of God and to be exalted aboue all that is called God Like in spirituals to that of the great Earle of Warwickes in the time of H. 6. in temporals vvho chose rather to be called Primus Comes Angliae then Rex Angliae and thought it more honor to make a King then to bee one Lastly they say they humble man more then we and exalt God more then wee 1. They humble man more whilst they tell him his sinnes are such as he must not presume to go to God but by meanes of Saints or Angels 2. They exalt God more whilst they exalt his seruants and giue asmuch reuerence to the Saints as wee to God To this wee answere they arrogate to man whilst they will see me wise aboue that which is written they derogate from God whilst they make his seruice common to the Saints and can only colour it with a distinction nay whilst they make him and Christ only seuere Iudges and the Saints and Angels merciful and so their Mediators They ought not to do euill that good might come of it this is euill to lye of God whilst they faine him to bee what he is not and deny him to bee what he is And of this kinde and to this ende are all their fictions in the Legend to proue the Saints merciful and God seuere yea the blessed Virgin Mary to be more pitifull then Christ her Sonne and Sauiour in whom she was blessed more as a childe then a Mother That they may do this the more safely they contend and say That besides the written word of God there are many other decrees and dogmaticall points and traditions necessarie to be beleeued to saluation which the Church that is themselues alone haue in custody vpon trust and credit Now wee teach the contrary aswell because wee haue cleere testimony of the Scriptures and Fathers generally as of a cloude of witnesses to proue the contrary as also because it makes more for the glory of God in things of absolute necessity toward saluation to gouerne by positiue lawes of his owne rather then by arbitrary and changeable lawes of Man and that he should reueale to vs his will by his owne Sonne Christ Iesus who came to saue vs rather then to leaue vs to the vncertaine relation of Man who for ought wee know may be Antichrist and so intends to deceiue vs though perhaps he comes in sheepes clothing or may seeme an Angell of Light to bleare our eyes with apparance Wee might ioyne in this issue vvith them vpon all the questions controuerted but these shal be sufficient to giue light to see the rest at more leisure In the meane time if wee cast our eyes truly vpon the end of their deâ—ignements vvee shall easily see that gaine and glory vnto themselues are the only arguments which draw them to fight for the Popes Supremacy the Masse Purgagatory Pilgrimages and all the rest of their opinions vvherein they are opposite to vs and to the Scriptures To this end they are called Marchants Reuel 18. 23. Because for gaine and glory they sophisticate Religion as Marchants their wares and thus make marchandize of heauen and earth and of God himselfe And as the Marchants in London haue foreigne commodities whereby they sucke the sweete sap of the Country to themselues and they in the Country haue meanes againe to recall it as Norwich by stuffes Yorke by Cattell some places by vvooll and cloth others by come and others by Mettals Or as England vvith these commodities furnisheth other Countryes and supplies her owne wants from thence and Fraunce with her vvines buyes her children vvooll and Spaine vvith Figges Raysons Limons and Oranges for sauce buyes herselfe bread and meat so these spirituall Marchants chop change commodities and tosse to and fro by that meanes the wealth the pompe the glory of the world the fat of the Earth the Crownes of Kings To this end Walsingham had a lady to bring suiters and sees Eastward and Canterbury had a Saint Becket to draw it Southward The North had a Winifrid Scotland a Saint Andrew and his arme the Low-Countries a Lady of Hales Fraunce a Saint Denis Spaine a Saint Iames Italy a Lady of Loretto and euery Country vvas full of these Marts where the Saints did seuerall cures and seruices to the Church and had continuall Votaries and those of the frankest sort as superstition is commonly a prodigall And this vvas a golden vvorld and a glorious Religion to the eye so that vvee heare old men and women talke of these things still but vvee know this was not sound at the heart the way might seeme good to a man but the end thereof were the Yssues of death 2. The certaine ill Quality or Determination Is the Yssues of Death hauing spoken of the first end vvhich is the purpose and scope of this vvay vvee come to speake of the Yssue of this end that is The Terminus vltimus or determination of this purpose and ayme and that is Death They are the Yssues of Death Life was promised in their first apparance it seemed the right vvay but vpon tryall wee finde Latet Anguis in herba the end is the Yssues or wayes of death A great distance betwixt the promise and the performance betwixt the pretence and the Yssue the passage and the port the starting place and the end of the race vvhen life is proclaimed in the beginning and death meets vs at the concluding I haue fought a good fight saith the Apostle Paule 2. Tim. 4. 7. 8 I haue finished my course from henceforth is laide vp for me a Crowne of glory which God that righteous Iudge shall giue me and not to me only but to all that loue his appearing Now the Apostle hath fought and if he had deserued ex condigno might chalenge this crowne as a debt due to his worth but he doth not so he expects it indeed out of grace of free gift he doth not deserue it by fighting but he obtaines it fighting it is giuen freely by a righteous Iudge vvho gaue him grace to fight and promised him both to ouercome and to triumph 2. Cor 12 My grace is sufficient for thee makes Paule feare no buffeting of Sathan no sting or pricke in the flesh for that grace gaue him strength to fight and conquer and vvas manifested the more by his infirmity for Gods power is made perfect through our weaknes And after he hath fought hee expects a crowne that grace is his assurance he cannot chalenge it by any other right and in that right he is assured of it both for himselfe and all others who loue the appearing of our Lord Iesus Christ To all that loue not to all that fight the affection not the action is respected the person not the passion is accepted But now if Paule had beene of the Romish faith this speech of his would haue beene iudged presumption not presumption to chalenge by merit but presumption to chalenge of
