leaue and liking of his Lord that called him His owne conceipts must yeelde vnto his calling and his fancies must not make him craze his faith It is better to beate them as Abraham beat the Birds that hindred him then by bending to them to breake lose from his calling or to be beat from his businesse as being vnworthy of it or vnfit for it And in a word no feare must fray him no terror must amaze him nothing must make him flie oft of the hookes Shall the obstinacy of the people Although saith Chrysostome I be not ignorant that I speake in vaine yet will I not giue ouer for so doing I shall be excused before God although no body would heare me in 3. Chap. Ioh. And it may be with continual shewring vpon them their harts will at length relent and waxe soft Shall their rage their choler The frantique saith Augustine will not be bound neither would such as are troubled with a lethargie be roused but charity perseuereth to castigate the frantique to stirre vp the lethargique to loue theÌ„ both Both are offended but both are loued Both of theÌ„ being molested so long as their disease coÌ„tinueth doth take it ill that you shold so trouble theÌ„ but both of them being cured they do reioyce Shall threats disgraces Shall the malice enuy of the wicked was not Christ disgraced maligned calumnized euill inâ—reated Were not all his Apostles hated persecuted Shall pouerty driue thee froÌ„ thy calling or make thee to faint in thy calling Was not Christ poore to Man that he might make thee rich to God And were not his Apostles poore Gloriosa in sacerdotibus Domini paupertas Pouerty saith Ambrosâ— is glorious in the Priestes of God A crosse it may be to them but not a curse Paul was a man of much affliction yet saith he Seeing we haue this ministery as we haue receiued mercy we faint not Non fecisse sed perfecisse virtutis est To worke is not so commendable as to continue constant in working till the work be brought to perfection Ministers must be like the salt waters which hauing once begun to flow continue flowing till they come to their full sloud A candle being once lighted burneth on so long as it lasteth except it be put out with violence Euen so they as candles being once lighted set in the church as in a candle-sticke to giue light vnto the people by holding out the lampe of light that is the word of God they shold burne bright continually Aliis inseruientes semetâ—psos consumentes spending themselues like lamps or torches in seruing shining vnto others Salomon left not building of a temple for the Lord made of lifelesse stones vntill it was built vp So should they continue coÌ„stant in building his teÌ„ple made of liuing stones till it be brought to perfection if in this life it were possible They should do their best indeauour and languish not Vt desint vires tamen est laudanda voluntas Paul laboured constantly in his calling till God cald him away by death Possidonius saith that Augustine preached the word of God coÌ„stantly Vsque ad ipsam suam extremam aegritudinem vnto the extremity of his sicknes Fox saith of Bradford that preaching reading and prayer was his whole life These are good patternes and worthy imitation Peter saith that he ought in equity to put them in mind of their duty whiles he continueth in his earthy tabernacle The Minister and his Ministery should cease together and not one before another Paul commandeth Timothy to exercise himselfe in and to adâ—iâ—â— himselfe vnto reading exhortation and doctrine and to continue in learning If wee would duly consider that by preaching the couenant of grace is reuealed that Gods oracles are explained and his dispersed sheepe brought home and nourished that faith is thereby wrought and confirmed and the children of God begotten and conserued that his house is builded his field is eared his scepter erected his throne established his kingdome augmented and Sathan eiected vndoubtedly it would moue vs to a continuall and constant execution of our office without either fainting in it or forsaking of it The Sun we see neuer ceaseth moueing all the while his course is vnfinished The Laborers in the parable wrought vnto the euening euen till their Lord set and sent his Steward to call them from their worke So we that are the Lords labourers appointed by him to worke in his vineyard and set in the Church as the Sunne in the heauens to giue light vnto his people must labour constantly and moue continually till our course be finished and our taske be ended we must not giue ouer till our houre-glasse be runne out till our Sunne be set and the Euening of our life be shut in or vntill our Lord and Maister shall call vs from our worke or send a Messenger to fetch vs. Salomon saith In the morning I sowe thy seede and in the euening let not thine hand rest All men ought to be constant in their labouâ—s and neuer be weary of well doing much more therefore Ministers whose labours are most excellent commodious