HOMILY ON THE DECLINING FROM GOD

Short-Title Catalogue 13675. Renaissance Electronic Texts 1.1.
Copyright 1994 Ian Lancashire (ed.) University of Toronto

 Edited to 2003 American English by Curtis I. Caldwell on 23 March 2003
Revised 15 July 2004.

A SERMON HOW DANGEROUS A THING IT IS TO FALL FROM GOD.

Of our going from God, the wise man said, that pride was the first beginning, for by it man's heart was turned from God his maker. For pride (said he) is the fountain of all sin. He that has it shall be full of cursings, and at the end it shall overthrow him (Ecclesiasticus 10:13). As by pride and sin we go from God, so shall God and all goodness with him go from us. And the prophet Hosea plainly affirms, that they who go away secretly from God by vicious living, and yet would go about to pacify him otherwise by sacrifice, and entertain him thereby, they labor in vain. For, notwithstanding all their sacrifice, yet he goes still away from them. For so much (said the Prophet) as they do not apply their minds to return to God, although they go about with whole flocks and herds to seek the Lord, yet they shall not find him, for he is gone away from them (Hosea 5:5-6, 6:6, 8:13). But as touching our turning to God, or from God, you shall understand that it may be done in various ways. Sometimes directly by idolatry, as Israel and Judah then did, sometimes men go from God by lack of faith, and mistrusting God, whereof Isaiah speaks in this manner, "Woe to them that go down into Egypt to seek help, trusting in horses, and having confidence in the number of chariots, and strength or power of horsemen. They have no confidence in the Holy God of Israel, nor seek for the Lord" (Isaiah 31:1-3). But what follows?  The Lord shall let his hand fall upon them, and down shall come both the helper and he that is helped; they shall be destroyed altogether. Sometimes men go from God by neglecting his commandments concerning their neighbors, which commands them to express hearty love towards every man, as Zechariah said to the people on God's behalf. Give true judgment. Everyone show mercy and compassion to his brother, imagine no deceit towards widows, or children fatherless and motherless, toward strangers, or the poor. Let no man forge evil in his heart against his brother (Zechariah 7:9-10). But these things they ignored. They turned their backs, and went their way. They stopped their ears that they might not hear; they hardened their hearts as a hard magnetic stone, that they might not listen to the Law, and the words that the Lord had sent through his Holy Spirit, by his ancient prophets. Wherefore the Lord showed his great indignation upon them. It came to pass (said the prophet) even as I told them: "As they would not hear, so when they cried they were not heard, but were scattered into all kingdoms which they never knew, and their land was made desolate. And to be short, all they that may not abide the word of God, but following the persuasions and stubbornness of their own hearts, go backward and not forward" (as it is said in Jeremiah, Jeremiah 7:24). They go and turn away from God. Insomuch that Origen said, "He that with mind, with study, with deeds, with thought, and care applies and gives himself to God's word, and thinks upon his laws day and night, gives himself wholly to God, and in his precepts and commandments is exercised. This is he that is turned to God." And on the other part he said, "Whoever is occupied with fables and tales, when the word of God is rehearsed, he is turned from God. Whoever in time of reading God's word is careful in his mind of worldly business, of money, or of lucre, he is turned from God. Whoever is entangled with the cares of possessions, filled with covetousness of riches, whoever studies for the glory and honor of this world, he is turned from God. So that after his mind, whoever has not a special mind to that thing that is commanded or taught by God, he that does not listen to it, embrace, and print it in his heart, to the intent that he may duly fashion his life thereafter, he is plainly turned from God, although he does other things of his own devotion and mind, which to him seem better, and more to God's honor." Which thing to be true, we are taught and admonished in the Holy Scripture by the example of King Saul, who being commanded by God through Samuel, that he should kill all the Amalekites, and destroy them clearly with their goods and cattle (1 Samuel 15:3), yet he, being moved partly with pity, and partly (as he thought) with devotion unto God, saved Agag the King, and all the best of their cattle with which to make sacrifice unto God. God being displeased highly, He said to the prophet Samuel, "I repent that I ever made Saul King, for he has forsaken me and not followed my words". So he commanded Samuel to show him, and when Samuel asked why (contrary to God's word) he had saved the cattle, he excused the matter, partly, by fear, saying he dared not do anything else, for the people would have it so, partly, for they were goodly beasts, he thought God would be content, seeing it was done of a good intent and devotion, to honor God with the sacrifice of them.

