Eighty Sermons, penitential psalms · Sermon 63
SERM. LXIII. Preached upon the Penitentiall Pſalmes.
PSAL. 32.10, 11.
Many ſorrows ſhall be to the wicked; But he that truſteth in the Lord, Mercy ſhall compaſſe him about.
Be glad in the Lord, and rejoyce yee righteous; And ſhout for joy all yee that are upright in heart.
THe two Elements, of which Heaven is propoſed to us to be compoſed, are Joy and Glory. That which is oppoſed to theſe, is Sorrow and Contempt: Of the ſenſe of contempt and ingloriouſneſſe, Men are not alike capable in this world; but of the ſenſe of ſorrow, we are ſomewhat more equall. A man muſt have had ſome poſſeſſion, or at leaſt ſome hopes of glory and greatneſſe, that apprehends contempt or ingloriouſneſſe very paſſionately. And beſides, in the loweſt and moſt abject contempt a man may relieve himſelfe by conveniences of a plentifull Fortune at home, how much ſoever he be undervalued and deſpiſed abroad. But when it comes to a ſorrow of heart, which dwells not imaginarily in the opinion of others, as contempt doth, but really in mine owne boſome, it is a heavy colluctation. Therefore doth the Holy Ghoſt ſo often, ſo very often, blow that coale, and threaten that inſupportable, that inextinguiſhable fire, ſorrow, ſorrow of heart, ſorrow of ſoule; Many ſorrows ſhall be to the wicked. But the Holy Ghoſt is the Spirit of Conſolation; He is a Dove that haſts to a better ayre, to a whiter houſe, to the Arke of Peace, the ſtation of the Righteous; Joy in the mercy of God; for, He that truſteth in the Lord, mercy ſhall compaſſe him about; Be glad in the Lord, and rejoyce yee Righteous, and ſhout for joy all yee that are upright in heart.
Our parts are, the Perſons, and their Portions; Who they Be, and what they Have.Diviſio. The Perſons are all the Inhabitants of this world; for all are wicked, or righteous; And the Portion is all that the ſoule receives here, or hereafter; for all is joy or ſorrow; Many ſorrows ſhall be to the wicked, but he &c.
Firſt then, here are ſorrows; A paſſion which we cannot expreſſe, and from the underſtanding whereof, in this ſenſe, God bleſſe us all: A ſorrow, that is nothing but ſorrow; a ſorrow that determines not in joy at laſt. And here are Dolores multi, his ſorrows are multiplied, Many ſorrows; And as the word Rabbim doth as properly import, and might be as well ſo tranſlated, here are Dolores magni, Great ſorrows; Great in their owne waight, great in themſelves, and great alſo in the apprehenſion, and tenderneſſe, and impatience of the ſufferer, great to him; And then all theſe heavy circumſtances, as the dregs and lees of this cup of malediction, meet in the bottome, in the center of all; That theſe ſorrowes are determinable by no time; for in the Originall, there is neither that which our firſt Tranſlation inſerted, (Shall come) Sorrowes ſhall come to the wicked, leſt the wicked might ſay, Let it goe as it came, if I know how it came, what occaſioned the ſorrow, I know how to overcome it; nor is there that which our later Tranſlation added, (Shall be) Sorrowes ſhall be to the wicked; for though that imply a Continuance, when it comes, yet the wicked might ſay, It is not come yet, and why ſhould I anticipate ſorrow, or execute my ſelfe before the Executioner be ſent? But it is without all limitation of time, and ſo includes all parts of time; Eſt, fuit, & erit, The wicked are not, never were, or ſhall be without ſorrowes, many ſorrows, great ſorrows, everlaſting ſorrows. This is the Portion in our firſt part; and then the Perſon, for whom this cup is thus filled there, is The wicked; Which denotes a Plurality, and a Singularity too; For it is not ſaid, The wanton, The ambitious, The covetous, The man that is a little leavened, or ſowred, or diſcoloured with ſome degrees of ſome of theſe; but it is The wicked; a man whoſe whole complexion, and ſtructure ſeemes made up of wickedneſſe; And ſo it is Super impium, Upon the wicked, Emphatically, The wicked; And then, Super impium, Upon the wicked, in the ſingular; that is, upon every ſuch wicked perſon. The ſorrow is not leſſened by being divided amongſt many; The wicked is not eaſed by having companions in his torments. And this is the Portion, and theſe be the Perſons of the firſt kinde; which will determine the firſt Part, Many ſorrowes ſhall be to the wicked.
And then in the ſecond, to give all this the full waight, and to make the ſorrow the more diſcernible, and the more terrible, God puts into the other balance, The joy of the righteous. In which, that all may be in oppoſition to the other, we have alſo the Perſon, Him that truſteth in the Lord; Where we have, as in the former part, a plurality intimated, and a ſingularity too. For it is not ſaid, He that truſteth not in Man, He that truſteth not in Princes, He that truſteth not in this or that miſerable Comforter in the world, but He that truſteth in the Lord; Whoſe preſent refuge, be the caſe what it will, or can be, is the Lord; Him, Emphatically Him, mercies ſhall compaſſe. And then, Ille, He, every ſuch man, is infallibly intereſſed in this portion, in this true cauſe of joy, which is not, that he ſhall have no affliction, but that he ſhall have Mercy in his afflictions, patience and eaſe all the way, and an end and joy at laſt. And then, this mercy ſhall Compaſſe him; It ſhall not ſuffer his confidence to break out into a preſumption in God, nor any diffidence, or diſtruſt in God, to break in upon him; But he ſhall ſee, that only to him, who Truſts in the Lord, to him who is Righteous, to him who is Vpright in heart, (with which three Characters the Holy Ghoſt ſpecifies the perſon, in this ſecond Part of our Text) belong thoſe three great priviledges, thoſe glorious beames of joy, which flow out here; firſt, Laetari, To be glad, that is, to conceive an inward joy; And then, Exultari, To rejoyce, that is, to teſtifie that inward joy, by outward demonſtrations; And laſtly, Iubilare, To be full of joy, which our laſt Tranſlation hath expreſt well, in that word, To ſhout for joy, that is, to extend our joy to others, to glorifie God by drawing in of others, and to call upon them, to call upon God: Many ſorrowes ſhall be to the wicked, but, &c.
