crookednesse of his legge or from such like cause After the same maner a théefe stretcheth forth his hand he shaketh his sword and it is of God and is good But to kill him whom he should not is euill and commeth from the wicked wil of man which God neither cōpelleth nor mooueth nor helpeth to euill and yet neuerthelesse suffereth that to be done which he desireth Thus then we sée how farre God hath his worke in the sinnes of men in suffering them to be done And although it is in him not to suffer euil the which without his sufferance coulde not bée yet notwithstanding that I may vse Saint Augustines words hee thinketh it better to drawe that wich is good from euill then not to suffer any euill at all For God would not suffer any sinne to be if hée were not so mighty so prudent and so good that both hée knoweth how and also can and wil out of sinne worke greater good 8 What greater euill could there be then so many Prophets so many Apostles so many Martirs and Christ himselfe to be slaine Could not God haue hindred this No doubt most easily but he would not By which we sée how great glary felicity he hath brought to them that suffered how great honour and praise they haue yéelded to God for whome they suffered and how great profit and commoditie their deathes and sufferings hath brought to the whole world Neither did the Church at any time suffer the persecutions of the heathen but it was thereby made the better the more vigilant the more glorious and like gold which comming out of the furnace is more fine and pure 9 The other cause of all our calamities miseries and afflictions of this life is sinne By reason wherof so soone as we are borne wée bring with vs the sentence of death Much like vnto those sicke men of whose life the physitians hauing no hope do onely for a time maintaine life with preseruatiues that so a little while he may linger to make his testament and then depart Euen so it fareth with vs all who do not therefore eate drinke and sléepe that we may neuer dye for that cannot be but that we may prolong our life for a fewe daies and so prepare our selues to 〈◊〉 And as Pyrates which are taken at the sea by the royall ships and are brought to the shoare there to be hanged and haue no longer hope of life then there is space betweene the ship and the land euen so euery one of vs which like Roauers saile heere in the sea of this world being once taken and holden captiue by the ministers of Gods iustice when we are come to a certaine place and point of our age shall without all doubt or mercy abide there and suffer death 10 Sinne therefore hath opened the passage vnto death and the whole host of tribulations do follow death as their captaine and guide and do enter in vppon vs by the same breach of sinne And as we do read of sinne The wages of sinne is death euen so also wée reade of tribulations Miseros fucit populos peccatum That is Sin is the cause of many tribulations 11 Neither is it for one sinne of Adams that so many tribulations come vppon vs but also for an innumerable sort of sinnes which we haue added and do adde daily as the holy ghost by the mouth of the Prophet Dauid hath pronounced If their children forsake my lawe walke not in my iudgemēts if they breake my statutes and keepe not my cōmandements Psal 89. I will visit their iniquities 〈◊〉 the rod and their sins with scourges 12 God afflicted the Iewish nation one while by the Philistines another while by the Madianits another while by the Assyrians and also by the Romanes but alwaies first they sinned and prouoked God to anger as the booke of Iudges the bookes of Kings and of the Prophets do declare God also afflicted the Church of Christians by tyrants as Neroes Dioclesians and such like which most cruelly persecuted the Church the cause of all which persecutions was the sinnes and wickednesses of the Christians as appeareth by Cyprian and Eusebius 13 Thus farre concerning the causes of tribulations now wee wil speake of the effects Concerning the effect and fruit of tribulation Chap. 12. the author of the Epistle to the Hebrewes writeth thus Now no chastising for the present time seemeth to bee ioyfull but grieuous but afterward it bringeth the quiet fruite of righteousnesse vnto them which are thereby exercised Although therefore wée cannot plainely know the fruites of tribulation before such time as wée come to that blessed and heauenly life which is free from all misery and trouble yet notwithstanding it will be very profitable for vs to speake and thinke vppon the same diligently to desperation But as the phisitian of things venemous and hurtful maketh most healthful medicines euen so Almighty God by his wisedome out of afflictions although they be euill things bringeth forth in his electe most excellent vertues among which patience is one 17 This patience worketh experience also the which is a certaine tryal both of our selues and of our own strength and especially of the might and goodnes of God For in suffering of aduersities we learn how great the corruption of our nature is which being touched with any aduersity straight way except the holy Ghost helpe breaketh forth into murmurings grudgings and into blasphemies and complaints against the prouidence of God Whereof we haue a liuely example set forth in Iob who being deliuered by God vnto the diuel to be tried how great blasphemies powred he out in his afflictions how much complaineth he of the prouidence and iustice of God But the light of the holy Ghost had no sooner illumined him but how did he plucke vp his spirits againe Howe godly and rightly doth he iudge of God The crookednes of our nature is hidden from vs for the heart of man is vnsearcheable But looke how soone the fire is stricken out of the flint stone so soone