Twenty-Six Sermons, Sermon 6
A SERMON Preached at WHITE-HALL, April 21. 1616. SERMON VI.
ECCLES. 8.11.
Becauſe ſentence againſt an evil work, is not executed ſpeedily, Therefore the heart of the children of men, is fully ſet in them, to do evil.
WE cannot take into our Meditation, a better Rule, then that of the Stoick, Nihil infaelicius faelicitate peccantium; Seneca.There is no ſuch unhappineſs to a ſinner, as to be happy; no ſuch croſs, as to have no croſſes: nor can we take a better Example of that Rule, then Conſtantius the Arrian Emperour, in whoſe time firſt of all, the Croſſe of Chriſt ſuffer'd that profanation, as to be an Enſign of War, between Chriſtian and Chriſtian: When Magnentius by being an uſurping Tyrant, and Conſtantius by being an Arrian Heretick, had forfeited their intereſt in the Croſs of Chriſt, which is the Enſign of the univerſal Peace of this world, and the means of the eternal Peace of the next; both brought the Croſs to croſs the Croſs, to be an Enſign of War, and of Hoſtility; both made that Croſs, when the Father accepted for all mankinde, the blood of Chriſt Jeſus, to be an inſtrument for the ſinful effuſion of the blood of Chriſtians. But when this Heretical Emperour had a Victory over this uſurping Tyrant, this unhappy happineſs tranſported him to a greater ſin, a greater inſolence, to approach ſo near to God himſelf, as to call himſelf Eternum principem, The eternal Emperour; and to take into his ſtile, and Reſcripts, this addition, Eternitatem noſtram, Thus and thus, it hath pleaſed our Eternity to proceed: Yea, and to bring his Arrian followers, who would never acknowledge an eternity in Chriſt, nor confeſs him to be the eternal Son of God, to ſalute himſelf by that name, Eternum Caeſarem, The eternal Emperour: ſo venimous, ſo deadly is the proſperity of the wicked to their own ſouls, that even from the mercy of God, they take occaſion of ſinning; not onelyonly Thereby, but even Therefore; They do not only make that their excuſe, when they do ſin, but their Reaſon why they may ſin; as we ſee in theſe words, Becauſe ſentence againſt an evil work, is not excuted ſpeedily, &c.
Diviſio.In which words, we ſhall conſider, firſt, The general perverſneſs of a natural man, who by cuſtom in ſin, comes to aſſign a Reaſon why he may ſin; intimated in the firſt word, Becauſe. And ſecondly, The particular perverſneſs of the men in this Text, who aſſign the patience of God, to be the Reaſon of their continuance in ſin, Becauſe ſentence is not executed ſpeedily. And then laſtly, The illuſion upon this, what a fearful ſtate this ſhuts them up in, That therefore their hearts are fully ſet in them, to do evil. And theſe three, The perverſneſs of colouring ſins with Reaſons, and the impotency of making Gods mercy the Reaſon, and the danger of obduration thereby, will be the three parts, in which we ſhall determine this Exerciſe.
Part I.Firſt then, in handling the perverſneſs of aſſigning Reaſons for ſins, we forbid no man the uſe of Reaſon in matters of Religion. As S. Auguſt. ſays, Contra Scriptura, nemo Chriſtianus, No man can pretend to be a Chriſtian, if he refuſe to be tryed by the Scriptures: And, as he adds, Contra Eccleſiam nemo pacificus, No man can pretend to love order and Peace, if he refuſe to be tryed by the Church: ſo he adds alſo, Contra Rationem nemo ſobrius, No man can pretend to be in his wits, if he refuſe to be tryed by Reaſon. He that believes any thing becauſe the Church preſents it, he hath Reaſon to aſſure him, that this Authority of the Church is founded in the Scriptures: He that believeth the Scriptures, hath Reaſons that govern and aſſure him that thoſe Scriptures are the Word of God. Myſteries of Religion are not the leſs believ'd and embrac'd by Faith, becauſe they are preſented, and induc'd, and apprehended by Reaſon.
