madnes For if patience suffer any thinge it commeth of a certain desperation as when a man thus thinketh with him selfe All that I suffer is but in vaine This patience is turned into fury and is oppressed with desperation But Christian pacience will not suffer it selfe to be oppressed but continually taketh hold vpon hope whereby at length it preuaileth and getteth the victory It is a harde thing not to be discouraged with such trobles as daily happen in matters perteining to the common course of this life But patiently to endure those afflictions which Dauid by his owne example sheweth that Christians which haue already receiued the forgiuenes of sinnes must suffer to haue a stedfast hope in the bitter vexations of sinne and accusations of conscience and patiently to suffer all other affâ—ictioÌ„s wherwith Satan vexeth and tormenteth the beleeuing heart this is in deede a diuine and an heauenly vertue and such a conflicte that God hath promised vnto it an incorruptible crowne of glory Now ensueth an exhortation that we should follow this example of Dauid and embrace this doctrine Verse 7. Let Israel waite on the Lord for with the Lord is mercie and with him is plentifull redemption This is in deede a golden verse worthy to be knowne and well vnderstand wherein Dauid wisheth and exhorteth all men by his example wholy to rest and to continue in a sure hope of the mercie of God. For faith is not so lightly to be esteemed as the Papistes teach which dreame that faith is a qualitie remaining in the hart with the which the hart after it can once number these syllables I beleue in God passeth on as it were in a sleepe For they that haue no experience of those conflictes which faith must endure doe but laugh vs to scorne when we say that faith is a principall vertue wherewith onely and alone we are iustified deliuered from sinne hell death and damnation For it is true that the wise man â—aith A foole vnderstandeth not except ye talke of those things which are in his owne hart These things therefore which we attribute vnto faith they ascribe vnto charitie preferre charitie aboue faith But if faith be set forth rightly in her owne colours it farre excelleth charitie For behold the obiects of faith It fighteth alone before God against Satan who neuer resteth but warreth against faith continually and that euen concerning death and life euerlasting concerning sinne and the accusation of the lawe concerning grace and the remission of sinnes Now if with faith you compare charitie whose office is to be exercised in releuing the miseryes and calamities of men whether they haue neede of comfort or succour in minde or in body who seeth not howe farre faith excelleth charitie For howe great a difference is there betwene God man betwene corporall necessities eternal death These are therfore the exercises of faith euen in the greatest dangers to fight continually against Satan in the presence of God For as I said before our â—ruel enemie will giue vs no breathing no time of rest Wherfore albeit the charitie is not onely a goodly vertue but also extendeth farre in comparison of other moral vertues yet is faith without all comparison a farre more excellent heauenly vertue whether ye consider y obiects therof or other causes For this is the fruite of faith when the hart feeleth that death is ouercome by the death of Christ that sinne also is put away the law abolished by grace and mercie These thinges are of them selues most certaine Yet such is our infirmitie that we can noe certeinly apprehend them and therefore we are terrified with the cogitations of death and sinne But if this hope and trust in the mercie of God were perfect no heauines should euer oppresse the beleuing hart Therefore Dauid vseth this exhortation that Israell after it hath once obteyned this mercie should still perseuere in wayting on the Lord and not suffer this trust and confidence in the mercie of the Lord to be wrested from him And here he hath respect to that great conflict wherein the mind oppressed with calamities beginneth to doubt of the mercie of god In this conflict because the mind doth not so soone feele those comforts which the word promiseth and faith beleueth as it would doe it is ready to despayre Against this tentation Dauid armeth vs and warneth vs to be mindfull that we must waite on the Lorde and neuer depart from the word or beleue any thing against the word and he sheweth the cause why For with the Lord sayth he is mercie The flesh in tentations and afflictions thinketh that with the Lorde there is nothing but wrath The holy Ghost therefore comforteth vs and goeth about to plucke this opinion out of our hartes pronounceth that there is mercie and goodnes with the Lord if we can but onely waite on the Lord and put our trust in him This testimonie of conscience and of the holy Ghost we haue great neede of for if we followe our owne sense we shall be deceaued and finde in our selues the contrary But we may not iudge of these matters according to our owne sense or as we feele in our selues but we must stand to the worde and thus thinke with our selues that these are matters of fayth and not of our owne sense and feeling For to beleue is not to feele Not because these thinges shall neuer be felt which we now beleue but because faith must go before feeling and experience And we must beleue the worde although we feele in our owne hartes and iudgement neuer so much to the contrary As when our hartes oppressed with calamities doe thinke God to be angrie with vs not to care for vs but to hate vs then faith cleane contrary must thus assure it selfe that with God there is neither anger nor hatred that he neither thinketh of punishment nor offence but although he suffer vs to be afflicted yet he doth it not to the ende to destroy vs For with him sayeth the Psalme is mercie Therefore he is mindfull of vs to doe vs good to deliuer vs from daungers to mortifie our sinnes and to increase his other good giftes in vs If these thinges happen not to the wicked what maruell is it For either they beleue not or else if they doe they continue not Wherefore let vs that beleue with faith ioyne hope also so that albeit our owne sense and hart shall worke neuer so much against vs and that God shall seeme neuer so sharpe an enemy in punishing vs yet let vs not yeld so much to our owne sense and feeling as to the written word and to the holy Ghost which pronounceth that with the Lord there is mercie who loueth vs seeketh to doe vs good This is the truth of the holy Ghost that we should thinke yea most assuredly beleue that with the Lord there is no anger but if any calamities
this is the difference betweene those that are infected with this poyson the comtempt of the word I meane and the children of God that as they are wholy bent to seeke and aduance the glory of the euerliuing God so are these either inflamed with a diuilish desire to maintaine set forth damnable doctrine wicked opinions and false worship being wholy giuen ouer to serue the god of this world and their god Mammon seeking with greedines and pleasure their owne perdition damnation and so albeit they are already wholy possessed in the kingdom of the deuill yet are they merry and ioyfull but the end shall be such as for their horrible example is set forth in the story of the Sodomites Let vs pray vnto God therefore that he will preserue vs from this impietie and let vs learne to sing this Psalme with gladnes and thankes giuing vnto him for this inestimable benefite of his word and the pure knowledge thereof whereby Christ the onely sacrifice for our sinnes and the sure hope of eternall life is reueiled vnto vs Let vs continually exercise our selues in reading hearing and meditating of this word and let vs neuer think that we haue attayned sufficient knowledge and tast thereof In deede this word is so plenteously set forth in these our dayes that it may seeme to bring with it a lothing and contempt in many but it is not enough an hundred times to haue read it and a thousand times to haue heard it as in the daungerous time of tentations by experience we feele Wherefore let vs abhorre the damnable impietie of lothing and contemning the word of life and let vs embrace that most soueraigne vertue which is called the Reuerence of the word For Satan sleepeth not and in deede he is neuer so strongly armed against vs as when he seeth that we loth and contemne the word or presume of our owne knowledge Verse 1. I reioyced when they sayd vnto me we will goe into the house of the Lorde The like saying he hath in the 60. Psalme God hath spoken in his Sanctuary therefore I will reioyce Wherein is conteyned a comparison betwene his kingdom and other mighty and welthy kingdoms of the worlde As if he should say My kingdom is but a small and a weake kingdom if you compare it with the power of other kingdoms of the world But this haue I that all Kings and kingdoms haue not namely that in my kingdom the Lord him selfe the King of all Kings speaketh out of his holy Sanctuary therefore my kingdom is the kingdom of God and therein I reioyce Euen so here sayth he I reioyced And why Because it was sayd vnto me we will goe into the house of the Lord. That is God hath promised that we shall be that people which shal enter into the house of the lord And should not this cause my heart to reioyce For when I behold all other nations I see them goe into the house of the deuill and the temples of Idols I see they know not the true God neither doe they worship him Great cause haue I therefore to reioyce because I haue the promise of God that I shall goe with my people into the house of the Lorde Dauid sheweth him selfe here to reioyce and be glad for 2. causes not onely that the Lord had appoynted a place wherein he would be worshipped euen the holy hill of Sion but also because he had the consent of his people so obediently to ioyne with him in the true seruice worship of the lord Often times the Lord had before promised by Moises that he would appoynt such a place for his Sanctuary as should be certaine and stable for euer and yet aboue a thousand yeares togither the Arke of the Lord was caryed hither and thither from tent to tent from habitation to habitation hauing no certaine place to rest in But afterwardes it was shewed vnto Dauid that the Lord would haue it remaine in the hil Sion and that he would haue there a temple builded wherein he would be worshipped By this example we are admonished that we haue double cause to reioyce when so euer the Lord doth not onely incline our hearts by his holy spirite to the obedience of his word but also doth draw other vnto the same with vs that we may be al ioyned togither in the fellowship of faith We see the stubburnes of mans heart to be such that the greater number alwaies murmureth when so euer the Lord speaketh and therefore no small cause haue we to reioyce when we all consent togither in one spirite and and one mind in the true seruice and worship of the Lord. These wordes I reioyced when they sayd c. seeme to be very simple and to conteine in them no great matter But if you loke into the same with spirituall eyes there appeareth a wonderfull great maiestie in them Which because our Papistes can not see they do so coldly and negligently pray reade and sing this psalme and other that a man would thinke there were no tale so foolish or vaine which they would not either recite or heare with more courage delight These wordes therefore must be vnfolded layd before the eyes of the faythful For when he sayth we will goe into the house of the Lord what notable thing can we see in these words if we doe but onely beholde the stones tymber gold and other ornaments of the materiall temple But to goe into the house of the Lord signifieth another maner of thing namely to come togither where we may haue God present with vs heare his word cal vpon his holy name and receiue helpe and succour in our necessitie Therefore it is a false definition of the temple which the Papists make that it is a house built with stones tymber to the honour of god What this temple is they them selues know not For the temple of Salomon was not therefore beautifull because it was adorned with gold and siluer and other precious ornaments but the true beautie of that temple was because in that place the people heard the word of the Lord called vpon his name found him mercifull giuing peace and remission of sinnes c. This is rightly to behold the temple and not as the visured Bishops behold their idolatrous temple when they consecrate it These are then great causes of ioy and gladnes to haue access vnto the Lord to heare this consolation that he is our God which will heare vs which will deliuer vs in the time of trouble which will forgiue vs our sinnes and at the last will giue vs euerlasting life For these great benefites sayth Dauid we giue thanks vnto God and we reioyce that we may come togither into that place wherein God worketh all these things by the power of his word For it is the word alone whereby we knowe God whereby we come vnto God and whereby he bestoweth these great benefites of his fauour and loue
