Pfal.89.3. God himselfe confeffeth, I have made a Covenant with my chofen, I have sworn unto David my fervant;

Verf.4.

Thy Throne will I establish for ever, and build up thy Throne to all Generations.

But yet with condition of obedience, for

If his children forfake my law, and walk not in my judgements:
If they break my ftatutes and keep not my Commandements:
Then will I visit their tranfgreffion with the rod, and their ini-
quity with stripes.

So that no promise or oath of God doth give Priviledge or
immunity to any to offend the law of God.

And fuch is the equal Juftice of God, that David though a
man after Gods heart, although a fervant of Gods finding, a
king of Gods own annointing, doth confeffe,

If Iregard wickedneffe in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.
Mofes his fifter Miriam must be a Leper, and fhut out of the
Camp for murmuring.

Mofes and Aaron fhall not go into the promised land for
their want of fure truft in God.

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Verf. 30.
Verf 31.
Veri. 32.

Reaf.

For God is no accepter of Perfonsh

Thofe who are fealed with the fpirit of promife, have their infirmities, lapfes and relapfes, but as they fin not unto death, 1.The fecond death, fo they can't fuffer any other then temporal chaftifements: yet thefe they cannot ftop, for by this Phylick God doth often purge them and restore them to health; in this fire of tribulation he doth often purge their droffe.

For fome water will ferve them to wash them if they be taken in time for fome that have taken ruft with Gods long forbear ance, and their own cuftome of finning, fire is neceflary to burn out their droffe.

But none efcape; of this all are Partakers; and as perfonal fins have perfonal chaftifements, fo epidemical fins have popular pu nishments; when a Common-wealth is diseased, what though it be a People as Ifrael whom God hath chofen out of all the nations of the world, what though he have rooted out the heathen to plant them in, although he have given them a land flowing with mi k and honey, fetled the Priesthood and his Worship, given them his Word, continued them in peace many generations:

Yet

2011

Yet if they shall ufe violence and oppression: if they shall break the Law of God, and corrupt the feat of judgement;

The Lord will fee it, and be angry; and Noah, Daniel and Job, Shall not keep out judgment: rather the complaints of the just shall help to haften the coming of wrath against that land.

We have heard alfo that judgment beginneth at the house of God.

When God fent deftroyers into Jerufalem, their Commiffion was, Slay utterly old and young, both maids and the children, and Ezech 9.6 01 the women, and begin at my Sanctuary.

He hath spoken the word, and we have had multitude of Preachers, Religion and all kind of learning; all Mercature hath flourished, and we have traded to the ends of the world; Mechanical and manual arts have come up to their full growth, we may fay, Non fecit Deus taliter, we have peace now with all the world, at leaft in fhew and pretence,

Vse.

We may fay that England hath been for many years, fince the reftitution of our Religion, Gods pleasant plant; he hath given it reft, he hath hedged you, walled it with his Providence. He hath given us peace within, he hath given us victories abroad, he hath kept out the Chaldeans the Spaniards, whofe invincible strength came to poffeffe and divide the land.

Let not these favours of God fwell us, and make us prefume in our hearts, that our God cannot be loft to us, to encourage finne; if the fins of the Iews be found amongst us, violence,contempt of Religion, and corruption of Juftice. God will do a thing in our days, which he that heareth will not believe by rea fon of our long reft. Westboro ya dhas

.7

11

All the favours of God came in with true Religion; and the contempt thereof wil carry them out again;for God is no accep ter of Perfons as we are. Angli, if we were Angeli, he would caft us out of our heaven upon earth, and give our land to ftrangers that shall punish us, and make them that hate us to be lords dall in boo mbo y geil!'

io

over us.

2. The executioners of this judgment; wherin observe, aggi 1. By whom God will punish. i duhBob to trina så? Se. How farre the punishment shall extend.

53.W

What fhall become of them whom God doth ufe as his rods in this execution.

K

1. By

1Pet. 4.17

1. By whom? by the Chaldæans; Thefe are described,
1.By their own fitnefle for their designe,
2. By their Praparation to accomplish it,
(3. By their intention in it..
2. How far the punishment (hall extend,
1. To a full Conqueft.
12. To a proud triumph.

3. What fhall become of them.

. They fhall change their mind,

2. They fhall offend in imputing their victories to their own Idols.

1370

1. By whom God fhall punish the Jews.

717

1. Of their fitneffe for this execution, they are defcribed to us Iv 99togen

by these notations.

I. They are bitter.
2. They are hafty.
3. They are dreadfull.
4. They are wilful.

Nowada
baro

Bitter in their harth and crucl natures.nd swaro 2. Hafty in their participation and speed sunan has 1.d45 3. Dreadful in their power and ftrength.

