The prophecy of Haggai, interpreted and applied in sundry sermonsThe prophesie of Haggai, interpreted and applyed in sundry sermons

For as Laertius reporteth of Piltacus, who made laws, whosoever were drunk should be double punished if he committed any offence, according as Aristotle also witnesseth Tertio Ethicorum cap. 5. First for his drunkenness, and secondly for his fault committed in his drink, so we are justly punished, not only ¹for the fault or sin it self, but because of our original corruption and ignorance which is incident into us by reason of that general curse which fell upon all mankind at the beginning, but as for us that have better learned Christ, and can cut of all objections with the word we know that it is not in him that ⟨p. 93⟩willeth, nor in him that runneth but in God that showeth mercy, And therefore we may say with the Apostle, O man who art thou that pleadest with God, shall the thing formed, say unto him that formed it, why hast thou made me thus? It may therefore suffice us to know that our corruption is such, that we falling into the sleep of sin cannot of our selves arise unless Gods spirit awake us, ²For although the Prophet Zac. saith turn unto me saith the Lord, and I will turn unto you, yet it may not so be understood as though man had power as in himself to turn unto the Lord, but it must be God that must first convert; and therefore we must say with the Prophet Jeremiah, Convert thou me and I shall be converted for thou art my Lord and my God, and as it is in the Lamentations, turn thou us unto thee O Lord and we shall be turned, renew our days as of old, So that it appeareth manifestly, that the ³grace of God must work in our hearts before we can do any thing, it is of his grace both to will and to do. Awake therefore thou that sleepest, and stand up from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light, Let us remember that although we be exhorted often to renew and repair our building and to return unto the Lord yet it must be by grace, and this grace must be wrought in us by the secret operation of the Spirit of God. But if any man will say that he can awake of himself, let him consider the saying of the Lord by the Prophet Zachariah to Zerubbabel, that the Lord doth preserve his chosen Church and chosen people, neither by an army nor by strength, but by his holy Spirit, and he shall bring forth the head stone thereof with shouting and with crying, grace, grace unto it: