young man to behold as if he should say looke my sonne is this man fit to learne which cannot heare nor see nor speake nor goe Therefore remember thou thy creatour in the dayes of thy youth before this dotage come This then is the leuell of our message to hasten them forward which trauell towards heauen because there is a great space betweene God and vs and much a doe to aspire the toppe of mount Sion but more a doe to aspire the top of the mount of heauen Therefore as Abraham rose early to sacrifice his sonne in the morning so in the morning of thy life sacrifice thy selfe to God and let him which is Alpha in euery thing be Alpha in thy conuersion that is the beginning as well as the ende Because wee are giuen to set the best last that wee may haue a longer time for our sinnes and pleasures like the Iewes in the 1. of Agge 2. which said alway the time was not yet come when they should build the temple Therefore the holy Ghost crieth so often This is the acceptable time this is the day of saluation to day heare his voyce like Rebeccah which taught her sonne the nearest waie to get the blessing When Christ went about to cast out diuels they said that he tormented them before the time so whensoeuer thou goest about to dismisse thy sinnes and pleasures though thou stay till thou bee an olde man yet they will say still that thou dismissest them before the time But then is the time when the diuell saith the time is not yet for the diuell is a lier knoweth that with what liquor our vessels be seasoned at first they will tast of the same euer after whether it be good or bad Therefore as God sueth to haue vs begin at goodnesse so the diuell wooes vs to begin at wickednesse alledging either that wee are not resolued yet to leaue our pleasures or els that God is exceeding mercifull to sinners or else that we shall haue space enough to serue him hereafter So he stands as it were at the ladder foote and keepes vs off with these weapons that wee cannot get vpon the first staffe but one thought or other pulleth vs backe when the foote is in the stirrop ready to ride away from all our sinnes at once Thus wee haue long purposed to serue God and euery man thinketh that hee should be serued but wee cannot accord of the time when to beginne One saith when I am rich an other saith when I am free another saith when I am setled an other saith when I am olde then my pleasure will leaue me and I shall be fitter to fast and pray and sequester my selfe but now I shal be mocked if I be not like others Thus like bad borrowers when our day is past alreadie we craue a longer and a longer and yet a longer til we be arrested with death so the prince of creatures dieth before he considered why hee liued for as no discipline is vsed where Christs discipline is neglected so no time is obserued where Gods time is omitted It is an olde saying Repentance is neuer too late but it is a true saying Repentance is neuer too soone Therefore we are commaunded to runne that wee may obtaine which is the swiftest pace of man The Cherubines were portraited with wings before the place where the Israelites praied to shew how quickly they went about the Lords businesse The Hound which runnes but for the Hare girdes foorth so soone as he sees the Hare start the Hawke which flyeth but for the Partridge taketh her flight so soone as she spyes the Patridge spring so we should followe the woord so soone as it speaketh and come to our Master so soone as hee calleth For God requiring the first borne for his offering and the first fruites for his seruice requireth the first labours of his seruants and as I may say the maidenhead of euery man Therefore so soone as man was created a law was giuen him to shew that hee should liue vnder obedience from the day that hee is borne So soone as he is borne hee is baptized in the name of God to shew that when we cannot runne to Christ we should creepe vnto him and serue him as we can in youth and age so soone as hee beginneth to praye hee saith Thy name be hallowed thy kingdome come thy will be doone before hee aske his dayly bread to shew that wee should seeke the will of God before the food which we liue by much more before the sinnes and pleasures which we perish by so soone as the Lord distributed the Talents he enioyned his seruants to vse them Who is so young which hath not receiued some talēt or other therefore youth cannot excuse him because the talent requires to be asked of euery one which hath it So soone as God had created the man and the woman hee commanded them to increase and multiplie shall we increase and multiplie in the flesh before we encrease and multiplie in the spirit the first thing which God did after hee had created heauen and earth he did separate light from darkenes to shew vs how we should separate good from euill before our good become euill The first lesson that Iohn taught was Repent for the kingdome of heauen is at hand Math. 3. 2. The first lesson that the Disciples taught was Repent too for the kingdome of heauen is at hand Matth. 10. And the first lesson that Christ taught was repent for the kingdome of heauen is at hand Matth. 4. 10. to teach vs what we should do first Repent was the first lesson to yong and old For what can we owe God to morrow which wee are not indebted to day Therefore Dauid prayed Teach mee O Lord to number my dayes not yeares nor my moneths nor my weekes but my dayes shewing that we shall answere for daies as well as yeares for to day as well as to morrow and for our youth as straightly as our age which made him cry Remember not the sinnes of my youth which hee would not haue spoken if God did not marke the sinnes of youth as well as age Therefore he calleth children vnto him as Salomon dooth and saith that hee will teach them the feare of the Lord. For should children honor their father and not honour God It was a sweete comfort when the children went before Christ to his temple and sang there Hosanna to make their fathers ashamed which did not know the Messias when he came when their little children knew him It is written that when Christ heard a young man answer that hee had kept the commaundementes from his youth Christ beganne to loue him which shewes how Christ loueth these timelie beginnings when wee make him our nurse and drawe our first milke from his brests There is not one confession for olde men and another for young men the old man saith not I did beleeue
rib out of Adams side thereof built the woman He is not said to make man a wife but to builde him a wife signifiing that man and wife make as it were one house together that the building was not perfect vntill the woman was made as well as the man therefore if the building bee not perfect now it must be destroyed againe Before God made the woman it is sayd that he cast the man into a sleepe and in his sleepe he tooke a rib out of his side and as he made man of earth so hee made the woman of bone while Adam was a sleepe This doth teach vs two things as the first Adam was a figure of the second Adam so the first Adams sleepe was a figure of the second Adams sleepe and the first Adams spouse was a figure of the second Adams spouse That is as in the sleepe of Adam Eue was borne so in the sleep of Christ the church was borne as a bone came out of the first Adams side so blood came out of the second Adams side As Adams spouse receiued life in his sleepe so Christs spouse receiued life in his sleepe that is the death of Christ is the life of the Chruch for the Apostle calleth death a sleepe but Christ which died is called life shewing that in his death we liue Secondly this sleep which the man was cast into while his wife was created doth teach vs that our affections our lustes and our concupiscences should sleepe while we goe about this action As the man slept while his wife was making so our flesh should sleepe while our wife is choosing least as the loue of venison wanne Isaack to blesse one for another so the loue of gentrie or riches or beautie make vs take one for another To honour mariage more yet or rather to teach the married how to honour one another it is said that the wife was made of the husbands rib not of his head for Paul calleth the husband the wiues head nor of the foote for hee must not set her at his foote the seruant is appointed to serue and the wife to helpe If shee must not matche with the head not stoupe at the foote where shall he set her then Hee must set her at his hart and therefore she which should lie in his bosome was made in his bosome and should be as close to him as his rib of which she was fashioned Lastlie in all Nations the day of mariage was reputed the ioyfullest day in all their life and is reputed still of all as though the sunne of happinesse began that day to shine vppon vs when a good wife is brought vnto vs. Therefore one saith that mariage doth signifie merrie-age because a