clogging accusing pressing down as a heauy lump of lead shaming at condemning our own reasons and wils for giuing entertainmeÌ„t vnto sin in asmuch as sometimes ye shal find the tormeÌ„ts gréeues of conscieÌ„ce to worke greater sorrow care in our minds theÌ„ if we were either in prison or ready to goe to execution and although there bée 2. consciences the good and the bad Two consciences forasmuch as I write vnto the good people of God I will haue to doo but with the conscience of the good referring the other to his continual hardnes And although oftentimes we sée not the conscience of the good by their wickednes of sin for that they are not yet called yet if theyr consciences do not shew her force of accusation no doubt it is imprisoned and so hid in the great heape of corruptioÌ„ that though it cannot now speake in the end wil breake foorth that we sée in many disordered personnes in these daies which in the hardnesse of their hartes haue contynued in theyr sinne a long tyme vntouched or vndisclosed Yet in the ende when God wyll call them or sathan bring them to shame or wheÌ„ no man can iustly accuse them how be it suspect them of euill liuing being called to examinacion before any magistrate then who can better accuse then the conscience who doth first condemn and then strike a great feare in the ende produceth two witnesses that is eyther the stammering tongue or els the blushing face to accuse the guilty wyth hys owne mouth and make him speake although he sée eyther shame to discredite him or the magistrate to punish hym or the Gallowes to confound him Therefore is the conscience called Mille testes a thousand witnesses because it dooth more euidently know that which is hid in him then a thousand men and dooth boyle and burne in the harts of wicked men like a fire As Tully sayth Nolite putare quemadmodum in fabulis sepenumero videtis In oratione pro Roscio eos qui aliquid impie scelera te que commiserunt agitari perterreri taedis ardentibus sua quemque fraus suus terror maxime vexat suum quemque scelus exagitat amentiaque afficit suae malae cogitationes conscientiaeque animi terrent c. Thinke not as Poets haue fayned that they that haue committed something vngodly or wickedly are vexed and scourged with burning Torches it is our owne guile and our owne feare doth most trouble vs it is our owne wickednes doth torment vs and amaze vs our owne wicked thoughts and consciences that dooth affright vs c. There is a great accusation of the conscience in the hart of the sinner as when the Scribes and Pharisies had taken a woman in adultery they brought her to Christ to sée what sentence he woulde gyue against her because they hadde found in Moses Lawe that such a one should be stoned to death but they dyd it not for Iustice but to tempt him Then he writ wyth hys finger on the ground and said béeing vrged by them for his sentence Let him that is among you without sinne cast the first stone at her And when they heard it Ioh. 8.7.9 being accused by their owne consciences they went out one by one beginning at the eldest euen vnto the last It is most true that Iuuenall sayth â—â—t 13 Euasisse putes quos diri conscia facti Mens reddit attonitos et surdo verbere caedit Doost thou thinke he can escape whoÌ„ the conscience of a moste horrible facte maketh amazed and whippeth with a deafe scourge And as the same Iuuenall saith in an other place Nocte dieque suum gestat in pectore testem But day and night where that he goe or rest hee â—till doth beare a witnes in his brest Conscientia S. Paule speaking of the Gentiles sheweth that they haue the effect of the Lawe written in their harts their consciences bearing witnes Rom 2 15 and as long as we liue in this worlde God graunt that this witnes may alwayes stirre and sting vs till we be ashamed of sin vnlesse after this life it be opened as in an inditement to accuse at the iudgment seate Reu. 20 12 as Iohn maketh mention And I saw the dead both great small stand before God and the (a) That is their consciences bookes were opened and an other booke was opened which is the booke of life the dead were iudged of those thinges which were written in the bookes according to their works Thus we may sée the conscience in thys world that accuseth and the conscience in the worlde to come that condemneth God grant the we may in this worlde so behaue our selues as with Horace to say Hic murus ahaeneus esto This is a brasen wall when a man may knock his breste and say I knowe nothing héere that maketh me ashamed or a feard Miscellan prelect sepâ— time Toâ— primi He that wyll sée more of the conscience let him looke in the Bishoppe of Exceter hys booke Not in Ally though indéede he wryte of conscience at large But D. Wolton that is now Bishop who wryte larger in his booke called the Conscience dedicated to a godly zealous knight S. Iohn Gilbert mine