Works, Part 4 · Religious instruction · Chapter 33
CHAP. XXXIII. Of Godswrath, and iustice, and merciemercy.
THere are three things which doe slake our paines in this life, mittigation, hope, and comfort, but none of these can helpe in hell. For the first we know the richThe paines of hell are endlesse, cas… lesse, and hopelesse. man could not hauehave… drop of water. In this life, it may fall out, that a man that whippeth vsus an whole day long may be weary, but our tormentors in hell are spirits, and therefore neuer wearie. Againe if such whippers in this life should neuer waxe wearie in whipping vsus, yet it may bee they shall kill vsus, or at the least leaue vsus nu… and senselesse, but in hell though our bodies continually burne, yet shall they neuer consume. Thirdly on earth, though neither tormentors waxe weary, nor we tormented be cōsumed, yet the whippes and instruments would weare and waste, and should hauehave some ease that way: but hel fire is vnquencheable, and the worme of conscience vnsatiable; and therefore no hope of mitigation. But what comfort is there in hell? if the sight of the pleasures lost, which they might hauehave had, if the beholding of our enemies aduanced into that glory, which we could not denie to them, and wish for our selues, if the entring into paine and shame euen before our aduersaries, whom we hate, and in whose sight we would bee better esteemed, doe increase the paines of the sufferers, then all these shew there is little comfort in hell. First the damned shall be within the hearing of this, which they hauehave lost, Come yee blessed of my father; and the godly shall be within the hearing of this to the damned, Goe yee cursed into euerlasting fire. The wicked indeede shall remember their pleasures, they had onTere…t. earth, but to the increase of their woe, for it is a double miserie to hauehave beene happie, and now to hauehave lost it. The old man in the comedie saith, I hauehave a sonne, nay, alas, I hauehave had a sonne. The wicked, I say, shall wish then, that they had heard the word of the Lord, and that will be another discomfort. Last of all, they shall bee in the hand of the diuell their enemie, and hee shall torment them euen in the sight of the godly, whom they hated as their enemies; the diuell played with them in this world, but hee will not play with them in his kingdome, and therefore there is no comfort. The last helpe is hope, and but for that, they say, the heart would burst, and surely for any hope in hell their hearts may burst indeede. Oh, saith a heathen man hoping for release in time, God shall also giuegive an ende to these euils. But here is our hope of ende, for the inhabitants of this place are immortal, so that though they hauehave but one good thing which is immortalitie, yet euen that is such a thing, as makes their paines the greater: what auaileth it to knowe these things, if the Lord doth not keepe vsus from them. Feare them therefore before hand, and ye shall escape them; neglect them, and ye shall fall into them. No man is so deepe in hel as he, that least thought of these things. And if the speech of this be so vnpleasāt vntounto you, what thinkNote. you, will it bee to them that shall feele it. Well, though wee were not told, and if I should hold my peace, the fire burnes still, and if yee neglect to heare of it, by experience ye shall feele it.
