the sand on the sea shore and that multitudes shall come flocking to the Church yet they shall be all gathered together into 〈◊〉 under one head and they shall have peace for certainly that is theâ—◠〈◊〉 of the holy Ghost here Secondly They shall agree in one not only when they are multitude but when they shall come to enjoy their full priviledges and the full liberty that Christ hath purchased for them even then there shal be a blessed agreement For it is spoken here of those times when they shall come under one head and Christ alone shall rule them and not mens inventious Christ will grant his Church those priviledges that he hath purchased for them rule them according to those and then there shall be a blessed agreement among them all Men now think it impossible that the Church should have those liberties Christ hath purchased without dissentions oh say they grant them but such and such things let them have but such liberty as they speak of and we shall have nothing but brabling and divisions what shall every man be left to do what he list why then we shall have nothing but breaches in the Church and heart-burning one against another No Christ hath never purchased so much liberty for every man to do what he list in things apparently unlawfull against the common principles of Religion In those there may be compulsion But that liberty that Christ hath purchased is the lawful use of the things of indifferency and the lawfull use of his ordinances And though now men think that even in such things that are in themselves indifferent if men be left at their liberty there will be such heart-burning such dissentions and no peace at all in the Church they are much mistaken in this for the onely way to have true peace in the Church is to leave things as Christ hath left them to force nothing upon mens consciences that Christ would not have forced this is the way of peace and the special way of dissention we have had experience of it hath been and ever will be the urging upon mens consciences those things Christ would not have urged this is it that makes the greatest rent division in the Church The urging of uniformity in all indifferent things as necessary to unity is a most false principle you wil finde it so It is a principle that many have been led by but it is an extream false and corrupt principle and is and will be found to bee the cause of the greatest distractions VVhen this time comes that is here prophesied of there shall not be any such neede of any Antichristian chaine to chaine the servants of God together but they shall be one without any such doings It is true Papists and Prelaticall men they cry out of others there are such divisions among them say they none of them can agree there is more uniformity and unity with us than there is with them every one there among them runs up and downe and doth what he pleaseth Marke these two Answers to that First They have little cause to brag of their unity if we consider all for in the meane time though many thousands of Christians and hundreds of faithful painful and conscionable Ministers of God that did more service to God and his Church then ever they wilâ—â—o though they be banished out of their countrey and put 〈…〉 â—â—remities and endure sore afflictions for 〈…〉 â—â—ch of unity with them at all though 〈…〉 things they have caused many 〈◊〉 〈…〉 This is no breach of unity with them But suppose by their power they could have brought all to an uniformity in their own inventions and innovations as they desired What then they have little cause to brag of that unity neither Certainly there the remedy would have been worse then the disease and work a greater mischief Their bragging then of unity would have been no other but thus as if a couple of prisoners chained to a block and kept close all day should see others goe abroad in the streets at a distance and they should cry out to them Why doe you not take example by us you keep at a distance one from another doe you not see that we keepe close together from morning to night pray take example by us and do not go so distant one from another Would not such an argument be most ridiculous What is the reason of their union but their choine Certainly there is the same argument in these mens pleading for that uniformity that they force men to by such a kinde of Antichristian chaine What breach of unity is it if in a broad street one goes a little distant from another and so what breach is it if in matters of indifferency one take one way and another another It is the corrupt and perverse spirits of men that thinke they cannot have unity and yet have things as Christ have left them Christ needs no such things to cause unity in his Church the spirit of his people that shal love truth peace is enough to cause that unity he would have And O that this time that this gathering together were come of all Churches to be made one be under one head for abundance of mischief is done now among the Churches and in the world by the spirit of division and dissension The Devil delights especially that devil that is the spirit of division to live in the region of the Church There are some devils especially that are spirits of pride as the dumb devil and some of dissention and some of one kinde and some of another and I remember Cajetan hath a note upon that place of the Gospel where our Saviour Christ cast the devils out of the possessed man they besought him that he would let them enter into the swine that he would not send them out of that Region because saith he they have several Regions where they most haunt and they that are in such a Region they are loath to be put out of it but would faine keep their place Whether that be so or no we will not say but this we say that if their be any Religion in the world that the unclean spirit of division loveth to be in and is loath to be cast out it is the Region of the Church for their he doth the greatest mischiefe But Christ hath a time to cast this unelean spirit out of the Region of the Church and that so as hee never shall returne any more This point in regard we meet with it so fitly and is so fully agreeable to the necessity of our times I cannot tell though I go a little beyond the ordinary way of exposition how to get off from it This union of the Churches is that which will be the stability of it You have an admirable place of this Isa 33. â—â— Thine eyes sball see Jerusalem a quiet ation habit O that our eyes migh◠〈◊〉 blessed
