The Voice of the Lord from Ireland

To apply it unto our selvee:

It is the case of our neighbor nation, what are they greater sinners then we, I tell you nay, the very same Judgments that fall upon them shall fall upon you unless you prevent it by timely repentance. These judgments are sent as examples and instructions unto us. Those that fell with their carcasses in the wilderness are examples unto us that we might not run unto the same excess of riot. The Lord might have made you examples unto Ireland, as well as he hath made Ireland an example unto you. As the Lord saith in the Prophesy of Hosea 4. 11. I have overthrown some of you as God did overthrow Sodom & Gomorrah, & ye are as a firebrand snatched out of the burning, & yet you returned not. God hath overthrown that land especially the best of the land, according as he did to Germany; And now he is come nearer to us; The miseries & calamities which they endure were too tedious to relate.

Et animus reminiscere horret luctusque refugit.

And as if God did intend yet to show us his judgments more near to us: the fire breaks out in that corner of the nation that we least feared, which should cause us to repent in Sackcloath and ashes; We know it is the case of our Sovereign that we should take this to heart: We know that David when the judgments of God was upon him in his child, then he fasted and humbled his soul with fasting; yea and is he did when affections were upon others of his Brethren, that were no great friends unto him. We see it also in Nehemiah, that he hearing such news as we now hear from Ireland, Nehemiah 1. 3. Nehemiah asked how his brethren the children of Israel were, as he was told that they were in great afflicton.

This was the news, how doth he take it. And it came to pass when I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven. This is the sense that all the members of the body should have one of another. They should call upon God one for another. God makes this an example unto us, that if we do not repent, the same judgment or a greater shall fall upon us.

The thing which we are to do is to repent; The Physician he tells us the danger that we are in, if we do not repent, & he gives us a proviso that if will take this course notwithstanding the evil that is against us, he will forgive us if we do repent.

And here we will see first, the danger we are in.

The danger is perishing, either repent or there is no possibility of salvation, no prevention of God's judgments in this world, nor in the world to come without repentance; think not that these words are in vain, think not that these words are spoken in vain, T'is not a bare and cold profession of Religion that shall save you, if you do not repent you shall perish, and be destroyed.

Beloved, we must Consider with ourselves, that God is merciful when he will pardon a sinner. But when he intends to leave them, he is not merciful if they do not repent: And thou deceivest thyself, and makest an Idol of thy God, if thou think that he is so made up of mercy, that he hath forgotten to be just. The Lord will break the hairy scalp of them that commit iniquity.

Say not I shall be delivered, notwithstanding I go on in these courses, the Lord will not have mercy upon that man. A man that goes on in iniquity, the Lord will not have mercy upon such an one, his mercy appears to them that are weary of their sins, and come unto him, what is it that makes the sin of the Holy Ghost so terrible as it is there described. Heb. 6. 6. It is impossible.

If they shall fall away to renew them again unto repentance; That's the deadly sin, the sin against the Holy Ghost. But what what is it I ask thee, that makes this sin so deadly? why because he that commits this sin is not renewed by repentance; If he were renewed by repentance, this sin against the Holy Ghost should be forgiven him, do not think that the sin of man is above the mercy of God, do not think that any sin that mortal man can commit, shall out-vie the blood of Christ, the sin against the Holy Ghost should not be deadly, except the point lie in this, he cannot be renewed by repentance, so that if thou be not renewed by repentance, thou art in the state of him that is guilty of the sin against the Holy Ghost, of one miserable and irrecoverable, many things I have to speak, but I see that my time is but short, and therefore I must be brief.

You see the first thing, the danger is inevitable, no way to scape it but if we repent, the Lord will repent of the judgment against us, but if we repent not, there is no hope to escape either in this world, or in the world to come; But I come to the duty of the day.

