Selected quad for the lemma: death_n

Word A Word B Word C Word D Occurrence Frequency Band MI MI Band Prominent
death_n day_n zeal_n zealous_a 22 3 8.5313 4 false
View all documents for the selected quad

Text snippets containing the quad

ID Title Author Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) STC Words Pages
A02178 The workes of the reuerend and faithfull seruant af Iesus Christ M. Richard Greenham, minister and preacher of the Word of God collected into one volume: reuised, corrected, and published, for the further building of all such as loue the truth, and desire to know the power of godlinesse. By H.H.; Works Greenham, Richard.; Holland, Henry, 1555 or 6-1603.; Hill, Robert, d. 1623. 1612 (1612) STC 12318; ESTC S120843 1,539,296 988

There are 24 snippets containing the selected quad. | View lemmatised text

is to say whether is the happiest I. Hall ANOTHER IN ENGLISH IN COMMENDATION of Maister Greenham and his godly and learned workes set forth by Maister Holland Preacher of Gods word GReene yet I am may Greenham say and greene shall flourish still Though World Sicknes Death and the Graue on me haue wrought their will The Apostate world me wore with griefe and troubles manifold Whilst that I sought with all my strength her pillers to vphold Then Sicknes came Deaths Sergeant grim my ●arkesse craz'd t' arrest And Death at sheeles with gaping graue receiu'd me for their guest But great Emmanuel mark'd and smilde to see them take this toyle To roote and race out Greenham quite and gaue them all the foyle My soule he plants in Paradise there greene to flourish aye And charg'd the graue my body safe to keepe till the last day And least Death should suppose on earth h 'had blotted out my name He stirs vp Hollands louing minde for to renue the same So that as oyntments precious my workes on earth doe smell Refreshing poore distressed soules whom Sathan seekes to quell Loe here the fruit of godly zeale and zealous pietie In Greenham who triumphs against all Sathans tyrannie In spite of world Sicknes Death Graue and all the powers of Hell With godly Men aliue and dead it alwaies shall goe well F. Hering TO THE RIGHT VVORSHIPFVLL SIR MARMADVKE DARRELL AND SIR THOMAS BLOOTHER KNIGHTS SVRVEYERS GENERALL FOR THE VICTVALING OF HIS MAIESTIES NAVIE Stephen Egerton wisheth increase of all true comfort in this life and euerlasting felicitie in the life to come through our Lord Iesus Christ. PVblius Virgilius Prince of Latine Poets being demaunded why he read the writings of old Ennius made this answere Aurum colligo ex Ennij stercore that is I gather golde out of Ennius his dunghill meaning thereby that though Ennius his Poems were not so exquisitely penned as they might haue been by Virgil himselfe yet much good matter might be picked out of them Surely right VVorshipfull if one heathen man could gather gold out of the writings of another how much more may we being Christians gather not gold only but pearles and pretious stones out of the religious and holy labours of Master Richard Greenham though not all polished by his owne penne being a most godly brother yea more than a brother euen a most painefull Pastor zealous Preacher and reuerend Father in the Church of God of whom I am perswaded that for practicall diuinity which ought worthily to haue the preheminence he was inferiour to few or none in his time VVherefore the same prouidence of God which moued that faithful Minister Master Henry Holland to collect and publish so many of his worthie labours for the good of the Church doth call and allure others to the reading of them and namely you right VVorshipfull who haue shewed singular kindnes as Naomi saith of Boaz both to the liuing and to the dead that is both to good Master Holland while he liued and to his desolate widow and fatherles children since his death In respect whereof shee desired by my hand to testifie hir thankfulnes to both your VVorships as it were by these two mites of this dedicatory Epistle which office of loue to my deare brother deceased and to his widow and children liuing I doe the more willingly tender to your VVorships because I am partly priuie to your kindnes and bountie both towards them towards others The Lord giue mercie saith Paul to the house of Onesiphorus for he often refreshed me c. The same might faithful Holland say and the same may his widow and children say The Lord giue mercie to your houses and posteritie for you haue often refreshed them which being done as I doubt not in faith and from loue out of a pure heart shall be put to your reckning and brought in as a cleare euidence for a comfortable sentence to passe on your side in the day of the Lord Iesus Christ To whose most gratious direction and blessing I commit you both with the vertuous and Christian Ladies your wiues and whole families From my house in the Black Friers this third day of Aprill 1605. Your VVorships readie to be commanded in the Lord STEPH EGERTON GRAVE COVNSELS AND GODLY OBSERVATIONS SERVING GENERALLY TO DIRECT ALL MEN IN THE WAIES OF TRVE GODLINES BVT PRINCIPALly applyed to instruct and comfort all afflicted consciences Affections HE vsed this triall of his affections as of anger griefe ioy or such like in this manner If by them he was made lesse fit to pray more vnable to do the good he should lesse carefull to auoid sin then he thought his affection carnall and euill and not of God but when his anger loue grief and other affectiōs prouoked him more to pray and made him fitter to do good then he thought his affections to be sent from God as a blessing vnto him 2 God sheweth vs often in our affections what we may doe in our outward actions 3 Some labour more for knowledge lesse for affection some more for affection lesse for knowledge some busie themselues in Church-discipline and are slender sighted in their priuie corruptions some be diligent to espie things in others abroad and negligent to trie themselues at home but it is good to match both together 4 Rare good things are pleasant but by vse they are lesse esteemed and rare euill things are fearefull but by vse they become lesse grieuous This comes to passe because we rather bring with vs naturall affections of ioy and sorrow and feare than spirituall meditations which are onely of the true ioy and sorrow 5 We must euer learne to suspect our owne opinion and affection when the case any thing concerneth vs. 6 He said that when for some causes naturall affection deceiued him yet the ordinance of God caused him to doe duties 7 He thought it not good at table to be extraordinarie either in ioy or sorrow vnlesse it were for some special cause but rather it were conuenient priuately to a godly friend or before the Lord to powre out our hearts and after the example of Ioseph to make our affections knowne as little in companie as may be Afflictions 1 HE thought all afflictions to be puttings of him to God from slothfulnes 2 It is a most certaine thing in Gods children that the more their afflictions grow the more their faith groweth the more Sathan striueth to draw them from God the more they draw neer to God although indeed in feeling they cānot see somuch 3 Many can speak faire things in the eares of God so long as they be in affliction but afterwards they will speake euill things in the eares of heauen and earth 4 He said to one complaining of sudden gripes and nips in the bodie Of sudden ●eares in the minde that we should make our vse of them and though it were hard to search the particular
people and so for mee How gather you this By the annointing of Prophets Priests and Kings which were figures of him Was Christ annointed with materiall oyle as they were No but he was annointed with all gifts of the holie Spirit without measure Why d●e you call him Prophet Because hee was he is and euer shall be the onely teacher of the Church What were then the Prophets and Apostles They were his Disciples and seruants and spake by his spirit What comfort haue you by this Hereby I am sure that he will leade me into all truth reuealed in his word needfull for Gods glorie and my saluation Why call you him Priest Because offering vp himselfe a sacrifice once for all he hath satisfied for all my sinnes and maketh continuall intercession to the Father for me What comfort haue you by the Priesthood of Christ Hereby I am assured that he is my Mediatour and that I also am made a Priest How are you made a Priest By him I haue freedome and boldnes to drawe neere and offer my selfe and all that I haue to God the Father Why call you him King Because ●e doth guide and gouerne me vnto euerlasting life by his word and spirit What comfort haue you by this Hereby I am assured that by his kingly power I shall finally ouercome the flesh the world the diuell death and hell Why call you him Lord Because not with gold nor siluer but with his precious bloud hee hath purchased vs to bee a peculiar people to himselfe What comfort haue you by this Seeing he hath paid such a price for mee he will not suffer me to perish What is the second thing wherein the faith of Christ consisteth Secondly I beleeue that he hath wrought my saluation indeed after that manner that is set downe in the Creede After what manner hath he wrought your saluation 1 By his most painfull sufferings for sinne 2 By his most glorious victorie and triumph ouer sinne In what words are his most painfull sufferings expressed In these words Suffered vnder Pontius Pilate was crucified dead and buried he descended into hell What is the generall meaning of these words By them I shew my selfe to beleeue that Christ endured most grieuous torments both of body and soule What comfort haue you by this I am freed from all those punishments of bodie and soule which my sinnes haue deserued How then commeth it to passe that we are so often afflicted with grieuous torments both in bodie and soule Our sufferings are not by desert any satisfaction for our sinnes in any part but being sanctified in the most holy sufferings of Christ they are medicines against sinne Why are these words added Suffered vnder Pontius Pilate Not onely for the truth of the storie but also to teach that he appeared willingly and of his owne accord before a mortall Iudge of whom he was pronounced innocent and yet by the same he was condemned What comfort haue you hereof That my Sauiour thus suffering not any whit for his owne sinnes but wholy for mine and for other mens sinnes before an earthly Iudge I shall be discharged before the heauenly iudgement seate What is meant by this That he was crucified That he died not onely a common death but such a death as was accursed both of God and man What comfort haue you by this I am comforted in this because I am deliuered from the curse which I haue deserued by the breach of the law and shall obtaine the blessing due vnto him for keeping of the same What is meant by this That he died That his soule was separated from his bodie so that he died a corporali death Why was it requisite that he should die Because by sinne came death into the world so that the iustice of God could not haue beene satisfied for our sinnes vnlesse death had beene ioyned with his sufferings Why is it ●rther added That he was buried To assure vs more fully that he was truely dead What comfort have you by his death and buriall 1 I am comforted because my sinnes are fully discharged in his death and so buried that they shall neuer come into remembrance 2 Secondly my comfort is the more because by the vertue of his death and buriall sinne shall be killed in me and buried so that henceforth it shall haue no power to reigne ouer me 3 Thirdly I neede not to feare death seeing that sinne which is the sting of death is taken away by the death of Christ and that now death is made vnto me an entrance into this life What is the meaning of this He descended into hell This is the meaning that my Sauiour Christ did not onely suffer in body but also in soule did abide most vnspeakable vexations griefes painfull troubles feare of minde ●●to the which both before and most of all when he hanged vpon the crosse he was cast What comfort haue you by this I am comforted in this because in all my grieuous temptations and assaults I may stay and make sure my selfe by this that Christ hath deliuered mee from the sorrowfull griefes and paines of hell What beleeuest thou in this article Hee rose againe from the dead I belieue that Christ in his manhood hath suffered for mee and that he did in the third day ●●● againe by his owne power from the dead Wherin doth this article minister comfort vnto thee In three things 1. His resurrection doth assure me that his righteousnes shall be imputed to me for my perfect iustification 2. it comforteth mee because it doth from day to day raise me vp to righteousnes and newnes of life in this present world 3 It ministreth vnto me a comfortable hope that I shall rise againe in the last day from bodily death What beleeuest thou in this Article Hee ascended into heauen I belieue that Christ in his humane Nature the Apostles looking on ascended into Heauen What comfort haue you thereby 1. I am comforted in this that Christ hath prepared a place for mee in heauen which now I see by Faith and her●a●ter shall fully enioy 2. I am comforted by his intercession to the Father for me What fruite haue you by his intercession 1. First it doth reconcile me to the Father for those sinnes which I doe daily commit 2. Secondly being reconciled in him I can pray to GOD with boldnesse and call him FATHER What is the meaning of this article Hee si●tteth at the right hand of God the Father I belieue that CHRIST in mans nature was aduanced by the FATHER vnto that high authoritie whereby hee ruleth all things in heauen and earth What comfort haue you thereby 1. I am comforted because I shall receiue from him all things needfull for mee vnder his gratious gouernment 2. By his power all mine enemies shall be subdued and troden vnder my feete What beleeue you in this article From thence hee shall come c I belieue
our selues to GOD whereby wee crucifie and kill the corruption of our nature and reforme our selues in the inward man according to Gods will What is it to crucifie the corruption of our nature It is truely and with all my heart to be sorie that I haue angred God with it and with my other sinnes and euery day more and more to hate it and them and to flie from them How is this sorrow wrought It is wrought in mee partly by the threatnings of the Law and the feare of Gods iudgements but especiallie increased by feeling of the fruit of Christ his death whereby I haue power to hate sinne and to leaue it How is this reformation of our selues wrought in vs Onely by the promises of the Gospell whereby we feele the fruit of the rising againe of Christ. What doth insue hereof Hereby wee are raised vp into a new life hauing a law written in our hearts and so reforme our selues Hereby it appeareth that none can repent of themselues or when they will Yea for it was saide before that it is the gift of GOD giuen vnto them that are borne againe By this it is also euident that Gods Children stand in neede of Repentance so long as they liue Yea for there is none of Gods Saints but alwayes carrying this corruption about them they sometime fall and are farre from that perfection of goodnes which the Lord requireth Se●ing it was said before that good workes did proceede from Rep●ntance what properties are required of workes 1. First that they be such as God hath commanded in his Law 2. Secondlie that they that doe them bee such as be ingrafted into CHRIST and continue in him What say you then of the good workes of them that be not in Christ They doe no good workes because they neither are as yet members of Christ nor doe offer them to GOD in the Name of Christ. 3. The third propertie of workes is that they may bee to glorifie God and to assure our saluation Is it not lawfull to seeke our owne praise and merit by our owne good woorkes No For all our good workes are imperfect and saluation is onely merited by the death of Christ as was saide before We haue heard that the Law worketh the knowledge of our sinnes and feeling of our miseri● What meanes hath God ordained to worke and increase Faith in vs Hee hath ordained 1. The Gospell to beget and breede it in vs. 2. Prayer 3. Sacraments 4. Discipline 5. Affliction to confirme it in vs. What is the Gospell It is that part of Gods word whereby the holie Ghost worketh in vs a liuely Faith to apprehend the free remission of sinnes in Iesus Christ. How many kindes of Faith be there Two a Generall Faith whereby I belieue God to be true in all his workes Speciall and this is either whereby I belieue God to be iust in his threatnings and so am made penitent Or whereby I belieue him to bee made mercifull in his promises and so come to repentance What difference is there betweene Penitence and Repentance Penitence is a sorrow for sinne wrought by the Law Repentance is a recouering our selues from sinne wrought by the Gospell Is there such difference betweene the Law and the Gospell Yea for the Law differeth from the Gospell in foure things 1 First the Law reuealeth sinne rebuketh vs for it and leaueth vs in it but the Gospell doth reueale vnto vs Remission of sinnes bringeth vs to CHRIST and ●reeth v● from the punishment belonging vnto sinne 2. The Law commandeth to do good and giueth no strength but the Gospell inable●● vs to do good the holy Ghost writing the law in our hearts assuring vs of the promise 3. The Law is the ministerie of wrath condemnation and death but the Gospell is t●e ministerie of grace iustification and life 4. In many points the Law may be conceiued by reason but the Gospell in all poin●● is farre aboue the reach of mans reason Wherein doe they agree They agree in this that they bee both of God and declare one kinde of righteousnesse though they differ in offering it vnto vs. What is that one kinde of righteousnesse It is the perfect loue of God and of our neighbour What thing doth follow vpon this That the seuere law pronounceth all the faithfull righteous How doth the Law pronounce them righteous Because that they hau● in Christ all that the Law doth aske But yet they remaine transgressors of the Law They are transgressors in themselues and yet righteous in Christ and in their inward man they loue righteousnes and hate sinne What then is the state of the faithfull in this life They are pure in Christ and yet fight against sin What battell haue they They haue battell both within the battell of the flesh against the Spirit and without the temptation of Sathan the world How shall they ouercome By a liuely Faith in Iesus Christ. 1. Ioh. 5. 4. What call you th● flesh The corruption of our nature wherein wee were borne and conceiued Doth that remaine after regeneration Yea it dwelleth in vs and cleaueth fast vnto vs so long as wee carie the outward flesh about vs. How doth the flesh fight against the spirit By continuall lusting against the spirit What is that 1. By hindering or corrupting vs in the good motions words and deeds of the spirit 2. By continuall moouing vs to euill-motions words deeds What call you the spirit The holie Spirit which God in Christ hath giuen vs whereby wee are begotten againe D●● wee not receiue the spirit in full measure and in perfection at the first No but first we receiue the first fruits and afterward the daily increase of the same vnto the end if the fault be not in our selues How doth the Spirit fight in vs By lusting against the flesh How doth it lust against the flesh 1. First partly by rebuking and partly by restraining in vs the euill motions and deeds of the flesh 2. By continuall inlightning and affecting vs with-thoughts words deedes agreeable to Gods wil. What call you the world The corrupt state and condition of men and the rest of the creatures How doth the world fight against vs By alluring and withdrawing vs to the corruptions thereof What meanes doth it vse 1. It allureth vs by false 1. Pleasures 2. Profit 3. Glorie of this world from our obedience to God 2. It allureth vs other-paines losses and reproches to distrust Gods promises whiles by How shall wee ouercome the pleasures profit and glorie of this world 1. By a true Faith in IESVS CHRIST who despised all these things to worke our saluation and to make vs ouercome them 2. By Faith in Gods word that feareth vs from doing any thing against his will How shall wee ouercome the Paines losses and reproches of the World 1 By aliuely Faith in Iesus Christ who suffered all those things to worke our
