Newcastles Call to Her Neighbor and Sister Towns, Chapter 3

Newcastles Call to Her Neighbor and Sister Towns · Chapter 3

p. 27CHAP. 3.

That this Wrath was Peſtilence. That Peſtilence is an effect of Gods wrath, and therefore not to be dallied withall: yet Gods diſpleaſure more to be looked unto, and prayed againſt, then the Peſtilence it ſelfe.

NOw this Wrath in particular,2. It is a Plague which generally is a ſtroke. and with reſpect to man is here called a Plague, or a Stroke, from a word which ſignifieth to ſmite, and that to death: and ſo it ſignifieth generally any judgement of God which is to death: p. 28as a ſlaughter by the ſword, and by hanging, Ioſh. 22.17. with Numb. 25.3.4.5. And generally of Aegypts plagues it is ſaid;Exod. 9.14.Exod 9:14 I will ſend all my Plagues upon thine heart. orOrigen turnes the word Confraction or breaking:Confraction. and ſo the Greeke here, hee hath begun to breake, that is to deſtroy: whence Orige… notes that the wicked a… as earthen veſſels of diſhonour to bee broken. An… doubtleſſe the Lord by his judgements breakes i… upon his people like th… ſea, and makes a brea… among them as now by Peſtilence, by which he… p. 29ſcatters us one from another, &c.But eſpecially here Peſtilence. And of this Plague by Peſtilence wee underſtand the word here. This ſame word is uſed alſo by Moſes, when hee ſpeakes of the laſt Plague of Aegypt, Exod. 12.23.27.Exod 12:23Exod 12:27the death of the firſt borne, wherewith God is ſaid (by his Angell) to ſmite them. And that Angell is called a Deſtroyer: For as God by an Angell delivered his people out of Aegypt, Numb. 20.16.Num 20:16ſo by an Angell hee deſtroyed their enemies, Hebr. 11.28. So that it is very likely that thoſe firſt borne were deſtroyed by Peſtilence, to which I p. 30I conceive the Lord in Amos hath reference, when hee ſaith, I have ſent among you the Peſtilence after the manner of Aegypt. Amos 4.10.Amos 4:10Even ſo in the Peſtilence which was in King Davids time, hee is called the Angell that deſtroyed the people. 2. Sam. 24.16.2 Sam 24:16Moreover, theſe Murmurers were threatned to bee ſmitten with the Peſtilence,Numb. 14.12.Num 14:12 I will ſmite them, ſaith the Lord, with the Peſtilence: now when (after this threatning) were they ſo ſmitten unleſſe at this time It is not much materiall to our maine ſcope, whether this Plague here were p. 31the Peſtilence, or no; yet ſo we now take it, Doctr. and doe obſerve, that the Peſtilence is Wrath, Peſtilence is an effect and ſigne of wrath in God.or a ſigne and effect of Wrath, and of Gods diſpleaſure: Here wee ſee the one is explanied and expreſſed by the other: and this is the Obſervation hence to be made: yet it is not ſo much a ſigne of Gods wrathfull diſpleaſure, to each and every particular perſon ſmitten by it (ſeeing a child of God may both be ſmitten and die of it) as to the Communaltie, to the Kingdome, Citie,To whom Towne or place where it is, in which a breach is made, as p. 32in Davids caſe. Yet here in my text, they were all guilty; and for the moſt part the Peſtilence, as well as the Sword, comming to avenge the quarrell of Gods covenant, …ev. 26.25.and to puniſh the diſobedient and obſtinate, its maine buſines is with thoſe againſt whom God hath the greateſt quarrell.

It is no ordinary death.The Plague then is, and muſt be taken to be a fearfull ſigne of Gods diſpleaſure and wrath: as it was ſaid of the Aegyptians, H… (that is God) caſt upō them the fierceneſſe of his anger, Pſal. 78.49.…0.51.Ps 78:49wrath and indignation, and trouble, by ſending evill angels p. 33among them. — Hee gave their life over to the Peſtilence: and ſmote all the first-borne in Aegypt, &c. So Numb. 25.3, 4, -8.

This is not an ordinarie death, or death barelie,VVhy? or a debt we owe to God and Nature, as an effect of originall Sin, or of Sin generallie; but this, as the like deaths by Sword and Famine, is an effect of ſome great, ſpeciall, ſpreading, and raigning Sins. In it is wrath; and the face of an angrie God, may, & ought be ſeen in it.

