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 stone 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 makeft bis beauty to confume. His beauty, that is, that which is most defirable, 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 conclufion doth more plainly follow from any thing premised. For every man is vanity upon a double account. ift, Because he is fallible, and fo fubject to miscarry; 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 accountable; 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 short- ́ ly 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, ufual and ordinary for God to controul and punish finners. This is ex-' pected, 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 chaftife finners, fo, and no otherwise, finners, and none elfe. And then it is a great note, and will teach us to speak more accurately when we fpeak of punishment, for if we speak properly God doth not punish but in the cafe of fin. But becaufe ufe and practice hath amplified this word and in a more large fenfe 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 way offer 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 ufe of his fovereignty, may deal differently with feveral of his creatures: and yet, where he deals better, he doth not reward, and where he deals worfe, he doth not punish. And if this were well understood, those ́ paffages in Rom. ix. would be better understood : fuch as thefe, 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 fcripture. Hating there, is lefs loving; and our Saviour fo ufeth the word, Luke xiv. 26. when he bids us bate 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, &c. that is, he may make one, a veffel of higher ufe ; another of inferior use and this belongs to God's undoubted priviledge, power and fovereignty; to raife 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 mafter, another a fervant. Now we are not to fay 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 poena ratione vindicta; but these things are as God pleafeth. Now this I make further appear, by interpreting St. Paul by himfelf, where he speaks of veffels of honour, and veffels of dishonour, 2 Tim. ii. 20. His own words are, In a great houfe, there are not only veffels of gold and Silver, but alfo fome of wood and of earth, and fome to bonour, and fome to dishonour. The veffel to honour,

as

as the cup he drinks in; the veffel to dishonour, as other utenfils. Now, who hath any ill defign upon his neceffary utenfils ? fo that all these differences are within the latitude of God's fovereignty, and speak nothing, either of love or hatred.

2. That that is natural evil, fometimes comes from God, barely for trial, and for exercife and God doth not intend punishment at all, neither doth he look at any provocation, nor hath displea fure at the person; 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 reftrained as to his life. Therefore, Job was not punished, but he was put upon the use and exercise, and trial of his patience, and feveral 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 justifies him, challenges his friends, and sends them to Job, and he must facrifice for them. So that, notwithstanding Job suffered so much evil, he was not an offender, nor punished, but exercifed: 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 fometimes taught, that these things are not to be taken into the account of our happinefs.

4. There is fometimes alfo evils for an evil neighbour's fake: a very good man, at whom God takes no offence, he may fuffer fome evil for his neighbour's fake; as good Jofiah was overborn by the evil that was done in the days of Manasseh; and in this fenfe, 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 fuffer because of the unhappiness that comes upon their neighbours. And God knows how to make up this their lofs in time, and in eternity. In neither of these cafes, is God faid to pu nish. Neither of these cases 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 par ticulars.

1. Many fins are the natural causes of the evils that are consequent upon them as intemperance of certain difeafes, diftempers, and dying before mens time. Some men drink themselves into fevers, and fome into dropfies. Here fin is the natural cause of evil. Men of intemperate and diffolute lives destroy their bodily health; dull and ftupify their reason and understanding; and waste their eftates. It is most apparent that some men have overthrown ftrong and healthy constitutions; and ftupified quick VOL. I.

F

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