Divine Cordials, Sermons · Sermon 1
Sermon I.
EZRA 9. 13, 14, 15.
And after all that is come upon us for our evill deeds, and for our great treſpaſſe, ſeeing that thou our God haſt puniſhed us leſſe then our iniquities deſerve, and haſt given us ſuch deliverance as this; ſhould we againe break thy Commandements? &c.
OUr Text is part of the prayer and confeſſion of Ezra, the occaſion whereof was this; That holy man being returned from Babylon to Ieruſalem, with men, money, and great encouragement, he is welcomed by a ſad meſſage from the principall in Iſrael; they complaine, that the people of Iſrael, the Prieſts and the Levites, had not ſeparated themſelves from the people of the lands, doing according to their abhominations: the hearing of this cauſed much ſorrow in good Ezra, that he ſhould come ſo farre, and finde Paganiſme in Iudea; therefore like a diſtracted man, he rends his cloathes, teares the haire off this head and beard, and ſits downe aſtoniſhed: all which is but a fair preface to the prayer he makes; wherein, as if his heart were poured out in devotion, he profeſſeth that he is aſhamed to lift up his face to God, and confeſſeth the iniquities of the people, acknowledging that God had been juſt in puniſhing them; And now, O our God, ſaith he, what ſhall wee ſay after this? thou haſt worthily plagued us, for wee have forſaken thy Commandements. Theſe three verſes are a part of his prayer, the ſubſtance whereof is an argument which he makes for God againſt themſelves, and it ſtands thus; Thoſe whom thou haſt delivered out of ſervitude and bondage, if they ſhall againe provoke thee by their rebellions, they deſerve to be conſumed; but this is the ſtate of Iſrael, thou O Lord haſt delivered Iſrael out of captivity and thraldome, and yet they have rebelled againſt thee; therefore they deſerve to have no more favour ſhewed them, but to be deſtroyed and utterly conſumed. Our courſe in opening theſe verſes ſhall be this: In them I propound two things to your consideration; firſt an Inditement preferred by Ezra againſt Iſrael: ſecondly, his pleading it for God againſt themſelves. In the firſt he remembers Gods mercy, and their rebellion: Gods mercy is laid downe in the thirteenth verſe, and that three wayes: firſt he ſhewes that they were not puniſhed without cauſe: ſecondly, that God puniſhed them leſſe then they deſerved: thirdly, that he had totally delivered them. Their rebellion is compriſed in the fourteenth verſe, in which there are two parts; firſt the ſinne, ſecondly the puniſhment: the ſinne is laid downe, firſt generally, ſhould we againe break thy Commandements? ſecondly particularly, and joyne in affinity with the people of theſe abhominations? Then followes the puniſhment; firſt, God will be angry: ſecondly there is the degree of his anger, he will not leave conſuming till all be deſtroyed. This is the carriage of the three verſes; in the opening of which, we ſhall ſee that they ſute us in this Land as well as any people under heaven: for considering that God did lately ſcourge us by the peſtilence, and of his meere mercy removed it totally from us; ſeeing wee have revived our ſinnes, and renewed our provocations againſt his majeſty, if he begin againe to renew his plagues, and ſcourge us till he have conſumed us, we muſt juſtifie him in his proceedings, who is righteous in all his wayes, and holy in all his works. Before we handle the particulars as we laid them downe, there be two things in generall which offer themſelves to be diſcuſſed: the firſt is out of the party, which was Ezra; the ſecond is out of the courſe he takes, and that is humbling himſelfe in Gods preſence. Firſt for the party, it is Ezra; yee ſhall read in this book that he was a man that ſet his heart to ſeek the Lord, neither did he this only himſelfe, but ſought by all poſſible meanes to incite others to follow his godly example. Had all Iſrael beene ſuch as he, they needed not to have feared judgements comming upon them; but they were not, therefore ſeeing the ſinnes of the Land, hee could not forbeare, but breaks forth into lamentation and mourning; which affords us this point of Doctrine.
