times they prevaile with Gods children, that they may stand upon their guard, and keep better watch. But for the ungodly of the earth, they emplunge them in the fame in that they do canfe others to commit, that the fame difgrace and fhame which they have done to their neighbour, may reflect upon themselves. Some have been fo afraid of making God the author of evill, because it is faid Tradidit eos Deus, God hath delivered them up, that they have understood the Apostle to fpeak of that God who is called dens faculi hujus,the god of this world; as the Manichees faw fo much evill done, and knew not how to free God from guiltineffe of it, they therefore made duo principia,two beginnings, But that needs nor. It is likely that fuch a Father as is perfonated in the parable of the Prodigal, could not but observe in the education of his fon, how thrifty he was like to prove; yet fuch a father giving the portion of his goods which is a childs part, to fuch a fon, and letting him take his journey into a far country, is not acceflary to his riotous living. Anguftine faith,that the heart of man is harned by God, Non impartiendo malitiam, fed non largiendo gratiam, not by instilling any malice, but not giving grace. He feeth the Chaldeans take delight in making men drunk; ut na ditatem videant; he letteth go the hold he hath of them for a time, and leaveth them to themselves;and that which was their fport, is now their fault and their shame. I fay therefore againe, confider your felves. When thou feeft a drunkard fhaming himself, as thefe here did, confider whose light fhineth in thy understanding, tó fhew thee how foul a finne that is; confider that that is not enough; for all drunkards know that drunkenneffe is a fin; confider whofe grace it is that establisheth thy heart, and keepeth thee from committing the fame fin. Infult not over thy brother, deride him not, discover him not to increase his fhame; rejoyce not against him, rather bewaile his fin with the tears of thy foul, feck by the 1pirit of meeknesse to reftore him, advise him friendly, chide him lovingly. For if thou who profeffeft a fevere life,and to make confcience of of thy wayes, shouldest fall into this fin thy felfe, thou wouldest not only fhame thy perfon, but thy profession also. And indeed thou carrieft about thee corpus peccati, a body of fin; thou haft the matter and stuffe of all fins within thee,if grace do not aide and affift thee. Lastly, let me admonish you; if any of you by occafion are over-taken at any time with this fault, be of Davids mind. Let the righteous Imite me, fuffer a gentle chiding from your friends that love you, and hate that evill in you. Take it for a favour of God, and think that it is he that speak. eth to you in that reprehenfion. Hearken not to those that flatter you in your fins. Alexander in a drunken fit flew Clitus his beloved friend and faithfal Counsellor. Infteed of reproving his fault, even then when he was fit to be wrought upon, being fenfible of it; he had three flatterers, Anaxarchu, Ariftander, Calisthenes. Anaxarchus an Epicurean Philofopher,he told him that it was no matter, he was a King, and he might do what he lift. Ariftander a StoickPhilofopher told him that it was not fault, but fate that killed Clitus. Califthenes a Courtier fought to heale the foare with sweet words. That is not the way to bring us to amendment of our evils; a gentle difcreet reprehenfion well taken, will pierce the heart,and fill it with comfort. John the Baptift, quis pranunciavit vobis ut fugeritis ab ira ventura? who hath done you fuch a favour to prevent fuch a danger? 3. Why doth God inflict punishment? God giveth a reafon of his fevere proceeding against the Babylonians; the violence of Lebanon, and the spoyle of beasts which made them afraid, and for the violence of the land, &c. Shewing that their cruelty to man and beast, had provoked God against them to punifh all their fins, their pride,covetouines and drunkenneffe. You have heard of their cruelty at large before to men, their very Cities were built with blood. The Apostle faith, Hath God care of oxen? Here Here you fee that God ufed the beafts of Lebanon for a ter ror to the enemy; and now he declareth himself an avenger alfo of their quarrel, because of the cruell fpoyle that the Chaldeans did make amongst the beasts of Gods people. God gave man Lordship over the beafts of the field, he made him a lord to rule them, not a tyrant to destroy them. One faith upon thofe words of Solomon, a juft man regardeth Pro.12.10 the life of his beaft; that seeing God hath put the beasts of the field in fubjection to man, that he muft fhew himself a lord. 1. In pafcendo, providing neceflary food for them. 2. In parcendo, afing them favourably. 