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A09744 The vvhole sermons of that eloquent diuine, of famous memory; Thomas Playfere, Doctor in Diuinitie Gathered into one vollume, the titles thereof are named in the next page.; Sermons Playfere, Thomas, 1561?-1609.; Playfere, Thomas, 1561?-1609. Path-way to perfection. aut; Playfere, Thomas, 1561?-1609. Heart's delight. aut; Playfere, Thomas, 1561?-1609. Power of praier. aut; Playfere, Thomas, 1561?-1609. Sick-man's couch. aut 1623 (1623) STC 20003; ESTC S105046 300,452 702

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for himselfe Wherefore as in a ballance if there be any ods in the s●ales wee take out of that which is the heauier and put it into that which is the lighter till there be no difference betwixt them So here wee must wey these matters well that wee our selues may be iust weight neither too heauy for our owne misery not too light for Christs mercy Thus did Dauid when hee said to God Hide mee vnder the shadow of thy wings What are Gods wings His Mercy and his Iustice. What are the shadow of his wings Our loue and our feare Our loue is the shadow of his mercy which is his right wing Our feare is the shadow of his Iustice which is his left wing Now seeing hee that is hid vnder the right wing onely may presume because hee hath no feare and hee that is hid vnder the left wing onely may despaire because he hath no loue therefore sayth Dauid Hide me O Lord vnder the shadow not of one wing but of both thy wings That I may neuer despaire while I alwaies loue thy mercy and reioyce for Christ that I may neuer presume while I alwayes feare thy iustice and weepe for my selfe A Quaile the very same Bird which was the Israelites meate in the wildernesse as he flies ouer the sea feeling himselfe begin to be weary lights by the way into the sea Then lying at one side he layes downe one wing vpon the water and holds vp the other wing towards heauen Lest hee should presume to take too long a flight at the first hee we●s one wing Lest hee should despaire of taking a new flight afterwards hee keepes the other wing drie Thus must a Christian man doe When hee layes downe the wing of feare vpon the water to weepe for himselfe then hee must hold vp the wing of loue toward heauen to reioyce for Christ. That his two wings may be answerable to Gods two wings That as God hath two wings the one of Mercie the other of Iustice so hee may haue two wings the one of ioy for Christ the other of sorrow for himselfe Sem I●pheth Noahs godly and dutifull children when they saw their father otherwise then hee should be went backeward and couered him They went backeward that they might not see him themselues they couered him that others might not see him Christ hanging naked vpon the Crosse was the shame of men and the outcast of the people Therefore wee that are the children of God must goe backeward by abhorring them that crucified Christ and yet wee must couer him and hide him euen in our very hearts by remembring and honouring his death and resurrection Lest wee should presume wee must goe backeward for feare and yet lest we should despaire wee must couer him for loue That as God hideth vs vnder the shadow of his wings which are loue and feare loue the shadow of his mercy and feare the shadow of his iustice so we may hide God vnder the shadow of our wings which are ioy and sorrow ioy the shadow of our loue and sorrow the shadow of our feare ioy for Christ and sorrow for our selues To this strange kinde of going backeward the Psalmist alludeth when hee saith to God Thou hast made my feete like Hindes feete A Hinde goeth not still forward in one way but as an auncient father speaketh hee iumpes crosse out of one way into another Saltum habet transuersum Right so a Christians feete must be like Hindes feet He must iumpe crosse from himselfe to Christ and then backe againe from Christ to himselfe Would you see such a Hinde Then mark how Iob footes it That he might not despaire he iumpes crosse from himselfe to Christ and saith a Chap. 33.9 I am cleane without sinne I am Innocent and there is none iniquitie in mee Heere is the mercy of Christ. But that hee might not presume hee iumpes backe againe from Christ to himselfe and saith b Chap. 6.2 O that my griefe were well weighed and that my miseries were laid together in the balance Here is the misery of man Thus must we weigh the mercie of Christ and the misery of man together in the balance and besure as I said before wee make the scales euen and when we weigh the reasons why wee should not weepe for Christ then we must weigh the reasons also why we should weepe for our selues So wee shall find for great cause of ioy in Christ great cause of sorrow in our selues for greater cause of ioy in Christ greater cause of sorrow in our selues for greatest cause of ioy in Christ greatest cause of sorrow in our selues for that which is more then all to make vs ioyfull in Christ that which is more then all to make vs sorrowfull in our