But Samuel reproving all such intents and devotions (seem they never so much to God's honor, if they stand not with his word, whereby we may be assured of his pleasure) said in this manner, "Would God have sacrifices and offerings? Or rather that his word should be obeyed? To obey him, is better then offerings, and to listen to him is better than to offer the fat of Rams. Yea, to rebel against his voice is as evil as the sin of soothsaying, and not to agree to it is like abominable idolatry. And now as you have cast away the word of the Lord, he has cast away you, that you should not be king."

The turning of God from man. By all these examples of Holy Scripture, we may know that as we forsake God, so shall he ever forsake us. And what miserable state consequently and necessarily follows, a man may easily consider by the terrible threats of God. And although he consider not all the said misery to the uttermost, being so great that it passes any man's capacity in this life sufficiently to consider the same, yet he shall soon perceive so much of it, that if his heart is not more than stony, or harder than the Adamant [a hard, magnetic stone], he shall fear, tremble, and quake, to call the same to his remembrance. First the displeasure of God towards us is commonly expressed in the Scripture by these two things: by showing his fearful countenance upon us, and by turning his face or hiding it from us. His great wrath is signified by showing his dreadful countenance, but by turning his face or hiding it is many times more signified, that is to say, that he clearly forsakes us and abandons us. The signs or marks are taken from the properties of men's manners. Men commonly bear a good, cheerful, and loving countenance towards them whom they favor, so that by the face or countenance of a man, it commonly appears what inclination or mind he bears towards other. So when God shows his dreadful countenance towards us, that is to say, sends dreadful plagues of sword, famine, or pestilence upon us, it appears that he is greatly wrathful with us. But when he withdraws from us his Word, the right doctrine of Christ, his gracious assistance and aid (which is ever joined to his word) and leaves us to our own wit, our own will and strength, He declares then that He begins to forsake us. For whereas God has shown to all who truly believe his Gospel, his face of mercy in Jesus Christ, which lightens their hearts, that they (if they behold it as they ought to do) are transformed to his image, are made partakers of the heavenly light, and of his Holy Spirit, and are fashioned to him in all goodness requisite to the children of God, so, if they after neglect the same, if they are unthankful to him, if they order not their lives according to his example and doctrine, and to the setting forth of his glory, he will take away from them his Kingdom, his holy word, whereby he should reign in them, because they bring not forth the fruit thereof that he looks for. Nevertheless, his is so merciful, and of so long sufferance, that he does not show upon us that great wrath suddenly. But when we begin to shrink from his word, not believing it, or not expressing it in our living, first he sends his messengers, the true preachers of his word, to admonish and warn us of our duty, that as he for his part, for the great love he bare unto us, delivered his own son to suffer death, that we by his death might be delivered from death, and be restored to the life everlasting, evermore to dwell with him, and to be partakers and inheritors with him, of his everlasting glory and kingdom of heaven, so again, that we for our parts should walk in a godly life, as proper for his children to do. And if we still remain disobedient to his word and will, not knowing him, nor loving him, not fearing him, not putting our whole trust and confidence in him, and on the other side, to our neighbors behaving ourselves uncharitably, by disdain, envy, malice, or by committing murder, robbery, adultery, gluttony, deceit, lying, swearing, or other like detestable works, and ungodly behavior, then he threatens us by terrible vengeance, swearing in great anger, that whoever does these works shall never enter into his rest, which is the kingdom of heaven. (Hebrews 3:11, Psalms 15, 1 Corinthians 6).

In the former part of this sermon, you have learned how many manner of ways men fall from God: some by idolatry, some for lack of faith, some by neglecting of their neighbors, some by not hearing of God's word, some by the pleasure they take in the vanities of worldly things. You have also learned in what misery that man is, who is absent from God, and how God, yet of his infinite goodness to call man again from his misery, uses first gentle admonitions by his preachers, after he lays on terrible threats. Now if gentle admonition and threats together do not succeed, then God will show his terrible countenance upon us. He will pour intolerable plagues upon our heads, and afterwards he will take away from us all his aid and assistance, with which he previously defended us from all such manner of calamity. As the evangelical prophet Isaiah, agreeing with Christ's parable, teaches us, saying, "That God had made a good vineyard for his beloved children. He hedged it, he walled around it [an act of marking the boundaries for ownership of land], he planted it with chosen vines, and made a turret in the middle of it, and therein also a wine-press. When he intended that it should bring forth good grapes, it brought forth wild grapes (Isaiah 5:1-2, Matthew 21:33), and after it follows, "Now shall I show you (said God) what I will do with my vineyard: I will pluck down the hedges, that it may perish. I will break down the walls that it may be trodden under foot. I will let it lie waste, it shall not be cut, it shall not be dug, but briers and thorns shall overgrow it, and I shall command the clouds that they shall no more rain upon it."

