Five Sermons 1, Sermon 5 – Errata 2
ESAI. 50.1.
Thus ſayth the Lord: Where is the Bill of your Mothers Diuorcement whom I hauehave put away? Or which of my Creditors is it, to whom I hauehave ſold you? Behold, for your iniquities hauehave you ſold your ſelues, and for your tranſgreſsions, is your Mother put away.
ALL Lent is Eaſter Eue; And though the Eue be a Faſting day, yet the Eue is halfe holiday too. God, by our Miniſtery, would ſo exerciſe you in a ſpirituall Fast, in a ſober conſideration of ſinne, and the ſad Conſequences thereof, as that in the Eue you might ſee the holy day; in the Lent, your Eaſter; in the ſight of your ſinnes, the cheerefulneſſe of his good will towards you. Nay, in this Text, hee giues you your Eaſter before Lent, your Holyday before the Eue; For firſt he rayſes you to the ſenſe of his goodneſſe, Thus ſayth the Lord, where is the bill of your mothers Diuorcement, whom I hauehave put away, Or which of my Creditors is it to whom I hauehave ſold you? And then, and not till then, he ſinkes you, to the ſence of your ſinnes, and the dangers of them, Behold, for your iniquities you are ſold, and for your tranſgreſſions, your Mother is put away. And this Raiſing, and this Sinking, are his Corks, and his Leads, by which God enables vsus, whom hee hath made Fiſhers of Men, to caſt out his nets, and draw in your ſoules.
Haec dicit Dominus, Thus ſaith the Lord, ſayes our Prophet here; And, Semel locutus Deus, Pſalm. 62.12duo haec audiui, ſayes the Prophet Dauid, Once ſpake the Lord, and twice hauehave I heard him; In one ſpeach of the Lords, two inſtructions, in one peece of his Word, two directions. Thus ſaith the Lord, where is the Bill, &c. And in theſe words, ſome heare him once, ſome heare him ſay, That how deſperate ſoeuer our caſe be, how irremediable ſoeuer our ſtate, we our ſelfes, and not God, are the cauſe of that deſperate irremediableneſſe; ſome heare him twice, ſome heare him ſay, There is no ſuch matter, there is no ſuch peremptory Diuorce, there is no ſuch abſolute ſale, there is no ſuch deſperate irremediablenes declard to any particular conſcience, as is imagind, but you, any, may returne to me, when you will, and I will receiue you. Some Expoſitors thinke they hauehave gone farre inough, when they have rayſed that ſenſe, God is no cauſe of our periſhing, though wee muſt periſh, Others, (and fairely) carry it thus much farther, There is no neceſsitie that any Man, any this or that Man ſhould periſh. Some determine it in this, It is true, your Damnation is vnauoydable, but you muſt blame your ſelfes, Some extend it to this, There is no ſuch avoidablenes in your damnation, and therefore you may comfort your ſelues, Once hath the Lord ſpoken, and twice doe we heare him; we heare him once ſpeaking for his owne honour, Hee does not damne vsus, if wee bee damned, And wee heare him againe ſpeaking for our comfort, we need not be damnd at all. And therefore, as God hath opened himſelfe to vsus, both wayes, let vsus open both eares to him, and from one Text receiue both Doctrines.
Diuiſio.You may apprehend the parts eaſily, and as eaſily comprehend them; They are few, and plaine, & of things agreed by all; But two; Thoſe, theſe; Gods diſchardge, and Mans Diſchardge; Gods diſchardge from all imputation of tyranny, Behold, for your ſinnes you are ſold, and for your tranſgreſſions your Mother is put away. And then Mans diſchardge from the neceſsitie of periſhing, Vbi iſte libellus, Where is the Bill of your mothers diuorcement, whom I hauehave put away, Or which of my Creditors is it, to whom I hauehave ſold you? I might iuſtly hauehave done both, and left you without iuſt cauſe of complaint, but yet I hauehave not done it; looke to your Bill of Diuorce, and looke to your bill of ſale, and you will find the caſe to be otherwiſe: In each of theſe two parts, there will be ſome particular branches; In the firſt, which is Gods diſcharge, firſt the Ecce, Behold, Behold this and this will fall vponupon you; firſt there is a light ſhowd, there is a warning afforded, of thoſe calamities, that will follow, God begins not at Iudgement, but at MercieMercy. That Mercy being deſpiſd, It will come to a ſelling away, venditi eſtis, you are ſold, And it will come to a putting away, Dimiſſa est, your Mother is put away; For God may ſell vsus to puniſhments for ſinne, that when the meaſure of our ſinne is full, he ſhall emptie the meaſure of this Iudgements vponupon vsus, And God may ſell vsus to ſinnes for puniſhments, God may make future ſinnes, the puniſhments of former. And here may be a Diuorce, a putting away, out of Gods ſight and ſeruice, in any particular ſoule, and there may be a putting away of your Mother, a withdrawing of Gods ſpirit from that Church, to whoſe breaſts hee hath applied you. But if all this be done, it is not done out of any tyrannicall wantonneſſe in God, for, For your iniquities you are ſold, and for your tranſgreſsions is your Mother put away: So God is fully diſchargd in the first part; But, leaſt in the ſecond it ſhould lye heauy vponupon Man, (for, howſoeuer God be diſchargd, He does not kill me, though I dy, it is but poore comfort to me, if I muſt dye, to be told that I hauehave killd my ſelfe) God tells me here, there is no ſuch neceſsitie, I need not dye; ſhow the bill of Diuorce, ſayes he, which makes your caſe ſo deſperate, and ſee if I hauehave not left you wayes of returning to me, ſhow the bill of Sale, which makes your ſtate ſo irrecouerable, and ſee if I hauehave not left my ſelfe wayes of redeeming you. And in theſe few branches, of theſe two parts, I ſhall exerciſe your Deuotion, and holy patience, at this time.
