It poynts out vnto vs the prouocations of the world whereby men are turned away from the seruice of God Hee that is turned backe finds some thing to turne him besides the crookednesse of his owne disposition In heart This word shewes vs the internall originall of all backsliding which is the heart In vaine were all the prouocations of the world if the heart stood it out But when the heart once faints then is the whole man soone turned backeward Shall be satisfied This seemes an hard phrase men are satisfied with good things not with euill Meton effecti It must then bee vnderstood by a figure of the effect for the cause He shall be satisfied that is he shall be filled for fulnesse is the cause of satisfaction An euill man shall be as full of misery as a good man is of contentednesse when he is satisfied with it With his owne waies His waies here intended are not the footsteps of his body but the actions of his life Metaphora It is vsuall in Scripture to compare the course of man vnto a walke Blessed are the vndefiled in the way Psal 119.1 Bad actions are also compared to bad and filthy wayes Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsell of the vngodly nor standeth in the way of sinners Psalme 1.1 The intent of the similitude is to shew our strangnesse by our birth our restlesnes in our life and our progresse to our death Our birth is the entrance into our pilgrimage the beginning of our iourney Our life is our trauaile a restlesse and weary course Our death is the end of our iourney it brings vs to our euerlasting home There is a double home Good men haue a good home this was the dwelling of the Corinthians We haue an house eternall in the Heauens Bad men haue a bad home 2 Cor. 5.1 that is the habitation of trayterous Iudas who left his Apostleship to goe to his owne place Acts 1.25 His waies then are his actions but not all his actions onely his wicked actions for God doth oftentimes reward euill men for morall good actions and not plague them 1 Kings 21.29 2 Kings 10.30 Synecdoche gener is So Ahab puts off the plague by his humiliation So Iehu by slaying the worshippers of Baal settles the Kingdome on his posterity to the fourth generation The actions then of the backslider that trouble him are his sinfull actions Neyther is it his sinfull actions that doe disquiet him but his troubles and miseries that follow vpon his sins He is not weary of sinning but of being miserable or at least he is no further weary of sinne then as it brings misery vpon him Meton consae So then his waies are his actions his actions are his sinfull actions his sinfull actions are the miseries that follow vpon them and these are they that perpetually vexe him And a good man from himselfe These words are diuersly read because of the want of the Verbe the double Preposition Min and Gnal and the diuers significations of them The vulgar Latine reads it thus And a good man shall be ouer him That is to say For his backsliding God will make him a slaue to him that is good Trimellius the French Bible and the Geneua English Bible thus But a good man shall depart from him That is a good man foreseeing or seeing the miseries that follow the sinfull courses of a backslider will auoyde his company The latter translation reads it farre better And a good man shall be satisfied from himselfe The safest way of addition where a word is wanting is to supply it out of the former part of the sentence Seeing then the beginning of the verse speakes of an euill mans satisfaction from his euill waies the conelusion must needes speake of a good mans satisfaction from himselfe The Hebrew phrase is from with himselfe that is from those things that are within him or that God hath bestowed vpon him So S. Paul Not I 1 Cor. 15.10 but the grace of God which was with me Meaning the grace which God had bestowed vpon him And it is worth your noting that the wise man doth not say The backslider shall bee satisfied from his owne waies and a good man from his least any man should imagine that a good man merits his satisfaction as a bad man doth his vexation Neyther doth the Hebrew phrase say From himselfe barely but from with himselfe that is from those graces that GOD hath giuen him least any man should maintaine the full and free power of mans will as if a good mans satisfaction came as orginally from himselfe as a bad mans vexation comes from the corruption of his owne will Thus it teacheth vs to attribute the beginning of an euill mans misery to his owne backsliding and the beginning of a good mans satisfaction to Gods grace and bounty Who this good man is that receiues satisfaction from Gods grace within him I neede not stand to vnfold the opposition in the text shewes it plainely It is hee that is no backeslider but keepes him close to Gods Commandements The summe then of all is this Hee that is by the prouocations of the world drawne