selues The righteousnesse of Christ is the death of Death Great cause of ioy in Christ. If Debora reioyced when Barack put Sisera to flight haue not wee as great cause to reioyce seeing Christ hath put death to flight The sinne of man is the life of death Great cause of sorrow in our selues If Anna wept for her barrennesse haue not wee as great cause to weepe seeing wee can conceiue nothing but sorrow and bring forth iniquity vnto death The righteousnesse of Christ is the death of the Diuell Great cause of ioy in Christ. If Iudith reioyced when shee did cut off the head of Holofernes haue not wee great cause to reioyce seeing Christ hath cut off the head of the Diuell The sinne of man is the life of the diuell Greater cause of sorrow in our selues If Thamar wept being defloured by her brother haue not wee greater cause to weepe seeing we commit spirituall incest and adultery daily with the diuell The righteousnesse of Christ is the life of himselfe Greatest cause of ioy in Christ. If Sara laughed when shee heard shee should haue a quicke childe in her dead wombe is not this the greatest cause of laughter which can be vnto vs that Christ liued in death and was most free among the dead and could not see corruption in the graue The sinne of man is the death of himselfe Greatest cause of sorrow in our selues If Agar wept being turned out of Abrahams house is not this the greatest cause of weeping which can be vnto vs that our life is no life because we neuer cease from sinning while wee are heere pilgrimes and strangers exiled and banished out of our fathers house in heauen The righteousnesse of Christ is the life of man This is more then all to make vs ioyfull in Christ. If Queene Ester did reioyce as King Iames doth at this day whom God for his mercies sake euer saue and preserue and let all the people say Amen because he deliuered his people from thraldome and destruction can any thing in the world then make vs more ioyfull then this that we being cursed in our selues are blessed in Christ being embased in our selues are exalted in Christ being
à fine that there is another fountaine neere Grenoble a Citie in France which although it haue not hot waters as a Bath yet oftentimes together with bubbles of water it casteth vp flames of fire The fountaine of teares that is in our eies must be like these two fountaines As the Psalmist witnesseth When my sorrow was stirred sayes he my heart was hot within mee and while I was musing the fire kindled l Psal. 30.3 When my sorrow was stirred There is the first fountaine My heart was hot within mee There is the Torch lighted And while I was musing There is the other fountaine The fire kindled There is the flame burning Whereupon one sayes fitly Our eies must neither be drowned nor dry m Nec fluant oculi nec ●icci sint Seneca If they want fire they will be drowned If they want water they will be dry Wherefore both weepe not and but weepe both fire and water must goe together that our eyes bee neither drowned nor drye And this is the right moderation wee must keepe in weeping as appeareth in this third part WEEPE NOT BVT WEEPE both together Weepe not for mee but weepe for your selues THe fourth part followeth For Mee Weepe not too much for my death For the death of Christ is the death of Death the death of the Diuell the life of Himselfe the life of Man The reason of all this is his innocencie and righteousnesse which makes first that as the life of Christ is the life of Life so the death of Christ is the death of Death Put the case how you please this is a most certaine truth that the gate of life had neuer bin opened vnto vs if Christ who is the death of Death had not by his death ouercome death a Mors mortis morti mortem nisi morte dedisset coelestis vitae i●nus ●lausa foret Therefore both before his death he threatneth and challengeth death saying b Osee 13.14 O death I will bee thy death and also after his death hee derideth and scorneth death saying c 1 Cor. 15.15 O death thou art but a drone where is now thy sting d Sic Iohannes Pistorius Erasmi Roterodami affinis igni cremandus dixit O mors vbi est tua victoria Aske death any of you I pray and say Death how hast thou lost thy sting how hast thou lost thy strength What is the matter that virgins and very children doe now contemne thee wheras Kings and euen tyrants did before feare thee Death I warrant will answer you that the only cause of this is the death of Christ. Euen as a Bee stinging a dead body takes no hurt but stinging a liue body many times looseth both sting and life together in like manner death so long as it stung mortall men only which were dead in sin was neuer a whit the worse but when it stung Christ once who is life it selfe by and by it lost both sting and strength Therefore as the brasen serpent was so farre from hurting the Israelites that contrariwise it healed them after the same sort death is now so far from hurting any true Israelite that on the other side if affliction as a fiery serpent sting vs