Seventeen Sermons on Amos 3, Sermon 2
THE Second Lecture.
AMOS 3.2.
You onelyonly hauehave I knowne of all the families of the earth: therefore will I puniſh you for all your iniquities.
THis ſecond verſe is the ſecond part of Amos his ſecond Sermon concerning the Kingdome of the ten Tribes, the Kingdome of Iſrael. It is the propoſition, and containeth the very ſubſtance of the whole Sermon: which is to let the Iſraelites underſtand, that, for as much as the Lord hath beene good vntounto them aboue all the Nations of the earth, and they hauehave returned vntounto him nothing but vnthankfulneſſe, the Lord will ſurely puniſh them for all their iniquities.
The parts are two:
1 A Commemoration.
2. A Commination.
The Commemoration is of benefits, the Commination is of puniſhment. The Commemoration is for words ſhort, yet for matter very copious. It hath reference to the many ſingular and exceeding great benefits, which the Lord hath beſtowed vponupon his people, Iſrael. You onelyonly hauehave I knowne of all the families of the earth.
The Commination is ſharpe, but very iuſt. It may ſerue thus farre to inſtruct the Iſraelites, that if the Lord ſhould at any time with his ſtrong hand aIob 30.21.oppoſe himſelfe againſt them, and make theirbVerſ. 15. welfare to paſſe away as a cloud, and lay terrors vponupon them, yet they ſhould not calumniate, andcIob 1.22. charge God with folly, but ſhould lay the whole blame thereof vponupon themſelues and their owne deſeruings. Therefore will I puniſh you for all your iniquities. Of both in their order.
Firſt, of the Commemoration. You onelyonly hauehave I knowne of all the families of the earth.
You onelyonly! OnelyOnly you! How can this be ſo? Did not the knowledge of God extend it ſelfe to other Nations, as well as to the Iſraelites? It may not be denied. It extends it ſelfe, not to men only, but to whatſoeuer elſe is in the world.
You may conſider it two manner of waies: either in it ſelfe, or as it hath reference to things knowne. If it be conſidered in it ſelfe, it is moſt certaine, and is euer the ſame: as neceſſary and immutable, as is the very diuine Eſſence; from which it differeth not indeed, but onelyonly conſideration. For that axiome of the Schooles is true, Quicquid eſt in Deo, eſt ipſa Dei Eſſentia; Whatſoeuer is in God, is Gods owne Eſſence. And therefore the knowledge of God is his diuine Eſſence, and God is his owne knowledge. Whence it followeth, that whereſoeuer God is and his holy-Eſſence, there is his knowledge. Now God is eueryevery where, his Eſſence is eueryevery where: his knowledge therefore muſt be eueryevery where. Its impoſſible that any thing ſhould be concealed from it.
Againe, the knowledge of God may be conſidered, as it hath reference to things knowne: and ſo alſo nothing can bee hid from it. For it knoweth it ſelfe, and eueryevery thing elſe. Things vniuerſall and ſingular; things paſt, preſent, and to come; things which neither are, nor hauehave beene, nor euer ſhall bee; things neceſſary and contingent, naturall and voluntary, good and euill, atchieued and thought vponupon, finite and infinite, all, are knowne vntounto him. So ſaith the Apoſtle, Heb. 4.13. There is no creature that is not manifeſt in the ſight of God. No creature! Nay, vntounto his eyes all things are naked and open. All things! How then is it, that here he ſaith to the Iſraelites, You onelyonly hauehave I knowne of all the families of the earth?
For the cleering of this doubt, we are to note, that knowledge attributed vntounto God in holy Scripture, doth not euer betoken a bare and naked knowledge, but ſometimes his louelove, his fauour, his care, his prouidence, his choice, his approbation, his allowance, his acceptance, or the like. As Pſal. 1.6. The Lord knoweth the way of the righteous. Hee knoweth, that is, he loueth, he approueth, he accepteth, he is well pleaſed with, and graciouſly directeth, the way of the righteous. And ſo are we to expound that of the 37. Pſal. Verſ. 18. The Lord knoweth the daies of the vpright. He knoweth, that is, He doth not onelyonly foreſee, but alſo he alloweth, he careth and prouideth for the life of the vpright. So I vnderſtand that branch of Dauids prayer which he made in the caue, Pſal. 142.3. When my ſpirit was ouer-whelmed within me, then thou kneweſt my path. Thou kneweſt, that is, thou didſt approue and allow of the order of my life, and innocent conuerſation.
