Satans Compassing the Earth, Text 2
1. Corinth. 10.12.
12 Let him that thinketh hee stand, take heed least he fall.
WHen you hauehave examined your selues by the touchstone which I gaue you,Acts 26.28 2. Cor. 13.9 whether you bee in the faith or no, if you finde that you stand in the faith, let him which thinketh he standeth, take heed least he fall. Three sentences wee borrowed of Paul: in the first he exhorted vsus to be Christians: in the second hee taught vsus to know whether we be christians or no: in the last, he warneth vsus, if we be, to perseuer and take heed least we fall. Paul doth not teach vsus these phrases to doubt of our saluation, or of the merciemercy of God, as the Papists saie, but of our constancy in his seruice, not least we fall from our election, but least we fall from our righteousnes, this is a godly feare, and blessed is he (saith Salomon) not which standeth in feare of Gods mercy, but he which standeth in feare of his owne frailtie. Pro. 28.14. As Iob did, which feared all his works, Iob. 9.28. Wee must hauehave confidence towards God, but diffidence towards our selues, for God will be true to vsus, if we bee true to him: this feare is not contrarie to faith, but cannot stande without it, therefore take heed least ye fall, is, take heed least ye sinne, as the Israelites sinned. An admonition gathered from the fall of the Iewes, to them which stand, or to them which thinke they stand, to take heed least they fall: as a Cronicler in a storie giues a watch worde by the waie, to admonish the reader of some speciall thing to bee marked: so the Apostle teaching vsus to make vse of all that we heare or reade, after he had shewed how the Israelites stood sometime, and how they fell after againe, which were the elect people of God, the becon of the world, & glorie of nations, vntill they crucified him, who wold hauehave saued them, ends with a sigh, as if he shuld saie, it greeues me to record their follie, and to discouer the nakednes of my countri-men, what should I rehearse anie more? if they fel thus? take them for a warning, and Let him that thinketh hee standeth, take heed least he fall. Here we are set to sinners schoole, to see what we canne learne of the wicked, as the Bee doeth gather honie of weeds, for all which is written, is written for our instruction, Rom. 15:4. These things (saith Paul) are written to admonish vsus, vppon whom the end of the world is come, as if he should saie, we hauehave need to take more heed then they vnderunder the lawe, because wee liue in the last and worst daies, when the Dragon is let loose, & hath great wrath, because his time is short, Reue. 12.12. Now if you would know how the Israelites fell, reade but from the sixt verse, and you shall see how they fleeted from sinne to sinne, like a flie which shifteth from sore to sore. They tempted the Lord (sayth Paul) they murmured, they lusted, they committed Idolatrie, they serued the flesh, they sate downe to eate, and rose vp to plaie: Take heed (saith Paul) ô ye Corinthians, least yee liue so too, you shall not doo euill because others doo so, but these things are written for your learning, therefore first you shall learne, that as they fell awaie, so you may, and then by their fall you may learne to stand. Thus the Apostle warneth vsus, that we are all in a house ready to fall, and all in a ship readie to sinke, all in a bodie readie to sinne, who can saie what he will do when he is tried? Therefore Paul saith not, let him that standeth take heed least he fall, but Let him that thinketh hee standeth, take heed least he fall: warning vsus before that wee take heed of falling, and to examine how wee stand, whether wee stand or no, for when hee ma…es his speech of them which thinke they stand, not of them which stand, he intends that few stand in comparison of them which thinke they stand: many thinke themselues wise that are fooles like other, many thinke themselues pure, which are prophane, like other, as Salomon noteth, Pro. 30.12. There is a generation which are pure in their owne conceit, and yet are not washed from their filthines: as though there were a generation or sect of such men. And againe Pro. 20.6. Many men will boast of their goodnes, but who can finde a faithfull man: so many seeme to stand which stand not, many thinke they beleue, which know not what faith meaneth, many loke to be saued, which cā not tell who should saue thē, no more then Nichodemus knew what it was to bee borne againe, the reason is, manie are afraid to sound too deepe, and examine their conscience, least it should vpbraid them with the noisomnes of their sinnes. Therefore like a fauourable Iudge, which would saue the malefactor, he wil aske him so cunningly, that he will answere for him to, & then he will saie, I find no fault in this man, let him paie his fees and be gone: so I finde no fault in this faith, mee thinkes it is a sound saith, me thinks it is a good vvhichwhich vvhen hee is dovvne riseth no louelove, me thinkes it is religious inough, when I come to the Church, and louelove my neighbour, and obey my Prince, and giuegive euerie man his owne, & paie my tithes, and fast twice a weeke, as the Pharesie did, me thinks this is wel, what would you hauehave more? hauehave I not kept all the commandements. Lu. 18.18. No (saith Christ) there is one behinde, examine thy selfe, & stil thou shalt finde something behinde, like a cobweb in the top of an house when the floore is swept. Therefore vvell doth Paul saie, he vvhichwhich thinketh that he stands, not he vvhichwhich stands, for hee vvhichwhich stands in Christ falleth not, but he vvhichwhich thinketh he standes falleth sodenly, an may finally, vnlesse hee stand vponupon his vvatch, take heed is a good staffe to stay vponupon, and so often a man sinnes as he casts it from him, all goe astraie.