For the work of this day fasting is nothing but the outward way, yet it is the only way to repentance, do not think that you come to hear an ordinary Sermon God expects it at thy hands, that thou shouldst examine what thou hast heard, whatsoever thou hast heard this day, out of this place of thy duty, the Lord looks thou shouldest do it speedily, Now is the Axe laid to the root of the tree, and therefore every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit shall be hewn down and cast into the fire. Now, why not before? now that is now the preaching of the Gospel comes to you, now the Lord exhorts you by the danger, now he shows you the way how to repent, and to escape the wrath that is to come. Now if you do not repent, God's sword is drawn, the Axe is laid to the root of the tree, and God will cut you down. Now the Lord he threateneth you, these things only that you might repent. Therefore as God saith in Hosea; I will do thus. How? I will do to you, as I have done to them in Ireland. I will do to you, as I have done to Sodom and Gomorrah. And because I will do thus unto thee, prepare to meet thy God oh Israel, I am ready to strike, and that I may not strike thee, Prepare to meet thy God. Those men that are our enemies they strike before they give us warning, but saith God, therefore I will do thus unto thee, and because I will do thus, do thou meet me with repentance, Psal. 103. ver. 12. Except you return the Lord is preparing of his arrows. Psal. 103. ver. 12. Why doth he not shoot, presently he must bend his bow, and draw out his arrows, and tell you of it that you may remember.

Remember this now, now that God calls you all to repentance, now if you neglect the practice of it, the Axe is laid to the root of the tree.

But now to come to the point of the act of repentance, I will not stand much to show you what repentance is, but to show you what you are to do. As you must not come before the Lord and say, Lord we repent us of our sins, and mock God, never intending it, never do it upon the peril of his indignation, of his wrath that shall burn against you in the world to come. Know that these are not vain words, for Repentance; there are two parts of it, and the Lord doth expect that both should be performed by us.

We read in the Scripture of repentance for sin, and we read of repentance from sin.

So the Apostle to the Corinthians, saith thus; least my God should humble me before you; for there are many that repent not of their abomination. and Acts. 8. 22. Repent therefore of this thy wickedness.

Repentance hath two looks like Ianus with two faces it looks backward, and it looks forward, when it looks backwards it looks upon the thing that is done, and because that is done, cannot be undone, therefore it weeps, and wails, and greives, that thing is done to God's dishonor, which cannot be undone, that is repentance when a man looks upon sin, rending himself, and is sorrowful for what is past, thats but the first part of repentance.

The second is that, that looks upon sin with distaste, it is abhominable unto him: It is not hereafter I will not swear, I will not be light & wanton, I will not be evil, but there must be an hatred of all sin, you that love the Lord hate evil; there must not be only a ceasing from the Act of sin, but there must be a reformation of the will, and of the heart, to the utter obhorring to the utter hating of sin.

Concerning the former of these, Repentance when it looks upon sin that is past, the sins that I have committed that many have not regarded for the fornications that you have committed, you must understand that here the work of Repenting is humiliation. But (mark it) not an humiliation wherein a man is mere passive, or is humbled by some great affliction that is fallen upon him. The judgment of God may come to a man, the stoutest man and humble him, but that is not an humiliation of Repentance.

The humiliation which Repentance brings it is an • ctive passion: the stoutest man that is, when God's hand that hath touched him, he will cry, and groan, and lament, and yet he is no penitent for all this, but repentance it is an Act I do myself, I Act it myself. Rend your hearts and not your garments they did rend them with their own hands: so to have a rent heart, it must be an Act of myself upon myself, I will not stay till God's cross fall upon me & crush me, but I will labor to take up the Cross; I will do it by God grace also, for as you heard well in the morning, nothing but the Holy Ghost can work this in your hearts, yet God doth not work with us as we do with a spade. The Spirit of God maketh use of nature, not as Agent but as a sujbect wherein grace is; and if there were not this the spirit could work without it.

It is said of our Savior Christ in the case of Lazarus, when he groaned he was troubled, if you do observe the reading in the Margent, it is, And Jesus troubled himself, Luke 15. And so in in his other sufferings, Phil. 3. 20. He offered himself; so that this humiliation must be in obedience. Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, and he will raise you up so that the Humilitation, it must be a voluntary work, having its original from God's spirit, That seeing there is no other remedy in the world, to show thy hating of it; thou wilt take an holy revenge, thou wilt break that stony heart of thine, and thou wilt not suffer it to be obdurate against the Lord, but howsoever God never doth this against a man's will. Heeris the point, the humilitation which the sinner hath, it is an act of his will; He doth not only suffer as those that are struck by the hand of God, so Judas might have repented, but that comes out of a kind heart to Almighty God, that it breaks the heart.

But beloved, e • e I go further, we will examine wherein this humilitation doth stand.

