God but shall obtaine of hys bountifull goodnesse eyther an inestimable comfort in all kinde of tribulation eyther else a cleane riddance thereof or at least wise a mitigation of his troubles From hence floweth so sure a confidence in God that the saintes are in most quietnesse of minde in time of aduersitie As were those thrée most noble children which song in the flaming Fornace and inuited to their swéete song all creatures and euerie particuler part of the worlde to praise the glorious maiestie of God and to magnitie and extoll his goodnesse And as were Paule and Silas also in a certaine Citie of Macedon who being seourged with rods throwne into the innermost prison their féete fast tyde in the stockes at midnight did set forth God with praises song psalmes togither with a ioyfull minde Wherfore it is thought that GOD sheweth himselfe more amiable to vs in aduersitie than he doth in prosperitie And therevpon what a chéerefulnesse had the Apostle Paule as his wordes declare what ioye what glorying in the Lorde had he while he remembred his labors his stripes his imprisonmentes shipwrackes watchings hunger thirst colde and a number of other perils and often death also when he delighted in the infirmities rebukes necessities persecutions and anguishe which he had suffered for Christes sake when he reioysed in abyding so many great cruelties and miseries for preaching of the Gospell when he was filled with excéeding ioye in all his tribulation when he brake out in the mids of trouble into a certain godly ioyfulnesse of minde saying Blessed be God the father of our Lord Iesus Christ which is the father of mercie the God of all comfort comforting vs in all our troubles in so much as we are able to comfort them that be in any maner of trouble by the same comfort wherwith we our selues are comforted of god For the same cause the Apostles departing from the face of the counsell to be scourged wen with great ioye that they might be counted worthy to beare blame for the name of Iesu Wherefore although it appeares plainely that the Church of God hath euermore bene vexed with trouble and persecution of the wicked As when Abell which was killed of hys brother Esay most cruelly sundered with a Saw Ieremie that was stoned to death by the people in Egypt Zachary slayne by the Priestes Iohn by Herode Christ by Pylate Steuen by the Iewes the Apostles by cruell Tyrants and so manye Martirs assigned to death and extreame punishment and as the godly who of wicked seorners are so troden vnder foote that oftentimes they are reputed for most vyle abiects and the crime of newe seditious deuise and doting foolishnesse layde to their charge and therfore the Prophet constrained by reason of their enuie hatred reprochings slaunders and tauntes sayde with lowde voyce beholde I and the children which the Lorde hath giuen mee are a token wonder and prodigious thing in Israell yet is it a delight among so many miseries of this life in so variable cases of mens dealing in such tossing and turning of the world in so many terrors of punishments rebukes to remember how farre from impacience the saintes of God bée with what a chéerefull countenaunce they depart from this life and with how stedfast a minde they go towardes their death as towarde the gate of eternall life How did the seauen brethren and their noble mother of whome the storie of the Machabées puttes vs in remembraunce howe light set they by those horible tormentes how scorned they the cruell tyraunt howe smally did they weigh all thinges present before their eyes in respect of the immortall ioy to come And no maruell although a mortal man that hath not the spirite of God will be amazed thereat For God hath made a choyse of the heartes of such as haue a good conscience and charitie therewithall which maketh euery thing verie pleasaunt be it neuer so bitter and vncomfortable whome he will swéetelye inspire with his peace which excéedeth all capacitie and vnderstanding and who shall be to him in stéede of a Temple wherein he will dwell and walke From hence springeth out that wonderfull pacience of the Saintes who perceyue that their obedience shall be bountifully rewarded in time to come and shall be precious and well accepted in the sight of the heauenly father through Christ Hereby is the whole minde possessed with God and strengthned by him and hereby is the liuely hope of immortalitie to come confirmed God onely which is the chiefest and that one alone goodnesse doth by the presence of his comforting spirite in the tyme of trouble so recreate and satistie with ioy the mindes of his elect that eyther they plainly put away all féele both of iniuries done vnto them of pouertie of banishment of contempt of infamie of prisonment of tormentes and of other miseryes and calamities or at least wise beare them out with an excellent courage For they desiring as the Apostle did to be loosed and hoping assuredly to die wel count death an aduauntage to them to seperate them from all miserie to giue them an entring to all aboūdance of good things whither they desire to be caried with full sayle as did Simeon who after he had séene the childe Iesus pronounced out this verse saying Lorde nowe lettest thou thy seruaunt depart in peace c. that the soule being loosed from the prison of the body wherin after a sort it lyeth as it were brought a fléepe maye stie vp to hir quiet rest to delectable peace and libertie and to euerlasting life where it may continually draw out of the plentiful fountaine of gods blessed maiestie continuall pleasures delectations and ioyes Who then had not rather with the wayfaring man if it so pleased God be ridde at the first stone he commeth at by the way than to endure so many griefes so many labors and daungers to the vtter tyring of his bodie during the whole course of his iourney in this life For the children of God mourne while they yet liue within this earthly mansion of the bodie which being once consumed they know how they haue a dwelling place with God euen a mancion not made with handes but such a one as is euerlasting in heauen And they being lightned with a sure hope thereof doe endure all maner of troubles not onely with a pacified mynde but with a willing and a glad heart also They count banishment for defence of the Gospell and for righteousnesse sake but a trifle They know that in this lyfe the rewarde of vertue is the hatred of the worlde is persecution is hunger and banishment which they had rather enter into among other perfite exuls of God and to wander here and there vncertainly than by remayning among Idolaters to possesse a fine and delitate lyfe while in the meane tyme by assenting and subscribing to their euils they must of
