Commentary on Numbers

Roman. 6, 23, yet they are rewarded of mercy in this life, and in the life to come. The blessing of God to rest upon him and his posterity, is set down in two respects: First, generally, I will make my covenant of peace with him, so that he shall have me a merciful God: Secondly, particularly; where the manner is set down, that the Priesthood should remain to him and to his posterity forever, so that both his seed should flourish so long as the Jewish Church should continue, and the honor of the high Priesthood should abide among his posterity, Until the high Priest of our profession (Jesus Christ) should come to make an end of all Ceremonies, Hebr. 3, 1. The accomplishment whereof is not hard to show in the holy Scriptures, and in other approved Histories. For the lineal succession of the Priesthood from him to the carrying away into captivity to Babylon, is expressed in y ^e books of the Chronicles, 1 Chron. 6, 4, 15, from the father to the son, and from one generation to another. From the captivity, until the time of Alexander the Great, (to whom the Persian Monarchy befell, and whom Iadduah the high Priest met in his Priestly robes coming to conquer Jerusalem) the genealogy is remembered in the book of Nehemiah, chapter 12, 10, 22. Neither may it seem strange unto us, that Nehemiah should set down the succession so far, seeing from the reign of Artaxerxes whom he served (being in chief place about him) to the Monarchy of Alexander the Great, (who overcame Darius ) were not above sixty years, as the Chronology & Computation of the reign of the Persian Kings declareth. And from the times of Alexander the Great, to Aristobulus and his son (who was the last) whom Herod treacherously and cruelly caused to be drowned; the pedigree is to be seen in Josephus and others. Afterward the Priesthood was set to sale, and those promoted, that made their own way by sums of money, or by favor of friends, or both together.

After this promise made to Phinehas, Moses annexeth a description of the whoremaster and the whore, that provoked God's wrath, and troubled Israel: who are set forth by their names, by their family, by their condition and degree. The name of the man was Zimri, his family was the tribe of Simeon: touching his estate, he was one of the Princes of his tribe, by whom no doubt (being a man of sort and quality) he was accompanied and countenanced; yea, it should appear he was a mover and persuader of others to commit the like wickedness, whereby it came to pass y ^t the greatest number of this tribe perished with him, as may be gathered by the new survey and numbering of the tribes which is taken in the Chapter following, Numb, 26, 14, and 1, 23. For they which in the former mustering and numbering, amounted unto the number of nine and fifty thousand and three hundred, were now diminished and abated to two & twenty thousand, and two hundred, for their idolatry and fornication: so that with this Zimri, the greater number of this tribe perished,

They did partake with him in the sin of whoredom, and therefore they communicared with him in the plague and punishment of it. Hence it came to pass, that whereas all the other tribes in a manner amounted to more then forty thousand: this tribe attained only unto the number of two and twenty thousand, and two hundred. The name of the harlot was Cozbi; her stock and kindred was of the Midianites: in respect of her place, she was the daughter of one of the chief Princes of that people, who afterward was reckoned amongst the sons of Midian, that were slain by Moses, Numbers 31, 8. These names of the two persons are singled out amongst the rest, unto their perpetual infamy and reproach, For as the names of the righteous are registered and remembered, to their everlasting praise: so the name of the ungodly shall rot, Prov. 10, ver. 7. Their families are fingled out, that part of the disgrace and dishonor should blemish them, to humble them, and to instruct them to nourish sin in none of their kindred. Their high place is singled out, to teach that GOD the Judge of all the world, judgeth without respect of persons, and that all men, of what credit and countenance soever, should fear before him.

Verse 7. And when Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the Priest saw it, he rose up, &c. ] This holy man of God slew the adulterer and the adulteress with a spear. If he had been a mere private man, this shedding of blood had been unlawful in him, howsoever they deserved it. But the Spirit of God was his direction, and he had a secret calling, to be to him as a sure & safe warrant. So then, albeit private persons may put no mā to death, as appeareth in the Commandment, Exod. 20, 13, yet such as are warranted from God, are his Officers and Magistrates.

We learn from hence, that actions which of themselves and in their own nature are unlawful, unseemly, and against humanity, by a calling from God, become lawful, warrantable, and necessary. This special calling given unto special men, is sometimes outward, and sometimes inward. The inward calling is, when God by the motion of his Spirit, moveth the heart to do some special work against the ordinary rules that he left to the rest of the sons of men. Heereof we have plentiful examples in the book of Judges, in those whom God extraordinarily raised up to save his people, and to destroy their enemies. Whē Eglon King of Moab oppressed Israel, & kept them in great slavery and subjection, as a tyrant and usurper, the Lord stirred up Ehud, Judge. 3, 15, 16. who made him a Dagger with two edges, conveyed it closely under his garment, and when opportunity served, he thrust it into his belly, and flew him. This action had been sinful without this calling; for though Eglon were an oppressor, yet the killing of him had not been warrantable. The like we see afterward in the same book set before us in the example of Sampson; for there we see, he took to wife an uncircumcised Philistim, Judge. 14, and 15, and 16, he tied firebrands to the Foxes tales, to burn their Corn, he carried away the gates of Azzah, he slew many with the iaw-bone of an Ass, & pulled down the house of Dagon, whereby he killed the Princes, people, and himself. He was inwardly called and commanded to do these works of God. For when he spake to his father to give him one of the daughters of the Philistines to wife that pleased him well, his father and his mother faide unto him; Is there never a wife among the daughters of thy brethren, and among all thy people, that thou must go take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines? For they knew not that it came of the Lord, that he should seek an occasion against the Philistines, Judge. chapter 14, verse 4. The same we noted before in Moses slaying the Egyptian, which fact, howsoever some condemn as unlawful, both because he was not appointed a Judge over that people, but was a private man, and because he seemed to pass the bounds of justice (supposing he were a Magistrate) punishing the smiting of a blow, (Exod. 2, 12,) with the taking away of life, seeing God commanded a tooth for a tooth, Exod. 21, 24, wound for wound, and blow for blow: yet it appeareth by the words of Stephen, that GOD had given him commission, and endued him with authority, to deliver the Israelites, and to avenge their injuries, when he saith, He supposed his brethren would have understood that God by his hand should give them deliverance, but they understood it not, Acts, chap. 7, 25. Again, when Moses had received the Law in the Mount, written with the finger of God, and being come down had seen the molten Calf, He took the two Tables, and cast them out of his two hands, and brake them before their eyes, Deut. chap. 9, verse 17. He did not this through any unadvised zeal, or hastiness, or fleshly affection, but God governed him by his holy Spirit, & stirred him up by this exraordinary means, to declare to the people, that his Covenant was broken and disanulled that was made between them.

Likewise, some have had an outward calling, commanding and warranting the doing of extraordinary things. So Abraham was commanded by lively voice to take his son, his only son, him whom he loved, even Isaac, the son of promise, and to offer him up for a burnt offering, upon one of the mountains which God would show him, Gen. 22, 2. This also appeareth in one of the children of the Prophets, who willed his neighbor to smite him by the commandment of the Lord, and in smiting, to wound him, that he might disguise himself when he spake unto the King, 1. Kings 20, 35.

The reasons making these extraordinary [Reason 1] works lawful, are apparent. First, true obedience standeth not in man's will, but in the commandment of GOD. Whatsoever he commandeth, howsoever our carnal reason judgeth of it, and whatsoever iniquity it may seem unto us to contain or prescribe, we must account it lawful. That which he forbiddeth, what show soever it carrieth of piety and holiness, is unlawful. This appeareth in the answer of Christ unto John the Baptist, putting him back, and refusing to baptize him: Let be now, for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness, Math. 3, 15. And to this purpose the Prophet, speaking of this act of Phinehas here remembered, saith, It was imputed unto him for righteousness, Psal. 106, 31. If then in those actions the children of God obeyed him, and followed not their own corrupt wills, they must needs be held and pronounced to be lawful.

[Reason 2] Secondly, none can withstand his commandments. That is righteous which he accounteth righteous. And if he will have it done, who shall contradict it? Who is so strong, as to resist his will? This doth the Apostle Peter declare, when he had been with Cornelius, he maketh this defense for himself, Forasmuch as God gave them a like gift, as he did unto us, when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I, that I could let God? Acts 11, 7.

Thus we see the Doctrine confirmed: now [Use 1] let us see likewise how it may be applied. First, mark here the difference between God and our selves. His word is our light and direction. We have no other way or warrant to approve our actions but from God and his word; but he is not tied to any guide or Governor. We are put in mind hereof by Moses, Deut. 29, 29. The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong unto us, and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of the law. God is not tied to his revealed will, the Law-giver is above his law. For the law must be understood with this restraint and limitation, except God command the contrary, who is free, and not bound to ordinary rules. He commanded Moses in the building of the Tabernacle, to make the Cherubims, and other similitudes; as also afterward, when the people were stung with fiery serpents, to set up a brazen serpent, which without his commandment had been a breach of the second Commandment, Thou shalt not make to thyself any graven Image, nor the similitude of anything in the heaven above, or in earth beneath, or in the waters under the earth, Exod. 20, 4. He commanded Joshua to compass the City of Jericho, seven days with the men of war, and the Ark of God, seven days together, and therefore also on the Sabbath day, Josh. 6, 15: which without the Commandment of God, had been a breach of the fourth Commandment, Remember thou keep holy the Sabbath day. So God proved Abraham, and charged him to offer his son, which he could not have done without horrible murder, except God had commanded it, being a breach of the sixth Commandment, Thou shalt not kill. In like manner God willed his people to ask jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, of their neighbors the Egyptians, Exod. 12, 35, whereby they spoiled them, but never made restitution unto them; which without a peculiar direction from God, had not stood with the eyght Commandment, Thou shalt not steal. Thus thē we see for the increase of our knowledge, how the Law of God is to be understood, to wit, with this caveat and proviso, Unless it please God to command the contrary, who always worketh according to his own will. For as such as have to do in the Statutes of earthly Princes, do teach to restrain them, and understand them thus, saving the Kings prerogative: so are we to do in the interpretation of the law of God, always to use this exception of God's prerogative. For if Princes claim a prerogative above their laws, much more are we to give unto the eternal God, a prerogative and privilege above the laws given to the sons of men.

Secondly, we learn from hence, that all examples [Use 2] set down in Scripture, are not set down for our imitation, albeit revealed for our instruction. Our Savior in the Gospel reproveth his Disciples, who would have called down fire from heaven upon the Samaritans to consume them, pretending to follow the example of Elias, saying unto them, Ye know not of what spirit ye are, Lu. 9, 59. The examples of the godly set down in Scripture are of four sorts. The first, general and common, standing in the law of nature, taught in the ten Commandments, commanding us to worship God, to honor our parents, to do wrong to no man. Hence it is, that we are commanded to follow the faith of Abraham, the chastity of Joseph, the zeal of David, the patience of Job, the repentance of Peter, the attention of Lydia, the restitution of Zacchaeus, and such like: these are set before us, both for our instruction, and for our imitation.

Secondly, the godly have many infirmities and imperfections, whereby it cometh to pass, that some of their actions are sinful and ungodly, which are set down for us, not to follow, but to avoid. Such are the incredulity of Moses, the adultery of David, the idolatry of Solomon, the drunkenness of Noah, the incest of Lot, the ambition of the Apostles. These are not written, that we should allege the falls of the Saints, to warrant and justify our sins, but to teach us, that no mā is free from sin in this life, seeing the elect and regenerate do offend; that we should not, being suddenly overtaken with sin, despair of God's mercy: & that we should be watchful, and look to our footing, seeing these men sinned, being adorned with such great gifts, so highly in God's favor, that shined as Stars in the Firmament, and were eminent above other men, as the Cedars above other Trees.