Doctrin 1 Good men, though they be at peace with God, finde cauſe of ſorrow for other mens ſinnes: yee ſhall ſee this proved in the Scripture: the Spirit of God calls Lot a righteous man, yet this righteous mans ſoule was vexed from day to day with the uncleane converſation of the Sodomites, 2 Pet. 2.8. The like we ſee in Moſes that good man;2 Pet. 2.8. doe yee not think that hee was ſtrangely moved at the ſinne of the people, when he let fall and brake in pieces the two Tables of Stone, in which God had written the Decalogue with his owne ſacred finger?Exod. 32.19. Exod. 32.19. It was ſo with the Prophet Samuel, he mourned for the diſobedience of Saul, for which God rejected him from reigning over Iſrael, 1 Sam. 15.35.1 Sam. 15.35. the like we ſee in David, mine eyes, ſaith he, guſh out rivers of teares, becauſe men keep not thy Law, Pſal. 119.136.Pſal. 119.136. may ſome man ſay, what were the ſinnes of the world to David? it is true, they were none of his, yet he thinks himſelfe bound to grieve for them, becauſe he knew they were diſpleaſing to his maker. We ſee the ſame in good Ieremiah, he wiſhes his head were waters, and his eyes a fountaine of teares, that he might weep day and night for the iniquities of his people, who were all adulterers, and an aſſembly of treacherous men, Ier. 9.1.2. Ier. 13.17.Ier. 9.1.2. and in Ier. 13.17. He profeſſes, that his ſoul ſhall weep in ſecret for their pride: and was it not ſo with thee O bleſſed Saviour, thou didſt mourn for the hardneſſe of mens hearts, Mark. 3.5.Mark. 3.5. and when thou cameſt to Hieruſalem, thou weptſt over it, ſaying, if thou hadſt known, even thou, at leaſt in this thy day, the things which belong to thy peace; but now they are hid from thine eyes, Luk. 19.41, 42. and the ſame ſpirit was in S. Paul, Luk. 19.41.42. Philip. 3.18.Philip. 3.18. he tells them, he had told them often, and now ſpeakes it weeping, that there bee thoſe among them, who are enemies to the croſse of Christ: thus yee ſee the point ſufficiently proved.
Vſe 1 It ſhall be to let us ſee the ſtupidity and ſenceleſſeneſſe of the ſonnes of Belial; though they have moſt cauſe to weep and mourn, yet they live in jollity and merriment, and are meere ſtrangers to all ſadneſſe: Some of theſe ſtick not to ſay, What hath any man to doe to weep for their ſinnes? and that by their impieties, they trouble none but their own ſoules; But I tell thee O wretch, thou troubleſt not only thine own houſe and ſoule, but thou troubleſt all Iſrael, thou giveſt the Saints of God occaſion to be penſive for that which makes thee jocant and glad: and happy is it for thee, that there be ſuch as Noah, Lot, Samuel, and David to mourn for thee; for were it not that ſome did mourn for thy prophanneſſe, thou ſhouldſt not live againe to commit it; did not ſome bewaile thy drunkenneſſe, thou ſhouldſt bee taken away with the pot at thy mouth; did not ſome godly people grieve for thy filthy luſt, thou ſhouldſt with Zimri and Cosbi be ſmitten dead, flagrante crimine, in the very act of uncleanneſſe: but the ſervants of God pray and mourn, faſt and weep, and all to avert judgements from thee, who deſerveſt little at their hands.
Vſe 2 In the ſecond place, This may Anſwer a common Objection which is put to the Saints, becauſe they be ſad and dumpiſh: I would have you know, that it is not holineſſe which makes them ſad, but the prophanneſſe of the world is that for which they are ſo much dejected: What need the child of God be ſad, who is in the love and favour of God? thou that complaineſt againſt him for his ſadneſſe, know, that therfore he grieves with holy David, becauſe he is conſtrained to ſojourne in Meſech, Pſal. 120.5.and to dwell in the Tents of Kedar, Pſal. 120.5.
