THE RICHES OF MERCY. In two Treatises; 1 Lydia's Conversion. 2. A Rescue from death. By the late learned, and reverend Divine, RICHARD SIBBS, Doctor in Divinity. Published by the Authors own appointment, and subscribed with his own hand to prevent imperfect Copies. 1 SAM. 2.6. The Lord killeth, and maketh alive; he bringeth down to the Grave, and bringeth up. LONDON Printed by I. D. for Francis Eglesfeild, and are to be sold by him at the sign of the Marigold in Paul's Churchyard. 1638. LYDIAS Conversion. ACT. 16.14. And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of Purple, of the City of Thyatira, that worshipped God, whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended to the things that were spoken of Paul. And when, etc. THE holy Apostle Saint Paula vessel of mercy, having found mercy himself of God, was a fit instrument to preach mercy to others. Hereupon he was appointed to be a preacher to the Gentiles. Among the rest of the Gentiles, he was called to preach to them of Macedonia, and it was by a vision, as we see in the former part of the Chapter. A man of Macedonia, Vers. 9● appeared to Paul by night and said Come to Macedonia▪ and help us. Indeed the state of the people of Macedonia called for help, as now the state of many people doth: though there be not such a vision as a man of Macedonia, yet their wretched estate (being under the Kingdom of Satan) cries Come and help us, though they do not cry with their mouths, yet their estate cries. The Apostle upon this vision, takes his journey to come toward Macedonia, and he stayed there a good while; He abode certain days. Though God called him to Macedonia: yet God did not give him great encouragement for the present. This is the manner of God's carriage, not to discover at the present what he will do, but leads people on by gentle encouragements: and to humble them the more with little fruit at the first, he abode there certain days, without any great fruit. Afterwards he goes out to Philippi (the chief City in Macedonia, and on the Sabbath day, the people were gathered together: a company of women were resorted together, and there he preached to them: As indeed holy communion is never without a blessing; they met together on a good day, the Sabbath, and for a good end they were met together; Now Paul took the advantage of their meeting together on the Sabbath day, he cast his net, and he catcheth one with her family, namely Lydia. The Gospel was a sweet savour of salvation to her. Hereupon there is a discourse of Lydia, a short story of Lydia, a story worthy to be thought of, which is in the words of my text. A certain woman named Lydia, etc. She is described First by her person, Parts of the text. and sex, a certain woman. By her name Lydia. By her calling a seller of purple. By her city Thiatira. By her pious disposition, she worshipped God. And then her conversion is set down, by the cause of it. God opened her heart. And what followed upon that opening of her heart, she attended to the things that were spoken by Paul, and likewise she was baptised with all her household. And then the sweet fruit that this conversion of her with all her household had presently she showed the love (that she felt from God in converting her) to the blessed Apostle and his company, she besought them saying, If ye have judged me faithful to the Lord, Come to my house, etc. which words I shall unfold as I come to them. And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, etc. FIRST hereis a description of her person, and sex, and name, and calling, and city, and disposition. God takes notice of all the particulars of those that are his, God takes particular notice of his. he delights to speak of them, those that have their names written in the book of life, he knows their names, and callings, and persons, they are as jewels in his eye, they are written on the palms of his hands, he takes more special notice of them then of the rest of the world: Therefore the Apostle is very punctual in the description of all particulars. For her person I will be very short, I will give but a note or two, and so come to that I mainly aim at, her conversion. A certain woman named Lydia. FOR her sex, she, and the rest were women that were gathered together, as we see in the former verse. In Christ jesus there is neither male nor female. Sin came in by a woman, and the means of salvation was by a woman too, here were a company of women gathered together. For the most part women have sweet affections to religion, women's affections to religion strong. and therein they oft go beyond men. Reas. 1. The reason is, Religion is especially seated in the affections: and they have sweet and strong affections. 2 Likewise they are subject to weakness, and God delights to show his strength in weakness. 3 And thirdly, especially Child bearing-women, bring others into this life with danger of their own, therefore they are forced to a nearer communion with God, because so many children as they bring forth, they are in peril of their lives. Therefore the Apostle here mentions a company of women that were gathered together, and among the rest, a Certain woman named Lydia. What! a woman to be the foundation of the Church of Macedonia, Great things in religion from small beginnings a poor woman, and then a Gaoler afterward, a rugged rough Gaoler: for these to be the foundation of so famous a Church as Philippi and other Churches in Macedonia! Oh! yes; the Kingdom of heaven is as a grain of mustard seed small in the beginning. It is so in regard of the Church itself; and in regard of the grace, that every particular member hath, it is little and weak beginnings Christians are not as the Angels were, perfect at the first: The Church grows by little, and little. Therefore we should not be discouraged when the plantation of the Gospel hath poor success at the beginning: We see in the Church of Macedonia, there was little success at the first: A woman and a rough Gaoler, a Gaoler that both by calling, and disposition, and custom was a man, hard and hardened too: yet these two were the foundation of a great Church. Was it not so among ourselves? The Church of latter times, in the time of reformation, how began it? By a child, and a woman, King Edward the sixth, and Queen Elizabeth of famous memory▪ Therefore as the Prophet saith, Who art thou that despisest the day of little things? despise not little things. There is nothing less than grace at the first: But as Christ the stock of jesse, rose from the dead and rose up to heaven, and overspreads the world now so every Christian riseth of mean beginnings: and so doth the Church itself. A certain woman named Lydia, she was the foundation of a famous Church. Then she is set down by her calling. A Seller of Purple. Callings allowed by God. GOD allows callings. The calling of Christianity is showed in particular callings, which are sanctified by God to subdue the excess of corruptions. Men without callings are exceeding vicious, as some Gentlemen, and beggars, in this I may rank them together: those that have no callings, nor fit themselves for a calling, and that are out of a calling lawful. Callings are lawful. Commerce lawful. And so this calling of commerce, and trade, A seller of purple: Though for the most part men gather a great deal of soil, and corruption, by commixture of manners with those they deal with: yet there must be commerce, and this particular commerce of selling of Purple. The body of man needs many callings, there is not a part of man's body, not one member, but it sets a particular calling on work Therefore this life is a life of many necessities? and there must be callings and trading, and this particular trading, selling of purple. It may seem superfluous, but it is not altogether: for Garments are for 3. ends. For Use of garments. Necessity. Ornament. Distinction. Now purple, however it be not for necessity, it is for ornament, and distinction, for Magistrates, and the like, persons of great quality. However the pride of the times hath bred a confusion, that one will go as well as another yet God that allows distinction of callings, and persons, allows distinction of habit, and attire Therefore selling of purple is lawful and the wearing of rich attire. The selling and wearing rich attire lawful. King's daughters went in such, as it is said of David's daughters. So there be not over much delicacy: Object, for delicacy in this, in these times is fatal as there be many in the City, and in the countries that are given to overmuch nicety, and sumptuousness in this kind; it is a fore runner of ruin. Otherwise it is lawful (for those that may,) to wear purple, as it is lawful to sell Purple, so that (as he said to the great Emperor) they do not consider the purple so much, as that the purple covers dust, and base flesh that must turn to dust and ashes, and rottenness ere long, so that people be not lift up in that, that is borrowed from the poor creature, from worms. It is a strange thing that men should be so sick in their fancy, as to think themselves the better for that they beg of the poor creature: so a man take heed of fancy and pride, it is lawful to use purple, She was a seller of Purple, So much for her calling. She worshipped God. SHE was perhaps a jew, and looked for a Messias. There were 3. sorts of people before Christ. 3. Sorts of people before Christ The jews and those that we call prose lights; and Religious persons fearing God. She might be one of the three it is not certain what she was. Certainly she was one that feared God▪ She had some religion in her, though yet she was not ripened in the true Religion, she was a woman that feared God. From such kind of places as this, we have occasion to speak of works of preparation. Saint Paul was sent to her, she was a woman that feared God. To speak a little of works of preparation. Works of preparation necessary to conversion. It is true, God usually prepares those that he means to convert: as we plow before we sow, we do not sow among the thorns, and we dig deep to lay a foundation, we purge before Cordials. It is usual in nature, and in grace preparations: therefore preparations are necessary. There is such a distance between the nature, and corruption of man, and grace, that there must be a great deal of preparation, many degrees to rise by before a man come to that condition he should be in, therefore preparations we allow, and the necessity of them. But we allow this, Preparations are from God. that all preparations are from God, we cannot prepare ourselves, or deserve future things by our preparations; for the preparations themselves are of God. And thirdly, though we grant preparations yet we grant no force of a meritorious cause in preparations to produce such an effect as conversion is: No; only preparation is to remove the hindrances, Preparations remove hindrances. and to fit the soul for conversion that there may not be so great a distance between the soul, and conversion, as without preparation there would be. Quest. But when is preparation sufficient? Answ. When the soul is so far cast down, as it sets a high price on Christ, and on grace above all things in the world, it accounts grace the only pearl, and the Gospel to be the Kingdom of heaven: when a man sets a high price on grace more than all the world beside then a man is sufficiently prepared, Some poor souls think they are never prepared enough: but let them look to the end that God will have preparation for that is, that a high price be set upon the best things, and value all things but grace meanly in their own rank, when a man is brought to that pitch that by the light of the spirit, he esteems all nothing but Christ, and that he must be had, and he must have saving grace let him never talk whether he be prepared or no. This disposition shows that he is prepared enough, at least to bring him to conversion. Progress of preparation. Now, God in preparation for the most part Civilizeth people, and then Christianizeth them as I may say: for the spirit of GOD will not be effectual in a rude wild, and barbarous soul, in men that are not men; Therefore they must be brought to Civility, and not only to civility, but there must be a work of the law, to cast them down, and then they are brought to Christianity thereupon. Therefore they take a good course that labour to break them from their natural rudeness, and fierceness: as by nature every man is like a wild asse-Colt, there cannot be more significant words a Colt, an ass Colt, and wild. Now there is no sowing in the sand or on the water: there is no forcing of grace on a soul so far indisposed that is not brought to Civility, rude, and barbarous souls therefore God's manner is to bring them in the compass of Civility, and then seeing what their estate is in the corruption of nature to deject them and then to bring them to Christianity as we see here in Lydia. For however there is no force of a meritorious cause in preparations to grace, to raise up the soul to grace: for alas that cannot be! it is not in it, to produce such a blessed effect: yet notwithstanding it brings a man to a less distance than other wild creatures that come not within the compass of the means. Therefore usually to those that use the talents of their understanding and will, that they have well, God after discovers himself more, and more. Therefore let all be encouraged to grow more, and more to courses of civility, and Religion, and wait the good time, till God shine on them in mercy: For though those courses can never produce religion, yet it brings men to a proximity, and nearness to God, and Christ, more than those that stand further off. But I will not force this point further at this time- She was a woman that feared, and worshipped God. She was faithful in that light she had, and to him that hath shall be given. She worspipped God. NOT in any sight of her own, she had the grace of God from the spirit of God. All fear comes from the spirit of God, initial fear, and ripened fear, all fear is from God, but I will not conflict with adversaries at this time. You see the person, a woman, her calling; A seller of purple, and her pious disposition, she was such a one as worshipped God; And she heard Paul. The sweet providence of God, brings those that belong to Election, under the compass of the means at one time or other. God brings his elect under means. Let the devil, and the instruments of the Devil, rage and oppose, and do what they can; those that belong to God, God will have a time to bring them within the compass of his calling, and effectually call them by his spirit. As here Lydia, there was a sweet preventing providence that she never thought of, God brought an Apostle for the salvation of her soul, she heard Paul and was converted. To come to the description of her conversion in the next words. Whose heart the Lord opened to attend to the things that were spoken of Paul. GOD opened her heart. To what purpose? To attend to the things spoken of Paul. God by the word preached opens the heart; to attend to the word: by the word, we are fitted to the word. The spirit and the word draw us to themselves: The spirit, and the word draw us to regard the word, by the word her heart was opened to attend to the word. First I will speak of the opening her heart: And then of her attending upon the word preached by Paul. God opened her heart. She was a religious woman yet her heart was shut before God opened it. She was religious in her kind, yet her heart must be further opened before she could be saved. There is no staying in preparations in this or that degree: Preparations not to be rested in. as many abortives in our times that make many offers; they have the spirit of bondage, and are cast down: but there they stick and never come to proof. But those that will attain to salvation, must not rest in religious dispositions, in good affections, and gracious offers, they must go on further and further, as we see here, God opened her heart. Observe then in the opening of the heart these things. God opens the heart. 