if before it was begun is now continued or i● it was not before now beginneth and neuer endeth world without ende For though true it is that sicknesse pouertie imprisonment or banishment haue ended their tearme in death yet a wounded heart which was temporall in this life is now eternall after this life that which before death was in hope recouerable is after death made vncurable and vnrecouerable It is good therefore to consider if euen in this life the torment of conscience be so fearefull how much more grieuous is it to sustaine it in hell where that is infinite which here is finite where that is vnmeasurable which here is measurable where is the sea of sorrow whereof this is but a drop where is the flame of that fire whereof this is lesse than a sparke But to shut vp this argument Some there haue beene who throughout all their life time haue beene free from all other troubles so as either they felt them not at all or else in very small measure and by that meanes neuer knew what outward trouble meant As for example some men there haue beene who for sicknesse neuer knew the head-ach for pouertie neuer knew what want meant who for discredit were neuer euill spoken of who euer put farre from them the euill day of the Lord who made a league with death as it were and a couenant with hell who though they could crucifie euery crosse rather than come vnder any crosse yet they could neuer escape a wounded conscience either in this life or in the life to come True it is that Gods children by faith and repentance doe often escape it but the wicked and such as are borne vnto it as to their sure inheritance the more they flie from it the more it pursueth them If we haue transgressed the Ciuill Iawes the Iudge by bribes may be corrupted if a man haue committed some capitall offence by flying his Countrie he may escape the Magistrates hands but our consciences telling vs that we haue sinned against God what bribe shall we offer or whither shall we flie whither shall we goe from his spirit or whither shall we goe from his presence If we ascend into heauen is not he there If we lie downe in hell is he not there If we flie to the vtmost parts of the sea is he not there also There needeth no apparitor to summon vs there needes no Bayly arrant to fetch vs there needes no accuser to giue in against vs sin will arrest vs and lyeth at the doore our owne consciences will impannall a Quest against vs our owne hearts will giue in sufficient euidence and our owne iniquities will pleade guiltie to our owne faces Thus we see both by the experience of them that haue suffered the wound of the spirit and by the comparing of it with other euils what a weight most grieuous and burthen intolerable it is to haue a tormented conscience Now let vs shew how we may preuent and by what meanes Gods children falling into some degrees of it for if it rage in extremitie it is an euill most dangerous may safely and quietly be deliuered from it And here a iust complaint is to be taken vp and it is a wonder to be marked that we see many so carefull and watchfull to auoyd other troubles and so few or none take any paines to escape the trouble of minde which is so grieuous We see men louing health and loathing sicknes in diet temperate in sleepe moderate in Physicke expert skilfull to purge and to auoid such corrupt humors which in time may breede though presently they doe not bring forth some dangerous sicknes yet to auoyd the diseases of the soule no man abateth his sleepe no man abridgeth his diet no man prepareth Physicke for it no man knoweth when to be full and when to be emptie how to want and how to abound Others caried away with the loue of riches and very slie to fall into pouertie will not sticke to rise early and take sleepe lately to fare hardly to teare and taw their flesh in labour by land and by water in faire and foule weather by rockes and by sands from farre and from neere and yet to fall into spirituall decaies to auoide the pouertie of conscience no man taketh such paines as though saluation and peace of minde were not a thing worthie the labouring for Some ambitiously hunting after honour and not easily digesting reproches behaue themselues neither sluggishly nor sleepily but are actiue in euery attempt by loue and by counsell by prudence and prowesse by wit and by practise by labour and learning by cunning and diligence to become famous and to shun a ciuill reproch yet to be glorious in the sight of God and his Angels to fall before the heauens in the presence of the Almightie to be couered with shame and confusion of conscience we make none account as they who neither vse any meanes to obtaine the one nor auoid those occasions which may bring the other Others vnwilling to come within the reach and danger of the law that they may escape imprisonment of body or confiscation of goods will be painefull in penall Satutes skilfull in euery branch of the ciuill law and especially will labour to keepe themselues from treasons murthers felonies and such like offences deseruing the punishment of death yet when the Lord God threatneth the seizure both of soule and body the attaching of our spirits the confiscating of our cōsciences the banishing of vs from heauen the hanging of vs in hell the suspending of our saluation the adiudging of vs to condemnation for the breach of his commandements no man searcheth his eternall law no man careth for the Gospell neither the sentence of euerlasting diuorcement from the Lord neither the couenant of reconciliation is esteemed of vs. And to reach our complaint one degree further Behold the more we seeke outward pleasures and to auoid the inward trouble of minde the more we haste and runne into it and suddenly plunge our selues in a wounded spirit ere we be aware Who posteth more to become rich who hopeth lesse to become poore than the marchant man who aduentureth great treasures who hazardeth his goods who putteth in ieopardie his life and yet suddenly he either rusheth vpon the rocke of hardnesse of heart or else is swallowed vp of the gulph of a despairing minde from which afterwards he cannot be deliuered with a ship full of golde Wofull proofe hath confirmed how some men wholy set on pleasures such as could not away to be sad and to be hedged vp alwaies of godly sorrow haue had their tables made snares and euen their excesse of pleasures hath brought excesse of sorrowes and whilest they laboured to put the euill day farre from them they haue vsed such follies as haue bred them most bitter and terrible torments of their fearefull and trembling consciences There be some of another sorte who
dangerous passages of naturall corruption and originall sinne the troublesome froth whereof doth almost ouerwhelme many poore pilgrims it shall be good to giue this caution that both in these and in the former troubles men would be still againe admonished patiently to beare with a wounded spirit albeit it fall out so that they be somewhat pettish seeing the holy Ghost speaketh so fauourably of them saying A wounded spirit who can beare And surely our practise in other things by the law of equitie may vrge this at our hands For if men by the light of reason can see it to be a dutie conuenient not furiously to controll but meekly to suffer and wisely to put vp the vnaduised speeches of a man distempered in braine by reason of some burning ague or such like violent and vehement sicknes we may easily gather euen by the same rule of reason not so seuerely to cēsure the impatiēt speeches of him who by reason of some parching feuer of the spirit is disquieted in all parts of his mind hath all the veines of his heart as it were in a spirituall agonie vexed Wherefore both vnsauourie for want of godly wisedome vncharitable for want of Christian loue are their murmuring obtrectations which say what Is this the godly man Is this he that is so troubled for his sinnes Why see how pettish he is nothing can please him no bodie can satisfie him Consider O man if thou canst beare with a ●raile bodie that thou must much more beare with a fraile mind Consider O man that this his pettishnes doth more wound him to the hart than any iniurie thou couldest presse him with And therfore seeing he afflicteth his owne soule for it thou needest not adde any thing to his affliction and to exasperate his grieuous smart Consider that it is a blessed thing mercifully to bethinke vs of the estate of the needie and that to rub a fresh wound and to straine a bleeding sore is nothing else but with Iobs friends to bring a new torment where there is no need of it As the wise father doth rather pitie thā rebuke his child whēby reason of sicknes the appetite is not easily pleased so if we purpose to doe any good with an afflicted minde we must not be austere in reprehēding euery infirmitie but p●tiful in considering of the tender frailtie of it Neither doe I speake this to nourish pe●●●shnes in any but would haue them to labour for patience and to seeke for peace which though they finde not at the first yet by prayer they must waite on the Lord and say Lord because there is mercy that thou maist be feared I will waite vpon thee as the eye of the seruant wai●●●● vpon the hand of his maister I will condemne my selfe of folly and say Oh my soule why art tho●o so h●a●●e Why art thou so cast downe within me Still trust in the Lord for he is thy health and thy saluation FINIS THE SECOND TREATISE BELONGING TO THE COMFORT OF AN AFFLICTED CONSCIENCE IN all afflictions Gods children must looke vnto the end they are to desire to profit by them and in them to seeke ●he way of sound comfort and consolation which that they may finde they must know that the afflictions of the godly last but a while they serue them but for salues and medicines the end of them is alwaies happie In them they are not onely preserued and purified from many sinnes but also much beautified with the image of Iesus Christ who is the eldest sonne in the house of God Againe the crosse of true Christians is the sweete and amiable call of God vnto repentance in that he putteth vs in minde therby to bethinke vs of our debts because we are giuen to thinke the day of payment is yet farre off yea we fall asleepe vntill our turne be ended and whilest God lengtheneth our daies waiting for our repentance we neuer thinke of our sinnes vntill the houre come wherein we perish with shame The best meeting then with the Lords visitation is without delay and in sinceritie to pray for our sinnes to be pardoned For therefore doth the Lord oftentimes shackle vs the more with the chaines of his chastisements because we are more carefull to be vnburthened of our sicknesse than to be freed from our sin which we the rather are loath to confesse because we would not be espied to be in the wrath of God Others there be that hearing of their sinnes in the time of their afflictions will acknowledge indeed their infirmities to be the mother of such a broode yet they haue no true remorse to restraine themselues from sinne because they haue but a confused conceite thereof and though their ship be neuer so much tossed and turmoyled yet thinke they not that God holdeth the sterne These men if God beare with them doe as it were settle in their lees and are as it were soked in their sinnes For prosperitie is a drunkennesse to cast our selues into a dead sleepe and when the Lord letteth vs alone we cease not to soothe vp ourselues bearing our selues in hand that we are in Gods fauour and that he loueth vs because he scourgeth vs not And thus retchles we are whilest we measure Gods loue according to our sense and humour Wherein we bewray our ignorance of the exercise of the crosse in that affliction is the mother of humilitie humilitie breedeth repentance and repentance obtaineth mercie Some also there are who vsually whilest the fearefull iudgement of God is before their eyes either in themselues or in others haue a few glancing motions and starting cogitations of their sinnes and of Christ his passion yet at all other times their minds are so clasped vp from thinking of temptations and their hearts so locked vp from foreseeing or forethinking of iudgements that they feele no godly sorrow They mocke the mourning dayes of the elect as of them that be of melancholy nature they make a sport of sinne as little remembring the sting which will either pricke them to the heart blood most fearefully in the houre of death or meete them with griping agonies in the day of their visitation more speedily But happily they think they haue giuen good testimony word of their repentance and remembrance of God when they giue one deepe sigh and away and passe ouer Gods heauie indignatiō as ouer burning coals So that whilest the Lord in prosperitie affoordeth large peniworths of his loue vnto them they dally with his Maiestie make a sport of his mercy Al which imperfections may be better corrected if in our deepest rest with a reuerent humble feare of Gods iudgements we did waite for the day of our trial and prepare our selues to the Lords visitations for the feeling of Gods mercie must come from the sight of our miserie by sinne which being pardoned we shall soone haue our infirmities healed Wherefore let vs first learne to cleanse our soules from
is our Iudge and acquiteth vs and Christ was condemned and iustifieth vs he is our iudge that willeth not the death of a sinner he is our man of law who to excuse vs suffered himselfe to be accused for vs. O gluttonous hell where is thy defence O cruell sin where is thy tyrannous power O rauening death where is thy bloodie sting O roring lion why doest thou fret and fume Christ my Law fighteth against thee O law is my libertie Christ fighteth against thee O sin and is my righteousnes Christ fighteth against thee O diuel is my Sauiour Christ fighteth against thee O death and is my life Thou didst desire to paue my way to the burning lake of the damned but contrarie to thy will thou art constrained to lift vp the ladder wherby I must ascend into the new Ierusalem Wherefore if we shall finde our selues forsaken of God so as we perceiue nothing but matter of despaire let vs still hold our owne in the certaintie of our faith stay our selues sith Christ is giuen vs of God that he might extinguish sin triumph ouer the law vāquish death ouercom the diuel destroy hel for our only comfort and consolation But peraduenture some will say my faith is weake and cold and my conscience is as a flaming lampe and burning fornace I feare the Lord will still pursue me with his wrathfull indignation Thou doest well to feare but feare and sinne not For feare which subdueth the securitie of the flesh is in all most requisite in that the weaker we are in our selues the stronger we are in God But that feare is dangerous which hindreth the certaintie of faith in that it incourageth our enemie more fiercely to set vpō vs when we comming into the campe wil cast away our armour especially which should defend vs. Comfort thy selfe the Lord will not quench the smoking flaxe nor breake the bruised reede he looketh not on the quātitie but on the quality of our faith For as a good mother doth not reiect her childe because through some infirmitie it is weake feeble and not able to goe alone but rather doth pitie and supporte it least peraduenture it should fall and recompenseth that with motherly affection which in her childe is wanting by occasion in like manner the Lord God our most gracious father doth not cast vs off because through our imperfections we are vnable or afraid to draw neerer to the throne of grace but rather pitieth vs and seeing vs a farre off desirous to come vnto him meeteth vs by the way and by grace and strength of his owne hand directeth our steppes vnto his kingdome And as he which freely purposeth to giue a wedge of gold will not withdrawe his gift because the hand of him that should receiue it is weake troubled with the gout palsey or leprosie so that by any meanes though in great weakenes he be able to hold it euen so the Lord purposing in free mercie to bestow on vs an immortall weight of glory will not depriue vs of it though many filthy blemishes haue polluted and weakened our faith so that in any small measure we be able to take hold of his promises neither are we to looke for the perfection of faith because we neuer beleeue as we ought but rather on that which the Gospell offereth and giueth and on Gods mercie and peace in Christ in whose lap if we can lay our heads with Saint Iohn then we are in felicitie securitie and perfect quietnes Contrariwise there be some who notwithstanding that a tormented conscience is a stinging Serpent that it were much better that all the creatures rose vp against vs euery one bringing their bane then once to come before the dreadfull face of God are so blockish that they are wholy resolued into hardnes If they be pricked with sicknes they crie alas if they be pinched with pouertie they can complaine but as for the torment of minde they cannot skill of it And euen to talke of a brused contrite and broken heart is a strange language For proofe whereof our cōsciences are rocked asleepe so that not one amongst a thousand knoweth what it is to be pressed and harrowed with the rake of Gods iudgemēts But blessed are they that to their owne saluation feele this in their bodies whilest sinne may be both punished and purged For though God spare vs for a time yet we know what he keepeth for our ende Wherefore it is the best for vs to runne to the Lord in this life with a troubled minde least we tarrie till the Lord haue locked vs vp with the heauie fetters of desperation when he shall summon vs to the barre of his iudgement in the sight of his Angels and impanelling the great inquest of his Saints against vs shall denounce our fearefull and finall sentence of eternall condemnation for we see many that haue beene carelesse haue made good cheare all their life long yea and when men haue laboured to make them feele the iudgement of God they haue turned all to mockery but their iolity the Lord hath so abated when they draw towards death that in stead of resting sporting whereunto they had been giuen they haue felt the terror of death hell and damnation and lapping vp their ioyes in finall desperation haue forced out cursings against their filthie pleasures Wherefore if we in the tempest of our temptations will saile a right course neither shrinking nor slipping into the gulfe of desperation neither battering our barke against the rocke of presumption let vs in a contrite spirit crie vnto the Lord Haue mercie vpon me heale my soule for I haue sinned against thee forgiue all mine iniquities and heale all mine infirmities Thou healest those that are broken in heart and bindest vp their soares why art thou cast downe my soule and why art thou disquieted within me waite on God for I will yet giue him thankes he is my present helpe and my God Yet my soule keepe thou silence before God of him commeth my saluation he is my strength therefore I shall not much be moued His mightines is enough to giue me courage yea and shall be euen when I am forlorne I know that the diminishing of my body goods friends or any other thing is a calling of me to that which neuer shall diminish nor decay I beleeue that my Lord and my God allureth me daily thither that I might not doubt that when my body is laid in the graue and there consumed as it were to nothing yet notwithstanding my soule resting in the bosome of the Lord shall returne vnto me and shall rise to glory euen as it resting in this life in the mercies of Christ did rise to grace verily I see that with ioy that my flesh must goe to decay for looke what freshnes soeuer was in it it diminished day by day And I neede not goe farre to seeke for death for I feele not
