vigorousnesse in his extreme old age that he confesseth that hee was as lusty at eighty fiue yeeres of age as he was at forty and as sufficient for managing matters of warre or matters of peace as you may see Ioshuah 14. Thus there is a reward with the Lord and a speciall reward for them that cleaue fast vnto the Lord and doe sanctifie him both in their hearts and in their tongues as Peter doth in my Text and will not be carryed away by the example of the multitude to thinke or say as they doe But on the contrary side you know in the Psalme they are condemned who seeing a Thiefe runne with him and are partakers with the Adulterers Yea Saul though he threw neuer a stone at Saint Stephen yet because he kept the clothes of them that stoned him he may be reckoned among the persecutors Yea Moses himselfe that Saint of the Lord at other times so zealous so faithfull so couragious yet because at the waters of Meribah he did not sanctifie the Lord and rebuke the people for their rebellion with that edge and resolution as he ought to haue done is told plainely by God himselfe that he should not enter into the Land of Promise see it he should but put his foote in it he should not See the 20. Chapter of Numbers and the 32. of Deuteronomy Let vs consider of these things Beloued It is a fearefull thing to fall into the hands of the liuing God It is a dangerous thing to deale remissely in his businesse who is jealous of his seruice and requireth the whole man If this were done to Moses a greene Tree what shall be done to a dry And if Moses were condemned because he was not so hot as he should haue beene doe they thinke to escape that are key-cold This I say because some thinke that they make Religion beholding to them and God their debtor for euer if they doe not fall away from it as well as others and if they doe not openly blaspheme and raile vpon it though in the meane time they speake neuer a word for it But as God said to Moses I will make thee a greater Nation and a mightier then these though all these should be brought to nought And as Christ said in the Gospell I tell you the truth that if these hold their peace the stones shall speake So we may write vpon it that God is both able and willing to defend his Truth howsoeuer many shall agree to betray it and rather then he will leaue it vnmaintained he will open the mouthes of the dumbe and the children that are yet vnborne shall praise the Lord. In the meane time as it is said in Genesis The Nation to whom they shall be in bondage will I iudge saith God And in the Gospell Woe be to that man by whom offences shall come and especially Woe be to the man by whom the Sonne of man shall be betrayed So let these men-pleasers and place-pleasers know that as they are ashamed to confesse Christ before men so he will not be pleased to confesse them before his Father which is in heauen Gordius the Martyr was of that minde for being exhorted by a friend of his to keepe his conscience to himselfe and not to professe it made answer as Basil writeth that the Truth is not onely betrayed of them that doe plainely forsake it but of them also that will not publikely confesse it Fulgentius was of the same minde Nec immeritò talis seruus abijcitur punitur c. Such a seruant saith he is worthily reiected and punished because by one and the same silence he establisheth error who being forestalled by error or time doth not by meanes of his silence vouch and maintaine the Truth Euen as further saith he he that doth not establish Gods glory doth euacuate it and he that doth not refute and ward the blow of dishonour from God doth no lesse then heape it vpon him Why my Brethren our cause is good it is Gods we haue proued it so to be in hundreds of discourses the times are fauourable we haue the Bride-groome with vs why then should any mans heart faile him ô verè Phrygiae neque enim Phryges 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 They that be in pace Cerui I inuert Tertullians words will they be in praelio Leones will they be as valiant as the Lyon in the day of battell when the wicked compasse them about at their heeles and draw them before Rulers yea and peraduenture to a fiery tryall that shew themselues as fearefull as the Deere in the dayes of peace in Alcyon dayes They feare where no feare is saith the Psalmist the shadow of the mountaines maketh these to feare saith one in the booke of Iudges By the Art of dissembling many thinke they haue great aduantage The Protestant taketh them for theirs for their comming to Church The Romanist theirs because they speake neuer a word against them so they gaine on both sides Wherefore if they should be any thing busie so they call sincere dealing then they should leese such a Gentlemans custome and such a Gentlewomans fauour c. Thus the loue of man casteth out the loue of God and the feare of man casteth out the feare of God But where is Elias euen he himselfe said Elizeus Where is Brutus I would thou wert aliue Brutus it was once written vnder his statue We may say Where is Peter and his spirit He confesseth in my Text and denieth not but saith plainely that there was none worth the looking after but Christ nor no Doctrine worth the harkening after but his It was a great blot to Osius of Corduba his reputation that had beene a faithfull Confessor in the dayes of persecution that following the sway he was seene to be present and an abettor in the Conuenticles of the Arrians and so those other Bishops did themselues most hurt that deserued the imputation of Nazianzen 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 All sauing a few followed the time On the other side Paphnutius is much renowned in Story for withstanding the greatest part of the Councell of Nice in a cause of truth wherein he also preuailed And so in these last perilous times Vergerius the Italian and Dalthius the Hungarian and Fricius the Polonian excellent learned men and great Statists and two of them Orators from great Princes deserued no lesse honour though they had not so good successe for Trent Conuenticle would not be like Nice Councell in manfufully proposing and defending many points of Christian Religion euen as they are taught and vrged by vs. They learned it of the Prophet I will speake of thy testimonies before Kings and will not be ashamed Or of Saint Peter in my Text who answered boldly and cared not who heard him that Christ was to be followed and he onely Let vs also Beloued be followers of Saint Peter in this point and let this be our first note or lesson To be
being the same that now is extant in our Church Bible the Originall whereof I haue seene vnder his owne hand And here I haue occasion offered me to say something of his modesty and great humility who though he were so vsefull an instrument so strong a helper in the former worke as also the sole Author of this latter the Preface a comely gate to so rich and glorious a Citie yet could I neuer heare that he did at any time speake of either with any attribution to himselfe more than to the rest So that as the Sunne the neerer it commeth to the Zenith or point of the firmament ouer our heads the lesse shadow it casteth so certainely the higher he mounted into the mysteries of Diuine and humane knowledge the lower and lesse he seemed to be in his owne eyes High in worth and humble in heart as Nazianzen spake of Athanasius And now concerning the course of his studies wherein I would propose him as a patterne to be imitated by young Students in our Vniuersities Hee constantly applied himselfe from his youth as they that were then acquainted with him knew to the reading of Antient Classicall Authors of the best note in their owne languages wherewith as also with Neoterickes he was plentifully stored and lusted after no worldly thing so much as bookes Nullius rei praeterquam librorum auarus was sometime his owne speech merrily but as I perswade my selfe truly For there was scarcely a booke in so great a number to be found in his Library especially of the Antients that he had not read ouer à capite ad calcem as hath beene obserued by those who haue had the perusall of them since his death He ran through the Greeke and Latin