For 1.1. Gods hand is ſpecially in it. Gods hand is more ſeen (or to be ſeen) in it. God is ſaid To fall upon, p. 34or to meet men with Pestilence. …xod. 5.3. …am. 24.And its A falling into the hands of the Lord. In the place, Exodus 5.3. as elſewhere, I know the Greeke and Chaldee tranſlate the word there uſed (Deber) Death: yet that death is Peſtilence; for ſo the Holy Ghoſt puts it for Peſtilence in Revel. 6.8. from Ezek. 14.21. So the Murraine or Peſtilence on the cattel is ſaid to be from the hand of the Lord.Exod. 9.3.Exod 9:3

2. Its full of wofull evill. Pſal. …1.3.Ps 1:32. Commonlie it is a grievous death (as that a grievous Murraine, Exod. 9.3.) And the Pſalmiſt cals it noyſome, or rather wofull Peſtilence, or Peſt of p. 35wofull miſeries or evils. Now what theſe evils are, who knows not? Through the noyſomneſſe and contagion of it, it makes a man a ſtrāger to his own houſe, to his deareſt friends; yea, as it were an enemie to them, and an inſtrument of death to wife, children, friends; and it deprives a man of comforters in his greateſt agonie and need; and at length, of life, and of an Honorable buriall. Its an enemie of trading and civill commerce: its commonlie accompanied with Famine, and followed (where it workes not reformation) with … page missing p. 38ſtung (by Gods wiſe providence) with this deadlie diſeaſe, ſo the whole point it ſelfe affords unto us a double inſtruction. Vſe 1 Not to bee ſecure in time of peſtilence.1. Not to dallie with God, at ſuch times eſpeciallie as theſe: God is in good earneſt with us, truly diſpleaſed with us, & with our waies, and would have us know ſo much, whileſt hee manifeſts his wrath from heaven againſt us by Plague and Peſtilence, which is one of his foure ſore Iudgements, Ezek. 14.21.Ezek 14:21whereby hee powres out his furie upon us in blood to cut off man and beaſt (as wee have great cauſe to feare)Verſe 29. and which he would p. 39have us take not for an ordinarie death, but for a true ſigne of his Wrath, which hee would have us ſee in it, and accordinglie feare and tremble, and ſo worke out our Salvation, breaking off our Sins by Repentance and amendment of life, not making light thereof when his hand is ſo heavie upon us for the ſame. When Peſtilence finds us in our Sin, it is a fearfull ſigne of heavie wrath from God; but if it leave us in our Sin, then is it yet a more fearfull ſigne of Gods hot diſpleaſure, for ſo it leaves us either to the Sword of mercileſſe page missing p. 42and everlaſting deſtruction of ſoule & body, as the juſt and full deſert and reward of our ſinnes. Alas! what is the plague, or any bodily evill to this, that we ſhould be ſo much troubled with it, and uſe ſuch meanes and care to prevent, or fly from it, and yet the mean while, be no whit at all, or very little touched with a ſenſe or feare of the other?And to ſeek Gods favour more then health or life. wheras a man may eſcape the danger of the Peſtilence, and be free from it, and other bodily evills, and yet be and remaine under Gods heavie and ſore diſpleaſure, and ſo be liable to all p. 43plagues and puniſhments which his ſinns deſerve to be inflicted on him in this life, and in hell for ever; as on the contrary one may bee ſmitten in body by plague and peſtilence, as wee conceive King Hezekiah was, or by ſome ſore,Iſay 34.1-21. Pſal. 6.1, 1 3. &. 9. & 38, 1, 2, &.Isa 34:1–21Ps 6:1 deadly or dangerous diſeaſe and ſicknes, as David was, and yet be in happie and bleſſed eſtate and condition, as being in love and favour with God, though it may bee not alwayes in that freſh ſenſe and feeling of it which he deſires.

