Davids Evidence, Sermon 4
THE FOVRTH SERMON. Decemb. 5.3. Sab.
As for me thou vpholdest me, &c.
IN these words we are to note further, that the king doth not say simply, I am vpholden, or I hauehave kept mine integritie, but he saith, thou O Lord hast vpholden me, and doest vphold me, where we may obserue, that though Dauids heart was sincere, and sound, and vpright before God, frée from his enemies vniust accusations, and frée from all de…re of reuenge: yet all this was giuen him of God, it came not to him by nature to teach vsus that of our selues we are not able to kéepe our selues, but God must and doth vphold vsus in our vprightnesse, or else we fall as others …, and therefore we must craue this grace of God, that he will kéepe vsus, and defend vsus with his holy spirit.
There hath bene a great controuersie betwéene the Papists and vsus (euer since the abomination of desolation stoode in the holy place) about this point. They (intending to iustifie them selues with the Lawyer in the Gospell) say, This hauehave we done, and that can we do, affirming that it is in the power of man (which is but dust and ashes) of himselfe, and by him selfe, to repent when he will, to beléeue when he will, to obey God when he will, and to vphold them selues in their integritie. And to make their matter good, they say, we hauehave the grace of God giuen vsus, to obtaine the grace of God by our own power. Where you sée they speake flat contraries, if they had grace to sée it: for if ye grace of God be giuen vsus, then we hauehave it not of our selues: if we hauehave it of our selues, then is it not giuen vsus of God. Againe if we be vpholden by the grace and fauor of God, then we vphold not our selues: if we hauehave this power of our selues, then not of God. Thus they speake contrary to them selues, and are deuided in their owne spéeches, like the kingdome of Sathan, which is deuided in it self that it cannot stand. And to speake the truth, they speake confusedly they know not what, because Babell, that is confusion, is fallen vponupon them, as vpō those men which would presume by their owne endeuours without God to climbe vp into heauen.
Now on the other side, we hold, that we can get nothing but by the helpe of God: and we admit no first grace, but if the grace of God be in vsus, it is giuen vsus of Gods spirit, not gotten of our owne power, and this we proue by the word of God. God worketh both the wil and the deede, Phil. 2.13.saith the Apostle to the Philippians. Of our selues we are not able to thinke a good thought, saith ye same Apostle to the Corinthians, and therefore he demaundeth of all flesh, What hast thou, that thou hast not receiued? as if he should say, nothing: If therefore thou hast receiued it, why doest thou boast as though thou hadst not receiued it? Aske S. Iames, and he wil tell vsus, that eueryevery good gift, and eueryevery perfect gift, is from aboue, & commeth down from the Father of light. As if he should say, from whomsoeuer euill doth come, yet all goodnes commeth from God.Gen. 20. Aske Abimelech, and he will tell vsus, that if God had not kept him he had kept Abrahams wife. Aske Peters fal, and that will tell vsus, that if we stand by our selues, we shall fall, although we were as strong as Peter. Aske Ieremie, and he will tell vsus that the heart is deceiptfull, & wicked aboue all things: yea and though it be borne and bred, and brought vp with vsus, and we hauehave daily familiarity therwith, yet we can not know it. Therefore, if none can know it, much lesse can any reforme it. He that knoweth it can reforme it, and doth reforme it, where it is reformed: but that is ye Lord which searcheth the heart, for so it followeth in the next verse,Ier. 179.10. I the Lord search the heart and trie the reines. Aske Moses and he will tell vsus,Gen. 6.5. that the thoughts of mans heart are euill continually, as if he should say. If they be good at any time, that is not of man, but of God. Moses him selfe being in prayer, must hauehave his hands holdē vp by Aaron and Hur, if Moses were not able of him selfe to hold vp his hands in prayer, much lesse was he able to hold vp his heart in prayer. What doth this teach vsus, but this, that if we were as zealous as Moses, yet God must hold vsus vp, or else we faint.