play-fellow is come to make our age merrie as Isaac and Rebecca sported together Salomon considering all these excellencies as though we were more indebted vnto God for this then other temporall gifts saith House and riches are the inheritance of the fathers but a prudent wife commeth of the Lord. House and riches are giuen of God and all things else and yet hee saith house and riches are giuen of parents but a good wife is giuen of God as though a good wife were such a gift as we should account from God alone and accept it as if he should send vs a present from heauen with this name written on it The gift of God Beastes are ordeined for food and cloathes for warmth and flowers for pleasure but the wife is ordeined for man like litle Zoar a Citie of refuge to flie to in all his troubles and there is no peace comparable vnto her but the peace of conscience Now it must needes bee that Mariage which was ordeined of such an excellent author and in such a happie place and of such an auncient time and after such a notable order must likewise haue speciall causes for the ordinance of it Therefore the holy Ghost doth shew vs three causes of this vnion One is the propagation of children signified in that when Moses saith He created them male and female not both male nor both female but one male and the other female as if he created them fit to propagate other And therefore when he had created them so to shewe that propagation of children is one ende of mariage he sayd vnto them Encrease and multiplie That is Bring forth children as other creatures bring forth their kinde For this cause Mariage is called Matrimonie which signifieth mothers because it maketh them mothers which were virgins before and in the seminarie of the world without which all things should be in vaine for want of men to vse them for God reserueth the great Citie to himselfe and this Suburbes he hath set out to vs which are Regents by sea and by land If children be such a chiefe ende of mariage then it seemes that where there can be no hope of children for age and other causes there mariage is not so lawfull because it is maimed of one of his endes and seemes rather to be sought for wealth or for lust then for this blessing of children It is not good grafting of an olde head vpon young shoulders for they will neuer beare it willingly but grudgingly Twise the wife is called The wife of thy youth as though when men are olde the time of marying were past Therefore God makes such vnequall matches so ridiculous euerie where that they please none but the parties themselues The second cause is to auoyd fornication this Paul signifieth when he saith For the auoyding of fornication let euerie man haue his owne wife He saith not for auoiding of adulterie but for auoiding of fornication shewing that fornication is vnlawfull too which the Papists make lawful in maintaining their stewes as a stage for fornicators to play vpon and a sanctuarie to defend them like to Absaloms tent which was spread vpon the top of the house that all Israel might see how he defiled his fathers concubines For this cause Malachie saith that God did create but one woman for the man hee had power to create moe but to shew that he would haue him stick to one therfore he created of one ribbe but one wife for one husband And in the Arke there were no mo women then men but foure wiues for foure husbands although it was in the beginning of the world when many wiues might seeme necessarie to multiplie mankinde If any might haue a dispensation herein it seemes that Kinges might bee priuiledged before any other because of their succession to the Crowne if his wife should happen to be barren and yet the King is forbidden to take many wiues in Deut. 17. 17. as well as the minister in 1. Tim. 3. 2. shewing that the danger of the state doth not counteruaile the danger of fornication For this
vnnaturall they may say thou followest thy mother for she was vnnaturall first in locking vp her brests from thee and committing thee forth like a Cuckow to be hatched in a Sparrowes nest Hereof it comes that we say He suckt euill from the dug that is as the Nurse is affected in her bodie or in her minde commonly the childe draweth the like infirmitie from her as the egges of a Henne are altered vnder the Hauke yet they which haue no milke can giue no milke But whose breastes haue this perpetuall drought Forsooth it is lyke the goute no beggers may haue it but Citizens or Gentlewomen In the ninth chapter of Hosea thy brestes are named for a curse what lamentable happe haue Gentlewomen to light vpon this curse more then other sure if their breasts be drie as they say they should fast and pray together that this curse migro be remoued from them The next dutie is Catechize a childe in his youth and he will remember it when he is olde This is the right blessing which fathers and mothers giue to their children when they cause God to blesse them too The wrong mother cared not though the childe were deuided but the right mother would not haue it deuided so wicked Parents care not though their children be destroied but godly parents would not haue them destroyed but saued that when they haue dwelt together in earth they may dwell together in heauen As the Midwife frameth the bodie when it is young and tender so the parents must frame the minde while it is greene and flexible for youth is the seed time of vertue They which are called fathers are called by the name of God to warne them that they are in stead of God to their children which teacheth all his sons What example haue children but their parents and sure the prouidence of God doth ease their charge more than they are aware for a childe will learne better of his father than of anie other And therefore wee read of no Schoolemaisters in the scripture but the Parents for when Christ saith to the Iewes If yee be the sonnes of Abraham yee will doe the workes of your Father Abraham he sheweth that sonnes vse to walke in their Fathers steppes whether they bee good or bad It is a maruellous delight to the father and mother when people say that their children are like them but if they be like them in godlinesse it is as great delight to other as to the parents or else we say that they are so like that they are the worse for it Well doth Dauid call children arrowes for if they be wel bred they shoote at their parents enemies and if they be euill bred they shoote at their parents Therefore many fathers want a staffe to stay them in their age because they prepared none before like olde Eli which was corrected himselfe for not correcting his sonnes Are not children called the fruite of their parents Therefore as a good tree is knowne by bringing foorth good fruite so parents should shewe their godlinesse in the education of their children which are their fruite For this cause the Iewes were wont to name their children so whē they were borne that euer after if they did but thinke vppon their names they would put them in mind of that religion which they should professe for they did signifie some thing that they should learne An admonition to such as call their children at all aduentures somtime by the names of dogs euen as they proue after In 1. Kings 2. 2. we haue Dauid instructing his sonnes In Gen. 39. Iacob correcting his sonnes and in Iob. 1. Iob praying for his sonnes These three put together instructing correcting praying make good children and happie parents Once Christ tooke a childe and set him in the midst of his disciples and sayd He which will receiue the kingdome of heauen must receiue it as a little childe shewing that our children should be so innocent so humble and voide of euill that they may be taken for examples of the children of God Therefore in Psalme 127. 