Twenty-One Sermons on Amos 1, Sermon 9
THE Ninth Lecture.
AMOS 3.7.
Surely the Lord God will doe nothing, but he reuealeth his ſecret vntounto his ſeruants, the Prophets.
GOds dealing with his owne people, the people of Iſrael, was not as it was with other Nations. Others he puniſhed, and gaue them no fore-warning. The Idumaeans, the Ammonites, the Egyptians, the reſt of the Heathen, dranke deepely of the viols of his wrath, though thereof they receiued no admonition by any Prophet of his. It was otherwiſe with the Iſraelites. If the rod of affliction were to light heauie vponupon them, they were euer foretold thereof. God euer preuented them with his Word. Hee ſent vntounto them his ſeruants, Ierem. 35.14, 15.the Prophets: he roſe early and ſent them, with the ſooneſt, to let them vnderſtand of the euills which hung ouer their heads, that returning eueryevery man from their euill wayes, and amending their doings, they might be receiued to grace and mercy. This difference betweene Gods care and prouidence, towards his owne people and other nations, is thus expreſſed, Pſal. 147.19, 20. God! He ſheweth his word vntounto Iacob, his ſtatutes and ordinances vntounto Iſrael; He hath not dealt ſo with any Nation, neither hauehave the Heathen knowledge of his Lawes. Yet was hee knowne to the Heathen. Hee was knowne to them partly by his workes, by his creatures, in which the power and Deity of God ſhined: and partly by the light of Nature, and power of vnderſtanding which God hath giuen them. Both wayes their Idolatry, their Atheiſme, their diſobedience were made before God vnexcuſable.
But to his owne people, the people of Iſrael, was he knowne after another manner. To them pertained the adoption, and the glory, and the couenants, and the giuing of the Law, Rom. 9.4.and the ſeruice of God, and the promiſes. To them were committed the oracles of God. To them at ſundry times, Rom. 3.2. Hebr. 1.1.and in diuers manners God ſpake by his Prophets. He gaue them time and ſpace to repent them of their ſinnes, and was ready to forgiue them, had they on their parts bin curable. Vncurable though they were, yet did God ſeldom or neuer, ſend among them any of his foure ſore iudgements, either the ſword, or the famine, Ezech. 14.21.or the noyſome beaſt, or the peſtilence, or any other, but he firſt made it knowne vntounto his holy Prophets, and by them fore-warned the people. This our Prophet, Amos, here auoucheth.
Surely the Lord God will doe nothing, but hee reuealeth his ſecret vntounto his ſeruants, the Prophets.
The words according vntounto ſome, are an Exegeſis, and expoſition, or a declaration of what was ſaid before. Before it was ſaid, There ſhall be no euill in a citie, but the Lord doth it; no euill of paine, puniſhment or affliction, but the Lord doth it. The Lord doth it, as well for that he ſendeth iuſt puniſhments vponupon men that are obſtinate in their euill courſes; as alſo for that he reuealeth thoſe euils to his Prophets, that by them they may be publiſhed.
Or, the words are an Aitiologia, and doe conteine a reaſon of what was ſaid before. Shall there be euill in a Citie, and the Lord hath not done it? Surely no; there ſhall be none. All euill of puniſhment is of the Lord. Yet will not the Lord oppreſſe his people vnawares; but long before with holy premonitions he prouideth for them by his Prophets; and either by promiſes he keepeth them in good courſes, or by threats he recalleth them from bad.
Be it foreign or foreign, an expoſition or a reaſon of what was ſaid before, it is all one for the matter. But if we reſpect the forme of the ſentence, as it ſtandeth in our now-Engliſh tranſlation: Surely the Lord God will doe nothing, but he reuealeth his ſecret to his ſeruants the Prophets, it may be called foreign, an Aſſeueration. For ſuch it is: and is of a reuelation: concerning which three things are to be obſerued,
1. Who is the Reuealer.
2. What is Reuealed.
3. To whom.
The Reuealer is the Lord God, His ſecret is the thing reuealed. They to whom the reuelation is made are his ſeruants, the Prophets. Of thoſe in their order.
The Reuealer is firſt, and is here ſet forth by two names of his: Adonai Iehouih, Lord God. The firſt place of Scripture, wherein theſe two names are ioyned together, is Gen. 15.2. in the complaint made by Abraham for want of an heire: Lord God, what wilt thou giuegive me, if I goe childleſſe? Lord God.
