done and I heid my tongue and thou thoughtst wickedly that I was suen a one as thou thy selfe but I will reproue thee and lay before thee the things that thou hast don Let vs not flatter our selues in our sins therfore thinking bicaus God doth dissemble theÌ„ make as thogh he saw them not that therefore be doth forges them or allow of them but assure our selues that one day he will reproue vs and laye our faultes before our eyes We do many thinges in secret and huggermugger which for shame we woulde not if we knew we were seen of anye how much lesse ought we to do theÌ„ since we are seene of God We haue many secret thoughts phantasticall imaginacioÌ„s wherin we much please our selues and delight our flesh and would blushe to haue them knowne of others which one daye the Lorde will make knowne to our neighbours when he shall make manifest the thinges of the darcke and open the secreates of all heartes I will search Hierusalem sayth the Lorde in that day with a lanterne Alas who can hide him selfe so secretlye or dissemble so deeply but the Lord wil find him and found euen the vnserchable depth of his heart when he shall search Hierusalem with a lanterne Let vs remember this all the sort of vs least as the Prophet Dauid sayth we forget God and perish from the right waye The witnesses which shall come in againste vs shall be especiallye the testimonye of our owne heartes and consciences The bookes shal be opened and the dead shalbe iudged of these things which are written in the bookes These bookes are the consciences of our good deeds and bad which as the Apostle witnesseth shall then excuse vs or accuse vs iustiste vs or condemne vs make with vs or against vs. And there is no man to whom God hath not giuen one of these bookes to carrye with him alwayes in his bosome neyther is anye man so ignoraunt but the Lorde hath giuen him knowledge to reade them But most men are so carelesse to vnclapse them as they neuer read or marke the contents of them till it is to late for them When God had placed Adam in Paradise forbidding him to eate of the fruit in the middest of the garden hee gaue him a booke and for his memories sake hee wrote in it What day soeuer thou eat thereof thou shalt dye the death But Adam neuer vnclaspt this booke till he had in deede transgressed Goods commandement and then his booke beeing opened he sawe the vglesome deformitie of this sinne whereto he had brought him selfe and his posterity but it was too late Caine carried this booke in his bosome but he neuer opened it til he had murdered his brother and then vnclasping it he found written in it Thou shalt not kill but thou hast killed thy brother ergo sayth he My suâ—e is greater than that it can be forgiuen That same frantike 〈◊〉 of whom mencion is made in Euripides after he had staine adulterouâ—â— Egisthus aud Clytemnestra his owne mother hauing no man to accuse him but his own conscience he looked in his booke and there he found written Bloud will haue bloud and therevpon though he was acquit by the law he presemlye ran mad and was neuer his own man afterward One demaunding the cause thereof in Euripides Quid muli te perdidit Orestes What ill hath betide or what hath caused thee lose thy wits Orestes He aunswereth him conscientia my conscience for Quid si omnes excusant sola conscâ—enâ—ia accusat what if all meÌ„ in the world excuse a man if his owne conscience accuse him which is insteed of a thousand witnesses shal more foâ—er confound him then they al. And therfore Nullam peccatoruÌ„ tuoruÌ„ conscium magis timueris quaÌ„ teipsum aliuÌ„ potes effugerâ— teipsum nun quam feare no maÌ„ y â— in priuie to thy sins so much as thy selfe thou maist auoyd an other maÌ„ but thou canst not flee froÌ„ thy self nor thy own knowledg conscience which according to the Etimologye of the worde is nothing els but a ioynts knowledge which an other hath with thee and thou with him which is God and thy self and is very aptly termed of Chrisostom in psal 50. Coaeâ— in quo conscribanâ—â— quotidiana peccata A booke wherin is recorded our daily sins which howsoeuer they be dissembled of vs now shall then be reuealed brought to light and punished when we must appear c. And therfore is this day and time of our appearaunce termed of the Apostle dies declarationis the daye of declaration not that anye thing shall then be declared to the Lord more then he knoweth already For he that planes the care how can he but heare he that made the eie how can he but see heauen is his seate earth is his footstoole what can be dâ—n in heauen or earth wherof he hath not knowledg he knoweth our down sitting our vprising he vnderstandeth all our thoughtes long before he spieth out all our waies not a word in our tong but he knoweth it altogether if we climbe vp into heauen he is there if we go down into hell he is there if we remaine in the vttermost partes of the sea he is there