Part. 1. Ecce.Firſt then, for the firſt branch of the firſt part, the Ecce, Behold this will fall vponupon you, VponUpon thoſe words of Dauid, Ecce intenderunt, Ecce parauerunt, Behold the wicked hauehave bent ther bow, Pſal. 11 2.and Behold they hauehave made ready their arrow, Origen.Origen ſaies, Ecce antequam vulneremur, monemur, Before our Enemies hit vsus, God giues vsus warning, that they meane to doe ſo. When God himſelfe is ſo far incenſd againſt vsus, That he is turned to be our enemy, and to fight againſt vsus, (It was come to that,Eſay 63,10 in this Prophet) when he hath bent his how againſt vsus, as an Enemy, (It was come to that in the Prophet Ieremy) yet ſtill he giues vsus warning before hand,Lam. 2.4. and ſtill there comes a lightning before his thunder: God comes ſeldome to that diſpatch, a word and a blow, but to a blow without a word, to an execution without a warning, neuer. Cain tooke offence at his brother Abel; The quarrell was Gods, becauſe he had accepted Abels Sacrifice; Therefore God ioynes himſelfe to Abels partie; and ſo the party being too ſtrong for Cain to ſubſiſt, GOD would not ſurpriſe Cain, but he tells him his danger, Why is thy Countenance caſt downe; Gen 4.10.If thou doeſt not well, ſinne lyes at thy dore: you may proceed if you will, but if you will needs, you will looſe by it at laſt. Saul perſecutes Chriſt in the Chriſtians; Chriſt meets him vponupon the way, ſpeakes to him, ſtrikes him to the ground, telles him vocally, and tels him actually, That he hath vndertaken too hard aworke, in oppoſing him: This which GOD did to Saul reduces him; that which God did to Cain, wrought not vponupon him; but ſtill GOD went his owne way in both, to ſpeake before hee ſtrikes, to lighten before he thunders, to warne before he wounds.Numb. 16. In Dathan and Abirams caſe, God may ſeeme to proceede apace towards Execution, but yet it had all theſe pauſes in arreſt of iudgement, & theſe reprieues before Execution. Firſt, when Moſes had information & evidence of their factious Proceeding,verſ. 4. hee falls not vponupon them, but he falls vponupon his face before GOD, and laments, and deprecates in their behalfe. Hee calls them to a faire tryall, verſe 5.and examination, the next day, To morrow the Lord will ſhow, who are his, and are holy; verſe 12.And they ſayd, we will not come; And againe,verſe 14. (which implies that Moſes cited them againe) we will not come. Then GOD, vponupon their contumacy, when they would ſtand mute, and not plead, takes a reſolution,verſe 21 to conſume them, in a Moment; And then, Moſes & Aaron returne to petition for thē, O God, the God of the spirits of all fleſh, verſe 25ſhall one Man ſinne, and wilt thou bee wroth with the whole Congregation; And Moſes went vp to them againe, And the Elders of Iſrael followed, and all preuaild not: And then Moſes comes to pronounce Iudgement, verſe 29.Theſe men ſhall not dye a common death, and after, and yet not preſently after that he gaue iudgement, Execution followd, The earth opened and ſwallowd them: verſe 31but God begun not there; God opened his Mouth, and Moſes his, and Aaron his, and the Elders theirs, before the Earth opened hers. It is our caſe in the Text; For, whether this Iudgement wrapt vp in the text, This ſelling away, and this putting away, hauehave relation to the Captiuitie of the Iewes in Babylon, before Chriſt, or to the Diſpertion of the Iewes ſince Chriſt, (ſome Expoſitors take it one, ſome the other way) ſtill it is of a future thing: The Prophecie came before the Calamitie, wherſoeuer you pitch it; whereſoeuer you pitch it, ſtil there was a lightning before the thunder, a word before the blow, a warning before the wound. In which, as we ſee, that God alwaies leaues a latitude, between his Sentence, and the Execution, (for that Interim, is Sphaera actiuitatis, the Spheare, in which our Repentance and his Mercy moue, and direct themſelues in a benigne aspect, towards one another, ſo where this repentance is deferd, and this MercieMercy neglected, the execution is ſo certaine, ſo infallible, as that, though this in the Text, be intended for a future Iudgement, a future Captiuitie, a future Diſperſion, yet in the Text it is preſented as preſent, nay, more then ſo, as paſt, and executed alreadie; it is venditi eſtis, you are ſold, ſold alreadie, and Dimiſſa Mater, your Mother is put away, put away already. All gathers and con-centers it ſelfe in this, Gods Iudgements and executions are not ſodaine, there is alwayes roome for Repentance, and MercieMercy, but his Iudgements and Executions are certaine, there is no roome for Preſumption nor Colluſion.
Venditi ab Adam.To purſue then the Holy Ghoſts two Metaphors, of ſelling away, and putting away, Firſt, venditi eſtis, ſayes our Prophet to the Iewes, and to all, Behold, you are ſold; And ſo they were; ſold thrice ouer; ſold by Adam firſt; ſold by themſelues eueryevery day; and at laſt, ſold by God. For the firſt generall ſale by Adam, wee complaine now, that Land will not ſell; that 20. is come to 15. yeares purchaſe; but doe wee not take too late a Medium, too low a time to reckon by? How cheape was Land at firſt, how cheape were we? what was Paradiſe ſold for? What was Heauen, what was Mankinde ſold for? Immortalitie was ſold, and what yeares Purchaſe was that worth? Immortalitie is our Eternitie; God hath another manner of eternitie in him; He hath a whole eternall day; an eternall afternoone, and an eternall forenoone too; for as he ſhall hauehave no end, ſo hee neuer had beginning; we hauehave an eternall afternoone in our immortalitie; we ſhall no more ſee an end, then God hath ſeene a beginning; and Millions of yeares, multiplied by Millions, make not vp a Minute to this Eternitie, this Immortalitie. When Diues values a droppe of water at ſo high a price, what would he giuegive for a Riuer? How poore a Clod of of Earth is a Mannor? how poore an inch, a Shire? how poore a spanne, a Kingdome? how poore a pace, the whole World? and yet how prodigally we ſell Paradiſe, Heauen, Soules, Conſciences, Immortalitie, Eternitie, for a few Graines of this Duſt? What had Eue for Heauen, ſo little, as that the Holy Ghoſt wil not let vsus know, what ſhe had, not what kinde of Fruite; yet ſomething Eue had. What had Adam for Heauen? but a ſatisfaction that hee had pleaſd an Ill wife, as St. Hierome ſtates his fault, that he eate that Fruite, Ne contriſtaretur Delicias ſuas, leaſt he ſhould caſt her, whom he lou'd ſo much, into an inordinate deiection; but if he ſatisfied her, and his owne Vxoriouſneſſe, any ſatisfaction is not nothing. But what had I for Heauen? Adam ſinnd, and I ſuffer; I forfeited before I had any Poſſeſsion, or could claime any Intereſt; I had a Puniſhment, before I had a being, And God was diſpleaſed with me before I was I; I was built vp ſcarſe 50. years ago, in my Mothers womb, & I was caſt down, almoſt 6000. years agoe, in Adams loynes; I was borne in the laſt Age of the world, and dyed in the firſt. How & how iuſtly do we cry out againſt a Man, that hath ſold a Towne, or ſold an Army. And Adam ſold the World. He ſold Abraham, and Iſaac and Iacob, and all the Patriarchs, and all the Prophets. He ſold Peter, and Paul, and both their Regiments, both the glorious Hemispheres of the World, The Iewes, and the Gentiles. He ſold Euangeliſts, and Apoſtles, and Diſciples, and the Diſciple whom the Lord loued, & the beloued Mother of the Lord, her ſelfe, ſay what they will to the contrary. And if Chriſt had not prouided for himſelfe, by a miraculous Generation, Adam had ſold him: If Chriſt had bene conceiud in Originall ſinne, hee muſt hauehave dyed for himſelfe, nay, he could not hauehave dyed for himſelfe, but muſt hauehave needed another Sauiour. It is in that Contemplation, as hee was deſcended from Adam, that St. Paul ſayes of himſelfe,Rom. 7.14. Ʋenundatus, I am carnall, ſold vnderunder ſinne. For though St. Auguſtine, and ſome others of the Fathers, doe ſometimes take the Apoſtle, in that place, to ſpeake of himſelfe, as in the perſon of a naturall Man, (that eueryevery Man conſiderd in nature, is ſold vnderunder ſinne, but the Supernaturall, the Sanctified Man is not ſo) yet St. Auguſtine himſelfe, in his lateſt, and graueſt Bookes, and particularly in his Retractions, returnes to this ſenſe of theſe words, That no man, in what meaſure ſoeuer Sanctified, can ſo emancipate himſelfe from that Captiuitie, to which Adam hath enthralld him, but that, as hee is enwrapped in Originall ſinne, hee is ſolde vnderunder ſinne. And both S. Hierome, and S. Ambroſe, (both which, ſeeme in other places, to goe an other way, That onelyonly they are ſold vnderunder ſinne, which hauehave abandond, and proſtituted themſelues to particular ſinnes,) doe yet returne to this ſenſe, That becauſe the Embers, the Spaune, the leauen of Origiginall ſinne, remaines, by Adams ſale, in the beſt, the beſt are ſold vnderunder ſinne.