2 When we are to speake of the displeasure of the Lord, we are so become humble suitersOf the wrath of God. to God, that he would reueale more to the hearts of men by his spirit, than the mouth of man is able to deliuer. For the tearmes of wrath and fire are not able to vtter the depth of the iudgements of God, though for our capacitie he can vse no words more vehement to vsus. For as in expressing the power of God, the highest name wee can reach vntounto, is to call him King; so to expresse his anger he often challengeth to himselfe the title of wrath, whereby he sheweth to vsus nothing else, but that he is purposed to plai… the part of an angrie one, as if indeed he were angry: and though it be true, that we finde no such affections fal into the Lord, yet because we cannot otherwise imagine how he should be reuenged on the vngodly, he is content to instruct vsus herein by the name of an angrie God. And indeed it is the purpose of the Lord in such places to shew his iustice to mē, but because to say the Lord is iust, moueth too little, he somtimes saith he is angry, to moue vsus more effectually: out of this attribute of the Lord wee may make our profite. First nothing in the world, no kinde of word setteth out the vile nature of sin more than this doth, to say our sins make the Lord angrie. It carrieth some force to say, that sin is the worke of the flesh, to call it the worke of darknes the worke of the diuell, and all these are effectuall: but none of them is able to come into the balance of comparison with this one, that it moueth the Lord to wrath, because though it be not possible, that God should be angrie, yet if it were possible,If any thing cause the lord to be angrie, it is sinne. that any thing should doe it, it is sinne. Secondly, I would hauehave no man henceforth perswade himselfe, that God will be a proctour of his sin, or that he will giuegive him pillowes to ease, bolsters to hold out, or curtaines to couer his sin, for sinnes moue the Lord to wrath. He could not leaue sin vnpunished in Dauid his chosen, nay he would not spare his whole Church the people of Israel from punishment, and therefore hee will not beare with one particular member. Leaue men and come to Christ, who though he had comitted no sin, yet because he tooke vponupon him our sinne, how was he punished: though he liued in al obedience, first in heauen, & then in earth, yet when he came to death, how bitter was that cup of wrath to him? If God then did not beare with sinne in his Sonne being but imputed vntounto him, he will not bee a bearer of vsus in sinne, hauing to the full committed it, but we may well make our accomptes, come sinne, come wrath. Thirdly, if the Lord be angrie with our inuentions, which do not hurt him (for though kings did incampe thēselues against him, he would laugh them to scorne) then had wee neede to bee angrie with our sinnes, because they will else throwe vsus downe into hell. If this word Wrath now will not moue vsus, surely it would not moue vsus to see the mountaine of smoke, as that of Sinai.
3 Grieuous is the paine and vntolerable is the the griefe of hell fire, to be burned is theWhy the anger of God is oft set downe by fire. most grieuous and painefull death that can be, it is terrible to eueryevery part of the body for a man to feele his blood and his fat to drop away from him. If wee were threatned to hold our hand ouer a fire of wood, it would make vsus doe any thing, yea things vnlawfull to auoide it without Gods especiall grace assisting vsus: but alasse this is nothing to hell fire, and yet we will not auoide sinne, which will kindle a fire vnquenchable, and our bodies shall neuer bee consumed. Nabuchadnezzar had twentie seuen prouinces, Daniel 3. and yet but three men amongst all them refused to fall downe to worship the golden image for feare of fire. But we neede not goe to Nabuchadnezzars time, we may looke backe but into Queene Maries time and see many that for feare of fire did vndergoe things vnlawfull against their owne conscience to their despaire. And yet this was but a materiall fire, but of the Lords fire we must conceiue otherwise. In Esay hee saith, hee will hauehave it made with pitch to make it noysome to our members, and he will hauehave a riuer of brimstone to feed it, that it shall not be drawne drie. If this be the reward of our neglect, why doe wee heape to our selues, an heape of chaffe; If fire come, why will we be as stubble▪ If this argument, this firie argument wil not cause vsus to feare, nothing will cause vsus. If (as it is said) in the schoole nothing mooueth more than that, which hath both reason and sense, then surely fire mayOf three things which may keepe vsus from sinne. 1 Shame. 2. Griefe. 3. Feare. moue vsus, which both reason and sense doe cause vsus so to feare. More plainely, there are but three things in the world, which wil bring a man from wickednesse, shame, griefe, and feare: Shame preuaileth a little now adaies, because there be so many wicked, that will couer anothers shame: & griefe is put to silence, for if that come, we say it is an humour, and whether it be so or no, they will driue it away, if they can, with merrie companie. But when it comes to feare, no mirth will serue the purpose, as we see in malefactours condemned to death, no mirth will make them merie. Nay the most sluggish beast the Asse, and though yee beate him, vntill he die, yee shall not get him to goe into the fire for feare, and yet wee more vnsensible than any beast, will not bee moued a whit. And this fire of the Lord is sodaine,Simile. and continual in that day, when no Tertullus can stand vsus in stead to plead for vsus, no bribe will be able to speake for vsus, for that will be a terrible day for all bribers. But suppose he would take a bribe, what bribe wilt thou giuegive him for the sinne of thy soule? The whole world is not enough, but though it were, the whole world shall bee destroyed, how then canst thou giuegive it?