But this muſt not enthrone, this muſt not exalt any mans Reaſon ſo far, as that there ſhould lie an Appeal, from Gods Judgements to any mans reaſon: that if he ſee no reaſon, why God ſhould proceed ſo, and ſo, he will not believe that to be Gods Judgement, or not believe that Judgement of God, to be juſt: For, of the ſecret purpoſes of God,Mat. 11.26. we have an Example what to ſay, given us by Chriſt himſelf, Ita eſt, quia complacuit; It is ſo, O Father, becauſe thy good pleaſure was ſuch: All was in his own breaſt and boſome, in his own good will and pleaſure, before he Decreed it; And as his Decree it ſelf, ſo the wayes and Executions of his Decrees, are often unſearchable, for the purpoſe, and for the reaſon thereof, though for the matter of fact, they may be manifeſt. They that think themſelves ſharp-ſighted and wiſe enough, to ſearch into thoſe unreveal'd Decrees; they who being but worms, will look into Heaven; and being the laſt of Creatures, who were made, will needs enquire, what was done by God, before God did any thing, for creating the World, In ultimam dementiam reverant, ſays S. Chryſoſt. They are fallen into a miſchievous madneſs, Et ferrum ignitum, quod forcipe deberent, digitus accipiunt: They will needs take up red hot Irons, with their bare fingers, without tongs. That which is in the Center, which ſhould reſt, and lie ſtill, in this peace, That it is ſo, becauſe it is the will of God, that it ſhould be ſo; they think to toſs and tumble that up, to the Circumference, to the Light and Evidence of their Reaſon, by their wrangling Diſputations.
If then it be a preſumpteous thing, and a contempt againſt God, to ſubmit his Decrees to the Examination of humane reaſon, it muſt be a high treaſon againſt the Majeſty of God, to find out a reaſon in him, which ſhould juſtifie our ſins; To conclude out of any thing which he does, or leaves undone, that either he doth not hate, or cannot puniſh ſinners: For this deſtroys even the Nature of God, and that which the Apoſtle lays, for the foundation of all, To believe that God is, Heb. 11.6.and that he is a juſt Rewarder. Adam's quia Mulier, The woman whom thou gaveſt me, gave me the Apple: And Eve's quia Serpens, Becauſe the Serpent deceiv'd me; and all ſuch, are poor and unallowable pleas, which God would not admit: For there is no Quia, no Reaſon, why any man, at any time, ſhould do any ſin. God never permits any perplexity to fall upon us, ſo, as that we cannot avoyd one ſin, but by doing another: or that we ſhould think our ſelf excuſable by ſaying, Quia inde minus malum, There is leſs harm in a Concubine, then in another wife; Or, Quia inde aliquod bonum, That my incontinence hath produc'd a profitable man to the State or to the Church, though a baſtard; much leſs to ſay, Quia obdormivit Deus, Tuſh, God ſees it not, or cares not for it, though he ſee it.
If thou ask then, why thou ſhould'ſt be bound to believe the Creation, we ſay, Quia unus Deus, Becauſe there can be but one God; and if the World be eternal, and ſo no Creature, the World is God. If thou ask why thou ſhould'ſt be bound to believe Providence, we ſay, Quia Deus remunerator, Becauſe God is to give every man according to his merits. If thou ask why thou ſhould'ſt be bound to believe that, when thou ſeeſt he doth not give every man according to his merits, we ſay, Quia inſcrutabilia judicia ejus; O how unſearchable are his Jugdements, and his ways paſt finding out! For, thou art yet got no farther, in meaſuring God, but by thine own meaſure; and thou haſt found no other reaſon to lead thee, to think, that God doth not govern well, but becauſe he doth not govern ſo, to thine underſtanding, as thou ſhouldſt, if thou wert God. So that thou doſt not onelyonly make thy weakneſs, but thy wickedneſs, that is, thy haſty diſpoſition, to come to a preſent Revenge, when any thing offends thee, the Meaſure, and the Model, by which the frame of Gods Government ſhould be erected; and ſo thou comeſt to the worſt diſtemper of all, inſanire cum ratione, to go out of thy wits, by having too much, and to be mad with too much knowledge; not to ſin out of infirmity, or tentation, or heat of blood, but to ſin in cold blood, and upon juſt reaſon, and mature conſiderations, and ſo deliberately and adviſedly to continue to ſin.
