reâ—us Temporalibus c. B. Abbot of Sarisbury for his Book in Defence of Master â—â—â—â—ins Bâ—â—ingâ—â—â— for his Workes Bishop cake for his learned Sermons Bishop Davenant for his Praelectiones de duobus in Theologia controversis Capitibus c. and other Tracts Bishop White for his Book against Fisher Bishop Carleton for his Book against Arminianisme The Lord Primate of Armagh never to be mentioned without honour for his unparallel'd Workes and many others whereof some are fallen asleep and some remain to this day and long may they live to the performances of the like services Who hath so plainly discovered unto us a See Bishop Mâ—rton his Book of that Argument THE GRAND IMPOSTURE OF THE now CHURCH OF ROME Who hath so openly laid before us b See his Institution of the Sacrament the superstitious sacrilegious and idolatrous abominations of the Romish Masse Who hath so fully manifested c See his Catholike Appeale with many other of his accurate and learned Treatises against the Romanists the Antiquity of our Religion and satisfied all scrupulous Objections which have been urged against us Who hath so evidently demonstrated d See Bish Downham his Diatribe de Antichristo Bish Abbot of the same Argument the Pope to be The Antichrist Who hath so fully cleared that high point of e See Bish Downham his Treatises of Justification Justification and overthrown the Popish Doctrine of Merits Who hath so clearely set downe f See Bish usher his Historica Explicatio of that subject the beginning progresse and encrease of the mystery of Iniquity from the birth of Antichrist to his full age out of manifold Records of Antiquity Who hath given us so wholesome a g See Bish Hall of the old Religion Preservative against all Popish Insinuations In a word who have more approved themselves the worthiest Champions most willing most ready most able to oppose all Popish Antichristian Arminian Pelagian Doctrine then some of These who have been stiled in the late pamphlets Popish Antichristian Arminian Pelagian Bishops It is no open enemy that hath done this wrong but the men of this Land and children as they would be thought to be of this Church that have dishonoured these Worthies that have been an Honour to this Church and Land As for us Ministers of the Gospel of inferiour rank who have alwaies preached the same divine Truth some of us in the dayes of Queen Elizabeth and have received that mercy from God to be faithfull in holding the same profession without wavering or warping unto this day how are we at this time only because we walk in the way of the Church and study the peace of it desirous to yeeld obedience to God and our Superiours how are wee I say 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 brought upon the Stage Heb. 10. 33. traduced as Baals Priests derided contumeliously used reproached in our streets our Churches our Pulpits accounted 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the filth of the world and the off-scouring of all things a spectacle to Angels and men But holy Brethren to come to my third point wherein I shall make the use of all this Wee may approve our selves to be the true Ministers of Jesus Christ if that neither honour puffeth us up nor dishonour disheartneth us if neither a good report doth make us proud nor an evill report faint-hearted but can passe through all these honour and dishonour evill report and good report counting nothing in life nor life it selfe dear to us so as we may finish our course with joy and the Ministration which we have received of the Lord Jesus Christ To that end let me tender these things briefly to our consideration First that this vicissitude of honour and dishonour evill report and good report is from the Lord who must be allowed to doe what seemeth good in his eyes The time was wee doe confesse with thankfulnesse that the people did esteem us as the Ministers of Jesus Christ that they knew us and did acknowledge us worthy and accordingly had us in exceeding great love 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for our works sake that they might shew that they could have pulled their eyes out of their head to have done us good that they honoured us with much honour and laded us with necessaries and plentifull provision for our encouragement to the worke of the Ministery Have wee received so much good at the hand of God and may we not now with patience receive some evill There is no evill done in the City in this kinde but the Lord hath done it Amos 3. 6. God hath bidden them to curse us and revile us and traduce us and load us with all these contumelies and reproaches and it may be these things being sanctified to us God may doe us good for all our reproaches this day wee should consider that as it cometh not without due desert seeing God is just so it shall not passe away without due profit seeing God is good Consider againe That there is nothing can come from the hand of this God to his servants but it cometh in the nature of a mercy while wee were honoured it was in mercy to encourage us and now wee are dishonoured and our soules filled with contempt it is done in mercy to admonish us to walke both more humbly with God and more warily with men Againe It is but the pride of our hearts that makes us so impatient of every light dishonour for it wee were as wee should be vile in our own eyes it were nothing nothing to be vile in the eyes of others Besides hear what our Lord sayes to his Disciples Blessed are you when men shall say all manner of evill of you falsly for my sake Rejoyce and be glad For so persecuted they the Prophets that were before you Matt. 5. 