A Nobis.So the Iewes were, and ſo were we ſold by Adam, to Originall ſinne, very cheape; but in the ſecond ſale, as wee are ſold to actuall, and habituall ſinnes, by our ſelues, cheaper; 42.19.for ſo, ſayes this Prophet, You hauehave ſold your ſelues for nothing: Our ſelues, that is all our ſelues; or bodies to intemperance, and ryot, and licenciouſnes, and our ſoules to a greedines of ſinne; and all this for nothing, for ſinne it ſelfe, for which wee ſell our ſelues, is but a priuation, and priuations are nothing. Rom. 6 21.What fruit had you of thoſe things, whereof you are now aſhamed, ſayes the Apoſtle; here is Barrenneſſe and ſhame; Barrenneſſe is a priuation of fruit, ſhame is a priuation of that confidence, which a good Conſcience adminiſters, and when the Apoſtle tells them, they ſold themſelues for barrenneſſe and ſhame, it was for priuations, for nothing. Iob. 24.15.The Adulterer waits for the twy-light, ſayes Iob. The Twy-light comes, & ſerues his turne; and ſin, to night looks like a Purchaſe, like a Treaſure; but aske this ſinner to morrow, and he hath ſold himſelfe for nothing; for debility in his limnes, for darkeneſſe in his vnderſtanding, for emptineſſe in his purſe, for abſence of grace in his Soule; and Debilitie, and Darkenes, and emptineſſe, and Abſence, are priuations, and priuations are nothing. All the name of Subſtance or Treaſure that ſinne takes, is that in the Apoſtle, Theſaurizaſtis Iram Dei, You hauehave treaſurd vp the wrath of God, againſt the day of wrath: And this is a fearefull priuation, of the grace of God here, and of the Face of God hereafter; a priuation ſo much worſe then nothing, as that they vponupon whom it falls, would faine be nothing, and cannot.
A Deo.So then we were ſold, ſo cheape by Adam, to Originall, and cheaper by our ſelues, to Actuall Sinne, but cheapeſt of all, when we come to be ſold by God; For he giues vsus away, caſts vsus away, deliuers vsus ouer, to puniſhments for ſinne, and to ſin for puniſhment; God makes Sinne it ſelfe his executioner in vsus, and future ſinnes, are the puniſhments of former. Vendit paenis.As ſome Schoolemaſters hauehave vſd that Diſcipline, to correct the Children of great Perſons, whoſe perſonall correction they finde reaſon to forbeare, by correcting other Children in their names, and in their ſight, and hauehave wrought vponupon good Natures, that way, So did Almightie God correct the Iewes in the Aegyptians; for the ten plagues of Aegypt, were as Moſes Decem Verba, as the ten Commandements to Iſrael, that they ſhould not prouoke GOD. EueryEvery Iudgement that falls vponupon another, ſhould be a Catechiſme to me. But when this Diſcipline preuaild not vponupon them. God ſold them away, gaue them away, caſt them away, in the tempeſt, in the whirlewinde, in the inundation of his indignation, and ſcatterd them as ſo much duſt in a windy day, as ſo many broken ſtrawes vponupon a wrought Sea. With one word, One Fiat, (Let there bee a world,) nay with one thought of God caſt toward it, (for Gods ſpeaking in the Creation, was but a thinking,) God made all of Nothing. And is any one rationall Ant, (The wiſeſt Phyloſopher is no more) Is any roaring Lyon, (the moſt ambitious and deuouring Prince is no more) Is any hiue of Bees, (The wiſeſt Councels, and Parliaments are no more) Is any of theſe ſo eſtabiſhd, as that, that God who by a word, by a thought, made them of nothing, cannot by recalling that word, and withdrawing that thought, in ſequeſtring his Prouidence, reduce them to nothing againe? That Man, that Prince, that State thinks Paſt-board Canon-proofe, that thinkes Power, or Policy a Rampart, when the Ordinance of God is planted againſt it. Nauyes will not keepe off Nauies, if God be not the Pilot, Nor Walles keepe out Men, if God be not the Sentinell. If they could, if wee were walld with a Sea of fire and brimſtone without, and walld with Braſſe within, yet we cannot ciel the Heauens with a roofe of Braſſe, but that God can come downe in Thunder that way, Nor paue the Earth with a floare of Braſſe, but that God can come vp in Earthquakes that way. God can call vp Damps, & Vapors from below, and powre down putride defluxions from aboue, and bid them meet and condenſe into a plague, a plague that ſhall not be onelyonly vncureable, vncontrollable, vnexorable, but vndiſputable, vnexaminable, vnqueſtionable; A plague that ſhall not onelyonly not admit a remedy, when it is come, but not giuegive a reaſon how it did come. If God had not ſet a marke vponupon Cain, eueryevery Man, any Man, any thing might hauehave killd him. Hee apprehended that of himſelfe, and was afraid, when we know of none, by name, in the world, but his Father, and Mother: But, as Saint Heirome exalts this conſideration, Cains owne Conſcience tells him, Catharma ſum, Anathema ſum, I am the plague of the world, and I muſt dye, to deliuer it Catharma ſum. I am a ſeparated Vagabond, not an Anachorit ſhut vp betweene two walls, but ſhut out from all, Anathema ſum. As long as the Cherubim, and the fiery Sword is at the Gate, Adam cannot returne to Paradiſe; as long as the Teſtimonies of GODS anger lye at the dore of the Conſcience, no man can returne to peace there. If God ſell away a Man, giuegive him away, giuegive way to him, by withdrawing his Prouidence, he ſhall but neede (as the Prophet ſayes) Sibilare Muſcam, to hiſſe, to whiſper for the Fly, for the Bee, for the Hornet, for Forraigne Incumbrances; nay, hee ſhall not neede to hiſſe, to whiſper for them; for at home, Locuſts ſhall ſwarme in his Gardens, and Frogs in his bed-chamber, & hailſtones, as big as talents, (as they are meaſured in the Reuelation) ſhall breake, as well the couerd, and the armd, as the bare, & naked head; as well the Mytred, and the Turband, & the crownd head, that lifts it ſelfe vp againſt GOD, lyes open to him, as his that muſt not put on his Hat, as his that hath no Hat to put on; when as that head, which being exalted here, ſubmits it ſelfe to that GOD, that exalted it, GOD ſhall crowne, with multiplied crownes here, and hauing ſo crownd that head with Crownes here, hee ſhall crowne thoſe crownes, with the Head of all, Chriſt Ieſus, and all that is his, hereafter.
Vendit peccato.If God ſell vsus away to puniſhments for ſinne, it is thus, but if God ſell vsus to ſinne for puniſhment, it is worſe. For, when God, by the Prophet, offered Dauid, his choiſe of three Executioners, warre, famine, and peſtilence, if all theſe three had taken hold of him, it had not beene ſo heauy, as when God had ſold him ouer, giuen him away, into the hands of an Executioner in his owne boſome, The ſtudying and the plotting of the proſecution of his ſinne. When God made Murther, in the death of Vriah, his Bayliffe, to attach Dauid for his Adultery, And made Blaſphemy, in the triumphant Armie of the Gentils, his Bayliffe, to attache Dauid for his Murther, And then made impenitence, and a long ſenceleſnes in his ſinne, his Bayliffe to attach Dauid, for that blaſphemy, then was Dauid ſold, vnderunder a dangerous ſub-haſtation, then lay Dauid vnderunder a heauie Execution. Let me fall into the hands of God, and not of Man, ſayes Dauid; Betweene God and Man, in this caſe, there may be fome kinde of compariſon, But would any ſinner ſay, Let me fall into the hands of the Deuill, and not of Man, rather into more ſins, then ſome puniſhments. Dauid himſelfe could not conceiue a more vehement prayer and imprecation, vponupon his, and his Gods Enemies, then that,Pſa. 69.27. Add Iniquity to their Iniquity; Nor hath the Holy Ghoſt any where expreſt a more vehement commination, then that vponupon Ieruſalem, (as the vulgat reades that place) Iniquitatem, Iniquitatem, Iniquitatem ponam eam; Ezech. 21.26.Which is not Gods multiplying of puniſhments for ſin, but his multiplying of ſin it ſelfe vponupon them, till he had made them all Iniquity, all ſin. For this is, (in a great part) that which the Apoſtle calls, Gods giuing ouer, to a reprobate ſence; to miſtake falſe, and miſerable comforts for true comforts; to mollifie and aſſwage the anguiſh of one ſinne, by doing another; to maintaine prodigality, by Vſury, or Extortion; to ouercome the inordinate deiections of ſpirit, with a falſe cheerefulneſſe and encantation from ſtrong drinke: In one word,Sap. 14.22. (as the wiſe man expreſſes it) to call great plagues peace; To ſmother ſinne from the eye of the world, or to ſlumber the eye of our owne conſcience from the ſight of ſinne, by interpoſing more ſinnes. And farther, we carrie not this firſt Metaphor of the Holy Ghoſt, Venditi eſtis, You are ſold, for, the deeper impreſsion, he preſſes it with another, Dimiſſa est, for your transgreſsions, your Mother is put away.
And here in the way, we conſider firſt Dimiſſam animam, Dimiſſa anima.Gods putting away of the Daughter, of any particular ſoule. And his putting away of ſuch a ſoule, is his leauing of that ſoule to it ſelfe; when God will not come ſo neere louing it, as to hate it, nor giuegive it ſo much peace, as to trouble it. For, as long as God puniſhes me, hee giues me Phiſick; if he draw his knife, it is but to prune his Vine, and if hee draw blood, it is but to rectifie a diſtemper: If God breake my bones, it is but to ſet them ſtrayter, And if hee bruſe me in a Morter, it is but that I might exhale, and breath vp a ſweet ſauor, in his noſethrils: I am his handy-worke, and if one hand be vnderunder me, let the other lye as heauie, as he ſhall be pleaſed to lay it, vponupon me; let God handle me how he will, ſo hee caſt mee not out of his hands: I had rather God frownd vponupon mee, then not looke vponupon me; and I had rather God purſued mee, then left mee to my ſelfe. It is the heighth of his indignation,Eſa 1.5. O people laden with iniquity, why ſhould ye be ſmitten any more? Why ſhould I ſtudy your recouery any longer?Baſil. Vox est animi non habentis in promptu, quid ſtatuat, et deſperantis ſalutem; When God ſayes ſo, ſayes S. Baſil, he is as a Father who had tried all wayes to reduce his ſonne, and fayld in all, and then leaues him to his owne deſperate wayes; This is the worſt that God doth ſay, (we may ſay, that God can ſay) which he ſayes in Ezech. Auferam zelum, 16.42.My iealouſie ſhall depart from thee, and I will be quiet, and be no more angry: God is moſt angry, when hee lets not vsus know, that hee is ſo. And then, Refuſe ſiluer ſhall men call thee, Ier. 6.30.becauſe the Lord hath reiected thee, ſayes the Prophet; Though thou mayeſt hauehave ſome tincture of a precious mettall, fortune, power, valour, wiſedome, yet Refuſe ſiluer ſhalt thou be, and more, Refuſe meetall ſhall men call thee, (for Men are often worſe, then men dare call them) becauſe the Lord hath reiected thee. Cain cryes out, that his puniſhment is greater then hee can beare; and whats the waight? This; From thy Face ſhall I be hid; It is not that GOD would not looke graciouſly vponupon him, but that GOD would not looke at all vponupon him. Infinite, and infinitely deſperate are the effects of Gods putting away a ſoule; but we wait vponupon the Holy Ghoſts farther enlargement of this conſideration, Dimiſſa Mater, for the Childrens tranſgreſsions, the Mother is put away.
