sottishly vnto them as hee was vexed almost to the death to heare her to tell him she must forsake him and could not loue him if his hart was no more toward her then she saw which yet she spake but in grosse dissembling All bondage is grieuous but what is greater then bondage to an whore when a man cannot but cling to her and be at her lure whose heart is false toward him and seeketh his destruction We must take heed that we rest not in the best things that are subiect to change but much more that wee hang not our securitie vpon deceitfull pleasures especially of all other vpon a wicked alluring woman whō rather then Samson would once thinke of forgoing behold he shameth not to abandon God conscience and all not to speake of the outward mischief that ensued And surely if this be true of Samson who sinned against conscience all this while what shall we say of them who commit secret filthines with greedines and yet without remorse What a death is it to them think we to be pluckt by violence from their old acquaintance which by custom is become as the poore mans lambe whom Nathan describes to Dauid euen as his sonne Therefore when men haue liued a long time in a lewd course without let how welcome is death to them that makes an vtter separation betweene them and their lusts which liued before in as streight league and vnion as the soule and body together Oh bondage vnspeakable to bee inwardly linked to the loue of that which can neither be enioied but with extreame miserie nor forgone but with intollerable vexation Let this be one motiue among others to humble the sinner before God and to shew him how out of measure sinfull his corrupt nature is as also to teach him not so eagerly to pursue his lusts except he will bring a world of sorrow vpon himselfe when the time of forsaking them is come For what though at the last cast many a man renounces the old courses of vngodlines and repents him yea and is ashamed of his doings this is when the conscience is terrified by some violent feare or griefe not while hee hath his will and prospereth in his euil And yet alas who seeth not that these terrors when they seaze vpon any for we must not think they seaze vpō al many dying sots as they liued without feeling for the most part vanish away and come to nothing so that those great penitents if they get vp and recouer their maladie how far doe they put from them the remembrance of the former trouble and shew that it was distastfull vnto them and forced them in the bitternes thereof to say any thing but now they are at libertie they returne againe as naturally to their byas as the stone falleth downward Oh therefore pray and labour that it may bee good which ye set your hearts on and delight in being accounted of you as most precious for the end else will be more bitter in the parting then euer the loue was in enioying Loue the best things and feare not to exceed measure for besides the vnspeakable and sound ioy they affoord this they also yeeld euen a perpetuitie they shall neuer bee pulled away as our Sauiour saith this ioy shall no man take from you Now he was so wrought on by her that as wise as hee thought himselfe in purposing that shee should neuer know that which shee sought at his hands yet because he gaue place to his wicked affections he was not onely snared and in danger as before but now told all vnto her to wit that there neuer came rasor on his head but if his lockes were cut off he should lose his strength which was as much as if he had told her how they might take his life from him and bring all shame and sorrow vpon him as they did in deed and yet more then this hee might though to small effect haue said to her to wit beside all this euill which I shall sustaine hereby I doe also set the Lord against me to depriue me of his grace and all this for thy sake for thus much doubtlesse he suffered for her By which so many good obseruations arise as a wise man may be to seek with which to begin first But briefly of two or three One is this that we shall not need to complaine of the hurt and wrong that other doe vnto vs which how common it is all places doe witnesse for none are greater enemies to vs then our selues Were hee not a monster of men that should offer but the one halfe of this vnto vs that Samson did to himselfe as here may be seene But behold all this and no lesse doe some nay very many offer to themselues We storme rage and crie out of other if they hold but a little of our due from vs and much more if wee sustaine greater hurt by them whereas we by our sinnes worke our owne woe and yet through blind self-loue we are neuer angrie with our selues when yet wee could finde in our hearts to pursue others vnto death Oh rend we our hearts for our sins and be deeply displeased with our selues for them All these Philistims could not haue done Samson the mischiefe which he did himselfe by his owne folly or rather madnesse But if they had attempted any such matter against him as to make him infamous as hee made himselfe would he not streight haue reuenged it Nay did hee not reuenge it in the sequell But to leaue him who sinned not in reuenging and come to our selues who is he that dare but iustly reproue vs for a fault be it neuer so grosse but he shall haue our badge and liuerie presently and we thinke him our enemie and watch our season to be euen with him as Esau dealt with his brother Iacob And yet so farre is a louing reproofe from hurting vs that if wee were the men wee should be it might keepe the hurt we speake of from lighting vpon vs and be as a precious balme vnto our heads Well then will a wise man say I see these men are i alous of themselues and their owne hurt if they can endure no other to touch them but they will flee in his face they will be long enough it is to be hoped ere they wrong themselues willingly Indeede the reason is sensible but the proofe is most preposterous For that man that will not take the losse of a penny at anothers hand without storming will spend many a pound to haue his wicked desire satisfied nay he will vndoe himselfe and strip himselfe of all he hath and yet thinke neuer the worse of himselfe when hee hath done nay no man may tell him of it neither Therefore if we will preuent outcries and late repentance for time to come for there is a time when such fooles crie out I am lost I haue vndone my selfe let vs
are wise to doe euill but to doe well they haue no knowledge The Lord himselfe bewaileth this brutishnes in men that like vnreasonable creatures they minde onely that which is present and before their eyes but oh saith hee that my people were wise and did consider their end For that is wisdome indeed which seeing the most doe want therefore they neuer enioy the thousand part of sweet liuing heere as they might doe Now the holy story hauing spoken of the workes which Ioshua and the people did in his life maketh mention of his death as that which followeth when all the actions of life are ended And therefore Dauid when hee was departing hence said I goe the way of all the world As wee haue therefore heard much of the actions of our life so let vs heare some what of death as the text giueth vs leaue and occasion And in that we heare that he died the seruant of the Lord as hee had long liued and had done so many worthie things in his life death and departure hence being so solemne a thing as it is we should bee much moued not onely to thinke vpon the end of all flesh but especially of our owne death and to prepare for it aboue all things and to learne to die that so wee might with him die the seruants of God Which though to a naturall man it be imposible yet the Lord maketh it tolerable yea easie and a welcome thing to all such as haue first learned to liue well heere or at least are fit to die For perseuerance in good life meeteth with a good death and ioyfully embraceth it in which respect Salomon saith that the day of death is better then the day of birth as being the entrance into life And therefore the text saith Ioshua the seruant of the Lord died noting that his death was not as the death of euery common man but a blessed death and a rest from the worke of the Lord in which hee had been faithfull in his life and therfore now looking for his reward from the Lord a bountifull paymaister death was welcome to him As it is reported of an ancient Father of the Church that being 80. yeeres old and being then to bid farewell to his friends said Thus long haue I serued the Lord and now it grieueth mee not to die for I haue a good master thereby meaning that death was far more welcome to him then life euen as that day is to a faithfull seruant wherein he is to receiue liberall wages for his long seruice then all the daies are that went before And thus S. Paul speaketh of Dauid that when he had serued his time he slept meaning that hee rested from his labours in body while his soule returned to God who gaue it And when we haue learned and fitted our selues to die then the hearing of death and the beholding it in other is a fit meane to quicken vs to the looking after it our selues and to further and confirme vs in readinesse to die well considering deepely of it and of our owne mortality with it And it much helpeth to thinke vpon the infinite thousands mentioned in the Scriptures who haue been taken hence by death and namely the rolles of Kings such as haue been more noble and memorable persons who seemed to haue an eternity heere by their dignity pompe and prerogatiues aboue other men as also among our selues more neerely to hearken after and thinke vpon the death of such as wee haue knowne or liued with oh it doth not a little helpe to cracke the pride of life in vs and to prepare for death All which in fit seasons and vpon good consideration being set before our eyes are singuler meanes to fasten this meditation vpon vs that wee also may willingly and readily giue place to death and this shall much easilier and the better bee while by our reioycing that we haue in Christ Iesus our Lord wee die daily before death doe come By meanes whereof as it is vncertaine when we see any to die among vs who shall bee next so euery one should put forward himselfe as the Apostle did in a case not vnlike being told by their master that one of them should betray him euery one asked for himselfe saying is it I master Euen so I say we ought to resolue euery one for himselfe that he may be the next that so death may the better be prouided for And let this serue by this occasion for a meditation of death His old age being an hundred and ten yeeres are reckoned as an honour to him that being so commended for his godlinesse hee liued so long To whom Moses and Caleb may bee added full of yeeres and grace Doubtlesse it is no lesse to a man seruing God so religiously so long a time For it is not an honour bestowed vpon all to become fathers and worthies in the Church for their long continuance in grace when we see the loue of so many to waxe cold and a farre greater number to bee reprochfull in their age But gray haires are a comely ornament when they are found in the way of righteousnesse For although it bee happinesse for the people of God to die betimes seeing to bee with Christ is best of all yet to liue long heere if God may be honoured by vs in our life is an high honour also another way euen by doing much good And so Dauid confessed saying If I may liue to keepe thy word for thereby God is glorified I shall count it a great bountie vnto me Which reason Dauid and Hezekiah vsed desiring life to this end saying The liuing the liuing shall praise thee Esa 38. 