Christ's Submission TO HIS FATHERS WILL. Set forth In a SERMON Preached at Thrapston in Northampton-shire. By NICOLAS ESTWICK B. D. Rector of Warkton in Northampton-shiere. Imprimatur Joseph Caryl. printer's device of George Miller, featuring an anchor held by a hand from the clouds (McKerrow 233) ANCHORA SPEI LONDON, Printed by George Miller dwelling in Black-Friers, 1644. TO THE CHRISTIAN READER. Christian Reader: BY Gods providence we are reserved to sad and perilous times, which some of Gods servants have foreseen and given us warning of them. Mr Mr hildersham( to name no more) a godly, painful and learned Minister, now with God, applies that speech of the Prophet Jeremy to our daies, Jer. 6.4. Woe unto us for the day goeth away, for the shadows of the evening are stretched out: And he adds, We in England, Hilders. lect. 5. in Psal. 51. and if ever people in the world, have cause to look for evil and troublesone times; our sky is now read and lowering, and he is a senseless and secure hypocrite, that doth not expect some great storm and tempest: When I red this passage, out of love to my country, I prayed to God that he might prove a false Prophet, and I reasoned thus within myself; true, our sins are not tongue-tied, but they cry aloud to the righteous Judge for vengeance; yet God is a free Agent and a merciful Father; and we are ignorant of the times of Gods visitation, for we know not when the sins of a Nation are ripe for Gods sickle, nor whither it will please the Lord to suffer the tares to grow up with, and for the sake of the good corn; and whither the prayers of his faithful servants, which stand in the gap may not keep off the judgements from us: But in vain it was to flatter ourselves with hopes of impunity. This skilful workman, observing the holy Scriptures, and Gods dealing with his own children in covenant with him in former times, could rationally conclude that some great evil was approaching towards us: Luther Prefat. in Hos. Propb. There is, I confess, a great difference betwixt Gods servants in these dayes, and the Prophets of old, as Luther hath wisely observed, for these holy men had certain revelations of certain punishments to be inflicted on certain persons at a certain time, but we only in general can threaten sinners, nor have we a certain revelation whither they shall be punished by the turk or any other plague. And as Gods servants on earth, so his tokens from heaven prognosticated evil daies; these are as smoke which are the fore-runners of the fire ready to flamme out; I will record but one instance, the Lord enclosed us all in a dreadful tent, directly over our heads, and compassed us in round with pillars of terrible darkness, fire and blood, a year before that unparalleled Gun-powder-treason, and at the instant detection therof strange lights and flashings were seen, so that the heavens seemed to burn over us; these were faire warnings to all for good, if men had grace to make good use of these warnings. Tertullian tells us, that strange fires hung over the walls of Carthage— And these are the signs of Gods wrath at hand, tertul. ad Scapulam. which we must, by what means we can publish, declare and deprecate as those devout Jews did in the book of the Maccabees, 2 Mac. 5.2, 3, 4 and they which expound them in another sense shall in time( saith the Father) feel his supreme and universal wrath. These strange and fiery impressions in the air should have frighted us out of our security and fiery lusts. Nor have we only heard that God was angry with us, and seen the smoke, a sign of his wrath kindling against us, but we have seen and felt the flames therof in many particulars. 1. Anno Christi 1607. D. Benes. 20. le. on Amos. M. Brinsley 3. par. of the true watch, c. 3. The Lord caused the swelling waters of the Seas to break into the firm land in divers parts of this realm, and then many perished in six and twenty Parishes in Monmouth-shiere alone. He taught us hereby, that if he had enlarged the commission of the waters, we should all have perished; This was a judgement on the borders of our kingdom, and the loss of our brethren was justly a terror to us all: because Gods fear, the bank which would have stopped the inundation of sin, was broken down, God sent an extraordinary inundations of waters. 2. To this I may add, that the heavens have wept over us, and through that unseasonable rain left an evident print of Gods displeasure to be remembered( saith mine author) almost in every bit of bread; And hence the earth like egypt, when Nilus over-flowes too much, being surcharged with moisture, was not able to yield its wonted fruitfulness; this judgement pinched especially the poor people; Lamen 5.10. the skins of many of them were, if not black like an oven, yet pale and withered, because of the terrible famine; because we would not weep for our sins, the heavens did weep over our heads, and there was want of the food of our bodies, because we regarded not the food of our souls. 3. The Lord sent an extreme frosty winter, and smote the fish in the waters, the fowles of the air, our sweet and pleasant flowers, and threatened the famishing of our cattle: Was God angry with these creatures? Hab. 3.8. No verily, not with them, but with man, and smote them for the sin of man, and in them he red us a lecture of his displeasure towards us, because we loved these things too much, the Lord deprived us of them, and convinced us of our hard and frozen hearts by the frozen season. 4. Sometimes the Lord hath made our heavens as brass, and in stead of fruitful clouds drawn up by the sun, Deut. 28.23. we had clouds of dust raised by the feet of men and beasts, whereby our grass was withered, our fruits parched with extreme heat and great drought; This year deserved a name equivalent to that in France, 1539. the year of roasted vines; because our hearts were dry and barren, Serres. French. histor. I. 1. p. 521. the Lord to mind us hereof sent dry and barren weather. 5. Hath not God proclaimed his wrath, as it were, by sound of trumpet, and shot his arrows of the plague and infectious diseases which have roved up and down many years together to shoot at Cities and villages, which hath killed many thousands of our brethren and sisters? A great and continued plague, argues a great and continued wrath: God sends unusual diseases on our bodies, for our refusing the health of our souls. 6. Nor have we only at home felt the wrath of God heavy upon us, but his heavy hand hath followed us abroad into foreign Nations: Gods blessing hath not gone along of late yeares with our undertakings: because we relied not on the Lord, but on the arm of flesh, our valiant sculdiers, our strong Ships: Therefore the Lord hath frustrated all our hopes of our warlike expeditions, and blasted all our chargeable preparations, which have been without benefit to our kingdom, and some of them to our disgrace in the sight of strangers: O Lord what shall we say when England turneth their backs before their enemies. 7. josh 7.8. But evident it is that no warnings from heaven or earth, no words, threats, judgements or mercies which we abundantly enjoyed did thoroughly reform us, and therefore the Lord hath drawn out of the treasures of his wrath, a sharp and a terrible Sword, and hath justly plagued us with war, for refusing the peace of our souls; this is Gods most dreadful judgement, and hath many great evils waiting on it or following it at the heels, and in divers circumstances is most terrible to us. First, because it is an unnatural war; English men do not fight against strangers, Isa 19.2. but Egyptian-like they sheathe their Swords one in the bowels of another. 2. Nor is this war limited to a corner or part of the kingdom, but this fire flames over all the kingdom, and all mens hands do kindle this fire. 3. Neither are they all which live together unanimous in heart one way, nay I think I shall not err by saying there is not a City or Village, nor scarce a numerous family which is not divided in itself; and this is a grief that a man must be forced to strengthen their hands which fight, as he supposeth, for a bad cause, and to these burdens, as the case stands, he may with a good conscience submit his shoulders. crispin the Estate of the Church. Life of Henry 2. This puts me in mind of the factions, which openly appeared in the daies of Frederick the second, There was no town in Italy( saith mine author) without this division: Some say this Emperour called the faction which adhered to the Pope in the german tongue, guelphs, that is Wolves, and those that stood for him he called Gibellines, i. two walls, because he learned on them as an house doth upon two strong walls. I forbear to mention those evils which are in the eyes of every simplo man, but my soul grieveth for these particulars. 1. First, because I cannot see that in the heat of this flamme we have turned to our God; we may observe, that sinners are no changelings: they walk on still in those crooked ways which are without all controversy the ways of death. 2. I do observe that difference of opinion hath begot a strange alienation of affection, and made a kind of separation betwixt loving friends and godly Christians. 3. Hence are vented rash and impious censures, and not seldom unjust imputations to blast their credit, which are not of their iudgment and from which evils they are as free as they themselves are. 4. And sometimes out of misguided zeal there are false and treacherous informations against them to the powers, whereby they which fain would live peaceably in the land are endangered to be molested, as touching their persons, and to be ruined in their estates, and there will not be wanting some which will justify them, and the reason is only this. Such men will not go along with them in their cause. I remember a Story which by changing the terms is appliable to both sides. Boniface 8. on ash-wednesday did not cast ashes on the head, as the manner was and is among the Papists, of Porchetas Arch-bishop of Genoa, but he threw them into his eyes, and in stead of saying, Centur Magd. 13. Cont. c. 7. Remember O man that thou art ashes, and shalt be turned into ashes, said, Remember O man that thou art a Gibelline, and with the Gibellines shalt be turned into ashes: And not long after this contumely and despite done unto him deprived him of his bishopric. I do from the bottom of my heart wish that the Lord would say to us as sometimes he did to Ephraim: Is England my dear son! Is he a pleasant child! Since I spake against England, I do earnestly remember England still; jer. 31.20. therefore my bowels are troubled for England, I will surely have mercy upon England: But I greatly fear when I look upon the practices and courses of men, that the hands of the Lord will be stretched out still against us, and that this devouring Sword will not yet be put up into the scabbard. In these sad times give me leave to incite you to put in practise especially these duties. 