A Key Opening Mysterious Texts of Scripture, Collection of sermons 5 · Sermon 42
THE GRAPES OF GOMORRAH. THE XLII. SERMON.
ROM. 6.21.
What fruit bad yee in thoſe things, &c.
Right Honourable, &c.
SOlinus aCap. 35. Praecipua ficus Aegyptia poma non ramis tantum geſtitans, ſed & caudice ſepties anno fert fructum, &c.writeth of the Egyptian figge-tree, that it beareth fruit not only on the branches, but alſo on the main ſtock & trunck; ſo fruitfull is this parcell of Scripture, on which my meditations have pitched and reſted themſelves theſe three Lords dayes: it beareth fruit, and that in great variety, not only upon the branches, but upon the maine ſtocke▪ which yeeldeth us this fruitfull obſervation, That the ſenſe and taſte of the bitterneſſe of ſinnes paſt, and remorſe of conſcience for them, are moſt forcible motives and meanes to reſtraine the deſires, and weane the affections of Gods children from them. This fruit we gathered heretofore, and ſince plucked to us the firſt branch of the Text, which affordeth this moſt wholſome obſervation. That ſinne is altogether unfruitfull. As no meditation is more ſerious, than upon the vanity of the world; no contemplation more pleaſant to a regenerate Chriſtian, than of the unpleaſantneſſe of impure delights: ſo no obſervation is more fruitfull, than of the unfruitfulneſſe of ſinne. Who cannot copiouſly declaime againſt ſinne, againſt which it is a ſinne not to declaime? Who cannot eaſily recount all the evils which ſinne hath brought into the world, which are ſummarily all that are in the world? inſomuch that all ſciences, arts, and profeſſions have a blow at ſinne. The Metaphyſicke Philoſopher demonſtrateth, that ſinne is non ens, naught: and therefore to be ſet at naught. The Naturaliſt ſheweth that it deſtroyeth nature: and therefore ought to be exterminated out of nature. The Moraliſts muſter all the forces of vertue againſt it, as being the chiefeſt enemy of mans chiefe good, which they define to be actio virtutis in vitâ perfectâ, the continuall practice of vertue in a happy life. The Phyſicians obſerve, that the greater part of the diſeaſes of the body ariſe from ſins, which are the diſeaſes of the ſoule: Plures gulâ, quàm gladio, more come to their end by gluttony, drunkenneſſe, and incontinency, than by the halter or the ſword. The Grammarians condemne ſinne as incongruous; the Logicians as illogicall, that is, unreaſonable; and all other arts and ſciences as irregular: but Divinity alone knocketh it downe and battereth it to pieces with the hammer of the Word. There is more weight of argument in this one Verſe of the Apoſtle, than in all the Oratours declamations, and Poets ſatyres, and the Philoſophers invectives againſt vice that ever were publiſhed to the world.
What fruit had yee in thoſe things whereof yee are now aſhamed? for the end of thoſe things is death. As the ſame metall running upon divers moulds is caſt into divers formes; ſo the words of this Text admit of divers diviſions, according to ſeverall moulds and frames of art. It ſhall ſuffice to give you your choice of three.
1. The Rhetoricall, which breaketh them into
1. A poignant interrogation, What fruit had yee?
2. A forcible reaſon, For the end of thoſe things is death.
2. The Logicall, which obſerveth in them
1. The perſons, Yee.
2. The object, Thoſe things.
3. The attributes: which are three,
1. Loſſe, What fruit had yee?
2. Confuſion, Whereof yee are now aſhamed.
3. Perill, For the end of thoſe things is death.
3. The Theologicall, which conſidereth ſinne in a three-fold relation,
1. To the time paſt; and ſo it is unfruitfull: What fruit.
2. To the time preſent; and ſo it is ſhamefull: Whereof, &c.
3. To the time to come; and ſo it is dreadfull or deadly: For the end of thoſe things is death.
Firſt of ſinne, conſidered in a relation to the time paſt.
