Newcastles Call to Her Neighbor and Sister Towns, Chapter 4
CHAP. IV.
That Pestilence is from Gods Iuſtice and Wiſedome, and not to b… aſcribed to any other author or inſtrument; neither much to be feared… the Godlie, to whom … may be a merciemercy.
Peſtilence is onelyonly from the Lord as Author. Exod. 4.11. Iſa. 45.7. Amos 3.6.NExt wee have to conſider that this wrath and this Peſtilence is go… out from the Lord.
The Lord then both & wil be known to be th… author and inflicter of th… (as of all other like) evill
1. Threatning.It is the Lord who threaneth it, as wee may ſe… Exod. 9.16. Numb. 14.12. and Levit. 26.25. Deut. 28.21. When yee are gathered together within your Cities, I will ſend the Peſtilence among you. And ſaith Moſes to the diſobedient, The Lord ſhall make the Peſtilence cleave unto thee untill hee have conſumed thee.
It is the Lord alſo who ſends it and inflicts it: 2. Inflicting it.as of Davids people it is ſaid, So the Lord ſent Peſtilence upon Iſrael; 1 Chron. 21.24.and there fell of Iſraell ſeventie thouſand men. And King Hezekiah being ſo ſmitten (as moſt thinke) ſaith Hee hath both ſpoken unto mee (when hee ſaid — Thou ſhalt die, Iſa. 38.1-14.and not live) and himſelfe hath done it. So Amos 4.10. I have ſent among you the Peſtilence, &c. And Pſal. 78.50, 51. This is one of the foure ſore judgements wch God ſpecially ſends, Eze. 14.19, 21. It is one of Gods arrowes, of which he ſaith, I will ſpend mine arrowes upon thē; Deut. 32.23, 24. Pſa. 91.5.that arrow which flieth by day: —That flieth both ſwiftlie, and fetcheth, or reacheth thoſe that would flie (in their Sins) fartheſt from it. The Chaldee calleth it, The arrow of the Angell of death. Yea,Homer, Iliad. 1. the Poet Homer (an Heathen) cals it an Evill arrow: And Euripides tels us that it is a Plague,foreign. calamitie or deſtruction ſent of God. The Prophet Habakkuck trembling at Gods Majeſtie, ſaith, Before him went the peſtilence, Habak. 3.5.and burning coales (or burning diſeaſes) went forth at his feet. Yea, little children, and prophane curſers wil tel you this plague is from God, whileſt in the ſtreets and elſwhere, you may heare them curſe and bid the plague of (or from) God, yea the hot plague of God, goe with ſuch as they wiſh ill unto.
Now this is 1.It is frō his 1. Iuſtice. from his Iuſtice, who as hee puniſheth all ſinne, even originall alone, with Death, ſo ſome ſinnes with more grievous and remarkeable death, and with exemplary judgements. Howſoever God doth not inflict, either this or any of thoſe other his ſore judgements without cauſe, and ſo hee would be acknowledged, whilſt hee concludes the mention of theſe inevitable ſentences,Ezek. 14.21 23. ſaying: And yee ſhall know that I have not done without cauſe all that I have done. Of which cauſe in us more in the next point.
2 Wiſedome.2. This is alſo from his wiſedome, puniſhing ſinne with ſutable puniſhments: wee infect one an other by evill example,Retaliating ſinnes with ſemblable puniſhments. communication, Company-keeping, though we call it good fellowſhip, by tempting and inticing one another to ſinne, by unprofitableneſſe in company, whereby wee edifie not one an other in the beſt things: ſo by exceſſe and abuſe of Gods good creatures; by Pride in apparell, and gariſhneſſe, whereby we inſnare and tempt others to ſinne; ſo by covetouſneſſe, and abuſe of trading and ſuch like: How wiſely then, as well as juſtly doth God meet with us by ſuch a judgement, as whereby wee infect one another in body, by our breathing, touching, and accompanying with them, and whereby hee breaketh thoſe curſed knots of good fellowes: ſo whereby our very clothes in which we pride our ſelves doe infect our ſelves and others, to the apparant danger of life it ſelfe; and whereby, through famine and poverty, which commonly accompany the Plague, our exceſſe, and abuſe, both of Gods good creatures, and of trading by oaths, couſenage, falſe wares, at leaſt covetouſneſſe; and our pride and confidence in regard of our wealth, are juſtly met withall.
