shall bee seconded by fearefull judgements The second observation arising from that clause wouldst thou not be angry with us till thou hadst consumed us is this There be degrees of Gods wrath it rises by little and little till it consume Levit. 26. This is proved in Levit. 26. there we finde that as mens sins encrease so Gods plagues shall encrease and if they persist to sin hee will plague them seven times more and seven times more So in Psal 78.38 He that is the Lord Psal 78.38 being full of compassion forgave their iniquity and destroyed them not yea many a time turned he his anger away and did not stirre up all his wrath So in Psal 2.12 if his wrath be kindled but a little Psal 2.12 blessed are all they that put their trust in him If therefore the Lords wrath bee turned to fire all the World will be consumed So in Revel 6.17 The great day of his wrath is come and who can stand Revel 6.17 The Prophet David makes it an imprecation against his enemies That God would render seven times into their bosomes their reproach Psal 9.12 Psal 79.12 as if he had said O Lord I know thou dost punish them now but I am sure thou canst punish them much more It was so with Eli one brings him word that Israel was discomfited another that his Sons were slain a third that the Arke of God was taken the hearing whereof caused him to fall backwards and it is a question whether his neck or his heart brake first So it was with Iob one brings him word that his cattell were taken away by the Sabeans another that his sheep and servants were burnt with fire from heaven a third that his sonnes and daughters were slaine with the fall of a house which was the most wofull newes of all Thus the wrath of God rise higher and higher Could Rehoboam make his little singer as heavie as his Fathers loynes and could Nebuchadnezzar make his Oven seven times hotter then it was before and shall not God encrease his wrath Yes hee can at pleasure Vse 1 It meets with a great number who if they have been freed from an ague of which they had foure or five fits they presently say with Agag the bitternesse is past and they shall no more have it What thinkest thou is not God able to visite thee againe or thinkest thou that thou deservest no more at Gods hand Gods manner is first to shake the 10d at his child if that will not deterre him then he gives him two or three stripes if that will not work him to obedience then he layes on more and no wonder if new judgements succeed new sinnes and if great sinnes be inherited by great judgements Vse 2 In the second place whensoever Gods hand is upon us let us know that hee could lay much more upon us if hee would and though his hand lie heavie on us yet there is something beyond that and that is to give us up to our own lusts and that is as bad or worse then to be given up to the Devill when God gave David up to adultery and murther it was much worse then that the sword should never depart from his house spirituall judgements doe farre exceed corporall and temporall Why the one drives men to the other drives men from God Againe there be some judgements beyond these and they be troublers of soule saith Solomon A wounded spirit who can beare these bee so great that none can expresse them but those who have felt them those lashes of soule are insupportable and yet there is that which is beyond all this if men repent not and that is hell Tophet is prepared of old yea for the King it is ordained hee hath made it deep and large the pile thereof is fire and much wood the breath of the Lord like a streame of brimstone doth kindle it Isa 30.33 Isa 30.33 all the strappadoes in the world are but flea-bitings to this Nebuchadnezzars banishment was but for seven yeares but the paines of hell be eternall when a man hath been punished there tenne thousand millions of yeares he is never the nearer comming out of that Pit for he must goe them over again and again world without end The miseries of this present life be compared to waters which ebbe and flow but hell is called stagnum a standing peole saith Iohn Rev. 20.15 Revel 20.15 Whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire There is nothing in that place but sorrow and that for ever So that God can plague thee corporally spiritually and eternally Hath he begun to fleece thee hee could flea thee hath he begun to bond thee hee could break thee doth hee punish thee in thy body hee could plague thee in thy soule nay hee could send thee to Hell and that is the dregs of the Viall Therefore stand in awe and sinne not Hath hee begun to plague thee Repent if thou dost not hee can plague thee ten times more and ten times more And it is fearefull to fall into the hands of the living God Sermon IV. Ezra 9. the last Verse O Lord God of Israel thou art righteous for we remaine yet escaped