By these threats we are admonished and warned, that if we who are the chosen vineyard of God do not bring forth good grapes, that is to say, good works that may be delectable and pleasant in his sight when he looks for them, when he sends his messengers to call upon us for them, but rather bring forth wild grapes, that is to say, sour works, unsavory, and unfruitful, then will he pluck away all desence [?*], and suffer grievous plagues of famine, battle, scarcity, and death, to descend upon us. Finally, if these do not succeed, he will let us lie waste, he will abandon us, he will turn away from us, he will dig and delve no more about us, he will let us alone, and permit us to bring forth even such fruit as we will, to bring forth brambles, briers, and thorns, all naughtiness, all vice, and that so abundantly, that they shall completely overgrow us, choke, strangle, and utterly destroy us. But they who in this world live not after God, but after their own carnal liberty, perceive not this great wrath of God towards them, that he will not dig, nor delve any more about them, that he does let them alone even to themselves. But they take this for a great benefit of God, to have all their own liberty, and so they live as if carnal liberty were the true liberty of the Gospel. But God forbid (good people) that we should ever desire such liberty. For although God sometimes permits the wicked to have their pleasure in this world, yet the end of ungodly living is at length endless destruction. The murmuring Israelites had that they longed for, they had quails enough, yes, till they were weary of them. But what was the end thereof? Their sweet meat had sour sauce. Even while the meat was in their mouths, the plague of God descended upon them, and suddenly they died (Numbers 11:31-33). So, if we live ungodly, and God permits us to follow our own wills, to have our own delights and pleasures, and corrects us not with some plague, it is no doubt but he is almost utterly displeased with us. And although he waits a long time before he strikes, yet many times when he strikes such persons, he strikes them at once for ever. So that when he does not strike us, when he ceases to afflict us, to punish or beat us, and permits us to run headlong into all ungodliness and pleasures of this world that we delight in, without punishment and adversity, it is a dreadful token that he loves us no longer, that he cares no longer for us, but has given us over to our own selves. As long as a man prunes his vines, digs at the roots, and lays fresh earth to them, he has a hopeful interest in them. He perceives some token of fruitfulness that may be recovered in them. But when he bestows no more such cost and labor about them, then it is a sign that he thinks they will never be good. And the father, as long as he loves his child, looks angrily; he corrects him when the child does wrong. But when that no longer works, and upon that he ceases from correction of the child, and permits him to do what he pleases himself, it is a sign that he intends to disinherit him and to cast him away for ever. So surely nothing should pierce our heart so sore, and put us in such horrible fear, as when we know in our conscience that we have grievously offended God, and do so continue, and that yet he strikes not, but quietly permits us in the naughtiness that we have delight in. Then specially it is time to cry, and to cry again, as David did: "Cast me not away from thy face, and take not away thy Holy Spirit from me" (Psalms 51:11).  "Lord turn not away thy face from me, cast not your servant away in displeasure. Hide not your face from me, least I be like them that go down to hell."  The lamentable prayers of him, as they certify to us what horrible danger they, from whom God turns his face, are in (for the time, and as long as he so does), so should they move and stir us to cry to God with all our heart that we may not be brought into that state, which doubtless is so sorrowful, so miserable, and so dreadful, as no tongue can sufficiently express, nor any heart can think. For what deadly grief may a man suppose it is, to be under the wrath of God, to be forsaken of him, to have his Holy Spirit the author of all goodness to be taken from him, to be brought to so vile a condition, that he shall be left suitable for no better purpose than to be for ever condemned in hell? For not only such places of David do show, that upon the turning of God's face from any persons, they shall be left bare from all goodness, and far from hope of remedy, but also the place afore-mentioned last before of Isaiah, means the same, which shows that God at length does so forsake his unfruitful vineyard that he will not only permit it to bring forth weeds, briers, and thorns, but also further to punish the unfruitfulness of it. He said he will not cut it, he will not delve it, and he will command the clouds that they shall not rain upon it, whereby is signified the teaching of his holy word, which Saint Paul, after a like manner, expressed by planting and watering, meaning that he will take that away from them, so that they shall be no longer of his kingdom, they shall be no longer governed by his Holy Spirit, they shall be isolated from the grace and benefits that they had, and ever might have enjoyed through Christ, they shall be deprived of the heavenly light and life which they had in Christ while they abode in him, they shall be (as they were once) as men without God in this world, or rather in worse taking. And in summary, they shall be given into the power of the devil, which bears the rule in all them that are cast away from God, as he did in Saul and Judas (1 Samuel 15:23, 16:14), and generally in all such as work after their own wills, the children of mistrust and unbelief. Let us beware therefore (good Christian people) least that we, rejecting or casting away God's word (by the which we obtain and retain true faith in God), are not at length cast of so far that we become as the children of unbelief, which are of two sorts, far diverse, yes, almost completely contrary, and yet both are very far from returning to God. The one kind, only weighing their sinful and detestable living with the right judgment and straightness of God's righteousness, are so without counsel and are so comfortless (as they all necessarily are, from whom the spirit of counsel and comfort is gone) that they will not be persuaded in their hearts, but that either God can not, or else that he will not, take them again to his favor and mercy. The other, hearing the loving and large promises of God's mercy, and so not conceiving a right faith thereof, make those promises larger than ever God did, trusting, that although they continue in their sinful and detestable lying never so long, yet that God, at the end of their life, will show his mercy upon them, and that then they will return. And both these two sorts of men are in a damnable state, and yet nevertheless, God (who does not desire the death of the wicked) has showed means whereby both (if they take heed in season) may escape (Ezekiel 18:32, 33:11).