away from that seruice that he owes to Almighty God shall bring so many troubles vpon himselfe that hee shall be weary of his life But hee that walkes conscionably in that way that God hath appoynted him to walke in shall bee so inriched with the graces of Gods Spirit that hee shall be able to giue satisfaction to himselfe though he be forsaken by all the world God hath two sorts of children and he hath two portions for them both set out in the words of the text Some are rebellious children nourished by God but rebelling against him Their portion is misery flowing from their owne sinnes Others are obedient children not fashioning themselues according to the lusts of ignorant men 1 Pet. 1.14 and their portion is satisfaction arising from the grace of God within them The portion of backsliding children commends to our carefull considerations these Foure particulars 1. The Person in the first word The backslider 2. The prouocations externall in the phrase Hee that is turned backe 3. The originall internall in the next word In heart 4. The patrimony in the last words Shall bee filled with his owne waies For the first That there are backsliders is a needlesse thing for me to prooue The person Scripture and experience of all ages prooue it to my hand My labour must be to shew who they are from the particular kinde of Apostacies A backslider is he that falls away eyther from that good course he hath taken or at least from that good course he ought to take Rom. 3.12 2 Pet. 2.21 The latter is a turning out of the right way The former is a returning to a wrong way Rom. 3.9 The one is naturall and common to all both Iewes
euerti cadere in quem connerti resurgerin quo mantre consistere est Aug. Soli. c. 1. turning from whom is falling returning to whom is rising tarying in whom is standing as Augustine soundly informes vs. If there be no safety to them that are hated of Kings within their dominions what safety can there bee to those whom God hates in all the world How can they expect a quiet conscience or safety in their states that haue GOD for their aduersary Hee will raise vp men to bee our enemies if wee be his and to crosse vs if we crosse him Salomon was a wise a rich and a most potent Prince yet when he forsakes God GOD rayseth him vp such enemies as all Salomons wisedome and power could not pull downe Ieroboam and his posterity forsake Gods seruice and set vp golden calues in Dan and Bethel 1 Kings 15.29 God raysed vp Baasha to smite all the house of Ieroboam who leaues him not one breathing Baasha and his sonne continue in Ieroboams euill courses and GOD sets against him Zimri 1 Kings 16.11 who slayes all his house with his kinsfolkes and friends and leaues him not one to pisse against the wall Omri and Ahab his sonnes for all this take no warning 2 Kings 10.1 but adde to the former other idolatries God pulls him downe by Iehu who slew all his great men and his kinsfolkes and his Priests vntill he left him none remaining So hard a thing is it for man to stand vpright without standing to God If men be to fauourable God hath worser instruments to plague vs withall all the diuels are at his command and are no other then Gods executioners whom he vseth in the seuerity of his wrath They will bee sure to strike home for they plague vs not for obedience to God nor for loue of iustice nor yet for gaine or profit which is the loadstone of most executioners but for hatred of vs for enuy at our felicity and seeke to bring vs to their vnspeakeable and vnpardonable misery No doubt but they will be seuere that seeke nothing but the eternall destruction of our soules and bodies Lastly all the creatures faile them that faile God Nay they doe not onely faile them but exercise all their force to hurt and to annoy them They deny them that seruice they were created to do them and proclaime open warres against them that haue beene openly disobedient against their GOD. Pharaoh the great King of Egypt and the great oppressour of Israel had enough to doe and more then he could doe to defend not his people but his owne royall person from Lice Frogges Boyles Scabbes Flies and such like vermine His souldiours could not expell them out of his Country nor his Guard keepe them out of the bedchamber of their King There is no mercy to bee found with these enemies they hurt and spoyle all where they come They haue no reason and therefore will bee perswaded to shew no fauour Thus you see what miseries backsliders bring vpon themselues now let vs come to the application The great danger of backsliders Vse 1 For examination and the miseries they bring vpon themselues driue vs to an examination of our owne condition We are not igno-what seruice we owe to God let vs sift our owne soules and try how well wee haue performed it Wee know what professions we haue made in Baptisme let vs see how wee haue beene answerable to our