our sinnes are washed with Christes bloud when our bodies are washed they are taken out of the water againe to signifie how we shall be raised from death to life by the resurrection of Christ and how we should rise from sinne to righteousnesse thus we begin our life with a solemne promise to God before the Church to serue him with our bodies and soules till death vs depart Now let vs remember how we haue kept this promise with the Lord or rather how we haue broken promise with him then we gaue our selues to GOD but since we haue giuen our selues to sinne then wee promised to renounce the world but euer since we haue embraced the world therefore now let vs begin to pay that which we ought so long and pray the Lord which hath instituted this Sacrament as a seale of his mercie to receiue this child into his fauour as we receiue it into his Church to baptize it with his spirit as wee baptize it with water and powre vpon it his grace as we giue it the signe of grace FINIS THE PILGRIMS WISH PHILIP 1. 23. I desire to bee dissolued and to bee with Christ. HEere is Pauls desire to be dissolued and the cause that he might be with Christ wherein first you shal see the difference betweene the faithfull and the wicked how one loatheth this life and the other longeth after it Secondly because the Apostle seemes to desire death you shall see whether any man may wish to die Thirdly because after his dissolution hee hopes to bee with Christ you shall see the diuersitie of iudgements betweene Paul and the Papists which think when they are dead that they shall goe on to Purgatorie Lastlie because the soules which are with Christ cannot walke as they did when they liued vpon the earth you shall heare a little of walking spirits which haue beene so much talked of in the time of poperie and were taken for the soules of them which were dead after wee will speake a little of the Sacrament which yee come to receiue and so commit you to God I desire to be dissolued Before Christes comming when the Kings or Patriarches died it is said that they went to their fathers as we read of Dauid and Salomon c. but after Christs comming when the faithfull die they are said to go to Christ as we read of the penitent thief Luke 23. 43. Not because the Patriarches went not to Christ as well as they but because yet Christ was not ascended to heauen therefore they are not to go to Christ although if they went to heauen they must needes go to Christ because Christ touching his Godhead was alwaies in heauen I desire to be dissolued As the wordly long for Christ to come to them so the faithful long to go to Christ for vnlesse we ascend to him as he descended to vs his descending is in vaine because he came downe that we might go vp he descended to take our flesh we ascende to take his kingdom he descended to be crucified we ascende to be glorified he descended to hell we ascend to heauen that is to ioy to glory to blisse to our father to our Sauiour to our comforter to Angels to Saints to eternall life therefore good cause had Paul to desire to be with Christ that he might be at rest for no doubt it was the sweetest voice that euer the theefe heard in this life when Christ said vnto him This day shalt thou bee with me in Paradise Luke 23. chapt vers 45. Besides as Paul persecuâ—ed before so he was after persecuted himselfe as he tels the Corinthians 2. Cor. 11. 24. I was thrise beaten with rods I was once stoned I suffered thrise shipwrake c. Therefore good cause had Paul to desire to be with Christ that he might be out of trouble Yet he wil not dissolue himself but desireth to be dissolued that is that he which brought him into this world would take him out of the world neither doth he wish or pray or make any petitioÌ„ to God to take away his life but tels him his desire desiring to be dissolued to desire is not to pray but shewes what we approue neither doth he desire so to be dissolued as though he were weary of his labors would suffer no more for Christ but he is content to liue as he saith in the 24. vers Neuertheles for me to abide in the flesh were better for you as if he should say to do you good I am content to suffer euil and stay still from Christ whom I long to be with Seeing then that he wil not dissolue himself nor pray to be dissolued but is content to liue stil why doth he say I desire to be dissolued Onelie to shew what he preferreth in his desire if hee might choose life or death for his owne respect he could be content to leaue friends and riches and pleasures and life and all onely to bee with Christ This seemes to be a good lesson for sickemen when they can liue no longer then to be with Christ were better then to be with the glutton which neuer thought of heauen til he was in hell but Paul was not sicke nor sore when he desired to be dissolued therefore this is not onely for the sicke but for the