him to giue the shéepe of his pasture And by his staffe he vnderstandeth â—he strength and power whereby hee will dryue backe his enemies And to this very end was the ministery of the Angels ordained to guarde the flocke of Christ in all safety The Angell of the Lord pitcheth round about them that feare him delyuereth them Psal 34. And againe He shall giue his Angelles charge ouer thee to kepe thee in all thy waies They shall beare thee in their handes that thou dashe not thy foote against a stone Psal 91. And haue not the Patriarkes and the Prophets the people of Israell and the Apostles and the Saints of God founde it so in their disiresses Was not Iacob comforted against Esau by an host of Angels Gen. 32. Was not Elizeus sauegarded by an army of Angels from the Assirians 2. King 6. Was not our blessed Sauiour Christe himselfe ministred vnto by Angels Math. 4. Moste wonderfull is the protection and most tender is the care which the Lord hath ouer his flocke It were a great fauour to allow vnto his flocke a garde of men and to allowe it a band of Princes were exceading and surpassing and incredible loue But to make the Angels garde vs and to pitch round about vs for our safetye what an vnspeakeable prerogatiue is it of his incomparable mercye and bottomles compassion towardes the shéepe of his pasture And lastly this flocke shall escape and goe scotfree in the day of vengeance In the day that I shall do this But what is it the nere or wherein are wee the better when in the meane time our Sauiour Christ telleth his disciples that their estate in this lyfe shall be Tanquam Oues in medio Luporum As shepe in the middest of Wolues Math. 10. Is this all the care he hath of his flock to leaue it in such a case in the middes of Wolues Tush take we no care for the Lordes care ouer his For as the very heare of our heades are numbred and not one of them shall miscary So right deare in the sight of the Lorde is the death of his Saints And if they be but in daunger once he will doe as that same good shepheard did whereof we read in the Gospell Luk. 15. Who hauing but 100. sheepe in all his flocke when one of them went astraye left the rest in the wildernes and sought it out and brought it home into safetye But what if the Lordes flock be left in the middes of Wolues id est Heretickes or tytantes yet the Lorde hathe noe suche purpose rhere to leaue them because they should be deuoured of them but a contrary drift there is which you woulde lyttle thinke That is that this flocke should ouercome and deuoure the Wolues themselues And so much Chrisostome saith Plurimos morsus ab us accipientes non solum non consumuntur sed et illos conuertunt receiuing many bytings of them they are not only not deuoured but they eueÌ„ conuert theÌ„ And this is surely miraculous It were strange to see a shéepe ouercome or kil a wolfe But it is not straunge to sée one of Christes sheepe ouercome or kill one of Sathans Wolues It were a wonder to heare that a sheepe should turne a Wolfe into a sheepe I warrant you that Ouid in all his Metamorphosis hathe none suche But it is not vnlikelye nor vnpossible that one of the Lordes sheepe may of an Heretike make a good Christian and of a tyrant a good Magistrat which is al one in effect And therefore Chrisostome saith multo mirabilius est et maius transmutare mentes eorum quam interficere eos It is a thing much more wonderfull greater to chaunge the minds of Heretikes tyrants then to kill them Taking these Wolues for Heretikes you shall finde that the sheepe of the Lords flocke haue conuerted them and turned them into shéepe The Apostle Andrewe reclaiming Maximilla from Idolatrie to Christianity notwithstanding the displeasure and furye of her Husband Ageas did he not turne a Woulfe into a shéepe The Apostle Iames by his wonderfull constancy wrought a wounderfull feate that is ouercame and rauished the wretch that accused him before the magistrates into so muche that he knew no better waye to make him amendes but to confesse that he himselfe was a Christian as well as the Apostle and asked him forgiuenes for his treatcherye and was willing to drinke of the same cup of torments with him Now what was this but to turne a woulfe into a sheepe But taking wolues for tyrants you may sée and consider how the Lordes flocke hath ouercome them In that S. Steuen prayed for them that stoned him to death In that â— Andrew beeing fastned to the Crosse reioysed tâ—ereat and tould Ageas the tyraunt to his teeth Sicrucem horruissem maiestatem et gloriam crucis Christi nunquam predicassem Had I feared the Crosse I would neuer haue preached the Maiestie and glorye of the Crosse of Christe In that S. Laurence being broyled vpon a gridirone tooke it in so good part that he could finde in his hart to say to Decius the tyraunt Assum est satis versa et manduca One side is broyled enough turne it and then eat part And in that Ignatius beeing caste to wilde beasts to be deuoured spake no worse words then these to Traiane the tyraunt Frumentum Dei sum et per dentes bestiarum commolor vt mundus panis inueniar I am become Gods Wheat and I am to bee ground in the teeth of these wilde beastes that I may proue clean bread In that I say in all these bloody persecutions the patience of Gods