What fruit had yee? Xerxes (as Herodotus reporteth) bare a ſtrange affection to the Plane tree, which hee hung about with chaines, and deckt with jewells of greateſt price. A fond and fooliſh affection, as being to a tree, and ſuch a tree as is good for nothing but to ſhade us out of the Sunne. This folly of ſo great a Monarch very well reſembleth the humour of all thoſe, who are not guided by the Spirit of God into the wayes of truth and life, but are led by the ſpirit of errour, or the errour of their owne ſpirit, to ungodly and ſinfull courſes, the very beaten paths to hell and death. The tree they are in love with, adorne, and ſpend ſo much coſt upon, is the forbidden tree of ſinne, altogether as unfruitfull as that of Xerxes; it hath neither faire bloſſomes, nor ſweet fruit on it, onelyonly it is well growne, and hath large armes and broad boughes, and caſteth a good ſhade, or to ſpeake more properly, a ſhadow of good. For the ſhade it ſelfe of this tree is like the ſhade of the Cyprus tree, gravis umbra, a noyſome or peſtilent ſhade, making the ground barren, and killing the beſt plants of vertues, by depriving them of the Sun-ſhine of Gods grace. Yet, as divers Nations in the dayes ofbNat. hiſt. l. 12. Tributum & pro umbrâ pendunt. Pliny paid tribute to the Romanes for the ſhade of theſe trees; ſo doe theſe men pay for the ſeeming pleaſure and delight of ſinne, being indeed but a ſhadow of vanity to the Divell, the greateſt tribute that can be payd, the tribute of their ſoules. To reprove this folly to bee bewailed with bloudy teares, I have heretofore produced divers paſſages of holy Scripture: the point of doctrine I beat upon, and laboured eſpecially to faſten in your hearts, was the unprofitableneſſe and the unfruitfulneſſe of ſinne: which was proved
1. By the three names of ſinne impoſed by the Holy Ghoſt, folly, vanitie, and a lye. The reaſon whereof was, becauſe all ſinne maketh a ſhew of, and (as it were) promiſeth to the ſinner either pleaſure, or profit, or honour, or ſome good; whereas indeed it bringeth not any thing to him but ſhame, nor him to any thing but death.
2. By divers lively compariſons and reſemblances in holy Scripture of ſinfull labours and travells, as the running in a ring or circle, whereby hee that moveth and tireth himſelfe, getteth no ground; impii ambulant in circuitu: the weaving of the Spiders web, which maketh no garment: the ſowing of wind, whereof nothing can be reaped but the whirlewind, ſtormes, and tempeſts of conſcience.
3. By the judgements of God falling upon them, who ſeem to drive the moſt gainfull trade with Sathan. For either they themſelves are taken away in the midſt of their proſperity, and as ſoone as they have gotten the wealth of the world, are conſtrained to leave a world of wealth;cLuk. 12.20. O foole, this night they ſhall take away thy ſoule. Stulte, hac nocte eripient tibi animam tuam: or God bloweth upon their ill gotten goods, and they are ſuddenly conſumed, or paſſe the ſame way that they came; as the fogges that are raiſed by the Sunne, when they come to their height, are diſpelled by his beames: Or they prove like the horſe of Sejanus, or the gold of Tolous, or the veſſels and treaſures of the Temple at Jeruſalem, which became the bane and ruine of all that laid hands on them: Or if they long enjoy their wealth, yet they joy not in it at all. For howſoever none lay claime to their unrighteous Mammon, yet they can never perſwade themſelves that it is their owne; and between care of keeping, and feare of loſing, and expectation of puniſhment for ill getting them, by tyranny, exaction, oppreſſion, forged cavillation, fraud, ſimony, or ſacriledge, no place is left for any joy or comfort in poſſeſſing, or well uſing them.