professions We see and others haue seene how forward wee haue beene in Gods seruice let vs examine our present zeale whether it bee correspondent to the former If the world haue had a good opinion of vs for equity and charity let vs take heed that no cause bee giuen by vs to diminish their good opinion In matters of lesser waight carelesnesse is more tolerable but in things of this consequence it is not to bee endured One maine cause why many Citizens decay in their estates is because they looke not well to their bookes they know not what they owe to others they know not what others owe to them they are worse then naught before they bee aware So is it with euill men they are gone farre backward because they daily looke not into themselues nor obserue not how they grow vpward or downeward The wounded man is loath to search his wound the paine makes him vnwilling to diue into it and so it growes vncureable The backslider is not willing to ponder vpon his owne courses least the beginning of his life condemne the end of it He goes to hell because he will not see that he is going thither Secondly For consolation after examination the conclusion will appeare If wee find our selues acquitted in the iudgement of our owne consciences from backesliding wee may haue much comfort in our wayes It is no meane encouragement to goodnes to find some progresse vpon examination Hee that plants an Orchyard takes a singular contentment to see euery Tree how it growes and how it beares fruit one yeere more then another The diligent citizen who in the end of the yeere when others are idle casts vp his owne estate and finds some encrease of profit arising from his trading his heart is ioyfull within him Euery mans conscience is his iudge It must consider of the talents that GOD hath giuen him to trade withall If it find a good encrease it giues him that commendation within that God will one day giue him before men and Angells Well done good and faithfull seruant Math 25.21 thou hast beene faithfull ouer a few things I will make thee ruler ouer much enter thou in to the ioy of thy Lord. Such a man may call in his friends and neighbours to reioyce with him Luke 15.8.9 as the Woman did who had found her peece of siluer that was lost When Philip had beene called by Christ how triumphantly doth hee boast to Nathaniel Wee haue found him of whom Moses in the Law Ioh. 1.45 and the Prophets did write Iesus of Nazareth the Sonne of Ioseph So may hee triumph who vpon iust examination finds that hee hath made some good progresse in the wayes of godlinesse Thirdly comfort must bee seconded with care For caution els will it end in discomfort Wee had need to bee cautious that we may stand it out for time to come Wee must not bee lifted vp that wee haue stood it out so long but be watchfull that wee may hold out vnto the end Hee that hath escaped one great storme at Sea must not be secure though till hee come vnto the hauen Another storme may endanger him that hath escaped a former Many are the prouocations of the world If it preuaile not one way it will try another If the aduersityes of the world will not discourage vs it will try whither the pleasures or profits of it will worke vs. It becomes vs carefully to take heed of all these but especially to bee wary that
God Shee is wealthy that is wealthy in Christ those are true riches which are spirituall Diuine and heauenly which lead vs to God which remaine with vs in perpetual possession in the presence of God But whatsoeuer earthly things we haue receiued in the world and must leaue here with the world must as easily be contemned as the world it selfe is contemned whose pompes and delights we haue already renounced This temperance when Gods seruant hath by these reasons settled in himselfe it equals his minde to his meanes when it cannot bring his meanes to his mind It makes him well contented with what he hath when he cannot haue what hee rather would haue De laelitia et tristitianascitur temperantia cuius est tristitia causae laelitia fructus Temperata laetitia nihil aliud quam temperantia est Ber. par et var. serm 6. S. Bernard informes vs That temperance is bred of cheerefulnesse and heauinesse the cause of it is heauinesse the fruit is cheerefulnesse So that Temperance is nothing else but a well tempered cheerefulnesse The godly mans temperance purgeth his heart and so teacheth him the right and moderate vse of all Gods creatures in his body So that as a good stomacke turnes the hardest meate into nourishment whereas a weake one turnes the choyse of meates into diseases so the temperate heart feedes the body with the hardest estate whereas the intemperate man ruines his soule and body with his wealth Bernard on that place in the 90. Psalme Thou shalt treade vpon the Aspe and the Basiliske and shalt trample vnder feete the Lyon and the Dragon glosses thus The Lyon will