3. The sins of the godly more heinous than others. The sins of God's house admit of a greater aggravation than the sins of others ; for, (1) they are committed against more light; (2) against more benefits and favours ; (3) their sins in a manner are sacrilege. What ! to make ' the temple of God a den of thieves,' to defile their bodies and souls, that are bought with the precious blood of Jesus Christ, is this a small matter ? Again, (4) their sins are idolatry ; for they are not only the house of God, but ^espouse of God.
Now, for a spouse to be false and adulterous, this is greater than forni- cation, because the bond is nearer ; so the nearer any come to God in pro- fession, the higher is the aggravation of theu* sin, and as their sin grows, so must theii" punishment grow answerable and proportionable. They, therefore that know God's will most of all others, must look for most stripes if they do it not, Luke xii. 47, 48.
TJsel. i\o privilege can exempt us from God's judgment. Hence, there- fore, learn that no privilege can exempt us from God's judgments, nay, rather the contrary. Where God doth magnify his rich goodness and mercy to a people, and is, notwithstanding, dishonoured by them, he wiU at last,
* That is, ' Ho will neither visit nor purge it, except when need requires.' — Ed.
878 THE chuech's visitation.
magnify his righteous justice in correcting such disohedient wretches. Some of the fathers (Augustine, Salvianus) were forced to justify God in visiting his church more shai-ply than other people, because Christians are so much worse than others, by how much they should be better. Their sins open the mouths of others to blaspheme. We should not bear out our- selves on this, that we are God's house, but fear so much the more to offend him, else all our privileges will but increase our guilt, not our comfort.
Use 2. Secondly, if God begins with his own house, let the church be severe in punishing sin there most of all ; because God's wrath will break out first there. What a shame is it that the heathen should make such sharp laws against adultery and other sins, and we let them pass with a slight or no punishment at all ! No doubt but God blesseth a State most, when sin is discountenanced and condemned most ; for then it is the State's sin no longer, but lieth upon particular offenders. But I hasten.
Ohs. 4. God ajypoints a particidar time for his visitation. As God will visit his church, so there is a certain time for it. God, as he hath appointed a general day to judge the ivorld in, so he appoints particular times of judg- ment in this life ; he is the wise dispenser of times. God doth not always whip his church, but his ordinary course is to give them some respite, as, Acts ix. 31, after Paul's conversion, the church had joy, and grew in the comforts of the Holy Ghost. God hath rejoicing days for his people as well as mourning days ; fair weather as well as foul ; and all to help them forward in the way to heaven. Beloved, God gives many happy and blessed times to encourage weak ones at their first coming on, that they may the better grow up in goodness, and not be nipped in the bud; but after a certain time, when through peace and encouragement they grow secure and careless, and scandalous in their lives, then he takes them in hand and corrects them. God hath scoui'ing days for his vessels.
Quest. What be those times wherein God will visit his church ?
Ans. 1. What be the times of God's visitation^ I answer, in general, the time of visiting the church of God is from Abel to the last man that shall be in the earth. The church began with blood, continues with blood, and shall end with blood. The whole days of the church are a time of persecution. ' From my youth upward,' saith the psalmist, ' I have suffered,' Ps. Ixxxviii. 15. So may the church of God say, 'Even from my cradle, from my infancy,' I have been afilicted; yea, 'for thy sake we are killed all the day long, and counted as sheep for the slaughter,' Ps. xliv. 22. But this is not here meant.
2. llie church is afflicted when the light of the gospel hath most clearhj shined. The time for the church of God to sufler is when the glorious manifestation of the gospel is more than in former times. We see the ten first persecutions were after that general promulgation of the gospel, whereby the world was more enlightened than formerly (h). We read in the Revelation of a white horse that Christ rides on, and a jm^^ horse of famine, and a red horse of persecution that followed after him. Rev. vi. 2, 4, 8. So presently after the preaching of the gospel, comes the fan and the axe, or though not very presently, yet after a certain time, when our need requires it; for God will wait a while to see how we entertain his glorious gospel, and whether we walk worthy of it or not.