Dimiſſa Mater.This Mother, is the Church; that Church, to whoſe breaſts GOD hath applyed that Soule; and Gods putting away of this Mother, is (as it was in the Daughter) his leauing her to her ſelfe. So thoſe imaginary Churches, that will receiue no light from Antiquitie, nor Primitiue formes, GOD leaues to themſelues, and they crumble into Conuenticles: And that Church, which will needes be the Forme to all Churches, God leaues to her ſelfe, to her owne Traditions, and Shee ſwells into tumors, and vlcers, and bliſters. And when any Church is thus left to her ſelfe, deueſted of the Spirit of GOD, then follow heauie Symptomes, and Accidents; That which is forbidden in the Law, Leuit. 21.16.That Men that hauehave blemiſhes, offer the Bread of our God; Men blemiſhed in their Opinions, in their Doctrine, blemiſhd in their Lifes, in their Conuerſation, are admitted to Sacrifice at Gods Altar. Then followes that which is complaind of in Ieroboams time, The loweſt of the People, 1 King. 22 33and whoſoeuer will, ſhall bee made Prieſts; Contemptible men ſhall bee made Prieſts; and ſo the Prieſthood ſhall bee made Contemptible. The followes that which the Prophet Oſe ſayes, The Prophet ſhall be a Foole, 9.7.and the Spiritual Man madde; Madde, as Saint Hierome tranſlates that word, Arreptitius, poſſeſt; poſſeſt with an aery ſpirit of ambition, and an Earthly Spirit of Seruilitie, And a watrie Spirit of Irreſolution, and diſpoſſeſt of the true Spirit of Holy fire, the Zeale of the exaltation of Gods glory. There is a Curſe in remoouing but the Candleſticke; Apoc. 2.5.That the Light ſhall not bee in that eminency, and euidence, that becomes it, but that ſome faint ſhadowes, ſome Corner Diſguiſes, ſome Temporizings, ſome Modifications muſt be admitted. There is a heauier Curſe, in weakning the Eye of the beholder, when (as this Prophet ſayes) God ſhall make hearts fatt, and eares deafe, and eyes blinde; There ſhall bee Light, but you ſhall not ſee by it, there ſhall be good Preaching, but you ſhall not profit by it. But the greateſt Curſe of all, is in putting out the Light, when GOD blinds the Teachers themſelues: For, Math. 6.23.If the light that is in thee bee darkeneſſe, how great is that darkeneſſe? This is that Luke 22.53.Poteſtas tenebrarum, when power is put into their hands, who are poſſeſt with this darkeneſſe. And this is that Iude 13.Procella tenebrarum, The ſtorme of darkeneſſe, The blackeneſſe of Darkeneſſe, (as we Tranſlate it) when darkenes, & power, and paſsion meete in one Man. And to theſe fearefull heights may the ſinnes of the Children bring the Mother, That that Church, which now enioyes ſo aboundantly Truth and Vnitie, may bee poyſoned with Hereſie, and wounded with Schiſme, and yet GOD bee free from all imputation of Tyranny. And ſo wee hauehave done with all thoſe peeces which conſtitute our Firſt Part, Gods Diſchardge; His Mercy in his Ecce, that hee warnes vsus of his Iudgements before they fall; And his Iuſtice, in his Proceeding, though after wee bee ſolde cheape by Adam, to Originall ſinne, (So Saint Paul ſayes, He was ſold vnderunder ſinne,) And Cheaper by our ſelues, to actuall ſinnes, for Nothing, for Priuations, (So the Prophet told Ahab that hee was ſold to ſinne,) God alſo Sell vsus away, Caſt vsus away, To Puniſhments for ſinnes, (So hee did the Iſraelites,) and then to ſinnes for puniſhments, (So hee did Dauid, and ſo hee did Ieruſalem,) and though hee come to a Diuorce, of Daughter and Mother, of our Soules in particular, and the Church it ſelfe in generall.
Part. 2.Wee are deſcended to our ſecond part, Mans diſcharge; That, not diſputing what God, of his abſolute power might doe, nor what by his vnreueald Decree hee hath done, God hath not allowd me, nor thee, nor any to conclude againſt our ſelues, a neceſsity of periſhing. May this ſeeme an impertinent part in a Court? To ſuſpect that any here, are too much afraid of God; or too much dei…cted with the ſenſe of their ſinnes, or his iudgements? Are ſinnes of preſumption rather to be feared here, then ſinnes of deſperation? It hath a faire probability. But, all the Lent, wee prepare Men for the Sacrament. And, as Caſuiſts, we ſay, Sacramentum, & articulus Mortis aequiparantur, We conſider a Man, at the Sacrament, as at his death bed: and, vponupon our Death-beds, wee are likelyer to be attempted with ſinnes of Deiection, then of preſumption. And ſo, (though in a Court,) if you will be content to thinke of a death-bed in a Court, (and God hath taken wayes, to awaken thoſe thoughts in you) it may be pertinent, and ſeaſonable, to eſtabliſh you now, againſt thoſe deiections, and diffidences, which may offer at you then. Tis true then, there may be a ſelling, there may be a putting away, but hath not God reſerued to himſelfe a power of reuocation in both, in all caſes? Audiſti repudium, Crede coniugium, Is ſweetly, and ſafely ſaid by St. Ambroſe: As often as thy thoughts fall vponupon a fearefulneſſe of a Diuorce from thy God, eſtabliſh thy ſelfe with that comfort, of a Mariage to thy God; for the words of his Contracts, are, Sponſabo te mihi in aeternum. There can be no Diuorce imagined, if there were not a mariage; and if there be a mariage With God there can be no Diuorce, for ſponſat in aeternum, hee marries for euer. Can God doe ſo, forſake foreuer? The Crowe went out of the Arke, and came no more; The Doue went, and came againe, and came with an Oliue branch. God may abſent himſelfe, that he may be ſought; but hee comes againe, and with the Oliue of peace. Zion ſaid, The Lord hath forſaken mee, Eſay 49.14.and my Lord hath forgotten me. Why will Zion ſay ſo? ſayes God. Can Zion ſay, My Lord, my Lord, hath forgotten mee? Can ſhee remember that GOD is hers, and not thinke that ſhee is his? Can ſhee remember him, and thinke that hee hath forgotten her? Can Zion retaine her bowels of piety, and thinke that GOD is diſembowelled of his? GOD calls her not to Nationall examples; to how low conditions hee came, in the behalfe of Sodome; what he did for Nineue; what he did for Zion her ſelfe in Aegipt, but hee carries her home to her owne breaſt, and her owne Cradle, and onelyonly askes her that queſtion, Can a Mother forget her ſucking Childe? And hee ſtayes not her anſwere, nor aſſures himſelfe of a good anſwere from her, but adds himſelfe, Yes, a Mother may forget her ſucking Childe, yet I will not forget thee. Can GOD doe it? Did GOD euer doe it? Did he euer put away without poſsibility of re-aſſuming? when? where? whom? Iſrael? the ten Tribes? Yet euen to them,3.7. ſayes Ieremy, After they had done all this, GOD ſaid, turne vntounto me, and they would not turne: And then, God put her away, and ſent her a bill of Diuorce, V. 8.and neuer re-aſſumd her, neuer brought backe the ten Tribes from their disperſion. Tis true, in a whole and entire body, GOD neuer brought them backe, but in many faire and Noble