Eighty Sermons, penitential psalms · Sermon 50
SERM. L. Preached upon the Penitentiall Pſalmes.
PSAL. 6.1.
O Lord, Rebuke me not in thine Anger, neither chaſten me in thy het Diſpleaſure.
GOD imputes but one thing to David, but one ſin; The matter of Vriah the Hittite: nor that neither, but by way of exception, not till he had firſt eſtabliſhed an aſſurance, that David ſtood well with him. Firſt he had ſaid,1 King. 25.5. David did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord, and turned not aſide from any thing, that he had commanded him all the dayes of his life: Here was rectitude, He did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord; no obliquity, no departing into by-wayes, upon collaterall reſpects; Here was integrity to Gods ſervice, no ſerving of God and Mammon, Hee turned not from any thing that God commanded him; And here was perpetuity, perſeverance, conſtancy, All the dayes of his life: And then, and not till then, God makes that one, and but that one exception, Except the matter of Vriah the Hittite. When God was reconciled to him, he would not ſo much as name that ſin; that had offended him:
And herein is the mercy of God, in the merits of Chriſt, a ſea of merciemercy, that as the Sea retaines no impreſſion of the Ships that paſſe in it, (for Navies make no path in the Sea) ſo when we put out into the boundleſſe Sea of the blood of Chriſt Jeſus, by which onelyonly wee have reconciliation to God, there remaines no record againſt us; for God hath cancelled that record which he kept, and that which Satan kept God hath nailed to the Croſſe of his Son. That man which hath ſeene me at the ſealing of my Pardon, and the ſeale of my Reconciliation, at the Sacrament, many times ſince, will yet in his paſſion, or in his ill nature, or in his uncharitableneſſe, object to me the fins of my youth; whereas God himſelfe, if I have repented to day, knowes not the ſins that I did yeſterday. God hath raſed the Record of my ſin, in Heaven; it offends not him, it grieves not his Saints nor Angels there; and he hath raſed the Record in hell; it advances not their intereſt in me there, nor their triumph over me. And yet here, the uncharitable man will know more, and ſee more, and remember more, then my God, or his devill remembers, or knowes, or ſees: He will ſee a path in the Sea; he will ſee my ſin, when it is drowned in the blood of my Saviour. After the Kings pardon, perchance it will beare an action, to call a man by that infamous name, which that crime, which is pardoned, did juſtly caſt upon him before the pardon: After Gods reconciliation to David, he would not name Davids ſin in the particular.
But yet for all this, though God will be no example, of upbraiding or reproaching repented ſinnes, when God hath ſo far expreſt his love, as to bring that ſinner to that repentance, and ſo to mercy, yet, that he may perfect his owne care, he exerciſes that repentant ſinner with ſuch medicinall corrections, as may inable him to ſtand upright for the future. And to that purpoſe, was no man evermore exerciſed then David. David broke into anothers family; he built upon anothers ground; he planted in anothers Seminary; and God broke into his family, his ground, his Seminary. In no ſtory, can wee finde ſo much Domeſtick affliction, ſuch rapes, and inceſts, and murders, and rebellions, from their owne children, as in Davids ſtorie. Under the heavy waight and oppreſſion of ſome of thoſe, is David, by all Expoſitors, conceived to have conceived, and uttered this Pſalme. Some take it to have beene occaſioned by ſome of his temporall afflictions; either his perſecution from Saul, or bodily ſickneſſe in himſelfe, of which traditionally the Rabbins ſpeake much, or Abſoloms unnaturall rebellion. Some others, with whom wee finde more reaſon to joyne, finde more reaſon to interpret it, of a ſpirituall affliction; that David, in the apprehenſion, and under the ſenſe of the wrath and indignation of God, came to this vehement exclamation, or deprecation, O Lord rebuke me not in thine anger, neither chaſten me in thy hot diſpleaſure.
In which words we ſhall conſider,Diviſio. firſt the perſon, upon whom David turned for his ſuccour, and then what ſuccour he ſeeks at his hands. Firſt his word, and then his end; firſt to whom, and then for what he ſupplicates. And in the firſt of theſe, the Perſon, we ſhall make theſe three ſteps; firſt that he makes his firſt acceſſe to God onelyonly, O Lord rebuke me not; doe not thou, and though I will not ſay, I care not, yet I care the leſſe who doe. And ſecondly, that it is to God by Name, not to any univerſall God, in generall notions; ſo naturall men come to God; but to God whom he conſiders in a particular name, in particular notions, and attributes, and manifeſtations of himſelfe; a God whom he knowes, by his former workes done upon him. And then, that name in which hee comes to him here, is the name of Iehovah; his radicall, his fundamentall, his primarie, his eſſentiall name, the name of being, Iehovah. For, he that deliberately, and conſiderately beleeves himſelfe to have his very being from God, beleeves certainely that he hath his well being from him too; He that acknowledges, that it is by Gods providence that he breathes, beleeves that it is by his providence that he eates too. So his acceſſe is to God, and to God by name, that is by particular conſiderations, and then, to God in the name of Iehovah, to that God that hath done all, from his firſt beginning, from his Being. And in theſe three we ſhall determine our firſt part.
Firſt,1. Part. To God. in this firſt branch of this part, David comes to God, but without any confidence in himſelfe. Here is Reus ad roſtra ſine patrono, here is the priſoner at the Barre, and no Counſell allowed him. He confeſſes Indictments, faſter then they can be read: If he heare himſelfe indicted, that he looked upon Bathſheba, that he luſted after Bathſheba, he cryes, Alas, I have done that, and more; diſhonored her, and my ſelfe, and our God; and more then that, I have continued the act into a habit; and more then that, I have drowned that ſinne in bloud, leſt it ſhould riſe up to my ſight; and more then all that, I have cauſed the Name of God to be blaſphemed; and leſt his Majeſty, and his greatneſſe ſhould be a terrour to me, I have occaſioned the enemy to undervalue him, and ſpeake deſpightfully of God himſelfe. And when he hath confeſt all, all that he remembers, he muſt come to his Ab occultis meis, Lord cleanſe me from my ſecret ſinnes; for there are ſins, which we have laboured ſo long to hide from the world, that at laſt, they are hidden from our ſelves, from our own memories, our own conſciences. As much as David ſtands in feare of this Judge, he muſt intreat this Judge, to remember his ſinnes; Remember them, O Lord, for els they will not fall into my pardon; but remember them in mercy, and not in anger; for ſo they will not fall into my pardon neither.
