Balm from Gilead, Sermon 4
3. Day. Iuly 13.
VVEe hauehave spoken of the cause of the Pestilence, sinne: of him that sendeth it, of those amongst whom, his people: come wee now to the promise in those words, J will heale the Land. Wherein obserue three things: First, an Agent: secondly, his action: thirdly, the obiect of it: the first, in the word I; the second, in those, will heale; the third, in that, the Land.
Obserue. Doct. 4 Where God sendeth the pestilence, it is an euill, or a iudgement, vponupon that Land. It is a truth, not onelyonly in regard of the particular place infected, but the whole or other parts of the Land.
Thus in the time of Dauid: it destroyed from Dan to Beersheba, it was an euill of a land: So the iudgements minaced for the fore-spoken sinnes, are threatned a land, Because of Oathes the Land mourneth. I will bring your Land to desolation for disobedience in generall, particularly polution of the Sabbath: Leu. 26.32.Then shall the Land enioy her Sabbaths, Ver. 34.so long as it lyeth desolate.
Indeede, suppose it be sent but to a Citie, as London is, yet it will be found the euill of the Land: the whole is as a body, and London will be found either as the head, or some other member; if it were but as a finger or toe, it is a part: and euen as the sanitie or strength of eueryevery part in our naturall body, is a blessing on the whole, of the eye, of the foote, &c. And on the contrary, the euill vponupon a part, an euill on the whole, a weakener of the whole, whence it is that man saith, I am blinde, I am lame, &c.
So it is in the matter in hand: the good and weale of a Citie, is the good and weale of the Land, and the euill of a Citie, the euill and hurt of a Land.
When as a part, as a Citie (as London) is ill affected, though it bee but a part, it may bee said of the Land: because the members of this Citie are parts of the whole Land, and are by neere relations and bonds allyed to the whole land.
This Citie is, in many respects as Hierusalem was, once thither come vp all the Tribes, there is the place and seat of Iustice.
It is as a Storehouse to the Country, for many necessary commodities; the refuge of the Country in extremities, in euils, of fire and water, and all manner of losses, the helpe which London affordeth, is (perhaps) better then all the rest in the Land; and therefore it cannot be but the euill of this Citie, London is the euill of the whole land.
1 Reason will farther cleare this: the sinnes which procure this iudgement, are not the sinnes of a particular, some fewe, but ordinarily the sinnes of the whole Land.
It is true, that the sinne of a particular, might bee a cause of the euill of a Land One Achan may trouble Israel, and for Dauids numbring the people, God may smite the whole land; in which sence that of Eliah to Ahab, was a truth: that he was a troubler of Israel. And yet ordinarily the reasons and causes are in the whole land: the wants and defects of good spoken of before, and the positiue redundancie of euill, are euils of the whole land: Indeede, one part in regard of commerce, &c. is mingled often times with the other, and there is a mutuall learning of each others workes; a mutuall consent and agreement in euill, and so confirmation and obduration of each other. And thus, as there is an agreement in the corrupt nature of the whole, so in the actuall euils, which flowe from the same: What Rome is to the inhabitants of the earth, a mother of formcations; great Cities in their kinds and degrees, are vntounto lesser places; and lesser places againe in their kinde and degrees, vntounto greater. One infected Sheepe may marre an whole flocke: the sinnes being of the Land, what meruaile if the plague the fruit of it be with all the euill of a land.
1 Learne hence the odiousnesse of sinne, and the vildnesse of all such as liue in the sinnes spoken of, causing the plague, an euill of a land: it bringeth euill, not onelyonly vponupon man himselfe, sinning, onelyonly such are not taken away, it causeth euill on the whole land. It is a truth, and ought to be vrged vponupon eueryevery such wickedman.
It may be spoken to men in great place thus sinning; to Dauid, by God; to Ahab, by Eliah: thou art he that troublest Israel: to priuate men as Achan, by Magistrate and Minister.