4. By putting the ſeeming profits and advantages of ſinne in one ſcale, and the loſſes and diſadvantages by it in the other: which being done, the ſcale of dammages and loſſes will beare downe to the ground, nay to hell. In all bargaines we are to conſider not ſo much what the commodity is we trade or trafficke for, as what the price is: for though the merchandize we bargaine for be of great value, yet if we muſt over-buy it, giving for it an unreaſonable rate, the bargaine cannot be good. By which rule, if we examine our trafficke, we ſhall find, that if wee hold on our trade with Sathan, our merchandize will no way countervaile our charge, our gaines in the beginning will be no way anſwerable to our loſſes in the end: for we ſhall loſe the inheritance of a Kingdome in heaven, and our owne ſoules. Unfruitfulneſſe, ſhamefulneſſe, and deadlineſſe are three proper adjuncts, and (as the Logicians uſually ſpeake) paſſions of ſinne. For all ſinne is mortall, that is, deſerving death; and nothing is mortall in that ſenſe but ſinne: all ſinne is ſhamefull, and nothing ſhamefull but ſinne: all ſinne is unfruitfull, and nothing abſolutely is unfruitfull but ſinne. The Serpents feed upon, and conſume that poyſonous matter, which otherwiſe would infect the earth, water, and ayre. Phyſicians make treakle and antidotes of poyſon: the aſhes of a Viper, the oyle of a Scorpion, the wings of the Cantharides, are ſoveraigne remedies againſt the poyſon of thoſe Serpents: yea, the very doung of the earth ſerveth for very good uſe, and fatteneth the ground; onelyonly ſinne, as it is deprived of the good of being a nature, ſo it depriveth nature of all good. If any things come neere to ſinne in this, they are the grapes of Gomorrah, and apples of Sodome, which have no taſte at all in them, but as ſoone as they are touched fall to duſt; and the duſt is of that nature, that it ſerves not as doung to fatten the earth, but rather as unſavoury ſalt, which maketh it barren. All the endeavours & operations of nature, when they are not ſet out of their courſe by ſinne, forcibly tend to ſome good, and obtaine it alſo. For if they produce not, and leave behind them ſome worke, the worth whereof may recompence the labour about it; yet the very contention and exerciſe of the faculty breedeth a dexterity and facility of doing the like: it perfecteth the skill, ſtrengtheneth the faculty, accommodateth the organ, and thereby maketh the whole body more ſerviceable to the ſoule, and the ſoule better diſpoſed to vertuous acts and habits. The Archer, who often miſſeth the marke ſet before his eyes, yet in ſome ſort hitteth the marke he aimed at in his mind, which was the exerciſe of his arme, and learning to ſhoot. As the ſons of the husbandman in the fable, who being told by their father lying on his death-bed, that he left much gold buried under the ground in his Vineyard, fell on delving and digging all about the Vines; and though they found no gold, yet by ſtirring the mold about the rootes of the trees, gained a great vintage that yeere: even ſo it falleth out in the labours and travells of our calling; though by them wee reape not alwayes that profit we expect, yet thereby wee may manure (if I may ſo ſpeake) the ground of our hearts, and gaine great ſtore of thoſe fruits, which the branches that are graffed into the true Vine Chriſt Jeſus, beare. But in ſinfull labours and travells it fareth otherwiſe; they are not as moderate exerciſes which ſtrengthen, but as violent fits which weaken nature. Sinne in the underſtanding darkeneth the thoughts, in the will depraveth the deſires, in the ſenſitive appetite diſordereth the affections, in the outward ſenſe corrupteth the organs, and in the whole body breedeth loathſome and painfull diſeaſes. Sinne is not only unfruitfull, (to ſpeake in the language of the Schooles) formaliter, but alſo effectivè; not only unfruitfull in it ſelfe, as thedMat. 21.19. figge-tree in the Goſpel curſed by our Saviour, but alſo in its effects, as that other tree which was to be plucked up, ne terram redderet infructuo ſam, that it might not make the ground eLuke 13.7.barren. For ſinne maketh the ſpirit barren of the fruit of good motions, the underſtanding barren of the fruit of good meditations, the will barren of the fruit of good reſolutions, the ſenſitive appetite barren of the fruit of good affections, the whole man barren of the fruit of good works: nay, the earth and trees alſo barren of their fruit and increaſe. For the ſinne of man God curſed the earth, and itfGen. 3.18. brought forth thornes and thiſtles; and the heaven and skie alſo, and it became as gDeut. 28.23.iron over mens heads: the experience whereof brought the Heathen to acknowledge this truth,
hSenec. in Oedip.Sperare poteras ſceleribus tantis
Dare regnum ſalubre,
Fecimus coelum nocens.
Our ſinnes have tainted the influence of the ſtarres, dryed up the clouds, infected the ayre, blaſted the fruits of the earth. And Claudian in his inveſtive againſt Eutropius,
—Quae connubia prolem
Aut frugem laturus ager? quid fertile terris,
Aut plenum ſtirili poſsit ſub conſule naſci?
