Touchstone to Determine the True Catholic Faith, Part 6
Text. v. 2Mercy, and peace, and louelove, to you be multiplied]. He wisheth here to all true christians and catholikes, three excellent Iewels, Mercy, peace, and louelove: mercy for their sinnes, peace to their consciences, and louelove to their hearts. There is no man but standes in néede of these Iewels.Rom. 11.32 Luke 17.10 Psal. 32.1 As for the first, God hath shut vp all vnderunder vnbeliefe, that hee might hauehave mercy on all. All are vnprofitable seruantes, no man can say my heart is cleane. And blessed is the man, not that hath not sinned (for then none should be blessed) but whose vnrighteousnesse is forgiuen, and whose sinne is couered. All must knocke their breasts, and pray with the publican,Luke 18.13 O Lord be mercifull to mee a sinner. All must professe that article in the creede, I beléeue the remission of sinnes. He that hath not this faith in him, this sure trust and confidence, though hee hath sinned, yet that there is a forgiuenesse, though hee be neuer so great a trespasser, yet there is an aduocate, a lawyer, that answereth for him; though he be neuer so great a debtor, yet there is a suretie, a satisfier, and discharger of all his debts: shall neuer be saued. And this forgiuenesse, is of merciemercy. And therefore this is the first thing that the Apostle here wisheth to his, merciemercy for their sinnes. Hosee among the small prophets, is the first in order, and his name in hebrew is in english, Health or saluation. And surelie,Hose 1.10 his prophesie agréeeth with his name. For thus hee prophesieth. And the number of the children of Israell shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or numbred: and it shal bee in that place, where it was said to them, none of my people, it shal be said to thē, the sons of the liuing God. Here are contradictions, to declare to vsus the great merciemercy of God: what can be more contrarie the one to the other, then not my people, and the sonnes of the liuing God? And yet such was our estate, we were not onelie a rebellious people, but none of Gods people, we had quite cast off Gods yoke from vsus: wée were dead in our sinnes, void of the life of grace, and euen now, such are called not friendes, but sonnes of the liuing God. Hosee here agreeing with Peter: the first of ye smaller prophets, with theaIn order, nor else. Hos. 2.14 first Apostle, that as he called Christ the head, the sonne of the liuing God: so he calleth all his members. And in this 2. cap. most plainlie vnderunder the type of the Idolatrie of Israell, hee sheweth the great merciemercy of God. I will visite vponupon her the daies of Baall, when she offered incense vntounto them, and she adorned them with her earerings and Iewels, and walked after her louers, and forgat me, saith the Lord. Therefore beholde, I will allure her and bring her into the wildernesse, and speak, euen vntounto her hart, that is, comfortably. For her idolarie for following her louers, and forgetting of God: God wil allure her, and drawe her into the wildernesse from these sinnes, and speake comfortablie vntounto her. These were the Israelites merites, and such were all ours: and this was Gods great merciemercy. And in the 54. of Esay the church of Christ,Esay. 54.1 and his great merciemercy towardes it is most liuelie described. Reioice thou barren, that diddest not beare, brast out into ioy, and euen neie as horses do, for the greatnesse of thy ioy. For there are more children of the desolate, then of the maried woman. Enlarge the place of thy tentes, not only in Iewry: but ouer the whole worlde. Stretch out the curtaines of thy dwelling, spare not, that is, the graces of the holie spirit which doe beautifie thee, not ten, but ten times ten in number: stretch out thy cordes, that is, the cordes of louelove. The benefits which God bestoweth vponupon thee, to binde thée to him, are not limited, as were those cordes of the Iewish tabernacles, but are nowe without measure. And fasten thy nayles, that is, the most assured promises of thy saluation, wherewith thy soule by faith, is as it were with nailes fastened to God, still beate vponupon them, let them go ouer the heades, in thy heart. Thou shalt increase on thy right hand and on thy left, and thy feede shall inherit the nations, and shall dwell in waste cities. Feare not, for thou shalt not be ashamed, neither shalt thou be confounded, thou shalt not be put to shame. For thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the shame of thy widowhoode anie more. For he that made thee is thy husband, whose name is the Lord of hosts, and thy redeemer the holy one of Israell, shall bee called the God of the whole earth. Here is Christs church, & Gods mercy towards her, excellentlie pictured out. The church, barren of it selfe, like Sarah, like Rachel: nowe more fruitfull then Leah. A smal… thing before in comparison of the whole world, like Israels tents in the wildernesse, like Iewrie: now stretching her selfe ouer the whole worlde. Not beautified or adorned with ten curtaines of blew silke, and purple, as was Moses tabernacle; but with the diuers vnspeakeable and innumerable giftes of the helie ghost, not linked with coardes of line, (as was the Israelites) but with the coardes of louelove, with the cordes of benefits, which are without number, whose nailes are Gods worde, Gods most faithfull promises, whose first and chiefe iewell, is sure trust and confidence, by Gods merciemercy of forgiuenes of sinnes. Shame, blushing, and confusion commeth of sinne: But God himselfe commands his Church not to feare any such thing, nay to forget the shame and sinnes of her youth, and the reproch of her widowhood. Oh the great merciemercy of God! He will hauehave vsus to bee so assured of the forgiuenesse of our sinnes, euen of the sinnes of our youth, of our most grieuous sinnes, of the sinnes of our widowhood, which we committed, when wee were Atheists and without God, that we should now not so much as remember them, nor be grieued for them. So great and so sure is his merciemercy. For the Lorde himselfe is the husbande of his church, and hee will answere all actions and inditementes laide against it. No man euer sueth the wife, but the husband. The holie one of Israell, euen Iesus Christ, a lambe vnsported, without sin, is the redeemer of his faithfull Israel.Col. 2.14. And therefore hee hath cancelled the obligation of the keeping of all Gods laws, which we were bounde in, and of the forfeiting wherof wee are guilty, and hath fastened it to his crosse, and paide all our debtes whatsoeuer. This is Gods merciemercy, this is all our saluations, this is our most assured trust and confidence, and this mercy is for euer, Psal. 118.1.2 Esay. 54. v. 9this merciemercy is certaine and sure. This is, as the waters of Noah, which the Lorde hath sworne shall no more goe ouer the earth. So the Lorde hath sworne this, he will not be angry with, nor rebuke his faithfull ones, in his fiery wrath and heauy displeasure (keseph, as it is in the Hebrewe) anie more. Nay this mercy is so sure, that the mountaines shall fall, verse 10.remoue, and the hils shal fal down: but his mercy shal not depart from his, neither this newe couenant of peace in Iesus Christ shall fal away, saith the Lord, thy pittier that hath now compassion on thee.