Christs Alarm to Drowsy Saints, Sermon 10
REVEL. 3. 1.
And unto the Angel of the Church in Sardis, write, Theſe things ſaith hee that hath the ſeven Spirits of God, and the ſeven ſtarres, I know thy works, that thou haſt a name that thou liveſt, and art dead.
I know thy works, &c.
Revel. 3. 1.
I know thy workes, &c.
YE have heard two things concerning this Epiſtle. Firſt, the Inſcription, that declareth the perſon to whom it was ſent, To the Angel of the Church in Sardis write. That is, it was ſent principally to the Miniſter of the Church in the Town of Sardis, and alſo to the Chriſtians that were in that Church.
Secondly, the ſubſcription that declareth from whom it was ſent, Theſe things ſaith hee that hath the ſeven Spirits of God, and the ſeven Stars: that is, it was ſent from Jeſus Chriſt.
Now we come to the third thing, and that is the ſubject matter of this Epiſtle, which conſiſts of three things.
Firſt, a Reprehenſion of the ſins of the Miniſter, and the body of his congregation.
Secondly, a Direction, or the ſhewing of the remedy, for the curing of their ſins.
Thirdly, a Commendation of ſome particular perſons in that Congregation, that were not carryed away with the ſins of the times.
The reprehenſion is either in generall, I know thy works, that is, I know them all, and I know them to be ſtark nought for the moſt part, what-ever they ſeem, they may ſeem to be very good, but I tell you plainly, I know them all what they be, q. d. Generally they are ſtark nought.
And then in particular hee inſtances in two: firſt, the ſin of hypocriſie, or ſeeming to be good, Thou haſt a name that thou liveſt. Secondly, the ſin of deadneſſe of heart; But thou art dead. This is the reprehenſion, or the reproof.
Then follows the Direction, or the ſhewing of the remedy, for he does not reprove them out of any ill will, but for their good. And therefore he preſcribes them a remedy, and the remedy is twofold: The firſt is, to ſtrengthen the things that remain, that are ready to dye. v. 2. q. d. as many of you as are not quite and clean dead, ſtir up your ſelves, quicken up your hearts; and this is, firſt illuſtrated by ſhewing how they ſhould doe thus. Be watchfull ſayes he, q. d. thats the reaſon why ye languiſh on this faſhion, and ye will languiſh more and more, becauſe yee are not watchfull, therefore be watchfull: and then it is urged by rendring a motive to uſe this remedy: For I have not found thy workes perfect before God, that is, thou art hardly ſincere a jot, thou art full of hypocriſie, and formality, and thou wilt loſe all thy labour, if thou doſt not look well about thee; therefore ſhake up thy ſelf, and ſtrengthen the things, &c. this is the firſt remedy. The ſecond remedy is to repent, v. 3. and this is amplified by ſhewing how, and that is two wayes, 1. Remember how &c. i.e. conſider how thou haſt been taught, and bewail thy declinings, for thou art horribly departed from what thou haſt heard out of the Word. 2. Hold faſt. i.e. ſo bewaile thy warpings and degeneratings, that thou mayeſt get up again, and hold thee faſt there, when thou art up.
Now leſt they ſhould neglect the uſing of this remedy, the Lord Jeſus ſharpens his ſpeech with a threatning, telling them the danger if they will not be awakened, if therefore thou ſhalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou ſhalt not know, &c. Thus you ſee the remedy.
Then the next thing is the commemoration of ſome ſlain perſons, raw Birds, that were not carryed away with the ſins of the times, and in the common deadneſſe of the Congregation, where they lived, and theſe hee does commend very much.
And then an incouragement to give them an excellent promiſe. The commendation is in theſe words. Thou haſt a few names even in Sardis, which have not defiled their garments, verſ. 4. That is, there be ſome among you, though they be but a few; and he commends them for two things. 1. From the place, that they could be in Sardis, and yet keepe their quickning. Thou haſt a few names even in Sardis. Even in Sardis, q. d. in dead Sardis, even there be ſome lively Chriſtians, that are not dead. 2. from the quality of their care expreſſed by a metaphor of keeping their garments cleane, which have not defiled their garments, that is, they have been very carefull indeed, that they are not ſooted and ſoyled with ſo many ill examples; though others be dead, yet they will not be dead too for company.
And then their promiſe followes for their encouragement in theſe words. They ſhall walke after me in white, in the ſame verſe; that is, I will give them the grace of preſence, and will keepe them unſpotted unto my Heavenly Kingdome and Glory; and hee addes a reaſon why hee makes them ſuch a promiſe, in theſe words. For they are worthy; not as though they did merit preſence and glory; no; but they are worthy in Chriſt, and Chriſt hath made them meet to be made partakers of this mercy. Thus you ſee the matter of the example.
Well, now to come to the reproofe, and firſt in generall,Doct. 1. I know thy workes, that is, I know them all, and I know them to be ſtarke naught for the moſt part, what ever they ſeeme; they may ſeeme to be very good and godly; but be it knowne unto you, I know them all, what they be, q. d. generally they are ſtarke naught. The firſt point wee hence gather is that the Lord knowes every mans ill courſes; hee is privy to every mans ſinnes, though men carry them never ſo cleverly & cloſely, yet he knows them.
Firſt, he ſees mens ſinfull workes; they can do nothing,1 but hee ſees it, as Elihu ſpeakes, his eyes are upon the wayes of men, and hee ſeeth all their goings. There is no darkneſſe nor ſhadow of death, where the workes of iniquity may hide themſelves, Job. 34. 21, 22. what ever evill men doe, they cannot hide it from him; they may go into a houſe, and thinke to ſhut out all men from ſeeing of them, but they cannot ſhut him out; they cannot get out of his ſight be they never ſo private, and who ſees them? yet the Lord ſees them.
Secondly, hee knows every ſyllable that men ſpeake2 at any time, as David ſayes, There is not a word in my Tongue, but lo O Lord thou knoweſt it altogether, Pſ. 13. 4. The Prophet Eliſha could tell what the King of Aram ſpake in his privy chamber, 2 Kings 6. 12. the Lord can tell what words people ſpeake under the Roſe; what they ſay in their beds, what they whiſper in their cloſe meetings, what they belch out on their Alebenches. Enoch ſayes he wil have them all up at the day of judgment, nay if a word be but at the Tongues end, hee hears it.
Thirdly, hee knowes every thought in mens hearts, as3 Moſes ſayes, and God ſaw that the wickedneſſe of man was great upon the Earth, and the very imagination of the thoughts of his heart was onelyonly evill continually, Gen. 6. 5. Though mens thoughts be ſly things, and are out of mens eyes, and Divells eyes, and Angels eyes, yet they are not out of his eye, he ſees what men think.
Fourthly, he knowes all that ever a man hath done in4 times paſt; he revealed unto Moſes what Adam did in the Garden, what Cain in the ſield, what bragges Lamech uſed before his Wives, what villany Lots Daughters did in the night time, many 100 years after they were done. He knowes what was done yeſterday and tother day, and tother day, ſeven hundred hundred yeares agoe. Hee hath a Kalender of all the ſinnes of men ever ſince the beginning of the World; what people did in their childhood, what in their youth, what in their manhood, though they themſelves have forgotten, yet he remembers; Ther's no time out of minde unto Him: as Solomon ſayes, God requireth that whch is paſt, Eccl. 3. 15.
Fifthly, he knowes what ſinnes men will commit hereafter;5 Chriſt told his Apoſtles before hand, what wicked dealings they ſhould meet with; the Lord told Moſes what Pharaoh would do, before he went to him, I know he will not let you go, Exod. 3. 19. So likewiſe when the children of Iſrael were in the Wilderneſſe, the Lord told them even then that he knew all the wickedneſſe that ever they would doe when they came into Canaan. I know their imaginations even now ſayes he, before I have brought them into the Land which Iſware, Deut. 31. 21.
Sixthly, Hee knowes not onelyonly what ſinnes they have6 committed heretofore, nor onelyonly what they will commit hereafter, but alſo he knowes what they would commit, in ſuch and ſuch caſes. Hee knew Abimelech would have taken Sarah, if hee had not hindred him. He knew that the men of Keilah would betray David, if hee ſhould ſtay there, 1 Sam. 23. 12. He knowes what a rich man would do if hee were poore; what a poore man would do if he were rich; He knowes that ſuch a one would play the apoſtate, rather then looſe all his living; Hee knowes that ſuch a man would do miſchiefe, if hee had wherewithall; hee ſees what is in every mans heart, what lies particularly in every mans nature; It may be her's one that dyes in his infancy, the Lord knowes what hee would have done, if hee had lived till hee was a man; here's one that dyes at 40, the Lord knowes what a wretch hee would have been, if he had lived to twenty or thirty years longer; here's one that dwells now in a good family, it may be now hee conformes to good duties, he does not flye out, but the Lord knowes how he would be a very rakeſhame; if hee lived in another place.
