A Gospel Glass, Treatise · Chapter 37
CHAP. XXXVII. The Diſ-ingenuity and Scandalouſneſs of their Miſcarriages.
WHen God had given the Prophet Ezekiel a large Catalogue of Judah's Abominations, The wickedneſs of the former miſcarriages. Ezek. 8.9. V. 6, 13, 15.he then ſhew'd him the Wickedneſs of their Abominations: He ſaid unto me, Goe in, and Behold the wicked Abominations they do here. He commanded him once, and again, and again, to turn him yet again, and he ſhould ſee greater Abominations. I cannot indeed promiſe thee, that thou ſhalt now ſee greater Abominations, than thoſe already mentioned: All that I ſhall now do, ſhall be to repreſent the former Miſcarriages in their crimſon dye, and ſcarlet colour. And,
The Firſt Thing I ſhall mention, Commitred againſt ſo good and kind a God. Eph. 4.30.as making your Sins (Profeſſours) out of meaſure ſinful, is your Diſ-ingenuity in ſo ſinning againſt God. O! You have ſinned againſt a gracious God: You have grieved the good Spirit of God, whereby (ſome amongſt you) have been ſealed to the day of Redemption. I am bold to ſay, that one godly man's ſinning againſt light and mercy, doth more break the heart of God, than the bruitiſh Sins of a Pagan Kingdom. Ezek. 6.9.I am broken (ſaith God) with your whoriſh heart, which hath departed from me, &c. And ye ſhall loath your ſelves for your evils, which ye have committed in your abominations. Amos 2.13.God hath been preſs'd down with your ſins, as the Cart with ſheaves, till he hath even Creak'd under the weight. God expected more from the Treet planted in Zion, than from the wild ones in the Wilderneſs. Luke 13.9.Grief and Burthen ſprings much from unexpected Unkindneſſes. I looked for Fruit, and there was none. How were David's and Saul's Sins aggravated from the merciful Diſpenſations of God to them? 1 Sam. 15.17, 18, 19.And Samuel ſaid, When thou waſt little in thine own ſight, waſt not thou made the Head of the Tribes of Iſrael, and the Lord annointed thee King over Iſrael, and the Lord ſeat thee on a journey, and ſaid, Goe, and utterly deſtroy the Sinners, &c. Wherefore then didſt thou not obey the voice of the Lord? And Nathan ſaid to David, &c. Thus ſaith the Lord God of Iſrael, 2 Sam. 12.7, 8, 9.I annointed thee King over Iſrael, and delivered thee out of the hand of Saul: And I gave thee thy Maſters Houſe, and thy Maſters Wives into thy boſome, and gave thee the Houſe of Iſrael, and of Judah, and if that had been too little, I would morcover have given unto thee ſuch and ſuch things. Wherefore haſt thou despiſed the Commandement of the Lord, to do evil in his ſight? And hath there not been as much diſingenuity and unkindneſs in our Sins? The Lord hath given his Statutes to us, and his Laws, He hath not ſo dealt with all the Nations under Heaven: He hath nouriſhed and brought us up as Children; Iſa. 1.2, 3, 4.but we have rebelled againſt him. The Oxe knoweth his Owner, and the Aſſe his Maſters Crib: but Iſrael doth not know, my People (my People) doth not couſider. Ah ſinful Nation, a People laden with iniquity, &c. God fetcheth a deep ſigh (Ah!) under the burden of this Ingratitude: His Spirit is laden and troubled with it. They have provoked the Holy One of Iſrael. Miſ-improvements of Mercies are very provoking. When God comes for Bread, to be ſent away with Stones, muſt need vex the good Spirit of the Lord. Hear, O Heavens, and give ear, O Earth; for the Lord hath spoken it. Oh for Profeſſours to be worſe than Publicans; for they will be kind to ſuch as are kind to them! Have not we ſinn'd againſt God, even with his favours, and requited him evil for good? May not the Lord ſay unto us? Deut. 32.6.Do ye thus require the Lord, O fooliſh people and unwiſe? Is not he thy Father, that hath bought thee? All the mercies we have received, greaten our ſins. The more richly that God hath heaped his Bleſſngs upon us, the more wantonly we have followed the ſwinge of our own Luſts, and the more contemptuouſly ſpurned at his holy Commandements. We have great cauſe to be aſhamed, for that all our ſins have been … gainſt mercy, and therefore againſt the Principle and Law of Nature. It is a perpetual Spot, not to be worn out by time, that of King Jeaſh, that he ſlew Zechariah, the Son of Jehojada, the High Prieſt who had been loyal unto him in the getting of the Kingdom, and faithful in the adminiſtration of it. … Chron. 