olde good master louing fréend a fit Patrone for such a booke and title there he shal find inough touching the conscience The third enemy vâ— to sinne An other most terrible enemy vnto mankind for sinnes sake is death who by reason that our bodye is all spotted corrputed with sinne hath his lawfull accesse vnto mankind and foloweth him step by step from place to place of what estate or degrée soeuer he bée either King Prince Duke Marques Earle lord baron knight or whether he be rich or mighty wise or politike tyll at last he plucketh him downe and depriueth him of life wife children houses lands goods and all those thinges in the world wherin he setled his hart The cause of this his power is that man beeing corrupted wyth sin is rewarded with death a certaine appoyntment of God in our first parent for his sin and disobedience â—n 2.17 As appeareth in Genesis 2. In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt die the death In that he dyd eate he disobeyed and so sinned which sinne hath runne into all hys posterity by discent hetherto â—m 5 12 and shall vnto the worlds ende and that is the cause that Death triuÌ„pheth ouer vs in this world in ouerthrowing vs. S. Paul sayth Stipendium peccati mors â—om 6 23 The rewarde of sinne is death Likewise the Apostle Iames sayth â—m 1.15 When lust hath conceaued it bringeth forth sinne and sin wheÌ„ it is finished bringeth foorth death So that there is no doubt among men but by reason of sinne death hath taken hold in them â—om 5.12 and as sin is entred into all the worlde as the Apostle sayth euen so death
is like to run vpon all theÌ„ which are in the world by reason of sinne But now some will obiect Obiect that whether wée sinne much or little it is all one for we are assured of death thereby not regarding the multitude of sinnes but as it were féeding the inclination of sinne knowing that there is but to the one and to the other a death for a rewarde But I answer Resp if any man shall therevpon boldly presume on sinne and feede the humor thereof Short de terrible Deu. 30.18 he shall not only hasten death vnto him but also plucke vpon him a most terrible death as appeareth in Moses If thy hart turne away so that thou wylt not obey but shalt bée seduced and worshippe other Gods and serue them I pronounce vnto you thys day that ye shall surely perish you shal not prolong your daies in the lande S. Paule charging the Corinthians for abusing the sacrament sayd 1 Co. 11.3 For thys cause many are sicke among you and many fall on sléepe And yet it is not a generall rule that they which are cutte off that theyr dayes are shortned thorough sinne for Iohn Baptist and the Innocents that were murthered by Herode are no such examples for such the Lord dooth not onely take away because they are vnworthy of the worlde but sometimes they are arguments of condemnation vnto their oppressers again in them was not séene such manifest sin wherby they did drawe vnto theÌ„ Gods wrath to cut of their dayes but in those in whom plentifulnes of obstinate sin doth raigne vndoubtedly they shorten their dayes as on the otherside they which serue the Lord and followe hys precepts and lawes their daies shal be prolonged 〈◊〉 â—0 20 As appeareth in the commandements Honour thy father and thy mother that thy daies may be long in the land which the Lord thy God giueth thée K n 20 6 Was there not xv yeeres added to Ezechias in seruing the Lord. The prophet Dauid saith â—sal 34 12 What man is he that listeth to liue wold faine sée good daies kéepe thy tongue froÌ„ euil and thy lips that they speake no guile The very same like wordes hath the Apostle Peter also when the Lord appeared vnto Salomon in Gibeon Pet 3 10 and had giuen him the excellency of wisedom he aduised him saying â— Kin. 3 14 If thou wilt walk in my waies to keepe my ordinances and my commandements as thy father Dauid did walk I wil prolong thy daies And yet not only this blessing of prolonging of daies shal be giuen to the seruaunts of God but euen in the ende they shall die a peaceable death as happened to the good king Iosias to whom the Lord said 2 Ki 22 2â— for his good embrasing of the booke of the Law and fearing him Beholde I wyll gather thée to thy fathers thou shalt be put in thy graue in peace and thine eies shall not sée all the euil which I wyl bring vpoÌ„ this place O good God what sweeter wordes to a christian hart and what greater ioy to a good conscience then to depart in peace the neither God in vengeaunce nor the worlde in exclamatioÌ„ lay any thing to our charge neyther this length of life nor this peaceable death shal be assured to the vngodly and wicked but as I said their daies shal be cut of and their end shal be in terror feare as it appeareth in Ezechiel Ezech 14 either by famine pestilence sworde or wyld beasts Howe terrible was the death of