Fathers and iudiciously noted them in the margent as he went being fitted for that purpose by the dexterous vse of his pen wherein he came not short euen of Professors themselues in that faculty The Rabbins also so many as he had with their Glosses and Commentaries he read and vsed in their owne Idiome of speech and so conuersant he was and expert in the Chaldie Syriacke and Arabicke that he made them as familiar to him almost as his owne natiue tongue But for the Hebrew this I can affirme from credible relation that being vpon a time sent vnto and requested whilest he was a Residentiary in the Cathedrall Church of Hereford by the then Deane of the same Church vpon some speciall occasion to reade the first Lesson at Euening prayer there He yeelded thereunto and hauing with him a little Hebrew Bible the same I suppose that he afterwards vsed to his death and I haue oftentimes seene of Plantins Impression sine punctis He deliuered the Chapter thence in the English Tongue plainely and fully to that learned and iudicious Auditory farre be from all the least suspition of ostentation in him for that act that neuer knew to boast of himselfe or any thing that he had or any thing that he did Stories of all times he knew and for his rich and accomplished furniture in that study had this Eulogium giuen him by a graue and learned Bishop of this Kingdom to be a very walking Library Moreouer he was so well acquainted with the Site of places namely Topographie and obserued so well the time when euery thing of note was done in those seuerall places that he hath caused great Trauellers and Scholers falling into discourse with him vpon that point of Learning to confesse themselues much bettered in their knowledges by his remembrances and to depart away with admiration of his skill What shall I say more of him Whatsoeuer things were true whatsoeuer things were honest whatsouer things were iust whatsoeuer things were pure whatsoeuer things were of good report If there were any vertue or praise he thought on them yea he sought after them and profited in them He liued here to a good old age seuenty yeeres and vpwards guided the See whereof he was Bishop with discretion and care prouided for his children leauing to euery one an honest portion to liue vpon and for the poorer sort of his seruants a competent liuely-hood Hee fought the good fight of faith and hath now finished his course and receiued at Gods hand I doubt not his 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 his reward of victory 1 Cor. 9. And his Crowne of righteousnesse 2 Timoth. 4. Which neuer shall be taken from him He made Christhis All in all his life whilest he liued and found him in death his aduantage The words of the Apostle Philip. 1.21 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 were his liuing Mâ—tto And none but Christ none but Christ his dying speech To conclude he turned many to righteousnesse whilest he was in his Pilgrimage here and now shineth as the Starres in the Firmament SERMONS OF THE RIGHT REVEREND FATHER IN GOD MILES SMITH late Lord Bishop of Glocester THE FIRST SERMON IEREMY 9. Verse 23. Let not the wise man glory in his wisedome nor the strong man glory in his strength neither the rich man glory in his riches Verse 24. But let him that glorieth glory in this that he vnderstandeth and knoweth me c THE Prophet Zachary in his first Chapter hath thus Your fathers where are they and doe the Prophets liue for euer but did not my Words and my statutes which I coÌ„manded by my Seruants the Prophets take hold of your fathers Meaning that they did take hold of their fathers and would take hold of them also excepâ— they repented So 1. Cor. 10. The Apostle saith These things came to them for ensamples but are written to admonish vs on whom the ends of the world are come Signifying tha tthe Iudgements of God recorded in the Word thewhole Word it selfe was not ordained for the vse onely of them in whose dayes it was written but to be for the instruction of the Church in all succeeding ages In a City of Egypt called Diospolis in a Temple there called Pylon there was pictured a little boy to signifie Generation and an old man to signifie Corruption also an Hawke a symbole of God for the quicknesse of his sight and a fish a symbole of hatred Fish were an abomination to the Priests of Egypt as witnesseth Herodotus lib. 2. and lastly a Crocodile to signify Impudency The whole deuice being layd together importing this much and preaching this much 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is O yee that are young and comming on O yee that are old and going out of the world O all together to you all be it knowne that God doth hate Impudency This hath Clemens Alexandrinus in the 5. of his Stromats The like may be said of the present Text that I haue in hand that albeit it be a part of a Sermon that the Prophet Ieremy made vnto the Children of Israel a little before their captiuity into Babylon wherein he assureth them that piety onely and
them nothing more vnconstant then their mindes and hearts you cannot tell when you haue them nothing more vngratefull or a worse esteemer of mens deserts you cannot make account of any recompence ftom them humorous clamorous vnrespectiue these haue beene their proper adiuncts Looke but vpon two or three examples Regium est cùm bene feceris malè audire It was the complaint of a great King that is It is the Fate of Kings to be rewarded with euill speeches for their good deseruings 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 It was said of another King Agamemnon deserued wel of the Graecians but hee was rewarded with bands or cruell death for his labour Neither haue Gods people beene free from these faults None e uer more faithful in Gods house then Moses none deeper in Gods Booke none more graced with miracles none more carefull of the peoples good c. Yet if any feare of hunger or thirst or enemies c. doe assaile them presently they are ready to returne into Egypt and to that end to elect another Captaine in place of Moses as you may see in Exodus and the Booke of Numbers so great interest had he in them I skip ouer Samuel Dauid Ieremy and other Kings and Prophets and righteous men Come we to Saint Paul and his Galatians his I call them because he had begotten them in the Gospell and as a Nurse cherisheth her children so was he tender among them but when he came to reape fruit from them hee found that he reckoned without his Hoast and so was disappointed of his hope At the first I grant they receiued him as an Angell of God euen as Christ Ieâ—us they were ready to pull out their owne eyes and to giue them to him if they would doe him good but after they had harkened once to seducers which turned them away from the simplicity of the Gospell then was Saint Paul no longer a Father vnto them but an enemy and in stead of plucking out their owne eyes they seemed forward enough to pull out Saint Pauls to doe their false apostles pleasure so great hold had he of them Neither did they better intreat the Lord of the house Christ Iesus himselfe for these were but his seruants It is true the Father said They will reuerence my Sonne and indeed so he well deserued for hee went about doing good and healing all that were possessed of Deuils or visited with any other sicknesse for God was with him He spake so diuinely as never man spake his enemies being witnesses yea the people wondred at the gracious words that proceeded out of his mouth and flocked betimes to heare him and hung as it were vpon his shoulders Thus Christ might seeme to say of them My beloued is mine and I am hers I haue married her to my selfe in righteousnesse iudgement and mercy But all this was but Hony-moone or as the hasty Summer fruits within a while they became rotten and corrupt and forgate their first loue Nay for a word spoken which that they did not vnderstand was their owne fault onely they gaue him the back and became Apostates Looke a little higher vpon the 51. verse and so downeward Because Christ said that he was the Liuing Bread that came downe from Heauen And Except yee eate of the flesh of the Sonne of man and drinke of his blood you haue no life