Newcastles Call to Her Neighbor and Sister Towns, Chapter 9
CHAP. IX.
This wrath and peſtilence is from the Lord, and therfore, howſoever his Prophets may be deſpiſed, yet God himſelfe is not to bee dallyed withall, whoſe greatnes & terror ſhould cauſe us ſeeke peace wit… him in time.
A fourth Motive to ſpeedy repentance, is to conſider God the Author of this plague.THe fourth and laſt Motive from the text, i… briefly to bee conſidere… from the Authour of th… wrath, which is here ſai… to bee gone foorth from th… Lord. It is the Lord the… we have to deale withall and who now hath to de… with us: therfore it is no… to dally with him. Wee may perhaps preſume o… impunity from men, whe… we offend them, and hope by gifts, friends, flatteries, and fained ſubmiſſion to aſſwage their diſpleaſure, or it may bee when Gods faithfull ſervants diſcover …ur ſins,Who confirmes the word of his Servants. & denounce judg…ents againſt us for the …me (though they doe it …ccording to Gods word, …et) wee can count their …ords but winde, and …ēſelves lying Prophets, …r otherwiſe to ſpeake as …et on by thoſe wee alike …ate: or we threaten and …ome even with them for …heir boldnes & ſaucineſs, …r at leaſt wee can with…raw our ſelves frō them, …nd heare them no more, …nd ſo at once ſeeke their …iſgrace, as not vvorthy …o be heard, and keep our …elves (as wee thinke) out …f the laſh of their words. But what? can we thus d… with the Lord himſelfe when he comes to perform the word of his ſervants, Pſal. 149.7, 8, 9.… execute vengeance upon th… heathen, and puniſhmen… upon the people, to bind the… Kings with chaines, an… their Nobles with fetters … yron: to execute upon the… the judgmēt written? who as he will do nothing (in th… kind) but hee revealeth h… ſecret unto his ſervants t… Prophets; Amos 3.7.ſo he confirme… the word of his ſervan… (both in good and evil) a… performeth the counſell … his Meſſengers. Men ma… then belie the Lord,Iſa. 44.26. an… ſay it is not he, neither ſh… evill come upon us, neither …all wee ſee ſword nor fa…ine: Ier. 5.12, 13, 14.And the Prophets … all become wind, and the …ord is not in them—But what ſaith the Lord for the …ncouragement of his ſer…ant Ieremy: And will bee acknowledged to bee the author, as of other evils.Becauſe yee …eake this word, behold I …ill make my words in thy …outh fire, and this people …ood, and it ſhall devoure …hem. Loe I will bring a na…ion upon you, &c. It is good for us then (if wee …ave neglected the word of Gods ſervants former…y) not to neglect the performance of it by God himſelfe, but to become wiſe for after times: who among you will give eares this? Iſay 42.23, 24, 25.who will hearken a… heare for the time to come… who gave Iacob for a ſpoile… and Iſrael to the robbers? did not the Lord, he again… whom wee have ſinned? Therfore he hath poured upon him the fury of his anger &c. Oh let it not be ſai… of us as there it followeth▪ And it hath ſet him on fire round about, So of Peſtilence.yet hee knew not; and it burned him, ye… hee la…d it not to heart. Far bee this ſtupidity from u… at this time. Let us conſider then that this wrath i… gone out from the Lord. … is hee againſt whom wee hauehave ſinned, and whom vvee hauehave provoked, and …erefore there is no dal…ing with him, as is ſaid: … is hee himſelfe that …mes againſt us;Habak. 3.5. Before …m goes the Peſtilence, and …rning coales (or diſeaſes) …e forth at his feet. Now …e we ſtronger then hee? …e wee able in our ſinnes … ſtand in his way? hee …th already, often before …d now alſo ſent the Pe…lence among us after the …anner of Egypt—yea he …th overthrowne ſome of …, as God overthrew So…om and Gomorrah, and …ee were as a fire-brand …uckt out of the burning: …t have yee not returned to me, Who is mighty in ſtrength, and not to be dallied withall, or withſtood.