Firſt then,1. Part. Sorrow. they ſhall have ſorrow, and cauſe of ſorrow. For when we conceive a ſorrow in the minde, without any reall, and externall cauſe, without paine, or ſhame, or loſſe, this is but a melancholy, but an abundance of a diſtempered humour, but a naturall thing, to which ſome in their conſtitutions are borne, and to be conſidered but ſo: But when God laies his hand, and his croſſes upon us, the ſorrow of the wicked, conceived upon that impreſſion, is the ſorrow. For this Word, which we Tranſlate Sorrowes here, is according to the Septuagint, Scourges, and Whips; God ſhall ſcourge them, and that ſhall only work to a ſorrow; So farre, and no farther. As a ſtartling horſe, they ſhall avoid a ſhadow, and fall into a ditch; They ſhall ſorrow, and murmure at their afflictions in this life, and fall the ſooner for that into the Eternal. Amongſt the Romans, condemned perſons were firſt whipt; but that excuſed them not; when they were whipt, they were executed too. The wicked are ſcourged by God in this life; and then their temporall afflictions ſhall meet,Auguſt. and joyne with the everlaſting, they have begun already here, that which they ſhall never end there. Deeis qui voluntatem Dei facere nolunt, fit voluntas Dei; It is Panis quotidianus, A loafe of that bread which is to be diſtributed every day; A ſaying of S. Auguſtine, worthy to be repeated in every Sermon, That upon them, who will not doe the will of God, the will of God is done; And God executes his righteous ſentence upon them, and he executes his juſtice upon others alſo by giving them inſtructions from the impatience and obduration of theſe. Fata fugiendo in fata ruant; They chide, and they wrangle, they wraſtle, and they exclaime at their miſeries in an intemperate ſorrow, and this intemperate ſorrow is the heavieſt part of the judgement of God upon them; they are too ſenſible of their afflictions, that is, too tender, too impatient; and yet altogether unſenſible, without all ſenſe of Gods purpoſe in thoſe afflictions. In hell it ſelf, they know that they are in hell; And yet in this world, there are Dolores inferni, Sorrowes that have begun hell here, and they that are under them, are ſtupified, and deveſted of all ſenſe of them. That ſenſe that is bodily, and carnall, they abound in; They feele them impatiently; but of all ſpirituall ſenſe they are abſolutely deſtitute; They underſtand not them, nor Gods purpoſe in them at all; yet they are Many, and Great, and Eternall. For by all theſe heavy talents doth the Holy Ghoſt waigh them in theſe words.
They are Many. Many.Now the pride of the wicked is to conceale their ſorrowes, that God might receive no glory by the diſcovery of them. And therefore if we ſhould goe about to number their ſorrowes, they would have their victory ſtill, and ſtill ſay to themſelves, yet for all his cunning he hath miſt; they would ever have ſome boſome-ſorrowes, which we could not light upon. Yet we ſhall not eaſily miſſe, nor leave out any, if we remember thoſe men, that even this falſe and imaginary joy, which they take in concealing their forrow and affliction, is a new affliction, a new cauſe of ſorrow. We ſhall make up the number apace, if we remember theſe men, that all their new ſins, and all their new ſhifts, to put away their ſorrowes, are ſorrowfull things, and miſerable comforters; if their conſcience doe preſent all their ſins, the number growes great; And if their own conſcience have forgotten them, if God forget nothing that they have thought, or ſaid, or done, in all their lives, are not their occaſions of ſorrow the more for their forgetting, the more for Gods remembring? Indgements are prepared for the ſcorners, ſayes Solomon, Prov. 19.29.God foreſaw their wickedneſſe from before all times, and even then ſet himſelfe on work, To prepare judgements for them; And as they are Prepared before, ſo affliction followeth ſinners, Prov. 13.21.ſayes the ſame Wiſe King; It followes them, and it knowes how to overtake them; eyther by the ſword of the Magiſtrate, or by that which is nearer them, Diſeaſes in their owne bodies, accelerated and complicated by their ſins. And then, as affliction is Prepared, and Followes, and Overtakes, ſo ſayes that wiſe King ſtill, There ſhall be no end of plagues to the evill man; We know the beginning of their plagues;Prov. 24.20. they are Prepared in Gods Decree, as ſoone as God ſaw their ſins; we know their continuance, they ſhall Follow, and they ſhall Overtake; Their end we doe not know, we cannot know, for they have none. Thus they are Many.
And if we conſider farther, the manifold Topiques, and places, from which the ſorrowes of the wicked ariſe, That every inch of their ground is overgrown with that venomous weed, that every place, and every part of time, and every perſon buddes out a particular occaſion of ſorrow to him, that he can come into no chamber, but he remembers, In ſuch a place as this, I finned thus, That he cannot heare a Clock ſtrike, but he remembers, At this hour I ſinned thus, That he cannot converſe with few perſons, but he remembers, With ſuch a perſon I ſinned thus, And if he dare goe no farther then to himſelfe, he can look ſcarcely upon any limb of his body, but in that he ſees ſome infirmity, or ſome deformity, that he imputes to ſome ſin, and muſt ſay, By this ſin, this is thus: When he can open the Bible in no place, but if he meet a judgement, he muſt ſay, Vindicta mihi, This vengeance belongs to me; and if he meet a mercy, he muſt ſay, Quid mihi? What have I to doe to take this mercy into my mouth? In this deluge of occaſions of ſorrow, I muſt not ſay with God to Abraham, Look up to heaven, and number the Starres, (for this man cannot look up to heaven) but I muſt ſay, Continue thy dejected look, and look downe to the earth, thy earth, and number the graines of duſt there, and the ſorrowes of the wicked are more then they. Many are the ſorrowes; And as the word as naturally denotes, Great; Great ſorrowes are upon the wicked.
