Eighty Sermons, penitential psalms · Sermon 57
SERM. LVII. Preached upon the Penitentiall Pſalmes.
PSAL. 32.3, 4.
When I kept ſilence, my bones waxed old, through my roaring all the day long.
For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me; my moyſture is turned into the drought of Summer. Selah.
ALL wayes of teaching, are Rule and Example: And though ordinarily the Rule be firſt placed, yet the Rule it ſelfe is made of Examples: And when a Rule would be of hard digeſtion to weake underſtandinge, Example concocts it, and makes it eaſie: for, Example in matter of Doctrine, is as Aſſimilation in matter of Nouriſhment; The Example makes that that is propoſed for our learning and farther inſtruction, like ſomething which we knew before, as Aſſimilation makes that meat, which we have received, and digeſted, like thoſe parts, which are in our bodies before. David was the ſweet ſinger of Iſrael; ſhall we ſay, Gods Precentor? His ſonne Solomon was the powerfull Preacher of Iſrael; ſhall we ſay, Gods Chaplain? Both of them, excellent, abundantly, ſuper-abundantly excellent in both thoſe wayes of Teaching; Poet, and Preacher, proceed in theſe wayes in both, Rule, and Example, the body and ſoule of Inſtruction. So this Pſalme is qualified in the Title thereof, A Pſalme of David giving Inſtruction. And having given his Inſtruction the firſt way, by Rule, in the two former verſes, That Bleſſedneſſe conſiſted in the Remiſsion of ſinnes, but that this Remiſsion of ſinnes was imparted to none, Cui dolus in ſpiritu, In whoſe ſpirit there was any deceit, he proceeds in this Text, to the other fundamentall, and conſtitutive element of Inſtruction, Example; And by Example he ſhews, how far they are from that Bleſſedneſſe, that conſiſts in the Remiſsion of ſinnes, that proceed with any deceit in their ſpirit. And that way of Inſtruction, by Example, ſhall be our firſt Conſideration; And our ſecond, That he propoſes himſelfe for the Example, I kept ſilence, ſayes he, and ſo My Bones waxed old, &c. And then, in a third part, we ſhall ſee, how far this holy Ingenuity goes, what he confeſſes of himſelfe: And that third part will ſubdivide it ſelfe, and flow out into many branches. Firſt, That it was he himſelfe that was In doloſo ſpiritu, In whoſe ſpirit there was deceit, Quia tacuit, becauſe he held his tongue, becauſe he diſguiſed his ſinnes, becauſe he did not confeſſe them. And yet, in the midſt of this ſilence of his, God brought him Ad rugitum, to voyces of Roaring, of Exclamation, to a ſenſe of paine, and a ſenſe of ſhame; ſo far he had a voyce, but ſtill he was in ſilence, for any matter of repentance. Secondly, he confeſſes the effect of this his ſilence, and this his Roaring, Inveteraverunt Oſſa, My Bones waxed old, and, my moiſture is turned into the drought of Summer. And then thirdly, he confeſſes the reaſon from whence this inveteration in his bones, and this incineration in his body proceeded, Quia aggravata manus, becauſe the hand of God lay heavy upon him, heavy in the preſent waight, and heavy in the long continuation thereof, day and night. And laſtly, all this he ſeals with that Selah, which you finde at the end of the verſe, which is a kinde of Affidavit, of earneſt aſſeveration, and re-affirming the ſame thing, a kinde of Amen, and ratification to that which was ſaid; Selah, truly, verily, thus it was with me, when I kept ſilence, and deceitfully ſmothered my ſinnes, the hand of God lay heavy upon me, and as truly, as verily it will be no better with any man, that ſuffers himſelfe to continue in that caſe.
Firſt then,1 Part. Exemplum. for the aſſiſtance, and the power, that example hath in Inſtruction, we ſee Chriſts Method, Quid ab initio, how was it from the beginning; Doe as hath been done before. We ſee Gods method to Moſes, for the Tabernacle, Looke that thou make every thing, Exod. 24.40.after thy patterne, which was ſhewed thee in the Mount; And for the Creation it ſelfe, we know Gods method too; for though there were no world, that was elder brother to this world before, yet God in his owne minde and purpoſe had produced, and lodged certaine Idea's, and formes, and patterns of every piece of this world, and made them according to thoſe pre-conceived formes, and Idea's. When we conſider the wayes of Inſtruction, as they are beſt purſued in the Scriptures, ſo are there no Books in the world, that doe ſo abound with this comparative and exemplary way of teaching, as the Scriptures doe; No Books, in which that word of Reference to other things, that Sicut is ſo often repeated, Doe this, and doe that, Sicut, ſo, as you ſee ſuch and ſuch things in Nature doe; And Sicut, ſo as you finde ſuch and ſuch men, in ſtory, to have done. So David deals with God himſelfe, he propoſes him an Example; I aske no more favour at thy hands, for thy Church now, then thou haſt afforded them heretofore, Doe but unto theſe men now,Pſal. 83.3. Sicut Midianitis, as unto the Midianites, Sicut Siſerae, as unto Siſera, as unto Iabin: Make their Nobles Sicut Oreb, like Oreb and like Zeb, and all their Princes Sicut Zeba, as Zeba and as Zalmana. For, theſe had been Examples of Gods juſtice: And to be made Examples of Gods anger,Num. 5.26. is the ſame thing, as to be a Malediction, a Curſe. For, in that law of Jealouſie, that bitter potion which the ſuſpected woman was to take, was accompanied with this imprecation, The Lord make thee a Curſe among the people; So we reade it; But S. Hierome, In Exemplum, The Lord make thee an Example among the people; that is, deale with thee ſo, as poſterity may be afraid, when it ſhall be ſaid of any of them, Lord deale with this woman ſo, as thou didſt with that Adultereſſe. And ſo the prayer of the people is upon Booz, Ruth 4.11.Vt ſit in Exemplum, (as S. Hierom alſo reads that place) The Lord make thee an Example of vertue in Ephrata, and in Bethlem; that is, that Gods people might propoſe him to themſelves, conforme themſelves to him, and walke as he did. As on the other ſide, the anger of God is threatned ſo,Ezek. 5.15. Jer. 48.39. God ſhall make thee Exemplum & ſtuporem, An Example and a Conſternation; And Exemplum & deriſum, An example and a ſcorne; That poſterity, whenſoever they ſhould be threatned with Gods Judgements, they might preſently returne to ſuch Examples, and conclude, if our ſins be to their Example, our Judgements will follow their Example too, a judgement accompanied with a conſternation, a conſternation aggravated with a ſcorne, we ſhall be a prey to our enemies, an aſtoniſhment to our ſelves, a contempt to all the world; We doe according to their Example, and according to their Example we ſhall ſuffer, is not a Concluſion of any Sorbon, nor a deciſion of any Rota, but the Logique of the univerſall Univerſitie, Heaven it ſelfe.Zech. 13.5. And ſo when the Prophet would be excuſed from undertaking the office of a Prophet, he ſayes, Adam exemplum meum ab adoleſcentia, Adam hath been the example, that I have propoſed to my ſelfe from my youth; As Adam did, ſo in the ſweat of my browes, I alſo have eat my bread; I have kept Cattle; I have followed a Country life, and not made my ſelfe fit for the office and function of a Prophet, Adam hath been my Example from my youth. And when Solomon did not propoſe a Man, he propoſed ſomething els for his Example, an example he would have;Pro. 24.32. He looked upon the ill husbands land, and he ſaw it over-growne, Et exemplo didici diſciplinam, By that example I learnt to be wiſer. Enter into the Armory, ſearch the body and bowells of Story, for an anſwer to the queſtion in Iob, Quis periit, Who ever periſhed being Innocent, Job 4.7.or where were