the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomor O howe lamentable and most dreadfull was the ende of Hierusalem when it was sackt by Tytus and Vespasian Howe fearefull was the end of Iezabell being rent a sunder with dogges and deuoured by peece-meale How was the ende of rebellious Absalon which was caught from hys horse and hanged by the haire Howe odious was the ende of Antiochus which putrified and rotted where he lay that hys Chamberlaine coulde not abide his smell Most horrible was the ende of Holophernus who was beheaded in hys drunken sléepe and all these wyth a great many more abridged their daies and ended them in most terrible and fearefull manner and that for their wicked and abhominable lyuing in most detestable sinne and wickednes some in horedome some in pryde some in disobedience some in extortion some in tyranny and cruell murther c. I remember I was by the bedside of an olde preacher Hunting 〈◊〉 who diâ—n frooâ— Zelâ—â—d who lay in his death bed and sayd vnto me Euen as the water which is poysoned killeth all the multitude of fish in it so I tell thée in thys world the whole ayre is so corrupted with the sinne of man that I doubt mée it wyll bring all the world to a confusion in a short time I pray God deliuer me and giue England repentant harts The most horrible and most fearefull enemy that yet was spoken of agaynste the sinne of man is hell The last enemy to sinne a place of damnation for euer without release appointed for sathan all such as haue stoutly serued him without veyling theyr banner of repentaunce to almighty God an enemy so dreadfull as me thinkes the verye remembraunce of so terrible a place should séeme to reuoke and drawe backe a sinner although he had neuer so great a delight in his iourney A place not onely full of all paynes torments but also continuing and enduring for euer and euer a place voyde of release or mitigation of paynes thether commeth neyther mercy nor bayle compassion nor pittye The lamentable out cryes and scriches of them that are tormented doo neuer come from thence vnto the eares of helpe or vnto the compassion of pitty Esa 30 33 It is described in the Prophet Esay Topheth is prepared of olde it is euen prepared for the King hée hath made it déepe and large the burning thereof is fire much woode the breath of the Lorde like a fire of Brimstone doth kindle it He speaketh figuratiuely that as the state of heauen in many places of the new Testament is set forth by similituds because other wise we cannot conceiue of it euen so hell in this place is called Topheth Topheth which was a vallye of the children of Hinnom néere Ierusalem 2 Ki 23 10 where the childreÌ„ were sacrificed to Moloch which was a great Image of brasse Lyra. proportioned like vnto a man and being holow within it should first be made fire redde hote and when the child shoulde be put into it and closed vp then the priestes would make such a noise with Targets and timbrels that the parents should not heare the voice of the infant whereby they myght be moued to coÌ„passioÌ„ but beléeue that the infant died peaceably with out paine and that the Gods did presently receiue the soule of the infant this was their abhominable Idolatrye in thys vally néere
Ierusalem which yet is called Ben-hinnom which is asmuch to say by interpretation as the sonne of Hinnom afterward for the filthy abuse of the place for the conteÌ„pt therof Iosiah caused dead carions to be cast there Nowe Topheth taketh his deriuation froÌ„ Toph which signifieth TimphanuÌ„ a Tabret Psa 81 or dromslade which they vsed as I said in this vally to take away the pittiful cry of the child frying in this Images hote hollow place And in our owne capacities we sée a certaine description of hell by this figure a place full of torments in the which the tormented shall suffer such paines Mat 13 42 as shall prouoke wéeping and gnashing of teeth yea such as are intollerable on the otherside the children of God shall not be moued to compassion to behold them no although they sée their father mother children kinsfolke or such like for as the Tabret and timbrell tooke away the childs cry in the Idol Moloch so shall the ioy and swéete melody of heauen stop their pittye or compassion of them which shall dwell in heauen And although this similitude holdeth not in all parts to the reason of them that would discourse vpon it yet so farre it holdeth as we must conceiue the matter although we omit the manner As the vally of Hinnom was a place néere Ierusalem wherein afterward Iosiah caused all the filth and carions of the citty to be layd as fit for no better thing because of the horrible abuse and Idolatry therin sometimes doone Euen so the heauenly Ierusalem doth purge it selfe of all those filthy carions I meane the reprobate that stincke of their sinne before the face of God and are ordayned to bee caste out into thys Topheth