19. And in the Psal None can worship thee in the graue This a man would thinke should stir vp all that haue made good beginnings in Christian life to long after perseuerance therein yea though they liue vnto old age and that they may bee experienced and well seene in the waies of God that so they may declare them to others Which as it is rare and few mens cases to doe so it is their honour that doe it and their benefit who enioy it I speake this to the shame of such as doe by small occasions depart from good beginnings and in the pride of their hearts and contempt of other take conceits against their brethren who hold constantly the profession of their hope and breake off their fellowship with them directly contrary to the word of God or some other way depart from a good course so that few such doe hold out to the end in their good beginnings but lose that honour that Ioshua had who in his old age died as he had long liued to wit the seruant of the Almighty then the which title the Angels had no greater honour It is further added of Ioshua that he was buried in his owne inheritance which was
benefits to them as the other did and deliuerances and chargeth them with disobedience also Out of these words wee may see it is a fit time for preaching to worke when men are inwardly stung with smart of their afflictions as it appeareth these were when the man of God was sent to preach vnto them for then mâ—n will suffer themselues more easily to be reproued for their sinnes and will cause themselues as they see cause and the word is receiued into their hearts more readily whereas they are otherwise most commonly hardned and hate to be reproued And yet further then men come prepared to our daily and ordinarie preaching it profiteth them nothing The danger is this that they are like to quench the spirit after and to dull the edge of such good beginnings of grace in them which will most certainly come to passe if they be not carefull to stirre them vp daily Men while they haue elbow roome thinke that the preacher yea God himselfe must be beholding to them for their hearing but when God hath them cooped in a narrow compasse his roddes being held ouer them then the Preacher is welcome yea sought to earnestly and God is plied with confessions and prayers We see it though with griefe and haue too great experience of it in the practise of the secure and irreligious sort who though they mind not God all the yeere long yet fall to prayer and deuotion when some great thundring lightning and tempest doth astonish them and when the likelihood of death is vpon them His word they heare daily without any great reuerence but his terrible workes seene and felt though but seldome make them hide themselues in corners for feare By whose example we see what need the Lord hath to bore eares into our soules by terror and amasing iudgements as Iob speakes chap. 33. because his word is wound about mens fingers and made but as the confused noise of many waters and as a sound beating the aire going in at one eare and out as fast at the other Let not such boast themselues as are spared except they applie themselues to the hearing of Gods voyce by the Minister who can skill to doe his message with more regard and earnestnes for either the more is behind if they belong to God and they must haue somewhat to quicken their appetite thereto and to make it sinke deeply into their hearts and worke vpon them powerfully for their good or else woe be vnto them the Lord in all likelihood hath cast them off and taketh no pleasure in them and greatly it is to be feared that when affliction shall come vpon them yet by reason of that their former vnbeliefe and contempt of instruction they shall doe them little good The thing that they should doe is this when the Lord laieth his hand vpon them let them examine themselues touching their affection to the word and how little they were moued by it in the time of their health prosperitie and so they may easily finde that their blockishnesse and carelesse or vnprofitable hearing their deadnes fulnes of stomacke and such like with earthlinesse wearinesse wandring drowzinesse c. haue caused the Lord to send such trials vpon them be they inward or outward as might grinde off their flat and blunt edge and set on a sharper and keener vpon them that with desire and meeknes they may embrace the word and finde it sauourie to their taste till it haue wrought vpon them as it ought that is euen to cast them into the mould of it And this let such know that if their afflictions tame them not nor meeken their spirits vnder the hand of God but that they fight against him as Pharao did and will not see and vse well this season which is offered them that if they be deliuered once againe out of them they may haue sound preaching in all high reuerence let them know I say that their case is wofull and desperate For as the Lord saith in the like case by his Prophet O people how shall I intreate thee or what shall I doe vnto thee So he may say vnto them for he hath no other physicke then his word mercies and chastisements If none of all them can breake the heart there is no helpe nor hope that if he should vse extraordinary courses which they are not to looke for that hee should preuaile any more with them then he did with the Priests who going against their consciences in bringing Christ to his death were no more moued with his resurrection Therefore they are wisest who put not the Lord to this extremitie but hearken to him when he speaketh and offereth them faire by the voyce of his messengers and deferre not till affliction as a second warning be sent vnto them lest then also they be found alike vnprouided and being hardned lest God should not vouchsafe them that mercie to mollifie soften them as the truth is they who tempt him so farre by presumption doe not easily recouer themselues though God doe visit them by his corrections or iudgements but rather for the most part go further from him and increase their rebellion But whether these men cried out being forced thereto by their many and sore afflictions or no this is sure that when the man of God had deliuered his message to them and had shewed them their vnthankfulnes to God for their many deliuerances and had conuicted them of their disobedience they did then crie out in token of their great griefe for their offending God as their fathers before had done Here not to repeate the same things which I noted before out of the like words vttered at Bochim this is to be marked that the Lord here sent his messenger as he did there to call the people to consideration of themselues and their doings and we see what need they had thereof All generations declare what they are and to what wrack and ruine they come who are not helped and that in due time and season with this wholesome instruction from God that the righteous smiting them they may not fall into the hands of the vngodly to be rung about by them to their vtter shame and reproch and so fall into the iawes of the diuell to be vndone without recouerie And when the Lord dealeth so graciously with any as that they may enioy this benefit of sound teaching let them beware that they harden not their hearts at the hearing of it the oftner they heare the happier it is for them but with meekenes receiue it that it may bring foorth fruite in them plentifully euen to eternall life The Prophet who was sent vnto them puts them first in minde of Gods benefits and many deliuerances from their enemies The next thing here to be considered of vs out of these words in the 8. and 9. verses beside that which we haue heard by the like occasion is this that we record
of a Father fit to be vrged vpon such He that made thee without thee will not saue thee without thee He will not saue thee for thy labours sake but by thy labour They that gathered more Manna then their fellowes got nothing thereby but it fareth otherwise here gather much and haue much labour little and haue little euen as the Apostle speaketh of another thing on the contrary he that soweth sparingly shall reape sparingly As we mete to the Lord so will he measure out to vs againe He that laboureth not eateâ—â— not but he that laboureth much enioyeth the fruite thereof some thirtie some sixtie some an hundred fold euen as his diligence is Oh it is strange to see how men set themselues to work in earthly businesse wherein yet they haue no absolute promise of thriuing because faith the chiefe help is wanting but here where the Lord hath tyed himselfe to blesse their labour with abundance men haue no list to stirre A mediocritie of wealth contenteth few and that maketh them so endlesse and restlesse in their desires and traulles but the commonnest measure of grace pleaseth them best because that is gotten with least trouble It is fearefull that men should doe so much for the fulfilling of their lusts and so little that they might excell in goodnesse But their reward is thereafter And in the meane season God puts as great difference betwix such as there is betweene Alexander Caesar or the like Captaines who were vnwearied also in their conquests and Gedeon or others like who fought the Lords battels and laboured therein by faith in his promises Now it followeth 14 And tooke a seruant of the men of Succoth and enquired of him and hee wrote to him the Princes of Succoth and the Elders thereof euen seuentie and seuen men 15 And he came vnto the men of Succoth and said Behold Zeba and Zalmunna by whom ye vpbrayed me saying Are the hands of Zeba and Zalmunna already in thy hands that we should giue bread vnto thy wearie men 16 Then he tooke the Elders of the citie and thornes of the wildernesse and briers and did teare the men of Succoth with them 17 Also he brake downe the tower of Penuel and slew the men of the citie NOw in these verses following it is shewed that when Gedeon had taken the Princes of Midian and was returned to Succoth he seeks diligently to know the names of the chiefe men and Elders thereof and he brought and shewed the Princes Zeba and Zalmunna vnto them for hee kept them aliue not to make his boast of them but that he might shew them that God had deliuered them into his hands as hee made no doubt thereof before that so they might be the more ashamed and accused for that which they had done to him and his men in denying them bread And thereupon hee did vnto them as he had threatned for he tare their flesh to wit of them of Succoth with the thornes and briers of the wildernesse and then ouerthrew the tower of the men of Penuel and slew the citizens either because they insulted more arrogantly then the men of Succoth did or else because they resisted Gedeon trusting in their tower and so were slaine Whether they of Succoth died by the paine punishment as it is most like or whether their flesh was onely torne and yet life remaining in them though the storie doth not declare yet we cannot be ignorant how sore and extreame the paine was What kinde of execution was done vpon the men of Penuel themselues in putting them to death the storie setteth not