Seventhly, the Lord knowes what men are and what they have beene, and what they will be, as he knowes all their thoughts, words and works, He knowes all their diſpoſitions, their perſons, their natures, their qualities, their affections, and ends and aymes, and motives and eſtates; hee knowes how many are rotten though they profeſſe never ſo much, how many are unfound though they be never ſo well eſteemed in the Church; Hee knowes in what eſtate every man ſtands in. He knowes vaine men, he feeth wickedneſſe alſo; will not he then puniſh it? Job. 11. 11. The reaſons of this point, that God knowes all mens ſinnes and ſinfull courſes, hee knowes all that they ever have done, or doe doe, or will doe, or can doe or would doe are:
Firſt, becauſe God is infinite in knowledge, as David 1.ſayes, his underſtanding is infinite, Pſal. 147. 5 as the Prophet Eſay ſayes, ther's no ſearching of his underſtanding, Iſa. 40. 28. well, if he be infinite in Knowledge, what can a poore Creature keepe cloſe from him? who can hide his iniquities from him? who can ſet ſuch a colour upon his wicked deviſes that hee can not diſcover them? let a man excuſe himſelfe, may be his excuſes may paſſe currant among men, but God muſt needs know the falſeneſſe of his excuſes, and that they are but Fig leaves: men may pretend what they will, and deny what they will with an impudent forehead, and ſet a good face upon what they will and this may goe unperceived among men; but Gods underſtanding is infinite, and therefore hee knowes all that men do, he knows how every man ſtands affected unto him, he knows how people come to Church, and whether they meane to doe what they have been taught, whether they meane to reforme what they have been reproved for; for, He is infinite in Knowledge, and therefore he is privy to all the ſins of men.
Secondly, as he is omniſcient, ſo he is omnipreſent; he2 is preſent every where; whether can any Creature goe from his preſence? if hee goe into Bed, or Chamber, or Cloſet, or Street, or high way, or Alehouſe, or Drabhouſe, home or abroad, hee can go howhere but where God is, and how can hee doe ought, but God muſt needs ſee him? God himſelfe argues on this manner, Can any hide himſelfe in ſecret places, that I ſhould not ſee him▪ … not I fill Heaven and earth? ſayth the Lord, Jer. 23. 24. q…d if I be every where, I muſt needs be able to ſee every where.
Thirdly, the Lord is omniprovident, as I may ſo ſpeak,3 hee hath a hand either in the making of all things, or at leaſt in the permitting and diſpoſing of all things. All that is good, hee does it himſelfe, or elſe it cannot be done. All that is evill, hee muſt permit it to be, or elſe it cannot be committed; nothing is done without his concurrence or ſufferance; therefore he muſt needs know all mens ſins he knowes what hee hath ſuffered to be▪ or does ſuffer, or will ſuffer; not ſo much as the ſinnes of men can fall out without him; as Peter ſpeaking of Judas his ſinnes, and the Iewes, and Pilats, and Herods, they did nothing but what he knew they would doe; why they did nothing, but what his Hand and Counſell determined before to be done▪ Acts 4. 28. therefore he knew the Jewes would be betray Chriſt; he could tell the Prophet Zachary diverſe hundred yeares before, that hee would take 30 pieces of Silver to doe it. He could tell the Prophet Eſay that they would fmite him, and buffet him, that they would reck on him among tranſgreſſors; he could tell the Prophet David that they ſhould pierce his hands and his Feet, and that they ſhould offer him Vineger to drinke, the Lord knew all theſe ſinnes of yours; why? becauſe hee had decreed them. True hee did not decree that hee would make them commit them, but he decreed that they themſelves ſhould be the agents of them▪ it ſhould be meerly their fault, their covetouſnes, their malice, their men-pleaſing, their wicked diſpoſition; I but he ordred theſe things, and therefore he muſt needs know them. The drunkard could not hold up the cup to his mouth, if God had not intended to preſerve his armes, and his mouth, at that time; hee could not goe to the tipling houſe, but that God intended to continue him his feet, and his health; no man could thinke a wicked thought, nor ſpeake a naughty word, but that God upholds his heart and his tongue in the interim; if God ſhould forbeare his goodneſſe to them, he would be ſpeechleſſe, and not able to thinke ſo much as any thought at all, and this aggravates mans ſinnes, that hee hath need of Gods goodneſſe at the ſame time▪ and yet that he ſhould ſin againſt his Maker.
Fourthly, the Lord knowes every mans ſinnes, becauſe4 he hath a Candle in every mans boſome; hee hath made mens hearts on that wiſe, that he hath a Candle in them all. Yee know there is a ſpirit in a man, that we call conſcience, that is Gods Candle, as Solomon ſayes, The ſpirit of man is the Candle of the Lord, ſearching all the inward parts of the belly, Pro. 20. 27. well, if he have a Candle ſhining in every mans boſome, what can there be hidden in the darke? nay he knoweth mens hearts and wayes better then they knew them themſelves, as the Phyſitian can better judge of his Patients body then himſelfe; Chriſt knew Peters unbelieving heart, when he knew it not himſelfe, though all men be offended in thee yet will not I; Chriſt knew he would be offended in him that very night; ſo hee knew Hazaels wicked life, when the man that owned it, would not believe it; is thy ſervant a Dogge ſayes he, that I ſhould be ſo wicked? yet he knew he would be ſo wicked and cruell; and therefore God can bring to a mans minde a thouſand things that he never dreamt of before; many a man deceives himſelfe all his life time; But when hee comes to ſicken and die, then God ſhewes him what he is, and what he hath done, and now he ſees he is a damned wretch, and yet before though all the Miniſters in England had told him ſo much, hee would not have believed it.
