temptations As soone as Christ was declared the sonne of God instantly Satan declared himselfe an open enemy and this euery child of GOD shall proue in himselfe What perill was Saint Paul in whiles he was a persecutour was it not a sweet world to apprehend to binde to imprison whome he listed But when he is conuerted to Christ heare what he saies In Perils of water of Robbers of his owne nation of the Gentiles in perils in the Citty in the Wildernesse in the Sea in perils of false brethren See how the world is changed now he must iourny be weary watch fast hunger for our goodnesse will not free vs from danger it is the cause of danger as we see in Abel Are not men slaine for their goods so the treasure of Godlinesse is the sole cause of the enimies assault he will venture most for the richest booty Thus the wicked haue a trebble aduantage of the Godly First their heauen is heere on earth they are in their owne country they seeke no farther Secondly they haue no such treasure being voyde of grace cantabit vacuus coram latrone vâ—…ator He that hath neuer a peny in his purse neede not feare robbing Thirdly their friends are here the world loueth him So standes it not with the Saints of God whose country is not the world whose treasure is not in the world whose friends are not of the world I will briefly shew three things which belong to a good souldier of Christ. First he must haue a good heart the Deuill fights for the heart who then will be a niggard of an hearts courage in an hearts defence they say mens cuiusque is est quisque a Christian should be all heart For so much as we deduct out of courage and resolution for Gods cause so much haue we forfeited of our being and subsisting to Christ. Doe not Princes when they send treasure by land or sea picke out the most stout resolute the most hardy and ventrous men will they trust cowards We haue grace from Christ as a depositum a treasure committed God hath put vs in trust let not vs basly and cowardly giue it ouer Lucan speaks of Metellus which when Iulius Caesar entred Rome suffring the dishonor of the Citty and the breach of all lawes yet when Caesar brake open the doore of the treasury thrust himselfe betweene and would not let him passe without breaking through his owne sides So the Poet hath Vsque adeo solus ferrum mor temque timere Auri nescit amor pereunt discrimine nullo Amissae leges sed pars vilissima rerum Certamen mouistis opes O cursed gold thy onely loue when state and lawes decay Through fire sword bloody death doth carles make a-way Riches yee vilest part of things for you men kill and slay Shall it be said so the loue of riches feareth not sword nor death O no let onely the loue of Christ contemne death No sacke of a citty is so lamentable as when the Deuill entreth into a soule as when he cries downe with an heart and synks the whole man into ruine and perdition we haue true enemies why haue we false hearts he which hewed vs as I may say out of the dust of the earth was knowne to bring vs to an excellent piece of worke Why then doe wee suffer that enemie which will breake downe all our carued workes with Axes and Hammers We want no courage to stout it and braue it in defence of our wicked liues and lewd manners we will beare no reproofe we will maintayne it to the death we are hardie and resolute to follow causes at Law we spare for no cost though our cause be weake our heart is strong A man is not afrayd to challenge his Brother into the field and to seeke to shed his bloud with hazard of his owne life though he fight against God and the iust Lawes armed with vengeance The World hath her Martyres Sinne hath hers What hath Religion Come on deare Christians let vs 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 First challenge the enemies of our faith We onely which stand for the truth of God haue a strong cause Let vs not haue faint hearts We fight against a fugitiue enemy a Runnagate whom our Captayne Michaell hath so wounded that if we but resist him he will flie from vs Our fellow Souldiers are all the Saints of God Martyrs Apostles Prophets Patriarchs euen that royall Army of God our auxiliares copiae our supplies are the Angels in Heauen which pitch their Tents about vs whom if we could see we should say That more are they that fight for vs then they that fight against vs. Our Captayne our Leader is Christ Iesus which combated the enemy in single fight and is ascended vp on high Principalities Powers Mights and Dominations being made subiect to him Come on I say courage for Heauen for Christ for the Crowne of glory What Dwarfe wil feare to bid defiance to the strongest Champion if a Giant will stand by and abet his quarrell Dominus nobiscum The Lord is on our side that Giant of infinite stature Heere what Dauid the Prophet saith Though an hoast of men were gathered against mee yet will not I be afraid See a little Dwarfe in in this Name defie all names and Powers Angels Principalities Life Death Height depth things present things to come counting his daily killing for Christ more then conquering For know we this no man can be ouercome which hath a good cause if his enemy kill him his cause will saue