1 The heart naturally shut. First the heart is naturally shut, and closed up as indeed it is to spiritual things: it is open enough to the world, and to base contentments here, but it is shut to heaven and heavenly things, naturally it is clean locked up. Partly in its own nature, being corrupt, and earthly, partly because Satan he beseigeth all the senses, and shuts up all. There is a spirit of deafness, and blindness, and a spirit of darkness, and deafness in people, before God hath brought them by the powerful work of the Gospel, from the Kingdom of Satan, that poffesseth every man naturally. Naturally therefore our hearts are not open, but locked and shut up (that is supposed here) so that except God be merciful to break the prison as it were, whereby by unbelief, and the wickedness of our nature we are shut up, there is no hope of salvation at all. God opens the heart. The second thing is this, that as our hearts are shut and closed up naturally: 2 God alone opens the heart. so God, and God alone opens the heart, by his spirit in the use of the means, God opened Lydia's heart. God hath many keys, he hath the key of heaven, to command the rain to come down, he hath the key of the womb, the key of hell, and the grave, and the key of the heart, especially, He opens, and no man shuts, and shuts and no men opens. He hath the key of the heart, to open the understanding, the memory, the will, and affections. God, and God only hath the key of the heart to open that, it is his prerogative. He made the heart, and he only hath to do with the heart, he can unmake it, and make it new again, as those that make locks can do. And if the heart be in ill temper, he can take it in pieces, and bring it to nothing as it were (as it must be before conversion) and he can make it a new heart again. It is God that opens the heart, and God only. All the Angels in heaven cannot give one grace, not the least grace; Grace comes merely from God: it is merely from God: All the creatures in the world cannot open the heart, but God only by his holy spirit: For nature cannot do above its sphere (as we say) above its own power. Natural things can do but natural things. For nature to raise itself up to believe heavenly things it cannot be. Therefore as you see vapours go as high as the sun draws them up and no higher: so the soul of man is lift up to heavenly th●ngs by the power of God's spirit: God draws us and then we follow: God I say only openeth the heart. Because there is not only want of strength in the soul, 1 There is want of ability in the soul. to open itself: but likewise there is enmity, and poison in the heart, ●o shut itself, and shut out all goodness. A man hath no senses to spiritual things; no eyes, no ears, no taft, no life. Nay there is an opposition to all. 2 There is an opposition. A natural man perceiveth not the things of God, neither can he, he wants senses: and those senses he hath are set against goodness, as the Apostle saith he esteemeth them foolishness. I need not be much in so easy an argument, that you are well enough acquainted with. Naturally the heart is shut, and God only must open it. Use Patience to others. This should teach us patience, when we can do little good with those that are under us by all our instructions, and corrections wait the due time. Grace is not of thy giving, the heart is not of thy opening, or of any man's opening: 2 Tim. 2. therefore as it is 2 Tim. 2. wait, and bear with patience men of contrary minds, waiting when God in due time give them grace to repent. Grace is God's creature it is none of our own. Therefore take heed that we be not short, & angry spirited, if we cannot have all we would have of those that are under us, children, or servants, let us wait God's time, he opens the heart in his time. And if we find not grace wrought in our own hearts at the first, or second or third sermon Let us do as he at the Pool of Bethesda, lie there till the Angel stir the water, till God be effectual by his spirit. God doth it and he only doth it, only we must wait, he will do it in his good time, be not over short-spirited. This we ought to observe out of these words God opened the heart of Lydia. Thankfulness. The heart is put for the whole soul, What meant by heart. he opened her understanding to conceive: for all things beegin with heavenly light of the understanding all grace comes into the soul by the understanding. There is no sanctifying grace in the affections but it comes by enlightening the understanding, we see the grounds of it in the understanding first: God opens the understanding, and then he opens the memory to retain. That the memory may be as the pot of Mannah to hold heavenly things: he opens and strengthens it with retention to keep them, and he opens the will to close with holy things, and the affections to joy and delight in them. So the heart is the whole inward man, he not only enlightens the understanding, but infuseth grace into the will, and affections, into the whole inward man. We must take it in that extent for else if God should only open the understanding, and not through the understanding flow into the will by the power of his spirit, the will would always rebel: as indeed it is a poisonful thing; there is nothing so malicious next the devil, as the will of man. God will have one way, and it will have another: Therefore God doth not only open the understanding to conceive, but he opens the will to close with, and to embrace that that is good; or else it will take head, and take arms against the understanding in that that is good, and never come to the work of grace: Therefore take it so, he opened the will and affections as well as the understanding: though whatsoever is in the will, and affections, comes through the understanding, as well as heat comes through light. God opened her heart, to what end? To attend to the things that were spoken of Paul. THe word signifies, to apply, and set her mind to the things that Paul said, to join and fasten the mind, to what Paul said. First you see then, here is the opening of the heart before there is attending, before there can be any attending, The mind must be sanctified to attend to the word. and applying of the mind, the mind must be sanctified, and strengthened: the soul must be sanctified before it can attend. The reason is; nothing can flow but from a suitable faculty, and ability to attend is a power and act of the soul, it must come from a sanctified power of the soul, the heart must first be opened, and then the heart attends. God saith, he will circumcise the heart, and then we shall love him, he sanctifies the heart, and then it loves him. God changeth and altereth the frame of the soul, and then holy actions come from it. First, grace begins with the abilities and powers of the soul, the heart is opened, and then come holy actions suitable. There is no proportion between holy actions, and an unsanctified soul, the heart must first be opened, and then it attends. Whose heart the Lord opened that she attended, etc. YOU see then in the next place, that God opening the heart of any Christian, it is to carry the attention to the word. God opens the heart to attend. God by grace carries the heart to the word, she attended to what Paul spoke. Where true grace is wrought it carries not to speculation or to practise this or that idle dream, but where the heart is open, grace carries to attend to the word, especially to the good word the Gospel of Christ. As grace is wrought by the word: so it carries the soul to the word. Use. Trial whether our hearts be opened. And therefore it may be a use of trial to know whether we have our hearts wrought on by the grace of God or no, whether GOD by his spirit have opened our hearts or no? if our hearts be carried to the blessed word of God to relish that. If they be, God hath opened our hearts to attend to the word. And there is no better evidence of a child of God, then that that is fetched from the affection that he carries to the word and blessed truth of God: Oh! he relisheth it as his appointed food, he cannot be without it, take away that, and you take away his life. My Sheep hear my voice, you are none of mine because you hear not my word. A delight in the blessed truth of God is an argument that God hath first opened the heart. Therefore poor souls when they want good evidence, when they doubt whether their estate be good or no? Let them consider what relish they have of divine truths. Whether it be connatural to the word or no? whether it be savoury or no? whether they could be without the means of salvation or no? and let them judge of themselves by their delight in God's truth, her heart was opened to attend to the word. She attended to the things which were spoken of Paul. WHich were the blessed truths of salvation. The forgiveness of sins, The free mercy of God in Christ. The particulars are not set down, but it was the Gospel, and she believed upon it, therefore it must needs be the word of faith: We see here then, that The Gospel the Ground of faith: The seed and ground of faith is the Gospel. Her heart was opened to attend to that, that Paul spoke which was the Gospel. And indeed so it is. The foundation of faith, the word of faith is the Gospel: nothing can breed faith but the word of God: for how can we hope for heaven, and happiness, but by the mind of God discovered? Can we look for any thing but GOD must discover his mind to bestow it? and where have we the mind and bosom of God opened to us, is it not from the scriptures the word of God, from the good word especially? It is called the word of grace, and the word of the Kingdom, and of glory; The word of life: because by it all these blessed things are conveyed to us. Now it is not the word simply here, The word preached the usual means of faith. but the word spoken by Paul, that is, the word preached by an authorised minister, is the usual means of faith, her heart was opened to attend to what was spoken by Paul an authorised minister, so the word preached is the ordinary though not the sole foundation of faith. Therefore the Apostle saith, that God by that converted the world, by the foolishness of preaching, And in the ladder of heaven in Rom. 10. Rom. 10. How shall they call on him of whom they have not heard and how shall they preach except they be sent: so there is no faith without teaching. The point is plain, you hear it oft: The word is the ground of faith, and the word especially as it is preached by a Paul, by a Minister unfolding it. Use. To pray ●or labou●●ers in God's har●est. Therefore be stirred up as ye favour the souls of God's people, to pray to God to send labourers into his harvest, and to pray that the Gospel and the preaching of it may have a free passage, that God would set up lights in all the dark corners of the kingdom, and every where to those that are in darkness, and in the shadow of death: And blessed are their endeavour that labour, that the Gospel may be preached in every part of the Kingdom. For we see here, it is the word unfolded, the unsearchable riches of Christ spread open, the Tapestry laid open, that usually beget faith. The mine must be digged: people must see it familiarly laid open. Therefore saith he here, Lydia's heart was opened, and she attended to the word spoken by Paul. To prise the ordinance of preaching. Let this teach us to set a price upon the ordinance of God: doth God set up an ordinance; and will he not give virtue, and power to it? Yes: there is a majesty, and a power in the word of God to pull people out of the Kingdom of Satan, to the blessed light of God's Kingdom. It was the word, and the word opened by the ministry of Paul. Attention necessary. But it was the word, and the word opened, and attended to, she mixed it with her attention and her heart closed with it. There are these 3. go together. The word, and the word preached, and then attending to the word preachedth at was the ground of her faith, these 3. meeting together. There are these four things must always be in the senses of our body. 4 Things requisite to ●ight. If we will see there must be an object to see, we must see something; and a faculty to see, our eye; and then a light whereby we see we cannot see in the dark And then there must be an application of the eye to see the object by that light. So in spiritual things there is the blessed truth of God, the mercy of God in jesus Christ: that we may see these things, we must have a light by which we may see them. And there must be a power to see which is the sanctified opened understanding, when the understanding is opened, then there is an application of the soul to attend to the word of God, by the light of the word. So that there must be application, and attention to the word: before the word can do us good, it must be applied to the object, the taste to the thing tasted, and so in all the other senses. Attention is a special thing: how many sermons are lost in this City, that are as seed drowned, that never come to fruit? I think there is no place in the world where there is so much preaching, and no place, where there are so many sermons lost; why; because people want a retaining power, and faculty to attend, and retain and keep what we hear she attended to the word preached. To give a little direction in this point of attending, Directions to attend on the word. and applying the mind, not to speak much I will name two or three principal things that I think fit at this time. If we would come, 1 Search our wants. as we should, to the word preached: let us search our wants before we come, and all the occasions we shall have to encounter with, all temptations, that we are like to encounter with, let us forecast by presenting to our souls. I am weak in knowledge, and I want such graces. I am like to encounter with such temptations, I am too weak for it; I shall meet with such adversaries, I know not how to answer them, I am plunged in such businesses, I shall be lost in them without grace: then the soul comes with a mind to be supplied, and then it will attend, and will pray for the preacher! Oh Lord direct him that he may speak fitly to me, somewhat for my understanding, somewhat for my affections, somewhat to help me against such, & such a temptation: this is wanting, and therefore we profit no more by the word than we do. Then when we come to hear the word, 2 Come with subjection. let us hear it with all spiritual subjection, as that Word that hath power to Command the conscience. This is the word of God: the Minister of God speaks in the place of God to me. I must give an account of it. I will subject my conscience to it: It is spoken with evidence, and proved, I will stoop to it. Thus we should come with subjection of soul and conscience to whatsoever is taught; and not come to judge, and censure, or to delight in it as music, as if we came to a play, to hear some pretty sentences: but come to hear God, as to the ordinance of God, come as to that Word that shall judge our souls at the latter day; that is the way to attend. Then again, if we would attend, when we have heard the word of God, 3 To get the word engrafted. let us labour by all means to bring it near to us; that it may be an engrafted Word, that the soul may be leavened by it, that it may be so engrafted in the understanding, and affections that we may think the better, in the virtue of it, and love, and speak, and do the better as a Sience savours of the pla●● it is put into. Let us labour that the word of God may be written in our souls in the tables of our hearts: that the truth of God may be near us, as any temptation shall be near us, or any corruption near us. What is the reason we yield to corruptions and temptations? They are near, and the Word is far off, We never attended to the Word to bring it near home. If the word were as near as corruptions, and temptations, that it were engrafted, and in vested into the soul, we should have the word ready for every temptation: there should not ●e a temptation offered, nor a corruption arise, but we should subdue it, and beat it down with the blessed truth of God, accompanied with the spirit. Let us labour to get it near us; that the reasons of the word and our reason, that the judgement of God, and our judgement, that the will of God, & our own will may be all one: and so to have it incorporated, and naturalised into our hearts, that we may speak and think, and do nothing but that which is Divine: that is, to have the word written in our hearts, our attention should be to that end. Therefore when we hear, we should do as nature doth with the meat we eat, it sucks out a strength suitable for every part, every part hath a power to draw out nourishment what is suitable to itself: so when we hear the word of God, we should be able to say this is good for such, and such an end, and never leave thinking of the word of God when we have heard it, till we have turned the word into our souls, till we have it fixed in our understandings, that we can say, Now I know it; till we have subdued our hearts to it, and we be moulded, and delivered up to it, that we can say, Now I have it; now the word is mine. Let us never leave the truth we hear till we be brought to that: alas to what purpose is it to hear except we make it our own, as nature makes the meat our own that we eat! There is a second or third digestion, that goes before digestion be perfectly made, and the meat turned into it. It is ruminating, and meditating, and altering of that we hear, and working on it that makes spiritual nourishment: thus we should do to attend to purpose. And that we may do it let us add some meditations to these practices. 