creatures of water bread and wine in the Sacraments but acknowledge all inward grace to proceede from God his blessing and institution so we promise vnto our selues on the Lord his day a greater blessing not for any thing in the day it selfe but by reason of God his owne ordinance and promise of a blessing to the same And as we denie not a blessing from the Lord on priuate prayer reading and conference but acknowledge a greater blessing to be due euen by the Lord his owne promise to these exercises publike in cōparison of the other so wee denie not the grace of God to be vpon those houres redeemed from our outward callings and consecrated to the Lord but confesse a more speciall blessing from God to belong to that whole day which the Lord hath taken vp to himselfe alone and that for his owne promise sake vnto all them which come with simple hearts to obey his holy commaundement Now hauing gone through these reasons which proue the Sabbath day to be morall and that this commaundement is no lesse to be obserued than the other nine before we enter into the exposition of the law it selfe it shal be cōuenient to meet with such reasons as some men bring to preludice the trueth of that which hath beene alreadie spoken which being done by God his grace we will come to the other The reasons against the Sabbath may briefely be reduced into such as either seeme to be drawne out of the expresse words of the Scriptures or else by some consequence to be gathered from the Scriptures The arguments borrowed from the written word are either out of the olde Testament or out of the new they which are contained in the olde are taken either out of the lawe or out of the Prophets Out of the lawe they make much a doe about that which is written Exod. 31. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. where the Lord faith this vnto Moses Speake thou vnto the children of Israel and say Notwithstanding keepe ye my Sabbaths for it is a signe betweene me and you in your generations that ye may know that I the Lord doe sanctifie you Ye shall therefore keepe the Sabbath for it is holy vnto you he that defileth it shall die the death therefore whosoeuer worketh therein the same person shall be euen cut off from among his people Sixe daies shall men worke but in the seuenth day is the Sabbath of the holy rest to the Lord whosoeuer doth any worke on the Sabbath day shall die the death Wherefore the children of Israel shall keepe the Sabbath that they may obserue the rest throughout their generations for an euerlasting couenant It is a signe betweene me and the children of Israel for euer for in sixe daies the Lord made the heauen and the earth and in the seuenth day hee ceased and rested Out of these words they snatch these three reasons First they triumph before the conquest and say it is manifest that it is a signe and therefore as they please to conclude it is a figure True it is that it is here called a signe vers 13. as also Ezech. 20. 12 it is plaine howbeit this is no good reason that seeing the Sabbath is a signe therefore it is a figure or shadowe For although euery figure and shadowe be a signe yet euery signe is not a figure or shadow A figure foresheweth a trueth afterwards to be reuealed a shadow betokeneth a bodie hereafter to be exhibited but a signe as it doth sometimes signifie a thing afterwards to be looked for so it doth sometimes assure vs of a thing alreadie performed The figure ceaseth when the trueth commeth there is no vse of the shadow when the body is present but the signe and the thing signified may be ioyned together and both of them serue for a present vse Againe they gather out of the 16. verse of the chapter which we haue in hand where it is said The children of Israel shall keepe the Sabbath that they may obserue the rest through their generations for an euerlasting couenant that because the Sabbath of God is his couenant for euer that is vntill Christ it is ceremoniall True it is that the lawe admitteth this phrase of speech sundrie times to say for euer that is vntill Christ in whom al things are fulfilled But we must obserue this general rule as our guide when we will know what figures and ceremonies end in Christ and what morall precepts belong vnto vs. When a thing is vrged to the Iewes and hath a peculiar reason made properly to the Iewe and appertaineth nothing to the Christian then as it begunne with the Iewes as they were Iewes it ceased with the Iewes but when the reason of the thing vrged is not peculiar to the Iewes but also belongeth to the Christians then the thing commanded is not proper to the Iew but common to the Iew and Gentile Wherefore let vs square out the reason by the line of this generall rule It is here added v. 17. For in six daies the Lord made the heauen and the earth and in the seuenth day he ceased and rested Where if it had beene said they shall obserue the rest for an euerlasting couenant because they were brought out of Egypt I would haue graunted it to haue beene peculiar to the Iewes but seeing this is the reason the Lord rested which is common not to the posteritie of Abraham alone but to the whole posteritie of Adam the commaundement must be granted generall both to Iew and Gentile For it is a common instruction to all men in all ages to labour six daies wherein the Lord made the heauen and the earth and to cease from labour the seuenth day because in it the Lord rested The plaine sense then of this place is briefly this as if the Lord should say I made this law in the beginning of the world and it shall last to the end of the world I made it to Adam the father of all generations and it shall endure to the last of all his posteritie from generation to generation I made this law to ease my selfe after my great paines taken in the creating of the world in sixe daies and you shall keepe it to ease your mindes which are fraught with many distractions by reason of your ordinarie callings in those daies Neither would I haue any to thinke that the Lord had neede of any refreshing who being infinite cannot be subiect to distractions or wearines but we must know that where the Lord is said that he refreshed himselfe by taking view of his creatures he commendeth his loue to vs ward in shewing rather what ought to be in vs than what was in him For such alacritie and diligence should we vse in our callings as we should be glad when the Lords day commeth that in it we shall recouer our selues and ease our mindes of those distractions which burthen vs in our outward calling and so
yet we may eate the fatnes of meate which was forbidden them And so in all the commandements the morall obseruation belongeth to vs as well as to them the ceremoniall keeping to them and not to vs. And the same we conclude of this place concerning the fire making on this day Out of the new Testament they also gather two reasons First they say it is not mentioned nor vrged so much in the new Testament as are the other precepts I an answere this is no good reason but is rather to be returned to the Anabaptists who reason that the iudiciall lawes are not to be vsed because they are not vrged Nay rather looke what the holie Ghost hath set downe more sparingly in the old Testament he hath more fully plainly supplied it in the new Testament and what thing the law containeth more fully that the Gospell handleth more sparingly because the Lord in his heauenly wisedome would not trouble vs much with one thing But we know it is named Matth. 12. and 24. Mar. 2. Iohn 5. Act. 20. 1. Cor. 16 and 16. Reuelat. ● The second argument is this The Apostles changed the day which say these men they neuer would haue done had it been morall I answere it was neuer commanded nor appointed what one certaine day should be kept among seuen but that there should be obserued a seuenth day which being kept it is sufficient and the law remaineth vnuiolated And yet we permit not that any man at his pleasure should now change this day For that which the Apostles did they did not as priuate men but as men guided by the spirite of God they did it for the auoyding of superstition wherewith the Iewes had infected it Againe as the Iewes vsed the other day which is the last day of the weeke because it was the day wherein the Lord made all things perfect so the Apostles changed it into the day of Christ his resurrection who was the beginner of the new world on which day we receiued a more full fruite and possession of all the benefits in Christ his conception birth life and death Besides this was the first day of the creating of the world wherein the Lord drew light out of darknes Lastly the holy Ghost is said on this day to come downe vpon the holy Apostles So that this day doth fitly put vs in minde of our creation to be thankfull to God the Father of our redemption to be thankfull to God the Sonne and of our sanctification to be thankfull to God the holie Ghost Now if any can alleadge more effectuall or equall reasons vnto these hee may alter the day so it be with the consent of the Church Wherefore the equitie of the law remaining it is not abrogated Circumcision as we haue shewed is considered two manner of wayes either as the seale of Faith Rom. 4. or as a signe of that circumcision which wee haue in Christ made without hands In this manner considered it is ceased as it is a seale of Faith it remaineth not the same in forme and manner but the same in effect For although wee haue not the same helpe of our Faith yet we haue a helpe The Iewes had Sacraments moe in number but we more excellent in signification Though we haue not many Sacramēts and holy-dayes yet wee haue two Sacraments and one day more effectuall than all they were which the Iewes had We see therefore in truth no reason as yet why we should not obserue the Sabbath as Morall Thus hauing confirmed the doctrine of the Sabbath by the holy Scriptures and proued that there is a morall vse of the same as well for vs as for the Iewes and hauing answered all the contrarie objections that might seeme to make against this doctrine it followeth now according to our first diuision that wee should speake of the obseruation of the Sabbath it selfe shewing how it is kept and wherein it is broken For both these are expressed in the Commaundement wherein is set downe the affirmatiue to teach how to keepe it and the negatiue to shew how we breake it First then we will shew how the Sabbath ought to be kept then afterward we will declare how it is broken Where it is said in the beginning of the precept Remember to keepe holic and in the ende thereof the Lord hallowed the Sabbath so that it is not simply said Remember to keepe but to keepe holy neither is it simply mentioned that the Lord left the seuenth day but blessed the seuenth day hallowed it Hereby is insinuated vnto vs that in this day we should grow in loue towards God tender affection to our brethren wee are taught that then wee keepe the Sabbath aright when we vse it to that ende for which it was ordained that is when we vse in it as we haue before shewed th●se exercises whereby we may be the more sanctified and God the more glorified both on this in the other dayes of the weeke These exercises be such as are either priuate or publike The publike exercises are twice at the least to bee vsed euery Sabbath and they bee these First the word read and preached then prayers feruently made with thanksgiuing singing of Psalmes reuerend administration of the Sacraments And first for reading and preaching of the word wee reade Nehem. 8. 8. And they read in the booke of the Law of God distinctly and gaue the sense and caused them to vnderstand the reading Also wee may see this in the practise of the Apostles Act. 13. vers 15. And after the lectures of the Lawe and Prophets the rulers of the Synagogue sent vnto them saying Yee men and brethren if ye haue any word of exhortation for the people say on And as the Ministers did reade and preach the word so it was the practise of the Church to heare as Eccles. 4. vers 17. Take heede to thy foote when thou entrest into the house of God and bee more neere to heare than to giue the sacrifice of fooles And it is saide Nehem. 8. 3. The eares of all the people hearkened vnto the booke of the Law And concerning praying thanksgiuing singing the Prophet of God vseth a vehemēt exhortation to the Church Psal. 92. 1. Come saith he let vs reioyce vnto the Lord let vs sing aloude to the rocke of our saluation 2. Let vs come before his face with praise let vs sing aloude vnto him with Psalmes And Psal. 65. 1. O God praise waiteth for thee in Sion c. Now for the Sacraments generally we are to marke that as in the time of the law the sacrifices were most vsed on the Sabbath day so our Sacramēts succeeding the sacrifices are then most to be frequented As for the supper of the Lord it appeareth Act. 18. 1. Cor. 11. as it seemeth that it was administred euery Lords day although now adaies the ministers may
in the time to come not in time present in regard whereof the Prophet saith the silly fowles and birds of the ayre the Storke the Doue and others keepe their time but we neuer can finde our time to doe well in Beyond all this as all persons and times so all places are tainted with this euill Heauen it selfe hath not been voide of wickednesse for euen from thence fell the wicked Angels Paradise was not exempted the Temple was not free from notable hypocrisie the number exceeded euen in the actions themselues wherfore Dauid crieth out at the view of such a packe Lord who doth vnderstand the errors of this life Our daies may be numbred as wee see Psalm 90. but our sinnes are without number and therefore are compared to the sand of the Sea Then wee see in regard of the person time places and actions few doe good and therefore such is the complaint and question of the men of God in this behalfe The fruit which we are to reape by this is thus much that if we see occasion of offence and matter of grief be offered vs we see no more than Moses saw long agoe than Dauid Esay and Christ himselfe saw in their times before vs in comparison wherof we may make our aduantage that seeing the time of Moses was a time of affliction and the dayes wee liue in are daies of peace it is lesse marueile to see euill in the daies of peace than in the time of trouble and therefore Luther vpon this question who feares Psalm 90. maketh this answere no man before affliction shewing that affliction should specially leade vs to feare and being once affected with feare wee should either say Lord what shall I doe or with Dauid say What shall I repay vnto the Lord Seeing the Lord is faine to complaine of the smal number of such as feare him we must take order to mitigate this complaint that it fall not more iustly vpon vs. In the time of Moses at the least there was Iosua and Caleb in Christs time Simeon and Anna At the least we must looke there be one true worshipper as in Elias time and so doing we shall make the question vaine and surely if we desire to be such fewe will put vs by our desire for as our sinnes be well called an hereditarie sicknesse which if it were not so wee would purchase them fast enough so that knowledge and feare of God not being hereditarie are not withstanding cheapened of few men Great cause there is then why we should feare it is an act of the euerlasting Parliament that we must once die Hebrues 9. and Iob saith that our life is but short and doe wee not heare that all of all kindes are gone this way all wise men all men of pleasure no Patriarkes escaped it no Prophet was exempted our eares can testifie this doe wee not daily misse our friends when Gods wrath hath taken them away and the graue hath buried them in silence Doe we not daily in comming to the congregation passe ouer the graues of men sufficient monuments of the execution of the generall day Doe wee not vse as a generall prouerbe as sure as death and yet the seruants of God complaine that wee know not the wrath of God Surely wee doe not know this for all that which Moses Psalme 90. proues by two reasons first hee prayes to bee taught in it and if it were alreadie exactly knowne then should this prayer be superfluous againe he argueth of the effect that for so much as there followes no feare therefore there is no knowledge of the wrath of God for the want of feare sends a want of faith herein and were wee perswaded that Gods wrath were such a thing wee would feare and therefore we feare not because wee are not so perswaded of the wrath of God in it In naturall things wee will not easily runne into things feared nor feare those things which wee thinke not to be euill and therefore because we feare the fire will burne the water will drowne wee are hardly brought to runne into the fire or into the water much more should we so doe in things supernaturall if we did truly feare them wherefore though wee knowe in some part the wrath of God yet wee are not come to the perfect knowledge of it required at our hands Hitherto we must vnderstand it is one thing for man to determine of knowledge and another thing for God to iudge of it as Esay pronounced a difference betweene our esteeming of fasting and Gods iudging of it Esay 58. for that if wee see a man abstaine from meate we think he is a good deuout faster but the Lord determines otherwise so we may pronounce a difference betweene the valuation of knowledge in our eyes in the Lords eies It is nothing for vs to say this haue we quoted thus haue we read this haue I vttered and therefore I know this for this is nothing in Gods iudgement for as he determineth of the fast so will he determine of the knowledge of them that passe the auncient Rabbins of the Iewes and outreach the wise men of the Heathen And no maruel for as we say there is a wise kinde of ignorance a learned vnskilfulnesse so surely there is an ignorant knowledge a sottish kind of wisedome and this now possesseth the whole world And that wee may walke within our warrant we shal fetch our proofe from the sixt of Esay which place for the excellencie of it is oft repeated in the new Testament Matthew 13. Acts 28. and Rom. 11. where wee see there may be a seeing without seeing a kind of hearing and yet no hearing indeede Euen so there may be a knowledge and yet no knowledge before God the cause is for that the Lord accounts of no knowledge which comes not into practise and if we haue neuer so much knowledge and practise it not it is nothing in Gods booke And according as this is God his reckoning so it is our vsuall account for if wee haue taken paines to put precept vnto precept and to teach one that hath not profited by our paines how attentiue soeuer he seeme yet wee account him and accuse him as one that heard not at all Better is no candle than a candle vnder a bushell and the Lord accounts no light vnder a bushell for light Better to haue no eares than the eares of an Idoll And indeed they are no eares for they heare not so it is no knowledge that is separated from practise Wee doe beguile our selues in our accounts when wee thinke wee haue a great knowledge for that wee haue heard many Sermons whereunto because we haue not ioyned practise we may well blot out of the score many of those Sermons for such Sermons in Gods account be to vs as no Sermons We can say and cry that where there is a want of the meanes there is a great token of Gods curse and