But this is the difference betvveen the sinnes of them vvhichwhich hauehave faith, and them which hauehave no faith, they vvhichwhich hauehave no faith, fall like an Elephant, which when he is downe riseth not againe: they which hauehave faith doe but trip and stumble, fall and rise againe, their fals doe teach them to stand, their weaknes doeth teach them strength, their sins doth teach them repentance, their frailnes teach them constancie, as Peter was better after his deniall then he was before. Iudas did neuer stand, but semed to stand, the Disciples knew not that he was a theefe and intended treason, for they asked, Is it I? is it I? Christ knew, as it appeareth, when hee gaue him the sop and said, That which thou doest doe quickly: if euer he had stood, hee could not hauehave bin tearmed the sonne of perdition. Many did seem to the world to go out of the Church, but Iohn saith, they were neuer of the Church, meaning that if they had ben of the Church, they coulde not hauehave gone out of it, for the true vine coulde not leaue her grapes, nor the oliue her fatnesse, nor the fig tree her sweetnes: so they which stande in the faith, doe not fall awaie, but seeme to fall, as hypocrites seeme to stande. The best men hauehave had their slips, but alwayes they rose againe, as though they had sinned to teach vsus repentance, therfore their sins are written, which els should hauehave bin concealed for their honour, for they were not registred in spight to disgrace them, but to admonish vsus that when we see such a field of bloud, lyke carcases, which the dragon hath slaine. wee may feare to set vppon him vnarmed, least we be slaine like other, as Salomon beheld the fielde of the slothfull which was full of thistles and weedes, Prou. 24.30. So we must behold the sins of other to learne by them. I passed by (saith Salomon) and considered it well, I looked vponupon it and receiued instruction, this note is in the margent of your Bibles, that I might learne by another mans fault: so Salomon sheweth howe we should looke vponupon other mens falts if we beholde and consider them, and looke vppon them to receiue instruction as Salomon did, then do wee behold and consider, and looke vppon them well, or els as Abraham might see the smoake of Sodome, but Lot might not see it, so they which can make vse of sin may heare, and see, & speake of errors of men, yet is it not lawfull for thē, because they are as a spider which gathereth nothing but poison. Did not many peruert the sins of the Patriarches, and applie them to themselues, as they shuld applie their doctrines? But these things (saith Paul) are not written for our imitation, but for our admonition that is, for a caue at least we do the like, for they repented that which they did, and shall we do that which hey repented? Christ saith Followe me, without limites, but Paul saith, Be ye followers of me as I follow Christ: so wee must followe the Patriarches, and Prophets, and Apostles, as they followed Christ, least following that which they repented, we sustain or suffer that which they escaped. This is a lesson for all but Christ, Let him which thinketh he stande, take heed least he fall. When Paul had distilled the capital sinnes of the Israelits, this is the quintescence, that is, all the profite which hee coulde wring out of them, Let them that thinke they stand take heed least they fal. Who would hauehave said that Ierusalem would hauehave become an harlot: that the chosen people should become the cutsedst vppon the earth? yet so it is, saith Paul, thus & thus they hauehave done, and thus hath God forsaken them, that all the world may take heed how they stirre vp the lion of Iudah, which deuoureth the wicked like bread: Who wold hauehave thought when Lot was grieued with the sinnes of Sodome, that he would hauehave committed a worse sinne himselfe, first to drinke til he was dronke, then to lie with his own daughters? yet he did so. Who would hauehave thought that Noe when he builded the Arke, because hee beleeued in God, & gaue example to all the world how they shuld saue themselues, when the floud was past, woulde hauehave giuen the first example of sinne to his ovvne sonnes? Who would hauehave thought that when he was persecuted for his godlynes in the desart, he vvould hauehave slaine the husband for the lust of the wife, vvhen the blessinges of God did call him to thankfulnes? Who would hauehave thought that Salomon vvhen he praied in the temple, and was tearmed by God the wisest man in the world, would hauehave taken mo concubines vntounto him than any heathen in the world? How are the mightie ouerthrowen, saith Dauid? 