downe but as it is sure they were slaine so it is not without good probabilitie that the other were torne to death also Gedeon meeting this young man causeth him to set downe the names of the chiefe Elders and gouernours of Succoth in writing as it might be the names of the Aldermen and citizens for he would not trust his owne memorie in so waightie a matter And this hee did because hee would not flie vpon any in rashnes and anger and would be sure by that his aduised deliberation to punish onely those who were guiltie and those were the ancients of the citie As Salomon also was very attentiue in hearing the cause of the harlots To teach vs our dutie in this point that when any fall into our hands to be corrected by vs wee doe not at any time hastily in an angrie mood and without due consideration vse correction but weigh the cause rightly and not reuenge our selues by satisfying our brutish affections vpon the persons yea and to let them also see iust cause why they be corrected And in this wee resemble the Lord himselfe of whom Abraham saith It is farre from the Iudge of the whole world to destroy the righteous with the wicked Genes 18. It is an hard thing to be ruled by the word of God in correcting others whereas flesh looketh to nothing but to the will and reuenge of it selfe and not to the bettering of the partie and the good example of other and discharge of a good conscience before God Therefore S. Paul hath giuen a good rule to all by teaching one kind of correcters namely fathers that they should not be bitter to their children euen as Achan in a waightie case was wisely handled and kindly dealt with by Ioshua in a matter of life and death and was regarded in and concerning his soule when sore punishment was inflicted vpon his bodie Sundrie waies doe men shroud this cursed humour vnder the false habit of zeale or lawfull seueritie sometime to couer their ambition as Iehu in killing Ahabs posteritie sometime couetousnes as Saul in slaying some of the Amalekites sometime pride and reuenge as the Israelites in warring vpon the Beniamites All of them failed of the ground end manner or measure in executing the correction all which being neglected and not obserued doth marre the action be it neuer so lawfull in it selfe and necessarie As when the offending partie seeth not the cause of his correction or is cruelly handled by the correcter who maketh nor the end of his correction or punishment to be the sauing of the partie and to make the sinne odious that he is punished for and the same an example to other And here is iustly condemned the doing of them who say they cannot correct but in anger and while their hearts are exasperated against the partie is if they should say they can neuer doe it rightly or without sinne whereas God saith Be angrie but sinne not for anger doth nothing well Although what neede the word of God or the examples of the Saints bee vsed to shame them whom heathens may shame Of whom some prescribe rules to such as are angrie how they may bridle anger from râ—sh outrage and one among the rest told his seruant I had surely beaten thee but that I was angrie This doctrine is to be
set them to the hold to burne it But good enough for him and thus will men toile and indanger themselues for their pleasure and profit in most base manner though it come to nothing but that they soone lose all as hee did So doe all sorts of men for a poore liuing which yet they oft faile of notwithstanding Whereas in the meane while godlinesse which is the great riches lieth dead by them and by no perswasions can they be brought to seeke after that with the least delighting therein whilest yet God alloweth them time and trauell enough for things meet and necessary For example how duly come they to Sermons and to the Lords Supper though they might reape no small benefit thereby and so doe they accordingly sit wearie and sleepie at the preaching of the word when they be there And yet the most part of men these two actions with prayer being excepted shew not so much resemblance of religion in their whole life beside But oh that euen Gods faithfull seruants did not grow many of them to the like point shewing much vnto wardnesse at the Word and Sacrament when yet they haue approched to both with great reuerence and chearefulnesse in former times If men be asked how they can endure such toile and paines as they take for the world while they be so cold in duties to heauen ward their answere is Man is borne to labour and the world is hard If we labour not we shall neither haue food nor rayment This makes them as the Psalmist saith to rise earely sit vp late fare full hardly and all for a poore liuing Ah poore soules and what when they haue got it not to speake of this how many waies they offend God in getting it and yet they are oft times disappointed of that which they seeke either by their leaud spending it or Gods curse vpon it but I say What when they haue it Doe ye not see that at the solemne day of death when they count all their great gains and fruit of their labor that their soule is yet vnprouided for Was all their life little enough to feed and clothe their bodie and thinke they vpon so short a warning to prouide for their soule Is not a soule of much more value then a body is nay then a world And yet in getting saluation for the soule which the bodie shall fare the better for also yea euen here it shall bee the better able to doe earthly labour with chearefulnesse and without vexation who will put his finger in the cold water for it Who thinks not euery little time bestowed that way toylesome and tedious More particularly to giue all diligence to obtaine faith