saints and seruants was so inuincible howe intollerable so euer were their torments Who had the victorye the woolues or the shéepe The lyke conquest had our Englishe martires in Quéene Maries dayes ouer Bonner Gardener and Storye the bloudethirsty wolues of Antichriste for they did not let to confesse that they thought the Heretykes meaning the Martyres tooke great pleasure in burning they went to it so willingly they endured it so constantly and they yéelded themselues weary with tormenting them The Wolues were weary with deuouring But the Lambes were not weary with suffering a foile a foile No maruaile then if Hillary said Hoc Ecclesiae proprium est dum persequitur floret dum opprimitur crescit dum contemnitur proficit dum leditur vincit dum arguitur intelligit tunc stat cum superari videtur de Trinitat Lib. 4. This is the manner of the Church when it is persecuted it florisheth when it is oppressed it groweth when it is contemned it profiteth when it is hurt it vanquisheth when it is reproued it vnderstandeth and then it standeth when it seemeth to be ouercome No maruaile if Augustine said Occidebantuâ— vâ—ebantur â—orquebantur Cruciebantur et multiplicabanâ—ur Gods Prophets were slaine burned tormented crucified and yet they were multiplied And no maruaile if the Churche it selfe be compared to a
the people Surely beloued in the Lord you haue not done wel your sin lyeth before the doore as well as ours you haue plowed wickednes and how shoulde you but reape the rewarde of iniquitie For what cursed thing is there but you haue reached your hands vnto it and delighted your hearts in it as wel nay ill as Israel Is it sorcerie Is it adulterie Is it falseswearing Alas if ther were no other sorcerie but the subtill inchaunting of their circumuenting tongues it were too much for thereby as with the sin of witchcraft you abuse the wise and defraud the simple yea thereby you reape as much profite as by patrimony or frée-land the bread of such deceit is the sweetest morsel that commeth into some of your mealy mouthes And then for Adulterie it is the disease that cleaueth fast to your bones and lyeth festring in your bowels and hath rooted it selfe betwéene your brestes insomuch that the father defloureth a woman and to make her amendes marrieth her to hys owne sonne Amos. 2. 7. And so may I say of periury For affection malice feare and lucre doe at wil suppresse and smother all truth and supplye and suggeste all falshoode when you come to speake vppon your oathe And I doe not see to what end there should be anie either admission or tolleration of them whom you call knights of the Post and surely not amisse for it is thought they haue no more conscience what they sweare many times than a verye poste and I pray God that suche Posts â—â— post to pleasure men with their false oathes haue not firebrands another day in hell for burning is a fit end for all such rotten blasphemous Postes And the damnable wretchednes of our time wherein is it not sutable with the wickednes of Israell Neuer pride more disdainfull neuer ambition more presumpteous neuer couetousnes more insatiable For there are some suche merciles oppressours among you that build fair houses with the bloody sobs and sighs of their poore neighbours whose liuinges they haue taken ouer their heads and whose liuelyhoode they haue wringed out of their hands There are some suche deuouring Vsurers among you that purchase statelye manners and sell the poore for olde shooes to make vppe their sommes and eueÌ„ strip the skinnes of the needy ouer head eares to fit their purposes There are some suche pilling extorsioners that if it were possible they could finde in their hartes with Flauius Vespasianus vectigall ex vrina capere There are some such infatiable and intollerable Church leaches or rather sponges that suck and soaken vp both the bloode of the Mother and the milke of the children yea with Achilles they can finde in their heartes to set on sale the dead bodye of Hector â—ay rather the deare bought soules of Gods saints They are not ashamed with Cirus in hope of gaine to dig vp the very graues of the dead nor with Dionisius to deface the most auncient goodly monumentes that are nor with Iulian to ransacke churches colleges hospitall hospitals yea hospitality to the vtter ruine and wrack of all Religion learning and christian reléefe To be shorte there are some and the most parte of you al grown to such cursed Atheisme and infidelity with these Israelites that no Religion hath any relish in your heartes but that which sauoureth of gaine to your purses And albeit your tongues be mute silent for very shame yet your deeds speak without sound of woorde say with this People It is in vaine to serue God what profit is it that we haue kept his commandement that we haue walked humblie before the Lord of Hostes O strange infidelity the roote and branches of all misery alas how hath this hellish bramble ouergrowne and ouerspread the Lordes vyneyarde here in England O the plague of all plagues our vnbeleeuing hartes this makes you that ye will not be warned but do as you do or rather that you care not what you do this hath made you more incredulus then the diuils in hell Qui credunt et contremiscunâ— which beleue and tremble And by reason hereof are you not at this point If a méere stranger or a common lier or a starke Idiote should but bring you tydings that you and all other magistrates you and all other lawyers you and al other marchants you and al other riche men you and all other Artificers you and all other HusbandmeÌ„ are what in a flat praemunire you woulde then looke about you and lay your heads together and speake euery one to his Neighbour and finding it true would neuer eat meat that should do you good nor take any good nights rest vntill you had found meanes to obtaine your pardon and were quite out of daunger Heereby then maye you measure the misthiefe of infidelitye for all our preaching teaching as verye fooles and Idiotes as you accompt vs is to no other end but to tell you and giue you notice of a dangerous and a most daÌ„nable praemunire whereinto you are fallen all the sorte of you yea euery mothers sonne thorowe your desperate and rebellious sinnes against the almighty and yet you do not once offer to sue for your pardon or to séeke for mercye at his hands whose Maiestye you haue so highly offended Now then beloued in the Lord al this considered is it not hye tyme or rather more then time for vs to growe to such a gratious conference as Israell did for the amendement of all that is amisse The wise man seing the plague comming hideth him selfe but the foole goeth on forward and is snared Pro. 22. Let vs be wise now at the length and learne to hyde our selues in tyme vnder the sackcloath and in the ashes of repentaunce Let vs discharge that duety which the Apostle requireth Heb. 3 which is to exhorte one another and to edifie one another whiles it is called to day Let vs be aduised by Saint Iude euen to edifie our selues in our moste holy faith knowing this for an assured trueth that they which turne many to righteousnes shall shine as the stars for euer Daniel 12. 3. And that he that conuerteth a sinner from going astray shall saué a soule from death and shall hide a multitude of sinnes Iames. 5. ver 20. This duety therefore as we owe one to another and euery maÌ„ to his Neighbour so the Lord make vs carefull to performe it that we may be partakers with Israell of such grace and fauour as doeth belong vnto it Pars. 2. ANd the Lord hearkned and heard it â— Here you are to consider of a thréefolde comforte and encouragement which they receiued from the Lord. Whereof this is the first because he vouchsafed to heare them A maruellous grace they no sooner began to repent but the Lord gaue eare and heard them Who would not frame him selfe to the lyke conference and penitent conformity No no dearely beloued our God is not like to Baall he can
Judgement For otherwise as nothing els brought Philippe to his deaths wound but because he wold not hear the cōplaint of Pausanias And as nothing wrought that maine confusion vpon the Lacedemonian estate that neuer could be recouered but onlye their slacknes in hearing poore mens causes So indeed nothing more fretteth the hartes or astraungeth the minds of poore mē then delaying of their causes from hearing Which is doubtlesse a great faulte in our Courts in England both ecclesiastical ciuil that it is so long before poore mens causes can come to hearing Indeed some times I know they are the longer by meanes of their careles and couetous Lawyers careles of their cause and couetous of their money for they can tell how to spin or rather to spill a cause to draw it out like a thréede from tearme to tearme vntill their clyents coats be thréed bare and their purses money bare And therefore to be plaine I lyke not this same Ad idem in proximum which is so much vsed among the Ciuilians nor these same néedeles and trifling Demurrars which are so ordinary among the cōmon Lawyers for both these proue many tymes to be the very bane and murrain of many a good mans right But let a mans cause runne thorow all the delaies and pikes that the cunning of any drawlatch can deuise yet vnlesse he make earnest and great meanes to haue it heard it shal neuer be hearde vntill doomesday Be wise then ye Judges of the earth and learne to be forewarde ready to heare of him which one day shall Judge you all and suffer not good mē to be discouraged or poore men to be eaten out of all they haue thorow your delayes If you doe you shall finde that the Grand Judge him selfe will make no delay to rewarde you therafter to measure his vengeance accordingly Lastly the Lord heareth the voice of the penitent nay the very breath and the least thought in his heart tending to repentance And therfore it is said If any man be a woorshipper of God and doth his will him doth he heare Ioh. 9. Now this is his will euen your holynes 1. Thes 4. And he willeth not the death of a sinner but that he should be conuerted and liue And besides this very thing is warranted vnto vs in this Scripture why they did no soner wish wel in there harts but the Lord heard it We cannot so say of any mortall Prince his subiectes may speake and cry and call long inough and yet if they be not within his hearing they are neuer y ◠nere And therfore this is a flat dash to that peeuish reason of the papists which tell vs that as a mortall Prince must be laboured vnto by meanes and mediatours so must the Lord our