Vſe 3 Laſtly, according to the practiſe of Ezra, though we have made our peace with God, let us mourn for the wickedneſſe of others: every one knowes what cauſe there is for this, iniquity having overſpread this Land of ours, from Dan to Beerſheba, from one corner of it to another: and were theſe impieties modeſt, it were not ſo much, but they be impudent and have a Brazen front, Religion is out of faſhion, and none are ſo eſteemed as faſhion-mongers, they be your only men now in credit: The caſe thus ſtanding, there is no way to prevent judgements which be imminent, but by mourning and fasting: Now that yee may bee perſwaded to practiſe theſe ſo ſeaſonable and neceſſary duties, remember but theſe things; Firſt, it is piety to mourn for the ſins of others; ſhall we hear and ſee God to bee diſhonoured, and not grieve for it? piety cannot lodge in that breaſt where ſuch an ill ſpirit inhabites: a man will and ought to grieve when his friend is wronged; Chriſt calls us his friends, Ioh. 15.15. and hee is our beſt friend,Iohn 15.15. therefore wee have abundant cauſe to mourn for the ſinnes of wicked men, whereby hee is much diſhonoured and the Holy Spirit grieved. Secondly, pity requires this duty at our hands: I read of Marcellus the Roman, that entring a City which he had gained by compoſition after a long ſiege, he burſt forth into teares; one that ſtood by him demanded why he wept, ſaith he, I cannot chuſe but weep to ſee ſo many thouſand led into captivity. Shall a Heathen weep for the captivity of mens bodies? and ſhall not Chriſtians mourn for their ſinnes which are enough to enthrall ſoules and bodies in Hell for evermore? it ſhould bee the griefe of our ſoules, to ſee thouſands and tenne thouſands that will be damned. Thirdly, if we doe not mourne for other mens ſinnes, we make them our own: that of the Father is moſt true, peccatum quod non diſplicet, tuum eſt, that ſinne is thine, with which thou art not diſpleaſed: and that yee may ſee, I goe not without book in this, look that place in 1 Cor. 5.6. there was one in the Church of Corinth that had committed that foule ſinne of inceſt,1 Cor. 5.6. and the Corinthians were ſo farre from grieving for it as they ought to have done, that they gloried in it; S. Paul corrects them for it, telling them that thereby they were become a ſowre lump. Laſtly, we ſhould be moved to this duty, by the bleſſing which attends it, what ſaith our bleſſed Saviour,Matth. 5.4 Matth. 5.4? Bleſſed are they that mourn, for they ſhall be comforted: And in Ezek. 9.4. the Lord gives command to ſpare them in Hieruſalem, Ezek. 9.4.that did ſigh and cry for the abominations done in the midſt thereof: The next way to eſcape judgement, is to mourn for the ſinnes of the Nation, and though we ſhould bee taken away in a generall viſitation (as none bee exempted) yet that ſhall be to us, as the fiery Chariot was to Eliah, it ſhall put us into the poſſeſſion of Heaven, where all teares ſhall be wiped away from our eyes.
The ſecond generall is, the courſe which Ezra takes, and that is humbling himſelfe by confeſſion, weeping and ſupplication, to let us know thus much.
Doct. 2 The maine receit in time of affliction, is humiliation: a probatum eſt, of this will appeare in Gods people: if a judgement have been threatned or comming, they have humbled themſelves before God;2 Chro. 20.3. in the 2 of Chro. 20.3. when that great Army of Ammonites and Moabites came againſt Iehoſhaphat, it is ſaid, Iehoſhaphat feared, and ſet himſelfe to ſeek the Lord, and proclaimed a faſt throughout all Iudah: So when that fatall Decree of Haman was procured, for extirpation of the Iewes, and a day deſtinate for their deſtruction, Heſther commands the Iewes 10 faſt three dayes, and ſaith ſhe, I alſo and my Maidens will faſt likewiſe, Eſth. 4.16. and we doubt not,Eſther 4.…6. but they afflicted their ſoules as well as their bodies:Ionah. 