breaketh out our peruerse nature whē tribulation oppresseth vs. This tryall as Peter saith is euen as a furnace vnto gold And therefore God answered Abraham when hée was now ready to sacrifice his Sonne Now I knowe that thou fearest God No doubt that was knowne vnto God afore But by that fact he brought to passe that this obedience was the better knowne vnto others For we are like vnto certaine spices whose swéete sauour is not felt vnlesse a man bruse them well Wée are also like to stones called Piridites which shew not forth that force which they haue to burne except when they be pressed hard with the fingers 18 The triall also before spoken of bringeth hope Whereby wée sée that God hath so disposed those instruments of his as that they should one helpe another and the one bring in the other By reason of the hope of the glory of God afflictions are not
Iesus Christ our Lorde So that wée must not doe as in times passed the Infidels did which made great lamentations and inuectiues against the Iewes Pontius Pilate Herode Iudas and them that had executed and put Christ to death and in the meane season flattered themselues vaunting of their owne merites and desertes and did not narrowly consider that Iudas Pontius Pilate Herode were but executers and ministers of their impieties and sinnes Let vs therefore consider in the breaking of the breade that our sinnes yea the sinnes of euery one of vs seuerally crucified the sonne of God and brake him with the sorrowes of the first and second death as namely the wordes of the Supper doe shew that the body of Iesus Christ was broken for vs and his blood was shed for the remission of our sinnes And our heauenly Father witnesseth the same speaking of the death of his Sonne Esa 53.3 For the sinnes of my people haue I smitten him Then if it bée so that our sinnes being weighed in the ballaunce of the iustice of GOD were found to bée so weightie and of so great importaunce that his wrath coulde neuer haue béene appeased towardes vs but by the death of his onely Sonne which maketh full satisfaction I say by the cruell ignominious deathe of the Crosse how should not wée hence forward detest and abhorre our sinne as that which is the cruell and bloody murderer of the only Sonne of God Mat. 27 451. Beholde the Sunne and the Moone beholde the Element beholde the vaile of the Temple beholde the stones and rockes which were moued at the death of Iesus Christ which shewed foorth tokens of sorrowe and wée which beare within our selues the cause of his death shal not wée haue in horrour and detestation this cursed enemie sinne that is lodged within vs Shall wée suffer him to rule and dwell in vs as before that il may bring home death vnto vs Not so but wée must detest it as that that before time separated vs from God our chiefest happinesse as that that caused vs to loose the image and similitude of God according to which wée were created at the beginning by GOD. It is that that hath wholy destroyed vs that hath depriued vs of holinesse and righteousnesse that hath banished vs out of Paradice that hath made vs slaues to the tyranny of the Diuell that hath made vs subiect to so many miseries and diseases and to be short both to the first second death It is that which after it had set a barre and diuision betwéen God and vs caused vs to sée our owne filthinesse purchased vnto vs shameful vilainous infamy made vs to tremble at the voyce of our God which was before most pleasant and louing vnto vs. It is that wherby the wrath of God is heaped vpon men that maketh the earth to become barren to bring forth thornes and thistles that causes women to bring forth in sorrow and that men eate their bread in the sweat labour of their bodies Séeing then that sinne bringeth forth and procureth vnto vs daily so many miseries it followeth that we ought to withdrawe our selues from it if we wil not be wilful enemies of our owne happinesse saluation Now then I cite here all disordered and slanderous persons which notwithstnading are so impudent to present themselues to the Lords holy Table I aske them what it is that they promised to God his Church in Baptisme They wil answere me that they promised God to renounce the Diuel all his workes But one of the chiefe and principall workes of the Diuel is sinne Why doe they not then abstaine from it Why are they traytours and disobedient to God his Church Why haue they conspired with the Diuel the world the flesh against their own saluation How dare they peesent themselues before God to aske him pardon and remission of their sins séeing that more and more they heape sin vpon sin crucifie kill againe as much as in them lieth the son of God or at the least make a scorne a scoffe of the purging of this blood which was appli-vnto them in Baptisme Put the case that a wicked man poore and destitute of all helpe wete fallen into a mire whence out he could by no meanes rayse vp himselfe that some young Prince passing that way tooke the paines to draw him out of the ditch to make him cleane to cloath him with gorgious and precious apparell if this wicked man poore miserable caytife fall againe into this myre wilfully by his own folly beray both himselfe his apparell being moreouer in great daunger of his life would not one think that this man were maruellously vnkind and a contemner of that princely bounty and goodnesse on the other side a wilful and sworne enemy of his owne health worthy to be lost and cast away without any helpe or assistance Euen so standeth our cause with Iesus Christ We fel al into the puddle of sinne in the person of Adam g Gen. 3.6 Psal 39.15 we are all wicked doers and worthy of an hundred thousande gibbets before God we can by no meanes get out of our selues and out of the ditche of destruction