Lord in Hebrew is Adonai, which ſignifieth My Lords; or my ſtayes, or pillars: implying in it a myſtery of the holy Trinity. Matth. 11.25.It is one of the proper names of God, the Lord of Heauen and earth, who as a baſe ſuſtaineth his faithfull children in all their infirmities. It is written here with kametz or long A in the end, and ſo is proper to God, hauing the vowels of Iehouah: when it is written with Patach or ſhort A, it is applied to creatures. In the forme ſingular Adon, Lord or ſuſtainer, is alſo aſcribed vntounto God, the Lord of all the earth, Pſal. 97 5. The hills melted like wax at the preſence of the Lord: at the preſence of the Lord of the whole earth. The Lord of the whole earth, he is Adon, Adonim in the forme plurall is likewiſe aſcribed vntounto God; Malac. 1.6. If I be Adonim, If I be a Lord where is my feare?
The other name of God in this place is Iehouih. Iehouih? It is vſually ſo written when it is ioyned with Adonai: and it hath the conſonant letters of Iehouah, and the vowels of Elohim. And where one Prophet writeth Adonai Iehouih, as in the prayer of Dauid, ſet downe, 2 Sam. 7.18. another writing of the ſame prayer, ſaith Iehouah Elohim, 1 Chron. 17.16. Say Iehouih, or Iehouah, the ſignification is the ſame. But Iehouih, as Tremelius and Iunius hauehave noted vponupon the 15. of Geneſis, is the more patheticall, the fitter to moue affection: and is therefore vſed in paſſionate ſpeeches, and prayers that are very earneſt, byaGen. 15.2, 8. Abraham, bybDeut. 3.24.9.26. Moſes, bycCap. 4.14. &c. Ezechiel, and others, as if they were ſighing and ſobbing. So writeth Amandus Polanus in his Commentary vponupon Ezechiel, chap. 4.14. But Alſted in his Theologicall Lexicon is of another minde: and thinks there is no more paſſion ſhewed in ſaying Iehouih, than in ſaying Iehouah. Yet may it be otherwiſe.
Adonai Iehouih, the Lord God. The firſt of theſe two names betokeneth his Maieſtie, his ſustentation of all things, and his dominion ouer all: the ſecond, his Eſſence, his existing or being.
The firſt, Adonai, Grammarians deriue from Eden, which is as much as Baſis or Stylobates, the baſe or foot-ſtoole of a pillar, the foundation thereof: giuing vsus thereby to vnderſtand, that the Lord our God is the ſuſtainer, the maintainer, the vpholder of all things; that he is moſt properly, primarily, and of himſelfe Lord; that he is the only true prime and ſupreme Lord of all things, yea, the Lord of Lords; that he alone hath abſolute, full, free, and eternall right ouer all things that are contained within the circuit of Heauen and Earth.
The ſecond, Iehouih, they deriue, as they doe Iehouah, from Hauah, which ſignifieth, He was. The force of this name is opened in the Reuelation of Saint Iohn, chap. 1.4. in that his ſ…lutation to the ſeuen Churches of Aſia: Grace be vntounto you and peace from Him, which is, and which was, and which is to come: that is, from God the Father, Iehouah; from him that is eternall, immortall, and vnchangeable; from him who hath his being of himſelfe, and giueth being to all creatures.
In the ſame chap. verſ. 8. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, ſaith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty. The words are the concluſion or ſhutting vp of the fore-mentioned ſalutation, and are a confirmation of that grace and peace that was to come vntounto the ſeuen Churches from Iehouah God alone: from him who is the firſt and the laſt, our Redeemer, the Lord of Hoſts, beſides whom there is no God. Who was; who was before all, and gaue to eueryevery creature the being. Who is to come; who is to come, continueth for euer, and ſupporteth all: euen the Almightie, who exerciſeth his power and prouidence ouer all. This ſame who is, who was, and who is to come, as before in the diſtinguiſhing of the Perſons of the Trinitie it was vſed to expreſſe God the Father; ſo here it is vſed to declare the vnion of ſubſtance in the whole three Perſons, Father, Sonne, and Holy Ghoſt.
It is likewiſe vſed, Reu. 11.17. where thoſe foure and twentie Elders which ſate before God on their ſeats, fell vponupon their faces and worſhipped God, ſaying, Wee giuegive thee thankes O Lord Almightie, which art, and which waſt, and which art to come.