Cause of God is one the one side and not on the other The goodnesse of the Cause is as great an advantage as the abilities and number on the other side is a disadvantage And sometimes particular members of a Church have no other way to free themselves from the guilt of the sinnes of the Church but onely by pleading with them except they plead they are many times inwrapped in the guilt and therefore of necessity they must do it though they be never so weak Yea and sometimes God hath blessed the pleading of some few and of weak ones too with a multitude Perhaps you may have heard of that notable Story we have in Ecclesiasticall Histories of Paphnutius who being in the Councel of Nice where there were 318. Bishops and the businesse was about the marriage of Ministers and generally they cast against it that those that were single should not marry only Paphnutius one man comes and plead against them all in that case and God so wrought it that he carried the Cause and he one man convinced all these 318. Bishops Therefore this is no discouragement for one man to stand up and plead against a great many So Petrus Waldensis in the Story of Waldenses though he was but one at first yet he stood against many thousands and God blessed that which he did for the conversion of thousands And Luther you know he stood against all the world almost Yea and though this one man may be but a private man a weake man God may blesse that which he saith sometimes more then that which more learned men shall say I remember I have read in the Centuries this Story A company of Bishops being met together there was a Phylosopher that stood out against the Christian Religion and so reasoned against them all that be seemed to have the better of it amongst them there was one a very godly and holy man but a very weak man he seeing the Cause of God like 〈◊〉 suffer desired leave to speak and encounter with this Phylosopher all the rest being troubled at it thinking that Gods Cause would suffer more by him knowing he was a very weak man but yet knowing withall that hee was a very holy man none would oppose but let him speak So he beginneth with the Phylosopher reciting many Articles of the Faith Tell me saith he do you believe these things are so and spoke with Majesty and authority doe not so reason the case about these Articles of our Faith but do you believe Presently the Phylosopher acknowledged himselfe overcome Hitherto saith he I have heard words and returned words but now I feel the Divine power and I cannot further answer and so yeelded to be a Christian upon the pleading of this poor weak man yet a very holy and godly man God hath blessed the pleading of weake ones though it be against those that are very strong therefore they must not be contemned I remember Oecolampadius hath such an expression as this saith hee Christ should be contemned and dishoncured if we should not heare were it but a child speaking with his Spirit though all the world should be against it And in Esay 11. 6. there is a promise that in the times of the Gospel the spirits of men should be so brought down that they should not stand upon their greatnesse and learning but the Text saith A child should leade them that is the humble temper that God would have under the Gospell But it may be said Will not this argue self-conceit What for one man a private man to plead with so many with a Church it is a signe that such a one is very well opinionated of himself that should think that what he apprehendeth should be sufficient to stand against the apprehension of so many learned and godly men as are in the Church How can this be freed from arrogancy and proud conceitednesse I answer Not so it may be conscience and not self-conceit for the rule of conscience is not the abilities nor the holinesse nor the multitude of others but it is that light that God doth let in to convince according to his Word Nay further I suppose I may convince you that this pleading for God may proceed from much self-deniall and the not pleading may proceed from very vile sinfull self-respect How will that appeare Thus. For a private man when he sees the truth of God to suffer certainly if he be an humble and an ingengous spirit it cannot but be exceeding grievous unto him to think that he must contest with such a multitude of able and Godly men more able then himself it cannot but be to him a very hard work that God putteth him upon He would rather a hundred times if he did look at his own quiet and ease sit down For think he if I come to speak then by this I shall be endangered to be accounted self-conceited I shall have the accusation of pride I shall displease many of my friends I shall make a great disturbance in my self I am sure to my own peace whatsoever I do to others and how much bette◠were it for me to sit still and be