11 12. The Prophets before the Apostles were thus persecuted the Apostles and all the Worthies since the Apostles dayes have bin so persecuted in their severall Generations and our blessed Lord the Head both of Prophets and Apostles hath been as you heard before persecuted in like manner Now the disciple must not look to be above his Master nor the servant above his Lord. It is enough for the Disciple that hee be as his Master and the servant as his Lord. If they have called the Master of the house Beelzebub how much more shall they call them of his houshold Mat. 10. 24 25. Lastly Behold there is a crown in the right hand of Christ and the word upon it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to him that overcometh Brethren let us hold fast that which we have and let no man take away our crown let us hold on still 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to divide the Word of God aright and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to walk with a right foot in the profession of it Et innocenter agere scienter praedicare not studying so much to have our gifts commended as to have God glorified the consciences of people edified their lives reformed and their souls saved And then if wee finde favour in Gods sight God may bring us againe into favour with men but if hee thus say I have no delight in you nor in your services behold here are we let him doe to us as he pleaseth He that passing through honour and dishonour as St. Paul did can say as St. Paul said I have fought the good fight I have finished my course I have kept the faith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I have kept it may assure himselfe of a crowne of Righteousnesse laid up for him which the Lord the righteous Judge shall give him that day and to all them that love the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ To whom with the Father and the blessed Spirit Three Persons one True Immortall Invisible onely Wise God be given all Honour Glory Dominion and Power now and for ever Amen FINIS
with God when all the world walked from him Remember how Lot lived in Sodome how Joseph lived in the Court of Pharaoh and Obadiah in the Court of Ahab and Daniel in the Court of Babylon Remember how the Saints lived in Nero's houshold Phil. 4. 22. Remember a Church that held the Name of God and denied not the Faith that lived in such a place where Satan's throne was The fish keepes the fresh taste though it live in salt-water A Myrtle loseth not the nature it is a Myrtle still though it grow in the midst of netles It is a foule shame to live among good men in good places not be good but it is an high commendation to live among evill men in evill places and not be ill Thus much shall suffice concerning the Idoll It was a calfe and they learned to make it in Egypt I come now to their worke the making of it They made a calfe in Horeb. There are three circumstances in that making of it First who were they that made it They made it Secondly where did they make it In Horeb. Thirdly of what did they make it That my Text speakes not of here but wee must take it out of the story It was of the golden eare-rings that Aaron tooke out of the eares of the men and women of their sonnes and daughters and of that they made a calfe They made a calfe in Horeb. For the first the persons that made it They made it The Hebrewes the Jewes would very faine put this from themselves they say that there were some Egyptians that were mingled among them and indeed wee reade that there came out a great multitude a mixed confused company came out of Egypt but they were not these only that made the calf the Israelites themselves made it too They made it Yet I doe not thinke that all of them had a hand in making of it I make no question but some of them hated this calfe with a perfect hatred and them that made it them that worshipped it they were but some of the people that made it Harke what the Apostle saith Let us not be Idolaters as some of them were Idolaters 1 Corinth 10. 7. But some of them were Idolaters yea a great company of them were Idolaters They made the calfe But how can it be said they made it for if you look in the story wee shall finde that Aaron made it Aaron threw their gold into the fornace Aaron polished the calfe Aaron set up an Altar Aaron proclaimed an holy day To morrow shall be an holy day unto the Lord. It was Aaron that made it why is it not said that Aaron made the calfe in Horeb but They made the calfe Marke those words where this storie is set downe Exod. 3â— verse ult It is said there that God plagued the people for their sinne in making the calfe that Aaron made Marke God plagued the people for their sinne in making the calfe that Aaron made So the people and Aaron both made it the people first They made it Take these rules A man may have a hand hee may have fellowship in the unfruitfull workes of darknesse many waies foure especially It is the usuall phrase of Scripture 1. A man is said to doe that that he doth not himself but another man if he command it that is one So David slew Uriah the