Whatſoever the affliction then was, temporall, or ſpirituall, (we take it rather to be ſpirituall) Davids recourſe is preſently to God.1 Sam. 16.14. He doth not, as his predeceſſour Saul did, when he was afflicted, ſend for one that was cunning upon the Harp, to divert ſorrow ſo. If his Subjects rebell, he doth not ſay, Let them alone, let them goe on, I ſhall have the juſter cauſe, by their rebellion, of confiſcations upon their Eſtates, of executions upon their perſons, of revocations of their lawes, and cuſtomes, and priviledges, which they carry themſelves ſo high upon. If his ſonne lift up his hand againſt him, he doth not place his hope in that, that that occaſion will cut off his ſonne, and that then the peoples hearts which were bent upon his ſonne, will returne to him againe. David knew he could not retyre himſelfe from God in his bedchamber; Guards and Uſhers could not keepe him out. He knew he could not defend himſelfe from God in his Army; for the Lord of Hoſts is Lord of his Hoſts. If he fled to Sea, to Heaven, to Hell, he was ſure to meet God there; and there thou ſhalt meet him too, if thou fly from God, to the reliefe of outward comforts, of muſicke, of mirth, of drinke, of cordialls, of Comedies, of converſation. Not that ſuch recreations are unlawfull; the minde hath her phyſick as well as the body; but when thy ſadneſſe proceeds from a ſenſe of thy ſinnes, (which is Gods key to the doore of his mercy, put into thy hand) it is a new, and a greater ſin, to goe about to overcome that holy ſadneſſe, with theſe prophane diverſions; to fly Ad conſolatiunculas creaturulae (as that elegant man Luther expreſſes it, according to his naturall delight in that elegancy of Diminutives, with which he abounds above all Authors) to the little and contemptible comforts of little and contemptible creatures. And as Luther uſes the phyſick, Iob uſeth the Phyſitian; Luther calls the comforts, Miſerable comforts; and Iob calls them that miniſter them, Oneroſos conſolatores, Miſerable comforters are you all. David could not drowne his adultery in blood; never thinke thou to drowne thine in wine. The Miniſters of God are Sonnes of Thunder, they are falls of waters, trampling of horſes, and runnings of Chariots; and if theſe voyces of theſe Miniſters, cannot overcome thy muſick, thy ſecurity, yet the Angels trumpet will; That Surgite qui dermitis, Ariſe yee that ſleepe in the duſt, in the duſt of the grave, is a Treble that over-reaches all; That Ite maledicti, Goe yee accurſed into Hell fire, is a Baſe that drowns all. There is no recourſe but to God, no reliefe but in God; and therefore David applied himſelfe to the right method, to make his firſt acceſſe to God.
It is to God onelyonly, and to God by name, and not in generall notions;To God by Name. for it implies a nearer, a more familiar, and more preſentiall knowledge of God, a more cheerfull acquaintance, and a more aſſiduous converſation with God, when we know how to call God by a Name, a Creator, a Redeemer, a Comforter, then when we conſider him onelyonly as a diffuſed power, that ſpreads it ſelfe over all creatures; when we come to him in Affirmatives, and Confeſſions, This thou haſt done for me, then when we come to him onelyonly in Negatives, and ſay, That that is God, which is nothing els. God is come nearer to us then to others, when we know his Name. For though it be truly ſaid in the Schoole, that no name can be given to God, Ejus eſſentiam adaequatè repraeſentans, No one name can reach to the expreſſing of all that God is; And though Triſmegiſtus doe humbly, and modeſtly, and reverently ſay, Non ſpere, it never fell into my thought, nor into my hope, that the maker and founder of all Majeſty, could be circumſcribed, or impriſoned by any one name, though a name compounded and complicated of many names, as the Rabbins have made one name of God, of all his names in the Scriptures;Gen. 32.29. Though Iacob ſeeme to have been rebuked for asking Gods name, when he wraſtled with him; And ſo alſo the Angel which was to doe a miraculous worke,Judg. 13.18. a worke appertaining onelyonly to God, to give a Childe to the barren, becauſe he repreſented God, and had the perſon of God upon him, would not permit Manoah to enquire after his name, Becauſe, as he ſayes there, that name was ſecret and wonderfull; And though God himſelfe,Exod. 23.20. to dignifie and authorize that Angel, which he made his Commiſſioner, and the Tutelar and Nationall Guide of his people, ſayes of that Angel, to that people, Feare him, provoke him not, for my Name is in him, and yet did not tell them, what that name was; Yet certainly, we could not ſo much as ſay, God cannot be named, except we could name God by ſome name; we could not ſay, God hath no name, except God had a name; for that very word, God, is his name. God calls upon us often in the Scriptures, To call upon his Name; and in the Scriptures, he hath manifeſted to us divers names, by which we may call upon him. Doeſt thou know what name to call him by, when thou calleſt him to beare falſe witneſſe, to averre a falſhood? Hath God a name to ſweare by? Doeſt thou know what name to call him by, when thou wouldeſt make him thy ſervant, thy inſtrument, thy executioner, to plague others, upon thy bitter curſes and imprecations? Hath God a name to curſe by? Canſt thou wound his body, exhauſt his bloud, teare off his fleſh, breake his bones, excruciate his ſoule; and all this by his right name? Hath God a name to blaſpheme by? and hath God no name to pray by? is he ſuch a ſtranger to thee? Doſt thou know every faire houſe in thy way, as thou travelleſt, whoſe that is; and doſt thou not know, in whoſe houſe thou ſtandeſt now?