3.5. And in Ionah 3.5. when the Prophet denounced deſtruction to Nineveh, ſaying, yet forty dayes and Nineveh ſhall be overthrown; what followes? the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a Faſt, and put on ſackcloth, from the greateſt to the leaſt of them: This is in judgements imminent and to come; yee ſhall ſee that this alſo hath been their courſe, when a judgement hath been inflicted in a time of drought,Ier. 14.20. Ier. 14.20. We acknowledge O Lord our wickedneſſe, and the iniquity of our fathers, for we have ſinned againſt thee: in a time of dearth and famine, Ioel 2.12. the preſcription is, Turne to the Lord with all your heart, with faſting, Ioel 2.12.weeping and mourning: The people of God have done the ſame when the ſword hath been amongſt them; this wee find in Ioſh. 7.6. when Iſrael was diſcomfited by the men of Ai, Ioſhua rent his cloathes, Ioſh. 7.6.and fell to the earth upon his face before the Ark of the Lord untill eventide, he and the Elders of Iſrael, and put duſt upon their heads: So in the judgement of mortality, when David ſaw that ſeventy thouſand of his ſubjects were ſlaine by the peſtilence for his ſinne, hee betakes himſelfe to God in a humble manner, ſaying, Lo, I have ſinned and done wickedly; but theſe ſheep, what have they done? let thine hand I pray thee, be against me, and againſt my fathers houſe, 2 Sam. 24.17. We ſee it alſo in Davids particular caſe,2 Sam. 24.17. Pſal. 30.7.8. Pſal. 30.7.8. Thou O Lord didſt hide thy face, and I was troubled: then I cryed to thee O Lord, and unto the Lord I made my ſupplication: So likewiſe in the caſe of the whole Church, Hoſea 6.1. Come and let us returne unto the Lord, for hee hath torne, and hee will heale us: Hoſea 6.1.hee bath ſmitten, and he will bind us up: The grounds they went upon were theſe two:
Reaſon 1 Firſt,Zeph. 2.1.2. they knew it was Gods Commandement; that place in Zeph. 2.1, 2. is notable to this purpoſe: where the Lord ſaith, Gather your ſelves together, yea, gather together, O Nation not deſired; before the decree bring forth, before the day paſſe as the chaffe, before the fierce anger of the Lord come upon you, before the day of the Lords anger come upon you: As when Abſolom could not ſpeak with Ioah by faire meanes, hee knew that if once his corne were on fire hee would quickly come unto him; So when the Lord inflicts judgements on his people, it is to humble them in his preſence:Iſa. 22.12. So in Iſa. 22.12. In that day (to wit in the day of their affliction,) did the Lord God of Hoſts call to weeping, and to mourning, to baldneſſe and to girding with ſackcloth.
Reaſon 2 Secondly, the Saints were ſure that ſinne was the cauſe of all their miſeries; that being the Achan which troubled the whole Hoſt, and the Ionah endangering the whole Ship; therefore, to look to have the judgement removed, without humiliation and repentance, were to no purpoſe: who looks to have a wound cured, as long as the weapon that made it ſticks in it? and it is in vaine to expect the removall of a judgement, till men be humbled and purged: but take away the cauſe and the effect will ceaſe.
Vſe 1 What ſhall we think of a number of deſperate wretches in the world, who when they ſhould bee humbled under Gods afflicting hand, ſinne more and more, and more againſt him? this was the ſinne of Abaz, for which the Spirit of God ſtigmatiſes him to all poſterity, in the 2 Chro. 28.22. ſaying,2 Chro. 28.22. and in the time of this diſtreſſe (that is when the Philiſtimes had invaded his Land) did hee treſpaſſe yet more against the Lord; this is that King Ahaz: This alſo we finde charged on Iſrael, Iſa. 57.17.Iſa. 57.17. For the iniquity of his coveteouſneſſe was I wrath and ſmote him, ſaith the Lord: I hid me and was wroth, and he went on frowardly in the way of his heart; They' were ſo farre from being better, that they were the worſe for Gods afflicting them: and are they better, that when the plague of God is gone out againſt a place (as at this time it is againſt this City) yet can ſweare, lie, cheat, and be drunk? they know not, but that the deſtroying Angell may ſmite them next, and yet they dare provoke God by theſe and many other ſinnes: woe is me, that people ſhould bee thus unprepared for death; will nothing teach theſe but bare feeling? will they take no warning till God touch them and ſet the bloudy croſſe upon their bodies? let theſe know, that although God ſpare them a while, hee will not ſpare them for ever, and to be ſure, he will put all into the laſt draught, which ſhall be as bitter as gall or worm-wood.