that you were sure came immediatly from heauen or Saint Peter or his successor any Man that you were assured without controuersie were his successor or any other Man or woman how holy chaste learned or religious soeuer they bee should crosse this doctrine beleeue them not nay let them be accursed saith Saint Paule Much lesse then beleeue the dotage of men their gulleries impostures fictions melancholy imaginations dreames visions and reuelations with which being deceiued themselues they seeke and indeauor to deceiue others You haue now seene the way 1. What it is 2. How it may seeme good and not bee so 3. How impotent preiudiciall and partiall a Iudge man is in his owne case 4. You haue seene the end of this faire way to bee false 5. The issue of that pretence to be death whilst life was promised 6. Lastly you haue seene the Iudgement of Gods spirit shewing you the true notes to know the false way by Submit your selues now and your senses and iudgements to the direction of Gods holy Spirit and thinke not your selues or your Predecessors wiser then Saint Paule then Salomon then God himselfe but hauing found the right way the way to life walke in it constantly and turne not backe to fables and traditions and falsehoods in which you haue too long wandred astray for howsoeuer that way may seeme right and many of our forefathers haue ignorantly vvalked in it yet the issues thereof are the vvayes of death From which the Lord of his mercy deliuer vs and direct vs to be zealous according to knowledge and from faith to clime vp to practise reforming those corruptions in our liues and manners which now by the course propounded in the beginning wee come to search and lay open in that which followes THE SECOND SERMON PREPARED FOR the Iudges and preached vpon Sunday the Assises following vpon Monday after WEe haue spoken of the speculatiue part Thammim the Theory as the way was taken for Religion now we are to speake of the practicall part as the way may be taken for the custome and trade of our liues and conversations or rather for our passage or vvalking in that Religion which wee beleeue professe to be the truth And as the Lord said by the Prophet Ieremy so may I say to you all Ier. 21. 8. Behold I haue set before you the way of life and the way of death I haue showne you that way which seemes right in the partiall eyes of man who thinkes all his owne vvayes cleane Pro. 16. 2. And I haue showne you that way that is both right and seemes so Pro. 15. 24. euen the vvay of life vvhich leadeth to heauen And now I proceed to exhort you to walke in this vvay for it is better not to know then not to practise what wee know An honest Turke which knowes not the will of his Master is to be preferd before a prophane Christian who knowes his Masters will and doth it not Luk. 12. 47 and therefore shal be beaten vvith many stripes A vvay then in this sence of Salomon is the customary course of life which a man chiefely vseth whether it bee in vertue or in vice The whole race of mankinde naturally walke in the roade and way of sin and death But some are regenerate and called out of this way by faith and repentance others will not obay Gods word but rather choose to liue in the pleasures of sin for a season And they are sayd to be in their vvay because sin reigneth in them tramples vpon them by custome takes away the sence of conscience obdurating their hearts as a way is hardned by the feete of many passengers so as a plow cannot pierce the same Thus men haue their darling and beloued sins which is their vvay out of which you can by no meanes put them as a Hare starred before Greyhounds will haue her accustomed way and muse or die for it so these And thus a man is not sayd to be in his vvay when hee sinneth of frailty he then hath slipt out of his vvay and leaues not till he returne into his vvay by repentance but vvhen he sins by custome then he is in his vvay And a notorious sinner is not sayd to be in his vvay if now and then hee comes to Church prayes receiues the Sacraments and forebeares grosse sinnes or does some singular and solitary good for he is not well till he be out of this vvay againe and like a dog returnes to his vomite Therefore a man is iudged wise or foolish good or bad and to be in or out of his vvay by his ordinary actions not by a speciall single fact For nemo omnibus horis sapit Semel insanivimus omnes and in many things wee offend all It is therefore the generall course proceeding and perseuerance in vertue or vice that brings life or death to our wayes for the crowne of glory is at the end of this race of vertue here death is at the end of this race of vice the end there of is the issues of death Dauid committed Adultery and Murther â— King 11. grieuous slips out of Gods way but being in those sins he vvas besides himselfe out of his wit out of his way and neuer was at rest till by repentance he returned and witnessed his sorrow by that penitential Psalme Psal 51. in which he expresseth cordiall repentance and seemes to do corporall penance in the Church to this day His delight was in the Law of the Lord he vvas a man according to Gods owne heart A man and therefore might erre might slip out of the vvay but a man after Gods owne heart therefore he would walke with God as Enoch did Gen. 5. 24. and was neuer well at his heart till he vvas reconciled to God by humble and hearty repentance Ieroboam was in his way all his life 1. King 13. 33. and solde himselfe to commit sin so that it is sayd of diuerse other Kings that succeeded Ieroboam both in his seate and sinnes That they did euill in the sight of the Lord and vvalked in the vvay of Ieroboam and in his sinne vvherevvithall he made Israel to sinne Ahab vvas not in his vvay vvhen vpon the Prophets admonition he put on sackcloth and humbled himselfe before God 1. King 21 25. but he was in his way when he followed the counsell of Iezabel slue the Prophets of God and murthered Naboth for his vineyard Iehu 2. King 10 15. 16. though he slue all Ahabs children according to the word of the Lord though he would needs haue Iehonadab see his zeale which he pretended was for God in killing all the Priest of Baall and in taking the Images out of the house of Baall though he did many other things tending to reformation of Religion and the State Yet all this while he was not in his element in his way for presently he was not well till he was
THE HIGH-WAIES OF GOD AND THE KING WHEREIN ALL MEN OVGHT to vvalke in holinesse here to happinesse hereafter Deliuered in tvvo Sermons preached at Thetford in NORFOLKE Anno 1620. By THOMAS SCOT Batchelor in Diuinity Qui ambulat in via vna Regia non laborat Hier. Com. in Esa cap. 57. Printed at London 1623. TO THE READER THat which I preached once with approbation of the godly hearers I publish now for the vse of all beholders No other reason perswading me to it then the necessitie of the Times which begin to bee like those wherein S. Augustine would haue all men write Farewell and the Lord make it as I intend it a blessing to thee for Instruction Admonition Reformation Amen Tho. Scot. THE HIGH-WAYES Of God and the King Proverb 14. 12. ⧠There is a way which seemeth right vnto a Man But the end thereof are the wayes of death THE Philosopher Pythagoras whose Ipse dixit was warrant and reason enough to satisfie or silence at least his whole Schoole considering the birth of all Mankind to be after one manner and their deathes a like certaine exprest his conceit by the Greeke letter Y shewing thereby that all haue alike common entrance into the world the King and the beggar the foole and the Philosopher and that only the difference betwixt Man and Man was in the different vse of themselues and the choyce of their wayes heere vvhere there was a way of wisedome and vertue and a way of ignorance and vice propounded to all and as Men walkt in the one or in the other so was their liues and the issue of their liues their deathes either miserable or happy Our blessed Sauiour the true Pythagoras the wisdome of his Father whose Ipse dixit must silence the most curious and satisfie the most contentious hath sayd Mat. 7. that there are two wayes A strait gate and narrow way which leades to life and a wide gate and broad way which leades to destruction And euery Man that is borne of a woman walkes in one of these wayes and to one of these ends Iosuah 23. 