O Ierusalem, &c.

Almightie God made a law, Deut. 2.10. that no Citie should be destroyed, First per­son ex­horted. before peace were offered vnto it, When thou commest neere a Citie to fight against it, thou shalt offer it peace: and wee reade in the second of Samuel, 20. that the prudent and prouident woman of Abel, obiected this law to Ioab, in effect, when hee had cast vp a Mount against the Citie. That speech of our Sauiour Christ, vnto the Cities of Coraysin and Bethsayda, giues vs to to vnderstand, that there were many notable things wrought in them, be­fore the woe tooke hold vpon them. So the Lord here threatning Iudah and Ierusalem, with the sword of the Gen­tiles, [Page]that the scouts came from a farre countrey, to compasse it round about, as the watch-men in the field, for the vtter subuersion and desolation ther­of: yet hee offers peace vnto it. The Prophet comes to Ierusalem, with a sentence of safetie in his mouth, as Noahs doue came to the Arke, with an Oliue branch in her bill.

If a man should weigh the iustice of GOD in a ballance, and narrow­he examine it, hee shall neuer see it his maner, to punish any place, or plague any people, without iust cause: for, though hee lookes, for a time, with a sierce countenance, and threatens to send downe his iudge­ments as thunder-bolts, and his wrath as a mightie tempest, to seaze vpon the wicked: yet hee powres downe a sweete showre of his mercie before, so as, if there bee any insight or fore­sight in them, of Gods hand that hangs ouer them, they may preuent it. The Lord heere proclaimes o­pen warre against his people: yet the Prophet deliuers vnto them many good exhortations aforehande, as [Page] Ionathan shotte arrowes, to giue Dauid warning, that by repentance they might preuent his iudgements. O Ieru­salem, wash thine heart frō wickednes, &c.

The same loue (beloued) which the Lord in former times bare to Ierusalem, Vse. and to the Cities of Iudah, is like to the lawes of the Medes & Persians, Dan. 4. which are neuer altered, but euer, and for e­uer are continued: and his mercie to­wards his people, riseth vp by degrees, like the water in Ezekiel, Ezec. 4.7. which at the first time came but to the anckles, the second time to the knees, the third time to his loynes, the fourth time it was as a deepe riuer, and not to be passed ouer; for the further hee waded, the deeper hee was plunged: so Gods loue is in­scrutabile quiddam, a thing vnsearchea­ble, & his mercie past finding out. And if euer age in former and precedent times had experience of it, if euer Ieru­salem and the Cities of Iudah had a taste of it, if euer the sweete showres of Manna rained downe vpon the Israe­lites; surely the sweete showres of his mercie haue plentifully beene powred downe vpon vs, and his loue hath em­braced [Page]vs on euerie side. For God is not delighted in the destruction of a sinner: he takes no pleasure to see the work­manship of his owne handes, and the children (as I may say) of his owne loynes, murdered and massacred in the streetes, by the sword of the enemie: and hence it is, that the Lord in so ma­ny places, and at sundrie times, by the mouthes of his Prophets, hath vsed ex­hortations euen without number, to disswade them from the cause of Gods iudgements, that is, from sinne, diso­bedience, and transgression. Especial­ly, from the beginning of this Prophe­sie, Ieremie hath beene very earnest: as in the third Chapter, the Lord con­demneth Israel for an harlot. Lift vp thine eyes, Oh Israel, vnto the high places, see and behold if thou hast not playd the har­lot, &c. Thou hast sitten wayting for them in the wayes, as the Arabian in the wildernesse: yea, the land is polluted with thy whoredomes and abominations: yet, when Israel had done all this, God sayde, Turne vnto mee: notwithstanding, shee returned not, as her rebellious sister Iu­dah [Page]saw. Againe, in the fourteenth verse: O ye disobedient children, turne vnto me, and I will take you, one of a Citie, and 2. of a tribe, and wil bring you into Si­on, and I will giue you pastors according to mine owne heart, that shall feed you with wisedome and vnderstanding. The like in the 22. verse, and in many other pla­ces: the Lord seemes to bee mooued with a pitifull compassion and commi­seration ouer his owne people: their case was pitifull in his sight, and their carelesse regard wrought sorrow in his heart, when he saw that howsoeuer he was prouident for their saluation, yet were they verie forward in their owne destruction: and the more carefull he he was for their conuersion, the lesse respect had they to his admonition.

Indeede true it is an auncient father sayth, The wicked alacrius currunt ad mortem, quàm nos ad vitam: they runne farre faster in the way to condemnati­on, then the godly doe in the way to saluation: as the Psalmist notes them for their haste, when hee describes the vngodly, as if they had wings on their heeles: Their feete are swift to [Page]shed bloud. Ps. 145. Yet the Lord (who as Da­uid sayth) is merciful, gracious, long-suffe­ring, and of great goodnes, laboureth to draw them home: his heart breakes within him, and his bowels yearne with griefe, when he sees Ierusalem: that is to say, his own people, how wilful they are in their owne destruction. As I liue (sayth the Lord) I will not the death of a sinner: As if he should say: The fault is not mine, when sinners drinke the dregges of iniquitie, when the scourge of my iudgements fasten vpon them: for I haue no pleasure to see the work­manship of mine owne hands perish in confusion: As I liue, as I liue (sayth the Lord) I will not the death of a sinner.

Marcellus, Valerius. after his souldiers had con­quered Syracusa, not without the great slaughter of many, was so cōpassionate ouer them, that he went vp to the high­est towre in the Castle, and with teares lamēted the ruine & ouerthrow therof. Plutarch speaks of one Pollio a Romane, who hauing inuited the Emperor Au­gustus to a feast, would haue thrown his seruāt into a deep poole in his rage, for a smal matter. The Emperor beholding [Page]his angrie spirit, controlde him with these words, Homo cuiuscun (que) conditio­nis, &c. A man, of what state or conditi­on soeuer he bee, if there were no other cause, but because hee is a man, is more to bee valued and esteemed, then all the gold and siluer in the world. Well, whatsoeuer may bee sayd of Marcellus for his clemencie, ouer those whom hee had slain: or of the milde and humane spirit of the Emperour Augustus, iud­ging it to be very noble and honoura­ble; yet is there no comparison to bee made betwixt him, and the Emperour of heauen and earth, euen the God of the whole world: who, as the Prophet sayth, is mercifull gracious, long-suffering, and of great goodnes. For if Mercie were not before him, and Grace behind him, if long-suffering stood not at his right hand, and great goodnes at his left: if these Peacemakers (as I may cal them) being qualities in his nature, did not mightily preuaile with him, why, so great is our sinne, that the world could not stand, but had long ere this time perished like Sodome, and had beene destroyed, as was Gomorrah. There­fore [Page]would you know, what vpholds the frame and structure of the world? why, it is Mercy: would you know what vpholds the good estate of Israel, of our land? His Mercy: would you know what continues the dayes of our ancient mo­ther in Israel, our gracious Soueraigne, that as yet we cannot say of her, as was sayd of Moses, Deut. 34.7. that her eyes haue waxed dimme in her head, or her natural force abated: but stil flourisheth as the Palme tree, and groweth vp as a Cedar in Le­banon? tis Mercy. In a word, you know the cause of the Gospels continuance amongst vs, that yet with freedome we may heare the sound of it in our Tem­ples, and with peace behold the open faces of Gods Prophets, which bring vnto vs the gladde tidings of saluation: why wee enioy other blessings and be­nefits in the land, and are not taken a­way from vs, by the violence and ra­pine of forraine strangers? it is his Mer­cy, his Grace, his long suffering, his great goodnes, that hee bare to thee, O Ierusa­lem, euen to vs, his owne people.

Mat. 23, 37. our Sauior Christ doth there challenge Ierusalem for great cru­eltie, [Page]that hee had sent Prophets, but she had slaine them: and Apostles, but she had stoned them. O Ierusalem, Ieru­salem, thou that killest the Prophets, and stonest them which haue beene sent vnto thee: how often would I haue gathered thee together, euen as the hen gathereth her chickens vnder her wings, but yee would not? The hen was not more ten­der ouer her yong ones, thē I was ouer you, sayth the Lord: and my loue and kindnes, and louing kindnes was not once or twice, but often. Neither would I haue committed the trust of you to any other, but my selfe would haue ga­thered you together. What loue and kindnesse could I more shew, but you would not? I would (O Ierusalem) but thou wouldst not.

How often beloued, hath the Lord wooed vs on this maner? how oftē hath the heauenly trumpet of his mercie sounded in our eares? howe often hath the sweete showres of his mercie fallen vpon our heads, euen as aboundantly, as the Quailes vpon the Israelites? If you should denie it, I would aske the starres in the heauens, the beasts of the [Page]earth, the foules of the ayre, and the fi­shes of the sea, and all these would wit­nesse with me. How often hath the Lord cried vnto you in effect, Yarmouth, Yarmouth, thou that swellest in the va­nitie of thy conceit, that sayst with Lao­dicea, Reu. 3. I am rich & increased with goods, and haue neede of nothing: and therefore pride and enuie striue which shall get the vpper hand, as the vnruly waues of the sea encoūter one another: wickednesse walkes vp and downe a­mong you without controlment, and iniquitie runs full sea in the channels of thy streets, and the course thereof can­not be stayed. Sodome and Gomor­rah lie not in the dust for greater abo­minations, then are daily committed: thou Yarmouth, that art in this case, How often would I haue gathered you to­gether, euen as the hen gathereth her chic­kens vnder her wings, but you would not?