Is it poſſible any thing ſhould thrive or flouriſh under the ſhade of ſuch a Conſul? SaintiAdverſ. Demet. Quereris quod minus nunc tibi uberes, fontes, & aurae ſalubres, & frequens pluvia, & fertilis terra obſequium, praebeant, quod non ita utilitatibus & voluptatibus tuis elementa deſerviant: Tu enim Deo ſervis, per quem tibi cuncta deſerviunt? Tu famularis illi, cujus nutu tibi unvierſa famulantur? Cyprian alſo attributeth the great dearth in his time to the want of charity; and the ſterility of fruits in the earth, to the ſterility of fruits of righteouſneſſe: Thou complaineſt that the ſprings are not ſo full, the ayre ſo healthy, the ſhowers ſo frequent, the earth ſo fruitfull, as in former time: thou thinkeſt much that the elements are not ſo obſequious to thee as they have been, that they ſerve not thy profit and pleaſure: Why? art thou ſo obſequious to God? Doeſt thou ſerve him, by whoſe appointment all theſe things ſerve thee? As it was the manner of the Perſians, when a noble perſon committed a fault, to beat his clothes in ſtead of him; ſo it pleaſeth our moſt indulgent Father, when the nobleſt of his creatures, men his children offend, often for them to puniſh the beaſts of the field, and fruits of the earth, which feed and clothe them. As he threatneth,kDeut. 28.38, 39, 40. Thou ſhalt carry out much ſeed into the field, and ſhalt gather but little: for the Locuſts ſhall conſume it. Thou ſhalt plant vineyards, and dreſſe them, but ſhalt neither drinke of the wine, nor gather the grapes: for the worme ſhall eate them. Thou ſhalt have olive trees throughout all thy coaſts, but thou ſhalt not annoint thy ſelfe with the oyle: for thine olive ſhall caſt his fruit. Hereunto if we adde the infinite armies of plagues and judgements muſtered in this chapter againſt Gods enemies, we cannot but ſubſcribe to the Prophets concluſion, Non eſt pax impio, there is no lEſay 48.22. & 57.21.peace to the wicked, ſaith my God: there is no fruit of ſinne; for it is the vine of mDeut. 32.32, 33.Sodome, and of the fields of Gomorrah: the grapes thereof are the grapes of gall, their clusters are bitter. Their wine is the poyſon of Dragons, and the cruell venome of Aſpes.
Would yee know all the miſeries that ſinne hath brought into the world? reckon then all that are, or ever were in the world. For they are all concomitants, effects, or puniſhments of ſinne. Sinne caſt the Angels from Heaven into Hell, thruſt man out of Paradiſe, drowned the old world, burnt Sodome and Gomorrah with fire and brimſtone, ruinated the greateſt Monarchies, deſtroyed the ancienteſt Cities, and hath rooted up the moſt flouriſhing Churches; and ſhall wee looke for better fruit of it?
