of men But that wherto the Prophet Hoseas exhorteth is that Righteousnes of God and the true perfect Iustice of the LORDS Elect Hos 10. after the which as from a cause there followe for effects good Actions good endeuors good works and an holie and sounde life in and by the which a man is iustified and commended before men as hee is iustified and commended in the sight of God by the former The former is called Iustice the latter is called Mercy And as the former is taken for the cause Calu. in Hes 10. the latter for the effect or the one for the tree the other for the fruite so is this latter made the definition of the former being indeede the very Symbole or signe as whereby the Righteousnes of God in Christ by the which we are approued with him is plainely expressed and set forth as elsewhere it is said that the obseruation of the second table of the law plainly testifieth the true performance of the first Table Therfore Faith expressed by decâ—es Matt. â—5 aswel to teach perswade this vnto the Saints as to comfort encourage them in their dutie therin Christ remembreth and commendeth in them rather the obseruation of those workes of the second Table then those of the first that is their workes before their faith as that wherby indeed their true faith appeared therefore he saith not I was hungry thirsty naked harborles sick and in prison and ye beleeued in mee but he said I was thirsty ye gaue me drinke naked ye cloathed me harbourles and ye lodged me sick and ye visited mee in prison and ye came vnto me Thus he commended the work which expressed the faith for as a learned father wryteth after the saying of Saint Iames Pistis choris ergon necra hos erga dicha pisteos Gre. Naz. Eisto haâ—ion baptisma Iam. â— 18 Matt 5. Faith is dead without works euen as the woâ—ks are dead without faith Therfore it was the counsaile of the same Apostle that we should declare our faith by our workes alluding to that Commandement of the Lord So let your light shine before men that they may see your good workes c. In this coÌ„sideration let vs remeÌ„ber that as I said the Prophet Hosey commendeth to vs a double Iustice whereof the one is before God the other is towardes and before men Ro. 3 2.24.8 1. Cor 1 30. Iaâ— 2. â—â— 2â— Of the former spake Paul saying wee are iustified by faith and Christ is our righteousnes Of the latter spake Iames wee be iustified by works and Abraham was iustified by works And as eyther of them as the cause the time the persons and the occasions required haue duely attributed aswell to faith as to works Faith and works the due prerogatiue and honor of both so haue they taught and esteemed not onely the one but both of theÌ„ necessarie in a godly man The first which is the tree or cause of the latter is defined in the Newe Testament Our Righteousnes before God of two parts to be our Reconciliation with God by the means of Christ Iesus our Mediator Or our Approbation with the Father through the merite of the Sonne Or the free Remission of sinnes obtayned by them which beleeue in God and by the which we who who are guilty God pronouÌ„ceth iust for the sake of his Sonne And this defintiion hath two generall partes the one is remission of sinnes the other is the imputation of Iustice A remission of our owne sinnes An imputation of the Iustice of another wherin there is a fit allusion to the order and vsage of a gratious Prince towards his guiltie Subiect whom notwithstanding his faulte hee doth not onely pardon for his offence but also doth adorne with benefites The sinne is pardoned through him by whose Iustice and merite we are approued and pronounced Righteous that is not by any Angell or man or any other creature whatsoeuer which were not onely ashamed but also blemished by mans sinne but only in by the holy Messias the Lord Iesus who indeed for that purpose came down from his Father and died and with his pretious blood payed the debt of our transgression and set vs at libertie yea he beautified vs with the glorious beautie of himselfe Of the former member of this our Iustice wee haue a notable testimony of the Lord in Isaiah Isa 53. â—1 where he saith My righteous Seruant meaning Christ shall iustifie the multitude with his wisedome and how he tells for he shall beare their sinnes And that approoueth the Apostle where hee saith of Christ that he bare our sinnes in his body 1. Pet â— 21.14 hanging on the tree when there was no guile found in his mouth To this belongeth that