Beloved, to know God by name, and to come to him by name, is to conſider his particular bleſſings to thee; to conſider him in his power, and how he hath protected thee there; and in his wiſedome, and how he hath directed thee there; and in his love, and how he hath affected thee there; and expreſt all, in particular mercies. He is but a darke, but a narrow, a ſhallow, a lazy man in nature, that knows no more, but that there is a heaven, and an earth, and a ſea; He that will be of uſe in this world, comes to know the influences of the heavens, the vertue of the plants, and mines of the earth, the courſe and diviſions of the Sea. To the naturall man, God gives generall notions of himſelfe; a God that ſpreads over all as the heavens; a God that ſuſtaines all as the earth; a God that tranſports, and communicates all to all as the ſea: But to the Chriſtian Church, God applies himſelfe in more particular notions; as a Father, as a Son, as a holy Ghoſt; And to every Chriſtian ſoule, as a Creator, a Redeemer, a Benefactor; that I may ſay, This I was not born to, and yet this I have from my God; this a potent adverſary ſought to evict from me, but this I have recovered by my God; ſickneſſe had enfeebled my body, but I have a convaleſcence; calumnie had defamed my reputation, but I have a reparation; malice in other men, or improvidence in my ſelfe, had ruined my fortune, but I have a redintegration from my God. And then by theſe, which are indeed but Cognomina Dei, his ſir-names, names of diſtinction, names of the exerciſe of ſome particular properties, and attributes of his, to come to the root of all, to my very Being, that my preſent Being in this world, and my eternall Being in the next, is made knowne to me by his name of Iehovah, which is his Eſſentiall name, to which David had recourſe in this exinanition; when his affliction had even annihilated, and brought him to nothing, he fled to Iehovah, the God of all Being, which is the foundation of all his other Attributes, and includes all his other names, and is our next and laſt branch in this firſt Part.
This name then of Iehovah that is here tranſlated Lord, Iehovah.is agreed by all to be the greateſt name by which God hath declared and manifeſted himſelfe to man. This is that name which the Jews falſly, but peremptorily, (for falſhood lives by peremptorineſſe, and feeds and armes it ſelfe with peremptorineſſe) deny ever to have been attributed to the Meſsias, in the Scriptures. This is that name, in the vertue and uſe whereof, thoſe Calumniators of our Saviours miracles doe ſay, that he did his miracles, according to a direction, and ſchedule, for the true and right pronouncing of that name, which Solomon in his time had made, and Chriſt in his time had found, and by which, ſay they, any other man might have done thoſe miracles, if he had had Solomons directions for the right ſounding of this name, Iehovah. This is that name, which out of a ſuperſtitious reverence the Jews alwayes forbore to found, or utter, but ever pronounced ſome other name, either Adonai, or Elohim, in the place thereof, whereſoever they found Iehovah. But now their Rabbins will not ſo much as write that name, but ſtill expreſſe it in foure other letters. So that they dare not, not onelyonly not ſound it, not ſay it, but not ſee it.
How this name which we call Iehovah, is truly to be ſounded, becauſe in that language it is expreſt in foure Conſonants onelyonly, without Vowels, is a perplext queſtion; we may well be content to be ignorant therein, ſince our Saviour Chriſt himſelfe, in all thoſe places which he cited out of the Old Teſtament, never ſounded it; he never ſaid, Iehovah. Nor the Apoſtles after him, nor Origen, nor Ierome; all perſons very intelligent in the propriety of language; they never ſounded this name Iehovah. For though in S. Ieromes Expoſition upon the 8. Pſalme, we finde that word Iehovah, in ſome Editions which we have now, yet it is a cleare caſe, that in the old Copies it is not ſo; in Ieroms mouth it was not ſo; from Ieroms hand it came not ſo. Neither doth it appeare to me, that ever the name of Iehovah was ſo pronounced, till ſo late, as in our Fathers time; for I think Petrus Gallatinus was the firſt that ever called it ſo. But howſoever this name be to be ſounded, that which falls in our conſideration at this time, is, That David in his diſtreſſes fled preſently to God, and to God by name, that is, in conſideration and commemoration of his particular bleſſings; and to a God that had that name, the name of Iehovah, the name of Eſſence, and Being, which name carryed a confeſſion, that all our wel-being, and the very firſt being it ſelfe, was, and was to be derived from him.
David therefore comes to God In nomine totali; in nomine integrali; He conſiders God totally, entirely, altogether; Not altogether, that is, confuſedly; but altogether, that is, in ſuch a Name as comprehends all his Attributes, all his Power upon the world, and all his benefits upon him. The Gentiles were not able to conſider God ſo; not ſo entirely, not altogether; but broke God in pieces, and changed God into ſingle money, and made a fragmentarie God of every Power, and Attribute in God, of every bleſſing from God, nay of every malediction, and judgement of God. A clap of thunder made a Iupiter, a tempeſt at ſea made a Neptune, an earthquake made a Pluto; Feare came to be a God, and a Fever came to be a God; Every thing that they were in love with, or afraid of, came to be canonized, and made a God amongſt them. David conſidered God as a center, into which & from which all lines flowed. Neither as the Gentiles did, nor as ſome ignorants of the Roman Church do, that there muſt be a ſtormie god, S. Nicholas, and a plaguie god, S. Rook, and a ſheepſhearing god, & a ſwineherd god, a god for every Pariſh, a god for every occupation, God forbid. Acknowledg God to be the Author of thy Being; find him ſo at the ſpring-head, & then thou ſhalt eaſily trace him, by the branches, to all that belongs to thy well-being. The Lord of Hoſts, and the God of peace, the God of the mountaines, and the God of the valleyes, the God of noone, and of midnight, of all times, the God of Eaſt & Weſt, of all places, the God of Princes, and of Subjects, of all perſons, is all one and the ſame God; and that which we intend, when we ſay Iehovah, is all Hee.