1. Labour soundly to inform your judgements, and use such helps which may satisfy your consciences, and then without hopes or fears embrace that side which you have apprehended to be right: For what will it avail you to have quietness abroad and to raise up wars at home in your own bosoms? What to be commended of all men, yea of truly gracious, and to be condemned by your own hearts? And then albeit you should err, your error simply as an error would not be a damning error, and then you should not hang in suspense and change this way and that way according to the various success of war, but you would always be the same, though you were sure your cause should lye in the dust. You will resolve rather to suffer for your consciences, then you will deny the truth, and actively help forward the contrary prevailing party. 2. Examine your hearts sincerely by the Scriptures in the presence of God, and repent of all your known sins, and then albeit you should hear of no peace in England, you shall have peace with God which is best of all. 3. Pray affectionately for the peace of England. I am sure we have a rule for this: You will say an honourable war is better then a dishonourable peace; be it so, pray then that we may have peace upon such terms, that it may be safe for our Church and State, and honourable for the King and Parliament. 4. Live by faith, rely on the never failing promises of God; then may you lift up your heads in the worst times, Hab. 2.4. and being armed with this shield, no evils shall be able to conquer, no not to hurt you; but in greatest straits, 1 Sam. 30.6. you may with David comfort yourselves in the Lord your God. 5. learn to submit to Gods holy will in all judgements, whither they be particular or general. To help you to comform to Gods will I have published this short Treatise, which I composed on a very sad occasion, which I will be bold to relate unto you. It pleased God two yeares since and upward, to take to his mercy my eldest daughter; this cup was the bitterest( I speak of particular afflictions) which was since my being, put into my hands to drink: I loved my daughter too much, and therefore I grieved too much for her death; my judgement informed me that I had no reason to mourn so long and so much as I did for her, but the strength of mine affection to her did by fits and for a time captive the use of my judgement. Yet I had cause to love her very much; for she was of a sweet and loving disposition, very apt to learn any thing that she was put to learn; She was a dutiful and obedient, and which is best of all, a gracious child, and to speak a great deal in a few words, she, in the space of eighteen years, which was the short term of her lift, did not much or often displease me. One thing I cannot forbear to mention, She was very careful to keep holy the Lords day, the whole day, and I do profess that I never did know any of her age and Sex that excelled her in this particular. It hath been my constant course to call my Family to a reckoning touching the Sermons which they heard on that day. On a time my reverend friend Mr Mr meed was at my house, and when the Repetition, a Psalm and prayer were ended, he openly blamed me for requiring so much of my daughter, then being about 12. years old: but he was deceived; there was no cause for me to set her a task: Such was her willingness, cheerfulness, and unwearied diligence, that she would rehearse more then in reason could be required of her, and as she grew up, so her profiting in the best things did evidently appear, insomuch that some yeares before her death, she did not onely help the Family by reading the forenoon Sermon after dinner, and as the phrase was by teaching one maid at least, but she would repeat the heads and sum of one of my Sermons with that grace of speech and understanding that I admired her, and for her commendable qualities did often bless God, as Leonides did for his Origen, Euseb. Eccles. Hist. l. 6. c. 2. for making me so happy a Father of so good a child. A great help to her was this, she had learned catechisms. These things have I written, that I might have a ground to put the Governours of Families in mind of their duties, and I do entreat them all which shall read these rude lines, that they would be careful in their own persons to keep holy the Lords day, and do their utmost that their children and servants do keep it holy too; that they would examine them, what they have profited by the Sermons which they heard on that day; And lastly instruct them in the grounds of Christian Religion, they then should find by Gods blessing the fruit hereof would be sweet and profitable both for themselves and theirs. Henry Smith Art of learning, p. 298. Consider advisedly what a godly and excellent Preacher saith, If people understood the Lords prayer, the ten Commandements, and the Creed, they would learn more, I speak by trial, saith mine author, in a month then they have gathered in twenty years. When I was in my mourning condition for my daughter, I used the best means I could to assuage my grief: and with other helps I often thought upon the words of our Saviour in his bitter agony, Not my will, but thy will be done, which did wonderfully support me, I meditated and penned a Sermon on that Text, which I preached at Thrapston Lecture in Northampton-shire more then two years since; My sorrow was lately renewed by the death of a precious woman Mrs Mrs East a Londiner; a kind and loving daughter in law she was to me; she was devout and religious; she spent much time in prayer and reading privately; in company her discourse was not vain, but fruitful and savoury for the good of the soul; she walked with God herself, and stirred up others to lead a godly and righteous life: I reflecting on the premises, and considering the personal crosses, which all men are to undergo, and chiefly the common calamities of the time. I was willing to put that Sermon in print, thus conceiving that as I myself found good by the matter of it, as I was penning it, and have reason to believe that some auditors received good by it, when they heard it preached, so my hopes are that some faithful souls, and distressed Christians will receive some good by reading it. This door you will say is too big for a little house, a long Epistle suits not well with a short Discourse, I answer, my heart herein I know, is approved of my God, and my desire to promote the good of others will be I hope my sufficient excuse to the Readers, which that they may effectually find by it, and the Sermon itself, the blessing of God go along with them both, for the benefit of all those which shall read them. So affectionately prayeth, An unworthy Servant of Jesus Christ Nicolas Estwick. Christ's Submission TO HIS FATHERS WILL. LUKE 22.42. nevertheless not my will but thine be done. ALl Gods works are justly to be admired, but above them all the work of our redemption by Iesus Christ is wonderful: herein, as in no other for degree, the wisdom, the love and the mercy of God are manifested; and his hatred and detestation of sin are clearly revealed, which in regard of his positive decree could not be removed, but by the full satisfaction of his own dearest son, who for our sakes like the shadow in the dial of Ahaz, went back and abased himself by taking our nature into the unity of his person, that we might be reconciled to God: Nor did he come into the world as Adam in perfect strength and beauty, but in the flesh of a poor babe and a crying infant, he was coinfantiatus homini, as S. Irenaeus. advers. haeres. l. 4. c. 75. Irenaeus speaks elegantly, in stead of a Cradle of Ivory, he was laid in a manger, and for robes of estate, he was swaddled in poor clouts. What would we think if a great King for the good of his Subjects should become a beggar? But it is a greater wonder that the son of God should take our nature on him, and then especially when we were traitors to God: For betwixt a King and the meanest Subject there is some proportion, but betwixt the son of God which is infinite, and that which is finite, Philosophers say there is none; A prevalent orator he should be accounted which could entreat a King of the least island in the world to leave the glory of his kingdom and to exchange it for a base condition, and yet the Lord our God hath changed his highest estate in heaven with the basest here on earth; the greatest glory with the greatest infamy, the place which hath superiority over all, with that which is to serve all. Follow him further and you shall find him hungry and thirsty, faint and weary: You shall see him sweat drops of blood, his flesh torn and rent for us, and you shall hear him crying out in the anguish of his Spirit, My God, my God why hast thou forsaken me? look upon our Saviour Christ, and we can never sufficiently wonder at this, that he which creates all things, should be made a creature; he who was God the Word, should not be able to speak a word; Ausber. in Apocal. Centur. 10. c. 4. that he who was the life of Angels should stand in need of milk to preserve his life; that he which gives strength to all things should become weak himself: That he which supports the whole world, should lye in his mothers lap, and hang upon his mothers breast, that he which watcheth for us continually, yet should himself stand in need of sleep: a wonder it is that he should be subject to thee, to whom the most glorious Angels are subject, Petr. Chrysolog. Ser. 70. that he should be fed with bread that feeds all: That his actions should be preached unto, who is the searcher of all hearts: An admirable thing that he who was the impassable God should voluntarily submit himself to torments, that he which gives life should loose his life, and that the resurrection of all men should be butted; in this glass of our Saviour we may see and runners may read how displeasing to God sin is. 1. If we consider how dearly his Father loved him. 2. And how excellent his Person was, the astonishment of Angels. 3. And how bitter his passion was; no suffering like to his. 4. And how holy he was in his nature, and in all his actions. God strikes to death our sins through the body and the soul of his own son, who gave himself a ransom to purchase the freedom of slaves, yea of enemies: Wonder at this work O earth, and be amazed at it O ye heavens, behold a true balance to weigh sin in this balance. This is my preface which agrees well to the Story in hand, I will now by the assistance of our good God, and your accustomend patience, enter upon the text, the sum whereof is nothing else, but our Saviour Christs renouncing his own will, and submitting to Gods will. First I will speak of the meaning of the words. 