Against desperation. The first, as they do dread God's rightful justice in punishing sinners (whereby they should be dismayed, and should despair in deed, as touching any hope that may be in themselves) so if they would constantly or steadfastly believe that God's mercy is the remedy appointed against such despair and distrust, not only for them, but generally for all that are sorry and truly repentant, and will, along with that, stick to God's mercy, they may be sure they shall obtain mercy, and enter into the port or haven of safeguard, into which whoever does come, be they before time never so wicked, they shall be out of danger of everlasting damnation. As God by Ezekiel said, "Whatsoever time a sinner does return, and take earnest and true repentance, I will forget all his wickedness" (Ezekiel 33:19).

Against presumption. The other, as they are ready to believe God's promises, so they should be as ready to believe the threats of God. As well they should believe the law, as the Gospel, as well that there is a hell and everlasting fire, as that there is a heaven and everlasting joy, as well they should believe damnation to be threatened to the wicked and evil doers, as salvation to be promised to the faithful in word and works, as well they should believe God to be true in the one, as in the other. And the sinners that continue in their wicked living ought to think that the promises of God's mercy, and the Gospel, pertain not unto them, being in that state, but only the law, and those Scriptures which contain the wrath and indignation of God, and his threats, which should certify them, that as they do over boldly presume of God's mercy, and live dissolutely, so does God still more and more withdraw his mercy from them, and he is so provoked thereby to wrath at length, that he destroys such presumers many times suddenly. For of such St. Paul said, "When they shall say it is peace, there is no danger, then shall sudden destruction come upon them" (1 Thessalonians 5:3). Let us beware therefore of such naughty boldness to sin. For God, which has promised his mercy to them that are truly repentant (although it is at the latter end), has not promised to the presumptuous sinner either that he shall have long life, or that he shall have true repentance at the last end. But for that purpose has he made every man's death uncertain, that he should not put his hope in the end, and in the mean time (to God's high displeasure) live ungodly. Wherefore, let us follow the counsel of the wise man. Let us not delay to turn unto the Lord. Let us not put off from day to day, for suddenly shall his wrath come, and in time of vengeance he will destroy the wicked. Let us therefore turn quickly, and when we turn let us pray to God, as Hosea teaches, saying, "Forgive all our sins; receive us graciously" (Hosea 14:2). And if we turn to him with a humble and a very penitent heart, he will receive us to his favor and grace for his holy name's sake, for his promise's sake, for his truth and mercies' sake, promised to all faithful believers in Jesus Christ, his only natural Son, to whom the only Savior of the world with the Father and the Holy Ghost, be all honor, glory, and power, world without end. Amen.

*Editing goals: Clear the text from obsolete words and phrases and from references local to England, its constitution, and laws.

[?*] desence: I do not know its meaning. The word appears in the original html file. Check a manuscript to see if the original file is erroneous.