whatsoeuer is not of faith is sinne And therefore the opinion of meritorious works and works of supererogation I beleeue cannot be grounded on a true sauing faith for to assume selfe-power to doe good and there-by to merit saluation is meerely against Christ and his merits as is also the pretēded propitiatorie sacrifice of the Masse and the reall being of Christs flesh in the Eucharist not onely not necessary to enter into my beliefe but rather that I beleeue that the death of Christ once for all apprehended by a liuely faith and his merits applyed for the pardon of my sinnes to my vnderstanding 〈◊〉 is a 〈◊〉 sufficient for the washing away of the sins of as many as doe truely beleeue and earnestly repent and doe receiue in that faith the sacramentall signes of the breaking of his body and sheading of his bloud vpon the crosse namely bread and wine faithfully I beleeue that Christ cōtinues really in heauen sitting at the right hand of God a continuall and alone Mediator euen for me and that the heauens shall so contayne him vntill his second comming vntill which time the Sacrament is left vnto all beleeuers to be a remembrance vnto them of his death which is a sufficient propitiation for the sinnes of all beleeuers I doe therefore beleeue that the holy Ghost possessing my heart at my participation of that holy Sacrament worketh faith in me which faith looketh backe vnto the death of Christ vpon the crosse beholding as it were by the eye of the same faith the breaking of his bodie and the powring out of his bloud euen then sacramētally represented vnto mee by the bread broken signifying his bodie and by the wine powred out signifying his bloud which I corporally eating and drinking I doe as verily taste of the vertue of Christs death in my heart by faith as I do taste in my mouth the bread wine And this I beleeue to be the true vse of this holie mystery whereof all faithfull receiuers do no otherwise partake of Christs bodie now crucifyed then the faithfull Iewes did partake of him in eating the Paschall Lambe prefiguring the death of Christ to come as now we solemnize the commemoration of his death past but that they had it vnder a more darke vayle which now being taken away appeareth to vs most perspicuously and cleerly MEDIT. X. Christ elected none for foreseene workes I Doe not beleeue that GOD elected me for the foreseen good works that I would doe for I disclayme all inherent goodnesse by nature and doe belieue that God giues me both will and the power to doe good and all the good that I doe I acknowledge to be of God and the euill that I doe to bee of my selfe therefore the good that I doe I doe not beleeue to be the cause but the effect of mine election I confesse that God did foreknow I would doe good not but that hee likewise forepurposed to indue me with his owne Spirit whereby I should doe it therefore is not the worke mine but the Spirits that God hath giuen me for if I should beleeue that God foresaw the good that I setting the Spirit of God aside should doe and therefore did elect mee were it not to beleeue that mine own workes were the cause of mine election and so assume vnto my selfe power to worke mine owne saluation which God forbid God giues the wil and the power to worke and rewards the worke not as a debt hee owes mee for my worke but as he first gaue me the will and the power freely so hee rewards not my work but manifesteth his mercie wherein hee likewise as hee freely elected mee so hee freely bestowes vpon me his saluation through his owne meanes and therefore I rather vtterly condemne my best works then to expect any meritorious reward for them I feele the force of mine owne corruption daily and that appeares in the whole course of my life by the fruits which of them-selues are euer euill which I cannot suppresse but by the grace of GOD in Christ. If I knewe nothing by my selfe to yeeld me cause of doubt yet were not I thereby iustified But I know no good in my selfe what shall I say then am I condemned God forbid for as God did freely elect mee so hee freely iustifies mee not for mine owne good workes the best of which are imperfect but of his owne free mercie by imputing Christs righteousnesse and merits vnto me in whom and with whom a Crowne of glorie is laid vp in heauen euen for mee from whose fulnesse I receiue euen here grace for grace whereby and not by any meanes of mine owne I doe grow and increase and the elder I waxe in Christ the more I fasten my roote and the more I flourish in the Spirit for They that are planted in the Courts of the Lord shall flourish in their age and bring forth fruit and happy are they that are in Christ Iesus whom neither life nor death nor things present nor things to come shall separate from the loue of God Shall not Death then separate me from Christ no it shall not only not separate me but it shall