he findeth some fault in his wife or els some other trouble hapneth then either he becommeth a lion in his owne house as Salomon saith and is sory for that he hath done or else neglecting his familie he goeth one way and his wife an other and so he wasteth all that he hath For when he seeth that all thinges which he thought should haue had most happy successe fall out cleane contrary to his expectation he rageth and layeth all the fault in matrimonie but most wickedly For thy fauk and thy folly it is which so doest since thou wilt needes be the efficient cause of the gouerning and guyding of thy familie which thing God hath not giuen vnto thee For thou shouldest haue bene but onely the instrumentall thereof Wherfore submitte thy selfe rather to an other master and gouerner and say O Lord teach thou me that I may rightly gouerne my familie execute my office in the common wealth c. Rule thou and he thou my helper that I offend not for I will doe that in me lyeth If it take good successe I will acknowledge thy gift thanke thee and praise thy name If it succeede not yet will I beare it with patience For thou art the first cause and I am but the second cause thou art the creator thou art all in all and workest all and I am but the instrument If we with heart and minde thus prepared would seeke to gouerne all thinges would prosper and happily proceed But now whether ye behold the Magistrate or new maried persons ye shall see great presumption For they so beginne all thinges that they take in hande as though it were impossible they should come otherwise to passe then they themselues doe imagine They begin as though they were the first and the efficient cause and appoynt such an ende to their deuises and enterprises as serueth to their owne glory and pleasure But God sayth Thus shalt thou not doe for then shalt thou perish And worthely For they are rebells and blasphemers which will presume vpon that which belongeth to the first cause alone For when eyther the pen will teach the scribe how to write or the axe wil teach the carpenter how to square his timber nothing can be wel done And euen so is it in this case when we will take vpon vs such gouernment as belongeth to God alone It is expedient for you to consider the examples of this great folly which are to be seene euery where aboundantly in Princes Courts in cities and families For thus doe they think I am the author and master of this familie this policie this gouernment c. Moste worthely therefore are they troubled and vexed when there followeth no such successe as they looked for And herevpon followeth as I said eyther a miserable confusion both in houshold and politike gouernment or else playne tyranny So in matrimony if neither the husband will beare with his wife nor the wife will giue place to her husband not onely the mutuall loue and concord in matrimony is broken but also it so falleth out that the husband is chaunged into a tyranne or else he neglecteth and forsaketh all togither What must we here doe The Pope aunswereth and giueth this counsell that we should flie into some solitary place or into some monastery Not so saith the holy Ghost This is not the counsell of God but of the deuill But thus do thou Consider that thou art Gods instrument beleue that there is yet an other magistrate and principall gouernour of the house whose name is the lord Except he be the principall cause it shall followe as this Psalme saith that the house shall not be builded and that neither politike nor householde gouernment shall prosper So must we iudge also of the finall cause If thou wilte referre all things to that ende which thou hast imagined and thinkest that thou shalt not be deceiued thou errest as experience teacheth One man taketh vppon him an office in the common wealth to get estimation and dignitie and findeth the contrary An other by matrimony seeketh pleasure seeketh a bewtifull and obedient wife but he is deceiued and proueth also the contrary And well worthy For why doest thou presume to rule either in politike or houshold gouernment as a God and thinkest that thy wisedom aud thy policy are able to gouerne these thinges and that thou hast no neede to lift vp thine eyes to him which is aboue and to desire his helpe When thou seest therefore that afterwardes it falleth out otherwise then doest thou learne to sing this Psalme Except the Lord builde the citie they labour in vaine that builde it Before thou thoughtest that there was no other Lord or gouerner besides thy selfe of whose help thou shouldest haue need to gouerne thy house Others which are not come to this knowledge either are at continuall debate with their wiues or else they forsake both wiues families and flie away Worthely worthely iustly and by the iust iudgement of God thus commeth it to passe For why doest thou being but vile dunge presume as a God to take vppon thee that heauenly gouernment that I say which is aboue nature with a naturall affection and earthly minde Thy clyming and presumptuous spirite therefore God iustly confoundeth Why doest thou not rather say on this wise Lorde thou hast giuen me a wife children a familie assist me and helpe me Gouerne thou and guide them or else in vaine is all my trauell Nowe for as much as the holy Scripture teacheth vs and experience also agreeth thereunto that without Gods helpe all is in vaine that we take in hande therefore we ought not to be ignorant of these thinges They labour in vaine saith he which builde it The cause is this that either they become tyrannes or else desperate forsake all togither So commeth to ruine both politike and houshold gouernment Now what madnes is this so to rule that either thou or thy family must perish Why doe we not rather as the holy Ghost here teacheth vs that we may preserue both Whiche is if we learne to knowe the principall cause and the true master and gouerner of the house if we call vppon him trust in him and say Thou Lord hast created me to be a ruler of a familie and hast giuen me those things which pertaine thereunto But this burden is to heauy for me to beare Therfore take vpon thee my charge O Lorde gouerne thou in my steede be thou the maister of the house for I will humbly giue place vnto thee Then will God heare thee and he will say All this will I doe so that thou canst be content if any thing happen otherwise then thou doest desire willingly to beare it and with patience to ouercome it and not to despaire of the ende and good successe thereof forsaking thy vocation to the which I haue called thee For since thou doest call vpon me and doest thankfully acknowledge those
Sauiour Christ God is able of these stones to raise vp children vnto Abraham For whereas the promise was made vnto Abraham the Phariseis because they were the children of Abraham thought they shoulde vndoubtedly be heires of the promise This confidence made them bold to liue carelesly and without all feare of god Therefore saith he it is certaine that the children of Abraham shall be heires of the promises made vnto Abraham but if ye will be carelesse and wil not obey the commaundement of God I say vnto you it is an easie thing for God to reiect you and of the very stones to reise vp a posteritie vnto Abraham So this promise dependeth wholy vpon the condition to bridle and beate downe our presumption The couenant is the promise of mercie through christ The Testimonies are the will of God reueiled vnto all ages by Moses and the Prophets Wherefore he requireth faith and then obedience vnto the law And here is to be noted that he addeth VVhich I will teach them For he will be the teacher and he wil be heard He will not that the Councells should be heard or such as teach that he hath not taught So we say also of the Church that where so euer the promise of God is beleued and his word obeyed there is the Church But they that doe not beleue bragge they of their glorious titles their holy vocations and such like neuer so much are reiected of God no members of the Church For who would beleue the Pope because he is the Pope And yet for this onely cause he will be beleued no man may aske whether the thinges which he teacheth be true and sound but he will haue men simply to beleue that that holy sea can not erre Against this who so euer dare once open their mouthes or examine his decrees by the word of God are drawne and haled to all kindes of torments Like as therefore the Iewes taught and defended their errors and impieties by the authoritie of their Kinges vppon whome this promise seemed to be grounded euen so in all ages is the false church wont to doe But we answere that in deede the promise is true and yet is it conditionall namely If ye keepe my couenant and my testimonies For God did not so anoynt the Kings that they should doe what so euer seemed good in their sight or what so euer they ordained or taught God would approue because they were kings and the anoynted of God but he addeth If ye keepe my couenant So in the newe Testament it is a true saying He that heareth you heareth me but yet not generally to be vnderstand of all those which teach in the Church For some teach not the word of Christ but their owne word This word God willeth not to be heard but commaundeth that it be not heard when he sayth Take heede of false prophets So Moses in Deutronomie commaundeth that the king should neuer lay the booke of the lawe out of his handes but should exercise the same continually in reading in learning and in practising the same If this commaundement was giuen to the Kings vnder the law what shall we then thinke of the word of the newe Testament In vayne shall the Pope and his Prelates here glorie and bragge of the Councells the fathers the Church the dignitie which they haue so many yeares vsurped All these are so farre to be approued and beleeued as they teach according to the rule of the holy Scripture For the Church which hath authoritie from God is that onely and alone which followeth the voyce and the word of the Lord. Moreouer we learne by experience that nothing is more common emongest men then to abuse the authoritie and power committed vnto them very few there be which doe rightly vse their authoritie either in the Church or in the common wealth The cause is for that the greater part serue their owne affections their owne lustes and pleasures and whiles they shoulde rule others they suffer them selues to be ruled and gouerned of Satan Hereof commeth it that we see the Pope the Bishops yea the whole Papacie to haue no care of the word nor loue to the word at all but are wholy giuen ouer to seeke theor owne glorie dignitie wealth and pleasure Wherefore their authoritie bindeth not vs although it were the authoritie of an Angell from heauen but with good conscience we depart from them lest we should be disobedient to the high authoritie and Maiestie which is God him selfe But if the Pope with his Prelates would not resist and persecute the doctrine of Christ if with vs they would beleue teach that we are iustified by the onely price of the blood of Christ and would not teach men to make marchandise of their owne merites and workes we would gladly acknowledge their authoritie But since they manifestly impugne the worde since they defende their impieties and abominations with extreme crueltie and tyranny we doe not onely reiect and contemne their authoritie but we say as Paule sayth that they are accursed It is a common principle emongest the popish Doctors that the Pope is aboue the worde and the Scripture and that in the lawe of God he may dispense as pleaseth him But God giueth no authoritie vnto man aboue the word So should he set man that is to say dust and dunge aboue him selfe for what is the word but God him selfe This word they that honor obey and keepe are the true Church in deede be they neuer so contemptible in the world but they which doe not are the church of Satan and accursed of God. And this is the cause why it is expresly set downe in the text The testimonies which I will teach them For so will God vse the ministerie of teachers and Pastors in the Church that he notwithstanding will be the chiefe Pastor and all other ministers and Pastors what so euer yea the Church it selfe shall be ruled and gouerned by the word Emongest the people of Israel the Kings and Priestes glorying and vaunting of their vocation thought they might doe what they list So the Pope and his Prelates at this day will not be subiect to the authoritie and rule of the word the Scripture For the euill conscience which the Pope hath doth alway cry out and witnesse vnto him that the holy Scripture is the word of God and therefore will be against him vtterly condemne him Wherefore there is no prison which he more hateth and abhorreth then the word of God. This conditionall sentence is here set down because of the wicked that they should not take vppon them an absolute power contrary to the word For there is no absolute promise but that which perteineth vnto Christ which saith not with a certeine condition but generally and absolutely that Christ should come of the seede of Abraham Nowe whereas the corporall kingdom did endure vntill this promise as touching Christ