in you Hereupon groweth a quarrell and such a quarrell as will not be taken vp by any Apologie or mediation but they must needs part yet all Lawes and common reason also will allow a man to interpret his owne meaning and when he professeth that he speaketh figuratiuely and spiritually he ought not to be taken properly and carnally When Christ affirmeth and auerreth that the words that he speaketh are Spirit and life that is are spiritually to be taken and then they will giue life as Augustine full well expoundeth Spiritualiter intelligenda sunt Intellexisti spiritualiter Spiritus vita sunt Intellexisti carnaliter Eâ—iam sic illa Spiritus vitae sunt sed tibi non sunt Hast thou vnderstood them spiritually Then they be Spirit life Hast thou vnderstood them carnally Euen so also they be Spirit and life but to thee they be not Should not this content indifferent men though neither himselfe nor others had spoken so before But now it hath beene an vsuall thing with Christ by a kind of Anagoge to deduce matters from the currant carnall â—ense to an heauenly vnderstanding and therefore with more equity may he be allowed here You know Math. 12. when one said to him Behold thy mother and thy brethren stand withouâ— desiring to speake with thee He answered and said Who is my mother and who are my brethren And stretching out his hand vpon his Disciples he said Behold my mother and my brethren for he that shall doe the will of my Father which is in heauen he is my brother sister and mother Thus Christ. Now I aske Was Christ ashamed of his kindred By no meanes for he taught others to honour father and mother and not to turne away their eyes from their owne flesh therefore himselfe would not be found defectiue in that duty But this is that that Tertullian saith Hoc dicto vsus est ad excutiendam importunitatem ab opere reuocantium That is By this saying he would meete with and shake off their importunity or vnseasonablenesse that withdrew him from his worke and therefore I say that he denieth that simply in shew which hee denieth not but in comparison indeed namely that if any hinder him in his heauenly vocation hee would not take him for his kinsman So Iohn 4. My meate is to doe the will of him that sent me and to finish his worke Had he no other meat at any time Yes hee did hunger and thirst and eate and drinke as other men doe but in comparison of this he cared not for the other this was meat and drinke to him So the Prophet Esay Is not this the fasting that I haue chosen to loose the bands of wickednesse to take off the heauy burdens and to let the oppressed goe free c. To deale thy bread to the hungry c. There was another bodily fasting or pinching of the belly but that was nothing to this spirituall One. So another Prophet Rent your hearts and not your garments And another Circumcise the fore-skin of your hearts c. Neither doe the Scriptures only vse to speake thus but ordinary wise men also whether they were in the Church or out of the Church What dost thou meane to angle for Trowtes and Gudgeons or the like Thy angling is Castles and Towres and Forts c. said Cleopatra to Marcus Antonius Doe you aske me where be my Iewels My Iewels are my husband his triumphs said Phocions wife Doe you aske me where be mine ornaments My ornaments be my two sonnes whom I haue brought vp in vertue and
the first It is certaine that as the Father hath life in himselfe and light and wisedome and knowledge so he giueth his Son to haue the same in him nay he hath the same of himselfe as he is God No want in the God-head may be imagined nor degrees of hauing but all is perfit and at once yea and from the beginning He therefore being Iehouah and Shaddai all-being and euer-being all-sufficient and euer-sufficient may not be thought to haue asked this question to be better informed for his owne part for he knoweth all and needed not that any should testifie of man for hee knew what was in man Iohn 2. But as in the 12. of Iohn Christ saith This voyce came not for my sake but for yours So may we say of Christs words in my Text that they were not vttered for himselfe but for vs. It was good that the world should be satisfied concerning the resolution of the Apostles to follow Christ whatsoeuer came of it for their honour for our example for the glory of God in giuing such gifts vnto men Therefore doth the Lord bring forth their righteousnesse as the morning and causeth their faith to breake forth into confession They beleeued and therefore did they speake Wee also if we beleeue we will speake and will not be ashamed of him before men lest he also be ashamed of vs before his Father which is in heauen It is worth the remembring that Plutarch in his booke of Isis Osiris writeth of the Peach namely that the Egyptians of all fruit did make choise of that to consecrate it to their great Goddesse for this cause because the fruit thereof 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is like to ones heart 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is the leafe to the tongue Indeed when the heart and the tongue goe together then the harmony is sweete and the seruice pleasing both to God and man Euen as Saint Paul setteth downe the perfitnesse of our duty and consequently of our happinesse With the heart man beleeueth vnto righteousnesse with the mouth he confesseth vnto saluation This therefore may seeme to be a speciall cause why Christ demandeth of the twelue whether they would play the Turne-coats as some others did namely to draw forth their confession and profession of their faith As for the other doubt Whether the Elect can fall away the same will easily be cleared if we agree vpon the termes of Elect and falling away namely if we vnderstand by Elect such as are chosen according to the purpose of grace vnto an inheritance immortall vndefiled that fadeth not away reserued in heauen for them and by falling away an vtter departing from the fellowship of the Saints and an vtter renouncing of the truth reuealed The truly Elect cannot so vtterly become cast-awayes If then man and the world and the Deuill were stronger then God then the gifts and calling of God had repentance then Christ should not loue to the end whom he loueth yea then some should be able to take them out of the Fathers hand All which points and twenty more to this purpose are directly contrary to Gods Word which cannot lye Therefore we conclude that a man truly Elect cannot throughly perish I grant Saul and Iudas were Elect or chosen but it was to an office not to the Kingdome of glory Peter and others fell away but it was for a time not finally they wauered and staggered and felt some eclipse in their faith but the same was neuer extinguished nor rooted vp Christ prayed for Peter and not for him onely but for as many as should beleeue in his Name Iohn 17. that their faith should not faile And can Satan or all the power of hell preuaile against Christs prayer Praedestinatorum nemo cum Diabolo peribit nemo vsque ad mortem sub Diaboli potestate remanebit None of the predestinate shall perish with the Deuill none of them shall remaine vnder the Deuils power euen vnto death as Saint Augustine speakes And in his booke De Catechizandis rudibus Cap. 11. â—erusalem shall be deliuered and none of her shall perish for he that perished was not a Citizen of her Thus he He learned it of Saint Iohn They went out from vs but were not of vs c. Let vs end this point with another testimony of Austin more pregnant and plaine then either of them Horum he speaketh of the Elect si quisquam perit fallitur Deus sed nemo eorum fuerit quia non fallitur Deus Horum si quisquam perit vitio humano vincitur Deus sed nemo eorum fuerit quia nulla re vincitur Deus that is if any of the Elect perish God is deceiued but none of them perisheth because God is not deceiued if any of them perish God is ouercome by mans fault or naughtinesse but none of them perisheth because God is ouercome of nothing Well hauing thus vntyed the two knots or doubts that might seeme to entangle the Text let vs returne to the same againe and see what further we may learne out of it Will ye also goe away Plutarch writeth of Brutus that this was a great