4 Meditation. Consider first of all whose word it is. It is the word of the great God, and the word of God for my good It is the good word of God, and the word of God that brings me much good, eternal salvation if I obey it, it is the word of God that brings eternal damnation if I obey it not. It is the word of the great King, a Proclamation, a Law whereby I shall be judged, and perhaps that word that I shall not hear another time, perhaps the spirit may work more now then at another time: therefore I will be wise, & give way to the spirit of God, and not beat it back, perhaps I shall never have such a gale of the spirit offered again, it may be the last Sermon I shall hear while I live: we should have such meditations, we that speak; as if it were the last time we should speak; and you that hear, as if they should be the last things that ever you should hear: for how do we know but it may be so? It is another manner of matter to hear, than we take it. Take heed how ye hear saith our blessed Saviour: We hear nothing but it sets us forward in the way of Grace to heaven, or forward to hell, we are helped by it to heaven, or else hardened by it further to hell. We had need to take heed how we hear, we must be judged by that we hear: and that that we hear now negligently, and carelessly, God will make good at the day of judgement. We may shake off (as profane spirits do) the Ministers exhortations: but will you shake off depart ye Cursed at the latter day? Will you shake off that sentence, you would not hear me, and I will not hear you? Oh! no: Therefore shake not that off now, that will be made good then. If thou entertain the Gospel now, God will make it good then; if thou receive mercy now, he will show that thou art acquitted then before Devils, and Angels, and Men. Let us regard this, and let it make us hear the word with attention as this good woman here. God opened her heart, and she attended to the things that were spoken of Paul. But you will ask, Quest. how shall I know a man whose heart is opened, How to know we attend aright. and attends better than another man doth? I will give two or three brief rules of discerning. Answ. He that by the spirit of God attends to the good word of God to purpose, 1 When we know not the word, but the things. with an opened underding, he not only knows the words, and the shell in preaching the word of God, but the things: he knows not only what faith and repentance is in the words: but he hath a spiritual light to know what the things are, what repentance is, and faith, and love, and hope, and patience, he knows the things. And likewise he that hath attended to purpose he can do the things: he not only knows what he should do: but by the grace of the spirit, and attending upon the word of God, he knows how to do them. Grace teacheth him not only that he should deny himself, and live soberly, and righteously, and Godly, but it teacheth him how to live soberly and righteously, and Godly. Grace, when we attend upon the word as we should, teacheth us to do the things; not only that we should repent, and pray etc. but to do them it opens the things, and gives ability to do them. And in the next place, 2 The soul echoes to the word. those that attend as they should do, there is a spiritual echo in their souls to every thing that is taught: that is, when they are exhorted to believe, they answer, Lord I will believe; Lord I will hear, I will repent, and I will take heed of such sins by thy grace; when God saith seek my face; Lord thy face will I seek. This is the answer of a good conscience, this echo, where there is attention to the word of God by the spirit, there is an echo to that the spirit speaks, Lord it is good, and it is good for me, if I yield to this, if I do not, it is naught for me to put off repentance till another day; I desire to yield now, and oh! that my heart were directed; if it be rebellious, and not yielding, there is a desire that the heart may be brought into subjection to every truth revealed, there is a gracious echo in them that attend to purpose. Then again those that do attend from a sanctifing grace, 3 They see things in their own light. they see things by another light, by a spirit of their own, by a heavenly light, by a species in their own kind, spiritual things with a spiritual light. Many come, and hear sermons, and can discourse, and wrangle, and maintain janglings of their own, and all this out of natural parts, and out of pride of heart: but a gracious holy man, sees spiritual things by a spiritual light, in their own kind. A man that is borne in a dungeon, and never saw the light, when he hears discourse of the Sun, and stars, and earth, and flowers, and plants, he that Imaginations what they should be, but he fancies other things: so a man that never had spiritual eyesight, to see spiritual things in their kind; he fancies them to be this and that, but he sees them not by their own light, many speak and talk of good things, but it is by the spirit of other men, out of books, and hearing and not by a spirit of their own. He that attends by grace speaks out of a spirit of his own, and not out of other men's spirits, he sees spiritual things in their own colours. Thus we see how to discern spiritual attention. And he that knows what this means, They judge according to their profit. what is it to have his heart opened to attend, when he goes from hearing the word, he judgeth of his profiting by it not by what he can say by heart; but by how much the meeker he is, how much more patient, how much more able to bear the cross, to resist temptations, and to have communion with God, so he values his attending upon the means and hearing the word by the growth of his grace, and the decay of his corruptions. She attended to the things that were spoken of Paul. And she was baptised, and her household. Baptism the seal of salvation. SHE had the means of salvation, and she had the seal likewise, which is baptism. We have all need of seals, we have need to have our faith strengthened: God knows it betthen we ourselves, We think Baptism, and the Communion small matters but God knows how prone we are to stagger, he knows that all seals are little enough; therefore it is said here, she was baptised, and all her household. Baptism is a solemn thing, it is the seal of the Covenant of grace: you are well enough acquainted, I imagine, with the thing, therefore I will not enter into the common place, it is needless. As the whole trinity was at the Baptism of Christ, so every infant that is baptised, is the Child of Christ. And it is a special thing that we should meditate of. We slight our baptism and think it needless you see the holy woman here would be baptised presently; she would have the seal of the covenant. There are many that are not book-learned, that cannot read, at least they have no leisure to read; I would they would read their book in their Baptism: and if they would consider what it ministers to them upon all ocasions they would be far better Christians than they are. How to think of our Baptism. Think of thy Baptism when thou goest to God, especially when he seems angry, it is the seal of the covenant; bring the promise, Lord it is the seal of thy Covenant, thou hast prevented me by thy grace, thou borough test me into the Covenant before I knew my right hand from my left. So when we go to Church to offer our service to God, think, by baptism we were consecrated, and dedicated to God, we not only receive grace from God but we give ourselves too God. Therefore it is sacrilege for persons baptised to yield to temptations to sin, we are dedicated to God in baptism. When we are tempted to despair, let us think of our baptism: we are in the Covenant of Grace, and have received the seal of the Covenant, baptism. The devil is an uncircumcised, damned, cursed spirit, he is out of the Covenant: but I am in the Covenant: Christ is mine, the holy Ghost is mine, and God is mine, therefore let us stand against all the temptations of that uncircumcised, unbaptized damned spirit. The thinking of our baptism thus, will help us to resist the Devil, he is a coward, if he be resisted he will flee: and what will better resist him then the Covenant of grace, and the seal of it? When we are tempted to sin, let us think, what have I to do with sin? by baptism I have union with the death of Christ; he died to take away sin, and my end must be his. I must abolish sin in my nature? Shall I yield to that: that in baptism I have sworn against? And then if we be tempted to despair for sin let us call to mind the promises of grace, and forgiveness of sins, and the seal of forgiveness of sins, which is baptism: For as water in baptism washeth the body, so the blood of Christ washeth the soul: Let us make that use of our baptism in temptations not to despair for sin. And in conversing among men; let us labour to maintain the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace, to live peaceably. Christian's must not fall to jar, why? There is one faith, and one Baptism, have we not all one father? one inheritance, one baptism, one Religion, and shall we break one with another for trifles, they forget their Baptism that are so in quarrels. Thus if we would think of it, it is such a book as would be ready at hand for all services. And then for our children▪ those that God hath committed to us, let us make use of baptism, do they die in their infancy? make this use of it, I have assured hope that my child is gone to God, he was borne in the Covenant, and had the seal of the Covenant, baptism, why should I doubt of the salvation of my child? If they live to years of discretion, then be of good comfort, he is God's Child more than mine, I have dedicate him to God, and to Christ, he was baptised in the name of Christ, Christ will care for him as well, as for me. If I leave my Children behind me they are Gods, and Christ's children, they have received, the seal of the Covenant; baptism, Christ will provide for them: and he that provides heaven for them, will provide all things in the way to heaven necessary. God hath said, I will be the God of thee, and of thy children, they are in Covenant, thine they were Lord. A man may commit his Children to God on his deathbed; thou gavest them me, and I commit them to thee again, as before I did by baptism. All this we have by thinking of our baptism. If we look no further (as profane spirits do not) than the water, and the elements, we can have no comfort by these things: but we should consider God's blessed institution, and ordinance, to strengthen our faith. And to our children when they come to years, baptism is an obligation to believe; because they have received the seal before hand, and it is a means to believe. She was Baptised And her household. Honour of good governor's of families. SO good is God where the governor of the family is good, he gives all the family good: because he makes conscience in governing, and instructing them; God crownes their endeavours with success that they shall be all good. As we see Abraham, and his household; the Gaoler, and his household, Zacheus, and his household. Oh! it is a a blessed thing to be a good governor in a family; he brings a blessing upon his house: the Church of God is in his house. There cannot be a more honourable title to any house, then to say it is the Church of God: that the Governor of the family brings all in subjection to God; that as he will have all serve him, so he will have all serve God; that he will not have a servant but he shall be the servant of God, nor a child but he shall be the child of God; and he labours to make his wife the Spouse of Christ. Thus it should be said of every Christian family, and then they are Churches. Alas! in many places now they are hells because there is little regard had of instructing of them. Beloved, many poor souls have had occasion to bless God forever, that they have been grafted into such good families. And put case sometimes, Good instructions may be effectual long after. thou hast instructed them, and taken pains and there is no good done. When thou art dead; & twenty years after, it may come to their minds, all those instructions, when they are in worse families. Oh! in such a place, with such a Master I had such instructions, but I had no grace to take good by them: but now I call them to mind: so the seed that was sown long before may take effect then. This should encourage those that are Governors of families to be good. Lydia was baptised, and her household. And she besought them saying, if you have judged me faithful to the Lord come to my house and abide there. HEre is the fruit of Lydia's conversion, when she was converted, and baptised, she entreated the Apostles to come to her house, and abide there, and she prevailed, she constrained them by a moral kind of violence they suffered themselves to be overcome. If you have judged me faithful etc. Come to my house and abide there. Here is her invitation; and the argument that she forceth it by. If you have judged me faithful to Christ, then come to my house. To speak a little of her argument, whereby she forced the blessed Apostle, and the rest to her house. If ye have judged me faithful. IT is a most binding argument. If you judge me faithful, you must judge me a child of God, an heir of heaven, the Spouse of Christ, you must judge me all these, and the like. If you have judged me faithful come to my house. And if you judge me so, can you deny me this courtesy. It is a conjuring, wondrous forcible argument. If you have judged me faithful. It implies that S. Paul, and holy men would be more strange else. And so there should not be intimate familiarity (converse there may be, but not familaritie) with those that are not faithful. Indifferent carriage to all alike shows a rotten heart: those that make no difference between good Christians and formal hypocrites, No; but if you have judged me faithful come to my house. As if she had said, I know your spirits are such, that except you judge me faithful, you will not take this courtesy at my hands. Christian's easy to be entreated. Again she supposed if Paul judged her faithful he would not deny her that courtesy. Those that upon good grounds we judge faithful, we should be gentle to them, and easy to be entreated. The wisdom that is from above is so. Grace Sweetness the Carriage, and altars a man's disposition. Those that have felt pity from God, are merciful to others. Therefore if you have judged me faithful, etc. It was an argument of a great-deale of sincerity, to appeal to their knowledge and judgement, If you have judged me faithful. If she had not been sincere she would not have done so: but sincerity makes a man bold to appeal to God himself. Lord thou knowest that I love thee saith S. Peter, and If there be any iniquity in my heart saith David, they dare appeal to God and to God's people, if ye have judged me faithful. In this speech likewise she desires to have confirmation of her estate from the Apostles. Approbation of strong Christians confirms the weak. And indeed it is a great confirmation of weak Christians to have the judgement of strong Christians that they are good, If you have judged me faithful, do me this courtesy. And would it not comfort her soul to have the judgement of so strong a man as Paul? It is a great strengthening not only to have the spirit of God witness for us, but the spirit of God in others. And sometimes in temptations, the judgement of others will do us more good than our own, in a dark state: Therefore we should appeal to those that fear God to judge us faithful; though we be in a mist, and in darkness sometimes: that we are not able to judge of our own condition. And indeed when we judge the people to be truly good, To judge well of Christians. and true hearted to God, we owe them this duty? to think them good people, and to show it, it is a debt: we wrong good persons, when we take wrong conceits of them. Shall we not affect and love them that God loves? It is as if she had said, God hath taken me into his family, and will admit me to heaven, and will not you come to my house? when Christ shall take men to be members of his body, shall not we take them into our company. It is a wrong to good people to be strange to them: sometimes there may by way of censure, in some sin, be a little strangeness: but ordinary stangnesse becomes not Christians, it becomes not that sweet bond the Communion of Saints. If you have judged me faithful. That is the bond. Her invitation is, Come to my house, and and abide there. YOU see many sweet graces presently after she believed, Lydias invitation. here is a loving heart? Why did she desire them to come to her house? To show her love. To express the love she did bear to them for their works sake, she felt the love of Christ by their ministry and now she desired to express the fruit of her love in maintaining them. And not only so but she desired to be edified by them: To be further instructed. she was youngly planted, and she desired to be watered from them. She knew Paul would drop heavenly things, and give her that that might establish her, therefore she desired that they would stay at her house, that she might have benefit by their heavenly discourse, and be built up, and edified further, and