as it is this day Behold wee are before thee in our trespasses for wee cannot stand before thee because of this IN this verse Ezra pleads guilty to the inditement acknowledging God to bee just though hee should renew his judgements afresh upon them There bee two things in it First his justifying God in these words O Lord God of Israel thou art righteous Secondly the reason which hee gives for it first on Gods part he had used all possible meanes to bring them to Reformation Wee remaine yet escaped as at this day secondly on their part they were still in their trespasses And therefore they were the fresh fuell of Gods indignation Before we come to these particulars give me leave to speak a word or two of the stile hee gives God he calls him Lord God of Israel The title Lord signifies his greatnesse the God of Israel his goodnesse A fit Preface for a prayer for the word Lord it is a terme well befitting God in the holy Scripture he is said to be strong in power and wonderfull in working Nay so powerfull he is that nothing whatsoever is impossible to him The Scripture demonstrates further That he doth what he pleaseth in heaven and in earth in the seas and all deep places Psal 135.6 And what hee will doe Psa 135.6 all the world cannot hinder Secondly the holy Scripture sets out Gods power by this that whatsoever hee doth hee doth without difficulty hee knowes how to sit still and work and to work and sit still Yea so farre is his power extended that his will is his power as appeares in the creation he said the word and all things were created and though some Atheisticall spirits have asked
So for the matter of punishment which is to our purpose God commanded them not to exceed fourty stripes therefore they would inflict but thirty and nine upon offendours Thus S. Paul saith 2 Cor. 11.24 Of the Iewes five times I received fourty stripes save one 2 Cor. 11.24 I do not applaud their superstition in doing more then God commanded but yet it argues mercifulnesse towards Delinquents so when a man had deserved death if the Lord had not exprest in his word what death he should die they would put him to that which was most esie I wish that this practise of theirs rise not up in judgement against us Christians how many be there among us that for petty matters seek to crush and undoe men they are so farre from punishing men lesse then they deserve that they inflict ten times more upon them then is meet this is the fault of Masters and Mistresses they will so beat their servants for trivials that they be scarfe their own men and women ever after doth this argue bowels of mercy or doth God deale so with your soules remember the parable of the two servants one whereof owed his master tenne thousand talents and because hee had not to pay his Lord commanded him his wife and children and all that he had to be sold and payment to be made the servant therefore fell down and worshipped him saying Luk. 1â— Lord have patience with mee and I will pay thee all Then the Lord of that servant was moved with compassion and loosed him and forgave him the debt No sooner had his Lord forgiven him but hee goes out and found one of his fellow servants which ought him an hundred pence and hee laid hands on him and took him by the throat saying Pay me that thou owest and his fellow servant fell downe at his feet and besought him saying Have patience with mee and I will pay thee all and he would not but went and cast him into prison till he should pay the debt When his Lord heard of it he calls him to account againe for it seemes he had forgiven him upon condition that hee should forgive his brother and saith unto him O thou wicked servant I forgave thee all that debt because thou desiredst mee shouldst not thou also have had compassion on thy fellow servant even as I had pitty on thee and his Lord was wroth and delivered him to the tormentors till hee should pay all that was due unto him Call this parable often to remembrance and seeing God is so mercifull to thee deale not to extremity with others let those that be superiours think of this let them remember what they expect from God and let them be mercifull as hee is mercifull Another Exposition of these words thou hast punished us lesse then our iniquities deserve is this the words in the Originall are thou hast held us from being beneath by our iniquities As if hee had said thou hast kept us from being prest down to hell by our transgressions in this phrase of speech the Spirit of God intimates to us of what weight and load sinne is saith David mine iniquities are as an heavie burthen they are too heavie for mee Psal 38.4 and in Isa 1.4 God calls Israel a people laden with iniquitie Psal 38.4 Isa 1.4 Matth. 