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enough to keep them: then for that time we could call on God, repent, restore evil gotten goods, give alms, and be sorry that we had not been more liberal before time; but as soon as it ceased, we were as evil or worse than before. So in the late days of bloody persecution and cruel popery, how oft with tears desired we God once again to restore us, and we would no more so wickedly live! and yet we be worse than before. How many sweats, rebellions, dearths, unseasonable years have we had; and yet we have forgotten them, as though they came not from God, nor yet that God had not sent them to teach us to turn to him by them!

doings are

to be

The workings of God, whether they be in blessing or God's plaguing, present or past, to ourselves or others, particularly diligently or to a whole country generally, are deeply to be considered: considered. for he would teach us many things by them, if we had that grace, wit, and eyes, to consider them. St Paul teaches the 1 Cor. x. Corinthians by examples past long before, that they should not murmur, be idolators, nor tempt Christ, as their fathers did, lest they should be destroyed as their fathers were. How often doth the scripture put the Jews in remembrance of their great deliverance out of the vile bondage in Egypt; and Levit. ix. bids them not trouble the stranger, for they were strangers in Egypt themselves, and knew the griefs which strangers suffered. In particular examples and plagues he saith, "Re- Luke xvii. member Lot's wife;" lest in looking back, and desiring your old lusts in Sodom, ye perish as she did. So in good things also, he teaches us by examples past: "Ye see the suffering of Job, and the end how the Lord rewarded him," saith St James, moving us to patience in trouble. James v. And generally it is said to us all: "What things soever Rom. xv. are written before hand, they are written for our learning, that by patience and comfort of the scripture we might have hope."

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The plague of one is a

as warning to

or

So in things done in our time, when we see God's anger poured upon the whole realm, or one country or house, war, plague, hunger, dearth, sickness, fire, loss of lands goods, sweat, loss of friends; look what grievous and notable sins then reigned in such men or places, and learn to avoid the same, lest the like fall on thee. For by that plague God teacheth all which hear of it to avoid the like wicked

the rest.

ness, lest like plagues fall on them. If they will not learn, what marvel is it if they sink in their own sin?

So, if thou see thy neighbour punished, rejoice not at it; but pray for him, comfort him, and learn the goodness of God towards thyself; that where thou hast deserved more to be punished than he, yet God spares thee, and gives thee warning by his punishment to amend betimes, lest thy course be next; and then shalt thou be more grievously plagued, because thou didst not learn to amend thy faults by his correction and punishment.

If thy neighbour be in wealth, and thou in trouble, learn to amend thy faults by his, that God may bestow his benefits on thee, as well as on him. Disdain not his wealth, nor be not sorry for it, whether he be good man or evil: for if he be evil, God would win him with gentleness; if he be good, follow his doings, that God may bless thee also. Thus shall we learn of God's doings to comfort ourselves, and amend our own lives. How diligent we should be to search out for what cause God plagues us, we are taught by Josua in casting lot with the people when they were plagued, who had angered God so grievously, that he punished them so sharply, and so tried by the lot, that Acham was 1 Sam. xiv. in the fault. So Saul tried by lot, that his son Jonathan had offended, when God so sharply punished them. Jonas running from God was tried by lot, cast into the sea, and the tempest ceased.

Josh. vii.

Offenders must be tried and punished, that the plague may cease.

Thus must not God's plagues and works be lightly passed over, but deeply considered wherefore he punisheth, and the offenders tried out and punished that God's plague may cease for before it will not. If the rulers be negligent in punishing sin as their duty requires, God must needs take it in hand himself; for sin must needs be punished, and he is a righteous God, and will as well punish the sinner as reward the good: but if man do punish the fault, God will not; for he punishes not twice for one fault. Therefore let us no more be so negligent in not regarding God's plagues, lest in despising little gentle ones we provoke him to pour his whole wrath on us, as these men did.

He bids them look backward, not at one year or two passed, but even from the beginning "whole forty years, since

one stone was laid on another in the foundation of the temple," and till all that time that they left off their building; and to remember how unfruitful and unseasonable years they had. The corn did not yield the half that men looked for, or yet judged it to be; the wine not three parts of that they hoped for in thus many years together: therefore they should have known, that all was for their disobedience in not building the Lord's house.

God use his

But how came all this to pass? who was the worker of these plagues? was it wind, mildew, hail, storms or tempests, which did all this? Indeed they had all these and many more; but God saith, "I smote you with blasting winds, and mildew, and hail, all the works of your hands." In which he teaches, that wind, hail, mildew, storm and tempests, be his servants, go his messages, where he will, destroying so much and so little, when and where as it pleases him, as David saith, "Fire, hail, snow, ice, and tempests, Psal. cxlviii. which do his commandment." And because no such harm Although comes by chance or by the ruling of the stars, but all be creatures in his creatures, serve and obey his holy will and pleasure; he yet he calls calls it his own deed, and saith, "I smote you." There- deed. fore by his just judgment it is done, whatsoever is destroyed : and murmur or grudge we must not at his doings, thinking him to do us wrong, or deal like a tyrant with us; but thankfully bear it, knowing that by such light punishment he wills us to amend and escape a greater. We must say with Job, "The Lord gave it, and the Lord took it away: Jobi. as the Lord willeth, so let it be blessed be the name of the Lord now and ever."