further. So you see these two graces especially upon believing, a bountiful loving heart, she entreated them not only to come to her house, but to abide there a good while, as they did. And here was her desire to be edified. And a boldness to appear to own Christ, and his ministers in dangerous times: for in those times it was a dangerous thing to appear to be a Christian; they were worse hated than the jews were, though both were hated: yet Christians were, above all: Therefore false Christians would be circumcised, they would be jews, Faith fruitful. to avoid the Cross that they might not be accounted Christians. You see in General, true faith that works love and works by love: It works love in the heart, and by love it works all duties of hospitality, and bounty by love. When it hath wrought that holy affection, it works by that holy affection? You see here it is never without fruit, presently faith brings forth fruit, as soon as she was baptised. she shows her love, to the Apostles, and their company, and her bounty and her boldness in the cause of Christ. We say of a graft, it is grafted to purpose, if it take, and bring forth fruit, so she being a new sience grafted into Christ, she took presently as soon as she was baptised into Christ, here is the fruit of love and bounty, and boldness in the cause of Christ. Zacheus as soon as ever he believed, half my goods I give to the poor. So we see the Gaoler afterwards presently upon believing, he entertained the Apostles with a feast and washed their wounds. Take heed of a barren dead faith, it is a false faith if thou believe indeed faith will work love, and work by love, as it did in this blessed woman, her faith knit her to Christ in heaven, her love was as the branches of the tree, her faith knit her to the root: but love as the branches reached to others, her branches reached fruit to the Apostle and his company. So it is the nature of faith that knits us to Christ, the same spirit of love knits us to others, and reacheth forth fruit to all we converse with. Trial of faith by love As we desire to have evidence of the soundness of our faith, let us see what spirit of love we have, especially love to these three things, 1 To Christ. love to Christ to whom we are engrafted, and love to the ministers of Christ. We cannot show kindness to Christ, he is in heaven: but his ministers, 2 To his members. and his poor are upon the earth when we can buy ointment to pour on Christ's feet his poor members, and his Ministers; and love to the word of God, 3 To his Word. they are the three issues of a gracious believing heart, and where they are not, there is no faith at all. I beseech you let us imitate this blessed woman. You see here the name of Lydia, is precious in the Church: the name of Lydia, (as it is said of josiah) it is as a box of ointment poured out: the name of Lydia cannot be named in the Church, but there is a sweet savour with it. As soon as she believed; the Holy Ghost, the spirit of GOD blowing upon the garden of her heart, where the spice of Grace was sowed, stirred up a sweet sent of faith and of bounty and liberality in the cause of Christ. Let not this be in vain to us: but every one of us labour to be like Lydia: you see what loadstone drew PAUL here to go unto her house: she had Faith, and she expressed it in love. Let us labour to have faith, and to express it in love to GOD unto CHRIST, to his people, and word, and ordinances that have his stamp on them, and let us boldly own the cause of CHRIST: let us not regard the censures of vain men that say thus and thus. Faith and love forget danger, it is bold. She forgot all the danger that she was in by countenancing Paul and such men. Let us labour for faith and love and we shall not say this and that. There is a Lion in the way, but we shall go on boldly until we do receive the end of our faith and love, the salvation of our souls. FINIS. The Table. A. Abasement. part. page. Christs' word powerful in his abasement. 2.92 Affections. Affections▪ to Religion strong in women. 1.9 Affliction. Affliction, why sent of God. 2.58 Prayer a remedy in affliction. 2.60 Angels. Praise, a duty fit for Angels. 2.108 Appetite. To bless God for appetite, 2.46 Spiritual appetite how recovered. 2.140 Attend, Attention. God opens the heart to attend. 1.46 Attention necessary. 1.54 Directions to attend on the Word. 1.57. Trials of attending aright, 1.69 Attire. Selling, and wearing rich Attire lawful. 1.17 Atheism, see Nature. B. Baptism. Baptism, a seal of salvation. 1.76. How to think of our Baptism. 1.78 Beginning. Great things from small beginnings. 1.11 Boldness, see Sincerity. C. Callings. Callings, allowed of God, 1.14 Censure. Censure of wicked men not to be regarded. 2.24 Command. Command of God over all things. 2.84 Commerce. Commerce lawful. 1.15 Confirm. Approbation of strong Christians confirms the weak. 1.95 Cry. God's children cry in afflictions. 2.57 D. Death. Gates of death what. 2.49 Death how to disarm it. 2.53 Defer. God why he defers help. 2.81 Dishonour. Only wicked men dishonour God. 2.104. displease. To take heed of displeasing God. 2.87 Distemper. What to do in spiritual distempers. 2.141 Divinity. Divinity transcends other Arts. 2.37 E. End. Fools forget their End, 2.17 Epicures. Happiness of Epicures unstable. 2.45 Extremity, see Cry. F Faith. Faith, trials of it. 1.104 Fools, Folly. Wicked men, fools. 2.9 Why they are fools 2.10 Folly in God's children. 2.25 Fruitful. True faith fruitful. 1.101 G. Garments. Garments, the use of them, 1.16 Gates, see Death. God. God to be sought in trouble. 2.35 Gospel. Gospel, the ground of faith. 1.50 H. Heathen. God hears the prayers of the Heathen. 2.21 Heart. Heart opened by God, 1.32.34 Heart what meant by it, 1.40 Humiliation. Ground of humiliation of wicked men. 2.21 I. jesting. jesting with sin a sign of folly. 2.16 Invitation. Lydia's invitation. 1.99 justify. To justify God in his judgements. 2.33 L. Labourers. Labourers to be prayed for in God's harvest. 1.52 Love. Trials of faith by love, 1.104 M. Means. God brings the elect under means. 1.29 Mind. The mind must be sanctified to attend to the Word. 1.43 Misery. Misery of wicked men, 2.50 Why God suffers men to fall into great misery. 2.55 Murmuring. Murmuring in trouble, the cause of it. 2.39 N. Nature. Atheism against nature, 2.57 Notice. God takes particular notice of his. 1.7 O. Open. Trials whether the heart be open. 1.46 See heart. Passion. Wicked men fools for their passion. 2.12 Passion, how it presents things. 2.13 Patience. Patience to others, the ground of it. 1.38 Patience in ourselves. 2.34 People. People of three sorts before Christ. 1.19 Pestilence. To praise God for deliverance from the pestilence, 2.129. Physician. God the best Physician, 1.71 Power, Powerful. God's word Powerful. 2.83 Encouragements to pray from God's power. 2.89 See Abasement. Poison. Sin as poison. 2.41 Prayer. What state we are fit to pray in. 2.62 Prayer to God successful, 2.73 See affliction. Praise. All men to praise God, 2.99 Other creatures how they praise God. 2.102 Praise the end of all we do, 2.109 Helps, and means to praise God, 2.113 Preached. The Word preached, the usual means of faith. 1.51 Preaching how to be prized, 1.54 Preparation. Works of preparation necessary. 1.20 Preparation from God, 1.21 Preparations remove hindrances. 1.22 Progress of preparation, 1.24 Preparations not to be rested in. 1.31 Providence. Instances of God's providence. 2.3 R. Rod. Sin puts a rod into God's hand. 2.40 S. Sickness. Sin, the cause of sickness, 2.32 Sickness how from God, 2.38 Extremity of sickness, 2.43 Natural cause of sickness, 2.44 How to converse with the sick. 2.47 To have recourse to God in sickness. 2.73. Sight. Four things requisite to sight. 1.55 Sinne. Aggravation of sin. 2.22 Unhappy succession of sin, 2.31 Beginnings of sin to be avoided. Ibid. Particular sins to be searçhed out 2.34 What sins hinder prayer, 2.82 Sincerity. The boldness of sincerity, 1.95 Soul. God by his Word heals the soul. 1.137 T. Table. Whence the breach of the second Table comes. 2.27 W. Waiting. Waiting after prayer necessary. 2.79 Weak. How to judge of weak Christians. 1.77 Wisdom. Spiritual Wisdom to be begged. 2.23 Witty. Wicked men witty in their Generation. 2.18 Women, See Affections. Word, See Power. Worldling. The course of Worldlings, 2.35 Wound. Fool's wound themselves, 2.20 FINIS. A Rescue from DEATH, with a Return of Praise. PSAL. 107.17. etc. Fools because of their transgressions, and because of their iniquities are afflicted, etc. THis Psalm containeth some passages concerning Gods particular sweet Providence, The scope of the Psalm. not only to the Church, but to other men: for He that created all things even the meanest creature, must have a providence over all things, his providence must extend itself as large as his creation: for what is providence but a continuance of creation, a preservation of those things in being that God hath given to have a being. The Prophet here of purpose opposeth the profane conceits of them, that think God sits in heaven, and lets things go on earth as if he cared not for them, it was the fault of the best Philosophers to ascribe too much to second causes. The Psalmist here shows that God hath a most particular providence in every thing. 4 Instance of God's providence First he sets it down in general, and then he brancheth it out into particulars, especially four, wherein he specifieth God's providence. The first instance is of those that wander in the wilderness hungry and thirsty, vers. 4. vers. 4. They cry and God regards them. The second is in verse 10. vers. 10. They that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, bound in iron, They cry and the Lord heareth them. The third is in the words of the text, vers. 17. Fools for their transgressions are afflicted, their soul abhorreth all manner of meat, him instanceth in sickness the most ordinary affliction, and shows that God hath a most particular providence even in that. The fourth is in vers. 23 Those that go down into the Sea, Verse 23 they see experiments of Gods particular providence. Since the fall, the life of man is subject to a wondrous many inconveniences, which we have brought on us by our sins, now in this variety it is a comfortable thing to know God's care of us in our wanderings, and imprisonments, in our sickness etc. But to omit the other 3. and to come to that, that is proper to the place, that is, the instance of God's providence in sickness. Fools because of their transgressions, and because of their iniquities are afflicted, etc. In these words you have; First the cause of this visitation, Division o● the text. and of all the grievance he speaks of, Transgression, and iniquity. And then the kind of this visitation, sickness. And the extremity in two branches; Their soul abhorreth all manner of meat, and secondly, They draw near to the gates death. And then the carriage of the affected and sick parties, They cry unto the Lord in their distress. And the remedy of the universal and great Physician, He saves them out of their distress. And the manner of this remedy, He sent his word and healed them, his operative, and commanding word, so as it works with his command. Lastly, the fee that this high Commander asks for, all the tribute or reward that he expects, is Praise, and Thanksgiving. Oh that men would therefore praise the Lord for his goodness, and his wondrous works for the children of men, etc. So you see this Scripture contains several passages between God, and man, in misery, and in deliverance. In misery, God afflicts man for his sin, the passage of man to God is, he cries to God, God's passage back again, is his deliverance: and then his return back again must be Thanksgiving. So here is a double visitation, in justice, God correcting sin, and then a visitation in mercy upon their crying and praying, God restores them; and than man's duty, Thanksgiving: But to proceed in order. Fools because of their transgressions, etc. HERE you have first the quality of the persons set down. Fools. We must understand by fools, wicked fools, not such fools as are to be begged as we say, Who meant by fools. that are defective in their naturals; but the wise fools of the world, they are the chief of fools, how ever in the Courts of men they be not found fools, yet they are fools in God's esteem, who is Wisdom itself, those that think themselves wise, that are conceitedly wise, they are these fools here. In the phrase of Scripture, and the language of the Holy Ghost, every sinner is a fool. It were a disgraceful term if any man should give it, but let no man stumble at it, it comes from the wise God, that knows what wisdom is, and what is folly. If a fool shall call a man fool, he doth not regard it, but if a wiseman, especially the God of wisdom call a man fool, he hath reason to regard it, who can judge better of wisdom than God, who is only wise? Why wicked men are termed fools. Why are wicked men fools, and Gods children, so far as they yield to their lusts? In diverse respects. 1 For lack of discerning. First, For lack of discerning in all the carriage, and passages of their lives. You know a fool is such a one as cannot discern the difference of things, that is defective in his judgement; discerning, and judgement, that especially tries a fool: when he cannot discern between pearls and pebbles between jewels, and ordinary base things, so wicked men are defective in their judgements they cannot discern aright between spiritual and heavenly things, and other things, all your worldly fools he hunts after and placeth his happiness in things meaner than himself, he takes shadows for substances. A fool is led with his humour, 2 For passion and his lust even as the beast, so there is no wicked man that shakes of the fear of God, (which is true wisdom,) but he is led with his humour, and passion, and affection to some earthly thing. Now a man can never be wise, and passionate unless in one case, when the good is so exceeding that no passion can be answerable as in zeal, in divine matters, that will excuse all exorbitant carriage otherwise. When David danced before the Ark, a man would think it had been a foolish matter except it had been in a divine business, when the matter is wondrous great that it deserves any pitch of affection then a man may be eager, and wise: but for the things of this life, for a man to disquiet himself and others, to hunt after a vain shadow, (as the Psalmist saith) after riches and honour; and to neglect the main end of a man's life, it is extreme folly a man that is passionate in this respect cannot be wise, all fools are passionate, and wicked men have their affections set deeply on somewhat else besides God. Because passion presents things in a false glass, Passion presents things falsely. as when a man sees the sun through a cloud he seems bigger, when men look not on things in the judgement of the scripture, and the spirit of God, and right reason, but through affection, things appear to them otherwise then they are and themselves afterwards see themselves fo●les: Take a worldling on his death bed, or in hell, he sees himself a fool then, when his drunkenness is past, when he is come to himself, and is sober, he sees that he hath catched all his life-time after shadows, wicked men that are carried with their lusts to earthly things, they cannot be wise, therefore the rich man in the Gospel, is called a fool, and in jer. 17. he speaks of a man that labours all his life time, and in the end is a fool; Is not he a fool that will carry a burden, and load himself in his journey more than he needs, and is not he a spiritual fool, that loads himself with thick clay (as the Prophet calls it) and makes his pilgrimage more cumbersome than he needs? Is not he a fool that lays the heaviest weight on the weakest: that puts off the heaviest burden of repentance, to the time of sickness, and trouble, and death, when all his troubles meet in a centre as it were, and he hath enough to do to conflict with his sickness. Again, he is a fool that will play with edge-tools, 3 jesting with sin. that makes a sport of sin, he is a fool that provokes his betters, that shoots up arrows, and casts up stones, that shall fall on his own head, he that darts out oaths, and blasphemies against God, that shall return back upon his own pate, many such fools there are, God will not hold them guiltless. He is a fool that knows not, or forgets his end, 4 Forgetfulness of his end. every wicked man forgets the end wherefore he lives in the world, he comes here into the world, and lives, and is turned out of the world again, and never considers the work that he hath to do here, but is carried like a fool, with affections, and passions to earthly things, as if he had been borne only for them. A wiseman hath an end prefixed in all that he doth, and he works to that end. Now there is no man, but a sound sanctified Christian that hath a right end, and that works to that end, other