Vſe 2 In the ſecond place, ſeeing the Lords wrath is at this preſent gone out againſt us for our iniquities; let us all I beſeech you with Ezra, addreſſe our ſelves to God by Prayer and faſting: what is it for us to faſt in private, though Authority have not commanded it? when it is done by the command of the Magiſtrate, wee ſeeme to faſt of neceſſity; but when wee take it up voluntarily, it argues ingenuity, nay there cannot be a more pregnant ſign of ſincerity: Is it ſuch a matter to forbeare one meale in a week? Well, however we think of this duty, if it be performed as it ought, (with ſupplication and humiliation) there is no ſuch way to prevent or remove a judgement: I hope there is none ſo wicked amongſt us, but will confeſſe that we have great cauſe to humble our ſelves before God, for who can be ignorant but that we our ſelves are the cauſe of the plague which is now among us? it is true, ſometimes it encreaſes, at other times it decreaſes, ſo that it keeps at no ſtay; but if wee ſhall therefore neglect to humble our ſoules and bodies in the preſence of God, we ſhall ſo incenſe him, as to encreaſe this plague among us without meaſure; but if we ſhall turn to him that ſmites us, by unfained repentance and amendment of life; hee will not only take this grievous ſickneſſe from us, but hee will leave a bleſſing behinde him. So much for the two generalls: We now deſcend to the particulars, as they were laid down: Wee begin with the indictment preferred by Ezra againſt Iſrael, in which is remembred Gods mercy, and their rebellion: Gods mercy is laid down in the thirteenth verſe, and that three wayes: Firſt, he ſhewes that they were not puniſhed without cauſe: Secondly, that God puniſhed them leſſe then they deſerved: Thirdly, that he had totally delivered them.
Firſt, for the firſt particular in the gradation of Gods mercy, (thou our God haſt puniſhed us,) that is, thou haſt puniſhed us deſervedly: Tyrants will and doe puniſh men without cauſe, nay, they deſire to pick holes in mens coates that they may puniſh them; but the Judge of all the world never proceeds to puniſh, but when hee is provoked. In that Ezra ſaith (ſeeing that thou our God haſt puniſhed us) take notice in the firſt place of this obſervation.
Doct. 3 Whatſoever is the inſtrument, Iſa. 45.7.God is the Authour of the puniſhment. This is proved in Iſa. 45.7. where the Lord ſaith, I make peace and create evill: I the Lord doe all theſe things: ſo in Amos 3.6. Shall there be evill in a City, Amos 3.6.and the Lord hath not done it? yee muſt underſtand theſe places, not of the evill of ſinne, but of puniſhment; for, Deus non author, ſed ultor peccati, God is not the authour, but revenger of ſinne: it was hee that opened the bottles of heaven, and ſent the deluge on the earths it was hee that rained that igneum imbrem, ſhower of fire and brimſtone from heaven upon Sodom and Gomorrah; it was he that ſhut up the wombs in Abimelechs houſe, and that plagued Egypt with thoſe ſucceſſions of plagues: the Magicians could not, or would not ſee, digitum Dei, the finger of God in them; but had they not been blind, they might have ſeen ambas manus, his ten fingers, in thoſe tenne judgements which hee inflicted on them: It was hee that offered David his choyce of three plagues, and upon his choyce ſent the peſtilence; and in 1 Cor. 11.32. S. Paul there labours to perſwade the Corinthians, 1 Cor. ….….that God chaſtened them;Pſal. …9.9. and David ſaith, Pſal. 39.9. I was dumb, and opened not my mouth, becauſe thou didſt it: miſtake mee not, I know that ſometimes God makes uſe of inſtruments for the execution of his wrath: hee made uſe of the earth, to ſwallow up Corah, Dathan, and Abiram; he made uſe of the water, to drown Pharaoh and his Hoſt; hee made uſe of the fire to ſlay the Captaines, and their fifties which came to apprehend Eliah; he made uſe of a Lyon, to kill the diſobedient Prophet; and of Beares to deſtroy two and fourty children, that called Eliſha baldpate; and he uſed Serpents, to ſting to death the rebellious Iſraelites: but the primus motor, the chiefe efficient is God, who is the Lord of Hoſts, and hath all creatures at his beck. Ioſeph was not ignorant, that his brethren had a hand in ſelling of him into Egypt, yet he tels them that God had ſent him thither: and Iob knew well enough that the Sabeans and Caldeans had taken away his goods, yet he ſaith, The Lord hath given and the Lord hath taken away, and bleſſed be the name of the Lord: though men were the inſtruments, yet he knew God to be Authour of what he ſuffered.
Vſe 1 This may informe us, what is the ground of all the impatience in the world; there be a number which repine and murmure when Gods hand is upon them; what is the reaſon? they ſtick in the ſecond cauſes, and look ſo much on the lower links of the chaine, that they forget him that hath the top of it in his hand; one complaines of his brother, another of the ayre hee lives in, a third of the meat he eates, and hence it is that they repine: whereas if a man looked up to God in what he ſuffers, he would ſay as Eli, It is the Lord let him doe what hee will, and with Iob, The Lord gives and takes, and bleſſed bee his Name: Nay, if a man would doe this, it would not only make him patient, but to profit by his affliction; for no man ſees himſelf ſo clearly and truly as in the glaſſe of adverſity; every affliction that God laies upon us ſeemes to ſay as Ehud to Eglon, I have a meſſage to thee from God, which if a man would conſider, it would make his affliction a Betheſda, to cure him of his ſpirituall infirmities, and by ſo doing, hee would come out of that fornace, cleare gold, purged from the droſſe of his corruptions.
Vſe 2 Secondly, here is a Uſe of admonition; ever look up to God in all thy afflictions: look to him in thy Feaver, in thy Ague, in the Plague; I know there may be an infected ayre, there may be ill humours in the body which may help forward infection, I know alſo that a man may bee infected by being converſant with infected perſons; theſe be ſecond cauſes, but God is the chiefe and principall. The Heathens call the plague, a judgement ſent from God, and ſurely there is ſomething more divine in it then in other puniſhments, and a man may ſay of thoſe that die of the Peſtilence, as Moſes ſaid of the death of Korah and his Complices, they die not the common death of men: for as there is ſomething in this diſeaſe for the Phyſitian to look on, ſo ſomething for the Divine.
Vſe 3 Laſtly, when the Lords hand is upon us, and that we would have it removed, the neareſt way we can take, is to have recourſe to God by prayer: for as our Saviour told Pilate that he had no power but what was given him from above, ſo afflictions could not ſeiſe upon us, without Gods giving them a commiſſion; a man may ſpend all that he hath to be cured of his diſeaſe, as did the woman in the Goſpel that had the bloody iſſue, and yet unleſſe God pleaſe, all ſhall doe him no good; Saul may goe to the Witch of Endor for help, and Amaziah to the god of Ekron to bee healed, but except the God of heaven work the cure, it ſhall never be effected: let us therefore in all our afflictions ſeek to God and to him alone, for he that is the inflicter muſt be the reſtorer. I now proceed to the point which even now I named, Ezra ſaith, (God puniſhed them not without cauſe,) which guides mee to this Obſervation.
Doct. 4 God doth never puniſh any without deſert. Gen. 18.25.Saith Abraham, Gen. 18.25. Shall not the Iudge of all the world doe right? Nay, let mee tell you, it is not triviall, but groſſe ſinnes, which cauſe God to puniſh men: mark it in his dealing with the old world, did hee take advantage at every petty impiety? No, but hee ſtaid till all fleſh had corrupted their wayes, and then, and not till then brought he the deluge,Gen. 6.12. Gen. 6.12. ſo before ever he puniſht Sodom and Gomorrah, their ſinnes were exceeding grievous,Gen. 18.20. Pſal. 78.…8. Gen. 18.20. It is ſaid in Pſal. 78.38. he being mercifull, forgave their iniquity, and deſtroyed them not, but oft-times called back his anger, and did not ſtirre up all his wrath. Another pregnant place to prove this,2 Chro. 36 16. is 2 Chro. 36.16. where the Spirit of God ſaith, They mocked the Meſſengers of God, and deſpiſed his words, and miſuſed the Prophets, untill the wrath of the Lord aroſe againſt his people, and till there was no remedy: Mark, he muſt of neceſſity puniſh them, unleſſe he would have his juſtice, truth and providence troden under foot: and when he ſaith, he is preſt under men as a cart is preſt that is full of ſheaves, Amos 2.13.Amos 2.13. it ſhewes evidently, that God doth not puniſh for every ſmall ſinne; hee is propenſe to mercy, but loath to puniſh: hence it is that he calls opus judicii, the work of judgement, opus alienum, a ſtrange work, Iſa. 28.21.Iſa. 28.21. and when he muſt needs puniſh his people, hee ſaith he will ſhave them with a Raſor that is hired, Iſa. 7.20.Iſa. 7.20. as if he had none of his own, but was faine to borrow; ſo prone is God to mercy, that hee would ever think thoughts of peace towards us, but wee will not ſuffer him.