God be solicited by Saints and Angells Alas there is no proporcion in this comparison for God only is himself Scrutator Cordis the searcher of our harts we cannot do it but by meanes And what iniury or rather villāy is it to make him in his hearing of no more capasity or excellency then a mortal creature And so let this suffice for our first encouragement to drawe vs on to repentāce for that the Lord vouchsafeth to hearken and hear all them which haue but any motion of so happy a purpose Of the second Comforte ANd a booke of remembrance was writtē before him c. Let vs now in these words consider of that which was a second cōfort encouragemēt for this people to procede in their repentance That it was acceptable to the Lord we perceiue by his attentiue fauour in hearing them But now you shall vnderstand that it was very honorable besides And y ◠he doth vouchsafe them the rarest welcome home to his mercye and grace that euer was heard of for he caused a booke of remembrance c. And to what end Surely that it might for euer be remembred how much he deliteth in al penitent sinners which assone as euer they forsake sin he will embrace honor in his bottomles and abundant mercy Also that it might neuer be forgotten that howe great and how generall soeuer the corruption was yet they were the people which became penitent and turned vnto the Lord at the preching of Malachi therefore some cause why all posterity should be encouraged not only to follow their example but also to haue them in Admiration It shall be expedient that here we consider first what is ment by the booke of remēbrance then to whom it doth apertaine For this book of remēbrance it is very strange We read of certaine stones of remembrāce which being ingrauen with the names of the children of Israell and set in golde Aron was to weare that he might remember them to Godwards And we finde that there was a sacrifice of Remembrance made by fire for a sweete sauour vnto the Lord to signifie that God will not forget him that offereth it Leuit. 2. And we vnderstand of a Saboth of Remembrance to be obserued and celebrated for a memorial of the blowing of Trumpets and of the Jubile Leuit. 23. And who can be ignorant of Absalons piller of remembrance which he erected because he had no sonne to kepe his name in memorie But what this booke of Remembrance should importe that wee doe not so easelye perceiue Surely some learned wryters are of opinion that hereby we are to vnderstand this booke of Malachies prophecy Which because it was writtē at the Lords appointment was doutles written before his face and because it can not be red openly in the congregation without recitall of this their conferrence therefore it may be termed iustly a booke of remēbrance Euen as the gospell it selfe is a booke of Remēbrance in respect of that which Marie Magdalen did to our Sauiour Christ for wheresoeuer this gospell shall be preached through out all the world there shal this also that she hath done bee spoaken of for a memoriall of her saith Christ Jesus himselfe Math. 26. And in this sence it doeth maruelouslye approue and confirme the authority of this booke of Malachies Prophecy as beeing written in his presence and at his appointment But by the censure and in the Judgement of the most learned and godly writers that I haue red there is another meaning to be vnderstoode by the booke of remembrance For thereby is signified the booke of lyfe wherein the righteous are written and whereof we read Exod. 32. Psal 69. Apoc. 3. And it is ment that therein the Lorde did write their names presently vpon their repentance for a memoriall thereof And that you may sée in what stéed it wil stād you to be writen in the booke of the Lordes Remembraunce and to be remembred in the booke of lyfe consider first of that which is set downe Daniell 12. ver 1. And thereby may you perseiue that albeit there fall out such a tyme of trouble as neuer was since the worlde beganne
God will stirre vp your harts not to be long or much behinde him And in trueth I â—â—â—â—der that this noble Cittie of London hath not heretofore looked into this want and had â—are to supply it 〈…〉 in there is no charitable wâ—â—ke almost vndoâ—â— or at the least vnprouided for You haue sundry not able frâ—e schooles founded in this Cittye where by you giue â—uâ—ture to the rude and learning to the ignorant You haue many goodly hospitals endewed wherein yoâ—â—eâ—e me and allowe Phisick to the 〈…〉 â—â—rgerâ— to the sore meate to the hungry drink to the thirsty cloaths to the naked houseroom for the h 〈…〉 ourles and good and godly education to Orphanes and infants And you haue store of faire and sweete Conduits wherebye you spare not for any coste to conuey water into euery place almost of this populus citty Yea there cannot be a fountaine heard of or a deuise thought of to yeelde store of water but lyke good and careful gouernours your hands are in your purses to laye out what so euer it will cost And will you bestow nothing vppon the blessed Pypes and sugred Conduites which bring you the water of lyfe You cannot bring water a quarter of a myle to the Cittie without your own great charges And doo you thinke it reason that the water of life should be brought you 40 or 50. myles at other mens