minde whereof the other is framed and whereto it is semblant And what doth Philosophie promise to bring to passe being adorned with so many high prayses as it is called the guide of our life the schoolemaister of manners the mother of vertues the expeller of vices the tilling of the witte the medicine of the minde doth it not promise a rest from cares delectation of the mindes of such as be trauellers therein And doth she not as in hir owne right challenge the shaking of of vaine carefulnesse quenching of lusts driuing away of feare and the curing or to speake least the moderating of turmoyles of the minde Neyther doth Phylosophie set forth onely in vtter shewe so greate a profession but the héerers also thereof being taught goodly preceptes and instructed with iolly perswasions doe declare both by their life communication the vertue and force therof resting in them Which of the olde Phylosophers was eyther moued with the occasions of sorrowe or was appalled at death when it aproched Socrates fast bounde in prison seased not to dispute of Phylosophie and the very daye of his death reasoned at large concerning the immortalitie of the soule And when in his hande he helde that deadly cuppe he departed this miserable body with so pleasant and iocande a minde as he séemed not to be preased to his death but vsing pleasaunt wordes as if he had gone to a solemne banket of his friendes whome he had not séene a good whyle before Wherefore to such as know not Christ beyng not yet reuealed to all the worlde I woulde iudge no kinde of life comperable to the Phylosophers eyther if they séeke to driue away cares eyther else for the naturall recreation of their mindes For what is there that eyther in welth and riches eyther in pleasure and pastime either in honor and aduancement doth so excéedingly pacifie the minde and poures gladnesse therin as doth the science of Phylosophie and knowledge thereof which hath beene author of those goulden precepts of lyuing and being collected into bookes hath published the same for a memoriall to all the posterities But after that Christ the brightnesse of glorie who being the same light that giueth light to euerie man comming into this worlde shewed himselfe to the earth and opened the secret will of his father and the true knowledge of tranquillitie of the minde both to kingdomes and nations we are commaunded to here his voyce him to obey and serue him to follow as our onely shepherde and maister in whome all treasures of wisedome and knowledge lye hid The Phylosophers were but men and as Saint Paule calleth them but naturall men who coulde attaine no higher from earthly things than the naturall reason of man woulde permitte them But Christ both is and was the sonne of God who of his infinite mercy left the throne of his maiestie in heauen and from the bosome of his father descended downe vpon the earth to open the misteries hid from euery generation since the beginning of the worlde that wherevnto man being but a creature could not attaine by reason of his blindenesse therevnto his minde might ascende being lightned chaunged and regenerated by the spirite of Christ And the Phylosophers doe chiefly exhorte euerye one to that worthye and triumphant victorie which is ment of our lustes and appetites than which they accompt none more greater nor yet more honorable For he that hath ouercome an enimie was of more force than his enimie but he that by restrayning himselfe bridleth his owne lustes such a one hath ouercome himselfe He that hath ouerthrowne his enimie hath vanquished an externe aduersarie but he that subdueth his owne desires conquereth a Rebell and domesticall Traytour There is no euill that is not easier to be resisted than worldly pleasure For of what sorte so euer it be the same is a terror to vs euen at the first sight and for the asperitie thereof striketh vs with a quaking feare For she with hir smiling lookes allureth men vnto hir and with hir sweete motions falling into the senses spéedily winneth fauor no lesse than doth the song of the Marmayde call backe and drawe to hir companie such as passe by Through wanton pleasures was Hanniball vndone at Capua yet could no ouerthrow in battel discomfite him Wherfore he that ouercommeth his lustes doth not only with the olde Troians put away Helene frō him but plainly triumpheth ouer sin doth a greater act than to ouercome the strongest holde in the world Very well therefore sayd Plato A man to ouercome himself is the chiefe and most excellent victory of all others but to be ouercome of himselfe of all others is a most shameful horrible fall With such like exhortation the Phylosophers doe annimate and incorage vs to this difficult hard conflict and teach instruct vs with all the preceptes they can and yet doe they neyther kéepe néere the right course nor rightly set forth the same and are neyther present with their hearers as they shoulde be neyther indue them with diuine powre from aboue neyther yet are able to gyue grace for bearing away of victorie But Christ leadeth vs from all wandring and troublesome crossewayes of