And therefore hath S. Bernard a patheticall and uſefull meditation to this purpoſe: Every thing in the world, ſayes he, can ſay, Creator meus es tu, Lord thou haſt made me; All things that have life, and growth, can ſay, Paſtor meus es tu, Lord thou haſt fed me, increaſt me; All men can ſay, Redemptor meus es tu, Lord I was ſold to death through originall ſin, by one Adam, and thou haſt redeemed me by another; All that have falne by infirmity, and riſen againe by grace, can ſay, Suſceptor meus es tu, Lord I was falne, but thou haſt undertaken me, and doſt ſuſtaine me; But he that comes to God in the name of Iehovah, he meanes all this, and all other things, in this one Petition, Let me have a Being, and then I am ſafe, for In him we live, and move, and have our Being. If we ſolicite God as the Lord of Hoſts, that he would deliver us from our enemies, perchance he may ſee it fitter for us to be delivered to our enemies: If we ſolicite him as Proprietarie of all the world, as the beaſts upon a thouſand mountaines are his, as all the gold and ſilver in the earth is his, perchance he ſees that poverty is fitter for us: If we ſolicite him for health, or long life, he gives life, but he kills too, he heales, but he wounds too; and we may be ignorant which of theſe, life or death, ſickneſſe or health, is for our advantage. But ſolicite him as Iehovah, for a Being, that Being which flowes from his purpoſe, that Being which he knowes fitteſt for us, and then we follow his owne Inſtructions, Fiat voluntas tua, thy will be done upon us, and we are ſafe.
Now that which Iehovah was to David, Ieſus is to us.Ieſus. Man in generall hath relation to God, as he is Iehovah, Being; We have relation to Chriſt, as he is Ieſus, our Salvation; Salvation is our Being, Ieſus is our Iehovah. And therfore as David delights himſelf with that name Iehovah, for he repeats it eight or nine times in this one ſhort Pſalm, and though he ask things of a diverſe nature at Gods hands, though he ſuffer afflictions, of a diverſe nature, from Gods hands, yet ſtill he retains that one name, he ſpeaks to God in no other name in all this Pſalm but in the name of Iehovah: So in the New Teſtament, he which may be compared with David, becauſe he was under great ſins, and yet in great favour with God, S. Paul, he delights himſelf with that name of Ieſus ſo much, as that S. Ierome ſays, Quē ſuperfluè diligebat, extraordinariè nominavit, As he loved him exceſſively, ſo he named him ſuperabundantly. It is the name that coſt God moſt, and therefore he loves it beſt; it coſt him his life to be a Ieſus, a Saviour. The name of Chriſt, which is Anointed, he had by office; he was anointed as King, as Prieſt, as Prophet. All thoſe names which he had in Iſaiah, The Counſellor, The Wonderfull, The Prince of Peace, Eſay 9.and the name of Iehovah it ſelf, which the Jews deny ever to be given to him, and is evidently given to him in that place, Chriſt had by nature; But his name of Ieſus, a Saviour, he had by purchaſe, & that purchaſe coſt him his bloud. And therefore, as Iacob preferred his name of Iſrael, Gen. 32.28.before his former name of Iacob, becauſe he had that name upon his wraſtling with God, and it coſt him a lameneſſe; ſo is the name of Ieſus ſo precious to him who bought it ſo dearly, that not only every knee bows at the name of Ieſus here, but Jeſus himſelf, and the whole Trinity, bow down towards us, to give us all thoſe things which we ask in that name. For even of a devout uſe of that veryname, do ſome of the Fathers interpret that, Oleū effuſum Nomen tuu, That the name of Ieſus ſhould be ſpread as an ointment, breathed as perfume, diffuſed as a ſoul over all the petitions of our prayers; As the Church concludes for the moſt part, all her Collects ſo, Grant this O Lord, for our Lord and Saviour Chriſt Ieſus ſake. And ſo much does S. Paul abound in the uſe of this name, as that he repeats it thrice, in the ſuperſcription of one of his Letters the title of one of his Epiſtles, his firſt to Timothy. And with the ſame devotion, S. Auguſt. ſayes, even of the name, Melius eſt mihi non eſſe, quā ſine Ieſu eſſe, I were better have no being, then be without Jeſus; Melius eſt non vivere, quam vivere ſine vita, I were better have no life, then any life without him. For as David could finde no beeing without Iehovah, a Chriſtian findes no life without Ieſus. Both theſe names imply that which is in this Text, in our Tranſlation, The Lord, Dominus; to whom only, and intirely we appertaine; his we are. And therefore whether we take Dominus, to be Do minas, to threaten, to afflict us, or to be Do manus, to ſuccour, and relieve us, (as ſome have pleaſed themſelves with thoſe obvious derivations) as David did ſtill, we muſt make our recourſe to him, from whom, as he is Iehovah, Beeing, or being our wel-beeing, our eternall beeing, our Creation, Preſervation, and Salvation is derived; all is from him.
Now when he hath his acceſſe to the Lord,2 Part. to this Lord, the Lord that hath all, and gives all, and is all, the firſt part of Davids prayer, and all his prayer which falls into our Text, is but Deprecatory; he does but pray that God would forbeare him. He pretends no error, he enterpriſes no Reverſing of Judgement; no at firſt, he dares not ſue for pardon; he onelyonly deſires a Reprieve, a reſpit of execution, and that not abſolutely neither; but he would not be executed in hot blood; Ne in ira, ne in furore, not in Gods anger, not in his hot diſpleaſure.