In the booke of Exodus, Chap. 33.17. the Lord ſaid vntounto Moſes, Thou haſt found grace in my ſight, and I know thee by name. I know thee by name, that is, I hauehave reſpect vntounto thee, I approue thee, I care and prouide for thee. In the firſt Chapter of the Propheſie of Nahum, verſ. 7. it is ſaid of the Lord, that he knoweth them that truſt in him. And there to know, is to louelove, to defend, to approue, to regard. Them that truſt in him he knoweth, he ſuffers them not to periſh. In the ſecond Epiſtle to Timothy, Chap. 2.19. we reade of a foundation, a foundation of God, a ſure foundation, the ſeale whereof is, Nouit Dominus, qui ſunt ejus: The Lord knoweth thoſe that are his. The Lord knoweth; vnderſtand not onelyonly a knowledge in generall, but a ſpeciall knowledge; ſuch a knowledge as is ioyned cum applicatione cordis ac voluntatis foreign, as a learned Diuine well ſpeaketh, ſuch a knowledge as is aſſociated with the applying of the heart, and will, and good pleaſure of the Lord. The Lord knoweth who are his: He ſo knowes them, as that theydIoan. 10.28. ſhall neuer periſh, neither ſhall any man plucke them out of his hand.
Other like places I could produce yet further, to ſhew this idiotiſme of the holy tongue, that verba notitiae, words of knowledge, doe not euer betoken a bare and naked knowledge, but ſometime ſuch aeMat. 7.23. Luk. 13.27. Mat. 25.12. Rom. 7.15. knowledge, as is ioyned with ſomefVorſtius amica Duplicat. cap. 4. pag 225. decree of him that knoweth, with ſome action of his will, with his approbation. But I ſhall not neede to doe it. From the Texts of Scripture before alleaged, ariſeth a diſtinction of the Schoolemen: their diſtinction of the knowledge of God. The knowledge of God, ſay they, is two-fold: the one is the knowledge of hisgAquin. 2a. 2ae. qu. 188. 5. 1. apprehenſion; the other, the knowledge of hishRipa in 1. Th. qu. 14. Art. 13. Dub. 4. cap. 4. fol. 83. col. 3. & Wendalin. Suppl. in 4. Sentent. Diſt. 50. qu. 1. approbation. That they call his abſolute and ſpeculatiue knowledge; this his ſpeciall, and practicall: and this, not that, is the knowledge to bee vnderſtood in the places euen now by me expounded. And this, not that, is the knowledge intended in my Text.
Thus is the doubt reſolued. The doubt was; How it is here ſaid; that the Lord onelyonly knew the Iſraelites aboue all the Nations of the Earth? The anſwer is: Hee knew them, not onelyonly as he knew other Nations, by his abſolute and ſpeculatiue knowledge, but alſo by his ſpeciall and practicall; not onelyonly by the knowledge of his apprehenſion, but alſo by the knowledge of his approbation.
Some there are, that by knowledge here, doe vnderſtand a poſſ…ſſion. To know, ſay they, is to poſſeſſe, to hauehave in our power, to inioy as our owne. For proofe whereof they bring that, Pſal. 50.11. I know all the fowles of the mountaines, and the wild beaſts of the field are mine. The words are the words of God vntounto his people Iſrael. Heare, O my people, and I will ſpeake, O Iſrael. I am God euen thy God. I know all the fowles of the Mountaines. I know them, I ſo know them, that I can count them, and call them when I liſt; they are in my power, I enioy them as mine owne, they are mine owne poſſeſſion.
And ſo they expound my Text: You onelyonly hauehave I knowne of all the families of the earth. I hauehave knowne you onelyonly. Vos tantummodò mihi in viros cultores aſſumpſi, aut poſſedi, ſaith Illyricus. You only hauehave I taken to be the men for my worſhip: you alone hauehave I poſſeſſed.
For I hauehave knowne you, the Chaldee Paraphraſt hath, I hauehave choſen you. I hauehave choſen you. Not amiſſe: if by this choice, you vnderſtand not, that ſpeciall election iEpheſ. 1.4.and choiſe of God, by which he hath ordained to life eternall thoſe, whom of his free good will and pleaſure he hath decreed to endow with a celeſtiall inheritance. For its not to bee denied, but that among the people of Iſrael, there were many, that had no part in this eternall election and choice of God. Many of them had no part in it, and therefore this election and choice is not here to be vnderſtood.
But there is another election and choice of God, an election and choice more generall; an election, a choice, whereby God preferreth ſome one Nation aboue others, graciouſly to manifeſt himſelfe, and to reueale his ſauing word vntounto them. And thus may God be ſaid only to hauehave elected and choſen the people of Iſrael. You only hauehave I choſen of all the families of the earth.
