world; but finners feel checks' and reproofs from God, which unless they themselves tell, others are not aware of. An internal stroke; for these rekukes are fecret; though they are certainly felt by those that are under them, by-standers take no cognizance of them. The torments of a man's own breast are beyond any evil that befalls the body: trouble in a man's mind, is beyond the pain of the ftone or gout. For if a man's mind be whole, he can bear up against bodily infirmity. But a wounded spirit who can bear? Prov. xviii. 14.* III. Take notice what is proposed; that these rebukes of God blast men: when thou with rebukes correctest man for fin, thou makest bis beauty to confume. His beauty, that is, that which is most desirable, that which is most valuable; his health, his wealth, his friends, his internal peace, the parts of his mind: for these are a man's excellency, and all these are meant by his beauty. And if God blast a man, all these wither away, and come to nothing: thou makest his beauty to confume away like a moth : a moth is always fretting, not apt to be found out, not apt to be refifted, but brings all to confufion. These rebukes of God blast men. IV. Take notice what is here inferred: furely every man is vanity. And no conclusion doth more plainly follow from any thing premised. For every man is vanity upon a double account. Ist, Because he is fallible, and so subject to mifcarry; else he would never be found in the ways of iniquity, and * Si dii deæque omnes, &c. Tacitus in Tiberio. 2dly, Because 2dly, Because he is so controulable and account able; and under a power that he cannot refift. Thus I have given you an account in these four particulars, of the matter that lies in the words And really, the text offers to you things of great moment, and weighty confideration. I will speak shortly to all four: and because I will be brief, I will put the two first together, and they will do well fo, viz. I. That iniquity is the foundation of punishment, and II. That it is regular, usual and ordinary for God to controul and punish sinners. This is expected, and it becomes him, as he is the governor, and maintainer of righteousness, and truth. And if you speak properly of punishment, God doth only chastise finners, so, and no otherwise, sinners, and none else. And then it is a great note, and will teach us to speak more accurately when we speak of punishment, for if we speak properly God doth not punish but in the cafe of fin. But because use and practice hath amplified this word and in a more large sense of the word, we fay a man is punished, when any evil thing befals him, though he hath done nothing that may procure it; I will therefore in a preparatory wayoffer four cafes, which we are not to call punishment. 1. The effects of God's abfolute fovereignty, and power. We acknowledge, that God in the use of his fovereignty, may deal differently with several of his creatures: and yet, where he deals better, he doth not reward, and where he deals worse, he doth not punish. And if this were well understood, those passages in Rom. ix. would be better understood : such as these, Jacob have I loved, and Efau have I hated: hated: it imports no more than that it was the pleafure of God, to take the younger brother Jacob, and make him the progenitor of the promised Meffias, and not Efau: and this is the meaning of that scripture. Hating there, is less loving; and our Saviour To useth the word, Luke xiv. 26. when he bids us hate our own life, and hate father and mother; whereas we are enjoined to honour father and mother ; and to preferve our lives; and it is our duty; for if we may not kill another we may not kill ourselves; and this is expounded in Matt. x. 37, 38. by defending our life, that is, with denying Chrift, &c. So again, hath not the potter power over his clay, &. that is, he may make one, a vessel of higher use ; another of inferior use: and this belongs to God's undoubted priviledge, power and fovereignty; to raise one to a higher condition in the world, and place another in an inferior condition; to make one high, another low; one rich, another poor; one a master, another a fervant. Now we are not to say that God doth punish him that is in the worst condition; here is no notion of punishment; this is neither the reward of any man's virtue, nor the punishment of any man's fault; for punishment properly is where there is pæna ratione vindictæ ; but these things are as God pleaseth. Now this I make further appear, by interpreting St. Paul by himself, where he speaks of veffels of honour, and veffels of dishonour, 2 Tim. ii. 20. His own words are, In a great house, there are not only veffels of gold and filver, but also some of wood and of earth, and fome to honour, and some to dishonour. The veffel to honour, as as the cup he drinks in; the vessel to dishonour, as other utenfils. Now, who hath any ill design upon his necessary utenfils? so that all these differences are within the latitude of God's sovereignty, and speak nothing, either of love or hatred. 2. That that is natural evil, sometimes comes from God, barely for trial, and for exercise: and God doth not intend punishment at all, neither doth he look at any provocation, nor hath displeafure at the perfon; and this was plainly good Job's cafe. For in the beginning of the first chapter, Job hath God's recommendation to the full, and yet the devil hath Job in his power, and is only restrained as to his life. Therefore, Job was not punished, but he was put upon the use and exercise, and trial of his patience, and several other virtues and graces; and therefore, Job did well to dispute against his friends, for they run upon this notion, that if any man suffered evil, it must be punishment; and that Job, notwithstanding his outward appearance, was either a hypocrite, or fome way obnoxious: but he stands to it, and will maintain his uprightness. And in the xlii chap. there God juftifies him, challenges his friends, and fends them to Job, and he must sacrifice for them. So that, not withstanding Job suffered so much evil, he was not an offender, nor punished, but exercised: and God may tempt us in this kind, to try our affections to him, and whether we will stand to him, or no. 3. There are chastisements, or harder conditions for the increase of virtue, the contempt of the world, the increase of modesty and humility. We might over-value the world, and value ourselves too much, if we were not sometimes taught, that these things are not to be taken into the account of our happiness. 4. There is sometimes also evils for an evil neighbour's fake: a very good man, at whom God takes no offence, he may suffer some evil for his neighbour's fake; as good fofiah was overborn by the evil that was done in the days of Manaffeh; and in this sense, is to be understood that in Ezek. xxi. 3. I will cut off from thee the righteous with the wicked. And here is no punishment neither; for they that are not in the fault, may suffer because of the unhappiness that comes upon their neighbours. And God knows how to make up this their loss in time, and in eternity. In neither of these cases, is God faid to punish. Neither of these cafes come within the cafe of the text. But now, these cases being taken out, I come to give you an account of the truth of the propofition, that fin is the cause of punishment, and that in five particulars. 1. Many fins are the natural causes of the evils that are consequent upon them: as intemperance of certain diseases, distempers, and dying before mens time. Some men drink themselves into fevers, and some into dropsies. Here sin is the natural cause of evil. Men of intemperate and dissolute lives destroy their bodily health; dull and stupify their reason and understanding; and waste their estates. It is most apparent that some men have overthrown strong and healthy constitutions; and stupified quick VOL. 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