who ought to be to al other men as that cloudy and fiery pillar was vnto the Israelites which led theÌ„ and let them see their way to Canaan God commaunded that there should be Light alway shining in the Tabernacle The Church militant is Gods spirituall Tabernacle Ministers are the Light that must shine vnto all the members of the Church yea to those that yet sit in darknesse in the shadow of death and that constantly alwaies and without intermission The Lord required a sacrifice of 2 Lambes to be offered day by day continually And it were not vnfitting if ministers did daily in their prayers present and consecrate their people like those Lambes vnto the Lord. Their duty consisteth not wholy in preaching to them but also in praying for them for the prosperous estate of the whole Church I haue set watchmen vpon thy walles O Ierusalem saith the Lord which all the day and all the night continually shall not ceâ—se Ye thaâ— are mindfull of the Lord keepe not silence giue him no rest till he repaire and set vp Ierusalem the praise of the world No man saith Christ that putteth his hand to the Plough and looketh backe is apt to the kingdome of God He is in truth neither a fit man for the kingdome of grace nor a fit Minister for the Gospell of the kingdome The Lord hath put the sword of his Spirit into our hands He will haue vs to hold it constantly and to shake and brandish it continually neuer ceasing to kill the sins of the people with it and causing them continually to die an euerlasting death to sin in this world that they may liue an euelasting life from sin in the world to come and that being couered with
wickednesse and come out of the pit-fall and snare of Sathan Why should not our labours be sweete and pleasing to vs seeing they be commodious commendable and commanded A man will gladly saue his Oxen from perishing and his sheepe from rotting and shall not we labour as gladly to saue men from destruction and to keepe the sheepe of Christ Iesus frō rotting in their sins Wilt thou willingly helpe thy sheep out of the ditch and saue her from drowning and wilt thou not as willingly labour to drawe forth one of Christs sheepe out of the ditch of iniquity that it be not drowned with the waters of wickednesse and be stifled with the mudde of sinfulnesse A man is very nimble and ready to preserue his fields from spoyling his house from burning and his children from pining and shall not we be as nimble as alacrious and as ready to preserue Gods field from being wasted his house from being burnt and his children from perishing and pining away sor want of food to comfort and vphold them Willingly will euery faithfull shepheard feede and gouerne his flocke which is committed to him And so Peter speaking to the shepheards of that Arch-pastor Christ Iesus exhorteth them to performe their duty with alacrity Feed the flocke of God which dependeth on you caring for it not by constraint but Willingly not for filthy lucre but as of a Ready Minde I passe not at all saith Paul neither is my life deere vnto me so that I may fulfill my course with ioy CHAP. II. Ministers must be valorus not timerous SIxtly a labourer ought to be couragious and hardy No discouragemēt nothing at all must daunt him nothing must fray him from his worke and put him out of his right byas And they that are to contend and encounter with that roaring Lyon had neede to be Lyon-like valorous and vndauntable The Builders of the ruined walles of Ierusalem did their worke with one hand and with the other held a sword Euen so those whom God hath called to repaire Ierusalem the praise of the world should builde with the armour of the Spirit about them being full of Christian zeale and fortitude and wise to preuent the stratagems and assaults of all Sanballates Arabians and Ammonites They were not cowards that built those walles neither should they be cowards that work in this building For here want no enemies here is both fraud and force We wrestle not against flesh bloud but against Principalities against powers against worldly Gouernors the Princes of the darknesse of this world against spiritual wickednesses which are in high places euen against Sathan all the Yeomen of the black Guard And therefore we had neede to be full of spirit and spirituall valour Ieremy was forbidden vnder the paine of death to feare their faces to whom he was to Prophecy And the Lord speaking to Ezekiel saith I haue made thy forehead as the Adamant and harder then the flint Feare them not therfore neither be afraid of their looks By which we see that God would not haue his messengers out-faced but that they should boldly deliuer their message to his people He which winketh at false doctrine and reprehendeth not the sins of the time and place wherein he liueth and dares not for feare of contempt or disgrace admonish the persons that offend is vnworthy and vnfit to be a Minister who ought to be zealous and couragious