Thus the Lord reasons with vs (beloued:) Many fruits of his bles­sings haue you tasted of, both by sea and by land: from time to time hath hee sent home your shippes, ballan­ced with the riches of the Ocean, as if [Page]they came laden with treasures from E­gypt: for which, the Lord encrease not only plenteousnes within your vessels, but euen thankfulnesse within your bowels. Many excellent and power­full instructions haue beene deliuered vnto you, by the mouths of his seruants, the Prophets. All this hath beene to this end, to gather you together vnto the Lord: his blessings temporall, and his graces spirituall, haue beene as two hands, to draw you home vnto him: but as yet, for ought wee see, you will not. Therefore looke vnto it: if the like should befall you, as here to Ieru­salem, (either in this place by Nabu­cadnezzar and the Caldeans, or there, by Titus, Mat. 23.37. and Vespasian:) that your ene­mies should entrench your towne, and enuiron you round about, that hunger and famine should tirannize ouer your bodies, whereas now plentie sits at your doores, to welcome your friends: that the sword of some forraine Nation should shorten your dayes, whereas now the sword of good Magistrates is carried before you: if your houses of pleasure, should become your prisons: [Page]if your louing wiues should be deflow­red, and your tender infants murdered in the streetes before your faces: If this, or a greater euill should befall, which the Lord in his mercie turne a­way, beloued, is it not iust? shall wee challenge God of his equitie, or charge him of iniustice, and say: Lord, why hast thou done this? surely no: many times (sayth the Lord) would I, but you would not: for I am a God mer­cifull, gracious, long-suffering, and of great goodnesse: but the more I was mercifull, the more you were sinfull: the more I was gracious, the more you were gracelesse: the longer I was in suffering, the longer were you in sin­ning: and the greater I was in good­nesse, the greater were you in trans­gression: therefore, because I then would, but you would not: perhaps now you would, but I will not. Bethink your selues of your estate present: be­thinke your selues what may befall.

O Ierusalem, &c.

Secondly, Ierusalem (the elect Citie of God) most holy, most glorious, built vpon holie mountaines, no Citie in the [Page]world comparable thereunto, Ierusalē Metro­polis Iu­daeorum Nico. de Lyra gloss. ordina. Esay 2. Mich. 4. as well for the loftinesse of the seate, for the temperature of the ayre, for the mode­ration of the heauens, and fruitfulnesse of the soyle: and yet all this serues not so much for the credit of it, as that The Scepter went forth from Sion, & the word of God from Ierusalem. It was the onely place of Gods onely worship: the Lord had a delight to haue his name there: neither had any more priuiledges, more teaching or prea­ching, then they had: yet for all this, they wanted perseuerance, they could not continue vnto the end: yea, these which should haue bin schoolemasters to al other Nations round about them for knowledge. Yet see the testimonie that God giues of Ierusalē: Ch. 5.1. Run to and fro in the streets of Ierusalem, behold now, & enquire in the open places, if ye can find a mā, or if there be any that executeth iudgemēt, & seeks the truth, & I wil spare it, saith the Lord. Loe, my beloued, not a righteous man, not a faithfull soule (it seemes) found in Ierusalē, either amōg their princes, or among their people.

Whereby we learne, Doctrine. that howsoe­uer [Page]wee haue the word of God prea­ched, and the heauenly oracles of his will reuealed vnto vs, from the bosome of the almightie, by the mouthes of his Prophets, and other priuiledges and prerogatiues giuen vnto vs, which God hath not vouchsafed to other Nations: yet cannot wee challenge this priui­ledge and prerogatiue of perseue­rance. So likewise, the Churches of Cō ­stantinople, and of Ephesus, excellent priuiledges they had, and great prero­gatiues they were graced with, yet could they not perseuere vnto the end.

Well, the vses in a word, Vse. 1 that wee are to make hereof, are diuers: first, in that Ierusalem, thus priuiledged and blessed, could not perseuere, it serues to teach vs, that in any place which the Lord hath countenāced with the prea­ching of his word, if the hearts of the people bee not set to obey, the Lord will giue no blessing vnto it. If prea­ching & practizing bee not ioyned to­gether; if the Gospel & obediēce walke not hand in hand; if Gods word, & our workes; if the light of his Gospel, and the light of our godly conuersation [Page]be found asunder: alas, wee may with Esau deceiue our selues, Gen. 26. and thinke to haue a blessing, when wee shall hit vp­on a curse. Therefore, let vs not con­tent our selues with the outward sound of the word, if the inward obedience of the heart bee absent: though wee bring our Bibles to Church vnder our armes, it is not that will make vs good Christians, if our hearts be not set to o­bey: but wee must ioyne the outward ministerie of the word, and the inward obedience of the heart together: no sooner must the Lord open his mouth, but wee must open our eares, & drinke the sound of his word, into the secrets of our harts, which may become migh­tie, and by the operation thereof, make vs fruitfull vnto saluation.

Secondly, Vse. 2 in that Ierusalem could not continue & perseuere, it serues to teach vs, that wee which haue had the excellent benefit of his word, and by the beames of his glorious Gospel, haue beene enlightned in the wayes of sal­uation: Gal. 5.1. 1. Pet. 2. wee must (as Paul admonisheth vs) standfast, and not bee as variable cloudes in the ayre, that are carried a­bout [Page]with a tempest, but stedfast, con­stant, and confident, in the profession of the Gospel. For if wee prooue either faint-hearted, or faithlesse hearted Christians: if it bee sayd of vs, as Paul sayd of the Galathians: Gal. 5.7. Aposta­tas. Ye did runne well in the race of Christianitie, but now, yee slide backe: our end shall be worse then our beginning: for it had beene much better that wee had ne­uer learned the truth, nor knowne the way of righteousnesse, then after wee haue knowne and learned it, to returne with the dog to his vomit, and with the sow that was washed, to her wallowing in the mire. Vse. 3

Thirdly, 1. Cor. 10.12. Non lo­cus, per­sona, dig­nitas pri­uilegia, aut im­munita­tes possūt nos ab ira Dei eximere. in that Ierusalem could not perseuere, it teacheth vs that of the A­postle: Wee which thinke wee stand, must take heede lest wee fall: let vs not boast of those priuiledges and blessings that God hath enriched vs with: for were they neuer so many, or neuer so great, Ierusalem had more, and grea­ter: yet, though shee was highly in cre­dite with the Lord, and countenanced of him as the Empresse of the world, her glorie is here threatned to bee layd [Page]in the dust. Gē. 11.2 Let Nimrod and his com­panie build a Citie, whose towres and turrets may reach vp into heauen: yet shall Babel bee Babel: the thing it selfe shall bee the confusion thereof. The whore of Babylon may aduaunce her selfe in pleasures, Reu. 18.8. and in the pride of her heart say, she sits as a Queene, and shal see no mourning: yet shall her plagues come at one day, death, sorrow, and famine, and shee shall bee burnt with fire: for strong is the Lord God, which will condemne her. Reu. 18.8. Therfore, if we assure our selues of the continuance of Gods fauour amongst vs, by our out­ward prosperitie, or thinke to stand hereafter, as wee haue stood hitherto, wee are deceiued: for were we as deere and neere vnto the Lord, as Ierusalem, or answerable vnto it, either for braue­rie of buildings, commodities of mar­chandize, store of munition, to driue backe the force and fierce assaults of our enemies, yet are they not suffici­ent to driue back the gun-shot of Gods displeasure, when for our transgression, hee entendeth our destruction.

Fourthly, Vse. 4 seeing wee see Ierusalems [Page]estate to bee this; it teacheth vs to cō ­mend our prayers and supplications vnto GOD, for this speciall blessing of perseuerance: for what profi­teth a man, Simile. to sayle a long voyage prosperously, and with successe, if at length hee makes shipwracke, beeing ready to enter into the hauen? So, what will it auayle vs (my brethren) sayling in the full sea of Gods blessings, and in the flouds of his aboundant mer­cies, with the winds of prosperitie, and before we come to our iourneyes end, make shipwracke of fayth and a good conscience? It is not sufficient for vs that wee runne, but we must so runne, as wee may attaine. It will not auaile vs to begin well, if wee doe not continue to the end: if wee haue begunne in the spirit, Gal. 3.3. there is no perfection to be loo­ked for in the flesh. That seede is in vaine cast into the ground, whereof a man filleth not his bosome in the time of haruest: and the profession of the Gospel is ill begunne, and to no purpose, except we perseuere vnto the end.