So is it by the Angell of the waters, Reuel. 16.5. where he ſaith, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and which waſt, and which ſhalt be.
Thus in the Holy Reuelation of Saint Iohn is the force of the name Iehouah, opened foure ſeuerall times, and implieth thus much: 1. That God hath his being or exiſtence of himſelfe before the world was.Eſay 44.6. 2. That He giues being vntounto all things. For as much as in him all things are and doe conſiſt.Act. 17.25. Exod. 6.3. Eſay 45.2. Ezech. 5.17. 3. That Hee giueth being to his Word, effecting whatſoeuer Hee ſpeaketh.
We met with this name of God, Iehouah, in the firſt Chapter of this Booke nine times, in the ſecond ſeuen times; and twice before in this: Now by the change of a vowell it is Iehouih. This change of a vowell changeth not the name: Iehouah, or Iehouih! the name is the ſame: the moſt proper name of God; of God, whoſe true Latitude is his Immenſitie, whoſe true Longitude is his Eternitie; whoſe true Altitude is the Sublimitie of his Nature; whoſe true Profunditie being ſine fundo, without bottome, is his incomprehenſibility. Bernard in his fifth booke de Conſideratione, cap. 13. hath a diſcourſe to this very purpoſe, but with ſome variety. The queſtion there propounded is, Quid eſt Deus? What is God? The anſwer is, Longitudo, Latitudo, Sublimitas, & Profundum: God, he is Length, Breadth, Height and Depth. He is Length for his Eternity; Breadth for his Charity; Height for his Maieſtie, Depth for his Wiſdome. Length He is for his Eternity. Dan. 7.9. Eſay 57.15. Pſal. 90.2.He is the Ancient of dayes, and inhabiteth Eternitie. Before the Mountaines were brought forth, or euer the earth and the world were formed, euen from euerlaſting to euerlaſting. He is God.
Breadth he is for his Charitie, for his LoueLove. Wiſd. 11.24.He loueth all the things that are, and abhorreth nothing which he hath made. Neither would he hauehave made any thing if he had hated it. He maketh his Sunne to riſe on the euill and the good, Matth. 5.45.and ſendeth raine on the iuſt, and on the vniuſt. The Gulfe, or rather the Sea of this LoueLove of God is exceeding broad.
Height He is for his Maieſty. His Maieſty! Prou. 25.28.it is ineſtimable. He that ſearcheth into it, ſhall ſurely be oppreſſed with the glory thereof. From the glory of this Maieſtie in the day of the Lord of Hoſts, when he ariſeth to ſhake terribly the earth, Eſay 2.19, 20.will the proud man, the loftie man, eueryevery wicked man, ſeeke to hide himſelfe in the clefts of the rockes, Pſal. 72.19.and in the caues of the earth, but all in vaine: for all the earth ſhall be filled with his Maieſty. In regard of this his Maieſty, He is*Gen. 14.18. Iob 31.28. Pſal. 7.18. & 9… 2. &c. Pſal. 147.5. often in holy Scripture ſtiled Altiſſimus, the moſt high. So for his Maieſty he is Height.
Depth he is for his wiſdome. His wiſdome! it is infinite; there is no end thereof; It is inuariable, incomprehenſible, ineffable. Finding no fit words, to expreſſe it with, I betake my ſelfe to the Apoſtles exclamation, Rom. 11.33. foreign, O the depth▪ of the riches both of the wiſdome and knowledge of God! How vnſearchable are his iudgements, and his wayes paſt finding out.
Thus farre of my firſt generall the Reuealor foreign Adonai Iehouih, the Lord God. The Lord God will doe nothing, but he reuealeth his ſecret to his ſeruants the Prophets.
He will doe nothing] The originall is, foreign Lo jahaſeh dabar, he will not doe a word.
A word in the Hebrew tongue ſignifieth ſometimes any thing or matter, that is either ſaid or done.
In the 18. of Exodus, verſ. 16. Moſes in his reply to Iethro his Father in law, ſaith, when they hauehave foreign Dabar, a word, they come vntounto me, and I iudge betweene them. foreign Dabar a word, with the Greekes it is foreign, a controuerſie; with the old Latine Interpreter it is Diſceptatio, a contention; with Tremelius it is Negotium, a buſineſſe; with our late Engliſh Tranſlators, it is a matter. So Moſes ſaith in effect thus much: If there happen any buſineſſe or matter of controuerſie or contention betweene a man and his neighbour, they come vntounto me, and I iudge betweene them.