There are but two things required of eueryevery one. The first is, to become holy. The second is, to continue holy, to conuert and turne into the wayes of God, and to continue in the waies of the Lord: now both these are of God, and not of our selues. Of the first the Prophet Ioell speaketh whē he saith,Ioel. 2. Turne thou vsus ô Lord, and then we shall be turned. As if he should say, Except the Lord do turne our hearts, we shall neuer be turned vntounto him, for of our selues we cannot. How farre & how long had S. Paule walked in the way of persecuting the Christians, if the Lord had not stayed him by the way? When would Saul hauehave become a Paule, if the Lord had not changed his name and altered his nature? When would so naturall a persecutor, hauehave become so holy a professor, if the Lord had not called him? And when he was conuerted, who kept him from falling backe againe?2. Cor. 12.9. My grace (saith the Lord) is sufficient to vphold thee. The spirit of the Lord is therfore called by the Prophet Esay, Esay. 11.2.the spirit of wisedome, and vnderstanding, the spirit of counsell, the spirit of courage, the spirit of knowledge, and the spirit of the feare of the Lord: to teach vsus, that if we hauehave holy wisedome, vnderstanding, or counsell, or courage, or knowledge, or the feare of God, we hauehave them of Gods spirit, and not of our selues. Whē God gaue Saul a Princely spirit, he spake like a king, but when his spirit was departed from him, he spake like a clowne and not like a king.1. King. 3. Therefore Salomon prayeth vntounto God for a wise and vnderstanding heart, to teach vsus, yt we hauehave no such thing of our selues but from aboue. The very phrase of the Scripture, & Dauids manner of speaking doth teach vsus no lesse. Thou vpholdest me (saith Dauid) yea euē me thou vpholdest. Now Dauid we know had many singular, and excellēt graces of God, and yet God must vphold him, that is, hold him vp from falling: what doth this argue but thus much, that we are subiect to falling euen the best of vsus?Iohn. 15. Therefore in the 15. of Iohn God is compared to a husbandman, and in the 5. of Esay. 1. verse,Esay. 5.5. & in diuers other places of …cripture his Church is compared to a vine, which though it be most fruitfull, yet is it most weake, and must be purged by ye Lord, …hat it may be fruitfull,Iohn. 15. & must be vpholden …y the Lord, or els it will fall to the ground. This doctrine hath a double vse for our selues. First it serueth for our comfort, if we …e the seuauntes of God, for alb…it we be compassed about with many weaknesses, & assaulted with infinite temptations on eueryevery side, yet the Lord whom we serue doth & will vphold vsus, If at any time he doth let vsus fall,… it is to teach vsus that we cannot vphold our selues, but that we stād by him. But assuredly though we fall daily, yet he will so vphold vsus if we relye vponupon him, that we shal not fall finally from him.
If he taketh all his graces from vsus (as we thinke) at any time, let vsus know that he doth it for no other purpose, but that we might know our selues of our selues to be but naked, and so might begge all of him againe. Therfore, whatsoeuer we want, let vsus séeke it at the hands of God, that giueth to them which want: when we féele any weakeness… in vsus, or any sinne strong, let vsus beséech th… Lord, to vphold vsus. Do not say, I cā, or I wil do this, and that, I will beléeue, and repent when I list, no, for if the Lord by his grace and fauour doth not vphold thée, thou shalt do nothing but fall from him.Phil. 1. Faith is ye gift of God, therefore pray, Lord increase my faith, and Lord helpe my vnbeléefe. A reformed hart, and holy affections be the gift of God,Psal. 51. therefore pray with Dauid, Create i… me O Lord a cleane hart, and renew a right spirite within me. The louelove of wisedome is the gift of God,Psal. 119. therefore pray. Apply my hart vntounto wisedome. To vnderstand the wil of God in his law, is the worke of God, therfore pray,Psal. 119. O Lord Open my eyes that I may see the wondrous things of thy law. To set light by vanitie, that is by vaine things and vaine persons is the worke of Gods grace not of nature, therfore we must pray Turne away my eyes from beholding vanitie. What should I say more? Let vsus beséech the Lord our strength to vphold vsus in our integritie, & he wil vphold vsus, so farre as shal make for his own glory, and our owne saluation, and what would we desire more? And this we must desire: for els we cannot stand but fall. Secōdly, this doctrine serueth to humble vsus, and may be a preseruatiue against pride, the vse of it is at all times; but chiefly when we begin to waxe proude of any good thing, which the Lord doth worke in vsus, or by vsus, which indéede is our corrupt nature. And likewise when we insulte …uer our weake brethren, both which are our faultes.
When such thoughtes and temptations come to fasten vponupon vsus let vsus thinke, that it is the Lord by whom we stand, and of him i… is that we are that which we are, and if w… be proude therof, he may and can take awa… our hold, and we shall fall, and our honou… shall lye in the dust.