content and comfort to him at his end that though he had Crebra transfugia of the common sort many of them forsooke him and turned to the enemy yet none of his friends or neere ones forsooke him On the other side it must needs be a great corrasiue to Caesars heart that Labienus that had done him so worthy seruice against the Galles nine or tenne yeeres together left him in the quarrell betweene him and Pompey took Pompeys part I haue nourished brought vp children they to rebell against me this cuts my gall saith God in effect in Esay What my son that came out of mine own bowels to miniken the matter against me nay to make head against me This is such a matter as would make a man exclaime Be astonied O heauens and blush O earth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 What thou my sonne said one to his neere one He made resistance against others saith the story but when he saw his owne naturall to draw vpon him then he was weary of his life then he desired to liue no longer Therefore herein appeareth Christs magnanimity that he was not danted for the perfidiousnes of the run-awayes but all the while he had them that were of best note to sticke vnto him he reckoned not for the Apostasie of others Let vs be of the same minde Beloued Suppose all should cowre downe cowardly saue three hundred nay suppose that all should worship the Image that Nabuchadnezzar of Rome putteth vp saue three nay suppose that all should bowe their knees to Baal or worship the golden Calfe saue Elias and Moses should this make vs to goe away Nay greater is he that is in vs then he that is in the world saith our Sauiour And more there bee which be with vs then they
merit for themselues but as for the imputing of Christs righteousnesse vnto vs beleeuing that they make a iest at euen as their forefathers the Heathen did Irridere fidem Christianorum iocularibus facetijs lancinare as Arnobius sayes yet Saint Paul saith Rom. 5.19 As by the disobedience of one man many were made sinners so by the obedience of One many shall be made righteous How were wee made sinners by one mans disobedience that is Adams Was not the same imputed to vs and laid to our charge as if we had beene actuall transgressors with Adam and had bin in Paradise with him and had eaten of the forbidden fruit as well as he Euen so we must haue Christs obedience and sufferings imputed to vs as though we had suffered and done as much as the Law requireth in our persons or else we cannot be presented blameles in Gods sight Neither hath this Doctrine seemed strange to the Fathers Pro delictis nostris ipse precatur delicta nostra sua delicta facit vt Iustitiam suam nostram iustitiam faceret He prayeth for our offences and maketh our offences to be his owne offences that he might make his righteousnesse to be our owne righteousnesse Thus â—ugustin Bernard also that I trouble you with no more was of thâ— same mind Cur non aliunde iustitia cùm aliunde reatus Why may not righteousnesse come from another as well as guiltinesse comes from another As if he said Might the first Adams sinne be imputed to vs and may not the second Adams righteousnesse be imputed as well But to whom The Scripture is so plaine God so loued the world that he gaue his onely begotten Sonne that as many as beleeued in him should not perish but haue euerlasting life Yee are saued by grace through faith and that not of your selues it is the gift of God not of workes lest any man should boast himselfe Ephes. 2. In which words the Apostle doth set downe the two maine causes of our Saluation the fiâ—st and efficient whereof is grace that is the grace of Christ the second faith being the instrumentall 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He doth not say 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as if the quality inherent in vs could merit any thing in the matter of our Iustification without respect vnto Christ but excludeth that together with all worth and workes of ours Not of workes saith the Apostle and rendreth the reason lest any man should boast signifying that because God would barre all flesh from glorying in his sight haue all the glory himselfe therefore therefore that works are wholy excluded from being causes or instruments of our sauing But there must be an end of the former part of our discourse except we will haue the later altogether vntouched Come we therefore to the reason or ground of St. Pauls resolution For it is the power of God to saluation to euery one that beleeueth c. Euery word of this reasonisa reason how strong therfore is the reason I cannot be ashamed saith S. Paul of power specially of such power as is Diuine specially of such Diuine power as saueth specially of such that saueth not him that meriteth but him that beleeueth specially such as saueth not two or three beleeuers but euery one without exception And such a thing is the Gospell therefore I cannot be ashamed of it The major of whose Argument we will first consider of briefely and then wee may insist vpon the minor more at large Phocion that worthy Athenian being sent and employed by Chabrias then in the chiefest office to gather the tribute of the Ilanders and with twenty ships made answer That if he were sent to fight the Nauy was too small if to friends and companions in waste it was too great one ship might serue the turne The like is written of Tigranes King of Armenia that when he espyed the Romane Army containing not aboue eluen thousand of horse and foote his being of aboue 200000. he despised them in his heart saying If they come as Embassadours they are too many if as Soldiers too few So in the Booke of God namely 1. Reg. 20. When Benhadad that had so great an Army that he vanted saying The gods doe so and so vnto me if the dust of Samaria be enough to all the people that follow me for euery man an handfull and was otherwise so puissant that thirty two Kings did helpe him When he I say sawe the seruants of the Princes as it were a forlorne Company embatteld against him Whether they be come out for peace take them aliue or whether they be come out to fight to take them aliue So also Numb 13. When the Spies that were sent out to search the Land of promise made report of it that all the people that they sawe there were men of great stature euen Gyants the sonnes of Anak and that themselues were in comparison to them but as Grassehoppers the whole Congregation lifted vp their voyce and cryed and wept all the night they were so much abashed at the report of their power By which examples that I produce no more you may see that as opinion of power and strength maketh the one part bold and couragious so feeblenesse and weakenesse dismayeth and confoundeth the other Thou art not able to goe and fight with yonder Philistine said Saul to Dauid 1. Sam. 17. For thou art a boy and he is a man of warre from his youth So lest any should say to our Apostle You threaten to come to the Romanes Rerum Dominos gentemque togatam and to bring your Gospell with you Alas what can you doe what can it doe Your bodily presence is but weake your speech rude your words but wind nay distastefull and vnwelcome to all the world Is it not euery where spoken against Doth any of the Rulers Consuls Tribunes Pretors c. beleeue on Christ but onely a few of the rascality which know not the Law Lest any I say should say so the Apostle answereth for himselfe that he knoweth what he doth the Word that hee bringeth is not his owne but His that sent him the Gospell that he preacheth is not weake but mighty in operation able to cast downe strong holds and whatsoeuer opposeth it selfe to it It is power and therefore what can it not doe Yea it is the power of God that is such a powerfull Instrument as whereto God promiseth a blessing and force for euer therefore shall it stand out to the end What if the Romanes be mighty Yet he that dwelleth in the heauens is mightier What if he be a strong man armed that keepeth the house Yet when a stronger then he commeth he will take away his armour wherein he trusted and rifle him If God be on our side if his presence goe with vs as Moses said we shall find all things worke for the best to bring men to faith and consequently to Saluation Therefore
