Chapter 47
What a terrible chastisement it is, when God permitteth men to lose their Faith; and that it is justly taken away from them, that work not, in conformity of what it teacheth.
HE that could have light to judge, that the true blessings, or miseries of a man, are the spiritual; would quickly discern the severe chastisement of God upon that kind of1 people; yea so great chastisement, as that only hell is worse than it. Who2 will not fear thee, O thou King of the Nations; or who hath known the power of thy wrath; or who shallbe able to recount it, through the great fear, which is to be had thereof? The greatest chastisements of God, which are most to be feared, are not the loss of goods, or of reputation, or of life; but, for God to suffer the will of man to be hardened in sin; or to permit his understanding to be blinded in error; & especially in matters of Faith, these be the wounds, which are inflicted by that celestial indignation; & they are not the corrections of a father, but of a just and rigorous judge. Of these it is, with much reason, understood, which God saith in3 Ier●●y; With the wound of an enemy, with rigorous chastisement, I have wounded thee. Though indeed he useth not this rigour of a judge, till first he have employed the mercy of a Father. And if thou mark it well, the blindness of the Understanding, hath this particular mischief belonging to it, more than hath the hardness of the will; that4 this latter, though it be a great one, is capable of more hope to meet with remedies. For as long as a man's Faith remaineth (though it be dead) yet still he knoweth, that there is help in the Church towards the cure of his sin; which is a great step towards his recovering, and rising. But he that looseth his Faith, how shall he seek it, or where shall he find it; since it is not to be found out of the Church, (because it is no where else) and that which is in the Church, he will not seek, because he believeth it not, and so he remaineth in ruin. This is a word which God speaketh in Israel, & whosoever shall hear it, his very cares shall tingle again, with mere sear. But so great a punishment, is not inflicted without great cause; which S. Paul5 declareth thus: The wrath of God discovereth itself, from the heavens downward, upon all the wickedness of those men, who6 detained the wrath of God in injustice. And the intent of the Apostle in that place, is this, That there were men, who although they knew God, did not serve him as God; but rather did puff themselves up with a blind kind of pride; and having Truth in their understanding, they wrought iniquity with their will. So that the truth of God, was detained, or imprisoned in them; since they did not perform that, which it advised, but that, which their own perverse will suggested. And because the Truth of God, is a most excellent thing; & he bestoweth it as a great favour, to the end that a man practising it with affection, may honour it and obtain virtue by it, and so be saved; and if he consider not hereof, and do entertain it, in such a fashion, as that he neither practiseth those things which it teacheth, nor doth lodge it in so fair a place as it deserveth; he doth thereby great dishonour to God that gave it; and to the Truth itself, which was given by him. And if it had a tongue wherewith to speak, it would, with a loud voyee, demand justice against such a man. For as much as it, being so precious a jewel, and which is able, so much to enrich men, it is detained, without hearing what it saith; and without doing what it requireth; and it is quartered out, in the stinking company of sin, where with the will of such a man abounds. And so, in such sort, as it is able, it doth, like the blood of Abel cry out demanding vengeance. Because although such an one, depriveth not Truth of life; because true faith is compatible with a life that is wicked; yet doth he deprive it of that efficacy, which it would have in working; if instead of hindering, he did assist it, towards the performance of those things which it teacheth.
These cries are heard by God; for it is he that saith, The servant who knoweth the will of his master, and doth it not, shallbe beaten with many stripes. Amongst which, the very greatest which he giveth, in this world, is to permit (as we have ●ayd before) that in punishment of his sinnés, he fall into error of belief. And so were those others punished, by being suffered to fall into such blind Idolatry, as that they came to worship, for God even birds, and serpents, and other beasts. And because they rob God of that honour, which was due to him as God, and gave it to such as it belonged not to; God redoubled upon them the punishment of this sin of Idolatry, by suffering them to fall into such other filthy sins, as breed horror to think of them, and shame to name them. And although such as are afflicted with this punishment of infidelity, without doubt, will fall into other sins; yet is that fall of theirs into those later sins as free, as that, whereby they fell into the former, through their own will. Which yet how many soever they be, either of one kind, or of the other, the mercy of God is not shut up against them, if they dispose themselves to retire, into the bowels of his pity.
The power of God is manifested in the first of these; his wisdom in the second; and his goodness and mercy, in the third. Now, by the7 same reason, whereby the sovereign judge did punish the proud Gentills, he did also punish the ungrateful jews; & that upon great cause. Because he gave more knowledge to them, then to the Gentills; whereof they served themselves so il; as that with infidelity they denied the very true life it self, which is Christ Jesus; and they crucified him, by the hands of the Gentills. And because they had a mind to extinguish that sovereign light, without which there is no light, nor Truth, they remained in obscure darkness, and they will remain in eternal perdition, unless they be converted to the service of our Lord, whom they denied.
But now let us see, what the motive was, which drew them on to so great a misery, as to unbelieve that light; which stood there, before their eyes. S. John8 makes the answer thus, Men loved darkness, more than light, because their works were evil; & every one that worketh evil, abhorreth the light. So that, because our Lord, & his doctrine, did address them to all virtue & truth, & they loved falsehood and lies; they could not endure to hear or see him; nor did they wish that there had by many light of doctrine in the world, which might be able to discover that counterfeit sanctity which they professed. Or that there should be any example of perfect life, in comparison whereof, their own, might be condemned for wicked. And from this root, of a will which was so depraved, did grow that bitter fruit of denying, and murdering that heavenly Physician, who came to cure them. And they found themselves to be such, as the Prophet9 David had painted out long before, when he said thus of them, Let their eyes be obscured, that they may not see, and let their back go ever bending downward; for their eyes have remained without the light of faith; and their will hath been all employed upon things of the earth.
Footnotes
Chapter 49 of 115