Thirdly, some things were well done of the Fathers, that cannot be followed of us without offense to God, as those that were ceremonial, and endured only until the coming of Christ, and the restoring of all things by him: as the cutting of the foreskin, the offering of sacrifices, the killing of the Passover, which cannot be brought into use and practice again, Acts chap. 15, ver. 1, 5, without injury to Christ, and the abolishing of his death.

Lastly, some examples were singular and proper unto those to whom they were given; so as neither others in those days, nor we in our times, may any way follow them, without the same inspiration of the Spirit: and of this number is the zeal of Phinehas, mentioned in this place, and such extraordinary examples as we named before. Thus we see, both that all examples of the faithful are not to be practiced, and likewise what are to be followed, and what are not to be followed. Heereby we learn to meet with all profane men, who resolve to continue in their sins, & defend themselves with the slips and failings of the faithful. These men sin with the godly, but they repent not with them: they fall asleep with them, but they arise not with them out of sleep. Heereby also the Church of Rome is convinced, who allege the making of the Cherubims, of the brazen serpent, and such like; to justify their imagery and idolatry by the example of Moses, which we have shown to be special, not general, commanded to him, not warranted to all. Lastly, hereby they are condemned, that would bring in any of the ceremonies of the law, which are long since buried, together with the Synagogue, & cannot stand with the simplicity of the Gospel, and with the sufficiency of the death of Christ.

Lastly, as no man must be rash in pretending extraordinary callings, so we must take heed we be not rash in censuring the doings of other men. Do we know, or can we understand the motions and inspirations of other men? What man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of a man which is in him? 1 Cor. 2, 11. We may not therefore examine their callings by our own, nor measure extraordinary actions, by ordinary rules; especially in the times of the decay of religion, of the ruins of the Church, of the planting of the Gospel, when God doth many times give some of his people special motions, & guide them with an extraordinary direction of his Spirit; but every man must look to the warrant of his own work. No man must presume above his calling, but every man must be wise according to sobriety, and consider what gift he hath received, Rom. 12, 3. Peter when he saw the high Priests servants to lay hands on Christ, drew the sword, and cut off the ear of one of the messengers: but he is reproved by his Master, and commanded to put up y ^e sword again into his place, Because all (being private persons without a calling) that take the sword, shall perish with the sword. Whosoever hath received a special calling, God giveth an assurance of it to his own heart, and leaveth no scruple or doubt in him of his calling: so that to ask the question of others, whether a man may have such a calling or not, is an evident argument that he hath not received any such calling. For albeit we cannot judge of the callings of others, yet may we of our own, & know that which no man knoweth beside our selves. The Disciples thought amiss of Peter the Apostle for going to Cornelius. For when he was come up to Jerusalem, they of the circumcision contended against him, because he went in to men uncircumcised, and had eaten with them, (Acts 11, 2.) until they had heard him give a reason of his doing, & make an apology for himself: then they held their peace, and glorified God. And so is it with those that sit in judgment of other men's callings, & condemn those things whereof they are ignorant.

[Verse 8. He thrust them both through then the plague ceased frō the children of Israel. ] The sins of this people into which they fell, were very grievous: and the judgments of God that fell upon them, were heavy and answerable to their sins. Some of them to fill up the measure of their iniquities to the full, brought their harlots into the host of GOD, even among them that the Lord their GOD had chosen to be an holy Nation, Deut. 14, 2, and a precious people unto himself, above all the people that are upon the earth. When these were punished, and the public scandal taken away, God is pacified, the plague is removed, & the people are delivered. From hence this Doctrine is offered to our considerations, that when sin is punished, God is appeased. So soon as evil is taken away, the judgments of GOD are called in. When the old world was destroyed by the flood of waters which God sent upon the earth, and all flesh perished in whose nostrils the spirit of life did breathe; then GOD entered into a new covenant with the remnant that was left; and Noah offering a sacrifice, the Lord smelled a savor of rest, and said in his heart, I will henceforth curse the ground no more for man's cause, neither will I smite anymore all things living as I have done, Gen. 8, 21, 22. So long as Achan was unpunished, the host of Israel could not prosper, but turned their backs before their enemies; but when he was found out, and stoned to death with stones, and burned with fire, the Lord turned from his fierce wrath, & gave unto his people the victory, Josh. 7, 26. When he had plagued the people that caused Aaron to make the calf that he made, whereby they committed foul and gross idolatry, and turned God into the similitude of a bullock that eateth grass, he was reconciled vn- them, and well pleased with them, Psal. 106, 19, 20. So when Corah, Dathan and Abiram were destroyed, and God visited their rebellion with a strange visitation, his anger continued no longer against them. When Miriam had been shut out of y ^e host 7. days, & punished with leprosy, the wrath of God was appeased, & she restored to the host again, Nu. 12, 15. We know how the wrath of God was kindled against Israel, & against David for numbering the people, so that he sent a pestilence among them from the morning, even to the time appointed, whereof there died 70000. men: then the Lord repented of the evil, and said to the Angel y ^t destroyed the people, It is sufficient, hold now thine hand, 2 Sam. 24, 16. All these places of Scripture are evident proofs of this Doctrine, that so soon as execution is done upon malefactors, the sword of God's justice is put up, and his wrath ceaseth.

[Reason 1] And the Reasons hereof are plain. For first, what is it that separateth between God and his people, and causeth a divorce and division between him & them? Is it anything else then sin? When sin therefore or the sinner are taken away, he hath no more controversy against them. This is it which the Prophet Isaiah testifieth, cha. 59, 2. Your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear; for your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity. And in the fourth chapter of the Prophet Hosea, ver. 1, 2, convincing them of swearing and lying, of killing and stealing, and whoring, he declareth, That the Lord had a controversy with the Inhabitants of the Land, and would cut off everyone that dwelleth therein. If then it be sin that causeth judgment, and sharpeneth the point of the Lord's sword against the world, against a kingdom, against a city, against a family, against every particular person; when the cause is removed, the effect shall be restrained, and whē the sinner is reformed, the wrath of God will be appeased: for so soon as we turn unto him, his indignation shall be turned away from us.

Secondly, when sin is punished, it bringeth [Reason 2] down a blessing with it. For so long as ungodly men lie in their sins without punishment, and run on in their wickedness, to the dishonor of God, to the reproach of his Name, to the offense and infection of others, and to the confusion of their own faces; so long the wrath of God is kindled, & his hand is stretched out still. But when they are either plagued of God, or punished of men, he blesseth the places which before he scourged, & rewardeth the persons by whom justice hath been administered. We have a notable example hereof, in the punishing of the Idolatry of the Israelites, for worshipping the molten Calf: he willed the Levites to consecrate their hands that day, Exod. 32, 29, even every man upon his son, and upon his brother, that there might be given them a blessing. The Lord had laid this as a punishment upon Levi and his posterity, To divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel, Gen. 49, 7: but he turned this curse into a blessing, when the Priesthood was translated to this Tribe, to teach Jacob his judgments, and Israel his law, that no corner of the Land should be without instruction. So in this place, when Phinehas rose up, & executed judgment upon the adulterer and the adulteress, the Priesthood was confirmed unto him and his posterity, verse 12, 13. If then the execution of justice bring a blessing from God, who is so delighted with it that he will never leave it unrewarded, it must needs testify his reconciliation and atonement. For so long as we live in sin, we lie under the curse and wrath of God, no grace can shine upon us, no mercy can overtake us, no blessing can fall upon us. But when sin is punished, the curse is removed, and the favor of God doth compass us about, as with a shield.

Now let us come to the Uses, that we may [Use 1] have the profit and comfort of this Doctrine. First, we learn, that such as continue in any known sin unrepented of, cannot look for peace from God. So long as sin reigneth in any place, the wrath of God hangeth over it, and will undoubtedly fall upon it. There is no peace, (saith the Lord) unto the wicked, Isaiah 48, 22. God doth come into the field, as an open enemy to wage war, and enter into a combat against all impenitent sinners. This the Prophet speaketh, Psal. 7, 11, 12. God judgeth the righteous, and him that contemneth God every day; except he turn, he hath whet his sword, he hath bent his bow, and made it ready. He abhorreth all the ungodly, and therefore he will fight against thē as a man of war, he will rain down snares, fire and brimstone, and stormy tempests upon them, he will destroy them in his wrath and fierce displeasure. It is a fearful thing to be a rebel and traitor against a Prince, and to stand out in arms against his Sovereign in the field with weapons; it is high treason, the loss of life, the forfeyture of lands and goods, the staining of our blood, the undoing of our posterity. So to stand out in any sin, is high treason and rebellion against the most High. The continuance in any sin, is rebellion, and they that are the committers of it are rebels against God. This made the Prophet to say, Destroy them O God, let them fall from their counsels, cast them out for the multitude of their iniquities, because they have rebelled against thee, Ps. 5, 10. To this purpose Samuel calleth the disobedience of Saul, rebellion, 1 Sam. 15, 23. Every man knoweth the danger of rebellion against the Prince, it is more against God. When we hear of foreign wars, we fear and tremble, we are much moved and perplexed: and shall we not much more be afraid, when the Lord, the King of Kings wageth battle against us? Whē God by the Ministry of his word doth reprove sin among us, our ignorance, our looseness & lewdness, our negligence & security; he doth stand out against us as with his sword ready drawn in his hand, to reclaim us, or to destroy us. We were better to have the whole world set against us, then God to be our enemy. What a monstrous madness is it for a mortal man to stand at defiance with him who is the Lord of hosts? Do we (faith the Apostle) provoke the Lord to anger? Are we stronger then he? 1 Corinth. chap. 10, verse 22. How many are there, which are so witless and bewitched, that they think themselves strong enough to encounter with God, like the Giants that would pluck God out of heaven? But let them take heed, lest setting themselves against him, they thrust thenselves down into hell, to their eternal confusion.

Secondly, it teacheth a notable and necessary [Use 2] duty to all Magistrates, to be zealous for the Lord's cause, to root out evil doers, to maintain the glory of God, and to show thenselves enemies unto all iniquity. Do they desire to have their people live in peace & tranquility, and to bring a blessing to those that live under their government? Do they desire to have the curse of God removed far from them? The only way is for them to punish sin, whereby they bring quietness and safety, and move the Lord to dwell among them with the graces of his Spirit. The Lord threatened Ahab, because he had let go out of his hands a man whom he had appointed to die, his life should go for his life, and his people for his people, 1 Kings, chapter 20, verse 42. When Saul had spared Agag, contrary to the express commandment of God, who charged him to smite Amalek, and to destroy all that appertained unto them, & have no compassion on them, but to slay both man and woman, both infant and suckling, both Ox and Sheep, both Camel and Ass: the Kingdom was rent from him, & was given to his neighbor, that was better then he, 1 Sam. chapter 15, verse 26. When the Levite had his wife abused unto death, and villainously defiled at Gibeah which is in Benjamin, because those wicked men were not put to death that evil might be put away from Israel, it turned almost unto the utter destruction of that Tribe, Judge. chapter 20, verses 13, 35, and there fell of them in one day five and twenty thousand & an hundred men, all they that could handle the sword. So the Magistrates must regard to punish sin, if they regard the honor of God, the profit of their people, or the good of themselves. We see what an head sin groweth unto and gathereth strength in all places. It beareth the chiefest sway & preeminence everywhere. He that checketh and controlleth it, laboreth in vain, and maketh himself a prey.

