSTURE OF THE now CHURCH OF ROME Who hath so openly laid before us b See his Institution of the Sacrament the superstitious sacrilegious and idolatrous abominations of the Romish Masse Who hath so fully manifested c See his Catholike Appeale with many other of his accurate and learned Treatises against the Romanists the Antiquity of our Religion and satisfied all scrupulous Objections which have been urged against us Who hath so evidently demonstrated d See Bish Downham his Diatribe de Antichristo Bish Abbot of the same Argument the Pope to be The Antichrist Who hath so fully cleared that high point of e See Bish Downham his Treatises of Justification Justification and overthrown the Popish Doctrine of Merits Who hath so clearely set downe f See Bish usher his Historica Explicatio of that subject the beginning progresse and encrease of the mystery of Iniquity from the birth of Antichrist to his full age out of manifold Records of Antiquity Who hath given us so wholesome a g See Bish Hall of the old Religion Preservative against all Popish Insinuations In a word who have more approved themselves the worthiest Champions most willing most ready most able to oppose all Popish Antichristian Arminian Pelagian Doctrine then some of These who have been stiled in the late pamphlets Popish Antichristian Arminian Pelagian Bishops It is no open enemy that hath done this wrong but the men of this Land and children as they would be thought to be of this Church that have dishonoured these Worthies that have been an Honour to this Church and Land As for us Ministers of the Gospel of inferiour rank who have alwaies preached the same divine Truth some of us in the dayes of Queen Elizabeth and have received that mercy from God to be faithfull in holding the same profession without wavering or warping unto this day how are we at this time only because we walk in the way of the Church and study the peace of it desirous to yeeld obedience to God and our Superiours how are wee I say 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 brought upon the Stage Heb. 10. 33. traduced as Baals Priests derided contumeliously used reproached in our streets our Churches our Pulpits accounted 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the filth of the world and the off-scouring of all things a spectacle to Angels and men But holy Brethren to come to my third point wherein I shall make the use of all this Wee may approve our selves to be the true Ministers of Jesus Christ if that neither honour puffeth us up nor dishonour disheartneth us if neither a good report doth make us proud nor an evill report faint-hearted but can passe through all these honour and dishonour evill report and good report counting nothing in life nor life it selfe dear to us so as we may finish our course with joy and the Ministration which we have received of the Lord Jesus Christ To that end let me tender these things briefly to our consideration First that this vicissitude of honour and dishonour evill report and good report is from the Lord who must be allowed to doe what seemeth good in his eyes The time was wee doe confesse with thankfulnesse that the people did esteem us as the Ministers of Jesus Christ that they knew us and did acknowledge us worthy and accordingly had us in exceeding great love 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for our works sake that they might shew that they could have pulled their eyes out of their head to have done us good that they honoured us with much honour and laded us with necessaries and plentifull provision for our encouragement to the worke of the Ministery Have wee received so much good at the hand of God and may we not now with patience receive some evill There is no evill done in the City in this kinde but the Lord hath done it Amos 3. 6. God hath bidden them to curse us and revile us and traduce us and load us with all these contumelies and reproaches and it may be these things being sanctified to us God may doe us good for all our reproaches this day wee should consider that as it cometh not without due desert seeing God is just so it shall not passe away without due profit seeing God is good Consider againe That there is nothing can come from the hand of this God to his servants but it cometh in the nature of a mercy while wee were honoured it was in mercy to encourage us and now wee are dishonoured and our soules filled with contempt it is done in mercy to admonish us to walke both more humbly with God and more warily with men Againe It is but the pride of our hearts that makes us so impatient of every light dishonour for it wee were as wee should be vile in our own eyes it were nothing nothing to be vile in the eyes of others Besides hear what our Lord sayes to his Disciples Blessed are you when men shall say all manner of evill of you falsly for my sake Rejoyce and be glad For so persecuted they the Prophets that were before you Matt. 5. 11 12. The Prophets before the Apostles were thus persecuted the Apostles and all the Worthies since the Apostles dayes have bin so persecuted in their severall Generations and our blessed Lord the Head both of Prophets and Apostles hath been as you heard before persecuted in like manner Now the disciple must not look to be above his Master nor the servant above his Lord. It is enough for the Disciple that hee be as his Master and the servant as his Lord. If they have called the Master of the house Beelzebub how much more shall they call them of his houshold Mat. 10. 24 25. Lastly Behold there is a crown in the right hand of Christ and the word upon it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to him that overcometh Brethren let us hold fast that which we have and let no man take away our crown let us hold on still 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to divide the Word of God aright and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to walk with a right foot in the profession of it Et innocenter agere scienter praedicare not studying so much to have our gifts commended as to have God glorified the consciences of people edified their lives reformed and their souls saved And then if wee finde favour in Gods sight God may bring us againe into favour with men but if hee thus say I have no delight in you nor in your services behold here are we let him doe to us as he pleaseth He that passing through honour and dishonour as St. Paul did can say as St. Paul said I have fought the good fight I have finished my course I have kept the faith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I have kept it may assure himselfe of a crowne of Righteousnesse laid up for him which the Lord the righteous Judge shall give him that day and to all them that love the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ To whom with the Father and the blessed Spirit Three Persons one True Immortall Invisible onely Wise God be given all Honour Glory Dominion and Power now and for ever Amen FINIS