the righteous cut off? There is not one example; no where; never. Anſwer but that out of Records, Quis reſtitit, Job 9.4. Job 11.10.Who hath hardned himſelfe againſt the Lord, and proſpered? Or that, Quis contradicet, If he cut off, who can hinder him? There is no Example; No man, by no meanes. So, if thou be tempted with over-valuing thine owne purity, finde an Example to anſwer that,Job 14.27. Pro. 20.9. Quis mundum, Who can bring a cleane thing out of uncleanneſſe? Or that, Who can ſay, I have made my heart cleane, I am pure from ſinne? There is no Example; No man ever did it; No man can ſay it. If thou be tempted to worſhip God in an Image, be able to anſwer God ſomething to that, To whom will yee liken God, or what likeneſſe will yee compare unto him? Eſay 40.18.There can be no example, no patterne to make God by: for, that were to make God a Copy, and the other, by which he were made, the Originall. If thou have a tentation to withdraw thy ſelfe from the Diſcipline of that Church, in which God hath given thee thy Baptiſme, finde an Example, to ſatisfie thy Conſcience, and Gods people, in what age, in what place, there was any ſuch Church inſtituted, or any ſuch Diſcipline practiſed, as thou haſt fancied to thy ſelfe. Beleeve nothing for which thou haſt not a Rule; Doe nothing for which thou haſt not an Example; for there is not a more dangerous diſtemper in either Beliefe or Practiſe, then ſingularity; for there onelyonly may we juſtly call for Miracles, if men will preſent to us, and binde us to things that were never beleeved, never done before. David therefore, in this Pſalme, his Pſalme of Inſtruction, (as himſelfe calls it) doth both; He lays downe the Rule, he eſtabliſhes it by Example, and that was our firſt Conſideration, and we have done with that.
Our ſecond is, That he goes not far for his Example;2 Part. Exemplum ipſe. He labors not to ſhew his reading, but his feeling; not his learning, but his compunction; his Conſcience is his Library, and his Example is himſelfe, and he does not unclaſpe great Volumes, but unbutton his owne breaſt, and from thence he takes it. Men that give Rules of Civill wiſedome, and wiſe Converſation amongſt men, uſe to ſay, that a wiſe man muſt never ſpeak much of himſelfe; It will argue, ſay they, a narrow underſtanding, that he knows little beſides his own actions, or els that he overvalues his own actions, if he bring them much into Diſcourſe. But the wiſe men that ſeeke Chriſt, (for there were ſuch wiſe men in the world once) Stateſmen in the kingdome of heaven, they goe upon other grounds, and, whereſoever they may finde them, they ſeeke ſuch Examples, as may conduce moſt to the glory of God: And when they make themſelves Examples, they doe not rather chooſe themſelves then others, but yet they doe not ſpare, nor forbeare themſelves more then other men. David propoſes his owne Example, to his owne ſhame, but to Gods glory. For, David was one of thoſe perſons, Qui non potuit ſolus perire, Bernar.He could not ſin alone, his ſin authorized ſin in others: Princes and Prelates, are Doctrinall men, in this ſenſe and acceptation, that the ſubject makes the Princes life his Doctrine; he learns his Catechiſme by the eye, he does what he ſees done, and frames to himſelfe Rules out of his Superiors Example. Therefore, for their Doctrine, David propoſes truly his own Example, and without diſguiſing, tells that of himſelfe, which no man elſe could have told. Chriſt who could doe nothing but well, propoſes himſelfe for an example of humility,Iohn 3.15. Titus 2.7. I have given you an example; Whom? what? That you ſhould doe as I have done. So S. Paul inſtructs Titus, In all things ſhew a patterne of good works; But whom? for Titus might have ſhewed them many patternes; but Shew thy ſelfe a patterne, ſayes the Apoſtle; and not onelyonly of aſſiduous, and laborious preaching, but of good works. 1 Cor. 16.10.And this is that, for which he recommends Timothy to the Church, Hee works the work of the Lord, And, not without a patterne, nor without that patterne, which S. Paul had given him in himſelfe, He works ſo, as I alſo doe. S. Paul, who had propoſed Chriſt to himſelfe to follow, might propoſe himſelfe to others, and wiſh as he does, I would all men were even as my ſelfe. 1 Cor. 7.7.For, though that Apoſtle, by denying it in his owne practiſe,2 Cor. 4.5. ſeeme to condemne it in all others, To preach our ſelves, (We preach not our ſelves, but Chriſt Ieſus the Lord) yet to preach out of our owne hiſtory, ſo farre, as to declare to the Congregation, to what manifold ſins we had formerly abandoned our ſelves, how powerfully the Lord was pleaſed to reclaime us, how vigilantly he hath vouchſafed to preſerve us from relapſing, to preach our ſelves thus, to call up the Congregation, to heare what God hath done for my ſoule, is a bleſſed preaching of my ſelfe. And therefore Solomon does not ſpeak of himſelfe ſo much, nor ſo much propoſe and exhibit himſelfe to the Church, in any Book, as in that which he calls the Preacher, Eccleſiaſtes: In that Book, he hides none of his owne ſins; none of thoſe practiſes, which he had formerly uſed to hide his ſins: He confeſſes things there, which none knew but himſelfe, nor durſt, nor ſhould have publiſhed them of him, the King, if they had knowne them. So Solomon preaches himſelf to good purpoſe, and poures out his owne ſoule in that Book. Which is one of the reaſons which our Interpreters aſſigne, why Solomon cals himſelfe by this name,Lorin. Proleg. C. 5. Eccleſiaſtes, Coheleth, which is a word of the Foeminine gender, and not Concionator, but Concionatrix, a Shee-preacher, becauſe it is Anima Concionatrix, It is his ſoule that preaches, he poures out his owne ſoule to the Congregation, in letting them know, how long the Lord let him run on in vanities, and vexation of ſpirit, and how powerfully and effectually he reclaimed him at laſt: For, from this Book, the Preacher, the ſhe-Preacher, the ſoule-Preacher, Solomon preaching himſelfe, rather her ſelfe, the Church raiſes convenient arguments (and the beſt that are raiſed) for the proofe of the ſalvation of Solomon, of which divers doubted. And though Solomon in this Book ſpeak divers things, not as his owne opinion, but in the ſenſe of worldly men, yet, as we have a note upon Plato's Dialogues, that though he doe ſo too, yet whatſoever Plato ſayes in the name and perſon of Socrates, that Plato alwayes meanes for his owne opinion, ſo whatſoever Solomon ſayes in the name of the Preacher, (the Preacher ſayes this, or ſayes that) that is evermore Solomons own ſaying. When the Preacher preaches himſelfe, his owne ſins, and his owne ſenſe of Gods Mercies, or Judgements upon him, as that is intended moſt for the glory of God, ſo it ſhould be applied moſt by the hearer, for his own edification; for, he were a very ill natured man, that ſhould think the worſe of a Preacher, becauſe he confeſſes himſelfe to be worſe then he knew him to be, before he confeſſed it. Therefore David thought it not enough, to have ſaid to his Confeſſor, to Nathan in private, Peccavi, I have ſinned; but here, before the face of the whole Church of God, even to the end of the world, (for ſo long theſe Records are to laſt) he propoſes himſelfe, for an Exemplary ſinner, for a ſinfull Example, and for a ſubject of Gods Indignation, whilſt he remained ſo, When I kept ſilence, and yet roared, Thy hand lay heavy upon me, and my moyſture was turned into the drought of Summer. And ſo we are come to our third Part, He teaches by Example; He propoſes himſelfe for the Example; and of himſelfe he confeſſes thoſe particulars, which conſtitute our Text.