him then come what will we onely which haue this cause of Christ can say of all our enemies as Socrates said of Anytus and Melitus Me vero Anytus Melitus necare possunt nocere non possunt Our enemies may kill vs but they cannot hurt vs. Finally to make our courage lasting and durable let vs behold our Lord Iesus holding ouer our heads the Crowne of glory and saying Vincenti dabo to him that ouercommeth I will giue the Crowne of life The second in a good Souldier is to haue a good hand or arme for we must not be such onely as may not feare our enemies we must make them feare vs as Pelopidas which when one told him We are in danger of our enemies Why said he more then they of vs For why should we feare carnall or couetous or cruell men if the arme of our Faith be extent and strong they shall rather feare vs. I say then Hostem qui feriet mihi erit Carthaginiensis He that strikes an enemy of Gods shal be to me a good Christian. Strike at Atheists downe with proud Goliah pull away the visards of hypocrites and hit them in the faces feare no mans person no not the Giants For wee haue a Sword of that temper and sharpenesse which will diuide and pierce the diuisions of the Spirit and the ioynts
hinder his fulfilling of it If Christ should breake the law who could keepe it he doth not onely fulfill it in himselfe but in vs. For hee that is in Christ keepes all lawes and hee that is without Christ breakes all lawes How then can it be that he which makes peace in heauen and earth with God and man without whose comming the law of Ceremonies had been but a meere shadow and an absurd and darke figure without whose fulfilling the law morall had had no farther honour then to hang vp written in Tables of stone and neuer beene written in any heart I by whom the law iudiciall had her full force and vertue For by mee Princes raigne euen by Christ the wisedome of his Father which is God and King for euermore how can it be that hee should breake the law How can it be that God should not be God that truth should not be truth that hee which saues vs all from the curse of the law should be himselfe a transgressour of the law Nolite putare Doe not thinke so Why should wee say so why should wee beleeue so why should wee beleeue so which ought not thinke so Wee are law-breakers Know say it Let all men protest it let all the world confesse it If we had not broken the law Christ should neuer had neede to come to fulfill it Christ came to fulfill that law which wee haue broken and shall wee count him a dissolueâ—… of the law though many beleeue it and some say and some sweare it yet doe not you thinke it That we may not thinke so we haue two reasons 1. The negatiue nolite putare Thinke not so 〈◊〉 The affirmatilte quia veni implere I came to fulfill the law Of the negatiue First The law and Prophets are in substance the selfe fame thing wherefore the writings of the Prophets are called the law The Euangelist saith as it is written in the law they hated me â—…thout a cause Where hee speaketh not out of the law but out of the Prophet And thus wee may take the law for the whole Scripture of the olde Testament The law was a dumbe Prophecie the Prophecie a speaking law The law we resemble to Zacharias which being stricken dumbe made signes and tokens The Prophets to the same Zacharias when his mouth was opened Yet the same things which the Prophets expressed testifying more plainely in words the law witnessed though more obsourely To wit the Prophet saith of Christ that hee should be as a Lambe before the shearer not opening his mouth The law signifieth the same in the Paschall Lambe or the Sheepe going to sacrifice And although the law doe not speake of his Priesthood of his anointing with the holy Ghost of his Passion of his Baptisme of his Innocencie c. yet it doth shadow him in signes and tokens in Aarons annoynting in his royall roabes in his Priesthood and pointeth to his Passion in the daily sacrifice of the blood of beasts his Baptisme in the red Sea his innocence in the Lambe without spot The law and Prophets were one 1. Because they came from one for the same God which spake the Law spake by the Prophets putting his word in their mouthes 2. Because they were both ioynt-promisers of Christ the law in dumbe shewes the Prophets by speaking 3. Because they ended in one being as shall be shewed both fulfilled in Christ and heere I will take them both for one namely for those fiue Bookes of Moses which the Iewes call Torach because the question which is of the Ceremonies of the law and their practise is there more of purpose and principally set downe and the law hauing in it implicitly the Prophets which were her interpreters may stand for both But howsoeuer the law be to be taken by it selfe without the Prophets and if by it selfe whether iudiciall or ceremoniall or morrall of Christ it is true I came not to destroy the law Christ himselfe saith I came not to take away the law If the Law could speake it would say I was not giuen to take away Christ. But Lex soluit Christum the law tooke away Christ when he was crucified and died and was buried for to these he was a debter by the law And Christ tooke away the