4. children are called the heritage of the Lord to shew that they should be trained as though they were not mens children but Gods that they may haue Gods heritage after Thus if you doo your seruants shall be Gods seruants and your children shall be Gods children and your house shall be Gods house like a little Church when others are like a denne of theeues Now I speake to one which is a mother so soone as she is married therefore peraduenture you looke that I should shewe the dutie of stepmothers Their name dooth shewe them their duetie too for a stepmother doth signifie a stedmother that is one mother dieth and another commeth in her stead therefore that your loue may settle to those little ones as it ought you must remember that ye are their stedmother that is in sted of their mother and therefore to loue them and tender them and cherish them as their mother did She must not looke vpon them like Rehoboam who tolde his people that hee would be worse vnto them then his predecessour for then they will turne from her as his subiects did from him but she must come to them as Dauid came to the people after Saules death and sayd Though your master Saul be dead yet I will raigne ouer you so she must say to them though your mother be dead yet will I be a mother so the children will loue her asmuch as their father Further these children are orphanes and therefore you must not onely regarde them as children but as orphane children Now God requireth a greater care ouer widowes and Orphanes than ouer anie other women or children Lastly you must remember that saying As you measure vnto other so it shall be measured vnto you againe that is as you intreate these children so another may come after and intreat your children for he which hath taken away the first mother and sent you can take away the seconde mother and sende a third which shall not be like a stepmother to yours vnlesse you be like a stepmother to these If these duties bee performed in marriage then I neede not speake of Diuorcement which is the rod of mariage and diuideth them which were one flesh as if the bodie and soule were parted asunder But because all performe not their wedlocke vowes therfore hee which appointed mariage hath appointed diuorcement as it were taking our priuilege from vs when we abuse it As God hath ordained remedies for euery disease so he hath ordained a remedie for the disease of mariage The disease of marriage is adulterie and the medicine hereof is diuorcement Moses licensed them to depart for hardnesse of heart but Christ licenseth them to depart for no cause but adulterie If they might be separated for discord some
was receiued himselfe saying He which laboureth in the word is worthie of double honour that is the Preacher after a sort is more to be honoured than the Ruler for Aaron was the elder brother but Moses was the yonger brother therefore if there be any appendix the Magistrate is the appendix for if Aarons Vrim Thumi would haue serued Moses rod and staffe should not haue needed but when the tongue could not perswade the rod did compell and so came in the Magistrate As Paul sheweth the Thessalonians how the Preachers of the Word should be honoured so hee teacheth the Philippians how to honor their teachers saying Receiue him in the Lorde with great gladnesse and make much of such that is shewe your selues so glad of him that hee may bee glad of you Haue you neede to bee taught why Paule would haue you make much of such Because they are like Lampes which consume themselues to giue light to other so they consume themselues to giue light to you because they are like a Henne which clocketh her Chickens together from the Kite so they clocke you together from the Serpent because they are lyke the showte which did beate downe the walles of Iericho so they beate downe the walles of sinne because they are like the fiery piller which went before the Israelites to the Land of Promise so they goe before you to the Lande of Promise because they are like good Andrewe which called his brother to see the Messias so they call you to see the Messias and therefore make much of such If wee shoulde make much of Prophets how much shoulde wee make of Prophecying If wee should loue our Instructors how much should wee loue instruction Symeon keeping in the Temple met with Christ so manie hearing the Worde haue met with knowledge haue met with comfort haue met with peace haue met with saluation but without the Worde neuer any was conuerted to GOD. Therefore whensoeuer the Word is preached euerie one may say to himselfe as the Disciples sayd to the blinde man Be of good comfort hee calleth thee Be of good comfort the Lorde calleth thee but when the word is not preached then euerie man may say to himselfe beware the diuell calleth thee When the Prophets went from Ierusalem then sword and famine and pestilence and all the plagues of God rained vpon them euen as fire came vpon Sodome so soone as Lot was gone out therefore what may those Landes feare which vse their Prophets as the Iewes vsed them which sent them Amos calleth it an euill time wherein the prudent keepe silence Chapt. 5. verse 13. therfore this is an euil time wherein the prudent are silent There be two trades in this Land without which the Realme cannot stand and one is the Queenes souldiers and the other is the Lordes souldiers and the Lords souldiers are handled like the Queenes souldiers for from the Merchant to the porter no calling is so despised so contemned so derided that they may beg for their seruice for their liuing is turned into an almes One saith that Moses is Quis that is the Magistrate is some bodie but Aaron is Quasi quis that is the Minister is no bodie because no bodie is despised lyke him Receiue a Prophete in the name of a Prophet naye Receiue a Prophet in the name of an enemie as Ahab receiued Elias Art thou here mine enemie If Paule had liued in our dayes he would not haue said Despise not the Prophets but persecute not the Prophets for he should haue seen not onely despisers of the Prophets but mockers of them not onely mockers but slanderers of them not onely slanderers but hunters and biters and smiters of them Ioseph was troubled so soone as hee began to feed his Fathers sheepe so the Pastours are troubled so soone as they beginne to feede their fathers sheepe euerie man thinkes to finde friends against them and though there be no lawe to hurt them yet no man feares to accuse them because authoritie doth disfauour them they cannot tell how to preach nor what to say because there bee so manie Ahabs which woulde haue them say that which pleaseth them though it be not true Charme the charmer neuer so sweetely let his song be neuer so pleasant yet many adders are readie to stop their eares stop his mouth like a bird which was smitten in her song of the Archer whom she singeth vnto euen as Saul let his speare flie at Dauid while he played vpon his harpe to solace and comfort and driue the euill spirite from him so while we play vpon Dauids harpe to solace and comfort driue the euill spirite from you many let the dartes of reproach and the arrowes of slaunder flie at vs saying as the woman said to Eliah If thou hadst not beene my childe had not dyed If wee had not bene their peace had not dyed if we had not bene their sports had not dyed if wee had not bene their customes and their titles and their honors had not dyed And why should not Herode and Archelaus dye which sought the death of the childe Why should not any custome or honour or pleasure dye which seeketh the death of religion Alas saith Ieremiah what haue I done that all men should curse mee If wee do but preach the truth you should not hate vs for the truth Now Obadiah had neede to hide the Prophets again to saue them out of prison where is Rahab that shee might conuey away the seruants of God Once Baals prophets were punished but now Christes Prophets are punished once they did aske Where is the Seer that he may teach vs but now they aske where is the Seer that we may take him once they did builde houses for the prophets lyke the Shunamite but now they take their houses from them and thinke they doo God seruice when they make them their wiues their children their seruants beggers once Paul said to Timothie Let no man despise thy youth shewing that preachers should not be despised for their youth but now they despise the yong prophets and the old too How is the double honour turned to single honour nay how is our honour turned to dishonor If I be a Master saith God where is my feare so if we be prophets where is our reuerence doth not the contempt of prophets cry vnto God as well as the blood of Abel When the messengers which were sent vnto the vineyard for fruit were beaten of them which should haue laden them then it is said that the Lord of the vineyard waxed wroth and said that he wold let the vineyarde vnto others which should yeeld him the fruites thereof The meaning hereof is this that when the preachers teachers which Christ sendeth to his Church for fruits are abused persecuted of them whom they call to the banket
