Balm from Gilead, Sermon 18
Septemb. 14.12. Day.
IN the next place from the order of God. That the Land may bee cured of the Pestilence, there must bee first forginenesse of the sinnes of the Land. Thus Salomon prop…s…th his request, and GOD a…swereth. Whilest I kept silence (saith Dauid) my bores waxed olde, Psal. 32.and day and night thine…h…nd was heauy vponupon mee: I sayd, I will confesse my sins; and thou for gauest mine iniquitie and so (which is to bee supplied) thou remoouedst that hand. And thus in order wee are taught first to pray for forgiuenesse of sinnes, and then deliuerance from euill. First GOD will heare, then he will forgiue sinnes, and so heale the Land.
1 It is reasonable: Reason 1 Because forginenesse of sinnes is a taking away of the cause of the plague, which must euer bee first. First a man must take away the cause, then effect will dye.
Sinne as wee hauehave heard, is the cause of the plague: so long as sinne doth remaine in a man, that man is in danger of the plague. Remission of sinnes is a taking away of sinnes, A putting of sinnes farre from a man, an vnloosing, or dissolution of the power, binding ouer to punishment; It is a blotting out of sinn: And therefore,
2 Reason 2 Because with forgiuenesse of sinnes, taking away the cause, amends is made by righteousnesse, there is put satisfaction and compensation vntounto Gods exact iustice, by the righteousnesse of Christ, vponupon which, and whence, remission of sins floweth, the penalty in that is exactly borne and suffered, and whatsoeuer GOD requireth, put, in regard of which Gods people, his beloued is wholly faire, there is no spott in her, in him shee is compleate. Vntill payment bee made a prisoner cannot be deliuered, when as payment is made he must be deliuered: before and vntill that righteousnesse bee put, euill propertie so called may be iustly inflicted, if once that bee put, that euill cannot bee inflicted; and therefore.
3 Reason 3 Because if forgiuenesse of sins be put, all other meanes prescribed to this ende are present and supposed Humbling our selues by prayer, seeking Gods face, turning from sinnes, turning vntounto God, euen compleate repentance, all these are supposed in vsus; I, and hearing our prayer in the Lord: whence healing of the Land followeth, there is a necessity of that, as disposing to the ende. Which being put, suppose all other meanes conducing thereunto: and so of forgiuenesse of sinnes.
It seemeth remission of sinnes doth not dispose to the healing of a Land, Obiect. seeing all those whose sinnes are forgiuen hauehave not healing, and some againe are healed who hauehave not remission of sinnes.
Grant what is obiected, Answer. yet it hath no consequence: For clearing of it, we are to consider the plague, and its effect, Death; and so the contrary to it, Life, as they are in themselues, or else as they are in relation to such and such persons: For the first, the plague and death are in themselues euill, a curse, and yet not so to Gods children, such as hauehave forgiuenesse of sinnes; to them it is not compensatory satisfactory, it curse and euill, or sting is taken away. Those are blessed that dye in the Lord: the day of death to thē (by what soeuer euill meanes) is better then the day of birth: To dye is aduantagious, to them it is a cure of all diseases, of sinne it selfe: a meanes to enter them into their masters ioy. So that though the particular bee not performed vntounto them, that which is better is: and yet so often as that is good, it is performed in kind this way. On the other side, life and deliuerance in themselues, blessings, and yet vntounto a wicked man a curse; one …udgement threatned the wicked, is smiting no more: it is a fearefull iudgement to liue and prosper in sinne: the more a wicked mans dayes are, the more his sinnes must needs bee, and so the greater his iudgement. So that, though the particular iudgement be not executed, that which is worse is, where there is no remission of sinnes.
If forgiuen…sse of sinnes disposeth to the healing of the plague; Vse 1 then (to omit that it teacheth Gods exact iustice) It sheweth vsus what we must looke to obtaine before the the Lord in mercy, heale our Land, namely forgiuenesse of our sins. Healing cannot bee expect…d as a blessing before, as long as sinne is vnpardoned, our score stand…th in Gods booke, guilt lyeth at our doore, is within that house; our sore will runne, the hand of the Lord will bee vponupon vsus day and night: and therefore calleth vponupon vsus to vse those meanes; vponupon this ground are we to goe vntounto Gods threane of grace and mercy, through Iesus Christ the Mediator, the Sauiour, to Christ the Aduocate with the Father, the onelyonly Intercessor and Redeemer, to get into him by faith, to wash vsus, and to make vsus cleane, in his blood, the Fountaine opened for sinne and for vncleannesse, make wee him our peace and propitiation; this is the substance of that Incense in the Censor of Aaron, with which he stood betweene the liuing and the dead, and appeased the wrath of the Lord kindled in the plague. Make wee him our friend, and vse him now for the weale of our Land, seeke remission of sinnes by faith in him: looke that faith be conditioned, bring with it whatsoeuer God requireth, else to remission of sinnes, of which particularly in my last proposition. Blinde men & women that we are, we busie ourselues altogether about the disease; our eye is vponupon that, our finger is vponupon that, our month talketh of that; at furthest, our thoughts are of second causes onelyonly, we think not of the first cause, sinne; we vse not Gods meanes for remission and pardon of sinnes, and therefore our disease remaineth, which would bee otherwise, if we did wisely consider, That forgiuenesse of our sinnes is that which disposeth vsus to the healing of the Land.