24.22, 23.Thus Joaſh the King remembred not the kindneſs which Jehojada his Father had done to him, but ſlew his Son, and when he dyed, he ſaid, the Lord look upon it, and requite it. And it came to paſs, at the end of the year, that the Hoſt of Syria came up againſt him: and they came to Judah and Jeruſalem, and deſtroyed all the Princes of the people, from among the people. But alas! What Engagements could Zechariah poſſibly lay on Joaſh, that may weigh with the Mercies of our God to us? And yet how have we made his choiceſt Favours as Arrows, to ſhoot at the God that ſent them? What wretched Prodigals have we been, to waſt all in the ſervice of Hell, which were conferr'd with ſo open an hand, to draw forth our time, ſtrength and ſpirits, in the praiſes and ſervices of God? For this our Ingratitude, Ezra 9.13, 14.the Lord may juſtly be angry with us, till he hath conſumed us, ſo that there ſhall be no remnant, nor eſcaping. O that you would remember the Lord from Shittim to Gilgal, Mica 6.5.i. e. from the beginning of Mercy, to the end of it! And you will hardly find, that you (any of you) have been the better for it; but many, Jeſhurun-like, have waxed fat, and kicked. God is this day calling out of Heaven to England, and to each particular perſon in it, Do you thus requite the Lord, O fooliſh people, and unwiſe? I could even wiſh, for the thouſands of our Iſrael, that they had received fewer Privileges, or had had the grace to ſerve the Lord in the abundance of all things, better than they have to this very day. If ever you purpoſe ſound Repentance, then take a view of all the Mercies of God towards you: Goe back to the time, when the firſt ſtone was laid; yea goe back to the eternal projects of God, to make thee out of nothing, and to redeem thee, when worſe than nothing: Review the upper and lower Springs, with which Soul and Body have been refreſhed: Remember how many eminent Deliverances and Salvations God hath wrought for thee: And if at any time thou haſt been ſtraitned in outward comforts, yet remember how thou haſt been enlarged with ſpiritual graces; if God hath denyed thee in one kind of mercy, he hath ſupplyed it by a gracious wonderfull commutation, in another, in a better: if thou haſt been denyed the fleſhpots of Egypt, and the land flowing with honey, yet it hath been all made up in the bread (the Mannah) that fell from Heaven: if thou haſt had ſometimes bodily infirmities, yet thou haſt been ſtrengthned with all might in the inward man: if thou haſt been denyed thee the gold of the earth, yet God hath ſupplyed thee in making thee rich in faith: If ſometimes Friends have been unfriendly, inconſtant, or treacherous; yet God hath ſtood by thee, when all left thee. God hath dealt with you, as with Sons: your gleanings are better than the Vintage of the world. Having laid theſe, and innumerable ſuch mercies in one Scale, now lay in the other Scale thy ſoul ingratitude, not only that particular ſin of unthankfulneſs, that thou haſt been guilty of (of which before) but the ingratitude that hath been in all thy ſins, in thy pride, hypocriſie, formality, ſelf-love, ſelf-ſeeking, impatience, neglect of duty to Superiours, Equals, and Inferiours, profaneneſs, intemperance, unrighteouſneſs, &c. that Remembring the Lord and his goodneſs towards thee, together with thy curſed returns, thou may'ſt yet abhor thy ſelf in duſt and aſhes. Take words, and ſay, My Salvations are more than I can number, Bleſſed be God, the Father of all mercy; But my ſins alſo are innumerable, I cannot recount them, ſhame upon me, O! how vile have I made my ſelf, whilſt by abuſe of rich mercy, Mat. 5.47. Iſa. 1.3.I have lived below the ingenuity that is found in Publicans and Beaſts? O that God would give me the ſucceſs, that the Angel had on ſuch a ſinfull people as you are! Judg. 2.1, 2, 3, 4.And the Angel of the Lord come up from Gilgal to Bochim, and ſaid I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you into the land, which I ſwear unto your Fathers, and I ſaid I will never break my covenant with you, and ye ſhall make no league with the Inhabitants of this land, &c. but ye have not obeyed my voice, why have ye done this, &c. And it came to paſs, when the Angel of the Lord ſpake theſe words to all the Children of Iſrael, that the people lift up their voice, and wept.