That the people of Iſrael were alone thus elected and choſen of God, Moſes confeſſeth, Deut. 4.7, 8. What nation, ſaith he, is there ſo great, who hath God ſo nigh vntounto them, as the Lord our God is in all things, that wee call vponupon him for? And what nation is there ſo great, that hath ſtatutes and iudgements ſo righteous, as all this Law is, which is ſet before vsus this day? It is as if he had thus ſaid: Let vsus bee compared with the reſt of the Nations of the world, and we ſhall finde that God is good and gracious vntounto vsus aboue them all. As ſoone as we pray vntounto our God, and reſort vntounto him, we feele him neere vsus by and by. It is not ſo with other Nations. Againe, we hauehave his Lawes and Statutes, and righteous Ordinances: other Nations hauehave not ſo.
This doth the ſame Moſes more plainly deliuer, in ſundry places of the ſame booke of Deuteronomy, Chap. 7.6. Chap. 10.15. Chap. 14.2. Chap. 26.18. In all which places his purpoſe is to faſten it in the memories of the people of Iſrael, that they were an holy people vntounto the Lord their God: that the Lord their God had choſen them to be a peculiar people vntounto himſelfe aboue all people that were vponupon the face of the earth. In the three firſt places is expreſly ſaid, that the Lord did chuſe Iſrael to be a peculiar people vntounto himſelfe aboue all the Nations that are vponupon the earth: in the fourth, that the Lord auouched them to be his peculiar people. He choſe them, he auouched them to be his peculiar people; and all for his promiſe ſake.
The promiſe is, Exod. 19.5. Ye ſhall be a peculiar or chiefe treaſure vntounto me aboue all people, though all the earth be mine. A peculiar, or a chiefe treaſure! The Hebrew word is foreign Segullah, which ſignifieth ones owne proper good, which he loueth and keepeth in ſtore for himſelfe, and for ſpeciall vſe.
You ſhall bee foreign Segullah, a peculiar, a chiefe treaſure vntounto me aboue all people. The meaning of this promiſe is, that, although the whole earth be the Lords by the right of creation, yet this people, the people of Iſrael, ſhould aboue all other hauehave a ſpeciall intereſt in him. Or the meaning is, that the Lord would commit vntounto this people, his people Iſrael, as a chiefe and principall treaſure, his Lawes and Statutes, which he would not doe to any other people in the world beſides. So much is acknowledged, Pſal. 147.19, 20. He ſheweth his word vntounto Iacob, his ſtatutes and ordinances vntounto Iſrael. He hath not dealt ſo with any Nation. Certainly hereby the Lord ſheweth how deare and how precious the people of Iſrael were in his eyes; and what prerogatiues they … hauehave aboue other people.
A chiefe prerogatiue of theirs, is, that the Oracles of God were committed vntounto them. Saint Paul affirmes it, Rom. 3.1, 2. What all … together hath the … what profit … of circumciſion? Much eueryevery way: chiefly, becauſe … them were committed the Oracles of God.
Many other, and very excellent prerogatiues had they. They are helped vp together, Rom. 9.4. They were Iſraelites; to them periſh …, and … and this couenants, and the giuing of the Law, and the ſeruice of God, and the promiſes: Theirs were the Fathers, and of them as concerning the fleſh Chriſt came, who is ouer all, God bleſſed for euer.
So many preeminences, are ſo many euidences and demonſtrations, that of all the nations of the Earth, the Iſraelites were knowne of God, were choſen by him, and were his poſſeſſion. They were knowne of him by the knowledge of his approbation: they were choſen by him, and were ſeparated from among all the people of the earth to be his inheritance. So Salomon confeſſeth, 1 King. 8.53. and the Lord himſelfe here in my Text auoucheth: You onelyonly hauehave I knowne of all the families of the earth.
Your will now confeſſe with me, that theſe words are, as in the beginning I ſaid they were, a Commemoration of Gods benefits vponupon Iſrael. EueryEvery prerogatiue of theirs was a benefit, a bleſſing of God vponupon them. It was Gods bleſſing vponupon them, that to them were committed the Oracles of God. It was Gods bleſſing vponupon them that they were Iſraelites, that to them pertained the adoption, and the glory, and the Couenants, and the giuing of the Law, and the ſeruice of God, and the promiſes. It was Gods bleſſing vponupon them, that theirs were the Fathers, and that of them, concerning the fleſh, Chriſt came.