law when by his death it was expired and ceased I but Christ by thus dying hath attayned to his fulnesse of power and glory and spread his saluation ouer all the world And the law by thus ceasing hath her fulnesse to haue her perfection and consummation of all that was signified and written If then the law were Christs end why should not Christ be the end of the Law If he obayed the law and was vnder it why should not the law obey Christ and be vnder him Thus then are these words to be vnderstood I came not to destroy the law that is to make it voyd or of none effect But take this soluere in any sense whether of omitting any thing which was contayned in the Law or committing any thing which was contrary to the law for as it is all one to offend in one and in all so hee that omitteth the least commaundement prescribed in the Law is guilty of omitting the whole Law And therefore Christ in the words next following will haue all the Law fulfilled to the least iot or tittle and point Till heauen and earth passe away one iot or tittle of the Law shall not scape till all be fulfilled And now little should we beleeue of Christ if we should not beleeue this Many which came before Christ did breake the Law I all from our Father Adam were transgressours of the Law yet none were euer sent or came into the world to this end If then the end of Christs comming had beene to loose the Law needes must Christ in his comming haue had a worser end then any that were before him Nolite putare God forbid we should so thinke Christ was accused for a breaker of all lawes Of the Law morall when hee was termed a drunkard and a sinner Of the breach of the iudiciall Law when he was accused of mouing the people and forbidding to pay tribute Of breaking the ceremoniall Law when he was accused for violating the Sabboth And whereas in the whole decalogue there was but this one commandement ceremoniall Here they stouted and wrangled more then for all the rest The law morall was as I may tearme it Magna charta the great commandement The Law of Ceremonies was a Law of iots and titles compared The iudiciall Law was middle betweene both by which the Kings did gouerne the State yet so that the Kings did punish those which offended against the Law morall as well in breaches of the first Table as of the second as you may see the first Booke of Kings cap. 15 vers 13. Where Asa put downe his mother Maachah from her
TWELVE SERMONS Viz. 1 A Christian exhortation to Innocent Anger 2 The calling of Moses 3 Abrahams Triall 4 The Christian Souldier 5 The fulnesse of Christ. 6 The Rule of Christian Patience 7 A Christian mans fulnesse 8 9 10 The Marigold and the Sunne 11 12 The Sinners Looking-glasse Preached by THOMAS BASTARD Master of Arts and sometimes Fellow of New Colledge in OXFORD PSAL. 56. 10. I will reioyce in the Lord because of his word In the Lord will I reioyce because of his word LONDON Printed by T. S. for Mathew Lownes dwelling in Paules Church-yard at the signe of the Bishops head 1615. TO THE RIGHT HONORABLE MY singular good Lord and Master THOMAS Earle of SVFFOLKE Lord Treasuror of ENGLAND c. My Lord THat of Artaxerzes king of Persia was neuer too highly set prised which said that it was of no lesse kingly bounty and humanity to accept of little things than to giue great I haue receiued great things from your Honours fauour euen a daily portion by which I my selfe and my little family is sustained besides other graces of which you haue vouchsafed mee from the first houre of my admission into your seruice And now what haue I to offer vnto my Lord but euen this little handfull of flowers which I haue gathered by my Study and Meditation to make to your Lordship a sweet smell of my duty Which if it shall please you graciously to accept you shall more enrich fill my desire by this receiuing than by giuing For to an honest minde it is sweeter to be regarded than rewarded And what greater reward can be giuen to him that striueth to be thankefull than to finde himselfe accepted in that in which he seeketh most to please I hope these flowers to them which peruse them shall not prooue vnfruitfull being gathered out of that field of the Scriptures on which the Holy-ghost hath breathed As the fruit of the Husband is sweet to the Spouse so he is to her as the Rose of the field and the Lilly of the Vallies Such is the word of God being broken and diuided aright that it doth both sauour and fresh and feede and nourish the soule of man Therefore as it is called The word of Life The bread of Life so it is called The sauour of life vnto life I haue not taken my Texts of Scripture from one place as if a man should gather hearbs in a garden from one bed as they grow and lie together but I haue selected and chosen my parcels out of diuers places of Scripture and knit them vp in this little bundle here Knowledge there Patience in another place the duety of a Christian Then Faith and Obedience Againe the fulnesse of Christ Againe the Flowers of the Prophets to these Contrition Humility and Loue with exhorting to meeknesse and for bearing c. All mixed with Instructions and reproofes and twisted and made vp with the bindings and