bring me into his Real and Royall presence into his Kingdome of glorie new Ierusalem where I shall see his Maiestie as farre to exceed the glorie of Salomon in the day of his magnificent Coronation as the Sunne exceedes in brightnesse the darkest and blackest cloud Is this then the hurt that Death can doe vnto mee and shall I feare it will a wise man refuse a rich possession for not passing to it by an ordinarie bridge by which hee hath seene millions goe before him And shall I desire to dwell in this base and beggerly cottage this ruined and rotten house of clay in labour trauaile care feare trouble enuie griefe and a thousand miseries rather then passing by the ordinaire way of death to inherit a glorious Kingdom God forbid I desire farre rather to be with CHRIST in glorie which glorie I beleeue farre surpasseth both what is or can be spoken or conceiued of it The very Angels that presently partake of it cannot expresse it nay the holy Ghost though hee doe assure vs that it is prepared for all Gods elect yet the very fulnesse of it is not reueiled words cannot so sufficiently declare it as that the most illuminate man can expresse it not Paul himselfe though hee were taken vp into the third Heauen where hee heard and no doubt sawe wonderfull things yet could hee not discouer them to the full apprehension of any mortall But by the glorie that God hath reueiled in his works by the Firmament the Sunne the Moone the Stars the Seas the Earth the order and course of all his creatures visible may leade vs to iudge by way of comparison That if the things for the vse of mortall men here bee so wonderfull and glorious what are they
feare him then that feare being blessed and sanctified â—restraynes mee from sinne to walke in the wayes of God therefore I feare and walke because I am blessed and not blessed because I either feare or walk in his wayes for God by his blessing which is his grace giues mee the will without which the deede cannot follow so both the will and the deede the desire and the worke in me are of God He that feareth the Lord will neither speake nor do euill because both speaking doing good comes from the feare of doing euill which holy feare being the gift of God hath great commendation in the Scripture It is the beginning of wisedome saith Salomon and wisedome the end of all heauenly perfection and tendeth not only to restraine from euill for feare of Gods Iudgements as it wrought in Dauid when he said My flesh trembleth for feare of thee and I am afraid of thy Iudgements But to retayne me in the loue and fauour of God Iob was reputed a iust and vpright man because he feared God and in fearing God he eschewed euill Satan himselfe confessed that God preserued Iob blessed all that he had for that he feared God The feare of God then is that true rule of wisedom which directeth vnto a godly life a godly life an infallible forerunner of a happie death and to die in the Lord is chiefest blessednesse the passage from a miserable mortall to a blessed immortall being This feare then being the first steppe to a godly preparation to liue well and to die blessed is that true most precious Iem and Iewell which I seeke and desire to obtayne at the hands of God whose gift it is And therefore according as Salomon hath defined this feare of the Lord I will indeuour to abandon euill and to abhorre sinne Dauid also teacheth and I will desire to practice the same feare in keeping my tongue from euil and my lips that they speake no guile I will seeke to eschew euill and to doe good to seeke peace and to follow it for Who hath euer continued in the feare of the Lord and hath beene forsaken of him in life or in death A Prayer for the feare of God and wherein I may so liue as I may not be afraid to die The Prayer O Lord my God who hast made mée and fashioned mee of the dust of the earth and hast breathed into me the breath of Life here to trauaile vpon the face of the earth during a time appointed by thy Prouidence which I shall not passe for thou hast set down the number of my dayes which how many they shall bée I am vtterly ignorant giue me therefore a holy â—eare that I may thinke euery day to bee the day appointed for my death that I may so much the more warily walk in the wayes of true wisedome in a holy and sincere conuersation before the sons of men and in the sanctification of the inner man lest I be found more formall before men then faithfull in thée I beséech thée hearken to the prayer of thy Seruant who desireth vnfaynedly so to feare thée as I may not feare or be afraid of death Giue me that holy feare of thy Name which thou hast commanded that I may not erre from thy wayes nor harden my heart from thy feare for I know that great is thy goodnesse which thou hast layd vp for them that feare thee Knit my heart therefore vnto thée that I may fear thy Name and may receiue