cast them away as the author to the Hebrews saith Cast away 〈◊〉 12. the things that presse downe To mortifie â—hem as it is sayde to the Collâ—sians Moâ—tiâ—ie your earthlie members and names diueis Col. 3. perticulers to abstaine from them as Peter 1. Pet. 2. saith Abstaine from fleshlye lustes that fight against the soule To haue no fellowship with them as to the Ephesians Paul Ephe. 5. saith Haue no fellowship with the vnfruitfull workes of darknesse but reprooue them rather To cleanse them as the Holye Ghost saith by â—ames Cleanse your hands Iam. 4. yee sinners and purge your hearts yee wauâ—ring minded There be some things in nature indeed that must not bee cast off as the faculties of the soule and members of the bodie but whatsoeuer is corrupt in nature must bee layde aside not iudgement but the corruption of iudgement not affection Eph. 4. 26 as some thinke all anger is sinne but the corruption of affection So not the members of the bodye as some haue taken those wordes of our Sauiour Christ Mat. 5. 29 If thine eye offend thee plucke it out c. but the corruption of those members and so of all the rest And as the Scripture doth command vs to cast off the corruption of nature generally so perticulerly saith Lie not sweare not steale not commit not adultery kill not c. Some will lay aside some sinnes in their manners but not the loue of them in their mindes as the Pharises were outwardly like painted Tombes but inwardly full of rottennesse some will leaue some little sinnes but not great sinnes as Herod that reformed many things but would not put awaye his brother Philips wife and some will leaue some great sinnes but not little Mark 6. sinnes they will not forsweare but they will sweate in their common talke they will not rob openly but they will deceiue secretly But all these are borne of the flesh not of the spirite In the new history of Scot-land there is mention made of a controuersie betweene Scotland and Ireland for an Iland lying betweene them both at length it was put to the determination of a wise Frenchman whose order was that a snake should be put into the Iland aliue and if it did still liue the Iland should belong to Scotland and if not it should belong to Ireland because it is said there are no snakes in Ireland which is aleaged to this ende to shew that if the venomous corruptions of our nature doe liue and thriue in men they belong to the kingdome of Sathan for that which is borne of the flesh is flesh and cannot enter into the kingdome of God And that which is borne of the spirit is spirit That is he that is a spirituall man is spiritually 1. Cor. 2. 15. minded walkes after the spirit as he that is borne of the flesh is carnally minded Rom. 8. 1 and walkes after the flesh so he that is borne againe of the spirit is spiritually minded and manuered He meanes not that the substance of the spirite is infused into a regenerate man as the familie doe dreame but the qualities and guiftes of the spirite neyther is it meant that a regenerate man that is borne of the spirite is all spirite as a naturall man is all flesh for wee must not thinke any man can be perfect in this life Paul saith of himselfe which is true much more Phil. 3. 12 of others That he was not come to perfection but onely did striue vnto it therefore to the Romans hee complaines of his imperfections which hee calles the lawe Rom. 7. of his members or remnants of the flesh that still did rebell against the spirite for although Saint Iohn â—ayth Hee that is 1. Ioh. 3. 9 borne of God sinnes not yet the meaning is not that hee sinnes not at all for in the first Chapter hee saith If wee say we haue no sinne wee lye and sinne in saying so But the meaning is as some take it hee sinnes not as hee is borne of God or so farre as he is regenerate but as the most take it he sinnes not as he did before he was regenerate willingly and notoriouslye therfore when our Sauiour saith that which is borne of the spirit is spirit the meaning is he that is regenerate is a spirituall man not the flesh but the spirit not the corruption of nature but the sanctifying grace of God dooth rule and is predominate in him Therefore the sinnes of the children of God are called infirmities because they proceede from corruption that is weakened and made infirme in them by grace and therfore the duties of the children of God are called good workes because they proceede from grace but passing by our reason our will our affection our tongues handes and other members that are corrupt by nature and but in part sanctified they receiue some defilement yet because the motion from whence they come being the motion of Gods grace the end whereto they tend being Gods glorye and the ground whereon they stand beeing Gods worde is good therefore they are called good workes are accounted good and accepted in the faith of Christ who whose workes were absolutely good and therfore the workes of those that are regenerate and beleeue in him are accounted as his are for this cause a regenerate man is called a spirituall man taking his name of the more excellent part as a man is called a melancholike man not as if he had no fleame or choller in him but because that humour beares the greatest sway in him so a Christian is called a spirituall man not as if there were no remnantes of flesh in him but because the spirit beares the greatest swaye and ouer rules corruption in him therefore we must put a difference betweene iustification sanctification The Papistes speake of such a sanctification as may iustifie a man before God but iustification must be teached by faith from Christ Iesus whose perfect iustice is imputed to those that beleeue Gal. 3. 