ſaith the Lord: No… heare vvhat God ſaith us as once to Iſrael: The… fore thus will I doe un… thee, O Iſrael, O Englan… ô citie, ô tovvne: (hovv even as unto Sodom, th… was overthrowne as in moment) and becauſe I wi… doe this unto thee, Amos 4.10, 11, 12, 13.prepare… meet thy God O Iſrael. Th… is our duty then, of vvhic… vvee alſo formerly heard but vvhy are vvee thus t… prepare? that follovves For loe, he that formeth th… mountaines, and create… the wind (or ſpirit) and d… clareth unto man what is h… thought, that maketh th… morning darkeneſſe, an… treadeth upon the high places of the earth, the Lord, the God of hoſts is his name. Where hee inveſts himſelfe vvith many titles of greatneſſe, povver, yea and terrour, and all to inforce the aforeſaid duty of repentance and humiliation upon us, letting us knovv vvho it is that …hreatens us, vvho it is that …s gone out againſt us; no …ther then this mighty God, this Lord of hoſts, who hath all creatures in …eaven and earth at his …ommand, and ready to …xecute his vengeance, …nd righteous judgements …n all impenitent ſinners; ſo that when once hee ſhewes his diſpleaſure, its in vaine either to ſeeke ſhelter or help from them, or not to feare vengeance from them, as inſtruments of his wrath, whoſe are the mountaines, the wind, and all other creatures: ſo that the mountaines ſhall no… ſave nor hide from hi… wrath, when it is on… gone forth in fury; as i… Noah his flood,Neither is there any fleeing from him. when the higheſt hils, and mo… towring mountaines coul… not ſhelter them that fle… thither for refuge, but th… the waters of his wra… did overtake and ſwee… them all away: and … wind, which God ſent out ſhall meet with diſobedient Ionas, who would have fled from Gods preſence, and the ſtorme ſhall teach him obedience. Nay, we know God can, and often doth arme baſe and weake creatures, againſt proud and impenitent ſinners, yea their owne friends and confederates (in whoſe helpe and aſſiſtance they truſt) nay ſometimes their owne ſelues againſt themſelues, as*On Amos 4.12.13 p. …26. &c. & 156. &c. In l. 3. Iob. 9.4. elſwhere I ſhew more largely.
He is mighty in ſtrength; who hath hardned himſelfe againſt him and hath proſpered? And it would be obſerved, God to humble us ſhewes his power.that when God calls men to humiliation for their ſinnes, hee often ſhewes his power and terribleneſſe by ſome, not onelyonly deſcription of it (as when he humbled Iob, by asking him,Iob 40.6.7-9 —Haſt thou an arme like God? canſt thou thunder with a voice like him? and by ſhewing him his great power in the Behemoth and Leviathan, Both by words and workes.or in the Elephant and Whale: the effect whereof in Iob was an humble ſubmiſſion of himſelfe unto God;Iob 42.1.2.3.4, 5, 6.) but by workes o… his power, as by ſending thunder, ſtormes, & grea… raine, by which he… brought his people of old to confeſſe their ſinne in asking them a King, in diſtruſt, and with rejection of Gods government:1. Sam 1….16.17.18.19. ſo by a great raine which hee ſent, the better to prepare the people to repentance, and reformation of their wayes,Eſia 10.9. when Eſra had aſſembled them to that end. It is ſaid, —All the people ſate in the ſtreet of the houſe of God trembling becauſe of this matter, and for the great raine. Yea, God would ſo hauehave prepared us of this nation, as may bee remembred, by ſending very*Iuly 16. being Saturday, 1625. fearful thunder and raine, a little before the*Iuly 20. firſt day of that ſolemne humiliation injoyned ſome eleven years agoe. And what may we think God would hauehave had us doe, as then, ſo when before that hee met with us (or was making towards us) in our way of Security by the Spaniſh Armado, Ann. 