Humilitation stands in a general process, which we make against ourselves. If we will judge ourselves, we shall not be judged by him, so that this Humiliation is a Judicial process against ourselves, we will make our hearts throb, we will make our eyes flow forth into tears, when We look back upon our sins committed. This is the Humilitation of a penitent sinner; so in this case a man comes to sum up all the powers and faculties of his soul, the will, the understandng, the conscience, the sense, it will require all thy power, and all thy strength to do it. Thy memory that must draw up the Indenture, thou must consider that God will open all when he comes to judge thee; Thou swearest, thou hast forgotten it presently, but God hath written it in a book; thy conscience shall remember every oath that thou hast sworn, every idle word that thou hast spoke, you see God. Psal. 50. Saith; He will set all our sins in order before us, he will rub up this dull memory of ours, we must draw unto our remembrance the multitude of the sins that we have committed against God. It is the speech of the Prophet Esah, call to your remembrance the sins that you have committed; and if you would rub up your remembrances, and do as stewards that have a bad memory, make it their business to cast and account every night, what they lay out the day before: and so if we would every day before we go to bed call ourselves to an account, how we have spent that day, our memories should not be so short, we must know how to set sin before the sight of Almighty God, Briefly thus.

Look first in thy own debt, a debt that thou didst commit before thou wast born, begin at the highest, what was that? Do not you know that many men have been arrested, and undone for debts, for which as we say they did never drink; a debt may be owing by the son for his Father, after that his father is dead, thou art in the loins of Adam, if Adam had stood, thou shouldest have stood, bring he is fallen, thou fallest with him: we all hange upon Adam as the stringe that the Prophet speaks of; that as a bunch of keys hung upon a string, when that the string is broken, then all the keys fall down, with him we all hang, and with him we all fall; the sin acted by Adams justice imputed unto thee as thou art in his loins.

Again in the second place, by reason of this imputation of Adams sin unto thee, thou art deprived of that image in which Thou and He were created; as soon as ever Adam acted the sin, presently Adam was spoiled; His understanding was darkened, his will was rebellious, his conscience was disordered, only here was the difference, Adam was despoyled of it, after he had continued long in the world, thou as soon as ever soul and body were conjoined together, God considers thee in Adam to have reached forth thy hand to the forbidden fruit, and therefore the same thing that befell Adam, that he was spoiled of his original righteousness, the same befalls thee, the Prophet David in the 51. Psal. He was guilty of murder, and adultery yet for all this he saith, he was borne in sin, and do you not think he did it to extenuate his sin and iniquity, that he was borne in sin, and concelved in it, as if a man should do me harm, because it was natural unto him, he could not abide me, should not I think him the more wicked, so the sins against God are very heinous; the root from whence this adultery proceeded, and this murder came, it came from the corruption of his ill nature.

As we deal with Toads and Foxes and Vermin, we kill and destroy them, when they do no hurt, we think they may do ill, because the nature of them is to do harm; so God he finds us such Toads, such things, even before we are out of the shell, and therefore God may justly deal with us so: so that God may take a young Child and cast it into Hell as soon as it is borne. If God will do this for the first sin, Death went over them that did not sin after the similitude of the transgression of Adam. Death went over those that committed no natural sin, as Adam did. Consider this, that when we were first borne by reason of the seed o • Rebellion that is in us, if God had marked us as soon as we came out of the womb, he might justly have committed us to Hell, begin with the vanity of your childhood. Consider with yourselves how soon that evil seeds spring forth into fruit. Consider how in its rife in a child before you think it hath understanding. Consider that which comes from Pride, frowardness, wrangling, and wantonness. Look afterwards when thou comest to thy riper age, when thou wast married, when thou wast without government. Divide thy life into several parts, all these things may serve to set before us, those sins that we have committed, not hiding them, not concealing them with Adam. To play the part of the Kings Attorney not only to bring an evidence of the fact, but to show how heinous and grievous it is. And beloved, when this hath been done both in sins of commission and (which will break any ones heart to think) of the sins of omission; the innumerable good things which God hath commanded me to do, yet I have neglected them, nay rather there proceeds words that arc so far from tending to edification, that they are corrupt words, as the Apostle speaks; this I told unto you, Thus you must do, the more of those sins you put before you, the more incited you should show yourselves: My sins are more then the hairs of my head, and in another place, my sins are a burrhen too heavy for me to bear: so that this is the part of a penitent sinner, to set his sins before him, and then to desire God to forgive his secret sins, so draw them before thy heart, before Almighty God, and condemn them, and then God will not condemn thee; when we have done thus, this appertains to the first part wherein I indite myself, these and these things I have done, these and these things God hath committed to me, I have received much grace of God in vain; I have abused my Talent and hid it in a napkin; these be for the Inditement.

