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Jude 6.

1 Pet.3.20

the Angels, and the mischief that they attempted against God

after their fall.

But they were the firft example of the fevere vengeance of God. Of whom Saint Jude faith,

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And the Angels which kept not their firft eftate, but left their own habitation, he hath referved in everlasting chains under darkneffe, unto the judgement of the last day.

And for our first Parents,the pure eyes of God faw their nakedneffe after their fall, and came himself into the garden in the coole of the day and convinced the Delinquents, and examined the fault, and gave judgment against them all, and presently executed that judgment.

Then Cain when his fin was yet but in the bud, at the first putting forth thereof, in the cafting down of his countenance, was called to account for it, God difputing the matter with him, and after when he came to the execution of his abominable wickedneffe, God again well examined the evidence, convicted the Prisoner, and brought him to confeffion of his fault, and banished him from his prefence.

In all thefe examples God was a fpeedy and a fevere Judge, as was fit for terrour in the beginning; but after he grew more remiffe, and as the Apostle faith,

The long-fuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the Ark was a preparing; So that God declared himself patient and long-fuffering, who had before fhewed and revealed his fevere Juftice, that the terrour of his righteoufneffe might difcourage fin, and yet his gentle forbearance might invite to repentance.

Therefore throughout the whole course of holy Scripture, we have examples of both forts, both of quick vengeance and of favourable fufferance, that God may be known both to be just and merciful. The reafon whereof is,

1. That the danger might breed terrour; for who can promise himself mercy, when our juft God may and doth take fuch quick vengeance? Remember Lots wife, that he was Lots wife whom God favoured, that the Angel pulled her out of Sodom to haften her from their judgment,that her offence was no more then look ing back, whether out of curiofity to fee what God would do to Sadome, or out of unbelief doubting the truth of the threatning,

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or out of love to the place, or to fome perfons left behind to the wo, she was made an example of prefent calamity and turned into a pillar of falt.

Therefore remember Lots wife for terrour, to ftrike fear in thee that thou fin not, least thou be fmitten so soon as thou haft offended; this to prevent fin.

2. That fuch as fin and find not the prefent wrath of God a venging fin, may make use of that patience of God to repent, leaft a lingring judgment be but the whetting of a sword to a fharper cutting when it cometh.

For the remiffeneffe of God doth not proceed from any refpect of Perfons, nor from a liking of any kind of fin, but out of free and undeferved favour, and for the glory of his own mercy, that he may be feared.

Who knoweth the mind of the Lord, or who hath been of his Ufe. Counsel? who can tell when he is tempted to any fin, and embraceth the temptation, and committeth the fin, whether God will make him an example of his patience and mercy,& long-fuffering, by giving him both the time and grace of repentance, and open to him the fountain for fin and for uncleanneffe, to wash him and cleanse himself from his fin: or whether he will make him an example of his fevere juftice in chaftening his trefpaffe with fome speedy vengeance, as he did the rebellion of Corah, or the lying of Ananias and Saphirah.

Therfore our care must be to keep our heart with all diligence from conceiving fin, to take heed to our ways that we offend not in our tongue, to take heed to our foot, to our hand that they act not fin, ever remembring that God is a jealous God,and that loveth not iniquity, and that he hath pure eyes which cannot behold evil to allow thereof. oxid

Herein the example of Christ is good, I have fet the Lord al- pf,16.8f Ways before me; for godly feare doth put God always in fight of us, and of all our ways.

Let us fet our felves always in the fight of God, and answer every temptation to fin with this answer, Thon Q Lord art of purer eyes then to behold evil. da moda

For therefore hath God fo clearly revealed his Majefty, Power and Juftice to the fons of men, That his feare may be Ex.20, 20 Q2 before

before your eyes that you fin not.

The King on earth chafeth away all evil with his eye, because men feare the wrath of a King as the roaring of a lion and shall the pure eyes of God, feeing all our ways, being about our path, and about our bed, understanding our thoughts long before nothing awe us! Chrift faith, Fear not them that can kill the body, and can do nothing more, but feare him that can caft both body and fout into hell fire.

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This God that hath this power over the work of his own hands, as he hath pure eyes from whole fight nothing can hide or conceal itself: fo he hath a right hand, inveniet dextra ejus ini micos ejus, his right hand will find out his enemies, yea ftrong is his arme, and the word that he wieldeth is fharp; for David faith, he hath whetted it of purpofe to cut off from the earth the ungodly thereof he hath allo a bowe and that is bent, he hath a quiver and that is full of deadly arrows; and howfoever we fhall flight him, our God is a confuming fire; to the Elect he is ignis in rabo, a fire in the bush, burning but not confuming; but to the Jungodly that make no confcience of fin, he is ignis devorans, a hre devouring, as David faith.