True it is, the Ministers of God's word have the sword of the Spirit put into their hands, to cut in sunder the cords of sin. It is a fire that burneth and consumeth the straw and stubble before it. It is an hammer that breaketh in pieces the hard stones, Ier. 23, 29. and it hath the power of God adjoined with it. Notwithstanding, unless the Ministry of the word be assisted and strengthened by the force of the Magistrate, it is little regarded & esteemed of the greatest number. It is good indeed to have some instruction, but it availeth little without correction. If a master should cry never so often unto his scholar, learn, learn, and dissuade him from his idleness and lewdness never so earnestly, yet if he know his master hath no authority or power to correct and chasten him, he will smally respect the vehemency of his words, but esteem them as a blast of wind, that passeth away. So is it with the people, when the Magistrate and Minister go not together, when the word and the sword do not accompany one another. For these two being the high & holy ordinances of God, do give strength & assistance one to another. The Magistrate would be much more troubled, if the word which is lively & mighty in operation, were not taught to keep men in obedience, and they might sit (as it is said of Moses, Exod. 18, 14,) to hear causes from morning to evening, and weary themselves with the toil and trouble of their Office, without comfort to themselves, or profit to others. And on the other side, the Ministers might lift up their voice as a Trumpet, and cry aloud until they be hoarce, unless they be backed and encouraged by the godly Magistracy. So long as Moses and Aaron (as two brethren) walk amongst the people of God, (I mean the Magistrate to rule and correct, the Minister to teach and reprove) sin will be suppressed, and godliness will in some measure be promoted and advanced. Here then is a notable direction for all Magistrates, fathers, masters, householders, and governors whatsoever, to set themselves against evil doers, seeing thereby they shall find the Lord favorable unto them. Among all encouragements which Rulers (who are as the gods of the earth) have given unto them to bear the burden of the work and the heat of the day, none is more comfortable then this, that by rooting out of the wicked, and punishing the ungodly according to their ungodliness, they bring a blessing upon their own heads, a blessing upon the places where they dwell, and a blessing to their families in which they live, as we see in Phinehas in this place: of whom the Lord saith, While he was zealous for my sake among them, he turned away mine anger, therefore I have not consumed the children of Israel in my jealousy, and I will give unto him my covenant of peace, and he shall have it, and his seed after him. Who is it that doth not desire to find the favor of God in this life, & to leave a blessing behind him? But if God have made us Magistrates in the Common-wealth, or Governors in the private family, we cannot look for any blessing at his hands, to follow us, and overtake us, so long as sin is unpunished, and the sinner is not recompensed in the earth. It is not enough for us to be godly men, except we labor also to be godly Magistrates. We heard before, that the boast of God could not prosper and prevail, so long as Achan was not found out: but when he was stoned, the blessing of God came upon thē. The Mariners in the ship could not be safe, so long as Jonah was in it; but so soon as he was cast into the sea, the sea ceased frō his raging. Mark this (ye Rulers of the earth) and learn from hence ye Governors of ho • ses, a profitable lesson: so long as ye are zealous for the advancement of God's glory, and for the rooting out of iniquity, ye shall be blessed in your persons, blessed in your children, blessed in your families, and blessed in your places and habitations. Set yourselves therefore with courage against sin, and God shall be with you. He will prosper the works of your hands, & nothing shall be able to prevail against you; as the Prophet faith, 2 Chron. 15, 2. The Lord is with you, while ye be with him: and if ye seek him, he will be found of you: but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you. Let everyone so far as his calling stretcheth, deal faithfully with God, and show their zeal in resisting sin, as it is sin, in whomsoever they find it, without respect of persons: not fostering it in some, because they are their friends; nor winking at it in others, because they are their children, their servants, their kindred or acquaintance; nor hating it in a third sort, because they are their enemies: but punishing it, and striking at the root of it without difference and partiality. For many are enemies to some sins, because they are enemies to the sinner: and so hate the evil for no other cause, but because they cannot abide the person. But we should in punishing sin, aim at the good, and at the reformation of those that commit it, we should love the person, and abhor the evil; like the Physician, that liketh his patient, but hateth the disease. But to examine our selves a little: How far are we in these days, from the sound practice of this point? Have we a true zeal to punish offenders? or are we careful to find them out, that evil may be taken away from us? Alas, who seeth not plainly (except such as are willfully blind) how cold and careless we are in setting our selves against sin, and opposing our selves against evil doers? Do not wicked men in all places lift up their crests on high, and walk with outstretched necks without controllement, that no man dare say unto them, Why do ye thus? Nay, are we not come to this pass, that if one in a Parish settle himself to do good, and offer to put too his helping hand, to weed out malefactors, will not twenty step forth to speak for them, & to cross such as shall go about to punish thē? If any good cause be to be promoted, how backward are we to further it? How nice, how squemish are we, and pinch courtesy, who shall go before, as if we were ashamed of it? But if whoremongers, drunkards, harlots, that are as the off-scouring of the world, and the scum of the earth, be brought before Magistrates, to be rewarded according to their deservings, they cannot want many of their neighbors to countenance them, to go with them, and to speak for them. What persons ever were there so lewd and licentious, that have not found diverse to entreat in their favor? Yea, so desperate are our times & seasons grown, that if the devil himself were incarnate, and dwelled visibly among us, it seemeth likely, that he should find some friends, some spokesmen, and mediators for him. But know this for a surety, and carry it home with you unto your houses, and think of it upon your beds, that so long as you thus back and uphold bad fellows, loose in life, lewd in example, you shall never want store of them. We must not think ever to break the heart of sin, except we join hand in hand one with another, and all draw one way to suppress it. If a thief were to be c • rried to prison, and one drew him one way, another hailed him another way he were never like to have fetters cast upon him. In like manner so long as we are sundered and divided one from another, sin increaseth and getteth an head. And we cannot assure our selves to obtain any blessing of God, so long as we nourish such serpents in our bosoms, and do not pull out the stings of them.

And as this ought to be a great encouragement to all in authority over others, to consider the blessings of GOD that they bring to themselves, and to their several jurisdictions, by breaking the neck of ungodliness: so on the other side, it ought to terrify all negligent and careless Governors that are not ready & resolute betimes to destroy all the wicked of the Land, Psalm. 101, 8, and to cut off all the workers of iniquity frō the City of the Lord. Such bring a curse upon themselves, a curse upon their substance, a curse upon their children, a curse upon their servants, a curse upon their families, a curse upon their houses and habitations. This should work a fear in their hearts, and bring terror and astonishment upon their consciences, seeing God will take away the sinner in his wrath, but will require the sin at the hands of all those that have suffered and fostered it in others, by their negligence in governing, and remissness in punishing.

We heard this before in Ahab, 1 Kings, chapter 20. verse 42, who letting Benhadad go free, life must go for life, he should answer for the other. We see this evidently in the example of old Eli, who, not controlling and correcting his children when they sinned grievously against the Lord, is himself directly charged to have committed those sins, 1, Samuel, chapter 2, verse. 29, to honor his children above the Lord to make himself far of the first of all the Offerings, and is punished with sudden death, by breaking of his neck. So likewise shall the sins of sinful men, that live under our roof, and shroud themselves under our protectiō, be required at our hands, if we uphold them in their evil, or do not punish them for their evil, according unto the means that God hath given us.

Lastly, seeing God is well pleased & appeased, when sin is taken away as the cause of [Use 3] his displeasure, let us not carry til y ^e Magistrate draw the sword out of his sheathe, but every one turn unto God, and enter into judgment with our selves, that the Lord may not enter into judgment with us. We must be careful to gain and get God to be our friend. The way is to forsake our sin, and to walk with God, as being ever in his presence. Can two walk together except they be agreed? Let us then reconcile ourselves to God, and he will be reconciled unto us: Let us draw near unto him, and he will draw near unto us, I am. 4, 8. This must be done of us by cleansing our hands, and by purging of our hearts. Abraham, the father of the faithful being righteous by faith, is called The friend of God, I am. 2, • 3. This is it which our Savior teacheth, Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you, Job. 13, 14. If then we would be at peace with God, and desire the friendship of the most High: if we would have him turn away his wrath and heavy displeasure from us, we must be careful to avoid sin, seeing it bringeth the judgments of God, and putteth a sword into his hand to destroy us. From hence, as from the principal cause, come all manner of punishments, that God inflicteth; war, death, famine, the plague & pestilence, our sins are the fountains of them all. Therefore the Apostle in this respect willeth us to try and examine our selves, that we may find out the true cause of our troubles, when he saith, For this cause many are weak, and sick among you, and many sleep: for if we would judge our selves, we should not be judged, 1 Cor. 11, 31.

So then, the best course to prevent judgments, or to remove them which are already brought upon us, is by repentance. The Lord hath many ways visited us for our sins; sometimes by the raging of the pestilence, sometimes by inundations & ouerflowings of waters, sometimes by dearth & famine of bread, all which are as sharp arrows which he taketh out of his Quiuer, and shooteth thē out of his Bow, and we are not able to stand before them: for who is able to stand before his fierce wrath? Or who can abide the greatness of his power? Nahum. 1, 6. The only way left unto us to take, is to seek reconciliation with God, and to turn unto him by unfeigned repentance. We must make conscience of all sin. For so long as we flatter our selves in any one known sin, the wrath of God will never be appeased, but he hath still some controversy against us. We must not therefore leave one sin unrepented of. When Moses was to lead the people as a flock of sheep out of the Land of Egypt, and Pharaoh permitted the fathers and the children to go & serve the Lord in the wilderness, only their sheep and cattle should abide: Moses answered, Our Cattle also shall go with us, there shall not an hoof be left behind, Exod. 10, 26. So must our obedience be unto God, it must be perfect and entire, we must not repent to halfs, we must not leave one sin behind, but search the secret corners of our deceitful hearts. For when God shall search with lights to find out our hidden sins, he will visit the men that are frozen in their dregs, and say in their hearts, the Lord will neither do good nor evil. These never mourn for their sins, and therefore God will make them mourn lying under his wrath. If they will have no feeling of their sin, they shall have a feeling of his punishments, and of the burden of his judgments.