1. Not my will] A doubt I know will arise in your minds, Not my Will. how Christ should pray for that, and will that, which is not agreeable to the will of his Father? Touching the prayer of Christ, I answer that he was heard in regard of the conditions of his prayer, Father if it be possible let this cup pass, and if it be thy will; but he was not heard in regard of his prayer absolutely considered, without limitations; and touching the will of Christ, this is not meant of the will of Christ as God, for so it is all one with the will of his Father, but it is meant of the will of Christ as man: The schoolmen have a fit distinction to resolve this scruple: there is, voluntas rationis, Lombar. lib. 3. Se●t. dist. 17. and voluntas sensualitatis, conceive the meaning thus: Our Saviour Christ when he considered death, as simply death, and accompanied with the wrath of God, so did he with a sudden wish of human harmless infirmity shun it; but when he considered death advisedly with the concurrent circumstances, as willed of God, and as the price of the redemption for the elect, so did grace subordinate nature to itself instantly, as to a greater good; it is good for the creature to live, nature teacheth this principle; but it is better to obey Gods will by suffering according to his will: this is voluntas rationis, and thus did he immediately subject his human affection, to the divine disposition, saying, Not my will, but thy will be done. For the better understanding of Gods will, Thy will. it will not be amiss to premise and unfold the distinction of the will of God which is so trivial in the Schools. There is voluntas beneplaciti, or {αβγδ}, Walaeus contra Corvinum, ●. 144. Mat. 11.26. the will of Gods good pleasure, the inward decree of Gods will, {αβγδ} signifies not always Gods love: for Gods will was to reprobate some men, and to hid the mysteries of the gospel from them, but it notes out the rectitude of his counsel: and there is also, voluntas signi, the will of the sign; the first is properly Gods will always. The second is his will metaphorically; but when it fals in with the will of Gods good pleasure, and it is ascribed to God for no other end, but even humanum dicere, for our infirmity: God speaks with us in our own language and terms, to work the better on us; because those actions which proceeding from us are signs indeed, that we do truly will such actions, such things, therefore are they said by a Metaphor or borrowed term to be also the will of God, when all of them, to speak properly, are not Gods will. Now this will of the sign is a temporal action, or thing which in us usually is a sign, token or argument that we do will that which hath this sign attending it. The schoolmen commonly do reckon up five, and some others which have more narrowly sifted the point have added a sixth. 1. First, commanding a thing to be done; when a Master commands his servant, this is a sign that his Masters will is that such a service should be done. 2. Secondly, 'tis a sign also of his will when he gives advice and counsel, yea and persuades to do a thing by weighty reasons. 3. Thirdly, forbidding a thing to be done and using motives against the doing of it. All these three are usually done by Ministers in the Lords name to all their charge: and yet in regard of God we cannot infer from hence that God doth will them in truth to every particular person in our Congregations. True it is that if a reprobate should do that necessary duty as he ought, to which he is exhorted, and shun those sins, because they offend a gracious God, from which he is dehorted, this obedience would be acceptable to God and rewarded too; this for distinction sake, Divines call {αβγδ} and not {αβγδ}. For whatsoever God wils thus, that shall be most certainly effected; is not our God in heaven, and doth he not whatsoever he will? His will is infinite and cannot be over-mastered, not this resisted. 4. Fourthly, our permitting sin and suffering it to be done, when we could hinder it, is a sign that we do will and like sin, and sins so permitted by us shall be added to our own score of sins, but it is not so in God, who is not bound to hinder sin, and though his will be to permit it, yet doth his will loathe and hate sin committed. 5. Estius. in l. 1. distin. 45. s. 7. Estius adds a previous disposition and preparation to do a thing, which is a forerunning sign that we will do it. To draw a sword against an enemy is a sign that we will fight, that Abraham stretched out his hand, was a sign that he truly intended to kill his son Isaac, we commonly say, such a man will decay, such a house will fall, because they are in the next disposition and preparation to decay and fall; thus it is with men; but we cannot always argue from such fore-going signs, that Gods will was truly to effect what was signified by them; Exod. 32. This is clear in the case of the Israelites and Ninivites, whom the Lord threatened to destroy, Chrysost. Homil. 55 ad pop. Antioch. we may rather conclude as St Chrysostome doth excellently speak, They had been destroyed, if the Lord had not threatened to destroy them, the message of( a conditional) destruction was a means to make voided the very message itself of destruction. And here by the way you may take notice of the weakness of the Arminians objection against our doctrine of predestination and free will as delivered by our Church: if there was such a peremptory reprobation( say they) without prevision of final impenitency, if we have no power to receive grace tendered to us in the ordinances, then God doth but delude and mock us, persuading us to believe and repent, when we have no will at all to believe or repent. This doctrine( say they) doth deeply charge the Lord with hypocrisy and dissimulation, and consequently it is to be rejected. And truly thrice damned be that doctrine that directly casteth the least aspersion, much more such foul an attainter on our most pure and most holy God blessed for ever. First, by this which you have heard it evidently appeareth and that also by the concurrent suffrages of the most acute schoolmen, that neither commands nor persuasions are evident arguments of Gods good-will and pleasure; when we say God wils any thing by the will of his precept, or by his revealed will and not will it by the will of his decree or good pleasure, it is in effect thus much, that God commands men to do that which for just causes he will not give them grace to do, but suffers them to do the contrary, and in his wisdom and power ordering their sins to his own glory. So that there is no contradiction betwixt these two, but take them in their true meaning according to these different respects, and they well accord together. 2. Exod. 3.19. Secondly, We have a ruled case in Gods book, touching Pharaoh, Moses was sent unto him in the name of the Lord, and yet the Lord told him before he was sent, That he would not let Israel go out of his Land. Must Moses therefore forbear to speak to Pharaoh in the name of the Lord? Or did the Lord mock Pharaeh to speak unto him to that purpose? Let them answer this and they may see that they have answered themselves. 3. Thirdly and directly, I answer thus, he is said to mock and to delude one, which makes a show to do that, which he hath no intent to do, if his offer was accepted, thus God never deals with any man; that which he commands them to do, it is their duty to do: True it is they cannot do that which is commanded, but they may blame themselves, and God is not bound to set up these bankrupts again, and give them a new supply of sufficiency to do that which is commanded, which if they could do( as I said before) God would accept of their service and reward them for it; it is not just, not equal that God should change his righteous law, and fit it to mans corruption: but great reason there is, that our hearts like crooked timber, should be framed according to the rule of Gods most holy law. 6. Sixthly, the doing of an outward work is a sign of the inward will, and in this all agree, that whatsoever God doth, that he truly and properly wils, and we may infallibly from Gods outward work as from an effect, assure ourselves that it is Gods will it should be so: Certainly and always the will of the sign, and the will of Gods good pleasure are coincident, do meet together saith Thomas. Now Gods will here was the will of Gods good pleasure: Aquin. 1. p. q. 19 Art. 12. and this will was not secret and unknown to our Saviour that he should die for man, but manifestly known unto him, and therefore albeit this was a bitter cup to drink, yet being Gods will that he should drink it, he submitted to it. Hence I do observe, We ought to conform our wils in case of all crosses and death itself to the holy revealed will of God. When God reveals his will to us by any cross, by any outward event on ourselves or others: The outward work is a book written in great text letters what is Gods good pleasure towards ourselves or others; so long as Gods will is secret, 'tis not necessary we should conform our wils to his, but we may in some cases laudably, nay we must differ from this will of God, August. Enchirid. c. 101. as St Austin teacheth us in the example of a son, holily wishing and praying that his father might live, when Gods will is that he should die, and ungodly wishing that he might die, when Gods will is that his father should die: but when once the will of God is made known to us by the event, or otherwise, as here it was to our Saviour, then must we say, Not my will, but thy will O God be done. Requisite it is before I proceed further, because this doctrine is built upon a particular example, to show when we can from thence warrantably deduce a true instruction general to all: to raise a point always as belonging to all, from the particular practise of our Saviour Christ is to build on the sands, I mean without a good foundation to that purpose. We must consider Christ as man and as mediator. As God we ought not to attempt the imitation of our Saviour Christ in works miraculous, as raising the dead, &c. Canier. Panstrat Tom. 3 l. 19. c. 7. nor can we in his works of mediation, satisfying the wrath of God by his sufferings, dispensing the Spirit, governing the Church; Joh. 13. yea when Christ is to be followed by us, we must distinguish betwixt the individual fact of our Saviour, and the reason of it, our Saviour gave us an example to wash Disciples feet, as he did, which binds us not to that particular of washing: but to acts of humility and courtesy one towards another; nor are we bound to the circumstance of time and place to preach in Judea, and to baptize in Jordane, as some have superstitiously done; nor are we to follow Christ in his natural actions, as eating and drinking, but so far forth as they are clothed with morality. We ought to follow him in his temperance and moderation in them both. But now in such things which our Saviour Christ did, which do appertain to all men as a duty to do, we must propose our Saviour as a pattern of imitation; he is as a looking-glasse, wherein we may see how to order and govern ourselves, he is a true guide and leads us both by his heavenly doctrine and example to life everlasting. And this is agreeable to the point in hand, it belongs to us as it did to Christ, to submit our wils to the will of God, nor can any man look to have Christ his Saviour, except he make him his sampler. Well then, as by our active obedience, we are to labour that our doings may be pleasing to God: so in regard of passive obedience, we must endeavour that what God inflicteth on