vs then haue our eye vpon him that we may know this changeable Proteus vnder what forme soeuer he shrowds himselfe When Peter spake like a friend Maister pitty thy selfe Christ spied the diuell there Auoid Satan When Elymas the Sorcerer perswaded the Deputy Paul eied the diuell thou sonne of the Diuell he found him in men-beasts at Ephesus he spide him lurking in his own flesh whither Sathan had sent his messenger to buffet him And it mattereth not whether he seeke our subucrsion by himselfe or by his sworne seruants For as when a Prince suborneth his subiect to worke treason vpon his enemy the benefit redoundeth to the Prince not to the subject so when men draw vs from God the booty is the Diuells O where doth not this subtile Serpent lurke what station haue the Souldiers of Christ without danger where can we put our selues without perill of falling Wee haue a night and clandesline enemy which neuer ceaseth to subuert ruinate and destroy If we had to doe with a bodily enemy wee might sleepe or intermit the watch there might be something vnperfect in our munitions and he not espie it This enemy spies all aduantages his Dragon eye so called of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to see pries into all things he intermits no time Then in a word whensoeuer wee may be subuerted wee are taken by him Wee haue seene this our arch-enemy ruling ouer all the Nations of the world fortifying himselfe like a great Monarch with bands of Atheists and Idolatrous hauing built himselfe Altars and Temples in the heathen as strong holdes bearing visible sway and carrying the Kingdomes of the earth in open triumph We haue seene how hee hath warred with the Saints in the Primitiue Church and how deare the cause of Iesus Christ stoode the Apostles and Martires in which prodigall of their liues and bloud charged the enemy in open fight and cast him out rescuing kingdomes and subduing the Nations of the world to Christ and his Gospell howbeit hee hath made a reentry hauing gotten the signiory in Africke and holds them as a prey More he raungeth ouer the great Asia and hath laid it waste I hee is entred into Europe and like the surging and ouerflowing ocean frets at the shoare seeking to breake the bounds hauing gotten ground of the Church but what doe I speake of outlings which haue yeelded ouer see how he hath drawne the Starres from heauen Euen them which professing Christ in his Church doe take now the contrary part And now when wee see without the Church the common enemies brauing the poore Christians despising our little number yet lesse for sects and schismes intestine and ciuill warre when I see amiddest them which professe Christ in one side hote fiery men whetting their tongues in Pulpits with curses and bitter words preaching common Inuectiues as if they had warre with one part of their hearers holding their scute or buckler of Predestination ouer the side they fauour and powring out plagues and curses 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 like stormes in winter on the other When againe I see our aduersaries with bloudy Inquisitions with fire and sword armed not onely with poyson in their mouthes as lying slandering blaspheming for that they count too little but with treasons and all cruel instruments of death sharpned with spite and malice implacable and seconded with hellish policy Heu quantae miseris strages Laurentibus instante what warres what massacres doe threaten vs God thou knowest If euer Christs Church had warre heere is warre It is warre when the enemy batters the walls What is it when hostes habet muros When our enemy possesseth our walls So had wee when wee drew within the walls of our Church that monstrum infelix full of armes and armed men as the Trojan Horse which hath not ceased to practise all cruelty and hostilitie in the Church And if euill were then to be feared how is it now when the enemy commeth out of the sides and bowells of the Church when he is gotten into the Pulpits and hath diuided our small number and pretending nothing but the pure Word hath sowen that sedition that parts are taken that it is growne to mutiny to sides that almost through the whole kingdome euery towne is at open faction Preacher against Preacher hearer against hearer One side goes from the Sermon discouraged and marked out for reprobate the other hath grace and comfort as solely elected Then spies are sent abroad for more hearers this man is graced and magnified as the onely Preacher if another come they will not heare him And hath not this fiery disposition attended to ruinate the very foundation of the Church as in Brownists and Barrowists But you will say these are zealous and godly men they minde but to mend the couering and alter somewhat of the old building Be not deceiued for it is to be feared they will downe with all for the new sides doe heare them as the onely Preachers and they haue cast imputation on their fellowes of Errour and Popery But be not deceiued deare