2. Sam. 1. Like Peter which said he would neuer forsake Christ: and forsoke him first. The straunge men are fallen. Euen Salomon himselfe, and Dauid, and Noah, and Lot, and Sampson, & Peter, the light of the world, fell like the starres of heauen: these tall souldiers, strong oakes, fayre pillers lie in the dust, whose tops glittered in the aire, that they which think they stand, may take heed least they fall. Can I loke vponupon these ruines without compassion, or remember them without feare, vnles I be a reprobate, & my heart of flint? Who am I that I should stand like a shrubbe, when these Caedars are blowen downe to the grounde, and shewed themselues but men, the best man is but a man, the worst are worse then beasts, no man is vntainted but Christ, they which had greater gifts then we, they which had deeper roots then we, they vvhichwhich had stronger hearts then wee, they which had more props then vve, are fallen like a bird vvhichwhich is vvearie of her flight, & turned back like the wind in the twinkling of an eie. 2. Kin. 8.13. Who would hauehave mocked him, that shoulde hauehave said sometime as Elisha said to Hazael, vvhat vvickednes he should do in time to come, that he should slay and trample men, vvomen and children, Hazael blusht to heare thus of him, and saide, Am I a dog that I should doe this, as if he would neuer doo it vvhile he vvere a man, but count him a dog vvhen hee comes to that: so they which are changed like Hazael blush to heare thus of him, and would hauehave scorned somtime at him which should once hauehave saide when they were zealous and studious preachers, & persecuted for their preaching, that the time would come when they should be loiterers, time-seruers, louers of the world, & greedie wolues, deuourers of their flockes, and persecutors, they would hauehave saide, Am I a dog? Am I a beast? Am I a reprobate, that I should doo this? they would neuer beleeue this til it came to passe, and being fallen, they saie they sinned lyke Hazael, which blusht before he sinned and was impudent after. Therefore let no man saie what he will be, before he hauehave examined what he is, but run his course with a trembling feare, alwayes looking downe to the rubs which lie before him, & the worthies which are slaine alreadie, and remember when anie spectacle of frailtie is in thine eie, this is my warning, for no man hath more priuiledge then another. This is the profite we should make of other mens faultes, like a pearle which is taken out of the serpent: when wee see our brothers nakednes, it should moue vsus to compassion of him, and a feare of our selues, for when wee reioyce at others fall, like Cham, as the leprosie went from Naaman to Gehezi, so God turneth his wrath from them, & it lighteth vponupon vsus, Prou. 24.18. and such as hauehave despised others without remorse, hauehave fallen in the like, or more shamefully themselues, and neuer rose again. What shall we do then when we heare of other mens faults? not talke as vvee doo, but beware by them, and thinke, Am I better then hee? Am I stronger then Sampson? Am I wiser then Salomon? Am I chaster then Dauid? Am I soberer then Noah? Am I firmer then Peter, if God should leaue mee to my selfe? if he should withdrawe his hand vvhichwhich holdes mee? Into howe many gulfes hauehave I bin falling, when GOD hath preserued me of occasion, or delaied the temptation, or vvonderfully kept me from it, I knowe not hovv, for he deliuereth me from euill, as he deliuered Dauid from the hloud of Nabal, by Abigael, which came vnlooked for: So he hath preuented many wonderfully, whē they were assaulted so hardly, that they had thought to hauehave yeelded to the enemie. Sometime I may say there wanted a tempter, sometime I may say there wanted time, somtime I may say there wanted place, sometime the tempter was present, & there wanted neither time nor place, but God helde me backe that I should not consent: so neer we hauehave glided by sin, like a ship which rides vponupon a rock, and slips away, or a birde which scapes frō the fowler when the net is vponupon her. There