somewhat hereby that may direct us how to serve God how to honor our Superiours how to governe our inferiours and how to behave our selves towards all men For though the full distinct unfolding of these points bee left to the learned preacher who is therefore brought up in Scholasticall studies that he may be able to instruct the people in the sense of Scriptures and in the duties of their calling more perfectly then they could possibly learne by their owne industrie Yet even of them selves by hearing the word read with attention they may understand a good part of their dutie both towards GOD and men For who is there even among the meanest Christians but if he heare the 20. chapter of Exodus read will presently resolve with himselfe that hee is bound to reverence his parents not to kill or strike his neighbour not to wrong him in his wife in his goods or in his good name Or who that shall heare the 13. chapter to the Romans read but will presently conceive that it is his duty to obey the Magistrate Or if he heare the 5. and 6. chapters to the Ephesians but will know by the very words that he is bound to do faithfull service to his master if he bee a servant to be kinde to his wife if he bee a maried man and dutiful to his parents if he be a childe that is under government and carefull for the education of his children if he bee a father of sonnes or daughters And the like may be said of other the like cases All which shew that the hearing of Scriptures read may availe a man much to the leading of an holy life The further illustration whereof may be had out of some few examples First then Athanasius an ancient Doctor of the Church Athanas in vita S. Antonii pag. 445. telleth of S. Antonie that having first revolved in his minde how the Apostles forsooke all and followed CHRIST he came into the Church and in the Gospell which was then read he heard the saying of our Saviour to the yong rich man If thou wilt be perfect sell all that thou hast and give to the poore and come and follow me and thou shalt have treasure in heaven Matt. 1921. And as soone as hee had heard that sentence hee went home and sould his possessions and gave them to the poore and leaving all further care of the world he betooke himselfe wholly to a devout life Secondly August Confess lib. 8 cap. 12. pag. 37. S. Augustin telleth of himselfe that having heard of this storie of saint Antonie how he by hearing the Gospell read was converted to God hee in imitation of this holy man tooke up the booke that lay by to reade for hearing of Gods word read and reading of it do not much differ in this respect and opening the booke at all adventure he read what first came to hand and that was the saying of the Apostle Let us walke honestly as in the day not in rioting and drunkennes not in chambering and wantonnesse not in strife and envying c. Rom. 13.13 Part of which words did so strike his heart that he presently forsook his loose life and betooke himselfe to Gods service Thirdly the booke of God it selfe telleth us that Iosias having heard the words of the Law read which threatened judgment against such sinnes as were then too common among them He humbled himselfe rent his clothes and wept before the Lord and caused the booke to be read in the audience of the people and both hee and they moved by the hearing of the booke read made a covenant with the Lord for conversion and amendment of life as is recorded in the 2. booke of Kings in the end of the 22. and in the beginning of the 23. chapter By these examples wee learne that if men come to the hearing of the word read with honest teacheable hearts as these good men d d they may heare that by the sole reading of the text by which they may be brought to repentance for their sins and a carefull and devout service of the Lord their God as these holy men were before them 3. Thirdly the hearing of the word read if it bee heard with attention and reverence as it alwaies should will prepare and fitt peoples mindes for a profitable hearing of Sermons For when the Preacher in handling any point shall alledge the Text he that hath beene an attentive hearer of the word read and hath imprinted the sayings of Scripture in his minde will remember and acknowledge the words as they are cited explained and hereby hee will gaine these helps towards a godly life 1. Hee will learne the sense and meaning of hard places if any be expounded unfolded by the Preacher which himselfe understood not before 2. he will be able as his minde goeth along with the preachers words in part to judge of the truth soundnesse of his allegations and afterward more fully and exactly to examine the things that were spoken as the Bereans examined S. Pauls doctrine whether those things were so as hee had said And lastly he will be enabled to remember every thing that is said the better a good part of the Sermon being setled in his memory by his former reading and the rest having neare coherence with it and dependance on it And he that is furnished with these abilities will easily profit by all that the preacher teacheth But contrariewise he that heareth Texts alledged in a Sermon which he had never heard of before can neither judge of the sense that is put upon them nor understand the sequels that are deduced from them nor remember to any purpose what hath beene alledged out of them I conclude then that he who will profit by the word preached must not neglect to heare the word read that hee may imprint the sentences of the Scripture in his minde 4. Fourthly by hearing the word read though sometimes we understand not the meaning yet we may at least fasten the words in our memories if we carie away but the words and phrases onely we may thereby bee occasioned to ask direction from others who understād them better The Eunuch when he read the Prophecie of Isai understood it not but was hereby moved to enquire of the meaning of the Text. I pray thee saith he of whom speaketh the Prophet this of himselfe or of some other man Act. 8.34 And upon this occasion Philip explained him the text preached unto him the Gospell of Christ and converted him unto the faith brought him by baptisme into the bosome of the Church And so it will bee with us If when we heare the Text read wee meete with some thing which we understand not yet even that if we do but cary away the words onely will lie by us till we meete with some more skilful then our selves and of whom we may ask as the Eunuch did of Philip I pray you Sir