Secondly, Very ſcandalouſly.The ſcandalouſneſs of your miſcarriages is another aggravation of them. Had all the forementioned abominations been committed in Defarts and Holes of the earth, where none had been privy to your irregularities, you had had no ſin in compariſon of what you (now) ſtand juſtly charged with: If you had been only rotten hearted, that would not have been under the eye and cenſure of the World: Religion would have had no blemiſh, no loſs, no conſiderable loſs thereby: But men have looked to your hands and feet (whilſt God to your hearts) and finding ſo many defilements on you, hereby the Name of God hath been blaſphemed, God is ſpoken evil of, whilſt you have done evil before men. You knew the world was an obſerving world, greedy to eſpy all the Errata's of your lives: you knew ſpots in Cambrick would ſooner be marked, than in courſe cloth: you knew how apt the world was to condemn all Saints for the miſcarriages of a few pretenders to Chriſtianity: you knew how the world lay in wait, like the Arabian for his prey, waiting for ſomewhat to calumniate Chriſt and his followers with: you knew the tongues, that are ſet on fire of Hell, would belch out their emnity upon the ſight of your ſins: you knew how apt they were to be prejudiced againſt you, and (as the people in Elies dayes, from the miſcarriages of them, that pretended to draw near to God) would by your occaſion abhorre the Offerings of the Lord. 1 Sam. 2.17. 1 Pet. 3.16. 2 Sam. 12.14. 2 Tim. 2.26.You ſhould have walked with ſuch a good Conſcience, that, whereas the world would ſpeak againſt you as evil-doers, they might be aſhamed: But inſteed of this you have opened the mouth of Blaſphemy: you have gratified the Devil exceedingly: were he capable of joy, you have furthered it, by being contented to be winnowed by him, and to be led captive at his will: The ſcandals of men reputed for holineſs have been his greateſt Harveſts, his greateſt advantages: He hopes by the falls of Cedars to break down and cruſh the Shrubs and tender plants, that grow nigh. God alone knows what miſchief you have done to Religion already, and where the miſchief will end. Jeroboam made Iſrael to ſin, many years after his death. Whereas ye ſhould have left a precious Name behind you, holy exact copies of Righteouſneſs for ſucceeding generations to write after, you have laid the ſtumbling block of your iniquitie before the faces of hundreds and thouſands, to cauſe them to fall. Give over wondring that for theſe laſt ten years the Goſpel hath had a a miſcarrying Womb and dry Breaſts, know, you have, like the Serpent, the Dragon, ſtood as in the place of bearing, you have hindred the Birth, or devoured the Child as ſoon as Born: you have been of the old generation of Gods Curſe, you would not to Heaven your ſelves, Luke 11.52.and hindred others, that would, if you had not laid your offences in their way. Perhaps ſome of you may think to relieve your ſelves, that you know none are taken in theſe Gins and Traps: you will know ſhortly that he that tempteth to evil commits an hainous ſin, though his temptation prove not effectual. God will not reward men altogether by the event of ſcandals,; but by the tendency of Scandal in its own nature: Others not ſinning after your example will not excuſe and leſſen your faults, which were ſo apt to lead them into ſin. Matth. 