That with a childe (some other being dead before) marked by Gods tokens, in the present visitation of this Citie, calling the Father, shewing him those tokens on her, receiuing Gods sentence of death, tolde her Father, Loe these are the tokens of God, what you hauehave often times called for vponupon vsus, by fearefull cursings; (which is one of the sinnes, named as a cause of the plague before) may bee brought home, and laide to the charge of all the rest, of the like common cursers, and the whole rabble that liue in the aforesaid sinnes, people, as in the case of Dauid, children, seruants, all sorts, to others thus sinning: loe here the fruits of thine abominations, the desolations, destructions in the whole land.
So ought eueryevery such man to say to himselfe; Loe, saith Dauid, I hauehave sinned, J hauehave done wickedly, but these sheepe what hauehave they done? 2. Sam. 24.17.Let thine hand I pray thee be vponupon me and my Fathers house.
The Lord requireth humiliation, broken hearts of vsus this day, it is his meane, prescribed for the healing of the land, what more preuailing argument can we finde? what wil wound the soule of a man, if not to see himselfe a wilfull murther of his deere children and wife, of so many men, women, and children, as die in the Citie, as are taken away with the pestilence in the land: what a torment and furie may it be vntounto the soule of such a man? had he attempted the murther of himselfe, it might work vponupon him how much more, when as it is of the Land? to hauehave any man lay to his charge murther, is a piercing thing; much more, children, wife, Citie, to cry thou art a bloudie Father vntounto mee, a bloudie husband, a bloudie Citizen: how much more, when as it is the voyce and crie of the whole land, as it is vponupon all that liue in the said sinnes, without repentance and reformation.
2 It calleth vponupon all men in place diligently, to looke vntounto the rooting out of these sinnes, causing this plague, bringing so great an euill vponupon the Land. VponUpon this ground, Ministers in their places, must crie downe these sinnes especially: they must lift vp their voyces as Trumpets, crie aloud, Tell Iudah of her sins, Israel of her transgressions; such as hauehave had no zeale must repent, as causes of the peoples sinnes, and the plagues of the Land; such as hauehave zeale, and vse it, must be zealous still; the more these sinnes and plagues encrease, the more let our zeale against those sinnes be manifested.
Wicked men account those Ministers madde, who crie out vponupon those, who feare not an oath, and ordinarily pollute the glorious name of the Lord our God: all wish moderation, they would hauehave vsus indeede luke warme, kay cold; and yet iudge whither there be not a cause, when as these sinnes procure so great a slaughter vponupon the land: Were wee not seruants, had wee no respect to the glory of our God, this were notwithstanding a sufficient cause.
Were a watchman in some Castle or key of the land, negligent in his place, not seeing an Armie comming to inuade the land, not giuing warning, suffering them to land. A seruant carelesse of his Maisters goods, seeing a Thiefe stealing, and yet silent, making no adoe to recouer the same.
Did a Sheepheard looke on a Woolfe, worrying his Sheepe with silence, and neither crie, nor runne vntounto their helpe.
Would not the world condemne that woman, seruant, and Sheepheard? is not all that euill iustly to be imputed vntounto them, and to be required of them?
EueryEvery Minister is a workman: a seruant in speciall place, and seruice of the Lord, a Sheep heard. If he see a man in his charge liue in any of the said sinnes without repentance, and be silent, hee suffereth an Armie of iudgements to inuade that man, I, that place, euen the land, hee suffereth euils, as Woolfes, to deuoure the Lords Sheepe: he is as that seruant spoken of: all those euils must be imputed to him, and the Lord will require them of him. This fearfull iudgement of God, the plague on our land must needes be imputed at least in part vntounto the faulty Ministry of many that hauehave that office in our Land.