the truth both which sortes I haue here in few words to exhort to desire first such as haue mind to heare reade the doctrine of truth that they in life will follow that they heare and reade Of the other companie this I haue to craue that for as much as the gracious goodnes of the Lord hath raysed vp before their face such plenty of preachers teachers writers and translators wherby by all meanes to call them and to do them good they wisely againe for their partes wil consider what they haue to do that is to take the time before them not to refuse the riches of Gods great grace offered least peraduenture hereafter ignorance wil not excuse them wheras now the light of truth so euidently appearing wittingly and willingly they stoppe their eyes from seeing their eares from hearing The Lord God of peace father of all mercy consolation for Christ Iesus his Sonnes sake open our hartes and senses that all preiudice pertinacie set aside we may both be willing to learne the right way of perfect faith and truth and no lesse carefull in life to follow that we learne growing vp in grace and knowledge more and more till we atteyne at length to the full measure which is in Christ Iesu our Lord Amen Iohn Foxe THE PREFACE OF D. MARTIN LVTHER VPPON the fifteene Psalmes called Psalmes of degrees YE haue heard me before many times declare in the beginning of my Lectures for vvhat cause I haue taken in hand to expound the holy Scriptures not for any desire I haue to teach nevve and straunge thinges vvhich haue not beene knovvne or heard before for our diuinitie is so vvel knovvn both in the Latine tongue and also in our ovvne Language that vve may seeme novv to haue more neede of exhortation then instruction but because the diligent teaching and setting forth of the vvorde of God is a kinde of Gods seruice or vvorship properly belonging to the nevve Testament being much more acceptable vnto God more holy excellent then vvere all the vvorshippings and sacrifices of the olde Testament and therefore euen vvhen the lavv vvas yet in his ful strength the holy Prophets of God vtterly reiecting the burnt offerings and other sacrifices of the lavv did commend aboue all other the sacrifice of praise In like maner also ought vve so much the more earnestly diligently to set forth this kind of vvorship because that after so great blindnes vvherein vv haue liued the vvisedom of God hath as the Sunne in the mid day appeared and shined vnto vs againe Therefore like as it hath bene counted a maner of seruitude in times past to heare a godly sermon vvhich men vvere vvont to doe euen as they did their seruile labors so must vve novv othervvise thinke that they vvhich teach reade vvrite or heare the holy Scriptures are Gods true Priestes vvhich serue their God vvith a vvorthy and thankful kind of vvorship Albeit true it is also that vve can not here attaine to such full knovvledge of spirituall matters but that dayly vve haue neede to learne them again to be exercised confirmed therin because of the continuall vexations and assaultes of Satan that as vve are neuer vvithout occasions of declining falling from God so likevvise vve should not cease to exercise our selues in the continuall meditation of the vvord of God to the edifying both of our selues and of the Church For there is nothing so pernitious as the opinion of many at this day vvho as soone as they haue gotten neuer so litle knovvledge of this heauenly vvisedom thinke them selues by and by to be greate doctors For seeing that these thinges doe not consist in fine and eloquent talke in reasoning and disputing but in practise and experience directed not by mans reason but by the spirite of God they are miserably deceiued that rest in bare and naked knovvledge vvhich is but vnprofitable vvithout experience and practise In the olde Testament God appoynted but onely the ten commaundements vvherin he vvould haue his people to be exercised and occupyed But vvho vvas there euer amonge the Sainctes of God vvhich could say that he vvas able to atteyne to the vvisedom of the holy Ghost sette forth in those commaundements And shall vve vvhich in the nevv Testament haue the vvhole Scripture set forth vnto vs glory in the fulnes and perfection of our knovvledge Let vs not thinke therefore so highly of our selues but let vs humble our selues before the holy Ghoste and confesse this vvisedom to be infinite and such as vve could neuer fully attayne vnto although vve should spende our vvhole life in the study of the Scriptures For although by the grace of God vve are not vvithout some knovvledge yet because vve are continually oppressed vvith cloudes of tentations vve must haue recourse to this fountaine yea to this fire that our hartes may be kindled therevvith and that vve may giue no place to Satan or our ovvne flesh vvhereby the first fruites of the spirit might be quenched in vs This lothing of Gods vvord vvhich riseth of a false opinion of knovvledge is alas to common at this day For a remedy therefore against this euill Moses commaundeth that the lavv of God should be diligently set forth to the posteritie that is to say should continually be taught and exercised though it vvere neuer so vvel knovvne before For this cause therefore I haue taken in hand to expounde the Psalmes that vve might learne to abhorre this damnable lothing of the vvord of God and also to confirme and as it vvere to nourish the good spirite of God in vs by the exercise and practise of the same But the chiefest cause that moued me hereunto is for that vve knovv this kind of vvorship aboue all other to please God vvhen vve set forth his vvord in teaching in reading in vvriting in hearing c. And this one thing ought to keep vs in the continual exercise of the vvord of god For to teach to exercise and to set forth the vvorde vvhat is it else but continually to offer sacrifice vnto God continually to vvorship God continually to be exercised in the three first commaundements Lamentable it is to see vvhat a multitude there is of such as cōtinually blaspheme God either in teaching false doctrine or in persecuting the truth VVherfore very necessary it is that vve vvhiche in comparison of them are so small a number should serue the Lord our God praise his holy name vvhich both hath giuen vs this life and promised the life to come Moreouer our ovvne daunger giueth vs good vvarning to take heede that vvhiles vve thus neglect loth the vvord vve feele not his heauy vvrath plage vpon vs before vve be vvare For vvhen vve are once vveery of the vvorde then follovveth the contempt of the same vvhich contēpt the Lord so punisheth that he taketh his vvord cleane avvay Hereof the Papacie may be
are spoken Verse 2. Behold as the eyes of seruaunts looke vnto the hande of their maisters and as the eyes of a mayden vnto the hand of her mistres so our eyes waite vpon the Lord our God vntill he haue mercy vpon vs. Here the prophet setteth forth by similitude the nature of true pietie As if he sayd Great is our affliction and yet the Lord prolongeth his helpe neither easing our miserie nor reuenging our wrong He suffereth the cruel the proude and the scornful to treaâ— vs vnder foote and to prosper in our sight This delay is tedious greuous vnto vs Notwithstanding we will not murmure or become vnpatient in these our afflictions but as good seruaunts in their distresse looke to the hand that is for help and succour at the hand of their masters mistresses so will we attend vpon y Lord our God vntill he haue pitie vpon vs. Thus we see that the Lorde sometimes deferreth his helpe neither shewing how nor when he will help but leauing his Saints in such perplexitie as though he had no regard either of the time or of the maner of their deliuerance so that they seme to hang as it were in the middes betwene heauen and earth These things are greuous and excedingly encrease the tentation Therefore we must lay sure hold on this consolation which the Prophet here setteth forth that our tentation shal haue an end but not as we would lest we seeme to appoint the time and maner of our deliuerance which the lord reserueth to him self alone And here is an example set forth vnto vs patiently to wait vpon the Lord in the time of trouble to be instant in prayer and neuer to let our hands fall or turne our eyes from the Lord but constantly to perseuere in sure hope expectation of his gracious deliuerance and of his helping hand to be present with vs in our necessitie whereof our Sauiour Christ also warneth vs in the Gospell of the woman and the vnrighteous iudge who although he neither feared God nor man yet because this woman neuer ceased to call vpon him he was compelled to heare her cause For if the worst man be not yet so wicked but he may be ouercome with instant and continuall prayer what shall we not hope to obteine at Gods hand which willingly offereth him selfe to heare our prayers and also commaundeth vs to pray yea and is more ready to graunt our petitions then we are to aske For in that he differreth his help he doth it not because he will not heare vs but to exercise and stirre vp our faith and to teach vs that the wayes whereby he can and doth deliuer vs are so manifold miraculous that we are neuer able to conceiue them Therfore let vs thinke that the thing which we aske is not denied but differred assure our selues that we are not neglected because of this delay The patient abiding of the afflicted saith Dauid in an other Psalme shall not perish yea the Lord will not lose the glory of his name which Dauid in the same Psalme attributeth vnto him namely that he is a helper in time conuenient And here is to be noted by the way that the holy Ghost commendeth the gouernment of housholds and families in this place and signifieth that to serue is a vocation which pleaseth him if it be done in faith For seruauntes are here mentioned for the comfort of all good seruauntes and in them is commended not onely their patience but also the confidence and trust which they haue in the goodnes of their maisters assuredly trusting with patient tarying to finde mercie and fauour in their sight in time conuenient But in deede Dauid speaketh here of better seruauntes then are commonly seene at this day for there is no kinde of people more deceitful negligent and stubborne euen when there is great cause of sharpe and seuere correction Wherefore let all such as will be counted good seruaunts remember the example and rule set forth here by the holy Ghost and obserued of all good seruaunts which is that they are not froward and stubborne but patiently endure all things and do the duety of true and faithfull seruaunts hauing alwayes a watchfull eye to the hand of their maisters And further note how humbly the faithful think of them selues in the sight of god They are called and chosen to this dignitie to be the heyres and children of