and repentance as we are commanded how vnwelcome is the charge thereof vnto vs which yet is easilier obtained and with more assured successe if wee so seeke it as if wee would find and is a more durable possession and of more necessary and daily vse and farre more pretious gaine and that which exceeds the riches of Princes without it Vpon the death-bed al this is confessed and yet not once in a whole quarter thought of while men haue life and strength because they want heart and will thereto And generally let all learne this by the men of Shechem how they ioyne themselues to the acquaintance of wicked men for hope of gaine pleasure or preferment for God will meet with and recompence such as they deserue at one time or other As here may be seene where Abimelech for his great promises was repaired and cleaued vnto but what got they in the end who did so Nay while they sought much what did they not lose of that which they had euen to their very liues themselues So they that intend that and seeke commoditie at the hands of such doe as I said in the last point saue one euen bring themselues into bondage to them if they haue any conscience to accuse them For beside this that they are taken vp with such thoughts to wit what gaine they shall get by them after which manner the diuell occupieth them to draw their minds from being better imployed beside this I say it must needs goe ill with them if they professe the Gospell and seeke to keepe a good conscience when they shall consider that by such as Papists Libertines prophane and bad liuers they be held in hope and flattered where the more they get the more they lose and they are then in best case when they haue least to doe with them But alas the most suspect not the seruitude that such labour to bring them into for the borrower is a seruant to the lender and much more the receiuer to the giuer while they hunt for the precious soule of him whose benefactors they would seeme to bee aiming at this marke especially some of them euen to make them the children of hel as fully as themselues be And yet which is farre worse they being so neere lincked in fellowship with them they are so bewitched by their enchaunting and intising words that they cannot tell how to bring themselues backe againe out of the Maze wherein they are I grant such make shift to digest those things till the day of their visitation come but then they be at their wits end Verse 50. Then Abimelech went to Theber and besieged Tebez and tooke it 51. But there was a strong Tower within the Citie and thither fled all the men and women and all the chiefe of the Citie and shut it to them and went vp to the top of the Tower 52. And Abimelech came vp vnto the Tower and fought against it and went hard vnto the doore of the Tower to set it on fire 53. But a certaine woman cast a peece of a milstone vpon Abimelech his head and brake his braine pan 54. Then Abimelech called hastily his Page that bare his harnesse and said vnto him draw thy sword and slay me that men say not of me a woman slew him and his Page thrust him through and he died 55. And when the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead they departed euery man vnto his owne place 56. Thus God rendered the wickednesse of Abimelech which he did vnto his father in slaying his seuentie brethren 57. Also all the wickednesse of the men of Shechem did God bring vpon their heads so vpon them came the curse of Iotham the sonne of Ierubbaal THus we haue heard how God punished the men of Shechem for their sinne against Gedeons sonnes Now how Abimelech was also plagued for the same that the prophecy of Iotham might bee verified vpon them both is laid foorth in these words and followeth vnto the end To the former two mischiefes that Abimelech wrought against the men of Shechem in that he destroyed their Citie and the people that were in it and their strong place and hold that the rest resorted to for safetie and burnt it to these I say the holy story addeth
God heard the voyce of Manoah and the Angell of God came againe to the wife as she sate in the field but Manoah her husband was not with her 10. And the wife made haste and ranne and shewed her husband and said vnto him Behold the man hath appeared vnto me that came vnto me to day 11. And Manoah arose and went after his wife and came to the man and said vnto him Art thou the man that spakest vnto the woman and he said Yea. 12. Then Manoah said Now let thy saying come to passe but how shall we order the childe and doe vnto him 13. And the Angell of the Lord said vnto Manoah The woman must beware of all that I said vnto her 14. She may eate of nothing that commeth of the vine tree she shall not drinke wine nor streng drinke nor eate any vncleane thing let her obserue all that I haue commanded her NOw it followeth how the Angell appeared the second time and that to them both to wit Manoah and his wife and that was thus She like a good wife went and told her husband that such an one some Prophet or man of God appeared to her and told her of such a thing and what she should doe but she said she answered nothing to him againe Then Manoah besought the Lord that he might come againe and hee appeared againe to the woman who immediatly went and called her husband who finding the man of God in the field asked of him both of the former message which he had brought to his wife and also what they should do to the child when it should be borne and he answered him euen as he had before said to his wife Here the woman in her telling her husband of the messenger describeth him thus The fauour of the man of God saith she that appeared to me was as an Angell of God fearefull