11.28 Heb. 21.1 and our Saviour Christ calls to him all that are heavie laden Matt. 11.28 and in Heb. 21.1 we are called upon to lay aside every weight and our Saviour saith to his Disciples in Luk. 21.34 Take heed to your selves lest at any time your hearts be overcome or prest down with surfetting and drunkennesse Luk 21.34 Now that sin is weighty and of a ponderous nature appeares thus First one sinne presseth upon another and they all presse down to hell Secondly sinne hinders us from doing whatsoever good is it makes us dull and heavie in the performance of good actions above all remember how heavie Christ our Redeemer found our sins though he was but a sinner by imputation yet he found the burden of our sins so weighty on his sacred shoulders that they made him sweat drops of bloud in a cold night and to cry out on the Crosse My God my God why hast thou forsaken me Vse 1 Doth sinne presse us down then yee may see the folly and stupidity of people that goe on in sinne and never finde it burdensome but let me tell these if ever God shall awake their drowsie conscience they shall finde that one Ionah is too much for a whole Ship the Devill is cunning and to the end hee may engage men in sinne he will not represent it to them in its own hue which is most ugly but hee shewes it in a false glasse either of profit or pleasure and hence it is that he ensnares so many soules hee tells them that sinne is no burthen and that hell is not so hot as the Minister makes it to bee but herein hee playes the lyar which hath beene his trade from the beginning Vse 2 In the second place let us find sinne a burthen there is no better argument of grace then to be sensible of the weight of sin and that man that doth not find it ponderous happily he may complaine of the stone in the kidney or the bladder but hee hath most cause to cry out of the stone in his heart for were not his heart harder then the nether mill-stone he would feele sin a burthen too heavy for him to beare Vse 3 Thirdly if God have freed us from this burthen let us take heed of being engaged in it againe for every sin is a weight the least is enough to presse us to hell but many will presse us downe to the bottome of hell Vse 4 Fourthly is sin a burthen let us then labour all wee can to ease men of it by giving them good and wholsome counsell but the times be wretched and it is a wonder the world stands so long some laugh at the sins of men others labour to engage them in sin and take pleasure in loading them there be too many that make men drink drunk and provoke them to sweare these are desperate wretches and most unchristian-like for instead of keeping their brethren from they put them on to sin Vse 5 Lastly is sin such a burthen how are wee bound to thee O blessed Saviour for easing us of this pressure of thy infinite and unspeakable love thou tookest to thee a load which would have prest us to the pit of hell make us wee beseech thee ever mindfull of it and thankfull for it The last amplification of Gods mercy is that he had delivered them thou hast given us such a diliverance as this Will some man say what deliverance was that it was the delivering of Israel from the Babylonish captivity which lasted seventy yeares and was a very great deliverance for in Babylon they hanged their harps on the willows and sat downe by the rivers
is more loathsome to him in peccato quamvis non persona in his sinne though not in his person then a toad is or can be in our eyes But I cannot stay here Shall wee joyne in affinity with the people of such abominations The Holy Ghost makes it a foule sinne to joyn in affinity with the Heathen and indeed so it is for God charges the contrary Exod. 34.15.16 Exod. 34.15.16 And yee shall finde that God hath followed those with punishments that have joyned themselves to Heathens Esau married strange Wives to the great griefe of his Father and Mother and he was made the more prophane by it The like we see in Solomon he married the King of Egypts Daughter and shee brought him to Idolatry for which God plagued both him and his posterity it was so with Sampson hee would needs have the Daughter of a Philistim to wife what followed upon it shee proved his bane so in Ahab he took to wife Iezabel the Daughter of the King of Zidonia which was the filling up of his iniquity and brought the curse of God on him and his progeny it is said in 1 Cor. 7.39 A woman 1 Cor. 7.39 if her Husband be dead is at liberty to be married to whom shee will onely in the Lord That is saith Gregory to a Christian and saith Augustine shee must still remaine a Christian though married to a Heathen And the same Apostle saith 2 Cor. 6.14 Bee not unequally yoaked with Infidels 2 Cor. 6.14 for what fellowship hath righteousnesse with unrighteousnesse and what communion hath light with darknesse What is the meaning of that Gregory saith S. Paul meanes that Christians