clogging accusing pressing down as a heauy lump of lead shaming at condemning our own reasons and wils for giuing entertainmeÌ„t vnto sin in asmuch as sometimes ye shal find the tormeÌ„ts gréeues of conscieÌ„ce to worke greater sorrow care in our minds theÌ„ if we were either in prison or ready to goe to execution and although there bée 2. consciences the good and the bad Two consciences forasmuch as I write vnto the good people of God I will haue to doo but with the conscience of the good referring the other to his continual hardnes And although oftentimes we sée not the conscience of the good by their wickednes of sin for that they are not yet called yet if theyr consciences do not shew her force of accusation no doubt it is imprisoned and so hid in the great heape of corruptioÌ„ that though it cannot now speake in the end wil breake foorth that we sée in many disordered personnes in these daies which in the hardnesse of their hartes haue contynued in theyr sinne a long tyme vntouched or vndisclosed Yet in the ende when God wyll call them or sathan bring them to shame or wheÌ„ no man can iustly accuse them how be it suspect them of euill liuing being called to examinacion before any magistrate then who can better accuse then the conscience who doth first condemn and then strike a great feare in the ende produceth two witnesses that is eyther the stammering tongue or els the blushing face to accuse the guilty wyth hys owne mouth and make him speake although he sée eyther shame to discredite him or the magistrate to punish hym or the Gallowes to confound him Therefore is the conscience called Mille testes a thousand witnesses because it dooth more euidently know that which is hid in him then a thousand men and dooth boyle and burne in the harts of wicked men like a fire As Tully sayth Nolite putare quemadmodum in fabulis sepenumero videtis In oratione pro Roscio eos qui aliquid impie scelera te que commiserunt agitari perterreri taedis ardentibus sua quemque fraus suus terror maxime vexat suum quemque scelus exagitat amentiaque afficit suae malae cogitationes conscientiaeque animi terrent c. Thinke not as Poets haue fayned that they that haue committed something vngodly or wickedly are vexed and scourged with burning Torches it is our owne guile and our owne feare doth most trouble vs it is our owne wickednes doth torment vs and amaze vs our owne wicked thoughts and consciences that dooth affright vs c. There is a great accusation of the conscience in the hart of the sinner as when the Scribes and Pharisies had taken a woman in adultery they brought her to Christ to sée what sentence he woulde gyue against her because they hadde found in Moses Lawe that such a one should be stoned to death but they dyd it not for Iustice but to tempt him Then he writ wyth hys finger on the ground and said béeing vrged by them for his sentence Let him that is among you without sinne cast the first stone at her And when they heard it Ioh. 8.7.9 being accused by their owne consciences they went out one by one beginning at the eldest euen vnto the last It is most true that Iuuenall sayth â—â—t 13 Euasisse putes quos diri conscia facti Mens reddit attonitos et surdo verbere caedit Doost thou thinke he can escape whoÌ„ the conscience of a moste horrible facte maketh amazed and whippeth with a deafe scourge And as the same Iuuenall saith in an other place Nocte dieque suum gestat in pectore testem But day and night where that he goe or rest hee â—till doth beare a witnes in his brest Conscientia S. Paule speaking of the Gentiles sheweth that they haue the effect of the Lawe written in their harts their consciences bearing witnes Rom 2 15 and as long as we liue in this worlde God graunt that this witnes may alwayes stirre and sting vs till we be ashamed of sin vnlesse after this life it be opened as in an inditement to accuse at the iudgment seate Reu. 20 12 as Iohn maketh mention And I saw the dead both great small stand before God and the (a) That is their consciences bookes were opened and an other booke was opened which is the booke of life the dead were iudged of those thinges which were written in the bookes according to their works Thus we may sée the conscience in thys world that accuseth and the conscience in the worlde to come that condemneth God grant the we may in this worlde so behaue our selues as with Horace to say Hic murus ahaeneus esto This is a brasen wall when a man may knock his breste and say I knowe nothing héere that maketh me ashamed or a feard Miscellan prelect sepâ— time Toâ— primi He that wyll sée more of the conscience let him looke in the Bishoppe of Exceter hys booke Not in Ally though indéede he wryte of conscience at large But D. Wolton that is now Bishop who wryte larger in his booke called the Conscience dedicated to a godly zealous knight S. Iohn Gilbert mine