A TREATISE of the great and generall daye of Iudgement Necessarie for euery Christian that wisheth good successe to his Soule at that great and terrible day By Henrie Greenwood Master of Arts and Preacher of the word of God With an addition of certaine godly prayers the contents appeare in the next page But I say vnto you that of euery idle word that men shall speak they shall giue account therof at the day of iudgement Mat. 12.36 The contents of the Praiers A short disputation betweene the diuell and the poore soule of a christian A short death-bed dialogue A praier for the morning A praier for the Euening A thanksgiuing for our late deliuerance A prayer comprehending the matter of the last iudgement A short prayer of purpose against Sathans assaults A short prayer at hand vpon all occasions A prayer for all sorts ⧠TO THE Right Worshipfull and my very good friends LESTRANGE MORDAVNT of Massingham Hall in the County of Norfolke Esquire and Mâ— MARGARET MORDAVNT his louing bedfellow Eternall welfare and euerlasting happines in Christ Iesus our Lord and Sauiour BEeing earnestlye requested and often intreated Righte worshippefull by manye of my good friendes to putte in printe this small Treatise of the Generall day of doome which I lately preached and in publike place deliuered I haue being ouercome with their perswasions condescended to their earnest demaund although very vnapt and exceedingly vnworthy for the penning of so worthy a matter Wherefore I haue made choyse crauing pardoÌ„ for my presumption herein of your well disposed worship at this time being the Alpha of my tender and slender endeuours to sound in your sacred cares this last and generall trumpet to dedicate to your worship the same both in regard of the demonstration of my true vnfamed and lasting thankfulnesse to your benigne worship for saith Seneca Beneficium hominem gratuÌ„ semper delectat ingratum semel id est A thankfull man will alway remember a benefit but an vnthankfull person wil soone forget it for your extraordinary Kindnesses bestowed vpoÌ„ me Absque vllo demerito without any desert in the world as also in regard of the greateâ— affection good deuotion and thrice welcom entertainment you beare to diuine and spiritual tractates which appertain to the euerlasting blisse of the soule accounting theÌ„ blessed which bring glad tidings of saluation I desire therfore idque more humillimo in most submissiue maÌ„ner this one thing at your worships hand that you would pardoning my boldnesse vouchsafe aequi bonique consulere to take in good worth this simple and slender gift Which thing if your worship shall vouchsafe to doe it shall not onely be an incouragement to my future proceedings but also it shall be vinculum in dissolubile an inuincible bond to tie me in all duty in al loue to your worship dum memor ipse mei duÌ„ spiritus hos regit artus so loÌ„g as life shal last Thus huÌ„bly taking my leaue of your good worships nothing doubting of the goodnes of your natures in the acceptaÌ„ce of these my first preseÌ„ted fruits I coÌ„mit you with yours to the safe protection of the almighty alwaies begging before the throne of his moste glorious Maiesty that he would in this life infuse his holy spirit with all his graces into your heartes aboundantly and in the worlde to come crowne you with the crowne of immortall glory that for Christ Iesus his sake our Lord and only Sauiour AmeÌ„ From Sampford Magna in Essex this 30. of Aprill 1606. Your Worships in all duty for euer to commaund Henry Greenewood A Treatise of the Great and general day of Iudgment necessary for euery Christian that wisheth good successe to his soule at that great and terrible day But I say vnto you that of euery idle word that men shall speake they shall giue an account thereof at the day of â—udgement math 12.36 MAn in regard of the corruption of his nature through the fall of his greate Grandfather Adam who was the foyle of Mankinde the parent of sinne and the author of death to all his posteritie forasmuch as wee were all In Iumbis Adama In his Ioynes as hee is subiect to all sinnes whatsoeuer so is hee especially addicted to the sinne of securitie and carelesnesse Therefore as Adam sleeping securely in his transgression and hiding himselfe from the presence of the Lorde behinde the bush had greate neede of that watchbell from God to rouse him from the sleepe of sinne and to call him againe vnto God Adam vbi es Adam where art thou So as necessary for euery sinful Adamite to raise him vp from the sleepe of sinne wherein hee was borne is this notable Memento this worthy rehearsall of the great and terrible day of doome But I say vnto you c. which wordes of our Sauiour Christ spoken to the scribes and pharisees who would not beleeue that be wrought this miracles by the powrful spirit of God but slanderously and contemptuously tolde him to his face that hee did cast out diuels through Beelzebubs name are