Three things he confeſſes in this Example.3 Part. Firſt, that it was he himſelfe that was in doloſo ſpiritu, that had deceit in his ſpirit, Quia tacuit, becauſe he held his tongue, he diſguiſed his ſins, he did not confeſſe them; And yet, in the midſt of this ſilence of his, God brought him Ad Rugitum, to voyces of Roaring, of Exclamation, To a ſenſe of paine, or ſhame, or loſſe; ſo farre he had a voyce; But ſtill he was in ſilence, for any matter of repentance. Secondly, he confeſſes a lamentable effect of this ſilence, and this roaring, Inveteraverunt oſſa, His bones were conſumed, waxen old, and his moiſture dried up; and then he takes knowledge of the cauſe of all this calamity, the waight of Gods heavy hand upon him. And to this Confeſſion he ſets to that ſeale, which is intended in the laſt word, Selah.
Firſt then, David confeſſes his ſilence; therefore it was a fault: And he confeſſes it,Silentium. as an inſtance, as an example of his being In doloſo ſpiritu, That there was deceit in his ſpirit; as long as he was ſilent, he thought to delude God, to deceive God; and this was the greateſt fault. If I be afraid of Gods power, becauſe I conſider that he can deſtroy a ſinner, yet I have his will for my Buckler; I remember, that he would not the death of a ſinner. If I be afraid that his will may be otherwiſe bent, (for what can I tell, whether it may not be his will to glorifie himſelfe in ſurprizing me in my ſins?) I have his Word for my Buckler, Miſerationes ejus ſuper omnia opera ejus, God does nothing, but that his Mercy is ſupereminent in that work, whatſoever; But if I think to ſcape his knowledge, by hiding my ſins from him, by my ſilence, I am In doloſo ſpiritu, if I think to deceive God, I deceive my ſelfe, and there is no truth in me.
When we are to deale with fooles, we muſt, or we muſt not anſwer,Chriſti. Prov. 26.4.5. as they may receive profit, or inconvenience by our anſwer, or our ſilence. Anſwer not a foole, according to his fooliſhneſſe, leſt thou be like him: But yet, in the next verſe, Anſwer a foole according to his fooliſhneſſe, leſt he be wiſe in his own conceit. But anſwer God alwaies. Though he ſpeak in the fooliſhneſſe of preaching, as himſelfe calls it, yet he ſpeaks wiſedome, that is, Peace to thy ſoule. We are ſure that there is a good ſilence; for we have a Rule for it from Chriſt, whoſe Actions are more then Examples, for his Actions are Rules. His patience wrought ſo that he would not ſpeak, his afflictions wrought ſo that he could not. He was brought as a ſheep to the ſlaughter, and he was dumb; Eſay 59. Pſal. 22.15.There he would not ſpeake; My ſtrength is dried up like a potſheard, and my tongue cleaveth to my jawes, and thou haſt brought me into the duſt of death, ſayes David in the Perſon of Chriſt, and here he could not ſpeak.
Here is a good ſilence in our Rule: So is there alſo in Examples derived from that Rule.Reverentiae. Hab. 2. ult. There is Silentium reverentiae, A ſilence of reverence, for reſpect of the preſence; The Lord is in his holy Temple, let all the world keep ſilence before him. When the Lord is working in his Temple, in his Ordinances, and Inſtitutions, let not the wiſdome of all the world diſpute why God inſtituted thoſe Ordinances, the fooliſhneſſe of preaching, or the ſimplicity of Sacraments in his Church. Let not the wiſedome of private men diſpute, why thoſe whom God hath accepted as the repreſentation of the Church, thoſe of whom Chriſt ſayes, Dic Eccleſiae, Tell the Church, have ordained theſe, or theſe Ceremonies for Decency, and Uniformity, and advancing of Gods glory, and mens Devotion in the Church; Let all the earth be ſilent, In Sacramentis, The whole Church may change no Sacraments, nor Articles of faith, and let particular men be ſilent In Sacramentalibus, in thoſe things which the Church hath ordained, for the better conveying, and imprinting, and advancing of thoſe fundamentall myſteries; for this ſilence of reverence which is an acquieſcence in thoſe things which God hath ordained, immediately, as Sacraments, or Miniſterially, as other Rituall things in the Church, David would not have complained of, nor repented.