Part II.Now the particular reaſon, which the perverſneſs of theſe men produceth here, in this Text, is, Becauſe God is patient and long-ſuffering. So he is; ſo he will be ſtill: Their perverſneſs ſhall not pervert his Nature, his goodneſs. As God bade the Prophet Oſea do,1.2. he hath done himſelf: Go, ſays he, and take to thee, a wife of fornication, and children of fornication; ſo hath he taken us, guilty of ſpiritual fornication. But as in the fleſhly fornications of an adulterous wife, the husband is, for the moſt part, the laſt that hears of them: ſo, for our ſpiritual fornications, ſuch is the loathneſs, the patience, the longanimity of our good and gracious God, that though he do know our ſins, as ſoon as they ſpeak, as ſoon as they are acted, (for that's peccatum cum voco, ſays S. Gregory, A ſpeaking ſin, when any ſinful thought is produc'd into act) yea, before they ſpeak, as ſoon as they are conceiv'd; yet he will not hear of our ſins, he takes no knowledge of them, by puniſhing them, till our brethren have been ſcandaliz'd, and led into tentation by them; till his law have been evacuated, that that uſe of the law, which is, to ſhew ſin to our conſciences, be annihilated in us; till ſuch a Cry come up to him by our often and profeſſed ſinning, that it concerns him in his Honour, (which he will give to none) and in his Care of his Churches, which he hath promis'd to be, till the end of all, to take knowledge of them. Yea, though this Cry be come up to his Ears, though it be a lowd Cry, either by the nature of the ſin, (as heavie things make a great noiſe in the moving) or by reaſon of the number of the ſins, and the often doing thereof, (for, as many children, will make as great a noiſe as a loud Cryer; ſo will the cuſtome of ſmall ſins Cry as loud, as thoſe which are called peccata clamantia, Crying ſins) Though this cry be encreaſed by this liberty, and profeſſed ſinning, that, as the Prophet ſayes,Eſa. 3.9. They declare their ſins, and hide them not, as Sodom did; Though the cry of the ſin be increaſed by the cry of them, that ſuffer oppreſſion by that ſin, as well as by the ſin it ſelf, as the voice of Abel's bloud cryed from earth to heaven; yea,Gen. 4.10. though this cry ring about Gods ears, in his own bed-chamber, under the Altar it ſelf, in that Uſquequo Domine? when the Martyrs cry out with a loud voice, How long, Lord, holy and true, Revel. 6.10.dost thou not judge and avenge our bloud! yet God would fain forbear his Revenge, he would fain have thoſe Martyrs rest for a little ſpace, till their fellow ſervants and their brethren were fulfilled. God would try, what Cain would ſay to that Interrogatory, Where is thy brother Abel? And though the cry of Sodom were great, and their ſin exceeding grievous, yet, ſays God, I will go down, and ſee, whether they have done altogether according unto that cry; and if not, I may know: God would have been glad to have found Errour in their Inditement; and when he could not, yet if Fifty, Fourty five, Thirty, Twenty, Ten, had been found righteous, he had pardoned all: Adeo malum, Gregory.quaſi cum difficultate credidit, cum audivit; ſo loth is God to believe ill of man, when he doth hear it.
This then is his patience:Sententia. But why is his patience made a reaſon of their continuance in ſins? Is it becauſe there is no ſentence denounced againſt ſin? Theſe buſie and ſubtile Extractors of Reaſons, that can diſtil, and draw Poyſon out of Manna, Occaſions of ſin, out of Gods Patience, will not ſay ſo, That there is no ſentence denounced. The word that is here uſed, Pithgam, is not truly an Hebrew word: And though in the Book of Job, and in ſome other parts of the Hebrew Scriptures, we finde ſometimes ſome forreign and out-landiſh word, deriv'd from other Nations; yet, in Solomons writing very rarely; neither doth Solomon himſelf, nor any other Author, of any part of the Hebrew Bible, uſe this word, in any other place, then this one. The word is a Chaldee word; and hath amongſt them, the ſame ſignification and largeneſs, as Dabar in Hebrew; and that includes all A verbo ad legem; from a word ſuddenly and ſlightly ſpoken, to words digeſted and conſolidated into a Law. So that, though the Septuagint tranſlate this place, Quia non eſt facta contradictio; as though the reaſon of this ſinners obduration might have been, That God had not forbidden ſin; and though the Chaldee Paraphraſt expreſs this place thus, Quia non eſt factum verbum ultionis; As though this ſinner made himſelf believe, that God had never ſpoken word of revenge againſt ſinners: yet, this ſinner makes not that his reaſon, That there is no Law, no Judgement, no Sentence given: for, every Book of the Bible, every Chapter, every Verſe almoſt, is a particular Deuteronomy, a particular renewing of the Law from Gods mouth, Morte Morieris, Thou ſhalt die the death; and of that Sentence from Moſes mouth, Pereundo peribitis, You ſhall ſurely periſh; and of that Judgement from the Prophets mouth, Non eſt Pax impiis, There is no peace to the wicked. And if this obdurate ſinner could be ſuch a Goth and Vandal, as to deſtroy all Records, all written Laws; if he could evacuate and exterminate the whole Bible, yet he would finde this Law in his own heart, this Sentence pronounced by his own Conſcience, Stipendium peccati Mors eſt, Treaſon is Death, and ſin is Treaſon.
His reaſon is not, That there is no Law; he ſees it: nor that he knows no Law; his heart tells it him: nor that he hath kept that Law; his Conſcience gives judgement againſt him: nor that he hath a Pardon for breaking that Law; for he never ask'd it: and, beſides, thoſe Pardons have in them that clauſe, Ita quod ſe bene gerat; Every Pardon bindes a man to the good behaviour; and by Relapſes into ſin, we forfeit our Pardons for former ſins. All their Reaſon, all their Comfort, is onelyonly a Reprieve, and a Reſpite of Execution:August. Distulit Securim, attulit Securitatem: God hath taken the Ax from their necks, and they have taken Security into their hearts; Sentence is not executed.
