services For what can be too hard for him in Gods commandements who hath forsaken every thing that is forbidden by them Thus the purging of the heart from all sin maketh a man ready for obedience of every commandement which is the very crowne and the glory of our hearing III. This cleansing of the soule from all sinfull lusts inviteth God to assist us with grace and to blesse our hearing with successe and to increase all his mercies towards us For the secret of the Lord is with them that feare him and he will shew them his covenant Psal 25.14 And my sonne saith Solomon if thou wilt receive my words and hide my commandements with thee c. then shalt thou understand the feare of the Lord and finde the knowledge of God For the Lord giveth wisedome out of his mouth commeth knowledge and understanding Prov. 2.1 5 6. And of Cornelius wee reade that hee being a devout man and one that feared God and gave much almes to the people and prayed God continually God was so well pleased herewith that first hee sent an Angel from heaven to direct him what course hee should take for saving of his soule and then hee sent Peter to tell him those things by which both hee and his houshold should bee saved and lastly while Peter was preaching and Cornelius was hearing he powred downe the holy Ghost upon all them that heard the word Act. 10. And so it will bee with us if wee bee like to Cornelius in devotion serving God in purity of heart we need not doubt but God will send us such Teachers as may direct us in the waies of salvation and will grant us the assistance of his Spirit to blesse our hearing with an happy successe But on the contrary if any man come to heare Gods word with the conscience of knowen sinne or with any lust that lieth unmortified within him such a one provoketh God to blind his eyes and to curse his labors To this purpose the Prophet speaketh Ezek. 14.6 7 8 9. Say to the house of Israel Thus saith the Lord God Repent and turne your selves from your idols and turne away your faces from all your abominations For every one of the house of Israel or of the stranger that sojourneth in Israel which separateth himselfe from me and setteth up his idols in his heart and putteth the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face and commeth to a Prophet to enquire of him concerning me I the Lord will answere him by my selfe and I will set my face against that man and will make him a signe and a proverb and I will cut him off from the midst of my people and yee shall know that I am the Lord. And if a Prophet be deceived when hee hath spoken a thing I the Lord have deceived that Prophet c. Note here 1. the sinne that is supposed to bee in this people If they set up their idols in their heart c. He meaneth if they cherished idolatry in their heart and looked on their abominations as the thing that they loved 2. Consider the punishment that God threatneth against this sinne and that is twofold 1. That if such a one should come to a Prophet for instruction God would give him the answere and set his face against him c. that is instead of instructing him in his word hee would persecute him with his judgements and 2. that if a Prophet were deceived as some times they were God in his anger did suffer him to erre for a punishment to that man that came to heare with a polluted soule 3. Note the remedy or the meanes how to avoid this judgement and that is set downe in these words Repent and turne your selves from your idols and from your abominations Lay these notes together and then yee may see that if a man come to heare Gods word with a purpose of sin in his heart for every such sinne is his idol God will give him over to be seduced and to be plagued for his sin and that the purging out of sinne is the way to avoid all this mischiefe Agreeable hereunto is that also of the Apostle where hee saith of Antichrist that his comming should bee after the working of Satan with all power and signes and lying wonders and with all deceiveablenesse of unrighteousnesse in them that perish because they received not the love of the truth that they might be saved and that for this cause God should send them strong delusions that they should beleeve a lie that they all might bee damned who beleeved not the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousnesse 2. Thess 2.9 10 11. By all this we may see that if any man come to heare Gods word with a cleare conscience purged from dead works God is ever ready to teach and direct that man in the right way to heaven But if any come with a conscience defiled with knowen sinne God forsaketh that man and leaveth him to false teachers to bee seduced and mis-led to his ruine Thus the point is cleared that he who will heare with profit must first empty his soule of all sinfull lusts the uses follow Vse 1. Seeing such preparative duties are required for a profitable hearing of Gods word every wise Christian should