Firſt then,Deprecation. Deprecari, is not Refragari, to Deprecate, is not to Contend againſt a Judge, nor to defend ones ſelfe againſt an Officer, but it is onelyonly in the quality, and in the humility of a Petitioner, and Suppliant, to begge a forbearance. The Martyrs in the Primitive Church would not doe that. Nihil de cauſa ſua deprecatur, qui nihil de conditione ſua miratur, ſayes Tertullian; and in that he deſcribes a patience of Steele, and an invincible temper. He meanes that the Chriſtians in thoſe times of Perſecution, did never intreat the Judge for favour, becauſe it was not ſtrange to them, to ſee themſelves, whoſe converſation was in heaven, deſpiſed, and contemned, and condemned upon earth: Nihil mirantur de conditione, They wondred not at their miſery, they thought it a part of their Profeſſion, a part of the Chriſtian Religion, to ſuffer, and therefore, Nihil deprecati de cauſa, They never ſolicited the Judge for favour. They had learnt by experience of daily tribulation, the Apoſtles Leſſon, Think it not ſtrange, when tentations and tribulations fall; That is, make that your daily bread, and you ſhall never ſterve, uſe your ſelves to ſuffering, at leaſt to the expectation, the contemplation of ſuffering, acquaint your ſelves with that, accuſtome your ſelves to that before it come, and it will not be a ſtranger to you when it comes. Tertullians Method may be right, and it may work that effect in very great afflictions; a man may be ſo uſed to them, as that he will not deſcend to any low deprecation, or ſute to be delivered of them. But Davids affliction was ſpirituall; and howſoever, as a naturall man, nay; as a devout and religious man, (for even in rectified men there are affections of a middle nature, that participate of nature, and of grace too, and in which the Spirit of God moves, and naturall affections move too; for nature and grace doe not ſo deſtroy one another, as that we ſhould conclude, Hee hath ſtrong naturall affections, therefore he hath no grace) David I ſay, that might juſtly wonder at his own condition, and think it ſtrange, that he that put his truſt ſo intirely in God, ſhould ſo intirely be delivered over to ſuch afflictions, might alſo juſtly deprecate, and boldly ſay, Ne facias, O Lord deale not thus with thy ſervant.
Our Saviour Chriſts Tranſeat calix, Let this cup paſſe from me, was a deprecation in his owne behalfe; And his Pater dimitte illis, Father, forgivethem, they know not what they doe, was a deprecation in the behalfe of his enemies; And ſo was Stephens, Ne ſtatuas illis, O Lord, lay not this ſin to their charge, A deprecation in the behalfe of his Executioners. And theſe Deprecations for others, for our ſelves, are propoſed for our imitation. But for Moſes his Dele me, Pardon this people, or blot my name out of thy Booke, and for S. Pauls Anathema, rather then his brethren ſhould not be ſaved, let himſelfe be condemned, for ſuch Deprecations for others, as were upon the matter, Imprecations upon themſelves, thoſe may not well be drawne into conſequence, or practiſe; for in Moſes and S. Paul themſelves, there was, if not an irregularity, and an inordinateneſſe, at leaſt an inconſideration, not to be imitated by us now, not to be excuſed in them then; but for the Prayer that is meerly deprecatory, though ſome have thought it leſſe lawfull then the poſtulatory prayer, becauſe when God is come to the act of afflicting us, he hath then revealed, and declared, and manifeſted his will to be ſuch, and againſt the revealed and manifeſted will of God we may not pray, yet becauſe his afflictions are not peremptory, but we have ever day to ſhew cauſe, why that affliction ſhould be taken off, and becauſe all his judgements are conditionall, and the condition of every particular judgement is not alwaies revealed to us, and this is alwaies revealed to us, Miſerationes ejus ſuper omnia opera ejus, That his mercy is above all his judgements, therefore we may come to that Deprecation, that God will make his hand lighter upon us, and his corrections eaſier unto us.
As the Saints in heaven have their Vſqucquo, How long Lord, holy and true, before thou begin to execute judgement? So the Saints on earth have their Vſquequo, How long Lord, before thou take off the execution of this judgement upon us? For, our Deprecatory prayers, are not Mandatory, they are not Directory, they appoint not God his waies, nor his times; but as our Poſtulatory prayers are, they alſo are ſubmitted to the will of God, and have all in them, that ingredient, that herb of grace, which Chriſt put into his owne prayer, that Veruntamen, Yet not my will, but thy will be fulfilled; And they have that ingredient, which Chriſt put into our prayer, Fiat volunt as, Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven; In heaven there is no reſiſting of his will; yet in heaven there is aſoliciting, a haſtning, an accelerating of the judgement, and the glory of the Reſurrection; So though we reſiſt not his corrections here upon earth, we may humbly preſent to God, the ſenſe which we have of his diſpleaſure; for this ſenſe, and apprehenſion of his corrections, is one of the principall reaſons, why he ſends them; he corrects us therefore, that we might be ſenſible of his corrections; that when we, being humbled under his hand, have ſaid with his Prophet, I will beare the wrath of the Lord, Micah 7.9.becauſe I have ſinned againſt him, He may be pleaſed to ſay to his Correcting Angell, as he did to his Deſtroying Angell, This is enough, and ſo burne his rod now, as he put up his ſword then.
For though David doe, well for himſelfe, and well for our example, deprecate the anger of God, expreſt in thoſe Judgements, yet we ſee he ſpends but one verſe of the Pſalme in that Deprecation. In all the reſt he leaves God wholly to his pleaſure, how farre he will extend, or aggravate that Judgement; and he turns wholly upon the Poſtulatory part, That God would have mercy upon him, and ſave him, and deliver his ſoule. And in that one verſe, hee does not deprecate all afflictions, all corrections. David knowes what moves God to correct us; It is not onelyonly our ilneſſe that moves him; for he corrects us when we are not ill in his ſight, but made good by his pardon: But his goodneſſe, as well as our ilneſſe, moves him to correct us; If he were not good, not only good in himſelfe, but good to us, he would let us alone, and never correct us. But,Wiſd. 12.1. Ideo cos qui errant corripis, quia bonus & ſuavis es Domine, as the Vulgate reades that place, The Lord corrects us, not onelyonly as he is good, but as he is gentle; he were more cruell, more unmercifull, if he did alwayes ſhew mercy; That David intends, when he ſayes, Propitius fuiſti, Thou waſt a Mercifull God, becauſe thou didſt puniſh all their inventions.