In the 24. of Exodus, verſ. 14. Moſes with his Miniſter Ioſuah going vp to the Mount of God, ſaith vntounto the Elders, Tary yee here for vsus, vntill we come againe vntounto you: and behold Aaron and Hur are with you foreign mi bahal debarim, who ſo is a maſter of words, let him come vntounto them. And here words with the Greekes are foreign a iudgement, or controuerſie; with the old interpreter, quaſtio, a queſtion; in our now Engliſh, they are matters; if any man hauehave any matters to doe: The meaning is, who ſo hath any queſtion or controuerſie, let him come vntounto Aaron and Hur for a reſolution.
In the 39. of Eſay, verſ. 2. it is recorded of Hezechiah King of Iudah, that when Merodach Baladan, the ſon of Baladan King of Babylon, had ſent meſſengers to viſit him and to congratulate his recouery; Hee was glad of them, and ſhewed them the houſe of his precious things, the ſiluer, and the gold, and the ſpices, and the precious oyntment, and all the houſe of his armour, and all that was found in his treaſures. It is added in the end of the verſe, Lo hajah dabar, there was not a word in his houſe, nor in all his dominions, that Hezechiah ſhewed them not. Not a word! A word for a thing according to the cuſtome of the Hebrew. It is Saint Hieroms note vponupon the place. It is well rendred in our new Bibles; There was nothing in his houſe, nor in all his dominions, that Hezechiah ſhewed them not.
This Hebrew cuſtome of putting verbum pro re, a word for a thing, frequent in the old, hath place likewiſe in the New Teſtament.
In the firſt of Luke, verſ. 37. The Angell Gabriel tells the Virgin Mary that with God no word ſhall be impoſſible, foreign, no word. His meaning is, with God no thing ſhall be impoſſible.
In the ſame Chapter verſ. 65. The Euangeliſt hauing ſet downe what had paſſed concerning Elizabeth and her huſband Zacharias, ſaith, foreign, all theſe words were noiſed abroad throughout all the hill country of Iudaea, foreign, all theſe words, that is, all theſe things were dinulged and made knowne.
In the ſecond of Luke verſ. 15. When the Angels who related to the ſhepherds Chriſts Natiuitie, were gone away from them into Heauen, the ſhepherds ſaid one to another, Let vsus now goe euen vntounto Bethlehem and ſee foreign, this word, that is, come to paſſe, which the Lord hath made knowne vntounto vsus. This word? that is, this thing, this whole buſineſſe, whereof wee hauehave heard by the Angels. It is the Hebraiſme which I hauehave hitherto obſerued; whereby, that I may ſpeake as Logicians doe, the Abſtract is put for the Concret, taken either actiuely or paſſiuely: as Verbum pro re dictâ, a word for a thing that is ſpoken of. Or to ſpeake as a Rhetorician would, it is Metonymia adiuncti; the Adiunct is put for the Subiect. Still it is Verbum pro re, a word for the thing or matter, whereof the ſpeech is.
So it is in this text of mine; Surely the Lord God, non faciet verbum, he will not doe a word; that is, he will doe no thing; no ſuch thing as the verſe before ſpeaketh of; no euill of paine, puniſhment, or affliction, He will doe no ſuch thing, but hee reuealeth his ſecret to his ſeruants the Prophets.
He reuealeth his ſecret. I am come to my ſecond generall, concerning the thing reuealed: it is the ſecret of the Lord.
foreign Sodh…, his ſecret, foreign, ſay the Septuagint, tranſlated Eruditionem ſuam, his inſtruction or chaſtiſement. Saint Hierome expounds it Correptionem ſuam: the Interlinearie Gloſſe, Correctionem ſuam, his reproofe or correction. Theodotio no ill Interpreter of old turned it, foreign, his counſell: and Druſius ſeeth no cauſe, why it may not well be ſo turned; for as much as the Hebrew word foreign Sodh ſignifieth as well confilium as ſecretum, as well counſell, as ſecret. But the current of Tranſlators is for his ſecret.
His ſecret] By this ſecret of his, Albertus Magnus vnderſtandeth praeordinationis diuinae abſconditam voluntatem, the hidden will of Gods preordination. Arias Montanus expounds it to be, futurarum rerū cognitionem, the knowledge of things to come; ſo doth Mathurinus Quadratus. Such a knowledge they meane, whereof no Mathematician, no Aſtrologer, no Magician, no Chaldaean, no Wizard is made partaker. Only the holy Prophets, the ſeruants of our Lord God, hauehave the priuilege and prerogatiue thereof.