14. Now as life is the most sweet and desireable estate and Death of all things the most hatefull and terrible to Nature So the meanes to attaine life and auoyd death should be carefully sought by euery vvise Christian Pro. 19. 19 For he that regardeth not his way saith Salomon shall die This then concerneth euery man to looke to and is a Doctrine fitting all persons all places all times For if the way of life bee so hard to finde that few attaine it and that those who suppose themselues to be in it may bee out of the way vvee cannot bee too wary and sedulous in this inquisition nor need wee feare the losse of our time in seeking but rather the losse of our soules for lacke of seeking This Text containes one of those wise obseruations which Salomon assisted by the Spirit of God made out of his extraordinary experience in the passages of this world and thought so needfull to bee vnderstood of all as he repeates it againe verbatim in the 16. Chap 25. verse and in diuerse other places in a diuerse manner of words to the same purpose Wee obserue heerein two principall parts Diuision 1. An erroneous opinion of Priuacie in these words There is a way which seemes right to a Man 2. An infallible iudgement of verity in these words But the end thereof are the Yssues of Death In the first part we note 1. The subiect or matter propounded There is a way 2. The quality or condition of that way It seemes right 3. The Iudge of that quality A mans selfe The spirit of priuacy In the other part the publike Iudgement we obserue 1. The end or purpose and scope thereof compared with or opposed to the beginning or pretence 2. The certaine ill quality opposed to the seeming good quality It did but seeme good or right but it is certainly it is the way of death 3. The Iudge of this Quality Salomon the Publique Magistrate directed by the Spirit of God opposed to the erring partiall spirit of a Mans selfe of priuacie to whome the way seemes good So the vvay seemes right but it is wrong It seemes the right way to life but it is the ready way to death It seemes good in Mans eyes but it is not so in Gods eyes Multa videntur quae non sunt 1. The Subiect There is a way A way literally and properly is thus defined by some viae vna pars est Locus Com. in Arist Metaphys lib. 8. alia est dispositio in loco per quem initio est possibilis in ea ad finem intentum By others Thus Est via Locus per quem babere iter imnibus licet via est transitus à lòco in locum The Latins call it via as Varro thinketh either ab eundo quasi ia the Impartiue to Eo Or else a vehendo quast primum veba tum deinde via The Greekes call a way 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which some likewise deriue from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 quasi 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 proficiscor or iter facio But none expresseth it so aptly and fully as the Originall which is Derech whose radix is Darech calcauit or conculcauit from the ordinary trampling and beating of the way with the feet of many passengers And thus it is vsed properly for a way or place of iournying and trauaile but metaphorically translated pro more ratione seu vitae institutione seu consuetudine Now in this place it is vsed in a borrowed sense and yet holds proportion or similitude with the thing that lends it And thus it must heere be vnderstood of the wayes of God or the wayes of Man The way of God is considered after a two-fold manner 1. His counsell or secret will which is called a vvay Rom. 11. 33. O the depth of the riches c. 2. His reuealed will in his Word of which the Psalmist speakes Psal 18. 3. The way of the Lord is an vndefiled way This last is likewise two-fold 1. Either via legis mandatorum 2. Or via gratiae promissionis Euangelij The first of these wee walke in vvhen vve performe obediently that vvhich is commanded the second when we beleeue faithfully that vvhich is promised So the first respects obedience life action vvorkes the other knowledge faith hope and the affection of loue which performeth all the Law by being accepted in Christ But of these vvayes as the first of all heere spoken of vvhich is that of Gods Counsell is too deepe for any of vs yea or for Salomon himselfe to vvade in though the shallowest fooles vvilbe busiest in it so the other his reuealed will is the rule of our vvayes and neither of them heere intended by Salomon because they are both good and seeme so Vrim or light of knowledge Thumim prefection or holinesse Exod 28.
gift and so resolutely to rest vpon the grace of the giuer as to assure himselfe and others of this crowne Presumption is faith with them and true sauing faith is Presumption When they heate him say Rom. 8. 38. 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 shal be able to seperate vs from the loue of God which is in Christ Iesus our Lord they would gladly make this only a probable perswasion no certaine faith but others seeing this too grosse a dallying with the manifest scope of the Text say Saint Paule vvas assured of the certainty of his saluation of the happy end of his right way by extraordinary reuelation only But let it be so was it reuealed to him for others that beleeue too he saith so for he saith nothing shal be able to seperate vs Now then if it be reuealed to him for others let vs beleeue the reuelation and apply it with vnfained faith to our owne hearts in particular as he did to his And by the way obserue what it is that Saint Paule builds his faith vpon so that nothing can preuaile against it Is it vpon Peter that rocke Is it vpon Indulgences or Pardons of man Is it vpon personall righteousnes inherent iustice or his owne or other mens merits No It is vpon that rocke Christ Iesus it is vpon the loue and Charity of God in and through the merits of Christ Iesus our Lord which loue not death nor life nor Angell nor power nor heauen not hell can alter for Gods loue is immutable he is not as man that he should repent whom he loues he loues to the end his wayes seeme hard but the Yssues of them are the wayes of life Whereas therefore our Aduersaries accuse vs of nouel presumption for teaching a faith that may assure vs of our saluation and to elude this cleere place of Saint Paul and diuerse other the like say This was reuealed to him by extraordinary fauour Wee know and confesse that hee as a worthy instrument of Gods glory as a Master builder had many things reuealed vnto him for the edification of the Church but for this particular it was no otherwise reuealed to him then it is to euery faithfull Christian in vvhom the Spirit of God dwels as in a temple and there teacheth them to offer Sacrifice and to cry Abba Father with teares and grones that cannot be expressed Well may there bee a difference in the measure of the reuelation not in the matter reuealed Wee know saith Saint Iohn 1. Ep. 3. 