God and are exalted aboue the Angels and yet notwithstanding they count them selues no better in Gods sight then seruauntes They say not here beholde like as children loke to the hand of their fathers but as seruaunts to the hand of their masters This is the humilitie and modestie of the godly it is so farre of that hereby they lose the dignitie of Gods children to the which they are called that by this meanes it is made to them more sure and certaine Moreouer here is to be obserued that Dauid sayth not simply VVe lift vp our eyes to the Lord but he addeth moreouer to the Lord our God that is to say that God which hath reuealed him selfe to vs in his word for otherwise he were not our god The gods of the Gentiles idolls which men deuise vnto them selues are called gods but he is the true God and none but he which hath declared him selfe to vs in his word and promised in the same that he will be our God c. The Papistes haue deuised vnto them selues a seruice and worship of God contrarie to the word of God and therefore they worship not the true God in deede but an idoll of their owne heart yea they worship a creaâ—â—â— made and fashioned with mans handes for the almightie creaâ—â—â— of heauen earth But our God is he not whom we haue deuised but which hath paynted and set out him selfe in his Scriptures how and by what meanes he wil be serued and worshipped This our God because he seemeth oftentimes to estraunge him selfe from vs and to haue no care of vs the wicked doe shunne and forsake and seeke helpe of Peter and Paule and many times of Satan through sorcery and witchcraft and other deuilish meanes thinking because God prolongeth his helpe to finde thereby more speedye succour But thus our God is wont to deale with vs first as is sayd to proue and exercise vs and so to bring vs to the knowledge of our selues that we may see our owne weakenes and frailty which are so readie to be ledde away from him then also to bring vs to the knowledge of him whereby we may see both how willing he is and also howe able by farre better meanes to helpe vs then mans heart can conceiue Verse 3. Haue mercy vpon vs O Lord haue mercy vpon vs for we haue suffered too much contempt Here may we see that the godly doe not onely feele their owne crosse but the affliction of other also is to them a great crosse and as
God that we shall suffer trouble and affliction yet in him we shall ouercome at length The 125. Psalme They that trust in the Lord c. The Psalme going before is a thankesgiuing or a sacrifice of praise because the godly see and by experience feele that the Lord is faithfull and helpeth them in the time of neede This Psalme following conteineth also in a maner the same matter For it perteyneth to the doctrine of faith and exhorteth the faithful likewise to a sure trust and affiance in the helpe of the Lorde in all their necessities Whereunto he stirreth them vp with great and excellent promises It may also be easily vnderstand by that which we haue sayd before For herein consisteth all this heauenly wisedom that we doe vtterly remoue out of our sight what so euer flesh can comprehend and beleue that which the word onely telleth vs euen against all that which either we know feele or see And therefore this wisedome is against all humane wisedom and reason For by reason and all that reason can comprehend we feele see and conceiue all things contrary to that which faith leadeth vs vnto He that lyeth sicke and at the poynt of death can by reason conceiue nothing els but y imagination of death But a christian man leauing that imagination knoweth that in death there is true life But thou wilt say he seeth and feeleth death in deede but life he can not feele I aunswere that because he resteth vpon the word and after it he iudgeth and not after his owne feeling therefore euen in death he seeth nothing but life and in the middes of darkenes most cleare light For like as God maketh all thinges of nothing and of darkenes light so he worketh by his word that in death there is nothing but life They then which sticke to the word and promise of God and follow the same doe finde it true which Dauid sayth He spake the worde and it was done c. But before we can come to this experience we must abide some trouble therefore haue neede of such exhortation as this psalme here setteth forth Verse 1. They that trust in the Lorde shall be as Mount Sion which can not be remoued but remaineth for euer The Prophet vseth here a similitude of Mount Sion because Ierusalem wherin Sion stood when the temple was builded had most ample notable promises of God as appeareth in very many places of the Prophetes that it should stand sure inuincible for euer against all troubles and calamities for that the Lord had his abiding and dwelling there according to that promise where he sayth here is my rest here will I dwel c. And therefore Dauid in an other Psalme glorieth on this wise Loe the Kinges were gathered and went togither when they saw it they marueled They were astonied and suddenly driuen backe As we may see it came to passe vnder Ezechias in that great destruction of the Assyrians and other Kings as the stories witnesse which shewe that Ierusalem remayned safe in all daungers not by the strength and pollicie of the inhabitants but by the miraculous worke of God dwelling in it and thus mightely preseruing and beautifying his owne common wealth Nowe therfore sayth he like as Mount Sion and our holy citie Ierusalem is neuer moued but remaineth sure and safe by the mighty protection of the Lord in all extremities so he that trusteth in the Lord shall be defended against the furious rage of the world and the gates of hell for euer Note howe he commaundeth no worke here to be done as in popery in the time of trouble men were taught to enter into some kind of religion to fast to goe on pilgrimage to doe such other foolish workes of deuotion which they deuised as an high seruice vnto God and thereby thought to make condigne satisfaction for sinne and merite eternal life but simply he leadeth vs the plaine way vnto God pronouncing this to be the chiefest anker of our saluation onely to hope and trust in the Lorde and that this is the greatest seruice that we can doe vnto god For this is the nature of God as I haue sayd to create all thinges of nothing Therefore he createth and bringeth forth in death life in darkenes light And this to beleue is the very nature and most speciall propertie of faith When God then seeth such a one as agreeth with his owne nature that is which beleueth to finde in daunger helpe in pouertie riches in sinne righteousnes and that for Gods owne mercies sake in Christ alone him can God neyther hate nor forsake For he serueth and worshippeth God truely which putteth his whole trust in the mercie of god With this seruice God is highly pleased because he deliteth of no thing to make some thing So he made the world of nothing so he rayseth vp the poore and oppressed so he iustifieth the sinner so he rayseth the dead and so he saueth the damned Who so then consenteth to Gods nature and obeyeth his will there hoping for some thing where nothing is he it is that pleaseth God and shall neuer be moued But thou must beware that thou imagine not to thy selfe a false hope contrarie to the word of God and thy vocation Whereof if thou be certayne and abide in the same if troubles rise trust in the Lord and if he helpe not in his good time take me and Dauid also for lyars Satan will trouble vexe and discomfort thee yea and peraduenture make thee to beleue that thou art vtterly forsaken but if thou trust in the Lord thou shalt feele his helpe with ioyfull victory So in the councell of Auspurge when the Princes were bent against vs with one consent our cause seemed to be vtterly ouerthrowne Notwithstanding yet we liue and enioy such peace and libertie as we would wish maugre the rage and malice of the Pope and all the aduersaries of the worlde With such conflictes we must be exercised lest we be discouraged when we see our cause begin to quale But the greater the daunger is the more stedfastly we must trust So shall it come to passe that when we are ouercome yet we shall ouercome and the conquerer shall yeeld vnto vs triumph and victory This is it that the Psalme here setteth forth They that trust in the Lorde shall be as Mount Sion which can not be remoued but remayneth for euer And here we haue a singular promise whereby we are assured that we shall stande and abyde for euer If then we doe not continue it is our owne fault because we abide not firme and stable in our fayth For this promise must needes remaine sure and infallible Yea as it is impossible that God should deny him selfe and not be God so is it impossible that he should forsake those that put their trust in him But we may not thinke the time longe but patiently abide the Lords leasure For Gods
tentations continuing and succeding one after an other one still following vpon an other But what is the ende of this continuance Euen this that they shall possesse eternall ioy and felicitie As the author of the Epistle to the Hebrewes doth notably declare No chastising sayth he for the present time seemeth to be ioyous but greeuous here you heare of teares but afterward it bringeth the quiet frute of righteousnes vnto them which are thereby exercised here you heare that they shall returne with ioy Albeit then that this seede is prolonged and deferred yet is it not so for euer but the ioy that shall follow is euerlasting Thus the kingdom of Christ consisteth not in the power and riches of the world but in eternall redemption which we must attaine vnto through great afflictions and infinite crosses Wherein notwithstanding we are supported by the word and prayer vntill we come to the fulnes of our saluation in the kingdom of heauen The 127. Psalme Except the Lorde builde the house they labour in vaine that build it This Psalme beareth the title of Salomon and in deede it seemeth that Salomon was the author thereof For Salomon in all his books sheweth him selfe to be a politicall teacher and handleth not the principall article of his father Dauid as touching iustification or as touching Christ the heire and ofspring of Dauid but he treateth of those thinges wherein he him selfe was exercised and whereunto he was appoynted of God that is to say of things perteining to ciuill gouernment And this he doth in such sorte as in politicall matters no Philosopher did euer teach For he applieth all ciuill gouernment vnto faith whatsoeuer is done either in the cōmon wealth or houshold affaires the same he referreth altogither to the diuine spirituall gouernment which other writers whether they be Philosophers or Oratours do not For albeit both lawes do teach reason also doth shew by what meanes a cōmon wealth or a family may rightly be gouerned yet doe they not teach from whence the successe therof must be loked for that the things which are well deuised may prosper take good effect For reason knoweth but onely the materiall and the formall cause the finall and efficient cause it knoweth not that is it knoweth not from whence ciuill and houshold gouernment commeth and by whom it is preserued or to what ende it tendeth Aristotle Xenophon Plato Cicero and others although they wrote very well of ciuill gouernment yet doe they not teach the true efficient and the finall cause thereof For they thinke publike peace honestie and glorie to be the finall and the principall cause And the efficient cause they make a wise man or a prudent Magistrate or as they term him a good man or a good Citizen But we shall heare Salomon disputing farre otherwise For they haue and doe follow onely the iudgement of reason but he hath the holy Ghost which teacheth him the finall and efficient cause of ciuill and houshold gouernment He hath also reason and experience for he gouerned both a common wealth and a family Wherefore he is taught not only by the holy Ghost but also by experience to speake as he doth For he was occupied in great affaires and had experience of high and weighty matters And we ought the more highly to esteme of this Psalme for that it is written of so excellent a man concerning true politicall and houshold gouernment Which Psalme although it be but short for it conteyneth but only sixe verses yet is it full of singular doctrine And as for the formall and materiall cause