olde good master louing fréend a fit Patrone for such a booke and title there he shal find inough touching the conscience The third enemy vâ— to sinne An other most terrible enemy vnto mankind for sinnes sake is death who by reason that our bodye is all spotted corrputed with sinne hath his lawfull accesse vnto mankind and foloweth him step by step from place to place of what estate or degrée soeuer he bée either King Prince Duke Marques Earle lord baron knight or whether he be rich or mighty wise or politike tyll at last he plucketh him downe and depriueth him of life wife children houses lands goods and all those thinges in the world wherin he setled his hart The cause of this his power is that man beeing corrupted wyth sin is rewarded with death a certaine appoyntment of God in our first parent for his sin and disobedience â—n 2.17 As appeareth in Genesis 2. In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt die the death In that he dyd eate he disobeyed and so sinned which sinne hath runne into all hys posterity by discent hetherto â—m 5 12 and shall vnto the worlds ende and that is the cause that Death triuÌ„pheth ouer vs in this world in ouerthrowing vs. S. Paul sayth Stipendium peccati mors â—om 6 23 The rewarde of sinne is death Likewise the Apostle Iames sayth â—m 1.15 When lust hath conceaued it bringeth forth sinne and sin wheÌ„ it is finished bringeth foorth death So that there is no doubt among men but by reason of sinne death hath taken hold in them â—om 5.12 and as sin is entred into all the worlde as the Apostle sayth euen so death
of the flesh I will nowe onely speake of the world as one of the mightiest enimies that man hath in these dayes for by it the worde of God is little regarded and for the loue of it the Sabbaoth is the more prophaned by reason wherof iustice is corrupted truth is banished charitie is colde pittie is remoued from mens harts frēdship faynteth and naturall affection is quit altered agayne by it blindnes ruleth lyes are vsed periury is suffered honors are desired offices are bought blynd bayard is a good horse a slowe Iade is a good Gelding by it manhoode is not regarded chastitie is not estéemed worldly mariags vnfit matches are not gainsaid vertue had in small price trust is had in litle estimation and learning in no accompt we sée that for the wordes sake naturall loue betwixt the father and the childe is altered For the father that is a worldling accompteth not of that childe that is liberall no although his liberalitie be godly and commendable bestowed on the poore and howe many do preferre their children to learning for the ministrie sake or to the law for iustice sake or to any faculty for the same faculties sake but rather because they shall liue and beare a countenance in the world On the other side we sée the good nature of the childe chaunged for whome the father hath taken great paynes trauelled much watched often to procure liuinges vnto hym he thinketh to long the father doth lyue euery daye wisheth his death to haue his goodes and liuing besides that what going to lawe and mortal hatred betwixt frēds of néerest kinrede all for the world A freend chaungeth his frendship in respect of the worlde and so long as the other hath he is a freend and when he hath nothing then is he gone and his frendship beginneth to dissemble wisemen tal men honest men trusty men such as haue good qualities not estéemed if they haue no worldly shewe with all many a one haue shut vp his compassion from the poore putting on vngodlynesse lying and swearing that these things and these they haue giuen alredie diuers waies they are charged which is very oftentimes an vntruth many vnder the pretence of Christian profession hid their wicked actions and are lyke Cleophas they go with Christe but they knowe hym not It is not without cause that Esdras sayde that the world was ful of vnrighteousnesse and wickednes 2. Esd ◠27 and because of the sin and wickednesse of the world the Lord hath Prophesied vnto the world a mighty curse in Esa the prophet And therefore as the Apostle sayth Esa 24.1 Loue not the world neyther the thinges that are in the worlde if any man loue the world the loue of the father is not in hym for all that is in the world as the lust of the flesh the lust of the eyes and the pride of lyfe is not of the father 1. Io. 2.15 6. but is of the world There is an olde saying Vide homo ne sic hereas vt cum mundo pereas Take héede man Augustine that thou sticke not so to the world that thou perish with the world The young man in the gospel had fulfilled all the commaundementes Mat. 19.21 and was desirous of the kingdome of heauen but when Christ bid hym go sell all that he had and giue it to the poore it touched his delight wherefore Saint Barnard sayth Durus est hic sermo c. This saying séemeth very harde Sel all that thou hast c. But