whole If he had wished to liue stay still in the world no man need to be taught to say after him for yong old desire not to be dissolued but few are content to bee dissolued To a naturall man in this life nothing is so sweete as life it selfe and he which is in loue with this world seldome dyeth quietly vpon his bed but to a minde which misliketh this worlde nothing can come so welcome as death because it takes him out of the world This it is which Paul would haue vs learne that nothing in this world is so pretious or pleasant that for it we should desire to liue or stay from God one hower though all may not wish to die yet all must subscribe to this that death is better then life because it leads to Christ which when Paul had throughlie tasted he was satisfied for all things else and desired to liue no longer that he might bee with Christ heerein appeareth the end of mans life which when he hath obtayned he desireth to liue no longer how great riches and honours and friends soeuer he leaue behind him From the time he knoweth Christ crucified and begins like Enoch to walke with God he cryeth euer after with the Apostle I desire to be dissolued and to be with Christ who shall deliuer mee from this bodie of sinne death weare to me aduantage Euen as Simeon reioiced that Christ came to him so the faithfull reioice that they shall go to Christ The necessitie of sinne is so irksome to him which knoweth the vilenesse of sinne that the faithfull man but to doe good would not liue
day It would haue troubled them to watch so long for a good cause but it was fit that the worke of darknes shoulde be done in draknes therefore Christ saith This is the houre of darknesse the houre of darkenes and the power of darknes and the worke of darknes met together When they should rest malice would not suffer them to rest but they became like Owles which watch in the night and cannot sleepe Heere was fulfilled Salomons saying They cannot sleepe before they haue done euill so eagre wee are vpon reuenge more than anie thing else They say that hee cannot stay which rideth vpon the Diuell for malice draweth him and furie spurres him Therefore Zacheus went not so hastely to receiue Christ as his enemies hast to destroy him Nay rather I may say to destroy themselues For as they prayed at Christes death so it came vpon them They sayed his bloud be vpon vs and vpon our children so his bloud is vpon them and vpon their children which haue beene Vagabonds ouer the earth euer since and haue no countrie of their owne for if they be cursed which do the Lords busines negligently they must be cursed too which doe the Diuels busines diligently If men were so hastie in executing Iustice as they were in executing malice so many mē should not be vndone by sutes of Lawe for in one day they could apprehend accuse and examine and condemne and execute him which was Innocent but hee which is iust cānot be quit in one terme nor two nay if he haue right in a yeare it is counted quick dispatch and hee is glad that hee met with such a speedie Lawyer How then when they take a bad cause in hand and prolong it too which keeps their Clients in suspence from day to day and from weeke to weeke in great charge and sinne together I would to GOD that some did not sit in counsaile against good Christiās as these Priests did against Christ but GOD in his mercie dooth daily confounde and bring to nothing the accursed counsailes of the wicked Antichrist and all his rebellious confederates So when the wicked tooke counsaile together wickednesse was the ende of their counsayles for there is nothing woorse to the vngodlie than to meete together for before they meete their wickednes is a little hid like the poyson in a Serpent but when they meete together one setteth on another and the poyson breakes forth into vile speeches and detestable workes and vngodly practises as we see in Tauernes and such like assemblies as this For now they are met together they haue conspired amongst themselues to accuse vnto the Gouernour the most innocent man in the world as if he were the worst man liuing they abused him and mocked him and reuiled him and buffeted him before they brought him to the Gouernor which sheweth that they woulde haue killed him too if they durst without the Gouernour but sin is craftie and therefore they obserue the order of lawe and forme of iudgement lest they should be takē in the snare which they made for him First because Pilate had the authoritie ouer iudgements of death and not they Therefore they are inforced to seeke vnto his iudgement seat to saue themselues from blame and to be deliuered out of trouble if they did vsurpe any thing vpon the Magistrates Office Then because they might not runne vnto the gouernour before daye without suspition of tumult they staide vntill it was morning but so soone as they coulde come they came