he toucheth them not For he seeth that there are houses already there are common wealthes well ordered and also furnished with good lawes and Magistrates But is that enough No forsoth For the two principall causes are yet lacking For as touching the formall cause it may be that the Gentiles had better lawes then the Iewes And as touching the materiall cause it may be also that some Magistrates among the Gentiles were better then they which were among the people of god But these are but onely the matter and the forme We must goe further therefore and seeke to know the principall causes of common wealthes and houshold gouernment who it is that maketh a common wealth and familie also to what ende he ordeyneth the same These causes the Gentiles naturall reason do not know For reason beholdeth but onely the matter and the forme and because she knoweth not the efficient cause therof she goeth about to gouerne common weales and families according to that ende which she her selfe doth imagine Therefore she is deceaued and all her policies and deuises come to naught So Demosthenes taketh vpon him to rule the common wealth of Athens he maketh him selfe the efficient cause thereof that is he goeth about to gouerne it by his owne wisedom and policie as a wise man To what ende Forsoth to establish publike peace and tranquillitie to winne glory and quietnes to himselfe and his cuntrey and to the ende that all thinges may come to passe as he by his owne policie and wisedom hath deuised But God who hateth proude deuises and presumptuous enterprises worketh farre otherwise In the matter then and in the forme there is no default but in the efficient cause the wisest man of all is deceaued The same hapned to Cicero in the common wealth of Rome And the same also hapned to Iulius Caesar. Nowe therefore commeth this teacher Salomon which hath a farre other maner of spirite ioyned with great experience which teacheth who is the author and the ende that is to say the efficient and the finall cause of ciuill and houshold gouernment For he comprehendeth both and teacheth that he which would happily gouerne a familie or a common wealth should not make him selfe the principall cause therof for then should he ouerthrow al. For in both kinds of life a man shall finde many troubles which will vexe and torment his minde driue him to impaciencie cause him to despaire and to be weary of all togither yea and to say that Satan brought him into those calamities And not without cause For why doth he presume to take vppon him such a gouernment as is farre aboue his power So Demosthenes being oppressed with many troubles in the common weale sayd that if there were two wayes set before him the one leading to the common weale and the other to death he would chuse the way that leadeth vnto death before the other Likewise it hapneth in houshold gouernment He that entreth into matrimonie promiseth vnto him selfe all easy pleasaunt thinges He thinketh it an easie matter to frame his wife to bring vp his children and to order his family as he him selfe doth imagine When these things proue contrary to his expectation either his wife is disobedient his children stubborn vnthākful his family negligent or his neighbours troublesome
vnquiet for the troubles of matrimony are infinit he becommeth vnpatient beginneth to complayne saying that if he had knowen thus much before he would neuer haue married a wife Thus doth the foolish man bewayle his state and condition But what kind of life is there vnder heauen wherin thou shalt liue without troubles For where so euer thou liuest thou must needs be in some part either of the politike or housholde gouernment Wherefore thou must so arme thy selfe that thou maist ouercome these troubles and learne to apply these thinges to an other cause without thy selfe which is stronger then thou art Now the holy Ghost alone is that instructer which tea cheth vs to cast our selues into the bosome of the diuine maiestie to trust in him and so in his name to marry a wife to gouerne our family to rule the common weale c. Which thinges if they haue good successe it is wel If not yet is it also well notwithstanding For this is the will of God that when he hath once called vs eyther to any publike office in the common wealth or the gouerning of a familye we should with inuocation and prayer abide and constantly continue in the same And this is the principall doctrine of this Psalme whiche the Papists sing in all their temples and yet of all men they least vnderstand those things whereof it treateth For they flie both ciuill and housholde gouernment and yet are they drowned in both yea no man is there in more busy then they are For the Pope his religious rable haue taken vpon them most impudently to gouerne great monarkes and Princes and the cases and controuersies of matrimony haue beene iudged and determined by Officialls and Commissaries Also they haue ruled by their priuate auricular confession both families kingdoms and Empires Thus it came to passe that both kindes of life were in a maner vtterly abolished For they condemned all those that liued vnder the ciuil gouernment and in matrimony as secular or worldly kindes of life and counselled them to enter into monasteries to their monkish religion like vnto the heathen Philosophers whiche commended the priuate solitarie life aboue all other that is to say that kind of life which hath to do neither with matrimony nor any affaires of the cōmō weale This wicked life of the Papistes the heathen Philosophers God condemneth in the holy Scripture wherein we see to our great comfort that there was neuer yet any holy man which hath not bene exercised in the affaires either of politike or houshold gouernment For God did thrust into the courts of Princes most excellent holy personages as Helias Heliseus Esaias Daniel c. I say nothing of the holy Kings as Dauid Salomon Ezechias others God would also that Iohn the Baptist should be a Courtier and of the Kinges counsell as the text saith VVhen he hearde Iohn he did many thinges So the Lorde hath alwayes exercised his Sainctes and holy seruauntes with the affaires either of ciuill or houshold gouernment Christ onely excepted who was the wisedome of the father He neither married nor bare rule in common wealth For it behoued him to be a singular personage aboue all others and yet he honored both kinds of life that is both marriage and ciuill gouernment The life therefore of the Monkes and the whole rable of the popish religious orders is altogither deuilish in that they will haue nothing to doe with ciuill or housholde affaires And in deede they doe wisely which seke rather to liue in ease quietnes pleasure with the name and opinion of holynes then to be turmoyled and vexed with the miserable cares and calamities wherof the life of man is full They choose that which is most sweete and pleasaunt and leaue the dregges the great cares and troubles of bringing vp children of guiding a familie of gouerning the common wealth and such like vnto others Like as also with their hypocrisie they haue deceiued the whole world and so snared the consciences of those which liued either in matrimonye or in the politike state that they executed those functions and duties against their willes whereunto they were called of god For if a maried man or a Magistrate complayned vnto them of the troubles either of their houshold or ciuill affayres they did not onely not comfort or encourage them patiently to bear those burthens but perswaded them to forsake those godly kindes of life and to enter into Monasteries yea they went so farre that when they dyed they buryed them in a Friers coule They knew not that matrimony and ciuill gouernment are ordained and created of god They knewe not that such should rather haue bene exhorted to patience comforted and taught that God had appoynted them to liue in the state of matrimony and to serue the common wealth that their vocation was of God and pleased God and therfore they ought not to haue forsaken these kinds of life but if any troubles hapned they ought to haue borne them patiently for Gods cause to commend them selues and their affaires wholy vnto god Thus should mens consciences haue bene enstructed and comforted But this coulde the Papistes neuer doe The cause whereof is for that they haue no practise or experience of these matters they haue but onely an idle and a naked speculation thereof and moreouer they are destitute of the holy Ghost But Salomon hath both the one and the other that is to say experience both of politike and housholde gouernment and also the holy Ghoste By these scholemasters he learned that the affaires of men cannot be gouerned by their owne policie and wisedome but that all thinges are ruled and guided by the wisedom of God. Naaman Syrus brought vnto the common wealth not onely great wisedome but the text saith that he was giuen for the deliuerance of Syria that is to say his greate wisedom had bene vnprofitable if God had not geuen good successe thereunto So if any man become a good Prince or a good Magistrate he hath not this by the gift of nature by his good bringing vp or by learning but it is the singular gift of god And this doth experience afterwardes teach when thinges come oftentimes to passe contrary to mans expectation The same hapneth also to the marryed man For howe often doe his deuises and purposes come to nothing True it is therefore that is cōmonly said man purposeth but God disposeth and that which Salomon saith The hart of man purposeth his way but the Lorde guideth his steppes Thou art in distresse and deuisest with thy selfe by what meanes and policie thou maist bring thy self out of trouble but thy purpose is disapointed by the same deuises and policies wherunto thou didest trust thou hurtest thy selfe and ouerthrowest thine owne cause This bringeth great impatiencie Learne therefore that by thine owne wisedom policie thou art notable to rule thine owne
body Nowe then shouldest thou be able to gouerne the bodyes and the mindes of other in any one house citie or common wealth As Ieremy sayth The way of man is not in him selfe neither is it in man to walke and to direct his steppes So this body which thou bearest about is not in thine owne handes This is the true maner of teaching as touching ciuill and houshold gouernment namely to shew the efficient and the final cause thereof And this doctrine is so much the more necessary for that we are all vnder the one of these two gouernments For although thou be not a married man yet must thou needes be in some part of the houshold gouernment For either thou art a sonne a daughter a seruaunt or thou hast seruants or neighbours or else thou are in some place and calling in the house or in the societie of men Nowe it cannot be auoyded but that many thinges will happen vnto thee in thy vocation both tedious and greeuous Wherefore thou must learne how to behaue thy selfe in these kindes of life also from whence they come and to what ende they are ordayned But of all others they haue most neede of this knowledge which are placed in authoritie or any kinde of life aboue others to whom it belongeth to rule either in the common wealth or to gouerne a family that they may know what is the end of their rule gouernment This Psalme therefore properly pertaineth to Salomons Ecclesiastes and not only conteineth the same doctrine but in a maner the same wordes also In Ecclesiastes he saith I haue seene vanities that is I haue seene that there hath bene no successe eyther in housholde or in politike gouernment but vexation of spirit was in them both VVherefore there is nothing better for a man then to reioyce in God and to doe good in his life as much as he is able This Psalme therefore seemeth to be as it were a briefe summe of that booke whereby he teacheth both what is the efficient cause of politike and housholde gouernment and also to what ende they must be directed He teacheth that we are but Gods ministers and workmen and are not the efficient but the instrumentall cause wherby God worketh these things As Wisdom it selfe sayth By me kings rule So the father is the instrument of generation But God is the fountaine and author of life Likewise the Magistrate is but the instrumeÌ„t wherby God maintaineth peace and politike lawes The husband and wife are the instrumentes whereby both house goods are