for so the Hebrew word is translated which signifieth also wonderful and so it is like she said and meant though it be translated fearefull And to preuent all doubts and suspitions further she telleth him that neither she knew him nor from whence hee was neither did he tell her his name But this onely hee said to her that she should beare a sonne and she must abstaine from wine and eate no vncleane thing for the childe should be a Nazarite from his birth vnto his death But let vs now peruse these verses throughout more fully Touching that which she vttereth of the reuerend presence of the Angell I will not insist in it hauing elsewhere noted the substance thereof I begin with this sixth verse where first know we this that the woman by and by going to her husband simply to signifie the matter to him as soone as she receiued the message which equally concerned them both did as became a good wife For so it behoueth that married couples should communicate their mindes one to another matrimony being a societie betwixt two as if they were but one For they ought to haue their fellowship together in imparting heauenly things one with another and earthly also euen as there were both in this matter heauenly seeing the message came in the name of God and from heauen earthly seeing it was of and about a temporall comfort or blessing pertaining to this life to wit of the bearing of a sonne This example betwixt two godly couples doth commend to vs the sociable and kind agreement and liuing together in mariage that both be of one minde in good things and shew foorth their inward consent in affection by the tokens of communion in outward things concerning them both as Abraham and Sarah Isaac and Rebecca with many other did And as God hath commanded that it should be thus so in like manner it standeth with all sound reason that they who are so neerely linked together in cohabitation and fellowship should be neerely affected and agree together most kindly Therefore Salomon wisheth the husband to reioyce in his wife and that she should be as the louing Hinde and pleasant Roe before him And so we should see cause why mariage should bee counted a singular benefit as the Scripture calleth it Concerning the which though some couples voide of religion haue some shadow hereof seeing they agree in vpholding the familie and in gathering wealth one with the other yet they are out and in their loue is not constant but full of vnsoundnes dislikes dissimulation inconstancie and vnquietnes for they want the principall which is some true measure of the feare of God for that is the chiefe staier of debate and the nourisher of true loue betwixt them which should therefore be laid for at their first comming together or else will hardly be wrought in them after But this kinde agreement betwixt couples is so farre from the most that strangenes and wearines one of the other doth soone meete with them with other blemishes manifold which deface the beautie of mariage exceedingly And yet lest while I vrge this consent some couples should catch more libertie then I or the Lord allow them let me adde that their agreement must be in things warrantable or else they rather band themselues together against the Lord and abuse his ordinance For they are not yoked together that they may ioyne their wits wils to do mischief as Ahab and Iezabel Ananias and Saphira which is not to be helpers of each other as they come together to that end except it be to euill and to hell This I say because many couples are neuer at one but when they consent in euill then they are as close as barke and tree where they should differ and disswade each other but in good duties their mutuall affections are so farre from ioyning that they are repugnant and diuided each from other as farre as may bee By vertue of this holy concord great is the blessing and sweete is the fruite of this ordinance In all duties of the familie as education of children in all actions of Gods worship in the workes of loue to the Saints in the vse of their lawfull liberties c. with freedome of minde what ioy and contentment ariseth in this vnanimitie and amitie betweene them which otherwise is much impeached And the fruite of this accompanieth them in their inward troubles of mind and outward crosses of body and estate the one being strengthened comforted resolued and holpen by the wisedome knowledge and assistance of the other Yea surely the precious memorie of this agreement remaineth as a pledge in the bosome of the suruiuor when death hath made a breach betweene them But woe to him that is alone double woe to couples that are diuided where the one scorneth to communicate with the other and the wife chuseth any to breake her minde to rather then her husband But to returne as the woman is to bee commended for telling her husband so the more she deserueth it seeing that the partie that appeared to her