Theſe great benefits, theſe bleſſings of God vponupon the Iſraelites, Albertus Magnus in his Enarration vponupon the words of my Text, reduceth to the number of fiue. Thus: You onelyonly hauehave I knowne of all the families of the Earth, per beneplacitum. OnelyOnly you of all the families of the Earth hauehave I knowne by my good pleaſure: Quia me vobis reuelani, legem vobis poſui, promiſſiones adhibui, praemiis remuneraui, prophetiis illuminani. I hauehave reuealed my ſelfe vntounto you, I hauehave giuen you the Law, I hauehave made to you the promiſes, I hauehave recompenced you with rewards, I hauehave illuminated you with Propheſies. Then addes he that of the Pſalme, Non taliter fecit omni nationi: Hee hath not dealt ſo with eueryevery Nation. With eueryevery Nation! Nay hee hath not ſo with any Nation.
VponUpon this firſt part of my Text; this Commemoration of Gods benefits beſtowed vponupon Iſrael, I grounded my firſt obſeruation. It is this: It is an excellent priuilege to bee knowne of God by the knowledge of his approbation; to be choſen of him to be his people, to be in his louelove and fauour; to be vnderunder his care and prouidence.
The excellency of this priuilege appeareth in this, that the Lord here calls Iſrael to the remembrance of it, ſaying, You onelyonly hauehave I knowne of all the families of the earth. This excellent priuilege, the true ſeruice of the liuing God thorow the free vſe of his holy Word and Sacraments whereſoeuer it is found among any people, is a ſure pledge that the Lord knoweth that people with the knowledge of his approbation, that he hath choſen them to be his peculiar people, that they are in his louelove and fauour, and that he careth and prouideth for them.
How much then (Beloued) how much are we indebted to the Maieſty and bounty of Almighty God, who hath graced vsus with ſo excellent a bleſſing as is the Miniſtery of his holy Word? His holy Word! It is a Iewell, than which nothing is more precious; to which any thing compared is but droſſe; by which whatſoeuer is tried, will bee found lighter than vanity.
The true eſtimate of this Iewell may be had out of the 19. Pſalme. At the 7. verſ. it is Perfect, nothing may be added to it, without marring of it: it conuerteth the ſoule, and turneth it from euill to good. It is ſure; you may build vponupon the truth of it, as well for the promiſes of mercy, as for the threatnings of iudgement. It giueth wiſdome, the wiſdome of the ſpirit, euen vntounto the ſimple, to the humble and lowly of minde. At the eighth verſe, It is right, without any iniuſtice or corruption. It reioyceth the heart, with true and ſound ioy. It is pure, pure in all points, and giueth light to the eyes, the eyes of the minde, that we may ſecurely trace the way to Heauen. At the ninth verſe, It is cleane, without ſpot or ſhew of euill, and endureth for euer without alteration or change. It is truth without falſhood, and is righteous all together, there is no error in it.
Is your deſire for profit, or for pleaſure? This Iewell yeelds you both. At the tenth verſe; for profit, it is compared to Gold, for pleaſure to Honey. For profit it is more to bee deſired than gold, yea than much fine gold: for pleaſure, it is ſweeter than honey or the hony combe.
Moreouer, at the tenth verſe. It will make you circumſpect; it will ſhew you the danger of ſinne, and will teach you how to auoid it, and may encourage you to obedience, for as much as in the keeping of it, there is great reward. Great reward; yet through Gods mercy, and not of your merit.
Now dearely beloued, is the holy Word of God a Iewell ſo precious? of ſuch an eſtimate? Then giuegive eare to the exhortation of wiſdome; Prou. 23.23. Buy it, and ſell it not. Buy it, what ere it coſt you, ſeeke by all meanes to obtaine it; and when you hauehave gotten it, ſell it not at any hand: depart not from it for any price, for any cauſe. But let it (according to the exhortation, that Saint Paul made to the Coloſſians, Chap. 3.16. Let it dwell in you plenteouſly in all wiſdome. It is, as one wittily ſpeaketh, Gods beſt friend, and the Kings beſt friend, and the Courts beſt friend, and the Cities beſt friend, and the Countries beſt friend, and eueryevery mans beſt friend. GiueGive it therefore entertainment, not as to a forreiner or ſtranger, but as to your familiar, as to your beſt friend, let it dwell in you. And ſith it comes not empty, but brings with it, as well pleaſure, as profit, as you hauehave already heard, Let it dwell in you plenteouſly. Plenteouſly; Yet in all wiſdome. Let vsus heare it in all wiſdome, reade it in all wiſdome, meditate vponupon it in all wiſdome, ſpeake of it in all wiſdome, and preach it in all wiſdome; not only in wiſdome, but in all wiſdome, that the words of our mouthes, and the meditations of our hearts may euer be acceptable in the ſight of the Lord our ſtrength and our Redeemer.
Thus farre of my firſt obſeruation, grounded vponupon the Commemoration of Gods bleſſings vponupon Iſrael; You onelyonly hauehave I knowne of all the families of the earth.