14. that wee are translated from death to life c. and after verse 23. He that keepeth his commandement dwelleth in him and he in him and heereby wee know that he abideth in vs euen by that Spirit which he hath giuen vs. So the persons are wee not I not Saint Iohn alone but wee all that beleeue and loue for this faith and loue are inseperable Againe wee are translated not it is probable wee shal be but wee are vvhich makes it certaine by faith as if it were done and accomplished Lastly we know this and wee know it by the Spirit which God hath giuen vs the same Spirit that taught Saint Paule and Saint Iohn is our tutor too For other reuelations Christ himselfe hath silenced all pretences and shadowes and giuen absolute authority to the Scripture opened and interpreted by the Spirit of God to resolue all scruples in case of conscience Luk 16. 19 And this wee may see cleerely in the Parable of Diues and Lazarus where Diues after he had failed of his personall suite and could not obtaine a drop of mercy for himselfe yet requested Abraham to send one to his friends to forewarne them of the state he was in not that they might pray for him for that vvas to no purpose the tree was falne but that they might by repentance and amendment auoyde the danger themselues To whom Abraham giues this answere They haue Moses and the Prophets let them heare them so he turnes them to the Scriptures wherein the will of God is reuealed to euery man what they should shun what they should doe what they should beleeue and how they should liue And when Diues persisting in his suite saith Nay father Abraham but if one went vnto them from the dead they will repent Abraham replies definitiuely and resolutely If they heare not Moses and the Prophets neither will they be perswaded though one rose from the dead So wee see he that doubts the Scripture or beleeues any thing against it vnder pretence of reuelations from heauen or hell or Purgatory or the like fictions of Ghosts and Spirits appearing is in a wise case and may be drawne into a fooles Paradise but neuer into the true Paradise and so wander in this way which seemes right but the end thereof are the Yssues of Death To shut vp this point obserue the certainty of this iudgement as the Apostle Saint Iohn before in the 1. Ep. 3. Chap 14. verse speakes in the present Tence we know that wee are translated to note the certainty of their translation to glory so heere Salomon saith It is the way of Death and the end thereof is so to note the certainty of the thing And this is a plaine proofe of the Spirits assistance to discerne the end and determination of a thing before the end be come when otherwise it were too late to doe it For it is too late for Diues to repent in hell when the end is come he should haue attended better to Moses and to the Prophets before and beleeued the word of God not the foolish traditions of his forefathers against the Word or the idle old-wiues tales of his foremothers besides the Word he should haue attended the admonition of the faithfull Pastor and Prophet and not to the fained Legend of his flattering Patasites trencher-fed Chaplaines The perfection of all humane judgement is to iudge by the end and issue and euen heere wee often erre too but if man goes farther of himselfe by nature it is but coniecture and presumption arising from long experience in obseruation of like circumstances as the effect leades vs to the cause but yet euen then wee cannot say it is or certainely it shall bee but it may be so it may so fall out it may be the end of Death But the Spirit of God sees the end before it comes he sees the thoughts afarre off and iudgeth and warneth men aforehand inwardly by good and holy motions outwardly by the Scriptures and he that will not beleeue the holy Spirit of God in the Scriptures it is but iustice if God giue him ouer to a reprobate minde that he should be seduced and beleeue lies who would not receiue the truth of God but was transported with respect of times persons places and other humane Motiues And heere before wee
imploy and maintaine ten households and he scarce keepes one Thus he beggars himselfe whilst he is not able to stocke all his Farmes nor giue them that compasse Arist Oecon. lib. Sterquilinium which Aristotle saith is the best namely to compasse the ground about often with the owners feete hee beggars his Landlord whilst once in seauen yeeres he hangs his Lease on the hedge quod agro est optimum vestigia Domini and trusts to his heeles he beggats the poore whilst he will affoord them no abiding place in the Earth nor no imployment to preserue them from Idlenesse and he beggars the whole State whilst he breeds beggars and makes the ground vnfertile for lacke of tending which if it were in the hands of more that could manure and follow euery part would yeeld more increase to the Occupier to the Master and to the State of the Common-wealth 3. The last of these is the Depopulator who to inhanse his Rents puls downe all the petty Tenements and Farmes and will haue none dwell neere him Assoone as this is done he lackes neighbors thus the iustice of God vvhips him by his owne hand Then he hyes to the City vvhere the Dicing-house vpon the right hand and the Drinking-house vpon the left hand and the Drabbing-house before him spends all that is left or if any be left the tyre-woman and the taylor dogs and hawkes and Coach-horses diuide it and amongst these he wastes all that wherewith his predecessors feasted themselues and their poore neighbours There are Lawes against these but often it concernes the Iury the Iustices nay the Iudges themselues and therefore the Lawes must be silent in this case for these wayes are good in their owne eyes though the Yssues of them be the wayes of death There come next to hand three others who depend of those that went before and whose profession is practised with a kinde of warrantable deceite namely the Malster the Brewer the Alehouse-keeper these drinke vp the State as the other did eate it vp and for their sakes drunkennesse is thought a tollerable nay a necessary euill Their pretences are the prouision for the poore or the raising of the price of corne that the husbandman may liue and that the rackt Rent may not vndoe him but what he gets of these at the Barne dore he leaues at the Buttery-hatch Mothes are no worse in cloth rust in yron nor whules in Mault then these in the Common-wealth For since these were set vp and manly exercises cryed downe our bodies are weakened and corrupted our spirits dulled and made effeminate and we fitted for slauery being euery day ouer-mastered and made slaues by drunkennes and excesse And yet there are some vvho suppose this trading to be as necessary for the State as Tobacco or the trade of the East-Indies and for my part I am easily induced to beleeue them vvhilst I know the equall discommodity of all and see that though their wayes seeme good to themselues yet the Yssues thereof are the wayes of death Next these the bribing Officer appeares as in a clowde for his wayes are darke and past searching out except to him that can hold a candle before the Diuell Mammon brought him in Mammon keepes him in and the excesse of his wife child seruants giues notice to all eyes that such brauery is not to be maintained without bribes And therefore vvhen poore men come to passe any thing how iust soeuer they are warned to open their purses vvide and so whatsoeuer the cause bee their reedles eye shal be made bigge enough for the Cable or the Camell to enter â—sai 1. 