1â— our sanctification is alwayes in this life imperfect and mingled with some wantes but yet so as regeneration makes a man exceedingly to differ from a naturall man he that is of the flesh saith the Apostle Rom. 8. 5 sauours the things of the flesh that is corruption affectes them delightes them c. But hee that is of the spirite that is as Christ saith Borne of the spirite saueurs the things of the spirite a regenerate man in that he is borne of God loues his heauenly father and delightes in him but hee that is not borne of God but is a naturall man Iob 27. 10. dooth not beeing nothing of kin to him A regenerate man delightes in the lawe of Rom. 7. 22. Ioh. 1. 20 God an vnregenerate man dooth not but hateth the light a regeneraâ—e man loues those that be regenerate being the children of God and his
preuaile against vs and to this end let vs know as our Sauiour Christ saith to his Disciples Yee haue neede of patience so wee haue neede of knowledge of faith of hope of loue and other graces of the spirit of God for Sathan will not onely assault vs but perhaps continue his siege battery a day a weeke a moneth and giue vs no respight and though he will sound the retreate and depart sometime for a season as Saint Luke Luk. 4. saith yet he will returne againe perhapes another way and set vpon vs by some other meanes therefore arme your selues saith the Apostle and resist him and if this battell seeme hard and tedious vnto vs remember in what cause we fight and for what crowne our Sauiour Christ saith in the Reuelation He that ouercometh shall inherite great and glorious things and Paul saith The Saintes shall iudge the Angelles that is the deuilles Paul saieth to 1. Cor. 6. Timothy I haue fought a good fight and then he addeth I looke for the Crowne the Saints in heauen that are now crowned haue come vnto it thorow many temptations and tribulations therefore let vs harken to the Apostles exhortation be strong in the Lorde put on the whole armour of God and resist in the euil day and the God of peace shall treade Rom. 16. downe sathan vnder ouâ— feete shortly ⧠The Houre-glasse of Mans life PSALME 90. 12. Teach vs so to number our dayes that we may apply our hartes to wisedome THIS whole booke is called the booke of Psalmes because it contayneth in it for the most part matter of praise and thankesgiuing though there be many other doctrines mingled therewithall They are called the Psalmes of Dauid because he compiled most of them not because he made them all for this was made by Moses as yee may see by the title of it We call this the 90. Psalme because it is bound with the Psalmes and standes in the place of that number but it is intituled and that more fitly agreeing with the matter of it A prayer of Moses In which Moses setteth forth the estate of mans life generally and perticulerly of the people of Israell in the wildernesse where he saw many thousands of them that came out of Egypt dye some by one meanes and some by another as it is more largely recorded in the booke of Numbers Now Moses considered that many of their forefathers liued almost a thousand yeares whereto hee hath respect in the 4. verse where he saith One thousand yeâ—res in thy sight is but as yesterday and the life of man was growne shorter and shorter and in his time ordinarily it was not one hundred yeares as appeares in the 10. verse The dayes of a man are threescore yeares and tenne or perhaps fourescore which was nothing to their fathers how much lesse when they were cut off by strange punishmentes in the middest of their course and dyed thicke and three-fould without warning Now after the mention of those things he breakes out into this speech Teach vs to know our dayes that we may apply our harts to wisedome In which words are two things to be considered first a petition secondly a reason of the petition The petition is in these first wordes Teach vs to number our dayes The reason is in these other wordes in the end of the verse that we may apply our hartes to wisedome Wherby we are taught first of al that there is a number of euery mans dayes for this difference to be considered betweene this life and the next life this life hath an end therefore it is called temporall the next life endes not therefore it is called eternall the certaine number of our daies is knowne Iob. 14. 