Oil of Scorpions, Consideration 5
THE FIFTH CONSIDERATION. Necessarie, if not made vnnecessarie by the former.
BVt if the present punishments doe not bring foorth this fruit of Repentance, wherof they are in trauell, then must wee needs enter into a fifth Consideration, and that must be this, That where Gods lesser punishments preuayle not to amendment, there the greater will issue forth and preuayle vntounto Destruction. This is a most lamentable Cure of our sins, and farre more bitter then that potion of Repentance which men so much abhorre. Repentance with some sorrow bringeth forth ioy, but in Destruction, sorrow brings forth onelyonly sorrow. GOD himselfe giues vsus the Character of it, A trembling Heart, and fayling of eyes, and sorrow of heart. ThyDeu. 28. 65. life shall hang in doubt before thee. In the Morning thou shalt say, Would God it were Eeuen, and at Eeuen▪ thou shalt say, would God it were morning. This is the fruit of Impenitence, and not without reason, since God hath proclaymed, If yet wee will not beLeuit. 26. 16, 17, 18. reformed by lesser punishments, page missing moueth them by remouingImpenitence remoou… Gods chastisements but by a most …earfull remouing. the effects, which GOD would hauehave produced by them. For God by these punishments would hauehave wrought in vsus Repentance, but Impenitence suffers not God to hauehave this end of his punishments. And then doth God also remooue his Chastisements; but this ease is the greatest Miserie of all, and it were better to bee still chastised then to bee thus eased. While the Rod is burning, the Sword is whetting, and chastisements are then changing into vtter destructions. A most fearefull speach is this, why should they be smitten any more, they wax worse and worse?Esa. 1. 5, 7, 8 The hard-hearted sinner may thinke; that hee hath gotten an excellent aduan…ge by hi… profiting in sinne, when sinning more, …e shal be smitten no more. But let him take that which followes, and then hee will wish he had still been smitten as before. Your Countrey is desolate; your Cities are burnt with fire, your Land-strangers deuoure in your presence, and it is desolate as ouer-throwne by strangers. A pittifull priuiledge, Not to be stricken any more, but in stead thereof to bee swept away by an vtter Desolation. Let vsus not reioyce, but tremble at such sun-blasts, which are followed with these raging showres of wrath and vengeance. If the drops of his wrath hauehave thus afflicted vsus, how will the great showres of his Indignation waste vsus? Stilla ad Afric…m, Hierom. in Ezek. lib. 1. cap. 1.&c. Drop thy word to the South. Drop thy word saith Hierome, that the whole wrath of God seeme not to be powred out, but some drop or part of it. But if a Drop bee so full of terrour, how terrible shall wee thinke are the whole showres of his wrath?] Let not then the drops seeme little to vsus, least we feele the showres too great for vsus. The best and safest way is to make our sins, and GodsSins and punishments by seeming little grow greater, and by seeming great grow lesser. Iudgements appeare in their true greatnesse; for when wee truely see their greatnesse, that sight in penitent men makes them both to grow lesser. But when they both seeme lesse then they are, then they both grow bigger. Neither let vsus be so nice and selfe▪louing, as to thinke that the punishments which we hauehave suffered, are not great enough to inforce a general humiliation, For one or two of these punishments, hauehave beene a ground sufficient for the Prophets of God to call for a publike penitence. …oel calleth for LamentationIoel. 1. 1…, 13. & 2▪ 2… ▪ and Fasting, because Gods armie, the Canker and Caterpiller had destroyed their fruits. And Haggai calls the people to the Consideration and amendment of their wayes, because they sowed much and reaped little, and put their wages into a broken bagge. And a reuerend FatherGreg. Naz. of the ancient Church vponupon a tempest of hayle, calls on the people to possesse their soules in teares, to sanctifie a Fast, and to amend their liues. Let vsus therefore bee no wiser then the Prophets and Saints; yea, let vsus be no worse then the Scribes and Pharises, whom Iohn Baptist termed a generation of Vipers, and yet were forewarned to flie from the wrath to come. Let vsus make profit of Gods chastisements, and let that profit bee Repentance, and the profit of Repentance will bee the remoouing of the Chastisements. Let vsus speake vntounto GOD in theEzra 9. …3. words of Ezra, After all that is come vppon vsus for our euill deeds, and for our great trespasse, seeing that thou our God hast punished vsus lesse then our iniquities, and hast giuen such deliuerance as this: should we again breake thy Commandements, &c? Wouldest thou not bee angrie with vsus till thou hadst consumed vsus? Since Gods punishments hauehave beene lesse then our sinnes; yea, hee hath giuen vsus many deliuerances, should wee partake with sinnes and sinners any more, that so by increasing our sinnes wee may increase our punishments, vntill they amount to a finall destruction? It is meet to be spoken to God (saith Elihu) I hauehave borne chastisement, I will not offend any more. If it be meet to be said, let vsus say what is meet to bee said, but let vsus say it truely, or else we doe not meetly say what is meet to be said. Let vsus from the heart make a Couenant with God, and say we hauehave borne chastisement, wee will offend no more. Let vsus bee contented with these punishments which wee hauehave alreadie receiued, and let vsus not by continuance in sinnes make them too little for vsus. Let vsus ratherNe…m 9. 32 pray vntounto God; Let not all our trouble seeme little vntounto thee, which hath come vponupon vsus, but giuegive vsus so great a Repentance, that may make our troubles seeme great vntounto thee, and grow lesser vponupon vsus.
O Lord heare, O Lord forgiue, O Lord hearken and doe it.
FINIS.
End of the text · Francis Rous, Oil of Scorpions (1623)