yet it is a hard saying whē Christ shall say Goe ye wicked into euerlasting fire The great loue of the worlde as I haue sayde is the cause of much sinne as couetousnesse oppression extortion vsury wresting of iustice and putting poore men from their right and their thirst is so great that a great many will breake their bellies then leaue or moderate their lust they be lyke the flye in a Tarre-barrell the more he stirres the faster he is They are not lyke the Dogges of Egipt which running by the ryuer Nilus and being thirsty will but lappe and begone for feare the Crocodiles take them but these worldlinges wil so long lap tyl the Diuel hath wrapped them vp they force neyther for the feare of Sathan nor the fauour of God Saint Iames sayth Iames. 4.4 Who so euer wil be a fréend of the world maketh hym selfe an enimie of God we daylie sée how lyttle mē wil be at charges for gods glory in mayntaining preaching or in bringing vp schollers nay they will rather take away both preachers and schollers liuinges from them then adde any thing to it It is a pittiful matter to sée the hardnes of the rusticke worldlinges for some murmure at charitie some grudge at substance some strayne at the charges of souldiers not looking into the commoditie and ease of it but thinke they haue a gut drawen out of their body when they haue a pennie taken out of their purses For these purposes and I thinke they haue cause to grudge sometimes because their charge is the greatest burthen though they be the poorest iades The .v. meane in Christ to vanquish the force of sinne When two valued thinges of like quantitie shal be layde together that are of estimation as gold and siluer The sweetnes and estimation of the second lyfe will not euery man make choyse rather of the gold then of the siluer Nay rather if somthing and nothing or good and bad were set together would there not be an easie choyse I make no lesse differēce betwixt heauen and earth this lyfe and the lyfe to come For in the one there is misery sorow afflictiō tribulation disdayne contempt malice slaunder infamie enuie pouertie nakednesse sickenes and death In the other there is ioy felicitie acceptation helth sufficiencie company amōg the whole felowship of heauen euerlasting lyfe Psal 84.1.2 touching the description of the place of ioy Dauid sayth O howe amiable are thy dwellinges thou Lorde of hostes My soule hath a desire and longing to enter into the courts of the Lord. Esa 35 10 Likewise the Prophet Esay sayth The redéemed of the Lord shall come to Zion with prayse and euerlasting ioye shal be vpon their heades Esa 51.3 they shall obtayne ioy and gladnesse The same Prophet also sayth Surely the Lorde shall comforte Zion he shal comfort al her desolations and he shall make her desert like Eden and her wildernes like the garden of the Lorde ioye and gladnesse shal be founde therein Iohn 16.22 prayse and the voyce of singing Our sauiour Christ hym selfe sayth And ye nowe therefore are in sorrow but I wil sée you agayne your harts shall reioyce your ioy shall no man take from you O most comfortable reléefe euen the very deade may be raysed vp to heare these great and comfortable ioyes that are prouided for the Lordes beloued 1. Cor. 2.9
is like to run vpon all theÌ„ which are in the world by reason of sinne But now some will obiect Obiect that whether wée sinne much or little it is all one for we are assured of death thereby not regarding the multitude of sinnes but as it were féeding the inclination of sinne knowing that there is but to the one and to the other a death for a rewarde But I answer Resp if any man shall therevpon boldly presume on sinne and feede the humor thereof Short de terrible Deu. 30.18 he shall not only hasten death vnto him but also plucke vpon him a most terrible death as appeareth in Moses If thy hart turne away so that thou wylt not obey but shalt bée seduced and worshippe other Gods and serue them I pronounce vnto you thys day that ye shall surely perish you shal not prolong your daies in the lande S. Paule charging the Corinthians for abusing the sacrament sayd 1 Co. 11.3 For thys cause many are sicke among you and many fall on sléepe And yet it is not a generall rule that they which are cutte off that theyr dayes are shortned thorough sinne for Iohn Baptist and the Innocents that were murthered by Herode are no such examples for such the Lord dooth not onely take away because they are vnworthy of the worlde but sometimes they are arguments of condemnation vnto their oppressers again in them was not séene such manifest sin wherby they did drawe vnto theÌ„ Gods wrath to cut of their dayes but in those in whom plentifulnes of obstinate sin doth raigne vndoubtedly they shorten their dayes as on the otherside they which serue the Lord and followe hys precepts and lawes their daies shal be prolonged 〈◊〉 â—0 20 As