Fifthly, he muſt needs know every mans ſins, becauſe5 he is the Judge of all the World, and he is to judge every ſinner according to his deeds; now if hee ſhould not know all his ſins, he could not judge righteous judgement. The Judge muſt know all ſecrets, otherwiſe he cannot well judge. Now beloved God is a righteous Judge, and therefore no ſin can ſcape him; God ſhall bring every work into judgement with every ſecret thing, whether it be good or whether it be evill, Eccl. 12. 14. True it is, he ſhall not want witneſſes in the day, for conſcience ſhall be a thouſand witneſſes; yet it is needfull that himſelfe ſhould have perfect knowledge of all the actions of men. For why is conſcience ſo ready to accuſe a man, when it is awakened? it is onelyonly becauſe it is conſcious that God knoweth all its doings; now if God had not perfect knowledge himſelfe, conſcience would not witneſſe all then, neither could it make a ſinner confeſſe all. But Gods knowing all, this is it that will make conſcience to ſpeake truth.Jeremy hath a very excellent ſaying, let. 11. 20. The Pſalmiſt being to diſpute againſt a company of Atheiſticall people that ſayd, tuſh God ſhall not ſee, Pſal. 94. 7. marke how hee reaſons againſt them. He brings an argument from Gods judging of men to prove that God muſt needs ſee; O ſayes he, it is he that chaſtiſeth the hea hen, ſhall not hee correct? hee that teacheth man knowledge, ſhall not he know? verſ. 10. q. d. yee deny God to be judge; if hee ſay hee does not know, how can he correct them? will he judge men for that he knowes not what? no, if he be the judge of the whole World, he muſt needs know all that men doe.
The uſe of this is, Firſt, is it ſo that God knowes allVse 1. mens ſinfull courſes, if men be dead-hearted, he knowes it; if they be heartles in good duties, he knowes it; though they would be loth that men ſhould know what they are, and doe keepe it from them, yet they cannot dawb it before God; he knowes it; then this may ſerve to confute them that ſay God does not know ſin. This was Averroes his opinion, who ſayes God does not know ſin; God knows all that ever he knowes by knowing of himſelfe, and how can hee know ſin, becauſe hee can ſee no ſuch thing in himſelfe? I anſwer this is to derogate from the knowledge of God, and to deny the perfection of it. True, ſin is an evill, yea the greateſt evill of all evills; yet the knowledge of it is good: nay, it were ſtrange to ſay that God does not know who ſin againſt him; that were a pity; if men be abuſed, wee ſay it were pity but that they ſhould know of it; and if wee doe love them, wee tell them who they be that abuſe them, and what the abuſes are. Certainly God knowes who doe abuſe him, and how people carry themſelves towards all his Commandements and worſhip; it is a part of his perfection to know it. Againe we our ſelves may know ſin, and may know ſin by the contrary, as wee know what darkneſſe is by the contrary, which is light; and ſhall we ſay that God doe not know it? God damnes all the wicked one after another for it, and therfore he does know it, nay we ſee that God brings ſecret things to light here in this World, when people had thought that no body ſhould ever come to know it, yet hee does often bring ſecret ſinnes to light here in this World, how much more at the laſt day? And though God knowes all that ever he knowes by looking upon himſelfe, and ſin be not there, but nothing but good and goodneſſe it ſelfe, yet hee can know it as a Medium to bring good out of it; And ſo it is good as he wils it, and therefore hee decrees it, and therefore he muſt needs know it and know it in himſelf. For the permiſſion onelyonly of it is in himſelf, and the acting which is evill is out of himſelfe, neither does it follow that Gods underſtanding ſhould become vile by knowing ſo many vile things, as Vorſtius and others do blaſphemouſly aſtirme, & thence they would conclude their curſed Atheiſticall axiomes; we indeed may make our ſelves vile by looking upon vile and baſe things, becauſe we cannot keepe our hearts from ſavouring of them; whoſe end is damnation, &c. who minde earthly things, Phil. 3. 19. that is, their minde becomes vile by ſo doing. Hereby people come to be unacquainted with God, and with Heavenly things. They know how to buy and ſell, how to earne and get gaine, how to plough and ſow and ſuch earthly things, and they do ſo ſavour their minds, that they make their minds baſe with them, and therefore we are commanded to ennoble our minds and underſtandings, for theſe things make them vile, and therefore we ſhould think of them no oftner then needs muſt, for our minds are debaſed by baſe objects; This is to be meant in regard of us, not as though any thing that God hath made were vile, but our corruption makes us vile; when we looke upon vile things, we are apt to run a whoring after them, and our affections to bee hampered by them; but God can daily and every howre ſee and looke what vile things men doe; for he keepes a continuall and an uninterrupted hatred of them, as the Pſalmiſt ſayes, he is angry with the wicked every day, ſo hee hates their courſes every day.