us may be pleasing to us: This doth the Lord require in that excellent phrase to accept of the punishment of our iniquity, Levit 26.41. Mat 26.24. the original is, {αβγδ} which the Septuagints do translate by the word {αβγδ}, to be well pleased with them, and as our Saviour Christ exhorteth, to take up our cross. Let us lay all we have down at the feet of our God, and let us be contented that he should dispose of our health, of our wealth, of our lives, and of all that doth belong unto us. Our souls must stand like Elijah in the mouth of of the Cave, ready to come out, when God shall call us, and with Abraham at the door of his tent, ready to entertain death, or any evil which God shall fend. Neither doth this doctrine take away all passion for our own misery, or compassion for the misery of others; for we must look upon these evils with a double aspect, Exod. 14.20. which are like the cloud that went with the Israelites, black to the Egyptians, but light to Gods people: Consider them as they are simply evils, and such evils as do deprive us of Gods good blessings; take instance in sickness, as it deprives us of health, and the death of our friends, as it deprives us of the life of our friends, and the comforts we received from them. Yea moreover, consider them as they are the prints of Gods displeasure, azure. Instit. Moral l. 2. par. 1 and in these respects we may, nay I fay more, we ought to grieve for evils, but now consider them as Gods works, and such as do proceed from his most holy will, and as they are by his infinite wisdom directed to just and holy ends, in these respects we ought to be well pleased and contented with them: These works are then like to those double faced pictures, look on them one way, and you shall behold an ugly visage, but change your posture and look on the other side, and you shall fee a beautiful person: and as Luther saith, look up to God, and we have wherein to rejoice, but look into ourselves and we have cause to mourn: therefore let there be joy in mourning, Luther. Tom. 1. fol. 39. and mourning in joy, Gaudium in abscondito, luctus in cognito. The point in hand is clearly proved by Scripture: holy Job, when one sad Messenger trod on the heels of another, as one wave in the tempestuous Sea follows another, Job 1.21. reverently submitted and piously acknowledged, The Lord hath given and the Lord hath taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord. When old Eli heard from young Samuel the fearful judgements which God would sand upon his family, he replied piously, It is the Lord, 1 Sam. 3.18. let him do what is good in his eyes. When David fled from Absolom his most unnatural son, he said thus, If the Lord thus say, behold I have no delight in thee, lo here am I, 2 Sam. 15, 26. let him do to me what seemeth good to him. If the Lord will have me to be driven from my kingdom, and my son who is a tyrant and murderer of his brother, a parricide( in intention and endeavour) injurious and furious to reign in my stead, I am content, Chrysost. Hom. 3. in Mat. and do thank him for innumerable afflictions, wherewith he hath chastised me; many which have not the lest part of Davids virtues, when they are crossed, fear not to wound themselves with a thousand blasphemies, but David did not so, he refers himself and his cause to God, Let him do what is good in his eyes. O most notable practise of a distressed King to be highly commended and imitated of every good Christian in his distress. Be always thinking thus, and saying thus, let the Lord do to me what is good in his eyes. This was also the mind of godly Hezekiah, when he received a message from the Lord, that the Babylonians should be masters of all his treasure, and that they should lead his children captive into Babylon: Did he fret? Was he discontented? Was he cast down with sorrow? No verily, he meekly submitted himself to the Lord, saying, Good is the word of the Lord. 2 King. 20.19. The Saints in the Acts of the Apostles will freely give us their suffrage, for they understanding that St Paul had a resolute purpose to go to Jerusalem, albeit they did certainly know that there be should suffer much for the name of the Lord Iesus, ceased further to trouble him by their entreaties, using this golden sentence, Act. 21.14. The will of the Lord be done. These are faire torches to shine before us, and may serve as the fiery pillar to the Israelites to enlighten, direct and comfort us in all our miseries. Aug. de Symbolo ad Cat. S. Austin saith excellently, As it pleaseth the Lord, so come things to pass; because it pleaseth him, let it please me too; that which pleaseth our good God, let it not displease his unworthy servants; that which pleaseth the physician, let it not displease the sick Patient. And that wee may stand always thus affencted with the Lords doings, let us weigh these reasons, and they will prevail. First, because all crosses do befall us, as the Disciples said in the Acts of the Apostles, by the will of God, and the will of God made known unto us is the rule and law of all created wils, insomuch that Luther commends this saying of D. Duther. Ress ad Prierat. ad 40. Chrys Homil. 26. in Genes. Gen. 8.13. Zanch. de natura Deil 3. c. 4. q. 12. John Thaulerus, as most true and theologicissimum, if heaven was open before thee, yet oughtest thou not to enter into it, till thou hadst learned it was the will of God, thou shouldst enter; This may be collected from the practise of upright Noah, albeit he had been many moneths together in the ark as an intolerable prison destitute of fresh air, yet would not he when the waters were dried up, go out of the ark, till God commanded him. The will of God is an unerring guide, which we may safely follow; for Gods working will is always most holy and just, neither can God will any thing effectually, but it is therefore good, because God doth will it. Nor are we thus to conform when we can see a cause, but we ought so to do, when we can see no reason of Gods actions; when we cannot fully comprehend, we cannot justly reprehend them; 'tis true and known by experience, that when an unskilful man comes into an Artificers shop which is skilful and expert in his trade, August. in Psa. 148. he is ready to find faults; but a wise man will not do so; he will say the Artificer knows the reason of all his actions, though I do not, and if a cunning and wise trades-man makes nothing in vain; can we with any show of reason think( 'tis S. Austins inference) that God doth any thing without cause? Surely we cannot, we ought not I am sure. Secondly, it is the property of true friends to will and nill the same things: Jam. 1.23. if we be the friends of God, as it was Abrahams honour so to be styled, and as we desire to be reputed, our hearts will be conformable to Gods heart; as the Lords heart is in any business affencted: our hearts too will in some measure be disposed to affect the same; where there is betwixt husband and wife true conjugal love and friendship, the inferior will yield against particular inclination to the superior; it must be so, saith the wife, my husband will have it so, and my desire must be subject to his. We may learn this from carnal friends, which knit fast their affections by furthering the earnall desire of their lovers, 2 Sam. 13.5. as Jonadab did Ammons the Kings son, and Subjects will usually do such things which will please their sovereigns, 2 Sam. 3.36. what pleased King David, pleased all his people. If amongst men that is the most firm, true and indissoluble friendship which doth arise from similitude of manners, then must we carefully endeavour, if we would be counted the friends of God, not to dislike in any thing what our good Lord doth like; if we are inflamed with the fire of his love, then will wee like and approve whatsoever the Lord our God doth like and approve; 1 Sam. 16.1. and if we dislike his actions, the Lord may check us as he did Samuel, how long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? As if he should have said, doth my will so displease thee, that thou preferrest a sinful man before my pleasure? Thirdly, I reason thus; That which we pray to God for that we might do, that must we labour to put in practise, or else we pray in vain, and our hearts and our tongues are strangers in our petitions. Now this is the sum of the third Petition of the Lords prayer, in respect of passive obedience, Thy will be done on tarth. Simply to suffer is not to do the will of God, but the vigour and acting of our graces in our sufferings, makes us to be acceptable to God, and makes them to be comfortable and profitable for ourselves; 'tis undoubtedly true: we must rather approve Gods will, then what our reason will suggest. Why not? we cannot be ignorant that the Lord hath all good things in store for his children; if they want what their hearts desire, it is not for want of good will in God, but because it is best for them to want it. Now if we do not thus, what follows? We prefer our own wils which are corrupt before Gods will which is most pure, and we are like to Absalom: 2 Sam. 15.34. Thy matter is good( saith he) and O that I was made judge in the land, I would do every man justice, and in effect( with reverence be it spoken) we thus do say, if I had been God. I rather would have done thus, I would not in divers particulars have done as God hath done. Such desperate speeches were uttered by Alphonso the 10h. Spanish History l. 12. king of Castile, which very thought cannot, much less can such impious words be excused from blasphemy. Joseph we know at first was displeased with his Father for laying his right hand on Ephraim, Gen. 18.17. and his left hand on Manasseh his eldest son; where God lays the right hand we wish for the left, and where he layeth his left hand, we are displeased that he layeth not on his right hand there; have not we in this forgotten our prayer, thy will be done. Such as will not resign themselves to Gods will, are, as it were, Gods counsellors, nay controllers, saying, thus might God have done better, else why do we not submit to him? Is not this malapert sauciness against our great God, at least unadvised ignorance in no case to be excused? Fourthly, that which we receive purely from Gods will is most acceptable to him, provided that we receive it cheerfully and for love of his holy will, where there is the least of our own wils, there is most of Gods pleasure, and the simplo and pure acceptance of Gods will, makes our grace most excellent, and our persons more accepted and rewarded of God; it is better without comparison to do all we do in reference to Gods will, which contains all perfections in it, then for any other end; for every work takes it's goodness from the end for which it is done, having in itself no more goodness then it receiveth from the end, so that if it be done for some end that is base, the work itself, though for the outward matter it be glorious, is base: if the end be high, the work is high, if it be higher and better, the work is higher and better; a higher and better motive we cannot have then the will of God, nor any like unto it; for that is immediately God himself, which is the sovereign good; a man may submit for many ends, viz. to extenuate 'vice, to attain unto virtue, to avoid hell, and to attain heaven, to imitate our Saviours example; all which are good, though some of them are better then others, but to submit, because it is Gods will is far more excellent then all the rest, which have their end and object only on the creature directly, but indirectly on the creator. It was very commendable in the young son of Mustapha, being educated at Prusias, and an Eunuch being sent to dispatch him out of the way, and this being told unto him, Busbequ. Legation. Turcicas lib. Epist. 