That Pill will choak one man, which will ſlide down with another eaſily,Great. and work well. That ſorrow, that affliction would ſtrangle the wicked, which would purge, and recover the godly. The coare of Adams apple is ſtill in their throat, which the blood of the Meſſias hath waſht away in the righteous; Adams diſobedience works in them ſtill, and therefore Gods Phyſick, the affliction, cannot work. So they are great to them, as Cains puniſhment was to him, greater then he could beare, becauſe he could not eaſe himſelfe upon the conſideration of Gods purpoſe, in laying that puniſhment upon him. But it is not onelyonly their indiſpoſition, and impatience, that makes their ſorrowes and afflictions great; They are truly ſo in themſelves; as the Holy Ghoſt expreſſes it,Job 31.3. Is not deſtruction to the wicked, and ſtrange puniſhment to the workers of iniquity? A puniſhment, which we cannot tell how to meaſure, how to waigh, how to call, A ſtrange puniſhment; Greater then former examples have preſented. There the greatneſſe is expreſt in the Word; And in Eſay it is expreſt in the action; When the ſcourge ſhall run over you, Eſay 28.18.and paſſe thorow you, Eritis in conculcationem, You ſhall be trodden to duſt; Which is, as the Prophet cals it there, Flagellum inundans, An affliction that overflowes, and ſurrounds all, as a deluge, a flood, that ſhall waſh away from thee, even the water of thy Baptiſme, and all the power of that, And waſh away from thee the blood of thy Saviour, and all his offers of grace to worthy receivers; A flood that ſhall carry away the Ark it ſelfe out of thy ſight, and leave thee no apprehenſion of reparation by Gods inſtitution in his Church; A flood that ſhall diſſolve, and waſh thee thy ſelfe into water; Thy ſorrowes ſhall ſcatter thee into drops, into teares, upon a carnall ſenſe of thy torment, And into drops, into incoherent doubts, and perplexities, and ſcruples, in underſtanding, and conſcience, and into deſperation at laſt. And this is the Greatneſſe: Solutis doloribus inferni, In another ſenſe then David ſpeaks that of Chriſt; There it is, that the ſorrowes of hell were looſed, that is, were ſlacked, diſſolved by him: But here it is that the ſorrowes of hell are looſed, that is, let looſe upon thee; and when thou ſhalt heare Chriſt ſay from the Croſſe, Behold and ſee, if ever there were any ſorrow like my ſorrow, thou ſhalt finde thy ſorrow like his in the Greatneſſe, and nothing like his in the Goodneſſe: Chriſt bore that ſorrow, that every man might rejoyce, and thou wouldeſt be the more ſorry, if every man had not as much cauſe of deſperate ſorrow, as thou haſt.
Many, and great are the ſorowes of the wicked, and then eternall too, which is more then intimated, in that the Originall hath neither of thoſe particles of ſupplement, which are in our Tranſlations, no ſuch (ſhall come) no ſuch (ſhall be) nor no (ſhall) at all; but onelyonly, Many ſorrowes to the wicked, Many and great now, more and greater hereafter, All for ever, if they amend not.
It is not,Eternall. They have had ſorrowes, but they are overblown; nor that they have them, but patience ſhall outweare them; nor that they ſhall have them, but they have a breathing time to gather ſtrength before hand; But as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever ſhall be, Sorrowes upon them, and upon them for ever. Whatſoever any man conceives for eaſe in this caſe,Eſay 33.11. it is a falſe conception; You ſhall conceive chaffe, and bring forth ſtubble. And this ſtubble is your vaine hope of a determination of this ſorrow; But the wicked ſhall not be able to lodge ſuch a hope, though this hope, if they could apprehend it, would be but an aggravating of their ſorrowes in the end. It is eternall, no determination of time afforded to it.Ibid. ver. 14. For, They ſhall bee as the burning of lime, and as thornes cut up ſhall they bee burnt in the fire. Who amongst us ſhall dwell with the devouring fire? Who amongst us ſhall dwell with that everlaſting burning? It is a devouring fire, and yet it is an everlaſting burning. The Prophet asks, Who can dwell there? In that intenſeneſſe who can laſt?Deut. 32.22. They that muſt, and that is, All the wicked. Fire is kindled in my wrath, ſaith God; Yet may not teares quench it? Teares might, if they could be had; But It ſhall burne to the bottome of hell, ſaith God there. And Dives that could not procure a drop of water to coole his tongue there, can much leſſe procure a repentant teare in that place: There, as S. Iohn ſpeakes,Revel. 18.8. Plagues ſhall come in one day; Death, and Sorrow, and Famine. But it is in a long day; Short for the ſuddenneſſe of comming, for that is come already, which for any thing we know, may come this minute, before we be at an end of this point, or at a period of this ſentence: So it is ſudden in comming, but long for the enduring. For it is that day,Ibid. when They ſhall be burnt with fire, for ſtrong is the Lord God, that will condemne them. That is argument enough of the vehemence of that fire, that the Lord God, who is called the ſtrong God, makes it a Maſter-piece of his ſtrength, to make that fire.
Art thou able to diſpute out this Fire, and to prove that there can be no reall, no materiall fire in Hell, after the diſſolution of all materiall things created? If thou be not able to argue away the immortality of thine owne ſoule, but that that ſoule muſt laſt, nor to argue away the eternity of God himſelfe, but that that muſt laſt, thou haſt but little eaſe, in making ſhift to give a figurative interpretation to that fire, and to ſay, It may be a torment, but it cannot be a fire, ſince it muſt be an everlaſting torment; nor to give a figurative ſignification to the Worme, and to ſay, It may bee a paine, a remorſe, but it can bee no worme after the generall diſſolution, ſince that Conſcience, in which that remorſe, and anguiſh ſhall ever live, muſt live ever: If there bee a figure in the names, and words, of Fire and Wormes, there is an indiſputable reality in the ſorrow, in the torment, and in the manifoldneſſe, and in the weightineſſe, and in the everlaſtingneſſe thereof. For in the inchoation of theſe ſorrowes, in this life, and in the conſummation of them, in the life to come, The ſorrowes of the wicked are many, and great, and eternall.