Now, it may be demanded, 3 Why did [Page]the Lord looke for such measure of o­bedience, Obiect. perseuerance, and other fruits in Ierusalem, more then in the Caldeans? Answ. The reason is, Because he had bestowed greatest blessings vpon them: and the Lords maner is, where he bestowes greatest blessings, there he lookes for greatest obedience: and where there is greatest preaching, there doth hee expect greatest practise. That Parable of the fig-tree, Luk. 31.6. planted in a vineyard, serues fitly for the illustra­tion hereof: A certaine man (sayth hee) had a figtree planted in a vineyard, and because hee had planted it, he came and sought fruit thereon, but found none. Then sayd he to the dresser of the vineyard: Lo, this 3 yeere haue I come, and sought fruit thereon, & hauc found none: cut it down, why keepeth it the ground barren? This vineyard, beloued, is the Church of God: the fig-tree, though it bee there meant of the estate of the Iewes, yet by it may bee vnderstood the estate of euery seuerall soule: the planter there­of is Christ, the dressers are his seruants the Prophets. Nowe (sayth Christ) I haue planted a fig-tree, great cause [Page]therefore that I should haue fruit of it. Well, any time these three yeres haue I come and sought fruit thereon, but haue found none. Neither is it onely fruitlesse it selfe, but it makes the ground barren and fruitlesse likewise. Surely, my purpose is, it shall bee cut downe, and cast into the fire.

O Lord (beloued) an happie thing were it, if in our vineyard wee had no such vnprofitable fig-trees; if in our Church wee had no such vnprofitable professors: vpon whom Gods Pro­phets and ministers haue bestowed cost, and of whom, no doubt, the Lord hath expected and wayted for, not three yeres, but many yeeres, the fruits of his blessings: but alas, wee deceiue his expectation: long hath he thought for, and sought after the fruits of his Gospel, but loe, nothing but weedes of disobedience spring vp amongst vs. What will bee the end of this? Surely, we may iustly feare the like iudgemēt, that befell to the fig-tree: Cut it down: why keepeth it the ground barren? Wee may (I confesse) bee suffered to grow for a time, to flourish for a season, yet [Page]vtter destruction wil happē in the end. We know heretofore, how the Lord hath dealt with vs, for wee haue playd the hypocrites with him, and therefore hath hee made the earth, and the crea­tures thereon, to play the hypocrites with vs. The Lord hath expected the fruits of our obedience, but behold, it is like vnto a shadow, something in shew, but nothing in substance; or e­uen as Ephraims righteousnesse, Ose. 6.4. like to the morning dew: so wee (in former yeeres) haue expected the fruits of the earth from him, yet haue wee beene partakers of the curse that Iob speakes of: Iob. 31.40. That thistles haue growne in steade of wheate, and cockle in steade of harley: so as the husband-man sorrowed and sighed within himselfe, when hee saw no better fruit of his labours.

Thus hath the Lord caused the earth to deceiue our expectation, because wee haue deceiued his: and though now on a sodaine, hee hath equally di­uided the pipes and cunduites of his mercie, and opened the windowes of heauen, and hath sent downe a graci­ous raine, vpon the ground of the good [Page]and of the bad, of the iust, and of the vniust, filling our bosomes with aboū ­dance of blessings, that our vineyards clap their hands, and our fields doe re­ioyce and sing: yet let vs beware that this sodaine prosperity and plenty, bee not to fat vs against a day of slaughter.

Let vs therefore consider our estate what wee are, and what wee haue beene, euen a people blessed of the Lord: but wee may speake of our selues, as Pliny speakes of a certaine countrey, that ex siccitate lutū, ex imbre puluerē, &c. drought hath caused durt, and raine hath stirred vp dust amongst vs: for what hath the sunshine of his mercies? but caused vs to lie in the mire of our abominations: and what hath the moysture of his gra­ces? but euen dryed vp the fountaine of grace in vs: so as wee are giuen o­uer to worke transgression with gree­dinesse: the increase of his blessings haue encreased our iniquities; and the aboundance of his mercies haue brought forth aboundance of sinne in vs: for what haue wee, but in steade of obedience, rebellion? in steade [Page]of knowledge, ignorance? Is there no complaint of oppression to be heard in our streetes? doe not rich men grinde the faces of the poore, plucking their skinnes from their bodies, and their flesh from their bones, as the Prophet speakes? Is not one man readie to pull out the throat of another, vrging, and vsing extremitie, rather then a good conscience, in matters of law? Is there no swearing, and forswearing? no pro­phanation of the Sabboth amongst vs? doe not Absaloms adulteries runne for meriments in our age? and haue wee not those, fitter for the companie of Sodomites, then for the societie of Christians? and behold, yet, and yet greater abominations then these? Are these the fruits of the Gospel? is this the issue and effect, that Gods word hath wrought in vs these fortie yeeres? haue we answered the Lords expecta­tion, in the smallest measure of obedi­ence, as hee hath answered our desires, in the greatest measure of his mercies? Surely no. Oh beloued, what then re­maines for such vnprofitable fig-trees? Cut them downe, cut them downe (sayth [Page]the Lord) burne them in the fire.

So much for the first poynt, the person exhorted, and the instrue­tions thereof.

Nowe followeth the second poynt, namely, the thing requi­red.

Wash thine heart from wickednesse.

THe Prophet doth here touch Ieru­salem to the quicke, Quid la­uandum. Fons vita when hee comes to the heart: which, (as Phisi­cions say) is the fountaine of life: it is the first thing that liueth, and the last thing that dieth in a man. The heart is like an Instrument: if it bee in tune, and well struug, Dulce melos. it makes a sweete me­lody: but if it bee out of tune, all the parts and powers of minde and body are out of course. Or as the stone of Scyros, Plin. lib. 36. Cap. 17. if it bee cast whole into the wa­ter, floteth, and swimmeth aloft, but if it be parted and diuided, it sinketh to the bottome: so is it with the heart, so long as it bee kept whole and vndi­stracted, why, it swims, and all things runne currant with it: but if broken [Page]or diuided, it sinketh like lead. It may bee compared to the apple of a mans eye, which will be troubled with a lit­tle moate: so is the heart tender of it selfe, and will bee disquieted with a rebellious affection: or looke euen as a steele-glasse is bright and pure, yet the breath of ones mouth will dimme it: so is the heart, a thing in it selfe bright and pure, yet are there many wicked and contagious vapours in the soule, that dimme and obscure the integritie thereof.

When God looked downe from heauen, Gen. 6.5. Hee saw the wicked­nesse of man was great on the earth: and did God behold but the earth onely? surely yes, hee tooke a view of mans heart also; and there hee found the heart, and not the heart onely, but the thoughts of the heart, and the imagina­tions of the thoughts: the mother, her daughters, and their children euill, and not onely euill; but onely euill, and cuil continually. Aboue all things (sayth the Prophet) man hath an vn­faythfull heart, as deepe as the deepe sea, nothing can sound it: as wide as the [Page]wide world, nothing can contain it: as large & spacious as hell it self, who can find it out? If a man possessed as much ground, as euer the deuil shewed the son of God frō the high mountaine; if hee had the whole world, yet could mans heart containe another & if he had two worlds in his possessio, yet the heart of man would bee casting for a third: therefore it is worth the noting, that which Philip of Macedō is reported to haue obserued in himselfe, when by wrastling, he had takē a fal in the sand, and seeing the impression of his body therin, was thereby (as it seemes by his words) brought into consideratiō, that a smal parcell of groūd, & in compari­son, but a spā of earth cōtained his bo­dy, but the whole world, were it much wider thē it is, sufficed not his couetous heart. Wel, whatsoeuer the hart of mā is, I leaue vnto God, the searcher of all harts to examine: & whatsoeuer Philip of Macedons couetous heart was, & the harts of those, which in y ^e time of Noah were swept away with the waters of the floud: yet here we find, Ierusalē hath a wicked hart, & so wicked, that vnlesse [Page]it bee purified, purged, and washed with the waters of repentance, destruc­tiō vpon destruction is proclaimed against it, verse 20.

Wash thine heart from wickednesse.

Where first of all wee note, that our repentance must bee like the repen­tance of Niniueh, it must begin with the King: hee must first arise from his throne, and throw away his costly robes, and couer himselfe with sack­cloth and ashes, and then proclaime the like to his subiects and inferiors: that is to say, the heart which sits in the body, as a king in his throne, and hath all the inferior powers at commaund, when Ionas shall denounce iudgemēts, and the Lords ministers proclaime re­pentance, it must first rouze and raise vp it selfe: and when that begins, the inferiour parts are easily brought to order: therefore sayth the Prophet, Wash thine heart from wickednesse: not thy face, or thy hands, or thy feete, or thy vpper garments, but thy heart, O Ierusalem. Simile.

Our hearts may bee compared to [Page]the rudder of a ship, or the ballance of a clock: the ship (wee know) is a great and an vntoward vessell; and if it bee left to it selfe vpon the seas, it runnes to a thousand dangers: but let the rud­der be well guided, and the whole bo­die thereof, with all that belongs ther­to, is directed without hazard: so, if the heart go aright, it goeth not alone, but all the parts and powers of the soule and body, immediatly follow in the same safetie: euen as a clock, Simile. if the ballance thereof stirre, all the o­ther instruments and weights follow in a good course: but if that stand still, euerie one of the rest goe out of order: so, let our hearts moue and step for­ward in the course of Christianitie, all the instruments and members of the body will goe onward likewise: but if the heart stayes, the body stirres not, but standing still, is the apter to re­ceiue any corruption.