18.17.Wo (ſaith Chriſt) to him, by whom the offence comes. Wo to them that take offence; but greater wo to them, that give it. If God threatned Eli to take him up by the roots, for not puniſhing Scandals in his Sons: 1 Sam. 3.13.becauſe his Sons made themſelves vile, and he restrained them not. What dreadfull judgements are we expoſed to, who are the offence-givers? Wonder not if having cauſed many to ſtumble at the Law, that God will make us contemptible and baſe before all the people. Ye are departed out of the way: Mal. 2.8, 9.ye have cauſed many to ſtumble at the Law, ye have corrupted the Covenant of Levi, ſaith the Lord of Hoſts: therefore have I alſo made you contemptible and baſe before all the people. How oft have we been as unſavoury Salt? Mat. 5.13.and is it any wonder if we be caſt out, and thrown to the Dunghill? O that you would remember David, take him into your Cloſet with you, he was ſcandalous in the matter of Uriah and Bathſheba: it is true, he repented in duſt and aſhes, he abhorred himſelf, made his bed to ſwim, the ſin was pardoned, the guilt thereof removed, a ſolemn abſolution was ſent him by a Prophet, and yet how did God follow him with miſery upon miſery? He might in the death of the Child, in the defilement of his Daughter, in the murder of Ammon, and in the treaſon of Abſolon, in his weeping and going barefoot, in his Concubines being defiled, and his own Crown and Life jeoparded, in all theſe things he might ſee the woful fruits of Scandal. 2 Sam. 12.9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14.Wherefore haſt thou despiſed the Commandement of the Lord, to do evil in his ſight? Thou haſt killed Uriah the Hittite with the Sword, and haſt taken his Wife to be thy Wife, and haſt ſlain him with the Sword of the Children of Ammon. Now therefore the Sword ſhall never depart from thine Houſe, &c. Behold, I will raiſe up evil againſt thee, out of thine own Houſe, and I will take thy Wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy Neighbour, and he ſhall lye with thy Wives, in the ſight of the Sun. For thou didſt it ſecretly: but I will do this thing before all Iſrael, and before the Sun. And David ſaid unto Nathan, I have ſinned againſt the Lord. And Nathan ſaid unto David, The Lord alſo hath put away thy ſin, thou ſhalt not dye. Howbeit, becauſe by this deed thou haſt given occaſion to the enemies of the Lord to blaſpheme, the Child alſo that is born unto thee, ſhall ſurely dye. If David, repenting of his Scandals, be thus puniſhed, what will become of you, who have made Religion to be abhorred? and yet are inſenſible, unbroken and unhumbled to this very day? Well may (unrepented of) Scandals lye in your bones many dayes hence, Pſal. 51.8. Pſal. 38.8.ſeeing David's did, yea he roared becauſe of his ſin: Well may you goe drooping to your graves, being bereft of all joy, and comfortable looks from Heaven, whilſt repenting David loſt ſo long the joy of Gods ſalvation. Pſal. 51.12.What ſhall I ſay? O all ye, who have loſt your Virgin affections to Chriſt, who have gone a whoring from your God, who are covetous to a wonder, and over run with carking cares, and ſinful deſpondencies, who break out daily into ſcandalous paſſions, who by diviſions, envies, animoſities, overreachings, perjuries, and hypocriſie, have made Religion vile! Know from Chriſt's mouth, Mat. 18.6.it had been better for you, that a Milſtone had been hang'd about your necks, and that you had been drowned long agoe in the depth of the Sea, than to live ſo offenſively towards men, as you have done; Jer. 34.16.becauſe hereby the Name of God is polluted. It had been better you had never known the wayes of God, 1 Pet. 2.20, 21.than after Profeſſion and Knowledge to depart, and to be as Doggs and Swine. If you had never profeſs'd Gods Name, you had never polluted it; but God will reckon with you about it. I am bold to ſay, that a Drunkard, Adulterer, Robber, &c. doth not ſo provoke the Lord to wrath, as a Profeſſour may, even by an impatient, diſcontented word: and for this compare two Scriptures: In the former there is unbelief, and quarrelling with God (face to face, as it were) and yet God paſs'd that by, Numb. 11.21, 22. with Numb. 20.10. and Deut. 32.51.it being in ſecret, with a ſhort check, Is the Lords hand waxed ſhort? But in the other place, Becauſe ye believed not, &c. to ſanctifie me in the eyes of the Children of Iſrael, &c. therefore ye ſhall dye in the Wilderneſs, and never ſet foot on the Land of Promiſe. One ſcandalous Profeſſour