his ministery empaireth and spendeth his strength and health can be said to be the procurer of his owne vntimely death for he hath spent his strength in his calling to which end God gaue it him And as Paul said he was ready to be bound and to die for the Lord Iesus so Samson said let me lose my life with the Philistims He runneth not rashly to death but followeth his vocation and if death come therewith vnto him he yeelds to it willingly and the rather because he had brought this necessity vpon himselfe by his owne sinne and hee could no otherwise pursue Gods enemies then with hazard of his owne life Euen as valiant souldiers who seeke not death but yet looke for no other The vse of this to vs is this that as wee should abhorre the least sinne this way yea the very speech or thought intending and seeking our owne death so yet it is our duty to walke in the estate in the which God hath set vs in such wise that we be not onely ready fit and willing to die but also if God will in our faithfull discharge of our duties meet with vs by death as hee did with the Apostles then to bee readie to yeeld to it and to remember That hee who loseth his life for Gods sake shall finde it And therefore let neither our life nor any thing we haue be thought too good for him who requires it And though all lose not their liues yet many doe forgoe other commodities which were not commendable in them if it were not for Gods cause Very Heathens when they spake according to their light saw it to be vnnaturall for men to deuoure themselues And as the souldier may not disranke himselfe or forsake his station without his Emperours permission who hath set him in his place so neither ought any to destroy his owne life and soule by wilfull death but waite the time that God hath appointed Indeed the Heathen saw not thus much that a man might not auoide apparant perill of violent death whether by an incurable disease as one of them starued himselfe to death to free himselfe from the stone or by the pursuit of their enemies This they made themselues erroneously beleeue to be magnanimity and the waiting for death in that case cowardise And like to them are many brutish people among vs who in some great distresse of mind or shame which their owne sinne hath brought vpon them bereaue themselues of their liues like Iudas and Abimelech And others being crossed but in a small matter are ready to wish themselues as deepe in the ground as they are high too And euen Christians often forget themselues and haue this pang vpon them to curse the day of their birth and to desire death I doubt not but many doe it in rashnesse for if death came and offered it selfe they would recant but howsoeuer it bee both this rashnesse and the other madnesse is vtterly vnbeseeming Christians and a token of an vnsauorie heart little seasoned with the doctrine of confidence and patience And if a wise man weigh it there is more cowardlinesse in preuenting trouble or crosses by violence then enduring them patiently And let such as the diuell hath woond in withall so farre as to worke vpon their melancholy and terrours of conscience or weaknesse of nature by such dangerous tentations as these to drowne hang stab themselues abusing the Scripture and such examples as this of Samson to that end let such I say bee fenced well against his malice by this instruction answering with our Sauiour in the like case Auoide Satan I dare not tempt the Lord my God But to returne a little to Samson It is so farre off from equitie to condemne that last act of his in losing his life with the Philistims that it was far to be preferred before his other annoying of them and euen his greatest auengings of them For he slew many more of them now at his death then he did in his life And was therein a liuely figure of our Sauiour Christ who though he destroyed the workes of the diuell in his life euen as hee came to the same end and foiled him shrewdly many waies yet at his death he triumphed ouer him led him captiue Both their acts I meane Samsons and Christs doe shew as in a glasse what we all should doe namely endeuour to doe the best good at our death which shall the better bee done if we lay for it in our life For liue well and dye better because wee ratifie and confirme all the good we did while we liued when we iustifie it at our death And this is one fruite and peece of honour that a good life receiueth that a good death followeth it Oh therefore begin wee betimes to feare God and as we are commanded remember we our maker in the daies of our youth and let it not bee tedious to vs to nourish those good beginnings that our last end may be like both or else an hundred to one that we shall haue small cause to reioyce in our end that I say no more And the like in this particular may bee said of the death of the righteous which is said of Samson yea and much more And it affoordeth no small encouragement to al such as are faithfull in the work of the Lord I meane in rooting out and destroying the enemies of their owne soules especially the corruption of their nature and the fleshly lusts which issue frō thence Their watchfulnes and diligence in suppressing them ought to be daily their prayers constant their faith in Gods almightie power to which nothing is impossible as armour ought continually to be exercised in the assaulting of their concupiscence and the fruites thereof And though they yeeld not at the first because they are strong and mightie yet hauing receiued their deadly blow at first by the death of Christ they shal decay sensibly and at death be quite abolished as the walles of Iericho fell downe the seuenth day of the compassing thereof Thus Samson dieth with the Philistims but in a most contrary and vnlike manner For they dyed in riot idolatrie crueltie and impenitencie but he in faith and as Stephen did in calling vpon the name of the Lord. So let it be well laid for and looked to that though wee must dye with the bad yet we may in no wise dye as they doe And so the outward manner of death though in paine disease and kinde of death it bee one and the same to vs and them as the Wise man saith to wit As the foole dyeth so dyeth the wise yet all that can iudge will say that wee must not measure the godlines and happy estate of men by outward things though they fall out alike to both And by this let vs beware that we feare not death with the wicked who say in token thereof we must dye but waite wee for