work whereupon all others depend is the Incarnation of the Son of God that great mystery of godlinesse God manifest in our flesh that was the great work of grace Then redemption of mankinde by his blood The electing of some to salvation before the foundations of the world were laid The vocation of them in Gods good time The justification of them in the blood of our crucified Jesus The sanctification of them by Gods blessed Spirit the resurrection of their bodies and the glorification of them All these are workes of grace Now all the workes of God whether they be workes of nature or of grace they are all great workes There is not a worke of Creation but it is a great worke The Pis-mire is a little creature yet it is a great worke the making of a Pis-mire is as great a worke as the creation of an Elephant It is all one with God hee can as easily make an Elephant as a Pis-mire nay Deus maximus in minimis a man may truely say it God is greatest in the least creatures If you marke it you may see how great God is in every little creature The lesse the Watch is that you carry about you to know the time of the day the greater is the skill of the work-man And surely in every little worke it appeares how great God is There is never a worke so little but it is a great work if it be well considered Workes of Creation are great workes But there are some workes greater then other Those workes wherein the Divine attributes are most manifested such workes wherein appeares the great wisedome of God or the great goodnesse of God or the great power of God or the great truth of God or the great mercy of God or the great justice of God Those workes wherein these attributes of Divine majesty are most apparent those are called great workes Therefore the workes of redemption are greater workes then the workes of creation The workes of grace are greater workes then the workes of nature But now this people had seen great workes in both kindes Great workes of Nature Great workes of Grace There were workes of nature let mee name but one or two of them The multiplication of them in Egypt When they came to Egypt at first there were but seventy souls of them seventy souls that came out of the loines of Jacob no more They were in Egypt but two hundred and fifteene years no longer A great part of this time they lived under oppression loaden with burthens loaden with blowes loaden with injuries yet see how they multiplied this same bleeding vine bare abundance of fruit this Camomile that was thus trodden downe it prospered exceedingly They grew in two hundred and fifteene yeares to be so many that at their coming out of Egypt there were numbred six hundred thousand men from twenty yeares old and upward besides women and children This multiplication was a great work of God a work of Nature Then consider their preservation there how wonderfully they were preserved in the despight of their enemies and how all things were preserved that were theirs As the land of Goshen preserved from those same swarmes of flies with which all the rest of Egypt was pestred Their cattell in the land of Goshen preserved from that murraine of which the cattell through the land of Egypt died The land of Goshen was light when all Egypt besides was darknesse This wonderfull preservation of that that they had and the preservation of their first-born when all the first-born died in the land of Egypt This preservation of them was a great worke There is another work which I know not whether it be the greater their eduction and bringing out of Egypt Their preservation was great their bringing out was as great they came out in despight of Pharaoh and his servants and they came out with vigour of body their veins full of bloud and their bones full of marrow There was not one feeble person among their Tribes Here were great Works but all these were works of nature either of multiplication or preservation Then will you heare the great workes of Grace The adoption of this people to be Gods first-borne the separation of this people from all the people of the earth to be to God a holy Nation a Royall Priest-hood his peculiar treasure The revealing of his promises especially that great promise that out of their loines should come that blessed seed that blessed Lord in whom all the Nations of the earth were to be blessed The promulgation of the Law no Nation had it but they God had not dealt so with other Nations the heathens had not the knowledge of his Lawes Here were great workes of Nature great works of Grace yet this was the unthankfulnesse of this people they forgat God their Saviour that had done these great things for them in Egypt Then Wonderfull things too Mirabilia There be foure sorts of Mirabilia of wonderfull things There be mirabilia naturae wondrous works of nature secret wondrous works of nature That the load-stone should draw Iron to it That this power of the load-stone should be restrained if the Adamant be neare it That the Adamant cannot be broken upon an anvile with an hammer that is easily broken if it be anointed with goats bloud That the flesh of a dead Peacocke should not putrefie Saint Austine saith hee observed it himselfe hee took an experiment of it in an whole twelve-month hee tried it that it putrefied not That a fountaine in Lybia should send forth water so cold in the day that none could drink it and so hote in the night that none can touch it These and a thousand more are mirabilia naturae wonderfull things in nature no man is able to give the reason of it yet it is God that did these wonderfull things in nature Then againe there be mirabilia artis wonderfull things in art There were seven buildings that were wont to be called the Wonders of the world one of them was in Egypt the Pyramides another of them above all other was a wonder me thinks above all wonders a wonder of Art It were too long to tell you what a wonder it was It was nothing but a prodigall monument of prodigality and vaine-glory prodigality and vaine-glory that was the sin of them that built it but the skill in making it that came from God Thirdly there be mirabilia Satanae there be wonderfull things of Satan wondrous works that Satan and his instruments Magicians and Sorcerers can doe God did not punish the apostate Angels at the first as the School-men say in their naturall skill and power that is as great now to doe a mischiefe as the skill and power of good Angels is to doe that that is good The Divell hee can doe wonderfull things hee can compasse the whole earth in a little time you finde in the booke of Job that he can raise tempests he can bring down fire hee