charges Consider but of the excellency thereof and thinke but of the happines of these our daies wherein wee may haue it either for loue or money The waters of Sylaris in Lucania maketh soft things hard as a wand laid in it all night wil be as hard as a stone by the morning But the water of lyfe will make hard thinges soft as your hard stonye heartes it will turne into tender fleshy hartes The water of Sinnesana in Campania maketh mad men wise and sober and so this water chaungeth worldly folly into Heauenly wisedome The water of Clytumnus if Oâ—enor shéep being neuer so blacke vse to drinke of it it wil make them as white as the driuen snowe So this water albeit sinne hath made you as blak in soule as any Ethiopian is in bodye yet it will wash you and purge you and make you cleane and white And as the water of Bethesda when it was moued by the Angell cured them which stept into it whatsoeuer disease they had So this water will cure and recouer al the infirmities of your sicke soules if ye step into it and embrace it when Gods ministers moue it and poure it out before you To be shorte as Varro writeth of Zame a fountaine in Affrica that it runneth with such sweete singing noise that thereby bothe men and beasts are allured to drinke of it So the waters of lyfe running and falling in this publik and famous place through such learned pipes and gratious Conduites as comes from the Vniuersities are moste pleasant and of maruellous force to allure all men bothe cleane and vncleane to taste of them and to hath their sinfull soules in them Wherefore the vertue and excellencie of this water being so singuler and soueraigne as you haue heard I hope it will not grudge you with all spéede to prouide that it maye haue moste frée and plentifull passage to this Cittie thorow your Christian relief and lyberalitye I am not the first that hathe moued this sute but you may be the first that euer tendered it or prouided for it two and fifty poundes a yere would bountifully performe it a good parte whereof as I haue toulde you a Reuerend and moste learned Bishoppe meaneth to yeld And if you would vouchafe to ioyne with him and to lay out the rest and so make vppe the somme out of your common treasurye for the cittie you should not onely be thankfully remembred in this place vnto the worlds end but also this good woorke of your compassion shall be recorded in the booke of the Lords Remembrance and at the last day you shall reap the frute of your well doing finde that with such sacrifice God is highlye pleased Lastly in this booke of Remembrance shall be written the sorrow and remorse of our penitent and broken harts And hereof what better testimony then this present Scripture The Lord caused a booke of Remembraunce to be written c. It is doubtles a great and gratious fauour when the Lord sayeth At what time soeuer a sinner shall repent I will blot his wickednes out of my Remembrance Ezech. 18. But this passeth and is with out all comparison that he will make a memoriall of it and write a booke of Remembrance of our repentaunce and recorde it in the booke of lyfe So that with Israel we shal not onelye escape all euill or the greatest euill in this lyfe but also at the last and most deâ—adfull time be tide what shall come the day of the Lord neuer so glowmingly sound the trumpet neuer so fear fully arrise the dead neuer so sinfully approch the deuils neuer so fiearsly smoake the mountaines melt the hilles tremble the earth vanishe the sea flash and flame the whole vnâ—uersall worlde neuer so furiously yet this shal be our comfort and refuge that we haue repented vs of our sinnes and that our Repentance is of record and written in the booke of the Judges remembrance And so to come to the next obseruation in this comfort Seing the Prophet in plaine termes saith that this booke was written for them that feared the Lord and thought vpon his name let all the woorkers of Iniquitye which forget God and put farre from theâ— the euill day which saith in their hartes tush God hath forgotten hee wil not sée it which are at their leagues with death and at their bargaines with hell let them all stand backe and know that there is no place for their names in this booke And why the Lord himself yeelds the reason Whosoeuer sinneth against me I will put his name out of my booke Ex. 32. And againe I will make their rememberance to cease from among men No No Ieremie telleth them plaine enough where they shal be writen euen in the dust or in the earth Ier. 17. and why because they haue forsaken the Lord the fountaine of liuing waters Therefore let them write their names vpon their owne stately houses and vpon their sumpteous tombes and Sepulchers no man will controll them But it is their JudgemeÌ„t to be scattred lyke the chaffe before the wind Psal 1. To be withered lyke grasse before the Sonne Psal 37. and to melt or consume lyke waxe before the fire Psal 68. that is to be forgotten and to be raked vppe and buried in the forlorne ashes of all obscuritye and obliuion And yet their punishment shall not be forgotten I warrant you for that is written and set downe in another kinde of booke then we haue yet spoken off I meane the blacke booke of Gods most bitter vengeance wherof Ezechel speaketh Chap. 2. Which