Againe does God know all mens ſins? then this confutes the Anomiſts, that ſay God cannot ſee the ſins of his people, God ſees no ſin in his people ſay they; abuſing that place there of Balaam. Hee hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he ſeene tranſgreſſion in Iſrael. Numb. 23. 21. what's this but to pervert Scripture, hee ſpeakes there of the eye of his Juſtice, He does not ſpeake of the eye of his Knowledge; He ſpeakes of ſuch things as is in the wicked: That indeed God doe not ſee in his people; for it is not there to be ſeene; otherwiſe, if Gods people ſin, God makes them know and confeſſe that hee ſees it; as David ſayes, O God thou knoweſt my fooliſhneſſe, and my ſinnes are not hid from thee, Pſal. 69. 5. The garments of ſalvation that God puts upon his people, are not to hoodwinke Gods Al-ſeeing Knowledge, but to keep of the deſtroying Angell.
Secondly, another uſe is to condemne the moſt ſorts ofVſe 2. men, that doe not conſider of this truth; they little thinke that God ſees all their doings. I feare there is hardly any among us, that will ſeeme to deny but that God can ſee all his wayes; and yet we ſee it is too apparent by mens lives, that few men do believe this indeed. There is this vile Atheiſme ſculking in all our hearts naturally (otherwiſe we durſt not doe as wee doe) that either God is ſuch a God as the Epicures made him, that ſits in Heaven and regards not what men doe here below, or at leaſt we doe not charge this truth on our hearts, that God ſees us; this is the cauſe of all the ſinnes that are among us; That there is ſo much luke warmeneſſe in the better ſort, ſo much heartleſneſſe in holy performances before God, ſo much wickedneſſe among others; for why? if men did ſeriouſly conſider that Gods ſees all and markes all, nay hee markes all that men do, ſo curiouſly that hee can ſet them in order before them, all that ever they have done, Pſal. 50. 21. in the ſame order that they committed them; marke he can ſet before us in order all that ever we doe from day to day; this ſin then, and that ſin then; ſuch a ſin wee did at ſuch a time, ſuch ſins in the morning, ſuch at noone, ſuch the laſt night, ſuch luſts were in our hearts in ſuch a place, and ſuch in ſuch a place; hee can ſet them in order before us, he knowes them ſo well, and will too before he hath done; I ſay if wee did charge this upon our ſoules, we could not live ſo looſely as we doe.
You will ſay, yea, but we are Chriſtians, why do you tell us ſuch a known truth? what need ſo many arguments to prove that God knowes all our ſinnes? wee know that already and no body will deny it, we are Chriſtians. I anſwer, this is the hypocriſy of men hearts; their hearts will confeſſe it to be a truth, but in their workes they do deny it. The Prophet David ſpeakes of men that were in the viſible Church of God aſwell as we, and that would confeſſe this truth aſwell as we, and yet he ſayes of many an one of them; He hath ſaid in his heart God hath forgotten, he hath hid his face, he will never ſee it, Pſal. 10. 11. And the truth is, this is the cauſe of all the boldneſſe of people to goe on in their ſinnes, or to yeeld to ſinne at any time; they put this out of their boſomes that God ſees them; As Ezekiel ſpeakes, the land is full of blood, the City is full of perverſneſſe, for they ſay the Lord hath forſaken the Earth, and the Lord ſeeth not, Ezek. 9. they ſay ſo in effect; they put God afar of, and they doe not conſider that hee ſees them. Beloved there's none of us all but hath need that this truth ſhoud be urged upon us, that God beholds all iniquity and evill; we can never doe amiſſe, but he takes notice of it.