[Verse 9. And there died in that plague, four and twenty thousand. ] In these words Moses setteth down the number of all those that perished as well of the Princes, as of the people. How this agreeth with the Apostle, that nameth only three and twenty thousand, we have already declared in the exposition of the words, and answering of the Questions that arise out of the words. We have heard before, that albeit Balak & Balaam intended by their sorceries to curse the people of God, yet they could by no means do them hurt, they were guarded by the protection of God, as with a sure watch. For God is the watchman of Israel, that neither slumbereth nor sleepeth, Psal. 121, 4. But so soon as they forsook the living God, and fell a whoring with the daughters of Moab and Midian, by and by God departeth from them, and his heavy judgments break in upon them. The force of sorcery could not hurt them, but the strength of sin doth weaken them, and greatly diminisheth the number of them. Heereby we learn, that sin depriveth us of God's protection, and layeth us naked and open to the fierceness of his wrath, and to the fury of our enemies. The sins wherewith the Church in general, or any member in particular do provoke GOD, bring down judgments of all sorts, cause his wrath to be kindled, and give strength to the enemy to prevail against us. When the people of God had committed Idolatry, & made them gods to go before them, it is said by Moses, that the people were naked, for Aaron had made them naked unto their shame among their enemies, Exod. 32, 25. This appeareth also in the book of Joshua, when Achan had sinned and stolen the babylonish garment, the shekels of silver, and the wedge of gold, they could not stand before their enemies, Josh. 7, 4. but fell before them as naked men, being utterly destitute of God's defense, by reason of the offense committed among them. We see this oftentimes in the Books of the Judges, of the Kings, and Chronicles, when they rebelled against God, and provoked him to anger, presently he sold them into the hands of their enemies, they became subject to sundry calamities, they fell into all kind of miseries that were laid upon them. When they began to do wickedly in the sight of the Lord, they were made slaves and captives, sometimes to one enemy, and sometimes to another, Judge. chap. 4, ver. 1, 2. When the Israelites began to loathe the offerings of God, the Lord threatened a grievous judgment to come upon them, and executed it accordingly: for the Philistines fought against them, and Israel was smitten down, every man fled into his tent, and there was an exceeding great slaughter, for there fell of Israel thirty thousand footmen. Thus through sin reigning among them the enemies of God are armed, the people of GOD are destroyed, the Ark of God is taken, and the priests of God are smitten with y ^e sword. It was the sin of Eli and his house especially that drew the judgment of God on the whole Nation. We see this in the example of Solomon, when his heart was turned away from the true God, and his hands were holden up to strange gods, the Lord was angry with him, because he had given him a charge concerning this thing that he should not follow other gods: Then the Lord stirred up one adversary unto Solomon, and afterward another adversary, which did much mischief and evil against Israel, 1 Kings 11, 14, 23. This appeareth in Rehoboam the son of Solomon, when once he forsook the Lord and all Israel with him, the Prophet is sent to say unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Ye have forsaken me, therefore have I left you in the hands of Shishak, 2 Chron. chap. 12, verse 5.

[Reason 1] The Reasons being considered, will make the doctrine more evident; First, sin maketh us execrable to the Lord, and abhominable in his sighr. Nothing doth more deform us and make us cursed and detested in the sight of God. If then sin make us to be had in execration, it is no marvel if we be left destitute of God's protection. This is the reason which the Lord useth why Israel fell before their enemies, and he went not forth with their armies when they fell before the men of Ai, Therefore the children of Israel cannot stand before their enemies, but have turned their backs before their enemies, because they be execrable, Josh. 7, 12, 13. We see then the nature of sin; it maketh men abhominable and detestable in the sight of God.

[Reason 2] Secondly, God leaveth and departeth from them that fall from him: they forsake him, & therefore he forsaketh them. For so long as we walk in the ways of godliness, and please God in all things according to his will, God is among us, He dwelleth with us, he will never depart from us, he walketh in the midst of our habitations, 2 Cor. 6, 16. But when we commit wickedness in his sight, and follow the abominations of our own hearts, he is gone, he will take up his seat no more among us, he will not come nere our dwelling places. This is the reason which the Lord urgeth to Joshua in the place before named, saying, There is an execrable thing among you, O Israel, neither will I be with you anymore, except ye destroy the excommunicate from among you, Ios, 7, 12; 13. So then our lying in sin doth drive the Lord from us that he will have no more fellowship with us to do us any good.

[Use 1] We are now to set down the uses of this Doctrine. First, this teacheth us to acknowledge that all judgments which seize and fall upon us are just & righteous. God chastiseth us often, but always justly, never unjustly. True it is, the particular cause is not always discerned of us why he chastiseth, and sin is not always the chief and principal cause, as appeareth in the example of the blind man, of whom Christ saith, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents, but that the works of God should be shown upon him, John 9, 3: yet his punishments are always deserved, and never inflicted when he is not moved, who rowzeth up himself as a Lyon out of his den (as the Prophet speaketh) to execute righteous judgments. We see in the book of Nehemiah, how the Levites lay open the sins of the whole land, confessing God's kindness unto them, and their unkindness to the Lord, and justifying his name, Nehem. 9, 33, 34, Surely thou art just in all that is come upon us, for thou hast dealt truly, but we have done wickedly: And our Kings, and our Princes, our Priests, & our fathers have not done thy Law, nor regarded thy commandments, nor thy protestations wherewith thou hast protested among them. So when there is any imminent danger of judgment, as of the plague, of sickness, of famine, of war, or such like; this must teach us, y ^t then especially we should take heed that we lay not our selves naked unto them by rebelling against God. I mean not this of any bodily nakedness appearing to the eye of man, but of spiritual nakedness in the sight of God, whereby man in his sight appeareth a deformed sinner. This is a fearful condition: this is the foulest nakedness that can be. A man or woman by y ^e light of nature would be ashamed to be seen naked, which teacheth us to cover the body: but much more should we take heed that we appear not naked to God, and see the filthiness of our hearts. Let us crave the righteousness of Christ to be a covering to clothe our souls, For they are blessed whose sins are covered, Psal. 31, 1. When GOD threateneth to bring any plague or judgment upon us, let us not wound our own souls, or lay them open to y ^e wrath of God, but rather humble our selves before him, that he may call back the punishments that are gone out against us This is it which Moses teacheth, Deut. 23, 9: When thou goest out with thine host against thine enemies, keep thee from all wickedness.

Secondly, seeing sin layeth us open to reproaches [Use 2] of enemies, and to the judgments of God, as appeareth in this great plague upon the people: this showeth that whensoever we have laid our selves thus naked by • alling into sins, we must not go about to hide and to cover them from God through hypocrisy. For all things are naked and open to his eyes with whom we have to do: so that we must learn to acknowledge them, and confess them before his presence. We see how ready men are to hide their sins with Adam from the sight of God; but the more we seek to conceal them, the more we reveal them, & the more ugly we appear before him. What folly or madness is it that is practiced in the world to hide our sins from men, and never regard how bare and naked they be in the presence of the all-seeing God? If a man committing sin, were sure to keep it secret from the sight and knowledge of all others, that none could accuse him or detect him of it: what should this avail him seeing it is open to the eyes of God, and appeareth as plainly as we behold the sores of poor Cripples, that uncover them to the sight, to move pity in the seer? Seeing therefore judgments be the wages of sin, make us fall before the enemy, and bring upon us many calamities, let all such as lie under any chastisement, always search over their ways, and descend into their own consciences, to see how they have moved him to wrath, and provoked him to be their enemy. This we see in the example of Joshua, whē he saw the men of Ai prevail over them, and the people of God to turn their backs: when he saw they were destitute of God's defense, who would no longer go out with their Armies, he sought to find out the true cause, he humbled himself before God, and never ceased until the sinner were apprehended, examined, condemned, and executed, Joshua 7, 7. The like practice doth the Prophet prescribe, Lam. 3, 39. Wherefore is the living man sorrowful? Man suffereth for his sin: Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the Lord: let us lift up our hearts with our hands unto God in the heavens, saying; We have sinned and rebelled, therefore thou hast not spared. This is the right way to stop the breach of God's wrath, and to call in his judgments. Manie have fought out other ways to weaken the force of the enemy, and to prevent the judgments of God: as in time of war by arming themselves, by hiring of soldiers, by drawing confederates: in time of dearth, by robbing, stealing, lying, defrauding, shifting, & such like: in time of pestilence, by seeking to Witches and Wizards, by taking themselves to flight, and such other ways. But the Prophets and holy servants of God in such times when we lie open to wrath, have called us to Repentance, stirred us up to prayer, moved us to humiliation and acknowledgement of our sins, which have deserved such chastisements. Let us all practice this counsel, and wisely consider with our selves what the lord hath against us, and wherefore he is angry with us, that so we may be reconciled unto him, and brought into his gracious favor again.

[Use 3] Lastly, this serveth as a notable advantage for the servants of God, when they have any dealings against wicked men: we have comfort and encouragement from hence, that we shall assuredly prevail against them, because we have to do with weak and naked men that are out of God's protection. If two go into the field to fight, and one of them be unarmed and have no weapon to defend himself, he lieth open to the lust of his enemy to be wounded and spoiled of his life, who taketh comfort to see his adversary come out against him without his armor. So is it a blessed and comfortable thing to the children of God, when they are constrained to meddle with evil men which are the enemies of God and of his truth, they have comfort in God, both in that themselves are under the couerture of his Armor and protection, and in that their enemies are naked men, and lie open unto every judgment. This is it which is afterward remembered unto us in this book, where Joshua and Caleb comforted the people against the Canaanites, saying, If the Lord love us, he will bring us into this land, and give it us, which is a land flowing with milk and honey: but rebel not ye against the Lord, neither fear ye the people of the Land, for they are but bread for us: their shield is departed from them, and the Lord is with us, fear them not, Numb. 14, 9. Abijha the king of Judah, made this his great comfort going against a mighty army, and spake to this effect unto their enemies, 2 Chro. 13, 10, 12. Where we see, that such as turn unto God with all their hearts, and worship him aright, have God their Captain and Protector, he is their buckler and defense: but such as are enemies to God and his people, are those that receive many blows, and take many knocks on their heads, and yet want a shield to safeguard themselves, but lie open to every danger, and cannot look for victory, they have no armor of proof to defend themselves. This is a woeful and wretched condition; yet so is it with all the ungodly, who have banished the Lord far from them. For as he is far from them in the practice of their life, so he will not be near them in the time of their distress. Let us then make much of this comfort, and lay it as precious balm unto our hearts, let us be assured when we have to deal with the world, or to wrestle with God's judgments, if we have the testimony of a good conscience that God is our defense and deliverance, we shall not need to be dismayed, nor fear what man can do unto us. For there cannot be a more notable encouragement in danger, or in death, thē to have assurance of the providence and protection of God. The Prophet David greatly comforted himself in the sweet meditation of this presence of his hand, Psal. 23, 1, 4. and 27, 5. & 31, 20. Let us therefore be bold, and of good courage in the causes of the Lord, for where he is, there is safety from danger, peace from distress, and assurance never to be overcome.