1588.and mighty Navie by ſea, and by the popiſh and helliſh Plot of powder: Ann. 1605.and ſo in our way of exceſſe by ſcarcity and famine: and in the way of our other many ſinnes by this heavie judgement of Peſtilence, both formerly and now. Shall wee yet prooceed on in our former ſecurity, exceſſe, and all our other provocations of the divine Majeſty? will wee needs try our ſtrength with him? Behold, ſaith God, the flight ſhall periſh from the ſwift, Amos 2.14 15.16.and the ſtrong ſhall not ſtrengthen his force, neither ſhall the mighty deliver himſelfe, neither ſhall hee ſtand that handleth the Bow—And he that is couragious among the mighty, ſhall flee away naked in that day, ſaith the Lord. The like may the Lord now ſay to us, concerning whatſoever it is wee place our confidence in, whether we harden our ſelues againſt him in our pride and obſtinacy, or whether we hope to eſcape this his hand by fleeing from places infected;Inſtead of fleeing from him. no, there is no flying from him in our ſinnes, neither any reſiſtance of him, whither ſhall wee flee from him? hee is a conſuming fire to ſinners, Hebr. 10. Iſa. 42 25.yea a fire round about circling you in: which way ſoever you runne, it is ſtill into the fire, and your name ſhall bee as Paſhurs was,Ier. 20.1.2.3 Magormiſſabib, Feare round about: And how ſhal wee withſtand or reſiſt his power?And of reſiſting him. Shall wee not periſh by his hand? Is he not the Lord of Hoſts? Who would ſet the Briars and Thornes againſt him in battel? Iſa. 27.4.would he not go through them, and burne them together? What then is to be done?We are in time to ſeeke to appeaze him. Let us not with Adam, thinke to flee from God, but to him by humble ſubmiſſion: If we flee, let it be from his Iuſtice to his MercieMercy: If we flee not to his MercieMercy, goe whither we will, we fall upon his Iuſtice: Appeale we then from God, juſt to the ſame God, mercifull and gracious in Chriſt:By the examples of for it is the ſame God that ſmites in his wrath, and who muſt heale in his merciemercy.Shim…i▪ Or if not this; then let us conſider whether we be able to meet this great King comming againſt us in blood, and in furie; if wee be not (and who is?) then, as hath been alreadie ſaid,Luke 14.31.32. while hee is yet a great way off, let us ſend an Embaſſage before us, and deſire conditions of Peace, and make peace with him, for which we have his gracious promiſe;Iſa 27.5. and herein follow wee the wiſedome (as of Iacob and Abigail, 2 Sam. 19.1…-19. &c.ſo) of Shemei meeting David with a preſent, and humble intreaties and confeſſions, after hee ſaw him returned as reinveſted in his Kingdome: And ſo of Rahab, Rahab.who hearing of Gods mightie workes in Aegypt,Hebr. 11. ſought peace long before with Gods people: which in her was a worke of Faith: The Gibeonites.as in the Gibeonites, of Wiſedome, who hearing of the fame of the God of Iſrael, and of that hee did in Aegypt, ſought peace with Ioſhua, had it,Ioſh. 9.3.4-6-9.10.11-15. Ioſh. 11.19 20. and ſo ſaved their lives; which all the reſt refuſing to doe, as hardning themſelvs in their own ſtrēgth, they all periſhed. And a like fearfull ſigne and preſage of deſtruction it is now to ſo many of us, as, when Gods Wrath is gone out against us, and the Plague is begun, doe neither ſeek peace with God, nor yet will accept of it, being offred to us: Surely it is of the Lord to harden ſuch mens hearts, that they ſhould (as it were by their obſtinacie in Sin) come in battell againſt him, that hee might deſtroy them utterly, and that they might have no favour, but that he might deſtroy them, as was ſaid of thoſe Kings of Canaan, who neither ſought,Deut. 20.10.11.12.13. & 17. nor accepted ſuch conditions of Peace as were offered them.