changed Look Jerem. 18. ver 6 7 8. If I shall speake to a Nation to pluck it up and to roote it out to destroy it if that Kingdome and that Nation shall turne from their evill waies and repent then saith God I will repent of that evill that I threatned to doe against them The sentence is absolute to the end it may strike a further feare and terrour The sentence is propounded absolutely but intended conditionally Though God doth not change his will yet God doth will a change If wee know how to change our lives God knowes how to change his sentence That is the first thing that he requires The second thing that God lookes for at the hands of his children is an earnest and vehement intercession to God by prayer for pardon That was the condition hee looked for here at this time He said hee would destroy this people but it was with this condition hee would not destroy them if Moses made intercession for them Yea and hee would encourage Moses hee did as much as tell Moses that this was the meanes whereby hee might be stayed And he would encourage Moses to make intercession by his words Moses saith hee let mee alone and let mee destroy this people Why doth hee say let mee alone What is that but because hee would have him be bold O Moses you see what power you have with mee I cannot strike this people if you make intercession hee knew Moses his love to this people therefore let mee alone that I may destroy them I must conclude with the time and with an application There is a fatall period set to all the Kingdomes of the earth sooner or later according as the sinnes of that Kingdome and people come to their full ripenesse and maturity Both Philosophers and Divines have observed by long experience diverse prognostick signes of the approach of the ruine of a people If God should seeme by any of these prognostick signes to threaten our ruine and destruction at this time if God doth seeme to any to doe this let them know it may be that this threatning of God now is but conditionall There are two waies by which wee may get God to revoke and call back his word One is by true repentance from wicked men and the other is an earnest intercession made by Gods children O brethren that wee did but know in this our day what belongs now to our peace O that wee could do as the Ninevites did every one humble himselfe before God and turne from the wickednesse of his waies And O that Moses would run to the breach and now with strong cries and teares begge pardon for who doth know whether the Lord will not yet be mercifull to us and turne his fierce wrath from us that wee perish not I have gone thorow the first thing the revocation of the sentence Who caused it Moses And by what means By standing in the breach I must leave till next time FINIS PSAL. 106. 23. Wherefore hee said hee would destroy them had not Moses his chosen stood in the breach c. I Spake the last day of the revocation of this sentence I come now to the next thing Who caused the revocation of this sentence but one man Moses but hee was a chosen man Moses whom hee had chosen Marke I pray among Gods elect in every generation in every age there have been some men that have been select Such a man I name Enoch in the old world that God tooke away hence that hee should not see death And such a man I reckon Noah to be a man gracious in the eyes of God when all the world perished And such a man I reckon Abraham to be whom God is pleased to honour with the name of his Friend Abraham my Friend And such a man was Moses whom God was wont to talk with as familiarly as one man talkes with another as the Scripture saith And such men I reckon Eliah and Elisha to be the very Chariots and Horsemen of Israel in their daies And such a man was Daniel a man of Gods affection a man that God did wondrously love and set by and many more These are as deare to God as the apple of his owne eye as the signet upon his right hand these I call the Favourites of heaven Kings upon earth have their Favourites the King of Kings hath his These are the Favourites of heaven these are those principall men Micah 5. v. 5. The Princes of men The hebrew beares it Principall men These are those Excellent ones upon earth that David speakes of Psal 16. My delight is upon the Excellent ones that are upon the earth There is not one of these but are worth a thousand others and have more power with God then many thousands of others And as the people said of David when hee would goe to battell against Absolom No thou shalt not goe lest the light of Israel be quenched for thou art worth ten thousand of us I may say the same of such as these One Moses in the day of Gods hot wrath and vengeance one such a man as Phineas was in the time of a plague One such a man as Eliah was in the time of a drought One such a man as Paul in the companie when men are in a shipwrack is able to doe more good then a thousand others Gods children they are not alway mighty men according to the flesh Not many mighty saith the Apostle not many mighty ones according to the flesh 1 Cor. 1. 6. But though they be not alway mighty according to the flesh yet in regard of their spirit and grace and their state with God they may be mighty men Saint John Baptist a contemptible man according to the flesh but the Angell fore-told of him that hee should be great in the sight of the Lord. You have some men that have prided themselves in the sirname of Great Antiochus the Great and Alexander the Great and Herod the Great and Pompey the Great and diverse others There be many of Gods children poore contemptible things Ignobilia mundi the contemptible things of the world that are greater men with God and have done greater acts then the greatest of these great ones Which of all those great ones was able to command the sun to stand still Josuah did it Sun stand thou still in Gibeon and thou Moon in the valley of Ajalon Which of all those great ones was able to command the thunder Samuel did it in the time of wheat-harvest Which of all those great ones was able to command the raine Eliah did it As the Lord God of Israel liveth there shall be no raine but according to my word 1 King 17. verse 1. Which of all those great ones was able to stand in the breach against the great God of heaven and earth when hee came to execute his fierce wrath upon his people you see Moses did it If one Moses may cause a revocation of a