Before I speake of the order of these meanes, obserne, Doct. It is a priuiledge of the Lord to forgiue vsus our sins, I will forgiue their sinnes. Thus doth the Lord proclaime himselfe in the Scriptures. The Lord, the Lord, Exod 34.6.&c. forgiuing iniquitie, transgression and sinnes. I, Isa. 43.23.euen I am hee that blotteth out thy transgression for mine owne sake, and will not remember thy sinnes. And so in many other places.
This hath the Church of God professed, as in their prayers for remission of sinnes, so in their prayses and blessings of GOD for the same: See Psalme; 1. and Psalme 103. And our Lord taught vsus to goe in prayer to him our Father for remission of sins, and in the same place to ascribe power, and glory to him, of remission of sins. Mich. 7.18.And therefore the Prophet, Who is a God like vntounto thee, that pardonest iniquity As if he should say, thou onelyonly art God, and manifested to be so by forgiuenesle of sins. Therefore the Scribes themselues, Who can forgiue sinnes but God alone?Luk. 5.21.
1 Reason 1 Indeede vntounto him alone belongeth the power of remission of sinnes, vntounto whom those attributes gracious, mercifull, doe belong; but these are essentiall and incommunicable properties of GOD: they are conioyned in that proclamation, The Lord, the Lord gratious, mercifull: and therefore, it is his priuiledge.
2 Reason 2 His priuiledge alone, it is to forgiue sinnes, whose it is to saue, whose priuiledge it is to redeeme, to enliue, and regenerate; to wash and clense a soule from sinne: in a word, which compriseth all, whose priuiledge it is, to make the couenant of grace: Remission of sinnes, is saluation from sinnes; saluation from their guilt, binding ouer to punishment, saluation from wrath that is to come. Remission of sinnes is redemption, Col. 14.deliuery from guilt and punishment, wrath due and to come; in whom wee hauehave redemption, remission of sinnes: Remission of sinnes is a part of spirituall life, life of and by iustification: Remission of sinnes is the washing and clensing of the soule from sinnes. It is one part, or legacie of the couenant of grace, I will bee mercifull vntounto their sinnes. Now eueryevery one of these are the peculiars of God: it is his to saue, besides him there is no Sauiour. Hee is the Lord God of Israel, that visiteth and redeemeth his people. GOD purchaseth his Church. It is he that doth kill, and he that doth make aliue, that regenerateth, that rayseth from the dead: It is he that washeth vsus with cleane water: that maketh as white as snowe: whence Dauid, wash me, Psalm. 51. It is hee that maketh that couenant: I will make an euerlasting couenant with you It is God that iustifieth, and therefore remission of sinnes is his priuiledge.
3 He onelyonly can forgiue sinnes, Reason 3 whose lawe is transgressed thereby, hauing power to giuegive life vntounto its obseruation, being able to punish with eternall death the trangression of it: Sinne is the transgression of the Law of God: There is but one Law-giuer that is able to saue and to destroy: Opus Dei est peccata remittere. Salmeron, …ouing the holy Ghost God. Q…is antē remittit peccata nisi solus Deus? to. 9. tr. 63. p. 478.others can kill the body and goe on further, GOD alone can cast both body and soule into Hell fire. And therefore vponupon all these grounds. I conclude it, the priuiledge of God to forgiue sinnes. By this argument you know, Christ prooueth himselfe GOD: For it the Pharesies thought he did blaspheme: it was his to hauehave the key of Dauid to open when as none can shut, to shut when as none can open, and the priuiledge of none other.
1 If it be the Lords, Vse 1 Sacrilegious is their practise, who teach and practise communication of the same vntounto a mortall man, as in the Church of Rome. It is not a Ministerial or declaratory power they giuegive vntounto them, but iudiciary, l 3. de paenit c. 2. §. quare cū suas claues.the same, the same which Christ had, hee communicated to the Apostles, saith Bellarmine. They doe it not by the ministry of the word, Vt enim flatius extinguit ignom, et discipat nebalas, sic …iam … ti… sacerd… ti… …ectata dispergie …r cranescere facit Id … q…int… Colligitur. Bel…l 2 de sac in gen. c. 8 rat. 6.saith Bellarmine, but extinguendo & dissoluendo, as the winde putteth out fire and disperseth the cloudes: so doth the absolution of a Priest disperce sinne, and cause the same to vanish. According to which Metaphor (saith he) We reade, Deleui vt nubem peccata tua, I hauehave done away thy sinnes as a cloude; which indeed proceedeth of GOD, but not of any priest or Pope.