This then is the portion prepared here,The Perſon. Pſal. 50.18. Thy portion was with the Adulterers, as our laſt Tranſlators have expreſt that place in their Margin. Thy portion was with them here, in this world, and thy portion ſhall be with them for ever; for God expreſſes all kind of wickedneſſe, carnall and ſpirituall, in that name of Adultery, throughout the body of the Scriptures. And therefore when you meet judgements denounced againſt Adulterers, never thinke that thoſe judgements concerne not you, if you have forborne that one ſin, (and yet even that ſinne may have beene committed in a looke, in a letter, in a word, in a wiſh, in a dreame) when S. Iames ſaith, Yee Adulterers, and Adultereſſes, Iam. 4 4.know you not this? Thinke not that S. Iames cals not upon you if you be but Covetous, but Ambitious, but Superſtitious, and no Adulteters; for every averſion from the Creatour, every converting to the creature is Adultery. Even in nature you are made for that marriage; In the covenant of God you were betroathed, and affianced for that marriage; In the Sacrament of Baptiſme you were actually, perſonally married; and in the other Sacrament there is a conſummation of that marriage; And every departing from that contract which you made with God at your Baptiſme, and renewed at your receiving the other Sacrament, is an Adultery. Thus a Hermite is a husband, and a Nun a wife; and thus both may bee adulterers, though in a Wilderneſſe, though in a Cloyſter.Auguſt. Si deſeris Deum qui te fecit, & amas illa quae fecit, adultera es; If thou turne from God that made thee, to thoſe things that he made, this is an adultery. Therefore Chriſt calls them, An evill and adulterous generation, becauſe they ſought a ſigne; Matt. 12.39.becauſe they turned upon other wayes of ſatisfaction, then he had ordained for them, that was adultery. And as David ſaith, Thy portion was with adulterers here; ſo, as theirs is ſaid to be,Revel. 21.8. Thy portion alſo ſhall be in the lake which burneth with fire and brimſtone, which is the ſecond death. Thou art this perſon, if thou be this adulterer, which is intended in this emphaticall word, The wicked.
So then, as theſe Sorrowes in our Text, are an inchoative Hell,The wicked they are ſuch wounds as induce, ſuch pangs as precede even the ſecond death, ſorrowes that flow into deſperation, and impenitibleneſſe, (and impenitibleneſſe is hell.) As the torment is an inchoative hell, ſo is the perſon, the Wicked here, an inchoated Devill: It is S. Chryſoſtoms ſpontaneus daemon, and voluntarius daemon; He that is a devill to himſelfe, that could be, and would be ambitious in a Spittle, licentious in a Wilderneſſe, voluptuous in a Famine, and abound with tentations in himſelfe, though there were no devill. Moſt of the names of the devill in the Scripture, denote ſome action of his upon us; As he is called The Prince of the power of the Ayre, there he is called ſo, becauſe as it is added there,Epheſ. 2.2. Hee works in the children of diſobedience; As the ayre works upon our bodies, this Prince of the Ayre works upon our minds; how works he? hee deceives;Revel. 12.9. Hee deceived the whole world, ſaith S. Iohn; from this infinuation, hee hath thoſe other names there, the great Dragon, and the old Serpent. When hee hath crept in as a Serpent, then hee growes A roaring Lyon; He profeſſes his power, he diſguiſes not a tentation; then he growes Satan an Adverſary, an Enemy, he oppoſes all good endeavors in us; & then he growes Diabolus, an Accuſer, an accuſer to God, an accuſer to our owne conſcience; and when he hath made our ſinne, as great as it can be in our practiſe, when by age, or ſickneſſe, or poverty, he cannot multiply our ſinnes for the preſent, then by his multiplying glaſſe, he multiplies the ſins of our former times, and preſents them greater, then even the mercies of God, or the merits of Chriſt Jeſus. So he growes in miſchievous names, according to his miſchievous actions and practiſes upon us; but then out of himſelfe ariſes the moſt vehement, and the moſt collective name that is given him in all the Scriptures, foreign, and that with the emphaticall article, The wicked one; One that is all wickedneſſe, & one that is the wickedneſſe of all; One, who if he had no object to direct his wickedneſſe upon, no ſubject to exerciſe his wickedneſſe in, If God ſhould proclaime ſo generall a Pardon, That all men, All, ſhould effectually be ſaved, and ſo all hope to have enlarged his Kingdome be withdrawne, yet would ſtill be as wicked, and as oppoſite to God as he is.
So then, by this character of Multiplicity,Plurality. this emphaticall note of the wicked in our Text, the perſon, whoſe portion this ſorrow is, this ſorrow which is a brand of Hell, at leaſt a match, by which Hell fire it ſelfe is kindled, is not hee that is an Adulterer, or that is a Murtherer; not hee that hath fallen into ſome particular ſinnes, though great, and continued thoſe great ſinnes in habits, though long, for David fell ſo, and yet found a holy ſorrow, a medicinall ſorrow: but it is the wicked, he that runnes headlong into all wayes of wickedneſſe, and uſque ad finem, precludes, or neglects all wayes of recovery: That is glad of a tentation, and afraid of a Sermon; that is dry wood, and tinder to Satans fire, if he doe but touch him, and is aſhes it ſelfe to Gods Spirit, if he blow upon him; That from a love of ſinne, at firſt, becauſe it is pleaſing, comes at laſt to a love of ſinne, becauſe it is ſinne, becauſe it is liberty, becauſe it is a deliverance of himſelfe from the bondage, as he thinks it, of the law of God, and from the remorſe and anguiſh of conſidering ſinne too particularly. This is the perſon, in whom, at firſt, by this emphaticall note, the wicked, we deſigne a Plurality, (as we called it) that is, a Complicated, a Multiplied, a Compact ſinner, a Body, rather a Carkaſſe of Many, of All ſins, all that have fallen within his reach. And then, in the word we noted alſo a Singularity, That upon ſuch a ſinner, upon every ſuch ſinner, theſe Many, theſe Great, theſe Eternall ſorrowes ſhall fall and tarry.
