chaften them in the first section of this chapter.

Now that God hath answered him in the second, with declaration of his purpose to punish the iniquities of the Jews by the Chaldæans, whom God would stirre up to fight against them, and to prevail: Now in this third section, the Prophet is as much troubled and grieved at their punishment, as he was before at their fin.

Now he chides as fast, and disputes as hotly against the remissenesse and patience of God toward the Chaldæan, as he did before toward the Jew...

Before he pleaded the cause of the glory of Gods Iuftice, in punishing the iniquity of the lews; now he pleads the glory of Gods mercy in sparing them.

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The first part was imprecation, this deprecation. And herein the Prophet doth declare his next affection to the Jews; for out of his hatred to their sins he desired their correction; but now out of his love to their Persons, he prayeth against their punishment, so farre that it may be moderate, as in leremies Prayer. Correct us O Lord, yet in thy judgement, not in thy fury left we be confumed and brought to nothing. Which teacheth us that Religion hach the bowels of compassion; Truly they have no Doctr. true religion that have no mercy.

This is giveu us in precept with a ficut: Be yee merciful as your Reafon.r. heavenly father is mercifull: there is nothing wherein the image Luk. 6.36 of our God doth more shine in man, then his mercy, because that is the heavenly nature; the wisedome of God is too high for us, the power of God too great for us, the justice of God too strict for us; all these vertues of the Godhead be out of the reach of our imitation.

The furthest that our Saviour goeth in the patterne and pre- Wisedom. fident of wisedome, is eftote prudentes ut ferpentes, Be yee wife as ferpents. In innocency, Innocentes ut columba be ye innocent as doves, it is not eftote prudentes ut pater vester, Be yee wife as your heavenly father.

Concerning fortitude. The mother of Samuel faith, Non est Fortitude.

fortis ficut deus. Sicut leo, Salomon hath it: flout quercus, A

mos hath it.

Concerning Iuftice, let us take the righteous men at their best, Justice.

Reason 2,

R caf. 3.

& then Iustus fulgebunt ut fol, the righteous shal shine as the Sun; but to mifericordes ut pater vester. We must strive to imitate him in mercy, that is, the divine nature, because it is super omnia operadei above all the works of God, and that is the humane nature also, because it is called Humanity, and therefore wel-becometh the man of God.

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2. There is nothing that every one of us doth more stand in need of then mercy, without which all the frame of nature would shake and dislolve;it is anima mundi the foul of the world, it is the juncture of every limb thereof: it is the garment that hideth our nakednesse; it is the grave, the fea, that burieth, that swalloweth all our reputed sinnes; it is the taylour to our backs, the cater to our bellies, the foule that quickneth us, the strength that supporteth us, the grace that saveth us, the power that raifeth us, the glory that crowneth us.

And they that shew no mercy, shall have none.

3. The consideration of our own infirmities doth plead for our mercy to our delinquent brother, not to make the most of their faults, and scrue their punishment to the uttermost; rather to Ga. 6. 1. fave our brethren, and to pull them out of the fire least we also be tempted: for we have many suits to God for pardon of our own finnes; and therefore by the law of Justice let us do as we would be done to, that is, sollicite the favour of God for our brethren; and although the zeale of Gods glory do put us to it to pray for their correction, that they may be amended, yet confidering how bitter the medicine is that healeth finne, let us entreat the Physitian to look but on the corrupt humours in the body of the Church to purge them, to take no more blood from the body thereof then may stand with the health of the body.

Reaf.4.

4. It is a more easie suit to obtain the mercy of God, then to stirre up his anger; for as he is flow to wrath, and long-fuffering, and when he doth begin to chide, he will not keep his anger continually: so he is rich in mercy, abundant in goodneffe; oleum Supernatat vino, the oyle swims above the wine. Chrift his fonne the character of his fathers glory, of his mercy, the true coppie of that ficut Pater vester qui est in calis, as Our father which is in heaven;

Of

Of whom Saint Augustine sweetly commenting upon hispa ter ignosce eis, father forgive them, faith, he left them not quo- De utiler. jusque ejus jam fanguinem poffent bibere credentes quem fuderant pan 1. 1. favientes, they know how to drink believing, the blood which they shed raging, which is called in the Pfalmist Multitudo dulcedinis.

Saint Hilary upon the Parable of the parable in the vineyard faith,...

4

Ad spem omne tempus eft liberum, & mercedem non operis sed mi- In Pf. 129 fericordia undecime hora operarii consequuntur.

God loves to be sollicited for mercy.

4. Because in the contrary Ionah had a chiding from God him- Reaf. 4. selfe, that he stood more upon the credit of his office, then he did upon the honour of his God that sent him, being fo angry at Gods sparing of Niniveh.