Peeces, they came when Iudah came; for, from that place of Ezra, 2.64.where there is an entire number in groſſe exhibited of all that returnd from Babylon, and then the particular Numbers alſo exhibited, of the Tribes and families that returnd, becauſe thoſe particular Numbers doe not make vp the generall Number, by many thouſands, the Hebrew Rabbins argue fairely; and conclude probably, that thoſe Supernumerary thouſands, which are inuolued in the generall Number, and are not compris'd in the particulars, were ſuch, as from the other ten Tribes, in the returne of Iudah, adher'd to Iudah; who are ſo often ſaid neuer to hauehave return'd, becauſe in a body, & Magiſtracy of their own, otherwiſe then as they incorporated them ſelues in Iudah, they neuer returnd: but God neuer put them away ſo, but that he offred them returne, and in a great part effected it. I knowe how friuolous a tale that is, That Saint Gregorie drew Traians ſoule out of Hell, after it was there; and I know, how groundleſſe an opinion it is, that is aſcrib'd to Origen, that at laſt, the Deuill ſhall be ſau'd; but if they could perſwade mee one halfe, that Traian, or that the Deuill came to Repentance in hell, I ſhould not be hard, in beleeuing the other halfe, that they might be deliuered out of hell. What meane you, ſayes God Almighty, Ezeck. 18.2.that yee, vſe this Prouerbe, The Fathers hauehave eate ſoure herbes, and the childrens teeth are ſet on edge? Doe ye meane, that becauſe your Fathers hauehave ſinn'd, you muſt periſh? Why neither his parents hauehave ſinn'd, nor hee, ſayes Chriſt, of the Man borne blinde,Iohn 9.2. but all is, that the worke of God might he made manifeſt; Neither hauehave thy parents ſinn'd, nor thou thy ſelfe ſinn'd ſo, as that there ſhould be a neceſsity in thy periſhing, but that thereby there might be the greater manifeſtation of God merciemercy, that where ſinne hath abounded, grace might abound much more. If therefore thy tender Conſcience, and thy ſtartling Soule, miſ-imagine the hearing of that voice, Depart thou ſinner, a voyce of Diuorce, a voyce that bidds thee, goe, Say thou with Peter, to his and thy Sauiour, Domine quo Ibimus? Lord whither ſhall I goe? thou haſt the Word of Eternall life, and wee beleeue and are ſure, that thou art that Chriſt, the Sonne of the liuing God; And that Chriſt, the Sonne of the liuing GOD, will call thee backe, and call backe his owne VVord, and finde Error, holy Error, occaſion of repenting his owne proceeding, in his Bill of Diuorce; to which purpoſe hee calls vponupon thee here to produce that Bill, Vbi iste libellus, Where is the Bill, &c.
Firſt then, Vbi libellus, Libellus.where is this Bill, vponupon what doe yee ground this ielouſie and ſuſpition in God, that hee ſhould Diuorce you? Firſt, it is in the Originall, Sepher; that which is called a Bill, is a Booke; It muſt bee GODS whole Booke, and not a fewe miſ-vnderſtood Sentences out of that Booke, that muſt try thee. Thou muſt not preſſe heauily to thine owne damnation eueryevery ſuch Sentence, Stipendium peccati Mors eſt That the reward of ſinne is death; Nor the Impoſsibile eſt, That it is impoſsible for him that falls after Grace to bee renewd; That which muſt try thee is the whole Booke, the tenor and purpoſe, the Scope and intention of GOD in his Scriptures. His Booke is a Teſtament; and in the Teſtament, the Teſtator is dead, and dead for thee; And would that GOD that would dye for thee, Diuorce thee? His Booke is Euangelium, Goſpell; and G…ſpell is good tydings, a gracious Meſſadge; And would God pretend to ſend thee a gracious Meſſadge, and ſend thee a Diuorce? GOD is LoueLove, and the Holy Ghoſt is amorous in his Metaphors; euerie where his Scriptures abound with the notions of LoueLove, of Spouſe, and Huſband, and Marriadge Songs, and Marriadge Supper, and Marriadge-Bedde. But for words of Separation, and Diuorce, of Spirituall Diuorce for euer, of any ſoule formerly taken in Marriadge, this very word Diuorce, is but twice read in the Scriptures; once in this Text; and heere God diſ-auowes it; For when hee ſayes, Where is the Bill, hee meanes there is no ſuch Bill; And the other place is that which wee mentioned before, when after they had done all,Ier. 3.8. GOD calld Iſrael all together backe, and effectually, in a faire part, and his principall purpoſe in that Diuorce of Iſrael, was to intimidate, and warne her Siſter Iudah from the like prouocations. Surely a good Spirit mooued our laſt Tranſlators of the Bible, to depart from all Tranſlations which were before them, in reading that place of Malachi thus,2.16. The Lord the God of Iſrael ſaith, that hee hates putting away. Whereas all other Tranſlations, both Vulgat, and Vulgar, And in Vulgar, and in Holy Tongues, The Septuagint, the Chalde, all, read that place thus, If a man hate her, let him put her away, (which induced a facility of diuorces) our Tranſlators thought it more conformable to the Originall, and to the wayes of God, to read it thus, The Lord the God of Iſrael ſaith, that hee hates putting away. EueryEvery where in the Scriptures, we meet with Gods venites, in eueryevery Prophets mouth, inuitations to come vntounto God; There is a venite de circuitu, Come, though you come from compaſsing the Earth,Iob 3.11. which is Satans perambulation; though you hauehave walkd in his wayes, yet come vntounto God. EſayThere is a Ʋenite non habentes, Come and buy, though you hauehave no money; though you hauehave no Merits of your own, come, and dilate your meaſures, and fill them according to that dilatation, with the merits of Chriſt Ieſus. Oſc. 6.1.There is a venite et reue…timini, Come, though your comming be but a returning; be not aſhamed of comming, though your returning be a confeſsing of a former running away; come in a repentance, though you cannot come in an innocencie; There is a Venite & conſolamini, Eſay.How heauie ſo euer the fetters of your owne ſinnes, or the chaines of Gods iudgements lye vponupon you, come and receiue eaſe here, change your yoke, for an eaſier, if you cannot deueſt it. There is a venite & conſulite, Eſay,If you finde it hard to come, or if you finde an eaſineſſe to fall backe, though you doe come, come to conſult with God, how you may come, ſo, as you may ſtay, when you are come. Nay, there is a venite & arguite, Eſay 1.18.Come and reaſon with God, argue, plead, diſpute, expoſtulate with God, come vponupon any conditions: The venite is multiplied, infinite inuitations to come; but the Ite maledicti, Depart ye accurſed, is but once heard from Gods mouth, and that not in this world neither; as long as wee are in this world, God hates putting away. And therefore God calls for the bill, and God calls the bill a booke, that thou mightſt not vexe thy ſoule, with miſtaken ſentences, but relie vponupon the eſtabliſhment of Gods purpoſe in the whole booke, which is that he hates putting away.