should marry with Christians and Chrysostome saith To doe otherwise is to make the members of Christ the members of a Harlot Let us take heed of intimate familiarity with Heathens Vse and in this case I say to you as Sampsons Father said to him Is there never a daughter in Israel to please thee Nay I will spread it further Shun not only familiarity with Heathens but make no league with grosse sinners for there is much danger in it First the danger of suspition let a man bee never so good yet if hee associate himselfe with those that bee bad hee will bee thought as bad as they for what will men say birds of a feather flie together Secondly he runnes the hazard of infection all the Rivers in the World run into the Sea but yet they cannot sweeten it but are made brakish by it and a wicked man is tenne times more apt to corrupt a good man then he is to be wrought on by the conversation of a good man Thirdly there is a danger of a curse by consorting with wicked men for as many ill men fare the better for one good man thus the houshold of Potipher was blest for one Ioseph and all in the ship fared the better for Pauls presence so many good men may sometimes fare the worse for one wicked person thus for one Achan the whole Host of Israel is discomfited and this made Iohn the Evangelist to hasten out of the bath as soone as he saw Cerinthus there for saith he I feare lest the house should fall upon my head for being in company with such a wicked heretick as thou art This also was that which caused Moses to command the Israelites to depart from the Tents of Korah Dathan and Abiram and the Spirit of God saith Come out of Babylon my people lest by partaking in her sins yee partake of her plagues Besides when a good man maintaines inward familiarity with the wicked First hee seemes to approve and applaud their wickednesse Secondly it is a scandal to Religion and doth greatly prejudice weak Christians Thirdly it is a great meanes to keep the wicked from repenting for too much intimacy with them hardens them in their sinne take heed therefore of intimate acquaintance with wicked men and let our affection be to the Saints that be in the earth and to those that excell in vertue We now come to the punishment wouldst thou not be angry with us till thou hadst consumed us so that there should be no remnant nor escaping First here is Gods anger in the first clause wouldst thou not be angry with us Secondly we have the degree of his anger in the last words so that there should bee no escaping Wee begin with Gods anger wouldst thou not be angry with us We must know that anger is not a passion in God as it is in man but in speaking thus the Spirit of God stoops to us to raise us up to him as the Nurse stammers to the child in its own dialect so our weaknesse makes God condescend unto us certaine it is that anger is in God as zeale not as vice Out of this first clause I note two things for our instruction The first is this Great sinnes after the receit of great favours are usually inherited by great judgments C ham was freed from being drowned with the old World which was a great deliverance if after this he shall not bee sensible of Gods mercy and shall mock his Father no marvell if he be made servus servorum a servant of servants Nay Noah himselfe if hee shall no more remember the favour of God then to bee excessive it is no wonder if he be mocked by his own child and this was no small judgement So for Lot if after so great a deliverance vouchsafed him he shall be guilty of Incest no marvell if his two Sons begotten of his Daughters prove the fatall enemies of Israel So for Pharaoh the deliverances which God gave him were admirable but for the contempt of them they are succeeded with great plagues it was a notable mercy which God afforded Nineveh in keeping off that judgement which Ionah had denounced against it when Nineveh sins againe see what God saith Nah. 1.9 I will make an utter end Nahâ—m 1.9 affliction shall not rise up the second time that is hee will so set on the stroak that hee need not smite twice it is like that speech of God to Samuel concerning Eli and his houshold When I begin I will also make an end 1 Sam. 3.12 and that caution of our blessed Saviour 1 Sam. 3 1â— to the man that was cured at the Poole of Bethesda Sinne no more lest a worse thing come unto thee What doth it intimate to us but that great sinnes after great favours are inherited by great plagues The Magdeburgenses observe that these three things goe together great mercies have been bestowed great sinnes have ensued and great judgements have followed both And wonder not at this for it is a great dishonour to God that his favours should be sleighted Rom. 2.4 as in Rom. 2.4 Knowest not thou O man that the goodnesse of God leadeth thee to repentance That is it should lead thee to repentance Therefore beware of abusing the mercies of God else they