or if any thing else hurt vs presently it is helped and redressed by death Those which will needes play the hob-goblins or the night-walking spirits as we call them all the while they speak vnder a hollow vault or leape forth with an vgly vizard vpon their faces they are so terrible that he which thinks himselfe no small man may perhaps bee affrighted with them But if some lusty fellow chance to steppe into one of these and cudgell him wel-fauouredly and pull the vizard from his face then euery boy laughes him to scorne So is it in this matter Death was a terrible bulbeggar and made euery man afraide of him a great while but Christ dying buckled with this bulbeggar and coniured him as I may say out of his hollow vault when as the dead comming out of the graues were seene in Ierusalem and puld the vizard from his face when as he himselfe rising left the linnen clothes which were the vizard of death behinde him Therefore as that Asse called Cumanus Asin●s ietting vp and downe in a Lyons skinne did for a time terrifie his master but afterwards being descried did benefit him very much Semblably death stands now like a silly Asse hauing his Lyons skin pulled ouer his eares and is so farre from terrifying any that it benefits all true Christians because by it they rest from their labour and if they be oppressed with troubles or cares when they come to death they are discharged death as an Asse doth beare these burthens for them O blessed blessed bee our Lord which hath so disarmed death that it cannot do vs any hurt no more then a Bee can which hath no sting nay rather it doth vs much good as the brasen serpent did the Israelites which hath so dismasked death that it cannot make vs afraid no more than a scar-bug can which hath no vizard nay rather as an Asse beareth his masters burthens so death easeth and refresheth vs. This hath Christ done by his death Hee that felleth a tree vpon which the Sun shineth may well cut the tree but cannot hurt the Sunne He that poureth water vpon Iron which is red hot may well quench the heate but hee cannot hurt the Iron And so Christ the Sun of righteousnesse did driue away the shadow of death and as glowing Iron was too hot and too hard a morsell for death to disgest All the while Adam did eate any other fruit which God gaue him leaue to eate he was nourished by it but when he had tasted of the forbidden tree he perished Right so death had free leaue to deuoure any other man Christ onely excepted but when it went about to destroy Christ then it was destroyed it selfe Those barbarous people called Cannibals which feed only vpon raw flesh especially of men if they happen to eate a peece of roasted meat commonly they surfe● of it and die Euen so the right Canniball the onely deuourer of all mankinde Death I meane tasting of Christs flesh and finding it not to be raw such as it was vsed to eate but wholsome and heauenly meate indeede presently tooke a surfet of it and within three dayes died For euen as when Iudas had receiued a sop at Christs hand anon after his bowels gushed out In like sort death being so saucie as to snatch a sop as it were of Christs flesh and a little bit of his body was by and by like Iudas choaked and strangled with it and faine to yeeld it vp againe when Christ on Easter day reuiued Death I wisse had not beene brought vp so daintily before nor vsed to such manner of meate but alwayes had rauined either with Mithridates daughters vpon the poyson of sin or else with Noahs Crow vpon the
of this meate and drinke forty daies vnto Oreb the mount of God 1. Reg. 19.6 Could such a small pittance of bread and water of it selfe sustaine him so long No marrie What was the matter then The word that proceeded out of Gods mouth had appointed so that one cruse of water should suffice him all that time Whereby we see that man is not filled with drinking onely Man liueth not by bread onely but by euery word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God Fourthly Commentar in c. Reg. 1. saith the Prophet Yea cloth you but you are not warme Peter Martyr sheweth that clothing doth keepe the bodie warme two waies By keeping in the naturall heat of the bodie and by keeping out the accidentall cold of the ayre Now though this be the propertie of cloathing yet God as it pleaseth him can suspend the effect of it Whereupon he saith I will take a way my corne in the time thereof and my wine in the season thereof Hos. 2.9 and I wil deliuer my wooll and my flaxe Signifying that euen when the corne is come to the ripenesse and the wine now readie to be drunken God will depriue them of it But especially we must marke that he sai's I will deli●es my wooll and my flaxe Liberabo lanam meam c linum meum whereby 〈◊〉 teacheth vs that God hath as it we●● if I may so say bound all his creat●●●● prentises to vs to preserue vs and serue vs if we serue him But in case we serue him not then the creatures are deliuered and are bound no more to serue vs. The wool and the flax contrary to their