thou forsaken me this was the complaint of Gedeon Did not the Lord bring vs out of Egipt but now the Lord hath forsakē vs deliuered vs into the hands of the Midianites Iudg. 6. 13. M. Robert Glouer martyr at Couentrie after hee was condēned by the Bishop was now at point to be deliuered out of the world it so happened that two or three dayes before his death his heart beeing lumpish and desolate of all spirituall consolation felt in himselfe no aptnesse nor willingnesse but rather a heauinesse and dulnesse of spirit full of much discomfort to beare the bitter crosse of Martyrdome readie now to bee laide vpon him wherevpon hee fearing in himselfe least the Lord had withdrawn his wonted fauour from him made his moane to one Austine his deere friend signifying vnto him how earnestly he had prayed day and night vnto the LORD GOD and yet could receiue no motion nor sense of any comfort from him vnto whome they saide Austine answered againe willing him patiently to waite the Lords pleasure howsoeuer his present feeling was yet seeing his cause was iust and true he exhorted him constāntly to sticke to the same to play the mā nothing doubting but the Lord in his good time would visite him and satisfie his desire with plentie of consolation c. The next day when the time came of the Martyrdome as he was going to the place and was now come to the sight of the stake although all the night before praying for strength and courage he could feele none suddainly he was so replenished with the holy Ghost that he cryed out clapping with his hands to Austine and saying with these words Austine he is come he is come c. and that with such ioy and alacritie as one seeming rather to be risen from some deadly danger to liberty of life then as one passing out of the world by any paines of death Desertion in sinne is when God withdrawing the assistance of his spirit a man is left to fall into some actuall and grieuous sinne And for all this no man is to thinke that God is the authour of sinne but onely man that falleth and Sathan A resemblance of this truth we may see in a staffe which if a man shall take and set vpright vpon the ground so long as he holds it with his hand it stands vpright but so soone as he withdrawes his hand though he neuer push it downe it fals of it selfe In this desertion was the good King Hezekiah of whom the holy Ghost speaketh thus Hezekiah prospered in all his waies therefore dealing with the Ambassadours of the Princes of Babel which sent to him to inquire of the wonder which was done in the Land God left him namely to the pride of his heart to exalt himselfe in tempting him that he might trie out all that was in his heart To this place appertaine Noahs drunkennesse Dauids adulterie Peters deniall of Christ. The reason of such desertions may be this If a patient shall be grieuously sicke the Physition will vse all manner of meanes that can be deuised to recouer him and if he once come to a desperate case the physition rather then he will not restore him will imploy all his skill he will take poyson and so temper it and against the nature thereof he will make a soueraigne remedie to recouer health The elect children of God are diseased with an inward hidden and spirituall pride whereby they affect themselues and desire to be something in themselue● fo●●h of Christ and this sinne is very dangerous first because when other sinnes die in a man this secret pride gets strength for Gods grace is the matter of pride in such wise that a man will be proud because he is not proude for example if any shall be tempted of the diuell to some proud behauiour and by Gods grace get the victorie then the heart thus thinketh Oh thou hast done well thou hast foiled the enemie neither pride nor any other sinne can preuaile against thee such and such could neuer haue done so and a very good man shall hardly be free from such kind of motions in this life Secondly there is no greater enemie to faith then pride is for it poysoneth the heart and maketh it vncapable of that grace so long as it beareth any sway for he that will beleeue in Christ must be annihilated that is he must be brused and battered to a flat nothing in regard of any liking or affection to himselfe that he may in spirit mount vp to heauen where Christ sits at the right hand of the Father and as it were with both the hands of faith graspe him with all his blessed merits that he may be wisedome righteousnesse sanctification redemption life good workes and whatsoeuer good thing he is neither in nor by nor for himselfe but euery way forth of himselfe in Christ. Now this blessed condition of a beleeuing heart by naturall selfe-loue selfe-liking is greatly hindered God therefore in great mercy to remedie this dangerous corruption lets his elect seruants fal into trouble of minde conscience if they happily be of greater hardnesse of heart into some actuall sin so declaring his wonderfull mercy in sauing them he is faine against his mercy to bring them to his mercy and by sin to saue them from sin By this means the Lord who can bring light out of darknesse makes a remedy of sin to slay pride that inuisible mōster of many heads which would slay the soule Though this be so yet none must hereupon venter to cōmit any sin against Gods commandemēts least in so doing they cast away their soules For the godly man though he fal into sin yet it is against his purpose and it makes his hart to bleed the course of his life shall be alwaies vpright and pleasing vnto God because he is led by the spirit of God The ends for which God vseth desertions are three the first is the chastisement of sins past in the former part of mans life that he may search them out cōsider them he hear●ily sorrowfull for them for this end was Iobs triall Thou writest saith he bitter things against me and makest me to possesse the sinnes of my youth The second end is that God may make triall of the present estate of his seruants not that he is ignorant what is in man but because he would haue all men know themselues To this effect saith Moses And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God lead thee in the wildernesse for to humble thee and to prooue thee to know what was in thine heart whether thou wouldest keepe his commandements or no. This also was the end why the Lord left Ezechias to prooue and trie what was in his heart The triall by desertion serueth for two purposes for other whiles the Lord vseth it for the manifestation of some hidden sinne that the godly may
when as they that trust in lying vanities doe forsake their owne mercie Ionah 2. 10. And graunt me graciously thy word He boasteth not on his owne merits but desireth all for Gods goodnes and till it please God to make vs rest in his word and in that alone we shall be carried about with euery blast of new doctrine runne a whoring after our own inuentions and neuer be guided in any good way ¶ Vers. 30. I haue chosen the way of truth and thy iudgements haue I layde before mee THough the Prophet prayed in the former verse against the way of falshood and lying yet it seemeth that by the spirit of God hee had made choyce of a good way for here hee protesteth that for his part hee had chosen the way of trueth and laide before himselfe the waye of Gods iudgements God layde before him two wayes the one straite the other wide the one of life the other of death the one of lying the other of truth which doth hee choose the waye of trueth that is that path which leadeth to trueth and wel-doing and in one word to him who is the way the truth and the life But how comes it that hee makes this choyce is it in the power of his free-will nothing lesse no man can come vnlesse he be drawn walke vnlesse he be directed runne vnlesse he bee enlarged or choose this waye vnlesse hee bee guided by the worke of Gods spirit without which we can doe nothing I haue chosen why then should not wee chuse it surely hee maketh this confession both to stirre vp others by his example and to testifie his resolution that though hee were in danger for this choyce and had fewe companions yet hee for his part would neuer seeke out any other way as Ios. 24. 15. Ioh. 6. 67. 68. 69. The way of truth thus he st●leth the word of God which alone shewes man the waye by which hee may walke safely and vprightlie But before a man can bee set in this way hee hath many seducements offered vnto him to drawe him into by paths It seemeth that Dauid ouercame them all made Gods word that Ari●dnes threed by which he passed through all sorts of Labyrinths If wee intend to make choyce of any other waye doubt not but we shall haue counsellors enough but this is the waye chuse it And thy iudgements haue I laide before me 1. Thy word according to which thou wilt pronounce sentence that haue I saide before mee it is euer in my sight it is my counsellor my comforter my guide and gouernour O happie Dauid if thou hadst euer done so then hadst thou not fallen either by pride of heart in numbring the people or vncleanesse of life with the spouse of Vriah Hence springs all impietie that we laye not GODS iudgements before vs. ¶ Vers. 31. I haue cleaued to thy testimonies O Lord confound me no● IF euer good man had occasion by crosses to forsake his profession and hold of pietie Dauid had neuer was man more beloued of God yet neuer was man so molested by men remember his troubles and his truth will appeare Did hee now forsake his standing abandon his generall or start aside like a broken bowe no he did not In the Lord was his delight in Gods word was his comfort He did cleaue so fast vnto the word of God in which his will is testified to man that no trouble could make him to forgoe his hold Mee thinkes I may bring in heere Paul speaking as Dauid doth Who shall seperate vs from the loue of Christ shall tribulation or anguish or persecution or famine or naked ●●sse or perill or sworde As it is written for thy sake are we killed all the day long wee are counted as sheepe for the slaughter Neuerthelesse in all these things we are more then conquerers through him th●t loued vs. For I am perswaded that neither death nor life nor angels nor principalities nor powers nor things present nor things to come Nor height nor depth nor any other creature shall b●e able to seperate vs from the loue of GOD which is in CHRIST IESVS our LORDE Rom. 8. 35. c. Confounde mee not If I cleaue not to thy testimonies thou wilt confounde mee as all they are who start aside from thee if I cleaue vnto thy testimonies men will confounde mee O LORDE suffer mee not to bee confounded by them or to doe that whereby I may be ashamed either before thee or before any man Thus Dauid fearing that by daily accidents his faith and profession might be shaken and he should in the ende become a scorne to his enemies as who more scorned then the most godly desireth that he might haue as he had trusted such good successe that vpon none occasion that hold which he had laide vpon Gods word might be taken from him Where we see it is the custome of the wicked to put most shame vpon them who desire to sticke most fast vnto God and to serue him with greatest sinceritie this is the great griefe of Gods Saints that they are thus confounded for well doing let them goe on as Dauid did let them pray as Dauid here doth in the ende they shall either see the confusion of their enemies or else reioyce in consolation of a good conscience that they are hated without a cause ¶ Verse 32. I will runne the waies of thy commaundements when thou shalt enlarge mine heart THis last verse is a golden verse in which he sheweth principally with what speede and cheerfulnesse he will serue God But because this race celestiall cannot be vndertaken vnlesse we know Christ and in him the remission of sinnes which alone knowledge doth enlarge the heart drawing it out of the dolors of death and perfuming it with a new ioy by which it resteth quieted in the Lord therefore as before he desired to be quickened and cheerēd according to Gods word so heere he promiseth that he will most cheerfully goe on in the waies of Gods statutes where it shall please the Lord to set his heart at libertie by taking away from him the feare of his displeasure purchased by sinne and the furie of his enemies of whom he was in danger I will runne c. it is a metaphor borrowed from runners in a race who questionles doe runne with speede Such an one was Ahimaaz 2. Sam. 18. who out●an Chushi to bring Dauid tydings of Absolons death And Iohn who did ouerrunne Peter to the sepulcher Iohn 20. 4. Dauid will imitate these runners he will make hast and delay no time to keepe Gods righteous iudgements So would Paul himselfe Philip. 3. 13. I forget that which is behinde and I endeuor myselfe to that which is before And followe hard towards the marke for the price of the high calling of God in Christ Iesus And to this race he exhorteth the Corinthians 1. Epistle 9. Chapter Verse 2. So runne that ye may obtaine Now in this race some creepe
Father that gaue them me is greater th●n all and none can take them out of my Fathers hands Iohn 10. 29 Now if we would be knowne to delight in Gods lawe we must reade it with our eyes heare it with our eares treasure it in our memories ponder it in our hearts talke of it in our assemblies and practise it in our liues least we with Saul reiecting Gods word he in the end reiect vs. We should indeed haue this delight but we haue not by reason 1. of our naturall corruption 2. it is against naturall reason 3. it shewes vs our sores 4. we thinke it simple 5. we come with preiudicate opinions 6. we say ô it is difficult 7. we are impenitent 8. we resolue not of repentance 9. we thinke those lawes are against our profit and 10. we see that the maine promises annexed to this lawe are for hereafter in heauen not on earth But if with a pure heart knowledge of the grounds of religion loue of God deniall of our selues faith in Christ an ayming at Gods glorie earnest prayer and an holy admiration of the maiestie puritie and power of this word we set vpon it we will cast with Ierome all vaine pamphlets out of our hands and both lift vp our hands to these testimonies bend our eyes to looke vpon these statutes and set our hearts to delight in these lawes especially such as promise saluation Verse 93. I will neuer forget thy precepts for by them thou hast quickened mee THis afflicted good man is nowe comforted his comfort came from the delight of Gods law he thinks of it he feeles the force of it and therefore to the end he might euer receiue the like comforts he will bind himselfe by a promise to the Lord that he will neuer forget his precepts adding a reason they were to him spirit and life By them I will neuer forget Hee that neuer thinketh of times and things past his life is no life saith Seneca Memorie it is the storehouse of all such things as wee see heare or inuent A forgetfull minde is like the lande of Sodome in which nothing groweth which perisheth not or that L●thean Lake in which nothing commeth which dyeth not or the Ostrich that forgetteth her egges or Messala Coruintes who forgot his owne name or a casting stomacke that casteth vp whatsoeuer it receiueth There are foure things which wee must forget first wrongs Leuitie 19. 18. 2. Benefites bestowed Matth. 6. 3. 3. The pleasure taken in sinne Rom. 6. 21. 4. The progresse alreadie made in godlinesse Philipp 3. 3. But manie things there are that wee must euer remember as first the mercies of GOD Psalm 103. 2. 2. His Iudgements Psalm 119. 52. 3. The day of death Luke 12. 19. 20. 4. The day of Iudgement Eccles. 11. 9. 5. The death of CHRIST 2. Tim 2. 8. 6. The vanitie of this world Psal 1 19 96. 7. The ioyes of heauen 2. Cor. 4 ●7 18. 8 The torments of hell 2. Thess 1. 8. 9. 9. The confusion of the carelesse Prou. ●4 32. 10. The taking away of the godly Isaiah 57. 1. 2. 3. 11. The liues of the godly to follow them Phil 3. 17. and 12. The law of God to keepe it I heare many complaine of bad memories they cannot carry away any thing of a sermon they forget all they reade of Gods word or good bookes Why canst thou comming to an Enter●ude remember much of it and of a sermon dost thou forget all Art thou able to repeate many daintie dishes set before thee in thine owne house not to record any one so much as tasted of in Gods house If thine appetite were spirituall thy memorie would be more firme then it is Olde men haue bad memories yet neuer forget where treasure is laide O but I would faine get a good memorie If I were a Physitian I might speake of many good meanes for that purpose or an Orator appoint images to place words in but I am to speake now as a diuine I aduise thee therefore to vse 1. temperate dyet 2. attention 3. delight 4. meditation or chewing of the cud saying to thy soule when thou commest home my soule what hast thou bene taught to day 5. conference 6 practise Vse memorie and haue memorie 7. presse not memorie with ouermuch at once 8. write but take heed that thy booke be not more learned then thy breast 9. binde thy selfe euer to remember somewhat especially that which doth most concerne thee 10. hoc age doe that only for which thou commest let not thy minde be at home when thou art at Church 11. draw euer as much as thou canst remember into a short praier 12. teach others that which thou hast learned 13. consider that the ende of the word is the saluation of thy soule 14. and lastly change that good word into good works I had rather with Dauid remember Gods precepts then with that mighty gouernour Mithridates bee able to speake two and twenty seuerall languages and to call with another euery souldier of many thousands in his Campe by their owne names For by them thou hast quickened mee Ten seuerall times in this one Psalme doth the Prophet make mention of this quickening partly by the way of supplication that hee might be quickened and partly by way of exaltation that hee was quickened as in this place where he protesteth with ioy that by the power of Gods worde accompanied with Gods spirit hee was as it were raised from the graue of despaire to the life of Faith and so became a liuing or rather indeede a liuely man It is reported that a Philosopher being demaunded what good hee got by the studie of Philosophie his Answere was Vt vtramque Fortunam patienter ferre possim That is I get this good that I can patiently beare either prosperitie or aduersitie If the rules of philosophie could teach him this our rules in diuinitie must teach vs as much By them saith Dauid thou hast quickened mee It seemeth that Dauid before was become as a dead man in his owne sense and feeling but now is reuiued by the word Thus Gods children both Ministers and Auditors are not alwayes alike either in their faith or the fruites of faith They haue their waxings and waynings as the Moone their settings and rysings as the Sun their ebbings and flowings as the Sea and their springing and falling as the leafe And as they that are troubled with an intermitting ague they haue their good and badde dayes Sometimes you shall see them as heauie as lead 1 by reason of the weather 2 their complexion 3 some griefe 4 some sinne committed 5 some good omitted 6 some meanes of saluation not vsed 7 some sinne not repented of 8 or not fully repented of 9 vnthankfulnesse for benefits 10 pride of gifts 11 to prouoke them to pray 12 that they may see what they are when God leaues them and not to presume vpon their owne strength At other times