[There died four and twenty thousand.] The falling into idolatry and whoredom brought a great plague upon the people, not only to the destruction of many of the Princes among them, but to the ruin of many thousands of the people. See here the greatness of y ^e plague, and what havoc was made when wrath was kindled. God did not spare them, but executed his fierce indignation upon them. How great a judgment was this? and how were they weakened by it? Hereby we learn, That the wrath of God against sinners is unspeakable, grievous, and terrible. His wrath being moved is full of rage, and worketh great desolations and destructions in the world. This is it which Moses setteth down in his song, Deut. 31, 22. Fire is kindled in my wrath, & shall burn unto the bottom of hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains, &c. This hath y ^e Lord ever shown in the examples of his justice, When the old world multiplied their sins, and abused the patience of God that abode in the days of Noah, his wrath consumed men, women, children, beasts, fowls, creeping things, and all that had the breath of life upon the face of the earth, Gen. 7, 21. So when the • odomites exceeded in lust of the flesh, in pride of life, and in security of heart, The Lord rained upon them Brimstone and fire out of heavē, and overthrew the Cities of the plain, and all the inhabitants of the Cities, and that which grew upon the earth, Gen, 19, 24. The history of the manifold murmurings and rebellions of the people of Israel in the wilderness, is a plentiful witness of this truth. When they lusted for flesh, and loathed Manna as a light meat, he smote them with an exceeding great plague, he slew the strongest of them, and smote down the chosen men of Israel, so that the name of the place was called, The graves of lust, because there they buried the people that fell a lusting, Numb. 11.33. When Corah, Dathan, & Abiram rose up against Moses, backed with certain Captains famous in the congregation, and men of renown, they were swallowed up of the earth, and consumed with fire: and on the morrow when the multitude murmured against Moses and Aaron, saying, Ye have killed the people of the Lord, he sent a plague amongst them, that quickly wasted & consumed fourteen thousand and seven hundredth, besides them that died in the conspiracy of Korah. When David had sinned in numbering of the people, and in glorying in his own strength, 2 Sam. 24, 15: the Lord sent a pestilence in Israel, and there died of the people from Dan to Beersheba seventy thousand men. The Apostle Jude produceth sundry examples to this purpose, of the Angels that are reserved in everlasting chains under darkness, unto the judgment of the great day: of the Israelites, who albeit they were delivered out of Egypt, yet were afterward destroyed, because they believed not: of those ungodly mē that turned the grace of God into wantonness, and are ordained to condemnation. The truth here of shall more fully and wonderfully appear in the day of judgment, when justice only shall be executed, and the Lord show himself to the wicked only as a terrible Judge. He shall come from heaven with all his mighty Angels, with a great shout, and with the Trumpet of God, To render vengeance unto them which know not God, and which obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, which shall be punished with everlasting perdition from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power, 2 Thess. 1, 9. Then they shall say unto the mountains and rocks, fall on us, and hide us from the presence of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: for the great day of his wrath is come, and who can stand? Revel. 6, 16.

And to the end no doubt hereof should remain [Reason 1] in us, let us consider the reasons. The anger of God is as himself is, infinite and without end, so that nothing is able to stand before him. This is it which the Prophet David teacheth, Psal. 90, 11. Who knoweth the power of thy wrath, or of thine anger, according to thy fear? As if he should say, when thine hand is any way heavy upon us, no man standeth in awe of thine indignation and fearful displeasure so much, as thou and thine anger ought to be feared of us. Hereunto accordeth the saying of the Prophet, Nah. 1, 5, 6: The mountains tremble for him, and the hills melt, and the earth is burnt at his sight, yea the world and all that dwell therein: who can stand before his wrath? or who can abide in the fierceness of his wrath? his wrath is poured out like fire, and the rocks are broken by him. If then his wrath be infinite, without limitation of time, without circumscription of place, and without respect of person, so that the heavens melt, the mountains are dissolved, and the foundations of the earth are discovered, it must needs be that when he is mo • ued, his wrath is very full of rage and revenge.

Secondly, we must needs hold, that plenty [Reason 2] of desolation is made in the earth in the wrath of God, if we consider the comparisons whereby it is expressed. It is compared sometime to the roaring of a Lion, which maketh all the beasts of the forest to tremble. It is a fearful voice, it maketh man and beast to stand in fear. This the Prophet Amos expresseth, The Lyon hath roared, who will not be afraid? the Lord GOD hath spoken, who can but prophesy? Amos 3.4, 8. Sometimes; it is compared to a violent fire, that spreadeth it self far and near. This Moses did teach the people, when he willed them to take heed to themselves, lest they forga • e the Covenant of the Lord their God, and make to themselves any graven image, saying, The Lord thy God is a consuming fire, and a jealous God, Deut. 4, 24. & 9, 3. fire we know is fierce and fearful, wasting and devouring all things before it, so that nothing is able to resist the strength and force thereof. We say in a common Proverb, that fire and water are without mercy. They are of an untamed nature: even so is the displeasure of almighty God being provoked by sin, intolerable, unspeakable, unsearchable, without limitation of time, of quantity, or quality; and therefore he must needs be armed with great wrath kindled against the ungodly.

[Use 1] The uses of this doctrine are very many, but we will stand only upon the principal. First, we may conclude that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of so mighty a God. It is extreme madness for any man to set himself against such a God. Who is able to prevail that hath him his enemy? Take heed therefore, God will not be mocked. Are we stronger then he, that we should fight against him? This is the use which the Apostle maketh in the Epistle to the Hebrews, We know him that hath said, Vengeance is mine, I will recompense. Hebr. 10, 30, 31: and again; The Lord shall judge his people; It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living GOD. There is no jesting nor dallying with so fearful and dreadful a Majesty, who is so great in power, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, terrible in his anger, and just in all his doings. Exod, 15, 11. The heavens, and the heavens of heavens, together with the earth and all the compass of the world, are not able to bear y ^e least spark of his displeasure when it is kindled, the flame whereof shall burn up the wicked; and shall we play with him in his anger as with a little child? Alas then, what shall become of the wretched souls of wicked and damnable men, when his wrath shall smoke against them, and the whole viole of his fury shall be poured down upon them! O how miserable shall their anguish and tribulation be, and how infinite and immeasurable their torment, which shall be thus plagued, condemned, and cursed of the Lord! what shall become of swearers, drunkards, whoremongers, and such like, in the day of the Lord's wrath? They shall wish that they had never been borne, Mat. 26, 24: they shall think it a benefit if they had been borne toads. And if they could behold at the least in these their days, but a shadow of the misery that remaineth for them, and of the pit of destruction that gapeth for them, it were sufficient to swallow them up in heaviness, and make them even dissolve themselves into tears and torments, as passing all that can be spoken or thought thereof: but now these things are hidden from their eyes, and cannot enter into their hearts, yet this shall be the end of all those that work iniquity. God will rain down upon the wicked, snares, fire & brimstone, & stormy tempest: this is the portion of their cup: for the righteous Lord loveth righteousness, his countenance doth behold the just, Psal. 11, 6, 7. On the other side, we must needs acknowledge and confess, that it is a blessed thing to be at peace with God. It is a great blessing to live at peace in the world, and to be in unity with men, among whom we live; but much more sweet and comfortable is it to be at one with the eternal God, so as he have no controversy against us. This is it which the Prophet concludeth, Kiss the son lest he be angry, & so ye perish in the way; when his wrath shall suddenly burn, blessed are all they that trust in him, Psal, 2, 12. So then, as the estate of all the ungodly that are under the wrath of God is most miserable, so the condition of the godly (how soever accounted of by the unfaithful of the world) is happy and blessed, who are safe under the wings of God, and shall be delivered in the day of judgment.

Secondly, we must be wise and circumspect [Use 2] to take heed that we do not kindle it to our own confusion. This is the exhortation of Moses to the people: Take heed that there be not among you, man, nor family, nor tribe, which should turn their heart away from the living God; that there should not be among you any root that bringeth forth gall and wormwood: for the wrath of the Lord, and his jealousy shall smoke against that man, & every curse that is written in this book shall light upon him, and the Lord shall put out his name from under heaven, Deut. 29, 8. This serveth to reprove such as are in this point like the horse and mule, that are without knowledge, and have no understanding. They never regard the judgments of God present, they never seek to prevent them being to come. This is it which our Savior toucheth in the Jews, when he came near the city, he wept for it, and said; If thou haddest even known at the least in this thy day those things which belong unto thy peace, but now are they hid from thine eyes, Luke 19, 42. It is therefore our duty, to labor to know the times of his judgments. It is impossible to avoid the wrath of God, unless we have a care to know it. The wrath of GOD to come upon the sons of men, is foreknown three ways: First, by the oracles of the Prophets, and by reasons drawn out of the Word of God: Secondly, by signs and wonders, which God showeth in heaven, or in earth, or in the sea: Thirdly, by plagues and punishments that he sendeth, the which as they are the beginning of his anger present, so they are testimonies and tokens of greater judgments to come. And as we have shown before, that the wrath of God is resembled oftentimes to a consuming fire: so we understand, that a fire is already kindled, & will grow greater by these three means before expressed, (to wit, ) either by the report of credible witnesses, or by beholding of the smoke ascending, or by sensible perceiving of the flame breaking out, which is a fearful sign of a farther fire, and a greater burning, except it be speedily quenched and prevented. First, the wrath of God is foreshowed unto us by the words of the Prophets and Apostles which were inspired by the Spirit of God, and foretell the wrath of God to come upon us for our sins. And as the Law of God setteth down sundry threatenings and curses, so the Ministers of God out of the same do denounce the judgments of God, & gather, that the wrath of God hangeth over a kingdom or City, by an infallible conclusion, without repentance. For where sin reigneth there the wrath of God cometh: but in this Nation, or City, or Family, sin reigneth: wherefor the wrath of God hangeth over such a Nation, City, or house. Such threatenings denounced by the servants of God, collected by certain reasons out of the Scripture, are not to be despised, but feared; not to be passed over, but to be prevented; not to be derided, but to be applied to our consciences, that if we find those sins in us, we may labor earnestly to repent of them. For albeit the Ministers of God do not speak by special inspiration and revelation of the Spirit, as the Prophets; yet their threatenings are not void and vain, but are grounded upon effectual reasons of the word, and the beholding of present wickedness that aboundeth everywhere. We must not therefore account them as scar-Crowes which cannot hurt, for God will make them powerful in the mouths of his servants, so that they which will not be persuaded to fear them, shall be constrained certainly to feel them whether they will or not. Another means to give us understanding of God's wrath before it falleth, is by the undoubted signs and tokens, which are as the messengers of God, and the fore-runners of wrath, which we see in heaven above, or in the earth beneath, or in the waters. For whensoever God is determined in his heavy, but yet just judgment, to bring any plague upon the world, and to make manifest his fierce indignation, he useth to send certain tokens of his anger, to testify that it is not far off, which are as the sproutings of the fig-tree, signifying that summer is near. Thus, doth Christ foretell the destruction of Jerusalem, and the end of the world, by the signs which shall go before them, saying, Learn the parable of the Fig-tree: when her bough is yet tender, & it putteth forth leaves, ye know that the Summer is nere: so likewise ye when ye see all these things, know that the kingdom of God is near, even at the doors. These appear in the Sun, in the Moon, in the Stars, in the Elements, and in the creatures, when the course of nature is altered & changed, the very insensible and unreasonable things do preach repentance unto us, and therefore are to be marked and not despised. Lastly, the former punishment is a fore-runner of a further judgment; the smaller, of a greater; and the first of a second. God brought sundry plagues upon Pharaoh king of Egypt, but such as came after, pressed and punished him more then such as went before. When Christ had foretold many evils that should come upon Jerusalem for their contempt of the Gospel, and their refusing of all grace offered unto them, he addeth, Mat. 24, 6, 8. The end is not yet: all these are but the beginning of sorrows: as if he should say, there shall moe in number, and greater in weight follow after these. When God sendeth the barrenness of ground, the blasting of corn, the unseasonableness of weather, the overflowing of water, the infection of sickness, & such like scourges of his hand, they are evident marks of his wrath, and the very prints of his footsteppes, whereby we may trace him out, coming against us to destroy us. They are the messengers of God to cite and summon us to answer before him for our contempt of his word, and of his former threatenings. When he taketh away faithful men that fear his name & especially good Princes and godly rulers, it is an assured token that his wrath beginneth to be kindled, and will overtake the remnant of the people. When the head is smitten it cannot be but the rest of the body must immediately after smart for it. Thus God threateneth in the Prophet, Isaiah 3, 2. & 57, 1. That he will take away the strong man, and the man of war, the Judge and the Prophet, the prudent and the aged, the captain of fifty, and the honorable, and the counselor. And in another place, The righteous perisheth, and no man considereth it in heart: and merciful men are taken away, and no man understandeth that the righteous are taken away from the evil to come. A notable example hereof we have in Noah and his family; so soon as they were entered into the Ark, and the door of it shut up, immediately the rain fell, the flood came, the fountains of the deep were broken up, the windows of heaven were opened, & the inhabitants of the earth were drowned, Gen. 7, 16. & 19, 16. When Lot and his family were brought out of Sodom, and set without the City, the Lord being merciful to them, The Lord rained fire and brimstone from heaven, upon the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. When the godly King Josiah was taken away, y ^t his eyes should not see all the evil which the Lord would bring upon the land, the wrath of the Lord arose against them, they mocked the messengers of God, despised his words, and misused his Prophets; and he brought upon them the king of the Chaldeans, who slew their young men with the sword, and spared neither young man, nor virgin, ancient nor aged, God gave all into his hand, 2 Kin. 22, 20 2 Chron. 36, 16. Moreover the Lord hath other scourges which belong to the soul; as when he taketh away godly Ministers, & with them his holy word. So he threateneth by the Prophet Amos, to send a Famine of his word, chap. 8, 11. This is a token that God will forsake that people, and condemn them to death when he taketh from them the means and maintenance of their life. These are the beginnings of greater judgments, and by them we may judge the wrath of God to be at hand, which are as a warning piece unto that volly of the Lord's Ordinance, which our great sins have caused him to mount up against us, and he threateneth to discharge upon us. So then, it behooveth us not to be dull and drowsy in marking the judgments of God, & the signs of his wrath, to the end we may be prepared to prevent them, and to meet the Lord by unfeigned repentance, before they fall upon us.