4 If we will be truly prouoked to merciemercy, first let vsus looke to the Lord himselfe, whatsoeuerWhy mercy is to be loued. he can doe, there is merciemercy with him. All his wayes, saith the Prophet, are merciemercy: he hath stepped no where, in heauen, in earth, or in the seas, but the Lord hath left some print of his merciemercy behind him, if we could follow him in those paths he wēt in. Secondly, the earth doth not onelyonly receiue this print of Gods mercy, but repaies mercy to vsus again: and surely, if the creatures should not be merciful to vsus, men were in an euill case. Now becauseMercy is either in giuing or forgiuing. all merciemercy consisteth either in giuing or forgiuing; and there is no merciemercy but it is in one of these two, therefore in respect of both these we shall see how the Lord esteemes it. First, for the merciemercy of forgiuenesse, Matth. 6. our Sauiour Christ his aduise is, that if wee please God in this kind of mercy, euen in the immediate worship of his name, he is content to break off al his right to himselfe, that we might pay this debt of mercy to our brethren, which is more acceptable to the Lord, than any kind of sacrifice whatsoeuer. And surely al our sacrifices tend to this one sacrifice of mercy, & therfore mercy is better than all other sacrifices. So that this pention is so grateful to the Lord, that performance of this shall stay all other. On the other side, when this is not done we see, Matth. 18. the bringing of our selues in debt with the Lord, euen to the summe of a thousand talents doth not so much grieue him, as the retaining of this pension from the Lord, where for the seruants debt no manner of euill words are giuen, but all is forgiuen, but after when this seruant denies the pension of mercy, then the Lord takes the matter hotly, and the other debt did not so much grieue him as this. But to examine these things in the ballance of our owne reason:Pension of merciemercy to be shewed and paid to our brethren. if two men are to passe by a place, where lies no small danger by reason of the hot pursuit of their enemies, and one of them going ouer by a bridge escapeth, and when this other is to escape by the same meanes, he drawes vp the bridge after him, as not content the other should be deliuered with him; we would condemne this fact. The same is our case: we escape sinne the common enemie of our soules, onelyonly by the bridge of mercy: and nowSimile. we are escaped safely, our brother is to come ouer the same bridge, and we pull it vp, thisNote. is a singular inhumanitie, and a high point of profound malignitie, though the Lord indeed will make him a new bridge of mercy, howsoeuer we shew our malicious minde. Now to come to our selues: whether is it not vsuall with vsus to sacrifice with Caine, and yet to knocke Abel on the head; and whether we say not Lord forgiue, but we forgiue not: we forget, but we forgiue not; we forgiue, but we forget not: as it pleaseth vsus thus toGiuing. distinguish? and let these things speake whether we hauehave mercy or no. And for giuing, which is the other part, that it be certaine, that God shewes his will herein, that he wouldMercy to the poore. hauehave our bowels opened to the poore, because he might hauehave made all rich, as well as one rich, but that he left some poore to try vsus. He had enough in store, & could hauehave made the poorest equall with the richest, but that he had met with vsus, that we neede not to complaine, and say (as some might haply hauehave done) we want some, to whom we might shew our thankfulnesse. The whole earth is the Lords, and what can we giuegive him, our weldoing extendeth not to him, he needs it not, we can do him no good, but for his sake oh that wePsalm. 16. might do good to men. For this cause I say, the Lord hath giuen the poore a bil of his hād for the receiuing of his right, which is due to himselfe, in these words: Whatsoeuer men do to one of these little ones, they doe it to me. Neither hath the Lord onelyonly shewed his liking of this kind of merciemercy, he hath giuen vsus reasons why we should so doe, as Luk▪ 6 GiueGive and it shall be giuen to you againe: these are brethren, and therefore inseparable; if we giuegive, it shall be giuen vsus againe. If then we will driue away famine from the land, we must giuegive, so that with this sacrifice the benefit of the whole countrie is purchased. But beside this, Matth. 