Christians these are not they which brought you out of darkenes into light which stoode and fought for your Faith and the Gospell when the Truth was at a lowe ebbe and the Church had neede of stowt Souldiers in the cause of Christ. Non his Inventus orta parentibus Infeâ—…it aequor sanguine No lusty youths nor any of this race Did euer shed their bloud in such a case They were Ridleys Latimers and Cranmers playne Souldiers fighters not boasters which died for Christ and his Gospell in those dangerous times they cared for the body of Religion not striuing for the shadow They had the compleate armour of righteousnesse they did not contend about the guilding and enamelling They fought indeed not beating the Ayre with wordes they warred with the common enemy and left not the sword sticking in the sides of their fellowes But see how the Serpent is still a Serpent He is out of hope to hurt vs by our enemies abroad now he seekes to bring the same ruine on vs by our selues If he cannot procure our downefall for want of preaching he will doe it by preaching if he cannot hurt vs by hiding prayers in a tongue vnknowne hee will make vs despise them in a tongue knowne if he cannot obtayne the rule as he is Prince of darkenesse He will in a counterfeit forme attempt vs like an Angell of Light By these let vs learne what we ought to be not onely good souldiers but labouring suffering euill First is a good souldier then suffring euil For an euill man is no souldier but an enimy of Christ Transfuga a run-away he hath forsaken his colours and giuen ouer the cause If we be good then shall we be sure of enemies when first we become good then the fight beginueth My sonne when thou commest into the seruice of God stand fast and feare and prepare thy soule to
and Hatred are attributed to God himselfe which if they were simply and by nature euill should neuer haue beene ascribed to him It cannot then be denied but that Anger is vpon iust causes to be permitted Now let vs see in regard whereof it may be commanded There is a time when Gods honour is defaced and then be angry through iust zeale as Phinehas was with Zimry and Cozby but in this kind of anger sinne not be not ouer iust There is a time when our brother is to be reproued in this reproofe sinne not be not too sharpe and bitter in rebuking and in this place we may well cary with vs the rule of the Apostle Brethren if any man be ouer taken with a fault you which are spiritual instruct such an one with the spirit of gentlenesse considering thy selfe least thou also be tainted First the ve ry insinuation were enough to perswadevs seeing we are al brethren Secondly there is no difference betweene them and vs but in time they may preuent vs in sinning we shall follow them Thirdly because flesh and blood is insolent the Apostle maketh a distinct choyse of the persons exhorted you that are spirituall you which haue your hearts softned with the vnction of the holy Ghost Fourthly the medicine is set downe we must instruct him shew him the nature and measure of his fault and how to amend it Fiftly the ingredience to the medicine is prescribed with the spirit of meeknesse Sixtly we are bound to it by equality of nature considering thy selfe Seauenthly it is worth the noting that whereas before hee sayd in the plurall number brethren you now by a kinde of selecisme he maketh it euery mans case considering thy selfe least thou also be tainted But to goe forward there is a third kinde of lawfull anger when wee must be angry with our selues for sinnes and trespasses by vs committed but yet in this kinde of anger let vs not sinne that is fall into dispaire for there is mercy with God albeit we haue sinned So the first anger in which we are moued against our brother commeth from a Godly zeale the second when we rebuke our brother for his amendment commeth from our loue to God and the third when we are angry and displeased with our selues for our sinnes is our repentance before God We which haue suffred our affections to stoope downe to sinne and haue suffered our selues to be caried and misled by them knowing now that there is necessary vse of them to good shall we not turne them away from actions of vniustice and restore them to the honour of God and the good of our selues and of our neighbour We which haue beene so often angry and sinned is it not now time to learne to be angry and not sinne How happy shall we be if wee can fence and saue our selues with that sword with which we haue wounded so many of our brethren How happy shall we then be when we haue wonne those preturbations from the Diuell which hang downe so low and easie for sinne and by which sinne taking hold doth clime vp higher into our will and vnderstanding I conclude then with Saint Basile Ser de Ira If you will be angry with out sinning and shew forth the lawfull vse of this affection know that one is allured to sinne another enclineth and allureth him conuert your anger against the latter of these two a