Well, First in­struction. the instructions that wee learne from hence, are diuers: first, in that wee must beginne with the heart, it teacheth vs, that true repentance standeth not in outward behauiour, [Page]in outward ceremonies, or in a ciuill kind of life: but it must arise from the heart. Wee cannot chase wickednesse from our eyes, from our hands, from our tongues, or from our feete, if first it bee not chased from the heart: for the eye may bee wicked, the hand may bee wicked, the tongue may bee wicked, and the feete wicked, but the heart is the seate of wickednesse, it is a fountaine of iniquitie, the streames wherof ouer-runne the whole body: therefore to good purpose is that of Io­el: Vena scin datur cordis. Ioel 2.13. Rend your hearts, and not your gar­ments, and turne to the Lord your God: because it was the maner of the anci­ent times, when any were possessed with griefe and discontent, to rend their garments, manifesting by their outward behauiour, their inward sor­row: as in the example of Dauid for Saul, 2. Sam. 1.11. and for his sonne Absalom, 2. Sam. 10.31. 2. Sam. 13.31. of Ioab for Abner, and of other. Now, lest this ceremonie, or such like, should bee rather of fashion, then from the affec­tion of the heart, Ioel disclaimes from them, as things which the Lord re­gardeth [Page]not, if the puritie of the mind, and sinceritie of the heart bee absent. It is not outward sanctification, out­ward holinesse, outward behauiour, that the Lord requires, but the puri­fying and purging of the heart from sinne: For God seeth not as man seeth: 1. Sam. 16.7. Prou. 15.11. man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord beholdeth the heart: there­fore, Wash thy heart, O Ierusalem.

I might here by the way, take occa­sion to fight a battell with hypocrites, Hypo­crites. whom we may compare to boat-men, that look one way, but row another: or like to Mercuries Images, that poynt the way to others, but thēselues stand still and stirre not one foote: or like to stage-players, which for an houre or two, seeme to be greatstates-men, but the play being ended, they are as base companions as they were be­fore: or like vnto the Carbuncle, which hath a shew of fire, but no true fire: so they; a shew of zeale, but no true zeale: Mat. 23.27. or as those paynted Sepul­chers, beautified to the eye, but within, full of rottennesse and corruption. These will seeme religious amongst you, [Page]though not refraine their tongues, Iā. 1.26. but de­ceiue their owne hearts; whose religion (by the iudgement of the Apostle) is vaine. But to leaue them (because my purpose was but to take them by the lap of their garments at this time, for a remembrance onely) let vs that will bee Christians in deede and sinceritie, bee warie that we play not the sophi­sters with our selues, thinking that outward puritie and sinceritie stand for currant in the sight of God. It is the purenesse and sanctimonie of the heart onely, Our re­pentance must be, nou cor­poris, sed cordis. Eiusdem capitis. that the Lord requires: we may pray with the Pharise, Luke 18.11. and kisse Christ with Iudas, Mat. 26.49. and offer sacrifice with Cain, Gen. 4.3. and fast with Iesabel, 1. Kin. 21.9. and humble our selues with A­hab, vers. 27. and present an Oblati­on with Ananias, Acts 5.2. and la­ment with the teares of Esau, Gen. 27.38. yet all these are nothing, if the heart be not onely deuoted and conse­crated vnto God.

Wash thine heart from wickednesse. Second instructi­on.

Secōdly, in that he sayth, Wash thine [Page]heart from wickednesse, wee see howe lothsome a thing it is in the sight of God, to haue a wicked heart, an heart not sanctified and vpright before him. An happie thing were it, if wee could bethinke our selues, what an enemie we carrie about with vs in our breasts, when we haue wickednes in our hearts. It is like death, Malitia. which hauing once sea­zed vpon the heart, all the members of the body are immediatly captiued: so, let the heart bee wicked, and the whole body is wicked: for out of the aboundance of the heart, the head deui­seth, the hand executeth, the tongue speaketh, the eye seeth, the foote wal­keth: I. King. 15.30. and euen as wicked Ieroboam made all Israel to sinne, so the wicked heart makes the whole body to sinne.

Therefore should euerie one of vs pray with good King Dauid: Psal. 50. Create in mee, O Lord, a cleane heart, and renew a right spirit within mee. Wee must dis­lodge our hearts of this great euill, and make them the wagons and chariots of the Spirit, wherein hee may sit to guide our whole body: and the priui­ledge which hereby wee shall reape, is [Page]singular: Rō. 8.14 for (sayth Saint Paul) So ma­ny as are led by the Spirit, are the sonnes of God. Now, the Lord hath giuen vs our hearts and bodies, to bee resting places for the holy Ghost, and where­in he should take delight to seate him­selfe. But alas, the Spirit sits in the streetes, Iudg. 19 like the Leuit that came from Gybeah, and no man receiues it into the house of his heart: nay, wee choose rather to make them dennes for the diuell, store-houses of sinne, and euen a Dagon of all iniquitie. Should it be thus with Christians? God forbid: the Lord hath giuen thee a body, to bee the temple of the holy Ghost: shalt thou now take this body of thine, and make it the body of an harlot? God forbid: the Lord hath giuen thee hands, as organs, to performe the necessarie ac­tions belonging to thy welfare, shalt thou now diuert them to an ill vse, and make them instruments of murder, vi­olence, rapine, & oppression? God for­bid: the Lord hath giuē thee a tongue, an excellent benefit of nature, to con­uey vnto thy brother the secret con­ceits of thy mind, both for the prayse [Page]and glorie of God, and for thy profit and benefit in thy trade of life: shalt thou now make it a tongue of blasphe­mie, vnchastitie, cursing, swearing, and forswearing? God forbid: the Lord hath giuen thee eyes to behold his creatures vpō the face of the heauens, & the superficies of the earth, to behold the admirable workes of the almighty, in the frame of the world: and they are as two lights, for without them, the whole body should be possessed with darknes: now, darest thou attempt to make them instrumēts, to sollicite the heart with vncleannes? or make them windowes of vanity, by beholding the beauty of the strange woman? nay, ra­ther let vs say with Ioh, Iob. 31.1. I haue made a couenant with mine eyes, not with an vn­chaste affectiō to behold a virgin. Foedus pepigerā cum ocu­lis meis, &c. Pro. 23.26. Rom. 12.1.

Thus haue you heard, that the Lord hath giuen vs an heart, that we might, as Solomons wisedome requires, giue it vnto the Lord againe: hee hath gi­uen vs a body, that wee might, as Paul requires, offer it vp vnto him againe. All powers and parts of both hath God giuen vnto vs, that wee should [Page]dedicate them to him againe: but alas, wee bestow them vpon Satan, sinne, and the pleasures of the world. Iehu v­sed not the temple of Baal more base­ly, then wee vse our hearts, making them cabbins of vncleane spirits, full of deadly sinnes, whereas they should bee vessels of holinesse and honor vn­to the Lord. 1. Thes. 4.4.

Let vs therefore in the Lords feare, supplant this bitter roote of wickednesse in our hearts, and plant in them the graces of the spirit, that the heart may bee as a sweete garden furnished with vertues, as with fragrant flowres, that hee may say of it, as elsewhere hee speakes of Sion: Here will I dwell, for I haue a delight herein: so shal he which created it, haue it; he that gaue it, re­ceiue it againe; and he which preserues it in this life, may preserue it for e­uer.

Thirdly, Third instructiō. in that he sayth, Wash thine heart from wickednesse, it giues vs to vnderstand, that sinne is a corruption: for the word here which the Prophet vseth, Laua: Ablue. is a borrowed speech, taken from the maner of those, which are [Page]wont to rinse or wash any thing that is filthie or polluted: for our hearts being as sinkes or channels apt to receiue any filth and corruption, are to bee purged and scoured with the besome of repen­tance, and washed with the teares of contrition, that they may not appeare loathsome vnto God. The leprosie of Naaman, 2. King. 5. a greeuous lepro­sie: Verse 14 yet when hee had washed himselfe seuen times in the waters of Iordan, his flesh came againe like the flesh of a lit­tle child, and he was cleane. So likewise wee haue all a more greeuous leprosie then euer Naaman had, and are more lothsome in the sight of God then euer he was in the sight of men: Esay 1.5 for there is nothing whole within vs, but woundes, sores and swellings, and our hands are full of bloud, yea from the crowne of the head to the sole of the foot, we are nothing but blemished with iniquitie, Esa. 1.16. and stained with corruption: therefore saith the Prophet, Wash you, make you cleane: wee must with Naaman to the waters of Iordan, and there wash our selues seuen times and we shalbe cleane Neither must we follow our owne car­nall [Page]reason; for then wee will iudge Pharpar and Abanah, riuers of Damas­cus, better then all the waters of Israel: but we must take the direction of the man of God, and Iordan is the place must doe vs good. If we consult with flesh and bloud, about the matter of our conuersion and washing away of sinne, we shall neuer be cleane: but if we follow the aduice of Elisha or any of Gods ministers, were pur leprosie worse then Naamans the Assyrian, the waters of Iordan would wash it away; were our hearts like Ahabs chariot, 1. 1. King. 22.38. Kings 22. euen embrued with bloud and filthines, yet would they be cleane, being washed in the poole of Samaria. Were we eyther sicke, Ioh. 5.3. or blind, or halt, or withered, and had neuer so many diseases, or neuer so much distraction in our limmes, yet if we wayte for the moouing of the water, and step into the poole of Bethesda, and there wash our selues, we shalbe recouered: were our sinnes like crimsin, Esay 1. yet they shall be as white as snowe, and were they as red as scarlet, they shall be as white as wooll. This is the great benefit that wee shall [Page]reape and receiue after our baptisme & regeneration in the waters of repen­tance, as Ionas in the waters of the sea, wherin being throughly purged & wa­shed from our corruptiōs, by the bloud of the immaculate Lambe, we shall with Ionas receiue a newe commission, and be inuested into our former credit and fauour with God. For this same corrup­tion of sinne, which lyeth in the heart vnwashed away, is a bird, which (as I may say) sings two maner of notes, or hath two maner of calles. It eyther cals to vs, or it cals to the Lord: when to vs, it cals for repētance; when to the Lord, it cals for vengeance. So that, though sinne lyeth shrowded full low in our hearts, and wickednes be harboured in the secrets of our soules, yet is thy sinne like the sinne of Sodome, the cry of it is exceeding great: for they are so many in number, so diuers in nature and differēt in kinde, that being in thy heart, they are like vnto a sort of fierce Lions and cruell Tygres in a den, Beastes of diuers kinds. which cannot a­gree together. And therfore, if thou la­bourest not to empty thy selfe of them, and open thine care vnto them, when [Page]they crie and call vnto thee for repen­tance, the Lord will open his eares, whē they call to him for vengeance.