error and blindnesse and setteth vs with his doctrine a true and readie way and doth not only sit as Iudge of our doings but furnisheth vs also with the whole armour of God wherewith we being armed and fortified on euerie side maye resist all our aduersaries at once both ouercome the motions of the fleshe and kéepe our soules vndefiled from the worlde And the same Christ being truly present with his spirit in euery place both exhorteth vs to fight indueth vs from aboue with strength to the battell by hys grace helpeth vs to ouercome when wée faint lifteth vs vp and when we get the victorie crowneth vs Moreouer although we willingly imbrace the wholsome admonitions of Philosophers whereby we are called to remember our frailtie and weaknesse and to kéepe downe the pride of man and although we set some store by those excellent disputations which deliuered the minde from perishing and so earnestly endeuored to set the same at libertie yet verie greatly and I knowe not how farre of Philosophie hath béene from the féele and taste of eternall life Euen so much as neyther eie hath séene neyther eare hath heard neyther heart hath imagined Yet some maner of féeling thereof hath God reueled to his elect by his holy spirite But of the exceding greatnesse of that vnspeakable glorie none of the olde Philosophers coulde so much as dreame vpon or make coniecture of Which thing God in his sonne Iesus hath appoynted as a right of inheritaunce to be inioyed of the true worshipers of him euen since the first beginning of the world and creation of all things For others lacked the holy spirit of promise and adoption which God imparteth to the faythfull that desire and call vpon him for the same and
touching the firme promises of eternall life hath determined the heritage to vs So likewise he by his omnipotent power finisheth the worke of saluation begonne in vs if we wauer not but stande stedfast in faith Let vs therfore call vpon the Lorde to poure into our mindes the gift of fayth and daylie to increase the same being begonne in vs that in asking séeking and knocking we maye receyue finde and haue it opened vnto vs. For the iustification by faith from whence the true quietnesse of the minde doth growe and by which accesse with boldnesse to the throne of Maiestie is assigned vnto vs and by whose helpe and defence we are brought to this grace wherein we stande and boste our selues vnder the glorie of God is after Saint Barnardes opinion as it were a mid passage from eternall predestination vnto the magnification as he calles it to come by which we ascende to the heauenly Ierusalem the Citie of the lyuing God to the innumerable company of Aungels to the congregation of the first borne Sonnes which are written in heauen to the spirites of the iust and perfite men and to God the iudge of all men and to Iesus the Mediatour of the newe Testament where we being blessed shall inioye euerlasting lyfe Since all Scripture preacheth vnto vs that these things must with true and certaine perswasion be beléeued and denounceth against the vnbeleeuers payne and eternall death why are we discouraged in our mindes if miserie assayle vs why doe we lowre and lament if but easie aduersity come vpon vs why doe not excellent perswasions take so good roote in vs that we contemne and weare out afflictions of time present by conferring the same with lyfe to come which is reserued for vs why are we not so armed with the continual studie of most blessed immortalitie which is looked for and with sure hope of that most happie kingdome that whatsoeuer shall chaunce we beare it both paciently and quietly If the longest age of oures being compared with euerlasting life can scarcely be counted one minute why regarde we not those transitorie things as matters of no effect which may easily be abidden setling our minde farre beyonde afflictions vpon the good things eternall which tarie looking for vs And why waighe we not downe this light affliction that indureth but for a season euen onely with the earnest thought of the felicitie to come Of our momentany and light affliction speaketh Saint Paule iudging that it bréedeth in vs a wonderfull and excéeding waight of glorie while we haue not regarde vnto the thinges which are séene but to those things which are not séene For the things which are séene are temporall the things which are not séene are eternall For by affliction are good men throughly tryed as Iobe and Tobias were or else euill men therby are corrected and amended as Manasses and many other kings of Iuda Where should either the vertue and power of the spirite be so euidently perceyued or the noble and excellent vertue of pacience giue so splendent a shew or fayth haue any earnest exercise if the Saintes shoulde be strayned with no miserie For euen as the starres doe shyne in the night but in the day time they lie hidden euen so true vertue wering bewtifull by temptation doth as yron with vse shew in aduersitie what force it is of which otherwyse in tyme of prosperitie laye hid in secret And howe should euill men forsake their earthly desires relinquish and cast from them their wicked deuises if no such thing should happen whereby they may be ledde from loue of the worlde from generall flattering of themselues and from their naughtie and sinfull custome For as the Phisition bindeth him fast that is vered with a frensie stirres him vp that is troubled with the disease of Lytharge putteth them both to vexation and yet loueth them bothe being not onely desirous to restore health vnto them both but also applyes verie diligently his whole arte studie in curing of those things euen so God although he be sharpe in punishing yet doth he most louingly by such meanes procure saluation vnto hys elect Wherefore Moses reckneth affliction in steade of benefite when he thus speaketh to the children of Israell But thys also sayth he waigh thou within thy heart