So then, our firſt worke is to conſider, that that in the Prophet, is a promiſe,Ier. 30.11. and hath the nature of a mercy, I will correct thee in meaſure; where the promiſe does not fall only upon the meaſure, but upon the correction it ſelfe; and then, ſince this is a promiſe, a mercy, a part of our daily bread, we may pray as the ſame Prophet directs us,Pſal. 10.24. O Lord correct me, but with judgement, not in thine anger; Where alſo the petition ſeems to fall, not onelyonly upon the meaſure, but upon the correction it ſelfe; and then, when I have found ſome correction fit to be prayed for and afforded me by God upon my praier, if that correction at any time grow heavy, or weariſome unto me, I muſt relieve my ſelf upon that conſideration, Whether God have ſmitten me, as he ſmote them that ſmote me, Eſay 27.7.Whether it be not another manner of execution, which God hath laid upon mine enemies then that which he hath laid upon me, in having ſuffered them to be ſmitten with the ſpirit of ſinfull glory, and triumph in their ſin, and my miſery, and with excecation, and obdurateneſſe, with impenitence, and inſenſibleneſſe of their owne caſe. Or at leaſt, let me conſider, as it is in the ſame place, Whether I be ſlain according to the ſlaughter of them that were ſlaine by me; That is, whether my oppreſſion, my extortion, my prevarication have not brought other men to more miſery, then God hath yet brought me unto. And if we conſider this, as no doubt David did, and finde that correction is one loafe of our daily bread, and finde in our heavieſt corrections, that God hath been heavier upon our enemies, then upon us, and we heavier upon others, then God upon us too, we ſhall be content with any Rebuke, and any Chaſtiſement, ſo it be not in anger, and in hot diſpleaſure, which are the words that remaine to be conſidered.
Now theſe two phraſes, Argui in furore, and Corripi in ira, which we tranſlate, To rebuke inanger, and to chaſten in hot diſpleaſure, are by ſome thought, to ſignifie one and the ſame thing, that David intends the ſame thing, and though in divers words, yet words of one and the ſame ſignification. But with reverence to thoſe men, (for ſome of them are men to whom much reverence is due) they doe not well agree with one another, nor very conſtantly with themſelves. S. Ierome ſayes, Furor & ira maxime unum ſunt, That this anger, and hot diſpleaſure, are meerly, abſolutely, intirely, one and the ſame thing, and yet he ſayes, that this Anger is executed in this world, and this hot Diſpleaſure reſerved for the world to come. And this makes a great difference; no waight of Gods whole hand here, can be ſo heavy, as any finger of his in hell; the higheſt exaltation of Gods anger in this world, can have no proportion to the leaſt ſpark of that in hell; nor a furnace ſeaven times heat here, to the embers there. So alſo S. Auguſtine thinks, that theſe two words, to Rebuke, and to Chaſten, doe not differ at all; or if they doe, that the latter is the leſſer. But this is not likely to be Davids method, firſt to make a praier for the greater, and that being granted, to make a ſecond praier for the leſſer, included in that which was askt,Ayguanus. and granted before. A later man in the Roman Church, allowes the words to differ, and the later to be the heavier, but then he refers both to the next life; that to Rebuke in anger, ſhould be intended of Purgatorie, and of a ſhort continuance there, and to be Chaſtened in hot diſpleaſure, ſhould be intended of hell, and of everlaſting condemnation there. And ſo David muſt make his firſt petition, Rebuke me not in thine anger, to this purpoſe, Let me paſſe at my death immediately to Heaven, without touching at any fire, and his ſecond petition, Chaſten me not in thy hot diſpleaſure to this purpoſe, If I muſt touch at any fire, let it be but Purgatory, and not Hell.
But by the nature, and propriety, and the uſe of all theſe words in the Scriptures, it appeares, that the words are of a different ſignification, which S. Ierome it ſeemes did not thinke; and that the laſt is the heavieſt, which S. Auguſtine it ſeemes did not thinke; and then, that they are to be referred to this life, which Ayguanus did not think. For the words themſelves, all our three Tranſlations retaine the two firſt words, to Rebuke and to Chaſten; neither that which we call the Biſhops Bible, nor that which we call the Geneva Bible, and that which wee may call the Kings, depart from thoſe two firſt words. But then for the other two, Anger and Hot diſpleaſure, in them all three Tranſlations differ. The firſt cals them Indignation and Diſpleaſure, the ſecond Anger and Wrath, and the laſt Anger and Hot diſpleaſure.
To begin with the firſt,Rebuke. to be Rebuked was but to be chidden, but to be Chaſtened, was to be beaten; and yet David was heartily afraid of the firſt, of the leaſt of them, when it was to be done in anger: This word that is here to Rebuke, Iacach, is for the moſt part, to Reprove,Eſay 1.18. to Convince by way of argument, and diſputation. So it is in Eſay, Come now, and let us reaſon together, ſaies God. The naturall man is confident in his Reaſon, in his Philoſophy; and yet God is content to joyne in that iſſue, If he doe not make it appeare, even to your reaſon, that he is God, Chuſe whom ye will ſerve, as Ioſhuah ſpeakes; If he doe not make it appeare, that he is a good God, change him for any other God that your reaſon can preſent to be better.Micah 6.2. In Micah, the word hath ſomewhat more vehemence; The Lord hath a quarrell againſt his people, and he will plead with Iſrael. This is more then a Diſputation; it is a Suite. God can maintaine his poſſeſſion other waies; without Suite; but he will recover us, by matter of Record, openly, and in the face of the County; he will put us to a ſhame, and to an acknowledgement, of having diſloially deveſted our Allegeance. Yea, the word hath ſometimes ſomewhat more ſharpneſſe then this; for in the book of Proverbs, it comes to Correction, The Lord correcteth him whom he loveth, even as the father doth the child, in whom he delighteth. Though it be a fatherly correction, yet it is a correction; and that is more then the Reaſoning or Diſputing, more then the Suing or Impleading.