But then we must come to the trial, when my memory hath brought them to me, and when my understanding hath considered them and weighed them in the balance of the sanctuary, and I consider that they are sins to be aggraated not only by the Law but by the Gospel, then my confience presently like a piece overcharged recoyles me backward, and I consider the weight of them that they are a burden to heavy for me to bear. Then the soul strikes the heart, this is my case; considering what the law hath said, considering what the Gospel hath said: Alas if I had not committed these sins while I was under grace, under the Minister of the Gospel, when Christ invited me to come unto him; when he bids me cast this burden upon his shoulders, and he would ease me, I will not do it, and though that he comes with peace and with safety we will not receive him; as you heard in the morning; set before you the representation of the true Crucifix. The lamb of God that was slain in the law▪ He that offered him was to lay his hand upon the head of the Lamb and confess his sins over him, and then the Lamb was slain. Now consider this, my swearing & my lying & my vanity, my pride in apparel, and all my sins, • ll are laid upon the Lambs head that was never guilty of these vanities, the Lamb of God, he was slain though thou canst not groan for thy sins, thou canst not weep for thy sins Look, then look upon Christ, he sought God with strange cries and tears, not in regard of the punishment, though thou diddest not cry for thy sins, he had strong cries and tears. Phil 5. And observe the highest cry. My God, my God why hast thou forsaken me.

You that think sin to be so small a matter, consider your sin as it lay upon Christ, strong cries you see it cost him. Consider him lying graveling upon the ground, as it were panting for life, sweating blood before his Father; crying, Father if it be possible take this cup from me: As if he should say, if hou wilt show only mercy pass by thy judgment all this time; with cries and with strong tears, and the third time cries upon the Cross, My God, my God why hast thou forsaken me. When all the earth had a black Mantle cast over it, & darkness over him that was the light of the World, and as great a darkness in him, his soul was darkened within him. To consider these things is able to break the heart of any man that hath the lest spark of grace in him.

But then consider with thyself thus; What hath sin done to me? First, it hath defiled thee, 1 Cor. 5. 1. He wishes us that we would keep ourselves from all defilement of body and spirit. That which goes into the mouth of a man defiles not a man, but that which goes out, for, from within, even out o the heart of man proceedeth evil thoughts. Luke 7. 21. 22. Adultery, Fornications, Murthers, Theft, Covetuousnesse, Wickedness, Deceit, Uncleanness, a wicked eye, backbiting, pride, foolishness.

There is no sin that thou committest but it bespots thy soul. Did you but see the soul of a sinner what dishonor and slain brings to it, it is like a filthy spot in pure white Lawne; your sins they have made a separation between you and your God. They are now in a state of enmity, (saith God) my soul doth loathe them, and their soul doth loath me. There is an utter s • paration between God and us by sin: And after all this comes God and enlarges thee from Satan that possessed thee, but the Prince of this world is cast out; who is the Prince of the world, the Prince that rules in the children of Disobedience. And this is the Judgment which our Savior brings the Prince of this world, but unt • ll we be renewed by repentance, still where God comes out the Devil comes in. A man is so possessed that for his life he hath not the power to resist the least temptation of the Devil, but as fast as he tempts he committs sin, and then comes God's Judgment: you have it in Deut. 28. your sins are a breach of covenant with Almighty God, & do you think that Covenant breakers, breakers of Covenant shall scape. They are put amongst the black guard in the first of the Romans, Adulterers, swearers, truce-breakers, I will send among you plagues, the judgments that are not written in this book: Why saith Turtullian, Scipturae plenitudinem habent, The Scriptures have a fullness, I have seen an end of all perfection, but thy commandments are exceeding large. And yet there are unwritten judgments. The Scripture which is perfect, it doth not contain all the judgments which God will send upon sinners.