with what ladders and engines God built the Fabrick of heaven if they had but consulted Gen. 1. they should have been resolved Genes 1. for that shewes them that by his word speaking all things were made and it is worth our observation in the Book of God where hee is said to effect things by meanes we shall finde that he hath done the greatest things by the smallest meanes Thus by Moses and Aaron a couple of poore men he delivered his people Israel out of Egyptian bondage in spight of Pharaoh that great Potentate and by Gideon and his three hundred men hee conquered that great Army of the Midianites which lay as as Grasse-hoppers on the earth for multitude So he ruined the Walls of Iericho by the sound of rammes hornes and he wrought those great wonders in Egypt by Moses his rod which was a contemptible thing This also by Shamgars goad hee laid the Philistims heapes upon heapes and by a jawbone of an Asse in the hand of Sampson he slew a thousand men and by little David overcame and slew that great Goliath When hee would work redemption for the Sons of men hee brought it to passe by him who was novissimus hominum the meanest of men who was poore in his birth obscure in his education poorely attended when he came to the execution of his Ministry and poorest of all in his death for qui in vita non domicilium in morte non sepulchrum he that in his life had not a house to hide his head in when hee died was buried in another mans Tombe and when hee will dispence the Gospel hee makes choyce of Fishermen to publish those glad tidings to the World Thirdly God is said to bee powerfull because he can doe more then he will he could of stones have raised children to Abraham but hee would not and when our blessed Lord was apprehended hee tells Peter that hee could have obtained of his Father more then twelve legions of Angels to help him but he would not He can doe more then hee will but hee will not doe all that hee can Vse 1 It meets with those that deny this to God Plinius secundus saith God is not Almighty because hee cannot lie nor deceive Lodovicus Vives wonders at this saying I admire that a man so wise should cavill at Gods power but Saint Augustine answers him well and saith therefore is God ommipotent because hee cannot he nor deceive for these argue impotency Secondly it confutes others who say God is not so powerfull as the Scripture makes him to be because hee cannot make a thing to bee against its nature as to bee and not to be to whom I answer things which in their nature are simply impossible with reverence bee it spoken God cannot doe but all other things though impossible to created nature God can doe therefore this vaine objection doth not disparage Gods power Vse 2 In the second place let it comfort Gods people God is the Lord Almighty in power what then shall bee obstaculous to him to performe with them where humane help failes there God puts in with his power and makes mans extremity his opportunity hee comes not to Sarah till it had ceast to bee with her after the manner of women he comes not to deliver Israel till they were upon the brink of the red sea and then Moses said Feare yee not but stand still and see the salvation of the Lord hee came not to deliver the three children till they were cast into the fiery furnace nor to Daniel till he was among the Lyons there can be no falshood in what he saith for nothing is too hard for him to effect Vse 3 Lastly it should teach us to stand in awe and not sinne against God for hee is able to grind the greatest Prince to powder if he be rebellious nay he can make the flies the lice the locusts the ants those contemptible creatures to destroy man if hee continue refractory therefore let us stand in awe of this great Lord that his mighty power may bee armed to our preservation not to our destruction So wee come to the second which is that hee is the God of Israel And if in the first he was maximus the greatest then in this he is optimus the best l know hee is the God of all the earth Psal 24.1 Psal 24.1 but more especially hee is the God of Israel First secundum specialem cultum by a speciall and peculiar worship to them above other people hee revealed how hee would bee worshipped they were scriniarii legis the treasurers of the Law God dealt not with the Heathen as hee dealt with Israel they are described by calling on the Lord as if no people called upon God but they Secondly hee is the God of Israel secundum specialem curam in regard of that speciall care hee had of them he was a wall of fire round about them to preserve them from their enemies God is said to carry his people as an Eagle carrieth her young ones on her wings Deut. 32.11 Deut. 32.11 it is a sweet comparison the