men pretend they have an end, and they would serve God, etc. They pretend heaven, but they work to the earth-ward, like moles, they dig in the earth, they work not to the end they pretend to fix to themselves: All men how witty soever they are otherwise in worldly respects, they are but fools. As we say of owls, they can see, but it is by night so wicked men are witty but it is in the works of darkness they are wise in their own generation, Wicked men witty in their generation. among men like themselves but this is not the life wherein folly, and wisdom can be discerned so well, it will appear at the hour of death, and the day of judgement, than those will be found wise, that are wise for eternity, that have provided how it shall go with them, when all earthly things shall fail them, and those will be fools that have only a particular wit for the particular passages of this life, to contrive particular ends, and neglect the main they are penny wise, and pound foolish. Achitophel a witty wiseman, his counsel was an oracle, yet he was not wise to prevent his own destruction. He is a madman, a fool that hurts and wounds himself, 5 He wounds himself. none else will do so, wicked carnal men, they wound, and hurt, and stab their own consciences, oh if any man should do them but the thousandth part of the harm that they do themselves every day, they would not endure it, they gall, and load their consciences with many sins, and they do it to themselves; therefore it is a deserved title that is given them. God meets with the pride of men in this term of folly: for a wicked man above all things is careful to avoid this imputation of fool, account him what you will, so you account him, a shrewd man withal, that can overreach others, that he is crafty and wise, he glories in the reputation of wisdom, though God account him a fool, and he shall be found so afterward, and to abate the pride of men, He brings a disgraceful term over their wit and learning, and calls them fools. This should abase any man that is not a right and sound Christian, Use 1. To humble wicked men. that the God of wisdom, and the Scripture that is GOD'S word esteems of all wicked men, be they what they will, to be fools, and that in their own judgements if they be not Atheists, if they will grant the principles they pretend to believe. Let this therefore be an aggravation in your thoughts when you are tempted to commit any sin, Oh! besides that it is a transgression and rebellion against God's commandment, it is folly in Israel, and this will be bitterness in the end. 2 Aggravation of sin. Is he not a fool, that will do that in an instant, that he may repent many years after? Is he not a foolish man (in matter of diet) that will take that, that he shall complain of a long time after? None will be so foolish in outward things. So when we are tempted to sin, think, is it not folly to do this, when the time will come that I shall wish it undone again, with the loss of a world if I had it to give? And beg of God the wisdom of the holy Ghost, 3 Beg spiritual wisdom. to judge aright of things, the eye salve of the Spirit of God, to discern of things that differ: to judge spiritual riches to be best, and spiritual nobility and excellency to be best, and to judge, of sinful courses to be base, how ever otherwise gainful let us labour for grace, The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, those that do not fear the Lord they have no wisdom. 4 Not to pass for the censures of the wicked And pass not for the vain censures of wicked men, thou art hindered from the practice of religious duties and from a conscionable course of life, why? Perhaps thou shalt be accounted a fool by whom? By those that are fools indeed, in the judgement of him who is wisdom indeed, God himself: who would care to be accounted a fool of a fool? We see the scripture judgeth wicked men here to be fools. We must not extend it only to wicked men, Folly in God's children. but even likewise God's children when they yield to their corruptions, and passions they are foolish for the time, in Psa. 38.5. Psa. 38.5. My wounds stink and are corrupt because of my foolishness, and in Psa. 73. Psal. 73. So foolish was I and ignorant, etc. Therefore when any base thought of God's providence comes in our mind, or any temptation to sin let us think it folly and when we are overtaken with any sin, let us befool ourselves, and judge it as God doth to be foolishness, this is the ground and foundation of repentance: So much for the quality of the person here described, Fools. I come to the Cause. Because of their transgressions and because of their iniquities. Transgression, especially hath reference to rebellion against God, and his ordinances in the first table, Iniquity, hath reference to the breach of the second table against men, and both these have their rise from folly, for want of wisdom causeth rebellion against God, and iniquity against men, all breaches of Gods will come from spiritual folly. Why doth he begin with transgressions against the first table, and then iniquities the breach of the second? Because all breaches of the second table issue from the breach of the first a man is never unjust to his neighbours, The breach of the second table comes from the breach of the first. that doth not rebel against God's will in the first table, and the foundation of obedience, & duty to man, it riseth from man's obedience to God. Therefore the second table is like the first that is, our love to our neighbour is like to our love of God, not only like it but it springs from it: for all comes from the love of God, therefore the first command of the first table runs through all the Commandments, Thou shalt honour God; and honour man, because we honour God. A man never denies obedience to his superior to the magistrate, etc. but he denies it to God first, a man never wrongs man, but he disobeys God first, Therefore the Apostles lay the duties of the second table in the Scriptures upon the first, Saint Paul always begins his Epistles, with the duties to God, and religion and when he hath discharged that he comes to parents, and masters, and children, and servants, and such particular duties, because the spring of our duty to man, is our duty to God, and the first justice is the justice of religion to God, when we are not just to give God his due: thereupon come all breaches in our civil conversation, and commerce with men, for want of the fear of God, men do this, as joseph said, how shall I do this and offend God? and Abraham he had a conceit they would abuse his wife, Surely the fear of God is not here, therefore he thought they would not be afraid to do any thing, he that fears not God if opportunity serve, he will not be afraid to violate the second table he that fears God he will reason, how shall I do this, to wrong another in his name, and reputation, or in his estate, & sin against God? for I cannot sin against man, but I must first sin against God, that is the reason he sets it down thus, transgressions and iniquities. See an unhappy succession of sin, ●nhappy succession of sin. that where there is transgression there will be iniquity, when a man yields to lust once presently he breaks upon God's due, and then upon man's, one sin draws on another, as we see David giving way to one sin, it brought another, so the giving way to transgression, neglecting the word of God, and duties of religion presently another follows neglect of duty to men. Take heed of the beginnings of sin, Use. Take heed of beginnings of sin. there are degrees in Satan's school from ill to worse till we come to worst of all, and there is no staying it is like the descent down a steep hill, let us stop in the beginning by any means, as we would avoid iniquity, let us take heed of transgression. Are afflicted. HE means especially that affliction of sickness as appears by the words following. Doct. Sin the cause of sickness. Sin is the cause of all sickness. Fools for their transgressions, and iniquities are afflicted: for God's quarrel is especially against the soul, and to the body because of the soul, I will not dwell on this point having spoken of it, 1 Cor. 11.31. at large on another text. The Use that I will make of it now shall be, Use 1. To justify God. First of all, If sin be the cause of all sickness, Let us justify God, and condemn ourselves, complain of ourselves, and not of God; Wherefore doth the living man complain, and murmur, and fret, Man suffereth for his sin, justify God and judge ourselves. I will bear the wrath the Lord because I have sinned against him, judge our selves and we shall not be judged. 2 To be patient. Then again is sin the cause of sickness, it should teach us patience, I held my tongue because thou Lord didst it, Shall not a man be patient in that he hath procured by his own evil and sin? 3 Search out our particular sin. And search ourselves, for usually▪ it is for some particular sin, which conscience will tell a man of, and sometimes the kind of the punishment will tell a man, for sins of the body, God punisheth in the body he pays men home, in their own coin, what measure a man measureth to others shall be measured to him again. If a man have been cruel to others, God will stir up those that shall be so to him, therefore we should labour to part with our particular transgressions and iniquities. It is a general truth for all ills whatsoever as well as this of sickness. To seek God in trouble. Therefore we should first of all go to God by confession of sin. It is a preposterous course that the athesticall careless world takes, where the Physician ends, The course of worldlings there the divine begins▪ when they know not what to do. If diseases come from sin then make use of the divine first to certify the conscience, and to acquaint a man with his own mercy. First to search them, and let them see the guilt of their sins and then to speak comfort to them, and to set accounts straight between God, & them, as in Ps. 32. (an excellent place. Psal. 32. David roared, his moisture was turned into the drought of summer, what course doth he take? he doth not run to the Physician presently but goes to God. Then said I it was an inward resolution, and speech of the mind, than I concluded with myself, I will confess my sin to God, and thou for gavest my iniquities and sin, so body, and soul were healed at once. Divinity transcends other arts. Divinity herein transcends all other Arts, not only corrupt nature, and corrupt courses but all other: For the Physician he looks to the cause of the sickness out of a man or in a man, out of a man and then especially in contagious sickness, he looks to the influence of the heavens, in such a year, such conjunctions, and such eclipses have been, he looks to the infection of the Air to subordinate causes, to contagious company, and to diet, etc. And then in a man to the distemper of the humours, and of the spirits, when the instrument of nature is out of tune it is the cause of sickness. But the divine, and every Christian (that should be a divine in this respect) goes higher and sees all the discord between God, Sickness how from God, how from sin. and us, there is not that sweet harmony there, and so all the jars in second causes come from God as the cause inflicting, from sin, as the cause demeriting: The Divine considers those two always: The Physician looks to the inward distemper and the outward contagion, and this is well, and may be done without sin, but men must join this too, to look into conscience, and look up to God together with looking for help to the Physician, because we have especially to deal with God. I would this were considered that we might carry ourselves more Christianlike under any affliction whatsoever, The cause of murmuring in trouble. what is the reason that people murmur, & struggle, and strive as a bull in a net as the Prophet speaks, when God hampers them in some judgement? They look to the second causes, and never look to clear the conscience, of sin, nor never look to God, when indeed the ground of all is God offended by sin, Fools for their transgressions are afflicted. We by our sins put a rod into God's hand, Sin puts a rod in God's hand A rod for the fool's back as Solomon saith, and when we will be fools we must needs endure the scourge and rod in one kind or other: those that will sin must look for a rod, it is the best reward of wicked, and vain fools that make a jest of sin, (as the wiseman saith) They cast firebrands, and say am I not in jest? That rail and scorn at good things, that swear, and carry themselves in a loose, ridiculous scandalous fashion, as if God did not eye their carriage, and yet am I not injest? Well, it is no jesting matter, sin is like a secret poison, Sin a poison. perhaps it doth not work presently, as there are some kind of subtle poisons made in these days (wherein the Devil hath whetted men's wits) that will work perhaps a year after, so sin if it be once committed perhaps it doth not kill presently, but there is death in the Pot, thou art a child of death, as soon as ever thou hast committed sin, as Salvian saith well, Salvian thou perishest before thou perish, the sentence is upon thee, thou art a dead man, God to wait for thy repentance prolongs thy days, but as soon as thou hast sinned without repentance, thou art a child of death, and as Poison that works secretly a while, yet in time it appears, so at last the fruit of sin will be death, Sin and death came in together: take heed of all sin, it is no dallying matter. Their soul abhors all manner of meat. Extremity of sickness. THIS is one branch of the extremity of the sickness, the loathing of meat, for God hath put a correspondency, between food that is necesary for man, and man's relish: for man being in this world to be supported, the natural moisture being to be supplied, and repaired by nourishment as it is spent by the natural heat which feeds upon it, therefore God hath put a sweetness into meat that man might delight to do that which is necessary: for who would care for meat if it were not necessary? Therefore being necessary God hath put delightful tastes in meats to draw men to the use of them, to preserve their being for the serving of him. Now when these things savour not, when the relish of a man is distempered that he cannot judge aright of meats, when the palate is vitiated, there must needs follow sickness, Natural cause of sickness: for a man cannot do that that should maintain his strength, he cannot feed on the creature, therefore the Palmist setting down the extremity of sickness, he saith their soul abhorreth all manner of meat, This the great Physician of heaven and earth, sets down as a symptom of a sick state when one cannot relish and digest meat, experience seals this truth and proves it to be true. Happiness of Epicures unstable. You see then the happiness of Epicures how unstable and vain it is, whose chief good is in the creature, God by sickness can make them dis-relish all manner of meat, and where is the summum bonum then of all your belly-gods, your sensual persons Again in that he saith, Their soul abhorreth all manner of meat, To bless God for appetite. it should teach us to bless God, not only for meat but for stomaches to eat, it is a blessing common, and therefore forgotten. It is a double blessing when God provides daily for our outward man and then gives a stomach to relish his goodness in the creature, sometimes a poor man wants meat, and hath a stomach: sometimes a rich man wants a stomach, when he hath meat, they that have both have cause to bless God, because it is a judgement when God takes away the appetite that men abhor and loathe all manner of meat. Therefore if we would maintain thankfulness to God, labour to thank God for common blessings, what if God should take away a man's stomach, we see his state here he is at the gates of death, therefore thank God that he maintains us with comforts in our pilgrimage, and withal that he gives us strength to take the comfort of the creature. We fee here again one rule how to converse with them that are sick, How to converse with the sick. blessed is he that understands the estate of the afflicted and sick, not to take it ill to see them wayward, it comes not from the mind, but from the distemper of the body: as we bear with children, so we must bear with men in those distempers, if they have food, and yet loath it, you see how 'tis with men in that case, Their soul abhorreth all manner of meat, It should teach us to sympathise with those that are sick, if we see them in these distempers. The next branch of the extremity is; They draw near the gates of death. DEATH is a great Commander, a great Tyrant, Gates of death. and hath gates to sit in, as judges and Magistrates used to sit in the gates. There are things employed in this phrase. First, Death itself. They draw near to the gates of death, that is, they were near to death, as he that draws near the gates of a City, is near the City, because the gates enter into the City. 2 Authority of death. Secondly, gates are applied to death for authority, they were almost in death's jurisdiction; death is a great Tyrant, he rules over all the men in the world, over Kings, and Potentates, over mean men, and the greatest men fear death most: he is the King of fears as job calls him, I, and the fear of Kings. Yet death that is thus feared in this life by wicked men, at the day of judgement, of all things in the world they shall desire death most, Misery of wicked men. according to that in the Apocalips, They shall desire death, and it shall not come to them, they shall subsist to eternal misery; that, that men are most afraid of in this life, that they shall wish most to come to them in the world to come, Oh that I might die! What a pitiful state are wicked men in? therefore it is called the Gate of death, it rules and overrules all mankind: Rom. 5. therefore it is said to reign, Rom. 5. Death and sin came in together, sin was the gate that let in death, and ever since death reigned, and will, till Christ perfectly triumph over it, who is the King of that Lord and Commander, and hath the key of hell and death: To wicked men (I say) he is a Tyrant, and hath a gate, and when they go through the gate of death, they go to a worse, to a lower place, to hell, it is the trappe-doore to Hell. 3 Power of death. Thirdly, by the gate of death is meant not only the authority, but the power of death, as in the Gospel, The gates of hell shall not prevail against it that is, the power, and strength of hell, so here it implies the strength of death, which is very great for it subdues all, it is the executioner of God's justice. If death have such a jurisdiction, Use. and power, and strength, To disarm death. let us labour to disarm it before hand, it is in our power to make death stingless, and toothless, and harm less: nay we may make it advantageous, for the gate of death may become the gate of happiness: let us labour to have our part, and portion in Christ, who hath the key of hell and death, who hath overcome and conquered this tyrant, Oh death where is thy sting? oh grave where is thy victory? 