who truely knoweth God should fall downe before an image Lactantius said well Non dubium est quin nulla sit tbireligio vbi simulacrum est How shall they call vpon him whom they haue not beleeued how shall they beleeue on them which are no Gods but the worke of mens hands I am thine This indeed is an excellent motiue to drawe from the Lord helpe in trouble I am thine thine by creation I was made by thee thine by adoption I was assigned ouer to thee thine by donation I was giuen to thee thine by marriage I was espoused to thee thine by redemption I was purchased by thee thine by stipulation I haue vowed my selfe vnto thee Saue me for I am thine Then 1 God hath especiall care of his 2. he aboue the rest hath regard of his annoynted 3. a sinner may be Gods child nay vnlesse a sinner first not Gods at all The whole haue no need of the Physitian but such as are sicke 4. none can truely call vpon God but such as are perswaded they belong to God 5. a man may nay he must be perswaded that he is Gods childe 2. Cor. 13. 5. Omnis anima saith one est aut sponsa Christi aut adultera diabols Euery soule is either the spouse of Christ or the diuels strumpet He will not be his owne he must not be the diuels he dares not be the worlds he is Gods owne childe he will not serue two maisters In this seruice is true libertie to be Gods sonne is the truest nobilitie We thinke the Barbarians seelie people who in many places of the world preferre iron or leade or some base mettall before gold but as for such amongst vs as make gold their God wee thinke them wise men seest thou a man wise after this sort there is more hope of a Barbarian then of him For I haue sought thy precepts Many signes there be and trials of our adoption as Rom 8. 15. I he spirit witnesseth to our spirits that we are the children of God and Io● 3. 14 by this we knowe that we are translated from death to life because we loue the brethren And Ioh. 8. 47. He that is of God heareth Gods words But to seeke out the knowledge of Gods will and to practise it in life and conuersation this is the very badge of Gods childe Reade but this one Psalme and you shall finde Dauid many times protesting his loue to Gods lawe promising his obedience to Gods commandements praying for knowledge of Gods will and valuing this treasure aboue all the treasures of the earth Seeke them to knowe knowe to remember remember to beleeue beleeue to practise and you shall be blessed in your deed It is curiositie to seeke onely to knowe or at least to knowe that which is aboue our knowledge it is pietie to seeke to knowe and doe those things which belong to the peace of conscience and pure conuersation ¶ Vers. 95. The wicked haue waited for me to destroy me but I will consider thy testimonies HE prayed before that God would saue him had he not need thinke you when the wicked waited to destroy him thus this and the former verse haue their coherence Here then he complaineth against his aduersaries and protesteth notwithstanding his recourse to Gods word He describeth his aduersaries by their names calling them wicked ones 2. by their diligence they lay waite 3 by their malice they waite to destroy him For the first the hebrew word translated wicked if the letters be transposed signifieth a rich man because it is hard to finde goods and goodnes riches and righteousnes in one person and I thinke that Salomon calleth riches the treasures of iniquitie Prou. 10. 2. not onely because they are gathered by badde meanes but also because often their owners are bad men These wicked persons strangers from the wombe the sonnes of men the children of Beliall scoffing Ishmaels parasiticall Doegs persecuting Sauls Dauid often complaineth of in this Psalme as veres 23. 52. 61. 69 78 85. 87. 110 241. 157 261. and here and in many other Psalmes And surely not without cause for many were these euill spirits that vexed him his brother Eliab accused him of pride Goliah the Philistine despised him to his face Saul the King hunted him as a partridge Doeg the Edomite slandered him to his Lord Absolon his sonne draue him out of his kingdome Achitophel his counsellor counselled against him M●cho● his wife contemned him in her heart Shemey his subiect rayled on him in his miserie Nabal the Charmelite played the churle with him and they that did eate of his breade and were entertained as friends became in the ende his vtter enemies and all because the Lord loued him and he followed that which good was When Caine and Abel can agree in one field Ishmael and Izaak in one house Iakob and Esau in one wombe then shall the wicked and godly agree together not before see Prou 29. 29. It is the nature of the wicked to be opposite to the good and persecutors of the godly therefore are they compared to Lions Beares Tygers Bulls Serpents Adders Archers and Foulers the godly man is the Partridge they the Hauke 1. let the Hauke all her lifetime sit vpon her Lords fist yet when she dies she is but cast vpon the dunghill let the Partridge be chased all the daies of her life yet after her death she shal be brought in a siluer dish to her Lords table Yet knowe that if thou oppose thy selfe against the godly thou art to be reputed but a wicked man Waited They were vigilant diligent and wise to doe hurt neuer did Cat so waite for the mouse or Wolfe for the sheepe or Lion for the Lambe or Hauke for Partridge or Fouler for Bird or the Souldier for his enemies as they waited for him they bent their bowe they made readie their arrowes vpon the string that they might secretly shoote at him that was vpright of heart Dauid complaineth of this so may wee Dauid prouided for these so ought we and though they waite day and night and lay all kindes of battes that can be yet in the ende Dauid hath the best for in the name of the Lord he shall destroy them This is our comfort waite they may but they can doe no more Luke 22. 31. For me Dauid had many followers in the time of his troubles yet his aduersaries aymed especially at his life Strike say they the Shepheard and the sheepe shal be scattered Stub vp the roote and the branches will wither chop off the heade and the members will perish if Dauid be once gone who shall resist Thus the worthiest Princes grauest counsellors and most vigilant Ministers haue euer beene the marke of wicked Archers Thus like the King of Aram they say 2. Chron 18. 31. Fight you not with small or great but against the King of Israel onely Experience wee haue had of this in the daies of our gracious Queene Elizabeth
helpe them nor their opinions comfort them This then may commend vnto vs the word of God that it onely maketh vs safe and staieth vs in all troubles wherefore it is said port 12. 4. Except thy law had beene my delight I should haue perished in mine affliction So the Prophet Ionah hath a notable sentence worthie to be written in letters of gold and of all men to be remembred Ionah 2. 18. They that waite vpon lying vanities forsake their owne mercie Whereby he sheweth that they which depend on any thing saue on God alone refuse their owne felicitie and that goodnesse which otherwise they should receiue of God So that the Prophet himselfe in not going to Niniuie waited on vanitie and could finde no comfort in himselfe We may for a time trust to Idolatrie or vngodlinesse but when the touch-stone and triall of Gods law comes they cannot stay vs nor saue vs for they will deceiue all vsers of them as false and vaine 1. Sam. 12. 21. Samuel exhorting the people to repētance willeth them to follow the Lord and not to turne backe saying also If ye turne backe that should be after vaine things which cannot profit you nor deliuer you for they are but vanitie Where he teacheth vs that when miseries come our delights are but vaine and therefore cannot helpe vs. The Scriptures also applie this to ill manners as Ephes. 5. the Apostle setting downe a bedrow of many sinnes addeth this Let no man deceiue you c. where because some thinke that for such sinnes God would be entreated he saith nay not so be not deceiued vnlesse ye repent God will not be entreated Likewise Gal. 5. the Apostle hauing taught them to prouide temporall things for them that minister spirituall saith be not deceiued where he hath this sense ye may haue many reasons with your selues against this doctrine but when God commeth to tread downe the wicked then your reasons will not stand before his maiestie for the truth onely there preuaileth doe not deceiue your selues your hope will abuse you And here all flattering of our selues in sinne will prooue deceiueable wee walke in a nette and deceiue our owne consciences but this must make vs feare we must not reckon without our hoast nor make our account without our auditour for if we doe we will beguile our selues or flatter our selues Let euery man therefore looke to the fleights of sinne in himselfe and to the deceit of his owne conscience and he shall see that all the wayes of man are euill but the Lord is for euer true Wee must thus examine our selues Good Lord will this thing stay mee in the day of trouble will this thing comfort mee in the houre of death then it is a sure thing then it is comfortable otherwise it is vaine and cannot stay me it is deceitfull and will not comfort me Now if we trust in the word wee shall in death knowe that it is no imagination howsoeuer the world would now perswade vs that we liue too precisely and Sathan lyeth to get vs at a bay we shall then know our labour was not lost and when the Lord commeth to iudgement if we haue laide a good foundation when the tempests arise the windes arise and the raine fall we shall be sure and not beguile our selues that we shall be on the rocke of Gods word and built in faith wee shall bee sure as mount Sion and safe as Ierusalem when the floods of vengeance come Vers. 119 Thou hast taken away all the wicked of the earth like drosse therefore I loue thy testimonies MArke the proprietie of the word he saith not thy statutes doe I loue but thy testimonies he saith here thus much seeing O God thou hast summoned the wicked I will embrace more ioyfully the record and couenant of my saluation made vnto mee in thy word For when we see Gods iudgements on the vngodly this ought wonderfully to commend Gods mercie in free sauing vs from the like that whereas wee were in the like condition of sinne he might haue measured the like to vs and yet vouchsafed to make his couenant in force vnto vs. Was it not a great mercie to saue Noah and his when all the world besides was washed away with water Did it not wonderfully commend the goodnesse of God that in the great destruction of Sodome he should deliuer Lot What a thing is this that the Lord will make a couenant with vs as with Noah that if wee shall trust in Christ we shall neuer be confounded Againe when the man of God seeth the wicked deceiued because they trusted not in the word this maketh him to loue the word and assureth him that there is an end of all perfection but the law of God is exceeding large that it neuer failes in trouble nor deceiueth any in death Wherfore this must make vs to loue it also And if wee compared this word with other vanities of the world and felt in it such ioyes and most specially in death and in troubles and that when all failes this doth minister sufficient comfort surely the perswasion hereof would mooue vs pathetically to expresse our mindes and say with the Prophet Oh how loue I thy lawe it is my meditation continually Then when our strength shal faile our breath draw short our friends depart our goods countrie and life shall forsake vs the word will be so sweete so deare and so pretious that when all these are gone this will yeeld vs great comfort We haue also learned here a further thing in the minde of the Prophet who reasoneth thus Seeing thou hast troden downe the wicked as earth and scoured them as drosse therefore will I embrace thy couenants and records of thy iudgements therfore the euidence of thy couenant which thou hast made to me is most holy and pretious For when the iudgements of God were so seuere against others was it not the great mercie of God to make a couenant with him Was it not a wonderfull grace of God that being conceiued and borne in sinne like vnto the other hee should escape Gods iudgement Was not it a great mercie that when all flesh should perish Noah and his familie should escape Was it not the great goodnesse of God when Sodome was consumed to saue Lot When the Lord had left all to ignorance was it not his great mercie to preserue Abraham When the Lord ouerthrewe the Egyptians was it not free mercie to saue the Israelites Was it not the great grace of God to leade forward Caleb and Iosua into the promised land when to so many he had denied it Our Sauiour Christ gaue thankes to his Father as for a speciall mercy of God that he had reuealed those things to babes and little ones which he had concealed from many mightie of the world If we consider how many are left in ignorance giuen ouer to superstition and remaine vnder the heauie hand of God what a mercie of God
thee that thou hauing no righteousnesse mightest be accounted righteous and rewarded as righteous through him Well it may be God hath giuen thee to walke so vprightly as the world can in nothing charge thee but thou fearest thy naturall corruption that thou shalt not perseuere thou tremblest to remember how many excelling thee in gifts and graces of the Spirit haue fallen away from the truth and thinkest all is but hypocrisie and that thy hypocrisie will one day beguile thee now call to minde that CHRIST is made to thee holinesse not as newe Moses to follow but as a true Messiah to belieue in the worker author and finisher of thy holines So that albeit in respect of thy selfe to perseuere it seemes impossible yet with him it is both possible and easie What if thou hadst a multitude of sinnes that thy corruption did swell till it burst Mary Magdalen had seuen Spirits and yet of all women she was most deuout most louing most honourd to haue the first sight of Christs resurrection What if thou hast bin a brawned and infamous sinner so that the name of sinne hath bene notoriously written in thy forehead the Lord Iesus called and crowned Matthew the Publican with the dignitie of an Euangelist What if thy sin had taken a purple die and crimson colour in the blood of the Saints Paul of a most grieuour persecuter of Christ was made a most glorious preacher of Christ. It may be thou fearest the corruption drawne from thy natiue countrey the Cretians were conuerts and the Corinthians became Christians It may be yet thine hereditarie and naturall corruptions cause thee to despaire of comfort consider the Lord can change the nature of a Wolfe into the nature of a Lambe the course of a corrupt nature in thee to the power of a supernaturall grace Oh there is one thing that troubles thee many promises fewe performed Thou lookest for peace of minde and behold a wound of the Spirit thou art the Lord of the whole earth and the heire of heauen and yet hast not wherwith to helpe thy necessitie thou art a Lord of libertie and yet put in prison All this I graunt yet in all this Christ is thy redemption not suffering thee to be ouercome of any of these in thy life and who lie freeing thee from them in the life to come Admit that thou werst cruelly persecuted cannot he that made the fire not to burne at all the children in the furnace make the fire so easily to consume thee as thou shalt comfortably beare it Will not he that made the Lyons being hungry not once to open their mouthes on Daniel to crush thee so gently that thou shalt willingly sustaine it Now the meanes are the Word Prayer the Sacraments and discipline of the Church The Word euen crucifieth Christ a new in thine hart Prayer giueth thee a feeling of thy faith the Sacraments confirme both thy faith and feeling and discipline continueth vs in the obedience both of the Word and of Prayer and of the Sacraments and consequently is a meanes to continue vs in all those comforts which by the other meanes are to be found in Christ. 3 Thou must euer beware of two extremities The one that thou labour not so for righteousnes that thou forget CHRIST to be thy holinesse the other that thou so trauell not for holinesse as that thou shouldest not remember him also to be thy righteousnes And so behaue thy selfe in both that thou beest most righteous in Christ yet thou must endeuour also to be holy and though thou beest neuer so holy yet know thou standest in neede of the righteousnes of Christ. Now to come to these things thou must diligently attend on the word whereby Christ Iesus is crucified a fresh in thine heart on prayer which worketh a feeling of thy Faith on the Saints which confirme thy Faith and increase thy feeling 4 CHRIST hath made vs inheriters of his kingdome which he holdeth by two titles first by inheritance then by purchase As he obtained by inheritance hee reserueth that title to himselfe alone but whatsoeuer he hath had by purchase hee hath giuen vs the title of it And not only this doth he giue vs but also the graces of the spirit though not to one all nor to all in one measure An afflicted minde seeing one of the children of God haue this another that gift is grieued that he hath not all It is an error Christ giueth not to one all but deuideth all among many But there is one speciall grace which I cannot haue and that is feeling Hast thou faith blessed art thou that belieuest and that without feeling Doe you belieue you haue a rich gift you must not haue all If you haue any gifts it is well the gifts are diuided Be content with thy portion and I say vnto thee that thy Faith without feeling is more precious to God thē thy faith with feeling If by thy faith thou hast made the diuell a drone that he cannot sting and a toothles dog that he cannot bite it is sufficient Content thy selfe with thy portion vntill the Lord come from heauen vntill hee be all in all and then thou shalt haue all ioy in all perfection 5 Two things are necessarie truely to espouse vs to CHRIST the one is to vse the pure meanes the other to vse those meanes with a pure heart CHAP. XIX of Death and Iudgement MAnie make no account of the death of the soule because they feele it not as they doe the death of the bodie Euery man feareth a Palsie an Epilepsie and an Apoplexie because they strike dead but if a man be in a consumption where hee shall be decaying seuen yeares he thinks nothing of it Likewise if an house fall suddenly we say it perisheth but if it moulder away we little regard it In Hosh. 5 vers 7. 12. The Lord threatneth to be a Lyon to Israel and a moath to Iudah Surely when the wrath of God as a moathe hath secretly fed on vs ere we know it our soules doe as it were bleede to death For as hee that bleedeth to death feeleth little vntill suddenly his strength faileth so in the death of the soule a man doth not perceiue how his strength is gone or euer he be aware It may be the Lord will not be vnto vs as a Lyon but as a moath we shall not happily die of an Apoplexie but of a consumption and CHRIST the Sauiour shall laugh at our destruction 2 We can better away to meditate on Death which Sathan couereth with eternitie following then on the day of Iudgement where wee must all make our account 3 The bare meditation of Death doth so farre moue vs from suffering our delights to dwell on earthly things as that Reason disswadeth vs not to make any cost about a Tenement where wee
