Balm from Gilead, Sermon 2
3. Iuly. 2. day.
OVr second preposition is, Doct 2 That it is the Lord that sendeth the pestilence vponupon his people for sinne. If I shall send, &c. It is the Lord that threatneth it in the places before, it is the Lord that executeth it, as in the particular instances before. He is the inflicter of all iudgement: Amos 3.6.There is no euill in the Citie, and the Lord hath not done it.
J hauehave sent amongst you the pestilence after the manner of Egipt.Amos 4.1…
And if we consider the fiercenesse of this disease, the speede it doth make in execution, its boldnesse and impartiality, its knocking at the dores of beggers and Palaces of mighty Kings, it must be confessed a messenger of the eternall God.
1 One reason may be the truth of God, Reason 1 which as it is seene and exercised in performance of promises, for in fulfilling his threats, of which this iudgement is one: He is a God of truth, Iehouah, a giuer of Being to all his words, promises and threats.
2 Another is his iustice; Reason 2 hee is chiefe Iustice, the Iudge of all the world; he cannot but doe right. Death in generall is the wages of sinne: all diseases as meanes; death by this meaues the pestilence, as wee see in Gods reuealed will, the canon of Iustice.
3 The anger and wrath of the Lord, Reason 3 out of which hee is caried to punish sinne; and thus when Jsrael committed whoredom with the daughters of Moab, and ioyned themselues with Baal. Peor, Num. 25.3.the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel: the effect was the death of 24. thousand of the plague, Phineas being zealous for Gods sake, turned away his wrath, and the plague ceased.
4 To this referre the iealousie, Reason 4 or zeale of the Lord of Hoasts, his iust indignation, and direfull vengeance on sinners.
Phineas turned away the Lords wrath, that he had not consumed them in his iealousie: That stroke to consumption was an effect of his zeale. God is the Lord of Hosts, all iudgements his Armies; be is he God to whom vengeance belongeth; in this he sheweth himselfe, the zeale of the Lord of Hosts doth bring this to passe. As the Lord requireth zeale in Magistrates, Ministers, &c. so one argument is his owne example: when as men in the cause of the Lord are zealous as Eliah; and effects thereof hauehave beene death in offenders, as in the example of Phineas with his Iaueline; and that on Zimri and Coshie great ones. What meruaile is it, if man wax colde in Gods cause, that the Lords iealousie wax hot, and that it consume by the plague; it is a perfection of the Lord, and the meruaile is, that it doth not consume to the nethermost hell.Deut. 32 21 22.
Finally, Reason. there is the faithfulnesse of the Lord in accomplishment of promises to his owne: hee hath promised cleansing, to take away hardnesse of heart; to giuegive grace, its groth and degrees, its consumation and perfection, to saue from all vncleannesses, to present vsus blamelesse in glory: hee hath promised the meanes and efficacie to these ends.
When as direct meanes worke not, the word, its ministrie, the Sacraments, health, prosperity, peace: when as prayer, and fasting, and other ordinances, I, the Lord himselfe beginneth to growe out of request with vsus; when as men deale with the meanes for the soule as preseruatiues of the body in times of health, out of infection, that hee may accomplish his promises, he must vse other meanes; one affliction or another must be sanctified, to this end the plague must be sent: that will bring preseruatiues of the soule, as it doth prescripts for the body, God himselfe and his ordinances in request.
The Word and the Sacraments will be precious, and effectuall for their ends, that will stirre vp grace, and make it put forth: It will exercise faith, hope, louelove, humiliation, Patience, prayer, praise: it will make a man to worke for his life, to giuegive all diligence, in clearing his euidences, in making election, and call sure: when as an healing plaister will not, there must be a corisiue: when as a cordiall will not worke the feat, the Physitian will tamper with poyson; when as words preuaile not, we vse blowes: and thus doth our heauenly Father.
The righteous shall flourish like a Palme tree, and spread abroad like a Cedar in Lebanon: those that be planted in the house of the Lord, shall flourish in the Courts of our God: They shall still bring forth fruit in age: they shall be fat and well liking, Psal. 92.12, 13.and all to shew that the Lord is vpright, and that there is no vnrighteousnesse in the Lord: that trees planted may grow, and bring forth; the husbandman must water, dung▪ and dresse them; he must prune them, lop off superfluous boughes.