2 Cor. 15. 1 Cor. 15. Thanks be unto Ged who hath given us victory through jesus Christ our Lord, that now we need not fear death, that though death have a gate, yet it is a gate, to let us into heaven, as it is a door to let the wicked into hell; So much for that. In the next place we come to their carriage in their extremity. They Cried to God in their trouble. THIS is the carriage of man in extreme ills; if he have any fear of God in him, to pray and then prayers are cries they are darted out of the heart as it were to heaven. It is said, Christ made strong cries, in extremity prayers are cries hence I observe briefly these things. That God suffers men to fall into extreme ills even to the gates, Doct. God suffers men to fall to great misery. of death, that there is but a step between them and death. Why? To wean them perfectly from the world. Reas. 1. To make them more thankful when they recover: for what is the reason that men are so slight in thanksgiving? Usually the reason is they did not conceive that they were in such extreme danger as they were. 3. Likewise he suffers men to fall into extreme sickness that he may have all the glory, for it was his doing, there was no second cause to help here, for their soul abhorred all manner of meat, and they were even at the Gates of death, Now when all second causes fail, than God is exalted therefore he suffers men to fall into extremity, the greater the malady, the more is the glory of the Physician. The second thing is this, as God brings his children into extremity, So; God's children in extremity they cry to him. God's children cry to him in affliction. EXtremity of afflictions doth force prayers, In their affliction, they will seek me early: When all second causes fail then we go to God, nature therefore is against atheism (as one observes) that naturally men run to God in extremity; Atheism against nature. Lord help me, Lord secure me, so especially in the Church in extremity, God's people cry to God, and as afflictions, so particularly this of sickness of body, drives men to God. God should not hear of us (many times) unless he should come near us by afflictions, and deep afflictions: Out of the deep have I cried, Why God sendeth affliction. God brings us to the deep, and then we cry. Our nature is so naught, that God should not hear of us, (as I said) unless he send some messenger after us, some affliction to bring us home as Absalon dealt by joab, when he fired his corn. In the Gospel, Christ had never heard of many people, had it not been for some infirmity: but blessed are those sicknesses, and infirmities that occasion us to go to God, that makes us cry to God. It was the speech of a Heathen, we are best when we are weakest, why? as he saith very well, who is ambitious, voluptuous, or covetous for the world when he is sick, when he sees the vanity of these things? This should make us submit more meekly unto GOD, To submit to God patiently. when we are under his hand when we are his prisoners by sickness, when he casts us on our sick beds, because GOD is working our good, he is drawing us nearer to him. Then they cried to him. Prayer a special remedy in affliction. So we see then that prayer it is a remedy in a remediless estate, when there is no other remedy and this one difference between a child of GOD and another; In extremity a carnal man that hath not grace, he hath not a spirit of prayer to go to GOD, but a child of GOD, he cries to GOD, he had acquaintance with God in the time of health, therefore he goes boldly to GOD as a father in the time of extremity. God's children can answer Gods dealing; for as he brings his children to extremity, when there is no second cause to help, so they answer him by faith, in extremity when there is nothing to trust unto, they trust him. when there is no physic in the world that can-charme the disease, they have a spirit of faith to answer Gods dealing, in the greatest misery, as job faith, though he kill me yet will I trust in him. For GOD is not tied to second causes, and therefore if he have delight in us, and if he have any service for us to do he can recover us from the gates of death, Nay from death itself, as we see Christ in the Gospel raised from the dead, and at the resurrection he will raise us from death much more can he raise us from the gates of death when we are near death. To be in a state fit to pray. Therefore considering that pra●er is a remedy in all maladies, in a remediless estate, Let us labour to have a spirit of prayer, and to be in such a state as we may pray. 1 Take heed of known sin. What state is that? First take heed of being in league with any sin, If I regard iniquity in my heart, God will not hear my prayer, nay he will not hear others prayers for us, oh what a pitiful state is it when God will not hear us nor others for us! Pray not for this people (saith God to jeremiah) and if Noah, Daniel, and job stood before me they should but deliver their own souls. If a man be in a peremptory course of sin, and will not be reclaimed, but is like the deaf Adder that will not be charmed, God will not hear prayers for him: will God hear a rebel when he comes to him for mercy, and is in a course opposite to Gods will? As if a Traitor should come to sue for pardon with a dagger in his hand; which were to increase the treason: So when a man comes to God and cries to him and yet purposeth to live in sin, and his conscience tells him that he offers violence to GOD by his sins, and lives in rebellious courses, GOD will not hear his prayers. 2 Hear God calling on us. Again if we would be in such a state as God may accept us when we come to him, let us hear GOD when he cries to us, he cries to us in the ministry of the word, Wisdom hath lift up her voice, and this is GOD'S course, he will hear us when we hear him, He that turns his ear from hearing of the Law, his prayer shall be abominable. Those that do not attend upon God's ordinances, that will have a kind of devotion private to themselves, & avoid the public ordinance, that fear perhaps they shall hear somewhat that would awaken their conscience, and they would not be tormented before their time, Let them consider (it is a terrible speech of Solomon) He that turns his ear from hearing the Law, his prayer shall be abominable. Let us take heed, it is a fearful thing to be in such an estate, that neither our own prayers, nor others shall be regarded for us, and let any man judge, if we will not hear GOD speak to us, is it fit that he should hear us speaking to him? And before I leave the point, let me press it a little further, at this time we have cause to bless GOD for the deliverance of the City: Oh! but let all that have the spirit of prayer, that have any familiarity with GOD, Exhortation to prayer. improve all their interest in heaven at this time, do we not conceive what danger we are in? What enemies we have provoked? What if we be free from the sickness, are we not in great danger of worse matters th●n the sickness? Is it not worse to fall into the hands of our enemies? Have we not great, provoked, cruel Idolatrous enemies? therefore let us jointly now all cry to GOD, and importune him, that he would be good to the State, that as he hath given us a pledge of his favour in delivering us from the plague, so he would not be weary of doing good unto us, but that he would still make it a token of further favours, and deliverances hereafter: That as He delivered us in former times, in 88, and magnified his mercy to us, so now He would not expose us to the cruelty of Idolatrous enemies, whose mercies are cruel. Let us stir up ourselves; Prayer best before affliction. Security and carelessness always foreruns one destruction or other. Prayer will do a great deal more good, now, then when trouble hath overtaken us, for now it is a sign it comes from a religious seeking of God, than it comes from self-love. There is a great deal of difference, when a malefactor seeks to the judge before the time of the Assizes, and when he seeks to him at the present time, for than it is merely out of self respect and not respect to him. If we seek to God now he will single, and mark out those that mourn for the sins of the time, and pour out their spirits to him in prayer that he would still dwell and continue the means of salvation amongst us, Mal. 3: when God I say comes to gather his jewels Mal. 3. He will single, and cull out them as peculiar to himself. Remember the Church in our prayers. Therefore let us in all our prayers put in the Church, things do more than speak, they cry to us to cry to GOD earnestly, put case we be not in trouble ourselves, our prayers will be the more acceptable: before trouble come it is the only way to prevent it, as it is the only way to rescue us when we are in trouble. I come now to the remedy. He saved them out of their distress. GOD is a Physician good at all manner of sicknesses, God the best Physician. it is no matter what the disease be, if GOD be the Physician, though they be as these at the gates of death, he can fetch them back; herein GOD differs from all other Physicians. First of all he is a general Physician, he can heal a Land, a whole Kingdom of sickness, of pestilence and as it is in, 2 Chron. 7.14. 2 Chro. 7.14. Then he is a Physician of body, and soul, of both parts; And then he is not tied to means. Other Physicians can cure, but they must have means. Other Physicians cannot cure all manner of diseases, nor in all places, but GOD can cure all. He saved them out of their distress. Other physicians cannot be always present but God is so to every one of his patients he is a compassionate tender present Physician. Which should encourage us in any extremity (especially in sickness of body) to have recourse to God, Use. To have recourse to God in sickness. and never to despair though we be brought never so low, he that can raise the dead bodies, can raise us out of any sickness; therefore let us use the means, and when there is no means trust God: for he can work beyond means, and without means. They cried to the Lord, and he saved them out of their distress; It was the fruit of their prayers. Doct. Prayer to God successful There was never any prayer from the beginning of the world made to God successelesly. What should I speak of prayer, our very breathe are known to God when we cannot speak our sighs, as it is Psal. 38. My groans and sighs are not hid from thee. Psal. 38. God hath a bottle for our tears, and preserves our sighs and groans, there is nothing that is spiritual in us, but God regards, Rom. 8. as in Rom. 8. We know not what to ask, but the spirit of God stirreth up in us sighs and groans that cannot be expressed, And God hears the voice of the sighs of his own spirit. Let us also be exhorted from this issue, to cry unto the Lord: for there was never any man did, sow prayers in the breast and bosom of God, but he received the fruit of it, he is a God hearing prayer, he will not lose his attribute. God hears heathens. Nay, further (mark) the instances in this Psalm, are not made only of men in the Church, but likewise of men out of the Church, of men that have not the true religion, they pray to GOD, as creatures to the Creator, and though GOD have not their souls, yet he will not be beholding to any man for duties, if Ahab do but hypocritically fast, Ahab shall have outward deliverance for his outward humiliation, and these men mentioned in the text, if they call to GOD but as creatures, and not to Idols, GOD will regard them in outward things, and deliver them. GOD will not be in any man's debt for any service to him though it be outward. And do we think that he that regards dogs out of the Church, will neglect his children in the Church? Much more his children He that regards heathen men when they pray to him in their extremity, and delivers them to show his overflowing bounty, and goodness, will he not regard his own children, that have the spirit of Adoption, of supplication, and prayer, that put up their suits, and supplications, in the mediation, and sweet name of Christ? will he not regard the name, and intercession of his son and of his spirit, the Holy Ghost stirring up prayers in them, and the state of his children, being his by adoption, since he regards the very heathen. Nay more than so, God hears the very young ravens, and spreads a table for every living thing, and will not suffer them to die for hunger, but provides for them, because they are his creatures, and will he not for his children, those that he hath taken to be so near him to be heirs of heaven, & happiness? Let us I say, be encouraged to cry unto the Lord upon all occasions, if God be so good as to deliver sinful men (that have nothing in them but the principles of nature) when they fly to God in prayer, as the author and preserver of nature, much more will he hear his own children, Luke 11. he will give his spirit to them that ask him, Luke 11. But here may an objection be made, I have cried long, I am hoarse with crying, Object. I have waited a longtime, I have been a long time sick, or annoyed with some particular trouble, & God seems as it were to stop his ears, to harden his heart against me, to shut up his bowels of compassion, and pity, therefore I were as good give over as continue still crying, and not be heard. I answer, Answ. there is no one duty almost more pressed in scripture then waiting & watching to prayer, Waiting after prayer necessary. wait still, hath not God waited thy leisure long enough, and wilt not thou wait on him? A patient when he feels his body distempered with Physic, oh he cries out partly for the Physic, and partly for the sickness, that trouble him both together, and make civil war in his body, yet notwithstanding the Physician wisely lets it work he; shall have no cordial, nor nothing to hinder it, he lets it go on till the Physic have wrought well, & carried away the malignant matter, that he may be the better for it, and that he is a loving and tender Physician, yet so God when we are in trouble it is as Physic we cry but God he turns the glass as the Physicians do; nay this time shall be expired it shall work so long, till thy pride be taken away, thou shalt be humbled throughly, till thou be weaned from thy former wicked pleasures, till thou be prepared to receive further blessings; therefore they cry, and cry, and God defers to hear the voice of his children, God defers for our good. in the mean time he loves to hear the cry of his children, and their prayer is as sweet incense, yet he defers still, but all is for the patients good, be not weary of waiting, it is a great mercy that He makes thee able to continue crying that thou hast the spirit of Prayer, that thou canst pour out thy soul to God, it is a great mercy and so account of it. Perhaps thou hast not cast out thy jonas, thy Achan, that there is some