As in the former Circumſtance,Singularity. we noted that it was the They, that aggravated it, it was not an An, an Adulterer, an Ambitious man, but a The, The wicked, whom God enwrapped in this irrecoverable, this undeterminable ſorrow: ſo here, it is not a This, or That, This wicked, or that wicked man, but The wicked, every wicked man is ſurrounded with this ſorrow. He can propoſe no comfort in a decimation, as in popular Rebellions, where nine may be ſpared, and the tenth man hanged; No, nor ſo much hope as to have nine hanged, and the tenth ſpared; He is not in Sodoms caſe, That a few righteous might have ſaved the wicked;Ezek. 14.20. But he feeles a neceſſity of applying to himſelfe, that, If Noah; Daniel, and Iob were in the midſt of them, as I live, ſaith the Lord God, they ſhould deliver neither Son, Auguſt.nor Daughter. Iuſsiſti Domine, & ſic eſt, ut poena ſit ſibi omnis inordinatus animus; It is thy pleaſure O God, and thy pleaſure ſhall be infallibly accompliſhed, that every wicked perſon ſhould be his owne Executioner. He is Spontaneus Daemon, as S. Chryſoſtome ſpeaks, an In-mate, an in-nate Devill; a boſome devill, a ſelfe-Devill; That as he could be a tempter to himſelfe, though there were no Devill, ſo he could be an Executioner to himſelfe, though there were no Satan, and a Hell to himſelfe, though there were no other Torment. Sometimes he ſtaies not the Aſſiſes, but prevents the hand of Juſtice; he deſtroies himſelfe before his time. But when he ſtaies, he is evermore condemned at the Aſſiſes. Let him ſleepe out as much of the morning as ſecurelyas he can; embelliſh, and adorne himſelfe as gloriouſly as he can; dine as largely and as delicately as he can; weare out as much of the afternoone, in converſation, in Comedies, in pleaſure, as hee can; ſup with as much diſtenſion, and inducement of drouſineſſe as he can, that he may ſcape all remorſe, by falling aſleepe quickly, and fall aſleepe with as much diſcourſe, and muſicke, and advantage as he can, he hath a conſcience that will ſurvive, and overwatch all the company; he hath a ſorrow that ſhall joyne iſſue with him when he is alone, and both God, and the devill, who doe not meet willingly, ſhall meet in his caſe, and be in league, and be one the ſorrowes ſide, againſt him. The anger of God, and the malice of the devill, ſhall concurre with his ſorrow, to his farther vexation. No one wicked perſon, by any diverſion or cunning, ſhall avoid this ſorrow, for it is in the midſt, and in the end of all his forced contentments;Prov. 14.13. Even in laughing, the heart is ſorrowfull, and the end of that mirth is heavineſſe.
The perſon is The wicked; Communication.Every wicked perſon; He hath no reliefe in a decimation, that ſome may ſcape: Nor reliefe in the communication of the torment; It is no eaſe to him, that ſo many beare a part with him. In ſome afflictions in the world, men lay hold upon ſuch a reliefe, Many men are in as ill caſe, as I; why am I ſo ſenſible of it? and they make ſhift to patch up a comfort of that kinde, out of ſome chips of Poets, and fragmentary ſentences; And they that cannot finde this reliefe ready made, will make ſhift to make it; when they are under the burden of a defamation, of an ill name, they will caſt aſperſions of the ſame crime, upon as many as they can, and thinke themſelves the better, if they can make others be thought as ill as they. But all theſe are amongſt Iobs miſerable comforters; It is a part of our joy in Heaven, that every mans joy ſhall be my joy; I ſhall have fulneſſe of ſalvation in my ſelfe, and I ſhall have as many ſalvations, as there are ſoules ſaved: But in hell there is no one feather towards ſuch a Pillow, no degree of eaſe, in the communication of the torment. Every ſoule ſhall murmure againſt God, and curſe God, for damning every other ſoule, as well as for damning his: Though they would have them damned, that are damned, yet they ſhall reproach God, for damning them: And though they wiſh all the Saints in Heaven, in hell, yet they ſhall call it tyrannie in God, to have ſent a Cain, or an Achitophel, or a Iudas thither. And as the perſon whom we conſider in this text, is an embryon of the Devill, Genimina viperarum, The ſpawne of the Devill, a potentiall, and as we ſaid, an inchoated Devill; ſo is the torment, this ſorrow, a Lucifer, Such a Lucifer, as hell can ſend out; not a light of any light, but a cloud of that darkneſſe: As ſure as this man, The wicked, ſhall be a Devill, ſo ſure this ſorrow, ſhall end, not end, but reach to hell.
Yet when all this is thus ſaid, ſaid with a holy vehemence, with a zealous animoſity, as indeed belongs to the denouncing of Gods judgements, yet may wee not be askt, where is there any ſuch perſon, or upon whom works there any ſuch ſorrow? Is it alwaies true, that the wicked make no good uſe of afflictions? or is it alwaies true, that they have them? The firſt may admit a doubt, for if God juſtifie the ungodly,Rom. 8.5. (God juſtifieth the ungodly) then their affliction may be a way, to prepare juſtification in them, as well as in them whom we call godly; And if Chriſt dyed for the ungodly,Rom. 5.6. (Chriſt dyed for the Vngodly) they alſo may fulfill his ſufferings in their fleſh, and their afflictions may produce good effects. But for that, they which are called ungodly, in both thoſe places, are only ſuch as were ungodly before Gods juſtification began to work upon them, before Chriſts Death began to be applied to them, but did not continue in their ungodlineſſe after; But theſe ungodly perſons, whom afflictions ſupple and mollifie no farther, but to an intemperate, and excruciating, and exclamatory ſorrow, and continue ungodly ſtill, are ſuch as never have good effect of affliction or ſorrow.