1. p. 63. that he was commanded by the Emperour to be put to death, the child answered, Ex disciplina Gentis, that he did not receive this as a commandement of the Emperour, but as a commandement of God himself, and so offers his neck to the butcher: and if mahometans do this, should not Christians much more submit to the Lord of all the world? The last reason shall be this, that which we know, when we are perfected as we should be, when our wils shall be thoroughly complete, we shall then cordially will with all our hearts, that ought we now to approve, what lies in our power: We are not in this our pilgrimage purged from all dross and corruption, yet ought we to strive now, as S. Paul did unto perfection; Phil. 3.14. we ought to endeavour now to conform our wils to the wils of the blessed Saints and Angels in heaven. This is an undoubted truth, but we know-that when we shall be blessed and happy with Christ in his kingdom, when we shall know no man according to the flesh, that we shall then both will and like whatsoever our Lord and God willeth and liketh: we shall feeke nothing, intend nothing, desire nothing, but Gods will to be done, Beatus dies ille, Potrus Chrysolog. Serm. 68. happy is that day which joineth and equalleth the wils of those that are earthly to those which are heavenly; that there should be one and the same will betwixt different substances; this is faithful peace, unshaken concord, perseverant grace, when according to the order of the Lord our only God, The Family which is divers in nature is one in will,( saith S. Chrysologus.) When we are in heaven we shall like whatsoever the Lord liketh, even the damnation of all impenitent sinners, were they in this life our nearest friends or most intimate acquaintance. Luther. Tesseradecas cens prolaborant Spect. seu cap 4. This is no new point or strange divinity; For hell itself( saith Luther) is full of God, and the chief good, no less then heaven, for the justice of God which shines forth in the damnation of the wicked, is God himself, and God is the chiefest good, and therefore as his mercy, so his justice and mercy are highly to be loved and praised. Whence it follows by necessary inference that we ought now in this life to approve all Gods works. Why should we not? Is there not the like reason founded on the eternal law? Or have Saints in heaven another rule to walk by, which appertain not to men which live on earth? No such matter. Nay this supposition is more then any temporal evil, If God should reveal to the Church the reprobation of a sinner, August lib. 21. de civit. Dei. c. 24. the Church ought no more to pray that such a man might be saved, then they are allowed to pray for the salvation of devils and of damned spirits( saith S. Austin) to whom our charity extendeth not, as being uncapable of beatifical vision. Hence it followeth that the doctrine of Durandus and some other Popish Divines is false and erroneous; Use 1. of Refu. they hold that a man is not bound in his crosses to conform his will to Gods will, but it is enough( they say) for him to be patient when he is crossed, and that his will is not contrary to the will of his creator, though it be not conformable to it. And in this case I wish we could go thus far, though in duty we ought to go farther then so. They say a man is not bound to wish for miseries and to love them. True, a man ought not absolutely to wish for future evils, and indiscreetly to pull them on his own head, because he knows not what future contingencies shall be, and if he did know, yet he knows that Gods will is that he should not draw them on himself, but to carry himself when they are sent of God, as a Christian ought to do. They object again, if we ought to conform our wils to the will of God, then ought we neither to resist enemies invading us, nor prevent diseases growing upon us, nor quench a fire consuming us. I deny the consequence, such absurdities follow not from any thing I have delivered. This is a ruled case; as the will of God is made known unto us, so ought we to conform unto it; but when evils are coming on us, we may be Gods law without sin, and we cannot but sin against the will of God, if wee should not labour to prevent such mischiefs, if lawfully we can; thus when an enemy is fighting against us. We know that it is Gods will that an enemy shall fight against us, and thus we ought to will and approve it; but sithence it is not apparent to us that we should be vanquished by an enemy. We may use all lawful means for our defence, and so to do is, juris naturalis. The like may be said of curing diseases, quenching fires or of any other evils; but if God should reveal unto us, that an enemy should take a City, and sand us word to yield it into their hands, as he did King Hezekiah by ieremy the Prophet, then should we sin, jer. 38.17, 18. if we did not conform to Gods will thus manifested to us. I need spend no more words by way of confutation; such Popish Divines which oppose this truth are opposed almost unanimously by the doctors of their own Church. See Gregor. de Valentia Tom. 2. disput. 2. p. 8. Estius in Lombar. lib. 1. dist. 48. nor would I have name this Use, but that I conceive the discussion of these objections will give some light to weaker Christians to understand the better the main proposition. 2. This point affords matter of reproof to many persons, 2. Use of repr. which are ready, when they are crossed by the working of the creatures, to look on them only, and not at all to cast up their hearts to the feat of Majesty, as Christ did in this text, in his bitter passion to the will of God. When there came a voice from heaven to Christ, joh. 12.28. Some of the people that stood by said it thundered, others said that an angel spake to him. When God lays his hand upon us by fire, war, pestilence, or otherwise, we with those Jews, do not aclowledge that God speaks unto us, we will rather attribute these things to nature, to the air, to stars, to the malice of enemies, then to God, as though there was an opposition and not a subordination betwixt God and all the creatures in their operations, and so we resemble the unclean dogs which gnaw the ston that is cast at them, and do not regard the hand that cast it, or like the wild beasts, which break their teeth on the chains that bind them, or those which use the armor ointment, which do anoint the instrument that woundeth, but apply nothing at all to the wounded person, Isa. 8.21. and perhaps like the Iewes cursing their King and their God, which was no God, this is an unreasonable act; as if a traitor sentenced to die by his. King and his peers, should fall foul upon his executioner, or pick a quarrel at the axe, or as if a sick Patient to whom a wise physician prescribeth a bitter potion for the recovery of his health, should fall out with the Apothecary for ministering it; Numb. 22. Cursed Balaam fals out with his ass and beats it, the covetous wizard ascribes nothing to himself, nothing to his own sin. Balaams evil is an hereditary evil to most sinners at this day, in their crosses, still the ass is beaten, they curse, they smite, they accuse this or that creature, and sometimes do as foolishly, Boter. lib. 1. Relat. as Stories report Zerxes that great King of Persia did, who understanding that the Bridge, which is called the Saddle to ride the Sea-horse, which he had made over the Hellespont, was broken down with impetuous waves, caused three hundred stripes( full wisely you may imagine) to be inflicted on that Sea by way of revenge. Aquin 1.29.46. art 7. Thus apt are sinners to wreak their choler, not out of reason, but imagination, upon inanimate creatures the instruments of their evil, and no marvel then if sinners looking no higher then the creatures, are ready with Ephraim in the pride and floutnesse of their hearts to say, The bricks are fallen down, Isa. 9.10. but we will build with hewn stones, the Sycomors are cut down, but we will change them into Cedars. We will make our houses more sumptuous and more magnificent then they were before, and so they make a reckoning to repair all their other losses. Nor are the bad onely apt to transgress in this kind, but good ones do often fail by their unreasonable anger against such things as do cross them. Cassian. de spir. Irz. l. 8 c. 18. This Cassian an ancient Father speaks out of his own knowledge, that when religious persons were separated from the world and lived in deserts, they would be angry with their pens when they writ not well, with their pen-knives, when they did not cut well, with their flint if it did not strike fire well, he saith, they could not digest the perturbation of their minds, August. l. 14. de civit. Dei. c. 15. but by venting their rage against those insensible things, or against the devil himself. For this kind of revenge( saith S. Austin) to break or cast away a naughty instrument is a shadow of retribution, when the doers of evil shall suffer evil. But we need not range abroad into the world for examples in this kind, {αβγδ}. justin. Martyr. in resp. ad Oxthod q. 15. Job 11. Jer. 20.14. we have store in the word of God. Thus holy and patient job cursed the day wherein he was born, and the night wherein he was conceived; he complains that he died not in the womb, and that he sucked his mothers breast. Did not job a wise-man much forget himself? Neither was this Iobs fault alone, but we read that the Prophet jeremy fell into the same error, Cursed be the day( saith he) wherein I was born, let not the day be blessed; Cursed be the man that brought tidings to my Father, saying, a man child is born unto thee. 1 Chro. 15.2, 13. 1 Sam. 6.7. A great and an unreasonable fault of a great Prophet. And was not King David greatly displeased, because the Lord smote Uzzah, and made a breach in the carriage of the ark? He considered not in the mean time, as afterwards he did; that his own ignorance, and the ignorance of others was the true cause thereof, for the ark should not have been carried on a Cart as now it was, perhaps in imitation of the Philistines, which having taken it, and as a token of their victory carried it away; but being plagued of God they sent it back again on a cart to the coasts of Israel: Thus they should not have done, Exod. 25.14. Numb. 4.15.