murtherer of his brethren a father of lies maligne not him that is ensnared entrapped Be angry where is a fault which may beare anger which cannot be a priuate displeasure but a fáult openly tending to the prophanation of Gods feareful name pollution of his Sacraments and seruice Publique scandalous incorrigible and insufferable faults whereby his Christ is dishonoured his good spirit of grace despighted and the whole congregation and family that is in heauen and earth wounded and blasphemed Be angry with those which are angry with God vpon euery light occasion for euery crosse wherewith they are tryed ready to goe backe and to walke no longer with him or if their mouthes be not filled with laughter and pleasure to their hearts desire and their besties with Garlicke and flesh-pots as in the daies of darkenesse breake forth into termes of highest vndutifulnesse saying What profit is there in seruing God Be angry with those that are angry with the Prophets for prophesying right things vnto them Be angry with the Prophets if they seeke their ease if they preach Lies if they preach not the Word Be angry with the Citty if it repent not at the preaching of the Prophets but when they haue pronounced the iudgments of God take them but for fables and like the sayings and doings of the mad man who casteth firebrands and arrowes and mortall things and saith am I not in iest Be angry with dogges which returne to their vomit though they beene purged seauen times and in a word to knit vp all Be angry with your sinnes the diuell lies vanities your selues Now come we to the prohibition which is the second part but sinne not Heere Saint Paul warneth vs of a pit into which our anger may fall namely sinne A pit more daungerous then that into which Ioseph was throwne by his brethren for many fall into this pit which neuer come foorth againe and this the more carefully we ought to shunne how much the more our nature vergeth downewards and our passions haue their selfe aptnesse and pronesse to that which is euill There is in vs almost an insensible difference betweene anger and sinne and Saint Paul cannot name the one but hee must aduise to cause vs shunne the other so secretly so subtily that which is euill is mixed to that which is naturall the motions of our minds were ordained to this end that they should obey reason but they refuse to obey God But the sinne of anger is so far extended and lyeth so many waies that it may seeme a matter of great hardnesse to expresse how diuersly we fall into it It shall suffice for our present purpose to make some briefe obseruations hereof and so to come to our conclusion First Anger bringeth in sinne by rashnesse for what easier way is there to fall then by omitting counsaile and what greater enimie to counsaile then wrath by which when we haue but a little distasted like mouthes of men diseased we relish not of sweet and wholesome counsailes but by heate and distemperature of mind fall into sodaine and violent passions which bring with them shame and confusion and for this cause Socrates when he was angry at his seruant refused to beate him saying He would first whip his anger This was Potiphers fault for when his wrath was kindled by a false suggestion he punished Ioseph with imprisonment albeit his anger tooke occasion from a lie to wrong the innocent I this was Dauids fault when he gaue too hasty credit to false Ziba his accusation and
their parents because in them it is most wanting There neede no commandement to enioyne Loue to descend which it cannot but doe but to ascend which it doth not so easily And as this is true in our earthly parents so is it in God the Father of vs all Gods loue Gods righteousnesse doth daily descend from heauen to vs Doth our loue our righteousnesse so ascend to him Hence is it that albeit the Scripture yeeld no commandement for the father to loue the sonne yet the Scripture taketh the fathers part in preferring the loue of the parents before the childrens loue whereas God himselfe exemplifieth his loue to vs in the loue of a father As the father hath compassion on his children so hath the Lord compassion on them that feare him How then shall Abraham answere this word May he not object My God and my Lord is not the loue and pitty I beare to the childe of my flesh by thine owne finger written in mine heart hast not thou thy selfe shed this tendernesse in my bowels Doe not Birds and Beasts and all sauage and cruell creatures cherish and nourish their young and must I which am a father slay my sonne Thus you see how forcibly this heauy word inuadeth Abrahams soule and vrgeth him beyond all possibilitie of humane power to destroy Pitty which is naturall and which is hardest to murther Loue which for her safety was fled into the in-most Sanctuary of his heart Now this may seeme not a little to moue him that God seemes to â—…ocke him For hee calleth him Abraham which is a father of many Nations after Gods owne promise to him and yet forbids him