But then have theſe alwaies affliction inflicted upon them? one would doubt it, by that in Iob, The Tabernacles of robbers do proſper, and they are in ſafety that provoke God. Iob 12.6.Gods children are robbed and ſpoiled by the wicked, and the wicked ſhew it in Gods face, they hide not their Theft, they maintaine publiquely their Wantonneſſe, and their Exceſſes, with the ſpoile of the poore; They have it, and they will hold it, and they bid God bring his action, and recover how he can. This the Prophet Ieremy ſaw, and was affected, and ſcandalized with it; O Lord, if I plead with thee, thou art righteous; Ier. 12.1.I know thou canſt maintaine, and make good that which thou haſt done; But yet, ſaies hee, Let me talke with thee of thy judgements; wherefore doth the way of the wicked proſper? wherefore are all they happy that deale very treacherouſly? Why, their wayes proſper in a juſt puniſhment of God for their former ſins, that they may have a larger and a broader way to deſtruction; and they are happy in temporall happineſſes, that they may have more occaſions of ſmarting; If their wealth ſticke not to their heires, in a third generation, call them not Rich; If their proſperity cleave not to their ſoules, call them not Happy; He is a poor man, whoſe wealth can be writ in an Inventorie; That hath lockt all in ſuch an iron Cheſt, in ſuch a Cabinet, and hath ſent up nothing to meet him in Heaven. As all the wealth of the wicked is but counterfeit, ſo is all the joy that they have in it counterfeit too. And howſoever they diſguiſe their ſorrow, yet if their torment be inviſible to us, it is the liker hell; If we know not how they are afflicted, it is the liker hell; Their damnation ſleepeth not, nor they neither; And when at midnight their owne conſciences are a thouſand witneſſes to them, it is but a poore eaſe, that other men doe not know, that they are thoſe wicked perſons, and their ſorrow the ſorrow of this text; that they are The wicked, and their ſorrowes many, and great, and eternall ſorrowes. But I would be glad to reſerve as much time as I could for the other part, The perſon and The portion, that is in the other ſcale; Mercy ſhall compaſſe, &c.
In this part we will begin with the perſons; For when wee come to their portion,2 Part. with which we muſt end, of that we ſhall be able to finde no end, nay no beginning, for it begins with Mercy, (Mercy ſhall compaſſe them) and mercy is as much without beginning, as eternall, as God himſelfe, and it flowes on to joy and gladneſſe, and exultation, and this joy ſhall no more ſee an end of it ſelfe, then God himſelfe ſhall ſee an end of himſelfe. Upon the perſons we have three characters, and in their portions wee have three waights; Three degrees of goodneſſe in their perſons, three degrees of greatneſſe in their portions. The perſons firſt Truſt in God, and then They are Righteous, and laſtly, They are upright in heart; So alſo, the reward is firſt Inward joy, and then Outward declaration, and laſtly, An exemplary working upon others; And then, all theſe are rooted in the roote of all, that mercy ſhall compaſſe them.
Firſt then They truſt in God. And that, firſt Excluſivè; They truſt in him ſo,Truſt in God. as that they truſt in nothing elſe, and Incluſivè too; ſo, as that they do actually, and poſitively truſt in God. Some have bin ſo beaten out of all confidences in this world, ſo evacuated of former power, ſo deveſted of former favour, ſo diſpoiled of former treaſures, as that they are brought to truſt in nothing elſe; But then they truſt not in God neither;Auguſt. Quia Deo non audent dare iniquitatem, auferunt ei gubernationem; Becauſe they dare not ſay, that God does any thing ill, they come to ſay, that God does nothing at all; and to avoid the making of an unjuſt God, they make an idle God; which is as great an Atheiſme as the other. But becauſe it goes thus with them, that they have many and great ſorrowes, they conclude that all have ſo; But The heart knoweth his owne bitterneſſe; Prov. 14.10.They know their own caſe,Ibid. the caſe of the godly they know not. The ſtranger ſhall not meddle with their Ioy; He that is a ſtranger to this truſt in God, underſtands nothing of the joy that appertaines to them that have it.Eſth. 14.19. Let that be thy prayer, which was the prayer of Eſther, Thy handmaid hath had no joy but in thee, O Lord God of Abraham; O thou mightie God, above all, heare thou the voyce of them that have no other hope.
Our Adverſaries of Rome charge us, that we have but a negative Religion; If that were true, it were a heavy charge, if we did onelyonly deny, and eſtabliſh nothing; But we deny all their new additions, ſo as that we affirme all the old foundations. The Negative man, that truſts in nothing in the world, may be but a Philoſopher, but an Atheiſt, but a ſtupid and dead carcaſſe. The Affirmative man, that does acknowledge all bleſſings, ſpirituall and temporall, to come from God, that prepares himſelfe by holineſſe to be fit to receive them from God, that comes for them by humble prayer to God, that returnes for them humble thankes to God, this man hath the firſt marke of this perſon upon him, He truſts in God. But he that truſts not in the world, nor in God neither, is worſe then he, that truſts in the world, and not in God; becauſe he is farther removed from all humility, that attributes all to himſelfe; He pretends to be an Atheiſt, and to beleeve in no God; and yet he conſtitutes a new Idolatry, he ſacrifices to himſelfe, and makes himſelfe his God.
The ſecond Character,Righteous. and ſpecification of this Perſon, is, that he is Righteous. And this word, we ſhall doe beſt to containe here within a legall Righteouſneſſe; that Righteouſneſſe, in which S. Paul proteſted, and proclaimed himſelfe to be unblamable. For howſoever this apparant Righteouſneſſe, Righteouſneſſe in the eyes of the world, be not enough alone, yet no other Righteouſneſſe is enough without this. The hypocrite, by being an hypocrite, may aggravate his own condemnation, when he comes to reckon with God; But to the Church, who knows him not to be an hypocrite, he does good, by his exemplar and outward Righteouſneſſe. He that does good for vaine-glory, may lead another man to good upon good grounds; And the prayers of thoſe poore ſoules, whom he may have benefited by his vain-glorious good worke, may prevaile ſo with God in his behalfe, as that his vaine-glory here, may become true glory, even in the Kingdome of Heaven.
So then we carry this word Righteous no farther, but to the doing of thoſe honeſt things, which we are bound to doe in the ſight of men. The word is Tzadok, which is often uſed for the exaltation and perfection of all true holineſſe; But as it is very often in the old Teſtament taken for Verax and Aequus, when a mans word and worke anſwer one another towards men; ſo in the New Teſtament, in the Syriake Tranſlation, where the word is the ſame as in the Hebrew, it is Oportuit, It behoved Chriſt to ſuffer; and in ſuch a ſenſe, in very many places, to be Righteous, is to doe that which it behoved us to doe, became us to doe, concerned us to doe in the ſight of men. Which can be expreſt in no one thing more fully, then in this, To embrace a lawfull Calling, and to walke honeſtly in that Calling; That is Righteouſneſſe; For, Iuſtus ſua fide vivit, The Righteous lives by his owne faith; Not without faith, nor with the faith of another; ſo Iuſtus ſuo ſudore veſcitur, The Righteous eats his Bread in the ſweat of his owne browes; He labours in an honeſt Calling, and drinks not the ſweat of others labours; And this is that Righteouſneſſe in this Text, the ſecond marke upon this Perſon, who is partaker of this Portion.