& 7.9. and God that spared the Philistines in this being ignorant would not spare his own, not knowing or not regarding his express law, which was to carry it by staves put into the rings of the side of the ark, and so to be born on the Levites shoulders, which they were not to touch with their hands. But who can sufficiently wonder at the Prophet jonah? he was displeased because his gourd was smitten, and being demanded of God, Jona. 4. if he did well to be angry. Yes( saith he) I do well to be angry even to death. What was the matter jonah? Be like it was for some great sin, for his own or others sins against God. Not for sin; but God had smitten him in his conceit. Why? he smote the gourd, his shade against the parching heat, and it withered, and therefore I do well to be angry to death. And dost thou well to be angry with thy good God jonah? These are recorded to warn us to take heed of this sin, as he that is corrected justly, Chrysest Homit. 88 an Mat. if he christianly demeaneth himself, shall be deemed by many to be unjustly tormented; so he that is wrongfully vexed, if he be not patient, will be judged to be justly afflicted, and he will be derided as a slave to anger, subjecting the nobleness of his mind to a furious passion; nor will I say he is a free man, albeit he was Lord over a thousand servants. Secondly, are all evils according to the will of God? Use 2. Reproof justly then are stoical Christians reproved, which are senseless in their evils, and like jonah do fall a sleep in a great storm, or like to drunkards which being smitten do feel nothing, Prov. 23.34. Jer. 5.3. which moved the Prophet to complain that the Lord had smitten his people, but they grieved not. Isa. 42.25. Yea, he burned them by the fury of his anger, and the strength of battle; Yet( saith another Prophet) they laid it not to heart, Num. 12.14. they were even as a lump of dead flesh, altogether unsensible of Gods stroke. If our Parents should be offended with us and smite us, would it not trouble us? How much more should it trouble us when our God by his strokes shows himself displeased with us: If we lay it not to heart when God beats us on the coat, we shall move him to smite us on the bare skins, and if yet we remain insensible the Lord may add more plagues and increase his terrors, from our goods to our bodies, from our bodies to our minds, from our persons to our children: First, doth the Lord shoot some warning piece, if we strike not our sails look then for the murdering shot; he can make the proudest spirits stoupe, and cry out with julian the Apostate, who received a mortal wound, Theodor. l. 4. bis. c. 25. Eccl. 7.14. which proved very seasonable and profitable for the whole world, saith Gregor. Nazianz. vicisti Galilaec, O( Christ) thou Galilean thou hast overcome me. To shut up this Use, my counsel is to thee( my brother) {αβγδ} see the evil and by it apprehended the Lords displeasure, and so be thou accordingly affencted with it. The third Use is of Exhortation to persuade you all to labour to conform your wils in all your sufferings to the will of God. Use of Exho. This is a notable means for any one to enjoy good and comfortable daies, and who is he that would not lead a comfortable life? There can be no better means then this to submit our wils in all the various occurrents of this life to the will of God; This point I know, is a very hard task for flesh and blood to perform, especially then to do it when the hand of the Lord lieth heavy upon us: 'tis one thing to contemplate this truth, and another thing when we are put to the trial, to practise it; nor is it a difficult matter, when we ourselves are well to give this wholesome counsel to our brethren in distress, but to submit willingly to Good, when we are very ill and do live in great distress, is a high point of learning; but this we ought to do, and that we may do it, as we ought, let us put in practise these helps. First, helps 1. Remove the causes which hinder us from submitting to Gods will; this will be as a sweet perfume to take away the evil savour of these evils, and as the unicorns horn dipped in the fountain, it will make these unsavoury waters wholesome to us. The first impediment which I will name is impatiency, Tertullian. de patientia. which is the daughter of anger, and the mother, I say not as Tertullian of all, but of many sins: Hence do arise unbeseeming complaints in our miseries; I do not condemn all complaints, Bald. case. consc. l. 2. cap. 5. casu 4 complaints in our distress which arise from the consideration of our sins, the cause of all our woes, and from the extremity of pain, which moved Christ himself who was without sin to roar in his agony and to make a loud complaint and which tends to move the Lord to compassionate us in our misery, are lawful, but those complaints which issue out of impatiency are always unjust. Impatiency makes a man live continually upon self created racks, Psa. 22.1. and to rub out his wretched dayes in perpetual discontent, it razeth out the memory of good things already received, and it makes us account those blessings which are heaped upon us as no blessings at all, and when our hearts are a sepulchre to bury them, the Lord may justly not open his hands to bless us with an addition of new mercies, yea and recover his blessings out of our hands. And I pray what hath your impatiency availed you? Are not you in all your tossings like a windmills sails, still in the same place, in the same condition. You may( my brethren) vex your souls with peevishness, and when you have done all that possible you can, Hos. 2.9. when you have wrestled what you can with supreme majesty, you shall find that your estate is no whit bettered thereby; what God hath purposed, rage you never so much, shall come to pass, and if there be not a voluntary submission to Gods will, there must be a violent subjection, yea and impatiency makes the smarting wound the deeper, it gives afflictions teeth to eat out the very heart of an impatient man, and like Actaeons dogs to devour it's master, as the bide in the net by struggling is more entangled, or as a man by kicking against the thorn is more deeply pierced. Beware my beloved of this sin, whereby you grieve both God and good men, and glad in a sort the devil and wicked ones which are your enemies, and most of all do hurt yourselves. Surely the due consideration of this one thing, it is the will of God to sand this punishment, should be enough to make us abandon this great and fruitless sin, and to play the men in all kinds of such evils whither they be ignominious or glorious; we digest not a blow from our equals, but a blow from our King we can well digest, if God the King of Kings lays his hands on our backs, let us beloved lay our hands on our mouths. I am sure this stopped Davids mouth from venting fretful speeches. I held my tongue and said nothing. Psal. 39.9. Amos 5.13. Why didst thou so David? Because thou Lord didst it; and God gives this testimony of such an one, that he is a prudent man that keeps silence at an evil time. A second cause to be removed is pride, which is an inordinate love of thine own supposed excellency; to love a mans self in piety, I know, is gracious, and he is the best friend to himself, which in this way loves himself the best; but by self love, I mean an inordinate love of a mans own pleasure, ease, profit or honour, which hinders the sight of his love from flaming upward to God, or forward to his friends, or backward to his enemies, or inward to his soul, 2 Tim. 3.2. or downward to the needy: This selfelove is as a captain among vices, set in the first place by the Apostle, as the leader of all the rest; 'tis a furious passion springing from ignorance of God, and of a mans self, from the want of regeneration and the love of God, and his children. Now when such a man hath made an idol of himself, and the utmost end of all his actions, then as he will in body endure any labour to find out his supposed good, so will his soul endure many a lash to satisfy his brutish desire, and when he is crossed, then will his turbulent heart rise up against the cross, and he is ready to storm against Gods providence, and will with his ill-favoured tongue be ready to say; What means the Lord to deal thus with me? Who can endure this misety: Am I a greater sinner then other men? Should such a man as I am be so molested and disquieted? Would God he would either take this trouble from me, or take me out of this trouble. Thou fool knowest thou not that this evil is according to Gods will? He meets thee in thy crooked paths, as sometimes he did Balaam by his holy angel, though now thou dost not see him, and if thine eyes were open to behold him, as the wizards were, thou wouldest abhor thyself, and fall down flat on thy face to worship God: Be persuaded then I pray you in Gods fear to crucify pride and self love, and to practise self-denial. Thus much be spoken of the first means, the removal of some of the impediments which hinder us: The second and direct followeth. Secondly, help. consider that all the crosses which do befall thee are just, and that the Lord doth thee no wrong thereby; when the Lord had smitten the Jews in their corn and wine, he exhorteth them to consider their own ways; without consideration we shall be mere Barbarians to the judgements, and the judgements will be mere torments to us; the heaven when it is as brass, speaks to us, complain not of me, but of your own sins; the earth when it is as iron speaks thus, complain not of me, but of your own sins; and every cross crieth in the same language, complain not of me, but of your own sins; If God should make all our dayes miserable, it was but just; If his wrath should seize on our bodies, names, brains and consciences. If on our wives, children and goods, all were but just. Carionis Chronicon. unctum 〈◇〉 Phil. Melan.& Pemew. l. 3. p. 367. Take an example out of the history of Mauritius that unhappy Emperour, who having lost the love of his Subjects, the Souldiers proclaim Phocas Emperour in his place. Mauritius lay sick at Chalcedon. Phocas crwoned at Constantinople, posted thither, kills two sons of Mauritius, and his three daughters in his sight, and then his godly wife Constantina, in acting hereof Mauritius uttered this memorable sentence, Righteous art thou O Lord and just are all thy ways. And this is true not only concerning particular men, but whole Churches, it was just with the Lord to cleanse his floor in Canaan with the Philistines fan, and to purge the gold of Judah in the Babylonish furnace, and to wash the streets in Italy, Jer. 51.2. and in Rome itself by the goths inundation, to prune his vine in Greece, Egypt, and divers other countries with the mahometan knife, and to rectify in some places the disorders of reformed professors by the sword of Antichristians. And now for the sins of this ungrateful Nation to threaten our destruction by our unnatural and civill commotions, and I pray God they prove not a desperate physic, but such which may produce a perfect health to our Church and State. do you then say for every evil that doth befall you, we know, O Lord, that thy judgements are right: Psal. 119.75. Mic. 7.9. And with the Church in Micah, I will bear the indignation of the Lord, because I have sinned against him, Lam. 1.18. D. Leyfield cited by M. Gataker Ser. on Gen. 32.10. and with mournful jerusalem, The Lord is righteous, but we have sinned against him; and with the Rabbi called Rabbi Gam-Zoth, this too, because he used always to say, whatsoever befell him, this is good too, and this too, and this too. 3. Consider advisedly of the gracious dealing of God towards thee, he might vex thee a thousand times more then he doth: and a wise man will argue as job did, Shall we receive good of the Lord and not evil? Nay suppose thou shouldst find here for a pint of honey a gallon of gall; for a dram of pleasure, a pound of pain; for an inch of joy, an ell of sorrow, and that miseries should encompass thy life, as the ivy doth the oak, yet do thou think hereof as the Iewes did of the Babylonians captivity, which is called the evil, the onely evil, yet did Gods people take notice of some mercy, job 2 10. Ezr. 7.5.