Executed.Execution is the life of the Law; but then, it is the death of the Man: And therefore whoſoever makes quarrels againſt God, or arguments of Obduration, out of this reſpite of Execution, would he be better pleaſed with God, if God came to a ſpeedy Execution? But let that be true, Where there is no Execution, there is no reverence to the Law; there is truly, and in effect, no Law: The Law is no more a Law without Execution, then a Carcaſe is a Man. And ſo much, certainly, the word, which is here rendred ſententia facta, doth properly ſignifie; A Judgement perfected, executed.Gen. 25.25. When Eſau was born hairy, and ſo in the likeneſs of a grown and perfect man, he was call'd by the word of this text, Gneſau, Eſau, factus, perfectus. And ſo, when God had perfected all his works,Gen. 1. ult. that is, ſaid then, that he ſaw, that all was good that he had made; where there is the ſame word, That he had perfected. So that, if the judgements of God had been ſtill without execution; if all thoſe Curſes,Deut. 28.15. Curſed ſhalt thou be in the town, and curſed in the field; curſed in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy land, and in the fruit of thy cattel; curſed when thou comest in, and when thou goest out. The Lord ſhall ſend thee curſings, and trouble, and ſhame, in all thou ſetst thy hand to. The Lord ſhall make a pestilence cleave to thee, and a conſumption, and a fever. The Lord ſhall make the heavens above, as braſs, and the earth under thee, as iron; with all thoſe Curſes and Maledictions, which he flings, and ſlings, and ſtings the ſoul of the ſinner, ſo vehemently, ſo pathetically, in that catalogue of Comminations, and Interminations, in that place; if all theſe were never brought into execution, we ſhould ſay, at beſt, of thoſe Laws, and judgements of God, as the Romane Lawyer did of that ſevere Law of the Twelve Tables, by which Law, he that was indebted to many men, and not able to pay, was to be cut in pieces, and divided proportionably amongſt his Creditors, Eo conſilio tanta immanitas poenae denuatiata est, ne ad eam unquam perveniretur: Therefore ſo grievous a puniſhment was inflicted, that that Law might never come to execution: for, from the enacting of that Law, to the laſt times, in that government, there was never any example, of one execution of that Law: ſo we ſhould ſay, That God laid thoſe ſevere penalties upon ſins, onelyonly to deter men from doing them, and not with any purpoſe to inflict thoſe penalties. In Laws, to the making whereof, there concurs, beſides the authority of the Prince, the counſel and the conſent of the Subject, there are ſometimes Laws made, without any purpoſe of ordinary execution; of which, the Civil Wiſdom, and the Religious Conſcience, and the godly Moderation of the Prince, is made a Depoſitory, and a Feoffee in truſt; and thoſe Laws are onelyonly put into his hands, as a Bridle, the better to rule and govern that great Charge committed to him, in emergent neceſſities, though not in an ordinary execution of thoſe penal Laws. But who was a counſellor to God, or who inſerted any Proviſoes or Nonobſtante's into his Laws? or who conditioned them, with any ſuch reſervations, that they ſhould have no ordinary execution? And therefore an ordinary execution they have always had.