all that now Christ is readie to come because we see small faith on the earth For if euer this was it is now wherein is not onely a defect of faith which euer was but because now men goe cleane against faith for now not onely the principles of the faith are not obserued but they are thought absurde and things cleane contrarie are prescribed Is it not monstrous that now some teach for doctrine that a man may lie and forsweare without sin or shame Seeing that sinne is now in it ripenesse which was before but in the eare could the diuell from hell broch more profound blasphemies If the regions begin to grow white and sin groweth ripe and yellow we must looke for the Angell shortly to thrust in his sickle Well whensoeuer the dave of iudgment is I feare the day of the departure of the Gospel is at hand Our securitie is such that we may rather say the Lord hath suffered vs too long then that we can accuse God for seuerenesse in striking vs too soone Be it then that as yet the day is not come wherein the world shall crackle about our eares or though we see not our Ierusalem destroyed yet we know our day of death cannot be farre off and quickely we shall come to our doome CHAP. XX. Of the shortnesse of our life and the meditation of Death how profitable IT is the vsuall manner of the Holie Ghost 1. Pet. 4. Iam. 2. Iohn 12. to perswade men to godlinesse because they haue but a quantitie of dayes This is such an ordinarie Argument that vse hath taken away the force of it yet Dauid saith that euen ordinarie things by grace moue vs and where grace workes not euen extraordinarie things moue vs not Concerning shortnes of life the heathen could say that a man is but a man of a day olde and the Philosophers teach that his life cannot be long But we will leaue all them without the Church and come to them within Dauid said it was a span long Moses and Salamon say it is a life of dayes and I will obserue withall that Moses Ioh Dauid Salomon when they describe the life of man they can find nothing to rest on as vaine enough whereunto they might compare it so base a thing is this life that it may abide any extenuation in the world In regarde whereof they haue compared it to a bubble a sleepe a vapour and they cume so farre at the length that they compared it to a thought whereof wee know there may be no fewer then a thousand in one day Esay 38 it is saide it may be spent before night And 2. Cor. 5. it is compared to a booth or a shepheards tent which we see doth last but a while In our daily and ordinary prayer Christ admonisheth vs of this point when hee teacheth vs to pray that wee may haue a portion for a day as though our life were shutte vp or may bee shutte vp in one day There are long spaces which by a speedy course are quickly ended and there be short spaces which hauing a slow moouer are long in going but if the space be short and the motion swift there is no hope of continuance and such a one is our life The Israelites went no further in thirtie yeares by their slowe motion than by a swift passage they might haue gone in eleuen dayes So that one may bee going a long iourney in a little time and a little iourney a long time Our way is short and for the manner of our motion in this short way it is compared to a Weauers shuttle and to a Poste and to a shadowe to a Poste Nay it is not of so long continuance for a Poste leaues a print of his steppes behinde him but a man doth leaue no impression he is still going the motion neuer ceaseth The swiftest thing in nature for motion may stay but mans life doth not stay For though at the praier of Ioshua the Sun stood still which is wonderful swift yet the time of mans life stood not stil but euen then a d●ies iourney went forward Salomon considering of mans life called it vaine and then as not thinking that a sufficient word he corrected himselfe called it Vanitie it selfe But Dauid going further Psal. 62. saith man is lighter than vanitie too If we adde this that nothing befals vs all our life long but it may befall vs any day or euery day we shall confesse this life is vaine The calculating of this time is good but the increasing of our account is the cause of all euill Matt. 25. the enuious seruant was ouertaken in his account be thought he had many daies to come which he had not before his Lord appeared The Virgins were truely foolish that dreamed of a day which was denied them Luk. 12. the rich man ouershot himselfe and was preuented contrarie to his account It is the vsuall complaint of the Prophets that men say The prophecie is deferred the plague shall not come yet and we say in our hearts the Bridegrome wil not come yet our Lord wil be long in comming the burthen of the Lord shall ouerpasse vs so forth It is good reason to remember the praier of Moses Psal. 90. 12. that we beguile not our selues in the computation who cryeth Lord teach vs to number our daies For numbring of people Dauid is an example for numbring our money our sheepe our lands and our frames euery man can be an example But to number our daies is a rare kind of numbring it is a strange Arithmetike what rearages we are fallen into with the Lord for our time not spent to his glory this is a numbring wherewith we are vnacquainted Oh that we knew what it were to account of time surely this I will say if there were many worlds in the possession of some that are departed they would giue them vs for one day or houre which we haue in such plentie and so little esteeme of Well in the numbring of our yeeres we neede take no great paine for Moses hath set it downe to be 70. yeeres If our life last but so long a little Arithmetike will cypher it out and we know it is a matter of no great arte to number our yeeres euen from our first father to this age A worldly man in this businesse would begin to adde and to multiply putting still to the times past that which is to come and withdrawing from time to come times past But we must know that all that is past is to be substracted and to be counted nothing and the daies to come are not to be added for an addition must be of a thing existent but the time to come is not But let vs make a supposition of that to be which is not that a man may write of 70 yeeres let vs I say set that downe as the grosse summe Halfe that time is
spent they say in sleepe which thē we may well detract from the great number then there remaines but 35. yeeres From these we may deduct 14. yeeres in our youth wherein we are vnfit to glorifie God or doe good to man and so there remaines sixteene yeeres and of these sixteene to set downe the dayes of sicknesse or those times which we sinfully spend in yeelding to anger to our lustes or to worldlinesse wherein we are as vnprofitably occupied as though we were not halfe of the number would be cut off and so we should leaue but seuen or eight yeeres But now we haue the summe from whence we might take out but not that time out which is past we know seeing now it is nothing what is to come we know not and it cannot be added time is but short and therefore great neede we haue of God his spirit to teach vs. To this we know how suddenly death doth take from vs time to come Iobs children in the middest of their banket were stricken dead Ishbosheth died before night could come vpon him neither hath the strongest liuer any surer charter of his life The best way then to recken aright is to make the number which we may take out and that which we would substract all one and that is none If in the way we haply finde something we may take it for our aduantage and see that we vse it to God his glory For this being set downe that our daies past are none and the daies to come none neither so that no daies past or to come can be counted part of our life and consequently haue none but the present time which is very little and as little as a thought vnlesse we could haue a lease of our life as Ezekiah in some so●t had of his by Esay wherein he had very ill successe And so finding our time to be none we shall be most bent to labour to attaine to wisedome And here we must vnderstand what manner of wisedome this skill of counting brings vs there is wisedome of health and there is wisedome of sicknesse and this is it which we shall learne And what is that wisedome surely by a continuall thinking that death is nigh and perswading our selues that death is within a minute what no lawe prince parents or punishment could do that death wil easily dispatch By this they that before had no delight in the word if once they take this account that euery day they thinke they drawe their last breath the word will be full of comfort to them And then the meditation of death working aboue the hope of long life the wisedome of sicknesse will be found to be aboue the wisedome of health In this case men will giue counsell that before could take none and this is that wisdome of the point of death nothing can teach vs better We see the effect of this in Ezekias when the talie of his daies was left him we see his meditation which was such as the holy Ghost hath put it in perpetual record we see his behauiour most worthy our meditations Neither is this in Ezekiah onely a well disposed man but euen in the wicked as Baltashashar who seeing the number of his dayes and that hee was found too light begun to quake and his knees did shake presently and so began to bee wise Thus wee see an effect both in the wicked and in the godly of this meditation most necessarie 2 The readiest way to obtaine life is to be content either to liue or die and to commit our selues to the Lord knowing that nothing euer perished which was committed to him Let vs be content with the vse of life which the Lord giueth vs to repent in and account it a great benefite that the Lord graunteth vs a great time of repentance knowing that it is a greater benefit to be a liuing dog than a dead lion for while we liue there is a place for repentance but after death there is none And therefore those that account it not a benefit to liue are vnworthie of life or any benefit therein all these things must serue to teach vs patience and to refraine our murmuring nature whensoeuer by any temptation our flesh is prouoked thereunto 3 As it is a maine point of wisedome to learne to die so there be many vnder rules proceeding from this First it helpeth our procrastinating and putting off of the euil day and our kind of repentance which is euer in purposes and promises neuer in practise performance We see that men in their iourney if they thinke they haue day enough they are sl●ck enough but if they see they haue but little day so that they begin to nūber they ply themselues Wherefore seeing time goeth away when we lay no hold on it yea when most sure hold that can be is laid on we must labour for heauenly wisdome and a compendious rule thereunto is to number our daies There is another thing and it is like the great Dragon in the Reuelation it hath drawen away and deceiued the third part of the world and that is want of wind and fainting of heart in affliction to the remedying whereof it is good to consider that as we suffer daily so we are dying daily that which the world afflicteth is drawing to corruption which shall exempt vs from their tyrannie And here in wee take our mortalitie for an aduantage against them that seeing wee are subiect to so many euils we are also mortall and after death we shall be immortall when nothing shall hurt vs. For as we would not be immortall now being subiect to sinne and misery so we shall then not be mortall when we shall be recompenced with righteousnesse and felicitie Now by considering of this shorte time of mortalitie and of the glorie of our immortalitie wee suffer without fainting we fancy not many daies here which might discourage vs but we thinke our yeere may want moneths our moneth daies our daies houres and so we are encouraged Another thing is this It is sure we loue this life by a rule of follie in trusting to this life that it will be long for our estimation of a thing growes by the continuance of it and therefore if we could be perswaded of the shortnes of this life it would draw vs to the contrary rule of wisedome But wee are all Damas his disciples wee commend things present howbeit it were better to haue Moses our Master who in his time began to number and yet we know that he might haue beene sure that the day of iudgement would not be in his time for that the promised Messiah was not yet come we feare it lesse number nothing so fast vpon whom the day it selfe may as suddenly come as vpon them who tarie for nothing to it but for the fulfilling of the elect the accomplishmēt of the number of them that shall
be saued So that we both by death and in respect of the last day are not to count of any long abode But aboue all there is one principall rule which Christ allowed as an high point of wisdome in Marie in that she made so fit a choise of her times in bestowing them in such a thing as should not be taken from her as no time should bereaue her of it wherin we are taught to thinke that those times which we bestow on God his worship shal not end within the number of our daies but they shal haue their abiding fruit for euer and this wil comfort vs afterwards But when we are occupied in Marthaes busines we may say and what is this what profit will this affoord in death shal not my dayes be cut off what will this auaile me So that it is good to bee exercised in things which concerne the time which runs beyōd the number of our daies shal last as long as God himself shal endure CHAP. XXI Dulnes of spirit and of feeling SVch is the corruption of our nature that albeit we haue beene wonderfully delighted with Gods graces yet when wee abound with them wee lesse esteeme them than when we began to enioy them 2 Wee must desire and endeuour to keepe our selues from deadnes and dulnes and to tie our hearts euer in thankfulnes vnto God After our meats receiued it is good to speake something to the glorie of God If God giue any good matter to take it as offered vnto vs of God If nothing were done or spoken but all silent it were good to seeke some good occasion of speech by reading singing or speaking And we may not tie our selues much to any other meanes for accustomable vse of any one thing bringeth lesse reuerence And then must we endeuour specially to stir vp one another in good speeches when such be present as God makes instruments to teach the same more effectually vnto others and this the Apostle by his example teacheth vs 2. Tim 2. 2. 3 There is a secret inward and spirituall blessing which the elect feele when to the world they seeme accursed and there is a secret curse to the wicked when apparantly they seeme to be blessed 4 As it is no small benefit though we haue not the bright Sun-shining yet to haue the light of it to gouerne the day the heat of it to turne away the cold the effects of it in other workes of nature so it is no small mercie though we haue not the shining countenance of the Lord yet to haue the guiding of our affections by the light of it the possessing of our soules in patience by some feeling of it and the fruits thereof in the peace of our mindes although we feele not the present beames yet we shall see them shine hereafter If we haue not this ioy of our minde as we would in the day of our vocation the Lord wil plentifully giue it vs in the day of our coronation 5 They may bee truely saide to haue profited well which beleeue the word before they feele the effect of it as the threatnings before they feele the smart the promises before they feele the comfort And such as doe not thus beleeue do highly displease God This was the sinne of Thomas which would feele ere he beleeued and this sinne is in vs all therefore all must learne to correct it in themselues And if wee were free from this wee should be free from many euils 6 Although a man do not feele his faith sometimes vnder the crosse as indeede it falleth out often in the best children of God yet when it shall please the Lord to send feeling and deliuerance that man shall see that his faith was great and that the Lord did mightily preserue him from falling yea he shall then perceiue that his faith was stronger when he had not the feeling of Gods fauour than it had beene at some times when hee had great feelings CHAP. XXII Of Catechizing and instruction of Youth THere hath beene a sect both among the heathen and also in our age that thinkes that religion is not to come so low as children but that they are to bee nourished vp boldly and when they come to riper yeeres then to bee instructed in religion and not before So the neathē tel vs as we see in the beginning of the Philosophers morals as also in the opinion of the Orator in the defence of Caelius It is wisedome to let youth haue his course till his heate be abated But if there were any moment in the authoritie of the heathen the whole practise of them were to be preferred before one mans opinion And for their practise certaine it is that the exercise of catechizing was vsed among the Gentiles for we finde it in Porphyries time It was vsuall in Athens for youth to be taught as also the histories of the heathen doe declare that the children were instructed for it was a custome among them not to powle their childrens heads vntill they were taught then to burne their haire as a sacrifice to Apollo who from thenceforth in regard of their skill were allowed to carie tabers in their pompes and solemnities Aristotles meaning in that place is de facto non de eo quod fieri debet Else hee is to be called backe to his seuenth booke de Repub chap. 17. It is expedient for children to bee withdrawne from euil speeches Against the Orator standing at the barre to plead for a lewd young man his owne saying is to be alleaged Offic. lib. 1. That this age must chiefly bee reclaimed from pleasures and lust Exod. 10. 11. Pharaoh being requested of the Israelites that they might goe with their children into the wildernes for to worship maketh a scoffe that their children should go as though religion pertained not to them Matth. 19. 13. When children were brought vnto Christ that he might blesse them his disciples forbad them that brought them as if Christ and children had nothing to do one with another For the first I answere Moses standeth with Pharaoh in that point and will not take so much as he would graunt for the olde except the young may go too And for the second Christ opposeth himselfe to his disciples granting childrē safe conduct to come vnto him pronouncing those accursed that keepe them from him Matth. 18. 6 Psal. 119. 9. The law is not onely giuen for those of ripe yeeres but euen for young men to cleanse their wayes The Iewes note there is mention made of children three times in the Decalogue And though the rest may seeme to admit some doubt yet in catechizing which is comprehended in the Sabbath dayes exercise our sons and our daughters are bound to lesse than wee Exod. 12. 6. If children bee so busie as to aske what is meant by the Passeouer the Lord is so farre from
