and slaie all good works and all godly purposes yea he laboureth by all his meanes and instruments to strangle and to smother the very first motions of them in the harts and minds of men least they should increase and multiply he is that dragon with seauen heads which as Iohn saith in the Reuelation stoode before the woman when shée was to be deliuered of hir sonne that euen in the birth he might deuoure hir childe We may very fitly vnderstand by the woman the soule of man which when it thinketh and purposeth to do good works is said to conceiue and when it bringeth foorth and perfourmeth the same in deed is said to be deliuered as a woman of a childe but then sathan is foorthwith most eager and busie to stop the kindlie birth of vertue and godlines and to smother it so that it neuer come to light The Lord strengthen vs against his force and make vs wise against subtiltie that in all his sleights and craftie conueyances he may bée disappointed and we deliuered from him and that we may do the will and walke in the waies of our God mauger sathan and all his meanes EVen as the Ostrige being a great and mightie foule hath wings but doth not flie neither is lifted vp frō the ground with them so very many men in the world do séeme to bée caried vp to heauen vpon the wings of their ceremonies but are in déede in hart mind and desire fast nailed to the earth As the Ostrige hath wings and flieth not so they haue calling but they answere it not they haue knowledge but they practise it not they haue words but they worke not THe Kite being a most gréedie and rauening foule mounteth exceeding high so that you would thinke shee toucheth the gliding clouds and as shee flieth doth spred her wings and yet when shee is at the highest shee hath hir eies fast set and fixed below in the earth pryeng and spieng to catch if shée can some poore chicken or other praie within hir talons indéed shée flieth high but neuer looketh vp towards heauen but altogither downe towards the earth euen so thou shalt sée a number of men faining a certaine sanctymonie and counterfeiting much holines who although they are thought with the contemplation of heauenly things to be rauished and taken vp into the clouds yet they minde nothing lesse then true godlines neither any thing more then earth and earthly things Their studie is for worldly honor their greatest carking and care is for rich and large reuenues for dignities princes fauours and worldlie wealth Such men turne their backs to heauen and flie from God and so being disappointed of that light which they séemed to séeke for they are wrapped in palpable and most dangerous darknes but they that truely séeke after God do by the helpe and assistance of his holie spirite translate and conuey their minds from earth to heauen and so are illuminated with the brightnes of God his grace and loue for so saith Christ himselfe He that foloweth me walketh not in darknes but shall haue the light of life But we shall neuer follow Christ as we ought vnlesse we shall first vtterly denie our selues for he saith If anie man will folow me let him denie himself and take vp his crosse and folow me and then and so often do we denie our selues as treading vnder féete our old and former sins we leaue to be that we haue béene and begin to be that we haue not béene and follow the counsell of the apostle saying Layeng aside our old conuersation and putting off the old man which is corrupted after the lusts of the flesh let vs be renued in the spirit of our minds But alas I speake it with gréefe of hart the most part of the world despising and forsaking God do take for their guide and do folow as their captaine the violent lusts and foule appetites of their owne corrupted and cankered harts But if we woulde consider what that is that driueth vs whither we are going in such great haste what we do whom we folow what woe wée worke our selues and what will be the end we would surelie forsake those waies of our owne and turne our féete into the waies that is into the statutes and lawes of our God Dauid tooke this course and so the Lord graunt we may Amen EVen as a Bird doth not flie with one wing alone but with twaine So it is not enough that we know much of the Lords worde and will but we must do it also It will not suffice vs at the latter daie that we haue béene great professors of the Gospell and are deepely learned if also we haue not béene inflamed with a loue to God aboue all things and haue not loued our brethren as our selues if our knowledge our faith and profession do not mooue vs to praie to God for to visite and to comfort our poore brethren being sicke in prison or otherwise distressed if I say our faith and knowledge yéeld not fruits that we féede the hungrie cloath the naked call into our houses the harborlesse and shall not do to all men as we would be done vnto we shall be beaten with many stripes bicause we knowe the will of God and do it not Blessed onely are they that feare the Lord and walk in his waies And blessed are they that heare the word of God and kéepe it The greatest the highest the best and onely seruice that man can do and bring vnto the Lorde is his obedience to Gods word and the dooing of his will AS hée that maketh tooles and instruments of iron or other mettle maketh not rustines and canker neither is to be blamed if those things which he hath made by reason of too much moisture dust or other corruption shal afterward gather canker or rustines euen so that heauenly workeman our God did not bring in sinne and iniquitie neither can he iustly be blamed if his creatures do staine and blemish themselues with the foulenes of sinne and wickednes for he made them good God saw all things that he had made saith the holie Scripture and they were excéeding good Augustine in his 14. Booke of the Citie of God saith Good things may he without euill things but euill things cannot be without good things bicause the natures in which euill things are in as much as they be natures they are good For they be of God and in some measure they lead vs to the knowledge of him Dauid vnderstāding so much saith Howe excellent are thy works O Lorde thy thoughts are excéeding déepe An vnwise man doth not knowe these things and the foole doth not vnderstande them That man perisheth is damned and goeth to hell is not the Lords fault but mans owne EVen as plants and trées do spread abroad their rootes in the earth from whence they haue their nourishment So christian men bicause they