23. Iustly may God complaine of vs as of Israel Thy Princes are rebellious and companions of theeues euery one loueth gifts and followeth after rewards they iudge not the fatherlesse neither doth the cause of the widow come vnto them And Ier. 5. 26. Among my people are found wicked men they lay waite as he that setteth snares they set a trap they catch men As a cage is ful of birds so are their houses full of deceite therefore they are become great and waxen rich They are waxen fat they shine yea they ouer-passe the deeds of the wicked they iudge not the cause the cause of the fatherlesse yet they prosper and the right of the needie doe they not iudge Shall I not visite for these things saith the Lord shall not my soule be auenged on such a Nation as this God himselfe must visit for these sinnes the Magistrate will not it is he that must be visited it must be an omnipotent power that must therefore reforme this generall corruption that spreads so wide and climbes so high for these wayes seeme good to the eyes of great men yea to some of the greatest who should correct it though the Yssues thereof be the wayes of death Now I haue proceeded so farre I vvill conclude with him that is the cause of all this and that 's the Courtly Thiefe who begges a Patent that all these before spoken of and more too may rob as it were with vvarrant vnder his seale But I doe him wrong perhaps to call him thiefe he is rather a Beggar not a beggar by the Kings high-way but a Beggar of the Kings high-way so that no man may passe vp and downe in course of Lawe and Iustice but hee takes custome Surely he hath begg'd so long that he hath almost made vs all beggars and therefore it is pitty there is no whipping post for him But assure himselfe though he be of the number of the sturdy and incorrigible persons heere in this vvorld yet there is a vvhipping post for him in another world and he shall see that though his wicked wayes seemed good in his owne eyes and in the eyes of his fellowes of his fooles of his flatterers yet the Yssue of them are the wayes of death and destruction But vvhat should I need to dwell longer vpon particulars when not only this or that member this or that finger or toe but the whole body is corrupted Looke vpon Religion are not our aduersaries on all sides increased Do not all places swarme with schismes sects heresies and priuate spirits Looke vpon our liues was there euer such defect of charity as if indeed it were true which some slander vs withall that wee teach a solitary faith would saue and that works were needlesse nay sinfull was there euer generally such an itch of priuate wealth which euer forerunnes and effects the ruine of the Common-wealth Looke vpon all our Proiects of draining surrounded grounds or whatsoeuer other profitable pretence they carry see if they ayme not at the draining of the publique purse at the milking of the state by priuate Monopolies as if England were a hard step-dame and no indulgent Mother to her prodigall and vngratefull children Looke vpon our affections was there euer such a deade luke-warme indifferencie a dow baked zeale as if we cared not which way the
vvill of the Law-maker Christ Now the Romish Sinagogue considering the Church of Christ in a threefold manner 1. First as it is Essentiall 2. Secondly as it is representatiue 3. And thirdly as it is virtuall They make the representatiue part to consist in the Ministery and this Ministery to flow from the Pope as from the head and to this part that is to the Pope they attribute that power which God hath giuen to the whole Church Now the Pope being thus invested in absolute power with an opinion of infallibility laying aside the Scriptures iudgeth without them nay against them nay iudgeth them and yet must not be chalenged of error This wee iudge vnreasonable that a Man should make his owne will the Churches lawe and iudge in his owne cause without examination And therefore wee shew Amor odium proprium commodū faciunt saepè Iudicem non congnoscere verum Aristotle lib. 1. Rhe. that man who iudgeth by his sense or reason is not sufficiently qualified for such a busines or if he were naturally so adapted yet is he vnfit to iudge in this question which wholly concernes himselfe in regard of partiality or preiudice to both which he is subiect Therefore in questions betwixt vs and the South-Church Presbiter Iohannes is an vnfit Iudge and in questions betwixt vs and the Grecians the Patriarch of Constantinople is as vnmeet and in controuersies betwixt vs and Rome the Pope is not a competent Iudge Ecclesiasticus 8. 14. Goe not to Law with a Iudge for they will iudge for him according to his honor Let vs therefore seeke a Iudge who iudgeth not by the outward apparance whose sence and reason cannot be deceiued who is neither preiudiciall not partiall who searcheth the reines and the heart for vaine is the iudgement of man to whom this way seemes right when the ends thereof are the Yssues of death And this wee shall finde in the Opposition which wee come now to handle The Opposition or Publique Iudgement 1. The end thereof or purpose pretended Wee had the way iudged before prima facie by the outward apparance by the beginning thereof and so it seemed right But heere wee finde fronti nulla fides no credit to bee giuen to the countenance but the end bewrayes the truth of euery thing The woman beheld the fruite which Sathan so farre magnified She saw the tree was good for foode and pleasant to the eyes Genes 3. 6. so she eate thereof and gaue part to the man Thus they iudged by the outward apparance by seeming and were deceiued euen then when their sense and reason were at the perfectest But after they had eaten it is sayd Their eyes were opened and they knew that they were naked Genes 3. 7. And then likewise they knew that the curse of God The day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt dye the death Genes 2. 17 would surely light vpon them So this way seemed the right way to them to attaine knowledge happines but they found the end thereof to be the way of ignorance of darknes and of death And as with them so with all their posterity since this hath succeeded as a testimony of their hereditary sinne still to be deceiued with the seeming of things insomuch as that is true which the Poet long since sung Fallit enim vitium specie virtutis vmbra Iuven. sat 4. Cum sit triste habitu vultuque veste seuerum The face and habit of an Anchorite May be the couer of an Hypocrite Therefore all wise men iudge of things not by their shewes but substances and not by their beginnings but ends Now the end of a thing is either propositum the purpose for which a thing is done and so the end of preaching is the saluation of soules or Terminus the issue or determination of a thing as death is the end of a mans life and so it is heere properly taken A Iudge oftentimes saues a theefe because he hopes he may proue an honest man and doe good in the Common-wealth There is the first end The Iudges purpose But the Theefe proceedes in his the euery till he brings himselfe to the gallowes and that 's the extreame end the vltimum vale Of both these we intend to speake briefly though the last only be proper to this Text and the first borrowed for illustration First then remembring wee haue Religion for our subiect let vs see what it is together with the end thereof to what purpose it tends This is Christian Religion August i◠Ioannem Tract 