Iames in that he is exalted to the knowledge of God to the faith of Christ to the Adoption of sons to be a Citizen with the Saints and of the house-hold of Gods He is not a bond-man that is set free by Christ nor poore that is rich in faith nor contemptible that is enrolled in the booke of life nor base-borne that hath God to his Father and Christ to his brother If the King would bestow an Office vpon you you would not onely be glad but be proud but now if a great man would adopt thee to be his sonne 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith Arrianus vpon Epictetus your superstitiousnesse and arrogancy would be intolerable Now see saith Saint Iohn how great loue the Father hath shewed vs that we should be called the sonnes of God If sonnes then heires saith Saint Paul heires of God and fellow-heires with Christ. And yet doe we complaine of our hard fortune as though God had done nothing for vs And yet doe we demand impatiently Where is the promise of his comming Where is the exalting preferment the Apostle speaketh of Beloued if we haue murmuring within our selues and grudging at the good-man of the house because he setteth vs below and not aboue because he doth not cast vs vp our Indentures before we haue serued our yeeres then doe we walke and talke vnorderly after the fleâ—h and not after Christ We doe not humble our selues vnder the mighty hand of God And so there is no promise made vnto vs. The Husbandman must first labour before he receiue of the fruite Iacob must serue seuen yeeres before he haue his hearts desire in one thing and seuen more before he haue it in another and seuen to that before he haue it inthe third Vnderstand what I say the Lord giue you vnderstanding in all things Blessed the man that endureth temptation for when he is tryed he shall receiue the Crowne of life if he faint not But take heed that you doe not mistake the case and make that to be a temptation or a crosse that is not You haue not so much as you would haue but haue you not more then you deserue You are made the taile and not the head as Moses speaketh Peraduenture it is good for the Common-weale that you be so yea and good for your selues too Many being set on horse-backe haue roade so madly that they haue broken their horses necke and their owne also Therefore let euery one be content with the estate that God hath giuen him and let him not enuy him that is greater or higher then himselfe For the promise of exalting which is in my Text if you referre it to the blessings of this life hath a secret condition implyed namely if it be good for vs. And shall we be so vnwise or vnhappy to wish for that which will doe vs no good God forbid children indeed will be medling with kniues with edge-tooles also they will not feare to take a Snake or Adder by the taile in stead of an Eele But wee must not be children in vnderstanding but in wit be perfit As concerning maliciousnes and ambition and greedinesse it were good to conuert and become as children but for knowledge and discerning betweene good and euill we must be of a ripe age we must not be deiected for euery light affliction neither must we be puffed vp for any good successe or aduantage We must reioyce as though we reioyced not and mourne as though we mourned not vsing the world as though we vsed it not and humble our selues vnder the mighty hand of God and take all things in good part saying alwayes The Lord be praised This is true riches to be content and this is true honor not to be ambitious and this is true preferrement nay happinesse to be in the fauour of God which none sooner getteth then the humble man if his humility proceed from a pure heart and a good conscience and faith vnfained The Lords Name be euer blessed Amen Amen A SERMON VPON THE SECOND PSALME THE TENTH SERMON PSALME 2. verse 10. Now therefore be wise O Kings be instructed O Iudges of the earth SOME of the Iewish Doctors would haue these words to be an Apostrophe to those Kings and Princes which plotted against the Crowne and dignity of Dauid first to keepe him from his right then to disrobe him being inuested The Psalmist therefore doth aduise them to bethinke themselues better and not to make head any longer against Dauid lest they be found to fight against God himselfe This exposition is good but it is not good enough if that which is not good enough may be truly called good For as Tertullian saith Ratio Diuina non in superficie sed in medullâ plerumque aemula manifestis That is The sence pith of the Word of God is not in the vttermost skinne but in the marrow and commonly crosseth the apparancy of the letter And as Hierome to Paulinus Whatsoeuer we reade in the Scripture it shineth truely and glistereth euen in the rinde but is sweeter in the marrow Therefore to rest vpon the Type or Figure and not to proceed so farre as the thing figured is to deale as weakely as if a man searching in minerals for gold or siluer should content himselfe with the first rubble and giue ouer before he come to the precious Oare It is truth that Dauid did not onely speâ—ke and prophesie of our Sauiour as is euery-where to be seene in the Psalmes and euery-where vouched in the New Testament but also was a Figure of him so expresse a one and liuely that Christ might seeme to haue beene borne in Dauid euen long before He came in the flesh and Dauid to haue reuiued and beene borne againe in Christ euen long after he was dead and rotten This is not to make Iesum Typicum with the Franciscans nor yet to bring In Somnia Pythagoraea that is the passing of soules from bodies from one body to another with those phantastikes but this is to teach as the truth is in Iâ—sus that Christ not onely is now painted out before our eyes and among vs crucified in the preaching of the Gospell but also was shadowed and fore-described in the Old Testament by certaine personall Types as it were Verbo visibili as Augustine speaketh To such an effect as Iustine Martyr toucheth when he saith The G spell what is it but the Law fulfilled The Law what was it but the Gâ—spell foretold This I would say that as Dauid did and suffered many things which were not to haue an end and consummation in Dauid but were to fore-shew the doings and sufferings of Christ the true Dauid He is called Dauid by Hieremy Ezechiel and Hosea to speake of no more and the glory that should follow after so we are to thinke that the Psalmist requiring the Kings of those dayes to be wise and to stoope to Dauids command doth by good consequent
controuersie betweene vs and the Romanists seeking out of the woodden Crosse worshipping of the Crosse yea of the counterfeit of it fighting for the Crosse seeking to the Sepulcher fighting for the Sepulcher worshipping of the Sepulcher setting vp Images in Churches worshipping of Images and of some of them with latria Inuocating of Saints woâ—shipping of their Relikes yea of the Relikes of Theeues and Murderers yea of the bones of Apes and Foxes yea of the Pictures of Adonis and Venus these things were not done in a corner neither were they reueiled in the twy-light but in the sight of the Sunne To be short eleuating of the Sacrament adoring of the Sacrament inuocating of the Sacrament and calling it Lord and God yea dedicating of bookes vnto it Saunders doth so these and a hundred more such abominations had neuer beene so admitted nor so long allowed in the Church of God if they that sate at the Sterne had beene wise and intelligent in Gods matters For when the Emperour or King was wise then the streame of Idolatry and superstition was greatly stopped and stayed though not dryed vp As by Leo Isaurus and his sonne and his sonnes sonne in the East By Charles the great and his sonnes sonne in the West These partly gathered Synods for the crossing of certaine superstitious worshippings partly they either wrote bookes themselues or caused bookes to be written by others in the cause of truth So when either the Empire had such a head as Otho the great or Henâ—y the second and fourth or the two first Frederickes or France such a King as Philip the faire To speake nothing of our late English Worâ—hies then they did not suffer