whereinto we are all fallen by our owne fault Behold the son of God the king of kings the Lord of Lordes which commeth to draw vs out of this puddle which cōmeth to wash vs with his precious blood which vouchsafeth to cloath vs with the proper cloake of his righteousnesse and innocency If we come againe to wallowe our selues in the puddle of sinne if we please our selues in it if we defile bedurt the robe of innocency which he hath giuen vs in Baptisme are we not manifest contemners of the inestimable loue gift of Iesus Christ are moreouer worthy to rot a thousand times in our filthinesse or rather to gnash our téeth euerlastingly with the diuels in hel It is euident Séeing then that it is so that the end of our redemptiō baptisme iustification requireth of vs to abstaine from sin so farforth as possibly we may our fleshly infirmitie wil suffer we must take all paines and diligence by the vertue of the spirit of God to cast out from vs all foulenesse filthinesse Idolatry blasphemy rebellion hatred murther whordome theft and vsury all other things contrary to the holy Lawe if we will not bee more than ingrateful towards Iesus Christ and open enemies of his Churche and our owne saluation But because it is not sufficient for the inducing of a true and he althful repentance to acknowledge our misery to abhorre it to confesse it and to abstaine from it but we must also know desire and do that good which God cōmandeth in his word we must consider the argument which ought earnestly to stirre vs vp to the sanctifying of the name of God First in that we are ioined and made one with Christ
Amos. 8. and I will darken the earth in the cleere day That is to say when men thinke it to bée the high noone of their age when they thinke that they haue yet many yéeres to liue when their minde is occupied about their gaine about theyr affaires about their honors buildings mariages and pleasures when they say vnto their soule Soule thou hast much goods laid vp in store for thée for many yeeres eate drink rest and be merrie then it shall suddenly be saide vnto them Behold death is at the doore thou foole this night shall thy life be taken away from thee Eccl. 41. and whose are then those things which thou hast gotten 9 Then death vnlooked for frustrateth all our counsels cutting off the webs of our deuises and with on stroke she casteth down and layeth flatte on the ground al those Towers builded in the ayer and then what a wound doeth the heart of the sinner receiue which loueth this present life when the Physitian saith vnto him Thou must from hēceforth thinke no more of life but of death 10 Here first of all all those things which he loued in time past offer themselues vnto him from the which he shal be pulled away and seperated by death whether he wil or no. The body shal dye once but the heart shal dye so often as the things be in number which he loued Then in very déede shal the most cléere light be turned into darkenesse because those things which were aforetime occasions of great ioy shal be now horrible vexations and torments It is a most swéete and pleasant thing to them which liue to sée their louing and faithful friendes to remember their honors to think vpon the pleasures past and to come But all these things in the time of death shal be as swords as torments and most bitter potions 11 But if it be so harde a matter to bée pulled away from those things which do not so néerely touch man how bitter I pray you will the seperation bée of the body from the life and soule For such two louing familiars which haue alwaies liued sweetly together euen from the mothers wombe cannot be seperated without great gréef If the Oxe do commonly lowe mourn when his yoke-fellow which was wont to draw with him is taken away how will euery one of vs mourn when the minde shal be seperated from the body Then wil the body and the mind with teares repeate againe and againe doest thou thus seperate bitter death O death dost thou thus seperate 12 And when the cogitation of so sharp a seperation is déeply setled in our mind then gréefes follow gréefes and sorrow commeth vpon sorrow for then it commeth presently into the minde what a miserable condition the body and soule shal be in after the seperation And first of all when a man beginneth to recount with himselfe that his body after a fewe houres shall be buried in a graue or dark tombe he cannot cease from wondring at so abiect and miserable a condition What the body that now liueth which seeth which heareth whith speaketh shal it be made after one houre in a moment blinde deaffe dumbe without sense without spirit without life Shal I haue then in stead of a large pallace a base sepulchre in stead of a soft bed the hard ground for delights rottennesse for swéete smelles stinkes and in stead of seruants and familiar fréends wormes And thus this cogitation of the graue will verie sore trouble and terrifle a man in these extremities 13 But yet notwithstanding euery man feareth much more when he beginneth to consider what condition remaineth for the soule For when he beholdeth that eternity and that new Region vnknown to all men liuing which hée then alone and naked is to enter and againe when he vnderstandeth that there is to be founde in the same both euerlasting glorie and perpetual paine and misery and knoweth not of which hée shal take his part it cannot bée tolde with how great feare with what carefulnes and with what excéeding sorrow he shal be tormented When hée perceiueth plainly that after two houres he shaibe either in eternal ioyes or in euerlasting paines Is not this a crosse farre surpassing all other crosses 14 This incertainty therefore of blisse or of a cursed estate which after two houres the sinner expecteth that remembreth his