Vſe 1 We ſhould ever juſtifie God, in all the judgements he brings upon us: the Saints of God have done this in all times; thus did David, Pſal. 119.75.Pſa. 119.75. I know O Lord that thy judgements are right, and that thou in faithfulneſſe haſt afflicted me: it was ſo alſo with Nehemiah, Nehem. 9.33.Chap. 9.33. Thou O Lord art juſt in all that is brought upon us, for thou haſt done right, but wee have done wickedly: the like we ſee in Daniel, Dan. 9.7.Chap.9.7. O Lord, righteouſneſſe belongeth unto thee, but to us confuſion of faces, as at this day; and the poore Thiefe on the croſſe tels his fellow when be reviled our bleſſed Saviour, Luk. 23.41. Wee indeed ſuffer juſtly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds, but this man hath done nothing amiſſe: in Matth. 16.27. when our bleſſed Lord called the woman of Canaan, Matth 15.26.27dog, ſhe digeſts it, ſaying, Truth Lord, yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their Maſters Table: and let wicked men diſpute and plead as long as they are able, it ſhall never be found, but that God puniſhes deſervedly. But if it ſhall come into the minds of any to ſay as thoſe in Ierem. 16.10. Wherefore hath the Lord pronounced all this great evill againſt us? Ierem. 16.10.or what is our iniquity? or what is our ſinne that we have committed againſt the Lord our God? I tell theſe as the Prophet told them, you are plagued for your ſwearing, lying, Sabbath-breaking, hypocriſie, drunkenneſſe, luſting, oppreſſion: theſe and other ſinnes bee the procreant cauſes of all plagues, theſe bee the traitours which open the gates to all judgements.
Vſe 2 In the ſecond place, ſeeing God puniſhes none without cauſe, let it teach us patience under his afflicting hand. And the truth is, why ſhould men be impatient under the croſſe, when as he puniſhes not till he be provoked? neither is it every patience which will ſerve the turne; there is aſinina patientia, an aſſes patience, when a man is not ſenſible, though never ſo much load be laid upon him: Secondly, there is canina patientia, a doggiſh patience, when like a ſnarling dog tied up in a chaine, wee indure what is inflicted upon us, againſt our will: Neither of theſe will ſtand us in ſtead, but Chriſtian-like with all ſubmiſſion, wee muſt take thankfully the hand of God upon us, ſaying with holy Bernard, Lord, that which thou layeſt upon us, is durum pro viribus, hard to be born, in regard of our poore ſtrength, ſed dignum pro meritis, but juſt in regard of our iniquities: Let us be as the good corne, which when it is winnowed falls at the winnowers feet, not like the chaffe which flies in his face; and let us ſay with David, 2 Sam. 15.26. Behold here I am,2 Sam. 15.26. let him doe unto me, as ſeemeth good unto him. Further, wee may obſerve, that Ezra ſpeaks not only of ſinne in generall, but of (a great treſpaſſe;) what was it? it was the peoples mingling themſelves with the Heathen, which was a foule tranſgreſſion: the Doctrine ariſing from hence is thus much.
Doct. 5 When God ariſes to judgement, hee ever ſets himſelfe againſt the foule ſinnes of men. Will ſome man ſay, which be the foule ſinnes for which God is ſo much offended? They be theſe, The firſt, is pride; what was it that put on David to number his people, but the pride of his heart? for which you know he ſmarted ſhrewdly, 2 Sam. 24. A ſecond,2 Sam. 24. is Idolatry; this is a grievous ſinne, and for this God is exceeding angry wherever it is practiſed or countenanced, Exod. 20.5. A third, is luſt, Exod. 20.5.eſpecially when it growes impudent, as was that of Zimri and Cosbi. A fourth, is blaſphemy; wherefore was Senacharib that proud monſter and a hundred foureſcore and five thouſand of his Army ſlaine, but for blaſpheming the God of Iſrael? Iſa. 37. A fifth, is murder; this is that ſinne for which God hath a quarrell with a Land,Hoſea 4 2. Hoſea 4.2. The ſixth, is oppreſsion, the Lord is very wroth where this is committed, therefore wee finde him ſaying, Pſal. 12.5. For the oppreſsion of the poore, Pſal. 1….5.and the ſighing of the needy, I will ariſe and ſet him in ſafety, from him that puffeth at him: And elſewhere he threatens to make his arrowes drunk in the bloud of oppreſſours. The laſt ſinne (that I will name) cauſing God to riſe to judgement, is the prophanation of his Ordinances: Moſes knew this, which made him requeſt Pharaoh to let them goe three dayes journey into the Deſart, and ſacrifice to the Lord their God, leſt hee fall upon them with the Peſtilence or ſword,Exod. 5.3. 1 Cor. 11.33. a Exod. 5.3. and S. Paul ſaith in 1 Cor. 11.30. for this cauſe (to wit, for prophaning Gods Ordinance) many are weak and ſickly among you, and many ſleep.