This conſideration concerning Vſe 1 the Authour of Peſtilence,To looke chiefly to God. is of Vſe to us, 1. to acknowledge Gods hand & providence in it, and not to aſcribe it either to Chance, (as the Philiſtines were ready to have aſcribed the diſeaſe of Emerods, 1. Sam. 6.9and that great death that did befall them) or to ſecond cauſes or inſtruments (ſo as to reſt in them, or to expect helpe from them:) theſe are but inſtrumēts in Gods hand,And not … the Inſtr… ment, whether they be Angels, by whom God often ſmites with Peſtilence,Or occaſion. as in the firſt borne of Egypt, and in Davids people; or whether it be the Ayre which is infected, or any other Perſon or thing, which wee occaſionally received infected, or by whom, or who it at firſt was brought to our Towne or place; or whether the unſeaſonableneſſe of the weather, helpe to continue or increaſe it. In all theſe and the like wee are chiefly to looke to God, and not either to complaine or cry out on, and curſe ſuch as by whom it might ſeeme firſt to bee brought unto us, (though wilfull or raſh ſpreaders of this infection,It is his hand which both wounds and muſt heale. ſhould and ought both be inquired after, and ſeverely puniſhed;) or much to hope that when the dog-dayes end, or cold weather or winter approacheth, then wee ſhall heare no more of it, or at leaſt have it to abate: no, no, wee muſt both looke higher, and expect helpe from an higher hand then all theſe: It is Gods hand that ſmites (whoſoever, or whatſoever be the rod, as Exod. 7.17. compared with 19. and Eſay, 10.5.6.7. (unto this hand wee muſt chiefly looke. This is the hand which is now ſtretched out againſt us, and which will be ſtretched out ſtill, whilſt wee turne not to him that ſmiteth,Iſay, 9.12.13. neither ſeeke the Lord of hoſts.
Vſe 2 2. This conſideration, that this wrath and plague is gone out from the Lord,Comfort to Gods people in covenant with God. and is ſent by him as the Author of it, may bee for the Comfort of all ſuch, as whoſe God is the Lord, and generally of all ſuch, as by true ſorrow and penitencie by faith, by hearty confeſſion of ſinne, prayer and ſacrifice ſhall ſeeke unto him, as did David: this being, even in this reſpect, one of Gods gentleſt judgements; ſuch as holy David did chuſe before ſword and famine,2 Sam. 24.14. ſaying, Let us fall now into the hand of the Lord (for his mercies are great) and let me not fall into the hand of man. Oh beloved, wee have yet to deale with God, and not with mercileſſe men, who have ſo long waited their time, and ſought what by open violence (as in their Spaniſh Navie and Forces in Ireland) what by ſecret underminings, Peſtilence is often a mercy to them.(as in their Popiſh Powder-plot and ſecret workings) to bring us under their tyrannie, and to judge us with their judgements. Great are the mercies of the Lord, that we are not as yet given into their hands, as too juſtly we deſerve.Dying by it, as freeing them from greater evils. Now if God have a purpoſe to bring this extreameſt of evils upon us of this place or nation (and why ſhould wee ſecure our ſelves in theſe our defections from him?) will it not then bee a merciemercy to ſuch as are in Chriſt, to bee taken away by this more gentle correction, and hand of a mercifull God from greater wrath to come? The Lord in merciemercy took away good King Ioſiah, even by the ſword, which he made uſe of to remove him from thoſe greater and more ſpreading evils, which by the ſword alſo were to befall his people and poſterity; for no ſooner was hee ſo taken away by the ſword of Pharao Necho, but his ſucceſſours and ſons, and Judah, after ſome bondage under Necho, were deſtroyed (many of them) by the bands of the Chaldees, of the Syrians, 2 King. 24.2.Moabites, and Ammonites, but the land was wholly overrun, deſtroyed & captived by King Nebuchadnezzar. How much rather may he remove his choſen from the raging evills of the ſword, and fury of the oppreſſour, by withdrawing them with his owne hand, and fetching them home to himſelfe by this meſſenger of Death the plague?2 Chron. 7.13. for what is peſtilence elſe but a meſſenger of Gods ſending? now if God pleaſe to call home any of his children by it, why ſhould they be afraid or too much diſmayed? true, it is a meſſenger of a grim countenance, and knocks at the doore ſomewhat fiercely, and ſo, before it bee acknowledged, or well conſidered of, it may terrifie a beloved heire: but when hee ſhall perceive it is no other but his fathers ſervant to fetch him home, and that from greater dangers where he is, the feare abates, and he goes with him cheerfully. In this caſe our chiefe buſineſſe will be, to ſee that God be ours in Chriſt, and to make our peace with him. This once done, we need not fear what kind of death we die, ſeeing it befals us by the providence, appointment, yea, hand of our mercifull father: That which is ſent in wrath to others, ſhall befall us in merciemercy; as the ſame Red Sea which ſwallowed up the Aegyptians,And alſo 2 Living. afforded a ſafe paſſage to the Iſraelites towards the land of Canaan. Yea, for the preſent, Gods people find themſelves more ſafe under his mercifull hand, than they can well hope to be under mans hand, when Gods hand ſhall be whollie removed.