dreading no mans face but should speake exhort and conuince in all authority and shew the people their enormities without feare or partiality Yea hee that wincketh at wickednesse and hereticall doctrine and doth not oppose himselfe vnto it is guilty of it and is in minde a Fugitiue though he moue not from his charge in person Quia tacuisti fugisti tacuisti quia timuisti Thou hast fled saith Austen because thou hast held thy tongue Veritatem negat qui eam non libere praedicat He denieth the truth saith Chrysostome which doth not preach it boldly Although saith Austen he liue well and yet be either ashamed or afrayed to reproue them that liue ill cum omnibus qui eo tacente pereunt perit He perisheth with all those which perish whiles he sees and sayes nothing Aug. grad 1. Abus I am full of power by the Spirit of the Lord saith Micah and of iudgement and of strength to declare vnto Iacob his transgression and to Israel his sinne Eliiah told Ahab to his face that it was he and his fathers house that troubled Israel Michaiah likewise boldly told him that he should not returne in peace from fighting against the Syrians though his speech vexed him Nathan told Dauid plainely of his vncleannes and murther that without feare Isaiah saith that he had set his face as a flint And so it seemeth for he payd them home he feared no colours but was as bold in taxing as they were in offending He gaue his backe to the smiters and his cheekes to the nippers and hid nor his face from shame and spitting reprouing notwithstanding all disgraces both the Princes and the People with great feruency and boldnesse of speech This was the practise of Iohn Baptist Christ Paul and of all the holy Prophets and ought as occasion serueth to be imitated wisely of all the Ministers of God This serueth to condemne the coldnesse and fearfulnesse of those face-fearers that dare not rebuke sinne especially in the audience of the sinner and which teacheth the truth through feare as it were in riddles ambiguously and in the cloudes running as I may say betweene the skin and the flesh But such feare is not the feare of God but the feare of Man And as Bishop Iewel speaketh accursed be that modesty that drowneth or hideth the truth of God And accursed I say be that feare which makes a man silent when he ought to speake and dumme when he should lift vp his voyce like a trumpet and shew the people their sinnes Yet here we must all remember that our zeale be directed by knowledge which should alway go before and make way and that wisedome and pity go with our valour that all our reproofes and admonitions be performed in loue and in the spirit of meeknesse with long suffering and patience without rage and rankor Esay might cry but not roare We our selues are men and may erre And if we stand when others fall it is by Gods grace and not through our owne goodnesse Neither is it lawfull to rebuke sinne with sinne and to make our selues sinners by disorderly taxing of sinners CHAP. 12. Ministers must perseuere in the faithfull execution of their function SEuenthly a labourer must be constant and not giue ouer till his taske inioyned him be fully finished So the Minister of God shold continue constant in his labours for God The loue of the world must not make him leaue his labours He must not leaue without the
the Lord and he shall nourish thee The wicked that are strangers and enimies vnto his Church from the wombe he will surely punish He will breake their teeth and crack their iawes They shall melt like ice and consâ—me like snailes He will carry them away as with a whirlewind in his wrath Thou O God shalt bring them downe into the pit of corruption the bloody and deceiptfull men shall not liue out halfe their daies Finally seeing we are Gods field building we are al taught to loue one another We are not two houses but one we are not two fields but one And therfore as one we ought to loue and embrace one another It were a prodigious sight to see one stone in a building to iustle with another We are as Liuing stones in Gods spirituall building let vs therefore by loue lie close by one another let vs not iustle one another If an house be deuided against it selfe how shall it stand We are Gods house houshold-seruants therefore we must not be diuided against our selues lest his house fall downe vpon our heads Diuision is a forerunner of destruction Therefore as one stone in a building beareth vp another somtimes a little one bearing a greater and sometime the greater bearing a lesser euen so let vs beare vp and beare with one another let vs not fly out of the wall let vs not stomacke enuy one another alwaies remembring that we are the stones of one building and all laid by one Maister-mason Corne in one field plants in one Orchard trees in one wood flowers in one garden and vines in one vineyard do grow together without molesting and hindring one another They stand together without discontentment