Thirdly, another uſe is; is it ſo that God ſees all mensVſe 3. ſins? Then this is a terror to all that goe on with a ſelfe condemning heart. O conſider what the Apoſtle ſayes, if our heart condemne us, God is greater then our heart, and he knowes all things, 1 Joh. 3. 20. q. d. if we have a ſelfe condemning heart, how much more ſhall we find a ſelfe condemning God? If our own heart can find us out, if that can find out our worldlines, or our irreverence, or our careleſneſſe of God, how much more wlll God find us out? He knowes all our ſins better then we our ſelves; and therefore, O let us quake all of us to goe on with a ſelfe-condemning heart; it is a bad badge, it is a prodigious token of the fearefull judgement of God; if wee doe not get our ſins done away, by the blood of Jeſus Chriſt, and by his ſanctifying Spirit, God will finde us out; for hee knowes what we are, and what wee doe daily, and how we live every day and howre. Againe, this is a terror to them that are Hypocrites; If God could not ſee a rotten heart, he ſhould ſpeed as well as the beſt. O but ſayes God, I the Lord ſearch the heart, J try the reynes, even to give every man according to his wayes and according to the fruit of his doings, Jer. 17. 10. and therefore wo be to ſuch as are otherwiſe within then they ſeeme to be without; without they are painted ſepulchers, but within they are full of rottenneſſe, they profeſſe godlineſſe, but they ſuffer within a Worldly ſpirit, a guilty conſcience, a vaine minde, an unbelieving heart, no love of God, no zeale to his glory, no feeling of the Churches miſery, no compaſſion with the Saints, no delight in them that feare God indeed; and yet they will goe for Chriſtians forſooth. God ſees all their workes, and will unmaſk them in his due time, either in this world, or in the world to come, and will poure everlaſting contempt on them.
Fourthly, this is comfort to good people, for if God ſee4. all mens ſins, then he ſees all mens goodneſſe much rather; what a comfort is this in prayer to conſider, that he that ſearcheth the heart knowes what is the minde of the ſpirit? Rom. 8. 17. Hee knowes all thy groanes, Hee knowes all thy deſires; what a comfort is this when ever an honeſt ſoule is put to it ſoundly in temptation, when the ſoule is accuſed by Satan, hardly thought on by men, and God lets bitter temptations to come on? I ſay what a comfort is this, that God knowes all the good things that are in man? all ones affections, all ones endeavours, ail ones combats againſt ſinne, all ones griefes for corruption, as Peter ſayd, Lord, thou knoweſt all things, thou knoweſt that I love thee, Joh. 21. 17. Peter was put to it ſoundly at that time; But yet this was his comfort that God did know all things. Hee had many tokens of Gods gracious goodneſſe about him, hee had love to Jeſus Chriſt, hee had deepe deſires to doe all that hee bade him. O ſayes hee, and thou knoweſt it. Againe this is an excellent comfort in time of affliction. When Iob was in affliction, and his friends ſcorned him, then did hee goe and poure out his Teares unto God, and this was his comfort, Behold my witneſſe is in Heaven, and my record is on high, Job. 16. 19, 20. Againe this an excellent encouragement to ſerve God in theſe bad and ſinnefull times; people generally never looke after God, nor holineſſe; the World lookes after their pleaſures and their profits, and preferments, and friends, and the like; but Religion and Devoutneſſe, and Godlineſſe of living, few people looke after that as though God did not regard what people doe. Now beloved, when wee heare that God ſees all that men doe, and markes it, and will call all men to accompt, what an encouragement is this to ſerve God, as David ſayd to Solomon, Know thou the God of thy Fathers and ſerve him with a perfect heart, for the Lord ſearcheth all Hearts, and underſtandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts, 1 Chron. 28. 9. Againe, what a comfort is this againſt falſe accuſations? Hee knowes all our innocency, when our Neighbours ſay all manner of evill of us. Hee knowes wee doe that in ſimplicity, which others thinke wee doe out of a ſiniſter reſpect, or out of pride, or popularity, or for applauſe. What a comfort is this, when wee can appeale to God, as Paul ſayes, the Lord knowes that J lye not, as David ſayes, I have not refrained my lips from Preaching thy Righteouſneſſe O Lord, thou knoweſt, Pſal. 40. 9. Hee knowes the uttermoſt endeavours and deſires of our hearts is to be as good as wee ſeeme, though the World take us for Hypocrites Hee knowes wee be true men, that reverence every power that is of God, though the World eſteeme us factious and humorous. Little does the World thinke what the Saints doe every day, what wraſtlings with God, what conflicts in their mindes they indure; this is ſufficient, the Lord knowes.
Againe, what a comfort is this? if wee deſire to know our ſinnes, God is able to ſhew them unto us▪ Hee can open our eyes to behold them for our humiliation, that wee may ſay with the Prophet, I know mine owne iniquities and my ſinne is ever before me; if we want a right ſight of our ſinnes at any time, it is but going to God, Hee knowes them all, hee can helpe us to ſee them aright.