We may not deny that Gods counſels and decrees, things hid from the vnderſtanding of all men, and knowne only vntounto God,Ierem. 25.9. are the ſecrets of God. But this ſecret of his whereof my text ſpeaketh, is the decree and purpoſe of God to bring euill vponupon a Land and the inhabitants thereof: to take from them the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladneſſe, the voice of the Bridegroome, and the voice of the Bride, the ſound of the milſtones, and the light of the candle; to make them an aſtoniſhment, and a hiſſing, and perpetuall deſolations. The decree and purpoſe of God to puniſh a people for ſinne is his ſecret; and this he euermore reuealeth. Yet not this alone. For of the ſecrets which God reuealeth there are three kinds.
One is of things ſupernaturall, ſuch as are the myſteries of Religion, the incarnation of the Sonne of God, the reſurrection of the dead, and the life to come. Theſe are ſecrets, to the knowledge of which a man cannot attaine, vnleſſe it be reuealed vntounto him from God.
The ſecond is of thoſe things, which are called arcana cordium, the ſecrets of the heart, ſuch as are the proper actions of the will and vnderſtanding: Secrets they are; and ſaue to the ſpirit of man, which is in man, are knowne to none, but God, 1 Cor. 2.11. Act. 1.24.who is, foreign, and knoweth eueryevery corner and creuiſe of the heart.
The third is of thoſe things, which the Schooles doe call futura contingentia, ſuch things as are not, nor euer hauehave beene, but may hereafter be. And theſe are ſecrets, ſecrets indeed, only manifeſt vntounto him, by whom all things, paſt, preſent, and to come, are acted and gouerned.
Of theſe three kindes of ſecrets, the laſt is that whereof my text ſpeaketh, the ſecret of things to come.
Surely the Lord God will doe nothing, but he reuealeth his ſecret to his ſeruants the Prophets. Hee reuealeth his ſecret] hee openeth it, he telleth it before hand, he makes it knowne before it come to paſſe. The leſſon to be taken from hence is, God is the only reuealer of ſecrets.
He only reuealeth things to come. This truth is auouched by the Prophet Daniel, in his ſecond Chapter the 22. verſe: his aſſertion is: God is He, that reuealeth the deepe and ſecret things. At the 28. verſe he telleth King Nebuchadnezzar; Though the wiſe-men, the Aſtrologians, the Magicians, the Sooth-ſayers, cannot ſhew vntounto the King the ſecret which he demandeth, yet there is a God in Heauen that reuealeth ſecrets, and maketh knowne to the King what ſhall be in the latter dayes. He ſaith it againe, verſ. 29. He that reuealeth ſecrets maketh knowne vntounto thee, O King, what ſhall come to paſſe. Once more, verſ. 45. The great God hath make knowne to the King, what ſhall come to paſſe hereafter. The King acknowledgeth as much; and thereupon ſaith, verſ. 47. Of a truth, Daniel, your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of Kings, and a reuealer of ſecrets. It is true: God is the only reuealer of ſecrets.
Is it true? What ſhall we then ſay to ſundry predictions in Gentiliſme? What to thoſe dreames which the Heathen often had? What to their Oracles? Hier. Comment. in Eſai. 41.What to Apollo Delphicus and Loxias, and Delius, and Clarius? What to other their Idols, which made faire ſhew, as if they had the knowledge of things to come, and could reueale ſecrets?
Our anſwer is; they were meere ſhewes; no ſubſtance of truth was in them. Saint Hierome in his twelfth booke of his Comments vponupon Eſay at the 41. Chapter thus reaſoneth againſt them: If they could fore-tell things to come, why foretold they nothing of Chriſt? Why nothing of the twelue Apoſtles? Why nothing of the ruine, and abolition of their owne Temples? If they could not foretell their owne deſtruction, how could they fore-tell either good or euill, that ſhould betide others?
But you will ſay; many things were fore-told by the oracles of old. Know then, that from thoſe oracles the Deuill, the Father of lyes, that he might not be reproued of falſhood, did euermore giuegive his anſwers doubtfully, that you might expound them both wayes, either for good or euill. Such was his anſwer giuen to Pyrrhus King of the Epirotes, when hee tooke part with the Tarentines againſt the Romans.