And to this may well be referred Silentium ſubjectionis, Subjectionis. 1 Cor. 14.34. 1 Tim. 2.11.That ſilence which is a recognition, a teſtimony of ſubjection. Let the women keep ſilence in the Church, for they ought to be ſubject: And, Let the women learne in ſilence, with all ſubjection. As farre as any juſt Commandement, either expreſly, or tacitly reaches, in injoyning ſilence, we are bound to be ſilent: In Morall ſeales of ſecrets, not to diſcover thoſe things which others upon confidence, or for our counſell, have truſted us withall; In charitable ſeales, not to diſcover thoſe ſins of others, which are come to our particular knowledge, but not by a judiciall way; In religious ſeales, not to diſcover thoſe things which are delivered us in Confeſſion, except in caſes excepted in that Canon; In ſecrets delivered under theſe ſeales, of Nature, of Law, of Eccleſiaſticall Canons, we are bound to be ſilent, for this is Silentium ſubjectionis, An evidence of our ſubjection to Superiours. But ſince God hath made man with that diſtinctive property, that he can ſpeak, and no other creature; ſince God made the firſt man able to ſpeak, as ſoone as he was in the world; ſince in the order of the Nazarites inſtituted in the old Teſtament, though they forbore wine, and outward care of their comelineſſe, in cutting their haire, and otherwiſe, yet they bound not themſelves to any ſilence; ſince in the other ſects, which grew up amongſt the Jews, Phariſees, and Sadduces, and Eſſeans, amongſt all their ſuperfluous, and ſuperſtitious auſterities, there was no inhibition of ſpeaking, and Communication; ſince in the twilight between the Old and New Teſtament,Luk. 1.20. that dumbneſſe which was caſt upon Zacharic, was inflicted for a puniſhment upon him, becauſe hee beleeved not that, that the Angel had ſaid unto him, we may be bold to ſay, That if not that ſilence, which is enjoyned in the Romane Church, yet that ſilence which is practiſed amongſt them, for the concealing of Treaſons, and thoſe ſilences which are impoſed upon ſome of their Orders, That the Carthuſians may never ſpeake but upon Thurſdays, others upon other times, they are not ſilentia ſubjectionis, ſilences impoſed by a juſtauthority, but they are in Doloſo ſpiritu, there is Deceit in their ſpirit; if not in every one of them, who execute the commandement, not in every poore Carthuſian, yet in them who impoſed it, who by ſuch an obedience in impertinent things, infatuate them, and accuſtome them to a blind and implicite obedience in matters of more dangerous conſequence. Silence of reverence, ſilence of ſubjection meet in this, and in this they determine, That we hold our tongues from queſtioning any thing ordained by God, and from defaming any thing done by that power, which is eſtabliſhed by his Ordinance. And this ſilence fals not under Davids complaint, nor confeſſion.
We have not long to ſtay upon this ſilence,Bonum. which we call the Good ſilence, becauſe it is not the ſilence of our Text; This onelyonly we ſay, That there is a ſilence which is abſolutely good, alwayes good, and there is another occaſionally good, ſometimes good, and ſometimes not ſo; and that is ſilentium Boni, or à Bono, An abſtinence from ſpeaking, or from doing ſome things, which of themſelves, if no circumſtance changed their nature, were good and requiſite. Silentium bonum, that ſilence that is abſolutely, and alwayes good,Bernaed. is a quiet contentment in all that God ſends, Ne, unde debueras eſſe dives, fias pauper, leſt when God meant to make thee rich, and have indeed made thee rich, thou makethy ſelfe poore, by thinking thy ſelfe poore, and miſinterpreting Gods doing: That thou have not praecordia fatui, as the ſame Father ſpeaks, The bowels of an empty man, whining, and crying bowels; Sicut rota currus, foenum portans & murmur ans, As a Cart that hath a full and plentifull load, and ſqueaks and whines the more for that abundance. Neither murmure that thou haſt minus de Bonis, not Goods enough, nor nimis de Malis, Afflictions too many, but reckon how much more good God hath ſhewed thee, then thou haſt deſerved,Lament. 3.28. and how much leſſe ill. Sit alone, and keep ſilence, becauſe thou haſt borne it, becauſe the Lord hath laid affliction upon thee; Thine eaſe is within two verſes,Auguſt. For the Lord will not for ſake thee for ever. If thou murmure, and ſay, Quid feci, Lord what have I done to thee, that thou ſhouldſt deale thus with me? thou ſhalt heare the juſtice of God anſwer thee, Verumdicis, nihil feciſti, Thou haſt done nothing, and that is fault enough; Nothing for me, nothing for my ſake, but all for reſpect of thy ſelfe, in thine owne wayes, and to thine owne ends.
The other good ſilence is not alwayes Good,A Bone. but occaſionally, and circumſtantially ſo; It is a forbearing to ſpeake Truth, which may bee good then, when our ſpeaking of Truth can doe no good,Pſal. 39.1. and may doe harme. I will keepe my mouth bridled whilſt the wicked is in my ſight; I was dumbe, and ſpake nothing, I kept ſilence even from good, and my ſorrow was more ſtirred. Though it were a vexation to him, though he had a ſenſe, and a remorſe, that this was ſome degree of prevarication, to abandon the defence of Gods honour at any time, yet his religious diſcretion made it appeare to him, that this preſent abſtinence would, in the end, conduce more to Gods glory. It was the Wiſe mans rule,Ecclus. 8.10. Kindle not the coales of ſinners, when thou rebukeſt them, leſt thou beeſt burnt in the fiery flames of their ſinnes. Poyſon works apace upon cholerike complexions; And Phyſitians may catch the plague by going about to cure it. An over-vehement, and unſeaſonable reprehender of a ſinne may contract that, or a greater ſin himſelfe. I may reprehend a Blaſphemer, in ſuch a maner, and at ſuch a time, as I could not chooſe but ſuſpect, that he would multiply blaſphemies upon my reprehenſion; and, though that take off none of his fault, yet it addes to mine, and now God hath two in the Bond; He ſhall anſwer, and I too, for theſe later blaſphemies. The Wiſe man gave us the Rule, Kindle not coales, and a good King gave us the example, when Rabſhakeh had blaſphemed againſt God and the King; Let not Hezekias deceive you, ſaying, The Lord will deliver us, Then they kept ſilence, and anſwered him not a word, ſayes that Text; for, (as it is added) The Kings commandement was, ſaying, Anſwere him not a word. There is a religious abſtinence, in not anſwering our Adverſaries, though their libels, and increpations, and contumelies tend to the diſhonour of God. S. Ambroſe obſerved good degrees in this Diſcretion.Ambreſe. Hee notes in David, that, ſiluit à bonis, Though it troubled him, hee could hold his peace, when hisreply might exaſperate others: He notes in Iob, Iob 19.7.(as hee reads that place, according to the Septuagint) Ecce, rideo opprobrium, Behold, I laugh at their reproaches; That he could take pleaſure in the goodnes of his conſcience, for all their calumnies. He notes in S. Paul a higher degree then that; Maledicimur, & Benedicimus, 1 Cor. 4.12.That hee when he was rev…ed could bleſſe them that reviled him. Religious diſcretion allowes us to diſguiſe our Anger, and ſmother our ſorrow, when either our anger would exaſperate, or our ſorrow encourage the Adverſary, to a more vehement oppoſing of God, and his Church, and his Children.