sinnes feareth the iust iudgement of God without hope of remission or faith in Christ bringeth a hell in minde not to be expressed For by how much the kingdome which hée desireth is of largenes and by how much the fierie furnace which he feareth is terrible by so much greater shal this perturbation be For from the one Angels shal come to carie the faithful vp into heauen and from the other diuels shal come to cary the wicked and infidels into hell fire 15 But there is yet a farre greater perturbation then this namely that he shal cal to mind the account which he is to make to God of all his words déedes and thoughts For of it selfe it is a horrible thing to enter into iudgement with God the which horror wil wonderfully vexe and disquiet the diuels themselues For as so long as we liue they set forth vnto vs the mercie of God and doe also commend the same and do striue all that they can to keepe vs from meditating of his iustice and iudgements Euen so now on the contrary part they extenuate and make his mercy insufficient and doe set before our eies the greatnesse and seuerity of the Lords Iustice 16 Then the sinner wil begin to tremble and to fall into desperation and wil begin to reason thus with himselfe If God for the sinnes of others spared not his onely sonne wil he spare me which am guiltie of so many sinnes If this be done in the greene tree what shal befal that which is feare and drie If the Prophets if the Apostles if the Martyres after they liued godly so many yeares entred not into the kingdome of heauen without tribulations what other place can be left for me but that of hell fire which know no good that I haue done 17 If the Scripture be true which saith He wil render to euery man according to his works I which haue done so great wickednesses what should I looke for but eternal torments If the Apostle lye not as indéede he doth not when he saith That which a man soweth that shall hee reape Gal. 6. what shal hée reape but eternall death which hath made so cursed sowing If no polluted thing shal enter into the kingdome of God how shal I which am altogether filthy and vncleane haue hope to make so happie and blessed an entrance 18 Then therefore all his sinnes which he committed with so great facility when hée liued shal violently inuade the sinful man like an hoast of his enemies Then the feare of punishment wil open the eyes which sléeping securitie in sinne before had
poore Christ in pouertie For it cannot bée expressed in wordes how ample and large the way of the Lorde shal be made vnto all them which can set their heart vpon Heauen contemne earthly vanities with great feruencie of minde to cleaue whollie vnto God and which can cut off the desires of vnprofitable things 30 Last of all this may be added also for the explication of our question that the lawe and commandementes of God are a straite way and gate if they be considered by themselues and alone But if the grace and helpe of God be ioyned vnto them they ought not to be called a straite gate but a swéete yoke and a light burthen 31 For this is the difference betwéene the law and the Gospel The law commanded that wee should bée holie but it gaue no grace by which men are sanctified It commanded vs to fight against the deuill but it gaue not vnto vs necessary armor and weapons to fight It commanded vs of carnall to become spiritual but it gaue not the holy Ghost by which we might be made spiritual It commanded vs to goe forward towardes Heauen but it giueth not vnto vs Ladders and steppes by which wée may ascend into Heauen 32 Therefore the Law was a yoke but not a swéete yoke It was a burthen but not a light one But the Gospel commanding the selfe-same things giueth helpe and strength that they may not onely bée done but also that they may be easily done 33 Wherefore the Gospel is a yoke but sweete It is a burthen but light It is also a strait and a broad way it is a sharpe and pleasant way Let vs heare the words of the Prophet saying Because of the words of thy mouth Psal 119. I haue kept hard wayes Beholde a yoke and a burthen a strait and a narrowe way Let vs heare the same Prophet again In the way of thy Commandements I haue had as great delight as in in all manner of riches Againe I haue runne the way of thy commandements when thou hast set my heart at libertie Behold a helpe of grace 4 For then the way is inlarged and the course easily finished when the heart is made spatious voyd with the fire of loue What is the cause that all the saintes did so great and wonderfull workes and wee so small and the same not without the compulsion of law many times Surely there is no other cause but this they were feruent and we are colde Finally they which complaine of the straitnes of the Lordes wayes séeme to mee not to haue knowne as yet what the Gospel signifieth For what doth the gospel signifie what grace what the Law of loue what the holy Ghost what Christ what Iesus and what a deliuer but a deliuerance but libertie and charitie but swéetnesse and facilitie 35 What this gate is wherof the Lorde speaketh why it is called straite wée haue hitherto shewed now these words are to bée considered Because many I say vnto you shall seeke to enter in and cannot 36 There are thrée sorts of men which shal séeke to enter in and yet notwithstanding cannot and there is also a fourth kinde which doe not so much as séeke to enter in 37 There are some therefore which séeke to enter into the kingdom of heauen but they do not therefore enter because they doe not séeke to passe and enter by the straite gate but by the broad way And of this sort are the Mahometans the Iewes Heretickes Papists Sectaries and all Infidels The Mahometans seeke to ender and to be saued but therefore they enter not and cannot be saued