quiet An humble spirit would reason thus but only Conscience puts him upon it I shall contract guilt to my self if I be not at least a witnesse for Gods truth therefore though I shall suffer so much in it yet rather then the truth shall suffer rather then conscience shall plead against me I will plead though never so much to my disadvantage Now if such an one carry it humbly and quietly certainly he is rather to be accounted a self-denying man in it for it is a very hard taske VVhereas on the other side self-love is more like to think thus It is true these things are right I see they are not according to the truth of God Conscience indeed would have me speak but I shall trouble my self and what will they think of me on the other side where there are so many able and godly men surely I shall be thought a conceited fool and therefore I were as good hold my peace and sleepe in a whole skin and be quiet Thus because they have so much self-respect and love their own quiet and cannot endure to suffer any trouble they will leave the truth to suffer and their consciences to be pleading with in against themselves rather then thus to plead for the cause of God Certainly they that are charitable should rather take things in the better part then in the evill It is true it is possible that men may through pride of spirit be pleading with others I shall speak a word of that by and by but yet you may perceive it in the carriage of such a one in the generall course of his way Now if in the generall course of the way of a man hee doth carry himselfe humbly and submissively that you see him yeeldable as much as
Thes 2. 3. And Rev. 1. 3. 3. All the world wandred after the beast and ver 2. The dragon gave him his power and his seat and great authority and Rev. 17. 1. The whore sitteth upon many waters ver 15. these many waters are interpreted to be peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues The whore doth sit upon them that is doth use them vilely and basely sits upon the very consciences of them in a base manner as if a whore should sit upon you and keep you under And who doth she sit upon upon peoples and multitudes It is not an argument then of a true Church though they are multitudes though they be as the sand of the sea though they be gathered together for they must be gathered under one Head under Christ Secondly Neither is Unity a sufficient argument of the verity of the Church They shall be gathered together they shall be joyned together in one way with one consent yea but if it be not under one Head it is like Simeon Levi brethren in iniquity It is not enough that we be one unless we be one in Christ and that is a blessed union For a great deale of unity there shall be under Antichrist Revel 17. 13. These have one minde saith the Text and they shall give their strength power to the beast And Chap. 18. 5. Her sins reach unto heaven Their sins cleave together and so get up to heaven A union of persons and a union of sins there is amongst them The Turks have as little dissention in their Religion as any they are allunited in one But well may that garment have no seame that hath no shape And a notable place we have in Ps 83. 3. 4. 5. c. They have consulted together with one consent they are confederate against thee There are two or three things exceeding observable in this Scripture about the union of the wicked First you have ten Countreys joyn together against the Church there is the Edomites the Moabites c. And it was not by accident that they joyned but in a deliberate way They consulted together and not onely consulted together but consulted together with one consent or heartily for that which is translated there with one consent the word in the Hebrew is with heart together their very heart was in the consultation but mark it was against thy hidden ones so ver 3. Let them consult together let ten of them consult together and consult with their hearts yet the Saints are Gods hidden ones Esay 54. 15. They shall surely gather together but not my me whosoever shall gather together against thee shal fall forthy sake My brethren Peace though we should all desire it yet so as not to have it too chargeable Peace is then too chargeable when it costs us the losse of any truth Take heed of any such costly Peace There may hand joyn in hand together in wickednes yet they shal not be unpunished Pro. 16. 5. And Nah. 1. 10. While they are folded together as thorns they shal be devoured as stubble fully dry Wicked men they are as thorns to prick the people of God yea they are thorns â—â—lded together there is a peace amongst them yet though thâ—â— be folded â—â—gether they shall bedevoured they shal be 〈…〉 division that comes by truth is beter then the union that comes by 〈…〉 a noble speech of Luther Rather then any thing should fall of the Kingdome of Christ and his glory let not onely peace 〈◊〉 but let heaven and earth goe too so wee should love peace The Sixth Lecture HOSEA 1. the middle of the 11. verse And appoint themselves one head and they shall come up out of the land FRom the tenth verse to the end you have heard that God promiseth mercy to an Israel that he will in time raise up although for that Israel to whom the Prophet spake they shall go into captivity and shall not returne as Judah did Secondly Mercy to Israel and Judah both together and that first In the multitude that shall be gathered secondly In the excellency of the state of the Church at that time above that which was before before they were People but then they shall be Sons Thirdly In the unity of them Israel and Judah shall be both gathered together under one head Some time was