example of the Publican Luke 18. whom the Lord approued before the proud pharisie for he prayed for pardon for his sinne which he confessed and that being granted hee was said to be iustified for his sinnes were not imputed therefore both after the Testimony of Dauid and of Paul he was blessed Ro. 4. â— 8 Gal. 3.8 as blessed is that maÌ„ to whoÌ„ the Lord imputeth not sin Of the latter member of this Iustice the same Apostle speaking saith that God imputed Righteousnes to theÌ„ that beleeued that is 1. Cor. 1.30 the Righteousnes of Christ to the faithful that he is made vnto vs of God not onely wisedome sanctification and redemption but also Righteousnes and in one other sentence he comprehendeth either member thus Christ dyed for our sinnes Ro 4 1â— hee rose againe for our iustification that is he dyed to abolish sinne and rose againe to worke our perfect Righteousnes This is our Righteousnes with the Lord The order of our Iustification to the which the former Iustice must be referred the order therof in the merite of the Sonne of God is as followeth viz. First we consider the eternall loue of God to mankind in Iesus Christ before all worlds according to that saying I loued thee with an euerlasting loue Secondly his diuine grace and fauour wherby he powreth forth on vs of his diuine blessings as of whose fulnes we all receiue grace vpon grace Thirdly his Mercie in drawing vs vnto him as hee saith by the Prophet By my mercie haue I drawen thee vnto me Fourthlie the merite of Iesus Christ working deseruing it in the Iustice of his Father Fiftlie his perfect Righteousnes the which of that his loue grace mercie and merite extended vnto vs Christ is made ours and his graces and vertues esteemed ours in by the which Mans merite excluded we are accepted as is the Sonne or Mediator Righteous and glorious before God Thus farre forth we finde man to be vtterlie excluded not onely from all merite but also from all action or meanes in himselfe of this Iustice and therfore hath hee no cause to boaste of that
and were plagued in the wildernes Baltazar in his gluttonous feast could not repent though he saw the handwriting on the wall but he was destroyed those two rich men mentioned in the Gospell by S. Luke Luke 12 16. beeing full would neither pitie the pore nor amend their liues and so they were taken away in their sinnes Moreouer the verie godlie haue by this enemy as domesticall bene annoyed and endangered Gen 9.19 Noah being full of wine lay shamefully vncouered Lot beeing drunken with wine committed incest with his owne daughters Dauid in his fulnes and pompe doated on Bethsabe Vrias wife and committed murther and adulterie whereof followed many plagues troubles And surely they which are Somno vinoque Sepulti ouercome with ydlenes and wine haue not onely their cogitations blinded but are fed as Oxen fatted for the slaughter CHRIST therfore to disswade men froÌ„ this sin to perswade them to the true vse of the Plough-beam being the very strength of Mortification and the way to safety thus exhorteth Take heed that your hearts be not ouercome with surfeitting and dronkennes and so the day of the Lord come vpoÌ„ you vnawares Again Watch pray test yee enter into temptation for the spirite is willing but the flesh is weake meaning that the flesh hauing his will is an hinderance to the good motions desires of the Spirite and therefore wee should not pamper such an enemy Againe there is a Diuell which possessing the hearts of the voluptuous persons goeth not out but by fasting and prayer S. Paul condemneth pampering of the flesh as a worke of darknes in the which the Diuell dominiers to destroye and therefore Saint Peter disswading men from this danger exhorteth them to be Sober and Watch. In and by the which as wee see the daunger of voluptuousnes and carnall lustes so are wee taught the true vse of Pieties Beame and perswaded to the same for our owne good The Phisitians when they be willing to extenuate men after repletions or corrupt humors of body The order of extenuation of sinnes Phisitian prescribe somtimes sweatings sometimes vomits sometimes diets sometimes vnctions somtimes minutions sometimes cauterizings sometimes glysters sometimes exercises somtimes watchings somtimes potions In like sort the sinner which is spiritually distempered with the repletion corruption of sinne requireth all these pointes of spirituall medicine as whereby he may be macerated and prepared for health The