Lord is hard at hande to them that are of a troubled hart and will saue the humble and lowly in spirit And the Lords words by Ose the prophet are these In their tribulation they will rise vp earely and call vpon me For the Lord his maner and custom is to helpe and succour the afflicted which call and crie for his heauenly comfort Héerehence is that of the Euangelist Iohn Your sorrow shall be turned into ioy And that of the apostle As you are companions of the passions and sufferings so shall yée be of the consolation and comfort And that also in the Actes We must enter into the kingdome of God through many tribulations And holy Iohn in the reuelation speaking of the saints which haue and shall haue the fruition of God in heauen saith Those are they that came from great tribulation Héereupon Augustine saith excéeding well That the Lord hath appointed thée to suffer it is a scourge of him that chastiseth thée and not a punishment of him that condemneth thée Who woulde not then be well contented with troubles and afflictions Who would not willingly vndergo the indignation malediction and persecution of wicked men Who would be afeard of the spite malice and whatsoeuer this wicked world can say or do Séeing the sequell vnto the sons and daughters of God is to be exalted and extolled into heauen and to be placed there at the right hand of the almighty through and with the Lord Iesu world without end The forenamed saints of God and other holy men from age to age in the midst of their calamities did still remember themselues to be men borne vnder that condition that their liues should euer be open and subiect to all the ineuitable darts of infinite troubles and that there was no refusing to liue and leade their liues in that condition whereunder they were borne And whiles they called to minde the euents of other men they knew right well that no new thing had happened vnto them And indéede the remembrance of mans condition and estate and of a common law and lot as it were incident to al doth mitigate the paine of troubles and doth make their burden the easier to bear And this is a thing euer obserued and noted in the children of God that they are so far from impatience and from repining at their afflictions that euen in the depth of their miseries they thinke themselues happy that they are counted woorthy to suffer any thing for Christs sake It were a great booke matter to remember all those that are mentioned in the holy scriptures which euen shrinking and falling away from God haue béene recouered reclaimed and healed by afflictions and tribulations as it were with physicke and medicine from heauen O how great is thy goodnes how incomparable is thy clemencie how infinite and endles is thy mercy O heauenly and most holie father Which dost therefore afflict vs that tho◠maist chéere vs vp againe Thou dost therefore hold vs downe that thou maist comfort vs and dost suffer vs to fall into diuers and sundry calamities that we may learn to know thy righteousnes and mercies All these things thou dost not of hatred to vs warde but of loue not to destroy vs but to bring vs to thy glorie AS the aire is cléered with the brightnes and shine of the sun and when the sun is downe and set the aire is couered with darknes Euen so the minde of man when it is purged cleared with heauenly wisedome sought and drawne out of the word of God doth shine most excellently and sendeth foorth a pure and perfect light of christianitie which may most easily be decerned to procéed and to come from God himselfe But being without that true light it is ouerwhelmed with an horrible and fearfull darknes and giueth out nothing but filthy mists and stinking vapors which do spring and rise out of the corruption and rotten nature of man and euen from hel and sathan himselfe How can it be that darknes and blindnes should remaine and rest in that hart of man which the holie Ghost the authour of all light and the onely light it selfe hath chosen to be his owne seat and holy habitation Can error flowe out of the most pure fountaine of wisedome It is not possible that from the onely centre of all goodnes a line of wickednes should be drawne And can the fruits of death grow out of the trée of life These are vnpossible things And on the otherside where the holie spirit of grace and might hath not place and possession there is nothing to be found but blindnes error sin iniquitie and all abhomination yea and all the fruits of eternall death it selfe EVen as a bitter potion is not saide to be vnprofitable nor without hope when health and soundnes doth follow although it be excéeding bitter to him that taketh it So sharp and pinching calamities wherewith the Lord doth exercise now and then his children are not to be counted idle and in vaine when some peace of conscience and comfort vnto our soules do follow that when the iustice of God is séene many may be amended and the faith and patience of many may be tried For nothing is more