You only! My ſecond obſeruation is: that, this great bleſſing of the true ſeruice of God, and the free vſe of his holy Word, was in the daies before Chriſt appropriate to the people of the Iewes.
This appeareth by ſome of thoſe places before alleaged, Deut. 4.7, 8 and Pſal. 147.19, 20. for the further illuſtration of the point, that of the 76. Pſalme, verſ. 1, 2. may well ſerue: In Iudah is God knowne, his name is great in Iſrael, in Salem is his tabernacle, and his dwelling in Sion. In which words, the Pſalmiſt giueth vntounto the land of Iudah and Iſrael this prerogatiue aboue the reſt of the Nations of the whole earth, that there God was knowne, and his name was great, but eſpecially in Salem, that is, in Hieruſalem, and in Mount Sion, the place which he deſired for his habitation.Pſal. 132.13. There was God knowne; his name was great there. Elſewhere it was not ſo. It was not ſo among the Nations. For (as Barnabas and Paul told the men of Lyſtra, Acts 14.16.) in times paſt God ſuffered all Nations to walke in their owne waies. The way of God they then knew not.
The then ſtate of the Nations Saint Paul, Epheſ. 2.12. elegantly decyphereth in fiue circumſtances. Hee bids them remember what they were in time paſt: as that firſt, they were without Chriſt; ſecondly, they were aliens from the common wealth of Iſrael; thirdly, they were ſtrangers from the couenants of promiſe; fourthly, they were without hope; fiftly, they were without God in the world. Enough is ſaid for the confirmation of my ſecond obſeruation, which was, that in time of old, in time paſt, in the daies before Chriſt his comming in the fleſh, the true ſeruice of God, and the exerciſe of his holy word was appropriate to the people of the Iewes, to the children of Iſrael.
Now the reaſons of this appropriation, are two. One is, Gods vndeſerued and ſpeciall louelove; the other is, the truth of his promiſe. Both are expreſſed, Deut. 7. At the ſeuenth verſe the falſe cauſe is remoued; at the eighth the true is put. The Lord did not ſet his louelove vponupon you, nor chooſe you, becauſe ye were more in number than any people: for ye were the feweſt of all people. There the falſe cauſe is remoued. The true cauſe is put in the words following: But becauſe the Lord loued you, and becauſe he would keepe the oath, which hee ſwore vntounto your fathers, therefore hath the Lord brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the houſe of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh King of Aegypt: and hath giuen you the rich treaſure of his true ſeruice and holy Word. To you onelyonly hath he beene ſo gracious, not for any dignity or worth of yours, but for his owne loues ſake, and for his promiſe ſake.
One vſe of this obſeruation may be to ſhew, that heretofore Grace was not ſo vniuerſall, as Papiſts now would hauehave it to be. The knowledge of the meanes of ſaluation was denied to the Nations.
A ſecond vſe may be, to admoniſh vsus, that we hold it for a ſingular bleſſing, that the Lord hath reſerued vsus for theſe laſt daies, wherein the word of God of old time limited to the coaſts of Iudaea and Palaeſtina, Epheſ. 2.13.is now publiſhed vntounto vsus of the Gentiles. Now in Chriſt Ieſus, wee who were ſometimes farre off, are made nigh by the bloud of Chriſt. Now therefore we are no more ſtrangers and forreiners, Pſal. 107.8.but fellow-heires with the Saints, and of the houſhold of God. Of that we would therefore praiſe the Lord for this his goodneſſe, and declare this wonder that he hath done for vsus.
It is time, that from the Commemoration, wee deſcend to the Commination. The Commination is in theſe words: Therefore I will puniſh you for all your iniquities.
Therefore! Why? Becauſe the Lord hath knowne Iſrael aboue all the families of the earth, will he therefore puniſh them for all their iniquities? Is not the ſequell abſurd, You onelyonly hauehave I knowne of all the families of the earth, therefore I will puniſh you for all your iniquities? Were it not better thus; You onelyonly hauehave I knowne of all the families of the earth, therefore I will ſpare you, I will pardon you, I will not puniſh you for all your iniquities.
Deut. 5.2.For remouing of this ſcruple, wee muſt hauehave recourſe to that Couenant which the Lord made with Iſrael in Horeb. The forme of the Couenant is extant, Exod. 19.5. If you will obey my voice indeed, and keepe my Couenant, then yee ſhall bee a peculiar treaſure vntounto me aboue all people. This Couenant is more at large deſcribed in Deut. 7. and 28. The ſumme of it is: If thou wilt hearken diligently to the voice of the Lord thy God, to obſerue and to doe all his Commandements which hee commandeth thee, then bleſſed ſhalt thou be; but if thou wilt not, accurſed ſhalt thou be.