sweatings are Agonies sorowes and teares the vomits are confessions the dyets are abstinences and fastinges the vnctions are prayers the minutions are Almes-deedes the Cauterizings are persecutions and troubles the glysteres are the remission of many iniuries the exercises are lawfull labours and workes of our vocation the watchings are waking to vertues and the withstanding of carnall lusts the potions are the worde of God and the Crosse of Christ which are called the water of life and the cuppe whereof Christ himselfe drancke with his Apostles Thus hath the Physitian taught vs to macerate the flesh The good wife teacheth sinners the order of Mortification The like Simbole is taken from the good wife in the allaying of her potte which beeing on the fire beginneth to boyle ouer First shee vncouereth the pot Next if that help not she in all the hast bloweth on the liquor Thirdly she casteth in Salt Fourthly shee allayeth it with colde water Fiftly shee stirreth it with the Ladle Sixtly shee with-draweth the fire and lastly when no waye else serueth shee remooueth the pot from the fire In like sorte the sinner swelling in repletion and ready to break out into the effects of voluptuousnes is aduised First to acknowledge and confesse his sinnes 2. To pray to God for assistance 3. To hearken to the worde of God and to feare his Iudgements 4. Applye that which is contrarie to the humour or cause of the sinne 5. To bee diligent in some honest labour of exercise 6. To abstaine from the voluptuousnesse of meates and drinkes and 7. To withdrawe our selues from all those occasions of our sicknesse and daunger All these things require a meet amplification from the which I am restrained through my desire of breuity to auoide tediousnes Surely this is that strong Beame without the which the best man on the earth often falleth and is annoyed as king Dauid and king Salomon yea as Noah and Lot did being replenished with wine and fleshly securitie Therefore as we should hearken to the good counsaile of our SAVIOVR and his Apostles so should we pray to the LORD with Agur Lord giue me not Pouertie nor Riches feede me with foode conuenient for me lest I be full and denie thee and say Who is the Lorde CHAP. XVIII The 5. part of the Soole is the Tractorie THe first member of the Spirituall Soole is the Hope of Remission The hope of Remission signified by the Tractorie or Lamb as som call it which necessarily must be fastened to the former foure lest whiles by terrifying the sinner with continuall threates of Gods Iudgementes and Spirituall corasiues to cast him downe and to drawe him from proude presumption hee should for want of comforts and reliefe be drench't in vtter despaire yet not so that being a greeuous offender â—ee might be occasioned to presume on Mercie but that knowing both his sinnes with the danger and horrour thereof repenting he should not be ouerwhelmed in feare but hope for mercie This rule Paul obserued wryting to the Corinthians who hauing terrified them by laying before their eyes the terrible examples of Gods Iudgements on the auntient Iewes in the wildernes to breede in them true contrition humility confession and mortification of the flesh by and by he addeth for their consolation stay There is no tentation hath taken you but such as belongeth to the Nature of man and God is Righteous who will not suffer you to be tempted aboue your power And this hath bene the custome of the holy Prophets to mixe sweeet things with sower to this ende that whilest they sought to plaister one wounde they might not make another but rather one thing coÌ„sidered with another they might heale the one and withstand the other Therefore haue wee also thought good soone after those fower harde Corasines before going to minister this godlie Comfortatiue the Hope of Remission which animateth the sinner to followe Pieties Plough for Hope is Tò en ToiÌ„s Senois Phà rmacon a Remedie in all hard aduentures as said Gregory Nazianzen Naz ad ciues Naz Aug in Psal 104. to his citizeÌ„s And as another said truly Qui gaudet in Spetenebit rem c He that reioyceth in Hope shall also enioy the thing hoped for but hee that is without Hope cannot obtaine the thing In regard whereof this vertue is called the Mother of all endeuours and studies Hope is the Mother of endeuours Mater conatuuÌ„ engendring not onely the will but also the endeuour of studying working