It is not a conditionall absolution, If thou dost beleeue, if thou dost repent; (though they teach Sacraments to follow faith, and that they cannot rightly bee conferred on those that are of age, Nisi ijs qui prius credunt: and acknowledge that Multi baptizantur qui non recipiunt spiritum Christi, l. 1. c. 25. ad postremum.quia sine fide aut poenitentia baptizantur, and that multi impij baptizantur ficto corde & Eucharistiam sumunt, l. 1. c. 14. arg tert.qui proinde peiores sunt & magis inuisi Deo quam antea: but absolute (and what shall they stand vponupon conditions, when as they teach, As that a Priest doth not know the faith and repentance of another (which is truth) so that a man can not be certaine of his owne righteousnesse; which was the cause of Bellarmines tutissimum to relie on the only mercy & bounty of God; l. 5 de iustif. c. 7.Propter incertitudinem propriae iustitiae:) Whether thou beleeue and repent or not: Which the Apostles receiued no power for; They had no power against the truth, but for the same; vppon which may follow the iustification of the wicked, and condemnation of the iust: which the Lord pronounceth a like abominable. Which GOD himselfe (as being impotencie, rather then power) hath not, and disclaimeth: Hee will not hold the guilty innocent.
It is a truth that Ministers, and they alone (against Sectaries amongst our selues, who with Anabaptists giuegive the power of the Keyes vntounto eueryevery beleeuer) hauehave in Gods place and stead, a power to binde and loose; but it is Ministeriall and declaratory, that is, to declare and pronounce vntounto them that are truely penitent, the absolution and remission of their sinnes; as our Church speaketh. And when men, vntounto whom they shew Gods good pleasure, are rightly quallified, it is ratified, they are Ambssadours from God, and hauehave commission to testifie vntounto such soules the grace of God: as in binding they declare wrath: So on the contrary. Let the Pope and all his adherents binde him that truely beleeueth, repenting of his sinnes, God absolueth him, he is blessed, and it shall not be reuersed: and on the other side, absolue and loose an impenitent sinner neuer so much; he is still bound before God. Gods Word pro…ounceth him a cursed man, and he shall be accursed, Iudiciary power; as saluation it selfe is that which is proper to God, none can fo…gine sinnes but God onelyonly.
2 If it be Gods to forgiue then it is Gods to heale the Land of the plague. Vse 2 Whosoeuers it is to forgiue sinnes, his also it is to heale the Land of the plague: and therefore they are heere coupled together. Could a Priest take away, I, blow away sinnes, as the winde doth the clowdes, he might heale a Land of the plague, hee taketh away the cause. When as he cannot doe the lesse, possibly sane himselfe, he cannot in that manner forgiue sinnes, which is the greater: they are both priuileges of God.
3 It teacheth vsus whither to hauehave recourse for this blessing, Vse 3 euen vntounto the Lord; our Sauiour taught it, and all Saints practised it. HaueHave mercy vponupon me O Lord, according to the multitude of thy mercies, doe away mine offences Expect it not, seeke it not from man, or Angell, seeke the face of God who promiseth vponupon it to forgiue sinnes.
As it sheweth vsus to whom to goe, so the manner, such as beseemeth the Lord, such as hee prescribeth in his holy word: Which may bee an argument to renue all the former duties, but of that anone directly.
Yea, it is for our incouragement notwithstanding former and larter sinnes. It was an encouragement (sometimes) to them to sue vntounto the Kings of Israell, because they had heard them to bee mercifull. It is a truth much more of our King and God: he proclaimeth himselfe such, he hath beene found so from generations, Manasseh a bloody Idalater had experience of it. So had Paul, I was a blasphemer, a persecutor, an iniurious person. I obtained mercy; Mercy in his worke, The mercy of the Lord is from generation to generation, on thē that feare him; As I liue (saith the Lord) J will not the death of a sinner.
Let vsus put it to vse, hauing need of remission of our sinnes. Let the gracious attributes of this God, whose priuiledge this is, allure vsus and incourage vsus to the vttermost; at length we may preuaile, and as he was to Jsrael he will be to vsus: Hee was (saith the Psalmist) so mercifull that he forgaue them.
Last of all, Vlt. it must teach vsus to whom to giuegive the praise and glory of it, in all the duties thereof, euen vntounto the Lord: thou that hast it and dost know it (without which thou caust neuer giuegive God the glory of it, as an intellectuall agent) Ascribe vntounto the Lord the praise, thine is the kingdome, the power and the glory; giuegive him the glory of good will, of grace and mercy, of truth and power, of Jesus Christ, of all his other meanes by which thou hast attained the same. Remember that of his, My glory will I not giuegive vntounto another; giuegive it him with thine heart, with thy mouth, with thy life, all recieue in this mercy from him: Let all for this mercy returne praise and glory vntounto him. Blesse thou the Lord, O my soule, and all that is within mee prayse his holy name. Blesse the Lord, O my soule, Psal. 103.1.and forget not all his benefits, who forgiueth all thine iniquities. It is his priuiledge.