19 it is said, GiueGive to the poore and ye shall hauehave treasure in heauen. So that we shall not onelyonly hauehave mercy, if we shew mercy, but the Lord himselfe will shew himselfe exceedingly thankefull to vsus for the same. And yet we see our diffidence herein: And as the seede is not the grounds that receiues it, but his that sowes it; so that, which is bestowed in mercy, is not so much his, vponupon whom the gift is bestowed, but his that bestoweth it. So here is another reason, we must giuegive because we hauehave receiued it, the Lord requires nothing but his owne, he requires nothing to be giuen, but that we hauehave receiued of him, & therefore we see of them that receiued talents, the Lord requires nothing to be repaid but his own. There is & hath bin these many daies a complaint against the pastors of the land, because they feed as though they fed not, and for this there is great hatred against them sprung vp from the people, which though it be a iust conceiued wrath, yet I thinke we measure thē not by the right measure,A talent of riches. that is by another measure than we measure our selues by; for we hauehave a talent of riches, as they hauehave a talent of knowledge, wherein we are as slacke to performe mercy to theA talent of knowledge. poore, as they to the ignorant; so that in condemning them, we condemne our selues. For as it is sure, that the haruest is great in spirituall things, & there are but few labourers, so inThat which goes for currant & good payment in this world is not currant in another. respect of temporall things there is as great an haruest, & the labourers are as few, because as the ignorāt people are the haruest of the learned Ministers, so the poorer sort is the haruest of the rich men. Another reason is this, because we cannot retaine, it is therefore a good policie to giuegive, and to make vsus friends of the wicked Mammon. We cannot carrie any thing with vsus from hence, hauehave we neuer so much: here it is gotten, and here it is gone: and though we could carry our gold with vsus, yet when we come in another world, that which is currant here will stand vsus in no stead, for it wil not go for currant there. Wel, admit, these things could doe vsus good, yet we cannot carry them safely with vsus, for there are many robbers wil meet vsus in the way, & therefore we must follow the manner of them, that go by pirats, they carry not all they hauehave with them, but they commit all to others of their friends by writings and bils, which we see to be vsed of our exchangers: So then wee must carry with vsus only our bils, which will stand the spoilers in little steed, though they light vponupon them. And surely the Lord hath made the rich his factors and exchangers here on earth, and seeing the Lord hath giuen vsus a bill of his hand for that we commit to the poore, we may safely make our claime to all, for this bill will goe with vsus, and shall be reade euen at the iudgement seate, when Christ himselfe shall say, Looke what ye hauehave done to one of these, ye hauehave done it to me. So that it is good to shew mercy, because otherwise wee cannot long keepe that we hauehave: & surely if that which is spoken of mercy in the world should be cut off, a great part of the Scriptures shuld be don away. But amōg many reasons this may moue vsus to mercy, that in the time of iudgement the Lord will be content to leaue off all other actions of knowldge, and truth, &c. and come to this one of mercy. And albeit the Lord may challenge the other too, yet because the special clause of iudgment shall be concerning mercy, we must specially looke to this. To apply this to our selues I neede not, I cannot accuse men, all mens mouthes wil condemne thēselues, the Preachers of the word neede not to bend their braines to finde out an accusation for this point, because all men can doe it; & what is more vsuall than this, mens deuotions growe cold. And indeed there is greathardnes of heart, there is much complaining, but little redressing, and therefore, seeing the land doth accuse it selfe, I accuse it not.