he sought without trouble and been happier many yeares since than he is now Therefore to them which are young Salomon shewes what a vantage they haue aboue the aged like a ship which seeing another ship sinke before her lookes about her pulles downe her sayle turneth her course and escapes the sands which would swallow her as they had done the other So they which are young neede not trie the snares and allurements of the worlde or the issues and effectes of sinne which olde men haue tried before them but take the tryall and experience of others and goe a neerer way to obtaine their wished desires That is this sayth Salomon If thou wouldest haue any setled peace or heartie ioye in this vaine or transitorie worlde which thou hast beene seeking all the time since thou wert borne thou must Remember thy Creator which did make thee which hath elected thee which hath redeemed thee which daylie preserueth thee which will for euer glorifie thee and as the kinde remembrance of a friende doth recreate the minde so to thinke and meditate vpon GOD will supply thy thoughts dispell thy griefes and make thee cheerefull as the sight of the Arke comforted Dauid for ioye and comfort and pleasure is whereas God is as light and cheerefulnes and beautie is whereas the Sunne is Nowe if thou wouldest haue this ioy and comfort pleasure to bee long and wouldest escape those thousand miseries vexations and vanities which Salomon by many weary and tedious tryals sought to make naked before thee yet held all but vanitie when hee had founde the way thou must Remember thy Creator in the daies of thy youth at the first spring time and then thy happynesse shall bee as long as thy life and all thy thoughts while thou remainest on earth a foretaste of the glorie of Heauen This is the summe of Salomons counsaile Salomon findes man seeking happinesse out of the way as Esau hunted long for a blessing and yet went without it he pities to see him seeke and not finde to runne and not obtaine therefore he setteth him in the way like a guide sent from heauen which often had strayed himselfe before and being now recouered to his right way stands like a mark of knowledge in the turnings that leade vnto blinde by-waies to direct all those that passe by that they may followe the readie path that leadeth to eternall happinesse And because the Trauailour marcheth cheerefully which knoweth his way before he setteth foorth therefore from the first setting forth euen from the time of youth when a man beginneth to runne his pilgrimage Salomon tels him how he shall therein prepare himselfe to walke and sets him in a faire high way wherein is no turning either to the right hand or the left which he calleth the remembrance of GOD. As if he should say Walke with God as Enoch did and remember well that he which shall be thy Iudge doth see all that thou doest and heareth thee at euerie worde and this thought shall keepe thee in the way at all times like the clowde and piller of fire which went before the Children of Israel aswell by day as night when they trauailed in the wildernes In the next chapter before and the ninth verse Salomon sayd Reioyce O young man in thy youth now he hath chaunged his note to Remember O young man in thy youth No more Reioyce but Remember Salomon mocked before and shewed what they did remember here he shewes what they should remember least anie Libertine should misconster him and say Salomon taught vs to reioyce Salomon gaue vs leaue to sinne Salomon said doe as ye list for you are yong men and haue a priuiledge to bee lasciuious and vaine he recants with a breath and denyes forthwith his word euen where he spake it What sayd I Reioyce O young man in thy youth I would say Remember O young man in thy youth So God mockes vs while wee sinne like Michaiah which bad Achab fight agaynst Aram and then forbad him againe so hee bids them reioyce and forbids them agayne Reioyce not in thy youth but repent in thy youth One would thinke that Salomon should haue giuen this Memorandum rather to olde men then to young men let them repent which looke to dye Oh saith Ieremie it is good for a man to beare the yoake in his youth if it be good to suffer in youth it is better to learne in youth Therefore if Dauid wisht that his tongue might cleaue to the roofe of his mouth if hee forgot Ierusalem what are they worthie which forget GOD the King of Ierusalem Can a childe forget his father Is not GOD our Father therefore who is too young to remember him seeing the childe doth knowe his father As the deepest wounds had neede to be first tented so the vnstablest mindes haue neede to bee first confirmed In this extremitie is youth as Salomon shewes them before hee teacheth them For in the last verse of the former chapter he calleth youth vanitie as if he would speake all euill in a word and say that youth is euen the age of sinne Therfore when he had shewed young men their sollie vnder the name of vanitie like a good Tutor he taketh them to schoole and teacheth them their dutie Remember thy Creator as though all sinne were the forgetfulnesse of God and all our obedience came from this remembrance that God created vs after his owne image in righteousnesse and holinesse to serue him here for a while and after to inherit the ioyes which he hath himselfe Which if we did remember doubles it would make vs ashamed to thinke and speake and doe as wee are woont For what man dooth remember his Creator or why he was created while he sweareth and forsweareth and maketh his trade of sinne as though there were no God to iudge nor hell to punish This is because the remembrance of God which would wake sinners is so chased from men for feare it should curbe them of their pleasures that they dare not thinke of him but striue to forget him that they may sinne without feare Therefore he becommeth a Schoolemaster for God and calleth children vnto him before they be corrupted to teach them this one lesson for the guide of their life Remember thy Creator To which he draweth them as it were with two cordes the short slight of their youth and the infinite infirmities of age To shew how soone our youth is gone which we thinke will neuer haue ende Salomon doth not reckon it by yeares but by dayes in the dayes of thy youth so the Scripture numbers our life by dayes and houres and minutes to teach vs to make vse of al our time and euery day to thinke vpon the ende Yet least they should post ouer this remembrance vnto age which is the generall daye that all set to repent after this verse Salomon brings in the old man deafe and blinde and lame and stammering for the
Saint Iohn writing to a Ladie which brought vp her children in the feare of God calleth her the elect Ladie shewing that the chiefest honour of Ladies and Lordes and Princes is to be elect of God Saint Luke speaking of certaine Beroeans which receiued the word of God with loue calleth them More noble than the rest shewing that God counteth none noble but such as are of a noble Spirite As Iohn calleth none elect but the vertuous and Luke calleth none noble but the religious so Christ calleth none his kinsmen but the righteous and of those onelie hee saieth These are my Mother and my Brethren which heare the word of God and doe it As Abrahams Children are not counted Children after the flesh but Children after the spirite so Christes Kindred are not counted Kindred after the flesh but kindred after the Spirite for the flesh was not made after the Image of God but the spirit was made after his Image therefore God is not called the Father of bodies but the Father of Spirites Now God which is a Spirite preferreth them which are a kinne to him in the Spirite Therefore Esau was not blessed because hee was of Isaacks flesh but Iacob was blessed because he was of Isaacks Spirite As wee loue in the flesh so Christ loueth in the spirit therefore he calleth none his kinsemen but them which heare the word of God and do it It seemeth that Paule thought of this saying when he said Till Christ be formed in you If Christ be formed in vs as Paule saith then we are Christs mother euerie one which wil haue Christ his sauiour must be Christs mother The virgin asked the angel how she could beare Christ seeing she had not knowen a man Luke Chapter 1. Verse 24. so you may aske how you can beare Christ seeing he is borne alreadie As there is a second comming of Christ so there is a second birth of Christ When we are borne againe then Christ is borne againe the virgin was his mother by the flesh the faithfull are his mother by the spirit the holy Ghost doth conceiue him in them hee was in her wombe and he is in their hearts shee did beare him and they doe beare him shee did nurse him and they do nurse him This is the second birth of Christ As the soule of man may bee called The Temple of the holie Ghost which is the third person so it may be called the wombe of the Sonne which is the second person Before these words it is saide that Christ asked Who are my brethren as if hee should say you thinke that I am affected to my kinsmen as you are but I tell you that I count them my kinsmen which heare the word of God and do it To shewe that Christ loueth vs with an euerlasting Loue hee sheweth that hee doth not loue vs for anie Temporall things but for that which doth endure for euer If Christ loued vs as Isaack loued Esau for venison then we might misse the blessing as Esau did But as Iohn saith He loued in the truth so Christ loueth in the truth To loue in the truth is the true loue euerie loue but this at one time or other hath turned into hatred as the truth ouercommeth falshood Nowe for this loue Christ calleth them by all the names of loue his father and his brethren and his sisters In Rom. 6. they are called his seruants If that be not enough in the fifteēth of