5 to God and not to vs. But he doth not desire to know the certaine number of his dayes but rather the vncertaine number of them that is that God would teach them to know the breuity and shortnes of mans life Therefore he sets it downe by dayes not by yeares and this he desires not for himselfe only but for the people and therefore he saith not teach me but teach vs to number our dayes Now according to Moses prayer God hath taught vs this point in the Scripture that all men are mortall and must dye as the Lord saide to Adam In the day that thou eatest of the tree in the middest of the garden thou shalt die although the diuell who for that cause our Sauiour Christ saith Iohn 8. Was a lyer from the beginning spake contrary and said to Eue Thou shalt not die at all yet indeed Adam died for although he dyed not by by yet he was a dead man because sentence was passed vpon him and all his life afterward was but a dying life euerything then sauoring of death and euery day beeing a step vnto death If any will inquire what death is to speake generally it is a seperation from the condition of this mortall and temporall life but to speake more properlye it is a seperation of the soule and body as the ioyning togeather of the soule and body at the first was the cause of life as it is said God breathed into Adam the breath of life and Gen. 1. man was made a liuing soule so the seperation of the soule from the bodye is the cause of death as Christ saieth to the ritch man This night they shall fetch away thy soule thou shalt dye This Adam by his sinne brought not onelye vpon himselfe but vpon all his posteritye as Paul saieth Rom. 5. By man sinne entred into the worlde and death by sinne and death went ouer all men forasmuch as all men haue sinned therefore it is saide not onely of Adam himselfe but of dyuers of the fathers that were his posterity to shew the trueth of Gods threatning to Adam In the daye Gen. 5. thou doest eate of such a tree thou shalt dye And to shewe the falcehoode of the diuelles promise to Eue that though sâ—e did eate it she should not dye at all such and such a one liued thus many hundred yeares but he dyed for though the day be neuer so long at length comes euensong Heb. 9. the Apostle saith It is appointed to al men once to dye after that comes the iudgement when all men are dead then comes the general iudgemeÌ„t but when euery one dyes then comes his perticuler iudgement as appeares in the example of the ritch man and Lazarus for as the day of death leaues vs so the day of doome shall finde vs therfore Dauid when he laye sicke said I goe the waye of all the worlde for death is as an vnpartiall iudge that is indifferent to all poore and rich Iob speakes of some men that would seeke death either for the auoyding of present sorrow or procuring of future ioy but whether a man seekes it or no he shall be sure it will seeke him We read of a HeatheÌ„
subiectes therefore Wrest not the lawe Respect no persons Hauing commaunded maiestrates to iudge righteous iudgement and forbidden them to wrest the lawe to wrong iudgement hee now giues them warning of two things that commonlye drawes them the wrong way the first is respect of persons the second is respect of rewardes there is something that mooues maiestrates to giue wrong iudgement now these are the commonest thinges therefore it is saide respect no persons as if he should say thou shalt not looke to the strength to the beauty to the ritches or aliance of any man nor to the letters he bringeth from any man to spare him if he bee worthy to be punished nor to punish him if he be to be spared but looke to his cause therfore in Exodus it is said Thou shalt not fauour the poore nor honour the ritch in priuate respects the poore are to be fauoured and the ritch are to be honoured but not in publick iustice God himselfe doth respect no persons as Peter saith to Cornelius but Acts. 10. lookes to the goodnesse of a man of what nation or calling soeuer he be no more must we respect persons The Apostle forbids all Iam. 2. Christians to preferre a man in religion because of his ritches or apparrell so it is forbidden here to Iudges and Officers the law is giuen for ritch men aswell as poore a ritch man may no more lawfully kill commit adultrie or steale then a poore man God hath done and will doe iustice aswell on great men as meane men so must the Maiestrate if a poore man come stript of all riches and policie to worke for him and friends to speake for him yet if he haue a good cause the maiestrate must coūtenance him if another man comes furnished with all these things if he haue an euil cause the Maiestrate must punish him Iustice must not be like a Spiders web that catches little flies and let great flies go nor like a wide Nette that catches great fishes because they haue substance in them and let little ones creepe away as not beeing worth the fingring It was a worthy saying of Salomon If Adoniah his brother were a 1. King 1. 52. good man a haire of his head should not perish but if wickednesse were found in him he should dye And it was a famous acte of King Asa to put his owne mother from her regensie because she had an Idoll 2. Cor. 15 16. in a groue And it is an vnworthy thing in a Maiestrate when a cause comes before him against a cōmon person to condemne it but if it be against a kinsman or friend to alter the case We read of a Maiestrate whē he went to sit in iudgement would bid his friends farewell some looke to the personage of men he is a proper man spare him but God delights in no mans legs I knew a ritch man and a poore man in suite and a third man said I warrant you the poore mā wil go down for saith he I neuer knew but might did ouercome right a pittifull thing to heare but more pittifull to see though his speech were too generall yet it may be it was too true It is reported of a Iudge that would haue a Curtin drawne before him whē he did sit in iudgement that he might see no persons but it is no matter for the eye of the body if the eye of the minde doe see rightly As ciuill officers must not respect persons no more must eccelesiasticall officers as Paul saith to Timothie ◠Tim. 5. 