grace to serue thée so that I may so please thée with reuerence and feare that I not only may not feare to die but desire it rather passing all the time of my dwelling here in continuall meditation of thy future life sanctifying thee the Lord God of Hosts who art euermore my feare for thou only art able to kill and to make aliue to cast downe and to raise vp therefore art thou only to be feared like vnto whom there is none among al the gods so glorious in holinesse fearefull in praises and doing wonders I thanke thée gracious Father in Jesus Christ that in and by him I haue receiued the Spirit of re conciliation adoption whereby I am enabled to crie Abba Father and am freed from the spirit of seruile feare from the feare of Satan by thy Spirit Though for a little while O Lord thou maist séeme to forsake me and leaue mee to the spirit of bondage yet with great compassion according to thy wonted mercies I finde thée euer readie to receiue mee againe For a moment thou hidest thy face from mee but with euerlasting mercie thou wilt haue compassion vpon mee and after this my mortalitie receiue mee to eternitie who art my Lord my God my streÌ„gth and my Redéemer Lord increase my feare of thee my faith in thee and loue towards thee Amen MEDIT. IIII. Watchfulnesse THE second point of my preparation is to bee watchfull and that for three especiall causes The first for that I haue an Aduersarie who is maliciously watchfull therefore ought I to be religiously watchfull The second because death will steale suddenly vpon me as a Thiefe The third because of my generall account to which I know I shall be called as soone as my soule is gone from my bodie if then I bee not able to yeeld a â—ust reason how I haue spent the time of my life here I shall be cast into prison neuer to bee redeemed First then to apply my watchfulnes to the watchfulnesse of mine enemie it behoueth me euer to haue an eye vnto the thoughts motions and affections of my corrupt heart for from my heart proceed all the euils that by any part or member of my bodie are actually committed and all the thoughts of my heart are euill euermore yet thence is my tongue moued to speake how then can my words be holy proceeding from so polluted a fountayne I am often violently carried whither the thoughts of my heart doe moue me and am often incited to commit those things howsoeuer euill which my corrupt heart hath conceiued And mine enemie Sathan that thirsteth for my confusion takes aduantage by the inclination of my heart manifested by mine accustomed actions to frame his bayts according to my corrupt appetite coueting euer to draw actual euils out of the polluted puddle of sinne conceiued in my heart This do I find by the experience of his long practice and inferâ—all stratagems for vpon my committing of some sinne and hartily repenting the same with a resolution neuer to commit the like I haue as it were sensibly felt and plainly obserued how by little and little he hath endeuoured to lay snares to draw me to the same euil not as with a violent hand but as it were stealing vpon me like a flattering and deceitefull Theefe whose policies I haue no power to preuent but only by that promise which GOD made vnto
him and reuiling of him yet did not Dauid rayle vpon or reuile him againe neither would he permit any reuenge to be inflicted vpon him but with patience endured it imputing his malicious speeches though they proceeded from his owne enuious heart to be sent from God to trie him and to put him in mind of his murder and other sinnes that hee peraduenture had forgotten conceiuing the cause to be as indeede it was that God had bidden this wicked Shemei to rayle on Dauid euen for Dauids good God powreth contempt euen vpon Princes Though Dauid were a King hee was not yet free from base malicious enimies much lesse thinke yee to bee especially if yee bee vertuous But let it not trouble you the praise remaineth for you for it is a righteous thing with God to render vnto you that are troubled rest with the Saints but to them that trouble you tribulation If your enemies lay snares to trappe you or digge pits for you seare them not for they them-selues shall bee snared and fall into the pits that they prepared for you As the Gallowes that Haman set vp to hang guiltlesse Mordecai was his owne destruction as was the fire prepared for the cōsuming of the three children and the Lyons for Daniel the confusion of the false accusers so shall all the euils that the wicked practise and intend against you fall vpon them-selues They may trauaile with wickednesse hauing conceiued mischiefe but the fruit of their breath shal be their owne confusion Saluation belongeth vnto the Lord and his blessing is vpon all them that trust in him And that encouraged Dauid hauing had experience of the loue power of God to say that if ten thousand of the people