[Use 3] Thirdly, it is our duty to pray unto him, and to entreat him that albeit we continually provoke him by our sins, yet that he would not fall upon us in his wrath, nor punish us in his sore displesure, but deal with us as a father with his children. This is it which the Prophet craveth at the hands of God, Psal. 6, 1. & 38, 1, 2. To this purpose Jeremiah speaking of the captivity at hand, prayeth thus, Ier. 10, 24 25. O Lord correct me, but with judgment: not in thine anger lest thou bring me to nothing: pour out thy wrath upon the Heathen that know thee not, &c. If the Lord should deal with us according to our sins, and recompense us according to our deservings, we were not able to stand in his sight. If he should enter into judgment with us, no flesh should be righteous before him. We must therefore desire him to chastise us as a father, not as a Judge; to amend us, not to destroy us, as the Prophet speaketh of his own experience, Psal. 118, 18. The Lord hath chastened me sore, but he hath not delivered me to death.

[Use 4] Lastly, we must be provoked, upon the consideration of the wrath of God, full of rage & jealousy, moved with our sins, to seek to please him, to forsake our iniquities, and to be reconciled unto God This is the use which the Apostle maketh, Heb. 12, 28, 29. Seeing we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace whereby we may so serve God that we may please him with reverence & fear, &c. So we are charged to mortify our members which are on earth, as fornication, uncleanness, and such like, because for such things the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience, Col. 3, 5, 6. So then, the consideration of the fierceness of God's wrath, must bring us nearer unto him, and make us obedient to his will. Let us walk in all his commandments, and make conscience of all our ways. Let us study to please God in all things, and to be fruitful in good works. Let us live soberly, righteously, and godly in this life, and show forth the lively fruits of him that hath called us out of darkness into this marvelous light, that so his wrath do not overtake us, nor his judgments find us unprepared. We should always live, as if we should die presently, or the day of judgment come immediately. For what shall it profit us to live in all pleasures and carnal delights for a few years, and then to suffer eternal torments? What shall it avail us to win the world, & then to lose our own fouls? Matth. 16, 26. Are not they more then mad men, that will hazard their souls, & procure the heavy wrath of God for a little profit and a short pleasure? Let such as will not be drawn from their sweet sins, assure themselves they shall one day pay dearly for it, and taste the most bitter woes that can be conceived when they shall be separated frō God, shut out of his favor, and be barred out of his kingdom. Oh! that there were in us wise hearts to consider these things betimes, and to prevent all the judgments of God that hang over our heads. Let us prepare our selves against the hour of death, then which nothing is more terrible: against the day of judgment, then which nothing is more horrible: and against the danger of hell fire, then which nothing is more intolerable, the pains & pangs whereof, are without end, without ease, without remedy.

[Verses 10, 11, 12, 13. Then the Lord spake unto Moses, saying: Phinehas the son of Eleazar, hath turned mine anger away from the children of Israel, &c. ] We have seen the zeal of Phinehas in executing judgment upon the offenders and evil doers, which brought a grievous plague upon the people. His spirit was stirred within him, being first stirred by the Spirit of God, which moved him to take a spear, and to thrust thorough the adulterer and adulteress. Now we shall see the recompense of reward that was given unto him for that work which was acceptable unto God, and profitable unto his people. He hath a covenant of peace made with him, & the Priesthood confirmed unto him and his posterity. He only had appeased the wrath of God, & made up the breach between God and his people, but the blessing is conveyed even to his posterity. He destroyeth two malefactors whereby he bringeth a blessing unto his children. Hereby we learn, That when the ways of a man please God, he will be gracious to his house & posterity. God is so pleased with the obedience of his people, that he will show mercy to such as belong to them. This is plentifully proved unto us in the word of GOD. When God saw Noah righteous before him in that corrupt age and generation, he made all that belonged unto him partakers of a great deliverance, saying unto him, Enter thou & all thine house into the Ark: for thee have I seen righteous before me in this age, Gen. 7, 1. This appeareth in the person of Abraham, when God had called him out of his Country, and from his kindred, and made a Covenant with him to bless him, Gen. 12, 2, 3. The Prophet Jeremiah teacheth this in the example of the Rechabites, Thus saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel, Because ye have obeyed the Commandment of Jonadab your Father, and • ept all his precepts, and done according unto all that he hath commanded you, Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not want a man to stand before me forever, Ier. 35 18. To this purpose speaketh the Prophet David, Psal. 37.21. A good man is merciful and lendeth, and his seed enjoyeth the blessing. If we come to the New Testament, we have many testimonies leading us unto y ^e consideration of this truth. When Zacchaeus believed in Christ for his salvation, and testified his repentance by his restitution, Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come into this house, forasmuch as he is become the son of Abraham, Luke 19, 9. When the ruler, whose son was sick at Capernaum, saw the great power of Christ in restoring him to health again, He believed and all his household, John 4, 13. This is oftentimes remembered unto us in the Acts of the Apostles. When God had opened the heart of Lydia that she attended unto the things which Paul delivered, She was baptized and all her household, Acts 16, 15.33. When the Jailor believed in the Lord Jesus for his salvation, and shown his unfeigned conversion by the fruits of his love to the Apostles, he was baptized with all y ^t belonged unto him straightway, and rejoiced that he with all his household believed in God.

[Reason 1] The reasons to enforce this doctrine are evident, if we consider either the person of God, or the condition of the faithful. For first, God hath in great mercy and goodness promised to show grace and favor not only to the faithful themselves, but to the seed of the faithful that fear him. It is the nature of God to be merciful and gracious, to be slow to anger, and abundant in goodness, showing mercy unto thousands to them that love him and keep his commandments, Exod. 20, 6, and 34, 6, 7. We see this in the history of the destruction of Sodom, the Lord did not only in great mercy and compassion save Lot himself, but said unto him, Whom hast thou yet here? either son in law, or thy sons, or thy daughters, or whatsoever thou hast in the city bring it out of this place, Gen. 19, 12. He was ready, not to save him alone, but as an overplus to deliver all that belonged unto him. We see the mercy of God to others for his children's sake, he thinketh it not enough to be good to them, but extendeth his mercies to those that any way concern them.

[Reason 2] Secondly, as the mercy of God is great, so the faith of the godly is effectual for themselves and their children. This is the tenor of the covenant that God hath made with all the faithful, their faith is available both for themselves, and for others. God will be our God, and the God of our seed after us, Gen. 17, 7. And this is the privilege & prerogative that the faithful have, they believe this merciful promise of God themselves, and thereby entitle their children unto it. For as a father that purchaseth house or land, giveth thereby an interest unto his son therein; so he that layeth hold on the promise which God hath made to all godly parents, doth conueygh it unto his children: so that albeit they want faith by reason of their years, yet they are made partakers of Christ, and engrafted into his body. So then we may collect and gather this truth, that the love of God to the faithful shall so abound, that it shall come to their posterity, like the precious ointment poured on the head of Aaron, that ran down upon his beard, and flowed to the border of his garments, or as the dew on Hermon and Zion, which watered the valleys that were beneath, upon which it descended, Psal. 133, 2, 3.

The uses remain to be handled. First, we [Use 1] learn, that the children of faithful parents have right and interest to Baptism, and are to receive the seal of the covenant. This the Apostle teacheth, 1, Cor. 7, 14: when he saith, The unbelieving husband is sanctified to the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified to the husband, elsewere your children unclean: but now they are holy. Seeing then, that faithful parents entitle their children to the blessings which they receive; we see that there ought to be a difference between them and the children of Turks and Infidels. All the offspring of Abraham was accounted holy in the time of the Old Testament, because God made with him the covenant of life, and the Apostle reasoneth; that if the root be holy, the branches also are holy, Rom. 11.16. Hence it is, that he calleth them all his children who are borne of Israel. But since the partition wall is pulled down, the grace of God is not obscured, and less assured unto us then it was before unto the Jews. Infants and children do no less belong to the covenant and Church of God then others do that are of years of discretion, as it is plain by the promise made to Abraham, I will set my covenant between me and thee, and between thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, that I will be thy God, and the God of thy seed after thee, Genes. 17, 7. Where God doth promise, not only to be his God, but also to be the God of his seed. This promise doth Peter rehearse to the believing Jews, To you is the promise made and to your children, and to all that are a far off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call, Acts 2, 39. Baptism in the New Testament, succeedeth circumcision, used in the Old Testament. They have both one and the same promise, the same signification, the same foundation, the same ends. But the infants of the Jews were commanded to be circumcised, and therefore infants ought to be baptized. Hereupon the Apostle saith to the Colossians, Ye are circumcised in Christ with circumcision made without hands, by putting off the sinful body of the flesh through the circumcision of C • rist, &c. Col, 2, 11. Lastly, unto infants belongeth the promise of grace, the forgiveness of sins, the regeneration of the spirit, the imputation of Christ's righteousness, the Kingdom of Heaven: and therefore they ought by no means to be denied the outward sign and ceremony, which is the least part of the Sacrament. If the Holy Ghost cleanse them, shall the Minister deny to wash them with water? If the things signified do belong unto them, who shall dare to debar them of the outward sign? Hence it is, that our Savior commandeth infants to be brought unto him, reproveth the disciples that forbad it, embraceth them in his arms, commendeth them to his Father, and declareth that to such belongeth the Kingdom of Heaven, Math, 19, [Object.] 14. And if any ask the question, what profit can possibly come by Baptism to a child and suckling that is without knowledge and understanding: [Answer.] I answer, that the profit is not small, but the benefit great, if we consider either the glory of God, or the comfort of the parents, or the edification and salvation of the child. For hereby God is greatly honored, the parent himself is wonderfully comforted, and the child is exceedingly confirmed and encouraged. God is glorified in this, that he showeth himself true in his promises, who hath assured the faithful that he will show mercy unto them to a thousand generations. He is not as man that he should lie, neither as the son of man that he should deceive, he is found faithful in all the words that are gone out of his mouth, Numb. 23, 19. Again, the parents are comforted and greatly assured of the love of God toward themselves, that he will never leave them, nor forsake them, but that his gifts & graces toward thē, shall be without repentance, Rom. 11, 29. For they see not only that they are beloved of God, but also that the love and grace of God is derived and conveyed unto their children; wherein they are strengthened by that visible sign used in the Sacrament. Lastly, concerning children, they have a double benefit bestowed upon them, being confirmed in the love of God, and encouraged in the duties of godliness. For, when they call to mind, that they so soon obtain the communion of Christ, the partaking of his benefits, and the inheritance of e • ernall life, they are grounded and established in the love of Christ, and assured that he will continue to love them unto the end, that began to show his love unto them, so soon when they were ignorant of him, & were not able to inquire after him, John 13, 1 And when they remember that God so much regarded them, and esteemed of them, even from their first coming into the world, and while they hanged on their mothers breasts, that presently they obtained fell •• ship in his covenant, they are emboldened in all well doing, and provoked to walk in the fear of his Name. And seeing he took them for his children, when th •• through want of knowledge and tenderness of age, were not able to call him father, let them remember their Creator and Redeemer in the days of their youth, and pass the time of their dwelling here in fear, knowing that they were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from their vain conversation received by the traditiō of the fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, &c. 1. Pet. 1.17, 18. Let us also learn from hence to detest the error of the Anabaptists, that deny Baptism unto infants, thereby diminishing the glory of God, weakening the comfort of godly parents, and abolishing the assurance of children, that they ought to have touching the free love of God toward them.