preserued The knowledge hereof bringeth great consolation For if matters fal out otherwise or if we doe not attaine to the ende whereunto they were appoynted we may sa yt I am but an instrument and these thinges are not in my power but are gouerned of a greater and an higher power Wherfore if my wife dye if my children dye if any other trouble affliction or calamitie happen say These thinges are not in my hand I am but onely as an instrument I doe all that I can I labour and trauel I am carefull and vigilant but the Lord in whose hands all these things are giue good successe or else all my endeuour all my trauell is in vaine For if the first cause be lacking the second cause can doe nothing And thus teacheth this Psalme as touching the efficient cause In like maner it teacheth also concerning the final cause Wherby we may vnderstand that all things are the meere gift of God and perteyne to the glory and the seruice of God not to our own glory and our owne pleasure So that we ought to say thus hath the Lord done ht hath giuen this happy ende To him therefore be praise and glory for euer Amen Verse 1. Except the Lord build the house they labour in vaine that build it These are wordes of great force and power whereby he generally condemneth all our labour trauell declaring that it is not the efficieut cause of those commodities for the which we trauell Here view and consider all the histories both holy and prophane of all nations and ye shall see that God gaue such a gift vnto many that they began to rule both common wealthes and families with great commendation But when they sawe that there followed no good successe they were vtterly discouraged often tymes for their great care trauel they gained nothing else but extreme ingratitude Howe many excellent men in the common wealth of Athens howe many emonges the Lacedemonians how many in the common wealth of Rome were condemned cast into exile by vnthankfull citizens Yea this is generally the condition of all men which in their vocation whether it be priuat or publike endeuour to liue vprightly and carefully trauell to doe good in the common weale that they being hindred by the malice deceitful pracâ—ises of others ran neuer bring to passe that they take in hand For Satan deuiseth so many letts stirreth vp so many enemies such hatred conspiracies against them that either they are ouercome with impacience and so cast away all care of the common wealth or being moued with great indignation they become cruel against those whom they see to withstand their proceedings Thus eyther of a desperate mind they forsake all or with crueltie and tiranny they wil rule all But let vs learne to keepe a meane and if God haue called vs to the gouernment of a familie let vs say O Lorde thou hast giuen me a wife house and children Ouer these by thy authoritie I am made a ruler I will doe therefore what in me lyeth that all thinges may be well gouerned If they haue not such successe as I desire I will write Patience But if they come well to passe and take good successe then wil I say thankes and praise be vnto thee O lord It is not my workâ— but thy gift alone And euen so must he doe which is called to any office in the common wealth which hath farre more neede of this holy counsell because of the great troubles and trauells which he must susteyne He that is able thus to doe shall liue quietly in matrimony and in the gouernment of the common wealth and shal enioy the comfort and tranquilitie of heart and conscience in the middes of all daungers and calamities Wherefore this I often teach and this counsell I giue that such as enter into any office in the common wealth or into matrimony should begin with inuocation of Gods holy name and prayer So that who so euer would marry a wife should earnestly call vpon God and craue his helpe that he would not onely giue him a good wife but also that he would gouerne and direct the whole course of his life For when this is neglected he marrieth a wife vpon hope that he shall haue such a one as his new loue doth imagine But afterwards when it falleth out otherwise so that
which he is called vnto in labouring in studying in deuising in prouiding as an instrument So the handes must labour but the hart must looke vpward from labour to the Lord and craue helpe of him So that whiles the outward man is exercised with labour and trauel the hart of the new man in the steede of care and trauel must fâ—ye to prayer and say Lorde I obey and willingly followe thy calling I wil therefore doe all thinges in thy name Gouerne thou direct my labours This consolation is so great that it can not be expressed For although no successe follow yet art thou quiet in mind sayest Thus it hath pleased god I am not the principall cause to doe what I would but the instrument cause onely haue done what I could For like as when thou hurte â—ethy haâ—â— with thyne axe or with some other toole in doing thy works yet thy hand remaineth the same it was before and is not caste away euen so although thy family be disobedient commende the matter to God and doe what thou canst then shalt thou doe both these thinges so as God wil be wel pleased that is thou shalt rise earely and not rise earely thou shal labour and yet shalt not labour in vaine For as touching the old man thou eatest the bread of sorrowe but thy hart is quiet and at rest in hope of succour and the blessing of the Lord. These thinges we dayly teach and yet is the couetousnes of men so great that there is no ende of heaping vp riches by hooke or crooke by right or wrong Yea they wil rather omitte the seruice of God the hearing and preaching of his worde then any gaineful labour They doe not see that whiles they neglect the worde and seeke their owne gaine they procure vnto them selues a farre greater losse which although they doe not presently feele yet shall it come to passe that their riches which with so greate labour they heape togither by Gods iust iudgement shall perish eyther by theeues by warre by fire or otherwise or else they shall neuer come to the heyre whom they doe appoynt But in Popery this perswasion was deepely rooted in mens heartes that if they had once heard a Masse they beleued that what so euer they tooke in hand that day should prosper Howe great then is our impietie which doe not giue that reuerence to God and his word which they gaue to their own idolatrous worke yea which preferre our owne gayne our wealth and riches aboue God and the incomparable rich treasure of his word Wherefore it shall come to passe that for the punishment of this sinne the world shall be brought to greater pouertie and from day to day there shall be greater scarsitie of all thinges like as we also doe see at this day that there is greater dearth of all thinges then hath bene in times past What is the cause Forsoth we rise earely we lye downe late and eate the bread of affliction We delite in earthly cares in toyle and trauell be it neuer so paynefull to enrich our selues and in the meane season we neglect God and his word Therefore will God heape vppon vs aboundantly both cares and calamities end that most iustly for that it is which we so greedely seeke But I returne to the text In the which ye see that housholde and ciuill gouernment are wholy committed vnto vs but yet so that we must know and acknowledge our selues to be but Gods instruments and Gods workemen not authors or first causes of these diuine matters Therefore the Prophet thought it not enough to say affirmatiuely God him selfe gouerneth and maketh the citie he buildeth the house and appoynteth the family but he setteth downe also the negatiue and sayth Ye doe it not And this is the part of a good teacher But as I haue sayd the worlde can not abide the negatiue For the worlde sayth This will I this haue I done and this will I doe It will needes be the gouerner of common wealthes and rule in Gods steede Wherefore it receaueth a iust reward in that his enterprises are all in vayne and his labours without successe As the Psalme sayth Their dayes are consumed in vanitie that is to say they were deade before they could bring to passe that they tooke in hande For since they will not beleeue that God gouerneth all thinges they see their owne policie to be but vanities their labours vnprofitable and of none effect Let euery one of vs therefore abyde in his degree and calling and let vs knowe that this God requireth of vs that we say I beleue in one God that is God will still be God the creator and maker of all things and vs he will take and account as his workemen onely as instruments and not authors or principall causes But because we couet to be authors and efficient causes therefore we finde nothing but vanitie and bread of affliction This sentence must be enlarged and applied to all states and degrees of men and not onely to artificers and men of occupation which rise earely to doe their worke Not that it is euill to rise earely and goe late to bed not that it is euill to be exercised with labour all the day For these thinges God requireth of all men but sloth and idlenes is accursed But we must here put a distinction betwene labour and presumption He doth not condemne labour but diuilish presumption he condemneth because that we not contented with our owne trauel and care doe take vpon vs also Gods office and care which he hath for vs and he will wrest from vs his diuine power and maiesty which we so presumptuously vsurpe and take vpon vs he will haue vs to labour and not to be idle For this tentation is naturally rooted in vs that we presume to be as gods This diuilish presumption beganne in paradise when Satan sayd to Eue Ye shall be like gods it alwaies continueth fast fixed in this flesh so that it can not be suppressed as it ought to be and as we both teach and are taught but needes we will be gods This is therefore a very naturall disease and corruption of the creature Against this presumption and this care which perteyneth to the diuine maiestie alone the holy Ghost here fighteth when he sayth that it is not our endeuour wisedom and policie but God him selfe that ruleth these thinges and we are but his instruments But the wicked are neuer the better Yea the godly also doe offend herein very often For we are not content with our owne state and condition but we will be gouerners also and wil appoynt the beginning the middes and the end as may best serue for our owne commoditie Wherefore we tyre our selues with vayne cares night and day as the examples of the whole world doe declare One man purposeth to marry this mayden or that and in ordering of his house in guyding of his familie to vse