auaileable for the aduauncing of the praise and commendation of true vertue then calamitie it selfe taken and borne patiently for Christs sake AS yoong chickins are in safetie from the hauke and puttocke so long as they straie not from about the wings of their dams and when they do straie far from them they are easilie taken of euery vermine Euen so they that depart not from God but kéeping themselues neere vnto him do walke and lead their liues within the compasse and limits of his laws and ordinances are most safely kept by him from the force inchantments engins and all the subtle deuises of sathan and his instruments but if they forsake God and not regarding his word diuide themselues from him by their sins and iniquities they must néedes fall into the tallons and iawes of that tyrannicall hawke and hound of hell from whence there is no deliuerie Whose whole indeuor and labor is like a roaring lion to séeke whom he may deuoure EVen as it is a thing very commendable and worthy praise that a soldier do euer beare about him the signes and badges of his captaine that it may appéere to whom he belongeth So is it no little honor to a true christian man to passe through manie dangers and to be experienced in many troubles and to indure many affliction◠for his captaine Christs sake For sorrowes vexations and tribulations are the armor and badges of Christ And therefore the apostle which for Christs sake suffered many things saith I do beare about in my body the marks of the Lord Iesu EVen as the sun which vnto eies being sound and without disease was very pleasant and wholsome vnto the same eies when they are féeble
ech of them one of thy hands and thy hart too and keepe neither hart nor hand to thinke or to worke any maner of euill it is better for thee to haue no hand no eie no foote then wicked ones Do thy best that this tree may be destroied heere in this world whiles it is to day least to morrow thou be destroied for not labouring about it I meane not that thou shouldest rend this paper and cast it in the fire but that thou shouldest examine thy owne hart and thy conscience to see whether any root branch or twig of such a tree be there and if thou shalt finde any to plucke them out and to cast them into the fire Otherwise thou hast nothing else looke for but euen that which made the figge tree to wither to wit the malediction and curse of God And although Couetousnes heere doth keepe the roote and Selfe-loue the top of the tree yet there is not any fruite that this tree beareth that is not sufficient to bring foorth as great and as tall a tree as this is and also to furnish it and throughly to load euery twig of it that they bend and break with such poysonfull and cursed fruits as these be For the sinnes of men are innumerable as the sands vpon the shore by the sea side and the stars of heauen Who can tell saith the holie prophet how often he offendeth The sharpe edge of the axe of Gods wrath is euer toward the roote of this tree and he is dailie telling vs that it shall haue a foule fall at the length he in loue to our saluation doth premonish vs that we may be carefull and take heed to our selues that we be not found in or neere this tree in any good liking or loue to it when the finall fall of it shall be Take heede saith Christ and beware of couetousnes though a man haue aboundance yet his life standeth not in his riches And the apostle doth aduise the Ephesians to banish from among them the very name of couetousnes And he would haue the Corinthians neither to eate nor drinke with couetous men And his reason is bicause covetousnes is the roote of all euill As if he should saie where couetousnes is rooted there is not onely a barrennes of all good things but also a great groue and thicke wood of all abhominations I refer thee good Reader to the Booke it selfe where euerie branch and all the fruits of this tree be opened so plainly and the poyson of them so expresselie declared that euery good christian seeing what danger is in them will beware that willingly he neuer touch nor taste the least of them And not onely that but also out of the tree of a liuely faith will bring foorth such fruite of holines truth and righteousnes as may be well pleasing and acceptable in the sight of God Both which things the Lord grant vs. Amen CERTAINE Very notable profitable and comfortable Similies briefly collected wherein the lothsome foulnes of many vices and the amiable beautie of many and surâ—…e vertues that the Reader may loath the one and loue the other are plainly expressed EVen as a shepheard séeking a lost shéepe is woont to go vp to some high place that from thence he may view the vallies below and the better whistle and call vnto his shéepe So the Sauiour and redéemer of the world séeking againe mankinde that was lost went vp to the high crosse fixed and fast set vpon mount Caluarie that with the lowd voice and great outcrie of his sufferings death and passion he might call vs vnto himselfe And although the wicked and vngodly ones of this world do despise the cries and callings of Christ as he himselfe affirmeth saying I haue called and ye haue refused I haue stretched foorth my hand and there was none would looke towards me yet the elect and saints of God do heare the fearfull shrikes and lamentable noise that he sent from his crosse euen as the shéepe heareth the voice and whistle of the shepheard Wilt thou know whose shéepe thou art then consider well whose whistle thou dost follow For Christ doth say My shéepe heare my voice and I know them and they do follow me And immediately before to the vnbeléeuing Iewes he saith Ye beléeue not for ye are not of my shéepe SKilful and cunning Physitions are woont somtimes when a sick