Now though all this, Diſputing, Impleading, Correcting, in S. Auguſtines interpretation, amount but to an Inſtruction, and an Amendment, yet ſaies he of David, In ira emendari non vult, erudiri non vult, He is loath to fall into Gods hands, loath to come into Gods fingers at all, when God is angry; he would not be diſputed withall, not Impleaded, not Corrected, no, not Inſtructed, not Amended by God in his Anger. The Anger of God is ſuch a Pedagogie, ſuch a Catechiſme, ſuch a way of teaching, as the Law was. Lex paedagogus; the Law is a Schoolmaſter, ſaies the Apoſtle; but Litera occidi…, the Law is ſuch a Schoolemaſter, as brings not a rod, but a ſword. Gods Anger ſhould inſtruct us, but if we uſe it not aright, it hardens us. And therefore,Pſal. 2. Kiſſe the Son leſt he be angry, ſayes David, And what is the danger if he be? that which followes, Leſt yee periſh in the way; Though his Anger be one of his wayes, yet it is ſuch a way, as you may eaſily ſtumble in; and, as you would certainely periſh without that way, ſo you may eaſily periſh in that way. For when a ſinner conſiders himſelf to be under the Anger of God, naturally he conceives ſuch a horror, as puts him farther off. As ſoone as Adam heard the voice of God, and in an accent of Anger, or as he tuned it in his guilty conſcience, to an accent of Anger, (for as a malicious man will turne a Sermon to a Satyre, and a Panegyricke to a Libel, ſo a deſpairing ſoule will ſet Gods comfortableſt words, to aſad tune, and force a Vae even in Gods Euge, and find Anger, and everlaſting Anger in every Acceſſe, in every Action of God) when Adam heard God but walking in the Garden, but the noiſe of his going, and approaching towards him, (for God had then ſaid nothing to him, not ſo much as called him) Adam fled from his preſence and hid himſelfe amongſt the trees. When the guilty man was but ſpoken to, and ſpoken to mildly, by the Maſter of the Marriage feaſt, Amice quomodo intraſti? Friend how came you in? we ſee he was preſently ſpeechleſſe, and being ſo, not able to ſpeake, to come to any confeſſin, any excuſe, he fell farther and farther into diſpleaſure, till he was bound hand and foote,Iob 9.12. and caſt irrecoverably away. For Si repente interroget, quis reſpondebit ei? If God ſurprize a Conſcience with a ſudden queſtion, if God deprehend a man in the Act of his ſin, and while he accompliſhes and conſummates that ſin, ſay to his ſoul, Why doſt thou this, upon which mine anger hangs? there God ſpeaks to that ſinner, but he confounds him with the queſtion; It is not a leading Intergatorie, it gives him no light to anſwer,Eſay 38.14. till Gods anger be out of his contemplation, he cannot ſo much as ſay Domine vim patior, reſponde pro me, O Lord I am oppreſſed, doe thou anſwer for me; do thou ſay to thy ſelfe for me, My Spirit ſhall not alwaies ſtrive with man, becauſe he is but fleſh. Gen. 6.3.If the Lord come in anger, if he ſpeake in Anger, if he doe but looke in Anger, a ſinner periſhes; Aſpexit & diſſolvit Gentes; He did but looke, and he diſſolved, he melted the Nations;Hab. 3.6. he powred them out as water upon the duſt, and he blew them away as duſt into the Sea, The everlaſting mountaines were broken, and the ancient hils did bow.
It is not then the diſputing, not the impleading, not the correcting, which this word Iacach imports, that David declines, or deprecates here, but that Anger, which might change the nature of all, and make all the Phyſick poiſon, all that was intended for our mollifying, to advance our obduration. For when there was no anger in the caſe, David is a forward Scholar, to hearken to Gods Reaſoning, and Diſputing, and a tractable Client, and eaſie Defendant, to anſwer to Gods Suite, and Impleading,Pſal. 26.1. and an obſequious Patient, to take any Phyſick at his hands, if there were no Anger in the cup. Vre renes & cor meum, ſaies David, he provokes God with all thoſe emphaticall words, Iudge me, Prove me, Trie me, Examine me, and more, Vre renes, bring not onelyonly a candle to ſearch, but even fire, to melt me; But upon what confidence all this? For thy loving kindneſſe is ever before mine eyes. If Gods Anger, and not his loving kindneſſe had beene before his eyes, it had beene a fearfull apparition, and a dangerous iſſue to have gone upon. So alſo he ſurrenders himſelfe entirely to God in another Pſalme,Pſal. 139.23. Trie me O God, and know my heart; prove me, and know my thoughts, and conſider, if there be any way of wickedneſſe in me. But how concludes he? And lead me in the right way for ever. As long as I have God by the hand, and feele his loving care of me, I can admit any waight of his hand; any fornace of his heating. Let God mould me, and then melt me againe, let God make mee, and then breake me againe, as long as he eſtabliſhes and maintaines a rectified aſſurance in my ſoule, that at laſt he meanes to make me a Veſſell of honour, to his Glory, howſoever he Rebuke or Chaſtiſe me, yet he will not Rebuke me in Anger, much leſſe Chaſten me in hot Diſpleaſure, which is the laſt, and the heavieſt thing, that David deprecates in this Prayer.