Iohn they are called his friends If that be not enough in the third of Marke they are called his kinsmen If that be not enough in the foure twentith of Luke they are called his brethren If that be not enough in Mark 1. they are called his children If that be not enough here they are called his mother If that be not enough in Cantic 5. they are called his Spouse to shewe that hee loued them with all loues the Mothers loue the Brothers loue the Sisters loue the Masters loue and the Friends loue If all these Loues could be put together yet the loue of Christ exceedeth them all and the Mother and the Brother and the Sister and the Childe and the kinsmen and the Friende and the Seruant would not do and suffer so much among them all as Christ hath done and suffered for vs alone Such a loue we kindle in Christ when we heare his word and do it that wee are as deare vnto him as all his kinred together Now as wee are his Mother so should we carrie him in our heartes as his mother did in her armes As wee are his Bretheren so wee should preferre him as Ioseph did Beniamin Genesis Chapter fortie three Verse fortie three As we are his Spouse so should we imbrace him as Isaac did Rebecca if thou be a kinsman do like a kinsman Now wee come to the markes of these kinsmen which I may call the Armes of his house As Christ saith By this all men shall knowe my Disciples if they loue one another so hee saith By this shall all men knowe my kinsmen if they heare the word of God and doe it As there is a kindred by the Fathers side and a kindred by the Mothers side so there is a kindred of Hearers and a kindred of dooers In Matthew it is saide Hee which heareth the Wil of my Father and doth it Here it is saide Hee which heareth the worde of God and dooth it both are one For his word is his will and therefore it is called his will Psalme 119. As he spake there of dooing so hee speaketh here of a certaine rule which hee calleth the worde of God whereby all mens workes must be squared For if I do all the workes that I can to satisfie an others will or mine owne will it auaileth mee nothing with God because I doe it not for GOD. Therefore hee which alwaies before followed his owne will when hee was stricken downe and beganne to repent cried out Lorde what wilt thou haue mee to doe as if hee should say I will doe no more as men woulde haue mee or as the Diuell would haue mee or as the flesh would haue mee but as thou wouldst haue me So Dauid prayed Teach mee O Lord to doe thy will not my will for wee neede not to bee taught to doe our owne will no more than a Cuckoe to sing Cuckoe her owne name Euerie man can goe to hell without a guide Here is the rule nowe if you liue by it then are you kinne to Christ as other kinreds go by birth and marriage so this kinred goes by faith and obedience Hearers are but halfe kin as it were in a farre degree but they that heare and do are called his Mother which is the nearest kinred of all Therfore if you haue the deed then you are kin indeed there is no promise made to hearers nor to speakers nor to readers but all promises are made to beleeuers or
we should put on and calleth it by the name of the giuer The Lord Iesus Christ In stead of gluttonie and drunkennesse and strife and chambering and wantonnesse and other patches of the Diuell wherewith man cloatheth himselfe as with a Garment the Apostle giueth him an other Garment which hee calleth Iesus Christ hee doth not oppose vertue to vice as one would thinke when he had sayd Cast off gluttonie he should haue said Put on sobrietie when hee had said Cast off wantonnesse he should haue said Put on continencie when he said Cast off enuie he should haue said Put on loue But in stead of all vertues he commendeth the example of Christ for euerie vertue and opposeth it to euerie vice as if he should say He which thinketh onely to follow Christ needeth not bee led by the hand frō vertue to vertue but his example will teach him what he shall follow and what he shall flie better than all precepts in the world Therfore this is the best thought in euerie action for a man to thinke what Christ would do which was made not onely redemption and saluation to saue vs 〈◊〉 wisdome and example to guide vs. Therfore hee saith Learne of mee and followe mee as though we should thinke before we speake whether hee would speake so and consider before we do whether he would do so and doe all by his example as the Scholler writeth by his coppie or else we do not learne of him but of our selues and then we go awrie like a childe which scribleth without a rule If thou resoluest to speake and doe no otherwise than Christ would speake and doe himself thou shalt be sure to do al things wel because thou followest a straight patterne therefore studie what this meaneth To put on Christ It is a strange speech a strange Garment They which cannot tell like Nicodemus what Christ meaneth when he sayeth that we must be borne againe cannot tell what Paul meaneth when he sayth Put on Christ as if one man should put on another I thinke manie here may go to the Apostle as the Apostles went to Christ and aske of him Maister expound to vs what is the parable This phrase is read in none but Paul which hath written most of iustification by Christ and therefore he vseth all fit phrases to expresse how we should applie Christ vnto vs and in no tearmes hee hath shewed it more liuely than in this phrase Put on Christ for it signifieth that Christ dooth couer vs like a Garment and defend vs also safely like an armour Hee hideth our vnrighteousnesse with his righteousnesse he couereth our disobedience with his obedience hee shadoweth our death with his death that the wrath of God can not finde vs iudgement can not spie vs the curse can not see vs for the Garment which couereth and hideth vs. But as Iacob got the blessing in the name and apparell of Esau his elder brother so in the name and apparell of Christ our elder brother we receiue the blessing and are receiued into fauour like Christ him selfe For God sayth not This is my beloued Sonne which pleaseth me but In whom I am pleased meaning that not onely Christ pleaseth God but we please God in Christ for Christ is our head Therefore as one looking in the face of a man dooth like him straight if hee like his face so God beholding vs in the face of Christ doth loue vs straight because the face dooth please him But Christ is not our head vnlesse we be his members Christ is not our garment vnlesse we put him on as Christ did put on our Garment when he cloathed himself with our flesh and tooke our infirmities and bore our curse so wee must put on his Garment that is his righteousnesse his merites and his death which is as strange a vesture to vs as our flesh was to him and much a doo wee haue to put it on and when it is on there is great cunning to weare it cleanly and comely from soyling and renting that such a precious Garment bee not taken from vs againe Therefore many seeme to weare this Garment which shall be thrust from the banket because they weare it not as those which will say when the Lord shall come to iudgement We haue seene thee in our streetes we haue heard thee in our Sinagogues we haue prophecied we haue cast out Diuels we haue wrought miracles by thy name as though if anie had put him on or borne his markes they were the men which were marked like his seruants therfore who but they shall enter into Heauen Yet Christ saith I know you not there is their reward I know you not as if he should answere You weare not my liuerie you beare not my cognisance for all your shewes therefore depart from me so he put them off because they had not put him on for though they had seene his person and heard of his vertues yet they had no faith to apply his mercies his merits his death and his righteousnesse vnto them without which no man can put on Christ nor weare him Faith is the hand which putteth him on Faith taketh first his righteousnesse and couereth her vnrighteousnes then she taketh his obedience and couereth her disobedience then she taketh his patience and couereth her impatiencie then she taketh his temperancie couereth her intemperancie then she taketh his continencie and couereth her incontinencie then she taketh his costancie and couereth her inconstancie then she taketh his faith and couereth her diffidence then she taketh his humilitie and couereth her pride then shee taketh his loue and couereth her rancour and so taketh one robe after another and tricketh her selfe vntill she haue put on Iesus Christ that is vntill she appeare in the sight of God like Iesus Christ clothed with his merites and graces that God hath no power to bee angrie with her because shee commeth so like his sonne This is to put on Iesus Christ as you shall see more liuely when you haue taken a view of the Garment for we are to speake of Christ the Garment and of our putting it on There be many fashions of apparell but they are too light or too heauie or too sad or too course or too stale and all weare out At last the Apostle found a fashion that surpasseth them all it is neuer out of fashion meete for all seasons fit for all persons such a profitable weed that the more it is worn the fresher it is What fashion haue you seene comparable to this It is not like the clothes of Dauids Ambassadours which couered their vpper parts nor like Sauls armour which tired Dauid when hee should fight with it nor like the counterfait of Ieroboams wife which disguised her selfe to go vnknowen nor like the olde ragges of the Gibeonites which deceiued Iosua nor like the paultrie sute of Micah