to be the father of one onely sonne Had not the word sounded hard in the eares of flesh and bloud which should haue required of a man the sacrifice of a man or a strangers or a seruants life for when in sacrifice they shed the bloud of Beasts they did it not without pitty and compassion which they signified when they laid their hands vpon the head of the Beast shewing that the poore Beast was innocent and that for them it was slaine He then which vnlesse he had been Flint and Marble must haue profused pitty on such as were remoued in bloud from the remotest in nature how should hee be a niggard thereof to his owne sonne And if the heart of a father must needes haue bleeded at the sickenesse of a tender childe if it had beene enough as Rachell to haue made him comfortlesse to haue beene depriued onely of him by the means of an other if to these the taking of him away by any violent kinde of death must haue added more bitternesse to his griefe what should this effect in a naturall breast to be himselfe the Butcher and Executioner of his owne childe Well may Abraham seeme now to haue sownded the ground and bottome of Griefe but being so farre plunged he findes a farther depth For God requireth not his sonne onely but his onely sonne Ismaell was cast forth onely Izhak remayneth he must kill Izhak so he hath neuer a sonne left He seemeth all this time to haue beleeued in vaine How many would this haue driuen into highest words of indignation which would not haue sticked to say What profit is there in seruing God Doe not the wicked flourish Doe not their sonnes and daughters liue and prosper Hast thou laid any such burthen vpon them which blaspheme thy Name But see Abraham for Gods loue spareth not his onely sonne but the Triall resteth not thus but rankleth and festreth further Abraham must sacrifice his onely sonne which he loueth Thus Gods word swalloweth vp all our deerenesse Hee will haue vs surrender not onely the things which we loue but our loue it selfe to the end we may end all deerenesse in him Abraham had many causes to loue this childe first because he was the sonne of his wife not of the Bond-woman Secondly for that hee was borne in his age and in the age of his wife when her wombe had no more nature or power to quicken than the Graue so beyond hope so by miracle he receiued him How then should hee not loue him naturally whom he receiued miraculously Thirdly wee see the older we grow to the end of our life our affections are doubled to our children and of what cause I know not but it is most euident that when we are aged our loues are inclined to such as wee affect as if they went forth of vs into them so they carry vs with extreamenesse of fondnesse and doting Like those which hauing slidden downe from an higher place the further they slide are carried with such violence force that they cannot recouer then selues againe As these were sufficient causes of loue first that hee was the Sonne of his Wife secondly of his old age thirdly borne by Myracle so fourthly hee is further grieued with his losse because hee was so long expected and desired So that hee which had beene almost tyred with expectation of that in regard whereof all earthly things might seeme vile vnto him being now seazed of his joy must cast it off with greater griefe and bitternesse than euer with comfort he receiued it so that now all the promises and fauors of God are turned to gall and wormewood and better had it beene for him neuer to haue receiued a sonne than with such heauinesse to forsake him To these we may adde a fift circumstance contayning in it a further cause of Loue namely the behauiour and disposition and meeknesse and obedience of Izhak his innocence and many delights of duty and qualities which Nature is most content and easie to embrace yet all these Abraham putteth away for God Neither doth a sixt difficulty hinder him namely that his loue was to his sonne so much the more as Abraham himselfe was just and righteous and being so could see no reason to be the Executioner of his innocent Childe but that hee gaue ouer himselfe to the Commandement and suffered GOD to dispute for him But beyond all these hee hath a further triall and combate with the promise it selfe For hee must depend vpon the promise and yet act that which is contrary to it hee must plant all hope of future comfort vpon Izhak and yet must kill him For all the graces offered by God to Abraham were included in this Warrant In Izhak shall thy seede he called so that Abraham must now offer not onely his owne hope but the hope of all the world You wil demand then How could his faith cause him to offer his sonne by contrarying that same promise vpon which it was built Saint Paul answereth saying that his faith yet relied on the promise because hee knew that God was able to raise him from the dead Hauing then to doe with God which is omnipotent hee thus reconcileth the Commandement with the Promise leauing the issue to the diuine Prouidence