The Lord is an husbandman, Ioh. 15.1, 2.eueryevery branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth, that it may bring forth more: the pestilence is one of the meanes: of very faithfulnes, in this respect, Dauid confesseth, that the Lord caused him to be troubled.
And these are the reasons for which the Lord sendeth the pestilence amongst his people.
1 Let vsus put it to vse: Vse 1 and first, It sheweth the miserie of all vngodly men, liuing in the sinnes spoken of without repentance, as in regard of the punishment it selfe, so because it is a messenger of the Lord.
The messenger of the Lord will doe his arrand: and if it doth, how canst thou that art an vngodly man promise to thy selfe, that thou shalt escape?
Ezechiel the ninth, wee may see Gods commission to men with destroying instruments, in these words: Goe through the Citie and smite, let not your eye spare, neither hauehave you pittie, slay vtterly olde and young, both maydes, and little children, and women. Wherein obserue their commission goe: the place whither, with it extent, through the Citie; not onelyonly the Suburbs, out Parishes, some Parishes, and by-Lanes in the Citie, but through the Citie. 3. Going through the Citie, they must smite, I and slay 4. And whom, vtterly olde, young, maydes, little children, and women. And lastly, they must not spare, they must hauehave no pittie.
Looke what God gaue in charge then, it seemeth he doth now to the pestilence: his commission is to goe through the Citie, to smite and slay of all sorts, to hauehave no pittie: if God will thus visite Hierusalem, why not London? If no degree, or age, could exempt it selfe, then how shall it now? What vngodly one is there not comprised vnderunder that diuision, olde, young, &c. of the Lord?
I vrge not this, brethren, as desiring the same: our Lord doth not desire the death of a sinner, his intent is repentance to life. It is my feare and astonishment. Hearing this, my belly trembleth, rottennesse entereth into my bones, mine intent is, to shew you your sinnes, and what will bee their profit, except yee returne, to moue you to mourne for your owne, and abominations of others the cause, to take vp, and vse the prescrips of the Lord, to shew you, and make you sensible of the wonderfull straight we are in this day, to put you vponupon the duties.
It is the Lords messenger, and without repentance, now tell mee, how canst thou possibly escape?
Thou wilt say, Obiect. 1 I am guilty indeed of some of those sins you speake of: but I did them in secret, no eye saw it, no mā in the world can say blacks mine eye, therefore I may escape. No, no: Answer. haddest thou to deale with a man, a Minister, a Magistrate, thou mightest escape, what they see not, nor know, they cannot reproue, they cannot punish, thou hast to deale with God: Psal. 139.Hee knoweth thine vprising, and thy downe lying: he searcheth thine heart, and trieth thy reines, there is not a thought in thine heart, but he knoweth it altogether: all things are open in his eyes, Heb. 4.with whom we hauehave now to doe: this will be but a silly shift.
Thou wilt tell me thou art young and strong, in perfect health, Obiect. 2 what euer others do, thou mayest escape. Is not the commission to olde and young? Answer. doe not our strong & mighty men dye as well as the weake? Did not the Lord by this messenger slay 70000. men at once in Israel? Is it not the messenger of the Lord of Hoasts? art thou stronger then God? Thou wilt say thou hast aduice of the best Physitians, Obiect. 3 thou hast there preseruatiues, thou art constant in their vse: Answer. Thou doest well, if thou vse all good meanes for thy soule, as well as for thy body: spirituall causes of the plague remaining, the operation of such as are corporall, is suspen led: vntounto the vncleane all things are so, Physick it selfe: their opetation will be voyde, otherwise at the approach of this messenger of the Lord.
Thou wilt pretend thou hast a Country house, Obiect. 4 or means by others, thou wilt slye thither, and so escape,
Flight may, Answ. and yet scarcely bee a meanes of anoyding the messenger of a man, not this of the Lord. Did not this messenger doe its arrand, In 3. dayes from Dan to Beershebah? Psal. 139.7, 8, 9.Whither shall I flie from thy presence, O Lord? If I goe vntounto heauen or hell, thou art there, &c. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the vttermost parts of the Sea, euen there shall thine hand leade me and thy right hand shall hold me.