as much in effect as if he had said on this manner It account must be rendered at the daye of Iudgement of euery idle word that men shall speake then much more of blaspheamous wordes But I say vnto you that of euery idle worde that men shal speak they shall giue account therof at the general day of Iudgement Ergo much more of blasphemous wordes as yours are in saying that I cast out diuels through the name of Beelzebub So that these words of our Sauiour are nothing else but a true proposition and sound argument drawne A minore ad maius whereby Christ doth prooue the greatnes of punishment that should befall the blaspheamous Pharisees in regarde of the greatnesse of they re sinne In which portion of Scripture fowre things necessarily must be considered 1 The persons that must giue account who they bee 2 Of what things these persons must giue an account 3 To whome must this account bee giuen 4 When this account must bee giuen 1 The persons that muste giue an account they are expressed in this text in general to be meÌ„ That men shall speake Men yea all men must giue an account as wee may reade in the Epistle of Saint Paule to the Corinthians VVee must all appeare before the tribunall seat of Christe that euery man may receiue according to his works All men none excepted of euery age of euery sex and of euery nation ritch and poore Princes and common people noble and ignoble all that haue beene from the beginning of the worlde and shall bee to the end of the same shall appeare before Christs Iudgement seat and giue an account euery one for himselfe to God For It it is appointed vnto men once to die and after that commeth iudgment As it is therfore most sure that al men must die so it is sure that all men most come to iudgment
from the heart of man The Diuell first suggesteth after suggestion commeth cogitatioÌ„ after cogitation followeth affection after affection followeth delectation after delectatioÌ„ followeth consent Now is the sin of thought fully coÌ„mitted after consent followeth operation after operation foloweth custom after custom followeth desperation after desperation followeth defending of sins committed after defending of sinnes committed followeth vaunting boasting and glorying in sinne which is next to damnation it selfe thus the heart is the fountain from whence springeth all sinne whatsoeuer Yet haue wee not many wicked ones in this world that think the sin of heart eye her to â—ee no sinne at all or else but asmall sin that shall neuer bee broughte in question at the day of accouÌ„t But let al these know that as of euery idle word so of euery wicked and sinful thought conceiued and nourished within the hearte of man with full consent to the performance of the same for there is no sinne that can be committed without consent had men yea all men must giue an account I giue all men therefore to the good of their soules this good counsell of Salomon Keepe thyne heart with all diligence for thereout commeth life if thou keepest it not diligently and warily therout wil proceed death I meane sinne whose wages is death The heart is a mill alwais grinding either good corne or bad either good thoughts or bad therefore keep it diligently for thy soules sake let it meditate in the law of god day night abandon all wicked motions that at the day of iudgement thou mayst bee pure bread and fine manches for the bread of life Christ Iesus his table in heaueÌ„ the Lord grant this to me the writer thee the reader and to euery hearer of it 2 We must giue an account of our words Of euery idle word that men shal speak c. Diuers of the learned writers haue diuersly commented of this idle word what it shold be one affirming one thing another another thing Therfore I wil in a word set down the opinions of some of theÌ„ not incoÌ„gruent neither disagreeable to the holy Scripture Gregory saith that Verbum otiosum est quod iusta necessitate pia vâ—â—atate caret That is saith he an idle word which is spokeÌ„ eyther without iust necessity or godly profit Ierome saith that VerbumotiosuÌ„ est quod sine vâ—elitate loquentâ— vel audieÌ„tis profertur that is saith he an idle word which is spokeÌ„ either without edification of the hearer or speaker Basil Omne verbuÌ„ quod non condâ—is ad propositam vtilitatem vanuÌ„â—st otiosum that is Euery word which beloÌ„geth not to an intended profit is a vain and an idle word Maister Iohn Caluin saith that Sermo otiosus pro inutili sumitur qui nihil aedificationis vel fructus affert id est an idle word is takeÌ„ for a word vnprofitable for a word that bringeth with it no fruitful edification So that froÌ„ these descriptions of holy men I doe describe an idle word on this manner Verbum otiosum est quod ad bonam rem non pertinet quod non facit ad gloriaÌ„ dei vinentis quod mutile est infrugiferuÌ„ quod nec loquenteÌ„ nec audienteÌ„ aedificat id est An idle word is that which doth not appertaine to a proposed profit which