particular sin, Beloved sins hinder prayer. unrepented of, and thou criest and criest but thy sin cries louder, thy pride, or thy oppression cries, thy wicked course cries, thou criest unto God, and there is another thing cries in thee, that cries vengeance as thou dost for mercy, therefore search out thy Achan, cast out thy beloved sin, see if thou regard iniquity in thy heart, if thou regard any pleasing, or profitable, or gainful sin, and never think that God will hear thee till that be out, for it will outcry thy prayers. The next thing is the manner of God's cure. He sent his word and healed them. WHAT word? His secret command, God's powerful word▪ his will. Let such a thing be, as in the creation. Let there be light, etc. Besides his word written, there is his word creating, and preserving things created, and so here restoring them that were sick, He sent his word and healed them, and so at the resurrection, his Word, his voice shall raise our bodies again. It is a strange manner of cure for GOD to cure by his word, by his command. It shows that GOD hath an universal command of all things in the world, God's command over all things. in heaven, and earth, over devils, and over sicknesses, as it is said in the Gospel, He rebuked the sicknesses, He can rebuke the agues, the plague, and the pestilence, and they shall be gone by his word, as the Centurion said, I am a man that have servants under me, and I say to one come, and he cometh, and to another go, and he goeth, so thou hast all things under thee, thou art GOD, and if Thou say to a disease, Come, it cometh, if Thou say go, it goeth, GOD sent his word of command and healed them. It is but a word of God to heal, but a word of God, to strike, He is the Lord of Hosts, If He do but hiss (as the Prophet saith) for the fly of Egypt; If He do but call for an Enemy, they come at his word, as we see in Pharaohs plagues, the Flies, and Frogs, all things obey his word. There is a secret obedience in all things to God, when his will is that they shall do this or that: why doth the Sea keep his bounds, when as the nature and position of the Sea is to be above the earth? It is the command of GOD that hath said, Let it be there, and hither shall thy proud waves go, and no further. I might give many instances how GOD doth all by his word; The Devils are at his word, the whales, the Sea, when Christ rebukes it obeys. It should teach us not to displease this GOD, Use. Take heed of displeasing God. that can strike us in the midst of our sins even with a word. Let us fear this GOD, put case we had no enemy in the world, God can arm a man's humours against him, he can raise the spirit, and soul against itself, and make it fight against itself by desperate thoughts, he needed not foreign forces for Achitophel▪ and Saul, he could arm their own souls against themselves. And when he will take down the greatest Giant in the world, he needs not foreign forces, it is but working of a disease, but giving way to a humour, but inflaming the spirits, and the soul shall abhor all manner of meat. Again, he gives a command, a rebuke, and they are gone presently, therefore let us not offend this great God, that is commander of heaven, and earth; let us labour to please him, and it is no matter who else we displease: for he hath all things at his command, even the hearts of kings as the rivers of water, when Esau sought for jacob to hurt him, there was a secret command God set upon him to love him; therefore we should fear him, and all other things shall fear us, we need fear nothing (so we have a care to fear God) further than in God, and for God; but not so to fear them, as to do evil for them, and offend the great God that can with a word command sickness to come or bid it be gone. Again, in that God when all second causes fail can heal by his word, Jncouragement to pray from God's power. therefore, let us never be discouraged from praying though we see a hurly-burly, and tumult in the Church, though we see all Europe in combustion, and the Church driven into a narrow corner, let us not give over prayer; for Christ, that with a word commanded the waves to be still, and the devils to be gone, and they presently obeyed him; he can still the waves of the Church? he can pt a hook into the nostrils of his enemies, and draw them which way he please, he can still all with his word; therefore howsoever things seem to run contrary, and opposite to our desires, yet let us not give over, he that sees no ground of hope in carnal fleshly reason, let him despair of nothing, despair shuts the gate, and door of mercy and hope, as it were: you see here when all means fail, when they were at the very gates, and entry of death, God fetcheth them back again; how? with physic? no, he is not tied to physic, there is difference between God, and between nature and art; nature and art can do nothing without means, but the God of nature and art can do it with his word. How made he this heaven, and earth, this glorious fabric? with his word; Let there be light, and there was light, etc. And how shall he restore all again? with his mighty commanding word, how doth he preserve things? by his word, how are things multiplied? by his word, increase and multiply, a word of blessing, he doth all things with his word. So he can confound his enemies with a word, Nay Christ in his greatest abasement when they came with staffs, and arms to take him; Whom seek ye, Saith he? that word struck down all the Officers of the Scribes and Pharisees, Christ's word in his abasement powerful. they fell flat on the ground. Could he in his humiliation (before his great abasement on the cross) strike down his enemies with his word, what shall he do at the day of judgement when all flesh shall appear before him? And what can he do now at the right hand of God in heaven? Let us never despair, what state soever we be in, in our own persons, or in respect of the Church or common wealth; Let us yet pray, yet solicit God, and wrestle with him, for we see here when they were at the gates of death, he fetcheth them again with his word, he can fetch things again when they are at destruction, as it were, when man's wit is at a loss, that he knoweth not what course to take, God with a word can turn all things again. Oh that men would therefore praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wondrous works to the children of men! Let them sacrifice the sacrifice of thanksgiving and declare his works with rejoicing. YOU see that God the great Physician, he is good at all disseases, he is never set at any thing for he can create helps, and remedies of nothing if there be none in nature, he can create peace to the soul, in the the midst of trouble of conscience, God can make things out of nothing, nay out of contraries, you see here, what this great Physician hath done he fetched them from the gates of death when their soul abhorred all manner of meat, and what doth he require for all this great cure? surely the text tells us he looks for nothing but praise. Oh that men would therefore praise the Lord for his goodness, etc. In which words you have these circumstances considerable, together with the substance of the duty. First the persons, who must praise God, Oh that men would praise the Lord; And then the duty they are to perform, to praise God, to sacrifice to God, to declare his works, one main duty expressed by three terms. The third is, for what they should praise him; For his goodness, It is the spring of all: for all particular actions of God do come from his nature, his nature is goodness itself and indeed all other attributes are founded on goodness, why is he gracious, and merciful and long-suffering? because he is good, this is the primitive attribute. And then another thing for which we must praise him, For his wondrous works for the children of men. Fourthly the manner how this should be done with rejoicing, and singing as the word signifies, declare his works with rejoicing. For as all holy actions must be done joyfully, and cheerfully, so especially praise, God loveth a cheerful giver, much more a cheerful thanksgiver: for cheerfulness is the very nature of thanksgiving, it is a dead sacrifice of thanksgiving it is a dead sacrifice else these are the main things considerable in these words, First of all of the persons. Oh that men would praise the Lord. THE blessed Psalmist whosoever he were, (directed by the spirit of God, All men praise Go● ) he would have all men to praise God, not only those that participate and have interest in the favour but the beholders also of the goodness of God to others, for here he that was not interressed in these favours for his own particular, yet he praiseth God for the blessings to others, To praise God for others. and he wisheth that God might have praise from them. For we are all of one society, of one family, we are all brethren, therefore we must praise God for his blessings, and benefits on others, and not only ourselves but we must wish that all would do so, and specially we must praise God for ourselves, Especially for ourselves. when we have part of the benefit: for shall others praise God for us, and shall notwe for ourselves? Shall the Churches of God abroad praise God, for his great deliverance of this city, (as there is no Church in the world that hears of it, but is thankful for it) and shall not we for ourselves? Shall the angels in heaven praise God, and sing for the redemption of the Church by the blood of Christ, Glory to God on high peace on earth, Luke 2. 1● 14. good will to men, and shall not we that have interest in the work of redemption: For Christ is not a mediator of redemption to Angels he hath relation to them in another respect, yet they out of love to God, and the Church, and a desire to glorify God, hay praise God for this, and shall not we much more for ourselves? we must praise God ourselves and desire that all would do so, as he saith here, Oh that men would praise the Lord, etc. and in some other Psalms, Creatures praise God bow. he stirs up ' all the creatures hail, and snow, and wind and all to praise God. How can these praise God? They do it by our mouths by giving us occasion to praise him. And they praise him in themselves: for as the creature groaneth, Rom. 8. Rom. 8. That none knows but God, and itself, they groan for the corruption, and abuse that they are subject unto, and God knows those groans, so the creature hath a kind of voice likewise in praising of God, they declare in their nature the goodness of God, and minister occasion to us to praise GOD, therefore the Psalmist being desirous that GOD might be praised, for his goodness and mercy, he stirs up every creature, Psal. 103. Psal. 103. even the very Angels, insinuating that it is a work fit for Angels. The children of God, have such a love, and zeal to the glory of GOD, that they are not content only to praise GOD themselves, but they stir up all: they need not to wish Angels to do it, but only to show their desire, oh the blessed disposition of those that love God in Christ! What shall we think then of those wretched persons that grieve that the word of God should run and have free passage, Wicked men only dishonour God. and be glorious, and that there should be a free use of the sacraments and the blessed means of salvation? they envy the glory of God, and the salvation of people's souls. What shall we say to those that desire to hear God dishonoured, that perhaps swear, and blaspheme themselves, or if they do not yet they are not touched in their hearts for the dishonour of God by others,? this is far from the disposition of a Christian, he desires that all creatures may trumpet ou● the praise of God, from the highest Angel to the lowest creature, from the Sun, and stars to the meanest shrub, only devilish spirited carnal men take delight to blaspheme God, (that can strike them with his word and send them to their own place to hell, without repentance) and can hear him dishonoured without any touch of spirit, a child of God desires God to be glorified from his very heart root, and is grieved when God is dishonoured any kind of way, so much briefly for the first, Now what is the duty this holy man wishes? That men would praise God. And sacrifice the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and declare his works. OUT of the largeness of his heart he expresseth the same thing in many words, therefore I shall not need to make any scruple in particularising of them, because there is not so much heed to be given in the expressions of a large heart as to be punctual in every thing. First he begins with praise. Oh t●at men would therefore praise the Lord, etc. Praise a duty fit for Angels. It is a duty as I said before fit for Angels, fit? nay it is performed by them: For it is all the work they do, it is the only work that was religious, that Adam did in Paradise, and that we shall do in heaven with God, therefore we are never more in Heaven, then when we take all occasions of blessing, and praising God, we are never in a more happy estate. It is a duty therefore we should aim at, and the rather, because it is the fruit, Praise the fruit, and end of all we do. and end of all other duties whatsoever; what is the end of all the good we do, but to show our thankfulness to God? the end of our fruitfulness in our place, that others may take occasion to glorify God. Of hearing. What is the end of our hearing? To get knowledge, and grace, that we may be the better able to praise God, in our mouths, and in our lives. What is the end of receiving the sacrament? Of the Sacrament. nay, what is the duty itself? a thanksgiving? what is the end of prayer? to beg graces, and strength that so we may carry our selves in our places, as is fit, that so we may not want those things without which we cannot so well glorify God, so the end of all is to glorify God. Praising God the end of the creation, It is the end that God intended in all, he framed all things to his own praise, in the creation. Why hath God given man reason here upon the stage of the world? to behold the creatures, Rom. 1. Rom. 1. that seeing in the creature, the wisdom of God, in ordering of things, the goodness of God in the use of things, and the power of God in the greatness of things, the huge, vast heaven, and earth, he might take occasion to glorify, and magnify this God, to think highly of him, to exalt him in our thoughts, that his creatures heaven, and earth, be so beautiful, and excellent, what excellency is in God himself? And as the end of creation so in redemption, It is the end of redemption. all is for his glory, and praise, in Ephesians 1. Ephes. 1. how sweetly doth Saint Paul set forth the end of it. To the glory of his rich mercy and grace To be merciful to sinners to give his own son, for God to be come man, not for man in that estate as Adam was in innocence but for sinners for God to triumph over sin, by his infinite mercy here is the glory of his grace shining in the Gospel, all is for the glory, and praise of God there. Psal. 50. It is the end of our particular deliverances. And for particular deliverances in Psal. 50. Call upon me in the day of trouble. I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me, his deliverances of us in the passages of our life is that we may glorify him, by taking notice in imminent dangers of some of his attributes: when there is no means of deliverance, of his power and goodness, etc. In Revel. 4. Rev. 4. The Elders are brought in praising God for the work of creation, Rev. 5. and then in the fifth for redemption, Thou art worthy, for thou hast redeemed us, so indeed the work of creation, redemption, and the particular passages of God's providence, and protection, and preservation, they are matter of praise in heaven, and earth among God's people. Now to name a few helps, Helps and means to praise God. and means, to perform this duty the better. If we would stir up ourselves to praise God let us consider our own unworthiness? Consider our own unworthiness. As in prayer, there must be a humble heart, for a man will not seek abroad, if he have somewhat at home, poverty of spirit and humility of heart, makes a man pray: so it is the humble soul that praiseth God, that sees no desert in itself, this is one way to help us to praise God, to see nothing in ourselves, why God should so regard us, as to give us our lives for a prey, to set his love on us, and to follow us with good, nay we have deserved the contrary, that God should leave us, and expose us to misery, rather than to watch over us by his providence: what is in us? It is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves, & he made us again, when we were sinners when we were worse than naught, therefore to humble us, we must consider our own unworthiness, he that knows himself unworthy of any favour, he will be thankful even for the least, as we see in jacob, I am less than the least of all thy favours, therefore he was thankful for the least: so we see here in the text, these men are stirred up to praise God, they saw no other help, no worthiness in themselves, they were at the gates of death, in a desperate estate, O that such men would praise God, indeed such men are fittest to praise God, that can ascribe help to nothing but to God, to no second causes. 