Hittite with the sword because hee commanded him to be set in the Army where he might be slaine with the sword of the Children of Ammon Secondly a man may be said to doe that that another man doth if hee doe counsell and perswade to it and entice and solicite to it Thus the High-Priests and the Scribes and Pharisees are said with their wicked hands to take Christ and to crucifie him and to hang him on a tree They with their wicked hands did not doe it but they perswaded Pilate to doe it with much importunity therefore they did it Thirdly a man may be said to doe that that another man doth if hee occasion the doing of it It is said of Judas that hee purchased a field Acts 1. ver 18. This man purchased a field Judas did not purchase it but Judas by returning the money to the treasury again for which he sold Christ gave them occasion to purchase it therefore this man purchased the field Fourthly a man may be said to doe that that another man doth if he doe not hinder the doing of it if he ought and might hinder it The men of Tyrus came upon the Sabbath day and sold wares in Jerusalem Nehemiah that good governour hee goes to the Rulers of the people and saith What is this that you doe and breake the Sabbath Nehem 13. They brake it because they should have hindred the breaking of it and did it not Wee have sinnes enough and too many of our own to answer for wee need not answer for the sins of others yet wee shall answer for the sins of others too for all those sinnes that other men have committed if either wee Command them Counsell them Occasion them Or not hinder them Aaron made the calfe but yet they made it because they would have him make it Aaron made it It is a thing to be considered a little Whether did Aaron sinne in making this calfe or no Did Aaron well in yielding to the people in making this calfe Tantum Sacerdotem condemnare non audemus c. saith S. Ambrose We dare not condemne so great an High-Priest and we cannot tell how to justifie and excuse him yet some in former time and one of late dayes in our time but a Papist hath written a book Munsius de AARONE purgato of Aaron purged Hee will free Aaron from all manner of sinne in making of this calfe but it will not be Should he purge him with Nitre and with Fullers sope seven times over hee could not doe it I see the Fathers are wondrous carefull in extenuating this sin and we may doe that excuse it we cannot we must needs acknowledge it a very great sin in this High-Priest First of all say they the people would have him doe it hee would not have done it else Well be it so hee was now a Governour left under Moses hee should have been more vigilant and have looked better to his government The permission of an evill is as great an evill as the commission of it Woe to that people that are humoured in their sins either by the Ministers or by the Magistrates the one should check them the other should punish them but woe to the people that are humoured in them But then you will say This people was set upon a mischief they would have it there would be no remedie Indeed Aaron told Moses so It is true they were so Be they so Aaron should have been more vigilant more couragious more resolute in his government to withstand them But they were importunate and clamorous they would never give Aaron
those two they encourage them and say it is no more but arise come let us possesse it They were full of faith Caleb his name signifies hearty a hearty man full of courage Come quoth hee let us goe up and possesse it the land is worth our labour The other ten spies white liver'd men they tell another tale they begin with a commendation of the land It could not be denied it was a good land a land that flowed with milk and hony as God told them that was very true But commonly when a man will deprave when he will calumniate hee begins his calumniation with a commendation and hee comes in with a But As when wee commend a man O hee is a good man a very good man a good neighbour but and then he goes on Like as wee reade of Naaman the Assyrian a great man an honourable man a mighty man at armes one that had done great acts but hee was a leper Even as the Papists they commend the Scripture O it is an excellent booke the booke of Scripture It was written by the Spirit of God holy Pen-men of holy matters in a holy stile to an holy end O it is a good booke but it is a hard booke it is difficult there are great mysteries in it it is impossible for Lay-men to attaine to it it is good to keep them from it Ignorance is the mother of devotion Even thus doe the spies It is a good land O a very good land it flowes with milk and hony there wants nothing you can desire you see the fruit of it but it is hard coming to it there is great difficulty I tell you it is impossible to come to it Why what was the matter First of all the men wee found in the land were the sons of Anak Gyants men of mighty stature their height was as the height of Cedars and their strength as the strength of Oakes as the Prophet speakes of the Amorites A mighty people they are Gyants wee are but like grashoppers in their sight they took us as grashoppers they may tread us downe at their pleasure And then againe these men dwell in cities and these cities are walled yea and to make it the more terrible they are walled up to heaven thus they say in Deuteronomy chap. 1. Their Cities