2. Doe nothing partially And as the Iudge must doe nothing partially no more must the Iurors nor the witnesses though hee haue all outwarde partes and things that might commend him yet if he haue stept into an euill cause and course let him bee punished and though hee haue no outward parts to commend him if hee haue a good cause deliuer him King Antigonus is saide to haue commaunded all his officers not to doe that was vniust though hee wrote letters for any man for saide hee I may be misinformed Therefore it is sayd Respect no persons for saith Salomon Such a Prou. man will transgresse for a morsell of bread Nor take rewardes This is a second meane whereby Officers are commonlie drawne to wrest the lawe and iudge vnrighteouslie therefore God giues warning of it As a Maiestrate must not respect a man for his person so not for his pursse this must be restrained to the matter Moses hath in hand to the persons in suite and causes in iudgement for otherwise in the waye of friendship it is not vnlawfull to giue or receiue a guift as Iacob sent a present to Esau but when a suite depends then the Maiestrate must take none sometime it is called a guift but it is not a free guift hee lookes for as good a pleasure therefore here it is called a rewarde not of that that hath beene done for him but of that is to be done for him as it is sayd of Balam hee had the rewarde of Sooth-saying in his hand so Maiestrates must not haue the reward of iniustice in their hands for as the Apostle condemnes those that make marchandize of the worde so here those are condemned that make marchandize of iustice Esay saith Woe bee to him Esai 5. that iustifies the wicked for a rewarde and takes away the righteousnesse of the righteous from him because he hath no rewarde As some men are not onely very ordinarie in sending presentes and New-yeares guifts to the Maiestrate not because they beare such speciall goodwill to the Maiestrate as those things pretend but because they would haue the Maiestrate beare good will to them to spare them and pleasure them when neede requireth which is dangerous but also when a cause or suite commeth to depend then they will present the Maiestrate with a guift which is more then suspicious that eyther they looke to buy iniustice or that the Maiestrate must be bought to doe iustice this practise is commonly found not in good men who trust to the goodnesse of their cause and goodnesse of the Maiestrate but in euill men who seeke by such meanes to make an euill cause good and a good Maiestrate euill some thinke if they can delay their suites till their aduersarie be wasted they shall preuaile whatsoeuer their cause bee but iudiciall trials were not ordained for mens vndooing but for their maintaining One liuing in a corrupt gouernment said We haue such a Prince such a Iudge such officers but monie reignes a thing indeede fitter to bee heard among Heathens then to be seene among Christians as some men are much in giuing of gifts so some Maiestrates are much in taking of giftes but as this is a preposterous thing that great men who should be most in giuing should be most in taking so it is a dangerous thing for it beeing called a rewarde so hee will thinke himselfe bound to requite it
expectation of the iudgement of God as it is saide of Esay when hee sawe himselfe depriued both of the birth-right and blessing hee Gen. 27. cryed with a bitter crye out of measure It seemes strange to some that a man that is hayle in his bodye hath money in his purse many suites of rayment to his backe and diuers dishes of meate on his table and not a few poore men at commandement should be bidden howle but if such â—one knew himself to be spiritually poore blinde naked and miserable one that God is angry withall and the diuill hath a commission to carry to hell it would quaile his courage coole his porridge and make him â—end his cloathes Tour ritches are corrupt Now the Apostle shewes the cause why such great miserie should come vpon them because they did couetously heape vp ritches and niggardly keepe them rather suffering the poore to perish then to bestow them vpon their needy brethren Some haue Golde as they will saye haue seene no Sunne thus long yet rather then they will change a peece of Golde the poore shall starue they haue thus many gownes and thus many paire of sheetes but rather then they will depart with any of them the poore shall goe and lie naked and when they haue filled their bagges with golde and their chestes with rayment yet their hartes are not full Salomon saith He that coueteth siluer shall not be satisfied with siluer and therefore will rather fill more bagges and cofers then empty any to fill the poores bellies One saith The ritch man in the Gospel that said he would Luk. 12. 