Both theſe words, which we tranſlate to Chaſten, and Hot diſpleaſure, are words of a heavie, and of a vehement ſignification. They extend both, to expreſſe the eternity of Gods indignation, even to the binding of the ſoule and bodie in eternall chaines of darkneſſe. For the firſt, Iaſar, ſignifies oftentimes in the Scriptures, Vincire, to binde, often with ropes, often with chaines; to fetter, or manacle, or pinion men, that are to be executed; ſo that it imports a ſlaverie, a bondage all the way, and a deſtruction at laſt. And ſo the word is uſed by Rehoboam, 1 Reg. 12.11.My Father chaſtiſed you with whips, but I will chaſtiſe you with Scorpions. And then, the other word, Camath, doth not onelyonly ſignifie Hot diſpleaſure, but that effect of Gods hot diſpleaſure, which is intended by the Prophet Eſay, Therefore hath he powred forth his fieree wrath, Eſay 42. ult.and the ſtrength of battel, and that ſet him on fire round about, and he knew it not, and it burnt him up, and he conſidered it not; Theſe be the fearfully conditions of Gods hot diſpleaſure, to be in a fornace, and not to feele it; to be in a habit of ſin, and not know what leads us into temptation; to be burnt to aſhes, and ſo not onelyonly without all moiſture, all holy teares, but, as aſhes, without any poſſibility, that any good thing can grow in us. And yet this word, Camath, hath a heavier ſignification then this; for it ſignifies Poiſon it ſelfe, Deſtruction it ſelfe, for ſo is it twice taken in one verſe,Pſal. 58.4. Their poiſon is like the poiſon of a Serpent; ſo that this Hot diſpleaſure, is that poiſon of the ſoule, obduration here, and that extention of this obduration, a finall impenitence in this life, and an infinite impenitibleneſſe in the next, to dye without any actuall penitence here, and live without all poſſibility of future penitence for ever hereafter.
David therefore foreſees, that if God Rebuke in anger, it will come to a Chaſtening in hot diſpleaſure. 1 Sam. 2.25.For what ſhould ſtop him? For, If a man ſinne againſt the Lord, who will plead for him? ſayes Eli; Plead thou my cauſe, ſayes David; It is onelyonly the Lord, that can be of counſell with him, and plead for him; and that Lord, is both the Judge, and angry too. So Davids prayer hath this force, Rebuke me not in anger, for though I were able to ſtand under that, yet thou wilt alſo Chaſten mee in thine hot diſpleaſure, and that no ſoule can beare; for as long as Gods anger laſts, ſo long he is going on towards our utter deſtruction. In that State, (it is not a State) in that Exinanition, in that annihilation of the ſoule, (it is not an annihilation, the ſoule is not ſo happy as to come to nothing) but in that miſery, which can no more receive a name, then an end, all Gods corrections are borne with grudging, with murmuring, with comparing our righteouſneſſe with others righteouſneſſe;Job 7.20. In Iobs impatience, Quare poſuiſti me contrarium tibi? Why haſt thou ſet me up as a marke againſt thee, O Thou preſerver of men? Thou that preſerveſt other men, haſt bent thy bow, I. am. 3.12.and made me a mark for thine arrowes, ſayes the Lamentation: In that ſtate we cannot cry to him, that he might anſwer us; If we doe cry, and he anſwer, we cannot heare;Job 9.16. if we doe heare, we cannot beleeve that it is he. Cum invocantem exaudierit, ſayes Iob, If I cry, and he anſwer, yet I doe not beleeve that he heard my voyce. We had rather periſh utterly,Ver. 23. then ſtay his leiſure in recovering us. Si flagellat, occidat ſemel, ſayes Iob in the Vulgat, If God have a minde to deſtroy me, let him doe it at one blow; Et non de poenis rideat, Let him not ſport himſelfe with my miſery. Whatſoever come after, we would be content to be out of this world, ſo we might but change our torment, whether it be a temporall calamity that oppreſſes our ſtate or body, or a ſpirituall burthen, a perplexity that ſinks our underſtanding, or a guiltineſſe that depreſſes our conſcience. Vt in inferno protegas, Job 14.13.as Iob alſo ſpeaks, O that thou wouldeſt hide me, In inferno, In the grave, ſayes the afflicted ſoule, but in Inferno, In hell it ſelfe, ſayes the diſpairing ſoule, rather then keepe me in this torment, in this world!
This is the miſerable condition, or danger, that David abhors, and deprecates in this Text, To be rebuked in anger, without any purpoſe in God to amend him; and to be chaſtned in his hot diſpleaſure; ſo, as that we can finde no intereſt in the gracious promiſes of the Goſpel, no conditions, no power of revocation in the ſevere threatnings of the Law; no difference between thoſe torments which have attached us here, and the everlaſting torments of Hell it ſelfe. That we have loſt all our joy in this life, and all our hope of the next; That we would faine die, though it were by our own hands, and though that death doe but unlock us a doore, to paſſe from one Hell into another. This is Ira tua Domine, & faror tuus, Thy anger, O Lord, and, Thy hot diſpleaſure. For as long as it is but Ira patris, the anger of my Father, which hath diſ-inherited me, Gold is thine, and ſilver is thine, and thou canſt provide me. As long as it is but Ira Regis, ſome miſ-information to the King, ſome miſ-apprehenſion in the King, Cor Regis in manu tua, The Kings heart is in thy hand, and thou canſt rectifie it againe. As long as it is but Furor febris, The rage and diſtemper of a peſtilent Fever, or Furor furoris, The rage of madneſſe it ſelfe, thou wilt conſider me, and accept me, and reckon with me according to thoſe better times, before thoſe diſtempers overtooke me, and overthrew me. But when it comes to be Ira tua, furor tuus, Thy anger, and, Thy diſpleaſure, as David did, ſo let every Chriſtian finde comfort, if he be able to ſay faithfully this Verſe, this Text, O Lord, rebuke me not in thine anger, neither chaſten me in thy hot diſpleaſure; for as long as he can pray againſt it, he is not yet ſo fallen under it, but that he hath yet his part in all Gods bleſſings, which we ſhed upon the Congregation in our Sermons, and which we ſeale to every ſoule in the Sacrament of Reconcilation.