Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n
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A34527
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Gods providence, a sermon preached before the honourable House of Commons at their late solemne fast, Decemb. 28, 1642, in S. Margarets Church at Westminster by Ed. Corbett ...
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Corbet, Edward, d. 1658.
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1642
(1642)
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Wing C6241; ESTC R20147
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26,491
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35
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Gods Providence A SERMON Preached before the Honourable House of COMMONS at their late solemne Fast Decemb. 28. Anno 1642 in S. Margaret's Church at Westminster By ED. CORBETT fellow of MERTON Colledge in Oxford Published by Order of the said House LONDON Printed by Tho Badger for Robert Bostock dwelling in Pa 〈…〉 Church-yard at the signe of the King's head 1642. To the Honourable House of COMMONS now assembled In PARLIAMENT THe same reason which first moved me to undertake this work makes me now such as it is to publish it Obedience to this Honourable House which did then answer those discouraging arguments of my great imperfections the want of my study my little acquaintance in practicall Divinity And doth still excuse me in any thing else but Sin For I have taught my eyes to read much Divinity in Mans command I can deny my selfe to serve my Superiors Indeed the voyce of God makes me deaf to Humane Institutions And when Heaven speaks I do not understand the language of the World Disobedience in such a case is Devotion and the greatest Rebell the best Christian If no other motive could subdue my thoughts to this beleefe S. Paul is plain and positive in my Text shewing the vanity deceiptfulnesse of all the Creature 's excellency the power weaknesse the riches poverty the wisdom folly That God alone is power and riches and wisdom and all things And surely this argument deserves the severest study the most holy Meditations of every child of Adam and therefore cannot be unwelcome to a great Councel of wise Senators who have received a large measure a full cup of Divine Providence and inspight of Rome continue succesfull In which discourse I proceed as much as my memory would give leave by example and matter of fact which brings the Conclusion to our bosomes and is more working than speculation The unskilfulnes of the pen I hope will not take off from the power of the subject the rude clothing cannot more offend the eye than the pretious body may affect the heart In which assurance I remaine Your unworthy servant EDW. CORBEETT Gods Providence A Sermon preached at the late Fast before the Honourable House of Commons 1. Cor. 1.27 God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise HAD we no other light but that of Nature and no other writings but the book of the world we might read a God and see his Providence But to find a Saviour to know a Gospell to understand the mysteries of Salvation is above the Art of humane learning the spirit of God must be our Tutor therein and the Holy Scriptures only can teach and give us such a lesson For God hath hid those secrets from the Scribes and great Philosophers of the earth he hath cast away the understanding of the Prudent as the Apostle speaks And hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise My text is of that Nature as will not easily admit a Division I shall therefore insist upon three Propositions which I conceive do naturally arise and which I hope will give the full sense and scope of the words First {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} hath chosen Imports Gods eternall choice the Councell of his will his Providence by which he rules and governs all things and therefore thence I shall take this for my 1. Proposition PROP. 1. Gods will hath an effectuall Influence upon all the Creatures Secondly {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} the foolishnesse of the world that which in the Iudgement of worldly men is vaine and foolish by Gods power is of great value and vertue whence I raise this 2. Proposition PROP. 2. Foolish things in the Judgement of the world are in great esteeme with our wise God Thirdly {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} to confound or make ashamed That which is weak and foolish and nothing regarded by carnall Eyes confounds many times the greatest power and wisdom and by the hand of Providence brings ruine and shame upon that which wordly-men most glory and confide in whence I shall infer my 3. Proposition PROP. 3. God can effect great and glorious designes by weak and improbable meanes Every proposition would afford abundant matter for a distinct Sermon I can therefore only point at some generall heads and as it were give you a little map of this great Country taking my propositions in that order which I have mentioned 1. Gods will hath an effectuall Influence upon all the Creatures The Nature and Condition of Gods will with those distinctions and difficulties disputed amongst the school-men and betwixt the Arminians and Contra-Arminians are either too high for humane understanding to reach or else are piously resolved by learned pens already I shall only touch upon the power and providence thereof so far as may conduce to the quieting of our thoughts in these distracted times and to give us patience comfort in the middest of all afflictions And to this purpose David assures us that our God is in heaven he doth whatsoever he will and S. Paul that God worketh all things according to the counsell of his own will And Iustin Martyr with Saint Aug. that Gods will is the cause of all things What confusion cannot he order what wisdom cannot he frustrate what weaknesse cannot he enable Nothing so high that is above his command nothing so low that is beneath his Providence If the Potter have power of the same lumpe to make one vessell to honour and another to dishonour and to preserve or break in pieces what he hath made when as the vessell depends upon the earth of which it consists of the water by which it was tempered of the wheele which fashioned it and of the fire which baked and hardened all How much more shall the God Almightie who giveth to every creature matter and forme vertue and activity and beautie exercise his will upon them How much more shall he build up and pull down save and destroy and dispose them as seemeth good unto him Neabuchodonezor one of the greatest and proudest Kings that ever was will confesse as much Dan. 4.32 according to his will he worketh in the Army of heaven and in the inhabitants of the earth and none can stay his hand or say unto him what dost thou the Armies of heaven do acknowledge God in all their wayes Legions of Angells who excell in strength who are as full of power as of glory and know no Law but their makers pleasure The inhabitants of the earth Men and Divells whatsoever the Sun hath looked upon or the creation hath raised from nothing have this necessity upon them to obey the Almighties will and while they rush against his Counsell to fulfill it which may appeare more distinctly by considering three particulars 1. Every Creature depends on God Every creature is the effect of God secundum esse essentially depends upon him or as