16 make his barnes bigger he had barnes ennough before if he would haue seene it for saith he the bellies of the poore are the barnes of the ritch In that he saith Your ritches are corrupt it shewes the nature of these outwarde things that they are subiect to perishing as our Sauiour Christ saith They are subiect to Mat. 6. rust Mothes theeues therfore counsels to lay vp a beter treasure wheÌ„ he saith these things shall be a witnesse against them hee meaneth the abusing of their ritches shal be laide to their charge as we see in Mathew when Christ saith It shall be saide to such men when I was hungry yee fed me not when I was naked yee clothed me not therefore Mat. 25. goe yee cursed into euerlasting fire Some may thinke themselues without danger of this threatning because they let not their golde and garmentes rust and Moth-eate for they put foorth their money and haue little in their purse they haue but one suite of apparrell to their backe but though they put foorth their mony if they put it not foorth to that vse they should if their garmentes perish not for want of wearing if the poore perish for wante of clothing it is all one if men vse not their ritches rightly they shall accuse them iustly Yee haue heaped vp treasures for the last dayes This is the vanity of worldly men they thinke their ritches shall serue them and continue till the worldes ende but though theeues and wormes should not consume them yet they will perish of themselues before that daye therefore in the first Chapter hee hath compared ritches to Grasse and although men knowe in iudgement they are vncertaine yet their affection and practise is as their should bee no ende of them and although manye will confesse themselues to bee mortall yet they will liue and deale as if they should neuer dye In the example of the ritch man that built his barnes bigger and saide to his soule take thyne ease for thou hast foode laide vp for many yeares wee may see the mindes and manners of other men Beholde the hire of the labourer c. This now was their fault the greatnesse wherof doth shew what great misery shall come vpon them this word beholde is not vsed but when some great and strange thing is spoken of therefore because it is a thing monstrous and strange that any should be so voyde of religion and humainty as to defraude the poore of their wages he saith beholde they did not onely not relieue the poore with their superfluous garmentes but they did defraude and oppresse the poore to increase their wealth and augment their wardrop but this is an euill expresly Leui. 19. 13 forbidden in the law â—in Leuiticus it is said thou shalt not doe thy neighbour wrong nor rob him and presently he addeth The workemans hire shall not abide with thee vntill the morning In Deutronomie it is saide Thou Deu. 24. 14. shalt not oppresse an hired seruant but thou shalt giue him his hire for his day neither shall the Sunne goe downe vpon it for he is poore and therewith fastaineth his life least he cry against thee to the Lord and it be sinne vnto thee Yet this hath beene a common sinne in al ages according to the prouerbe where the stile is lowe men soone goe ouer and as it was a common sinne among the people so it was commonly reprooued threatned among the Prophetes Ieremie saithe Woe vnto Ier. 22. 13 him that buildeth a house by vnrighteousnes be vseth his neighbour without wages and giueth him not for his worke Amos saith Amo. 8. 4 Heare this O yee that swallowe vp the poore that ye may make the needy of the land to faile saying when will the new Moone be gone c. That we may buy the poore for siluer and the needy for shooes the Lorde hath sworne by the excellency of Iacob I will neuer forget their workes Mathew saith The Lorde wil be a swift Mat. 3. 5 witnesse against them that wrongfully keepe backe the hirelings wages and vexe the widow and fatherlesse and this sinne of oppressing and defrauding the poore was not onely commited and reprooued in the time of the Prophets but of the Apostles as wee may see in the former Epistle to the Thessalonians where the Apostle willes 1. Thes 4. them not to defraude one another for God is an auenger of all such things and as it appeareth by these wordes of Iames The labourers wages that is by you kept backe by fraude cryeth against you therefore woe be vnto you As then ritch men defrauded those poore that wrought in their fields so now they defraude those poore that worke in their shops as this vice was then in husbandmen and occupyers of land so it is now in tradesmen and makers of cloath The poore are defrauded of their wages diuers wayes 1. When ritch men giue the poore nothing for their worke 2. When they giue not the poore sufficient wages but will haue them doe two penny-worth or three halfe-penny-worth for a penny as Jacob when he had serued for faire Rahel hee was rewarded with bleare-eyed Leah 3. When they change the wages of the poore giuing them not the same but worse not money but bad or deare commodities 4. When they keepe poore mens