God's anger

Yet for all this, God hath been grievously angry with his own people: Yea, their sins anger him most of all; because together with wickedness, there is unkindness. As dearly as he loves them, their sins may provoke him. Our interest in God is so far from excusing our iniquities, that it aggravates them. Of all others, the transgression of his own people shall not pass unpunished. The nearer we are to him, the nearer do our offences touch him; as a man more takes to heart a discourtesy done by a friend, then a great injury by a stranger. Pagans may blaspheme, and bezzle, and defile the marriage-bed, and yet God let them alone: but he will not endure these sins in his own people. The more he loves us, the greater should our love be to him: now love and unkindness cannot stand together. If we revolt from our Maker, as Absalom thought Hushai had renounced David, may he not justly expostulate with us, Is this thy Kindness to thy friend? there is no such irksome disobedience, as where God looks for service. ^tHe came unto ⟨p. 24⟩his own, and his own received him not: O, that could not choose but trouble him. As Demades said to Philip King of Macedon, and at a time when he well deserved it; Cùm fortuna tibi Agamemnonis personam imposuerit, nonne pudet te Thirsitem agere? When fortune hath made thee an Agamemnon, art thou not ashamed to play Thersites? When God hath honoured us for his own people, with the noble name of Christians is it not a shame for us to play the Pagans? u Happy are the people that be in such a case, yea blessed are the people that have the Lord for their God. Yet that people may so far anger him, that he will take away not only their temporal, but even their spiritual happiness. Those seven Churches of Asia were Gods own people: yet the Gospel was not fastened to their territories; as the old Romans pinioned their goddess Victoria, or their apish posterity do the Catholic faith, to their own infallible Chair. But as they had a time to breathe, so a time to expire: and so hath my fourth proposition. There is but one gradation more.

Yet for all this, God hath been grievously angry with his own people: Yea, their sins anger him most of all; because together with wickednesse, there is unkindnesse. As dearly as he loves them, their sinnes may provoke him. Our interest in God is so far from excusing our iniquities, that it aggravates them. Of all others, the transgression of his own people shall not passe unpunished. The nearer we are to him, the nearer do our offences touch him; as a man more takes to heart a discourtesie done by a friend, then a great injury by a stranger. Pagans may blaspheme, and bezzle, and defile the marriage-bed, and yet God let them alone: but he will not endure these sinnes in his own people. The more hee loves us, the greater should our love be to him: now love and unkindnesse cannot stand together. If we revolt from our Maker, as Absolom thought Hushai had renounced David, may he not justly expostulate with us, Is this thy Kindnesse to thy friend? there is no such irksome disobedience, as where God looks for service.