tendeth not to the glory of the euerliuing God which is vnprofitable vnfruitful which edifieth neither the bearer nor the speaker If then good brethren in christ Iesus so great account must be giuen of euery idle vain fruitles word what account thinke yee shall be giuen for swearing cursing banning and blaspheaming What accouÌ„t shal the swearer giue that hath not one word in his mouth but it is guarded with an execrable oath How common alasse this sinne of swearing is who knoweth not for the small infants and tender childreÌ„ in our streetes haue cursed outhes Ad vnguem At their fingers end yea at their tongues end too What account shall the cursing and â—anning tongue giue that Cruelly Disdainfully and Despightfully speaketh against his neighbour What account shall the blaspheamous person giue that speaketh contemptuously of God saith that Christ did cast out Diuels throgh the name of Ecclzaebâ—b If the iust shall scarce be saued where shall the sinner appeare If account must be made of euery idle word Lord what account shall they make that rappe and vomiteous blasphemies against the terrible Iudge of Heauen and Earth As men thinke and fondly imagine that the sinne of thought vnles it proceed into outward act is but a small sinne so likewise do they imagine of idle wordes that they are but small sinnes and a small account for them shall be giuen But let all the world knowe that no sinne can be said to be smal in respect of it owne nature for the least sinne that can bee committed in the world is so weightie as without repentance had it will sink the sinner downe to the bottomlesse pitt of Hel. Yet not withstanding an idle worde in respect of other sinnes maye bee said to be a smal sinne yet as smal as it is it is able to damme the soul for euer Wel therfore saith Petrus Damianus sermone secuÌ„do de vitio linguae Audiut lingua vaniloqua audiat otiosa linguae au diat panescat intelligat pethorrescat sententiaÌ„ horribilem extremique iudicis terrorem c. that is Hear o vain babling tongue heare â—o idle tongue heare and tremble vnderstand and quake at the hearing of the terrible day of iudgement he that hath hands to slay hath hee not cates to heareâ— he saith that of euery idle worde that men shall speak they shall giue an account therof at the day of iudgement Although an idle word be a small sinne in respect of greater sinnes yet neuertheles an innumerable company of idle words coÌ„gested accumulated and heaped vp together they wil make a nighty sinne Quid peuna lenius quid miltâ— breuius What is lighter then a feather and what is shorter thaÌ„ the seed â—ill Yet notwithstaÌ„ding an innumerable company of feathers truffed vp together wil break the poâ—ters back Smal wer the gnats that troubled Pharao yet they being innumerable ouer came proud Pharao and all the power of Egypt An hour is but a short time but Dâ—m horae horae coÌ„tinua successiona congeritur While on houre by continual succession is added to another the whole cours of our liues is finished Quid saxâ— durius quid aqua liquidius What is harder then a stone and what is softer then the water Yet a wise man saith â—ita cauat lapidem consimitur anâ—us vsu that is Water by continuall droppes doth eate vp the stone and a Ring by continuall vse is worne in pocces So an idle word although it be but a small sin yet many a little makes a mickle many of them heaped vp together make an
transmigration of Babilon to the comming of Christ in the flâ—sh the sixth from the comming of Christe in the flesh to his comming againe to iudgement So that according to his prophecie wee liue in the last age which last age â— called of Iohn hora extrema or hora nouissima the laste hourâ— but how loÌ„g this last houre doth last he that is α and ω the first the last the euerlasting God alone doth know The Hebrewes they boast of the prophecie of Eliah a great man in those daâ—eâ— hee prophecied that the worlde should last 6000 yearâ—s 2000 before the law 2000 vnder the law and 2000 from Christ to Christe If this his prophecie holdes true the world cannot last 400 yeares for since Christe his comming in the flesh it was 1606. at Christes tide last hast according to the computation of the Church from time to time But leauing men and comming to the Scripturs which cannot erre for HumanuÌ„ est errare Man may yea and doth many times erre Sainte Paule saith to the Corinthians Wee are they vpon whome the ends of the world are come If therefore the ends of the worlde were come vpon theÌ„ that liued aboue 1560. yeares ago then surely doomes day caÌ„not now possibly be far off Iames likewise saith Behold the Iudge standeth before the doore Iohn Baptist preached repentance to the Iewes saying repent for the kingdome of heauen is at hand So that by these places of Scripture it is euident that the generall day of Iudgement is at hand as also by the signes tokens which should goe before this day immediatly of which