and can discourse and talke well of things but yet for that the heart is not truely touched they are as vaine in sinne and as much subiect to pinching sorrowes for sinne as any other Great cause then the fountaines bee staied and the principall parts plastered for if there bee a worlde of sinne in the tongue as Saint Iames saith then there be a great many worlds of wickednes in the hear●●● there be a beame to be sound in the eye of one hypocrite as Christ admonisheth then there is a whole sta●ke in the heart CHAP. XXXIX Of Heresie and many corrupt kindes of knowledge and how the diuell pester●th the Church with euill teachers WE must humble our selues to see Heretikes doe more for vaineglorie and for their s●ct than wee will doe ●or Gods glorie and for his truth 2 The neerer heresie commeth in likenes to the trueth the more dangerous it is 3 It is a dangerous thing to haue a proud● spirit with a vaine minde for the●e sinnes leade men to heresie 4 The ●●ue● seemeth to be very strong for as the wise conclude if they that are couragious were also politike or t●ey that haue wisedome had also courage none could stand with them Wherefore these are dismembred in men but in the diuell they ●un●●e both together for he is both couragious as a Lion and sub●ill as a Serpent This is he that foyled all men from the first Adam to the last man in whose hand all the ●athers were no stronger than vanitie and in this age hee hath made the high pinacles of ve●●●e the Iowe shrubs of the earth Besides this combination of strength and wisedome beside this proofe of his courage in all ages Christ himselfe who is his enemie saith ●e is strong Luk. 22. 20. Nay I will adde more Christ that ouercame him pronounceth ●●m to be a sh●●●d enemy If he hath ●een strong hee is more strong both because the world waxeth shorter and wee grow securer In these latter daies the more the d●u●● rageth the more his strength increaseth for anger is the whe●●●one of strength the elder the world waxeth the more the diuel rageth For as he plaieth with mē so he practiseth with the world he la●eth his sorest siege in his last assault when death beginneth to moderate ●im And no maruell for if he take a foyle or suffer the repulse in our life time he may recouer with ease and come againe with some hope but because in death either now or neuer he must bestir himselfe he followeth with all force Secondly he rageth the more for our security or little accounting of temptation and not serious b●thinking of the matter makes him the stronger so as o●● negligence doth inarme his diligence He is strong enough without a●●our y●t ●o be sure he will put on armour too Goliah was strong and yet he go● armour which sheweth great diligence we are weake and ●eede armour yet seeke it not which sheweth extreame negligence Thus diligent is the diuel Sow no tares nor cockle and yet in the fallow it wil grow fast enough but he cannot contēt himselfe with that growth but hee wil sow also yea and plough too because he looketh for a plentiful haruest This is his good hus●ādry though his crop would be good of it selfe yet he will sow No maruel then though Peter cōtenteth not himselfe to call him a Lion but a ramping Lion and Iohn termeth him not only a Serpent but an old Serpent hauing by experience gotten a perfect habite and Paul asc●ibeth to him not onely darts but fiery darts The armour of this enemy is partly the reuelations of flesh and blood partly the corrupt example of the world The diuell hath a motion in vs and straightway it seemeth a reuelation to flesh and blood Doe euill saith the diuell doe so saith the flesh and strik●s the matter deeper doe so as Preachers doe it saith the world and this pierceth to the bone If we could wring out these two pieces of armour wee were strong Now the diuell as a Prince Iohn 13. 14. possesseth not alwaies in his owne person but by lieutenants and embassadours who take vp the title of his soule to his interest This deputie or vicegerent is sinne which taketh vs vp as tenants for the diuell and this deputie is accompanied with foure Tetrarches The first is ignorance wher with when hee had taken possession of our fathers they might keepe good houses well enough and haue many gifts indeede for hee knew that for all that they were neuer the neerer to saluation Secondly if the diuell sees knowledge must needes come in and ignorance must needs go out he sendeth out Errour which must make men if they wil needs be knowing either Trinitaries or Arria●s or Anabaptists or such like who may liue well indeed and make a great shewe of godlinesse but all for his greater aduan●age to winne the more soules Thirdly Worldlinesse succeedeth who dares play his part euen vppon them that haue pure knowledge whom neyther Ignorance nor Errour could preuaile against but if these preuaile not then comes Hypocrisie and hee will sift vs and search vs to the quick If an Angell from Heauen should withstand vs to the face wee dare boldly pronounce that ignorant erroneous and worldly men such as will take order for God when their barnes are full and all Hypocrites haue surely vncleane spirits breathing in them Ephes. 3 2. 3. 5 There are many kindes of knowledge The common course of the worlde is set down Micah 6 26 Ombries statutes are sought for knowledge of Law-points Christ Matt. 16. complaineth of another kinde of knowledge Yee see in the Euening the skie is red c. but knowe yee the face of the Heauens and are yet ignorant of the knowledge which bringeth euerlasting life A third kinde of knowledge there is spoken of Amo● 8. 5. and Prouerhs 20. where a kinde of people had a grace in making of the Ephah small and the Shekle great Wee haue learned a trimme part of knowledge to trippe men in buying and selling Another knowledge there is Ecclesiasticus 30 24. when people keepe much ad●e about keeping of bullockes and that so farre as they first preferre them but God and his kingdome are sought for afterward Indeed these things are lawfull for him that hath first affected his own soule to seeke the kingdome of God but to make the knowledge of God come after is preposterous There is another knowledge and that is of the law of God which men make so smal account of that the Lord complaineth by his Prophet how hee hath taken paines to write the mysteries of the law and men think it a strange thing the knowledge of God his word is hard to them Well we must enter one way or other and therefore it shall be profitable to search and suruey the wayes One way is
to who me some Salomon might haue saide if it seeme pleasant to you eate it but death shall come So in these two that Ezechiel hath ioyned the ease of the Pastour and the blood required at his hands he might haue said Go to build you tabernacles where you may take most profit and giue eare to wealth yet God shall bring you to iudgement God with an Adamant chaine hath knit the pleasures of this world with iudgement he that hath one must haue both 8 There are many places most effectuall and worthier meditation than others in the Scripture wherein Spiritus multum spirauit for I thinke that the Spirit not onely bloweth where it listeth but also when and in what measure hee listeth As in some places namely Psalme 45. and 49. 1● the Lord calleth as it were a congregation of all sorts and conditions signifying some great point of wisedome that he requireth so great a Theatre The ancient expositours say this wisedome is where this word Selah is ●ound For whether it signifie as the seuentie Interpreters say a great pause that the verse going before may be meditated on or a repetition as Rabbi Abraham saith that that verse for it excellencie should bee twice sung or both as Tremellius it must needes signifie great wisedome and matter in the verse 9 These dayes shall not continue alwayes but there shall come a day wherein the conscience shall be dismayed a day of death wherein wee will not care for riches beautie learning praise or estimation And yet there be some that care not for this which loue as Tully saith of Verres siluer better then heauen they thinke it a greater matter to liue in a beggerly estate then to loose their soules But this is follie prooued by two reasons First thus do the beasts Balaams wisdome and his A●es wisdome is all one For the Asse which hath but a soule of one life when he dieth his soule vanisheth into the ayre if he haue a good pasture and then get a Lyons skin to make the beasts of the field afraid of him can kicke one with his heeles and make him lie before him this is a beasts honour but the honour of a man is greater which hath two liues to whom this life ought onely to be for the suretie of the soule and rather a way to another life then a life it selfe This hath bene answered by the Fathers I will deale so with the world that I may remember God but a learned father saith Thou must put in first more or els leaue out I will remember God Deceiue not thy selfe thou giuest all to the world God will not onely bee serued but in his order Malachie calleth him a great King and therefore he looketh for the first seruice and Daniel calleth him the Ancient of dayes a great Senior and therefore hee will be serued before his Iuniors Luc. 17. The seruant that had laboured all day is not bidden first to eate and drinke but to serue his maister and then to take his repast Contrarie is our practise as in marriage wee looke for beautie and riches first and then after our religion comes in for a corollarie wee will not be much against it Ionathan must carry Saules armour and Mephibosheth must looke to the Arke We make choise before God we bestow our first yeeres on our selues and then the rest wee bestow on God Those are vaine men which will first seeke the adiectiues caetera then the kingdome of GOD. Augustine saith if thou wilt needes thou mayest seeke but thou shalt neuer finde I haue heard and knowne amongst vs those that would make accounts first to be well prouided for and then they would serue God in their callings who hauing gotten three hundred or foure hundred by the yeare then haue bin further off then they were before The second reason is if any man be so foolish he shall yet be more foolish he preferreth the shadow of these transitory things before the eternall things they shal loose both the shadow the thing it selfe as Aesops dog did Augustine saith they shall haue an ende either their owne that is they shall leaue thee as Iobs goods did him or thine thou shalt leaue them as the glutton in the Gospel but that which is worst whē they shal haue left thee yet the sinne whereby thou gottest them shall remaine with thee Genes chapt 4. Sinne sleepeth at the doore it is quiet all thy life long but when wee goe out of the doore of this life it shall compasse about our heeles and our hands and we shall neuer be rid of it 10 Knowledge of the word is as necessary an arte for Christians as the arte of Husbandrie is necessary for Husbandmen Men can say they can learne nothing of the Preachers but to loue GOD aboue all and our Neighbours as our selues and as for this lesson they say they are not now to goe to schoole But this is as much as if one should say Husbandrie is an easie thing and there is nothing to bee learned there but to Sowe Plough and Reape and yet to set his hand to any of these without knowledge of the trade he is altogether foolish Well then as in this so in all other Artes we will confesse that we cannot come to the practise of particulars without knowledge of the principles and yet come to the great Arte of Knowledge which is the maine profession of all and needeth most teachers and best schollers and wee thinke we can learne that with sitting still and taking of our case But there is a knowledge of the worlde and they that come to be our schoolemaisters to that they shall bee had in high estimation Howsoeuer we account of knowledge the Prophet sayth that vnder CHRIST our knowledge excelleth the knowledge of the Priestes and in Pauls time the women were so full of vnderstanding that the Apostle was faine to take order that they should not speake in their open assemblies where they would needes bee speaking The holy Ghost Colos. chap. 3. would not haue the word of God to dwell in vs beggerly thinnely or strangely but plentifully and surely without this knowledge we know nothing to doe as we should doe it And for this cause in the former age though the diuell could be content men should be as merciful and as true dealers as they would because they were guiltie of Ignorance and wanted knowledge to direct them herein yet now because knowledge is come he cares not how vnmerciful and deceitfull men become nay now he takes away mercie and truth and knowledge and all The reason is because we make no more precious account of knowledge we can bee content to sitte at home by the fire rather than to come abroad to heare or if the diuell giue vs leaue and we get so much masterie of the diuell that we come to the sermon yet sleepe
none there it is good to make many doubts and hence commeth conference all these meanes are to be vsed for God sometime blesseth one and not another we must vse all least we should tempt God some heare and not reade some reade and not meditate some keepe their studie and neuer conferre Faith is a knowledge it is called a demonstration it hath alwaies relation vnto the word as the schollers learning is the Maisters doctrine Wicked men know the Scriptures as it is a knowledge but they cannot applie it and haue the true vse men of God speake as if they were moued therfore the interpretation of the scripture must be of the same spirit no man knoweth the minde of God but Gods spirit CHAP. XII Daemonis appellationes or the diuers names giuen to the Diuell in scripture THE Diuell is called Daimôn of his great knowledge and great experience Diábolos of his slaundering and false accusing peir ázan of sifting boring and broching the faithfull to see what is in them skoloposarkòs of making vs subiect to the rebellion of the flesh the Diuell of doing euill or à diuellendo or else as in the old english monuments the diuels fetched from the Greeke Diábolos for his authoritie the Prince of this world that is of the corrupt estate of the world for his forme and vgly shape the Prince of darkenes for his vntruth a lying spirit for his filthines an vncleane spirit for his hurting a serpent for his experience in hurting an old serpent for his strength a Lion for his greedines a ramping or roaring Lion for his poyson a Dragon for his alluring a tempter for his constraining an armed man hauing store of darts sometimes he ramps and roares in one sharpe with hornes and clawes full of terrour in a Lions skinne which is especially in the euill day at the houre of death Sometimes he transformes himselfe into an Angels shape in bright apparell full of compassion in the mantle of Samuel in a religious habit full of scripture euery other word is scriptum est setting an ambush of Diuels to inuade vs holding the crosse and this is his craft If he be able to change himselfe into an Angell of light much more is he into a shadow of the night for he setteth his nets and diggeth his pits in euery thing to take vs in our flesh by ease or pleasure or pride of the eyes suis mimis by death and the feare of it In our soule he hath his forge and bellowes euill motions lusts suggestions to kindle the fire of concupiscence in our affections bending our feare and our loue and such like to that which they should not be imployed vnto in our reason by casting doubts and planting the roote of bitternes in vs which is infidelitie in the creatures by abusing of them or by vnthankfull receiuing of them in the world by hauing his nets in riches preferments euill examples customes and euill companie in melancholie humors perswading despaire to be true sorrow in cholericke bodies perswading wrath to be good zeale in ciuill wisedome by mingling policie with Christianitie in our best motions by mingling with repentance distrust in Gods mercies with faith securitie in making vs measure Gods loue or hatred by blessings or afflictions of this life in preuenting vs of good by breeding in our hearts a loathsomnes of the word and wearines in the meaner in stripping Christ of his high Priests garments and true office of mediatorship vrging sometime these sayings Except ye also repent ye shall all likewise perish which kinde of sentences are not so properly his as belonging to his office which is a Mediator and true Sauiour 2 Sathan is inuisible changeth himselfe into an Angell of light that he cannot be discerned by the eye no nor by reason he windeth himselfe into our reason Peter thought Christ should not dye what reason was it that the sonne of man should dye CHAP. XIII Of the contempt of the Ministerie 1 IEhu being threatned called the Prophet a madbraine for so they iudged of them that digressed any whit from the set composition of words and orderly precepts of their arte which no doubt therefore hath and will come to passe because men can no longer either lend eye or eare than either they can see by reason or discerne by arte or whiles the speaker keepeth himselfe within this ordinarie course of stile or carieth himselfe euen in an orderly and oratorious period so long as wittie inuention comely compassing of matter proportionable measure of words are afforded but if a man come to cut vp the conscience and in some vehemencie of spirit dealeth more roughly and lesse orderly with their speciall sinnes then he is brainesicke and runneth as they say besides the text Neither are these complainers sillie soules but learned Parthians and wise Arabians men elaborate in arte skilfull in precepts and proud Babylonians who cannot discerne betweene a godly vehemencie of spirit for the Lord of hosts sake and a rayling austeritie of speech for malice or vaine glorie sake If then Paul be misconstrued wrongfully he must recompence such sinnes with meekenes patiently whereby often the Lord hath brought to passe that the proudest heart of most obstinate gainesayers haue beene more broken seeing the mild sufferance of the Ministers of Christ than if they had beene pursued with most hote reuengement which then especially experience hath proued true when the Lord with some crosse and humilation sealing the truth of his faithfull and zealous seruants hath caused many to thinke themselues to haue resisted the graces of God and persecuted the gifts of God in them whom they thought before to be curious precise and seekers of singularitie 2 Grieuous enough it is when our corne our cattell our goods and treasure shall come to the tables of our enemies but what though we be yet freed from such Chaldaeans yet is there a great famine in the land which they little thinke of that are the Church-robbers whom we falsely call Patrons of the Church Little thinke they of it who in stead of feeding to saluation starue many thousands to destruction in whom if there were any loue of God from their hearts I dare say and say it boldly that for all the promotions vnder heauen they would not offer that iniurie to one soule that now they offer to many hundred soules But Lord how do they thinke to giue vp their reckning to thee who in most strict account wilt take the answere of euery soule committed vnto them one by one Or with what eares doe they often heare that vehement speech of our Sauiour Christ feede feede feede With what eyes doe they so often reade that pearcing speech of the Apostles feede the flocke whereof you are ouerseers looke vnto the flock committed vnto you But if none of this will mooue them then the Lord open their eares to heare the grieuous grones of many soules lying vnder the grislie altars of destruction