The reaſon why they are ſometimes, and why they are not always executed, St. Chryſostome hath aſſign'd; Si nullus puniretur, nemo exiſtimaret Deum pre-eſſe rebus humanis; ſi omnes, nemo expectaret futuram reſurrectionem: If God ſhould puniſh no ſins here, no man would believe a God; and if God ſhould preſently puniſh all here, no man would be afraid of a future judgement. There the obdurate man may finde a reaſon of the manner of Gods proceeding, in the execution of his judgements: And if he dare ſtand the arguing of this caſe, out of Precedent, out of Record, out of the hiſtory of God, in his Word, he muſt hear heavie judgments denounced, and executed, in caſes, where he would hardly diſcern any ſin to have been committed, at leaſt, no ſin proportionable to that puniſhment.Act. 5. If he were in the caſe of Ananias and Sapphira, of having reſerv'd a little of their own, whatſoever ſhould befal, he would never ſee Counſel, nor petition the judge, never apprehend danger in this caſe; and yet, God declared by the mouth of Peter, that Satan had filled their hearts, and that they had lyed to the holy Ghost; and a heavie judgement of preſent death, was executed upon them both. If he had been of the Jury, for that man of God, who,1 Reg. 13. though God had forbidden him to eat and drink in that place, yet, when an old Prophet came to him, and told him, that God had ſpoken to him by an Angel, that he ſhould go with him, and eat, did go, and eat with him, he would have acquitted him of any offence herein; and yet Gods judgment overtook him, and he was ſlain by a lion. But if he will hear the caſe of Saul, 1 Sam. 15.who did but reſerve ſome of the ſpoil, and that purchaſed with the bloud of the people, and that pretended to be reſerved for Gods ſervice, for ſacrifice; and yet Saul heard that judgement, Rebellion is as the ſin of witchcraft, and tranſgreſsion is idolatry: becauſe thou hast cast away the word of the Lord, therefore he hath cast thee away from being king. Joſ. 7.If he will hear Achan's caſe, who had taken an excommunicate thing to his own uſe, and the heavie judgement thereupon, Inaſmuch as thou hast troubled us, the Lord ſhall trouble thee this day: and ſo, all Iſrael ſtoned him. If he will hear Helie's caſe,1 Sam. 4. againſt whom, onelyonly for indulgence to his ſons, God prepar'd, and ſtudied, and meditated judgements, and threatned beforehand, when he ſaid to Samuel, Behold, I will do a thing in Iſrael, whereof whoſoever ſhall hear, his two ears ſhall tingle: and ſo, ſoon after, upon the heavie news, that Iſrael was diſcomfited, that the Ark was taken,2 Sam. 6. that his two ſons were ſlain, Heli fell from his ſeat, and broke his neck, and died. If he remember Oziah's caſe, who for putting his hand to the Ark, when it was ready to fall, felt the wrath of God, and died in the place. If he ſtudy all this Title, of Gods heavie judgements upon ſins, not great in the outward appearance; and then come to them by the conſideration of the nature of the firſt ſin of our firſt parents, Adam and Eve, and findes there, ſuch a lightneſs in that ſin of eating forbidden fruit, that he durſt do it, if it were to do again; as though it were no more to diſobey God, when he forbade the eating of fruit, then to diſobey his Phyſician in that point; and yet ſhall ſee the heavie judgement of God upon all poſterity for that ſin, (which he eſteems ſo ſmall a one) to extend ſo far, as that all his particular ſins, even this very ſin of undervaluing Adam's ſin, and his very ſin of obduration, is but a puniſhment of Adam's ſin. If he ſhall climb by this ladder, to the higheſt ſtep of all, from Adam in paradiſe, to the Angels in heaven, and ſee, that in thoſe Angels, a ſin onelyonly of Omiſſion, of a not turning toward God, (for there was no creature then to turn upon) in ſo pure Natures, and done but once, was ſo heavily puniſhed, as that the bloud of Chriſt Jeſus hath not waſhed it away; certainly the hardneſs, the flintineſs of this obdurate ſinner, muſt neceſſarily be ſo much mollified, ſo much entendred, as to confeſs, that he can make no good argument out of that, That the judgements of God are not executed.
Speedily.But yet, howſoever that be, they are not executed ſpeedily. How deſperate a ſtate art thou in, if nothing will convert thee, but a ſpeedie execution, after which, there is no poſſibility, no room left for a Converſion? God is the Lord of hosts, and he can proceed by Martial Law: he can hang thee upon the next tree; he can choak thee with a crum, with a drop, at a voluptuous feaſt; he can ſink down the Stage and the Player; The bed of wantonneſs, and the wanton actor, into the jaws of the earth, into the mouth of hell: he can ſurpriſe thee, even in the act of ſin; and doſt thou long for ſuch a ſpeedy execution, for ſuch an expedition? Thou canſt not lack Examples, that he hath done ſo upon others, and will no proof ſerve thee, but a ſpeedy judgement upon thy ſelf? Scatter thy thoughts no farther then; contract them in thy ſelf, and conſider Gods ſpeedy execution upon thy ſoul, and upon thy body, and upon thy ſoul and body together. Was not Gods judgement executed ſpeedily enough upon thy ſoul, when in the ſame inſtant that it was created, and conceiv'd, and infus'd, it was put to a neceſſity of contracting Original ſin, and ſo ſubmitted to the penalty of Adam's diſobedience, the firſt minute? Was not Gods judgement ſpeedily enough executed upon thy body, if before it had any temporal life, it had a ſpiritual death; a ſinful conception, before any inanimation? If hereditary diſeaſes from thy parents, Gouts and Epilepſies, were in thee, before the diſeaſes of thine own purchaſe, the effects of thy licentiouſneſs and thy riot; and that from the firſt minute that thou beganſt to live, thou beganſt to die too? Are not the judgements of God ſpeedily enough executed upon thy ſoul and body together, every day, when as ſoon as thou commitſt a ſin, thou art preſently left to thine Impenitence, to thine Inſenſibleneſs, and Obduration? Nay, the judgement is more ſpeedy then ſo: for, that very ſin it ſelf, was a puniſhment of thy former ſins.