is no salte but may lose his saltnes, no wine but may lose his strength, nor flower but may lose his sent, no light but may bee eclipsed, no beau…ie but may bee stained, no fruite but as … blasted, nor soul but may bee …: wee stand all in a slipperie a nea… where it is easie to slide, & hard … vp, like little children which ouerthrowe themselues with their clothes, now vp, now downe at a strawe, so soon wee fall from God, and slide from his word, and forget our resolutions, as though wee had neuer resolued. Man goeth forth in the morning, weake, naked, and vnarmed, to fight with powers, and principalities, the deuill, the world, & al their adherents, and whom doth he take with him but this flesh, a traitor, redie to yeld him vp at euerie assalt vntounto the enemie. Thus man is set vponupon the side of a hill, alwaies declining, and slipping: the flesh muffleth him to make him stumble, the world catcheth at him to make him fal, the deuill vndermineth him to make him sinke, and crieth still, Cast thy selfe downe: and when he falleth, he goeth apace, as Peter, who denied thrise together: & when he is fallen is like a stumbling stone in the way for other, … they may fall too: Therefore … that thinketh hee standeth, take heed … he fall.
So earnestlie must wee call … our soules, that we be not weary of wel doing: for happier are the childrē that neuer began, then Iudas, whose ende was worse then his beginning. Wisdome and Righteousnesse are angrie with him that leaueth his goodnesse to become worse: if thy spouse had committed fornication thou mightst hauehave diuorsed her, but he which leaueth his righteousnesse to liue in wickednesse, forsakes his spouse to committe fornication, and is diuorced from Christ himselfe. If thou were like the Vine, or the Oliue, or the Figge tree, they would not leaue their grapes, or their fatnesse, or their sweetenesse, to get a kingdome; but the Bramble did: If thou be like the Bramble, what wilte thou doe when the fire comes? As this is a memorandum to all, so especiallie let him that ruleth, and him that teacheth, take heede least he fall: for if the Pillers shrinke the Temple shakes, as when a great Tree is hewen downe, which is a shadowe to the beastes, and a neast to the birdes, many leaues, and bowes, and twigges fal with it: so many stand, and fall with them, whose lampes geue light to others: Euen as Ieroboams sinne made Israel to sinne. Therfore Paul hath giuen you a watchword, which euerie one should write vponupon his table, vponupon his bed, and vponupon his nailes, least he forget in one hower, for he which standes now, may fall before night. Sinne is not long in comming, nor quickly gone, vnlesse God stop vsus, as hee mette Balaam in his way, and stay vsus, as hee staied the womans sonne, when hee was a bearing to his graue: we runne ouer Reason, and treade vppon Conscience, and fling by Councell, and goe by the Word, and poast to Death, as though we ran for a Kingdome, like a Lark, that falles to the ground sooner then she mounted vp: at first she retires, as it were by steps, but when she commeth neerer the ground, she falles downe with a iumpe: so we decline at first, and wauer lower and lower, til we be almost at the worst, and then we runne headlong, as though we were sent poast to hell, from hotte to luke-warme, from luke-warme to key colde, from key-colde to starke dead: so the languishing soule bleedes to death, and seeth not his life goe till it be at the very last as pe.
Woe be vntounto him that is guiltie of this murther, if the bloud of Abell cried for vengeaunce against his brother Cain which slewe his bodie, shall not God be reuenged for the death of the Soule. Where is thy Brother (saith GOD?) Naye where is thy soule? hast thou slaine it, which was my Spouse, my Temple, mine owne Image? If the seruant which hidde his Talent was cast into darkenesse, what shall bee done vntounto thee which hast lost thy Talent? For hee which falles from his righteousnesse, dooth not hide his Talent, but more, hee dooth lose it.
Thus if you neuer knewe what good to make of euill, this you maie learne in the sinners Schoole: let them which thinke they stande, take heede least they fall, and let them which are down, care to rise, and the Lord so direct our steppes, that we may rise againe.
FINIS.
End of the text · Henry Smith, Satans Compassing the Earth (1592)