And first for rules Ludovicus Vives a man renowned as well for piety as learning among other learned workes of his hath published a Treatise which hee calleth Excitationes animi ad Deum that is The liftings up of the soule unto God In this book he prescribeth us rules of meditation and prayer upon every incidentall occasion for example when we awake out of sleep in a morning and finde our selves refreshed by our rest then hee biddeth us think how joyfull and blessed a thing it will be to bee raised up to eternall life after our sleeping in the grave and to pray withall that as God hath raised our bodies from their sleep that wee may do the works of this life so hee would raise up our soules from the sleep of sin that we may do the works of piety and a godly life And when wee are going on a journey then we should think that our life here is a pilgrimage on earth in which we are separated from our owne countrey and our dearest friends that is from heaven and the blessed soules that be there and then wee should pray that God will teach us to live here as pilgrims and strangers that are travelling toward a better countrey and that our conversation may be in heaven while our bodily mansion is on earth And when we see a candle lighted in the evening to be a comfort against the dismall darknesse of the night that then we should think how necessary the knowledge of Gods word is which is a light to our eyes and lanterne to our feete and pray withall that God would keep this candle still shining before us that wee may know how to serve him aright The like rules of good thoughts and prayers he prescribeth us when we put on our clothes when we go out of doores when we sit down to meate when we prepare to bedward and upon other the like occasions leaving us no part of the day nor no occasion of our life without some holy thoughts that may make us like to the Saints that be in heaven This book of Vives and the meditations and prayers contained in it that worthy Martyr M. Bradford hath translated or the greatest part of them into our English tongue and hath presented them to the view of the world in a book of his called Bradfords Meditations and prayers And after him M Henry Bull who hath gathered together many sweete flowers of such like devotion hath also for the benefit of his countrey-men printed these meditations and prayers among the rest There if ye please yee may reade them and I dare say if ye reade them with attention and care you will not think your labour either lost or ill bestowed Besides these books there is one also of late yeares penned by a reverend and learned Prelate of our Church called Occasionall Meditations In it you are directed how on ordinary and triviall occasions yee may raise up your thoughts to heaven-ward But that book I suppose is in the hands of most men and the known worth of the Author will sufficiently commend it to their reading I onely will say thus much that who so shall peruse these books and make use of them accordingly I doubt not but he will finde in them good helps to heaven and great comfort to his soule And so I leave the Rules 2. The examples that I make choise of for this purpose are two 1. Examp. The first of one Pambo an ancient and religious man Of him * Socrat. hist l. 4 c. 18. pag. 660. Rosw de vitis Patrum l. 3. num 164 pag. 524. v. etiam l. 1. c. 3. in vita S. Pelagiae pa. 377. de Nonno Episcopo Socrates reporteth that seeing a light woman finely tricked up and sumptuously adorned that shee might please and allure lovers unto her hee burst out into teares and being asked why he wept he gave these two reasons for it 1. because he saw in what miserable state that woman was in it grieved him that so goodly a creature of Gods making should be in so ready a way to hell and destruction and 2. because said he I do not take so much paines to please my good God as she doth to please sinfull men This example if we wil follow we may make use of it divers wayes for our good namely thus when we see a Porter sweating under his burden that he may earne a poore wages we may check our own dulnesse who are so soone weary of labouring for an eternall Kingdome that we grudge to spend a quarter of an houre in prayer or a whole houre in hearing of Gods word or a day in abstinence and fasting for our sins For what a shame is it that a labouring man should willingly take so much paines for a tester or a shilling when we think so little paines to be overmuch for obtaining of eternall life and the Kingdome of heaven And when we see a Shopkeeper abridge himself of his meate and of his sleep that hee may attend his customers and make gaine of his trading wee may justly blame our selves for our backwardnesse in Gods service and that we cannot abridge our selves in our eating and in our sleeping and in our sporting and in our clothing that wee may bee the fitter and more expedite for good duties and for the Kingdome of God And when we see a man that taketh physick fast aforehand and after the taking of it to content himselfe with a thin supping that the medicine may work the better wee may think every man with himselfe what a foole am I that on the Lords day when God prepareth and giveth me physick for my soule I do so fill my stomach with meate and my head with strong drink as maketh my selfe unfit for Gods service and my praying and hearing and reading unprofitable for my soule And when wee see men and women look thēselves in the glasse every day that they may carie with them no spots or deformity in their faces that may shame them when they goe abroad among men wee should accuse our shamelesse security in matters of our soules and that we doe not examine our consciences and look our soules in the glasse of Gods Law that there bee no deformity in our lives that may shame us before God and his Angels I might make many such applications of Pamboes practice to our selves and gather such collections to shame our selves for our indevotion and want of feeling but out of these there is direction enough for them that are willing to make use of it too much for them who shal despise it 2. Examp. The second example is of a Cook in a Colledge of religious men Of him Climacus a Greek father in the anciēt Church relateth that hee was very devout in serving God and often moved with compunction to mourne for his sins Which Climacus observing importuned him to know by what meanes he had attained to such a degree of sanctitie and holinesse and