If the euidence preſſed by thine owne preſsures, heighthned by thine owne deiections, exalted by thine owne ſinking, grow ſtrong againſt thee, that thou canſt not quench the iealouſie, nor deueſt the ſcruple of ſuch a Diuorce, doe but conſider, who ſhould occaſion, who ſhould enduce it; It muſt be God, or thy ſelfe: Though the Iewes put away their wiues, not onelyonly for the wiues fault, but for the husbands frowardneſſe, thou haſt had too good experience of Gods patience, to charge him with that: If it be done, it is thy fault; and if thou acknowledge that, i… is not done; for it is neuer done ſo irreuocably, but the confeſsing of the fault, cancels and auoydes it. Releeue thy ſelfe by reflecting vponupon ſome of thoſe circumſtances, Eſſentiall circumſtances, which were required in their bills of Diuorce, and without which, thoſe bills were voyde, and ſee if thoſe be in thine; for though wee hauehave not theſe circumſtances, in that place of Scripture, Deut. 24.where Diuorce is permitted, yet in the ordinarie practiſe of the Iewes abroad, and in the bookes of formes and precedents, which their Rabbins hauehave collected, wee hauehave them expreſſed. They are many, and many impertinent; wee will but name, and but a few, ſuch as beſt admit application, and moſt conduce to the triall of thy caſe. Firſt, a man might not produce a bill written in priuate, in the husbands bed-chamber, but he muſt goe to a Scribe, to a publique Notary, to an authorizd Officer. Vbi iſte libellus? Where is this bill of thy Diuorce? Thou muſt not looke for it, in Gods bed-chamber, in his vnreueal'd Decrees in heauen, but in his publique Records, his Scriptures: If from thence thou pretend to produce any thing that conuince thy ſad ſoule, goe to them, to whom God hath committed the diſpenſation thereof, and there thou mayeſt receiue conſolation, when thine owne priuate miſinterpretation might miſleade thee. Againe, the wife, how guilty ſo euer in her owne conſcience, might not take her ſelfe to be put away, except the husband had expreſly giuen her a Bill of Diuorce; Hath thy Husband, thy God done ſo; Vbi eſt libellus? Conſider the bill, that is, the booke of God, and ſee if it be not full of ſuch proteſtations, Viuo ego, As I liue, ſaith the Lord, I would not the death of any ſinner, nor the departing of any ſoule. So alſo theſe bills muſt be well teſtified, with vnreproachable witneſſes; Vbi iſte libellus? Hath thy bill ſuch witneſſes? who be they? Inordinate deiection of ſpirit, irreligious ſadneſſe; Iealouſie of the anger, diſtruſtfulneſſe of the mercy, diffidence in the promiſes of the Goſpell; Are theſe witneſſes to be heard againſt God? God calls heauen and earth to witneſſe, that hee hath offered thee thy choiſe of life or death; but that he hath thruſt death vponupon thee, there is no witneſſe. Thy conſcience is a thouſand witneſſes? It is, that thou haſt committed a thouſand ſinnes; and it is, that thou haſt receiued a thouſand bleſsings; but of an eternall decree of thy diuorce, thy conſcience, (thus miſinformd) can be no witneſſe, for thou waſt not call'd to the making of thoſe decrees. Thoſe Bills were alſo to be authentically ſeald: Vbi iſte Libellus? Hath thy imaginary Bill of Diuorce, and euerlaſting ſeperation from GOD, any Seale from him? GOD hath giuen thee Seales of his MercieMercy, in both his Sacraments; Seales in White, and Seales in Redde Waxe; Seales in the participation of the candor and innocencie of his Sonne, in thy Baptiſme, and Seales in the participation of his Body and Bloud, in the other; But Seales of Reprobation at firſt, or of irreuocable Separation now, there are none from GOD: No Calamitie, not Temporall, no not Spirituall; No Darkeneſſe in the Vnderſtanding, no Scruple in the Conſcience, no Perplexitie in the reſolution; Not a Sodaine Death, not a Shamefull Death, not a ſtupide, not a raging Death, muſt bee to thy ſelfe by the way, or may bee to vsus, who may ſee thine Ende, an Euidence, a Seale, of Eternall Reprobation, or of finall Seperation. Almightie God bleſſe vsus all, from all theſe in our ſelues; but his bleſſed Spirit bleſſe vsus to, from making any of theſe, when hee, in his vnſearchable wayes, to his vnſearchable endes, ſhall ſuffer them to fall vponupon any other, ſeales of ſuch Seperation in them. Though wee may not enlardge our ſelues to far, in theſe Circumſtances, another was, That the Names of the Parties muſt bee ſet downe, and of both the Parties Parents, and thoſe to the third Generation; The Sonne and Daughter of ſuch, and ſuch, and ſuch. Vbi iſte Libellus? Findſt thou in thy Bill, the three Deſcents, the three Generations, (if we may ſo ſay) of thy God? A Holy Ghoſt proceeding from a Sonne, And a Sonne begotten by a Father? Findeſt thou the God of thy Conſolation, the God of thy Redemption, the God of thy Creation, and canſt thou produce a God of Diuorce, of Separation, out of theſe? Findeſt thou thine own three Deſcents, as thou waſt the Son of Duſt, of Nothing, And the Sonne of Adam, reduced to nothing, And then the Sonne of God in Chriſt, in whom thou art all things; and canſt thou thinke that that GOD who married thee in the houſe of duſt, and marryed thee in the houſe of infirmitie, and Diuorcd thee not then, (hee made thee not no Creature, nor hee made thee not no Man,) hauing now marryed thee in the Houſe of Power, and of Peace, in the body of his Sonne, the Church, will now Diuorce thee? Laſtly, to ende this conſideration of Diuorces, If the Bill were interlinde, or blotted, or dropt, the Bill was voyd. Vbi Libellus? What place of Scripture ſoeuer thou pretend, that place is enterlinde; enterlinde by the Spirit of God himſelfe, with Conditions, and Limitations, and Prouiſions, If thou repent, If thou returne; and that enterlining deſtroies the Bill. Looke alſo if this Bill be not dropt vponupon, and blotted; The venim of the Serpent is dropt vponupon it, The Wormwood of thy Deſperation, is dropt vponupon it, The Gall of thy Melancholly is dropt vponupon it, and that voydes the Bill. If thou canſt not diſcerne theſe drops before, drop vponupon it nowe; Drop the teares of true compunction, drop the bloud of thy Sauiour, and that voyds the Bill: And through that Spectacle, the bloud of thy Sauiour, looke vponupon that Bill, and thou ſhalt ſee, that that Bill was nayld to the Croſſe when he was naylde, and torne when his body was torne, and that hath cancelld the bill. Oppreſſe not thy ſelfe with what GOD may doe, of his abſolute power, God hath no where told thee, that hee hath done any ſuch thing as an ouertender Conſcience may miſ-imagine, from this Metaphore of Diuorcing, nor from the other, (which beggs leaue for one word, by way of Concluſion) Selling away; Which of my Creditors is it, to whom I hauehave ſold you?