But this interrogatory of the Apoſtle, What fruit had yee? ſeemeth to mee rather to aime at the particular endammagement and detriments of ſinne, which every ſoule that committeth it ſuſtaineth within it ſelfe, whereof many have been already recounted, yet the greater part is behind, among whom this is not the leaſt, that it blindeth the eyes of the mind, and infatuateth the ſinner. Whereupon Saint Auſtines obſervation is, If a theefe or fellon ſhould preſently upon his fact loſe the ſight of his eyes, every body would ſay, that it was the judgement of God upon him. Oculum cordis amiſit, & ei peperciſſe putatur Deus: behold God hath taken away the ſight of his ſoules eyes, and doeſt thou thinke that hee ſpareth him, or letteth him goenCic. de Aruſp. reſponſ. Oculorum caecitas ad mentem tranſlata eſt. unpuniſhed? What greater loſſe to a noble mind than of libertie, which is forfeited by ſinne? Sinne enthralleth our ſoule to our body, and our body and ſoule to the Divell. If captivitie of the body be ſo grievous a calamity, what may wee judge of the captivitie of the ſoule? If wee ſo diſdaine to be ſlaves to men, how much more ſhould wee to bee vaſſals to beaſtly luſts? To ſpeake nothing of peace of conſcience, which crying ſinnes diſturbe; and divine motions, which worldly cares choake; and heavenly comforts, which earthly pleaſures deprive us of; and ſanctifying graces, which impure thoughts and ſinfull deſires diminiſh: to leave the conſideration of ſhame and death for matter of enſuing diſcourſes; by that which hath been already delivered, all that are not beſotted by ſin, and blind-folded by Sathan, may ſee great reaſon for this queſtion of the Apoſtle, What fruit had yee? A queſtion which the proudeſt and moſt ſcornfull ſinners, who have them in deriſion that make conſcience of unlawfull gaine, ſhall propound unto themſelves one day, and checke their owne folly therewith, as we reade in the booke ofoWiſd. 5.8. Wiſedome: What hath pride availed us? or what profit hath the pompe of riches brought us? Then ſhall they change their mindes, when they cannot their eſtates, and ſigh for griefe of heart, and ſay within themſelves, looking up to Heaven, and ſeeing the felicity of the righteous crowned with eternall glory:Ibid. Ver. 4, 5, 6, 7. This is hee whom wee ſometimes had in deriſion, and in a parable of reproach. Wee fooles thought his life madneſſe, and his end without honour. But now how is hee accounted among the children of God? and what a portion hath hee among the Saints? Therefore wee have erred from the way of truth: and the light of righteouſneſſe hath not ſhined upon us. We have wearied our ſelves in the wayes of wickedneſſe, and have gone through many dangerous pathes: and the way of the Lord wee have not knowne.
Howbeit, two ſorts of men in the opinion of the world ſeeme to make great gaine of ſinne; the covetous and the ambitious: the former is indebted to his extortion, oppreſſion, and uſury for his wealth; the other to his glozing, diſſembling, undermining, perfidious and treacherous dealing for his honour, and advancement in the Court of Princes. The ſpirit of the former hath been conjured downe heretofore, by proving that whoſoever gathereth wealth or mony by unjuſt and indirect meanes, putteth it into a broken bagge, and that his mony ſhall periſh with him, unleſſe hee breake off his ſinne by repentance, and make friends of unrighteous Mammon. I come to the Politicians, who correct, or rather pervert that ſentence of Saint Paul, Godlineſſe is great gaine, thus; a ſhew of godlineſſe is great gaine: of whom I would demand what ſhew of reaſon they have for this their politicke aphoriſme? If they beleeve there is a God that judgeth the earth, they cannot but thinke that hee will take moſt grievous vengeance on ſuch as goe about to roote out the feare of God out of mens hearts, and make Religion a maſque, and God himſelfe an Image, the ſacred Story a fable, Hell a bug-beare, and the joyes of Heaven pleaſant phantaſies. If men hold them in greateſt deteſtation who faulter and double with them, ſhall not God much more hate the hypocrite, who doubleth with his Maker, maketh ſhew of honouring and ſerving him, when hee indeed neither honoureth nor ſerveth him at all: Simulata ſanctitas eſt duplex iniquitas, counterfeit ſanctity is double iniquity, and accordingly it ſhall receive double puniſhment. When our Saviour threateneth the moſt hainous tranſgreſſours, that they ſhall have their pMat. 24.51.portion with hypocrites, hee implyeth that the condition of none in Hell is leſſe tolerable than of the hypocrite. The qPſal. 14.1.foole hath ſaid in his heart there is no God, and even in that hee ſhewed himſelfe the more foole, in that hee ſaid it in his heart, ſuppoſing that none ſhould heare it there: whereas God heareth the word in the heart, before it bee uttered in the tongue; and what though other know it not, ſith hee whom hee wrongeth, who is beſt able to revenge it, knoweth it?