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4. Wilful in taking their own ways; for their judgement and dignity proceedeth from themselves, foetovst 1.751 To be bitter and flow gives warning to refift, and affordeth the benefits of time, a great friend to defence rodili :9

To be bitter, and hafty, and weak, is but a lightning, a flash and away. w dam:

To be bitter and hafty are dreadful; but to admit advice gives time of breathing but when the nature is inflamed with bitterneffe, and the action is accelerated with haste, and fortified with ftrength, and followed with wilfulneffe, this makes up a full danger, efpecially where God fetteth fuch a work, or Prad

These be evil affections in this People,& prove their minds fet upon mischief; yet God maketh rods of thefe twigges, and whips of thefe cords to punish the firsof his own People.

The point of doctrine here is, inaq unka 072

That God can make good ufe of the vices of men, and can make wicked men ferve him as the instruments of his will, as Ax

guftine

guftine, Deus bonus utitur malis noflris bene!

So Mr. Calvin judicioufly obferveth on the text, Hee quidem non fuerunt laudanda in Chaldais, amarulentia & furor; fed poteft deus hac vitia convertere in optimum finem. St. Augustine treating of the profemination of the Gofpel, and the quick fpreading thereof, hath two chapters to our purpose.

In the 50. he fheweth. Per paffiones pradicantium illustrior facta eft Pradicatio, by the fufferings of Preachers preaching is made the more famous.

In the s T. Per diffentiones hæreticorum fides Catholica rob oratur, by the diffentions of hereticks the Catholik faith is ftrengthned. He is fo full to this purpofe, to fhew what good God works out of evil,that I cannot fuppreffe his words.

my

Inimici ecclefie quolibet errore cecentur, fi accipiunt poteftatem, Corporaliter affligendi exercent ejus patientiam."

Si tantummodo male fentiendo adverfantur exercent ejus fapientiam, S

Civ.dei.18

cap. 50.

Ut diligantur, exercent ejus benevolentiam. But when the Church of God grows foule, and when People of God forfake God,and go in their own ways, then God ufeth the wicked ad vindiɛl am; then as David faith, the wickedare the word of the Lord. PL.17.13. And that is the reafon why God doth fuffer fo many evils in the world, because they be his rods to chaften evil.

18

Even in this example, leremie the Prophet of the Lord doth threaten the fame judgment. The Chaldeans shall fight against this city, and take it; and burn it with fire.

Thus faith the Lord, deceive not your felves, faying, the Chaldeans shall depart from us for they shall not depart

For though you had fmitten the whole army of the Chaldeans that fight against you, and there remained but wounded men amongst them, yet they should rife up, every man in his tent and burn the city with fire.

'j Thus God doth, because he will declare his owne perfection Cap. 1. of wifedome and goodneffe, that he can work good out of evil,

and difpofe the very vices of men to good.

And thus the examples of foule finnes in our brethren, do

move us,

K 2

1.To

Jet. 37.8,

Reaf,.z.

Real. 3.

1. To a loathing thereof; as we read, the Lacedemonians would make their flaves drunk, and then fhew them to their children to make them loath drunkenneffe; and all that have the feare of God, when they fee and heare the evil conversation, and evil and profane words of the wicked, they behold in them the ugly face of finne, and are touched at the heart with a detefta, tion of the fame.

2. They move us to charity.

1. Charitas incipiens at our felves to take warning by their example, that we when we fee a thief,do not turn to him, nor be Partakers with the adulterers..

3

To make us fet a guard upon our whole life, a zealous pur pose to eschew evil.

To use the means for our prefervation from evil, which are hearing, and meditation in the law of God, and frequent and fervent Prayer.

2. Charitas proficiens, to pray God for our brethren, that he would direct their paths, forgive their fins, and mend their lives, and preferve others from being corrupted by their evill ex ample.

2. God bringeth forth the effects of his own good will, out of the miniftry of the vices of men, to declare his true juftice in punishing finne by finne, that finners may fee that they ferve for rods, one to whip another of them, whereas the just do not, cannot hurt one another; for all evil is noxious, holineffe is humble.

T

God declareth himfelf King and fupream Lord of the earth herein; for as David faith, fecit quicquid voluit, he hath done what ever he will. He will not let either the finner that acteth, or Satan that fuggefteth evil, to have the managing thereof, for howfoever it feemeththat they serve their own turns therein, he will difpofe their evil to his own proper ends, and they fhall unwillingly work for him, though both the bent of the fugge Ation of Satan, and the promise of the intention of the finner, and the fewel of the affection, and the whole force of the acti on be diverted against him. So fofephs brethren full of envie to him fold him. into Egypt

What a charity did God work out of it? fo the Jews for envy

purfued