The Dead Saint Speaking to Saints and Sinners Living, Treatise 2 · Consectary 4
4. Conſectary.
If the Heart of Chriſt bee taken with his Church and People;
1. Then ſee what a fearful thing ſin is, which doth cauſe God oftentimes to deal hardly with that, which his ſoul loves ſo dearly.
God doth oftentimes afflict and puniſh his Church ſharply and ſeverely: which yet his heart is much taken withall. And ſin is the cauſe. And therefore what a fearful thing is ſin!
How grievous would it bee to you, to bee forced to take hard courſes with a Child your heart is taken withall? though it bee to do him good.
Why God is taken with his Church, and do you not think it moves God to afflict and chaſtiſe it?
Wee would fain do all the good wee can to the perſons wee love. Oh! wee can never do enough for them. Why ſo it is with God to his Church: Hee loves his Church, and willingly would hee do any thing for it. And it is the grief of his ſoul, that hee muſt take contrary courſes with us, to do us good: that hee muſt bee forced to afflict and chaſtiſe them hee loves ſo dearly: to bring them to Life by Death, to Good by Evil, to a Crown by Croſſes.
When God parted with the ten Tribes, you ſee what a conflict there was in him: how his bowels ſtirred, and were moved towards them, notwithſtanding all their ſins, Hoſ. 11.8. How ſhall I give thee up, Ephraim! How ſhall I deliver thee, Iſrael! How ſhall I make thee as Admah! How ſhall I ſet thee as Zeboim! My heart is turned within mee; my repentings are kindled together.
How loath was God to ſeal to a Bill of Divorce! His heart loved her, though ſhee was an Adultreſs to him.
And when Judah did juſtifie the ſin of her Siſter Iſrael, exceeding her in Idols, what trouble was it to God to caſt her off! How willing was hee to receive her after all her adulteries? Jer. 3.1. Thou haſt plaid the Harlot, &c. And when ſhee would go on in her adulteries: yet how unwilling ſtill was hee to give her up? till at laſt it grew ſo high, that there was no Remedy, 2 Chron. 36.16. hee muſt needs do it.
And when hee had done it, how exceedingly was Gods heart moved, that hee muſt bee forced to deal ſo hardly with them hee loved ſo dearly? read Jer. 12.7, 8.9, &c. See how God laments over the loſs of that which their ſins would not give him leave to keep. — I have forſaken mine houſe! I have left mine heritage! I have given the dearly beloved of my ſoul into the hand of her enemies! And what was it that forced God to deal ſo hardly with them hee loved ſo dearly? Why it was ſin, 2 Chron. 36.15, 16. Hee ſent Meſſengers, becauſe hee had compaſſion on them: They mocked the Meſſengers of God, and deſpiſed his words, and miſ-uſed his Prophets; until the wrath of the Lord aroſe againſt his People, till there was no Remedy. And which of theſe hath remained to bee done among us? How hath our Sun been darkened, the Stars loſt their light! How many burning and ſhining lights have been taken out of our Candleſticks, and planted in others! How many blown out by the rage of wicked men!
Did wee not juſtly fear, by reaſon of that Idolatry, Superſtition, Prophanation of Sabbaths, Perſecution of the Saints, and Meſſengers of God, that our day was gone; our night approaching?
Did wee not fear, that wee were come up to this, that there was no remedy? That God ſhould have opened the Sluces of his wrath, and let in a Sea of his diſpleaſure upon us? made us an Aceldema, a field of Blood, long before this?
Ah, my Brethren! Never Nation, never Church from whom God hath ſhewed himſelf more unwilling to depart and leave, than England.
Look upon the paſſages of us to God, and his wayes towards us; and ſee how unwilling hee declared himſelf. God hath upheld us, as if hee himſelf ſhould fall, if wee did not ſtand: as if his Glory could not ſtand, if wee fall: as if his Glory had depended upon our preſervation.
And how can wee better anſwer Gods dealings towards us, than to abandon that, caſt out that which was our fear, and gave God juſt occaſion to deſtroy us? Let us now do by our ſins as the Iſraelites did by their Leaven. There was
1. Inquiſitio fermenti. There was ſearch made for it. So let us ſearch out that Leaven of ſin, Superſtition, Idolatry, which have ſowred our Kingdome, and laid us open to the ſtroak of Gods wrath. Search your houſes, ſearch the land, ſearch your hearts.
2. Ejectio fermenti.
3. Execratio fermenti.
And let all bee found in us, if ever wee would have a Paſsover.
Otherwiſe our Preſervations from former, will bee but Reſervations to future, and worſer evils: ſin will cauſe God to puniſh thoſe hee loves.