testimonies of the Apostles and Prophets Sic positi quoniam suaues miscetis odores Because of diuers places of Scripture thus set and ordered the sweetest smells are made Right Honourable whatsoeuer these are or whatsoeuer I am my selfe the Labour is yours and the Labourer Accept the ready heart and thankefull study of Your Honours most humble and deuoted Seruant THOMAS BASTARD A CHRISTIAN EXHORTATION to Innocent Anger The first Sermon EPHES. Chap. 4. Vers. 26. Be angry but sinne not Let not the Sunne goe downe vpon your wrath WHereas all our Passions haue their roote in the minde and cannot be moued thence nay whereas they haue their right vses so that without them there must needes ensue a naturall vacuity of Sense and dulnesse in the heart the Apostle first allowing that which is naturall in our affections permitteth anger secondly he forbiddeth that which is contrary to Nature Sinne not thirdly if wee haue sinned hee willeth vs to shake it off quickely Let not the Sunne goe downe vpon your wrath To vs it seemeth strange that the Apostle should say Be angry and sinne not For wee know not what to say of Anger but either that it is an hot appetite of reuenge or a seething of the bloud about the heart or a short madnesse or some such like affection But if we marke the scope of the Apostle well He doth not in saying Be angry permit but command some anger Why the Apostle doth not forbid Anger we haue this reason because the passions of our mindes are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of themselues indifferent neither good nor euill Our Anger then as it respecteth her end is good or euill For there is a time when it is a fault to be angry and there is a time when it is a fault not to be angry There is lawfull vse of Anger as of Loue of Hatred and of Sorrow For there is a godly Loue a godly Hatred a godly Sorrow a godly Anger aswel although not as often as the contrary Neither doe I speake of this passion as it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a first motion without assent as in the very infancy of her cause For I doubt not but that all the affections of man are as man is conceiued in sinne yet so that by originall sinne the reasonable parts those faculties which moue to Anger are hurt But that part in which Concupiscence moueth is infected with taint of sinne Here I speake of a deliberate Anger confirmed by reason and act of our will with which we may as well please God as with our Almes or Prayers or any other worke of godlinesse Now although the same sinne which hath blemished our vnderstanding defaced our purest minde hath made much more deformed and vgly those affections which sit beneath the Will and being but her sollicitors haue their place in that part which is more subiect to Concupiscence yet hath not sinne preuayled to destroy the nature and substance of them Now if in their Nature they be not abolished much lesse in their right Vse The Philosopher said well of Anger that it is the whet-stone to Fortitude Basill calleth it a sinew or tendon of the soule giuing it courage and constancy and that which is remisse and tender hardening as with yron and steele to pierce and goe through her businesse To be angry saith S. Hierome is the part of a man and were not Anger by suffrage of Saint Chrysostome neither could teaching auaile neither iudgement stand neither sinnes be repressed The Stoicks hould a vacuity of affections and condemne them all as vnlawsull why because they draw vs to disorder and outrage but this is not the nature of our affections but the affection of our corrupt nature Christ himselfe was not without affections he was angry when he cast the Marchants out of the Temple pittifull when he saw the people scattred like sheepe without a shepheard sorrowfull when he cryed ouer Ierusalem And we know that Anger Repentance Mercy
him Doubtlesse such trials are necessary for vs that as the loue of God bearing soueraignty in our hearts should make all the loues and delights of our life sweet so the feare of God in vs exceeding all other feares should make all the euills of this World to seeme lesse bitter Now as touching our purpose We see Abraham which had beene sufficiently tryed before in bearing his Crosse now put to the highest triall of all Whether he can sustaine to sacrifice his Sonne He had passed a long Pilgrimage before these things through many banishments and difficulties to fourescore yeares of Age he held his troubled life in Care in Euils in Danger in Bitternes in Feare He was twise driuen to depart the land to which he was called by promise and for necessity of Famine to flie to Aegypt his deere Wife was twise plucked out of his bosome He warred with foure Kings not without great danger of his life his Wife continued barraine on whose issue the Hope of his life attended When he had a Sonne by Hagar he is driuen to abandon him Now Isack is Borne he hath the Promise sealed in his bosome he hath quiet and rest in his old age But see God thundreth from Heauen and rowseth Abraham out of the onely ioy and content of his life Abraham take now thy only Sonne Izack whom thou louest Let Abraham teach vs what our life is He which