But all this is rather true, in private perſons,Miniſtri. Ezek. 3.18. then in thoſe whom God hath ſent to doe his Meſſages to his people. When I ſhall ſay to the wicked, (ſayes God to the Prophet) Thou ſhalt ſurely die, and thou, The Prophet, giveſt him not warning, nor ſpeakeſt to admoniſh that he may live, the ſame wicked man ſhall die in his iniquity, but his blood will I require at thy hands. And, if every ſingle ſinfull act, and word, and thought of mine, need the whole blood of Chriſt Jeſus to expiate that, what blood, and what ſeas of that blood ſhall I need, when the blood of a whole Pariſh ſhall be required at my hand, becauſe I forbore to ſpeak plainely of their ſinnes, and Gods judgement? It is true, which S. Bernard ſaies,Bernat. Diſcretio mater, & conſummatrix virtutum, Diſcretion is the mother, and diſcretion is the nurſe of every vertue, but yet, in this commandement which is laid upon us, for the reproofe of ſinne, Haec omnis ſit noſtra Diſcretie, ſayes hee, ut in hoc nulla ſit nobis Diſcretio; Let this be all our Diſcretion, as Diſcretion is wiſdome, that we uſe no Diſcretion, as Diſcretion is Acceptation of perſons. Haec omnis ſapientia, ut in hac parte nulla nobis ſit, Let this be all our wiſdome, to proceed in this way, this fooliſhneſſe of Preaching, in ſeaſon, and out of ſeaſon. In Gods name, let us fall within that danger, if we muſt needs, that if the poore man ſpeak, they ſay, What fellow is this? We are fellowes in this ſervice,Ecclus. 13.23. to Gods Angels, to the Sonne of God Chriſt Jeſus, who is your High Prieſt, and wee fellow-workmen with him, in your ſalvation: And, as long as we can ſcape that Imputation, Some man holdeth his tongue, becauſe he hath not to anſwer, That either we know not what to ſay to a doubtfull conſcience, for our ignorance,Ecclus. 20.6.] or are afraid to reprehend a ſinne, becauſe wee are guilty of that ſinne our ſelves; how farre States, and Commonwealths may be ſilent in connivencies, and forbearances, is not our buſineſſe now; but for us, the miniſters of God, Vaenobis, ſi non evangelizemus, Woe be unto us, if we doe not preach the Goſpel, and we have no Goſpel put into our hands, nor into our mouths, but a conditionall Goſpel, and therefore we doe not preach the Goſpel, except wee preach the Judgements belonging to the breach of thoſe conditions: A ſilence in that, in us, would fall under this complaint, and confeſſion, Becauſe I was ſilent, theſe calamities fell upon me.
It becomes not us, to thinke the worſt of David, Silentium malum.that hee was fallen into the deepeſt degree of this ſilence, and negligence of his duty to God: But it becomes us well to conſider, that if David, a man according to Gods heart, had ſome degrees of this ill ſilence, it is eaſie for us, to have many. For, for the firſt degree, wee have it, and ſcarce diſcerne that we have it: for our firſt ſilence is but an Omiſſion, a not doing of our religious duties, or an unthankfulnes for Gods particular benefits.Exod. 14.14. When Moſes ſayes to his people, The Lord ſhall fight for you, & vos tacebit is, And you ſhall hold your peace, there Moſes meanes, you ſhall not need to ſpeake, the Lord will doe it for his owne glory, you may be ſilent. There it was a future thing; But the Lord hath fought many battels for us: He hath fought for our Church againſt Superſtition, for our land againſt Invaſion, for this City againſt Infection, for every ſoule here againſt Preſumption, or elſe againſt Deſperation, Dominus pugnavit, & nos ſilemus; The Lord hath fought for us, and we never thank him. A ſilence before, a not praying, hath not alwayes a fault in it, becauſe we are often ignorant of our owne neceſſities, and ignorant of the dangers that hang over us; but a ſilence after a benefit evidently received, a dumbe Ingratitude is inexcuſable.
There is another ill ſilence, and an unnaturall one, for it is a loud ſilence;Phariſai. It is a bragging of our good works; It is the Phariſees ſilence, when by boaſting of his faſtings, and of his almes, he forgot, he ſilenced his ſinnes. This is the devils beſt Merchant: By this Man, the devill gets all; for, his ill deeds were his before; and now, by this boaſting of them, his good works become his too. To contract this, If we have overcome this inconſideration, if we have undertaken ſome examination of our conſcience, yet one ſurvey is not enough;Pſal. 19.12. Delicta quis intelligit? Who can underſtand his error? How many circumſtances in ſin vary the very nature of the ſin? And then, of how many coats, and ſhels, and ſuper-edifications doth that ſin, which we thinke a ſingle ſin, conſiſt? When we have paſſed many ſcrutinies, many inquiſitions of the conſcience, yet there is never roome for a ſilence; we can never get beyond the neceſſity of that Petition, Ab eccultis, Lord cleanſe me from my ſecret ſins; we ſhall ever be guilty of ſins, which we ſhall forget, not onelyonly becauſe they are ſo little, but becauſe they are ſo great; That which ſhould be compunction, will be conſternation; and the anguiſh, which, out of a naturall tenderneſſe of conſcience, we ſhall have at the firſt entring into thoſe ſins, will make us diſpute on the ſins ſide, and, for ſome preſent eaſe, and to give our heavy ſoule breath, we will finde excuſes for them; and at laſt ſlide and weare into a cuſtomary practiſe of them: and though wee cannot be ignorant that we doe them, yet wee ſhall be ignorant that they are ſins; but rather make them things indifferent, or recreations neceſſary to maintaine a cheerefulneſſe, and ſo to ſin on, for feare of diſpairing in our ſins, and we ſhall never be able to ſhut our mouths againſt that Petition, Aboccultis; for, though the ſin be manifeſt, the various circumſtances that aggravate the ſin, will be ſecret.