else-where inviteth the Lords people not onely to the former but also to the latter in both the which conioyned and enioyned to man consisteth Omnis summa Christiana Disciplinae Religionis the summe of all Christian discipline and Religion Now therfore we may first gather consider of the most pregnant testimonies then of the examples in practise thirdly the signification of the words so conioyned as which beeing knowen we may the better vnderstand obserue the true meaning of the Prophet and the Diuine will in this his exhortation Iustice and Mercie Isay 57.1 The Prophet Isaiah conioyneth the words thus The righteous man perisheth and no man regardeth it in his heart The men of Mercy are taken away Pro. 21.21 and no man considereth it Salomon hath this combination Who so loueth Righteousnesse and Mercie findeth Life Righteousnesse and Honour Daniel in his good Counsaile to Nebucadnezar Dan. 4.27 maketh this conjunction Breake off thy sinnes by Righteousnesse and thine iniquities by Mercie to the poore Micheas the Prophet in his Chaine lincketh them together thus Hee hath shewed thee ô man what is good and what the Lord requireth of thee Mich. 6. namely to doe Iustice and to loue Mercie The like hath Zacharie saying in the Name of the Lord They shal be my people Zach. 8.8 and â— wil be their God in Righteousnes and Mercie To â—e short Christ Iesus in the newe Testament Mat. 5. haâ—ing pronounced them happie that hunger and â—hirst after Righteousnes by by added Blessed â—e the Mercifull In this and many other places wee finde not onely the apte coniunction commendation of those two vertues so placed but â—lso the glorious rewarde of the same annexed â—hereto as that which orderly followeth the peerâ—esse plough of Pietie in the true vse And truely as wee haue found for the former 2 Examples of practise â—s Iustice and Mercie disioyned and set apart for â—ither of them besides the testimonies many noâ—able exaÌ„ples of practise so also haue wee for those â—oth conioyned as wherin the Saints of yore deâ—laring themselues as the children of the highest Righteous Mercifull Heb. 11. haue in their times bene wel reported of as the Apostle saith writing to the Hebrews left behind them not only a perpetuall memory of their Pietie but also the like instruâ—tion and example thereof to all others in posteriâ—ie who seeing and considering well of those verâ—ues holie perfection might be thereby occasioned to follow them therein to the high praise of God their owne soules health Gen 6. It is therefore â—eported of Noah that hee was not onely a righâ—eous man but also that he was perfect walked with God Abraham being a righteous man Gen. 18 declared himselfe mercifull in his kindnes to the Sodomites to Lot Gen. 18. to the Angels to Strangers and in a word in many such workes of Mercy Iob. 1 8. Epoc. 32 3â—.32 The like may be easily found and approued in the holy man Iob in Moses the seruant of God in Dauid the King in the noble Captaine Nehemias Neh. 1.4 and 58.10 11.16 in good Tobiah Tob 1. Luk. 1. Mat. 1. in the Priest Zachary and his wife In Symeon theâ— iust and godly man in Ioseph the husband of Mary and to passe by many others beyond all the Iustice of the Lord hath bene mixed with mercy in the admirable redemption of mankind in and by the meanes and merite of his sonne Iesus in whom also these vertues as in the image of the father haue and doe euer shine and declare themselues to the glory of God and eternall benefit of his elected Saints 3 A double Iustice Thirdly finding these wordes with semblable examples thus conioyned and of such affinitie we may well perceiue how the Propheâ— aymeth to that double Iustice required of man that is not onely to that contained and commanded in the second but also in the first Tabie of the diuine law by the which men might obserue that word of Christ Pelican in Prou. 21. Gual in Hos 10. To make not onely the fruite good but first the Tree and then the fruite wherby the Tree is known and approued For except the Tree be first good there commeth thereof no good fruite Whereby we see this matter likened to a Tree with her fruit The Tree is our Iustice * The Tree of Iustice the fruite is our Mercy in the former is respected Iustification in the latter Sanctification And this necessarily followeth the former as the fruit the Tree if the Tree be good Wherof I may say that the former produceth Iustification the latter Opera Iustficati the works of the person iustified For the former which is the Tree whereof mercie springeth