Eagle feares nothing from above to hurt her young ones because she soares higher then any other bird and if there come any danger from beneath her body is between it and her young shee will be hurt rather then they shall So God interposes between his people and their enemies so that no mischiefe shall befall them but by his permission Thirdly hee is the God of Israel secundum speciale praemium by a speciall reward which hee hath promised them he saith to Abraham I am thy exceeding great reward and that God that told him hee would give the land of Canaan to him and his seed for a possession doth not only provide for his people a temporall Canaan here but an eternall Canaan hereafter of which the other is but a Tipe they be called segullam his chiefe treasure and Saint Peter cals them a chosen generation a royall Priesthood a holy Nation a peculiar people 2. Pet. 2.9 2 Pet. 2.9 And to spread it a little further it is not only now Deus notus in Iehuda God is known in Iudah but notus inter Gentes he is known among the Gentiles for wheresoever the Gospel is preached they be the Israel of God they be the piece of ground culled out of the whole world to be a garden for the Lord they bee his inclosure and are tied to him by the strictest relations in the world hee is their Master and they bee his servants yet more hee is their Father and they bee his children yet more hee is their Husband and they bee his Spouse for hee hath married them to himselfe Ierem. 3.4 Ierem. 3.14 Vse 1 This that hath been said may assure Gods children of his affection towards them be they his then they may bee sure that hee will have a care of them relation hath ever been a ground of affection a man
Cor. 5.20 he intreats the Corinthians in Christs stead to be reconciled to God 2 Cor. 5.20 So that if it be the counsell of God if it be Gods Commission it is Gods word and till we be perswaded of this wee shall never reap any benefit by Gods Word Jer. 1.9 The Lord saith to Jeremiah Jer. 1.9 J have put my words in thy mouth Christ is called The Sun of righteousnesse Mal. 4.2 and the Ministers be starres in his hand Mal. 4.2 from him they have and borrow their light and influence Therefore let men be perswaded of this I inveigh against such a mans pride what faith he I thinke hee loves to heare himselfe talk and thus because he is not perswaded we speake Gods word like Noah's unclean beasts hither he comes and from hence he departs unclean and polluted whereas if men replyed it was God that put this invective into his Ministers mouth to meet with my corruption they would say as the people of Israel said Deu. 5.27 Whatsoever the Lord saith Deut. 5.27 that wee will doe Therefore pray unto the Lord that yee may bee perswaded that what his Ministers faithfully deliver he himselfe speaks in them and till you come to this perswasion in the care will be no attendance in the outward man no reverence in the heart no credence and in the conversation no obedience Sermon X. EZRA 10. the latter part of the 3. verse And According to the counsell of those that tremble at the Commandement of our God and let it bee done according to the Law IT should seeme that there were others besides Ezra which advised the people to put away their strange wives and they such as are said to tremble at the word of God and here observe the power of Gods word The power of Gods word is such Doctr. that if makes mem tremble Jer. 23.29 To prove this looke Jer. 23.29 Is not my word like a fire saith the Lord and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces it is a fire to melt the relenting heart and a hammer to break in pieces the heart that is obdurate See it in some instances when Josiah heard the Law read his heart was tender and melted 2 Kings 22.18 Psal 119. 2 Kings 22.18 there Gods word was a fire and in Psal 119. David saith sHe was afraid because of Gods Word There it was a hammer Hab. 3.16 and Hab. 3.16 the Prophet saith Whon I heard my bellytrembled my lips quivered at the voyce rottennesse entred into my bones and I trembled in my selfe Here also it was a hammer See it in the wicked themselves when Samuel told Saul that God had rejected him for his disobedience 1 Sam. 15. 