themselues to be out-faced with counterfeit Titles neither could they indure to heare either that the Imperiall Crowne was beneficium Papale as Pope Alexander the third would haue it or that the Crowne of France was at the Popes disposing as Boniface the eighth vanted Much lesse such swelling words of vanity nay of intolerable insolency as Innocent the fourth deliuered to the Embassadors of King Henry the thâ—rd Nonne Rex Angliae vassallus meus est vt plus dicam Mancipium that is Is not the King of England my vassale nay I will say more bond-man or bond-slaue witnesse Mathew Paris They did not onely dispute the case with him as Michael did with Nicholas the first and a successor of Michael with Innocent the third Their Epistles some of them answering and crossing one another are to be seene in the Decretals but also went more roundly and roughly to worke with them taking them downe a pinne or two lower and sometimes putting them besides the Cushion and placing others in their roome It importeth therefore the cause of Religion mightily that Kings be wise and skilfull in Gods Booke that they be able to discerne what is Gods right what their owne yea that they can distinguish wisely betweene the Vicars of Christ and the angels of Satan betweene the Keyes of the Church and counterfet Pick-lockes as Doctor Fulke calls them For where wisedome is not and doth not abound there there is much going out of the way there there is often fâ—lling into the ditch Inscitia mater omnium errâ—rum saith Fulgentius that is Ignorance is the mother of all errors So Bernard calleth Ignorance the mother of all vices So Iustin Martyr Let knowledge be thy heart and truth thy life And Clement Alexandrinus seuen Stromate Knowledge is the food of the soule 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is Ignorance is the staruing of the soule or the disease called Atrophia to eate and to be neuer the neere or better for the eating Thus we are to hold in Thesi of the singular vse that is of wisedome as necessary as the ayre we drawe in as faire as the morning starre nay as the Sunne when hee riseth in his might So of Folly or Ignorance that the same is as darke as the night as foule and as vgly as the face of hell This I say in Thesi. Now for application a word or two I doubt not but as in the Romane Common-weale vnder Marcus Antoninus when that saying of Plato was considered of It goeth well with Common-wealths when either Philosophers be made Kings or Kings addict themselues to Philosophy There was a generall applying of it to their State vnder that Marcus and as in Athens when a speech out of a Poet was recited touching the sweet-singing Grassehopper all with one consent applyed it to Socrates And as in the fourth of Luke when that sentence was read out of Esay The Spirit of the Lord is vpon me wherefore he anointed me he hath sent me to preach the Gospell to the poore c The eyes of all in the Synagogue werâ— fastned vpon our Sauiour and all bare him witnesâ—e and he said that that day that Scripture was fulfilled in their eares So as many as doe heare me this day doe reioyce in themselues and congratulate to their Countrey that his Maiestie is not as many other Princes are that haue need to be called vpon with the words of the Prophet Ieremy 31. Chapter Know the Lord or that hath need to aske after the old way which is the good way c. as it is Ieremy the 6 but that hath knowne the Scriptures from his youth as Saint Paul speaketh to Timothie and is able both Preacher-like to exhort by wholesome doctrine and Doctor-like to conuince them that are contrarie-minded Flesh blood hath not reuealed the same it came not either by education or by Institution or by reading or by Conference though these be excellent helps and happy they be that finde them or vse them but by the Spirit of our Father which is in heauen euen as it is also said Zach. 4. Neither by an Army nor by strength but by my Spirit saith the Lord Almighty Therefore as Christ saith Blessed are your eyes for they see and your eares for they heare for verily I say vnto you that many Prophets and righteous men haue desired to see those things which you see and haue not seene them and to heare those things which you heare and haue not heard them So we of this Land are to hold our selues happy and thrice happy that the Lord hath giuen vs a King after his heart and our owne heart that can gouerne with Counsaile and rule with Wisedome that hath the Spirit of the liuing God resiâ—â—t in him and his senses exercised in the knowledge feare of the Lord that needs not to be taught but that can teach nor to be exhorted but onely câ—ngratulated This is not to flatter to giue the King his due specially when the giuing of due doth giue encouragement and implyeth exhortation to perseuere in well-doing Did not our Sauiour praise Nathaniel to his face And who such a patterne of veracity and plaine dealing as he Did not the Queene of Sheba praise Salomon to his
They talke in fabulous Stories such as Wittikindus and Gregorie Turonensis are that such a City could not be taken because the body of Saint Author lay there such an one could not be taken because the body of Saint Ambrose lay there such could not be taken because such Saints and such Saints prayed for them Strong illusions of Satan or rather grosse and palpable credulities in men of a degenerous mind that had sold themselues to belieue lyes The truth is the prayer of a righteous man can doe much with God if it be feruent 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 if it be operatiue or haue 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is an efficacy in it But the Apostle speaketh of the righteous that are liuing not that are departed as is apparant in the Text As also Eusebius did when he said that a righteous prayer 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is such a thing as there is no fighting or standing against It is such a thing indeed when it is offered by a faithfull people for a faithfull Prince It pierceth the heauens and thrusteth into the Throne of grace and will not be repelled till it hath obtained at Gods hands both the safety of the Prince and the reuenge of the Elect. Prayer therefore is the best guard that we can yeeld vnto our King and piety is the best Armour that his Maiestie can put on Other habiliments munitions and policies haue their place and are profitable for somewhat but godlinesse is profitable for all things hauing the promise of this life and of that which is to come Be wise now therefore O Kings and Princes serue the Lord in feare and reioyce before him in trembling kisse the Sonne lest he be angry and kisse the Sonne and he will be well pleased but kisse him with the lippes of your heart wiâ—h faith and with loue Be pi usly wise and wisely pious in Colendo sapere debemus in sapiendo colere as saith Lactantius So shall the King haue pleasure in your beauty for he is your Lord God and you must worship him So shall he giue his Angels charge ouer you to keepe you in all his wayes So shall he blesse your going forth and your being forth your comming home and your being at home yea the Lord shall so blesse you that you shall multiply your yeeres vpon earth and see your childrens children and peace in Hierusalem and ioy vpon Sion all your life long which God the Father grant for his Sonne Christs sake to whom with the holy Ghost be all honour and glory Amen A SERMON VPON THE FIRST TO THE HEBREVVES THE ELEVENTH SERMON HEBREVVES 1. verse 1 c. God who at sundry times and in diuers maners spake in times past vnto the Fathers by the Prophets Arab. Gnalei alshan that is by the tongue of the Prophets 2. Hath in these last dayes spoken to vs by his Sonne whom he hath appointed heire of all things by whom also hee made the worlds 3. Who being the brightnesse of his glory and the expresse Image of his Person 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and vpholding all things by the Word of his power Syr. Bechaila Demelletheh that is by the power of his Word when he had by himselfe purged our sinnes sate downe on the right hand of the Maiestie on high c. AMong all the passages and portions of Scripture