It is lamentable to consider (yet it e­uer hath beene, and I thinke it will be) that men are possessed with smallest care in matters of greatest danger. The infection or corruption of the bodie e­uerie man will labour to purge & wash away, but the corruption of the soule, & the wickednes of the hart no man regards: nay, after sinne committed (as the Pro­phet fitly notes) No man saith, What haue I done? O miserable & wretched mā that I am, what haue I done? though it be an aspiring kind of wickednes, as that of the Niniuites: Ionds 1.2 ascending, cly­ming, and being feathered with the wings of presumption flies vp into the court of heauen, euen daring to shew it selfe in the presence of the most high: though it extends to the annoyance of the earth below, to the prouocation of the heauons aboue, to the punishment of all the creatures in and betweene them both: nay though it strikes and strikes with a double hand at the maie­stie of God himselfe, yet no man sayes, [Page] What haue I done? O Lord, (beloued) a long time haue wee beene acquainted with sinne, but can our acquaintance gaine vs no experience of sinne? will you euer looke vpon the pleasure and profite that sinne brings vnto you; but will you neuer haue an eye to the poli­cie and subtiltie thereof? Indeed wee make much of it: Easola voluptas, solamē (que) mali. Aenei. 3 we nourish it in the secrets of our harts, and keep it warme in the inwards of our soules: wee are as loth to forsake sinne, as Iacob was to forsake Beniamin: and to depart from iniquitie, as Lot was to depart from So­dom: but shall we neuer looke into the mischiefe that ensueth of it? When shal we once be wise? They say that no e­lement is ponderous or waightie in his proper place: as for example, we feele not the weight of the aire, although we liue within the circle and compasse of it. Suppose a man should lie in the bot­tom of the sea, it would not offend him with any pressure or burdensome waight, although it ill annoyed him otherwise: so is it in the estimation of sinne: wee liue and wee lie in it; but a­las wretches that we are, we feele not, [Page]no, we feele not the weight and burden thereof, how it euen presseth our soules vnto condemnation. Sinne is not hea­uie vnto vs, by reason of the inclination of mans will thereunto, which greedi­ly doth ingurgitate & readily swallow vp a whole sea of abomination. It may seeme strange which is written of the nature of thunder, that it bruiseth the tree, yet breaketh not the bark, it crac­keth the blade, but neuer hurteth the scabbard: such a thing is the nature of sin, it wil bruise & wound the heart, but neuer harm the eies, or the eares, or the hands; it wil pearce and afflict the con­science, but neuer hurt the outwarde man; it is euen a plague vnto the soule, & yet a pleasure vnto the body. Well, the time wil not permit to set out sinne as it deserues, & to acquaint you more with the nature of it, although I would to God wee were lesse acquainted with the vse, & lesse affected with the desire thereof: yet so violently are our head­strong affections caried and rauished, that we adde sinne to sinne, and ioyne them in a league of friendship, & when we haue so done, we lay iniquitie vpon [Page]sinne, wickednes vpon iniquitie, rebel­lion vpon wickednes, and transgression vpon rebellion, and nothing els but an heauing, and heaping vp of confusion vpon confusion, Gen. 11.2. as if Nimrod were a­mongst vs, & Babel againe to be built, the towers wherof might reach vp vn­to the starres.

Well beloued, let vs lay the foun­dation of sinne as low as wee will, and build as strongly thereupon as we can, as if wee were assured, that the hand of Gods iudgements should neuer rase it vp; yet no doubt we shall find, that it is nowe high time for vs to leaue our sinnes, seeing wee see the Lord begins to leaue vs for our sinnes. It is nowe high time for vs, not to wash our hands with Pilate, but our hearts with Ierusa­lem; to chaunge our Morian skinnes, to put off our stained and defiled gar­mentes, to entertaine repentance in­to our soules, seeing that euen nowe wee feare the rewarde of our impie­ties, and the portion of iniquitie to bee shared out for vs. If euer be­fore it was needfull, surely nowe much more necessitie enforceth, and [Page]time it is for Abigal (if she respect her owne safetie) to arise and meete Dauid with a present to appease his wrath, 1. Sam. 25. for it seemes hee is now at hand with his sword girded vpon his thigh: though not to lade our Asses as she did, with two bottles of wine, with frailes of raisins, and a sheepe readie dressed, or such like pro­uision: but to lade our bodies and sin­full carkasses, which wee haue vsed as Asses to beare the huge burthen of our sinnes with sackcloth and ashes, Saceus & ieiu­nium sunt ar­ma poeni­tentiae. with fasting & mourning, which are the ar­mour of repentance to withstand his iudgemēts. Let our eyes be as 2. bottles of wine, to cary with vs, the teares wher­of we may drinke, to comfort vs in the assurance of Gods mercies, & our bro­ken & contrite harts as presents which the Lord wil haue respect vnto, and re­ceiue kindly at our hands, Verse 35. & lay his sword downe which he hath taken vp against vs. and bidde vs returne in peace vnto our houses.

Oh that I could possibly preuaile thus farre with you, to possesse your soules with the consideration of this point. Though this sodaine oportunitie of re­pentance [Page]were not offred vs, yet let vs examine our estate, and we shall finde, that (alas) we are not sinners of yester­day; we are not newly entred into Sa­tans schole: but we are of a great stan­ding: for in sinne our mothers con­ceyued vs, in iniquitie they brought vs foorth, and wee drewe corruption from their breasts; all which, as wee haue growne with them, so they haue growne with vs. We haue long and ouerlong traced the footesteps of wic­kednesse, and troden the paths of in­iustice; wee haue tyerd our selues, and surfeted our selues with the workes of abomination: we are not fallen of ig­norance (alas) as our forefathers, which knewe not the Gospell; but willingly & wilfully haue we brought our selues into the habite of sinne, into the na­ture of sinne, into the custome of sin, and within the compasse of Gods most fearefull iudgements, to seaze vpon soule and body, vnto condemnation; and not vpon our selues onely, but such is the corruption thereof, that it hath ouerspred the face of the hea­uens, of the earth, and ouerunne all [Page]the creatures, that euen they for our sin must one day come to iudgement. O then how needfull is it, that with Ie­rusalem wee shoulde wash our wicked heartes from this corruption with the teares of repentance, that shee might sit in thy heart, and with her strong sighes and grones breake the heauens which are hardned against thee, and draw downe the Lords louing fauour to thy soule. If the infant in the cradle cries for milke; if the Lion in the forrest cries for food because they want it: how should it moue vs (my brethrē) to send vp our cries for the fauour of God, be­cause we haue it not! The teares of our eyes being shed in true contrition for our sinnes, will bee as little messengers to the great and angrie God of heauen and earth, to entreate a truce betwixt him and vs his creatures, and as gun­shotte, will batter downe the partition walles of our sinnes, and cause his lo­uing countenance to shine vpon our soules. Let vs therefore in the feare of God make experience of this, and though for the time it may seeme bit­ter as Aloes vnto the flesh, yet is it [Page]wholesome and medicinable vnto the soule. And looke as it was the manner of ancient times, when trouble or hea­uines befell to any, they presently cal­led for women and others who were tender harted and skilful in mourning, to cause them mourne the better: so we which would faine learne to repent and lament for our sinnes, and know not rightly how; let vs haue recourse vnto the booke of God, and there may we behold the teares standing in Ieru­salems eyes, and in the eyes of Marie Magdalene, 1. Sam. 1 & of Anna the wife of El­kanah, that their weeping might pro­cure our weeping, their griefe prouoke our griefe, their passions moue our af­fections with the like lamentation and sorrow for our sinnes.

J Doubt not, Vt salua sis. Verses 5.6.7.8. but the trumpet blowne in the land, and the crie, which said vnto them of Iudah, Assemble your selues together, & get you into strōg cities; and the standard set vp in Sion, and the plague threatened to be brought from the North, Iuterfe­ctor Gen­tium. and the Lion that should come from his den, and the Drie wind in the high places of the wildernesse, and that suddenly; (for it should be as a tempest and swift) for his horses are lighter then Eagles; might easily per­swade them of imminent and present danger, except they had the hearts of the Leuiathan, as strong as stones, or as hard as the nether milstone, not to receiue any impression; or their ioynts tough as Elephants, that nothing could [...]end them. Therefore their danger th [...]eatning such extremitie, it was more then time to take some course for their owne safetie.

The Poet notably describes the feare that Aeneas and they of Troy were in, Aenci. 3 and the great speed they made to escape the danger of the Cyclops.

When they saw the companie of giants clustring vpon the shore, Aetni [...] fratres. resem­bling the strength and fortitude of mightie Okes, or loftie Cypresse trees, that their verie looks threatned destru­ction, it was no time for them of stay, but speedily to hoysse vp their sailes, Parebia­z [...]nt [...]. & nimbly to betake them to their oares; rather then the giants should offer vio­lence to them, they offer violence to the sea, and hasten away.

The only course that Icrusalem hath to preuent this imminent distres, which was euen at their shore ready to assault them, is swiftly to saile away in the wa­ters of repentance: euerie man to be­take himselfe to his oares of true con­trition and inuocation vnto God, to la­bour painefully in the sea of their sinful hearts (though they be well washed & drenched with the waues thereof) for their owne safetie and preseruation. Wash thine hart from wickednes, Ve Deus te in fa­uorem recipiat. That thou mayest be saued. In the handling of which I will first speake of the sence of the words secondly, of the vse.

For the first, the word in the origi­nall [Page]signifieth, Salutem, open [...], opitula­tionem. A versu quinto. either safetie, helpe, or aide: and here it may fitly beare a dou­ble sence; first, by the relation of mat­ter going before: for in the former part of this Chapter many iudgements are exemplified by many figures to come vpon Ierusalem by Nabuchadnezzar, and the Chaldeans, who shoulde cut them downe with the sword, & lay their land waste. Now this being so, the Pro­phet stirs vp Ierusalem to repentance, that she may be saued: that is to say, In this common calamity and iudgement which is to fall, yet that she may be se­cure and safe from the touch thereof, and bee restored to the fauour of God: and therefore, that the faithfull among them should not despaire, but rather lift vp their heads and cheare themselues with a hope of safety in time of danger, as also to crosse the crooked generati­on of hypocrites, shewing that there is no way to appease Gods wrath by any shiftes, but by true conuersion which must beginne at the hart. Or thus, Re­pent, that thou mayest bee saued in the day of iudgement by the redemptiō of Christ, because without repentance there [Page]is no saluatiō. And so for the sence. The vse followes.

In time of daunger, or of prosperity, 1. vse. or whensoeuer, is any thing sweeter vnto vs then our life? or more pre­cious then the breath of our owne no­strils? Why (sayes the Deuill) when hee enformed against Iob, Iob. 2.4. Skinne for skinne, and all that euer a man hath, he will giue for his life. Be it a life of sor­row, miserie, and vexation, yet natu­rally wee loue it better then death. Tanti est contemplatio coeli & lucis ipsius, &c. So wee may beholde heauen and the light thereof, in our owne estimati­on it is so much worth, that we are con­tent to endure any miserie for it. I will appeale to no other witnesses at this time, then to the Gibeonites, Iosuah 9.24. who did that which they did, and became slaues to the hoast of Israel. For feare of their liues they were content to endure any slauerie and bondage, so as they might escape with life. And therefore that action of Cleombrotus may seeme strange, that reading Platoes discourse of the immortalitie of the soule, fell from the top of an high wall, of purpose [Page]to breake his neck, the sooner to attaine to immortalitie.

Howsoeuer, this action of his, as one sayes, was Potius magnè factum, quàm bene factum, a great act, rather then a good acte. It seemed likewise that A­chaemenides the vnfortunate compani­on of Vlisses, Comes infoelicis Vlissis. Virgil. Spargite me flu­ctus, va­sto (que) im­mergite ponte. 1. King. 19. little regarded the bene­fite of life, and thought it rather a glo­rie to die, so it might bee manibus homi­n [...]m, in some manlike manner. And that of Elias in the sacred volume sauo­reth much to this purpose, It sufficeth, Lord, take away my soule from me, let me not liue any longer to bee eye-wit­nesse of that miserie that Iezabel hath thretned vnto me. Well, howsoeuer, to let them passe that are so weary of their dearest friend, sure it is, euerie thing in nature desireth being, from the greatest to the smallest: and this great benefite repentance brings with it, life in the middest of death, safetie in time of ca­lamitie, preseruation against iudge­ments, deliuerance in time of danger. O Ierusalem, if, when Nabuchadnezzar shall come as a fierce Lion from his den, & the Chaldeans as cruell Tygers [Page]to deuoure thee; when mine indigna­tion shall be thy portion to drinke, and whē destruction vpon destruction shall befall for the execution of my ven­geance: yet if thou wilt be saued when others must be destroyed, here's thy re­medie, Wash thine heart from wickednes. So you see the Prophet reasoneth with them a fructu poenitentiae, from the be­nefites arising from repentance.

To giue you the taste of it in a word: If the seas which are as a girdle to this Iland (enuironing and encompassing the same about) were at our command, or that the Lord should put the raines and gouernment of the mightie waters into our handes, that wee might rule them as wee list for the subuersion of our enemies; or that our land were wal­led with brasse, and strengthened with the strongest defence against our Na­buchadnezzar of Spaine, and our ene­mies the Caldeans: Yet would not all this make so much for our safetie, as if we had repentance in our hearts, a spe­ciall antidote against any iudgement. In deed we feare the forces of our for­raine foes, and we may iustly: but our [Page]greatest enemies are our home-bredde sinnes. We stand quiuering and sha­king vnder the rod of his Iudgement, the feare whereof hath so possessed vs, that we runne hither and thither, and are almost at our wits end, as if there were no God to goe before the shields of Israel. What is the cause hereof? A­las, our guilty consciences doe accuse vs, and we can not but confesse, howe iust our destruction is. For were wee penitent sinners, and at peace and re­conciliation with God, we should not neede to feare what man can doe vnto vs: but till sinne be remoued out of our hearts, and our iniquities as rebels, cast out of our soules; vntill wee be­come penitent for the manifest & ma­nifold transgressions of our liues, alas, we must yet liue in feare of the Spani­ard; neyther may we feare Spayne a­lone, but euen the heauens, and the starres in the heauens, to sight against vs, Iudg. 5. as they fought against Sisera; the earth, and the creatures on the earth, to plot out our subuersion: for the Lord will vse them as his men of warre a­gainst vs, and make them at vtter defi­ance [Page]with vs. Nay, wee may feare our hands, which we account as our dea­rest friends: for he can make them as the hands of Saul, I. Samu. 31.4. euen instruments of our owne confusion.

If therefore wee will haue peace in our land betwixt Spayne and vs, wee must labour for peace in our conscien­ces betwixt God and vs. If we would haue Gods Iudgements remoued from vs, wee must labour to remooue our sinnes, which are the cause of them, and then will the Lord passe his word vnto vs, that wee shall bee saued. Prou. 16 17. To depart from euill (saith Salomon) is a fortresse and a bulwarke, to preserue the righteous from Iudgements.

If the whole world with engines of warre threatened our confusion, yet if wee were engrafted into Christ, and made one with him, (betwixt whome there is nowe as great a separation as Abrahams gulfe, Luk. 16. by reason of our manifold sinnes and transgressions) there is no doubt, but his louing coun­tenance and mercifull eye should euer be vpon vs, & his right arme stretched out for our defēce. Wil any mā hurt the [Page] [...] [Page] [...] [Page]apple of his owne eye, and not rather to be tender ouer it? why, we are as the apple of the Lordes eye. Will a man cast off or dishonour the signet of his right arme? why, we are his signet: wil a man vse violence to the wife of his own bo­some, who is one flesh with himselfe? why we are the Lords spouse, Cant. 5.1. & he hath made vs one with him, and therefore may looke for protection and defence at his handes, and not for strokes and violence, as if our God were a stranger vnto vs, & had neuer giuen vs pledges of his loue. Thus as you see the danger that we may iustly feare by reason of sinne, so likewise the comfort and con­fidēce that we may haue, if we become penitent for our sinne. Therfore which of these two makes greatest for our safetie, iudge you.