because they enter not by the strait gate Christ but by the broad gate Mahomet For when Mahomet saw the straitnesse of Christian Religion hée opened a certaine other gate broad and wide which leadeth the direct way vnto hell 38 Behold and sée what a wide gate Mahomet hath set open he hath taught nothing to bee beléeued which excéedeth mans vnderstanding no Trinitie no Incarnation no death or resurrection of the Sonne of God Also hee hath taught to hope for nothing which the eye séeth not and the eare heareth not but floods of milke honey and wine fulnesse of venerie and fulfilling of lusts multitude of seruants continuall sportes and banquets this he would haue to be the felicitie of the blessed 39 The Papistes also set open a very wide gate when they teach men to merite heauen by workes to purchase vnto themselues with mony pardon for their sins past to come to redéeme their soules out of Purgatory fire by purchasing infinite Masses Dirges with money to be sung after their death to haue absolution of their sinnes by confessioÌ„ to a Priest with diuers other points of like sort which maketh the way very broad and open for rich men but straite and narrow for the poore 40 In like manner al Heretikes Scismatickes which cannot endure and abide the straits of this gate doe open euery one to himselfe a proper gate The Family of Loue hath a peculiar gate the Anabaptists Libertines a wide gate and the Brownists and Barrowists at this time a fantasticall gate all which séeke an equalitie of states and persons a common participation of other mens portions a sacrilegious spoyle of the Lordes treasurie and sanctuary with Athalia whereby they open the broad way of disorder and confusion and a libertie to all sinne and wickednes and yet by these gates which stand so wide open a great multitude of men doe dayly enter 41 All which the Lord calleth back with these words Striue ye to enter in at the strait gate for many I say vnto you haue sought to enter namely into life and cannot because they enter not in by the straite gate which onelie leadeth vnto life 42 Let not the largenes of the gate moue you What doth it profite to enter easily and not by the straits if ye enter into Hell Nay rather if ye be wise suspect and stand in feare of the broadnes of the gate and of the facility of faith Strait is the gate and narrow is the way which leadeth vnto life And that is true Christian faith which for the déepnes and excellencie of her mysteries requireth this that vnderstanding be captiued of will 43 There are yet another sort which desire to enter in by the straite gate but they come too late and therfore séeking to enter in cannot Hee that stept not in quickly and at the first into the water of the poole Bethesda after the Angell had stirred the same Ioâ—â— â— lost the benefite of healing and great were the liberties and priuiledges which the Israelites had in that great yeere of Iubile which was euery fifty yéere and he that chalenged not his fréedome in this time afterwares lost it Euen so now is the time of health wherein the Archangell Christ Iesus maketh the water of life effectuall to our saluation now also is that great Iubile wherein we
nature that there is nothing that we can more hardly digest then the forgiuing of iniuries For the which cause let vs vnderstand and knowe that by how much this forgiuenesse which God requireth is hard vnto vs by so much it is a greater argument vnto men that they are the sonnes of God which doe easily forgiue and forget iniuries and with their heart loue their enemies For herein they do shew foorth a certaine likenes vnto God their Father who loued vs as the Apostle saith when we were his enemies and reconciled vnto himselfe being redeemed by the death of his onely Sonne from eternall damnation Pray saith our Sauiour Christ for them that persecute you Mat 5. and say all maner of euill sayings against you that ye may be the children of your Father in heauen who suffereth his sunne to shine vpon the iust and vpon the vniust 18 The example also of our Sauiour Christ maketh this matter yet more manifest the which we ought alwaies to haue before our eyes For he hauing not so much as any suspition of sinne yet being buffeted spit vpon whipped blasphemed crowned with thornes nayled to the Crosse prayed thus for his enemies Luke 23. Father forgiue them for they wote not what they doe 19 There are many other most waightie reasons which the Fathers haue vsed to suppresse their frowardnesse which are most obstinate and wilfully bent to reuenge One is to giue him to vnderstande that hath the iniurie done vnto him that the same is not the principall cause of the iniurie which he desireth to reuenge For all those things whatsoeuer which we suffer in this life doe come from the Lord who is the author and fountaine of all righteousnes and mercie For God doth correct and chastice vs as his sonnes wherein he vseth his creatures as his ministers which can hurt vs in nothing but in those things which befall outwardly But euery man may most wickedly hurt himselfe and defile his owne mind with hatred enuy These things that most rare man Iob vnderstood who being vexed of the Sebeans Caldeans and the diuel himselfe vsed these words The Lord gaue Iob. 1.21 Gen 45. 2. Sam. 19 and the Lord hath taken Thus Ioseph forgaue the iniuries which his brethren did vnto him Thus Dauid bare patiently the iniuries which Shemei did vnto him It is great magnanimitie in a man when he hath receiued a wound not to feele or regard the harme 20 A second reason is that they which do not forgiue shall not be forgiuen of the Lord. For 1. Iohn 3. Eccle. 