The Couenant you ſee is vponupon a condition. If the condition be broken on Iſraels part, God is no longer on his part tied to any performance. This ſequell then may be good: I hauehave choſen you by Couenant aboue all the nations of the earth, that ye ſhould keepe my Law; but you hauehave failed in the condition; you hauehave not kept my Law. Therefore I will puniſh you; and will puniſh you for all your iniquities.
Therefore] becauſe you hauing beene graciouſly receiued by me into fauour, doe runne headlong into all iniquity, I will puniſh you: therefore I will puniſh you. In the Hebrew it is Ʋiſitabo ſuper vos, or contra vos, I will viſit vponupon you, or againſt you. The Vulgar Latine hath Viſitabo ſuper vos, I will viſit vponupon you all your iniquities.
I will viſit.] To viſit, is ſometimes in the holy Scripture taken in the euill part, for to viſit in anger or diſpeaſure, whence by a Synecdoche of the Genus for the Species, it betokeneth to puniſh. So is God ſaid to viſit, when with ſome ſudden, and vnlooked for ſcourge or calamity, hee taketh vengeance vponupon men for thoſe ſinnes, which for a long time he ſeemed to take no notice of.
In that part of Dauids Prayer, Pſal. 59.5. O Lord God of hoſts, the God of Iſrael, awake thou to viſit the heathen, to viſit is to viſit in anger, it is to corroct, it is to puniſh. In the 89. Pſal. verſ. 32. to ſuch as depart from the Law of the Lord, and from that rule of righteouſneſſe which it preſcribeth them to walke in, the Lord threatneth, that hee will viſit their tranſgreſſion with the rod, and their iniquity with ſtripes. And there to viſit, muſt needs be to viſit in anger, for as much as it brings a rod and ſtripes with it. It is to correct, it is to puniſh. In the thirteetnh of Eſay, verſ. 11. the Lord ſaith, I will viſit the world for their euill, and the wicked for their iniquity. And there duplicate page duplicate page alſo to viſit, is to viſit in anger: it is to correct, it is to puniſh.
Now as to viſit ſignifieth in the now alleaged places, ſo doth it in my Text, I will viſit you, I will viſit you in mine anger: it is to correct, it is to puniſh.
Now as to viſit ſignifieth in the now alleaged places, ſo doth it in my Text, I will viſit you, I will viſit you in mine anger, I will correct you, I will puniſh you. But for what? It followeth, For all your iniquities.
For all, either vniuerſall, or indefinitely. For all vniuerſally; ſo the gloſſe takes it, ſo Albertus the Biſhop of Ratisbone; ſo Rupertus the Abbot of Tuitium. I will puniſh you for all, Vt ſit nihil impunitum, that nothing be vnpuniſhed. I will puniſh you for all, Inſtante judicio, remotâ miſericordiâ, ſummâ cum ſeueritate; with inſtant iudgement, without mercy, with greateſt ſeuerity. I will puniſh you for all. For it is a iuſt thing euen with men, that he that makes a Law, ſhould puniſh according to the Law.
Or, All, may here be taken indefinitely, for ſome of all. It is Druſius his obſeruation; Omnes dixit, pro omne genus, vel pleraſque. All, he hath ſaid for all ſorts, or for the moſt part. I will puniſh you for all your iniquities; that is, for the ſorts of your iniquities, or for the moſt part of them. For the Lord of his clemency and mercy remitteth vntounto his ſome of their iniquities.
Of theſe two expoſitions for this place I preferre the former. So ſhall this ſecond branch of my Text beare with it this vnderſtanding; Therefore I will viſit vponupon you all your iniquities. Therefore] becauſe you, hauing beene reſpected by me, and receiued into my fauour aboue all the Nations of the earth, hauehave notwithſtanding forſaken my Lawes, and corrupted my ſeruice, I will viſit vponupon you all your iniquities. I will puniſh you for all; for all, vniuerſally; for all your iniquities; not one of them ſhall eſcape vnpuniſhed. I will puniſh you for all your iniquities. I] there is the Agent. Will puniſh] there is the Action. You] there is the Patient. For all your iniquities] there is the Cauſe. I wil puniſh you for all your iniquities.
From the Agent and his Action, ariſeth this obſeruation; Whatſoeuer puniſhment befalleth any one in this life, it is from the Lord.
The Lord! He is foreign, he is efficiens primarum, he is the primary and principall actor in all puniſhments. He is a ſure reuenger of all impiety, as he is the maintainer of his holy Law.
