Yet feared that we are very neare it. But as I hope this, so the Lord will bee a witnesse with me, that I feare whether all these persons, and their graces doe beare a just proportion to the meanes and mercies, which God hath given to England; or to that huge Inundation of finne, wherewith [Page 45] England is over-run at this day. And here; had I a tongue to speake, and you and I hearts and eyes to powre out teares and sorrow, wee might make this place a Bochim a place of weepers. For, what because all these sinnes are found amongst us. kinde of these sins doe not overflow us? You will say at first, not Idolatry; but I tell you, neither were the Germanes carried away with Idolatry, when their desolations broke in upon them; nor the Iewes, before their last destruction. The measure of our Iniquity may possibly be full, though this sin come not in; but God knowes, and you know that we have not onely abundance of Idolatrous Papists, who are proud, insolent and daring, but abundance of Popish Idolatrous spirits, superstitiously addicted, willing to embrace any thing that goes that way, onely they will not have it goe under the name of Popery. And for the other sinnes of contempt of Gods holy Ordinances, his day, his servants, and all his wayes, oppression, cruelty, defrauding of brethren, the sensuall sinnes of uncleannesse, especially that of drunkennesse; Goe but to the places of greatest resorts, Market-Townes, populous Cities, and Fayres, &c. and your hearts would tremble to thinke, how our Land is overspread with these: Oh Beloved, the And that in great measure, which prevailes generality of the people of England, is extreamly wicked, and which argues our case to bee most miserable, it seemes to beare downe, and to break over all our Bankes, multitudes sinning with a whores forehead, proclaiming their sinnes as Sodom: And the vox populi is; that many of the Nobles, Magistrates, over Magistrates. Knights and Gentlemen, and persons of great Quality are arrand Traytors and Rebells against [Page 46] God, taking part with wicked men, and wicked causes against the Truth, Patrons of Alehouses and disorders, checking inferiour Officers, who discover any zeal for God against an ill cause: That in many of their families (not to mention Religion) there is not so much as a face of Civility: Many others of them, who seem to wish well, dare not draw out the sword which God hath given them, and some few others borne downe in their places with the torrent of wickednesse. And as for our Ministers, how many sad complaints and petitions hath this Honourable Assembly received Ministers. against many hundreds of them? multitudes of them rotten and unsound in their doctrine, and so vitious and corrupt in their lives, that they fulfill that which Archbishop Abbot said in his Lectures upon Ionah, professing that his heart bled within him, to thinke of the miserable condition of the precious soules of many people who had such Ministers, as Iohannes Aventinuus speakes of, who (if they were not in the Ministery) would not bee thought fit hog-heards to keepe swine. Besides thousands of others, who (God knowes) want either will or skill to doe the Lords worke faithfully. And the residue who have endeavoured to give the people warnning, and to teach them the good way of the Lord, have been a long time both downe and opposed as the troublers of our Israel. Sure I am, what ever our Ministers are, or doe, the sins of the land are too strong for them, and our people remaine unsubdued to Jesus Christ.
2 Let us all labour in the right way to turn this wrath of Vse. To prevent it, First by mourning for it. Num. 12 14 Amos 3. v 9 &c. God from us, & that, First, by mourning under it; God looks we should be ashamed when he spits in our face, and takes it wonderfull unkindly, if we tremble not when this Lion roares. Consider seriously of that place, Esay 22. There you shal see an enemy was comming against Ierusalem & God was much displeased, because they took not the right way for their safety, and so ill that he said that iniquity should never be purged from thē till they dyed, & yet see what they did, they scoured [Page 50] up their armour, they gathered the waters, that the enemy might have no benefit by them, they repaired the breaches in the wals, made a deep ditch for greater fortification: what hurt was there in all this? Oh but they begun at the wrong end: the Lord called thē to weeping and mourning, and to baldnes, and to girding with sackcloth, to tremble before him because of his wrath, and this they regarded not, and therefore God would never pardon it. Till therfore we mourn because of Gods displeasure, all other meanes of welfare will faile of that comfortable effect which we desire. I know the world makes a scorn of this, you are one of the mourners, but let our soules be numbred among those mourners; God will restore comfort to these mourners: and no man knowes the power which these poore mourners have to turne away Gods wrath.
Serious Sam 2 Indir – Full Torrent
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