Vſe 1 It ſhall be a uſe of examination to us, to ſearch whether or no theſe ſinnes be among us; which if wee doe as wee ought, wee will ſoone conclude that God plagues us for theſe very ſinnes. Firſt, for Idolatry, is not that among us? and though Dagon have been thrown down, yet is hee not ſet up againe? So for uncleanneſſe, is it not to be found (ſhall I ſay in the skirts?) nay, in the more noble parts of the City? and I wiſh it were a ſlander to ſay there were profeſt brothell houſes both without and within the wals of London: and for pride, if ever it rid in triumph in any generation, then now it is; how neare doth the toe of the Citizen come to the heele of the Gentleman? This ſmoak containes not it ſelfe in palaces, but gets into meane habitations: the back and the belly, two daughters of the horſe-leech, cry, Give, give, and the men of the times are ſo indulgent to them, that they will deny them nothing, inſomuch that by this meanes many brave Eſtates are brought to nothing. Fourthly, for blaſphemy, who can with patience paſſe along and heare the volleys of oathes which are ſent out againſt heaven daily? nay, ſo common is this ſinne, that children can no ſooner ſpeak, but they can ſwear and blaſpheme: And for murther, you have ſcarſe a bill comes out, but ſome or other are ſlaine; nay, ſometimes bloud toucheth bloud: and for oppreſsion, what complayning is there in our Streets, againſt ſuch as grinde the face of the poore? and for prophanation of Gods ordinances, I grieve to declare how frequent this is: men are grown ſo prophane, that they will excommunicate themſelves from the Congregation, and ſave the Miniſter a labour: and for thoſe that doe come hither, the greateſt number of them ſtand but for ciphers, for, dum corpus in choro, animus in foro, while their bodies be in the Church, their minds are in the Marketplace. Now ſeeing theſe ſinnes are found among us, may not the Lord ſay juſtly of us as he ſaid of the Jewes,Ierem 5.29. Ierem. 5.29. Shall I not viſite for theſe things? ſhall not my ſoule be avenged on ſuch a Nation as this? hee may ſay, I will no longer ſuffer their iniquity to out-brave me, but I will up and make them ſmoak, I will root them from under heaven, as I did the Inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah. Laſtly, in Ezra his practiſe wee may ſee a true forme of confeſſion, he confeſſes their (great treſpaſſe:) teaching us thereby, that as wee must confeſſe all ſinne in groſſe, ſo eſpecially, our maine and maſter ſinne; that Saul which is higher by the head, then the reſt of his brethren: wee want not examples of this in Scripture, David confeſſes his murder, Paul his perſecution, and Daniel confeſſes the great ſinne of his people: A great many confeſſe their ſinnes, but they doe it as Nebuchadnezzar told his dreame, he tells his wiſemen that hee had a dreame, but never tells them what it was: So theſe men ſay they are ſinners, but they will not confeſſe their groſſe tranſgreſſions. Wilt thou deale otherwiſe with God Almighty then with thy Phyſitian? when he comes to thee in thy ſickneſſe, thou wilt conceale nothing from him, but tell him how it is with thee in every particular: and yet when thou commeſt to confeſſe thy ſinnes to thy God, thou concealeſt thoſe capitall ſinnes which have moſt offended him. Well, let my counſell be acceptable to thee, get thee up to the beame of thine own conſcience, and judge thy ſelfe: and in judging thy ſelfe, doe not think it enough to cenſure thy ſelfe for thy leſſer ſinnes, but eſpecialiy judge thy ſelfe for thy great offences, if thou doe not, God will judge thee; mince not then thy ſins by labouring to extenuate them, but confeſſe them ingenuouſly, for the more ſevere thou art againſt thy ſelfe, the more mercifull ſhalt thou finde God unto thee.