Wherein God himself pleaded the cause of his own mercy, and justified his suspense of the threatned judgement againft Ionah, &c.

David had good cause to choose to fall into the hands of God, rather then into the hands of men, for with God there is mercy. And had Niniveh been in the hand of fonah, their fafting with fackcloth and repenting, should not have cleared nor calmed the storme threatned.

God said,in Niniveh there were more then fix score thousand Persons that knew not the right hand from the left : there were a great many more in the nation of the Jews, many alfo that served God with a true heart, many that was not yet com to the height of sinning, of whom there was hope:many that had drunk deep already of the Cup of affliction by the sins of others who had thereby provoked God.

Therefore Habakkuk could do no lesse then stand in the gap now, and keep out some of this wrath.

To make use of this doctrine, and of the holy example of Use. this Prophet, let me use the words of the Apostle to you.

Put on therfore (as the Elect of God, holy and beloved) bowels of Col. 3.12 mercies, kindnesse, humblenesse of mind, meeknesse, long-suffering. Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man 13. have a quarrell against any man, even as Christ forgave you, fo also do ye.

And

14.

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And above all things put on charity with the bond of perfectneffe.

As it is a welcome suit to God, when out of a zeal to his glory you do call upon him for his judgments, to chaften the overgrown finnes of the time in whichye live: so it is a pleasing intercession which solliciteth for mercy in Justice: for the pure justice of God will endure an allay of mercy, and we shall have the better interest in his favour, by how much the more we defire more sharers in it.

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There be good Authours of opinion, that the Prayer of Stephen, Father forgive them, was no weak means of the Converfion of Saul, who was one of his Perfecutors.

The point is moderation, that neither we should fo favour high-grown finners as not to complain to God of them, nor yet so delight in their punishment, as not to pray against the whole and full displeasure of God: that neither the zeal of Gods glory do extinguish Christian compassion, nor the tendernes of pity quench the zeal of Gods glory, but that at once we do shew our obedience to the whole law, that he that loveth God may love his neighbour also.

orrd

God himself directed Abimilech to Abraham to pray for him, and the friends of Job to use Jobs interceffion, because he loves to be entreated to shew mercy.

And the rich man in hell would not have his brethren come to that place of torment.

Complain then, that is holy passion; but begge cafie punishment, that is charitable compaffion: the children of God have as many tears to shed for the punishment of their brethren, as for their finnes.

2. The Parts are two.

51. The Prophets resolution concerning the Church and

I

3

Common-wealth

of the Jews. 22. The Prophets difpute with God.

The first containeth an argument.

1. The Antecedent: Thou art from everlasting O Lord, my

God, my holy Ont.

2. The Conclusion; Therefore we shall not die O Lard: thou

haft ordained them for judgement, O mighty God, thou hast stablished them for correction,

The

The Proposition: That God is eternal and holy, needs no proof to such as know God; both are clearly maintained through the whole body of Scripture.

1. The Eternity of God.

And Abraham planted a grove in Beer fheba, and called there Gen. 2

on the name of the Lord, the everlasting God.

133. Mofes, Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou Pl. 90. 24. hadst formed the earth and the world: even from everlasting to everlafting thou art our God...

Saint Paul, speaking of the mystery of the Gospel long kept Rom. 16. fecret; but now is made manifest, and by the Scriptures of the 26. Prophets, according to the Commandment of the everlasting God made known to all nations...

Hast thou not known ? hast thou not heard that the everlasting Ifa.40.28. God the Lord, the Creator of the end of the earth, fainteth not? &c. Plato defined God to be aterna mens sibi ad omnem felicitatem sufficiens, summe bona, & omnis boni efficiens in natura.

Neither can we rest in the search of causes, till we come to one fupreme eternal cause of all things, the Alpha and Omega of o ther things, of himself without Alpha or Omega.

2. The Conclufion from hence issuing, is: Therefore we shall not die, faith Habakkuk

For as God is eternal in himself, fo is he to his Church, and from the eternity of God doth the eternity of Angels and men derive it self, for eternity cannot flow from any thing that is not it selfe eternal; and we know that the nature of Angels and men is eternal, both of them being by the eternal God created to abide for ever: the elect Angels and men in eternal glory, the reprobate Angels and men in eternal shame and pain.

Yet isthe judgement of the reprobate in Scripture called by the names of Death, Destruction, Perishing, because these be titles of the greatest horrour and dismay, that the heart of man can conceive.

Now we have two hopes built upon this foundation of Gods eternity, non moriemur.

1. Temporal, that God will still referve a remnant of the Jews to return again to the poffeffion of their fathers, and to build again the City and the temple, and to renew the face of a Church