spent in the last exercise about unity and the excellency of the unity of the Churches wherein we laboured to convince you that uniformity in judgement and practice is not necessary for unity in the Churches for unity of hearts It is a false principle that runnes in the world that all men must needs be brought to believe and doe the same thing or else there can be no peace If we would have light let in to us we must so prise it as to be willing that in the discussion of truths there should be some hazard of some differences in lesser things If a man have a house closed on every side with a thick brick-wall and he is so desirous to keepe his house safe and stronge that he will rather all his dayes sit in the darke then be at the trouble to have a hole digged or a few bricks broken to let in any light wee would accuse that man of folly It is true indeed we must not be so desirous of light as to break so much of the wall as to indanger the house we must keepe that safe but yet it is hard to let in light but there will be some bricks taken away and there must be some trouble A childe when he sees the work-man with his tooles breaking the wall and making a deale of rubbish hee thinks he is pulling down the house but a wise man knows it is but a little trouble for the present to let in light that shall be for the beauty of the house afterward Unity in the Churches is lovely But it must be under one head They shal be gathered together and appoint themselves one head Agreement in errour is farre worse then division for the sake of truth Better to be divided from men that are erroneous then to agree with them in the wayes of their arrour A company gathered without the covenant of peace without the observance of Gods law is a headlesse multitude saies Bernard it hath much of Babylon but little of Jerusalem What is this Head I finde both the Jewes and divers of the â—â—cyents Theodoret Cyrill and others that would make this head to be Zerubbabel and onely to have reference to the returne of the people from their Babylonish captivity But this certainly cannot be upon these two reasons to name no more First Because both Israel and Judah are here to joyne together and to returne out of the land there it was Judah and not the ten Tribes that were delivered from their captivity Secondly Compare this Scripture with others that are but a Comment upon it and we shall finde that
ever he can in all lawfull things and then when he commeth to plead against an evil he is not suddain he is not rash and he pleads not against every light evil neither but when he comes he comes with a great deale of trouble in his spirit and carrieth it with all quietnesse and humility It is your rigidnesse and that spirit which doth not beseeme a Christian that is not the spirit of Christ in this thing for to judge of this to be pride For certainly under this false judge ment the cause of God hath suffered exceeding much You will say How can it be imagined that one man should see more then many more then others that are able To that I answer In a community where there are many though they should be godly yet many of them may have their spirits biased with prejudice vvith selfe-ends and so not come to see the truth though they be more able Again perhaps though they may be moreable in most things yet in some one God may leave them Yea though they may be more able at other times yet for some one time God may leave a man in a thing that he is very able in it another time And perhaps a great many of them for the present may have so much distemper of spirit as they may not speak according to what they think themselves Therefore it may be usefull for some one man to be pleading with many others I beseech you consider of this it is very usefull Men must not think that God doth dispence the knowledge of his truth alwayes according to natural 〈…〉 For want of this consideration many are led into much evill For thus they think with themselves If a man have more abilities to understand natural things then others have therefore he must needs have more abilities to understand spirituall things then others have There is a mistake in this A great learned man that hath great abilities understands the rules of nature yet a poor weake man may have the mind of Christ more then he hath For the promise is to them that feare God Psal 25. 14. The secret of the Lord is with them that feare him It may be another man hath more abilities but this spirit may be more soild may be more distempered then the poor weake mans I thanke thee O Father Lord of heaven and earth because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent and hast revealed them unto babes even so Father for it seemed good in thy sight If multitudes had beene an argument against the truth then in the Primitive times when Christian Religion began certainly very few should have followed JESUS CHRIST Yea and there is not more disadvantage and disproportion between one or two private members of a Church and the whole Church then there was at that time disadvantage and disproportion between the whole Church then and all the world And if we mark Saint Iohn We know saith he that we are of God and that the whole world lyeth in wickednesse We know What a singular spirit was here here was singularity indeed if you talke of singularity you are afraid you should be counted self-conceited and singular in differing from others We know that we are of God and that the whole world lyes in wickednesse Thus we see the thing a little cleared as this point had need be but we have not done with it we must not let it go so There must be some rules given for this