that euen as a man chastiseth his childe so doth the Lorde thy God correct thée that thou mayest walke in hys wayes and feare him After like maner doth Dauid in this sentence following extoll the chastining of the Lorde as a speciall benefite vnto vs It is good for me that thou hast humbled and afflicted me whereby I may learne thy statutes But why doth GOD many times suffer his elect to be afflicted by the euill and wicked Truely they which be most holy of all commit something euerye day worthy of punishment For not so much as in the fleshe of the very children of God there abydeth anye thing that is good but in them is concupiscence of the fleshe against the spirite and they are so chaunged into a newe creature as neuerthelesse the olde man is not vtterly shaken of They may referre that saying of Iohn to themselues as well as to others if we saye we haue no sinne we deceyue our selues and there is no truth in vs For euen the verie thought of the heart is inclyned to euyll if occasion be ministred therevnto There is no such prerogatiue giuen to the Saintes so long as they liue in this light if they remember their owne frailtie and weaknesse to make them thinke those common prayers of the Church as Lorde forgiue vs our trespasses washe me more and more And enter not into iudgement with thy seruaunt that they pertaine not as well to them as to others Wherefore the Lorde béeing a righteous Iudge by his iudgement correcteth first his owne householde bringeth them into the way againe and admonisheth them to call vpon him for helpe least they should be condemned with the reast of the worlde And euen as euery beast that is striken with lightning turneth his face towarde the lightning so likewise if the houshold of God will haue regarde to God when he pleaseth them he will compell them also to haue an eye to him when hee strykes them according to that saying when he slue them they sought him and turning back they called to remembrance that God was their rock and the high God their redéemer But and if the afflicted housholde of God will from thence forth diligently séeke after their God with sighings from their heart and with righteous and pacient mindes will abide wayting for his secrete councell their lamentation shall enter into the eares of the Lorde of Sabaoth who pluckes them out of their aduersaries handes that he may learne them to depend onely vppon him reuenges them also at length of their very enimyes if they scorne them and the rod of punishment which they execute not
be striken and wounded But to leaue speaking of the subtiltie of Sathan the knowledge and remembraunce whereof should make vs the readier to resist I will recyte the other impediments which be a hinderaunce to the happie and quiet life What a heape of euilles in these oure dayes hath burst out and ouerthrowne in a multitude the true tranquillitie of theyr mindes And what a number hath the flood of vnprofitable thinges disquieted and turned from the peaceable state of their mind One wrestleth with the disease of incontinencie and preuayling but little striuing with the deafe doth waste his laboure to complaine of the straite lawe of single life and of mariage forbidden him Out of which fountaine vndiscretely the Prelates of Churches doe dissemble and make as though that excéeding great mischiefe did not issue and procéede when as God in verie déede not as a winker at such a matter but lyke a Iudge for an example and warning to all the worlde hath subuerted Monasteryes and houses of Religion making them euen with the ground An other doth superstition compell to haue an excéeding strayte conicience in violating any of the least of mans inuentions neglecting the commaundementes of the euerlasting God and dreading him rather as a cruell tiraunt than esteming him as a louing father and mercifull defender Whereof it comes that the feare of punishment fayneth a sacrifice and that such as be dead may be purged by the punishment of fire which fyre although not being perpetuall yet as they say terrible and that the sayde sacrifice coulde deliuer them from the place of tormentes and raise them vp to the felowship of Sainctes Diuersly also is the minde of many tossed to and fre and drawne hither thither into doubtfull cogitations bycause they cannot determine any thing for a certaine iudgement concerning the great controuersies of our fayth sprong vp in this our age which holdeth also a number of mindes in such suspence and boubt that whyther they shall flye for succor whose ayde they shall cleaue vnto and finally what is the best way to be done they are vtterly ignoraunt Manye also are turned from the Gospell partlye bycause of the multitude of herisies which for our sinnes are brought in and procured by false spirites and partlye by reason of the vyces which by mans owne intemperaunce and dissolute lyfe are crept in Such men being seduced from the right sense know not howe to discerne betwixt the worke of God and the worke of the Deuill nor with a discréete perseuerance to sée the difference how to choose and seuer the one from the other Also there are founde many who being disquieted wyth the often chaunge of Religion become in a maner voyde of beliefe that there is any God at all and as though he would not well defende their cause they yelde to all vngodlinesse scarcesly naye nor so much as scarcesly abstaine themselues from blasphemous wordes Yea and the weaker sorte whose iudgement is right are so greatly appalled when violent persecution is imminent that they quickly departe from Christ and stande more a fearde of them which kill the body than of him which hath power to iudge both the bodie soule to hell fire But of all the anguishes that do vere the soule and disturbe the minde from the right waye there can be none more greater than the anguish of conscience and the gréeuous remembrance of sinnes For there gnaweth the worme there the