Rome was sometime a famous Church, the beloued spouse of Christ Iesus, and … daughter of the most high, but for her pride, God let her fall, and hath now giuen her … bill of diuorcement.
Of England it may be said, as it was sai… of Ierusalem, our habitation & kinred is o… Canaan,Eze. 16.3.4.5. &c. our father an Amorite, and our mother an Hittite. In our natiuitie our nauell was not cut, we were not softned with water, nor seasoned with salt, nor swadled with cloutes, no eye pitied our case, we were ca… out into the open field to the contempt of out person. But the Lord of mercy and compassion passed by vsus, and séeing vsus euen polluted in our bloud, yea in our owne bloud, sa… in great pitie, and compassion vnspeakable, Thou shalt liue. He caused vsus to multipli… as the bud of the field, he hath bestowed excellent ornaments vponupon vsus, our breasts are fashioned, our haire is growen, whereas we were naked and bare, behold further, ou… time is as the time of louelove, he hath spread his skirts ouer vsus, and entred into a couenant with vsus, and we are become his, & he is become ours. He hath washed vsus with swéete water, & annointed vsus wt oyle of gladnesse. He hath clothed vsus with broidered worke, he hath shod vsus with badgers skinnes, and gir…ed vsus with fine linnē, and couered vsus with silke. He hath decked vsus with ornamentes & put bracelets vponupon our hands, and a chaine about our necke. He hath put a frontlet vponupon our face, eare rings in our eares, and a beautifull crowne vponupon our head, he hath fed vsus with fine flower, honie, and oyle, he hath made vsus very beautifull, and hath caused vsus to grow vp to a kingdome, in so much as our name is spread among the heathen for our beautie, which the Lord hath set vponupon vsus. What should be said more? In a word the Lord hath compted nothing to costly or to deare for vsus, nay what could he do more for his vineyeard yt he hath not done vntounto it?Esay. 5. but what of all this? shal we bragge of our ornaments, and be proud of our iewels?Eze. 16.15 16. no: but let vsus serue the Lord our God with feare, & reioyce vntounto him with reuerence, for if we shall trust in our beautie, and play the harlot, because of our renowne, if we shall take our garmēts, and decke the high places with diuers colours, if we shall abuse the riches of Gods mercy, what then? Then heare the word of the Lord O harlot. Thus saith the Lord,Vers. 35. because thy shame is powred out, and thy filthinesse discouered through thy fornication with thy louers, I will therfore iudge thée after the manner of harlots, and murtherers, & I will giuegive thée the bloud of wrath & ielousie. I will giuegive thée into thy enemies handes, and they shall strippe thée out of all thy clothes, and thy faire iewels, and leaue thée naked and bare. Therefore let him that thinke he standeth, take héede least he fall, but let vsus make an end of our saluatiō with feare and trembling,1. Cor. 10. not fearing least we should fall from our election, & loose our saluation, but least we fall from our integritie and loose our manifold blessings, for want o… sober vsing of them.
But this is in generall, let vsus goe more particularly to worke. HaueHave any of vsus her… present, any knowledge more thē he had, o… more then others hauehave, or wisedome, zeale, or faith, or louelove, or patience, or any grace▪ whatsoeuer, let vsus not be proude of them, because God gaue them, and God can take them againe. If any of vsus do stand vpright, and walke in honestie, when others doe fall, let vsus not insult ouer them, as the maner of some is,Note that to vpbraide honester men then them selues by faultes done fourtie yeare since, and the law fully satisfied for them, and yet this is ye maner of prophane Atheists, which know neither God nor them selues, to cast the old ragges and sores of the seruaunts of God in their face, to make thē and their profession, I meane the Gospell odious in the eyes of the world, and such as them selues are. And for no other cause but because they will not runne with them to ye same excesse of riot:Gen. 27. and euē as Esaw hated Iacob because of the blessing wherewith God had blessed him, so doe these men hate their brethren because they are better then them selues, and séeke to hauehave them and their wayes reformed according to ye word of God. Is it thinke you a small matter thus to quench, or to gréeue the spirite of God in any of our brethren? doe we stand by our selues? shall we neuer fall? (i) we neuer fall our selues? what if the Lord shall pull the staffe of his grace from vsus? then we shal fall with shame inough and then others shall insult ouer vsus, and reioyce at our fals, as we hauehave reioyced at their faults. For further proofe wherof, let vsus heare what the holy Ghost saith to such kinde of persōs in the 52. Psalme.Psal. 52.1.2. &c. Why doest thou boast thy selfe in thy wickednesse, O man of power? the louing kindnesse of God indureth daily, as if he should