C…c. 2. de Diuin. ex Ennio.Aio te, Aeacida, Romanos vincere poſſe: I tell thee Pyrrhus, thou that art of the linage of Aeacus, I tell thee, te Romanos vincere poſſe: the words are ambiguous, and may be rendred, either for Pyrrhus; thou ſhalt ouercome the Romans: or againſt him, the Romans ſhall ouercome thee. The like anſwer was giuen vntounto Croeſus, when he conſulted the Oracle at Delphos, about his expedition into Perſia, Herodotus.Croeſus perdet, Halim tranſgreſſus, maxima regna. Croeſus, when hee is paſt the riuer Halis, perdet maxima regna; the words are ambiguous, and may be rendred, either for Croeſus, Hee ſhall deſtroy great kingdomes of his enemies; or againſt him, He ſhall loſe great kingdomes of his owne. With ſuch ambiguities the Deuill in thoſe oracles of old, euermore deluded ſuch as ſought vntounto him.
But you will ſay, thoſe Oracles did ſometimes take place; and as they fore-told, ſo things came to paſſe.
Be it ſo. Yet very few of them did hit; which might be by chance, and hap-hazzard, as we ſay, a few only of a great number falling out: or the Deuill by the ſubtiltie of his nature, and quickneſſe of his vnderſtanding, might by ſome antecedent ſignes fore-ſee the effects and euents which ſhould follow: or he might fore-tell ſuch things, as by Gods permiſſion, hee ſhould effect himſelfe.
Now to the dreames, which it is ſaid the Heathen often had, whereby they knew things to come, wee ſay; many of them were deuiſed either by them, who affirmed they had ſuch dreames; or by the writers to win the more credit thereby. Yet deny we not, but they had their dreames. Their dreames! Of what ſort? There are three ſorts of dreames. Some are foreign or foreign, diuine dreames; ſome are foreign or naturall; ſome are foreign or Diabolicall.
The Heathen were not much troubled with the firſt ſort, with diuine dreames: Gen. 41. Dan. 2.yet we reade that Pharaoh and Nabuchodonoſor had ſuch. Et Pharaoh & Nabuchodonoſor in iudicium ſui ſomnijs futura cognoſcunt, & tamen Deum non intelligunt reuelantem, ſaith S. Hierome vponupon the firſt of Ionas: Both Pharaoh and Nabuchodonoſor to their owne condemnation doe by their dreames know things to come, and yet they vnderſtand not God the reuealer.
Dreames of the ſecond ſort are Naturall; and ſuch, no doubt, the Heathen in their ſleepe had, as wee in ours hauehave. But in theſe there is no diuination; no fore-knowing of things to come.
The third ſort is of dreames diabolicall, Hieron. Cōment. in Eſai. Diſtinct. 7. part. 2 art. 1. q. 3. lib. 2.ſuch as the Gentiles ſought for in the Temple of Aeſculapius. Bonauenture calls them, Somnia, quae fiunt ex illuſione Diabolicâ; Dreames which happen to men in time of ſleepe by the illuſion of the Deuill. Dreames of this ſort, as they were euer vncertaine, ſo were they as vncertainly interpreted. Such was the Dreame that Darius had before he encountred with Alexander: Curtius lib. 3.ſome expounded it to ſignifie the victory that he ſhould hauehave againſt him: ſome gaue a contrary ſenſe, Curtius lib. 3. Tully giues another inſtance. One going to the Olympicke games had a dreame, that he was turned into an Eagle. One Wiz…rd interpreted it, that he ſhould ouercome, becauſe the Eagle is ſupreme to all other fowles: another turned it the contrary way, that hee ſhould hauehave the worſe, becauſe the Eagle driuing other birds before her, commeth laſt of all.
Such dreames, as theſe, are well cenſured by Siracides in the 34. of his Eccleſiaſticus, verſ. 5. Diuinations, and ſooth-ſayi…, and dreames are vaine. Dreames are vaine. If they be not ſent from the moſt High in thy viſitation, ſet not thy heart vponupon them. For dreames hauehave deceiued many: and they hauehave failed, that put their truſt in them. For who ſo regardeth dreames, is like him that catcheth at a ſhadow, and followeth after the winde.
Thus finding no ſound ability either in the dreames of the Heathen, or in their Oracles, to reueale ſecrets, or foretell things to come: we muſt euer acknowledge it for a truth irrefragable, and not to be gain-ſaid, that God is the only reuealer of ſecrets: that he only foretelleth things to come.