This office of puniſhing, the Lord aſſumeth to himſelfe, Eſay 45.7. I am the Lord, and there is none elſe: I forme the light, and create darkneſſe: I make peace, and create euill: I the Lord doe all theſe things. I create euill. In this place, by Euill, we are not to vnderſtand malum culpae, foreign, not robbery, not couetouſneſſe, nor any like wickedneſſe; but malum poene, foreign, as Saint Chryſoſtome ſpeaketh, Homily 23. vponupon Matthew, the ſtripes or wounds that we receiue from aboue. Gaſper Sanchius doth here reckon vp, whatſoeuer diſturbeth our tranquillity or quiet, whatſoeuer externall or domeſticall vexation we hauehave, whatſoeuer taketh from vsus the faculty and opportunity of thoſe things that are neceſſary for our life; as warre, and exile, and depredation, and ſeruitude, and want, and the like. Of all theſe it may be truly affirmed, that the Lord createth them; the Lord doth them all.
Of ſuch euils is that alſo to be vnderſtood, which our Prophet Amos hath in the ſixt verſe of this Chapter: Shall there be euill in a City, and the Lord hath not done it? The interrogation is vſed, the more to vrge the point. Shall there be euill in a City, and the Lord hath not done it? There ſhall be none. No euill of puniſhment, no calamity, no miſery, no croſſe, no affliction ſhall bee in any City, or in any other place of the world, but the Lord is the actor of it: he doth it.
Hereof was holy Iob well aduiſed. The checke hee giues his Wife ſhewes it. Shee ſeeing him all ſmitten ouer with ſore biles from the ſole of his foot vntounto the crowne of his head, falls a tempting him: Doeſt thou yet retaine thine integrity? Curſe God and die. Iobs reply vntounto her is, Chap. 2.10. Thou ſpeakeſt as one of the fooliſh women ſpeaketh: What? Shall wee receiue good at the hand of God, and ſhall we not receiue Euill? Shall we not receiue Euill? By Euill hee meaneth the Euill not of ſinne, but of puniſhment: as calamities, miſeries, croſſes, afflictions, and the like: which he calleth euill, not becauſe they are ſo indeed, but becauſe many thinke them ſo to bee. For things may be tearmed Euill in a two-fold vnderſtanding. Some are indeed Euill; ſuch are our ſinnes, and of them God is not the cauſe. Some are not indeed Euill, but onelyonly in regard of vsus, in regard of our ſenſe, of our feeling, of our apprehenſion, of our eſtimation. Such are the puniſhments, the calamities, the miſeries, the afflictions, whereto we are in this life ſubiect: and of theſe God is the cauſe. This is it which Iob acknowledgeth in the reproofe of his wiues folly; Shall we receiue good at the hand of God, and ſhall wee not receiue Euill? and it fitly ſerueth for the eſtabliſhment of my doctrine.
Whatſoeuer puniſhment befalleth any one in this life, its from the Lord.
The reaſon hereof is: becauſe the Lord is the principall doer of all things. He is the primary agent, the chiefeſt actor in all things, and therefore in all the puniſhments which doe befall vsus in this life.
The vſes of this obſeruation are two:
One is to reproue ſome Philoſophers of old, and ſome ignorant people now adaies, for a vaine opinion of theirs, whereby they attribute to accident, chance, and fortune, all thoſe their afflictions, from the leaſt to the greateſt, whereof they fee not any apparant cauſe.
The other is, to admoniſh vsus, that when any affliction is vponupon vsus, we take it patiently as coming from the Lord; and repine not at the inſtruments, by whom we are afflicted. They without him could doe nothing againſt vsus. Whatſoeuer they doe, they doe it by his permiſſion. The hand of his particular prouidence is with them to appoint the beginning, and end, and meaſure, and continuance of all our afflictions. Wherefore in all our afflictions let our practiſe be, as holy Dauids was, Pſal. 39.9. euen to hold our peace, and ſay nothing, becauſe the Lord hath done it.
From the Agent and his Action, I paſſe to the Patient: You. I will puniſh You. Y…u, mine owne poſſeſſion; You, my peculiar treaſure; You, my choſen people aboue all the Nations of the earth, I will puniſh you. My obſeruation from hence is: The Lord doth puniſh his ſeruants in this life aboue others.
This truth I further proue out of Saint Peter, Epiſt. 1. Chap. 4. Verſ. 17. He there ſaith, The time is come, that iudgement muſt beginne at the houſe of God. At the houſe of God it muſt beginne. His ſeruants therefore muſt hauehave the firſt taſte of it: and the time is come for them to hauehave it. Is the time now come? Was it not before? Yes; it was euer. Nadab and Abihu, two of Aarons ſonnes, they offer ſtrange fire before the Lord: and a fire comes out from the Lord, and deuoures. This is it, that the Lord ſpake ſaying, In propinquis meis ſanctificabor, Leuit. 10.3. I will be ſanctified in them, that come nigh me. If they that come nigh vntounto me tranſgreſſe my lawes I will not ſpare them; they, euen they ſhall feele the heauineſſe of my hand.