What was once said, is still to such Ministers and people: Be zealous and amend: where vision faileth by the default of a people, is not, is supprest, is disheartned, or discouraged: their sinnes liue and thriue, and the people perish eternally in their soules, temporally in their health and prosperity of their body, a gap is open to all Gods curses, to this iudgement on that Land, the plague: that people die, they die in their sinnes: their blood, and the blood of the land, shall bee required at their hands.
Where vision faileth, by the default of the Minister, sinnes grow, iudgement houer ouer that place, as so many blacke cloudes, that people perish in soule and body, they are naked to the plague, and so is the Land: they shall die in their sinnes, their bloud shall bee required at that Ministers hands.
As it calleth on Ministers, so vponupon Magistrates in their places, to make lawes against such sinnes, and to execute them vponupon such sinners, they being the cause of the plague, an euill of the whole Land. What greater argument vntounto a good Patriot, next vntounto the glory of God, and saluation of soules, which yet are conioyned, then the good of the Land?
Thou canst not bee a good Patriot, that art remisse in this duty, that doest conniue at such sinnes: thou doest withall conniue at the slaughter, that is now caused at home, and abroad, in all the Land. Thinke of the minaced iudgement on Elie, who did conniue at his sonnes, and feare the same iudgements vponupon your selues: want of zeale in you, hath kindled zeale in the Lord, and made him in this maner to consume the Land.
3 If the plague be an euill of the Land, it is a ground of sympathie, and fellow-feeling vntounto the whole Land, and to shew it in mutuall duties. It is a ground of humanity in the Country vntounto Citizens, who flye vntounto such places as a meanes of God for shelter: were they strangers of another Nation, the respect wee ought to beare them (especially they being the sonnes and daughters of the same God) ought to bee great: Remember yee were Strangers, is often repeated: and our selues may bee, being still in the body; the kindnesse of the Citie to the Country, being it common refuge, deserueth it, and it is no light argument, that it is the euill of a Land: In all bodies there is sympathie, reioycing, mourning, a putting the euill as our owne case: Remember those that are in bonds, as bound with them. It should bee so, it is not in many parts of the Country: the hand of God in the Citie, hath beene easier on many Citizens in the middest of the plague, then in the Country amongst men; the inhumane cruelty of many of these, crie vntounto God for vengeance, and without great repentance must expect it: how worthie soeuer wee were of it from the Lord, and though the Lord bad Shemei to curse, and let loose the Country, to vent their cruelty, the Country notwithstanding was vnworthie, we deserued it not: it was their foule sinne, and will bee for euer remembred by God and man to their shame amongst men, and if not condemnation, as they hauehave sowne, they shall reape of God, it is certaine they must expect retaliation.
Yea, it is vntounto the whole land, a ground of taking vp the prescribed duties, vntounto which the Lord promiseth the healing of the Land: not onelyonly parts, persons, Parishes, Cities smitten, but those that are as yet whole, which warranteth the godly care of his Maiestie, &c. at this time enioyning by Proclamation a Fast vntounto the whole land. In common calamities eueryevery man must put to his helping hand: when as a neighbours house is on fire, it is a neighbourly part for eueryevery man to bring some water vntounto the quenching of it: it may by a neighbours house proceede vntounto their owne, selfe-louelove may preuaile with men in this case: At this time London as well as other parts, is as it were on fire: Let eueryevery one of vsus hauehave our hand in quenching of it. Wee hauehave all our share in the cause, sinne, the good and welfare of it shall be ours, and we must looke to pertake in the euill of it: One man by humiliation and prayer, seeking the Lord, hath preuailed much. Moyses alone standing in the gap, hath turned away the wrath of the Lord: If the prayers of one childe of God bee so auaileable, how much more shall be the prayers of a congregation, of so many congregations as are in this land? If one mans intreatie will giuegive the Lord no rest, offereth violence to heauen, the prayers of many shall doe more through Iesus Christ, and wee may conceiue good hope, that the end shall follow healing of the Land: to stirre vsus all vp, Remember the plague is an euill of the Land.