or otherwise we should wrong the point in naming it Christians may plead private members may plead with their Mother yet they must observe these rules First They must not plead with her for every light thing For the Scripture giveth us this rule That Love covereth a multitude of infirmiâ—ies We must not stand pleading for every infirmity with our brother but rather passe by many and cover them much lesse then with the Church But if there be that which is notorious or if I be called unto it that I cannot have communion with them but in my communication with them I shall be wrapped up in the guilt except I testifie the truth Certainly then I am bound to plead The second rule is it must be orderly done that is if possibly it may bee you must make the Officers of the Church to be your mouth in pleading I say if it can be If it come to such a way of rebuking or declaring the evill to the Church it should rather if it can be be by him whom God hath appointed to be his mouth to the Church For you doe it in Gods name therefore the most orderly way to do it if it may be done is by him that is Gods mouth Thirdly It must be so as you must manifest all due respect to that society you are of to that Church shewing in your carriage that you are apprehensive and sensible even at this time of that distance that is betweene you and that whole society whereof you are a member Fourthly You must do it in a very peaceable way so as to manifest that you desire peace and not to be the least disturbance to the peace of the Church but that the peace of it is deare precious to you Therefore when you have witnessed the truth and discharged your conscience in it you must be then content to sit down quiet for so the rule is That the spirits of the Prophets must be subject to the Prophets in that case But if it should prove that the Church should continue if the evill be notorious and great as requires departing and the Church after all means used all patience should continue in it in such a case you may desire to be dismissed from it and depart But in as peaceable a way as possibly can be yet continuing in due respect unto the Church for all that though you should depart onely leaving your witnesse behind you The Papists cry out against us for pleading against them and say it is an ill bird that will defile its own nest and they tell us the curse of Cham is upon us for discovering our parents nakednesse They are to know this that there is more liberty for a member of a Church to plead with a Church then for a childe to pleade with his parent Though there be liberty for a child yet there is more liberty for the member of a Church For a parent though he should be never so evil yet hee doth not lose his right over his childe Though your parents should be very wicked yet know that their wickednesse doth not discharge you of your duty that all children should take notice of But a Church may so fall off from God as the members of it may be free from their duty to it and therefore may have more liberty to plead then a child with his parent That but onely in answer to them And certainly so far have they
the latter dayes shall bring his Saints unto yet then they shall remember with thankfulnesse what their poor unsetled condition once was Thus you have had a view of the chiefe of the Jewish Feasts which God threatens here shall cease There are onely these three Observations to be drawn from altogether First Even those things that are appointed by God himselfe if once they be abused God will not own them but then they are accounted ours rather then Gods her sabbaths why not my sabbaths why not Gods sabbaths God did appoint them but because they had abused them God would not own them her sabbaths and her solemn Feasts The Ordinances of God though never so good in themselves if you pollute them God rejects them they are your ordinances then and not Gods looke then that all ordinances be as God would have them Secondly It is a grievous and lamentable affliction upon any people for God to deprive them of his sabbaths and ordinances his ordinances are included in their solemne Feasts nay saith God you will goe on in your wickednesse and would put me off with your sabbaths and solemne meetings and with those things that were once my ordinances you will satisfie me with them though you continue in your wickedness no you shall be deprived of them you shall have no more sabbaths no more solemne Feast dayes it is a sad affliction for a people to have no more sabbaths How many of you neglect solemne meetings of Gods people time may come when God will rend these priviledges from you and then your conscience will grate upon you O the sabbaths that once we had O the solemn meetings that once we enjoyed but our hearts were vaine and slight we did not make use of them and now they are gone now perhaps thou art cast into a goale or into a dungeon and there thou keepest thy sabbaths thinkest upon thy solemne meetings O how unworthy is this land of sabbaths how did we set our selves to persecute those that kept sabbaths there was never any such a thing in any Christian nation other places though they are somewhat loose upon their sabbaths yet they never persecute them that will keep sabbath how justly might God have taken away our sabbaths let us acknowledge Gods free grace what reproach hath it been in England to assemble to heare Sermons how justly might God have taken away these solemne Assembles from us long before this let us pray that what ever judgement God sends upon us he will not take away our Sabbaths nor our solemne assemblies but that we may still enjoy those we have and enjoy them to