time when God spake from heauen Euen while the words were in the Kings mouth as though he should say God answered before he looked for it when he thought God had been as farre from him as he was all the yeare before Thus God lay as it were in the skowte to watch when he spake treason and to apprehend him vpon it O Nabuchadnezzar thou hast vanted this twelue months since I warned thee I made as though I heard not but suffered thee to doe and speake thy pleasure and vauntest thou still Surely thou shalt scape me no longer I will not heare one word more against my honour So he cutteth him off while the words were in his mouth and pronounceth the word of iudgement against him The first note in this verse is the time when God spake from Heauen Pride sayth Salomon goeth before the fall so when pride had spoken then Iudgement spake euen while the proud word was in his mouth See how God shewes that these brags offended him and therefore he iudges while he speaks How short is the triumph of the wicked When they beginne to crowe God stoppeth their breath and iudgement seaseth vpon them when they thinke no danger neere them So when Baltazar was in his mirth with his Nobles the fearfull hand wrote his doome vpon the wall and presently his mirth was changed into sadnesse that he became as one that was strooken with a palsie so while Herod vanted himselfe and the people honoured him like a God the Angell of God smote him vpon his throane and immediatly he was deuoured of wormes in the face of them which honoured him while the Philistines were triumphing and banquetting Sampson pulled the Temple vpon their head so while the men of Ziklag were feasting and dancing Dauid came vpon them and slew them when the Israelites were at their Manna and Quailes euen while the meat saith Dauid was yet in their mouths God tooke away their liues when Iobs children were making merrie one with another the winde came and blew down the house while the old world was marrying giuing in mariage the floud came and drowned them while the Steward was recounting with himselfe and thinking that his Master Knewe not what policie was in his heart suddenly his Lorde called him to account while the churle was musing of his barnes full of corne and saying to himselfe be merrie my soule that night his soule was taken from him so while we sinne think nothing of it our sinnes mount vp to heauen and stand at the barre and call for vengeance against vs how soone Abels blood cryed for vengeance of Cain We cannot sin so quickly but God seeth vs as quickly Howe many haue beene strooken while the oath hath been in their mouthes as Ieroboam was striken while he stroke that they might see why they were strooken and yet al this wil not keep vs from swearing Though a man sinne often steale his sins as it were without punishment yet at last he is taken napping euen while the wickednes is in his hand and his day is sette when he shall pay for all whether it be after twelue moneths or twelue yeeres when it commeth it will seeme too soone Therefore once agayne let this bee in stead of Daniels warning if God did take so straight account of Nabuchadnezzar how he had profited by his dreame what account will hee take of vs how we haue profited by Nabuchadnezzars punishment Here I ende THE FALL OF KING Nabuchadnezzar DAN 4. 28. c. 28 While the worde was in his mouth a voice came from heauen saying O King Nabuchadnezzar to thee be it spoken thy Kingdome is departed from thee 29 And they shall driue thee from men and thy dwelling shall be with the bâ—astes of the field they shall make thee to eate grasse with the Oxen and seuen times shall passe ouer thee vntill thou knowest that the most highest God beareth rule ouer the kingdome of men and giueth it to whomsoeuer he will 30 The very same houre was this thing fulfilled vpon Nabuchadnezzar and he was driuen from men and did eate grasse as the Oxen and his body was wet with the deawe of heauen till his haires were growne as Egles feathers and his nailes as birds clawes FRom the 26. verse to the ende of this Chapter is laid down the pride fall and restitution of Nabuchadnezzar The two first verses are like a banner of his Pride which shew him in his ruffling as it were in the ayre before he knew God or himselfe The three next verses are the discouerie of his shame which shewe him in his miserie as it were groueling on the ground after God had cooled his courage The foure last verses are the celebration of his recouerie which shew him in holines as it were rapt into heauen singing with the Saints for ioye that GOD had brought him vnto his knowledge though it were through shame trouble losse of all that he had seuen yeres together Of his pride wee haue heard alreadie yet because we are friends to vices as we are to meÌ„ so loÌ„g as they prosper and flourish but when they decay and fall then we shrinke away and are ashamed of theÌ„ so it may be if ye could see pride take a fall though yee loue her well yet yee would forsake her like a banquerout when ye see that she can pleasure you no longer Therfore ye shall see Nabuchadnezzar vpon his feete againe before you behelde him vpon his knees that when ye see what a king he was in his galleries after find his seruaÌ„ts in his pallace and his subiects in his throane and himselfe like a beast in the wildernesse God may giue you hearts to thinke a little of this sinne what it is which cost so deare and is so common now in euery house as it was then in the kings court After twelue moneths saith Daniel that is twelue moneths after God had warned this king by dreames and by Daniel to repent his sinnes he was strouting in his galleries and thought what sin should be next as though he had neuer heard of dreame or Prophet By this computation of sin wherein the moneths are obserued so exactly how longe Nabuchadnezzar rebelled after he was warned Daniel shewes what reckoning GOD keepes of our moneths and weeks and daies which he giues vs to repent as he did Nabuchadnezzar and what an account wee shall make of theÌ„ as Nabuchadnezzar did though we count no more of our age then the childe dooth of his youth and haue doone no more of our taske at twentie then when we were but tenne nor at thirty then when we were but twenty nor at fortie then when we were thirtie yet we shall giue account of mo hours in the day of iudgement and it shall be heauier to the old then to the young to you which haue the worde then to them which want it and there is great ods betweene Nabuchadnezzar vs for he
him in another Countrey where he had no sepulcher prouided Herod hoped when the people cryed at his words It is the voyce of God that hee should be worshipped euer after as God but God resisted his pride and before he descended from his throane the wormes so defaced his pompe that none which called him God would be like vnto him so whē women take more paines to dresse themselues then they doe all the day after and pay deerer to maintaine one vice than they neede to learne all vertues they thinke to please men by it but God resisteth their pride and al that see them though they cap and curtsie to them yet they iudge worse of them and thinke that they would not weare these signes of lightnes and pride vnlesse they were light and proud indeede Thus if their apparell condemne them before men how will it condemne them before GOD If sinne did not blinde them would they so deceiue themselues to take the contrary way and thinke that should honor them which disgraceth other But as Balaam was stopped knew not who stopped him so they are resisted and know not who resisteth them Though they doe al to please yet they can please none they please not God for God resisteth them they please not the humble for the humble are contrarie to thē they please not the proud for the proud doe enuie them which striue to bee as proude as they they please not themselues because they cannot bee so proud and braue as they would bee onely they please the diuell because their pride doth intitle him to them Thus much of Gods battailes against the proud Heere Peter leaueth the proud with this brand in their forehead This is the man whom God resisteth then hee turneth to the lowly and comforteth them But he giueth grace to the humble as if hee should say you are like Iohn the beloued Disciple which leaned on Christs bosome Iohn 13. 