And let this ſuffice to hauehave beene ſpoken of my ſecond generall, the thing reuealed, the ſecret of God. The third followeth, and is of them, to whom the Reuelation is made: they are his ſeruants the Prophets. Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he reuealeth his ſecret to his ſeruants the Prophets.
The Prophets, that were the ſeruants of the Lord God, were of three ſorts: Some were extraordinarily raiſed vp by God, for the gouernment of the Church in the infancie thereof. Their office was in the common neceſſities of the Church to conſult God, as occaſion ſhould be giuen; and to giuegive anſwers concerning things to come. Theſe from the inward counſell of God vttering oracles, were wont to be calleda1 Sam. 9.9. Amos 7.12. Seers.
Others extraordinarily alſo raiſed vp by God, were ordained for the inſtruction of the Church. Their office was to interpret and apply the Law, and to foreſhew the ſufferings and glory of Chriſt. Theſe continued frombAct. 3.24. & 10.43. 1 Pet. 1.10.11. Samuel vntounto Malachie. Malachie was the laſt of them.
The third ſort is of thecEpheſ. 4.11. 1 Cor 12.28. Prophets of the New Teſtament; ſuch as were endued with a ſingular dexterity and readineſſe, and wiſdome to interpret the Scriptures of the Prophets, and to apply them. In this third ranke eueryeverydLuke 4.24. 1 Cor. 14.32. true Miniſter of the Goſpell hath a place.
Of all theſe Prophets Chriſt is the head, he is the chiefe of all. To himeDeut. 18.15. Act. 3.22. & … 7.37. Moſes, yea and all the Prophets; all thefAct. 3.24. Prophets from Samuel, and all thoſe that follow after, as many as hauehave ſpoken, giuegive witneſſe.
But the Prophets of which my text ſpeaketh are of the two firſt ſorts of Prophets, thoſe whom God extraordinarily raiſed vp, as well for the gouerning, as for the inſtruction of the Church. Both are here ſtiled the ſeruants of the Lord God.
His ſeruants] Not only becauſe they ſerued God in the common profeſſion of godlineſſe, but alſo becauſe they ſerued him in their particular functions and callings. To be the ſeruants of the Lord God, it is certainly a notable dignity and prerogatiue. How doe men delight to ſhroud themſelues vnderunder the liueries of great men? and how much doe they take themſelues to be honoured thereby? How much more ought we to labour to approue our ſelues in the preſence of the Lord our God, and to ſhew our ſelues eueryevery man in his ſeuerall vocation and courſe of life to be his faithfull ſeruants.
And thus hauehave you the particular expoſition of this my text; Surely the Lord God will doe no thing, but he reuealeth his ſecret to his ſeruants the Prophets.
I may not leaue vntouched the maine obſeruation which this text affordeth. It is this.
God neuer bringeth any grieuous iudgement vponupon any people or nation, nor vponupon any priuate perſon, but he doth alwaies firſt fore-warne the ſame and foretelleth it.
God alwayes teacheth before hee puniſheth: hee warneth before hee ſtriketh. When hee was reſolued to waſh the World with a Deluge of waters for the ſinne thereof, hee fore-told it vntounto Noah, Gen. 6.13. Though the crie of Sodome and Gomorrah were great, and their ſinne very grieuous, yet would not God deſtroy them, till he had made knowne his purpoſe vntounto Abraham, Gen. 18.17. and to Lot, Gen. 19.13. The ſeuen yeares of famine, that ſhould conſume the Land of Aegypt, ſeuen yeares before hee foretold to Ioſeph, Gen. 41.25. So hee reuealed the intended ſubuerſion of Niniueh to Ionah; Ionah 3.1.the famine that ſhould be in the dayes of Claudius Caeſar vntounto Agabus: Act. 11.28.the captiuitie of the ten Tribes to this our Prophet Amos. Amos in the full aſſurance of this truth, ſaith with boldneſſe: Surely the Lord God will doe nothing, but he reuealeth his ſecret to his ſeruants the P ophets.
Will hee doe nothing, but hee reuealeth it? Wee may not ſo take it, that God reuealeth to his Prophets, all things which he hath a purpoſe to doe, all things ſimply, all his ſecrets: But with a certaine limitation, that hee reuealeth omnia vtilia nobis, as Hugo de S. Charo out of the Gloſſe hath obſerued; that hee reuealeth all things profitable for vsus: or, that hee reuealeth, Omnia, quae bonum communitatis concernunt, as Carthuſian ſpeaketh, that hee reuealeth all things, which concerne the common good. All things which either concerne the common good, or are profitable vntounto vsus, ſuch as are the iudgements of God to be laid vponupon a multitude or a priuate perſon, God reuealeth. This is the ſubſtance of the doctrine euen now deliuered.