which yeeld fit matter of discourse and which doe not euen from the beginning of Genesis to the latter end of the Reuelation there is none in my iudgement that affordeth greater store either of heauenly doctrine or of spirituall comfort than this doth that I haue in hand For when the ,Apostle saith that God hath reuealed himselfe vnto vs in his Sonne and that he appointed his Sonne heire of all things and that his Sonne is such an one for power for person for nature for glory what a floud or rather Sea of Diuinity doth it containe Againe when he tells vs that the Sonne of God hath ,purged our sinnes by himselfe and is sate downe on the right hand of the Maiestie 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is that hee is aduanced on high and is able perfectly to saue them that come vnto him what hope are we to conceiue thereby yea strong confidence yea vndauntable consolation that we cannot want whilest our Sauiour hath it and cannot be lost whilest he liueth and raigneth The Prophet Ezekiel and Saint Iohn in the Reuelation speake of a tree the fruit whereof is for meate and the leaues for medicine So Nauigators tell vs and many that be aliue haue seene it with their eyes and felt it with their hands and with their mouthes haue tasted of the excellency of the tree that beareth the Nutmeg the barke the huske the filme the fruite all aromaticall all good for the Braines or for the Stomacke or both So the Pomegranate is a very extraordinary fruite the hard rinde being dryed is medicinable many wayes as for the iuice and kernels they are not onely wholesome but also delightsome yet for all that it is obserued and the Iewes vse it for a Prouerbe amongst them that There is no Pomegranate so sound but it hath some rotten kernels in it fewer or more and we also vse to say Euery Beane hath his blacke And Plutarch reporteth it to haue beene the speech of Simonides that as euery Larke hath his tuft so euery man hath his imperfection Now it is not so in the Word of God euery part of it is Homogenâ—ous euery part like it selfe as being deliuered by one Spirit and leuelled by one rule You know what is deliuered by the Prophet All the words of the Lord are pure words as the siluer that is tryed in a fornace of earth and fined seuen-fold and by Saint Paul that the Law euen the Law is holy and the Commandement holy and iust and good But as it is a fault in the building of a City to make the gate vaster than for the proportion of the Perimeter or compasse thereof Shut your gate said a Philosopher to the men of Mindas lest your Towne runne out at it so long Preâ—aces in a small scant of time and a great field being to be surueyed are very vnseasonable to speake the least It was said of long time by Callimachus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is a great book is as bad as a great deale of euill the like is to be said of a long tedious Preface For our Text it containeth at once two seuerall declarations the one of the excellency of the Gospell aboue the Law from the beginning of the first verse to the middle of the second The second declaration is of the excellency or rather superexcellency of our Sauiour aboue Moses and the Prophets yea aboue euery name that is named both in heauen and in earth from the middle of the second verse to the latter end of the third where my Text endeth so
Rome his spouse all the while he is not our true father but a father in Law or rather against all Law nor she the true mother but a step-mother a putatiue mother like her in the 1 Kings that would haue had the child to be deuided For all the world he hath shewed himselfe such a kind of father as Saturne was who deuoured all his children that he could come at and whom Rhea hid not from him and she such a mother as Medea in the Tragedy who murthered all her sonnes that she had by her husband Iason and were sorry she had no more to murther that she might vexe him and grieue him more But as Moses said Our God is not as their god our enemies being witnesses so we may say Our father and King is not as theirs heauen and earth bearing record for their King is King of the Locusts Reu. 9. and himselfe the great Locust but our King is a King of peace and of bounty to speake the least and facilis placidusque pater veniaeque paratus as the Poet said So much of the person of the King I come now to the function and to the effect and to the instrument and I will but touch them slightly lest I should be tedious A King sitting on the Throne of Iudgement c. The Iewes write themselues and others write of them that while their Common-weale stood they had three kinds of Courts or places of Iudicature Batteidin the one in euery City where three chosen for the purpose sate and examined petite or light matters matters of trespasse and of debt this was the least Court but there were many of them The second was a greater Court and authorized to try matters of life and death the same consisted of the number of twenty three and was scattered thorowout the Tribes there were more than one for a Tribe The third and greatest and most solemne consisted of seuenty or as some would haue it of seuenty two those receiued Appeales from the other Courts and besides debated of matters of the State and of the Church This Court was holden at Hierusalem and in respect thereof it is thought the Psalmist speaketh so as he doth Psal. 122. For there Thrones are set euen the Thrones of the house of Dauid He doth not say Throne as of one but Thrones as of many by reason of the multitude of Iudges which made vp Sanhedrin as the Talmudists corruptly call it of the Greeke word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Howbeit as Genes 37. Iosephs sheafe stood vp-right and all the other sheaues did compasse it about and did reuerence vnto it and as Ezech. 1. it is said of the wheeles that when the liuing creatures went they went and when those stood they stood c. for the spirit of the liuing creatures was in the wheeles so we may say that all the fore-named Courts both greater and smaller were subiect vnto the Kings-bench as it were as receiuing their authority and commission from it and so to be commanded by it and not to exercise any iurisdiction ouer it Baronius in his Annals a booke more painefull than faithfull speaking of the Sanhedrin that great Court holden at Hierusalem saith that it had power not onely to determine spirituall matters but also to question and conuent euen Kings he instanceth it Horum namque iudicio Herodes Rex postulatus est and for this and Herods cruelty especially he citeth Iosephus in the Margin I cannot say of this allegation as Saint Paul saith of Epimenides his testimony This Testimony is true for indeed his allegation is not true Herod was no King then when he was conuented nor sonne of a King but subiect to King Hyrcanuâ— who caused him to be sent for vpon complaint and was content that he should make an escape because a kinsman of Caesars had written for him but that Herod was King when he was conuented or that that Court had power ouer Kings to conuent them this we finde in Baronius onely but it is not to be found in Iosephus The truth is Qui Rex est Regem Maxime non habeat that is He that is a King must not haue one aboue him for such a one is a King onely in name but in truth a subiect for vnto Kingly authority or Soueraignety it is essentiall to be supreme and absolute absolute I say from the prescript of all persons but not from the obseruing of his owne Lawes vnto the which he graciously submitteth himselfe For this cause King Salomon erected a Royall Throne as of Iuory and gold to signifie the sincerity of his proceeding and how farre it should be from corruption and with Stayes and Lions to signifie that he would maintaine Iustice euen by force and power if it were impugned So with six steps or greeces and no fewer to shew the eminency of his Court aboue all other whatsoeuer Courts and Consistories and that the statelinesse of the making might procure awe and reuerence to it from all degrees and callings his meaning was not by erecting that Throne to suppresse all other Courts by no meanes for that had beene to pull downe the whole burthen vpon