better purpose then ever we have done 3. God hath no need of our services If God call upon us to worship him it is for our good not for any need he hath of what we doe What do I care saith God whether I have any Sabbaths kept or no I can provide for my glory what ever becomes of your duties I need them not I can be glorious without you But these threats are but to take away things that are spirituall carnall hearts thinke if they may live and prosper in the world what care they for Sabbaths and for solemn meetings Tell them of taking away Ordinances tell them of truth of Gods worship what is that to them Let us have our peace our trading and our outward blessings and truth will follow O no a gracious heart will rather reason thus O Lord let us have thy Ordinances let us have thy Gospel and then for our Vines and Fig-trees our tradings and our outward blessings we will leave them to thy dispose if thou will give us thy Sabbaths and thy Ordinances we will trust thee for our Vines and for our Fig-trees But if the Lord be so angry to deny us his Ordinances how can we ever thinke that he will be so mercifull to us to continue our peace or our civill liberties No sure if Truth be gone Vines and Fig-trees will not stay long The next words therefore are I will destroy her Vines and her Fig-trees The Lord may suffer those places that never had Sabbaths and Ordinances to prosper in their Civill â—eace a long time but where these have and the wrath of God be so incensed as to take away these it cannot be expected that outward peace and plenty can hold long there First seeke the kingdom of heaven saith Christ and all these things shall be added unto you No say they let us first seeke the kingdome of earth and the things of heaven will be added to us which shewes the sleightnesse of their account of heavenly things As the paper and the thred in a shop is given in to the commodity it is added if a man bargaine for the paper and thred and think the commodity will be given in what a folly were it Many men have their thoughts altogether upon the things of this life and they think the Gospel will be given into the bargaine as if they have peace they shall no question have truth as if the Gospel were the paper and thred and the things of the world were the commodities It is your wisdome if you would enjoy outward peace let your hearts be for Ordinances cry to God for Ordinances and then God will take care you shall sit under your Vines and under your Fig-trees peace The Eleventh Lecture HOSEA 2. 12. 13. And I will destroy her Vines and her Fig-trees whereof shee hath said These are my rewards that my lovers have given me and I will make them a forrest and the beasts of the field shall eate them And I will visit upon her the dayes of Baalim wherein she burnt incense to them and she decked her selfe with her eare-rings and her jewels and she went after her lovers and forgat me saith the Lord. GODS threatning Israel in taking away spirituall mercies their Sabbaths and Ordinances their solemne Feasts you have in the former verse but because they might not be much sensible of such a judgement to be deprived of Sabbaths and solemnities of worship would not be so grievous to many but the destroying of the fruit of the ground the spoiling of their land the losse of those things wherein their riches and outward comforts lay would be more grievous therefore God joynes this threat with the former And I will destroy her Vines and Fig-trees In these two Vines and Fig-trees there is a Synecdoche by these are meant all her outward prosperity I will not lop their Vines I will not cut downe some branches of their Fig-trees only but destroy them If God stayes long before a judgement comes hee comes fearfully indeed he comes with destroying judgments then he strikes at the very rooâ—e of all a peoples prosperity and leaves them hopelesse of ever recoveriug themselves It concerns us to humble our selves under Gods hand when he doth but cut off some branches of our vines and fig-trees of our outward
and then there commeth in some darting thoughts of him but so as your conscience knowes they are very terrible to you you can never now have a thought of God but it is as a clagger at your heart and indeed it must needs be terrible to a guilty conscience that is departed from God Well take heed what thou doest O thou sinner goe not on so long in thy sinfull wayes till thou wearest out all the thoughts of God for some have done so though they had checks of conscience when they have beene in wicked company God hath come into their thoughts and troubled them but they have gone to wicked company againe and some thoughts of God have yet followed them but they have gone again and again and now they have forgot God as if there were no God at all in heaven as if God had nothing to doe with them and they nothing to doe with God O this is a sad condition indeed If any of you be declining into such a condition as this is the Lord stop you this day the Lord awaken your consciences Ordinarily the more prosperity men have the more forgetfull they are of the Lord They forgat me as Genesis 48. 