28. he that hateth his brother as S. Iohn saith abideth in death And Sirach saith Hee that seeketh vengeance shall find vengeance of the Lord. 21 The third reason comprehendeth those incommodities into the which we then fall when we will not forgiue the iniuries that are done vnto vs. For it is most certaine that hatred is not onely a grieuous sin in it selfe but also by continuance it striketh more fast into our mindes is made greater In so much that the man which fostereth hatred in minde and desireth reuenge with hope to preuaile against his enemie at the last is so continually troubled day and night that hée neuer can put that wicked cogitation out of his minde whereby oft times it commeth to passe that the malicious man will sooner goe downe into hell then be brought to forgiue and with his whole heart to remit the iniurie Wherefore hatred is rightly compared to a wound wherein the head of the dart or arrow remaineth fast still 22 There are many other inconueniences and sinnes which are fast linked to this sinne of hatred Therefore Saint Iohn saith He which hateth his brother is in darkenesse and walketh in darknesse and knoweth not whither he goeth because the darknesse hath blinded his eyes Therefore of necessitie he cannot but stumble and fall For how is it possible that a man should allowe or like eyther of his words or déeds whom he hateth Héereof therefore come rash iudgementes wrath enuie slaunderings reprochfull raylings and many such like euery one of the which bring men in danger of hel-fire wherof he is guiltie as appeareth by the testimonie of Christ which saith but so much as Thou foole Math. 5. What then doth continuall hatred and back-biting raylers and slaunderers deserue 23 Let vs therefore follow the counsell and admonition of Iesus Christ as wée tender the remission of our sinnes Forgiue and ye shall be forgiuen For as Tertullian saith most comfortably Si apud Deum deposueris iniuriam ipse vltâ—r est Si damnum restitutor est Si doloreÌ„ medicus est Si morteÌ„ resuscitator est That is to say If thou lay downe the iniurie that is done vnto thee before Gods tribunall seate he is thy reuenger If thy losse he is thy restorer If thy griefe he is thy Physition If thy death he is thy resurrection and thy life Now therefore as Gods elect put on the bowels of mercy kindnesse humblenesse of minde méeknesse long suffering Coloss 3. forbearing one another and forgiuing one another if any haue a quarrell to another as Christ forgaue euen so doe yée So shalt thou peaceably procéede in thy pilgrimage CHAP. VIII Concerning Blessednesse and Felicitie IT is written in the ninetie one Psalme There shal no euill happen vnto thee neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling These wordes of the Prophet Dauid may beare a two folde interpretation First that they which are héere in this life vnder the protection of the Almightie are frée from all euil Secondly they containe a propheticall promise concerning the life to come And wheÌ„ we be in that heauenly Tabernacle of the which it is said in another place Psal 84. O Lord of Hostes how amiable are thy tabernacles My soule longeth yea and fainteth for the Courtes of the Lord. And the Lord in the Gospel saith Lu. 9.16 I say vnto you make you friendes of the vnrighteous Mammon that when yee want they may receiue you into their euerlasting habitations And the Authour of the Epistle to the Hebrewes saith Heb. 9. Christ beeing a High Priest of good things to come by a greater and a more perfect Tabernacle not made with handes that is not of this building neither by the blood of Goates and calues but by his owne blood entred hee in once into the Holy place and obtained eternall redemption for vs. Also Saint Iohn in his Apocalips Beholde Apoc. 21. the Tabernacle of God is with men and he wil dwell with them and they shall bee his people and God himselfe shall bee their God with them And God shall wipe away all teares from their eyes and there shall bee no more death neither sorrowe neither crying neither shall there bee any more paine for the first things are passed When I say wée bee in this heauenly Tabernacle then shal no euill happen vnto vs neither shal any plague
an end But the ioyes of heauen are so perfect that nothing can be added to them nor taken away from them and therefore perpetual This therefore is the moste happy and blessed place to build and set vp a Tabernacle where no manner of euill shall happen vnto vs nor any plague come neare vs. Therfore stand fast in this station against all temptation so shalt thou the more chearefully shake off all carnall burdens and recreate thy selfe in this paineful pilgrimage CHAP. IX Concerning the libertie of Gods children LIbertie is a thing very pleasant delectable and more wished for then any thing in the world in so much that we by experience sée that not only men but also beasts doe greatly desire liberty do prefer it before all other things The little birds whether it be that of Canary or the Nightingale with whose swéete tunes men are delighted being shut in cages are serued most daintily without their wonted labour to seeke their foode and yet for al this so great is the loue of liberty that many times they wil neither sing nor eate being sullen and full of sorrow and if they can they will gladly escape out of their cage more desiring to get their liuing with labour in the cold aire then to be kept captiue in Pallaces with the delightes of Kings It this desire be in beasts and birdes which are deuoide of reason what great account ought man to make of liberty who alone should be fréed yet neuertheles is ofteÌ„ times coÌ„pelled to serue most cruel maisters 2 There are two sorts of liberty The one is a true liberty the other is false The true liberty is that which we haue by regeneration by which we haue the participation of the spirite of Christ through the which wée are freed from the tyranny and inuasion of sinne and our mindes prepared vnto good workes by the power whereof the Apostle Paul saith thus I can doe all things through him that strengtheneth me And againe It is God that worketh in you both the will Philip. 