man is sore vexed with a numnes of his whole bodie to cut a veine of his head that the letting of blood may heale the bodie of that disease and sicknes Christ is our head as the Apostle saith we are his members a veine of our head is cut that our whole bodie may be healed Christ suffered that mankinde might be redéemed When the fulnes of time was come saith the Apostle God sent his sonne made of a woman brought vnder the law that he might redéeme those that were vnder the law AS they which by reason of the blearednes of their eies turne their backs towards the sun and not daring to open their eies towards the light are delited with places that be darke and full of shade and so not hauing the benefit of the sun light are caried about by many waies full of perils and dangers So they which through the dimnes of their mind want of vnderstanding do contemne the true liuing God do please themselues with al maner of most perilous and pestilent errors and not considering that cléere and heauenly light which commeth from God they fall into the gulfe and sinke to the bottom of that most foule and filthie puddle of all false opinions errors heresies and worshippings of false gods AS the soule in the body doth giue to all the members moouing and life So the prouidence of a godly king is present to euerie part of his kingdome stirring vp his whole commonwealth to vertue and godlines and ruling and gouerning the same with iustice and iudgement as though in his owne person he were present in euery place AS they which do dissolue and marre the picture of a king very skilfully made of golde pretious iewels by a wittie and wise workman and do translate and change the same gold and goodly gems into the likenes of a dog which they do make of the same matter do say that that their likenes of a dog is the picture of the king bicause it is the same golde the same pretious iewels Euen so all péeuish and pestilent heretikes do dissolue breake and mar so far as in them lieth the proportion of a true substantiall and liuely faith and of the same places and authorities of holy scripture falsly vnderstood and wickedly expounded they frame and garnish a resemblance and a paterne of disloialtie deceit trecherie and treason and they say it is a perfect picture of faith and truth bicause it is made of the same places of the holy
naked vpon the crosse Before Christ did appéere in the flesh pouertie might haue séemed verie bitter and full of ignominie vnto men but after that the Emperour of heauen and earth had taken pouertie vpon himselfe and also touching himselfe said The foxes haue holes and the foules of the aire haue nestes but the sonne of man hath not where to laie his head Who doth not now sée that Christian pouertie in the seruants of God doth well become them and is honorable and that it is a true badge of Christian nobilitie IF a king should haue a certaine house fast lockte and close shut vp full of gold precious stones and costly iewels and would promise all those treasures to one that should open the same and would offer vnto thée two keies one of pure gold hanging at a costly string made of silke and golden threads but that would not open the same locke that thou mightest go into the house and the other of iron rustie and ill fauoured to sée to hanging at a thong of leather or whipcorde the which notwithstanding would open the doore and let thée in that thou mightest choose which of these keies thou wouldest were it not better and more profitable for thée to choose the old rustie iron keie then the keie of gold Yes no doubt The golden one indéed is more precious but what auaileth that when it will not open the doore and bring thee to the treasures The iron one is the viler but yet it is the better Such a king is our God and such an house is that heauenly habitation of his saints wherein are inestimable treasures endlesse ioies and vnspeakable good things which are woorthier and more excellent then man is able to expresse For so saith the holie Ghost No eie hath séene nor eare heard nor hart of man conceiued those thinge which the Lorde hath prepared for them that loue him All which heauenlie treasures God hath promised to all them that shal enter into his holie hill or house of saints The golden keie which the most part of this world do choose and trust to that they may enter into heauen is worldly wealth and aboundance of riches ioyned with couetousnes which will neuer open the Lords house where are kept his celestiall and inestimable treasures But that key doth rather open a foule and vile house of this world which is full of all filthines and abominations The iron keie is spirituall pouertie against the which the kingdome of heauen is neuer shut but standeth euer wide open to all them that bring with them that key so saith Christ himselfe Blessed are the poore in spirit for theirs is the kingdome of heauen Let vs therefore make no account of the golden key but let vs for Christ and his kingdom forsake and despise the deceitfull riches of this world which are desired and sought for far and neare by sea and land with dangers and losse of the bodies and soules of many thousands as though men could bribe God for their sinnes and purchase heauen with their worldly trifles and let vs without murmuring and grudging with all patience of hart and minde beare and imbrace pouertie and all those crosses and afflictions which vnto the world séeme bitter and intolerable of which kind very many do happen in the life of man Let vs earnestly séeke after the riches of the Lords kingdome and euerlasting life for they be stable and permanent let vs not set our harts and affections on this world for it waxeth olde rotten it staggereth is ruinous and readie