for all those which receiuing the first fruites of thy holy spirit walke before thee in vprightnesse of their heart wee thy vnworthy children come vnto thee in the name of thy onely begotten sonne Iesus Christ our Lord beseeching thee to renue and encrease thy holy spirit in vs and to purifie our hearts more and more by faith that we may haue a clearer sight and a surer perswasion of thy fatherly goodnesse vnto vs and that wee may more readily performe our dutifull obedience vnto thee For wee doe acknowledge and confesse vnto thy sacred Maiestie that we haue yet neuer hitherto worthily esteemed thy mercies towards vs nor sufficiently expressed the fruites of our bounden dutie towards thee but that still we remaine ignorant and forgetfull of many good things which wee ought and might know And we confesse Lord wee are slacke vnto those things which thy holy sp●●t offereth to our mindes vnapt to doe them soone wearie of wel-doing and wherein we please thee something we please our selues too much Moreouer wee likewise confesse that we are ignorant of many euill things that wee haue done doe or may doe forgetfull of diuers things which sometime wee haue hadde knowledge and remorse of And now the things which come to our remembrance and are in our sight doe not appeare to be so●sinfull in any measure as they are and ought of vs to be regarded Yea wee are beguiled ere euer we are aware with our present corruptions and they cleane so fast vnto vs that wee can hardly leaue them but most hardly bee brought to true repentance of them We beseech therefore thy sacred Maiestie to worke in vs by thy holy spirit a wise and carefull searching out of and into our sinnes that by the lawe wee may be conuinced of them awakened by thy threatnings rebuked for them by thy iudgements executed vpon the wicked and exercised toward thy children seruants and friends that so wee may feare and tremble for them And by the serious premeditation of the vncertaine houre of a most certaine death of the day of thy generall ineuitable and dreadfull iudgement of the horrible and euerlasting paines of the wicked in the helles and their losse of the inestimable ioyes of the heauens stirre vp our dead hearts to seeke thee O Father in thy Christ and thy sonne our Lord and Sauiour in the Gospell And finally we pray that we may bee euen confounded in our selues by the fruitfull remembrance of thy blessed sufferings the most precious blood-sheading and death of our Lord Iesus Christ that so we may be humbled after that manner and measure thy children should bee beseeching thee that wee may so aforehand accuse our selues before thy blessed Maiestie that our aduersarie may haue no power hereafter to accuse vs so iudge our selues that we be not iudged by thee so with shame sorrow feare and trembling acknowledge the vilenes of our sinnes wholely before the throne of thy iustice that wee finde it to be a throne of grace and mercie vnto vs in Iesus Christ our Lord. Now O Lord the searcher of the hearts and reynes thou knowing this to be the humble and single desire of our hearts wee flye vnto thee for refuge beseeching thee by thy holy spirit to worke in vs a clearer sight of the wisedome of our Lord Iesus Christ wherby our minds may be further cleared from blindnes and we haue a clearer sight of the whole ministerie of our saluation in him and graunt vs God a fuller perswasion of the discharge of all our sinnes in his death and of the imputation of his righteousnesse vnto vs in his resurrection that the guiltinesse of our conscience may daily more and more goe away from vs and peace of the same be confirmed in vs especially in the time of our temptation and trouble the day of our death and the hou●e of iudgement And next most mercifull Father graunt vs a more powerfull experience of his death killing sinne in vs and of his resurrection raising vs vp vnto a new life that daily we may be lesse sinful and more holy righteous and sober in this present life that so also wee may haue a more sure and stedfast hope in his redemption and may more strongly resist the vanities of this world in false pleasures profits and glories and more patiently endure all manner of miseries of the same which may befall vs vntill his glorious appearing when hee shall come to be glorious in his Saints and made maruellous in al those which beleeue in him Amen Furthermore O Lord whereas we are priuie to our selues ere it is knowne vnto others or vnto thee that thereby any sinne or sinnes more strange in vs through our corrupt nature or custome or the temptation of others or of the tempter wee beseech thee that there we may labour to finde the precious death of our Lord Iesus Christ more powerfull in subduing the same and whereas through vnabilitie of nature want of meanes or grace we are weaker in any duties of well-doing there we may striue to finde the vertue of his glorious resurrection more effectuall in raising vs vp in meanes of life so that our familiar corruptions being cured and our speciall infirmities being relieued wee may be also endued as with generall graces meete for all Christians so with such peculiar graces as may be meete for our callings and inable vs to glorifie thy holy name build vp others in well-doing and treasure vp the fruites of a good conscience for our selues at all times and especially in our neede And in this behalfe the desire of our heart is that thy holy spirit worke in vs the renouncing of our reason so farre forth as it is blinde and the crucifying of our affections so farre forth as they be corrupt that so we may offer them vp with soule and bodie in sacrifice of humiliation and that hauing receiued these graces we may also offer them vp in sacrifice of obedience vnto thy gracious Maiestie And wherein soeuer we haue doe or shall with thy graces obey thee we desire to offer vp thy graces our obedience and our selues in a sacrifice of thankesgiuing and praising of thy holy and blessed name through Iesus Christ our Lord Amen All thy waies O Lord we acknowledge to bee mercie and truth we beseech thee therfore giue vs the holy fruites of al the good meanes thou hast heretofore wrought our good by as thy holy and sweete promises preached vnto vs read of vs meditated vpon by our selues or conferred of with others the prayers thankesgiuings Psalmes Hymnes of our selues our friends and thy Church thy sacred Sacraments the ministrie of thy holy Angels the communion of thy Saints and admonition which hath beene giuen vs for our good most humbly entreating that wee may haue sanctified vnto vs the remembrance of thy former mercies bestowed vppon thy Church vpon any member therof or vpon our selues either in benefits or in crosses and albeit our nature is
timore poenae si nondum potes amore iustitiae Simile Cùm dicis timeo quid dicturus sum malè times vanè times Dominus ablato timore su●jcit timo●●● dicturus sum ●lanè time Primum timo●ne facias de●n amor ●● ve●●s face●e ●●●●●si possis Of the day of iudgement Verbum hoc iudicij vtinam nemo transi●er siue iudicio Si i● nobis ea ess●t cura quae coram terreno iudice sistendorum s●●●iciter age●●m●s 1. Iudgemēt of man 2. The iudgment seate within vs. Iudgement of the conscience The strokes of mans conscience Young mens consciences Simile ● Iudgemēt Losse of grace What men are beside their wits Iudgement Vert●s ille iudic j●dies in quo omni● causa ca●it Ven●er veni●● ille dies in quo malè i●dicatus re●ud●cabitur Three things in iudgemēt ● Action * Qu●rks in Ia● Apex iuris pro iure ●●m●●e ●●bt●li ●pinolaque di putatione V●pian Note 2. Sentence 3. Executiō No flying from Gods iudgement Simile Luk. 16. A description of the torments of hell Against thē that are either carelesse or curious in things concerning the day of Iudgment A worthy meditation of the day of iudgement The ancients erred concerning the day of iudgemēt How the day of iudgement is said to be ●eer● Lying Swearing Securitie The shortnes of life Anerh eméra● Psal. 90. 9. Simile Space short and motion swift Life howe short To number our daies To number our daies a rare kind of Arithmeticke Psalme 90. 70. yeeres How to num ber our daies Sodain death Our life is but the present time Wisedome Death The readiest way to prolong life How the meditation of death is profitable 1 Simile 2 Fainting of heart in affliction the meditation of death a preseruation against it 3 Against the vaine loue of this present life Marie and Marthaes wisedome Dulnes when God hath inru●hed vs with his graces Good speeches in conference A spirituall blessing A secret curse To see and feele the shining countenance of the Lord. To beleeue the word before feeling Faith vnder the crosse without feeling Note Education of children Ho neo● ou● estin ●●koto● aki òaaes ton etkikon See Clement Alexand. pedagog 3. booke Porphyr principio quaest Homer Cyril wri● 24. Catechis Aristotles meaning of this Inuends hon est idon●●● auditer moralis Philosophiae Note Children punished for sin Note Christsyouth Childrē must not be lost for teaching Children apt to vice Deut ● The office of a Catechist Preaching and Catechizing how distinguished Summes or Epitomes * Hupotúposi ●eche gugia●●ontôn logôn * 〈…〉 n didac●es We may not be secure after we sipped a litle knowledge in the Catechisme Catechizing before the flood Catechizing after the flood Sibils bookes Catechizing ●nder the lawe 400. Houses of catechising in Ierusalem Katechoúmenos ek tou nomon Who catechized De catechizandis rudibus No kingdom if not but by catechizing receiued the Gospel within forty yeers after Christs passion Coloss. 2. 23. Reasons for Catechizing 1 2 3 4 Esay 28. See the first part Note Education ef children See the Sermon of education in the third part Antichrist De raris non praecipitur Note How far we may follow others * De vita beata Pecora campi Hard to iudge but we soone credit Nemo sic denarios suos To consent to sinne is cosen to the committing of sinne How this word vulgus is to be taken Great things are not alwaies good and the greatest number is not alwaies best Vict● est prouocare ad populum Circumcisiō by Zipporah Exod. 4. Examples in Scripture how to be followed 1 2 3 4. The defence of sinne qui laudant peccatores 1 2 3 4 5 6 Res ipsa loquitur Prefermēts Simile Impedire qui potest si non v●tat iubet Alicna peccata si feras facis tua Seneca Ambros. ad Rom. 1. Sunt quidam qui se reos non putant si non operentur quae mala sunt assentiunt autem facientibus assentire enim est si cum possint reprehendere taceant qui quia fomitem praebent illorum peccatis digni sunt vt pari crimine censeantur Multi perentiunt vt gra●dines Potentes vt fulmina Mal● errate cum Pla●one quàm verum dicere cum alio Authorem magnum sequi est penè sape●e A. It is rather desipere quod exemplo fit i● iure fieri videtur A. The Lawyers answere videtur sed stultis Patres principes propheiae 1. Sam. 29 6. We haue two reasōs for sin and we often bolsterit with authoritie of great men or example of the learned which wee must not doe It is not good to smother sin whiles it is young Heart Affection Sinne must haue iudgement Gregor Moral O Iob bene enumerasti vitam impr●borum dic finem quaeso T●●minum ad quem Simile Non qua sed quo Iudgement How we must order our eyes Noli mihi dicere pudicum oculum impudicum cor Oculus videns non videt 1. Impera 2. Caue 3. Tutus eris 4. Tutior si lignum non aspexeris Rom. 13. 13. Note Heb. 3 12. 13. Villa He meanes for religious fasts not gainsaying any thing the ciuill fasts commanded by law for nauigation sake Simile Meanes The apish imitation of poperie in the coniuring of holy water with salt is ridiculous Vse the exercises of religion for spirituall cofort c not for ostentation c. Totēpt God in neglecting the vse of meanes A good meditation against impatience * Being truly hūbled in a religious fast * Gnain Oculum fontem significat The eyes springs of lust As of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh so of the abundance of the senses the heart thinketh Note * Ampliare praecepta Simile Vna gutta limbus tantum Matth. 17. More dangerous to see than to heare euil Simile Tinder The couetous eye The adulterous eye The eye of idlenes The eye of pride Simile Innocens intuitu● aspectu fit nocens quicquid placet sensui non potest non placere Vbi dolor ibi manus * or sound Vbi amor ibi oculus Of apparell Bernard omnia pulcherima ipsi cum sint turpissimi Himatismòs * Poluteles Costly apparell * Oi●on●m●● Prayer Imo non cupio ●ffe idem cupio n● iis contrarius Prophets Matth. 6. 20. Praeterita praesentia sunt vmbrae futurorum Prophets The ordinari● workes of Gods prouidence most admirable if we would cōsider them daily Psalm Malach. 3. 16. The eye the sense of certaintie Plus mihi profuit dubitatio Thomae quàm credulitas Mariae Prudentia certitudo Faith actiue and passiue Cause of vnthankefulnes Contentation Experimenall faith Faith and feeling Ius cēsorium Ius praetoriū Two courts of iustice Persecution To see by faith the secret blessings and curses of God on man in this life Decay of fath * In aduersitie Note Doubts 1 Three notes of Gods fauour 2 Note Affection 3 Desire Loue. The hunger after righteousnes Mat.
5. Comfort to Gods children in feeling their secret corruptions Note Hardnes of heart A sweete consolation for a troubled spirit The godly are not free from euill motions The feeling of Gods promises and fauour written in our heart Christ freeing vs from the condemnation of sin will also free vs from the corruption and power of sinne The death of sinnne in vs. Simile 1 Three kinds or causes of feare 2 3 Properties of feare Esay 5. 3. Feare Gods threatnings Note 1. Pet. 1. 23. Feare Gods promises Pietie in aduersitie Note Feare mixt with faith Friendship Note Familie Seruants Note Presumption Note Exod. 17. ●2 24 14. The loue of brethren Simile Affection 2. Tim. 3. 3. Of Fathers Ioh● Simile Ignorance of old age The vse of Affliction 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. To seek mens fauour more then the fauour of God Sweet ioyes and feelings vnder the crosse Gods fauour and co●●tenance in affliction Sacraments The afflictions of the Church in Egypt were Gods rod to driue them forth to the promised land Notes of brotherhood Coloss. 1. 14. Deceit in contracts Matth. 18 3. Reuenge Note Note Gods iudgement Simile Prayer Papists rest in the worke wrought By what meanes we must draw neere to God Non gressib sed precib●itur ad Deum Oratio est Deo sacrificium homini subsidium Daemoni flagellum That we can neither suffer the wrath of God nor flie from it the best is to yeeld vnto it Confession Knowledge Psal. 32. 45. We may not indent with God We pause to passe in heauenly things though we be guided but wee runne fast enough in earthly things thogh no man guide vs. Simile Faith We cannot serue two cōtrary maisters How we must follow Christ Certaine indices or notes to know whether we iourney to heauen 1 2 3 Simile Seeing wee must follow Christ we had better follow to saluation than to destruction Simile Simile Simile Simile Fruits of the spirit Mercie and Iustice. Th● theefe on the Crosse Simile Notes and markes of faith in the theefe on the crosse The ioy of a good conscience vnder the crosse 2. Cor. 1. 12. Sorrow How to prepare our selues against the day of death and iudgement To appeare before God without a m●diator how fearefull Gods mercie Psalm 103. Christ suffered in soule Grace The couetous desire of riches 2. Pet. 3. 18. Simile Preseuerāce Gifts of the spirit Rom. 2. 4. Gods patiēce How we may trie our loue 1 to God or rather to the world 2 3 4 5 Psal. 144. 6 7 Zich 13. 1. The paines of hell are endlesse cas●lesse and hopelesse Tere●t Note Of the wrath of God If any thing cause the lord to be angrie it is sinne Why the anger of God is oft set downe by fire Of three things which may keepe vs from sinne 1 Shame 2. Griefe 3. Feare Simile Why mercy is to be loued Mercy is either in giuing or forgiuing Pension of mercie to be shewed and paid to our brethren Simile Note Giuing Mercy to the poore Psalm 16. A talent of riches A talent of knowledge That which goes for currant good payment in this world is not currant in another Of the punish ment of the wicked Simile Albeit this meditation concerning the keeping of the heart be past in the fourth part Tit. Of meditatiōs on Pro. 4. v. 23. yet for that here we haue some amplificatiō and some difference in his manner of handling this argument I thought it lesse offēce to giue thee both good Reader than to depriue thee of either of thim Fabula vulgi Causam pro non causa Conscience of sinne Note To laugh at sinne what it argueth Carnall Protestants Note Of good affections and desires Rom. 7. Looke most of all temptations and griefes on thy Corruption naturall Temptatiōs Simile Dauids adulterie Note Temptatiōs How we may trie our selues by our afflictions and affections We must watch ouer euery motion of the heart and occasion of the eye Est quaedam cog●tare voluptas Spatiaba● in clausti● cordis m●● qui cum lucerna splende● videt te cùm lucerna extincta e●● videt ●e ipsum time Immistae cog●ationes Two heads of many sinnes Bernard quid est cortuum nisi voluntas tua Ni●●l itaque punit Deus nisi voluntatem t●lle ha●c ●nternum non erit Two waies The first way of Gods Commandements The second way of our owne hearts Three thīgs to be considered concerning our way 1 2 Heb. 6. 12. 12. 1. To follow the multitude Note To follow our owne lusts Lutum Deo sed cera Daemoni 2. Pet. 3. 14. 15. 16. Simile Note Immissae ascendentes Two kinds of thoughts Iohn 13. Simile The rauens will not goe farre from a dead carcasse But delight still to be in the sent of it euen so doe we with sin 6 7 Scala Inferni Simile A controuersie concerning an Iland between Scotland and Ireland Faith contrarie to reason Hope contrarie to experience Many will say If I can fetch it within the compasse of my braine I will beleeue it This man may cast the Bible in the fire for any profit he reapes by it Of the circumcision of the heart How we must circumcise the foreskin of our hearts Vers. 9. Thoughts not free The tenth cōmandemēt The spa●ne of finis is in euery man 1. Creation 2. Prouidēcs 3. Redemptiō A sound A voyce A word The word of God Simile Hearing the word of God is the best hearing 1. Cor. 1. Preaching How we must heare the word Note these foure things 1. Preparatiō 2. To heare all that is taught vs not parcels 3. Constancie in hearing 4. A desire to practise the thing we heare Hebr. 4. 12. Wee must heare the word as Gods word while it is daye It is good to heare of the threatnings as well as of the promises Simile * That is in Prosperitie Why the Lord oft threatneth in his owne person * As in publike calamities Preachers Great graces Simile 1. Pride 3 4 Ripenes in sin Gen. 5. Rules for the right vsage of the creatures and of Gods blessings and graces receiued 1 Arguments for humiliation 2 2. Cor 11. Numb 12. 1. 3 Meanes to cure pride Rom. 7. 2. Cor. 12. Simile Humilitie See 1. p. counsels Hypocrisie Of two sorts of pride Mater heraeseôn Vermis diuitiarum Pride in apparell and strange attire Pride of women which set vp signes in their foreheads Iob. 39. 37. 38. 1. ta mora tò●●osmou 2. tà as ther è 3. tà ag●● 4 tà exouth●●●m●●a 5. tà mè ●●ta How hypocrisie differeth from true godlines Simile Hypocrites like bankerupts Triall of our ioy after affliction Sicknes Note well They that s●e their secret hypocrisie with griefe shall doe well Godly simplicitie Hardnes of heart Psalm 95. Rom. 1. Heb. 3. Peccatum paena peccati Psal. 69. 27. Note 1 2 4 Markes of hypocrisie 5 6 7 8 9 De agris populo diuidend●s Liui●s l. 2. 10 11 12 Simile 1