Secondly, Vse. 2 to speake of saluation by the redemption of Christ (who gaue his bloud once for our rāsome) it is a thing generally desired of vs all, Reu. 1.5. heb. 9.14. Gen. 27. nay many make claime vnto it, as Esau did vnto the blessing, & yet must go without it. The way that leadeth thereunto is narrow, Mat. 7.13. and scarse one amongst a num­ber [Page]findes it: we are as lame creeples, we cannot so much as get to the beau­full gate, except we be carried; Act. 3.2 much lesse into the temple it selfe, vnlesse our lamenesse be taken away. There is but one way vnto it, and that is by repen­tance: he that seekes saluation & Gods kingdome any other way, takes a wrōg course: it will not be got either with pleasure or profit: all the gold of O­phir, the treasures of Ezekias, or the ri­ches of Salomon will not buy it: onely repentance will so farre preuaile, that thou mayst be saued. And therfore Christ told the Iewes (who thought thēselues priuiledged, and therfore condemned the Galileans) Except you repent, Luk. 13.3. ye all shall likewise perish. Therefore beare this principle in mind, for it stands as firme as the pillers of heauē, that without re­pentance there is no saluation.

And thus much for the Exhortation it selfe and the parts thereof.

First, the person exhorted.

Secondly, the thing required.

Thirdly, the end.

Now followes the reason:

Howe long shall thy wicked thoughts re­mayne within thee?

THis is an argument vsed by way of complaint; wherein (if you re­member, we obserued these 5. poynts.

First, the circumstance of time, wherewith the argument was enforced: How long?

Secondly, the thing which the Lord complaynes of: they are thoughts.

Thirdly, the qualities: they are Wicked.

Fourthly, their continuance: they remayne.

Fiftly, the place of their abode is, within vs.

Concerning the foure latter, though we may compare our selues to the sea, into which all the riuers of the earth runne, & is neuer the fuller: so though all the instructions in the Scripture be applyed vnto vs, yet many are neuer the better, and therefore necessary to handle these seuerally, Diuision. which would minister excellent matter vnto vs: yet, let it suffice, to fasten onely vpon the [Page]sence of the Prophet, and deliuer from them ioyntly such instructions, Coniūctū as flow from the words themselues for our edi­fication.

But first, for the circūstance of time, How long? A word of great consequēce: Quovs{que} It implyes thus much:

Is it not sufficient (O Ierusalem) that I haue borne with sinne so long, and doe you thinke me still able to en­dure it? Haue I but hitherto winked at your iniquities, and will you yet and yet vexe my righteous soule? Is this the fruite that my long-suffring brings forth in you? Wert thou borne sinful, and wilt thou dye sinfull? Is there no place for repentance? Howe long shall thy wicked thoughts remayne within thee?

Thus the Lord reasons with Ierusa­lem and with vs. And surely it is fear­full, that our sinne should growe to such an height, and iniquitie waxe so ripe, that the Lord should thus cōplaine of it, Howe long?

When God sends Iudgements vpō vs, & the fingers of his wrath fastē either on our bodies or goods; whē pestilence came with cōmissiō frō y ^e angry God of [Page]heauen, to attach our sinfull and rebel­lious carcasses, and the bodies of our sonnes and daughters; when we feared to draw our breath in the streetes, lest we should haue drawne our confusion, and not an haires-breadth there was betwixt vs and death; when the vnsa­tiate mouth of the graue still craued for more, and neuer thought it had i­nough, and spared not to swallow vp our sweetest comforts; when day by day we followed our friends with wee­ping, our neighbours with mourning, & our nerest kinsfolks with lamētation, to bring them the way of all flesh; whē death was as a tyrant amongst vs, Mors tyrānns, Cicero. and the pestilence as an vnmercifull soul­dier that spared none: then (beloued) what did we? Surely, we cried & cried, How long, Lord, Lord, how lōg wilt thou absent thy selfe hiding thine eyes from beholding, and stopping thine eares from hearing the wordes of our com­plaint? How long, Lord, wilt thou giue vs gall to drinke, and fill our soules with bitternesse, as with wormwood: Lord, how long, how long, Lord, shall it be thus or thus with vs?

Thus we pressed the eares of the Lord with our how long, and he heard it. He looked downe from heauen and beheld the sorrow of the sonnes of men vpon earth. He commanded his An­gell to stay his hand, clearing our ayre frō infection, and seasoning our ioynts with health. Thus did the Lord helpe vs, when we could not helpe our selues. But (alas) he cryes and complaynes of our wicked thoughts, sinfull liues, and adulterous conuersations; but we giue him not the hearing.

Loe, beloued, our vnequall hearts, and the vnkindnesse wherewith we re­quite him, who so kindly hath dealt with vs. Let. God complayne, but we will not complayne. He cryes, Howe long? We cry with Salomons sluggard, Not long inough: Yet a little more sleepe, a little more slumber, a little more folding of the armes together. Iudg. 1.15. ios. 15.18. And as Achsaph in the booke of Iud­ges, was importunate for riches, and neuer thought her selfe satisfied: so is it with vs; when wee haue committed one sinne, we thinke we may commit a second; and that being done, we will [Page]yet venter vpon a third. If wee liued one hundreth yeeres, we could be con­tent to liue another, so wee may liue to sinne; & when we haue liued two, yet we thinke it not enough. Well, let vs in the feare of God slake the thirsty de­sire thereof, and labour to ridde our selues of it: for he that hath fewest sins, in the day of Iudgement shall find hee hath too many: and let vs weigh the Lords cause in our owne ballance; that as we thinke, we may iustly complaine, when the weight and burden of his iudgementes are vpon vs: so let vs thinke the Lordes complaint equall, when the weight and burthen of our sinne is vpon him. Esay. 1.14.

Secondly, Vse. 2 this How long is like Cyn­thius to pull vs by the eare, and admo­nish vs how we spend our time: for God wil haue a reckning of euery idle houre that we spend; therfore it should teach vs to walke circumspectly as the Apo­stle speaks, Eph. 5.15. redeeming the time, that what time soeuer heretofore hath beene ill spent, wee may haue an eye to the time to come that it may be well spent: for we know not whether we haue for­tie [Page]dayes respit allotted vnto vs, as the Niniuites had: but sure an happy thing is it for him that hath time & place for repentance, and wofull will it be when the whole course of our life is spent in vanitie and profanenesse; and in the ende and vpshotte thereof the Angell of God shall answere vs, Time shall bee no more. Esau had a time when hee might haue repented, but being ouer­slipt, he had no place for repentance, Heb. 12.17. though he sought the blessing with teares. These times are not allotted for the bodie, but for the soule. Rom. 13.11. And now is the time not of pleasure or delight, but of salua­tion, if euer we will haue it. Therefore let tempus vitae be tempus poenitentiae; let the time of our life bee the time of our repentance.

So much for the circumstance of time How long: Now it followes:

How long shall thy wicked thoughtes re­maine within thee?

HE y ^e hath plāted the eare, doth not he heare? & he y ^e hath created the eye. [Page]doeth not he see the thoughts of the heart? Man can but iudge of actions and outward appearances onely; but the Lord knoweth the heart. Penetrat Deus vs­que ad ine timos re­cessus cordium. Psa. 139 15. There is no­thing hidden from God, eyther in hea­uen or earth, or within the reynes and hearts of our bodies, or of the lowest destruction, but he seeth it with eyes ten thousand times brighter then the Sunne. My bones are not hid from thee (sayth Dauid) though I was made in a secret place, and fashioned beneath in the earth. And in the 94. Verse 7 Psalme, speaking howe the wicked smote the Lords people, and troubled his inheritance, slewe the widdowe, and murthered the father­lesse, it went to his heart to heare them say, Non res­picit Iah. The Lord shall not see it: As if their wickednesse could shrowd it selfe from the all-seeing eye of his eternall Deity. They are not onely our actions and words, that are apparent vnto the Al­mightie, Thoughts but the thoughts of our heart, whether they be good, or euill.

Thus the LORD sawe Ierusalems thoughts, Wicked. and he beheld them wicked: according to that of the Prophet, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of men, Psal. 94. that [Page]they are but vayne, or, vanitie it selfe. Verse 11 Quod ipsae sunt vanitas, traiectio. And Gen. 6.5. The Lord sawe the ima­ginations of the thoughts of mans heart euill.

The thoughts of the heart are like vnto a gadding seruant, whē he should employ him selfe to his masters busines at home, he runneth and rangeth after his own pleasure: so when our thoughts should bee attendant to the heart, for the seruice of God, they are here and there, and abroad, after their owne vanities: nay, many marre them, Cogitati­ones va­nitatis: sic Cal. super ter. as foolish parents doe their wanton chil­dren, by too much cockering and fa­uouring of them, and by giuing them too much liberty without restraint; but suffer them to followe their owne lusts, winding themselues so much into fa­uour with vs, that they preuayle so far, as from an vnchaste imagination, the body is carried into an vnchaste action; and from a proud & an angry thought, comes forth many times a blasphemous othe: yea, they will vrge and presse vs onward vnto euill: wee can no soo­ner shake off a wicked thought, but with the Egyptian flye it will light vpon vs [Page]againe. Genes. 6.14. Therefore as God comman­ded Noah to pitch the Arke within & without, that no water should get in: so shoulde wee pitch the arkes of our soules, that no violent and disorde­red thoughtes might rush in to op­presse vs: or as wee hedge our vine­yardes from wilde beastes, so shoulde we hedge our heartes with the graces of the Spirite, from vnruly and vnta­med affections, not to giue them the least ground of aduantage; but to ob­serue that heauenly principle of an heathen Poet; Principi­is obsta. Withstand beginnings, because they may bee compared to Panthers, who haue sweete smelles, but deuouring mindes; and the con­ceite of a wicked thought may seeme pleasing and delightsome, but in the ende it deuoures like a two edged sworde. Captains. Mat. 8.9 Wee should bee masters of our thoughts, as the Centurion was o­uer his seruantes, that when wee say to a wicked thought, Goe, it should depart: and when to a good thought, Come, wee should then embrace it. But if with deceyte, Ios. 9.23 like the Gibeonites, they get themselues within vs, and like [Page]hypocrites, fayne themselues otherwise then they are, let vs with the hoste of Israel, set them to hew wood, and to draw water; employ them to the seruilest and basest duties, or rather, slay them out of hand, lest the Lord slay vs: for they be not the actions or words onely of the oppressour, adulterer, or proud man, that shall be punished; but he will scat­ter the proud, or any other whatsoeuer, in the imaginations of their hearts, Cogitati­onibus cordis ipsorum. Luk. 1.51. & for our thoughts wee must come to Iudge­ment.