And hence, from the consideration of this comes loathing of a man's self, and a godly sorrow, these are the affections we should have, when we have produced our faults, and the law hath shown the misery we are liable to by the committing of them, then a man come to abhor himself as Job saith. Therefore I repent and obhorre myself in dust and ashes: you see this abhorring a man's self it is a concomitant of true repentance. Those that be in the dark, though they be naked, they are not ashamed: why? because they see no light, but when the light of God's Spirit hath discovered to a man his foulness and his shame, then they do repent and abhor themselves, Ezek. 26. God exhorts them that they should loath themselves as a sign of repentance. Shame you know it is a part of the judgment against sin, for Daniel the last chapter and the second verse, Some shall rise to shame and to everlasting contempt. Now when we come to judge ourselves that we be not judged of God, we must bring ourselves to this shame. And as Ezra when he came by fasting and repentance to God, he saith, I am ashamed to come before thee, not for his own sins, but for those among whom he was: The best fruit that thou canst reap of sin, though it be repented is shame. The Prophet Zephaniah saith, the wicked know no shame. Ier. 6. 15. were they ashamed when they had done these things, they were not ashamed, neither could they blush, when thou hast done these things and considerest them, art thou ashamed of them. When thou considerest of them between God and thy own conscience dost thou blush? You that were not ashamed to commit the sin, now that God hath opened your eyes, see whether you can blush, and be ashamed before Almighty God for committing these sins.

But then there is sorrow which is the last thing, which sorrow must be true, and from the heart; the inward sorrow it is contrition, it is the rending and breaking of the heart, when a man is ready to tear himself in pieces, because that he hath offended so gracious a God, that hath done so much for us. This is that which the Apostles calls that same sorrow which is according to God, 1. I am.

All Israel wept before the Lord, suppose there were no Hell, no damnation, no outward judgment, yet as long as there is a God in Heaven, I cannot but be sorrow for my sin and when thou canst do thus, it is an argument thou art a penitent sinner, and this is done by fasting and weeping, fasting and weeping they are things that are joined together. 1. Sam. 7. 6. It is said that when the Philistines came against them, they fasted and poured down water by the Lord, that is they made or wept such abundance of tears, as if water had been poured down, and so Judge. 2. 4. When the Angel came to Bochim and told the people of their sins, the people lift up their voice and wept.

Beloved, Beloved do not our dry eyes this day testify that we have little sorrow, remember that place in Zacharias, they shall look upon him whom they have pierced. Zach. 12. 10. And they shall lament for him, as one mourneth for his only Son, and be sorry for him, as one is sorry for his first borne.

Doft thou weep for thy son, and not for crucifying of thy Savior; It is not set down that sorrow shall be in them, but they shall be sorrow, to show the greatness of it, as though they were steeped and soaked in it, and such a sorrow as was in the valley of Megiddo, when Josiah died, in memory or which Jeremiah wrote his book of Lamentations. And they shall sorrow apart, to show that it is a part; that sorrow which is a part, it is particularly every man, it was not the Jews spears or sins that did crucify Christ but thy sins.

Beloved, I must speak now concerning the matter of Fasting, and (beloved) it must be fasting, not such a superficial fasting, as we commonly use, but fasting of another nature; we do not understand the name of it, if you compare, Luk. 5. 33. and Mat. 9. 14. Together; why do the Disciples of John & the Pharisees fast often; but thy Disciples fast not as Saint Mat. hath it; but Saint Luk. thus: why do the Disciples of John fast often and pray, and the Disciples of the Pharisees also, but thine eat and drink; he that eats or drinks anything his fast is done, and the least drop of water thou hast taken it breaks 〈◊〉 shell of thy fasting. And it was the Doctrine of the ancient •• thers that he that had tasted but a drope of water, he had do •• with his fast for that day. And this outward fasting, must 〈…〉 only be from anything that is to be earen; but also from all delight, let the bridegroom come forth of his chamber; that which we know to be lawful and good, yet because it hath a solace in it, that ordinance of God it must be forborne, any outward kind of solace that gives content, it must be avoided our apparel, the wearing of our best apparel, anything that may be contrary to the fasting, see Ahab when he fasted he humbled himself and wept, and put on sackcloth, and went fastly, that is he went barefoot, now those that go barefoot cannot but tread very softly. Esah. 58. 13. Thou shalt not think thy own thoughts, speak thine on words, nor do thy own Actions. The Prophet doth there speak of the Sabbath which was on the tenth day of the seventh Moneth, not of the Hebdomate weekly Sabbath, the saturday, but of the universary Sabbath; and the beginning of the Chapter runneth that way. We have fasted, and thou hast not looked upon us, that fasting day wherein (as some report) Adam fell they should not do anything,: This was but the shall of fasting, all outward things that can give content to the outward man must be avoided; so far as necessity will brook it; But I see the time is past, thus much therefore shall serve for this time.