his owne backe which Moses the man of God disclaimed as being too heauy for him but to teach vs that all other Courts were subordinate to it as to the Court of the Lord Paramount 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I meane that all other should receiue orders and iniunctions from it but not presume to giue orders and rules to it So then as wheresoeuer the King maketh his abode there the Court is said to be the Court Royall so wheresoeuer any Court of Iudicature is holden by the Kings authority there the King himselfe may be said to sit interpretatiuè It is not therefore meant in my Text that the Kings personall presence is alwayes necessary for the scattering away of euill but that his authority should be there and that worthy and sufficient men be appointed by him for the mannaging of the affaires of Iustice. Where the King sitteth himselfe if he so please or prouideth that wise and incorrupt Magistrates doe fit there all enormities and abuses are easily chased away and scattered The Kings wrath is as the râ—aring of a Lion The Magistrate vnder him beareth not the sword in vaine What if the wicked be mighty in power in wealth in kindred in friends in alliance yet he thaâ— sitteth vpon the Throne is mightier than they What if they be as thornes that will not be taken vp with the bare hand Yet the Magistrate being fenced with Iron or with the shaft of a Speare 2 Sam. 23. will be too hard for them and they shall be destroyed in the same place It is hard kicking against the pricke saith our Sauiour and it may be well said If a man fall vpon authority it will bruise him but if authority fall vpon a man it will
this did not bring the drunkards to themselues for all that day and that night on the morrow when the Captaines of the Town hearing of the stirre and hurly-burly repaired to the house and demanded what was the matter They answered that the ship had bin in great danger and that they were enforced to cast forth all the fraught or lading into the Sea else had they bin all cast-away yea said one of them that thought himselfe to be the best in the company I was in speciall danger and therefore for feare I gate me vnder the hatches as far as I could The Captaines pardoned them but would not suffer them to haue any more wine and anon the tempest ceased To this effect Athenaeus Which Story I doe not recite to moue any to laugh or to smile but rather to mourne within our selues to consider the corruption of mans nature whereby that which God hath giuen for our good is vnto man an occasion of falling Man abideth not in honour â—specially if he drinke too much but may be compared to the beast that perisheth You know how Noah lay What Lot did What brags Benhadad and Belshazzar made What Herod promised when they were drunke and hâ—w the things turned to their shame and decay It is wickednesse to turne the Grace of God into wantonnesse and it is madnesse to lose ones-selfe vtterly to enioy the pleasures of sinne for a season The pleasure of the thrâ—â—â— is but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of one line as one said it hath no breadth much lesse substance in it The breadth of the throate if Bernards measure be true is not passing two fingers and shall a man for two fingers pleasure cast away health of body health of soule and whatsoeuer is to be reckoned of Know yee not that your bodyes are the Temples of the holy Ghost and will you now take the Temple of God and make it the Temple of an Idoll and of the worst Idoll 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Know ye not that drunkards are reckoned amongst them that shall not inherit the Kingdome of God and will you be at cost and doe away that you haue to lose that Kingdome which a wise Merchant would giue all that he hath to buy and to compasse O ye Corinthians saith Saint Paul my mouth is open vnto you my heart is enlarged I vse great boldnesse of speech and am earnest in shewing the detestation of this sinne and to prooue if by any meanes I may preuaile with any for their good Basil wrought vpon Valens his conscience and mooued him as also Saint Paul did vpon Foelix his and Saint Iohn the Baptist vpon Herods but yet it fared with them as it doth with iron which though it doe glowe and be made neuer so red-hot with the fire yet remaineth iron still Thus Nazianzen But I hope of better things of some that heare me namely that they will be truly changed by the renuing of their mind and so become new creatures Why vpon a Sermon that Saint Paul made to a Gaoler he beleeued and was baptized and all his house-hold straight-wayes So in the same Chapter after he had preached a time in Ephesus many of them which vsed curious Arts brought their bookes and burned them before all men and counted the price of them I cannot tell how many thousand markes But Saint Paul was an Apostle and endued with the first fruits of Gods Spirit and besides the Lord made way to the conuersion by a miracle Let me recount therefore to you another example of one Iohannes Capistranus of whom Aeneas Syluius writeth at large and for my purpose Vrspergensis in his Chronicles This fellow comming into Germany to reforme abuses preuailed so farre with them that the women did cast away their vaine apparell and gugawes and the men gathered together their Tables Dice and Cardes and burnt them But this Fryer was not alone he had an associate True but the associate did onely interpret what the Fryer did deliuer in Latine so the speech or exhortation was but one if one But the Turke did then inuade Christendome and then very feare will make men deuout and to yeeld easily What say you then to Pythagoras It is written of him by Trogus That being alone and no body to helpe him he preuailed so farre with the men of Crotona that of dissolute men he made them sober of wretchlesse frugall and modest the women also layed aside their shining garments and attire and were nothing behind the men for all kinds of temperancy but hee tooke paines with them twenty yeeres together What say you then to the Story of Polemo in Laertius This Polemo being ouertaken with drinke as he was wont to be broke into Xenocrates his Schoole with his companions of a purpose to daunt him and to driue him out of countenance but Xenocrates treating at that time as God would haue it of Temperance so handled the matter and wrought vpon the young mans conscience that he began to be ashamed of his dissolute course and became such a Conuert and well reformed that there was not the like to him among all Xenocrates his Scholars and after his death became his successor Now could a Lecture of a Philosopher preuaile with a deplorate youth then and shall not the Sermon of a Preacher nay of many Preachers preuaile with them that either are or should be more stayed now Where is the Lord God of Eliah Where is the force of the Word that Lanctantius speaketh of Da mihi virum qui sit iracundus c. Giue me a man that is neuer so loose and vnbridled with a few of the Words of God I will bring him into good order and compasse Is the power of God shortened or is not the naughtinsse of man increased This is that which the Rabbins doe say Ba lithar mesaijegim otho When a man doth his good will and that good will is also of God God worketh in vs both the will and the deed as it is in the Philippians when I say he doth not ponere obicem as the Schoolemen speake resist the holy Ghost as the Scripture phraseth it then loe the Lord is neere vnto them that call vpon him Briefely this is that which Clemens Alexandrinus putteth vs in mind of As in the play of tossing the Ball it is not enough for one of the players to be cunning in throwing of it but the other player also must take it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 handsomely finely or else the Ball will goe downe So when the Lord shall say to vs Behold me Behold me seeke ye my face If we doe not answere Thy face Lord will we seeke we are here ready to doe thy will O God if we stop our eares against his calling harden our hearts against his knocking we can blame no body but our selues if the Word become vnprofitable to vs. The summe of all is this Beware of Drunkennesse doe ye beware