examine himselfe how well he hath performed those duties and by them ploughed up the fallow ground of his heart that the good seed may be received into a good soile More particularly whether before his hearing hee have laboured to empty his heart of earthly thoughts that so hee might bee at leasure for God whether he have used to season his mind with heavenly thoughts at home that hee might be attentive in Gods service and whether by due examination of his wayes hee have sought to cast out all unlawfull lusts out of his soule or whether hee have not rather busied his mind with thoughts of the world when he was come before God to be instructed in his word or whether hee have not gone into Gods house without thinking whither he was a going or finally whether he have not caried some sin with him into the Church which no perswasions of the Preacher could make him to forsake Those that have prepared themselves before hand may comfort themselues with this thought that the good seede hath been sowen in good ground and therefore will bring forth fruit to eternall life But if we consider how little fruit of obedience there appeareth in the world we may well think that most men have used but small preparation before their hearing And therefore now it is high time to beginne this so necessary a work that their negligence do not make their labors fruitlesse Vse 2. Seeing the heart is not fit for the seed of Gods word till the rubbish bee weeded out and the superfluities of sinne purged away it standeth us upon to search every corner of our soules lest some lust lie lurking there which wee have not discovered nor have had
then by ill meanes to increase their wealth Blessed are ye that are impoverished for Christs sake for great is your reward in heaven And so of them that refuse not a nickname or reproach for profession of the truth Blessed are yee that are reproached for Christs sake for great is your reward in heaven And to them who had rather lose a preferment or a great friend then offend God and a good conscience Blessed are ye that are stripped of your friends and means for Christs sake for great c. And to them that had rather endure sicknesse and death then seek to wisards and soothsayers for recovery of health Blessed are ye that are tortured with sicknesse and diseases for Christs sake for great c. And so I would say as by the like reason I may say of all others who prefer the peace of their consciences before the profits and comforts of the world They are blessed even while they are distressed for Christs sake for great is their reward in heaven And this how should is comfort all disconsolate soules who in the midst of troubles serve God without fainting A learned and holy man of God when a friend of his was pained with a grievous sicknesse wrote to comfort him in these words * A letter written to ones friend in his sicknesse in the midst of Master Smiths Sermons I marvell not said he that you are pained for you are sick but I marvell that you are impatient who have learned to know Christ and to professe his Gospell For tell me Patient said he how many stripes is heaven worth And then turning his speech unto God hee prayeth Teach the Happy O Lord to see his happinesse through troubles Thus hee comforted his sick friend and thus every Christian that desireth to serve God may comfort himselfe in sicknesse and travells and troubles let him but think how much heaven is worth toward which he is sailing in this tempest and it will glad his soule in the midst of his greatest agonies God give us grace to make use of such comforts that in the end we may partake of his glory CAP. V. Gods word hath vertue in it to make a man blessed Cap. 5 OUr Lord in his correction of the womans speech saith of the true blessednesse that it is to be had by hearing and doing of Gods word and thence it followeth that Gods word hath vertue in it to make a man blessed This is further proved to be so 1. By Testimonies of Scriptures such as these are S. Iohn saith of his Gospell These things are written that ye might beleeve that Iesus is the Christ the son of God and that beleeving ye might have life through his name Ioh. 20.31 In these words S. Iohn telleth us that he wrote his Gospell for this end that men by it might be brought to beleeve in Christ and to be saved And from hence it followeth that either the holy Ghost propounded to himselfe a wrong end in delivering this Gospell which no Christian dareth imagin or else that this Gospell hath vertue in it to bring men to salvation Again S. Paul saith of the Gospel of Christ that it is the power of God to salvation to every one that beleeveth Rom. 1.16 And S. Iames exhorteth Receive with meeknesse the ingraffed word which is able to save your soules Iames 1.21 And our Saviour to the like purpose Search the Scriptures saith hee for in them yee think ye have eternall life and they are they that testifie of me In all which sayings there is a saving vertue ascribed unto the Scriptures and in this last is intimated unto us that it was the known opinion of Gods people in those dayes Yee think in them ye have eternall life saith Christ It is as if he had said not I onely but your selves also do agree that eternall life is to bee found in the Scriptures and therefore there is reason yee should search them 2. The same truth may be gathered from the Titles which are given to Gods word It is called the Gospell of the Grace of God Acts 20.24 and the Gospell of the Kingdome Mat. 4.23 and the Gospell of salvation Ephes 1.13 Implying that the grace of God and the Kingdome of heaven and salvation is there to be found and from thence to be derived Again it is called the word of Gods grace Acts 14.3 and the word of reconciliation 2 Cor. 5.19 and the word of salvation Acts 13.26 and 1 Pet. 1.23 the immortall seede by which we are new born All which names and titles given to the word what doe they else import but that therein there is meanes contained to work grace and reconciliation and eternall life This is proofe enough for the point yet it will bee worth the labour to consider how Gods word may bee said to contain this vertue and wherein it sheweth it selfe And thereto the answer is that this vertue of Gods word sheweth it selfe by three things 1. By teaching the ready way to blessednesse 2. By perswading men to walk in that way And 3. by enabling them with grace both to beleeve what it teacheth and to do what it perswadeth I. It teacheth the right way or it teacheth what to beleeve how to live and by what meanes we may be saved So S. Paul saith of this word that it is able to make one wise to salvation through faith in Christ Iesus and that it is profitable for doctrin for reproofe for correction and for instruction in righteousnesse that the man of God may be perfect throughly furnished to all good works 2 Tim. 3.15 16 17. In these words we have three things to be noted for this purpose First there is the main scope and end for which the Scripture serveth namely to make one wise to salvation Secondly there are the particular uses of this word by which it maketh men wise to salvation and they bee these first it is profitable for doctrine to teach whatsoever we neede to beleeve Secondly for reproofe or to confute and detect all contrary errors that gainsay the doctrine of truth Thirdly for correction or to reprove all sins that are against Gods will manifested in his word Fourthly for instruction in righteousnesse or to inform us in every duty belonging to our callings In summe it teacheth the truth which we ought to beleeve and the duties that we must perform with conviction and confutation of whatsoever is contrary to either of these two so that wee may neither be misled with any error against the faith nor misperswaded to any sin against Gods Law These be uses for which the Scripture is profitable Thirdly there is the sufficiency or ability which men gain by these uses and that is that the Man of God even he that is bound to know and doe most may want no direction that may serve either for instructing of his faith or ordering of his life Now by all this we have a punctuall and plentifull
For things commanded are not already done but are to be done afterward the precept ever in nature going before the performance And therefore Linacer a learned and exact Grammarian having first noted that all verbs of the Imperative moode are either of the present or preter tense addeth withall Quibus tamen omnibus prateriti formis siquis penitiùs inspiciat perfectio absolutioque potiùs quà m actio ulla praeterita significatur ne quis non gerendum aliquid imperari putet Those that bee Scholars know what this note meaneth those that bee not may at least carie thus much with them that the former words Lay apart or Lay aside doe note the time past and the later Receive the word and Desire the sincere milk doe implie the time to come And hence every one may collect that sin is first to be layed aside and then the word of God to be heard And therefore I called the duty signified by the former word a preparative duty which maketh way for that which followeth after and the duty signified by the later word the principall duty for which the preparative is intended This is the first thing that I note in these words of the Apostles 2. The second is that when S. Iames saith Lay apart all filthinesse and all superfluity of naughtinesse he meaneth all iniquity and all sinfull lusts and by giving thē this name he compareth them to superfluities of indigestion or to raw indigested humors which distemper the stomach and implieth hereby that Gods word is the food of our soules the digesting whereof is hindered by these superfluities of sin 3. When S. Peter saith Laying aside all malice c. desire the sincere milk of the word hee compareth Gods word to holesome meate and implieth hereby