But to wound the Politician with his owne ſword: If a ſhew and appearance of Religion is not onelyonly profitable, but neceſſary in politicke reſpects, ſhall not Religion it ſelfe be much more? Can there bee a like vertue or power in the ſhadow or image, as in the body it ſelfe? If the grapes painted by Zeuxis, allured the Birds to pecke at them, would not the Birds ſooner have flowne at them, had they been true grapes? All the wit of theſe ſublimated ſpirits, wherewith they entangle the honeſt ſimplicity of others, cannot wind them out of theſe dilemmaes: If it bee a bad thing to bee good, why doe they ſeem ſo? If it be a bad thing to ſeem bad, why are they bad? For if it bee a good thing to ſeeme good, it cannot but bee much better to bee ſo: If it bee a bad thing to ſeeme bad, it cannot but bee worſe to bee ſo. Videre ergo quod es, vel eſto quod videris, ſeem therefore what thou art, or bee what thou ſeemeſt: eſpecially conſidering, that asrCyr. poed. l. 2. Aſtyages in Xenophon wiſely adviſeth, the beſt meanes to ſeeme learned, is to bee learned; to ſeeme wiſe, is to bee wiſe; to ſeeme religious, is to bee religious. Hee that is not ſo, cannot long ſeeme ſo; and hee that is ſo, cannot but ſeem ſo. Fraud and guile cannot goe long but it will bee eſpied. No Stage-player can ſo act anothers part, but that hee may bee diſcerned to bee a player: diſſembling will not alwayes bee diſſembled; and when it is once detected, it diſableth the diſſembler from ever after uſing his couſening trade.
2. It is not to be omitted, that fraud, guile, and deceit beare no fruits of themſelves, but gather them from the honeſty and ſimplicity of others, whom they circumvent. If all were ſuch as themſelves, lying upon the catch, they would make little advantage of their cheating trade; neither could there be any true friendſhip or ſociety among men: and is that the beſt policy that overthroweth all policy and civill converſation?
3. Laſtly, faithfulneſſe and honeſty are like naturall beauty and ſtrength of body, which preſerve themſelves; but all fraudulent and deceitfull dealing, and cunning fetches, like complexion, where nature is much decayed, muſt bee daily laid on: or like phyſicke potions continually taken, and yet will not long helpe. All devices, plots, and fabrickes in the minde for advancing our eſtate, which are not built upon the foundation of faithfulneſſe and integrity, continually need repairing, and upon a ſtrong aſſault are eaſily caſt downe, and fall upon the builders themſelves. It will not bee amiſſe to conſider the ends of ſome of theſe men. Of two that were moſt famous in this politicke craft, Achitophel and Hannibal, the one hanged, the other poyſoned himſelfe. Theramenes, who in the civill diſſenſions at Athens dealt under hand on all ſides, in the end was diſcovered, and all parts joyning againſt him, made a ſpectacle of miſery and ſcorne. A ſingular Artificer in this kinde, who put trickes upon all men, was ſent for by Lewis the French King, ſaying, that hee had need of ſuch an head, and when hee came to him, upon detection of divers of his cunning prankes, he was condemned by him to be beheaded. I ſhould much wrong Alexander the ſixth, and Borgias his ſonne, not to put them in this Catalogue: for it was the common voice of all men (asſBodin. de rep. ſup. cit. Bodine writeth) that the father never ſpake what hee meant, the ſonne never did what hee ſpake: both held it for a Maxime, Fidem omnibus dandam, ſervandam nemini. According to which rule, when Borgias the ſonne by faireſt promiſes and deepeſt proteſtations of amity, and burying all former injuries, had drawne in the Captaines of the oppoſite faction, as ſoone as hee had them in his power, contrary to all promiſes and oathes, put them all to death: whereof the Pope his father having notice, could not conceale his joy, but brake out into that execrable exclamation, O factum bene, Well done, thou art a ſonne after mine owne heart. But hee eſcaped not the heavie judgement of God: for ſhortly after having cauſed a poyſonous cup to bee tempered for ſome of the Cardinalls, whoſe deaths he had vowed, through a miſtake hee dranke off the ſame cup himſelfe, and ſo ended his wretched life.
I ſeale up this whole diſcourſe with the words of the bleſſed Apoſtle; ſith all diſhoneſt, falſe, and unjuſt courſes of thriving are not onelyonly diſgracefull and ſhamefull, but alſo (all things conſidered) diſadvantageous: Finally, tPhil. 4.8.brethren, whatſoever things are true, whatſoever things are honest, whatſoever things are just, whatſoever things are pure, whatſoever things are lovely, whatſoever things are of good report: if there be any vertue, if there be any praiſe, thinke on theſe things, and the God of peace ſhall be with you. To whom, &c.