fire burneth to the vttermost there hell fire hath his beginning and also the wéeping and gnashing of teeth which our Sauiour in the Gospell pronounceth to be reserued for the wicked sorte Often we may chaunge our resting place take longe pilgrimages in hande passe ouer desert seas trauell manye countries both on foote and by horse conueyed maye we be and passe into the furthest partes of the worlde But our affections to lay away our selues to forsake the recorde of our conscience to forget and the sorowfull thinking of our wicked demeanor to abandon and cast from vs we are not able For the trouble of our conscience pricketh vs at home moueth vs being abrode accompanieth vs in the night iornyeth with vs dwelles in the countrye with vs and wheresoeuer we set our foote or to what place we go makes hir self such a mate and companion as will not be seperated from vs The fables do describe how Orestes was tormented and vexed with burning Torches of the furies in hell But the lyfe of man throughout is full of examples how euery man 's owne deceyt guile naughtinesse mischiefe presumption of his owne good witte and memorie is a heauie burden vnto him and how mans owne euill thoughtes and remorse of his owne conscience is such a terror vnto the wicked as they become beside themselues for the paine thereof These are the continuall and inwarde furies flames and fyrebrands to the vngracious and rebrobate which day and night craue punishment for them There is recited by Plutarke a storie worthie of remembraunce of one Bessus who killed his father and for a long space after hid and kept close himselfe so as the cryme being couertlye committed and no person priuie thereto he coulde neuer haue bene suspected and bewrayed vnlesse he had first accused himselfe But as this murtherer at a certaine time went to suppe among straungers he ryfelde downe with his speare a nest of Swallowes and throwing out the yong birdes trode and pashte them vnder his féete When the companye that stoode by being as reason was stirred to indignatiō to sée this thing demaunded what shoulde be the cause that might mooue him to doe so cruell an acte and to destroye the birdes so famillier and louing vnto man he aunswered haue they not this good while saith he borne false witnesse against me and with their cryes accused me of my fathers death They which were present wondering at the aunswere reported his wordes vnto the King and so the matter being throughly sifted out Bessus receyued the punishment which long before he had deserued Horrible feare as Salomon most truly iudged doth naughtie and wicked life bring with it makes the conscience to be as great a testimonie as if a thousande witnesses were present and the same being conuicted doth alwaies prognosticate and looke for mischiefe to ensue What feare and dreade are the consciences of naughtie persons stricken with through horrible dreames dreadfull sights monstrous signes and carefulnesse of the minde all which séeme to be brought vpon the wicked by Gods appointment for their euill demeanor What snares doe they tangle themselues in with what crosse and persecution doe they destroy their mindes being inwardlye troubled and afflicted Nero after he had killed his mother as Suetonius reporteth coulde neuer endure the grudge of his conscience for that wicked crime neyther immediatly vppon the déede done nor at any time after although hée were incoraged with consolations both of the souldiours Senate and people of Roome
of God the righteousnesse sanctification and redemption for vs He it is that bare our sinnes vpon his backe on the crosse that we being dead to sinne might liue to righteousnesse This most sacred ground of our religion and reuerent misterie of our redemption is to be exercised in the hearts of euery true christian with a continuall remembraunce And least the same should be forgotten of vs Christ left his bodie in the holy sacrament and misticall banket of his supper which he commaunded to be distributed directly with that perspiquitie of wordes which he himselfe ordeyned and appoynted that it might effectually be a remembraunce of the olde offered sacrifice and playnly as it were with liuely Image to represent the death of our redemer shewing perfectly and after a sort laying it before the eyes of the communicantes that all the people with meditation of so great fearefull a misterie being godly amazed and as it were rauished beyond thēselues shoulde for that time occupie themselues with nothing nor haue any other consideration in their mindes but of Christ onely crucified on the Crosse The sacrament being in this sort ministred according to Christes institution might by meanes of the worthinesse of the wordes and vertue of the holye spirite mightilye worke in the minde and earnestly stirre vp the same and also might plainly before the eyes of all the people discribe Christ paint him out and as Paule hath to the Galathians in a maner crucifie him a newe And hereof growes that excesse of saint Chrisostomes wordes Imagine sayth he the bloud of saluation flowing as it were out of the deuine and vnpolluted side and that spirituall and wonderfull bloud running into the Cup to purifie vs and there the tongue tasting to be made red and blouddie and so drawe nighe and receyue it with pure lips But although I haue as occasion did serue recyted to what ende chiefly that misticall feast doth tende which cōprehendeth chiefly respecteth the declaration of the lords death yet that no man lay to my charge how I haue indirectly past ouer with silence those high benifites besides the cōmon confession of our fayth whereby we wayte for saluation of our soules through one and the same Sauiour and besides the effectuall remēbrance of the mistery of our redemption which to make perfit Christ gaue his bodie to be slain his bloud to be shed I acknowledge also in the instituting of the sacramēt of