many yea almost all are already fulfilled Moreouer we must deare brethren know that there is a twofolde iudgement the one called a particuler iudgment the other called a generall iudgment 1 The particular iudgemente is exercised and executed vpon euery man immediatly after death which is segregatio anima a corpore a separation of the soule from the bodie Of this particuler iudgemente wee may reade in the Epistle to the Hebrewes It is appointed vnto men that they shall once die and after that commeth iudgemente And though the generall Iudgement commeth not these 4000. years yet particular iudgment coÌ„meth at the day of our death look as we at the day of our death shal be found so shall we bee iudged and as we then shal be iudged so shall wee bee iudged at the general iudgement 2 The generall iudgementâ— of which this Scripture speaketh is exercised and executed vpon all men together by Christe who shall by his power raise all those vp againe that haue beene dead from the beginning of the world to that time and they shall bee presented all together being againe vnited to theire soules before Christes tribunall seate who shall come downe in a cloude from heauen in greate maiesty and glory with thousands of blessed Angels attending vpon him and hee shall giue sentence vpon all in generall the wicked shall be cast into euerlasting fire the godly he shall carry vp with him into caelum Empiraeum the third and highest heauen where he nowe in bodie reigneth remaineth there to reape ioyes vnspeakable for euermore But some man may obiecte and say why I pray you shall there bee a generall iudgement when as all are iudged in the particuler iudgement what shall thee be two iudgements executed There shal notwithstanding the particulâ—r be a generall iudgemente and that for three causes 1 Because in the particuler iudgemeÌ„t the faule of man is iudged onely but then both soule bodie shall be iudged 2 In the particuler iudgemeÌ„t the soule onely is either rewarded or punished but then both soule bodie either shal be rewarded with ioyes or punished with torments 3 There shall be a generall iudgmeÌ„t to declare to all the worlde assembled then together the iuste iudgemente of god that he hath iustly saued the godly iuâ—ly condeÌ„ned the wicked yea the uery wicked themselues shal confes no lesse By reason of this generall iudgement some light braine hereticks their bee the say that ther is no particular iudgmeÌ„t at al that the soul immediatlâ— after death is not iudged for wheras it is said hodie mecuÌ„eris in paradiso to day shalte thou be with me in paradise the speech of our sauiour to the theef they take that word hodie id est to day for 1000 years bring for proofe hereof that place of the Psalmist A thousand yeeres in thy sighte are as yesterday But to answere them this place of Scripture is not so to bee vnderstood as that a thousand yeares shoulde bee taken for a day or a day for a thousand yeares for hee saith not a thousand yeares are a daye but a thousand yeares in the sighte of God that is in respecte of the eternity and euerlastingnesse of god are as a day It is therefore spoken on this manner to expresse the eternitie of God as if hee should say a thousand yeares with man in respect of the eternity of God are but as a daye for as many as are haue beene and euer shall bee the daies of man so many thousand yea so many thousand thousands yeeres is the eternity of God he is-and-the first and the last before all beginnings and shall neuer haue ending Againe they alledge that place of Genesis In that day that thou eatest therof namely of the forbidden fruite thou shalt die the death Now saith the heretique that day they died not but liued many hundred yeers after therfore by a day is vnderstood many hundred yeers But I answer that that day wherin Adam did eat of the forbidden fruit euen that day did hee dye that is that day by sinne hee was separated from God then the which separation no death is greater for Vt vita corporis est anima ita vita animae est deus tolle animaÌ„ perit corpus tolle deuÌ„ moritur animae id est As the soule is the life of the body so God is the life of the soule take away the soule the body dieth take away God the soule is dead So that Adam that day died in soule being separated from the Lord yea that day Adam was made subiect to death in this life and in the life to come that day he had the beginnings of death seasing vppon him for hee was presently cast out of Paradise into the ragged world he was cursed and all his posterity yea hee should haue gone to hell had not the second Adam broken the head of the subtile serpent that inticed him to sin Yea the thiefe vpon the crosse had Paradise that day in soule in which he suffered in body although he had it not in so full measure as hee shall at the generall day when his soule shall take vnto it the body againe hodie to daie thy soule with my soule shall be in Paradise that is in