So ſaith the Lord, Ierem. 25.29. Loe, I beginne to bring euill on the City, in which my name is called vponupon. And there you ſee: It is not the ſeruice of God, not the calling vponupon his holy Name, that can exempt a place from puniſhment if it be polluted with iniquity.
Beginne at my Sanctuary. It is the Lords direction for the puniſhment of Ieruſalem, Ezech. 9.6. Goe thorow the City, and ſmite, Let not your eye ſpare, neither hauehave yee pity: Slay v…terly old and young: yea, maids and little children, and women. But come not neere any man vponupon whom is the marke; the reſt ſlay vtterly old and young, Spare not, Pity not, and beginne at my Sanctuary.
Now lay we all this together: Beginne with them, that are nigh vntounto me: beginne at my City, at my houſe, at my Sanctuary, ſpare none; pity none, ſmite all. You ſee my obſeruation made good: The Lord doth puniſh his ſeruants in this life aboue others.
I ſay in this life.
One reaſon hereof may bee; becauſe the Lord, out of his louelove to his ſeruants, will not ſuffer them to goe on in ſinne.
A ſecond may be; eternall puniſhments are prepared for the wicked hereafter, and therefore here in this life are they the leſſe puniſhed.
And the vſes may be two:
One, to leſſen vsus, that in the multitude and the greatneſſe of our afflictions, we acknowledge Gods great mercy, and endeuour to beare them all with patience and contentment. Whenſoeuer Gods hand ſhall be vponupon vsus, in iudgement for our ſinnes; let that of the Apoſtle, 1 Cor. 11.32. be our comfort, When we are iudged, we are chaſtened of the Lord, that we ſhould not be condemned with the world.
A ſecond vſe may be, to ſhew vntounto vsus, how fearefull their caſe is, who paſſe all their time here in this world without any touch of affliction. Affliction! it is the badge of eueryevery ſonne of God. Whoſoeuer hath no part herein, he is a baſtard, he is no ſonne. So ſaith the Apoſtle, Heb. 12.8.
I hauehave done with the Patient; with the parties puniſhed. Now a word or two of the cauſe of their puniſhment, which is the laſt circumſtance, in theſe words; For all your iniquites. I will puniſh you for all your iniquities; for all your ſins; for all, not onelyonly originall, but alſo actuall: and for all actuall, not onelyonly of commiſſion, but alſo of omiſſion; not onelyonly of knowledge, but alſo of ignorance; not onelyonly of preſumption, but alſo of infirmity: I will puniſh you for all your ſinnes. For all. The obſeruation is: The Lord will not ſuffer any ſinne to eſcape vnpuniſhed.
Sinne! It is cauſa foreign, it is the impulſiue cauſe of puniſhment. It plucks downe vengeance from the Maieſtie of Heauen. Its true of eueryevery ſinne, euen of the leaſt ſinne: Cognatum, immò innatum omni ſcoleri, ſcelaris ſupplicium. The wages of ſinne is death. As the worke is ready, ſo the pay is preſent. Nec aufertur, nec differtur. If impiety, no impunity. Its impoſſible, any ſinne ſhould be without puniſhment. Impoſſible. The reaſons are two:
One is taken from the iuſtice of God. It is a part of Gods iuſtice to puniſh ſinne, and therefore he cannot but puniſh it.
The other is taken from the truth of God. God who is euer true, hath threatned to puniſh ſinne, and therefore he will not leaue any ſinne vnpuniſhed.
The conſideration of this point, Beloued, ſhould be vntounto vsus a barre to keepe vsus in, that we be not too ſecure, too preſumptuous of our owne eſtate. We cannot bee ignorant, for we hauehave learned it out of Gods Word, that wee hauehave whole armies of enemies to encounter withall, not only out of vsus, in the world abroad, but alſo within vsus lurking within our owne fleſh, euen our ſinnes. Theſe ſinnes of ours are our crueleſt enemies. They are euer burring vsus on to puniſhment. Wherefore let vsus be at vtter defiance with them; and vſe wee all holy meanes to get the victory ouer them, by the daily exerciſes of prayer and repentance, and by a continuall practiſe of new obedience to Gods moſt holy Will, according to that meaſure of grace which wee hauehave receiued. So ſhall our ſinnes, all our ſinnes, lye drowned in the moſt precious bloud of our Lord and Sauiour Ieſus Chriſt, as in a bottomleſſe Sea, from which they ſhall neuer be able to riſe vp againſt vsus for our hurt.