But though God may begin ſpeedily, yet he intermits again, he ſlacks his pace; and therefore the execution is not ſpeedy. As it is ſaid of Pharaoh often, Becauſe the plagues ceaſed, (though they had been laid upon him) Ingratum eſt cor Pharaonis, Pharaoh's heart was hardned. But firſt we ſee, by that puniſhment which is laid upon Heli, That with God it is all one, to begin, and to conſummate his judgement: (When I begin, I will make an end. 1 Sam. 3.12.) And when Herod took a delight in that flattery and acclamation of the people, It is the voice of God, and not of man; Acts 12.22.the angel of the Lord ſmote him immediately, & the worms took poſſeſſion of him, though (if we take Joſephus relation for truth) he died not in five days after. Howſoever, if we conſider the judgements of God in his purpoſe, and decree, there they are eternal: And for the execution thereof, though the wicked ſinner diſſemble his ſenſe of his torments, and, as Tertullian ſays of a perſecutor, Herminianus, who being tormented at his death, in his violent ſickneſs, cryed out, Nemo ſciat, ne gaudeant Chriſtiani; Let no man know of my miſery, leſt the Chriſtians rejoyce thereat: ſo theſe ſinners ſuppreſs theſe judgements of God, from our knowledge, becauſe they would not have that God, that inflicts them, glorified therein, by us: Yet they know, their damnation hath never ſlept, nor let them ſleep quietly: and, in Gods purpoſe, the judgement hath been eternal, and they have been damned as long as the devil; and that's an execution ſpeedy enough. But becauſe this appears not ſo evidently, but that they may diſguiſe it to the world, and (with much ado) to their own Conſciences; Therefore their hearts are fully ſet in them, to do evil. And ſo we paſs to our third Part.
Part III.This is that perverſneſs, which the Heathen Philoſopher Epictetus, apprehends, and reprehends; That whereas every thing is preſented to us, Cum duabus ſauſis, with two handles, we take it ſtill, by the wrong handle. This is tortuoſitas ſerpentis, The wryneſs, the knottineſs, the entangling of the Serpent. This is that which the Apoſtle takes ſuch direct knowledge of,Rom. 2.4. Deſpiſest thou the riches of Gods bountifulneſs, and long-ſuffering, not knowing that it leads thee to repentance? St. Chryſostome's compariſon of ſuch a ſinner to a Vulture, that delights onelyonly in dead carcaſes, that is, in company dead in their ſins, holds beſt, as himſelf notes, in this particular, that the Vulture perhorreſcit fragrantiam unguenti, He loaths, and is ill affected with any ſweet ſavour: for ſo doth this ſinner finde death, in that ſoveraign Balm of the patience of God, and he dies of Gods mercy: Et quid infelicius illis, qui bono odore moriuntur? ſays S. Auguſtine: In what worſe ſtate can any man be, then to take harm of a good air? But, as the ſame Father addes, Numquid quia mori voluisti, malum fecisti odorem? This indiſpoſition in that particular man, does not make this air, an ill air; and yet this abuſe of the patience of God, comes to be an infectious poyſon, and ſuch a poyſon, as ſtrikes the heart; and ſo general, as to ſtrike the heart of the children of men; and ſo ſtrongly, as that their hearts ſhould be fully ſet in them, to do evil.
Firſt then, what is this ſetting of the heart upon evil; and then, what is this fulneſs, that leaves no room for a Cure? When a man receives figures and images of ſin, into his Fancie and Imagination, and leads them on to his Underſtanding and Diſcourſe, to his Will, to his Conſent, to his Heart, by a delightful dwelling upon the meditation of that ſin; yet this is not a ſetting of the heart upon doing evil. To be ſurpris'd by a Tentation, to be overthrown by it, to be held down by it for a time, is not it. It is not when the devil looks in at the window to the heart, by preſenting occaſions of tentations, to the eye; nor when he comes in at the door, to our heart, at the ear, either in laſcivious diſcourſes, or Satyrical and Libellous defamations of other men: It is not, when the devil is put to his Circuit, to ſeek whom he may devour, and how he may corrupt the King by his Council, that is, The Soul by the Senſes: But it is, when by a habitual cuſtom in ſin, the ſin ariſes meerly and immediately from my ſelf: It is, when the heart hath uſurp'd upon the devil, and upon the world too, and is able and apt to ſin of it ſelf, if there were no devil, and if there were no outward objects of tentation: when our own heart is become ſpontanea inſania, & voluntarius daemon, Such a wilful Madneſs,Chryſost. and ſuch a voluntary and natural Devil to it ſelf, as that we ſhould be ambitious, though we were in an Hoſpital; and licentious, though we were in a wilderneſs; and voluptuous, though in a famine: ſo that ſuch a mans heart, is as a land of ſuch Gyants, where the Children are born as great, as the Men of other nations grow to be; for thoſe ſins, which in other men have their birth, and their growth, after their birth, they begin at a Concupiſcence, and proceed to a Conſent, and grow up to Actions, and ſwell up to Habits; In this man, ſin begins at a ſtature and proportion above all this; he begins at a delight in the ſin, and comes inſtantly to a defence of it, and to an obduration and impenitibleneſs in it: This is the evil of the heart, by the miſ-uſe of Gods grace, to deveſt and loſe all tenderneſs and remorſe in ſin.