23. though God resist the proud yet hee will not frowne vpon you but when he resisteth them he wil giue grace vnto you as if hee should say the proud are without grace for God giueth not grace vnto the proud but to the humble according to that to Esay 66. 2. To him will I looke euen to him that is poore of a contrite heart and trembleth at my wordes therefore Learne of me saith Christ to be hūble meek as though the humble and meeke were his schollers Therefore God must needes loue the humble because they are like his sonne they shall haue his best giftes of which hee sayth 2. Cor. 12. 9. My grace is sufficient as if hee should say hee which hath giuen you his grace can he denie you any thing as Christ saith Hee which hath giuen vs his Sonne will he not giue vs all things with him Therefore grace may be called the gift of gifts because all gifts come with grace as the Court goeth with the Queene Therefore feare not to bee humble least you be contemned for all the promises of God are made to humilitie and yet men feare to be humble lest they shuld be contemned Humilitie did not make Iohn contemptible but when he refused the name of a Prophet Christ saith that hee was more then a Prophet Mat. 11. 2. Humilitie did not make Moses contemptible but as he was the mildest man vpon earth so he was the greatest vpon the earth Numb 12. Humilitie did not make Dauid contemptible but when he humbled himselfe hee said vnto Micol I will be more humble yet and lowly in my owne sight yet thou and thy maides shall honour me 2. Sam. 6. 22. As Christ ceased not to be a king because he was like a seruant nor to bee a Lion because he was like a Lamb nor to be God because he was made man nor to bee a Iudge because he was iudged so man dooth not loose his honour by humilitie but he shal be honored for his humilitie as the Son was honoured when he was humbled Luk. 15. 8. Thus humilitie hath found that which pride sought like little Dauid which was least accompted of and yet gotte the victorie yea when no man durst encounter with the Gyant 1. Sam. 17. 28. This is the ladder whereby we must ascend Gen. 28. 12. pride did cast vs downe and humilitie must raise vs vp As the way to heauen is narrowe Mat. 12. 13. so the gate is lowe and he had neede to stoope which entreth in at it therefore be not proud least God oppose himselfe against you but be humble and the grace of God belongeth to you So long as thou art proude and readest this sentence GOD giueth grace to the humble thou mayst say to thy soule Soule thou hast no part herein for grace is the portion of the humble and the dowrie of the meeke and the treasure of the lowlie but to thee it is saide The Lord resisteth the proude as if he should say Auoide Sathan Math. 4. or Departe from mee ye wicked Math 25. 45. Thus you see howe you may haue GOD your friende or your enemie Hee resisteth the proud and giueth grace to the humble if thou disdaine to learne humilitie of man learne it of GOD who humbled himselfe from heauen to earth to exalte thee from earth to heauen to which Kingdome when the proud shall be shut out the Lord Iesus bring vs for his mercies sake FINIS THE YOVNG MANS TASKE Ecclesiastes 12. 1. Remember thy Creator in the dayes of thy youth IF it be so as they say that none but young men do heare our doctrine then this Text is well chosen for the auditory to teach young men that which if they learne they may say with Dauid I haue more vnderstanding then the auncient Psalm 119. 100. All Scripture is mans duetie and answeres like Iohn Baptist to What shall wee doe In the first of Iohn the second and the twelfth Iohn sayth I write vnto you babes I write vnto you children I write vnto you fathers I write vnto you youngmen I write vnto you old men So the word which is called aflying booke flyeth from one age to another from one sexe to another from one calling to another till like a Iudge it hath giuen euery man his charge Among the rest I may call this Scripture The young mans taske Wherein the Wise man sheweth when is the best time to sow the seede of vertue that it may bring foorth the fruite of life and make a man alway readie to die Let him remember his Creator in the daies of his youth and all his life shall runne in a line the middle like the beginning and the ende like the middle as the Sunne setteth against the place where it rose After Salomon had described man like Martha troubling and toyling himselfe about many things at last hee bringeth him to that one thing necessarie which Christ taught Marie and shewes him that if he had begun there at first he had found that which
in God the young man saith not I will beleeue in God but both say I doe beleeue in God for hee which is called I am in the third of Exodus loueth I am and careth not for I was nor I will be When Christ asketh Peter Louest thou me he looketh that Peter should answere him Yea Lord I loue thee and not driue him off as Felix did Paule I will heare thee I will loue thee when I haue a conuenient time For he which will not come when God cals whatsoeuer he say it is impossible that hee should resolue to come heereafter for hee which is euill how should hee resolue to bee good therefore now or neuer now and euer the tree which buddeth not in spring is dead all the yeare when a man is first maried he may vse the matter so to winne his wife vnto him or to estrange her hart for euer when a Pastor commeth first to a place with a small matter he may make the simple people like him or dislike him so long as he staieth when the heire comes to his lands lightly all his tenants beginne to speake well of him or euill of him when a Prince commeth to the crowne by the lawes which hee maketh first the people gesse how he will rule euer after and eyther dispose theyr hearts to loue him or wish his death Therefore the sage and beaten counsaylers aduised Rehoboam when he beganne to raigne Shew thy selfe louing to the people this day and they will be thy seruants for euer As though all the dayes after could not doo so much as the first Such a victorie it is to beginne well as our Prouerbe saith hee which hath begunne well is halfe his waye especiallie it is good for a man to beginne his repentance before he learne to be euill For herein our minds do follow our bodyes If our children bee deformed in their youth we neuer looke to see them well sauored so if the minde be planted in sinne sildome any goodnesse buddeth out of that stocke For vertue must haue a time to growe the seede is sowne in youth which commeth vp in age And if we can say of others when we see a gracelesse boye thou wilt prooue a wag-string if thou liue to bee elder why should wee if we begin as ill as hee thinke that wee shall bee better and better which iudge that he will be worse and worse as the arrowe is directed at the first so it flyeth all the waye ouer or vnder or beside but it neuer findeth the marke vnlesse it bee leuelled right in the hand so they which make an euill beginning forespeake themselues as it were at the first and wander out all their race because when they should haue leuied their life they tooke their aime amisse Therefore happie are they which haue the arrowe in theyr hande and day before them for they neede not wishe to bee yong againe Now kill the serpent in the egge for when he is a serpent he wil kil thee if thou cannot ouercome sinne in the infancie before the roote fasten and the fence bee made about it how wilt thou struggle with the Lion when he seeth his pawes and sinne is become like an olde man so tough and froward that he will not heare As harde as it is to reclaime one of these olde sinners or graunde Papists which are incorporate into poperie and as poyson is setled in a serpent so harde it will bee to reclaime thee when thou wilt beginne to saye it hath beene my custome and I cannot leaue it Trie thy strength but with one of thy sins and see what shifts what excuses what delayes it will find and how it will importune thee to let it alone as the diuell tormented the Childe before hee went out if thou canst not discharge one vice that thou hast accustomed thy selfe vnto when all thy vices are become customes how wilt thou wrastle with them Therefore wee bende the Tree while it is a twigge and breake the Horse while hee is a Colte and teach the Dogge while hee is a whelpe and tame the Eagle while hee is young Youthe is like the daye to doo all our woorkes in For when the night of age commeth then euerie man sayeth I might haue beene learned I might haue beene a teacher I might haue beene like him or him but the haruest was past before I beganne to sowe And Winter is come now my fruite should rype Thus euerie man that is olde saith he cannot doe that which hee thought to doe and