“Is There Not a Cause?”

1 Samuel 17:29

Sometimes it so falleth out that justice is not executed in a kingdom, and discipline not exercised in a church. “Well then,” saith God, “seeing that you will not take the rod in your hand, I will take it into Mine own, but it shall be in such a manner as shall make all your hearts to ache.” In Revelation 2 and 3, you know that there are seven epistles written to the seven churches, and there is none of all the churches but are threatened with one affliction, calamity, or another, save only that of Philadelphia. And if you mark it, you shall find that only that church had the keys rightly used and handled.

And you shall find this also in all God’s dealings both with states and churches: let a state or kingdom be never so wicked, yet if justice be executed, there is hope thereof; let a church be never so defiled, yet if discipline is exercised, there is hope of that. But if a kingdom where there is no justice, or a church where there is no discipline, nor inclination to it, then the Lord Himself ariseth and saith, “Well, because you will not take this rod into your hand, I will, and I will raise up enemies against you that shall do the same to you that you should have done to them.”

Good reason therefore, yea, infinitely good reason, that God should sometimes suffer His own people to be pushed, gored, scattered, by cruel and bloody enemies that are most unreasonable. Wherefore then let no man be stumbled or offended at God’s present proceedings in the world, or in this kingdom, though very mysterious. Our Savior says, “These things I tell ye before, that when they come to pass, ye may not be offended”; and whatsoever is now come to pass among us, Christ hath told us of it before; yea, this Scripture. Yet, good Lord, how many are there that are offended!

“Oh,” says one, “we looked for reformation, and we meet with confusion; for light, and we meet with darkness; we looked that Jesus Christ should at this time have restored His kingdom to the churches; for friends, and we meet with enemies. Can God love us, and suffer such enemies to rise against us? Were there ever any enemies that were like to ours, so potent, so cruel, so many, so blasphemous, so hellish, etc.?”

But who art thou, O man, that speakest thus long without book under the command of unbelief, and darkenest knowledge? Shouldst thou not rather write so and such over thy sins, than over thine afflictions? You say, “Had ever any of God’s people such enemies as we, so cruel, so many, so vile, etc.?” You should rather say, “Come, O my soul, did ever any commit such sins as I do, so frequently, so knowingly, so deliberately, so incorrigibly, so scandalously?”

Why do not rather write the so upon your sins, than upon your sorrows? Thus did Eusebius Nieremburgius, aggravating his own sins. “Oh,” saith he, “never any sinned so as I have done; the devil sinned indeed, but Christ never died for him as He hath done for me; Judas sinned indeed, but he was never pardoned as I have been; Achan sinned indeed and troubled the kingdom, but he had not that light and knowledge as I, nor lived under such means as I have done. Oh, never any sinned so as I have done.”

Thus Nieremburgius, thus Parisiensis, and thus should you think and say.

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