Now for the Incurableneſs of this heart, it conſiſts firſt in this, that there is a fulneſs; It is fully ſet to do evil: & ſuch a full heart hath no room for a Cure; as a full ſtomack hath no room for Phyſick. The Mathematician could have removed the whole world with his Engine, if there had been any place to have ſet his Engine in. Any man might be cur'd of any ſin, if his heart were not full of it, and fully ſet upon it: which ſetting, is indeed, in a great part, an unſetledneſs, when the heart is in a perpetual motion, and in a miſerable indifferencie to all ſins: it may be fully ſet upon ſin, though it be not vehemently affected to any one ſin. The reaſon which is aſſign'd, why the heart of man, if it receive a wound, is incurable, is the palpitation, and the continual motion of the heart: for, if the heart could lie ſtill, ſo that fit things might be applyed to it, and work upon it, all wounds in all parts of the heart, were not neceſſarily mortal: So, if our hearts were not diſtracted, in ſo many forms, and ſo divers ways of ſin, it might the better be cur'd of any one. St. Auguſtine had this apprehenſion, when he ſaid, Audeo dicere utile eſſe cadere in aliquod manifeſtum peccatum, ut ſibi diſpliceant: It is well for him, that is indifferent to all ſins, if he fall into ſome ſuch miſery by ſome one ſin, as brings him to a ſenſe of that, and of the reſt. St. Auguſtine, when he ſays this, ſays he ſpeaks boldly in ſaying ſo, Audeo dicere: but we may be ſo much more bold, as to ſay further, That that man had been damn'd, if he had not ſinn'd that ſin: For the heart of the indifferent ſinner bayts at all that ever riſes, at all forms and images of ſin: when he ſees a thief, he runs with him; Pſal. 50.and with the adulterer he hath his portion: and as ſoon as it contracts any ſpiritual diſeaſe, any ſin, it is preſently, not onelyonly in morbo acuto, but in morbo complicato; in a ſharp diſeaſe, and in a manifold diſeaſe, a diſeaſe multiplied in it ſelf. Therefore it is, as St. Gregory notes, that the Prophet propoſes it, as the hardeſt thing of all, for a ſinner to return to his own heart, and to finde out that, after it is ſtrayed, and ſcattered upon ſo ſeveral ſins. Redite prevaricatores ad cor, ſays the Prophet:Eſa. 46. and, ſays that Father, Longe eis mittit, cum ad cor redire compellit: God knows whither he ſends them, when he ſends them to their own heart: for, ſince it is true which the ſame Father ſaid, Vix ſancti inveniunt cor ſuum, The holyeſt man cannot at all times finde his own heart, (his heart may be bent upon Religion, and yet he cannot tell in which Religion; and upon Preaching, and yet he cannot tell which Preacher; and upon Prayer, and yet he ſhall finde ſtrayings and deviations in his Prayer) much more hardly is the various and vagabond heart of ſuch an indifferent ſinner, to be found by any ſearch. If he enquire for his heart, at that Chamber where he remembers it was yeſterday, in laſcivious and luſtful purpoſes, he ſhall hear that it went from thence to ſome riotous Feaſting, from thence to ſome Blaſphemous Gaming, after, to ſome Malicious Conſultation of entangling one, and ſupplanting another; and he ſhall never trace it ſo cloſe, as to drive it home, that is, to the conſideration of it ſelf, and that God that made it; nay, ſcarce to make it conſiſt in any one particular ſin. That which St. Bernard fear'd in Eugenius, when he came to be Pope, and ſo to a diſtraction of many worldly buſineſſes, may much more be fear'd in a diſtraction of many ſins, Cave ne te trahant, quo non vis; Take heed leſt theſe ſins carry thee farther, then thou intendeſt: thou intendeſt but Pleaſure, or Profit; but the ſin will carry thee farther: Quaeris quo? ſays that Father; Doſt thou ask whither? Ad cor durum, To a ſenſleſneſs, a remorſleſneſs, a hardneſs of heart: nec pergas quaerere, (ſays he) quid illud ſit; Never ask what that hardneſs of heart is: for, if thou know it not, thou haſt it.