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The flame fball burn up the ungodly, sim.id Singsta bao and The crying fins of our times, injuftice in the Courts of judgement, contempt of Religion, oppreffion of the poore, breach of the Sabbath, profane fwearing, beaftly drunkenneffe, abomi nable wantonneffe, contentions and fuch like, do give evidence against us, that there is no fear of God before our eyes, that we fear not the Prefence of God, we regard not his pure eyes.

We would have cured Babel of thofe difeafes, and the is not healed; the Word which is the proper Phyfick for thefe maladies is either not heard with attention,or not kept with retention;we mingleit not with faith, when we hear it, fo that we heap up wrath againft the day of wrath my brethren, do not fo wickedly, fin not against God,fin not against your own fouls, for fo Mofes cals KoNum. 16. rab & his company,he cals them finners against their own fouls, &c. that are enfamples recorded for the perpetual ute of the Church, even for them upon whom the ends of the world fhall come.. - When the judgment of Korah and his company was in fight, ic is faida nad dan to anot o

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All Ifrael that were round about them fled at the cry of them: for Num. 16. they faid, least the earth fwallow us up alfo.

Thefe Records of former times are kept for us that we might always have them in fight, that we might make it our own cafe, and feare before the Lord, and fly from the tents of fuch wicked perfons, who make no conscience of the pure eyes of God be holding all their ways, leaft we perish with them.

2. Upon this ground he doth difpute; for feeing he refolveth that God is moft juft, and there can be no fhadow of changing in him, he enquireth of him how it comes to paffe, that fo many evils be fuffered in the world, in the eye and fight of God.

From whence we are taught that in all our confiderations of the carriage of things under the government of Gods Providence, howfoever ftrange the effects may feem to us, yet we must take heed that we never queftion either the Wifedome, Justice, or Goodneffe of God.

Let us refolve on that, and we may fafely fit down and wonder at the effects of his will; for David faith, Tu facis mirabilia falus, Thou alone doft wonders. And Auguftine faith, that God doth manage things Judicio fape arcano fed femper justos often by fecret, but always by juft judgment.

And upon this holy refolution of the Prophet, which giveth God his due and no way doth tax him, but pronounceth him to be him felf,

I dare not receive the judgment of Mr. Calvin upon this paffage, because I am perfwaded that he is too harth in his cenfure of this Prophet, and yet I find it fo much against his will to find fault, that he doth what he can again, when he hath wounded him to heal him again.

I honour the memory of Mr.Calvin,asof a clear light fet up in the Church of God, and am as unwilling to tax him, as I find him unwilling to tax the Prophet, and therefore I with his Reader to read him out upon this place, and he fhall find that it is not matus violentus, but trepidationis,not a violent, but a trembling motion. that carries him. For

1. He faith, defcendit ad humanos affect us he defcendeth to humane affections, fo he may do and yet not offend.

2. He addech, oftendit fe quodammodo vacillare, he fhews him

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self fomwhat wavering;that cannot be defended; for the motto of a juft man is femper idem, always the fame;and it is the ungodly man who is unstable in all his ways; his heart is not established.

3.But he fmiteth home when he faith, verum quidem eft,fecun dam partem verfus affinem effe blafphemie, the fecond part of the verfe to be near a kinne to blafphemy; quia obmurmurat & infimulat deum unimia tarditatis, because he murmured and accused God of too much flackneffe.

Yet Mr. Calvin healeth him again; pardon him in this; for he was in Angusto in a ftrait, jealous of having the honour of God touched by the Prophet, and yet tender of any touch of the charity that he did owe to the Prophet, and therefore having delared his holy love to God, he doth his best to excuse the Prophet, faying of him, frænum fibi injicit & occurrit mature. Se temperat ut præveniat nimium fervorem, he tempers himself that he might allay this too great heat.

And in the end he confeffeth, quia non poteft fe expedire rebus tam confufis,difceptat potius fecum quàm cum deo, because he could not get out of this maze, that he reafoned with himself rather then God.

For my opinion I acquit the Prophet from any fufpicion of in ordinate affection in this his complaint, fo long as he doth do God the right to acknowledge him both eternall and equal; T wonder not if he, and all that confider him aright in his ways, fwallowed up in the depth of admiration of them.

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Let any man obferve that which followeth in the Prophets complaint, and he fhall fee great caufe of wonder; but whenfoever such occafion is offered to us to behold the like, let us do our God the right to confeffe him holy and juft, and to refolve that which way foever things go, there can be no fault in him: therefore let us fay with David,

Domine,tu justuses, & jufta funt judicia tua, thou art juft, and thy judgements are juft.

It is a good faying of old Eli the Prieft, when Samuel told him of the judgments of God upon his houfe, It is the Lord; let him do what feemeth him good.

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Yet is it not unlawful for the children of God reverently to confider the ways of God; yea it is a work for the Sabbath, to

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