God neuer bringeth any grieuous iudgement vponupon any people or Nation, or vponupon any priuate perſon, but he doth alwaies firſt fore-warne the ſame, and foretelleth it.
The reaſons hereof are two. One is in regard of the godly: the other in regard of the wicked.
The firſt is in regard of the godly. God is vnwilling at any time to take them at vnawares. He loueth them, and would not hauehave any of them to periſh, but would hauehave them all come to repentance, as Saint Peter witneſſeth, 2 Epiſt. 3.9. God would hauehave them all come to repentance, that ſo they might preuent his iudgements. And therefore he neuer ſtriketh, but firſt he warneth.
The other reaſon is in regard of the wicked: namely that the wicked might be without excuſe, their mouthes might be ſtopped, and the iuſtice of God cleared, they hauing nothing to anſwer for themſelues, or to accuſe God of any vniuſt dealing. If I had not come, ſaith our Sauiour Chriſt Ieſus, Ioh. 15.22. If I had not come, and ſpoken to them, they had not had ſinne; but now they hauehave no cloake, nor excuſe, for their ſinne. Wherefore let theſe men, wicked men, learne, as oft as the rod of God lieth heauie vponupon them, to accuſe themſelues; becauſe when God gaue them warning, they would not be warned: when God would hauehave healed them, they would not be healed.
You hauehave the reaſons; The vſes follow. I can but point at them: the time will not ſuffer any enlargement. Is it ſo, beloued? Doth God neuer bring any grieuous iudgement vponupon any people or Nation, or any priuate perſon, but he alwayes first fore-warneth the ſame and fore-telleth it? Here then acknowledge we Gods great merciemercy, and his wonderfull patience. Thus God needeth not to deale with vsus. For vponupon our owne perill we are bound to take heed of his iudgements before they come. Yet ſo good is our God, ſo louing, ſo mercifull, ſo patient, that he is deſirous wee ſhould preuent his iudgements before they fall, by ſending our prayers vntounto him as Embaſſadours, to treat of conditions of Peace with him. A ſubtill enemie would ſteale vponupon vsus at vnawares, and take vsus at the aduantage: but God, our good God euer fore-warneth before hee ſtriketh. Hee doth ſo, ſaith Carthuſian, Vt emendemur & ab imminentibus eripiamur tormentis: hee euer fore-warneth vsus, that our liues may bee amended, and wee deliuered from the torments that hang ouer vsus readie to fall vponupon vsus.
Againe, doth God neuer bring any grieuous iudgement vponupon any people or Nation, or any priuate perſon, but he alwayes firſt fore-warneth the ſame, and foretelleth it? Let vsus then, whenſoeuer wee ſee any ouertaken with any grieuous iudgement, confeſſe with Saint Auguſtine de verâ & falſâ poenitentiâ, cap. 7. Qui verus eſt in promittendo, verus etiam eſt in minando: that God is true, as in his promiſes, ſo alſo in his threatnings. If his deſire were not, that wee ſhould preuent his iudgements, doubtleſſe he would neuer giuegive vsus warning of them. If hee had a will and purpoſe to deſtroy vsus, he would neuer tell before-hand, how wee ſhould auoid his iudgements. Let no man ſay, that the ſilence of God, and the holding of his peace, is a cauſe of his ſecuritie. No, it cannot be ſo. God neuer commeth with any iudgement, but he alwayes ſendeth a warning peece before. He ſendeth vntounto vsus his ſeruants the Prophets. Prophets we hauehave among vsus; and Apoſtles we hauehave among vsus: and God giueth vsus his Miniſters, Pastors, and Preachers, as it were to put life againe into the dead Prophets and Apoſtles, euen to open and declare vntounto vsus thoſe things which they deliuered. Wherefore, when we ſhall be admoniſhed by his Ministers, that ſuch and ſuch iudgements ſhall come; when they ſhall threaten plagues according to the generall directions, which they hauehave in the word of God, let vsus not withſtand the Spirit ſpeaking in them. It is the wonderfull goodneſſe of God, that hee vouchſafeth to ſend them vntounto vsus, and to tell vsus before of his iudgements.