23. cap. ◠that one God not many be worshipped because nothing makes the soule happy but only one God The infirme soule is not made happy in the participation of another soule that is happy but is happy in the participation of God nor is a holy soule happy in the participation of an Angel but if an infirme soule seekes to be happy let it seeke from thence whence a holy soule is happy For thou art not made happy by an Angel but from whence an Angel hath happinesse thou hast it also Faith with a serious feare of God Polan Syntag. is the pure and true Religion as Feare containes in it selfe a voluntary reuerence and carries with it a right worship of God such as is prescribed in the Lawe Religio dicta est eo Isidor lib. 18. Etymilog quod per eam vni soli Dco religamus animas nostras ad cultum diuinum animo seruiendi Religion then being the band or tyall whereby wee are fastned and bound to God as to the souereigne good consisteth of three twines vz. of faith of hope of loue and a threefold corde is not easily broken Now the proper or principall end of this Religion is the glory of God the subordinate end is our saluation That Religion therefore which most directly and cleerely tends to the principall end must needs effect the subordinate end most certainely and so must necessarily bee the only true and direct way to life and the other what shew soeuer it makes must needs be the way and Yssue of Death Againe the glory of God is most aduanced heere in this our way or Religion by two affections of feare and loue and by the true fruits and effects of them Now that Religion which traines a man vp to feare God and to loue God as God ought to be feared and loued giues God the truest glory and so must necessarily be the truth Lastly this feare and this loue is then most rightly generated and cherished in the soule of Man and so Gods glory most aduanced when mans nature is truly set foorth and he thereby humbled in himselfe and so taught to feare and when Gods power and mercy is so exprest as he hath beene pleased to reueale it to mans comfort That so man seeing his owne wants and misery and Gods all-sufficient power and mercy might feare and reuerence God as a good Master might loue and delight
way and it is visible what were a man the better for these directions would he not thinke such a guide out of his wits Especially when he shall see both wayes alike old alike beaten both vvayes to haue passengers successiuely alike frequent both wayes to be intire and singular both wayes to be called old and both wayes to be visible Thus both wayes doubtlesse he would be wilde except he had better directions And yet this is the case of the Church which some would thus marke out to the beleefe and obedience of all men But to conclude all these are no true markes but the Scripture is the true and vnfallible Euidence to bound the Church out to him that vvill be heedfull to obserue and faithfull to beleeue and humble to obay as we hope to manifest Heere then it were meete I should giue you some infallible and inseperable note of the true way hauing showne or rather pointed at the defect of these which the Church of Rome produceth But then I should offer violence both to your patience and to the Text the time not permitting so large a discourse and my Text leading me to discouer the false way with seemes right but giuing no warrant to proceede farther Only to conclude all since it is within my Commission to manifest the false way I will giue you one note a sure one whereby you may know when you are out of the right way that so you may shun error and seeke truth and ensue it till death that in the end you may finde euerlasting life Briefly Christ himselfe saith I am the way the truth and the life Ioh. 4. no man commeth to the Father but by me He is the way to walke in the truth to guide you the life wherewithall you walke And if you would finde this way hee himselfe learnes you a rule Ioh. 5. 39. Search the Scriptures for in them you thinke to haue eternall life and those are they that beare witnesse of me And he there vpbraydes the Iewes because they gaue no credit or heede to the Scriptures but preferd the traditions and doctrines of their forefathers before it Iohn 5. 46. 47. saying Had yee beleeued Moses yee would haue beleeued me for he wrote of me But if you beleeue not his writings how shall yee beleeue my words Therefore the Apostle cals all Scripture 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 2. Tim. 3. 16 as a doctrine inspired by God to make men wise to saluation and so beleeuing himselfe and teaching others to beleeue he praiseth Timothy for being from a childe brought vp in them 2. Tim. 3. 15 and he exhorts all men to follow him as he keepes in this way and vvalkes after Christ Iesus and no otherwise For so long he is sure he goeth right and they may follow him with security Now then I do not say vvheresoeuer thou seest the Scripture set forth for a signe there Christ is vvithin there is the true way the true Church But I say wheresoeuer thou canst not see the Scripture be assured thou art out of the way for the Scripture must be euer in thy eye being that setled Land-marke by vvhich thou must try and know and to vvhich thou must reduce and bring all thy other coast-marks and sea-marks So it is that Antiquity vvhich agrees vvith the verity of the Scripture that multitude vvhich vvorship God according to the rules of the Scripture that Sucession vvhich suceeed in the truth of doctrine deliuered in the Scripture that vnity vvhich beleeues the Trinity taught in the Scripture that Catholique Church vvhich is founded vpon and vniuersally agreeth vvith the truth of the Scripture that visible congregation vvhich are seene to God and vvhich see God as he reueales himselfe in the Scripture that become notes by vvhich thou maist safely trauaile in this doubtfull vvay of mortality So that the Scripture must euer be present to make these infallible though perhaps it be not of absolute necessity that all these be euer present vvith the Scripture to make the Church true The Heathens of old burnt the books of Numa because he bewrayd therein the prophane misteries of their Idolatries The Turks at this day keepe their people in ignorance no man must see into no man must dispute or argue of their Sect. And thus our Adversaries of Rome deale vvith the Scriptures resembling heerin the Heathens Turkes vvould yet make the vvorld beleeue that they are the only Christians And lest they should seeme insanire sine ratione they haue a seeming reason why they permit not the Scriptures to be in the mother-tongue of euery Nation publiquely to be read by them lest forsooth as the Rhemists say in their preface they should hurt themselues as vvith fire or water or kniues or swords or the like And vvhy do they not put out the Sunne because it hurts the gazers eyes or why put they not out their eyes to preuent hurting especially since they mis-leade many a man to lust and vanity To argue from the abuse of things indifferent to remoue the lawfull vse of them is an abuseof sence and reason But in things of this kinde of absolute necessitie it is an intolerable and presumptuous foolery Nature cannot bee so blinde as to suffer any but naturals to beleeue this their doctrine and to vvalke in this their way Pro. 4. 18. 