say, thou thinkest thy selfe a iolly fellow, and takest pride in thy wickednes, as though thou were a great man of power and shouldest neuer come downe, and because God doth suffer thée from day to day waiting for thy repentaunce, thou thinkest, either that he cannot, or dare not, or that he will not meddle with thée, but now sée thy selfe in thy colours, and then iudge what cause thou hast to bragge it out as thou doest against all the world, what art thou? what goodnes is in thée? Thy toung imagineth mischief, & is like a sharpe rasor, that cutteth deceitfully. Thou doest louelove euill more then good, and lyes more thē truth. Thou louest all wordes that may destroy. O deceitfull toung. Now sée thy end. So God shall destroy thee for euer. He shall take thee and plucke thee out of thy Tabernacle, and roote thee out of the land of the liuing. The righteous also shall see it, and feare, and shall laugh at him, saying, Behold the mā that tooke not God for his strength, but trusted vntounto the multitude of his riches, and put his strength in his substance. But I (saith Dauid) shalbe like a greene oliue tree in the house of God: for I trusted in the mercies of God for euer and for euer. But some will say this is spoken against the wicked sort of the world, but I hauehave, more grace, & moe graces of God then they hauehave: all the world cannot detect me of such vices, therefore I may be more bold to speake my pleasure of others then they may. But deceiue not thy selfe: thou séest a child, while he will runne vp & down to shew his new clothes,Simile. and catcheth a fall, & séeing himselfe downe, and his clothes soiled in the dust he crieth lowder at his fall thē he crowed before at his new coate: so God hath put many excellent graces vponupon thée, thou crowest at the sight of them, as Nebuchadnezzar did at the sight of his pallace, & like a foole thou art in admiratiō of thy selfe, till thou stumblest euen vponupon thy owne gifts, & when thou art downe, thou which before didst crow like a foole, doest then crye like a child, especially because thou séest thy excellent graces, euē thy coate of diuers colours, stained and soiled with thy fall, be not therefore proude of thy giftes, nor insolent ouer thy weake brother, for God vpholdeth thée, & God can set him vp, and cast thée downe: for promotion (saith Dauid) commeth neither from the East nor from the West,Psal. 75.6.7. but God is Iudge, and he setteth vp one and pulleth downe another. Thinke we vponupon this, and it will humble vsus: who would hauehave thought that Dauids holinesse should hauehave bene so stayned in the puddle of vncleannesse? Who would hauehave thought that Salomon his wisedome should euer hauehave bene wrapt vp in the follie of women? Who would hauehave thought that Sampsons strength had slept in the lap of weaknesse? Who would hauehave thought that such a valiant souldier as Peter was, would hauehave proued such a coward as he was afterward? what do all these but crye with one voyce, take héede how you walke, for it is God that vpholdeth. How many Iudges hauehave come downe from the bēch to the barre? how many prisoners hauehave gone vp from the the barre to the bench? how many Dukes, Earles, Lordes, Knightes, and Gentlemen, how many I say both honorable & worshipfull, wise and learned, stoute and valiant, hauehave bene pluckt from their places of honor and dignitie, like vntimely fruite from the trée? and bene brought, some to the gibbet? some to the scaffold, and some to perpetuall imprisonment? & what hauehave they there confessed but thus much, while God vpheld vsus we stood, and for want of grace we fell. Therfore let no mā reioyce at our fals, for if you stand, God doth vphold you, and if he do not vphold you, you shal surely fall. Haman was neuer so high in the kings fauour, but at last he was as high on his owne gallowes. Mordecai was neuer so neare the point of death, but at last he was aduaūced to great honor. Iudas once thought much with another, for bestowing a box of ointment more then needed (as he thought) vponupon Christ, at last he knew that him selfe had taken more then he ought by thirtie pence, the price of innocent bloud. The swelling red sea was once deuided in sunder, which before threatned present death to any that durst go into it. The Sunne which runneth his course as a swift giant, did once stand still. The rauens did once féede Elias. The dogges bellyes were once a graue for Iezabell. The fire which by nature consumeth all, had once no power ouer the haire of a mans head. The lice, and the flyes did once preuaile against a kinges power. The hungry Lions had once no power against Daniell. Litle naked Dauid, did once giuegive great armed Goliath the ouerthrow. There was once a song of Sauls thousand, and Dauids ten thousand. And what was once, which may not be againe if God will? Therfore let no man be proude of that he is, but let him remēber what hath bene, and what may be, and that none vpholdeth from falling but God.