Secondly, we are taught on the other side, [Use 2] that evil parents bring the curse of God into their houses, and upon their posterity. We see this in Cain, when he gave himself to murder and impiety, he brought the judgment of God upon his whole race, that were razed out of the earth. Mark the posterity of Ishmael, who mocking Isaac, and raising persecution against him, was cast out of the house of Abraham, out of the Church of God, and his issue were aliens from the faith, and strangers from the promises of salvation. The like we see, and might say of Esau, that profane person, who for a mess of pottage sold his birth-right, and hated his brother; his posterity were the greatest enemies to the true Israelites, and were a cursed generation, Heb. 12, 16. Consider with me y ^e fearful example of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that made Israel to sin, and provoked the God of Israel to wrath, 2. King. 15, 30. This seducer wrought wickedness, and established idolatry, and thereby thought to establish the kingdom to himself, and to settle it in his posterity, that it should never be removed from his offspring, but follow from father to son in a continued succession. Notwithstanding, this fell out not only to his own confusion, but to the overthrow of his stock and linage. The judgment of God did not rest in his person, but pursued him in his progeny and posterity. This is it which the Lord denounced by the Prophet; Behold, I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam, him that pisseth against the wall; as well him that is shut up, as him that is left in Israel, and will sweep away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam, as a man sweepeth away dung until it be all gone, 1. King. 14, 10. Where the Prophet showeth and declareth, that God respecteth evil men as filthy beasts, and those that come of them as dung and excrements, which defile the places where they abide, and therefore with the besom of his vengeance he will sweep them away, that they shall no longer offend the nostrils of GOD and his people. Thus it was with Ahab, that shed innocent blood, and took possession of the vineyard of Naboth, he did the greatest injury and wrong to his posterity, that could be offered: the kingdom was taken from his house, and his children were slain with the sword, according to the saying of Elijah, I will bring evil upon thee, and will take away thy posterity: I will make thy house like the house of Jeroboam, &c: and also of Jezebel spake the Lord, saying; The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the walls of Izreel. Who are then the greatest enemies to their children, but ungodly parents? And who bring upon them a greater woe and ruin, then they that should build them up, and leave a blessing behind thē? When Moses describeth y ^e nature of God, that he is abundant in mercy toward the righteous, he addeth, Holding not the wicked innocent, but visiting the sins of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation, Exod. 34, 8. This must move parents and governors, to make conscience of their carriage and conversation, and to bewail their sins, that have endangered their offspring. For God may, and doth in Justice visit with sundry and diverse judgments, those families and societies, where wicked Parents, and profane governors are. All they be cruel & tyger-like parents, y ^t be ungodly parents: for they are the murderers and butchers of their children, & overthrow of their posterity in time, howsoever they be spared for a season. What unmerciful & unnatural parents were Cain, Cham, Canaan, Jeroboam, Jezebel, Ahab, & such like, y ^t caused everyone of their house, that could water a wall to be destroyed, and utterly to have their race and remembrance rooted out? It is therefore a devilish and wicked Proverb, [Happy are those children, whose father goeth to the devil. ] Nay, rather cursed are those children, whose fathers fall into hell: for there is a great presumption that they will follow them without the great mercy and special grace of God: yea, it is a blessed thing, to spring from a godly stock, & to rise from faithful parents. For often did the Lord spare Israel for Abraham's, Isaac's, and Jacob's sake. When the posterity of David became wicked, he continued them in their kingdom, delivered them from their enemies, & did not destroy them for David's sake.

When the Lord was angry with Solomon, because he had turned his heart from the Lord God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice, and charged him not to follow strange gods, he threatened to rent the kingdom from him, & to give it to his servant; Notwithstanding in thy days I will not do it (saith the Lord) because of David thy father, 1. King. 11, 12. This appeareth more plainly afterward in Abiiam the son of Rehoboam, who walked in all the sins of his father which he had done before him: yet for David's sake did the Lord his God give him a light in Jerusalem, and set up his son after him, and established Jerusalem, because David did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, and turned from nothing that he commanded him all the days of his life, save only in the matters of Uriah the Hittite, 1. King. 15.4, 5. 2. Chron. 21, 7.

This is it which the Lord promiseth in the second commandment of the Law, That he will show mercy to thousands of them that love him, and keep his commandments, Exod. 20.6. Seeing then, wicked and wretched parents are most deadly enemies unto their children, who bear the curses of God upon them for many generations, for the impiety of their fathers; this serveth as a great terror to those parents that go about by fraud and oppression, by wrongful and injurious dealing to enrich themselves, to set up their names, and make their posterity to be great upon the earth after them. For this is the ready way to bring the curse of God upon them, and to pull down their houses. Where the curse of God entereth, it maketh havoc, and wasteth all before it. God is an avenger of all such things, 1. Thes. 4, 6. Surely, if men were not altogether faithless, but had faith to believe the word of God, that all wicked courses, and vile practices, would overthrow their houses, and not build them up: that they could not fill them with evil things, but they will pul down the plagues of God upon them, and all theirs: it would make them fear to offend by fraud and unjust dealing, which crieth for vengeance unto heaven, and the cry thereof entereth into the ears of the Lord of hosts, James 5, 4, All men by nature have a love unto their children, and a desire to leave them great men in the world; but many are greatly deceived in the means, and wander far and wide out of the way. For if we would leave them a sure inheritance, and settle them in an estate to continue, we must take heed that we do not enrich our selves with the spoils of others, nor fill our houses with the riches of iniquity, lest we fill them also with the vengeance of God which is the reward of iniquity. Let us eat our own bread which we have gotten by lawful means. There is more comfort in a little truly gotten, then in great riches and revenues, that carry with them God's marks and curses, being wrongfully obtained, and unjustly retained.

Lastly, it is required of us to repent & believe [Use 3] the Gospel, that so we may procure a blessing upon our selves, and our children. This duty the Apostle Peter preacheth unto the Jews that were pricked in their hearts, Amend your lives, & be baptized everyone of you for the remission of sins, for the promise is made unto you, and to your children, &c. Acts 2, 38, 39. When God promised to Abraham to make a covenant with him, and to multiply his seed exceedingly, he requireth this condition at his hands, Walk before me, and be thou upright, Gen. 17, 1. We must walk in the midst of our houses with pure and perfect heart, and guide them with a watchful eye, we must look to their ways, and to our government, This would be a great help to the Ministry, and a singular furtherance to his labors. The neglect of this care, bringeth utter ruin to father and child. This appeareth in the example of Eli, who through his indulgence and negligence, overthrew himself and his posterity. This is the cause of so many cursed youths, so many riotous men & women which procure the ruins of so many excellent houses; their tender age was not sanctified, neither they seasoned by their parents with the fear of God. So then, godly parents must have a care to bring up their children & families in godliness & righteousness. It may be a means by the blessing of God to save thy son from death, and to deliver his soul from destruction, The Lord himself speaketh of Abraham, That he knew him, that he would teach his sons and his household after him, that they keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and judgment, Gen. 18, 19. The Apostle chargeth parents to bring up their children in the nurture and information of the Lord, Eph. 6, 4. No parents must presume, that because they have obtained to be faithful, therefore their children must of necessity be so also. Faith is the gift of GOD, and not of Nature: It is not common to all, but peculiar to some: It cometh not by inheritance, but by grace. Parents may leave unto their children their houses, their lands, their substance: they may convey unto them their inheritance, but they cannot convey unto them the gifts that accompany salvation. Wherefore all parents that are faithful, are to entreat and crave of God the continuance of his covenant toward their children, and to beg from his hands an holy and sanctified seed to his glory, and their comfort.

Verse 14, 15. [The name of the Israelite thus slain was Zimri the son of Salu: and the name of the Midianitish woman that was slain, was Cozbi, &c.] We heard before in the fixed verse, how Moses hath laid open the shameless and impudent behavior of this beastly adulterer, who shamed not to bring the Midianitish harlot into the host, and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, which were grieved to behold such horrible villainy; nevertheless, we see in this place, that Moses is not content in a general manner to describe his wickedness, but singleth him out particularly by his name, by his father by his tribe. Neither doth he content himself to set down the Midianitish woman by her nation, but calleth her by her name, and further openeth the name of her father, and her fathers house. So then, Moses having shown who they were that brought the plague of God upon the people: he now descendeth to mark them out by their proper names, and of what calling and profession they were.

From hence we learn, that it is sometime lawful and convenient to reprove by name, special people and particular men that offend in the Church, and to record them in writing. A particular reproof of particular offenders, sometimes standeth with the word of GOD. So did Elijah deal with Ahab and Jezebel, he told him that it was he and his fathers house that troubled Israel.

This we see practiced by the Prophet Isaiah against Shebna, who being a notable favorer of evil men, and a great hinderer of good things, is by name threatened to be carried away with a great captivity, Isaiah 22, 17. Thus doth Jeremiah deal with the false Prophets, and other obstinate enemies, Ier. 28, 12. Likewise, our Savior Christ denounceth many fearful woes against the Scribes and Pharisees hypocrites, which shut up the kingdom of heaven before men, devoured widows houses under a color of long prayer, compassed sea and land to make one of their profession, tythed mint and annise, and left the weightier matters of the Law; as judgment, mercy, and fidelity. So did Paul withstand Peter to his face, because he was to be condemned, Gal. 2, 11. And when he saw in the Church such as & put away faith and a good conscience, and made shipwreck of the doctrine of Christ, he giveth the Church notice and warning of them, saying; Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they might learn not to blaspheme, 1. Tim. 1, 20. And in another place, having to do with such as cast off the doctrine of godliness, he noteth the ring-leaders, and principal authors: Of this sort is Hymenaeus and Philetus, which as concerning the truth, have erred from the mark, saying; that the resurrection is past already, and do destroy the faith of certain, 2, Tim. 1, 17. In like manner he specifieth Alexander the copper-smith, which had done him much harm, 2, Tim. 4, 14. So the Apostle John warneth the Church of Diotrephes, who loved to have preeminence among them. Al which examples of the Prophets, of the Apostles, & of Christ himself do teach, y ^t it will not always be sufficient to reprove the errors and heresies of obstinate sinners; but sometimes it is expedient to lay them open by their names, and to signify them to the Church, by a particular discovering of them.