are walled up to heaven there is no scaling of them Then besides say they it is such a land as devoures the Inhabitants of it it eates out the Inhabitants How is that It is hard to say their meaning Some think thus there were pestilentiall vapours there that caused the pestilence among them that they died upon heapes Some think they were at civill wars one among another Or peradventure it will eat out the heart of the husband-man in the tillage of it with strong labour they must toyle and work hard if they will have their living Somewhat it was but they bring an ill name an ill report upon the land as the Scripture saith Never seeke to get this land it is impossible the men are so great and the wals are so high and it is such a land as eates out the Inhabitants The people they heare this and first they fall to their old weeping as they did before for meat for flesh they fell a weeping all that night there was nothing but weeping to heare this Well the next day they fall to murmuring in their tents If they had wept for their sin of infidelity it had beene well but in their mourning they fall a murmuring First against God for when God promised to give them this land out of his love Because I loved your Fathers therefore I gave you the land the people turne it the other way No God did it out of his hatred thus they say in Deut. God hated us therefore hee brought us out of Egypt to kill us here Then they fall a murmuring against Moses What were it not better to have died in Egypt Were there no graves in Egypt Were it not better to die in the wildernes then to go in and die there They wish to die for feare of death they wish themselves dead for feare they should die Then they goe a little further they will forsooth chuse a new Captaine and goe back into Egypt they will not goe into the pleasant land they will chose an Elect one and back they will goe and they will not goe in there Moses and Aaron fall upon their faces and entreat them and Caleb and Josua encourage them this land may be gotten the Lord delivered us from the Amalekites and he will deliver us from the Amorites the Lord hath slaine the Egyptians and cannot hee slay the Anakims No by no meanes they tooke up stones and would have stoned Caleb and Josua had not the glory of God appeared upon the Tabernacle God knowes what they would have done Upon that they stayed then they knew Gods displeasure then God swears of all these people that came out of the land of Egypt and there were six hundred thousand men that were twenty yeares old and upward not one man of them should enter into the land of Promise they shall all of them since they wish they might die in the wildernesse they shall die every one of them and hee commands them to goe back againe hee carries them to the red-sea hee makes them wander thirty eight yeares and an halfe more in the wildernesse and in that time all that generation was worne out Hee gave it to their seed but not one man of them did come into the land of Promise but those two Caleb and Josua Now you may see what the meaning of my Text is They despised the pleasant land When they heard they could not have it without some blood-shed they will none of it They despised the pleasant land and would not beleeve his Word The spies told them one thing that they could not get it and God said they should have it they tooke mans word rather then Gods They would not beleeve his word Then marke how my Text goes on then they murmured in their tents First they murmured against God It is out of his hatred that hee doth it Then against Moses Why have you brought us to die here Then last of all they utterly refuse to goe to this land But as it is in the story when they saw that God had sworn that not a man of them should come in then all in haste they would goe God bids them goe and then they say No. Then hee saith See you goe not for if you doe surely you shall be made a spoyle to them yet for all that they would go and they were made a spoyle to their enemies a number of them fell by the sword Now I have told you this whole history you shall the better observe out of these words such points as they shall naturally afford to us I begin first with the first sin their despising of the pleasant land They
A good Name is better then a precious oyntment Eccles 7. 1. There is mentioned by Saint Basil 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a certaine Art of drawing of pigeons to their dove-houses in those Countries by annointing the wings of one of them with a sweet oyntment and it being sent abroad doth by the fragrancy of that oyntment invite and allure others to that house where it selfe is a domestick Thy Name saith the Church to Christ is an oyntment poured forth Cantic 1. ver 3. Because of the savour of thy good oyntments therefore the Virgins love thee And then in the next verse Draw mee saith shee and wee will run after thee A Preacher well reported of shall not want hearers A Physician of a good report wanteth not patients The Lawyer that hath a good report wanteth not chents nor the School-master scholars nor the Trades-man customers nor the Poore man friends Thirdly and especially bonum honestum Amongst those things that are honest and just and pure which are to be thought on there are reckoned also 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 those things that are of good report in that fourth of the Philip. ver 8. A good man if hee be not so good as hee is reported hee cannot but strive to be so good because hee is so reported on the other side he is a dissolute man that careth not what is reported of him The childe of God must not onely looke to his conscience whereby hee provideth for himselfe in the sight of God but also to his good name providing things honest in the sight of all men Rom. 12. 