to fall Iob speaking of rich men which do deliâ—iously pamper themselues euery day saith They leade their daies in pleasures and in the twinckling of an eie they go down into hel And Dauid saith They shall leaue their riches for others c. And Salomon saith Thy riches shal do thée no good in the day of vengeance And in the booke of Wisedome What hath pride profited thée and what good hath thy bragging of riches brought vnto thée all these things are gone away like a shadow and as a messenger running before EVen as a firebrand drawen from the fire and lying still waxeth cold and by little and little dieth and is extinct but being mooued and put to the fire burneth and flameth Euen so an idle life doth by little and little extinguish vertue but being well exercised it doth kindle and increase the same Therfore is it said in the booke of Iob Man is borne to labour And Ecclesiasticus saith that idlenes hath taught much mischiefe This mooued the Apostle to will Timothie to watch and to labour in all things And the same Apostle saith that euerie one shall receiue his owne hire or reward according to his labour Lawyers do say that inheritance is had with the burden thereof Séeing then that we be Gods heires and the fellow heires of Christ as the Apostle affirmeth it must néedes be that we come not â—â— our inheritance not with idlenes but loden with great and â—â—auie burdens of aduersities and tribulations and with sore â—â—â—our and gréeuous grones vnder the weight of the same If wâ— shall giue our selues to ease and shall séeke after rest in this lâ—â—â— and so slumber in securitie and idlenes our enimie the diuell â—ill surely deceiue vs. For whiles men slept saith the Eâ—…ist the enimie came and did sowe darnell vpon the wheate Christ himselfe doth highly condemne idlenes when he saith Why stand ye héere all the day long idle And a little after Call the workmen saith he to take their hire Idle persons are not called to take hire but they which haue laboured And they are called from their labours to rest from pouertie to heauenly riches and from their calamities to euerlasting pleasures Yea euen when they be dead then are they blessed and rest from their labours the spirit saith so and therefore it is most certaine and true When Tobias slept there fell out of a swallowes nest doong vpon his eies which made him blinde and wâ—iles we do sléepe and slumber in slothfulnes and idle securitie without being vertuously and godly exercised there creepe out of the nests of our harts most wicked and pestilent cogitations which do blinde and numbe our vnderstanding and carrie vs into most dangerous disobedience and rebellion against the Lord. MEn in these our dangerous daies are very close harted merciles towards the poore afflicted members of Christ And though they hear their cries sée their poore bodies readie to die at their doores in stréetes and in prison yet vntill they perceiue that there is no way but present death with themselues they will impart no part of their goodes and wealth vnto them Such men are like vnto beasts which are not eaten vntill they be dead and boiled or rosted For vntill death hath them in his pot and there boile them after his maner the
thing that is right For he that instructeth others with wholesome doctrine and doth so staine and blemish himselfe with vile and naughtie vâ—â—es that his life and doctrine be opposite and cleane contrary the one to the other so that it is séene and perceiued of all that there is no agréement betwéene them he is like vnto a sieue or a boulter wherewith meale is sifted or boulted which sendeth foorth the finest floure and best of the wheate and kéepeth the bran and woorst to it selfe The Lord coupleth togither in the priestes of the old law Doctrine and Truth regarding both their teaching and liuing He is a true and trustie teacher which doth himselfe that same that he teacheth The disciples of the Pharysies could espie so much though they loued it not when they said to Christ We know that thou art true and that thou teachest the way of God truely They confesse though with a wicked purpose that he did not onelie teach but also liue after the truth Wherein all christians ought to imitate Christ WHen in mans body the hart doth not impart vnto the members the vitall spirits but the arteries are stopt and shut vp and the blood forsaketh the veines it is a signe of death That man is either already dead or else he will die shortly Euen so when kings and princes of the earth are tyrannicall towards their loyall subiects withdrawing from them pittie mercy loue and liberalitie it threatneth and doth prognosticate the ruine of their kingdomes But through the mercy clemencie and loue of princes their kingdomes do mightily florish and the princes themselues do inioy great tranquillitie securitie and peace God put thankfulnes into the harts of all the true and faithfull subiects of England and else where within hir Maiesties dominions for our most gratious dread soueraigne Quéene Elizabeth for certainly that saieng of Salomon in his Prouerbes was neuer more truely verified in anie king or Quéene since the foundation of England then it hath béene in hir highnes Mercie and truth do kéepe the king and with clemency the kings throne is strengthened and established So all the worlde must be faine to saie Mercie and truth do kéepe good Quéene Elizabeth and clemencie doth strengthen hir throne Hir highnes doth that same that Artaxerxes speaketh of himselfe in the booke of Ester When saith he I did rule and gouerne many nations and had brought the whole world vnder my dominion I would not abuse the greatnes of my power but would gouerne my subiects with clemencie and lenitie All the world must