If we could thus with a reverent fear acknowledge God's working in all his punishing, we would not seek unlawful means in danger of fire; as St Aga's letters', the holy candle, or a hawthorn in lightning, the hallowed bell to ring in thunder, &c. and it would be a great quietness to our minds, that we should patiently and willingly bear all crosses that he shall lay upon us, lest we seem to grudge

["St Agathe's letters" are mentioned in one of our Homilies, (Sermon on Good Works, Part 3,) in an enumeration of various kinds of "papistical superstitions and abuses." Agatha was a martyr of the third century. ED.]

[PILKINGTON.]

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punishing,

it his own

at his doings, which were no small fault. When Job had lost all that he had, yet he accused neither devil, enemies, nor any other man, but said, "If we received good things at the Lord's hands, why should we not suffer evil also? The Lord gave it, and the Lord took it away." Though the devil of malice stirred up such men to commit such robbery against Job, and they of covetousness or envy did spoil and rob the good man, and so both the devil and his members in all their doings heap their own condemnation, because they do it of such a wicked mind and for so evil a purpose and end; yet the good man in such plagues hath a further respect to God, thinking that he which ruleth all, and suffereth these things, by such means trieth his patience: God's love and therefore he thankfully taketh it. So in one deed God's and justice, the devil's love, with just punishment for our sins and trial of our faith and patience, do appear; and also the malice of the devil towards us, and the frowardness of us one towards another. But because the end and purpose wherefore it is done be so far divers, we work our own damnation willingly, when we do any wickedness one towards another: and God is not the cause nor yet the enticer of us to any evil, but a just punisher of all sin.

malice, and

man's

cruelty, appear in one deed.

first gently

Mark here diligently the merciful goodness of our good God and Father in punishing his people; how he destroys not utterly first their wives and children, or plagues them God begins with extreme diseases, but begins gently with their corn and to punish. other fruits, far off from them, whose loss they might better bear yet nevertheless by these little ones he gives them warning to amend; or else he will punish them more grievously, and come nearer unto them in such things as they love more dearly; and at length they and all theirs should perish, if they would not amend. Thus saith God, [2 Sam. vii. “I will visit you in the rod of men," that is to say, gently : 14.] Psal. Ixxxix. and David in God's name saith, "I will visit their wicked

ness with a rod, and their sins with a scourge; but my mercy I will not take away from them, nor I will not hurt them, as I am a true God." Thus, like a father and not like a tyrant, he punishes to amend and not to destroy, to save and not to condemn, for love and not for envy, to pull us from our wickedness to him, and not to make us to hate

him or run from him, first by little ones, that we may avoid greater, and not in them utterly perish.

punishes

profit, and

The end of God's punishing this people so long appears God here, when he saith, “You would not turn unto me, saith for our the Lord." For this cause then, that they should turn to suffers long. him, did he send these plagues; and not for hate or harm to his people. But what a wickedness and hard hearts were these men of, that among so many threatenings, so great plagues, and in so many years, they would not turn unto the Lord! Here appears, how true it was that he said before, that all were fallen on sleep, both prince, priest and people, until the Lord awaked up all their spirits to see their great disobedience, and to go about their building. And also this declares, how unable and unwilling we be to do good, until God stir us up by his grace. God deals with us as the shepherd doth with his sheep: if a sheep run from his fellows, the shepherd sets his dog after it, not to devour it, but to bring it in again: so our heavenly Shepherd, if any of us his sheep disobey him, he sets his dog after us, not to hurt us, but to bring us home to a consideration of our duty towards this our heavenly Father and loving Shepherd.

Here God suffers long.

God's dogs be poverty, banishment, sickness, evil rulers, dearth, death, war, ignorance, superstition, loss of goods or friends, &c. Who could have holden his hands beside such a sturdy people, and not utterly have destroyed them; where no sort of men among such a number, for so many plagues, in so many years, would turn to their Lord God? therefore may appear the long-suffering of God, who doth not suddenly in a rage take vengeance on us, as soon as the fault is done, as one of us doth towards another; but tarries so long to look for our amendment and repentance. Also it is evident, how true that is which God saith, “All the day Rom. x. long I stretched out my hands to an unfaithful and rebellious people." Our Saviour Christ saith, he stands and Rev. iii. knocks at the door, and would come in, and we will not let him in.

The Lord for his mercy's sake soften our hearts, that we despise not such gentle callings, and be found in the number of such hard hearts; lest we be given up to our

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