also if we think darknes shal hid vs the darknes is no darknes with him but the night is as cleare as the day darknes light are both alike To conclude all thinges are naked and open to his eies and there is no creature that is not manifest in his sight but wherfore is the daye of iudgemente tearmed of the Apostle the day of declaration for that nothing is so secretlye concealed of vs nowe but it shall be manifestly reuealed then The daye of this lyfe is one daie and may be tearmed the day of our dissimulation the day which followeth immediately after this life is the lords and is tearmed the daye of declaration For then the verye heauens saith Iob shall declare the wickednes of the wicked and the earthe whiche nowe doeth beare him shall then take parte againste him Now the ten virgins go together walke together talke together eat and drinke together but at that day it shall appeare who are wise who foolish who haue slept who haue watched whiche of them had oyle in their Lampes and which way which of them shalbe admitted vnto the marriage and whiche excluded and shut oute Now the corne chaffe lie together on a heape in one flowre and are not yet scucrd but at that dtye the Lorde shall come with his â—ari in his hande and purge his flower thorowlye carrye his wheate into his garner but burne his chaffe with vnquenchable fier Now the wheate and tares growe together in one fielde and are not yet weeded out but at the daye the lorde of the haruest will saye to the reapers gather the eares and bind them vp in
A godlie Sermon of repentaunce and amendment of life togeather with the accompt which we must render at the day of iudgement Preached at the Rolles Church in London the second of Maye and taken out of the fifth Chapter of Saint Paule his Epistle to the Corrinthians Cor. 5. vers 10. We must all appeare before the iudgement seat of Christe that euery man maye receiue the thinges which are done in his bodye according to that which he hath done whether it bee good or euill AT LONDON Printed by Thomas Purfoote and are to be sold at his shop right ouer against S. Sepulchers Church 1585. A Sermon preached at the Rolles Church in London the 2. of Maye beeing Sondaye taken out of the 5. Chapter of S. Paule his second Epistle to the Corinthians verse 10. The Text. We must all appeare before the iudgement seat of Christe that euery man maye receiue the thinges which are done in his bodye according to that which he hath done whether it bee good or euill THe holye Apostle at such time as he wrote this Epistle to the Corinthians beeing persecuted for the testimonye of his conscience and the profession of the glorious Gospell of Iesus Christe protesteth solempnely that the troubles which bee suffered in his bodye did not onelye not discourage him nor cause him to faint but eyther That they did adde zealo and 〈…〉 causing him to continue constaune in his calling and to account those afflitions but tuomentary light in respect of that most excellent and eternall weight of glorye wherewith all in the end he knew he shoulde be crowned the earnest desire whereof caused him to sigh and grone in spirite that he might shortly be losed out of his body and cloathed with his house which the Lord had prepared for him in heauen not that be thought hee coulde preuent the time which the Lord in his secret counsel had already determined For he knew that the Dayes of man surely are determined and that his number of monethes are knowne of God who hath appoynted him his boundes which can not goe beyonde but we know sayth he that if our earthly house of that tabernacle bee destroyed wee haue a buildinge giuen of GOD that is a house not made with handes but eternall in the heauens beeing absent from the Lord whileste we are at hoame in this body Howbeit whether it be the Lord his good wil and pleasure that we shall stil dwell at home in the bodye or remooue from home out of this bodye and dwell wich him we endeuour our selues that we may be found acceptable in his sight at all times and in all places Whereof he giueth this reason For we must all appeare c. Exhorting al men both by his example and doctrine in life to meditate of death in prosperitie to feare aduersitie in the day of mercye to thinke of the daye of iudgement and so to liue in their seuerall callinges as to remember they must giue account of their callinges so to vse the benefites and blessinges of God as not forgetting from whence they haue them and when they muste resigne them according to that counsell of the wise man Remember thy ende That is the certaintie of thy ende the vncertain howre of thy ende the rewarde thou shalt receaue at thy ende the place of ioye or payne that thou must goe to at thy end In all thy doinges remember these thinges and thoâ—â—â—â— shalâ— neuer doe amisse For what causeth such losenes of life in all sortes but the forgetfulnes of death in all