the Lords supper the singuler loue of God towardes mankinde For he not content onely to redéeme vs and after that redemption to put vs in dayly remembrance therof but he verily also and in déede féedeth and nourisheth the faythfull with his owne liuely fleshe so long as they shall liue here like straungers aliants and till they haue made an ende of this habitation He increaseth thereby our fayth strengthneth vs to abide tribulation confirmes our hope of hauing eternal life kindleth our loue towards him mainteynes our brotherly charitie prolonges our lyfe and frames the same to good order quieteth our consciences and as thoughe he forgatte our sinnes reconciles himselfe againe vnto vs He bréedeth in our mindes thereby spirituall pleasure and delight draweth awaye our ymaginations from the frailtie of our bodies and procureth vs to thinke of immortalitie and that which is most of all he cooples and ioynes vs to himselfe mixeth vs and as I maye say vnites and incorporates vs with him in a most sure bonde Which contriuing and linking one within an other the sensible nature of man can not comprehende Neyther howe he is our heade and we his members and fleshe of his fleshe bone of his bones nor howe he dwelleth and liueth in vs and we in him For if it be a thing to be maruelled at howe we be members one of another and man and wife maye be all one fleshe howe much more wonderfull is this most nighe coopling togither of Christ and vs which doth most truly and certenly not faynedly colourably or phantastically happen vnto such as doe faythfully eate this sacrament Whereat the diuine Prophete being helde with admiration prophecied saying The mercifull and gracious Lorde hath so done his maruellous workes that they ought to be had in euerlasting remembraunce he hath giuen meate to them that feare him Wherefore to this poynt doth the similitude of Cyrillus aptly concurre Euen as sayth he if one take molten ware and poure it to other ware and worketh the whole togither so must it néedes be that who so receyues the fleshe and bloud of the Lorde he be in such sort ioyned to him that Christ be found in him and he in Christ But now that we haue béene occupied in calling to minde the benifites which are annexed to the Lordes supper being dulye ministred as it ought to be and worthylye receyued of the faithfull let vs returne to the matter which we haue in hande that is to say to the great misterie of our saluation and redemption through rememberaunce whereof there groweth peace of conscience and tranquillitie of mynde Whereby though the Deuill putte vs in feare the worlde disquiet vs and the fleshe prouoke vs yet the same remayneth still in perpetuall quietnesse securitie Thence commeth it that the multitude of sinnes and greatnesse of them doe not debarre vs the way to Gods mercie nor the abyding in sinne for a season vtterly take away all hope of forgiuenesse From thence springeth our loue that we haue towardes God which spared not his owne Sonne but for all our sakes gaue him to death and with him gaue vs all good things Thence riseth that déepe mindefulnesse of Gods benifites in that he adopted vs to be his owne children and for this benifite continuall thankes is to be celebrated of all the faythfull There is nothing in all the worlde that at such time as we are meditating vppon Christ can once pierse our conscience much lesse driue it to desperation were it for committing the greatest sinne of all other For if transgressing of the law brings terror vnto vs It helpeth againe to remember that Christ hath redemed vs from the curse of the law If sinne trouble vs we are recomforted in that Christ not only remitted to the debtor ten thousand tallents which ought a great deale forgaue Peter that had grieuously offended him pardoned the Théefe who had long continued in sinne but also by his owne bloud washed vs cleane from all sinne If death gréeue vs Christ is become both our lyfe and resurrection If the wrath of God make vs pensiue by Christ are we reconciled vnto god If hell fire feare vs Christ by conquering of Hell hath opened the gates of heauen If the fire of Purgatorie disquiet our mindes Christ for the sinnes of mankinde hath satisfied God and the punishment which by Gods iustice was done vnto vs he himselfe hath abydden it and hath not onely deliuered vs from the offence it selfe but also from the
they must abyde that the members may be made apt for their head They are not ignoraunt howe that saying of Saint Augustine is most true The thing which thou sufferest and wherfore thou mournest is a medicine to thee and not a punishment a chastysing and not a condemning For euen as the Musitian strayneth his strings and yet he breaketh none of them but maketh thereby a swéeter and better concorde So God through trouble destroyes not those which be hys owne but makes them better and more plyable vnto fruition of the lyfe to come And as the Mason heweth out stones which he maketh fitte for building of his house graues them and squares them before he laye and ioyne them to the building euen so through affliction doth God turne trye exercise and prepare before hand his elect with whome as with liuely stones he hath purposed to builde the habitation of god He siftes them as corne with a Fanne winnoes them from the chaffe and puttes them aside into his Cheste before he laye them vp in his heauenly Barne Besides this also the godly doe not perceyue the vertue and benefite of the worde but in time of temptation Naye rather when they liue in peace and securitie they haue small regarde to godlye Sermons they heare not the voyce of their God with such feare and trembling as they ought to doe But when temptation commeth then at last they beléeue those things to be true whereof they were warned before by the word Then doe they stirre vp their minds to the feare of god Then at length doe they heare the wonderfull sayings of God