And the third is,Vpright in heart. that he is Rectus corde, Vpright in heart; That he direct even all the works of his Calling, all the actions of his life upon the glory of God. If you carry a Line from the Circumference, to the Circumference againe, as a Diameter, it paſſes the Center, it flowes from the Center, it looks to the Center both wayes. God is the Center; The Lines above, and the Lines below, ſtill reſpect and regard the Center; Whether I doe any action honeſt in the ſight of men, or any action acceptable to God, whether I doe things belonging to this life, or to the next, ſtill I muſt paſſe all through the Center, and direct all to the glory of God, and keepe my heart right, without variation towards him. For as I doe no good action here, meerly for the interpretation of good men, though that be one good and juſtifiable reaſon of my good actions: ſo I muſt doe nothing for my Salvation hereafter, meerly for the love I beare to mine owne ſoule, though that alſo be one good and juſtifiable reaſon of that action; But the primary reaſon in both, as well the actions that eſtabliſh a good name, as the actions that eſtabliſh eternall life, muſt be the glory of God. Diſtortum lignum ſemper nutat, Auguſt.A wry and crooked planke in the floore, will alwayes ſhake and kicke up, and creake under a mans foote. A wry and a crooked heart will alwayes ſhake diſtruſtfully, and kicke rebelliouſly, and creake repiningly, under the hand of God. Non poteſt collineari rectitudine Dei, Idem.ſayes the ſame Father, He is not paralleld with God, he is not leveld with God, if he uſe not his bleſſings, if he accept not his corrections, as God intends them. Firſt, To truſt in God, and then to deale Righteouſly with men, and all the way to keepe the heart ſtraight upon God; theſe three make up the Perſon; And theſe three his Portion, That he ſhall be glad, and he ſhall rejoyce, and jubilabit, he ſhall ſhout for joy.
Now as three great ſummes of gold put into one bagge,Mercy. theſe three branches of this Portion of the Righteous, are fixt in one roote, raiſed upon one foundation, Mercy ſhall compaſſe him about. But then this mercy, this Compaſſing mercy reaches not ſo farre, as that thou ſhalt have no affliction, though thou truſt in God; David had been an unfit perſon, to have delivered ſuch a Doctrine, who ſayes of himſelfe,Pſal. 73.14. Daily have I been puniſhed, and chaſtned every morning: He had it every day, it was his daily bread; and it was the firſt thing that he had, he had it in the morning. Here is mention of a morning, early ſorrowes, even to the godly; and mention of a Day, continuing ſorrowes, even to the godly; But he ſpeaks of no Night here, the Son of grace, the Son of God, does not ſet in a Cloud of anger upon him. The Martyrs that abounded with this Truſt in God, and this Righteouſneſſe, and this Vprightneſſe of heart, abounded with theſe afflictions too. They that beſtowed themſelves upon God and his Church, 2 Cor. 12.15.as the Apoſtle expreſſes it, had theſe ſorrowes plentifully beſtowed upon themſelves. And to paſſe from them to the Author of their conſtancy, Chriſt himſelfe, He is Vir dolorum, A man of ſorrowes, Eſay 53.3.and acquainted with Griefe. And now, Whom he loveth he chaſtneth, and he ſcourgeth every one that he receiveth; Flagellat omnem, He ſcourgeth every one; Vis audire quem omneem? Auguſt.Will you know how generall, and yet how particular this is? Vnicus ſine peccato, non tamen ſine flagello, There was one Man without any ſin, but even that Man was not without puniſhment, Chriſt Jeſus himſelfe. So generall is correction, as that in this caſe, and in this ſenſe, it is more generall then ſin it ſelfe.
It is not then that the godly ſhall no afflictions, no ſorrowes; But mutant fortitudinem, They that waite upon the Lord ſhall renue their ſtrength, Eſay 40.31.ſay our Tranſlators in the body of their Tranſlation; but in the Margin, (and neerer to the Originall) They ſhall change their ſtrength. They that have been ſtrong in ſinning, that have ſinned with a ſtrong hand, when they feele a judgement upon them, and finde that it is Gods hand, and Gods hand for their ſinnes, they faint not, they loſe not their ſtrength, but mutant fortitudinem, They change their ſtrength, they grow as ſtrong in ſuffering, as they were in ſinning, and inveſt the Prophets reſolution, I will beare the indignation of the Lord, Mic. 7.9. Ezek. 2.10.becauſe I have ſinned againſt him. The Booke which God gave Ezekiel to eate, was written within and without, with Lamentations, and Mournings, and Woes; but when he eate it, he found it in his mouth as ſweet as honey. When God offers the Booke, which is the Regiſter of our ſinnes to our Conſciences, or the Decree of his Judgements to our underſtanding, or to our ſenſe, it is writ in gall and wormwood, and in the bitterneſſe of ſorrow; but if we can bring it to the firſt concoction, the firſt digeſtion, to that maſtication, that rumination, which is the conſideration of Gods purpoſe upon us in that Judgement, we ſhall change our taſte, for we ſhall Taſte and See, Quam ſuavis Dominus, Pſal. 34.9.How good, and how ſweet the Lord is; for even this Judgement is Mercy.