1 Sam. 15. he was excedingly terrified and amazed The like wee see in Ahab when God sent Elijah to challenge him for killing innocent Naboth and taking possession of his Vineyard the word of God in that Prophets mouth made him quake and tremble 1 Kings 21.27 So wee read of Belshazzar 1 Kings 21 2â— when he saw the hand writing on the Wall which yee must suppose to be the Word of God His countenance was changed and his thoughts troubled him so that the joynts of his loynes were loosed and his knees smote one against another and all his Concubines Wine and Copes-mates could not bring colour into his face Dan. 5.6 Daniel 5.6 And it is said Acts 14.15 As Paul reasoned of righteousnesse temperance Acts 24.25 and judgement to come Felix trembled Now that this effect of Gods Word may not seeme strange unto you see the causes thereof one cause whereof is in the word it self therefore it is said to be the power of God to salvation Rom. 1.16 Romans 1.16 And in Hebrewes 4.12 it is said Heb. 4.12 to bee quick and powerfull sharper than any two-edged sword piercing even to the dividing asunder of soule and spirit and of the joynts and marrow and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart and in the 2 Cor. 10.4 5. the weapons of our warfare are not carnall 2 Cor. 10.4 5. but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalts it self against the knowledge of God mistake me not I doe not make this power to be in it as it is consisting of syllables but as it is Gods Ordinance and hath the Spirit of God going along with it The second cause is from the application of it when it is not onely generally delivered but particularly applyed when the Word of God meets with a mans particular sin then the conscience takes part with the Word against himself and makes him tremble so it was with Saul the Prophet Samuel fell so pat upon his finne that be became afraid and took part with Gods Word against himself saying I have sinned and have transgressed the commandement of the Lord the like wee see in Ahab he was very briske when Elijah first met him saying Hast thou found me O my enemy but the Prophet knowing him to be guilty of Naboths blood tells him home of it and before hee left him brought him upon his knees and when Felix trembled at Pauls Sermon of Righteousnesse Temperance and Iudgement to come some are of opinion that he trembled at the consideration of the last judgement and it cannot be denied but that is matter of such terrour as to make the fairest Lady look pale if shee be not painted but I rather conceive that there was something more which made him tremble for Saint Paul discoursed of Righteousnesse and Temperance now hee was a wicked man and defective in both these for hee was an unrighteous Iudge and abused the power committed to him however Tertullus flatter him in the contrary again gain hee was guilty of intemperance for he kept Drusilla another mans wife Now when a man that was a stranger to him should thus directly fall upon the sinnes which he knew himself guilty of it could not but make him tremble It was so with David the parable of the poor mans sheep came so home to him that he presently confesses that hee had sinned against the Lord as it is with a man that is smitten in a sound part of his body though you smite him hard hee can indure it but if he be but touched in a fore place he starts presently so when a man is met with in his sins hee will quake and tremble if any grace be in him Vse 1 Is the word of God of such power then it meets not onely with Anabaptists who contemn the Word of God but with many profane ones among us who vilifie the same saying it is an invention of man and hath no force in it although in my conscience I am perswaded that they speak against their consciences for out of doubt the Word of God hath at one time or other met with their corruptions
hath not the drunken person been met withall in his sinne and hath not the Adulterer the proud Person the swearer the hypocrite been met withall in their transgressions and if so let them take heed of vilifying that which hath convinced them in their own consciences but if it were so that Gods Word hath not made them tremble if it have not yet broken them in pieces yet the time will come when it shall batter and bruise them And if thou hast not found this by thy selfe already thou art worse than either Ahab or Felix for Gods word made the one humble and the other tremble If fire be cryed in the street it amazes everie one but if the Ministers of God cry out against sin scarse any tremble but let such as these know that this stupidity is the fore-runner of eternall miserie Vse 2 In the second place let us labour for this holy disposition of soule to tremble at Gods Word God himselfe calls for it Isa 66.5 Isa 66.5 and to such he hath promised to have respect as in the second verse of that Chapter and such a man is most capable of comfort from God for our Lord Christ saith Hee came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance as also such as are weary and heavy laden therefore se vile fear is of good use it keepeth the heart supple for the impressions of grace and makes way for filiall feare as the needle makes way for the thread But because the wicked men may tremble at Gods word as wel as the child of God therefore I will direct you how you shal know whether ye tremble at Gods word as ye ought First the man that trembles