post hast for the Sunne did no sooner peepe but euen at the verie breake of day they were all readie to flocke vnto the Iudge against him This they did without knowledge but God directed euery thing vnto a right end For it was meete that the Sonne of GOD shoulde bee cleered in a solemne manner by an earthlie Iudge to shewe how wee shalbe cleered by the heauenlie Iudge and therefore as it appeareth in the seuen and twentieth Chapter and foure and twentieth verse of Saint Mathewes Gospell Pilate saide that he found no euill in him before he gaue sentence against him which sheweth that he died not for his owne sinnes but for our sinnes and therefore though they went to the Iudge to saue thēselues from blame yet God sent them to the Iudge that his worde might be fulfilled Lastly this Pilate was a Roman gouernour which ruled for Caesar as Zacheus was a Romane collectour which gathered for Caesar For at that time the Romanes had brought much of the worlde vnto their subiection as since that time they haue brought much of the worlde vnto Idolatry and therefore God would haue his sonne to be iudged by the Romane policie and to be condemned by a Romane Iudge and to be slaine with a Romane death as it were ioyning the Iewes and the Romans in impietie together to shewe that these two Nations shoulde be the odioust people vnto him in all the worlde and how his seruaunts should be crucified there where hee was crucified himselfe for as the Romanes then did crucifie Christ vpon a Crosse so they crucifie him nowe vpon their Altar and resemble the Dragon which when he could not preuaile against Michaell himselfe then hee fought against the woman and her seed that is the Church and her children which are slaine in Rome as the Prophets were in Ierusalem Thus Rome began with the heade and ends with the members So much of the Priests and the Scribes and the Pharisies and the elders Pilate what they did against Christ of whome was fullfilled Dauids praier Lord turne the counsell of Achitophell vnto follie So their counsell was turned vnto follie For as Paule reuiued when he was stoned so Christ rose againe when he was buried to shewe that there is no counsell against God and therefore let all our counsels be for God Now we come to Iudas to aggreuate this tragicall counsell The Euangelist annexeth vnto it the desperate end of the cursedst mā that euer was Three things are speciallie noted of this Traitor his death the cause of his death the confession which hee made before his death His death in the fift verse Hee went hanged himself The cause of his death in the 3. verse For that hee had betrayed his Lord now did see him condemned had no ioy of the money which was giuen vnto him for his Treason His confession in the thirde verse I haue sinned betraying innocent bloude I will speake of euerie worde as they lie for your memorie Therefore first of his Treason When Iudas the traytor before hee was called Iudas the Apostle now he is called Iudas the traitor to distingish him from other of that name lest anie of his name shoulde be defamed for him a brand is set in his forehead like the letter Tau or Caines marke to make him hatefull like a rogue which is burned in the eare so Esau was called Edom which signifieth Redde
same effect saith The feare of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge as if the first lesson to be wise were to be holie therefore Christ is said to haue expounded all thinges to his Disciples apart to shew that if we will haue Christ to teach vs we must go a part from the world So that as a man slippeth off all his cloathes when he goeth into a bath to wash him So we must slippe off all our sins when we come to the word to feed vs for wisedom will not rest in the defiled soule nor in a bodie that is subiect vnto sinne As the Deuill woulde not dwell but in a house that was swept from godlines so the graces of God will not come vnto the heart which is not cleansed from wickednesse for God will not powre new wine but into new vessels therefore vnles ye haue prepared new hearts look for no new blessings to bee powred on you The Iewes reade the Scriptures daily in their Synagogues to finde Christ but all in vayne because the vaile is not takē away in reading them Euen so doe we preach in vayne and you heare in vaine because the vaile of sinne which is drawne like a Curtaine ouer your harts hideth and eclipseth the glorious light of the Gospell from you And therefore beloued brethren if you will haue the Lord to blesse your hearing and to prosper our preaching you must wash and rince out the dregs of sin that are frozen in you you must purge the leauen of maliciousnes that sowreth your soules you must cast vp your couetousnes your pride and your slothfulnes your partiall preiudice like the serpent which spues vp his poyson when he goes to drinke For this is the cause why