2 Not to rest on second causes. Therefore in the next place (as a branch of the former) if we would praise God, dwell not on the second causes, if God use second causes in any favour he bestows on us, either in keeping us from any ill or bestowing any good consider it as a means that God might dispense with, that he might use if he would, or not use: See God in the second causes, rise from them to him: Art thou healed by Physic? Use Physic as a means, but see God in it, but if God hath cured thee without Physic, without ordinary means, then see him more immediately doing good to thee without the help of second causes, that is one way to help us to praise God to see him in every favour, and deliverance, for what could second causes do, if he should not give a blessing? especially praise him when he hath immediately done it, as he can, did not he make light before there was a sun? he is not tied to give light by the sun, and he made waters before he made the clouds; he is not tied to the clouds, therefore especially praise God, when we have deliverance we know not how, without means, immediately from the goodness, and strength of God. Again if we would praise God for any favour, The necessity and use of the blessing. consider the necessity, and use of the favour we pray for, as these men here, they were at Death's door, and loathed all manner of meat, alas they had died if God had not helped them, If thou wouldst bless God, consider what a miserable stare thou should be in, if thou hadst not that favour to praise God for: If thou be to bless God for thy senses, put case thou shouldest want thy sight, what a miserable case thou shouldest be in: so for any of the senses that a man wants, whereby he should glorify God, and take the comfort of the Creature, put case a man should want his taste, as these men here, their soul abhorred all manner of meat, alas what a miserable case is it to want a relish, and taste of the comfort that God hath put into the creatures, put case we should want the meanest benefit we enjoy, how uncomfortable would our lives be? This spark of reason that God hath given us, that we have understanding to conceive things, which is the engine whereby we do all things as men, and are capable of the grace of God, what a miserable thing were it, if God should take away our wits, or suspend the use of them? But especially in matters of grace, if God had not sent Christ to redeem the world, what a cursed condition had we lain in? next to Devils. Again if we would praise God, 4 Daily register God's favours. let us every day keep a Diary of his favours, and blessings; what good he doth us privately, what positive blessings he bestows upon us, and what dangers he frees us from, and continueth, and renews his mercies every day, and publicly what benefit we have by the state we live in, Oh what a happy state is it that we live in peace, that we enjoy such laws, that every man may fit under his own vine, and under his own figtree and enjoy the comforts of this life, when all the world about us are, and have been in combustion! We should keep a Register of God's blessings, Oh, that we could learn to have such exact lives! it would breed a world of comfort, and we should have a less account to make, when we die. Every day labour to be humbled for our sins specially such as break the peace of our consciences, and never give our body's rest till our hearts have rest in the favour of God, and together with matter of humiliation daily observe how God bestows new favours, or else continues the old, that notwith withstanding our provocation, and forgetfulness of him, he strives with us by his goodness, this is a blessed duty that we should labour to perform. And then when we have done this let us rouse up all that we are, To praise God with that which is in us. and all that we have within us to praise God, Psalm 103. My soul praise the Lord, Psal. 103. and all that is within me praise his holy Name. What have we within us to praise God? Let us praise God with our understanding, Our understanding. to conceive, and have a right judgement of God's favours, of the worthiness of them, and our own un worthiness, and then a sanctified Memory, Memory. forget not all his benefits; forgetfulness is the grave of God's blessings it buries all. And then there is in us the affection of joy, joy.. and love to God to taste him largely, and then all within us will be large in the praising of God. And our tongue likewise though that be not within us, Tongue. it is called our glory; let us make it our glory in this, to Trumpet our God's praise upon all occasions, all that is within us, and all that we are, or have, or can do, let it be all to the glory, and praise of God. To draw to a conclusion with some general application, of all that hath been spoken, and then in particular to the present occasion. You know how God hath dealt of late with this City, In the great visitation. 1625. and with ourselves indeed, for we are all of one body politic, and however God visited them, yet it was our sins also that provoked him, we brought sticks to the common fire. Simile. A Physician lets the arm blood, but the whole body is distempered, God let the City blood, but the whole kingdom was in a distemper, so that it was for our sins as well as theirs we, all brought (I say) some thing to the common flame, and God afflicted us, even in them: God hath now stayed the sickness almost as Miraculously as he sent it: It was a wonder that so many should be swept away in so short a time, it is almost as great a wonder that God should stay it so soon. And what may we impute it unto? Surely as it is in the text. They cried unto the Lord, God put it into the hearts of the Governors of the state to appoint humiliation and crying to God, and therefore since God hath been so merciful upon our humiliation it is religiously, and worthily done of the state that there should be a time to bless God Again, God did it with a word, with a command, it was both in the inflicting and delivery (as it were) without means: for what could the Physicians do in staying the Plague? Alas all the skill in the world is at a loss in these kinds of sicknesses! it comes with God's command, it is God's arrow more especially than other sicknesses, God sent it by his Command, first to humble us for our sin, and now he hath stayed it with a word of command that from above 5000. a week, it is come to three persons, God hath sent his word and healed us. It was a pitiful state we were in before: for indeed it was not only a sickness upon the City but a civil sickness: the whole state w●s distempered: for as there is sickness in the body when there is obstruction, when there is not a passage for the spirits and the blood from the liver, & from the heart, and from the head these obstructions cause weakness, and faintings, and consumption, So was there not an obstruction in the state of late? were not the veins of the kingdom stopped? Was not civil commerce stayed? the affliction of this great City, it was as the affliction of the head or of the heart or of the liver; if the main vital part be sick, the whole is sick, so the whole kingdom not only by way of sympathy, but it was civilly sick in regard that all trading, and intercourse was stopped, it was a heavy visitation. And we have much cause to bless God that now the ways of this Zion of ours mourn not, thatthere is free commerce, and intercourse as before, that we can meet thus peaceably, and quietly at God's ordinances, and about our ordinary callings, Concerning deliverance from the plague, to bless God. those that have an apprehension of the thing cannot choose but break out in thanksgiving to God, in diverse respects. 1 That he would correct. First of all, have not we matter to praise God that he would correct us at all? he might have suffered us to have gone on and been damned with the wicked world as it is 1 Cor. 11.33. 1 Cor. 11.33. We are therefore chastened of the Lord that we should not be damned with the world: it is his mercy that he would take us into his hands as children, that he would visit us at all. Another ground of thanksgiving is this that since he would correct us, 2 That he would do it himself. he would use this kind of correction, that he would take us into his own hands; might he not have suffered a furious, bloody dark spirited, devilish spirited enemy to have invaded us, to have fallen into the hard hands of men acted with devilish malice? David thought this a favour, even that God would single him out to punish him with the Plague of pestilence that he might not fall before his enemies. The mercies of God are wondrous great when we fall into his hands he is a merciful God, he hath tender bowels fuel of pity and compassion: but The very mercies of wicked Idolaters are cruel, there was a mercy therefore in that, that God would take us into his own hands. 3 That he stayed the Pestilence. In the third place, we see when he had taken us into his own hands, how he hath stopped the raging of the pestilence, and hath inhibited the destroying Angel, even in a wondrous manner, that the Plague when it was so raging that it should come to decrease upon a sudden; God was wondrous in this work, is not here matter of praise? 4 That our lives were spared. Then again, it is a mercy to us all here that he should give us our lives for a prey as God saith in jeremiah to Baruch, Wheresoever thou goest thou shalt have thy life for a prey, might not God's arrow have followed us wheresoever we went? Whither can a man go from this arrow, but that God being every where might smite him with the pestilence? now in that he hath watched over us, and kept us from this noisome contagious sickness, and hath brought us altogether here quietly and freely, that so there may be intercourse between man and man in trading, and other callings, this is the fourth ground of praising of God. And that it did not rage in other parts: 5 That it spread not far. in former time God scattered the pestilence more over the kingdom: It is a great matter to bless God for. I beseech you let us say with the same spirit, as this holy man h●re, Oh that men therefore would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for the wonders that he doth for the children of men! For his goodness, that he would rather correct us here then damn us, for his goodness, that he would not give us up to our enemies, For his goodness, that he stayed the infection so suddenly, and that he stayed the spreading of it further, For his goodness unto us in particular that he hath kept us all safe. What shall we do now but consecrate, and dedicate these lives of ours for he gives us our lives more than once, at the beginning, there is never a one here but can say by experience, GOD hath given me my life, at such a time, and such a time, let us give these lives again to God, labour to reform our former courses, and enter into a new covenant with God, this is one part of thanksgiving to renew our covenant with God, to please him better, and indeed in every thanksgiving, that should be one ingredient. Now Lord I intent; and resolve to please thee better, whatsoever my faults have formerly been, I resolve by thy grace, and assistance to break them off, without this all the other is but a dead performance. Now briefly by way of analogy, and proportion, to raise some meditations from that that hath hath been delivered concerning the body to the soul, for God is the Physician both to soul, and body. If God with his word can heal our bodies as the Psalmist saith here, much more can he with his word heal our Soul. God by his Word heals the soul. There are many that their bodies are well (thanks be to God) but how is it with their souls? here you have some symptoms to know their spiritual state and oh that people were apprehensive of it! Symptom of a sick soul. have you not many that their soul loatheth all manner of meat, and they draw near the gates of death, their souls are in a desperate state, they are deeply sick, how shall we know it? their soul abhorreth all manner of wholesome meat: how many are there that relish Poets, and history, any trifle that doth but feed their vain fancy and yet cannot relish the blessed truth, and ordinances of God? Where is spiritual life, when this spiritual sense is gone: when men cannot relish holy things? if they relish the ordinance of God, it is not the spiritual part of it, so far as the spirit toucheth the conscience, but something that (it may be) is suitable to their conceit expressions, or phrases or the like, but it is a symptom and sign of a fearful declining state, when men do not relish the spiritual ordinances of God, which should be (as it were) their appointed food, when they do not delight to acquaint themselves with God in hearing of the word, and reading, and the like, let such therefore, as delight not in spiritual things know that their souls lie gasping they are at the gates of spiritual death, all is not well there is some fearful obstruction upon the soul, that takes away the appetite, the soul runs into the world overmuch, they cloy themselves with the world, when men cannot relish heavenly things they are eat up with the delight and joy of other things pleasures and profits. Let them search the cause, To recover spiritual appetite. and labour for purging sharp things that may procure an appetite Let them judge themselves, and see what is the matter that they do not delight more in heavenly things; let them purge themselves by confession to God, and consideration of their sins, and labour to recover their appetite, for it is almost a desperate estate, They are at the gates of death. Especially now when we come to the communion, what do we here if we cannot relish the food of our souls? let us examine if we desire to taste the love of God, and to be acquainted with God here if not, What to do in spiritual distempers, What shall we do in these spiritual distempers? Desire of God, cry to God, that he would forgive our sins, and heal our souls by his holy Spirit, that he would make us more spiritual to relish heavenly things, better than we have done before, that as the things, that are heavenly, are better in their kind than other things are; so they may be better to our taste. A man may know the judgement of his state, when he answereth not the difference of things: what the difference is between the food of life, and ordinary food, what the difference is between the comforts of the holy Ghost, and other comforts, between the riches, and pelf of the world, and the riches of the spirit, the graces of God that will cause a man to live and die with comfort, the true riches that make the soul rich to eternity, there is no comparison: beg of God, this spiritual relish to discern of things that differ, that we may recover our appetite God by his word, and spirit can do it, not only the word written, but the in ward spiritual word written in our hearts, desire God to join his spirit with his word, and sacraments, and that will recover our taste and make us spiritual that we shall relish him that is both the feastmaker, and the feast itself, he is both the meat and the provider of the banquet. For whence is it that all other things are sweet to us? Deliverance from trouble, and sickness? because it is a pledge of our spiritual deliverance in Christ, the deliverance from hell and damnation, what comfort can a man have that knows not his state in grace, in the enjoying of his health, when he shall think he is but as a sheep kept for the slaughter? he knows not whether he be in the favour of God or no? Therefore let us come, and renew our faith in the forgiveness of our sins through the blood of Christ, of whom we are made partakers in the Sacrament. For if we believe our deliverance from hell, and damnation by the body of Christ broken, and his bloodshed, than every thing will be sweet, when we know God loves us to life everlasting, than every thing in the way to life everlasting even day●● bread will be sweet, because the same love that gives heaven, gives daily food, and the same love that redeems us from hell redeems us from sickness, therefore let us labour to strengthen our faith in the main, that we may be thankful for the less. And as we enter into new covenant with God; so labour to keep it: Levit. 26. in Levit. 26. every thing avengeth the breaking of God's covenant when we make covenant to serve him better for the time to come, and yet break it, God is forced to send his messenger he sends sickness to avenge his Covenant, considering that he hath lately so avenged it, let it make us so much the more circumspect in our carriage. So much for this time, and text. FINIS. Imprimatur. Thomas Wykes. May 11 1638.