Gospel they might be convinced of positive infidelity They add that also Ioh. 3.19 This is the condemnation that light is come into the world and men loved darknesse rather then light Men therefore are justly damned for rejecting the light of the Gospell Heb. 2.3 How shall wee escape if we neglect so great salvation for neglecting salvation offered in the Gospell as they comment upon the words wee become guilty of just punishment Therefore salvation is offered in the Gospell These with some more bee the proofes brought by these learned men And they plainely prove that God doth accompanie the preaching of his word with the assistance and grace of his Spirit that men who heare the word if themselves bee not in fault do receive from God both to beleeve and obey it Now lay these things together first that the word of God doth teach the right way to blessednes then that it useth powerfull perswasions to incite us on in this way and lastly that it bringeth with it that grace of God which may carie us along to our journeys end and then the conclusion will easily result from them that therefore Gods word hath much vertue in it and that which is sufficient to make us eternally happy Vse 1. This condemneth them of follie who leave Gods word and seeke other directions to eternall life Such were the Jews of old and such have beene some ignorant papists in our time What our vulgar papists are used to say for proofe of the true religion they that have lived among them do sufficiently know and what the Jews said in former times Ieremie hath told us at large chap. 44. And whoso shall attentively consider his words will easily see how like our papists are to those Jews The words of the Prophet are Then all the men which knew that their wives had burnt incense unto other Gods and all the women that stood by answered Ieremiah saying As for the word which thou hast spoken unto us in the name of the Lord we will not hearken unto thee But we will certainly doe whatsoeever thing goeth forth out of our own mouth to burn incense to the Queene of heaven and to poure out drink-offerings unto her as we have done we our fathers our Kings our Princes in the cities of Iudah and in the streets of Ierusalem for then had we plentie of victualls and were well and saw no evill But since wee left off to burne incense to the Queene of heaven and to poure out drink-offerings unto her wee have wanted all things have beene consumed by the sword and by the famine Ier. 44.15 c. In this passage of the Prophet there are 2. things set downe the resolution of this people and their reason for it Their resolution was that they would not hearken to the word which the Prophet had spoken in the name of the Lord but they would doe what they did doe that is they would burne incense to the Queene of heaven c. And the like is the resolution of some seely people Say what you will or what you can out of Scriptures they care not for it but they will doe what they are woont to doe that is they will pray in a tongue whereof they understand never a word they will worship Saints and Images though they know not why and they will rest their faith on the Popes dictats though they can say nothing why he may not misleade them But this they doe and this they will do This is their resolution Secondly we may consider their reason why they were so wilfull and that is two-fold 1. because they and their fathers had beene accustomed to doe so heretofore As wee have done wee and our fathers c. and so our poore ignorant people This is the religion wherein I was borne and bred and therein will I dye Thus my father and grandfather beleeved before I was born and I will folow them who have gone before mee The second reason why they would continue in their resolution is because when they lived in that faith they had plentie of victuals and store of all things but after they left their sacrificing to Idols they had scarsitie and miserie and want Then say they we had plentie of victuals c. And so are our seelie ones wont to dispute Oh say they when the old religion was on foote then we had so many eggs for a peny and so much provision at a small price and poore men were able to live by their labours but since Calvin and Luther began to reforme we have scarsitie and dearth and it is a hard world to live in Thus our people are wont to reason for their old superstitions and errours and they speak so right in the very phrase and words of the idolatrous Jews that I might have thought they had borowed their discourse out of Ieremy but that I know it is not their custome to reade so much in the Bible that they leave to these new men accounting it as the booke of Heretikes and Novelists A Ladies Psalter liketh them better for a prayer booke then Davids Psalmes and a festivall or Legend they esteeme a better booke for instruction then the writings of the Prophets and Apostles But now if Gods word do teach the right way to heaven I pray you in what way are they who leave Gods word to bee guided by such fansies and fables Let Ieremie be the judge Then Ieremie said to the men and to the women who had given him this answere The incense which yee burnt in the cities of Iudah and in the streets of Ierusalem ye and your fathers did not the Lord remember them and came it not into his minde so that the Lord could no longer beare because of the evil of your doings and because of the abominations which ye have committed Therefore is your land a desolation and an astonishment and a curse without an inhabitant as at this day Because ye have burnt incense and because ye have sinned c. Therefore this evill is happened unto you Ier. 44.20 c. In which answere we may consider and it is worth the noting that their burning of incense to the Queene of heaven and their pouring out of drink-offerings unto her which they thought was the true worship and said it was the onely cause of their plentie of victuals and of all good things was in very deede an abomination to God which hee could no longer beare and the true cause of the desolation curse that was come upon them And so when our ignorant people say that the reformed religion is the cause of scarsity and want that while they worshipped their images and Saints there was plentie and store wee may answere them according to the tenor of the Prophets words Nay rather your superstitions in burning incense to the Queene of heaven as they did and your wilfulnesse in refusing the truth when it is brought unto you as they also did these