that these vitious qualities of malice c. are like to corrupt humours which doe hinder the nourishment of this meate 4. When S. Iames saith Lay apart all superfluities c. receive the ingraffed word and when S. Peter saith Laying aside c. desire the sincere milk both of them meane that as good meat breedeth not good nourishment in a corrupt stomach no more doth Gods word nourish our soules unlesse these bad humours of sinne be first emptied and purged out The summe of all is that he who will thrive and grow in grace by the food of the word must first disburden himself of the superfluities of sinne And this sheweth that this emptying out of all sinfull lusts is a preparative duty necessary for them that will receive good by Gods word This may suffice for proving of the point but yet we shall more clearely distinctly understand it if we consider what helps and furtherances this purging out of sin will afford him that cometh to heare Gods word for the profit of his soule And they be these and such like I. It qualifieth the minde for the clearer understanding of Gods word and the mysteries of salvation contained in it And that it doth in two respects 1. Because sinfull lusts are as so many clouds or dark mists cast before our eies which hinder us from discerning of the truth though otherwise it lye plaine before our face This is gathered from that speech of our Saviour to the Jews How can yee beleeve which receive honor one of another and seek not the honour that cometh from God alone Ioh. 5.44 Note here 1. the unaptnesse and indisposition of this people to beleeve CHRISTS word how can ye beleeve 2. the reason or cause hereof in these words which receive honour one of an other Hee meaneth that because they were given to vaine glory and esteemed the praises of men more then the honor that cometh from God therefore they could not beleeve the Gospell which did not onely bring contempt with it but did teach men willingly to beare it By which it appeareth that their vaine-glory did so blinde their eies that they could not acknowledge the truth of the word which was contrary to it And so by the same reason covetousnesse blindeth mens eies that they cannot beleeve any doctrine that is contrary to their profit And wantonnes blindeth their eies that they cannot beleeve that which is contrary to their lusts And revenge blindeth the eies that they cānot see that truth which is contrary to their malice And love of a mans selfe and of his own Teachers doth so blind his eies that he discerneth not the plaine truth that crosseth his prejudice and the opinions which his Masters have instilled into him And in a word every sinfull passiō is as a cloud to darkē the understanding that it cannot see any truth that is contrary to that sin And this may be one reason why the Apostle saith that the naturall man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God for they are foolishnesse unto him nor can he know them because they are spiritually discerned 1 Cor. 2.14 Hee meaneth that the mysteries of the Gospell are only discernable by a spirituall eie whereas the naturall man hath no eies but carnall But contrariwise a cleane heart maketh a clear judgement because hee that hath purged his heart from all sinfull lusts is alike disposed for all truths nor hath he any cloud within him that may darken his minde when he is to judge of them 2. Puritie of heart disposeth a man to the understanding of Gods word because his own feeling within himselfe and the experience that hee hath of the power of godlinesse Ut boni vitifimus voluntate maximè constat quam qui verâ fide induerit facilè easdem quae virtutem docent artes accipiet Quintil lib. 12. cap. 11. pag. 752. and the deceits of sin will bee as a cleare Commentarie to the rules and doctrines of Scripture which concerne those points If one of us who is a father and considereth what his owne affection was to his little son when hee did beat him for his faults should read that Text of David As a father pitieth his children even so the LORD pitieth them that feare him Ps 103.13 or that of Salomon Whom the Lord loveth hee correcteth even as a father the son in whom hee delighteth Pro. 3.12 that man would more clearely see and more feelingly judge of Gods tender mercies towards his children described in those Texts And so he that hath had his heart wounded with the sting of sin will best understand that Text A broken and contrite heart O God wilt thou not despise Psal 51.17 And he that is a pittifull and a mercifull man will best understand that of S. Paul Bee yee kinde one to an other tender hearted forgiving one an other even as God for CHRISTS sake hath forgiven you Ephes 4.32 and that other Put on as the Elect of God holy beloved bowels of mercies kindnesse humblenesse of minde meeknesse long suffering forbearing one an other and forgiving one an other c. Col. 3.12 And the like may be said of all other vertues and