holy and a profitable kind of life is worthy of the commendation which this Psalme here giueth vnto it ▪ although the flesh and the world can not praise it because of the incommodities and troubles which it bringeth with it but highly extolleth the single life This is not to follow the word of God but the iudgement of the flesh which commendeth giftes and maketh a difference of them according to his own fantasie and thinketh to serue God more truely and purely in the single life then in matrimony as Hierome doth in his pestilent bookes which he writeth against Iouinian who sheweth him selfe to haue more learning and iudgement in his litle finger then Hierome hath in all his body For he ought not to haue praysed virginitie with the reproch and disprayse of matrimony but thus should he rather haue sayd that as they which are virgins should serue God in their gift and calling so matrimony is not to be condemned but praysed as a kind of life ordeyned of God euen then when nature was yet sounde and vncorrupt and not yet infected with any sinne But Hierome hath neyther so much godlines nor iudgement but peruersly bursteth out into these wordes It is good for a man so to be therefore to haue a wife it is euill But to be a virgine and to be married although they bee diuerse giftes yet is God as well pleased with the one as with the other For where as they obiect these wordes as touching matrimony Such shall haue trouble in the flesh this do we also confesse Notwithstanding matrimony is not the cause hereof but sinne which they also haue that are not married Gen. 3. Thus much I thought good to say as touching the grosse error prophane opinion of Hierome trifling and by foolish allegories with his companion Origen imagining spirituall fathers and spirituall children whereby they haue giuen occasion vnto the Pope to make him selfe the bridegrome or the husband of the church and so one error hath brought forth an other But I would rather wish that this bridegrome were hanged vppon a tree with Iudas and buried in hell then that by this meanes he should spoile Christ of his name For Christ Iesus alone is the husband of the Church All the Sainctes of God besides are but the frendes of the bridegrome as Iohn the Baptist calleth himselfe The Church is the spouse or the wife the children are the faithfull which dayly come vnto the marriage These also are made the spouse for they become partakers of the good things and the blessinges of the bridegrome and they obteyne the righteousnes of Christ and of his merites If the Pope be good then is he in the number of these and not the bridegrome not the husband but the spouse and is partaker of the benefites and the blessinges of the bridegrome But if he be euill he is the bridegrome of Satan and the friend of Iudas This is then the summe and effect of our aunswere that this Psalme compelleth none to marry as though it were necessarie that al should liue in matrimony For it is not against these words of Christ he that is able to receiue this let him receiue it But this is his onely drift and purpose to set foorth and commend matrimony contrary to the corrupt iudgement of the flesh and the pestilent examples of the world which doe altogither fight against this kind of life because of the troubles and incommodities which are incident thereunto These troubles they that flie will not feele therefore abhorre matrimony defile them selues with whordom and al vncleannes and so do much hurt by their deuilish and damnable example Against these viperous tongues examples full of offence this Psalme armeth vs The world calleth the wife a necessary euill But Peter vpon certeyne consideration and yet without reproch calleth her a weake vessell But marke what the holy Ghost sayth in this place marke how he bewtifieth and commēdeth the wife whiles he compareth her to a fruitefull vine and the children which she bringeth forth to oliue plants Tell me if in any monuments there are to be found such two excellent similitudes as these are yea if there be the like to be seene in all the Scriptures For he taketh two of the most excellent trees that are to be found vpon the earth the vine and the oliue of the which are gathered two notable and precious licours to these he compareth the wife and the children her fruite before the world most contemptible things The wife if you consider her condition is farre inferior vnto the man in those thinges which pertaine either to the body or to the minde specially as touching the affaires which are done by the man and can not be done by the woman But the holy Ghost considereth the gift and through the greatnes and excellency of the gifte he couereth what incommoditie so euer is in the womankinde and shadoweth the same with most excellent and goodly similitudes Now that we may see somwhat the causes why the holy Ghost so greatly commendeth the woman kinde let vs imagine that we are all vnmaryed for the worlde detesteth mariage but specially they that are vnmarried Yea let vs presuppose that in the worlde there is neither man nor woman but such a one as is neither of them both that by this meanes singlenes of life may be imagined to be the more perfect What shall become I pray you of such a happy world pure chastitie and singlenes of life how shall mankind continue Shall not the whole world within twenty yeares be like vnto a desert and a wilde wildernes what vse shall there be then of Golde and siluer Yea what vse shall there be of the Sunne the Moone and all things else that growe vpon the earth ▪ if mankind suddenly decaying matrimony by this meanes should be abolished and singlenes of life onely aduaunced Yea where shall the ministery of the word become What fruite shall there be of the benefite of Christe Why doost thou then so praise the single life that therby thou shouldest diminish the dignitie and excellent fruite of matrimony Nay praise them both according to their worthynes and especially mark here how the holy Ghost teacheth thee to beholde and to consider of thy wife that is to say not as weake flesh which doth the common offices and duties of nature with reuerence and shamefastnes be it spoken for so I am compelled to speake because of the blasphemous contemners of the creature of God For why doost thou not likewise euen in the vine also Why doest thou not contemne it for the dunge that is layed to the roote thereof Nay rather hast thou not a more regard of the licour which by this meanes is gotten out of the vine Likewise in the Oliue the roughnes of the rinde offendeth no man or that the roote thereof must be dressed and as it were fatned with doung For we haue all a
the cause why cities were first builded that men ioyning their strēgth power to gither might be able to defend them and theirs from the force and crueltie of others Afterwards when there was not ayde and helpe enough in one citie many ioyned their powers togither So common weales and kingdoms were first begunne to stablish and mainteyne peace which married persons haue neede of Nowe that nature did thus vnite and ioyne these thinges togither and taught men so to do reason it selfe doth see and perceaue But the true cause the holy Ghost here setteth forth to witte that these thinges come of the blessing which the Lord giueth to married persons but specially to the godly who ought to knowe and acknowledge that the first blessing is to feare God the next is to haue wife and children the third to enioy politike peace and quietnes What wouldest thou haue more Wherefore for thy vine and oliue plantes which thou hast in thy house thou shalt see that the Lord giueth Kings Princes lawes and whatsoeuer is necessary for the defence and preseruation of the common weale and peace And here we are admonished that since Kinges Princes and Magistrates are ordeyned for the benefite of married persons and families they ought likewise to yeld obedience vnto them and whatsoeuer else they haue neede of whiles they watch for the preseruation of peace For they are the ministers of God as Paule calleth them giuen of God for this purpose that we may enioy his blessinges in peace Which peace how great a benefite it is the common prouerbe of the Germanes witnesseth which sayth that a man which hath two kine should giue the one that he may quietly enioy the other For what auayleth it thee if thou haue thy house full of riches and are not able to defend the same against theeues and robbers Seeing therefore that this is done by the Magistrate yea seeing that iudgement and lawes doe restore that to the owner which is vniustly taken away good cause there is why honour and obedience is to be giuen to the Magistrate as the minister of Gods blessings which he bestoweth to the married persons For this third blessing of matrimony is here recited of Dauid that they may see the wealth and welfare of Ierusalem that is to say that they may see Ierusalem flourish first by true religion and sounde doctrine and secondly by godly Magistrates For these are the benefites and blessinges not onely of one house but of all Ierusalem Thus the holy Ghoste commendeth vnto vs the giftes of God in a goodly order The firste is the feare of god This feare comprehendeth the thinges which are conteined in the first table Nowe for the feare of God afterwardes God giueth house and famylye Thirdly for houses and familyes well ordered and gouerned in the feare of God followeth also the thirde blessing that is to say a happy common weale Wherefore let vs learne to vnderstande rightly the benefites which we receaue by godly Magistrates and for them let vs be thankful Againe let vs learne that this gift of God to haue good Magistrats is giuen vnto those and for those maryed persons and those familyes which feare god Which gift the wicked also doe enioy but yet no otherwise then swine doe their draffe and swill without any thankes giuing vnto God or thankful remembrance of this or any other of Gods giftes For as the destruction of Sodome was differred because of Loth so oftentimes for a fewe godly familyes or a godly Prince God blesseth the whole common weale Verse 6. That thou mayst see thy childrens children and peace vpon Israel It is giuen to many to haue children in matrimony and to many it is not Therefore we sayd before that this is a commendation and not a promise perteining to euery man perticularly but generally vnto matrimony to the kinde of life it self So vnto some it is giuen to see the children and nephewes of their children To some againe matrimony is all togither barren and fruiteles For these things the Lord distributeth to euery one as is most expedient for them Notwithstanding the godly married persons must pray vnto God for them and most commonly also they doe enioy them And maruelous is that naturall affection and loue especially in olde men which they beare vnto their childrens children for they loue them more tenderly then their owne Wherefore for as much as this Psalme tendeth to the setting forth and bewtifying of matrimony and wisheth all felicitie to the married persons the holy ghost addeth this moreouer concerning their long and fruitfull posteritie as a singular comfort because he would omit none of those good blessings whiche are giuen of God to suche as are marryed though not to all yet to the most parte Nowe although we sayde before that all such prayers haue a promise included in them yet notwithstanding this is the maner of corporall promises that God giueth them so as is most profitable and expedient for euery man Wherefore we must apply the promise which is included in this prayer to the kind of life it selfe and not to euery married person namely that such as liue in godly matrimony and feare God shall encrease and multiply vnto a fruiteful and a great posteritie and that for their sake the blessing shall flowe vnto all the people as he addeth in this clause peace vpon Israell that is to say all wealth and prosperitie I wish vnto Israell for thy sake Thus the Psalme commendeth and defendeth matrimony against those spitefull sclanders and reproches of the world which can not iudge but according to the sense and feeling of the fleshe Wherefore as it is offended with the troubles and burthens of matrimony so is it offended also with those things which happen in ciuill gouernment when it must obey lawes pay tribute to the Prince or be are any other like burthen For it would so liue that what soeuer is best or most pleasant in matrimonye that onely it would enioy without all griefe or molestation As we may see there be many whiche marry wiues because they imagine that there is nothing in matrimony but mere loue amorous delites and fleshly pleasures In like maner how many shal ye find which through an inordinate loue and desire of glory seeke to rule and be in authoritie But afterwardes when in matrimony they must suffer troubles and vexations and in politike gouernment enuy hatred cursed speaking and sclaunders they cry out that they were deceiued and become impatient Yea it can not otherwise be but that these things must so come to passe For that which is the best and most excellent in both kindes of life the blessing of the Lord I meane they nothing esteme Wherfore we must haue a speciall regard vnto the blessing and we must haue also the word of God before our eyes to the ende that when all other thinges are full of daungers full of troubles miseries and vexations we may rest and