19. for Salomon saith The way of the wicked is as darknes they know not at what they stumble But the path of theiust is as the shining light that shineth more and more vnto the perfect day True but vvill some say All Heretickes hang out this flagge and all boast of the Scriptures how shall wee then know the true vvay from the false by that which is common to all vvayes or vvhich all vvayes at least chalenge and make shew of Obserue euen from this obiection the force and authority of the Scriptures vnder which falsehood aswell as truth seeks to shelter herselfe because falsehood by this glasse learnes to trimme herselfe vp like truth And looke as the Heathens by their Idolatries proued aswell that there vvas a God Act. 17. 23. Rom. 1. as the Iewes by their true vvorship because nature taught the most barbarous Nation to adore some Deity and rather to make a God of a Calfe a beast a bird a stone then to be a godlesse Atheist so all Heresies and falsehoods beare witnesse for the truth and authority of the Scriptures vvhilst they striue to iustifie themselues thereby knowing without the Scripture all other their arguments notes and pretences how plentifull or plausible soeuer they bee are nothing to the purpose and therefore they labour to wrest the Scripture to their fancie And could the Church of Rome by this euidence approue her present practise and doctrine I assure my selfe she would looke no farther but vvould permit euery man to reade the same at pleasure nay she would command the reading thereof vnder the paine of
Thirdly some naturall vertues for neighborhoods sake and for some resemblance betwixt them are often mistaken for Theologicall vertues And this point would bee vvell obserued for it deceiues many both in judging of others and in iudging themselues too vvhilst either they consider not the difference or marke not the proper concurrants to both or distinguish not betwixt Nature and Grace Thus morall or ciuill honestie vvhich a Turke may haue lookes like true sanctitie vvhich the true Christian onely hath So historicall Faith vvhich vvicked men may haue and the diuels haue lookes at first blush to some that haue eyes to see no farther like iustifying Faith vvhich the Elect onely haue So naturall loue vvhich Ethnickes haue is mistaken for Christian Charitie for that a vvorke be good that is accepted of God it must proceede out of Faith and be done in obedience to his commandement and to the end to glorifie him Now this cannot be vvithout knowledge that is the ground of all for how shall they beleeue on him of whom they haue not heard Rom. 10. 14. Bona opera dicuntur opera Ethnicorum aut secundum apparentiam tantùm aut quod substantia operis in se bona sit licèt subiecto obiecto fine alijsque circumstantijs sit malum The vvorkes of Ethnickes are called good either by reason of their apparence onely or that the substance of the worke is in it selfe good although in respect of the subiect obiect end and other circumstances it bee euill And againe Opera Ethnicorum non idcircò mala dicuntur quod fiant simplicitèr sed quòd non fiant benè The vvorkes of Ethnickes are not therefore said to bee euill as they are simply done but for that they are not done well as they ought to be For that a naturall vertue be christened as I may say vvithout vvhich it cannot be acceptable to God there must concurre these circumstances 1. First that it be done in a right vvay a right faith a right religion which is onely in the faith of Christ other foundation can no man lay 1. Cor. 3. 11. 2. Secondly that it be warranted by a speciall faith that is first a certaine knowledge out of Gods word that it is a worke pleasing to him and not contradictorie to his will secondly vvith a full perswasion that his person vvho performes it is reconciled to God in and through Christ Iesus and so his worke yea all his works accepted as the person and sacrifice of Abcl was accepted of God Gen. 4. 3. Thirdly that it be done to a good end that is to glorifie God to testifie our loue and thankfulnesse to him for his infinite loue to vs and to make our owne election sure And all workes done otherwise how great soeuer they be how glorious a shew soeuer they make either in our owne eyes or in the eyes of the world are those apparances vvhich often beguile good men I meane men of good natures of good naturall dispositions and affections aud vvhich S. Augustine cals splendida peccata glistering sinnes promising life but leading to death Their wayes seeme right in their owne eyes but the yssues therof are the wayes of death Viae priuatae In the second place we haue priuate vvayes vvhich are vvayes of ease for a mans person or the priuate vse of his family as garden alleys vvalkes back-wayes and by-wayes And these haue their resemblances in our generall callings as Christians and in our particular callings as we are Ministers Magistrates Lawyers Merchants or the like 1. In our generall callings wee haue priuate wayes vvhereby vvith Nouatus vve thinke to goe to heauen alone by our selues As for instance amongst our Romish Aduersaries the infinite Orders and vvayes of perfection as they call them doe plainely manifest and vvith vs that auersenesse and singularitie of humour vvhich preuailes so farre with some as it causeth vvhatsoeuer is commaunded by the lawfull Magistrate in Church affaires to be by them and their followers vtterly misliked if for no other reason yet for this that it is commanded and in obaying they should commit as they say three grieuous faults 1. Sinne against their consciences 2. Giue offence and scandall to their weake brethren 3. Infringe their Christian liberty 2. In our particular calling wee haue our priuate walkes also euery one neglecting the maine end at which they should driue and ayming obliquely either at priuate gaine at vaineglory or the satisfaction of some base humor and passion And to begin with the Diuine because he should leade others right The end of his vocation is by preaching to acquaint men with the will of God by praying to turne the wrath of God from the people and to obtaine a blessing vpon his labors and by practise to confirme such in the true faith by vvorkes as he hath wonne by words to beleeue and imbrace it But doth he tend this errand alas nothing lesse for assoone as he is fligge and comes fresh out of the Vniuersitie if he bee crost in his first preferment then he growes refractary to the State and present government of the Church established neither makes he conscience to mis-leade others so he may be head of a faction and be thought somebody But if in his first yeeres he meetes no checke but gets preferment his study then is to grow with the time and then he cannot distinguish the warts moles scarres and corruptions of the Church from perfections and graces his study is not to discharge one Cure well but to procure and charge himselfe with many to heape steeple vpon steeple as if he ment to climbe vp to heauen that way And after all to retire himselfe to a Prebendary out of the vvay where like a bird in a cage he may be fed fat and prouide to purschace some new and higher preferment but neuer sing more This his way seemes good to himselfe for I will not vncharitably iudge him to sin against his conscience and yet he finds the issue thereof to be the vvayes of death But we must let him alone he is in his way it is in vaine to moue him to leaue it for he laughes both at the motion and the man that makes it he abounds in his owne sense and will not be taught but by sence by feeling punishment when it is too late to shun it The Lawyer is presented next the end of whose vocation is to do iustice and determine controuersies truly for the procuring and preseruing of peace But doth he hold himselfe strictly in his course to accomplish this end of his calling and profession Alas no. But he demeanes himselfe for the most part as a man placed aboue the Lawe And what he doth is either against the Lawe or without a Lawe as it were by his princely prerogatiue 1. Tim. 1. 9. non est iusto lex posita c. There is no Lawe for a Lawyer Thus he may take what cause he list in hand though he know it be