it is doubtles that Righteousnes of God Iustice is approued which being perfect blamelesse holy and sound in it selfe was yet neuer reprehended or reprooued by the wisedome of God nor iustlie condemned by the children of of meÌ„ but hath bin and is shal be by â—he â—a raÌ„t of holy Scripture worthelie iustified approued and commended by God and his Saints and not denyed but rather acknowledged and confessed euen by the verie Diuels and vngodlie persons though against their willes by the constrainte of the spirite of trueth to the glorie of God and the consolation of the godlie But Christ hath said Obiect that the holy Ghost comming into the worlde reproueth the worlde not onely of sinne but also of Righteousnes Iob. 16.8.9 because they beleeue not in him This indeede is true neither may the word of Christ be thought to contrarie â—he worde of the Prophet in this place for wee must vnderstand that our Lord distinguisheth of â—he word Righteousnes or Iustice and as a learned â—ather writeth Nisi esset institia falsa Iustitia Dei â—on diceretur vera were there not a false Iustice the â—ustice of God should not be called the true Iuâ—â—ice But the Iustice of God is called as it is indeede the true Iustice therfore there is some oâ—her Iustice which is the false Iustice and lyable to â—hat reprehension of the holy Ghost neither as the case now standeth is there any Righteousnes either naturall morall legall pharisaicall or politicall in man which may be iustly exeÌ„pted from the same No Iustice approued but that which is of God 1. Cor. 1.19 For the naturall Iustice was lost in Adams fall the morall wanting faith by mans concupiscence is sinfull the legall is abandoned by transgression the pharisaicall reprobated by hypocrisie and the politicall is by lewd foolishneâ— opposed to the Iustice wisedome of God The maine reason of this reprobation of mans iustice is the want of saith as Christ witnesseth because they beleeue not in mee without the which whatsoeuer is done Iob. 16 1â— is condemned for a sinne seeme the same neuer so goodlie to the eyes and iudgement
pretend to imitate the godly in their husbandry howbeit as they are of an other mind and constitution The end of Impieties Plough so is their Plough quite contrary to the Plough of Pietie hauing therein this chiefe purpose not onely to broach thereby their inueterate mischiefes but to greeue and gall the Lord Iesus at the heart and all his blessed members and to ouerthrow and roote out all celestiall grace and diuine vertues from the hearts of men Of this the Prophet wofully complained in the person of Christ and his Saints Isa 44. The Plowers plowed vpon my backe and made long furrowes thus said the Lord of such plowers Thou hast laden mee with thine iniquities and pained mee with thy transgressions And of the same it is said The sinner considereth the righteous and seeketh occasion to slay him Psal 37. For these wicked and peruerse Plowers are euer most hard-hearted The nature of the euill Plowers cruell enuious malitious irefull and seuere against the Saints of the most holy they pierce and wound the righteous by tyrannies blasphemies persecutions torments and horrible mischiefes Howbeit we finde them not alwaies so prosperous in their actions and studies but that they are often galled grieued and condemned by that gnawing and fretting worme of Conscience which torments their sinfful soules day and night with pains intollerable and lastly they are destroyed for euer from the presence of God his blessed Angells In this Plough are considered as in the Plough of Pietie 1. The Aratre or Soole of the Plough 2. The Oxen of the Plough 3. The Holder of the Plough 4. The Leader of the Plough 5. The Driuer of the Plough But not the same before mentioned in that Plough nor the like in either nature or condition for as Pietie and Impietie are meere contraries as vertues and vices so also are their seuerall actions fruits and effects First touching the Aratre or Soole The Soole of Impiety 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 9. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. wee finde therein the same number of parts and points as in the Soole of Piety As first the Share secondly the Ship thirdly the Culter fourthly the Beame fiftly the Tractory sixtly the Ground-rise seuenthly the Broad-Hale eightly the Round-hale ninthly the Chaine tenthly the Farther Wheele eleuenthly the Neerer Wheele twelfthly the Axell thirteenthly the Kay fourteenthly the Taw. The first of the which noteth hardnesse of heart An hard heart Bern. li. 5. de coÌ„sider the second pride the third sinfull shame the fourth impenitency the fift pampering of the flesh the sixt dispaire of remission the seuenth a turning away from God the eight an abiding or dwelling in sin the ninth a noysome combination of vices the tenth a thriftlesse meditation the eleuenth a continuance of vngodly actions the twelfth a blasphemie the thirteenth infidelitie and the fourteenth malicious crueltie First the Share of Impieties Soole is hardnesse of heart which euer withstands godly contrition Quid est Cor durum ipsum est quod nec compunctione scinditur nec pietate mollitur nec mouetur precibus minis non cedit flagellis duratur ingratum est ad beneficia c What is the hard heart said Baruard It is the same which is neither pierced with compunctioÌ„ nor mollified with piety nor moued with praiers nor yeeldeth to threats is hardened with scourges for benefits ingratefuâ—l for counsailes vnfaithfull for iudgements cruell for vices shamelesse for dangers desperate for humane things brutish for diuine matters rash of things past forgetfull for things present negligent for things â—uture improuident the same who forgets all things before passed sauing iniuries and respects nothing that is to come sauing how to be reuenged Ioh. 41. Eph. 4 18. Loe here is the display of an indurate heart which being past feeling strange from the life of God giuen to all kind of wantonnes worketh all kind of wickednesse With this instrument laboured Pharaoh the Egiptian King Exod. 7. whose heart being hardened he would by no meanes be perswaded to let the people of Israel to go out of his land the end whereof was his own destruction Wel therefore the Lord admonished his people by Moses Deut. 10.16 Psal 91. to circumcise the fore-skinnes of their hearts and by Dauid not to harden their hearts as in the time of prouocation in the Wildernesse For this sinne hath nothing profitable for mans health but many things as whereby man is vtterly annoyed and finally confounded Next to this followes the Shippe of Impietie and that is a Proud Spirit 2. A Proud Spirit which possessing an inordinate loue of it proper excellencie and an ambitious desire of that celsitude which euermore contrarieth godly humility causeth men without all feare of God and the acknowledgement of their owne infirmities either for some wisedome or some strength or some beautie or some fauour or some holinesse or some laudable qualities which they either finde or conceit to bee in themselues to extoll themselues in regard whereof they disdainefully contemne others howbeit feeling the least touch of aduersitie they begin to murmour against God as if hee were most vniust in dealing towardes them Secondly as the Shippe is the lowest member of the Soole so is pride deepely rooted in the heart of man yet so as from thence it euer aspireth and by diuellish ambition croppeth the head thereof and gettes the victorie Thirdly the Shippe beareth the Share which pierceth and maketh way for the rest of this swelling humour though in a man miserable and poore for the poore man is proud also as well as the rich looketh euer vpward thirsterh after soueraignty and ministreth cause and occasions to pertinacie and hardnesse of heart neither is there any sinne or wickednesse which is not accompanied or prouoked of this for euery sinne committed argueth a proud contempt of the diuine Law Elatum cor durum expers est pietatis ignarum compunctionis In li 5 de considerat siccum ab omni rore gratia spiritualis An high or haughty heart saide Bernard is hard and deuoid of all pietie ignorant of compunction and arie from all the dewe of spirituall grace Aug. tract 25. in Ioan. This Saint Augustine after the wise Syracides considering for an admonition to the godly to flie that destruction thus saith Quid superbis homo filius Dei propter te humilis factus est c. Wherefore art thou proud ô man the Sonne of God was made humble for thee Albeit thou maiest bee ashamed to imitate an humble man yet at the least be thou nothing ashamed to imitate humble God The Sonne of God came in man and was humbled that God was made man thou ô man know thy selfe for thou art a man Thy whole humility is that thou know thy selfe But this vertue is either quenched out or withstoode by this impious Shippe of Pride to the perdition of them that follow this pestilent Plough