20. Jacob set Ephraim before Manasses first Ephraim then Manasses Ephraim signifies fruitfulnesse and Mansses signifies forgetfulnesse thus it is with men Ephraim comes first fâ—uit fulnesse God is fruitfull to you and blesseth you in your estates then comes Manasses forgetfulness you are forgetfull of his goodnesse to you My brethren if always we had such impressions of God as we have sometimes O how happy were it It will terrifie hereafter when God shall againe so present himselfe to you and cause you to remember what impressions of his divine Majesty once you had let us hold forth our continuall remembrance of God so as all that behold our conversaions may say surely the thoughts of God are mighty upon the spirits of these men thus we should live before our brethren I will give you this one rule for your lives Live such lives as by them you may hold forth before your brethren such remembrances of God as they may conclude by that they see in your conversations Certainly there are deepe thoughts of God upon the heart of this man there was a time indeed he walked lightly vainly foolishly but now he is serious in his way he is considerate he is heavenly he walks with feare Certainly there are great impressions of the divine Majesty upon his heart if it be so with us how joyfull will it be to us hereafter when God shall appeare in his glory then to have our consciences tell us the impressions of the Majesty of this God that now I see so high and great have beene upon my soul in the whole course of my life I now see the glory of the great God shining and blessed be his name even this God that appeares so gloriously hath appeared often to my soul before and I have kept the impressions of his glory upon my heart and he was continually in my thoughts It is a wonder that God should ever thinke of us who are so forgetfull of him as we are Psalm 8. What is man that thou remembrest him saith the text what is man The word there that is translated man some would bring forth the Hebrew roote which signifies forgetfulnesse I finde Eusebius taking it thus What is man O Lord that thou shouldst remember him that is what is forgetfull man that thou shouldest remember him yet I confesse the Hebrew word that is there translated man comes from another roote that signifies weakelinesse sicklinesse what is weake man what is sick-man yet if this word come not from that roote that signifieth to forget yet I am sure there is a word that commeth from that roote that signifies to forget that is used for women because of their forgetfulnesse we would be glad to have God remember us in the day of our adversities let us remember God now all you young ones remember God remember your Creator in the dayes of your youth you old people whatsoever you forget forget not the Lord let us all remember the Lord who hath remembred us all who hath remembred England in its low estate for his mercies endure for ever We have done with the threatning part now it followes Therefore behold I will allure her bring her into the wildernesse and speake comfortably to her Therefore Beloved it is a strange therefore what they followed after their Idols they have said that all their prosperity was a reward of their Idols they have forgot the Lord they have decked themselves with their jewels to honour their Idols and marke it comes presently Therefore I will allure her and I will speake comfortably to her one would rather have thought it should have followed Therefore I will yet plague her therefore my judgements shall pursue her and cut her off but marke it followes Therefore I will allure her and speake comfort ably unto her O the rich and free grace of God to his people But of that the next day The Twelfth Lecture HOSEA 2. 14. Therefore behold I will allure her and bring her into the wildernesse and speake comfortably unto her and I will give her her Vineyards from thence HEre begins the second part of this Chapter the former was in conviction threatning pronouncing judgements this from verse 14. unto the end is the opening of the free and rich grace of God to Israel It may be said of this Chapter as Psalm 85. 10. Mercy and Peace are met together Righteousnesse and Truth kisse each other There is a blessed conjunction betweene threatning of judgement and proffering mercy but where is the copula of this conjunction What is that knits these two together Here is a conjunction but it is very wonderfull it is in the first word therefore that is the copula therefore I will allure her Wherefore This therefore hath a very strange and wonderfull wherefore if we consider of what went before the words immediately before were She went after her lovers and forgate mee saith the Lord therefore behold I will allure her there needs an Ecce be put to this therefore be hold Behold I will allure her Lyra could not see how these things could bee joyned together therefore hee thinks that this verse hath not reference to that that immediately went before but to the words in the beginning of the Chapter Say to your brethren Ammi my people and to your sisters Ruhamah shee that hath obtained mercy therefore And Cornelius à Lapide not understanding the cause of such a connection he would referre the beginning of this verse to the end of the seventh verse She shall say I will goe to my first husband for then it was better with mee then now therefore also I will allure her these two though learned men yet are Papists and therefore understand but little of the free rich grace