Thou vpholdest me (saith Dauid.) Think we vponupon this text when we sée the hand of God in iustice vponupon any malefactor? we run out by troupes to sée some executed, some whipped, and some to be some other way openly shamed: we sée them, we talke of thē, we wonder at them, and so we forget them. But if we would then take so much paines, as to lay our inside to their outside, that is, our owne faults concealed in Gods merciemercy, with their faults reuealed in Gods iustice, we would thē pitie their case, and feare our selues: we would pray for them, and for our selues, we wold humbly thanke God, which by his grace had kept vsus from falling. For if the Lord in mercy should not vphold vsus, we might be théeues, or murtherers, and commit any wickednesse as well as others. And this let vsus know, that the Lord doth but pick them out to preach this vntounto vsus, that except he vphold vsus we fall, and except we repent we shall fall. Thou vpholdest me (saith Dauid, both a king and a Prophet) and therefore both mightie and learned, to teach vsus that there is none so great for liuing, so high for authoritie, nor so excellent for learning, but must depend on God, and trust in God for all these, or else he is no body. The blind world is in another vaine, and their vaine is vaine indéede: for they thinke that honesty and pietie do go by wealth and authoritie, and not by the grace of God. And therefore when they grow to be wealthy in the world, or when they hauehave gotten authoritie into their hands, they begin to lift vp the head, & to turne vp the snout in the wind, then they dispence with themselues to disgrace al that come before them, if they like them not: and to disdaine al their poore neighbours, be they neuer so godly, but themselues cannot chuse but be honest, and godly, because they are rich, and in authoritie.
But what if they chaunce to be taken in a trip, as the wiliest foxe is sometime taken in a snare? what if they be conuinced of falling, or slipping, or some notorious crime? what then? do they then flie to God? nothing lesse, but to their wealth, or friends, or authoritie, or some worldly deuise, & thus they say in their hearts, Thou my money, or thou my countenance, or thou my wealth, or thou my friend in the Court, shalt vphold me: and so, many times through corruption, for friendship, and fauour, for a gift, a present or a bribe, a bad man, and a bad cause are vpholden, which should be cast in ye dust. But Achab shalbe slaine though he will not be known to be Achab, and Ieroboams wise shall be knowne though she disguiseth her selfe: for onelyonly they shall stand vpright whō the Lord vpholdeth, and none else, for the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous, and the way of the wicked shall perish. Psal. 1. vlt.But sée the blindnesse of these wise worldlings: because they are wealthie, or mightie, or craftie, they thinke themselues safe inough, and what néede they pray to God for his grace to vphold them? nay, they make a wonder at him that talketh of any such matter: wheras indéed the more wealth, or authoritie, or learning, or credit, or friends, or any worldly commoditie a man hath, the more néede he hath of Gods grace to vphold him from extremities on eueryevery side, for else all these things will be but so many ropes whereby Sathan will pull him to hell.
Last of all, if this doctrine were wel learned, and stedfastly beléeued, it would serue in stéede of a moderator to end many bitter contentions, for commonly in contending one with another, we say, Thou art this, and that, and I am this, and that, thy better, and honester then thou, and so foorth. But the Apostle giueth vsus other counsell,Gal. 6.1. Brethren if any man (saith he) be fallen by occasion, you that be spirituall restore such a one with the spirit of meekenesse, considering thy self lest thou also be tēpted. And (saith he) in another place,Tit. 3.3.4. We our selues also were in times past vnwise, disobedient, deceiued, seruing lustes and diuerse pleasures, liuing in maliciousnes, and enuie, hatefull and hating one another, but whē the bountifulnesse and louelove of God our Sauiour appeared we were otherwise, and so may others be hereafter, which are not yet, and we may be hereafter as others are now, if God doth not vphold vsus: for it is he that vpholdeth them which stand, which raiseth them that are downe, which strengtheneth the weake, and casteth downe the prou… in the imagination of their hearts.
Now let vsus pray.