sortes What causeth the wicked alwayes to presume of God his mercye but the contempt of his iustice What causeth such generall security in sinne but the generall obliuion of the reward of sinne Whereas if we did alwayes remember our particular endes and our generall iudgements it would cause vs to walke more circumspectly in our callinges which more care of conscience and greater consideration of all our actions which one day must be brought to iudgment To this ende doth the Apostle preach of the daye of iudgement in this place putting vs in remembraunce of three thinges necessary to be thought of and considered of all men before that tyme. 1 First who and what they are whiche must appeare at that day 2 Secondarily where and before whom they must appeare 3 Thirdly to what ende they must appeare If you aske who they are which must appeare at that daye the Apostle saithe All. If you aske where and before whome those All must appeare the Apostle aunswereth Before the iudgement seate of Christ If you aske to what ende those All must appeare before the iudgement seate of Christ the Apostle doth aunswere To receaue euery man according to that which he hath done in his body whether it c. The first part TOuching the substaunce of that doctrine which here is deliuered by the Apostle it was prophesied long since by S. Peter that towards the letter end of the world this doctrine of the generall iudgement and resurrection of all flesh should of all other to the opinions of the wicked seeme most absurd ridiculous and foolish There shall come in the last dayes mockers saith he which will walke after their lustes and saye where is the promise of his comming For since the Fathers dayed all thinges continue a like from the beginning of the creation He termeth the despisers and contemners of this doctrine mockers he saith the dais they shal liue in shalbe the last the manner how they shall mocke it will appeare both in their liues and speeches in their liues for that they shall not walke after the lawes of God but after the lawes of their fleshe fulfilling the lustes therof as prophane and rechles persons void of al godlines and giuen ouer to all sinne and iuniquirye In speeches not ashamed to profes that they beleue nothing lesse then that that should be performed which is promised in the scriptures concerning the comming of Christ in iudgement The reason that moue them to thinke and say so is the obseruation of nature his constant course in all the workes and creatures of God continuing in y e same state wherein they were first created withoute any alteration or chaunge in any of them as those great lights the sunne and the Moone obseruing their vsuall and ordinarye time of their vprising and downe sitting according to the seuerall seales and tymes of the yeare the one ruling and giuing light to the daye the other in the night the starrs remaining firme and fixed as lightes in the firmament of heauen where they were firste planted in the beginning to diuide y e day and the night and to bee as signes and seasons for daies and yeares the earth being vnremooueable vnder our feete bringing forth budde and greene hearbe apt to seede and fruitfull trees euerye one yeilding fruites after his kinde and all these together with the beasts of the
whatsoeuer is not of faith is nothing but saying it is sin declareth that whatsoeuer thinges are not of faith they are not to be decided as good things but as vices rather which iustify not the doers of them but rather do condemne them When the scripture therefore saythe in this place Euerye man shall receaue according to that which he hath done in other places that euery man shalbe rewarded accordinge to that whiche hee hath doone that manner of speaking is not ment of the merite of oure dooinges for that wee shoulde all be rewarded with euerlasting damnation and hell fier but that we shall receiue and be euerie man rewarded according to the testimonye of that which hee hath done bearing witnesse of our faith with vs or of want of sayth against vs. If that which we haue done proceede of faith then doth God accept it and impute it to vs for a good woorlie not in respect of the woorke it selfe or for our sakes or for oure faythe sake but for Iesus Christes sake in whome he is well pleased and in whose name we do it and he doth accept it and in mercie reward it Now we are to consider that the Apostle saith Euery inan shall receiue according to his well doing so likewise Euery man that hath doone euil shall receiue according to his doing ill whiche must not be 〈◊〉 conâ—â—ued of vs as though man at the laÌ„tter iudgement shoulde receiue onely according to that ill whiche hee hath done and not aunswere at all nor receiue anye punishnent for that ill whiche hee hath spoaken For I tell you saith our sauioure Christ a man shall giue accompte for euerye euell woorde Quid ost in omni vit a nostra