crieth with Salomon Catechise the Childe in his youth and he will remember it when he is olde so corrupt him in his youth and he will remember that too This Nabuchadnezzar perceiued and therefore hee chose the towardliest children of the Israelites to traine them vp in idolatrie like the popish Seminaries that they might be his instruments another day If he had let them alone till they had learned the truth first hee thought that they would not take his way therefore hee tooke them before they had any religion to frame them to his religion If idolatours and Papists be so cunning in their generation to poyson their Children betime least they should prooue Christians after what care appertaineth to Christians to season their children in the spring like the vertuous Ladie which Iohn commendeth least they prooue papists and traytours and reprobates when they looke for comfort of them There was nothing which made Rehoboam to choose such young counsailers when hee beganne to raigne but because they were his companions before therefore they became his counsailers after This is the preferment of our sinnes if they haue been our companions in youth in age they will looke to be our counsailers and masters too Therefore the best season to seeke GOD is to seeke him early before the floudes of wrath arise and the heape of sinnes stand vp like a rampired wall betweene GOD and vs. They which seeke mee earlie shall finde mee saith Wisdome in the 8. of Prouerbes but to them which deferre shee saith they shall seeke mee but they shall not finde me 1. Prouerbes because they did not choose the feare of the Lorde that is when good and euill were set before them they did preferre euill before good as a man chooseth that which hee liketh Therefore when they seeke mee saith GOD they shall not finde mee How doe yee say then that yee will seeke GOD when God himselfe saieth that yee shall not finde him Therefore in the 4. of Prouerbes and the 7. Wisedome is called the beginning to teach vs to seeke Wisedome in the beginning For saith Christ If yee seeke the kingdome of heauen first all the rest shall bee cast vpon you hee saith not if you seeke the world first heauen shall bee cast vpon you but if you seeke heauen first worldly things shall be cast vpon you Hee which dooth beleeue this would first seeke the kingdome of heauen for that which
First heere is to bee noted that amongst the blessings of Iob his children are reckoned first so soone as the holy Ghost was past his spirituall blessings which he mentioneth in the first verse of all before all his other blessings landes and houses and goods and cattell and friends and seruants hee speakes of his children as the chiefest treasure which Iob had next vnto his vertues although hee was counted the greatest man for riches and cattels and all things else in all the east parts 3. verse Therefore the Diuell when hee had taken away all his other riches tooke away his children last of al trying him as it were by degrees as if he should say I haue a greater plague for him yet if the loosing of his goods and stealing of his cattell and burning of his houses and slaying of his seruauntes will not moue him yet I know what will rowse him when his children are all feasting together I will raise a mighty wind and blow downe the house vppon their heads and kill euery sonne daughter which he hath at a clap Indeed this newes frighted him forest as appeareth in the 20. verse his patience was so great that when they brought him word of his oxen camels and asses and sheepe he neuer shrinked we doe not reade that he made any answer as though he cared not for thē but whē he heard that his deare children seuen sonnes and three daughters after he had brought thē vp to ripe yeares were slaine all at once then the story saith that he rose vp from his seat and rent his garments and shaued his head and fell downe to the ground and cryed Naked came I out of my mothers wombe and naked shall I returne againe So euen the diuell knoweth what a man loueth and what a blessing it is to haue children therefore when God commaunded the man and the woman to increase and multiply it is saide before that God blessed them Gen. 1. 28. which was the first blessing that was giuen to man which is called a blessing The blessing of children Againe when God spake the same words to Noah his sonnes it is said before that God blessed Noah his sons Gen. 9. 4. so children came still vnder the name of blessing Thus God himself sheweth that children are his gifts to make you thankfull for them and carefull of them as Iob was And therefore some men haue more riches and some lesse some none because it is the blessing of God as Salomon saith which maketh rich Pro. 10. 22. so some men haue many children some few some none because it is the blessing of God as Dauid saith which sendeth children Psal 128. But this is the difference betweene temporall blessings and spirituall blessings that spirituall blessings are simplie good and therefore doe all men good that enioy them as faith and loue and patiēce can neuer hurt a man but better him and temporall blessings are as he which hath them to good man riches are good honors are good health is good libertie is good because he doth good with them but to an euil man they are euill because they make him worse and he doth euill with them as Ieroboam had not done so much hurt if he had not been in such honour Therefore we pray for health and wealth and honour and rest and libertie and life with a caution If it bee Gods will As Christ praied for the remouing of his crosse because we knowe not whether they be good or euill whether they will make vs better or worse or whether wee shall doe good with them or hurt Thus when Iob had his cattell and his houses and his friends and his seruants and his children about him hee was like the man of whom Dauid speakes The righteous man shall flourish like a palme tree Psalm 91. 13. Therefore the diuell sayd that God had made an hedge about Iob. vers 10. As an hedge goeth round about a garden so Gods blessings went round about Iob according to that Psal 33. 10. Him which trusteth in the Lord mercie shall embrace on euery side Thus Iob was endowed with children but how his children were affected we cannot define so well as of their father because the holie Ghost saith nothing of them but that they banquetted which doth sound as though he noted a disparagement betweene Iob and his sonnes as there was betweene Ely and his sonnes for oftentimes a godly father hath vntoward children which make him watch and fast and pray weepe when they little think while they themselues ruffle and sweare and banquet and game till pouertie fall on their purses as the house fell vpon their heads so it seemes that Iobs sonnes were secure vpon their fathers holines as many are vpon their fathers husbandrie which thinke the olde man hath enough for vs we need not care to get or saue so they might thinke Our father sacrificeth for vs wee may feast and be merrie his deuotion will serue for vs he is an olde man let him pray and GOD will heare him One Lot is enough in an house but if Iob had bred vp his sonnes so God would not haue commended him but rebuked him as he did Ely Therfore this is not spoken against Iobs sons that they banquetted as it is spoken against the Israelites that they sate them downe to eate and rose vp to play For first it is not like that hee which was so cōmēded of God that he said No man was like him vpon the earth vers 8. would not teach his children in their youth as he prayed for them after Agayne if they had been Epicures and Libertines and beazlers GOD would not haue heard his prayer for them no more then he would heare Samuels prayer for Saul Agayne if they had despised that GOD which their father worshipped hee would neuer haue sayd as hee saith It may bee that my sonnes haue blasphemed God as though some fault might scape them by ignorance or rashnes but he would haue sayd My sonnes are blasphemers and therefore I must punish them For that which the lawe sayd against blasphemers after that Iob vnderstoode by the lawe of conscience written in his heart as Paul sayth Rom. 2. 15. Agayne if they had vsed theyr feasts for theyr lusts like them which say Let vs eate and drinke for to morrowe wee shall dye it had beene vayne for Iob to speake to them of sanctification for they would not haue sanctified themselues at his bidding But it is sayde that before Iob offered sacrifice for them they were sanctified that is they considered the faults which they had committed and repented for them and reconciled themselues then Iob sacrificed for them Again if their feasts had been surfetings and disorders like our Wakes and Reuels Iob should haue forbidden their feasts not praied God to pardon their sinnes which they committed in feasting suffer them to sinne still for that were to mock God