aright at Gods Word hee reflects on that sinne which is the cause thereof this wee see in Josephs brethren the Governour handling them roundly makes them reflect on their sin against him causing them to say Verily we have sinned against our brother in that we saw the anguish of his soule when he besought us and we would not heare him Gâ—n 42.21 therefore is this trouble come upon us Gen. 42.21 so that no sooner was the word spoken to them Gen. 42.21 but they reflect on their inhumanitie And a godly man when he is reproved of a sin which he knowes himselfe culpable of he immediately reflects upon his transgression and saith My sinne is the cause why I tremble when I am met withall Secondly the true trembling at Gods word is joyned not only with a reflection upon a mans sin but with contrition for his sin Isa 66.2 these goe together as in Isay 66.2 where God saith To him will I looke that is of a contrite spirit and trembles at my word It is said of Ahab that he rent his clothes but he rent not his heart therefore his humiliation was unsound Thirdly if a man doe truly tremble at Gods word then he will at the same time finde in himselfe a resolution to amend that for which he knowes he is justly reproved It is said Acts 2.37 they which heard Peter preach Acts 2 3â— were pricked in their hearts and what then Men and brethren what shall we doe Marke they being touched to the quick labour to get out of their sinfull estate in which till that time they had continued And in Acts 9. when it pleased God to convert Paul Acâ—s 9. he was strangely terrified at the words which God spake unto him and the first word he saith is Lord what wilt thou have me to doe Lastly in such a one as trembles truly at Gods word there will be seene an indeavour and striving to put in practise what he resolves upon for Gods word works in a regenerate man not only a feare to displease God but a care for time to come to practise all possible obedience in the whole course of his life and conversation And so much for chat point But now who were these that trembled at Gods word some expositors suppose they were such as had been ingaged in the forementioned sinne and hearing Gods word were smitten with feare because of the strange wives which they had maried and if so they were fit men to advise others who had committed the same sinne but had not repented of it and the truth is which shall be my observation A man that hath been exercised with the terrours of God Doctr. such a man is most fit to advise and counsell others Moses was a man that was exercised with the terrours of God not onely when hee saw the bush to burne and not consume but when the angell of God met him and would have slaine him and this did coapt and fit him to speake comfortably to others that were in distresse In the 51 Psal 12.13 David begs of God to restore to him the joy of his salvation and what then Psal 51.12 13. then will I teach transgresours thy wayes and sinners shall be converted unto thee Luk. 22.31.32 In the Luke 22.31.32 our blessed Lord saith to Peter Simon Simon Satan hath desired to have you that he may winnow you as wheat but I have prayed for thee that thy faith faile not and when thou art converted strengthen thy brethren Feter had had experience of Gods mercy to him and what man more fit than he to comfort others in distresse and St. Paul saith 2 Cor. 5.11 Knowing therefore the terrour of the 2 Cor. 5.11 Lord we perswade men I know he especially aimes there at the last judgement but yet I am perswaded thar withall he meant that hee was most fit to advise them who had been exercised with the terrours of God As for example we believe him that hath been in the same case with us before we will believe any other It was well said by one that one thing among the rest that makes a good preacher is temptation such a man as hath been tossed in chese billowes is most fit to advise and comfort others A man that knows a Countrey by the Map may be able to speak something of it but it is nothing in comparison of what a Traveller can say which hath been there so a man that hath never felt the terrours of God may be able in part to advise and comfort those in such distresses but not like him that hath been exercised with the same terrour Let it teach those that be tearchers of others to lay things to their own hearts and to make triall of them there before they preseribe them to others Wilt thou teach the people how to conquer such a lust Hast thou made triall of it thy selfe If thou hast thou maist safely commend it to thy hearers And you that be people if a man shall come unto you suppose hee be your brother and say It was once with mee as it is with you I was thus and thus wicked but it pleased God after a while to bring mee to see my miserable condition and to draw me out