And properly this was Davids ſilence:Silentium Davidis. He confeſſes his ſilence to have been Ex doleſe ſpiritu, Out of a ſpirit, in which was deceit; And David did not hope, directly, and determinately to deceive God; But by endeavouring to hide his ſin from other men, and from his owne conſcience, he buried it deeper and deeper, but ſtill under more and more ſins. He ſilences his Adultery, but he ſmothers it, he buries it under a turfe of hypocriſie, of diſſimulation with Vriah, that he might have gone home, and covered his ſin. He ſilences this hypocriſie; but that muſt have a larger turfe to cover it; he buries it under the whole body of Vriah, treacherouſly murdered; He ſilences that murder, but no turfe was large enough to cover that, but the defeat of the whole army, and after all, the blaſpheming of the name and power of the Lord of Hoſts, in the ruine of the army. That ſin, which, if he would have carried it upward towards God, in Confeſſion, would have vaniſhed away, and evaporated, by ſilencing, by ſuppreſſing, by burying multiplied, as Corne buried in the earth, multiplies into many Eares. And, though he might (perchance for his farther puniſhment) overcome the remembrance of the firſt ſin, he might have forgot the Adultery, and feele no paine of that, yet ſtill being put to a new, and new ſin, ſtill the laſt ſin that he did to cover the reſt, could not chuſe but appeare to his conſcience, and call upon him for another ſin to cover that; Howſoever hee might forget laſt yeares ſins, yet yeſterdayes ſin, or laſt nights ſin will hardly be forgotten yet. And therefore,Hoſ. 14.2. Tollite vobiſcum verba, ſayes the Prophet, O Iſrael returne unto the Lord; But how? Take unto you words, and turne unto the Lord. Take unto you your words, words of Confeſſion; Take unto you his word, the words of his gracious promiſes; breake your ſilence when God breaks his, in the motions of his Spirit, and God ſhall breake off his purpoſe of inflicting calamities upon you.
In the meane time,Rugitus. when David was not come ſo far, but continued ſilent, ſilent from Confeſſion, God ſuffers not David to enjoy the benefit of his ſilence; though he continue his ſilence towards. God, yet God mingles Rugitum cum ſilentio, for all his filence, he comes to a voyce of roaring and howling, when I was ſilent, my roaring conſumed me;Theodor. ſo that here was a great noyſe, but no muſique. Now Theodoret calls this Rugitum compunctionis; That it was the inchoation of his repentance, which began diffidently, and with fearefull vociferations;Bellarm. And ſo ſome of our later men underſtand it; That becauſe David had continued long in his ſin, when the Ice brake, it brake with the greater noyſe; when he returned to ſpeake to God, he ſpake with the more vehemence. And truly the word Shaag, Rugiit, though it ſignifie properly the voyce of a Lyon, yet David uſes this word Roaring, not onelyonly of himſelfe, but of himſelfe as he was a type of Chriſt: for this very word is in the beginning of that Pſalme, which Chriſt repeated upon the Croſſe,Pſal. 22.1. or, at leaſt begun it, My God, my God, why haſt thou for ſaken me, and why art thou ſo far from the voyce of my Roaring? So that, Roaring, may admit a good ſenſe, and does not alwayes imply a diſtemper, and inordinateneſſe; for, in Chriſt it could not; But does it not in our Text? In our former Tranſlation it might ſtand in a good ſenſe, where the two actions are diſtinguiſhed in time, thus, When I held my tongue, or when I roared, whether I kept or broke ſilence, all was one, no more eaſe in one, then the other. But with the Originall, and with our later Tranſlation, it cannot be ſo, which is, When I held my tongue, through my roaring, this and this fell upon me: They were concomitant actions, actions intermixt, and at the ſame time when he was ſilent, he roared too; and therefore that that he calls Roaring, is not a voyce of Repentance; for if hee had beene come to that, then hee had broke his former ſilence, for that Silence was a not Confeſſing, a not Repenting.
This is then that miſerable condition which is expreſſed in Davids caſe, (though God delivered David from any deadly effect of it) that he had occaſion of Roaring, of howling, (as the Scripture ſpeaks often) though he kept ſilence: That he was at never the more eaſe, for all his ſins: The eaſes that he laid hold on, were new ſins in themſelves, and yet they did not eaſe him of his other ſins; he kept ſilence, and yet was put to exclamations. And how many examples can we preſent to our ſelves, in our owne memory, where perſons which have given themſelves all liberty to forge writings, to ſuborne witneſſes, to forſweare themſelves, to oppreſſe, to murder others, to make their wayes eaſier to their ends, and yet have, for all this, though the hand of Juſtice have not fallen upon them, ſeene their whole eſtates conſume and moulder away? When men out of their ill-grounded plots, and perverſe wiſdome, thinke themſelves ſafe in the ſilence and ſecrecy of their ſins, God overtakes them, and confounds them, with thoſe two fearefull blowes, thoſe two Thunderbolts, He brings them to Exclamations, to Vociferations, upon Fortune, upon Friends, upon Servants, upon Rivals, and Competitors, he brings them to a Roaring for their ruine, Never man was thus dealt withall as I am, never ſuch a conſpiracy as againſt me.
And this they do, All day, ſayes David here, Through my roaring all day. Totadie.It was long ſo with David; A day as long as two of their dayes, that have dayes of ſix months; almoſt a yeare was David in this darke, dead ſilence, before he ſaw day, or returned to ſpeaking. With thoſe that continue their ſilence all day, the roaring continues all day too; All their lives, they have new occaſions of lamentations, and yet all this reduces them not, but they are benighted, they end their life with fearefull voyces of deſperation, in a Roaring, but ſtill in a ſilence of their ſins, and tranſgreſſions. And this is that that falls firſt under his Confeſſion, Roaring with Silence, paine, and ſhame, and loſſe, but all without Confeſſion, or ſenſe of ſin. And then, that which falls next under his acknowledgement, is the vehement working, the lamentable effect of this Silence and Roaring, Inveteration of Bones, incineration of his whole ſubſtance, My Bones are waxen old, and my moyſture is turned into the drought of Summer.
Both theſe phraſes, in which David expreſſes his owne,Humidum literale. and prophecies of other ſuch ſinners miſery, have a literall, and a ſpirituall, a naturall, and a morall ſenſe. For firſt, this affliction of this ſilenced and impenitent finner though it proceed not from the ſenſe of his ſinne, though it brought him not yet to a confeſſion, but to a roaring, that is, an impatient repining and murmuring, yet it had ſo wrought upon his body, and whole conſtitution, as that it drunke up his naturall, and vitall moyſture;Prov. 17.22. Pſal. 102.3.63.9. Spiritus triſtis exſiccarat, as Solomon ſpeaks, A broken ſpirit had dryed him up; His dayes were conſumed like ſmoake, and his bones were burnt like a hearth; and that Marrow and fatneſſe, in which, hee ſayes, he had ſuch ſat is faction, at other times, was exhauſted. This is the miſery of this impenitent ſinner, he is beggered, but in the Devils ſervice, he is lamed, but in the Devils wars; his moyſture, his blood is dryed up, but with licentiouſneſſe, with his overwatchings, either to deceive, or to oppreſſe others; for, as the proverbe is true, Plures gulae quàm gladius, The Throate cuts more throates then the ſword does, and eating ſtarves more men then faſting does, becauſe waſtfulneſſe induces penury at laſt, ſo if all our Hoſpitals were well ſurveyed, it would be found, that the Devill ſends more to Hoſpitals then God does, and the Stewes more then the wars.