4. Philip. 2. Iohn 8. and also the deed Wherfore our sauiour Christ saith If the Sonne make you free then are you free in deede 3 And although all corruption of the affections of mans minde be not taken away yet it is so maimed and weakened by the power of the holy ghost that it is not able as afore to hinder the making of a right choise and this is the true fréedome liberty which we haue by our regeneration Of this libertie Saint Augustine speaketh thus August in sententiis suis sententia 53. A good man is neuer seruant but is alway Lord of all things howsoeuer hee seemeth to bee in seruitude and bondage And contrariwise a wicked man although hee seeme to be free yet hee is a seruant and that not of one man alone but hee serueth so many maisters as hee hath sinnes 4 Then that is a false liberty which maketh the body onely frée and leaueth the minde subiect to sinne and wickednesse most miserably to serue them For I am perswaded that neither Alexander nor Caesar were frée although they commaunded the whole world so long as they most filthily serued their sins Neither can I say that Peter and Paul were seruants being imprisoned and kept in chaines and bondes when as notwithstanding in minde they went fréely throughout the world and by their letters as by a kings letters pattents deliuered and set at liberty daily an infinite sort of men For as man differeth from bruite beasts not so much in the members of his body as in the vertues of the minde euen so not the liberty of the body but the liberty of the mind is the true liberty and alone is to be called mans liberty Of the which fréedome and bondage Christ speaketh thus Euery one that doth sinne Iohn 8. is the seruant of sinne and if the Sonne shall make you free then are you free indeede And the Apostle Paul in like manner saith Rom. 6. Knowe yee not that to whom so euer yee giue your selues as seruants to obey his seruants ye are to whom ye obey whether it be of sin vnto death or of obedience vnto righteousnes when ye were the seruants of sinne ye were free from righteousnesse 5 To restore vs vnto this fréedome and libertie from the intollerable bondage and most cruell tyrannie of sinne from the horrible wages and reward thereof which is death our Sauiour Christ hath taken vpon him and vndergone that which is vnspeakable 6 What Orator is able sufficiently to vnfold and declare the tyrannie of sinne and concupiscence First of all doe but consider what a cruell tyrannie the sinne of whordom exerciseth vppon those that are in bondage thereunto And sée what an adulterous woman will doe to satisfie and fulfill the command of this tyrant Shée knoweth verie well that if her husband happily take her in her wickednes she shal without all doubt he vtterly vndone she shal beside the losse of her good name riches friendes and credite with her parents children and and kindred loose which is more her soule and whatsoeuer is both good in this worlde and in the world to come and shall leaue behinde her perpetuall matter of sorrow and griefe And yet for all this so great is the force of her affection and the tyranny of this wickednesse so insatiable that this miserable woman is constrained to incurre all these perils though very fearefull and euident and to deuoure al troubles so that shée may serue her vncleane lust What tyrant hath bene euer heard of so cruel that would haue his captiues to obey and serue him with so great perill and detriment 7 Yea this and the like wickednesses at this day do swallow men vp and so deuoure their whole time that they suffer them to do to say to thinke and to dreame vpon nothing else Wine and Women saith Syrach make wise men runnagates Because men being made drunken with the loue of carnal pleasures are no lesse witlesse to doe all other things and so farre from reason and iudgement as if they had quaffed vp an excéeding quantitie of most strong wine For reason which the fathers call Noctâ—â—am cerebri the braines Gloweworme being once extinguished what are we better then beasts Therefore such men neither the feare of God neither the pricke of conscience neither death neither iudgement neither paradice neither hell nor any other thing wil call backe to a better life And the more secure they are the more busily they endeuour and apply themselues to all manner of wickednesse And they doe constraine not onely the members of their body but also their minde and vnderstanding which by nature is the Lady and most noble part of man to watch day and night and to labour to finde out the meanes and the wayes how to satisfie the lusts of the flesh how to endite songs and Sonnets of loue full of wantonnes and deceite