arising heere for lacke of a King that is of a fit person to execute the Lawe against Idolatry Likewise in the 19. Chap. of Iudges the Leuites wife is defiled after an vnsatiable brutish maner The reason of this villaine this iniustice this error in practise is giuen as before Then there was no King c. So all disorders of life are for lacke of execution of Iustice for God gaue the People a Lawe in this case so they lacked not a law but a Magistrate to execute it Againe in the 21. Chap. of Iudg There are two barbarous facts mentioned the first the bloudy destruction of Iabes Gilead the other the rape of certaine virgins by fraude and force who came out without feare of trechery securely trusting to their owne innocence and the peace of the State The reason of these disorders is giuen as before Then there was no King in Israel but euery man did what seemed good in his owne eyes There vvas a Lawe but there vvas none designed to execute it Praysed be God vvee haue both King Lawes Priests and Iudges how haps it then that there are I do not say sinnes for there vvill be sinnes as long as there are men but such common open crying sinnes such raigning roaring raging sinnes such beaten roads common high-vvayes of sinnes and sinning as if there vvere no King no Lawe no Priest no Iudge in England I speake not of them vvhich may pretend their excuse from the fraylty of our natures and our procliuenes to sin but of such as are committed with a high hand standing like theeues by the high-vvayes side at nooneday and robbing God of his glory the Common-wealth of their honor and that vvith violence vvith applause shaddowing their vnlawfull actions vnder the pretence of Lawe it selfe vvhich should reforme them And some of these for the manifestation of this point I intend to bring to the barre to answere for themselues But see I shall not neede for impudent Sacriledge appeares of himselfe to confront the Pulpit and the bench too It is not a scarlet gowne that can fright Diues for he vvent in purple euery day If Iustice helpe not he vvill strangle Deuotion for vvho vvill giue to God if the Diuell enioyes vvhat is giuen Or vvho vvill giue to the Clergie to the poore to charitable vses if the Athiest the prophane person the vncharitable vvretch the Politician may ceize vpon it sell it or the title to iâ— as he doth It lyes only in the hands of Power and Authority to stop his mouth for he hath got such countenance and supportance as he sits in judgement and hath giuen sentence like the Man of sinne against the Clergy that tithes are not due to them Iure Diuino and therefore he and his may ceize vpon them vvith Prescriptions Impropriations Prohibitions like an other three-headed Cerberus Iure diabolico The Country-people like well and vvill soone learne this lesson they thought before it vvas no conscience to pay tithes but all being due by almos it vvas no theft no sacriledge but vvisedome and good husbandry to keepe asmuch backe as they might vvee expected reformation and a restoring of the oyle to the lampes as God had lent these times more light then others But now there is cause to doubt rather substraction then to hope for restitution much lesse to expect addition Simony Sacriledge all are let loose and armed and Iudas hath sufficient colour to saue like a theefe his oyntment from Christs members and Ministers vnder pretence of charity and releeuing the poore though Christ sees the thiefe in Iudas heart and though Salomon knowes howsoeuer this way may seeme right to themselues yet the end thereof is destruction to the Church and death to many a poore soule But they are in their vvay rather vvilling to pay tenths to Sathan then to God It is therefore ten to one if one of ten haue grace to returne and to restore God is iust who whilst they withdraw their hands and hearts from good withdrawes his grace from their hearts they may heare but they profit not to obedience and practise He will not suffer such to gaine grace by the preaching of the Word vvho for their owne priuate gaine vvould starue the Preachers of the Word The Vsurer comes next as a brother in euill to Sacriledge This must not now be called a sinne it is justified out of the Pulpit to be none and it is growne to be a profession too and the Vsurer is a free-man of euery company but not free in any good cause or company It was a sin so vgly heeretofore as none durst practise it scarce durst name it but vvith the signe of the crosse as if they had spoken of a Diuell but it is now so common as he is scarce thought an honest man that is not one for he cannot be honest that is not rich and he cannot be rich vvithout this trade This is the gulph wvith sinks and swallowes our Marchants Clothyers Farmers Owners all Men complaine of the Law and that vvorthily but this this is the rocke that Shipwracks all and spoiles all trading and commerce whilst the venter and hazard is the buyers and the sellers but the certaine gaine fals betwixt both to the vsurer This Man payes neither duty to God nor the King for his trade hath no warrant from either God forbids it the King tolerates it as some States doe the practise of the Stewes or as our Sauiour said of Diuorces Moses for the hardnes of your hearts suffered you to put away your wiues but from the beginning it was not so the time hath not beene long since this sinne came in request for a vertue nor will it bee long ere the practisers shall see that howsoeuer the way seemes good in their owne eyes yet the Yssues thereof are the wayes of death Next the vsurer and the Sacrilegious person who are coupled like dogges comes three together in a cluster 1. The Forestaller 2. The Ingrosser 3. The Depopulator as seuerall species of one Genus birds of a feather who hang together of a string and it is pitty they should not euer so hang. The Forestaller I meane not the petty forestaller of a Fayre or Market but the forestaller of Commodities in a vvhole Country bites closer then a Goose for the Goose eates all aboue the earth but this beast eates vp all commodities before they spring assoone as they are sowne in the Earth and therefore is a right earth-worme 2. Neither when I speake of Ingrossers do I intend petty persons who ingrosse vp this or that commodity but the Ingrosser of Farmes who like another Cain takes possession of all and will not indure any man to thriue or liue by him Euery Farme euery trade euery Sheepes-course is his Nothing fatts him but a deere yeare nothing drownes him but a deepe and long snow for if that melts not the sooner hee melts He hath in his hands perhaps what would