with a wylling heart and then doe they tremble with great reuerence at his word At that time they be appointed to beholde the excellent vertue of the worde how in it onely is set forth the greatest consolation both to the sick afflicted miserable and destressed people and also the onely hope and safetie of them which be departing thys lyfe at which time al other things contayned in heauen and earth do forsake a man neyther bring they any maner of helpe and succor vnto him Which worde they lightly estéemed before when they were in health and a loft in prosperity being pampered vp with aboundaunce of things according to their desire Besides these causes we maye also gather many times by the euils which God sendes vpon vs the good will of our most mercifull father receyuing as it were a testimonie of Gods fauour towardes vs and gather thereby a token of our election Because when God doth afflict his chosen for their desert be chastiseth them commōlye by the handes of the wicked not vnder the name of due desert but for thinges which they haue done righteouslye that euen by the oppressors themselues they may reape comfort Through whom tranquillitie to the godlye sort happinesse two wayes Eyther for that the iniuries of the euill men haue no further successe eyther bicause the godly be nothing disquietes therewith For although the vngodly doe of set mischiefe of naughtie hatred and of vniust furie waxe cruell for a time against the seruantes of God yet doe they quickly perishe togither with their threats and tormentes and are cleane consumed to nothing or else God giueth secretly by diuine inspiration such sufficient strength vnto those his elect which perceyue with themselues that the feare and confidence in God still remaines with them as they are readie with a good courage to suffer whatsoeuer to his maiesty shall séeme méete and expedient Adde moreouer that God sendes aduersitie to his elect Bicause whom he loueth them he calleth forth to suffer tribulation that he maye haue a tryall howe they be affected towardes him what certaine loue they beare him and what stedfast confidence they haue in his goodnesse Hereby he throughly prooued the faith of Abraham the pacience of Iob. Hereby he tried whether the Israelites loued him inwardlye with all their hart and with all their soule as outwardly they profest him with deuout holynesse Againe God doth sometime bring his chosen in perill of death and in extréeme hazarde both of life and losse of all their substaunce that when through his onely assistance they haue escaped all daungers contrary to their owne expectation and are restored againe to safetie which thing they neyther thought would come to passe nor yet hoped for the same that then he maye cause them to be the more forwarde both to honor and aduaunce the name of God and to repeate his benifites in euerye congregation For how much greater the daūger is so much the more ioye is woont to be had after deliueraunce That then also he maye kindle others by their examples both with one mouth to tell out the bountifull goodnesse of God and also to looke stedfastly for his succour in the tyme of their aduersitie From thence issueth out that sacramentall vowe of the godly which in the midst of trouble is pronounced I will shew foorth thy name vnto my brethren and in the midst of the congregation will I prayse thee Thence commeth it that they so deaseably performe the vow which they haue made as for ioy they conceyued by the sodaine and vnexpected deliueraunce they vtter out that sentence so full of exhortation and inuttation of others to the extolling and publishing of Gods name and his excéeding mercie Ye that feare God sayth the Prophet prayse him Glorifie hym all yee seede of Iacob Let all the generations of Israell feare him for he hath not shunde nor dispisde the prayer of the poore Neyther hath hee turned his face from me but vvhen I cryed vnto him he heard me Of thee shall my song be in the great congregation and my prayers will I make in the sight of them that feare him For there is nothing that more stirres vp the Saints to magnifie God than when he inclines his eare vnto the prayers of the poore destitute and so mercifully beholdes the supplication of the afflicted Lastly God is wont to put his elect to the will of the worlde and laye them before the crueltie of most wicked tyrants that he may as it were boste foorth before the worlde the vertue of his spirite wherewith he hath armed the Saints who mightily contemne all earthly things in respect of heauenly as well for a testimony and renowme of Gods goodnesse towardes his elect as also to beare a certaine tryumph ouer the Prince of this worlde that the weaker elect maye be made stronger and the crueller wicked sorte be confounded These men by their bloud beare open testimonie both of the good vertues which remayne in the Saints while they yet liue here and eke of those good things which are to come hereafter And of verie right doe they obtaine the name of Martyrs who for defence of the gospell and maintenance of iustice and innocencie esteeme the terrible broyles of the worlde which are raysed vp bicause it cannot