This then is the fulneſs, and ſo the Incurableneſs of the heart, by that reaſon of perpetual motion; becauſe it is in perpetual progreſs from ſin to ſin, he never conſiders his ſtate. But there is another fulneſs intended here, That he is come to a full point, to a conſideration of his ſin, and to a ſtation and ſetledneſs in it, out of a foundation of Reaſon, as though it were, not onelyonly an excuſable, but a wiſe proceeding, Becauſe Gods judgements are not executed. But when man becomes to be thus fully ſet, God ſhall ſet him faſter:Job 14.17. Iniquitas tua in ſacculo ſignata; His tranſgreſſion ſhall be ſealed up in a bag, and God ſhall ſow up his iniquity: And, Quid cor hominis niſi ſacculus Dei? Gregor.What is this bag of God, but the heart of that ſinner? There, as a bag of a wretched Miſers money, which ſhall never be opened, never told till his death, lies this bag of ſin, this frozen heart of an impenitent ſinner; and his ſins ſhall never be opened, never told to his own Conſcience, till it be done to his final condemnation. God ſhall ſuffer him to ſettle, where he hath choſen to ſettle himſelf, in an unſenſibleneſs, an Inintelligibleneſs, (to uſe Tertullian's word) of his own condition: And,Aug. Quid miſerior miſero non miſerante ſeipſum? Who can be more miſerable then that man, who does not commiſerate his own miſery? How far gone is he into a pitiful eſtate, that neither deſires to be pitied by others, nor pities himſelf, nor diſcerns that his ſtate needs pity? Invaluerat ira tua ſuper me, & neſciebam, ſays bleſſed St. Auguſtine: Thy hand lay heavie upon me, and I found it not to be thy hand: becauſe the Maledictions of God are honeyed and candied over, with a little cruſt or ſweetneſs of worldly eaſe, or reprieve, we do not apprehend them in their true taſte, and right nature. Obſurdueram ſtridore catenarum mearum, ſays the ſame Father: The jingling and ratling of our Chains and Fetters, makes us deaf: The weight of the judgement takes away the ſenſe of the judgement. This is the full ſetting of the heart to do evil, when a man fills himſelf with the liberty of paſſing into any ſin, in an indifferencie; and then findes no reaſon why he ſhould leave that way, either by the love, or by the fear of God. If he proſper by his ſin, then he findes no reaſon; if he do not proſper by it, yet he findes a wrong reaſon. If unſeaſonable flouds drown his Harveſt, and fruſtrate all his labours, and his hopes; he never findes, that his oppreſſing, and grinding of the Poor, was any cauſe of thoſe waters, but he looks onelyonly how the Winde ſate, and how the ground lay; and he concludes, that if Noah, and Job, Ezek. 14.14.and Daniel had been there, their labour muſt have periſhed, and been drown'd, as well as his. If a vehement Fever take hold of him, he remembers where he ſweat, and when he took cold; where he walked too faſt, where his Caſement ſtood open, and where he was too bold upon Fruit, or meat of hard digeſtion; but he never remembers the ſinful and naked Wantonneſſes, the profuſe and waſtful Dilapidations of his own body, that have made him thus obnoxious and open to all dangerous Diſtempers. Thunder from heaven burns his Barns, and he ſays, What luck was this? if it had fallen but ten foot ſhort or over, my barns had been ſafe: whereas his former blaſphemings of the Name of God, drew down that Thunder upon that houſe, as it was his; and that Lightning could no more fall ſhort or over, then the Angel which was ſent to Sodom, could have burnt another Citie, and have ſpar'd that; or then the Plagues of Moſes and of Aaron could have fallen upon Goſhen, and have ſpar'd Egypt. His Gomers abound with Manna, he overflows with all for neceſſities, and with all delicacies, in this life; and yet he findes worms in his Manna, a putrefaction, and a mouldring away, of this abundant ſtate; but he ſees not that that is, becauſe his Manna was gathered upon the Sabbath, that there were profanations of the Name and Ordinances of God, mingled in his means of growing rich. To end all, This is the true Uſe that we are to make of the long-ſuffering and patience of God, That when his patience ends, ours may begin: That if he forbear others rather then us,21.7. we do not expoſtulate, as in Job, Wherefore do the wicked live, and become old, and grow mighty in power? but rather, if he chaſtiſe us rather then others,Pſal. 44.18. ſay with David, Our heart is not turned back, neither have our ſteps declined from thy ways, though thou haſt ſore broken us, in the place of dragons, and covered us with the ſhadow of death: And that if ſentence be executed upon us, we may make uſe of his judgement; and if not, we may continue, and enlarge his mercies towards us.
AMEN.