The Reasons of this practice are to be considered. [Reason 1] First, because the Church should have warning of thē, that others might shun them, and avoid their company. So the Apostle nameth Alexander to prepare Timothy not to trust him. It is good to know false brethren, lest they spying our liberty, take the greater advantage against us. Hence it is that Paul chargeth Timothy to beware of Alexander, who had withstood his preaching sore, 2 Tim. 4, 15. While we are familiarly conversant with the wicked, it will be hard for us not to be entangled in their sins. For how can a man walk among thorns, & not prick himself? or how can a man touch pitch, and not be defiled? We must fly from such as from a deadly plague. We must separate our selves from them, lest the like vengeance fall upon us also.

Secondly, they must by a special note be made known to the Church, that they may [Reason 2] be degraded and brought to reproach. The Apostle used this remedy, thereby to shut their mouths, and to stop them from speaking evil of almighty GOD and his truth, w ^c ought to be precious to us. This naming of them, is to set a mark of infamy upon thē; as if a man were bored in the ear, or burned in the hand for a malefactor. God will have them and their wickedness registered to their perpetual shame in the Church forever, that they should not be of anymore credit to infect the good, and to draw the weak unto destruction. The unnatural & savage dealing of the Amalekites, toward their brethren the Israelites, is by God expressly commanded to be recorded in a book, to their infamy and confusion, The Lord said unto Moses, Write this for a remembrance in the book, and rehearse it to Joshua, for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven? Exod. 17, 14. So we have in the Scriptures set forth the uncleanness of Sodom, the hard-heartedness of Pharaoh, the conspiracy of Corah, the covetousness of Ahab, the cruelty of Jezebel, the disobedience of Saul, the treason of Absalom, the treachery of Judas, and other infamous beasts, the record of their shame is in perpetual memory, and stinketh unto this day. The like we might say of all bloody persecutors in all ages since Christ's time, they have their names and facts remembered in the Acts and Monuments of the Church.

Seeing therefore obstinate enemies must be both shunned & shamed; in both respects we learn, that it is lawful for the Ministers of God to point out some by name, that they may be known, otherwise the Apostles of Christ would never have done it, the Prophets would never have practiced it, Christ himself would never have allowed it.

Let us apply this to our selves. First, it serveth as a bridle to restrain evil men, especially all such as bring a public detriment and hurt to the Church, and are the cause of common [Use 1] mischiefs: they shall to the shame of their persons, to the reproach of their names, to the infamy of their posterities, be registered up in the Monuments of the Church forever, as they that carry a mark of their judgment to the tribunal seat of God aforehand. If the love of goodness, if the wrath of God, if the fear of damnation will not bridle them (as Atheists respect none of these, neither desiring godliness, nor believing heaven, nor fearing hell) yet the perpetual shame wherewith they and their posterities shall be branded, should move them. Albeit sinful wretches be highly magnified in the world, yet all their honor and reputation shall be turned into a blot. It was of late years accounted a great dignity to be a Wolfie, or a Gardener, or a Bonner, but now their names are odious for pride and cruelty, and they no better then wolves, invading and wasting the poor flock of Christ. This the wise man speaketh, Prov. chapt. 10, verse 7. The memorial of the just shall be blessed: but the name of the wicked shall rotte. This doth God set forth by his Prophet, Isaiah, chapter 6 • , verse 15. Ye shall cry for sorrow of heart and shall howl for vexation of mind, and ye shall leave your name as a curse unto my chosen; for the Lord God shall slay you, and call his servants by another name.

We see then that they are greatly deceived, that hope to be famous and to leave a great name behind them, by getting riches, and raising up their houses, as the Psalmist speaketh; They think their houses and habitations shall continue from generation to generation, and call their Lands by their names: yet they shall not continue in honor, but perish like the brute beast, and be no more had in remembrance, but to their dishonor, Psalm 49, verses 11, 12. This is it which David saith in the ninth Psalm, verse 5. Thou hast destroyed the wicked, thou hast put out their name forever and ever.

A great name among the sons of men is not always a good name: and a great name gotten by evil means and open wickedness, is a great punishment, it is a tokē of the wrath of God, upon those that are well spokē of for ungodly deeds. This hardeneth thē in their sins & holdeth then frō true repentance. But whosoever are given up to hardness of heart, & hindered from bringing forth the fruits of repentance, have 2. heavy judgments lying sore upon thē, however they be as blind men & cannot see thē. It is our duty to pray against such a name unto God, & not to desire it to our destruction. Let us fear such a name as may make us reproachful to GOD and to all good men.

Secondly, seeing we must take heed, that howsoever the practice be in it self lawful, to lay out wicked men in their colors, yet we must not single out men commonly, and ordinarily, being oftentimes offensive; sometimes causeless, and always dangerous. When the Apostle reproached such false teachers among the Corinthians as denied the resurrection, and consequently raised the foundation of Religion (for if there be no resurrection, then is Christ not risen; and if Christ be not risen, then is the preaching of the Minister, and the faith of the people vain:) yet he doth not express the names of these seducers, but saith, If it be preached that Christ is risen from the dead, how say some among you, that there is no resurrection of the dead? 1. Corinth. 15, 12. And in another place, when he saw his person contemned as base, and his Ministry rejected as fruitless, he answereth the slander, but spareth y ^e slanderer; This I say, that I may not seem as it were to fear you with letters: for the letters, saith he, are sore and strong, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech is of no value, Let such one think this, that such as we are in word by letters when we are absent, such will we be also indeed, when we are present. Thus do other the Apostles. Howsoever therefore the practice being wisely and discreetly used, have warrant from the servants of God, yet we are in doing of it to observe these rules following.

First, we must consider our places and callings, we have not the same liberty granted unto us that the Prophets and Apostles had, who received special revelation from God against many of those which they uncased & laid open to the Church, and therefore pray to God to confound them, & to reward them according to their works. We must not therefore make a general rule of it, but remember what Christ said to his disciples, Luke 9, 15. Ye know not of what spirit ye are. They pretended the example of Elias, but they wanted the spirit of Elias. Secondly, we must take heed that we mingle not our own passions with it, for then straight way we pass the bounds of measure and moderation. It is not enough that our zeal be good, but it must be seasoned with such wisdom that the Spirit of God rule over all. We must not be moved with choler and rage, with fury and indignation, but keep under all our affections, that they break not into unlawful courses. Thirdly, we must show pity and compassion of those that sin of weakness and infirmity: we must pray to God for them, that he would pour out his mercy upon them, and to give them repentance to acknowledge the truth, and to come to amendment out of the snare of the devil. We must always hope well of such as fall of frailty, until God show that he hath cut them off. Fourthly, it is lawful to reprove by name, when the necessity of the Church urgeth it, and challengeth it at our hands. So that it is in great danger utterly to be corrupted and overthrown, unless false Teachers and seducers be bewrayed and manifestly discovered, that all men may know them and take heed of them. The safety of the Church is especially to be respected of us, and the truth of God must be most deer unto us. Lastly, there is a warrant to single out such men, when there is no more hope of their conversion, and when they are once grown to open blasphemy, to speak evil of, and to slander the doctrine that is according to godliness upon hatred thereof and pretensed malice, there is no more place for patience, we are no longer to deal with the spirit of meekness. When a man is so far fallen from all Religion to speak evil of the way of godliness, and to despite the grace of God, malice hath blinded him, the devil hath possessed him, & condemnation waiteth for him. He beareth evident marks of Reprobation, & God showeth that there is no hope of salvation in him. He giveth knowledge to the Church at sometimes of some particular persons that are castaways, and have the gate of salvation shut up against them. For otherwise to what purpose is the great and unpardonable sin against the holy Ghost described in the word, unless the sin might be known, and the men also known that do commit it? And to what end doth the Apostle John tell us, 1 John 5, ver. 16. There is a sin to death? and of seeing our brother sin unto death? If then it may be seen it may be known. And hence it is, that when the Church saw Julian the Apostate, who had been enlightened with the truth, and been zealous in the profession of it, to despite God openly, to lift up himself against his word, and to make a mock of all religion, they would have no more to do with him, they accounted him as a devil, and they prayed with one consent against him, that God would confound and destroy him. They did not pray unto God for his conversion, and to give him a new heart, but because he could not repent being past amendment, they called upon God to hasten his condemnation, that he might show thereby what account he maketh of his most holy truth.

Last of all, we ought to have a care to be [Use 3] helpful and profitable to the Church, and to be zealous in the service of God, that thereby to the comfort of our selves and our posterity we may carry a sweet remembrance & a blessed report in the Church forever. The love of Mary in annointing Christ with the precious oil which she poured on his head, is promised by Christ to be remembered forever, in what place of the world soever the Gospel should be published: Verily I say unto you, wheresoerver this Gospel shall be preached throughout all the world, there shall also this that she hath done be spoken of for a memorial of her, Matth. 26, 13. The praise of Jehoiada is recorded in Scripture he died an old man, and full of days, & they buried him in the City of David with y ^e Kings, because he had done good in Israel, and toward God & his house, 2 Chr. 14, 16. This serveth to reprove such as care not at all what men think or speak of them, and regard not what name they have, good or bad; what report is given of them, honorable or dishonorable, sweet or rotten, so they may prevail in their purposes, and bring to effect their devilish devices. An heathen man could say, It is the part of a reckless and dissolute man, to neglect what a man saith of him. Solomon teacheth us, that a good name is more to be desired then great riches, and a loving favor more then silver and gold, Pro. 22, 1 Eccles 7, 3, This is not attained by flattery or falsehood, but by godliness and righteousness, by humility and an upright conscience. Riches are frail and transitory, subject to vanity and corruption, but a good name and loving favor remain forever. So the Prophet describing the blessedness of the man that feareth the Lord, and delighteth in his commandments, saith, that he shall never be moved: but the righteous shall be had in perpetual remembrance, Ps. 112.6. A good name is better then a great name. And albeit the godly be despised in the world, yet God will advance their estimation, & give thē a sweet savor among all good men. True it is, sinful men are magnified of sinners (for even the sinners love those that love them, to receive the like of them again) yet they shall be made abhominable unto the Saints, and their name shall be cursed, and as much loathed as the filthy favor of his carcass that lieth rotting in the grave. So then, seeing shame shall be as an inseperable companion of wickedness, and no man can separate those things which God hath joined together; on the other side here is comfort to the godly, that GOD will undertake the protection of their names, so that no creature shall be able to rob them of it: but as he preserveth them to salvation, so he will maintain their credit and estimation. We see this in many the dear servants of God, who albeit they have had their names for a time diminished & impaired, yet they have been restored and recovered. The name of Naboth was greatly blemished with the slanderous imputation of treason and blasphemy, but that momentary shame is swallowed up, and recompensed with everlasting honor, throughout all generations, 1, King. 21.10. The like we might say of Cranmer, Ridley, Latimer, Hooper, Bradford, Philpot, and many other the dear servants of God, that gave their lives for the truth, howsoever they were condemned for heretics, yet they are renowned for Saints, and shall be so acknowledged to the end of the world,