away with preaching of the worde of God as a thing of naught and contemne and settes little by the threatning concourse of Kings and whisperings of Princes against the Lord and against his Christ and by no torments can they be drawne away and made with lesse will courage or chéere to professe the truth vnto their last ende Wherefore by the continuall remembraunce of such causes as mooue the Lorde to bring afflictions and troubles vpon his elect we shall be incouraged to beare all things that shall happen both with a pacient and quiet minde and eyther to reioyce if in defence of righteousnesse we be vnrighteously punished or else take occasion if we be iustly and of due desert chastised to correct our maners and amende our lyfe thereby Let it fall to oure remembraunce that as a woman which lyeth in labour féeleth great anguish in hir whole body with the trauell but after she is deliuered and hir childe come into the worlde is not onely eased of hir paine but also taketh singuler ioy and pleasure by forgetting hir former trouble euen so affliction which at first is woont to séeme sharpe and bitter yet at length it accustometh to worke ioyfull and merrie endes with delectable fruites of pacience Let vs neuer ymagine in our owne opinion that there is eyther chaunce or fortune and so suppose things happen by easualtie and at all aduenture although no religion as may appeare forbids those wordes by fortune or chaunce to be vsed in phrase of speach when thinges come to passe nay but let vs thinke and perswade with our selues that there is a God and iudge for a suretie that all things by his councell and prouidence are excellently well gouerned It is the Lorde that appointes vs to death and restores vs againe to life He carieth vs downe to hell and bringeth vs from thence againe The Lorde maketh both the poore and riche He exalteth the humble and casteth dewne the high lookes of the prowde Through him kinges doe beare rule and by him kingdomes are transtated from one Nation to another for their wrongs and contumelies and for their riches compassed by fraude and guile Without the will of our heauenly father our sauiour affirmeth in the Gospell that so much as a sparrow doth not light vpon the house top nor that a heare falleth from the heade but by his prouidence And what carefull foresight the Lorde hath towarde his elect he himselfe doth plainely signifie vnto vs in these wordes of the Prophete Esay I haue borne you sayth he from your mothers wombe and brought you vp from your birth till you were growne and the Church will I beare vp in hir last age I haue made you I will also nourishe you beare you and saue you Wherefore the Lorde is angrie when we flie to the succor of man leauing Gods helpe Which thing we may well perceyue by the saying of the sayde Prophet An Egyptian is a man and not God their horses are flesh and not spirites and so soone as the Lord shall stretch foorth his hande then shall the helper fall and he also that looketh for helpe shal perish and both togither be consumed Let vs learne therefore with great trust and confidence to wayte for the assistance of God and onely to respect what his will and pleasure is to endure also with a quiet minde whatsoeuer his heauenly prouidence most graciously shall assigne vnto vs. Let vs follow the councell of that holye Martyr Cyprian who instructeth a godly minde howe he should turne euilles aswel those which be ingraffed in the verie nature of man as those which by other accidents happen vnto him to become an instrument of glorie For thus he wryteth Is any man ransackt of his substaunce either by warre shipwracke or by robberie Let him not deuise by and by to repayre his losses by naughtie and euill practises but thus let him say with him selfe It is the Lorde that prooueth me and shall I not loue him from the bottome of my hart It is euen he himselfe that gaue me these things and he himselfe it is that hath taken them awaye againe blessed be the name of the lord Let him giue thanks for that he receyued them of Gods bountifull liberalitie and let him also giue him thankes bicause they be taken away againe for triall of his fayth If he shall thus say with the same minde and will that holy Iob did he shall with him also reape a rewarde For the Lorde regardeth not how much a man looseth but how paciently he beareth the same Like as he hath not respect to the quantitie that a man giueth to the poore but with what will and intent the same be done Hast thou one onely sonne whome thou louest and sodayne death doth depriue thée of him or doth the plague take frō thée thy best beloued spouse thy children and thy friendes take it paciently and saye So it séemed best to the Lorde and so peraduenture it was expedient for vs and ours the Lordes name be blessed therefore There be also certaine diseases whiche are of no lesse terrible paine than the crueltie of any tormentors As the Plurisie the Sciatica the Goute the Stone the Paulsie the sorenesse of the raynes and bladder If any such griefe happen vnto vs let not our mindes be mooued to impacience least our tongue also breake out into blasphemous wordes But let him that is troubled saye with blessed Dauid and with Hely the Priest It is the Lord Let him doe whatsoeuer séemeth good in his owne sight So shall we turne those euilles which are not come vpon vs for professing of Christ not onely to be a crowne of rewarde vnto our selues but also to be extended to the glorie of Christ and peraduenture bring to passe that the Lorde through our pacience will tender vs and either take away quite or else mittigate our paine and torment But and if we be not eased thereof yet by suche meanes we shall cause the thing which before was intollerable through our impacient minde nowe by our quiet induring to become more tollerable Let wicked murmurings therefore in time of aduersitie be remooued from vs which be full of desperation and mistrust and most euident tokens of peruerse opinions according to the excellent iudgement of this graue wryter Let vniust complaynings agaynst the Lorde be reiected farre from vs Let vs subiect our selues vnder the mightie hande of god Lette vs receyue his gentle correction with a quiet minde who hath neuer suffered vnpunished such wrestling as hath béene agaynst his ordinaunce and appoyntment Let enery man that is full of paine trouble and miserie say with the Prophete Micheas I will beare the wrath and indignation of God bicause I haue sinned against him And with Daniell To thée Lord belongeth righteousnesse and to vs perteyneth shame and confusion Let vs fall to heartie and earnest prayer and to continuall exercise of the