cutus nos minus rationis habeamus quam verborum what is there in the whole course of our life whereof we haue lesse regard then of oure wordes and therefore in what daunger stand we before God if we shal aunswere euery idell woorde wherein we haue offended before men Or if we shall aunswere euery idle worde Alas how shall we answere euery idell word If we must answere euery idell woorde how shall we answer euery lying word euery blasphemous word euery flandorous worde Or if wee cannot answere our idell words how shall we answere of one idell deedes and time mispent Or if we caÌ„not answere our idel deedes how shal we be able to susteine the punishment which we must receiue for our il deedes Heere we may all crye out and appeale from God his iustice and oure deseruings to his mercie Enter not into iudgement with thy seruants O lorde for no flesh is righteus in thy sight and haue mercie vppon me O God not according to my merites but according to the mercie doe awaye my offences c. For otherwise we must all prepare our selues to taste of the reward of sinne which be our sinne neuer so light or littell committed in thought woorde or deede is death of bodye and death of soule to euery one according to that which he hath done Vppon the vngodlye shall come snares fier brimstone stormie tempest this shalbe their portion to drinke The Prophet vseth many words wher of euery one may seeme more greeuous then other to teache vs that the greater shalbe the punishment which the sinner shal receiue according to that which he saith in the second chapter to the Romaines that the impenitent presumptious sinner doth heap vp wrath to himself c. as who should saye God will heape damnation vpon his head in life to come as he hath heaped one sinne vppon an other in this life not that there are many helles or many siers in bell but that the iustice of God re quireth to measure out y â— grieuousnes of their punishment accor to the grieuousnes of their sines vt et ignem non dissimilem habeant tamen eosdem singulos exurat that not hauing a diuerse fire yet euery one to be tormented the same w t fire euen as we feel in our do dies wheras many stand together in the sun the sun hath like power of them all alike yet doe they not all feele the like heat but some feele it hotter then other some euery man according to the complexion and constitution of his body Euen so according to the quality of his sinne shall euerye man receaue his punishment And therefore in the daye of iudgement it shall hee easie for Sodome and Gomortha then for those Cities Townes and persons which haue hard remission of sinnes preached in the name of Iesus yet haue not repented For the seruant that knew his maisters wil and did it not shalbe beaten with many stripes If that reuerend and childish feare of God therefore cannot win vs to eschue euill and do good yet let this seruile and slauishe feare the feare of punishement staie vs and make vs a fraide to perseuer in our ill least accordinge to the greeuousnes of the same in oure soules at last we reseaue double damnation in our bodyes For although euery man so sone as the soule and body are parted by death hath his particular iudgement and receiueth in his soul which presently mounteth either to heauen or is carryed to hell the rewarde of ioye or paine which either thorough sinne he hath deserued or the Lorde in merrye doth freely giue him yet doth he nor receiue the same in body which remayneth in the graue til the generall resurrection and iudgement of all flesh at what time the bodye shall be vnited to the soule and be made partaker of the same euerlasting ioyes in heauen or eternall torments in hell as it was partaker with the bodye in sin vpon earth If any man therfore aske wherefore and what there should neede to be a second iudgement since euerie man hath his iudgement already I answere out of the Apostle that euery man may receaue in his body that which hee hath already receaued in his soule Lâ—â— vs forbeare therefore to iudge of 〈…〉 mens sinnes to looke into other mens liues and either euery man that calleth vpon the name of the Lorde depart from iniquity and learne to amend him selfe For euery man shall receaue accordinge to that which he hath done in his body I shall not receaue accordinge to that which thou haste done in thy bodye nor thou shalt not receaue according to that which I haue done in my bodye but I according to that which I haue done in my bodye and thou according to that which thou 〈◊〉 done in thy body and so forth euery maÌ„ according to that which he hath done in his own bodye That soule that hath sinned that soule shall dye the death Though the father haue eaten sowre grapes the childrens teeth shall not be set on edge The sonne shall not beare the fathers iniquity nor the fathers beare the sonnes The righteousnes of the righteous shall be vppon him the wickednes of the wicked vpon him