& 9.13. Lam. 3.2. some mitigation of the rigour of justice in the most extreme affliction that ever befell them. think I pray you advisedly of this true axiom of divinity, in what case soever thou art, thou hast cause to thank God that it is not worse with thee; Is thy apparel, thin, course and beggarly? thou deservest not rags? Is thy fare and diet homely and penurious? thou dost not deserve the crumbs that fall from rich mens tables, nor the husks that swine do feed on; Dost thou live diseased in body or distracted in mind? thou deservest to be in hell; and thou hast cause to thank God that thou art not frying in those slames with many reprobates: Have in your mouths always that which Vigilius, a constant and a patient Pope had in the midst of all his sufferings, Plania in vita Vigilij. that he deserved greater miseries; well may we endure the aching of our teeth, if we consider we deserve gnashing of teeth for ever. Well may we endure a burning fever, if we consider that we deserve hellfire; alas our pains be consolations, and our briars be roses, in respect of those which live in perpetual death, over-charged with torments, infinitely heavier then ours are: It is an excellent speech of holy Salvian. Whatsoever our miseries are, they are testimonies of an evil servant and a good Master; Salvian. l. 4. de Gubern. Dei. how testimonies of an evil servant? because by them we suffer in part what we deserve; how are they testimonies of a good Master, because by them he sheweth us what we deserve, and yet layeth not upon us so much as we deserve. And Luther adviseth us thus to meditate on the death of Christ for our profit, our evils are nothing to Christs sorrow, Luther. Conc. 2. de pass. Chr. Erasm. lib. Eccl. and withall the lowest and meanest member of Christ in any Condition is more excellent then the highest Monarch in the world, as the foot of a man is better then the eye of a dog, or the head of an ass. 4. Consider that the time of bearing crosses in this present world is but very short, a cubit as it were; Ezek. 41.4. we have no reason to dream of many daies here, for so length of sorrow might discourage us; our fancied yeares may want moneths, our moneths daies, and our daies may want hours. Our Saviour comforts his Disciples, that a little while it is, and then ye shall see me: joh. 16.16. 1 Pet. 5.10. Rom. 16. 20. Isa. 54.9. we shall suffer saith S. Peter but a while, the God of peace shall tread down satan under your feet {αβγδ}, in a swift time saith the doctor of the Gentiles, that is our comfort, and supports a Christian when he is ready to faint, that his misery is not long lived. We do hear to the ioy of our hearts, that it is but for a little moment that the Lord forsakes his people; on this ground are the believing Hebrewes exhorted and comforted, Heb. 10.37. ruffian. l. 1. his. 3. c. 34. yet a little while and he that shall come will come and will not tarry. These evils are but clouds which will soon ride away, as S. Athanasius foretold of Iulians persecution; true, our senses may deem afflictions to be long, and that Gods mercies, as Luther saith, are a Center, but his wrath an infinite sphere. Hence do Gods servants in a public calamity expostulate with the Lord in these sad terms, Wherefore dost thou for sake us for ever? Lam. 5.20. Psal. 13.12.& 778, 9, 10. Luther. in Isa. 54. cap. why hast thou left us to the length of daies? and will the Lord absent himself for ever. And will he have no more compassion on us. Because we are only taken up with the present evil; men hear nothing, see nothing, feel nothing but the present evil, whereas in truth his wrath holds but a minute of time and is as a center, but his mercies are a spiritual sphere without end of daies. A hard service, yea a base servitude may be well endured a few yeares, and so will our short afflictions, if we consider well what good they do produce, when they are Christianly endured, even a weight of glory; were a man a galley Slave under the cruel turk seven yeares with full assurance, that he should have after they were expired a temporal kingdom, he would undergo it willingly, and choose rather to be a slave on those terms then to be a free-man without them. I am sure( saith one) he could be contented every day to endure the torments of hell for a long time, Augustin. in Manuali. c. 15. so that afterwards he might see Christ in glory, and be associated to the Saints in happiness; If we would in our serious cogitations run through the streets of the heavenly Jerusalem, if we would visit the Patriarkes, Prophets, Apostles, Martyrs, and all departed Saints, and behold the crown of everlasting glory, which the Lord hath in his hands to set upon our heads, this would enable us to demean ourselves as Christians ought to do in this our conflict, and the meditation hereof would be as the salt of the Prophet cast into the bitter waters of Jericho, it would doubtless sweeten them were they never so bitter to us. 5. Labour to have thankful hearts to God in regard of the good issue, joyful fruit, and pleasant benefit of afflictions; afflictions to Gods people are like a wasp, which hath lost her sting, she makes a noise to waken us or to keep us watchful, and by Gods blessing a stinging serpent is turned into a flourishing rod; and to speak the truth, we are as much beholding to the Lords afflictions as to his comforts. Afflictions are a holy vomit which the Lord gives to purge out our sins, which in taste is better at first, Apoc. 10.10. Ps. 145.10. yet gives it ease at last, and is clean contrary to the book which S. John was commanded to rule, which was in his mouth sweet as honey, but in his bowels like bitter gull; the Heathen people which are without God and without Christ are thankful for their lives, health, success, prosperity, but Christians are bound to out-strip the Heathen, which know not God in Christ, and they much savour God in all his works: And therefore it followeth that God is to be praised for them; D. Sl. on 1 Thes. 5.18. and a doctor of our Church, now with God, sets down a false rule on his text, In all things be thankful. Whatsoever is no fit matter for prayer, is no fit matter for thanksgiving, That we may pray for crosses, I find not( saith he) warranted by any Scripture, nor practised by any Saint: to wave that assertion, albeit particularly we have no warrant to pray for crosses; yet indefinitely and generally we may pray for all the furtherances of grace and glory, referring the particulars to our wise and loving God, Rom. 8.28. who will turn all things, we are sure to the good of those which love him, and so by consequence and implicitly, wee pray for afflictions, if it shall seem good to the Lord to fend them for our good, and upon this undoubted ground, it followeth, that the former rule of that learned man is not sound, for a man ought particularly to be thankful to God, when his will by the event is manifested to us, as now in my case it is, for what it was not lawful for him particularly to pray for, when Gods will was unknown unto him. We take bitter physic from the hands of our Physitians, and we suffer chirurgeons to search our wounds, and we usually thank them and bountifully reward them too; If the vine, the fruit whereof cheereth the heart of man, could speak to the gardener who pruneth it, would it not thank him for cutting it, though it be not done without effusion of tears? D. Featley, Ser. 26. I have red that the Persian Nobles counted it an exceeding great grace to be scourged by their Prince, and thanked him that he would take pains with them; and shall not we much more praise the divine majesty, that he vouchsafeth to chasten us for our good. Wee would have always prosperity, but the Lord knows it, Plin. jun. l. 7. Epist. 26. Maximo. and we by experience may see it, that affliction is often better for us. Plinie a Heathen man took out this lesson from his sick friend; We are best( saith he) when we are fieldy. What sick man is tempted with covetousness and lust? He is not subject to love, nor greedy of honour— he envies no man, he admires no man, he despiseth no man, malignant speeches neither win his attention, nor please his inclination; What Philosophers labour to teach us in many words, yea in many volumes, I can comprehend in this short precept, let us continue such men in our health, Talianus. Cent. Magd. 2. p. 122. as we promised to be in our sickness. And Talianus an ancient Father reports that this was one fruit of the persecution of the Primitive Church, that not only men and women, but virgines and maids as they were spinning, were wont to be talking of the word of God, edified one another by instruction, a rare thing then it was for Christians to deny or contemn the word of God, to be drunkards, adulterers or to tell a lye: Chrysost Hom. 40. ad pop. Antioch. Then might we have seen( faith S. Chrysostome) good Christians, for no man respected his wealth, no man respected his country, no man respected wife, no man respected his children in comparison of Christ, all their care was to save their souls. Ideus. Homil. 62 ad pop. Antioch. And speaking of his own time when religion was countenanced by authority, he faith, let a man enter into the house of those that mary,& into the houses of mourners; into the prisons and theatres, into banqueting houses and hospitals of the sick, and observe the great difference betwixt their several carriages: What lightness( saith he) irreligion and profaneness shall he see in the one, what prayer, devotion, holy conferences and other religious exercises shall he observe in the other; and as crosses are a means to make us better, so thankfulness to God is a means to ease us in our crosses, when once we come to see that they are died and fanctified in the passion of Christ, and begin to bless God, our evils will be mitigated; let any man make try all hereof( saith Luther) and he shall presently find ease, Luther. pro laborant. spect. 