Forsoth to set forth vnto vs what they are against whome he fighteth and to giue a further light to the former sentence by setting forth the contrary As if he should say I haue learned by experience O Lord why there is mercie with thee why of right thou mayst chalenge this title vnto thy selfe that thou art merciful and forgiuest sinnes For in that thou shuttest all vnder mercy and leauest nothing to the merites and workes of men therefore thou art feared But if all things were not shut vp vnder thy mercy or that we coulde take away sinnes by our owne power no man woulde feare thee but the whole world would proudly cōtemne thee For daily experience doth witnesse that wheresoeuer this knowledge of the free mercie of God is not there men walke in the presumption of their owne merites Behold the religious man but especially the Minorite which kind of men I haue alwayes abhorred aboue others for their intolerable pride He because he hath a rule and a lawe wherunto he must frame his life liueth without all true feare of God walketh in great securitie Uery fewe there be which come to the true knowledge of sinne or haue any feeling of desperation For they that feele desperation are glad to heare that there is mercie with the lord But these men doe persecute this doctrine of mercy free grace and forgiuenes of sinnes with fire and sword For the nature of the law is this that it maketh men proud presumptuous and contemners of grace as Paule notably setteth foorth in the Iewes Rom. 2. Thou art called a Iewe and restest in the lawe and gloriest in God c. They that are such are not moued with the authoritie of the Apostles nor with the miracles of Christ raising vp the dead to life but are as vnsensible as stones For in this securitie they are not onely ignorant what this propitiation and this mercie is but also they persecute the same Such therefore do commit a double sinne more greeuous then the Publicanes and our Sauiour Christ sayth well of them Harlots and Publicanes shall enter before you into the kingdom of heauen For they are easily perswaded that they are sinners and that they haue need of the free mercie of God forgiuenes of sinnes But contrariwise Annas Caiphas the other Pharises whē they heare these things doe laugh and girne thereat can not abide to be taught of any Now for as much as perteineth vnto them both the Lord hath decreed that righteousnes should not be estemed according to our workes but simply according to mercie the remission of sinnes For if righteousnes should come of workes or of the law then eyther desperation must needes follow if the law be not perfectly obserued or else presumption if it be obserued In desperation there is greater feare then should be in presumption there is no feare at all Therefore the meane betwene them both is this that God shutteth vp al vnder mercy Notwithstanding he taketh not away the law For without the law this life can not continue In what a miserable state should the common wealth be if murthers adulteries and robberies should be committed permitted without punishment or execution of law Moreouer the workes and exercises of the godly must be guided ordered by the word of god For this purpose God will haue the law to continue and accounteth it for an holy obedience in those that doe beleue But as touching sinne he commaundeth that we should cast away all trust and confidence in the law and put our trust onely in the mercie of God set foorth vnto vs in Christ Iesus crucified for our sinnes By this meanes presumption is taken away and feare remaineth not such a feare as is in the desperate but such as we see in good and well nurtered children towardes their parents No Monke therefore shall be saued because of his order or strait life I likewise shal not be saued because I preach Christ with carefull diligence faithfull endeuour The Prince is not saued because he faithfully gouerneth and defendeth his subiectes But as touching the Monke you may easily proue this to be true For that kind of life is altogither contrary to the word of god But to teach and instruct the Churches to gouerne the common wealth are in deede most holy and excellent works and yet are they the works of the law which of them selues bring either desperation or presumption Wherefore though these works be neuer so perfect and holy yet is there no saluation but in this alone that there is mercie with the Lord that he may be feared Wherefore God hath iustly shut vp al vnder sinne that he may haue mercie vpon all For if you leaue any thing to the nature of man wherby he may deserue the fauour of God no man will feare or worship God but all men will come vnto God as the Monkes doe with their abstinence prayer obedience and such like But by this meanes God is lost and the idoll of mans hart is worshipped in steede of God. For whiles the Monke thinketh to please God with his hempten girdle wherwith he ought rather to be hanged vp vpon a tree then girded whiles he thinketh by the obseruation of other traditions to please God doth he not depart from the true God set his owne imaginations in the stede of God whiles he is perswaded that God thinketh the same that he imagineth Of the righteousnes of the lawe therefore followeth plaine idolatrie which imagineth a strange God and loseth the true god For the true God is propitiation and mercie through christ But such as glory in their works would make their works propitiatory and auaileable to deserue grace Wherfore God reiecteth all workes and setteth forth his naked and bare mercy that he may be feared and not contemned of the presumptuous hereby taking away all cause of presumption Let vs learne then out of this verse or this general proposition that when the doctrine of the remission of sinnes of grace or propitiation is lost it followeth that in steede thereof Idolatrie must needes reigne For take away grace the feare of God also as the Prophet saith must needes followe And what is it else to feare God but to reuerence to worship God also to acknowledge that he is ful of mercy goodnes therefore to obey him This God did I lose when I was a Monke and walked in the confidence of mine owne righteousnes For by experience I am able to proue that of the most perfect righteousnes of the law there can nothing else followe but either desperation which is more seldom or presumption which is more common For the nature of man and the deuill can not beware but they must needes presume Thou wilt say then Shall we not keep the law shall we not doe good workes yes verily we are bound to doe them For God therfore hath a church
therfore it putteth vppe the mindes of men with pride vntill they be humbled of the Lorde and so learne that there is no helpe in this righteousnes before the iudgement of God. How often haue we sene that great notable diuines which liued among men with a maruelous shew of holines with a great presumption of their own righteousnes at length when death approched haue falne into desperation fled to most vaine foolish trifles for help succour in so much the not only yet liuing they wrapped them selues in a fryers coule but also being dead were buried in the same So I remember that a notable man amōg lawyers of name fame the chiefest when he was at the point of death vttered these words O si subulcus potius quam iure cōsultus fuissem Oh saith he that I had bene a swineheard rather then a lawyer For he perceaued that in that daunger the administration of iustice be it neuer so exact helpeth nothing In like case when Cicero saw him self to be in daunger through the power of Augustus and Antonius his aduersaries he perceiued that there was no comfort nor succour to be found in all his great knowledge and learning but that all his learning and all that great studie and knowledge of philosophie vanished away and auailed him nothing The same hapned likewise to Demosthenes flying from Antipater To conclude all such examples doe teach that to be most true which Salomon sayth He that exalteth his house seeketh destruction But this our Courtiers doe not beleue They clyme loue to be aloft they seeke to rule and in deed they rule euen as he that driueth the cart vntil it sticke fast in the myre and can neither goe forward nor backward And this is the cause that kingdomes and common weales are in a maner nothing else but ruines and destructions Who would thinke if he consider the ciuill gouernment which was vnder the first Emperours that the Romane Empire yea and many other common weales also could continue the space of one day For as Titus Liuius sayth they can neither abide their faultes to be touched nor remedies to be applyed thereunto and therefore they fall of their owne sway as an house that is builded to high But the daunger is much greater when in Religion men haue proud lookes and proud hartes and walke in such matters as are hidden from them that is to say when they please them selues because of their holines thinke that they sitt in Gods owne lappe and yet know nothing of the free mercie of God in Christ and the forgiuenes of sinnes but walke altogither in their owne workes and say with the Pharisey that they fast twise a weeke they giue tyth they are not adulterers extorcioners vniust although their hartes be full of all maner of filthy lustes This presumption continueth vntill they see them selues to be in daunger of death then all these vayne helpes with all their false hopes vanish away and these voyces of desperation or such like follow I haue liued wickedly I haue broken my vowes I haue not obserued my rule c. When then I say wast thou made a Monke was it not because thou shouldest ascende to righteousnes But by this meanes thou hast descended into hell because thou wouldest be exalted They that rest in the confidence and trust of their owne righteousnes either fall at the length into these tentations or else they dye like an oxe or a cowe Verse 2. VVhen I did humble my soule and cause it to keepe silence then was I as a childe that is wayned from his mother Here he sheweth plainly by his owne experience what daunger it is for a man to trust to his owne righteousnes Wherefore let vs learne what these wordes in the Epistle to the Hebrewes The sinne hanging fast on or cleaning fast vnto vs doe importe And let vs not follow the foolish and rash opinion of the common people which by a fewe sermons thinke them selues to haue atteined the knowledge of the whole Scripture Thou hast peraduenture heard all but thou hast not yet beleued al. Thou hast not learned those experiences and practises which in a Christian are the chiefest namely of faith of prayer of the crosse whereof Dauid here treateth most effectually and diuinely as the excellencie therof doth require I caused my soule sayth he to keepe silence and humbled my selfe I sayd vnto my soule be still glory not hold thy peace When he sayth I caused my soule to keepe silence the hebrew word signifieth to confound or bring to nothing As in Osea it is sayd I will make thy mother that is to say the Synagoge to keepe silence As much to say as I will destroy her and make her wast So in an other Psalme he sayth Be still that is prouoke not the Lord with your obstinacie and presumption but obey and humble your selues So sayth he here When I did not refrayne from presumption and trusting in mine owne righteousnes and the righteousnes of the lawe yea euen in God him selfe if he be worshipped by keping of the law when I did not desire that God although after a sort I kept the lawe would not enter into iudgement with his seruaunt this I say when I did not then was I in deede euen as a child wayned form his mothers breast The Prophet speaketh here of a matter of great importance and yet this similitude seemeth to set forth some light or smal matter For why doth he rather take his similitude of a childe then of a man which is growne to his full strength But this is not onely a fitte but also a very goodly and a pleasant similitude For what greater miserie can happen to a child then to be wayned and kept from the mothers breast This seemeth to the infant a very death and destruction So saith he here When I was ledde away with the spirite of pride and securitie and lost the dugge of Gods heauenly grace that is to say of the remission of sinnes and of the free mercie of God in Christe then was I in deede like vnto a childe which hath lost his mother without whose ayde and succour he can not liue that is I was brought to extreme and most certaine daunger of death and condemnation Wherfore the Prophet leadeth vs here to that necessary distinction betwene the law the Gospel For the law is a necessary doctrine to beat downe the pride of sinne in vs which riseth of that confidence of our owne righteousnes There is also as before I haue said a presumption in riches power wisdom but that presumption may be cured many wayes But this which presumeth of our own righteousnes is vncurable except that waining come wherof Dauid here speaketh by the meanes wherof our conscience being stirred vp through the terror of the law is forced to examine our life our maners conuersation But because we are