néedes confesse the same of hir Maiestie towards all hir subiects Hir seate hath alwaies béene inuironed and compassed about with mercy which as Hieronimus saith doth lift man vp to Godward All the world is not able to lay to hir highnes charge so much as one dram of crueltie which as the same author affirmeth doth cast man downe to hell ward Euen as among the pretie swéete Bées that Bée onely which leadeth and ruleth all the rest either hath no sting or at the least doth not vse it So clemencie and mercy agréeth with none more in al the world then with a prince God giue grace to all hir Maiesties subiects so loyally louingly obediently and faithfullie to beare and behaue themselues that the mighty God of Israell may affoorde vs hir Maiesties life happy raigne chearefull countenance many yéeres Amen For in the chéerefulnes of hir countenuance is life INgratitude is a thing that the Lord could neuer abide It is a scorching winde that drieth vp the fountaines of piety and the streames of grace Whereas euery thing that is weighty and heauie tendeth and preaseth downward yet notwithstanding the cloudes that are full of water and swelled with moisture do ascend vpward bicause the sunne taketh them from the earth and with his force draweth them vp on high Which being lifted vp in the aire are gathered togither and thickened and so do couer and hide the brightnes of the sunne by whose helpe and attraction they were taken and caried vp but notwithstanding their malice they being dispersed and scattered abroad the sun that conquerer and ouercommer of darknes thrusteth through his beams breaketh the cloudes and giueth light with his shine Euen so the Israelites when they lay in Egypt a long time in obscuritie thraldome bondage and slauerie to Pharao and his people and were euen nailed as it were to the earth of all contempt and crueltie were then taken vp and set in great and high dignitie by the sunne of righteousnes but afterward they went about to obscure and extinguish the brightnes and light of God himself by whose benefit they had gotten that honor and dignitie which they had aâ—d without whom they were nothing but bond slaues of miserie and wretchednes but séeing they were like foule blacke cloudes they were dispersed scattered and vanished away And the glorie of Christ against their wils in spite of them togither with the brightnes of his name did break out and shine abroad and giue light throughout all the world I would to God that this ingratitude and vnthankfulnes had neuer a corner in England nor in any English hart it hath pleased the almightie by his faithfull seruant Elizabeth by his owne grace Quéene of England to deliuer our countrie from no lesse bondage thraldome and seruitude than he did the Israelites by Moses and Aaron and yet we finde to too manie that haue béen bred in England and owe their liues to hir highnes to murmure no lesse against hir happines than the Israelites did against the lords seruants Moses and Aaron The seruitude and slauerie of the Israelites was not greater nor woorse vnder Pharao that tyrant in Egypt than the bondage of England was vnder the Pope neither ought we to be lesse thankfull for our deliuerie from the slauerie of Rome than they should haue béen if they had well remembred themselues from the slauerie of Egypt We read in the booke of Wisdome that the hope of the vnthankfull man shall waste and consume like winters ice c. And tâ—…e Dauid the prophet saith O my soule praise the Lord and forget not all his benefits The Lord grant that we neuer forget any of the Lords benefits and that we may euer be thankfull to his diuine maiestie for the great benefit that he hath bestowed vpon England in his most faithfull seruant Elizabeth by his owne prouidence and appointment our most gratious Quéene and soueraigne whose life health and happines O Lord continue long Amen Amen Amen EVen as a moth or worme doth not bréede in the Cedar being a goodly and odoriferous trée alwaies fresh and florishing the wood whereof doth not rot So enuie is not bred in the hart of a wise and vertuous man but in the minde of a man that is wicked and vngodly and is gréeued and tormented at the happines and welfare of other men
and repining is sadder than they that went downe into Trophonius his den and in enuie passeth Zoilus enuying those especially that in any gift or qualitie are before him Iust men and they that be wel garded with vertues on euery side and are of a noble and excellent courage can ouercome and subdue their enimies but their enuy they can neuer ouercome for it will not be tamed nor subdued It is a fire that consumeth the harts of them whom it possesseth with a continuall burning Salomon his counsell is that thou eate not with an enuious man nor desire his meate And the Apostle willeth the Galathians that they be not desirous of vaine glorie prouoking one another and enuying one another Hieronymus in an epistle to Demetriades saith What pleasure I pray thée doth enuie to that man whom fretting and wrath doth teare and rend in péeces in the secret corners of his conscience and maketh the felicitie of other men his owne torment A wicked man taketh pleasure in his owne wickednes but the enuious man is tortured with the good of others Quintus Curtius in his eight booke De gestis Alexandri reporteth that Alexander was woont to say that enuious men are nothing else but torments and tormentors of their owne selues Chrysostom calleth enuie an vnquenchable fire And Isidore saith that it doth deuoure all good things in man with a most pestilent burning heate And in my opinion it is a very image of hell that tormenteth without profite or pleasure A Father which giueth vnto his sonne whom he loueth déerly