Well, the Lord heere deales with Ierusalem, as a Physicion with his pati­ents, who prescribes such a medicine for their maladies, that hee would not any corruption should bee left behind, whereby they might either seeme loth­some vnto him, or deceyue themselues with a vayne hope of securitie, when there is no such matter.

For what though the whole world had iudged well of Ierusalē, or though by any outward ceremonies they had seem'd conformable, if still the thoughts of iniquitie had Pernoc­tare, hospitari, murmu­rare: sic enim hebraice significat. lingred in their wicked hearts, which would haue bene as an [Page]inward corruption festering in a woūd, and in the end haue brought greater miserie vpon them?

Where note, Instru∣ction. 1 that (when we see any Iudgement ready to fall vpon vs) in the matter of our repentance, wee must deale with simplicitie, and not to dreame of any shift or vayne excuse, to beare vs out against any Iudgemēt; whatsoeuer we may doe with men, yet must we deale in singlenesse of heart with the Lord: for there is neyther thought, any shift, excuse, or deuice, but the Lord is inward vnto it; which if he once perceyues, it enforceth him to a further reuenge. Eph. 5.6. It was the caueat which Paul gaue to the Ephesians: Let no man deceiue you with vayne words: for, for such things, the wrath of God commeth vpon the children of disobedience. If men eyther excuse sinne in themselues, or mocke at the Iudgements of God, the anger and wrath of God in the violen­test maner comes vpon them.

Secondly, Instru∣ction. 2 let vs learne from hence, that though wee reforme some fewe sinnes, and restrayne our selues from outward offences, whereof the world [Page]condemnes vs, yet can we not promise our selues securitie, if we haue any wic­ked thoughtes raigning and remaining in our harts. And therefore because mans nature is so subiect to corruption drawn from Adam, that the brightest fire hath some smoke, the clearest fountain some mudde, and the purest hart some infec­tion, wee must in the sincerest manner that we may, wholly resigne our selues into the Lords hands, and commit the ordering, disposing, and sanctifying of our thoughts to his good will and plea­sure; knowing that in him lyeth all our safetie & securitie from all iudgements; and for our selues, were wee as iust and vpright as Daniel, yet might wee say with him, Shame (Lord) and confusion belongs vnto vs.

Thirdly, let vs learne, Instru∣ction. 3 not to thinke it a small matter, when any olde sinne or corruption remaines within vs. For if e­uer any thing be dangerous, surely this is most daungerous, when a sinne that sprouted vp in vs thirtie or fortie yeeres agoe, & still the same sinne remaines in our hearts, In medio tui. and lurketh in the inwards of our soules, surely, it is now growne to a [Page]great tree, & not easily to be pluckt vp. For it is the nature of sin, when custome giues it any encouragement, first it is an egge; secondly, a cockatrie: thirdly, a serpent; fourthly, a fierie flying serpent. For as it remaineth, it keeps not at a stay, but it groweth vp, & gets hart, strength and encouragement, that it fares like a sleepie Lyon, Gen. 4.7 which if a man begins to rouze, is ready to fly in his face. There­fore let vs crush the heads of our wicked thoughts, while they are but little ser­pents, and not suffer them to remaine in our hearts so long, lest at length they get strength to ouer-master vs.

Lastly, by the tenor of this argument wee may see, how the Lord is grieued with the delay of repentance in any sinner: Simile. we know in our owne ordina­rie affaires (either in following matters of law, or when wee haue any suites & requestes to exhibite to princes or men of state) delay breeds many dangers, Mora trahit pe­riculum. and makes vs that we either go without the thing that we sue for, or els we obtaine it with great difficulty and charge: after the same sort, if any desires this heauen­ly promotion, which all the kingdomes [Page]in the world cannot purchase, and bee slacke in following the suite thereof, to thinke as Naaman thought of the wa­ters of Iordan, 2. King. 5 that other waters may be as good, & so another time as meet, and shall not to morrow bee as to day, &c. surely he shall eyther go without it, or els obtaine it with great difficultie: for the longer that we remaine in sinne, the further off will the Lord be from vs, yea so farre, as it shall be hard to find him; and the more sinnes that a man com­mitteth, the more walles of brasse are built and made vp betwixt God and vs, that the cries of our sinfull hearts can not haue passage vnto him, nor his mer­cies vnto vs. Were it not much better then (beloued) to seeke the Lord while he may be found, Esay 55. and to call vpon him while he is neere? to put vp our supplications into the hands of this heauenly Prince while hee now passeth by vs, then to stay and delay till he shuts himselfe vp in his chamber of presence, and then will not open vnto vs? Oh that wee could once bee wise and prouident for our owne saluation! When Abel offe­red sacrifice, he brought the first fruits [Page]of his sheepe, and the fatte of them to offer vp: Gen. 4.4 And the Lord had respect vn­to it. And shall wee thinke to spend the first fruites of our age, and the prime of our yeeres in sinne, and the seruice of the Deuill; & when we haue thus spent the strength, sap and greennesse of our youth; and grow old and withered, ly­ing like brands in the fire of sinne, Zach. 3. wasted and consumed to stumps, as the Prophet speaks; and then offer vp our old, adul­terous, broken and shattred sacrifices vnto God? shall we thinke (I say) the Lord will regard them? or that he will thus be mocked at our hands? Surely no. Our safest course (beloued) will then bee, not to grieue the Lord with delayes, that he should iustly complain of vs, as of Ierusalem: How long shall the wicked thoughtes remaine within thee? Is it not yet enough? Are ye not content to grieue men onely, but you will grieue mee also? &c. But rather forthwith whiles wee are in our best strength, Eccles. 12.1. before the euill day commeth, to season our greene vessels with the liquor of his spirit, euen with holinesse and sanctimonie of life, and to thinke the prime of our yeeres, [Page]and (as it were) the maidenhead of our youth, in the purest and holiest maner, to bee better bestowed on the Lord, who hath promised himselfe to bee a most louing and faithfull husband vnto vs, then vpon the Deuill, which is our professed enemie, and seekes our ouer­throw euerie way. O let vs consider how brittle a staffe we leaue vpon, whē we trust vnto our old age, which when it breakes, the splinters & shiuers there­of will wound vs. If we repose any con­fidence to the houre of death for Gods fauour, we tread but vpon yee; which if it be molten with a little heate of Gods anger, alas, wee sinke into the gulte of destruction. Indeed many are blinded in giuing credite to Sathan, when hee saith vnto them, Ye shall not die, or the time is not yet, &c. thinking that Gods mercie wil waite vpon them when their eyes shall be closed vp, or obtaine that at the houre of death, which they haue contemned all their life: but let vs for our partes labour for it, euen while it is called to day, yea while the Lord cals, and sayes vnto vs as hee said to Adam, Where art thou? Gen. 3.9. & neuer colour nor cloke [Page]our filthines with the Figge leanes of our deuises, or shrowd our selues in the thic­kets of our wicked imaginations; for then we shall shew our selues of what house we come: but rather endeuour to bee new creatures in Christ the second A­dam: yet let it repent vs that wee haue deferred the time so long, and suffered sinne to grow to such a height, to the greater offence of our heauenly father, and to the greater hazzard of our owne saluation: and as he hath thought long for our turning vnto him; so let vs think long for his turning vnto vs, that there may be amity, league, and friend­ship betwixt God and vs, and then shal we liue without feare of any forraigne enemy; Exod. 14 14. yea we may then hold our peace, for the Lord will fight for vs, and put all our enemies vnto the sword: hee will make vs returne into the court of hea­uen with palmes of honour in our hands, and crowns of victory vpon our heads; and the whole Trinitie shall with one voice say, Amen, for the confirmation of our eternall happines. Then shall we haue no more wars, nor rumors of wars to dismay vs; no more enemies to feare [Page]vs, no feare to grieue vs, no griefe to trouble vs, no trouble to disquiet vs, no sicknesse to distemper vs, or death to dissolue vs; but life in him who liueth for euermore. The Lord possesse out soules with a desire of it, and giue a blessing to that which hath beene deliuered. Amen.