Fifthly, does God know all mens ſinnes? then this ſhould make us afraid to doe evill at any time, or in any place, yea in the ſecreteſt; wee can never do any evill, but God will ſpy us out; wee cannot have a thought in our heart, but hee does diſcerne it; nor omit any duty but hee does perceive it; nor ſlubber over any good duty, but hee ſtands by and lookes on; may be when yee are among your ſelves, yee can ſhoot out your Arrowes even bitter and malicious words, may bee no body can tell what yee ſaid, tuſh it ſhall never come to ſuch a ones Eare; Who can tell that you did ſay ſo? Who? why God can Thus yee ſayd and thus yee ſaid, ſayes the Lord; That have you ſayd O houſe of Iſrael, for I knew the things that came into your minde every one of them, Ezek. 11. 5. Hee knowes thy adultery and with whom and in what Bed; neither Curtaines, nor Doores, nor Lock and Key can hide from him. Hee knowes how thy heart hath riſen up againſt the Word, Hee knowes how many times thou haſt ſmothered thine owne conſcience, and gone againſt it, and outwreſtled it; He knowes how thou letteſt thy minde rove in Prayer, how many times thou haſt come to the Lords Table unworthily, omitted Family duties or hudled them over without due regard; Hee knowes what trickes thou haſt to put off conviction, what a baſe eſteeme thou haſt of the ſtrictneſſe that Gods Word doth require, when thou heareſt it layd open. O I ſay, this ſhould make thee to feare God, this ſhould make thee to feare everywhere as the Pſalmiſt ſayes, Thou compaſſeſt my paths and my lying downe, and art acquainted with all my wayes, Pſal. 139. 3. Thou haſt beſet mee behind and before, within and without; thou poſſeſſeſt all my reines. O what an awe ſhould this breede in us! But I let this Uſe paſſe. This Uſe will better come in the next Doctrine.
Well then, the next Doctrine is this. The knowingDoct. 2. that God knowes all our workes, is the powerfull meanes to all Gods elect, to do them good, and to quicken them, and to make them take heede of all manner of ſinne; when the Lord would quicken his people here in Sardis, hee uſes this as his firſt meanes to doe it by, I know thy workes; wee may ſee this in David. I have kept thy Precepts and thy Teſtimonies, for all my wayes are before thee. Pſa. 119. 168. when Solomon would confute a whoriſh heart, hee uſes this for his argument, Why wilt thou my Son, bee raviſht with a ſtrange Woman, and embrace the boſome of a ſtranger? for the wayes of man are before the eyes of the Lord, and hee ponders all his goings. Prov. 5. 20. 21. why wilt thou doth us? q. d. thou art madde, thou art deſperate, if this argument will not prevale with thee.
The reaſons of this point are, Firſt, becauſe the Lords1. knowing of our workes is not onelyonly a meere knowing of them, but alſo a marking and a pondering of them too; Hee diligently obſerves what wee doe, hee ponders and conſiders whence it proceeds, and whether it tends, as the Prophet ſayes, The Lords Throne is in Heaven, his Eyes well conſider, his Eye-lides try the Children of men, Pſal. 11. 4. And therefore when the Scripture would tell us that God knowes mens hearts, it ſometimes expreſſes it thus, The Lord pondereth mens hearts, Prov. 24. 12. if God did onelyonly ſee what we doe, it were another matter, but when the ſoule ſhall heare that hee markes, and that hee ponders, and conſiders mens ſinnes, and weighes them how haynous they are, what puniſhment they deſerve, and how horrible it is that they do, how much it is againſt his glory; its a ſigne of a deſperate heart, when this will not work.
Secondly, becauſe when God ſees all our ſinnes, it2 is with a moſt holy and pure Eye, and ſuch an Eye as cannot abide ſuch an object before him, as the Prophet Habakuk ſpeakes, Thou art of purer Eyes then to behold evill, thou canſt not looke on iniquity, Hab. 1. 13. if God ſaw our ſinnes with ſuch an Eye as men ſee them now and then, it were no ſuch great thing; for wee know that moſt men can endure to ſee our ſinnes well enough, and like us little the worſe; but they are infinitely offenſive unto God, he ſees them with ſuch an eye, that if ever the conſcience be a wake but to perceive how he lookes, it will burſt the very heart of a man.
Thirdly, becauſe when God ſees our ſinnes, he records3 them, he notes them in a booke, that he may never forget them; as he told the people of the Jewes, behold it is written before me, I will recompence and render it into your boſome, Iſay. 65. 6. if God did ſee our ſinnes, and ther's an end, then indeed this doctrine of Gods ſeeing would doe little; may be God would forget them againe; yea, but when he ſees, he regiſters too, nay he layes it up in record to be in ſtore by him againſt another day; nay, he ſeales them up in his treaſure; is not this laidup in ſtore by me, and ſealed among my Treaſures? Deut. 32. 34. now when the Soule ſhall come to marke this, this will wound it to the quicke, this muſt needs doe a man good, and ſtrike an awe into him of God.