a breast plate or stomacher very costly and curiouslye wrought of silke siluer or gold to weare vnder some other garment doth suffer his vppermost garment as doublet or cote to be pinkt and cut in diuers places that the vnder costly worke may outwardly appéere and be séene of all Euen so our heauenly father a God of compassion and mercie yea the God of all comfort doth somtimes suffer that man whom he most déerely loueth to be wounded of the wicked and to be smitten with calamities and miseries to the end that the precious and golden brest plate of patience wherewith the Lord hath inwardly indued him should outwardly appéere and be séene of all Héerehence is that which the Apostle saith to the Hebrewes Whom the Lord loueth him he doth chasten and he scourgeth euerie sonne whom he receiueth And in the Reuelation the Lord in the person of Iohn saith Whom I loue those do I reprooue and chasten And in the mouth of Matthew he saith Blessed are they which suffer persecution for righteousnes sake True it is that patience is an heauenly gift and a very blessed thing for as the Apostle saith it worketh a triall in man and that triall worketh an hope and that hope doth neuer confound nor shame him that hath it And the same Apostle willeth the Colossians as the elect of God to put on patience as if he should say there is no vesture nor vertue whatsoeuer doth better beséeme the seruants of God than patience vnder crosses and in the midst of a thousand afflictions And therefore the holy Ghost doth aduertise vs to run with patience vnto the battell or fight that is set before vs and euer to looke vpon the author and finisher of our faith euen Iesus who hauing vnspeakable ioy set before him did vndergo and indure the crosse not regarding but euen despising the confusion and shame thereof It behooueth vs when we are beset on euerie side with afflictions and troubles to flie vnto God and to beséech him that with his aide and helpe as with the cléere shine of his most bright sunne he will scatter abroad the cloudes and darknes of our calamities and great miseries least that if they increase and multiplie we fall into despaire and so slumber in sin and sléepe in death that the enimie of our soules and saluation may say I haue preuailed against them For if we will imbrace the Lord with all our harts we shall no doubt be in most sure and certaine safegarde And although the wicked and vngodly sort which are more barbarous and sauage than brute beasts shall afflict the saints and seruants of God and beare and behaue themselues insolently and shall abuse their power and authoritie to the hurt and harme of such as feare the Lord in singlenes of hart and are readie with all patience to beare whatsoeuer crosse shall be laid vpon them yet at the length the Lords elect shall preuaile one way or other to their great comfort and shall be aduanced to eternall life and glorie that neuer shall haue end For as the prophet saith The patient abiding of the poore shall not alwaies be forgotten for although for a time God suffereth his seruants to be strangely afflicted that vertue in them may growe to some perfection yet not the lesse in his due time he doth deliuer them out of all the tempests and stormes of the world and doth make them partakers of his kingdome in glorie euerlasting We are woont to call those men martyrs which suffer death by fire or sword for Christs sake and indeede so they be but that man also in my opinion may rightly be called a martyr which kéepeth truly in his hart and minde an vnfained patience without grudging or repining at any troubles whatsoeuer thinking himselfe happie that he is thought woorthie to beare some crosse or other after his Lord and sauiour Christ such a man no doubt is a martyr euen liuing though he lose not his life by fire nor sword EVen as those shéepe which in the presence of their shepheards do vomit and cast out againe the grasse which they haue eaten do not profitably shew how much how well they haue fed but those rather which do inwardly digest and concoct their meate and do giue abundance of mylke and do beare the softiest weightiest and finest wooll and do shew themselues to be fat faire and well liking For by those things they shew plainly prooue that their pasture is excéeding good Euen so not those pastors ministers and preachers of the word which do deliuer words and stuffe their sermons with eloquence and braue phrases do fruitfully and throughly declare vnto the people that vertues pasture is excellent good and wholsome and to be desired of all but they rather which do inwardly concoct vertue and do obserue it and bending themselues to the actions and performance therof do flow with the swéet milke of mercy and do cloth themselues others with the fine fléeces of christian loue and charitie such I say do euidently declare how much they haue profited in the doctrine of Christ and how much also others ought to profite in the same and do stir vp the harts and minds of their hearers to vertue and godlines both with their doctrine and liuing Words of doctrine are very profitable but when they are séene to worke holines and