This made holy David in his ſickneſs pray in this manner, and after this method: p. 44O Lord rebuke me not in thine anger, neither chaſten mee in thy hot diſpleaſure. Have mercy upon me O Lord, for I am weake: O Lord heale me, for my bones are vexed. Where though in the ſecond place he prayeth for healing, yet firſtly & chiefly he praies both againſt Gods hot diſpleaſure, & for his mercy and favour. He by occaſion of his ſickneſſe apprehends Gods diſpleaſure & heavie wrath, as the juſt deſert of his ſinne, if God ſhould deale with him in rigour, and accordingly is more affected in ſoule thorow a ſenſe of Gods wrath, p. 45then in body, through the feeling of his diſeaſe or affliction: and therefore he praies not ſo much againſt the ſicknes or evill which troubled him in body, which he tooke onelyonly as a fatherly chaſtiſement, and which hee could well indure, according to that of Chriſt, As many as I love, Revel 3.19.Rev 3:19I rebuke and chaſten; as againſt Gods wrath cauſed by his ſinne, which he well knew to be intolerable, it being ſuch, as when it lay upon Chriſt the eternall Son of God in our nature, who as our ſuretie, and in our ſtead tooke it upon him, made him cry out, My p. 46God, why haſt thou forſaken mee? Many of us never looke ſo farre as to the inward affection of anger in God (though it bee not properly in him:) if they had but the outward evill removed (as now this of Plague) they little regard Gods wrath and diſpleaſure frō whence it comes, or how contrary God is unto them, though they ſhould utterly in ſoule and eternally be conſumed by it; for they would returne preſently to, yea doe ſtill continue in thoſe ſinnes which bring them under his curſe and wrathful diſpleaſure, making light account p. 47thereof, with Pharao ſometimes deſiring a removal of the evil which was upon him and his people, but never of the diſpleaſure of God, or of the hardneſſe of his heart and ſin provoking God, unto w^ch he preſently returned. Such may hauehave the plague kept or removed from thē now, and yet remaine under, and periſh in Gods wrath and hot Diſpleaſure temoprally and eternally, as did Pharao.

Here wee may try our ſelvs,Triall of our ſelves hence. whether at this time the Peſtilence & outward evill which is amongſt us, or Gods diſpleaſure trouble p. 48us moſt. To make light of Sin, to continue in it now without due ſearch and examination of our waies, or otherwiſe to juſtifie our ſelves in apparant evils, and not to reforme them to the uttermoſt of our power, is to make light of Gods wrath and not to feare it, but to procure new wrath, or at leaſt, the con…inuance of the old. But how many ſuch now have wee? Oh, ſay they, the Plague and the evils accompanying it, are intolerable; and oh that this fire were once quēched! But in the mean time, the Sins which have p. 49provoked God to diſpleaſure are loved, pleaded for; at leaſt, not forſaken, or put away, ſo much as in purpoſe of heart. Do ſuch men feare Gods diſpleaſure? doth his wrath trouble them? or doe they ſee & groane under his wrath, whileſt they complaine of the outward evils, and pray for healing? no alas! this Plague is not ſeene as an effect & token of Gods wrath, but onelyonly as croſſe and contrarie to us in our health, life, friends, goods; to our ſinful aſſociations & companying one with another; whereas wee ſhould look more to Gods wrath p. 50in the Plague, than to the Plague it ſelfe, or in any other reſpect: and in our praiers, and by our indeavours pray againſt wrath, and beg, and ſeeke merciemercy and forgivenes of our Sins more than life it ſelfe, craving ſtill, and crying for merciemercy; MercieMercy, merciemercy good Lord, nothing but merciemercy; give and ſhew m… merciemercy, or elſe I die: what will health, freedom from peſtilēce, what wil wealth or life it ſelfe availe me, … for want of merciemercy I peri… eternallie? Nay, I may have theſe and periſh,Pſam. 92.6, 7. yea theſe may be given me, i… I ſtill perſiſt in my old ſin p. 51that I may (more certainlie) periſh. Now ô holie God, in wrath remember merciemercy: and give us thy ſervants, firſt aright to apprehend thy wrath now gone out againſt us, whileſt the Plague is begun; that wee may be fitted and prepared, both to beg and to receive merciemercy, that thou maiſt be glorified by ſhewing merciemercy, whileſt we are aſhamed, abaſhed, and truly humbled in the apprehenſion and acknowledgment of thy juſt wrath gone out againſt us, and manifeſted thus by Plague and Peſtilence. Amen.