No, no: neither these, or any other shifts will serue thy turne liuing in sinne: there is no way to auoyde the hand of the Lord, but the meanes of the Lord: and if thou wilt not vse them, thou must buckle with the Lord.
2 Vse 2 If it bee the messenger of the Lord, it must instruct vsus in the duties required: the obiect, to whom: and the manner, such as beseemeth the Lord: there is no possibility by flights to euade: what's to be done then? Prepare thy selfe to meete thy God: from the highest vntounto the lowest of vsus all: the aduice of that Prophet, is, to prepare our selues to meete the Lord. It is the wisedome taught vsus, by wisedome it selfe: when a stronger Armie commeth against vsus, then wee can withstand, to send whilst it is a farre off, to offer conditions of peace. Gods Army is stronger then wee can resist, who can stand before it, it is neere; if farre off from vsus, yet now let vsus send, and offer the Lord conditions of peace. When as the plague began amongst Israel, Moyses willed Aaron to goe to make an attonement, and Aaron ran. Let vsus propose Christ, our once offered attonement, the aduocate with the Father, the propitiation for our sinnes: as the men of Tire and Sidon, made Blastus their friend to King Hered. Let vsus by faith in Christ, vse him as a friend vntounto the Lord.
Breake off thine vngodly courses: humble thy selfe vnderunder the mighty hand of God. Crie mightily, Spare thy people, O God. Seeke the face of the Lord continually: turn from eueryevery euill way; returne vntounto God. Thou wilt say, Obiect. that the Lord is a righteous God, a iust, an angry, and a iealous God, a consuming fire: it will be the high way to meete with the plague, to meete or approach vntounto the Lord. Answer. It is true, and yet in Christ Iesus there is merciemercy with the Lord: in him hee is well pleased, satisfied; in regard of strict Iustice his anger is appeased: how angry so euer Esau was with Jacob, when hee met him with a present, and humbled himselfe, his bowels earned vponupon Iacob: so will the bowels of the Lord on vsus, humbled before him in Iesus Christ: it is our stubborne going on in sinne alone, that restraineth the sounding of the bowels of the Lord.
The Lord, I, him alone must wee seeke vntounto, and in vse of all other meanes depend on the Lord, who is he that sendeth the plague.
Yea, as it directeth vsus to the obiect; so in the manner, wee must respect the time whilst he is a farre off in regard of iudgement, neere in regard of merciemercy, patience, and long suffering, before the decree come forth, before it come home to thine house, it cannot be safe dalying, or delaying the time, hauing to deale with the Lord.
Looke vntounto our sincerity, let our seeking, &c. be harty, it standeth vsus in hand, wee hauehave to doe with the Lord.
It is true, the Lord had respect vntounto Ahabs seruile humiliation, his weeping, putting on sackcloath, and walking softly: it is a truth of Israel, when as they did but flatter the Lord with their lippes, Psal. 78.36.and lye with their tongue; they were not destroyed: such is Gods merciemercy, he was so mercifull saith Dauid: so forward is he in encouraging men to performe him seruice sincerely, and yet wee must know that there is no promise but vntounto sincerity; it will proue but a repriuall, or putting off for a time, no absolute forgiuenesse, and a time of wrath will come, wherein with hypocrites wee shall pay for all.
Looking sower, abstinence from meates, a bare outward confession, I hauehave sinned, rending of the garments, putting on sackcloath; sprinkling our selues with ashes, nor any, or all outward complement will not passe for currant with the Lord: the Lord requireth the heart, an heauie heart, a broken and a contrite heart, a rended heart, a cleansed heart, an whole heart, inside as well as outside seruice; had a man to deale onelyonly with man, the one might serue, stop his mouth, giuegive him content: hauing to deale with the Lord, our care must bee proportioned, and there will bee good reason, seeing the plague is a messanger of the Lord.
3 Lastly, if it be the Lord, it calleth vponupon vsus to acknowledge him, to iustifi… him, to giuegive him the glory of all the attributes exercised in this worke, secret oftentimes, and high is his present execution, full of admiration: it is a worke of infinite wisedome and iustice; he ought to be had in remembrance for euer: all vses depend vponupon our acknowledgement of the Lord, and it is full of comfort vntounto Gods people in these times. Who, and what is the Lord in relation vntounto them? and what are they againe in relation to the Lord? Is he not their Lord and Master, their King, their Father, their Husband? Is not his merciemercy towards them, from generation to generation? Is he not their God… hath he not confirmed this truth by promise, by oath, two immutable things: by his signe and seale, Baptisme; by the other often, the Supper of the Lord: I, by the bloud of Iesus Christ, the bloud of the euerlasting couenant? Is he not ingaged for grace, glory, and good? for saluation, a plenarie deliuerance out of the hands of all our enemies, for righteousnes and eternall life?