Fourthly, becauſe when Gods ſees our ſinnes, it is even4. all one as if all the world ſhould ſee them too; as Origen notes; for let our ſinnes be never ſo ſecret, our inward unſoundneſſe never ſo unknowne, yet if God know it, it is as bad and worſe then if all the world knew it; for all the world ſhall know it one day, God will lighten all things that are hid in darkneſſe, and will make manifeſt the ſecret counſailes of mens hearts; then ſhall every man have praiſe of God, 1 Cor. 4. 5. that is, whoſoever have been godly, God will bring all their godlineſſe forth, and every one of them ſhall have praiſe of God; this ſhall be an honour to them before all the world: ſo if a man have been evill, then God will produce all his naughty courſes forth, then ſhall he have ſhame from God, God will ſhame him before all the World. There is nothing now covered that ſhall not then be revealed, nothing hid that ſhall not then be laid open; what a ſhame then will this be for thee, that thou which haſt gone ſo many yeares for an honeſt man, and may be haſt been ſome body here in this world, when all the Saints ſhall ſee thee ſtanding as a wretch, as a hell-hound as a limme of the Divell, on Chriſts left hand? what a ſhame will it be, if we that are now earneſt Preachers, if any of us ſhall then be found among the goats? what a ſhame to any of you, that would count it a ſore diſgrace to be called a wicked man, to be led forth with evill doers, and ſholed among the damned? well then, if Gods ſeeing of mens ſinnes be ſuch a kind of ſeeing as this is, no marvell it worke ſo effectually on them that are of God.
Fifthly, an other argument may be taken from our5. diſpoſition; our diſpoſition is ſuch, that we cannot abide that our wickedneſſes ſhould be ſeen of any body that we know can't abide them; Which among us when we pray and have baſe roving thoughts, would not be aſhamed that a man ſhould ſee our thoughts rove? which of us, that are unſetled and dead-hearted, would not bluſh that men had a caſement to ſee how dead he ſits at a Sermon, and how dead at a Sacrament, how dead in other of Gods Ordinances; what baſe and impure thoughts ſometime doe ariſe in his minde; if he did thinke that any man ſhould ſee them, he would not hardly be able to ſhew his face among men. Let but an adulterer that is naught with a whore, have but a few men, or but one man come and take him in the act, O how it will gall him and vex him to be ſeen … as Iob ſpeakes, if one know them, they are in the terror of the ſhadow of death, Job. 24. 17. they abhorre the light, they cannot abide to be brought out to be knowne. Now beloved if this be our diſpoſition by nature, that we cannot abide that ſo much as a man ſhould know us; nay, not a child of ſix or ſeven yeeres of age, then O what a terror is it that the God of Heaven and Earth ſhould know us, that he ſhould ſee all our luſts, all our ſinnefull and vile thoughts, all our uncleane and noy ſome affections, all our by ends and careleſneſſe of God! O what a powerfull thing is this to worke upon the heart, except it be delivered up to a reprobate ſenſe, to ſleight God, and care leſſe for him then for a little Boy, or a mortall man? ſo then yee ſee, this is a powerfull meanes to work upon a ſoule, to know that God knowes all his workes; though the Woman of Samaria ſtood jeſting, and playing, and conteſting with our Saviour a good while: yet when ſhe perceived that he knew all her villany, this burſt her heart; O ſaies ſhe this is no other then Chriſt, he hath told me all that ever I did, Joh. 4. 29.
The uſe of this is. Firſt, here we ſee they are deſperatoVſe 1. that this point cannot worke on; its certaine they are graceleſſe that can heare that God ſees all their workes, and yet it does not purge them from day to day; its an evident argument that a man contemnes God, and makes nothing of him. When David had ſhewed that the wicked care not for Gods eye, they make a matter of nothing of it; tuſh God does not ſee, Pſalm. 19. 11. ſay they; that is, they knew he ſaw indeed, but they made nothing of it; as long as men did not ſee them, they counted Gods ſeeing as nothing; now marke what followes, wherefore doe the wicked contemne God? Pſalm. 13
Secondly, is it ſo, that this is ſuch a powerfull meanesVſe 2. to worke upon our hearts? let us not harden our hearts, but let us conſider of it, that it may cut between the bone and the marrow, and devide between the ſoule and the ſpirit; God ſees all our workes. This point ſhould fall upon our hearts, like the almighty hand of God, as it did upon Job, I know thou canſt doe every thing, and that no thought can be hid from thee, Job, 42. 2.