Think not then thy valour ſufficiently tried, if thou canſt take it patiently, to have miſt a fute long purſued, or failed of a Preferment long expected; no not if thou have ſtood in a haile of bullets without winking, or ſate the ſearching of a wound without ſtarting; but Muta fortitudinem, Change thy valour, and when thou commeſt to beare great croſſes, proportionable to thy great ſins, with a ſpirituall courage, acknowledge that courage to be the mercy of God, and not thine owne morall conſtancy. God loves his owne example, to doe as he hath done; Omni quaeſtione ſeverius, à te interrogari; It was ſaid to a Romane Emperour, who examined with Wiſedome, and Majeſty too: It is truer of God; that it is more fearfull then any rack, or torture, when he comes to ſearch and ſift a conſcience: Yet God did come to that office upon Adam, before he would condemne him. He came to a worſe place then Paradiſe; hee came to Sodome, to rack and torture them, with that confeſſion, that there could not be found ten Righteous men amongſt them. But yet this he did, before he condemned them. God will viſit thee in this wrack, in this furnace, in theſe trialls, before he proceed to thy condemnation. But when God doth ſo, beleeve thou David, in his Indulgence to his Son, to have been a Type of Gods diſpoſition to thy ſoule. When he ſent out his Army againſt Abſalom, he ſtood in the gate to ſurvey the Muſter, and to every one of the Commanders, Ioab, and the reſt, ſtill he ſaid, Servate mihi puerum Abſalom, Intreat the young man Abſalom well for my ſake. The Lord of Hoſts may ſend forth his Army againſt thee, Sickneſſe, Loſſe, Shame, Paine, Baniſhment, Impriſonment, (which are all ſwords of his) but he ſayes to them all, Servate mihi Abſalom, That ſoule that I have bought with my blood, preſerve for me; Fight but againſt mine enemies, his Pride, his Security, his Preſumption; but Servate Abſalom, Preſerve his ſoule unſhaken, and un-offended. God hath ſaid it before,Jer. 29.11. and he ſayes againe to thee, in all thy afflictions, I know the thoughts that I think towards you, the thoughts of peace, and not of evill, to give you an expected end. God ſaid this, when a Falſe Prophet had promiſed them deliverance in two yeares; God prorogues the time; he would doe it, but he would not doe it under threeſcore and ten yeares. Limit not God in his time, nor in his meanes; The mercy conſiſts in relieving thee ſo, as that thy ſoule ſuffer not, though thou doe. And if that be preſerved, this mercy is a Compaſsing mercy, which is alſo another Circumſtance in this Branch.
The Devill had Compaſt all the Earth,Compaſſe. and he was angry that God had Compaſt Iob. He ſayes in indignation,Job 1.9. Haſt thou not made a hedge about him, and about his houſe, and about all that he hath, on every ſide? God did ſo for Iob, and he will doe ſo for thee: He redeemeth thy life from the grave, Pſal. 103.4.and crowneth thee with mercy, and compaſsion. This is the Compaſsing in heaven, when we come to be crowned there. But there is a Compaſsing here,Rom 8 28. and an empailing of Gods children, in S. Pauls Co-operantur, When all things work together, for good, to them that love God. When Proſperity and Adverſity, Honour and Diſgrace, Profit and Loſſe, the Lords Giving and the Lords Taking, doe all concurre to the making up of this Paile, that muſt Compaſſe us; When we acknowledge that there muſt be nailes in the Paile, as well as ſtakes, there muſt be thornes in the hedge, as well as fruit trees; Croſſes as well as Bleſſings; when we leere not over the Paile, neither into the Common; that is, to the Gentiles and Nations, and begin to thinke, that we might be ſaved by the light of nature, without this burden of Chriſtianity: nor leere over into the Paſtures, and Corne of our neighbours; that is, to think, that we are not well in our own Church, but muſt needs hearken to the Doctrine, or Diſcipline of another; When we ſee all that comes, to come from God, and are content with that, then Omnia co-operantur, Every piece ſerves to the making up this Paile, and his Mercy compaſſes us about.
This is the roote of our three Branches, the foundation of our three Stories; the bagge of our three ſummes, in this portion, Mercy, Compaſsing mercy; and then the Branches themſelves, Be glad, Rejoyce, and Shout for joy; Which joy, is firſt an inward love of the Law of God,Glad. Pſal. 119.111. Thy teſtimonies have I taken as an heritage for ever, for they are the joy of my heart: It is not Dant, but Sunt, not that they Bring joy, but that they Are joy; There is no other joy but the delight in the Law of the Lord: For all other joy, the Wiſe King ſaid,Eccleſ. 2.2. Of laughter, thou art mad, and of joy, what is this that thou doſt? True joy is the earneſt which we have of heaven, It is the treaſure of the ſoule, and therefore ſhould be laid in a ſafe place, and nothing in this world is ſafe to place it in: And therefore with the Spouſe we ſay,Cant. 1.4. We will be glad in thee, we will remember thy love more then wine. Let others ſeek their joy in wine, in ſociety, in converſation, in muſique; for mee, Thou haſt put gladneſſe into my heart, more then in the time that their corne and their wine increaſed.
Rejoyce therefore in the Lord alwayes, Rejoyce. Phil. 4.4.and againe I ſay, rejoyce: Againe, that is, Rejoyce in the ſecond manner of expreſſing it, by externall declarations. Goe chearfully, and joyfully forward, in the works of your callings. Rejoyce in the bleſſings of God without murmuring, or comparing with others. And eſtabliſh thy joy ſo, in an honeſt, and religious manner of getting, that thy joy may deſcend to thine heire, as well as thy land. No land is ſo well fenced, no houſe ſo well furniſhed, as that, which hath this joy, this teſtimony of being well gotten.Job 20.4. For, This thou knoweſt of old, ſince man was placed upon earth, that the Triumphing of the wicked is ſhort, and the joy of the Hypocrite but for a moment.
And then the laſt degree is louder then this, Iubilate, Shout for joy; Iubilate.Declare thy joy in the eares of other men. As the Angels ſaid to the Shepheards,Luke 2. I bring you tidings of great joy, which ſhall be unto all people, So be thou a chearfull occaſion of glorifying God by thy joy. Declare his loving kindneſſe unto the ſons of men; Tell them what he hath done for thy ſoule, thy body, thy ſtate. Say, With this ſtaffe came I over Iordane: Be content to tell whoſe Son thou waſt, and how ſmall thy beginning. Smother not Gods bleſſings, by making thy ſelfe poore, when he who is truly poore, begges of thee, for that Gods ſake, who gave thee all that thou haſt. Hold up a holy chearfulneſſe in thy heart; Goe on in a chearfull converſation; and let the world ſee, that all this growes out of a peace, betwixt God and thee, teſtified in the bleſſings of this world; and then thou art that Perſon, and then thou haſt that Portion, which growes out of this root, in this Text, Mercy ſhall compaſſe him about that truſteth in the Lord.