books should be made spears This peace is a most amiable thing and lovely in all our eyes every man desireth it and God promiseth it unto his people in many places as a most speciall fruite of his love unto them Esay 33. 10. Jerusalem shall be a quiet habitation a tabernacle that shal not be taken down And Num. 6. 25 26. The Lord make his face shine upon thee and be gracious unto thee the Lord lift up his countenance upon thee and give thee peace the shining of Gods face appeareth in giving of peace to a Nation therefore Jer 16. 5. where God threatneth the taking away of peace marke the expression I have taken away my peace from this people saith the the Lord even loving kindnesse and mercies He doth not say I have taken away peace but I have taken away My peace and then when My peace is taken away I will even take away loving kindnesse and mercies how easie were it to let out ones selfe in large discourses in the high commendations of peace God teaches us in these days to set a high price upon it We have had a peace a long time and the Lord knowes we have not priced that mercy now we know what a sad thing it is to have war in our Gates And if this be a fruite of Gods Covenant to have peace we have cause to bewayle the breach of our Covenant Surely there is a great displeasure of God out against us this cup of blood that is prepared and powred forth and drunke in a great measure is a most dreadfull one our brethren have drunke deepe of it we have been afraid of it long since we have heard of rumours of wars and when the Cup was abroad we prayed that if it were possible it might passe from us this Cup did passe and went to our brethren in Ireland and now it is come unto us the sword hath had its circuite and now it is come amongst us and that which is come is exceeding dreadfull because our wars are not with forreign enemies but Civill wars the worst of all I have read in the Romane Chronicles that in a battell between Sylla and Marius there was a souldier by accident killed one not knowing who it was but after he was slaine he saw it was his brother presently in anguish of spirit he ran his sword into his owne bowels This we finde to be ordinary among us even brother to be against brother yea son against father of each side at this time Certainly therefore it is time for us to fall upon our knees and to be humbled before the Lord for the breach of our peace Peace is a sweet mercy therefore pitty it is that it should not be improved pitty is it that it should be abused Oh how have we abused our former peace God gave us peace before to what end That we might be edifyed and so built up in the feare of God and comfort of the holy Ghost as Acts 9. 31. it is said the Churches had rest were edifyed and did walk in the feare of God and the comforts of the holy Ghost We have not made this use of the rest God hath been pleased to afford us but we have growne wanton with our peace with this precious jewell and just it is with God to take it from us And now we doe desire peace but to what end Still ayming at this especially at this that we might have more freedome to satisfie our lusts and to make provision for the flesh that is the very ground of most mens desire of peace whereas if we did understand the true worth of peace indeed we would thinke it a very low end to desire peace onely to attaine this Ezek. 37. 26. Marke the promise that is there I will make a Covenant of peace with them it shall be an everlasting Covenant with them and I will place them and multiply them and will set my sanctuary in the middest of them for evermore Yea that is a comfortable peace to be desired indeed when God by peace shall make way to set his sanctuary amongst us If we did desire peace upon these termes we might have peace sooner then we are like to have it Againe Peace is sweet therefore pitty it is that it should be falsifyed Ps 28. 3. there are some that speake peace to their neighbours but mischiefe is in their hearts It is pitty that such a precious thing as peace should be serviceable to mens lusts that it should be pretended only to drive on a mischievous designe Peace is too good to be serviceable to mens base ends Yet further Peace is a great blessing therefore pitty it is that it should not be endeavoured for to the uttermost Yea cursed be that warre that hath not peace for the end of it it is that which ought to be as the Embleme of every souldier to have it written upon his sword Sic quaerimus Pacem even thus doe we seek peace It is a great deale better to have a war that aymes at and works peace then to have a peace that aymeâ— at and works war It is true war produceth very dreadfull effects but war that shall bring forth peace is better then peace that produceth war and the more we do commend peace the more doe wee still commend that war that tends to the bringing forth true peace rather then to seeke for a false peace that will produce most dreadfull war afterwards Peace is a great blessing from God but we must take heed we buy it not too deare we may say of this as we use to say of Gold we may buy gold toodear You will say how is it possible to buy peace at too deare a rate Yes if you give these three things for it you have but a deare bargain of it First if you sell truth for it selling any truth for peace you buy peace too deare for the least truth is better then all the kingdomes of the earth It first cost the blood of Christ and since hath beene watered by the blood of thousands of Martyrs Secondly if you shall betray those that have beene most active for the publique good onely that you may be way of complyance provide for your own particular peace this peace costs you too deare Thirdly if you for love of peace shall subject your selves to tyranny or slavery This is peace at too deare a rate and the posterity that comes after may curse that basenesse of spirit and cowardlynesse of the generation that went before that should buy peace for themselves so deare as to bring not onely themselves but their posterity under the bondage of miserable tyranny and woefull slavery It is true it is a great deale easier for a man that is striving and fighting with his enemy to lie downe then to spend his strength with fighting and striving he shal not spend so many of his spirits in the act of lying down why will he