as a place fitte for such a receypt Nowe as there is a damnable place wherin the fire is neuer quenched and the worme neuer dyeth Euen so there are some men whose sinnes are so many offences so greate that neuer séeketh the grace and fauour of almightye God neuer repent them of their sins these I say shal be possessors and inheritours of thys place of torments Math. 13.41 42 as our sauiour Christ sayth The sonne of man shall sende foorth hys Angels and they shall gather out of his kingdome all thinges that offend and them which doo iniquity and shall cast them into a Fornace of fire there shal be wayling and gnashing of téeth Lykewise Saint Paule to the Hebrewes If we sinne wyllingly Heb 10 26 27 after that we haue receiued the knowledge of the trueth there remaineth no more sacrifice for sinnes but a fearefull looking for of iudgement and violent fire which shal deuoure the aduersaries Also it is sayd in the seconde Epistle of Peter 2 Pe 2 9. The Lorde knoweth to deliuer the godly out of temptation and to reserue the vniust vnto the daye of iudgement to be punished Also in S. Iohn hys Reuelation Reu. 20 15 And who soeuer was not found in the Booke of life was cast into the Lake of fire Howe woefull and terrible shall the dreadfull day of iudgement bee vnto the wycked and reprobates when Christ Iesus shall sit and make diuision the Goates from the Shéepe when he shall say to the shéepe Come yee blessed receyue the kingdome prepared for you c. Math 25 34 And to the Goats that is to say the wicked he shal say Verse 41 Depart from me ye cursed into euerlasting fire which is prepared for the deuill and his aungells Wherfore while we are héere in thys worlde let vs with terror beholde the dreadfull sentence of damnation with all diligence and care call our selues to account Eph 5 redéeming and purchasing againe the time which we haue wickedly spent and become not onely new but stedfast members and then if thy hand or eye cause thée to offend cut them off and cast them from thée Mat 18 8 9 It is better for thée to enter into life halt maymed or blind then hauing two handes two féete or two eyes to be cast into hell fire And because sathan goeth on styll so busily with his worke and all the world in a manner séemeth wyllinglye to be his workmanship It is necessary that now euen nowe we reclaime our selues according to the caueat of the Euangelist Nowe is the axe layde to the roote of the trées Luk. 3.9 therefore euery trée which bringeth not foorth good fruit shal be hewen downe and cast into the fire Thus haue I bréefely layde downe the most gréeuous enimies to mankind which preuaile the more against him by reason of the sinne which he séemeth to nourish and make ripe in his ready wyll and wylling inclination I would it mought be so surueyed that it may be lothed and so lothed that it may bée thâ—oughly mortified wherby these enemies may not so lay siege vnto the soule of man that in the ende he may be taken captiue and led to an vnbailable gaole the Lord grant it for his Christes sake The prayer O Lord God full of all pittie compassion looke downe vppon vs miserable wretches and sinners who are not onely laden ouerladen with the multitude of sinnes and wickednes but are ready to be swallowed vp and vtterly destroyed vnles thou of thy pitty and mercy which haue beene euer of olde vouchsafe to gard and defend vs for the enimies are at hand ready to ouerthrow vs thy vengeaunce hangeth ouer our heads ready to fall vpon vs our conscience burneth in vs ready to consume vs. Death wayteth daylie vpon vs and calleth vs hel gate is open and we shall be vtterly consumed If thou O most mercifull God extend not thine accustomed fauoure Although we haue sinned O Lord and that most greeuous in thy sight wee are hartely sorry for it and forasmuche as thou requirest a humble harte and a penitent minde accept O Lord the repentaunt teares of thy humble seruaunts and vouchsafe to restore thy Israell agayne which hath gone a a stray and though we bee wylling to cast away our selues yet O Lorde bee thou our guyde and director we see not the deepenes of our owne sinne not yet the sweetenes of thy mercy nor yet the bitternes of the scourges which thou hast ordeyned for sinne open our eyes O Lord and giue vs thy holy spirite to mollifie our harts that we may wholy become thine saue vs for thy mercy sake at the last for syn is so rype and the time so corrupted that vengeaunce is at hand and when it is ready to fall we are not able to abide it wherefore O Lord call thy whole flock speedily and deliuer them out of Sodome as thou diddest thy seruaunt Lot that they may not be partakers with the infidels which know not thy name nor come when thou callest but are gon to the worlde and followed the concupiscence of their owne harts Graunt vnto vs O Lorde the sweete consolation of thy spirite for Iesus Christ