things are naked and open unto the Eyes of him with whom we have to do Nothing can escape his knowledge we are as it were divided and bowelled without our clothes without our skin in the sight of God But when we are lockt in our chambers the windowes shut the curtaine drawn over our heads when we are compassed about with stone walls who then shall see us Nemo te videt saith Saint Bernard non tamen nullus No man indeed can see thee but he seeth thee before whose tribunall thou must one day stand and give an account for every idle word Thy good Angells see thee and greeve at thy sinne the Divell seeth thee and rejoyceth at thy follie The stones in the wall see thee and are ready when God pleaseth to fall upon thee and to grinde thee to powder But Gods power doth not rest here his all seeing Eye is not terminated in words and actions He searcheth the raines he reads cleerly the book of our soule he heares our thoughts this House of our body walls of flesh cannot exclude the rayes of that Omnipotent Majestie David in the 94. Psa. 81. will call them fools who think otherwise he will give a reason for it in the 92. v. He that planted the eare shall not he heare or he that formed the eye shall not he see he that made the heart shall not he know the wayes and works thereof But Gods Eyes are purer yet and I have not expressed the least part of their brightnesse God understands our thoughts a far off Psal. 139.2 from all eternitie saith Lyranus uppon that place as soone as he had existence himself and he was never without existence he did know all the purposes the secret motions the deepest roote and grounde of all our cogitations But alas who can measure that which is infinite Our great God knoweth more yet and which may make us adore and admire and tremble beholds us in our proper and corrupt condition he discerns much filth and great staines in the fairest soule he seeth our carnall thoughts our worldly thoughts our presumptuous thoughts our suspitious thoughts our partiall thoughts our curious thoughts our vaine thoughts he seeth our wisest thoughts are foolishnesse and our best thoughts have enough to condemne us But O worme that I am ashes and nothing and worse then nothing why do I endeavour to fathome the depth of Gods knowledge to describe that light which looketh further and further and hath no end of looking further Whatsoever God seeth and he seeth whatsoever hath been and whatsoever is whatsoever will be or may be he seeth whatsoever is to be seene and whatsoever is not to be seene he rules and governs and commands he directs to his own glory and mans salvation Philosophy will teach us that Angels can discover bad thoughts by wicked actions and judge of the soul by the temper of the body But to see us from everlasting and to see us in our native fowlenesse and deformity to know our thoughts before they were and so long before they were to dispose of them to his own ends this is that altitudo of which Saint Paul speaks into which the further we descend the lower we may sink and the more we know the more we are ignorant O thou Christian then whosoever thou art having fought a good fight made conscience of thy ways and kept thy selfe straight in the middest of a crooked generation do not hang down thy head or remit one jot of thy zeale in goodnesse for the reproaches of Men or the unjust censures of all the world rather revive and quicken thy industry in every good cause inflame thy holy life and in despite of all the sharp arrowes of calumniation run joyfully in the race of Gods service raise thy languishing thoughts with David in the consideration of thy own sinceritie and innocence and single heart comfort thy self with the example of Christ who despised the shame for the joy which was set before him and satisfie thy soule with Jobs resolution behold now my witnesse is in Heaven and my record is on high When thou art going to any lewd Act profane company vaine pleasure remember the God of Israel looks upon thee If profit unhappily move thee to injustice oppression or any other service of the Divell if rotten lusts unconstant honour base ends lay siege unto thy soul and endanger thy spirituall safety call to mind the presence of the Almightie This one weapon of Divine Armory is powerful enough to confound a whole world of temptations and to conquer Hell it self For will any man cut a purse before the Iudges face and when he is sitting upon the Bench will any man commit adultery in the open streets Nothing hinders vice so much as nakednes if Seneca speak true the greatest part of sins are committed for want of witnesses How tender were the primitive Christians herein Who would not tell a lie to save their lives as Justin Martyr relates Saint Augustin proceeds further and will not admit a lie for the salvation of a mans soule But Job hath a straine above all and will not have a lie told for the glory of God that glory which is the greatest Good which is the end of all things which Moses preferr'd before his own everlasting happinesse O mercyfull Father how are we degenerated from those pious resolutions what Spirit hardens our hearts and devoures the conscience of these later generations which make lying a Profession and are constant in nothing else which maintaine the lawfulnesse thereof and confirme on truths with Oathes and Imprecations In Davids time the fool said in his heart there is no God he durst not speak it with his tongue But our Atheisme is raised to that height and boldnesse that we dare professe it in our words and Actions we dare brag of our uncleannes in contempt as it were of heaven and in scorn of the Almightie Adde to this the filthines of sinne which our Saviour tells us Math. 15. defiles the Man {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} makes him Common which by an Hebraisme is profane uncleane beastly Agreeable to which is that of Saint James lay aside all filthines and superfluitie of naughtines filthines in the abstract {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} naughtines which is an excrement a nastie thing as odious and detestable in the nostrills of the Almightie as our very excrements are to us Vpon which ground Devout Anselme professed that he would rather be in Hell and free from sinne then polluted with the filthines thereof possesse the Kingdome of Heaven Now if every sinne be of this blotting beastly condition if the Almightie beholds them in their vilest shape in their greatest deformitie what shall we think of those crying sinns of unfaithfulnesse blasphemy whoredom murther how do they difile us what beasts and black Divells do they make us what shall we think of