nature will not serue our turne if we contrarie to grace rebell against God Whereas Iohn Baptist hauing a garment of Camels haire and a girdle of leather about his loynes was well enough This leather serued him to as good vse as flaxe and the Camels haire kept him as warme as wool Man therefore is not warme by cloathing onely but by vertue of God annexed to the clothing Man liueth not by bread onely but by euery word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God Lastly saith the Prophet Hee that earneth wages putteth the wages 〈◊〉 a broken bagge We see in the world many men haue great fees great offices great reuenues and yet can scarse keep themselues out of debt Other some haue but very small wages and yet ●aintaine themselues well inough and ●elpe their poore friends also Onely the word that proceedeth out of Gods mouth makes this difference As we may see in Iudas Who indeed earned wages but seeing it was the wages of vnrighteousnesse therefore it run out of the bagge as fast as it was put in For first when he had it he could not hold it in his hands but brought it backe againe saying Matth. 27.5 I haue sinned in betraying innocent blood Then himselfe went and made away himselfe and that which is feareful but once to name or mention all his bowells gushed out There is a broken bagge But the Patriarch Iacob earning wages verie hardly to wit seruing fourteene yeares for his vncles daughters and sixe years for his lambs in all twentie yeares in the ende filled his bagge full And though Laban changed his wages ten times yet he could not one time change that blessing of god which was alwaies vpon him And though he allotted his nephew only the spotted lambs which commonly were verie fewe to his wages yet the word proceeding so out of Gods mouth this prooued an infinite gaine vnto him Wherupon the blessed Patriarke humbleth himselfe in tru● humility and thankfulnesse to God Gen. 3● 10 and saith O Lord I am not worthie of the least of al thy mercies for with my staffe came I ouer this Iordan but now doe I returne with two troups O that we had such good soules such thankefull hearts in vs as that euery one of vs would in like sort confesse and acknowledge his owne vnworthinesse and the wonderfull worth and wealth of Gods mercie O Lord sai's he I am not worthy of the least or I am lesser then the least of all thy mercies He makes no mention of his owne paines and trauailes though they had beene very great in that long seruice but onely of the mercies of God These were the only cause that his bagge was so full Wherefore man filleth not his bagge by earning wages onely but by the mercies of God Man liueth not by bread onely but by euery word which proceedeth out of the mouth of God This teacheth vs that whether we sow or eate or drinke or cloath vs or earne wages we must do all to the glo●ie of God And all we doe to the glorie of God when we referre the glory of all we doe to God Not sacrificing to our own yarne as the Prophet speaketh or kissing our owne hand but kissing the sonne and offring vp to him only the sacrifices of praise and thanksgiuing at whose hand we receiue all good things For it is not our painfull sowing that giues vs a plentifull crop not our eating that feedeth vs not our drinking that satisfieth vs not our clothes that warme vs not our earning wages that filleth our bagge but the good word that proceedeth out of Gods mouth which blessed all these things vnto vs. Therefore as we must not begin any of these without gracesaying so must we not end any of them without thanksgiuing And thus much for the second place of Scripture which is a commentarie vpon the text Man liueth not by bread onely but by euery word which proceedeth out of the mouth of God To make good vse then of all that hath beene spoken I shall desire you to obserue foure points First that God can worke great matters with small meanes Thus saith our Lord When I brake the fiue lo●●es among fiue thousands Mat. ● ●● how many baskets full of broken meate tooke ye vp they said vnto him Twelue And when I brake seauen among fowre thousand how many baskets of the leauings of broken meate tooke ye vp and they said Seauen Certainely there is no reason in the world that seauen loaues should satisfie fowre thousand and much lesse that fiue loaues fiue thousand But Christ hauing giuen thanks and blessed the bread did that by the might of the word proceeding out of his mouth which by the naturall power and condition of the bread could neuer haue beene done Therefore also he repeateth it and questioneth with his disciples about it That by their confession and report all the Church afterwards might bele●●e that God can worke great matters with small means that Man liueth not by bread onely but by euery word which proceedeth out of the mouth of God Secondly that God can work strong matters with weake meanes What a strong violent matter is it to pull the soule of any one sinner out of the bottome of hell and out of the ●awes of destruction yet this