appeareth in the commandements Honour thy father and thy mother that thy daies may be long in the land which the Lord thy God giueth thée K n 20 6 Was there not xv yeeres added to Ezechias in seruing the Lord. The prophet Dauid saith â—sal 34 12 What man is he that listeth to liue wold faine sée good daies kéepe thy tongue froÌ„ euil and thy lips that they speake no guile The very same like wordes hath the Apostle Peter also when the Lord appeared vnto Salomon in Gibeon Pet 3 10 and had giuen him the excellency of wisedom he aduised him saying â— Kin. 3 14 If thou wilt walk in my waies to keepe my ordinances and my commandements as thy father Dauid did walk I wil prolong thy daies And yet not only this blessing of prolonging of daies shal be giuen to the seruaunts of God but euen in the ende they shall die a peaceable death as happened to the good king Iosias to whom the Lord said 2 Ki 22 2â— for his good embrasing of the booke of the Law and fearing him Beholde I wyll gather thée to thy fathers thou shalt be put in thy graue in peace and thine eies shall not sée all the euil which I wyl bring vpoÌ„ this place O good God what sweeter wordes to a christian hart and what greater ioy to a good conscience then to depart in peace the neither God in vengeaunce nor the worlde in exclamatioÌ„ lay any thing to our charge neyther this length of life nor this peaceable death shal be assured to the vngodly and wicked but as I said their daies shal be cut of and their end shal be in terror feare as it appeareth in Ezechiel Ezech 14 either by famine pestilence sworde or wyld beasts Howe terrible was the death of the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomor O howe lamentable and most dreadfull was the ende of Hierusalem when it was sackt by Tytus and Vespasian Howe fearefull was the end of Iezabell being rent a sunder with dogges and deuoured by peece-meale How was the ende of rebellious Absalon which was caught from hys horse and hanged by the haire Howe odious was the ende of Antiochus which putrified and rotted where he lay that hys Chamberlaine coulde not abide his smell Most horrible was the ende of Holophernus who was beheaded in hys drunken sléepe and all these wyth a great many more abridged their daies and ended them in most terrible and fearefull manner and that for their wicked and abhominable lyuing in most detestable sinne and wickednes some in horedome some in pryde some in disobedience some in extortion some in tyranny and cruell murther c. I remember I was by the bedside of an olde preacher Hunting 〈◊〉 who diâ—n frooâ— Zelâ—â—d who lay in his death bed and sayd vnto me Euen as the water which is poysoned killeth all the multitude of fish in it so I tell thée in thys world the whole ayre is so corrupted with the sinne of man that I doubt mée it wyll bring all the world to a confusion in a short time I pray God deliuer me and giue England repentant harts The most horrible and most fearefull enemy that yet was spoken of agaynste the sinne of man is hell The last enemy to sinne a place of damnation for euer without release appointed for sathan all such as haue stoutly serued him without veyling theyr banner of repentaunce to almighty God an enemy so dreadfull as me thinkes the verye remembraunce of so terrible a place should séeme to reuoke and drawe backe a sinner although he had neuer so great a delight in his iourney A place not onely full of all paynes torments but also continuing and enduring for euer and euer a place voyde of release or mitigation of paynes thether commeth neyther mercy nor bayle compassion nor pittye The lamentable out cryes and scriches of them that are tormented doo neuer come from thence vnto the eares of helpe or vnto the compassion of pitty Esa 30 33 It is described in the Prophet Esay Topheth is prepared of olde it is euen prepared for the King hée hath made it déepe and large the burning thereof is fire much woode the breath of the Lorde like a fire of Brimstone doth kindle it He speaketh figuratiuely that as the state of heauen in many places of the new Testament is set forth by similituds because other wise we cannot conceiue of it euen so hell in this place is called Topheth Topheth which was a vallye of the children of Hinnom néere Ierusalem 2 Ki 23 10 where the childreÌ„ were sacrificed to Moloch which was a great Image of brasse Lyra. proportioned like vnto a man and being holow within it should first be made fire redde hote and when the child shoulde be put into it and closed vp then the priestes would make such a noise with Targets and timbrels that the parents should not heare the voice of the infant whereby they myght be moued to coÌ„passioÌ„ but beléeue that the infant died peaceably with out paine and that the Gods did presently receiue the soule of the infant this was their abhominable Idolatrye in thys vally néere