they shroud and harbour one another We are the corne of Gods field the plants of his orchard the trees of his wood the flowers of his garden and the vines of his vineyard and therefore we should stand together without contempt discontentmeÌ„t we ought to shroud and shilter one another Now therefore as the elect of God holy and beloued put on the bowels of mercy kindnesse humility meekenesse long suffering Put away wrath anger malice cursing and hate not one another For he that hateth his brother is in darkenes But let vs loue one another for loue coÌ„meth of God and euery one that loueth is borne of God Wouldest thou know that thou art in the state of life Then loue thy brethren We know saith Iohn that we are translated from death to life because we loue the brethren he that loueth not his brother abideth in death Wouldest thou know that thou louest God Then loue the children of God For euery one which loueth him that did beget loueth him also which is begotten of him Wouldest thou abide in the true light Then loue thy brother For he that loueth his brother abideth in the light there is none occasion of euill in him Wouldest thou be like the Lord that did beget thee Then loue for God is loue Wouldest thou be obedient vnto God TheÌ„ loue thy neighbour for his commandement is that thou shouldest loue thy neighbor as thy selfe Finally wouldest thou shew thy selfe a true disciple of Christ thy Sauiour Then loue thy fellowes For by this shall all men know saith Christ that ye are my disciples if ye haue loue one vnto another Let vs therefore affect one another with true loue We are the sons of one father the children of one mother the teÌ„ple of one God the field of one husbandman the house of one inhabitant the branches of one vine the stones of one bilding and the plants of one field let vs therfore keepe peace with our selues embrace one another in the armes of amity So shall Gods house continue his throne shall endure his field shall prosper we our selues shall flourish our ioys shall be increased and our enimies shall be defeated of much aduantage Thus much concerning the instructions which arise out of the consideration of these two titles together It remaineth now to set downe those that may be gathered from theÌ„ being distinctly considered by themselues And of the former first CHAP. 4. We must keepe our selues wholly for God We must be content with his husbanding We must striue to be fruitfull in good things They are to be dispraised that are barren FIrst forsomuch as we are GODS field we must beware that we giue not our selues to any from him We are not our own to dispose of as we list our selues but his that hath bought vs and taken vs in for himselfe Let vs therefore take heed that we suffer not our selues to be sowne with corrupt seed to be set with the plants of wickednesse Let not the diuell sow the tares of wicked errours and filthy sinnes within thee Thou art Gods keepe thy selfe cleane and pure for God Secondly seeing we are Gods field let vs be content with his husbandnig of vs. The ground doth patiently beare the Plowman and his Plow the sower and his seed without the least resistance So let vs be content to beare with meekenesse Gods plough and his ploughmen his seed and sowers Let vs endure all things which he hath in his wisdome ordained to breake vs vp to make vs faire and fertile his Word his Sacraments his Ministers his Orders Let vs not repine and storme against them but subiect our selues and beare them meekely without resisstance Thirdly we are taught to be fruitful vnto God in faith loue repentance and obedience The good ground which receiueth good seed is very profitable to the owner sending forth plenty of fruit EueÌ„ so we being sowen with the good and wholesome seed of Gods word we ought to bring forth fruit aboundantly that our owner may haue a plentiful crop It is a cursed ground that receiues seed yet affoordeth either nothing or nought but weedes We are Gods field aâ—d therefore we should not be like the field of the sluggard that is ouergrowne with thornes nettles If a field be broken vp with the plough and if good seed be not sowen therein it will bring forth more store of weeds then if it had laine vnplowed So if the seeds of Christian vertues be not sowne in our heartes and fructify in our liues now that we haue ben broken vp with the plough of Gods word we shall more abound with the stinking weedes of wickednesse then if we had neuer felt that plough Let vs therefore looke to our selues and labour to be fruitfull in good thing Apply thine heart to instruction and thine eares to the words of knowledge He that followeth after righteousnesse and mercy shall find life righteousnesse and glory Now that we may be fruitfull we must performe these duties following First we must roote those sinfull weedes out of our hearts which oppresse and choke them Breake vp your fallow ground and sow not among the