roare who will not be afraid If there shall be found any such he shall be stiled a valiant man But when the Lyon is frustrate of his purpose there is a Dragon hidden in the sand that by his poysoned breath he may taint the soule breathing into it as it were the concupisence of earthly things Who thinkest thou shalt escape his deceits no man surely but a wise man But peraduenture while thou art afraid to come downe to these lures somebody vrges thee with trouble and loe forthwith the Aspe is present For he thinkes he hath gotten a conuenient time for himselfe Who will not be exasperated by this Ape Quis non exas perabitur ab aspide ista Surely the temperate and moderate man who knowes how to abound and how to suffer penury I suppose that vpon this occasion the ill flattering wicked eye will endeauour to bewitch thee Who will turne away his eye Truely the iust man will who not onely will not himselfe take the glory which is Gods but will not so much as receiue it Ber. in ps 90 ser 14. when it is offred him by another The temperate man then auoyds all these different snares and so giues satisfaction to himselfe I will conclude this meanes with S. Augustines exclamation and commendation of temperance O magna et admirabilis abstiâ—â—ntiae virtus per quam non solum animarum salus agitur sed etiam corporum sanitaspossidetur Aug. ad frat in eremo Ser 31. O great and admirable vertue of abstinence wherby not onely the safety of the soule is preserued but also the health of the body is possessed And what can a man require more to bee able to giue satisfaction to himselfe then safety of soule with health of body The sixt meanes whereby a good man is enabled to giue satisfaction to himselfe is Patience It is a companion of Godlinesse It is a way whereby the seruants of GOD turne away many troubles from themselues Patience which foole-hardy men bring vpon themselues by their peeuish hastinesse The firmenes of patience saith Bernard is a staffe Ber. sent whereby the rage of Wolues is kept off Yet let the seruant of GOD be as patient as he can hee cannot turne away all troubles from himselfe Patience therefore stands him in good steade also when troubles are come vpon him It makes him owner of his owne soule Luke 21.19 In your patience possesse yee your soules fayth our blessed Sauiour Vpon which words of his â—ustos omnium virlutum patientia est in qua animas quae cor pus possident pes sidemus cum iâ— sas animas ad patiendum ratione regimus Vnde Beda Sic conditi mirabiliter sumus vt ratio animam et anima possideat corpus Ius verò animae a corporis possessione praepeditur si non priûs anima aratione possidetur Lud. de vit Christi part 2. cap. 39. not 9 10 Ludolphus thus dilates Patience is the keeper of all vertues by which we doe possesse our soules which doe possesse our bodies when wee doe by reason dispose our owne soules to suffering But he that is impatient possesseth not his owne soule because he cannot restraine the fury and anger of his owne heart Whereupon Bede sayth We are so wonderfully framed that reason ought to possesse the soule and the soule the body But the right of the soule is hindred from the possession of the body if the soule be not first possessed by reason The Lord therefore hath shewed vs that patience is the keeper of our condition because it hath taught vs how to possesse our owne selues Those things then which are troublesome to wicked men are not so to a good man because his patience makes heauy burdens light To this end hee considers of many things to make him patient He ruminates vpon the originall of all afflictions and remembers that they come from heauen Hee endures them patiently because he would be loth to be found a fighter against God Hee resolues with Dauid Psalme 39.9 I will be dumbe and not open my mouth because thou diddest it O Lord. He proceeds in his meditations to the progresse of all troubles Psalme 32.6 Oportet paetienter ferri quod non potest feslinanter auferri Aug. de Temp. Ser. 223. Vtrumque es mihi Domine Iesu et speculum patiendi et praeâ—nium patien eis Trabe me post te libenter te sequor libentiâ—â— fruor remembers that they are called waters and therefore will haue their tide neither will they ebbe till they haue done flowing He agrees with Augustine that we ought to beare that with patience which cannot be taken away in haste He lookes backe to the most famous patterne of patience that euer mans eyes beheld in man and cryes out with Bernard Thou art to mee O Lord IESVS both a mirrour of patience and a reward when I am patient Draw me after thee I will follow thee willingly and enioy thee more willingly Si sic bonus er Domine sequentious te qualis futurus es assequentibus te Ber. in Cant. Ser. 47. Paena de aduersis mundi ille senit cuiet laetitia et gloriae omnis in mundo est I lle maeree et deflet si sibi malè sit in seculo cui bene non potest