how to decke and set out themselues with fine apparel with swéete smelles with daunces and other like allurements The which to doe is no better then to wrest the heauenly light of the minde which was made to beholde God to the obedience of a most wicked bond-slaue and to make the minde being withdrawne from heauenly exercises to be subiect vnto the appetites of a most abiect hand-maide 8 Therefore whoredome is a great and intollerable tyranny ouer the minde of man And no lesse is that tyranny of Ambition For behold and see what a heauie yoke ambition layeth vpon his bondmen commanding them that al their words and workes bée wholly imployed as nets and snares to get the common praise and fame of men and it compelleth them also to creepe as it were vpon the ground and to flye through the ayre For man at the commandement of Ambition séeketh to climbe higher then all men to bée subiect to none to rule al men and yet sometime when occasion serueth he prostrateth himselfe and humbleth himselfe to al men Thus the miserable man being contrary to himselfe and deuided in himselfe outwardly preferreth humilitie and in heart pride 9 Furthermore the lawes of this most cruel tyrant are such that if a man doe receiue a litle reproache or detriment eyther by right or by wrong he thinketh that he is vtterly disgraced if hée doe not presently reuenge it and if by no other meanes then to prouoke his enemie to some singular combat and so rather to loose his soule and body then to hazard the least part of his dignitie 10 I omit the tyranny of couetousnes and of other vices which are innumerable affirming with the Prophet Dauid that all the seruants of sinne do sit in darknes and in the shadowe of death fast bound in miserie and iron For what greater blindnesse can be imagined then that man should not know himselfe that he should not know God that he should not know wherefore he liueth and seeth not his bondes his miseries his perils and his harmes 11 And what greater miserie can there be then that miserable man should haue an infinite sort of desires as it were an infinite sort of mouthes stomacks which alwayes barke alwayes craue alwayes hunger and is not able to satisfie and fill so much as one of them 12 But now let vs sée what reward sin giueth vnto her seruants for so great labors Let vs harken to the Apostle and he wil tell vs The wages of sinne saith he is death that is to say both the first and the second death For what gall is to the lips a Cockatrice to the eyes a dead carcasse to the nose and Alowes to the taste the same and more is sin to the soule of man 23 Therefore let the bond-slaues of sin and wickednes go and serue their masters let them run into all dangers let them not spare for cost nor labors let them watch day night least peraduenture they be beguiled of so great a stipend O fooles which for the wages of eternal death will willingly beare so heauie a yoke when as with much lesse labour ye might serue righteousnesse who rewardeth her seruants with eternall liâ—e in the kingdome of heauen Wicked men labor and good men labour also both suffer both sweate both delue and digge but good and godly men till that ground likewise husbandmen which is firme sound fruitfull that is to say they exercise themselues in good workes and in sound vertues whereby they rearpe in the ende euerlasting life but wicked and vngodly men plow in the sand and sowe in the flesh and of the same shall receiue the wages of sinne eternal death 14 Therefore whether yée consider the wickednesses by themselues or the wages of the same the seruice of sin must néeds be horrible and wofull But yet there is nothing which doth so much set foorth the miserie of seruitude and the excellency of libertie as the manner of our setting at liberty and the passion of the Deliuerer For God which made the world without labour and as it were with a becke onelie at his will that he might deliuer vs from bondage slauery thought it good to be borne in a stable and was content to die in sorowes and paines But what manner of sorrowes Verilie such that the onely cogitation expectation of them might haue bin able to haue brought him into a bitter agonie to sweate water and bloud plentifullie The suffering of them made the most hard stones to rent the earth to tremble and heauen it selfe to be abashed 15 If God made so great a reckoning of thy libertie that hee vouchsafed to take vpon him the forme of a seruaunt and to liue thrée and thirtie yeares in hunger and thirst in colde in nakednes in fastings in watchings in iorneys in persecutions and in the end to shead forth his most precious heart bloud vppon the Crosse rather then hée would suffer this precious gemme to be taken from out of his handes let vs then acknowledge that excéeding glorie of the sonnes of God wherevnto wée are called which is the mother of all good things which alone is able to giue true peace perfite ioye blessed rest and tranquilitie If the heathen Romains of olde time for a false and fading libertie suffered great perils and death it selfe as Quintus Mutius Scaeuola thrust into the fire his right hand the Decii vowed themselues to the death that their legions of souldiers might bée preserued and get the victory Curtius being armed at all points and mounted vpon a horse threwe himselfe willingly into a gulphe of the earth that the Cittie of Rome might be deliuered from the pestilence for so had the Oracle giuen answere that the wrath of the gods would cease if that which the Romains estéemed best were throwne into that gulph Brutus also for the preseruation of the libertie of his Countrey did not sticke to slay his owne children If the heathen I say estéemed thus of their liberty which is in no point comparable to ours how much ought we to estéeme of that most true liberty wherby we are deliuered from sinne from sathan from death and from the wrath of GOD. They sought humaine praise a thing doubtlesse vnconstant and of small force as appeareth by the saying of the Poet Virgill concerning Brutus His Countries loue him driues and greedie lust of endlesse same But our ende is to approue our selues vnto God whose iudgment cannot be deceiued and to get the prize of the kingdome of heauen and the fellowship of Angels which is set before vs as the ende of our libertie which we séeke to attaine by this Pilgrimage CHAP. X. Concerning the Imitation of Christ THe true and sound perfection of a Christian man coÌ„sisteth in this to imitate Christ so neere as possibly he can for he is the head we are his members he is the captaine we his souldiers he is the Doctor we are his disciples It is said