may be vtterly abandoned And if thou for thy part wilt begin euen striue to be the first thou shalt do well Wed thou thy selfe as in déede we all ought to do the will of God whatsoeuer it cost thée somthing for my sake thy poore brother in Christ that most déerely doth loue thée in the Lord Iesu and somthing for thy soules sake to kéepe it out of hell and that it may come to heauen but especially for Gods sake to whom thou owest all obedience and so shall I thinke my paines well bestowed and be ready all the daies of my life to labour still to do thée good Loue to thée in Christ Iesu hath constrained me to send abroad this little booke of Similies to let thée know that I wish well to thée and that I daily desire and beséech the almightie that sinne may be destroied and that the feare of God may euer possesse thée dwell in thy hart and florish in thy hands True it is good reader that we ought to desire to liue no longer than we haue a care to liue well and that the whole course of our liues may be acceptable to God That is the Apostles meaning when he saith Wherefore also we couet that both dwelling at home and remoouing from home we may be acceptable to the Lord. And a little after the same Apostle saith that Christ died for vs that hencefoorth we should not liue to our selues but vnto him that died for vs. Therefore it is a méere vanitie to say we be Christians vnlesse we cast from vs our old corruptions and custome of sinning and be changed in our mindes and become new creatures in Christ Iesu The which thing I do most humbly craue at the hands of God euen for his owne name and his onely sonne Christ Iesus his sake both for thée and me that when the daies of our miseries in this dangerous and troublesome world shall be expired thou and I may haue a ioifull méeting with the rest of the Lords saints and all his holy angels in the glorie of his endlesse blessed and eternall kingdome through Iesus Christ our Lord to whom be all honour power praise glorie and dominion now and world without end A necessarie Table of the chiefe and principall things contained within this booke pointing the Reader to euery page and Similie wherein the same is to be found by these two letters S. P. the first signifieng the Similie the second the Page with figures of both their numbers as followeth WHo they be that are Christs sheepe and who be not Similie 1. Page 1. A veine of our head is cut that the whole bodie may be healed S. 2. P. 1. As the sunne light offendeth bleared eies so the truth offendeth both ignorant and obstinate papists S. 3. P. 2. As al the members of the bodie haue from the soule their moouing and life So euerie part of a commonwealth is gouerned by a godlie prince S. 4. P. 2. The sorcerie of the papists Brownists Familists and such others S. 5. P. 2. The worde of God signified by raine and sweete dewes and the operation of them both S. 6. P. 3. The church of Christ and true religion now established in England ought not to be condemned nor euil spoken of bicause some bad men are mingled with the good S. 7. P. 3. A candle that is put out cannot light another candle S. 8 P. 3. The spots of the world are dangerous and to be shunned of all but especially of them that teach others S 9. P 4. Those ministers of the word shepherds of the Lords flocks which smother their learning and do not impart their knowledge to the church of God do offend greatly S. 10. Pag. 4. Euill and wicked counsell is woont to fall vpon the heads of the first inuentors and giuers of the same S. 11. P. 4. 5. The minde of man without the word of God is barren and bringeth foorth no good thing S. 12. P. 5. People for the most part do imitate their princes whether they be good or euill S. 13. Pag. 5. The end of godly gouernment is peace S. 14. P. 6. Where true iustice hath no place there peace is not to be looked for S. 15. P. 6. The prosperitie of this world is like winters weather the calmnes of the sea and the stabilitie of the moone S. 16. P. 6. The superfluous cares of worldly things laid apart our mindes ought to be occupied in heauen and euer waiting vpon our God S. 17. P. 7. Men are very truly called the sonnes of them whose manners and liues they choose to imitate and follow S. 18. P. 7. As sweete waters are corrupted and spoiled when they run into waters which art salt bitter or vnwholsome So good men are greatly blemished in vsing the familiaritie of the wicked and vngodly S. 19. P. 8. Enuie is alwaies vertues companion miserie onely admitteth no enuie S. 20. P. 8. An enuious man is as vnprofitable to a citie as darnell is to wheate S. 21. P. 8. The enuious man can neither abide a superior an inferior nor an equall He is fitly compared to a viper and to the rustines of iron S. 22. P. 8 9. Enuie is a dangerous disease rife in al places it is a picture of hell S. 23. P. 9. To put any trust or confidence in this world or to depend vpon vaine man is to leane to a broken staffe the rod and the staffe of the Lord are onelie to be leaned vnto S. 24. P. 9. In all our words and actions a measure must be kept and consideration is to be had what agreeth with the time place and persons S. 25. P. 10. Humilitie ought to go before dignity S. 26. P. 10. Many hearers of sermons delight more in the rolling toong of the preacher and his retoricall phrases than in the matter it selfe which he deliuereth S. 27. P. 10. Though sound doctrine bicause it brideleth lusts reprooueth sinne and is a pore and cleere looking glasse for men to beholde themselues in is not welcome to manie yet ought the teachers of the word to continue and to be feruent therein S. 28. P. 10. 11. A common wealth is maintained and vpholden with two things to wit with due reward and due punishment S. 29 P. 11. Men are then woont to be ecclipsed and darkened concerning the loue of God and their neighbors when they growe rich in this world S. 30. P. 11. 12. The getting of great riches is the losse of great quietnes S. 31. P. 12. A iust man is a mightie man be he neuer so poore and a wicked man is vile and base be he neuer so rich S. 32. P. 12. 13. A fine exchange betweene a rich man that is naught and a begger that is honest and vertuous S. â—â— P. 13. As cloudes do couer the sunne so calamiâ—ie darkeneth the minde of man S. 34. P. 13. No sound iudgement can be giuen of a man vntill