The Christian Armory, Book 1 · Chapter 6
CHAP. VI. Of dearth and famine.
Question.
WHat is famine?
A. Gods scourge, for manifest and notorious sinnes and enormities.
Q. Who is the inflicter of it?
A. God: for it commeth not by fortune or cha…ce,Psal. 107.34. Psa. 105 16 Amos 4.6. but God calleth for it, a… may appeare by infinite places of Scripture. 2. Chron. 7. vers. 13. Deut. 28.38 Ier. 14.16.
Q. What are the outward meanes, causes and instruments of dearth and famine?
A. They are diuers; as sometimes ba…cennesse of the ground, sometimes drought and heate (as in Iudeo and those Easterly countries) sometimes (as in our nation of England) vnseasonable weather and immoderate raine, sometimes the Canker, the Palmer worme, the Grashopper, somtimes haile, storms, whirlewindes, and oftentimes warre and hostility; lastly, surfetting, drunkenkennes pride, or excesse in meate, drink, apparell in al rankes and orders of men.
Q. Who are principall outward meanes to encrease dearth and famine?
A. Amongst the rest, enclosers of ground, when they conuert so much a…able ground into pasture▪ that there is not ground enough for tillage. Secōdly, monopolists or ingrossers. Thirdly, badggers & forestallers. Fourthly, hoarders of Corne. Fifthly, transporters of it beyond the Seas. Lastly, oppressors of the poore, namely such as either denie them their wages, or take and retaine their pawns & pledges, or those that vponupon aduantage of the pooremans distresse, buy his land, goods, liuing, &c.
Q. What is the deseruing and procuring cause of dearth and famine?
A. Sinne and disobedience in generall.
Q. What are the particular sinnes which moue the Lord to send dearth & famine?
Ans. First,Leu. 25.14. Idolatrie and corruption of Gods seruice and worship, Deut. 28. 11.
Secondly, Atheisme, and the contempt of Preaching, Ier. 11.21.22.
Thirdly, when men being addicted to the world and their own gaine,Agg. 2.4.9. do altogether neglect the building of Gods house, & the reformation of his Church.
Fourthly, Periury, false oathes, and the breaking of lawfull oathes.
Fiftly,Esa. 5.9.10.11. couetousnesse, oppression of the poore, and enclosing of the common grounds.
Ier. 34.Sixthly, cruelty towards the poor… and the wronging of them by fals… waights and measures, Micah. 6.10.
Seuenthly, pride in Princes and R… lers, 2. Sam. 24.
Eightly, surfetting and drunkennesse. Ioel 1, 5.
Mal. 3.9.10.11.Lastly, neglect of tith-paying and of maintaining the holy Ministry.
Q. Why doth God this way sundrie times trie and chastice his owne children who doe not sinne contemptuously, o… with an high hand as wicked men doe?
A. First, there is naturall corruption in them, which deserueth this chastisment, especially when (as sometimes it commeth to passe) it breaketh out into blaines and grosse sinnes.
Secondly, God by correcting them in their bodies, preuenteth in them more greeuous enormities, and saueth them from eternall destruction.
Q. What vse is to be made heereof?
A. Let the wicked and profane tremble, feare, and betimes returne vntounto God: for if God correct small faults so sharpely in his own deare children, how much more will he punish them that sin so presumptuously?
Q. What spirituall meditations are necessary to comfort our soules in time of dearth and famine?
A. These (or the like) following. First, we must know that it is Gods hand, and that it commeth not by the will of man, much lesse by chance: and therefore we must repent and patiently endure this correction.
Secondly, God by dearth and scarsitie doth preuent his children from committing many sinnes; such as are riot, excesse, gluttony, drunkennes: for as a Physition letteth his patient bloud, to preuent diseases in him: so dealeth God with his children in this chasticement.
Thirdly, God in the time of dearth doth not pine and starue,Ps. 33.19. Prou. 10.3 but prouide for, and quicken his children and seruants. Thus in time of famine, God made Ioseph the meanes to nourish his father Iacob, and his brethren. Thus he fed Elias by an Angel, yea by a rauenous Rauen: thus he multiplied the oile and meale to the poore widow of Sarepta:Luk. 4.26. thus for forty yeeres space hee fed the Israelites in the wildernesse with Manna from heauen: thus God prouided for Elimeleks, his wife and children, and for the noble Sunamite, and no maruell: for if God féed the fowles of heauen, ye… the young Rauens that cry vntounto him,Ps. 147 9. Luk. 15.17. how much more will he féed his sonnes and seruants?
Fourthly, neither in this, nor any other euill, will God tempt them abo… their strength, for he intendeth their reformation, and not their ruine: but i… they repent and pray vntounto him,Psal. 34.19. he will mitigate, if not remoue the dearth and famine, and in the meane time féed… them.
Fifthly, if God kéepe them sho… of these earthly thinges, yet hee giueth them farre greater giftes, namely, faith, hope, charity, assurance of saluation, &c.
Lastly, if God sometimes permit their bodies to pine, (as we hauehave an example in Lazarus, and in some of the persecuted Israelites,Heb. 11.37. in the time of Antiochus) yet he doth sustaine their spirits with patience and féed their soules to saluation with the hidden Manna of his word.
Q. What duties are there in such … distresse to be practised?
A. First, we must confes, acknowledge▪ and bewaile our sinnes,Ioel 2.13. the cause thereof: we must beware that we contemne not Gods word, nor abuse his good creatures; and we must withall intreat the Lord to lessen or take away this plague, and (in the meane time,) suffer this correction with patience and thankfulnesse.
Secondly, if all outward helpes faile vsus, yet let vsus hold fast the hope of mercy and saluation, and then we shall finde ease and refreshment in our troubles.
Thirdly, Ministers and Preachers must endeauour to make the people to féele the gréeuousnesse of the calamitie, to stirre them vp to repentance and patience, and exhort the rich to liberalitie.
Fourthly, rich men must regard, pitie, and reléeue the poore, they must sacrifice on these altars, they must fil these empty vessels, and let the fountaine of their liberalitie runne out vntounto them.
Lastly, magistrates and rulers, must not only prouide against dearth,Neh. 5.10. but also suppresse monopolists, engrossers, badgers, transporters of graine, hoarders of corne, &c. for Vae illis, &c. Hi sunt mercatores humanarum calamitatum: that is, woe vntounto them that enhance the price of victuals, for they are hucksters of humane miseries.