17. There are two things commended in the Lilly whitenesse and sweetnesse there are these two in a child of God saith Saint Bernard Candor conscientiae odor bonae Ber. Serm. 71. in Cant. famae the candor of a good conscience and the fragrancy of a good name Nec candor sine odore nec odor sine candore saith hee My conscience is for my selfe my good name for others God would have none near to him but such as are well reported of The Widow that is to be maintained at the charge of the Church not to be received in unlesse well reported of for good 1 Tim. 5. 10. The first Deacons that were chosen were to be men of an honest report Acts 6. 3. The Bishop take the word in the largest sense must be a man that hath a good report of them that are without 1 Timoth. 3. 7. The nearer wee are to God the more carefull ought wee to be of our credit an evill report of one in that sacred Function bringeth up an evill report upon the Function it selfe an evill name of a Professor bringeth a discredit upon the profession and it were better that a milstone were hanged about our necks and wee thrown into the sea then wee should live and by our evill life bring an evill name upon the Gospel and so make the glorious Name of our God to be evill spoken of I need adde no more onely because these dayes are dayes of evill report wherein we do nothing else but as those Philosophers in Lucian cast 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 whole cart-loads of evill speakings even in the faces of one another let me in a word shew what good uses may be made of those evill reports First Let us examine our consciences whether they be true or no if they be false altogether false then we may comfort our selves in the testimony of a good conscience and if our adversaries should write a book against us and there be bookes enough written of that Argument and cryed every day up and downe our streets wee might with holy Job take it upon our shoulders and bind it as a crown to our heads Job 31. v. 35 36. But if the reports be in any part true then it is fit that wee should lie downe in our shame give God the glory of his justice beg mercy bear the punishment with patience and give God thanks for it Iram Domini portabo quoniam peccavi ei I will bear the wrath of the Lord because I have sinned against him Micha 7. 9. If the reports be not altogether true then let us search the wound a little deeper and see whether wee have not given a just occasion to such a report It was said of that Vestall Virgin that shee was * Ovidius Fast lib. 4. Casta quidem sed non est credita that she was chaste indeed but not thought to be so because she was more wantonly attired then became such a Virgin It may be though we are not so ill as we are reported yet upon examination we may find that we are not so good as we ought to be in shunning the occasions and appearances of evill which ought to be unto us a sufficient matter of humiliation If wee be free from giving occasions yet we should do well to search yet a little deeper and try whether we have not entertained some morose cogitations and thoughts of that sinne wherewith we stand charged upon report It may be that that wickednes hath been sweet in our mouth and wee have rolled it under our * Job 20. ver 12. tongue though we have not swallowed it downe yet peradventure we have not spit it out and then though * Digest li. 48. Tit. 19. de Poenis cogitationis poenam nemo patitur by the law of man yet it is a righteous thing with God the Searcher of hearts by false reports to punish that sin which hath found so kinde an entertainment or some other sin wherein wee have lyen without repentance But Lastly it may peradventure please God in mercy that such a false report should be charged upon us at this time unjustly that we may be the more carefull of our waies and watchfull over our hearts with an holy jealousie against that sin lest wee be justly charged with it another day Good God Teach us to make this good use of evill reports And so I have done with evill reports in generall and come now to one evill report in particular which cannot but much trouble a true servant of God to be counted a Deceiver when he is True AS Deceivers saith the Apostle and yet True Ut Seductores tamen Veraces There is no lyar that would willingly be accounted a lyar we see how ready some are while they are lying to present death upon the point of a sword to the man that shall give them the lye There are no false Prophets not Zedekiah whilest he opposed Michaiah nor Hananiah whilest hee opposed Jeremiah or any other of them who would be accounted a false Prophet they would be accounted as true and yet were deceivers as Paul and Timothy here were accounted deceivers and yet were true One especiall reason given by good Authors why Jonah should be so angry and so very angry that Nineveh was spared was his owne credit that hee might not be thought a false Prophet as a