Are yee not seruants, subiects, children, the Spouse of God married to himselfe, his people? Surely such as hauehave euidences of these things, hauehave great cause of comfort, they neede not to bee fearefull, distracted, and deuided euen in this perilous time, the plague is a messenger of this their God.
If health and safety bee good for thee now, the plague shall not come neere thy dwelling: did it come by chaunce or fortune, it might come to thee as well as others: came it by the disp…sition of malicious and vngodly men, it might befall thee to bee smitten with it before another. A Sparrow falleth not to the ground, without thine heauenly Father: the very haires of thine head are numbred by the Lord.
If he shall send that messenger vntounto thee, or thy family, it is a messenger from thy Father: a rod in deed, and yet in the hand of a louing Father thou mayest expect pittie of him as a Father.
If hee take away wife or childe from thee, did he not giuegive them first, or rather lend them vntounto thee for a time, may he not take his owne?
If by this messenger he shall otherwise dispose of thee, is hee not thy Lord? oughtest not thou to bee like vntounto a seruant euer waighting the comming of thy Lord: be at the come, and tarrie, and goe, and doe of thy Lord? Thou wilt say, thou couldest doe him better seruice now then euer: Art thou wiser then the Lord? Are not all his workes, and knowne vntounto the Lord? Thou wouldest willingly liue, and prouide for thy wife and small children: see them bestowed; are they not in the hand of thine all-sufficient God? Doth hee not feed the young Rauens? Is not he a Father of the fatherlesse, & the God of the widdow? When he vnlooseth the tye of thy life, he dissolueth all those bonds, hee acquitteth thee of care, and taketh the matter on himselfe.
If thou bee troubled now about any thing, let it be the ordering, specially of thy spirituall house; make thy peace with God, reniew the conditions, consider aright thy failings, renue thy faith and repentance: see all reckonings straight in the satisfaction of Jesus Christ, mortisie sinne more and more, work with Gods iudgement to the perfecting thy sanctification: Be carefull in the vse of good meanes, and leaue the issue to God. Let the messenger of the Lord finde thee so doing: so by death thou shalt hauehave an Euge, wel done, and enter in to thy Masters ioy.
It is true; the Lord expecteth feare and trembling in these times: When the Lyon roareth, all the beasts of the Forrest tremble: the Master of a family being angry, and laying about him, the whole house must needes be troubled: yet let it issue from faith, and louelove, and submission, such as may dispose vsus to vse his meanes, to stand in the gap, to make vp the breach: wee shall not otherwise appease him, we shall displease him rather; and all this will be in a proportioned carriage vntounto him, as hee is in relation to vsus, that is it which giueth him glory of these attributes in this time. It comforted Dauid in a great straight: the mercies of the Lord are great: You hauehave heard of the patience of Iob, and the end the Lord made, hee is full of pittie.
Wee cannot now come in to any place, but the subiect matter of our speech, is this messenger of God, the plague, and its message; when we speake, remember it is the messenger of the Lord, talke with all, of his anger, and wrath, and iealousie, and iustice, and truth; his merciemercy, his wisedome, his power, remember the Lord, acknowledge the Lord, as occasion is offered, that will be the way to set heart, and hand, and mouth a worke, vntounto eueryevery one of the former duties.
Finally, Vlt. if it be the messenger of the Lord: learne hence to guesse of the continuance, or ceasing of the plague: surely when as it hath done it arrand, it will depart, and not before: when Phineas executed iudgement, which was the plagues arrand, the plague ceased, vntill Achan was found out, it went ill with Israel. When a sore is whole, a plaister will fall off: when as wee hauehave giuen an answere vntounto the Lord, his messenger will returne, vntill then it will abide: it is a messenger of the Lord; yea, it will abide with those that are Gods owne people; and so passe we to the third proposition: it is the manner of the Lord to send the pestilence amongst his people.