7. as I have often found it true by mine own experience. Luther. in Psal. 18. Chrysost. homil. post redit. prioris exilij. He cannot feel afflictions, saith Chrysostome, which in his afflictions praiseth God. The devil is disgraced, God is honoured, and nothing is more holy then that tongue which in adversity gives thankes to God, verily it is not inferior to the tongue of Martyrs. Sithence this is so, and a truth not to be denied, we ought to be thankful to God for all crosses. 6. In all your crosses set your faces the right way; do not you in your sickness cry, come physic help us, in heaviness call not, come music, merry companions comfort us; in war, cry not, come souldiers help us: much less do you in your distress repair to the professed instruments of the devil for help by such means which are superstitiously ceremonies, and in regard of belief prerequired to their efficacy idolatrous; Orig. l. 3. in job these are the seduction of Satan, the irrision of devils, the dregs of idolatry, the infatuation of fowls, and the scandal of hearts, as a counterfeit Origen saith well. go not I say to the means under God without God, Isa. 30.2. as the Israelites in their wants went to Moses, give us, say those rebels, water; as Rachel went to jacob, Give me children or else I die, as the Iewes went to the Egyptians to strengthen themselves, trusting in the shadow of Egypt; but this is idolatry, which robs God of his glory, and steals away the heart from the Lord, as Absalom did the peoples from allegiance to King David, and thus do the Papists by an unmannerly profaneness, which makes them guilty of unthankfulness and disobedience, Plin Natur. histor. l. 21.7. go to Angels and Saints, which they have proper for every infirmity, as the Heathen people had gods for every disease. The truth is all the means in the world may say, as the King of Israel did to a distressed woman, which cried to him for help, 2 King. 6.17. If the Lord help thee not, how should I help thee? Let us then my brethren go to our God, as the Saints before us in the depth of their misery have done, and visit him not using fretful complaints, but with groans powring out our prayers into his ears, for he hath not onely kindly invited us, but peremptorily commanded us so to do. Pray I beseech you that God would uphold you being under any cross with his assisting grace: You are in Gods hands as a staff is in yours; if he holds you up, then you stand; if he lets his hold go, then do you fall; prayer is {αβγδ}, a familiar conversation and conjunction of man with God, by prayer we do converse with God, and so do submit to his holy will, if we respect the efficacy of prayer, Psa. 50.19. Climacus. Scala paradise. gradu. 38. it is the reconciliation of God( saith the same Father) it is the bridge to pass over temptation; it is the fortress of afflictions, the destruction of war, the axe of desperation, the demonstration of hope, the solution of sorrow and the diminution of anger. Prayer must be always, and in your afflictions most of all your companion; it must travel with you by day, awake by night with you, it must not forsake you in sickness or in health, Ps. 130.1. job 16.20. Hebr. 5.7. Iam. 5.13. Isa. 45.11. on the sea or on the land, living nor dying. David prayed in his afflictions, and so did job, and Christ did so, and St james exhorts all afflicted men to do so: fervent prayer will have no denial, yea it so far prevaileth with the Lord of all the world, that with reverence be it spoken, he is contented to be commanded by us, {αβγδ}, and to be, as it were, at the service of our prayers, insomuch that I dare boldly say, there was never City of refuge more free for man-slayers, never holes in the rocks more open for the Doves, never was lap of a mother more ready to receive her crying babe, then are the ears of a compassionate God open to hear the cries of his children; the Lord that rules our hearts, if we pray will over-rule them in all the crosses which do befall us to submit to his holy will. Be persuaded thoroughly of the little worth, of the emptiness, of the uncertainty and insufficiency of all outward things. These are the lame legs, whereon all worldly things do stand, all worldly comforts leave us in our extremities, and are like rotten stakes and flags, which men being ready to sink do catch at: these help them not, these bear them not above water, but are drawn down under water with them. If we consider well of the vanity of all creatures, as of riches, friends, of our own bodies and all their adjuncts, then shall not we expect any great matters from them, nor immoderately be disquieted for the loss or impairing of them: 1 Cor. 7.29. 'tis an excellent rule which the Apostle gives, They that have wives, let them be as though they had none; and they that weep as though they wept not, and they that rejoice as though they rejoiced not. As if he should have said, in your affections and actions about these things, August. tract. 20. in johan. carry yourselves very indifferently, as if you were minding or doing some thing else: use the world as a traveller doth his inn, his table, bed, not with a purpose to abide there, to set up his rest there, but shortly to leave them; or as a man holdeth money committed to his custody, ready every hour, when it is called for to restore it to the owner. Wouldst thou refrain from immoderate grief in losses, rejoice not then too much in out ward blessing: Be not too glad when the sun shines, and you will not be too sad, when the eye of the world is under a cloud. If our hearts be weaned from the love of this world, if the best things, for which our fouls were created, redeemed and sanctified be in request with us, we shall not be dejected for the things of this world. It is a rule in optics, the higher you ascend upward, the greater will heavenly things seem to be, and these earthly things will seem the lesser, and so it is in our spiritual ascensions, the more heavenly minded we are, the greater will heavenly beauty appear to us, and the lesser will all earthly things seem to be in our eyes; when we do then immoderately complain and say thus, I thought to have found such and such comfort in my children, Ezek. 24 25. to instance in them only; what doth this argue but that we over-prized these blessings, and promised to ourselves too great matters from them; yea and by doting on them, and lifting up our souls to them, as the words are in the original, making them the desire and joy of our hearts, do move the Lord justly to deprive us of them, and so we are in the loss of them ready to mourn without measure, and complain as Micah did of the children of Dan, You have taken away my gods, Jud. 18.24. the things I made my idols, and what have I more? We read that when some admired at the goodly building of the Temple, that our Saviour mildly checked them, Luk. 21.6, 7. and in effect said, Are these the things which you behold? I tell you the time will come when all that glorious fabric shall be demolished, and one ston shall not be left upon another: So say I to you( my brethren) are your children and riches the things you look will prove never fading fountains of comfort to you, I tell you, you deceive yourselves, and you shall find them dried up like Iobs brook in Summer, when you have the greatest need of them. We see how the jews were deceived, needs would they go down to Egypt, where they promised peace unto themselves, that they should see no more war, nor have hunger of bread: Thus did those rebellious Jews persuade themselves; but what saith the Lord, The Sword which you feared, shall overtake you there, Jer. 42.14. you shall die of the famine and of the pestilence, and none of you shall remain. Thus are the wicked frustrated of their expectation, yea and good men too; many times those things from which we promised to ourselves the greatest comforts, prove the greatest crosses to us. God in his just judgement makes them barren like beautiful. Sarah, they do not yield us that contentment which we expected from them, and that is for our own good, lest our affections should be placed more on the creature, then on the creator blessed for ever. Lastly, Have a lively faith in the Lord our Saviour, Hebr. 10.38. The just shall live by faith, and that comfortably in despite of any opposition; faith will carry a man above all fears, and above the reach of all enemies, yea faith will supply all wants; if we be poor, it will enrich us; if in straits, it will enlarge us; if weak, it will strengthen us; if we be full of sorrow, it will make us rejoice; if we be dead, it will quicken us; live by faith and you shall live cheerfully and comfortably in the saddest condition that can befall you, and if thou art overcome by afflictions, 1 Cor. 10.13. I will say it is for want of faith that thou art overcome; faith is an antidote against the plague, the afflicted mans comfort, and a blessed triumph in and over all troubles: Put case thou art a poor man, art not thou rich enough, when the Lord is thy portion? Put case thou art an exiled man, is not this comfort enough, that God is with thee in banishment? Put case thou art a despised man, is it not enough for thee that the Lord respects thee? Believe and thou shalt in all estates have happiness enough without the happiness of the world: he is the happiest man that can live alone without external comforts, that can be content with God alone; a strong man needeth not these crutches to go withall, nor a healthful man the assistance of friends to raise and hold him up. Psal. 84.11. God is a Sun, if he shines on us it is day, yea and a joyful day; if he sets, 'tis night to us, though all the stars, all creatures shine on us. Let us therefore( my brethren) lay fast hold on Gods promises by faith; these are firm grounds to build upon, and strong props to support our faith. The judge of all the world moderates and sets bounds, and saith to every calamity as to the Sea, Hither shalt thou come, Job 38.11. and no further, and here shall thy proud waves be stayed; and he knows our strength, and will not suffer our enemies to fight against us with greater temptations then we be able to bear: 'tis a special art of faith to lay hold on God, when there is no help on earth to lift up our hearts to heaven; and then to put the most terrible supposition, albeit the foundations of the earth should totter, and mens hearts should quail for fear, though the powers of heaven should be shaken, Isa. 26.20. and nothing could be expected but lamentable times, yet might we lift up our hearts with joy, there is a river of God that will refresh us, and there are chambers of divine protection for a Christian to enter into: 'tis the glory of our faith so to look on our miseries that we can look beyond them, and to see with faithful Israel the land of promise through the read Sea, the wilderness, Giants and walled cities; and with patient Job to see a Redeemer, and a resurrection through ulcers, discomforts of friends, his wife, through the malice of Satan and through the seeming wrath of his God; to see with Steven Christ standing at Gods right hand through a shower of stones, yea the sweet rays of Gods favour through the thickest clouds of his wrath. FINIS.