bore the greatest loue to God what did hee but sustaine the greatest Triall Hee which held as a great Captaine in the hoste of God the buckler of Faith before vs all how notably doth hee shew the danger of so many sharpe encounters by so many dints of temptation and the impression of so many fiery darts of the Diuell Now as through Faith he ouercame in all so by him wee are taught that our life is nothing else but a certaine order and ranke of temptations where when one endeth another beginneth wherefore the Wise man saith My sonne when thou wilt come into the seruice of God stand fast in righteousnesse and feare and prepare thy soule to temptations But let vs not feare those euills which neuer linne mouing and tumbling vs vntill they haue set vs vpon the Rocke which is higher than they Let vs not feare that fire which can burne nothing but our drosse Let vs not feare those wounds which can let forth nothing but our corruptions but let vs brandish the sword of the Spirit against all spirits against the spirit of the flesh which seeketh sweet things against the spirit of the world which coueteth vaine things and against the lying spirit which was a murtherer from the beginning The iust shall liue by faith By Faith here iust Abraham liued by the Faith in which he offered his sonne Isack he ouerthrew the tentation which otherwise had ouerthrowne him Si credis caues si caues conaris conatum tum neuit Deus voluntatem inspicit luctam cum carne considerat hortatur vt pugnes adiuvat vt vincas certantem spectat deficientem sublevat vincentem coronat If thou haue Faith saith Saint Augustine thou wilt attend to thy Faith and God knoweth thy endeuour and considereth thy striuing with thy flesh and looketh into thy will and exhorts thee to the fight and helpes that thou maist ouercome and beholds thy striuing and proppeth thee when thou art falling and crowneth thee when thou hast ouercome But come we to the temptation it selfe where finding it said that God proued Abraham we learne that God hath his manner of tempting and prouing vs but such as is for our good and the exercise of our faith whose end is no other than to bring forth the light of good workes and a more sweet sauour of our life Neither is that of Saint Iames repugnant which saith No man is tempted of God but of his owne concupiscence For his purpose is onely to refute their damned blasphemy which to acquite themselues would make God the Author of their sinne therefore Saint Iames telleth vs that we must ascribe the causes of sinne to our owne concupiscence For the roote of them is from our owne heart For albeit Satan instill his poison and kindle with his bellowes a fire of euill desires in vs yet it is our owne flesh that is first mouer and our owne will which we obey For as corrūption could not by the heate of the ayre ambient enter into our bodies if our bodies did not consist of such a nature as hath in her selfe the causes of corruption No more could sinne which is a generall rot and corruption of the soule enter into vs through the allurement or prouocation of outward things if our soules had not first of themselues receiued that inward hurt by which their desire is made subiect to sinne as the womans desire was made subiect to the husband and as the Philosophers say the Matter to the Forme Now the forme of this temptation Moses setteth down in the highest sort whereas God doth seeme to shake the faith of his word in the heart of his holy seruant by a contrary engine of the same word To this God citeth Abraham by name twice to obedience that hee might haue no doubt who is the Author of the temptation Had he not beene certainely perswaded that it was the voyce the word of God with which hee stood charged to offer his sonne Izak hee might most easily auoyde any other temptation or whatsoeuer Art or subtilty the Diuell might haue vsed to batter his faith Now hauing no other standing but in the Word no other sword to fight against distrust he seemeth to be entrapped in his standing and with the same Sword himselfe is wounded with which hee should haue hurt the enemy For beloued brethren if this Sword being but taken from vs we must needs fall what shall wee doe when God seemeth to strike at vs with the edge thereof Now this was Abrahams case Let vs then heare the Word speake Take thy sonne Izhak whom thou louest c. We see with what griefe and resisting we endure the searching or cutting of our naturall affections though sinfull how then must it grieue him to vndergoe the rasing out of tender pitty of fatherly compassion which not onely were planted by Nature in his heart but were fed and cherished by Gods owne word If Zipporah could say to Moses thou art a bloudy husband for causing her to circumcise her son might not Abraham vrged by commandement to sacrifice his sonne say This is a bloudy word If the child had beene commaunded to haue attempted some hard thing against the father the like difficulty of execution had not ensued For albeit the commandement biddeth the sonne to Honour his father whereas no word of command vrgeth the father to honour the sonne This is done to no other end but to require the loue of children to