doth more hurt, and more ſtain Religion, than hundreds of Drunkards: and therefore their Hell ſhall be the ſtandard to that, of all other ſinners. Atrocius ſub nominis Chriſti Profeſſione peccat. Salvian. Mat. 24.51.Appoint him his portion with Hypocrites. Thouſands in Hell will curſe the day, wherein they ſaw your looſeneſs on Earth; for thereby they have blaſphemed Chriſt, as a Friend of Publicans and Sinners, and as if he countenanced you (ſecretly) in your Luſts, though (for ſtate and form) he hath ſpoken great things againſt ſuch courſes in his Word. O! how frequently have you made boaſts of God, Rom. 2.23, 24.and the Law; but by breaking of it, ye have cauſed his Name to be evil ſpoken of. When you ſhould have been leading others to Heaven, you have by your example lead them to Hell. How deep ſhall their Hell be, who are plunged thither with their own, and other-mens ſins alſo? Though God ſhould give you repentance and pardons; yet how oft will your Souls bleed to conſider, how many you have compell'd by your example to ſin and blaſpheme, who are actually in the chains of darkneſs, Gal. 2.14.or haſtning thither in a full career? O that you would no longer be like the body of Amaſa, to cauſe others to ſtand ſtill, or go back from the wayes of Holyneſs! O thou ſcandalous Profeſſour! What account muſt thou paſs with God ſhortly, before (perhaps) thou haſt turned thine eye to the next page? Will not the blood of multitudes, who periſh by thy means, be required at thy hands? One ſin may become many millions of offences, as the Numbers may be that ſhall hear of it. No wonder that men are emboldned to ſin, that the Adulterer cares not for the Curtains of the Night, nor the Drunkard for the ſhadows of the Evening, no wonder that the Swearer can ſpit the Name of God ſo impudently out of his mouth: theſe have been incouraged by thy revolts, backſlidings, careleſs, and ſeldome duties, and violent earthly ſeekings. O! if you would conſider, you bore the Ark of the Lord, you were entruſted with his honour, but you have let it fall, yea caſt it in the dirt. O! tremble at what the God of Heaven hath made a ſtanding decree upon this occaſion, 1 Sam. 2.30.them that honour me, I will honour, and they that deſpiſe me, ſhall be lightly eſteemed. And though it ſomewhat comforts me, that God will wipe off whatſoever can be caſt on him; yet know to your ſorrow, you ſhall not ſo eaſily diſcharge your ſelves of the Plagues, that are ready to be powred out upon you. God expected that you ſhould have been Kings and Prieſts to him: Rev. 1.6. Jo. 3.35.you ſhould have been burning and ſhining lights; you ſhould have been like Innes, which have their Signes on both ſides: you were of the King guard, you ſhould have had the Arms of the Crown on your Breasts, and on your Backs, ſo that if any had viewed you, had met you, or had followed you, they might have known you for Gods Servants, by the ſtamp and cogniſance of Heaven upon you: But you have rather been like thoſe Pictures, that if you look on one ſide, you may ſee an Angels face, but on the other the Devils. O my Soul! how canſt thou write of theſe, ſpeak or think on them without weeping? O Reader! retreat, retreat quickly to thy Chamber, and ſpend ſome conſiderable time to reflect on thy ſcandalous Words and Actions, and how much the Name of God hath thereby been blaſphemed, and thouſands endangered to ſtumble and fall through thy occaſion. How many, that ſhould have …een as Shields to ward off thoſe blows of reproach, that would fall on God and Religion, have proved Swords in the hands of the wicked, wherewith the Name of God is wounded, and whereby multitudes are in danger of periſhing: yea, and the poor reall Chriſtians are even aſhamed to look up, and to ſhew their faces, and profeſſion to the world; becauſe there have been ſuch Spots in their communion: Jude v. 12.ſuch unclean, ſcabbed, and unſavoury Sheep, that have walked among them.