there are so many fruitlesse non-proficient hearers because there are so many sinfull and wicked hearers It is sayd of Christ that he did not many great works in his owne countrey for their vnbeliefs sake so it may be sayd that GOD concealeth many great mysteries of faith from vs for our sinnes sake Our wickednesse stops Christs mouth that hee will not speake as the Iewes incredulitie chayned his handes that hee woulde not worke Will an Embroderer teach an other mans seruant his trade if he knowe he will hurt him No more will God teach the Diuels seruants his truth because hee knoweth they will offend him The seed which fell into the thornie groud sprang vp very cherefully for a time that it might seeme to giue great hope of a ioyfull haruest but because thornes grewe vp with it at length they choked it so that vnlesse wee cut vp the thornie sinnes which naturally sprout and spring vp in vs they will ouerthrow all the good plants of holy doctrine that are graffed in vs and therefore the Prophet Ieremie willeth vs to breake vp the fallowe ground and not to sowe among thornes as if the heart must first be sanctified and afterward instructed as yron must first be heated and afterwards be fashioned In regard whereof I beseech you my beloued in the feare and reuerence of Gods blessed name looke to your feete when ye enter into the house of GOD presse not into this marriage feast without a Wedding garment treade not into the holie Sanctuarie to heare the word with an vnsanctified and a defiled and a filthie soule A man will not keepe the Sabbaoth in his working apparell but will put on his richest iewelles and array himselfe in his best attyre and yet wee make it no seruple at all to come vnto the Sabbaoths exercise with a prophane and a wicked and our workie day heart When Nadab and Abihu offered strange fire before the Lord God sayd I will bee honoured in them that draw nigh vnto mee to shewe that the Lord doth then looke for more holines at our hands when by practise of his seruice and the duties of holy religion wee approach to drawe more neere vnto him Wherefore to shut vp this point as the begger in the Gospell cast off his cloake to come to Christ so must we cast off the cloke of our wickednesse when we come to heare We must be as babes if wee will bee Christes pupilles because he reuealeth knowledge wisedome to none but babes And yet wee must not be babes only but newe borne babes which haue a newe soule a newe life newe members new affections imparted to them Whereby wee learne that it is not enough in our regeneration to redresse and reforme some one disordered affection in vs but wee must bee chaunged and new fashioned in euerie part As Saul when the kingly spirite came vpon him was turned as it were into another man So wee when the word begetteth vs a new must be turned and chaunged into other men and therefore they which are implanted into Christ are called new creatures because neither the olde hearn nor the olde hand nor the olde eare nor the olde eye will serue the turne but all must bee 〈◊〉 and newe framed agayne For whatsoeuer is borne of the flesh is flesh If wee will haue it spirit that is fit for Gods worship who is a spirit and will bee worshipped in spirit and truth it must bee borne agayne of the spirit The sense hereof made the Prophet Dauid crye out Create in me a cleane heart O God and renue a right spirit within me and therefore we must not patch and peece vp our hearts for GOD like a beggers cloake which is made of shreds but we must be renewed and thorowly chaunged in the spirite of our mindes When Naaman the leper had washed in Iordan his flesh came agayne like the flesh of a young child If the leprosie of sinne be washed and purged from vs al our affections and all our desires will bee altered and chaunged like the flesh of a child And therefore if wee will fit our selues to bee good hearers wee must not entertaine friendship with any sin As the Adder slippes off her skinne and the Eagle casteth her bill so wee must quite slip our selues of all our lusts when as newe borne babes we come to heare Touch no vncleane thing sayth the Lord because sinne will cling to the conscience like bird-lime to a feather therefore we must not touch it it must not haue a finger of vs. When the Diuell made his reentrie he tooke vnto himselfe seuen other spirites worse then himselfe Thus one diuell brings moe diuels and one sinne pulles on more sinnes as one crow calleth many crowes to a carrion and therefore as the leauen was hid in the meale till all was sowred so let vs neuer rest seasoning our soules till all be sanctified for then wee bee fit to vnderstand euery part of Gods will when we bee in euery part newe borne againe Furthermore this poynt discouereth and descrieth a grosse errour in Poperie concerning the works of nature which are wrought and effected by the