Thus his bodily moyſture was waſted, literally the ſinner is ſooner infirmed,Humidum morale. ſooner deformed, then another man; But there is an Humidum radicale of the ſoulle too: A tenderneſſe, and a diſpoſition to bewayle his ſins, with remorſefull teares. When Peter had denied his Maſter, and heard the Cocke crow, he did not ſtay to make recantations, he did not ſtay to ſatisfie them, to whom he had denied Chriſt, but hee looked into himſelfe firſt, Flevit amarè, ſayes the Holy Ghoſt, He wept bitterly; His ſoule was not withered, his moyſture was not dryed up like ſummer, as long as he could weepe.Horace. The learned Poet hath given ſome character, ſome expreſſion of the deſperate and irremediable ſtate of the reprobate, when he calls Plutonem illacrymabilem; There is the marke of his incorrigibleneſſe, and ſo of his irrecoverableneſſe, That he cannot weepe. A ſinfull man, an obdurate man, a ſtony heart may weepe: Marble, and the hardeſt ſorts of ſtones weepe moſt, they have the moſt moyſture, the moſt drops upon them: But this comes not out of them, not from within them; Extrinſecall occaſions, paine, and ſhame, and want, may bring a ſinner to ſorrow enough, but it is not a ſorrow for his ſins; All this while the miſerable ſinner weeps not, but the miſerable man, All this while, though he have winter in his eyes, his ſoule is turned into the drought of ſummer. God deſtroyed the firſt world, and all fleſh with water: Teares for the want, or for the loſſe of friends, or of remporall bleſſings, doe but deſtroy us. But God begun the new world, the Chriſtian Church, with water too, with the Sacrament of Baptiſme. Purſue his Example; begin thy Regeneration with teares; If thou have frozen eyes, thou haſt a frozen heart too; If the fires of the Holy Ghoſt cannot thaw thee, in his promiſes, the fire of hell will doe it much leſſe, which is a fire of obduration, not of liquefaction, and does not melt a ſoule, to poure it out into a new and better form, but hardens it, nails it, confirmes it in the old. Chriſt bids you take heed, Mat. 24.20.that your flight be not in winter; That your tranſgmigration out of this world be not in cold dayes of Indevotion, nor in ſhort dayes of a late repentance. Take heed too, that your flight be not in ſuch a ſummer as this; That your tranſmigration out of this world be not in ſuch a drought of ſummer, as David ſpeaks of here, that the ſoule have loſt her Humidum radicale, all her tenderneſſe, or all expreſſing of that tenderneſſe in the ſenſe of her tranſgreſſions. So did David ſee himſelfe, ſo did he more fore-ſee in others, that ſhould farther incurre Gods diſpleaſure, then he (by Gods good neſſe) had done, this exſiccatian, this incineration of body and ſoule; ſinne burnes and turnes body and ſoule to a Cinder, but not ſuch a Cinder, but that they can, and ſhall both burne againe, and againe, and for ever.
And the dangerous effect of this ſilence and roaring,Oſſa Naturalia. Drut. 29.5. David expreſſes in another phraſe too, Inveter averunt oſſa, That his bones were waxen old, and conſumed; for ſo that word Balah ſignifies, Your Clothes are not waxed old upon you, nor your ſhooes waxed old upon your feet. In the Conſuming of theſe Bones, (as our former Tranſlation hath it) the vehemence of the Affliction is preſented, and in the waxing old, the continuance. Here the Rule fayls, Si longa levis, ſigravis brevis, Calamities that laſt long, are light, and if they be heavy, they are ſhort; both wayes there is ſome intimation of ſome eaſe. But God ſuffers not this ſinner to injoy that eaſe; God will lay inough upon his body, to kill another in a weeke, and yet he ſhall pant many yeares under it. As the way of his Bleſſing is, Apprehendet tritura vindemiam, L…vit. 26.Your vintage ſhall reach to your threſhing, and your threſhing to your ſowing; So in an impenitent ſinner, his fever ſhall reach to a frenzy, his frenzy to a conſumption, his conſumption to a penury, and his penury to a wearying and tyring out of all that are about him, and all the ſins of his youth ſhall meet in the anguiſh of his body.
But that is not all;Oſſa Spiricualia. Etiam animae membra ſunt, ſayes S. Baſil, The ſoule hath her Bones too; And thoſe are our beſt actions; Thoſe, which if they had been well done, might have been called Good works, and might have met us in heaven; But when a man continues his beloved ſinne, when he is in doloſo ſpiritu, and deals with God in falſe meaſures, and falſe waights, makes deceitfull Confeſſions to God, his good works ſhall doe him no good, his Bones are conſumed, not able to beare him upright in the ſight of God. This David ſees in himſelfe, and foreſees in others, and he ſees the true reaſon of all this, Quia aggravata manus, Becauſe the hand of God lyes heavy upon him, which is another branch of his Confeſſion.
It was the ſafety of the Spouſe,Aggravata manus. C…at. 2.6. Gregor. That his left hand was under her head, and that his right hand embraced her: And it might well be her ſafety; for, Per laevam vita pr aeſens, per dextram aeterna deſignatur, ſayes S. Gregory, His left hand denotes this, and his right the other life: Our happineſſe in this, our aſſurance of the next, conſiſts in this, that we are in the hands of God. But here in our Text, Gods hand was heavy upon him; and that is an action of puſhing away, and keeping downe. And then when we ſee the great power, and the great indignation of God upon the Egyptians,Exed. 8.19. is expreſſed but ſo, Digitus Dei, the finger of God is in it, how heavy an affliction muſt this of David be eſteemed, Quando aggravata manus, when his whole hand was, and was heavy upon him? Here then is one leſſon for all men, and another peculiar to the children of God. This appertains to all, That when they are in ſilentio, in a ſeared and ſtupid forgetting of their ſinnes, or in Doloſo ſpiritu, in half-Confeſſions, half-abjurations, half-deteſtations of their ſinnes; The hand of God will grow heavy upon them. Tell you your children of it, (ſayes the Prophet) and let your children tell their children, and let their children tell another generation, (for this belongs to all) That which is left of the Palmer worme, the Graſhopper ſhall eat, and that that he leaves, the Canker worme ſhall eat, and the reſidue of the Canker worme, the Caterpiller. The hand of God ſhall grow heavy upon a ſilent ſinner, in his body, in his health; and if he conceive a comfort, that for all his ſickneſſe, he is rich, and therefore cannot fayle of helpe and attendance, there comes another worme, and devours that, faithleſneſſe in perſons truſted by him, oppreſſions in perſons that have truſted him, facility in undertaking for others, corrupt Judges, heavy adverſaries, tempeſts and Pirats at Sea, unſeaſonable or ill Markets at land, coſtly and expenſive ambitions at Court, one worme or other ſhall devoure his riches, that he eaſed himſelfe upon. If he take up another Comfort, that though health and wealth decay, though he be poore and weake, yet he hath learning, and philoſophy, and morall conſtancy, and he can content himſelfe with himſelfe, he can make his ſtudy a Court, and a few Books ſhall ſupply to him the ſociety and the converſation of many friends, there is another worme to devoure this too, the hand of divine Juſtice ſhall grow heavy upon him, in a ſenſe of an unprofitable retiredneſſe, in a diſconſolate melancholy, and at laſt, in a ſtupidity, tending to deſperation.