Quis Creditor?As Chriſt in his Parable comprehends all excuſes, and all backwardneſſes in the following of him,Luke 14.18. in thoſe two, Marriage and Purchaſing, (for one had bought Land and ſtocke, and another had married a Wife) So God expreſſes his louelove to Man, in theſe two too, Hee hath married vsus, he hath bought vsus, that ſo he might take in all diſpoſitions, and worke vponupon Vxorious Men, men ſoupled and entendred with Matrimoniall louelove, and vponupon worldly men, men kneaded and plaiſtred with earthly louelove: Het hath Married vsus, hee will not Diuorſe, He hath bought vsus, he will not ſell; For who can giuegive ſo much as he payd?Deut 32.30. Doe yee thus requite the Lord, O yee fooliſh people? Is not he your Father that hath bought you? And will you ſuſpect your Father? Yes, ſayes this Diſconſolate Soule, Fathers might ſell their Children; and my Father, my GOD hath ſold me. Tis true, Fathers might ſell their Children; Amongſt the Gentiles they might; for matter of Law, for matter of Fact, their Bookes are full of Euidence. Amongſt the Iewes they might, till a Iubile redeemd them. Amongſt the Chriſtians they might, and for euer. Saint Ambroſe found the World in poſſeſsion of that vnnaturall Cuſtome, and lamented it: Vidi miſerabile ſpectaculum, ſayes he, liberos haeredes calamitatis, qui nec participes ſucceſſionis: The Children, ſayes hee, inherit the Calamity, but not the Lands of their Fathers, when they were ſolde to maintaine them, who had waſtefully ſold, that which was to maintaine them all: And Saint Ambroſe induces the Creditor making his Claime, Mea nutriti pecunia, This Childe was nourced, and brought vp with my Money, and belongs to mee. Conſtantine found this, and amended it; enacted and conſtituted that it ſhould be no more done; and canſt thou imagine ſuch a hard-heartednes in GOD, as Saint Ambroſe ſhould neede to lament, or Conſtantin neede to correct? Quis Creditor, ſayes GOD, Which of my Creditors is it, to whom I hauehave ſold you?
As in the Bill of Diuorce, ſo in this bill of ſale, we aske who ſhould occaſion it? A Father might ſell, for his Sonnes fault, or for his owne neceſsitie; but in no other caſe. If thou ſay it is done for thy fault, it is not done; that implies a Confeſsion, and a Repentance, and that auoydes all; but if thou imagine a ſale for thy Fathers neceſsitie, Quis Creditor, ſayes hee, Which of my Creditors, &c. Adam brought GOD in Debt, to Death, to Satan, to Hell; in Iuſtice, GOD ought all mankinde to them; but then at one payment hee payd more, in the death of his Sonne Chriſt Ieſus: And now, Quis Creditor? The word indeed, is originally Naſhah, and Naſhah is an Vſurer; and ſo Saint Ambroſe reades this place, Quis Faenerator, To what Vſurer am I ſo indebted, as that I neede ſell thee? Let it be ſo, That the principall debt was all Mankinde; purſue your Vſurious Computations, that eueryevery ſeuen yeares doubles, and then redoubles your Debt, (and what a Debt might this bee in allmoſt 4000. yeare from Adam to Chriſt, and 1000. from Chriſt to vsus?) yet when all this is multiplied infinitely, it was infinitly ouerpayd, if but one drop of the bloud of the Sonne of God had bene payd; and the Sonne of God bled out his Soule, and then, Quis Creditor, may God well ſay, Which of thoſe Vſurers is it, to whom I need ſell thee? God may lend thee out, euen to Satan; ſuffer thee to bee his Bayliffe, and his Inſtrument to the vexation of others; So hee lent out Saint Paul to the Scribes and Phariſes, to ſerue them in their Perſecutions; So God may lend thee out. God may Let thee out for a time, to them that ſhall plough and harrow thee, fell and cleaue thee, and reſerue to himſelfe but a little Rent, a little glory, in thy Patience; So hee Let out Iob euen to Satan himſelfe; ſo God may Let thee out. GOD may Mortgage thee to a ſixe Months Feuer, or to a longer debility; So he Mortgaged Hezekias. God may lay thee waſte, and Pull vp thy Fences, extinguiſh their Power, or withdrawe their LoueLove, vponupon whom thou haſt eſtabliſhd thy dependance; So he layd Dauid waſt, when hee withdrewe his Childrens obedience from him; ſo God may lay thee waſte. God may Let out all his time in thee in this World, and reſerue to himſelfe only a laſt yeare, a laſt day, a laſt minute; ſuffer thee in vnrepented ſinnes, to the laſt gaſpe, ſo God let out the good Thiefe. God is Lord of all that thou haſt and art; and then, Dominium poteſtas eſt tum vtendi cum abutendi, He that is Lord, Owner, Proprietary, may doe with that which is his, what he will. But God will not, cannot deueſt his Dominion, nor ſell thee ſo, as not to reſerue, a Power, and a Will to Redeeme thee, if thou wouldſt be redeem'd. For, howſoeuer hee ſeeme to thee, to hauehave ſold thee to Sinne, to Sadneſſe, to Sickeneſſe, to Superſtition, (for theſe be the Iſmaelits, Gen. 37.27.theſe be the Midianite Merchants that buy vp our Ioſephs, our ſoules) though he ſeeme to ſell his preſent eſtate, hee will not ſell Reuerſions; his future title to thee, by a future Repentance, hee will not ſell; But whenſoeuer thou ſhalt grow due to him, by a new, and a true repentance, hee ſhall re-aſſume thee, into his bed, and his boſome, no bill of Diuorce, and re-enter thee into his Reuenue, and his Audit, No bill of ſale, ſhall ſtand vp to thy preiudice, but thy deiected ſpirit ſhall bee raiſed from thy conſternation, to a holy cheerefulneſſe, and a peacefull alacritie, and no tentation ſhall offer a reply, to this queſtion, which GOD makes to eſtabliſh thy Conſcience, vbi libellus, Where is the Bill of thy Mothers Diuorcement, &c.
FINIS.
Errat. Pag. 13. l. 24. for retractions, read retractations. pa. 32. l. 14, for Herbs, read Grapes.
End of the text · John Donne, Five Sermons 1 (1626)