3. In patiendo, bearing with them in their kind. This was the finne of the Chaldeans, they were deftroyers,and fought not only the ruine of the people of the land, but the deftruction alfo of their cattel, that the meanes of living, if any efcaped to re-inhabit, might be taken away. This juftice of God in avenging the wrongs done to brute beafts, by calling them to an account for their finnes that did the wrong, doth teach us 1. That the providence and care of God doth stoop fo low as the regard of our cattel, Chrift made good ufe of it, Confiderate volatilia cali, confider the fouls of heaven; God feedeth them, quanto magis vos, how mach more you? 2. It teacheth us to ufe our dominion of thefe creatures mo derately, left the Affe of Balaam do reprove his owner. 3. It fheweth how much God doth make of any thing that ferves him; the text faith that these beafts did make the Chaldeans afraid, and for this they fuffered predation, for the service they did to God and his Church against their enemies, in Chrifts argument, how much more will he defend us, if we fight his battels against his enemies? 4, We learne here that when God cometh to execute venge ance, he furveigheth the whole catalogue of offences; and as he faith in David, I will reprove thee, and fet them in order before Tt thees thee; the wrong to the Cities, to the men, to the beafts, to perfons, to places, all comes into an account, and the offenders thall fmart for all. Verf. 18. what profiteth the graven Image, that the maker thereof hath graven it? the molten Image, and a teacher of lies, that the maker of his work trufteth therein, to make dumb Idols? 19. Woe unto him that faith to the wood, awake;to the dumb stone arife, it shall teach; behold it is laid over with gold and filver and there is no breath at all in the midst of it. 20. But the Lord is in his holy temple, let all the earth keep filence before him. Ere God denounceth his judgment against their Idolatry. The words of this text have no obfcurity in them. Thus much then shall ferve for the opening of this text, that all this commination of woe and judgment, of which you have heard, is the voyce of the true God,declaring his juft proceeding against the fins formerly mentioned, and to this purpose he doth here lay open the vanity of falfe gods. What profit can there come faith he of a graven Image, that the maker thereof hath graven? he asketh men this question, and appealeth to the light of naturall reafon; can that profit a man, meaning in the power and goodneffe of a Divine nature, which is the work of a mans hands? be it either a graven image wrought upon by art of the workman, or a molten Image caft in any metall: can this profit a man ? He calleth the Image thus carved, graven or molten, a teacher of lies, for it is a meer illufion that any man fhould fo befoole himfelfe, as to believe that fuch an artificiall compofition wrought by the hand of man, fhould be efteemed a god. This is amplified, and the wonder encreased, for though other men may be carried away with a fuperftitious over-weening of fuch an Idol; yet that the maker of it fhould truft in it, who when he was at work, peradventure as the Poet faith, Incertw (cam Jcamnum faceretne Priapum, maluit effe Deum. It was at his curtefie whether it should be an Idol or fome other thing. Therefore verf. 19. God faith, Woe unto him that faith to the wood awake, and to the dumb stone arife; that is, woe to him that trusteth to an Idol for defence against evill, or deliverance out of danger; for that is one of the ufes that is made of Idols to fuccour in time of diftreffe, as the Difciples did awake their Mafler in a ftorme. You see that when the workman hath put his hand upon it, and fhewed his beft skill, here God doth call it wood, and a dumb ftone ftill. He proveth it thus. It shall teach, although it be dumb, yet the dumbneffe thereof fhall declare it to be an inanimate impotent thing: For howsoever the matter of the Idol, be it wood or ftone or metall, be laid over with gold and filver, as fuperfti tion is coftly enough in adorning their gods, yet there is no breath at all in the midst of them, and having no life in them, they have no power to give help to them that ferve them. Verf 20. But the Lord is in his holy temple; for having fhewed the vanity of Idols, he cometh now to reveale himselfe to them. This fome understand, that the Lord is in heaven, the temple of his holineffe; and though the heaven of heavens cannot containe him, yet he hath faid, Heaven is my throne; and Chrift teacheth us to fay, qui es in cali, who art in heaven. So the temple at Jerufalem, where he faid, I will dwell, is the temple of his holinelle; and as the Babylonians and other heathen had their Idols and their Temples for them to which they did refort; fo he produceth in opposition to them the God of Ifrael in his holy Temple, to whom the Jewes may resort for help against all their enemies. Let all the earth keep filence before him. In which words either he difcourageth all power that fhould rfe up against him; or he requireth the voluntary fubmiffion of the earth to him as to the fupreme Soveraigne of all the world? for Keeping filence is a figne of reverence and fubmiffion, as Job fpeaking of his former glory, when God had abafed him, faith, that when he came forth, The |