This belongs to all, to all Non-confitents, That thinke not of confeſſing their ſinnes at all, To all Semi-confitents, that confeſſe them to halfs, without purpoſe of amendment, Aggravabitur manus, The hand of God will grow heavy upon them every way, and ſtop every iſſue, every poſterne, every ſaly, every means of eſcape. But that which is peculiar to the Children of God, is, That when the hand of God is upon them, they ſhall know it to be the hand of God, and take hold even of that oppreſſing hand, and not let it goe, till they have received a Bleſſing from it, that is, rayſed themſelves even by that heavy and oppreſſing hand of his, even in that affliction.Pſal. 82. Pſal. 77. Habak. 3.16. That when God ſhall fill their faces with ſhame, yet they ſhall ſeeke his face; yea, when God ſhall kill him, yet he will truſt in God, and ſeeke him; And (as the Prophet carries it farther) Cum ingreditur putredo, when Rottenneſſe enters into their Bones, yet they ſhall reſt even in that day of trouble, of diſſolution, of putrefaction. God ſhall call upon them, as he did upon Judah, Tritura mea, & filius are ae, O my threſhing place, and the ſonne of my floore, Eſay 21.10.Thou whom I have beaten and bruiſed with my flayls, when I have threſhed, and winnowed, and ſifted thee by theſe afflictions, and by this heavy hand, ſtill thou ſhalt fix thy faithfull eyes in heaven, and ſee a roome reſerved there for thee, amongſt thoſe,Apoc. 7, 14.17. which come out of great tribulations, and have made their long robes white in the bloud of the Lambe; who ſhall therefore dwell in the midſt of them, and governe them, and lead them to the lively fountains of waters, and wipe away all teares from their eyes. Even upon his own Children, his hand ſhall grow heavy, but that heavineſſe, that waight ſhall awake them, and that hand ſhall guide them, to, and in the wayes of peace and reconciliation.
And this both day and night, as our Text ſayes, That is,Die ac nocte. both in the day of their proſperity, and the night of their adverſitie. Even in proſperity, the childe of God ſhall feele the hand of God grow heavy upon him: He ſhall finde a guiltineſſe of not having employed thoſe temporall benefits to their right uſe; He ſhall finde the Pluit laqueos, Pſal. 11.6.a ſhowre of ſnares to have been powred downe upon him; occaſions of ſinne; occaſions of falling into ſinnes himſelfe; occaſions of drawing others, and of buying thoſe ſoules with his money, which Chriſt Jeſus had a pre-emption of, and had bought them before with his bloud: He ſhall finde the hand of God in adverſity, and love it, becauſe it ſhall deliver him; He ſhall finde his hand in proſperity, and be afraid of it, becauſe that proſperity hath before, and may againe lead him into tentations.
To end all; all this, the Holy Ghoſt by the pen of David, Selah.ſeales with the laſt word of this Text, Selah. A word of uncertain ſenſe, and ſignification; for the Jews themſelves do not know exactly, and certainly what it ſignifies; but deriving this Selah, from Selal, which ſignifies Attollere, To lift up, they think it to be but a Muſicall note, for the raiſing of the voyce, at that part of the Pſalme, where that word is uſed; as, indeed the word is never uſed in the Bible, but in the Pſalmes, and twice in one Chapter, in the Prophet Habakkuk, which is a Muſicall, a Metricall Chapter. In the Latine Tranſlation,Hab. 3.3. & 9. and in the Arabique Tranſlation of the Pſalmes it is cleane left out, becauſe they were not ſure how to tranſlate it aright. But, to ſpeak upon the beſt grounds in the Grammar of that language, and upon beſt Authority too, the word ſignifies a Vehement, a Patheticall, a Hyperbolicall aſſeveration, and atteſtation, and ratification of ſomething ſaid before. Such, in a proportion, as our Saviours Amen, Amen is, Verily, verily I ſay unto you; Such, as S. Pauls fidelis Sermo, with which he ſeales ſo many truths, is, This is a faithfull ſaying; Such, as that Apoſtles Coram Domino is, with which he ratifies many things, Before the Lord I ſpeak it; and ſuch, as Moſes his Vivo ego, and Vivit Dominus, As I live ſaith the Lord, and As the Lord liveth. And therefore, though God be in all his words, Yea, and Amen, no word of his can periſh in it ſelfe, nor ſhould periſh in us, that is, paſſe without obſervation, yet, in ſetting this ſeale of Selah to this Doctrine, he hath teſtified his will that he would have all theſe things the better underſtood, and the deeplier imprinted, That if a man conceale and ſmother his ſins, Selah, Aſſuredly, God will open that mans mouth, and it ſhall not ſhew forth his praiſe, but God will bring him, Ad rugitum, to fearfull exclamations out of the ſenſe of the affliction, if not of the ſin; Selah, Aſſuredly, God wil ſhiver his bones, ſhake his beſt actions, and diſcover their impurity; Selah, aſſuredly, God will ſuffer to be dried up all his moyſture, all poſſibility of repentant teares, and all intereſt in the blood of Chriſt Jeſus; Selah, Aſſuredly, Gods hand ſhall be heavy upon him, and he ſhall not diſcerne it to be his hand, but ſhall attribute all to falſe cauſes, and ſo place all his comfort in falſe remedies; Hee ſhall leave out God all day, and God ſhall leave out him all night, all his everlaſting night, in which he ſhall never ſee day more. Selah, Aſſuredly, Verily, Amen, Fidelis Sermo, This is a faithfull, an infallible Truth, Coram Domino, Before the Lotd, Vivit Dominus, as the Lord liveth, as Moſes, as Chriſt, as S. Paul teſtifie their, David teſtifies his Doctrine, All between God and man is conditionall, and where man will not be bound, God will not be bound neither; If man inveſt a habit and purpoſe of ſinning, God will ſtudy a judgement againſt that man,1. Sam 3.11. and doe that, even in Iſrael, which ſhall make all our eares to tingle, and all our hearts to ake; Till that man repent, God will not, and when he does, God will repent too; For, though God be not Man, that he can repent, yet that God, who for Mans ſake became Man, for our ſakes, and his owne glory, will ſo farre become Man againe, as upon Mans true repentance, to repent the Judgements intended againſt that Man.