5 This is the difference between the punishments here & those in another life? here noOf the punish ment of the wicked. vehement punishment is permanent, there the punishment is euerlasting & yet most vehemēt. Alas that there are no more fit termes to expresse it. But small perswasion wil serue, and a twine threed wil draw him that belongs to God: but if he be a child of reprobation, a cable rope wil not serue; and though he should see the smoke and the mountaine of fire, yet will he turne and sowse himselfe in the mire of sinne like a sow. Take a man in a fit of a burning ague, and ye shall heare him vtter such words, and so protest of his paine, as if itSimile. were v…s…fferable, but this is another manner of age, and shall vexe vsus more than all the burning agues in the world, and yet it shall continue. Paul alleageth a very plaine reason why there is so little merciemercy among men. EueryEvery man seekes his owne, and we seeke not the things one of another▪ We forget we are members one of another, and therefore the Lord needes nothing but our owne mouths to condemne vsus. For seeing we call God Father, I would gladly know, by what title we call him Father. There is no reason but that Christ is our brother, and he hath made vsus the sonnes of God: for there is no fatherhood in God but by brotherhood in Christ. But how is Christ thy brother more than to another, seeing he hath done as much for another as he hath done for thee? Well, if another hath as good a title to Christ as thou, then he is thy brother too, and if he be thy brother, I say to thee, as Malachie saide of the fatherhood, If God be thy father, where is his feare; so if he be thy brother, where is thy brotherly louelove? But Christ hath yet another reason, we are not onelyonly brethren, because God is our father, and Christ our brother, but for that we are as neerely knit in coniunction, as the lims and members of the body. So that the cause, why we shew no mercy is, because we cannot perswade our selues to be members. Of the primitiue Church and the faithfull congregations gathered by the Apostles it is saide, there was but one heart, one will among them, and therefore no doubt but one body; for there can be but one heart in one body, and it were monstrous in one body to hauehave two hearts, The lawe of members is, that looke what one member receiueth, is receiues not for it selfe alone, but for all the rest too. The eye it sees not to defend and helpe itselfe alone, but it sees for the hand, for the foote, and for the other parts of the body. And so by the law of members, if wee hauehave any thing, wee must bestow it on the whole body, and as well on the foote as on the head. Euen so doth one member receiue the benefite of another, that as the eye seeth, so all seeth, as the hand writeth, so all write; and wee knowe the least benefite or hurt which is in any member is ascribed to the whole body, as if but the finger ake, we say we hauehave an ach; if the naile be hurt, we say we are hurt; if the foote be whole, wee say we are healed. Then if this affection be not in vsus mercifully to impart one to another, as one member is seruiceable to another, merciemercy is not in vsus. If we be grieued for any, it is but a complaint of the mouth: we can giuegive him a Lord helpe him; but Christ did not onelyonly see one so, but he wept ouer him, he wept not onelyonly, but touched the verie leprous, yea and he healed them. Well, if there be no merciemercy in vsus, with what face can we come to the Lord, and say, giuegive vsus a kingdome, let thy kingdome come, if wee denie to our brethren the gift of so much as of a peece of bread: and how can wee looke vp to heauen with any hope to come thither, if we hauehave laid vp no store there before hand? God scummeth away the drosse of his Saints by Crosses, yet breaketh not his holy couenant with them, but performeth it, through many tribulations which they deserue and pul vponupon themselues. When the Lord threatneth, we are often driuē into a secret murmuring and impatiencie of spirit, but we must know that his minae be as medicinae, the meanes of the Lord are medicines. And wee are too nice Christians if wee cannot abide to bee threatned, seeing God his iudgements are often greater mercies, than euen the continual & ordinary mercies themselues. Nay because the Lord would not destroy vsus, hee threatneth vsus, hee hath not delight in the death of a sinner, & therefore he threatneth death vntounto vsus, because he would not hauehave death come vponupon vsus. For as the mercies of God are iudgments to some that abuse his mercies, so the iudgments of God are mercies to others, because they cause them to obserue his wil, and to enter into a new league with him. And this is that the Apostle saith, all things turne to the best to them that louelove God; all things, the very melancholie of the diuels, euen hell fire: for the bitternes of threatnings are fore-warnings to the godly, that they should not be destroyed with the world in the ende.