should rise against him and compasse him round as Pharaoh and the Aegyptians did Moses the Israelites he would not be afraid Such was his cōfidence in Gods ready defence who deliuered him at all times in all places from all dangers plotted against him by Saul Euen so hee deliuered Iacob from Laban his Vncle and Esau his brother Isaac from being sacrificed by Abraham Ioseph from his brethren and from the malice of Potiphars wife and Iob from the power and malice of Satan and thinke not ye that God was Dauids God and Iacobs God and Isaacs and Iosephs and Iobs God only a God of our godly Fathers and not our God and the God of all the faithfull to the end of the world Trust yee in him be doing good shun to doe euill and yee shall find him likewise your God and to worke for you and your children as great things for your defence and according to yours and their necessities as euer he hath formerly done for Hee was Hee is and for euermore will be a refuge for the poore and that in due time euen in greatest affliction yea euen in the very moment of neede hee will be neere you though hee may seeme sometimes to tarrie long and ye may thinke hee hath forgotten you be patient waite his leisure for comming hee will surely come and will deliuer you in time most conuenient Hee knoweth what yee want and the time fit to giue it you and therefore whatsoeuer and whensoeuer he giues you thinke it is the thing fittest for you the time most conuenient to giue it you in He is a Father of the fatherlesse and a Iudge of the widdowes cause hee knoweth what is fit for them all and will administer it in due time PART VIII Hypocriticall lowlinesse to deceiue IT is the nature of the wicked hypocritically to dissemble lowlinesse loue to the poore and needy to cause them to fall into their nets by heapes and so to sucke from them as is daily seene by experience their lands goods as Achab did Naboths vineyard and to draw you into their societies to the end you should followe their euill course of life A matter too frequent in our dayes Beware therefore of these kinds of fawnes and flatteries and flatterers for when they smile most vpon you they practise most to deceiue you and to betray you As Dauid complayned in his time of the flatterers in SAVLS Court who though they hated him without a cause spake deceitfully vnto him and with lying lips flattering tongues How did Absaloms by flattery insinuate into and gayned the hearts of the people Dauids subiects to supplant his Father and to gayne the Kingdom to himselfe Tertullus the Orator by flattering Foelix moued him against Paul Hee that slattereth a man spreadeth a net for his steps How did the Iewes flatter Christ when they went about to betray him about the giuing of tribute to Casar examples are infinite Take heede there are some that when they intend most mischiefe will be then most humble bowing themselues in a counterfeit curtesie before him they purpose to deceiue yet before hee perceiue it they will be vpon him and hurt him and although such flatterers be so weake as they can doe you no harme by violence yet will they seeke and when they find oportunitie they will doe you mischiefe As yee would therefore auoid flatterers not to bee deceiued by them so flatter neither your selues to thinke yee bee what indeed yee are not nor others to make them beleeue what yee meane not for none flatter but wieked men and harlots for the word can neuer be taken but in the ill part and therefore Dauid calls flatterie deceit They speake deceitfully saith he euery one to his Neighbour flattering with their lips speaking with a double heart and so vnder colour of cōfort they seeke to cōfound the poor making a mock of the confidence and trust that the poore haue in GOD hauing them in dirision in regard of their basenesse boasting themselues of their owne pride and of their owne hearts desire blessing themselues in their aboundance insomuch as they shew themselues contemners euen of God himselfe flattering him yet with their mouth and dissembling with him with their tongue and in their pride doe flatter themselues to haue no cause to seeke God nay they thinke indeed there is no God and so declare they by their actions My familiar friend saith Dauid whom I trusted which did eate of my bread hath lifted vp his heele against me It is better for you to bee rebuked of your friends then to bee flattered of your secret enemies therefore admit no flatteries or flatterers Be yee the same yee seeme to be neither to flatter nor be flattered Speake euer as yee thinke and thinke as yee speake and neuer speake or thinke but that which is good and truely profitable And vexe not your selues to see the wicked prosper by their crouching flattering though they become rich desire not to be like them that feare not God howsoeuer glorious they seeme neither desire their societies it is a