the precept as touching our faith trust thou in the Lord. Hauing then thus farre acquainted you with the scope of the holy Ghost at large that the children of God when they see themselues in great misery and the wicked flourishing as a greene Bay tree ought not to bee amazed at this nor to fret hereat or be filled with indignation or because they are like a fat Oxe fatted for the day of slaughter whereas the children of God must bee exercised with many afflictions lest with the world they should be condemned 2 That their light afflictions which are but temporall may be crowned with glory which is eternall And for this cause to trust in the Lord whence I obserue that in all troubles and trials whatsoeuer Doctr. and at all times we ought confidently to trust in the Lord. 1. The place is a confirmation of this truth Illustr as it is vsed here by way of precept trust thou in Iehouah To this purpose is that of Dauid in God is my saluation and my glory the rock of my strength and my refuge is in God Trust in him at all times yee people poure out your hearts before him God is a refuge for vs. In which the Prophet not only biddeth and exhorteth vs to trust in him but moreouer addeth a reason drawne from the profitable effect of such confidence because he is a refuge to helpe vs and deliuer vs. To this place is that of Solomon Pro. 3.5 trust in the Lord with all thy heart and leane not to thine owne vnderstanding 2 This hath beene the practise of the children of God in all troubles and in all times as is proued from the example of that godly and faithfull King who when the Moabites and Ammonites came against him to battell after he had prayed vnto the Lord for helpe and deliuerance as the people went forth into the wildernesse of Tekoa 2 Chro. 20.20 Iehosaphat stood and said Heare me O Iudah and yee inhabitants of Ierusalem trust in the Lord your God so shall yee be established beleeue his Prophets so shall yee prosper An example we haue in good Iacob who trusting in the Lord was not afraid to returne to his owne Country notwithstanding the malice which his brother Esau had conceiued against him Gen. 31.3 because hee beleeued that God who commanded him to goe would also defend him The like might I say concerning the rest of the Patriarchs Noah Abraham Lot Isaac Ioseph Dauid Daniel together with the sacred quire of reuerend antiquity summoned by the Author to the Hebrewes who through faith subdued Kingdomes Heb. 11 3â— wrought righteousnesse obtained the promise stopped the mouth of Lions quenched the violence of the fire escaped the edge of the sword waxed valiant in battell and turned to slight the armies of Aliants By euidence whereof we see that if we trust in God and cast our care on him he is such a father of mercies and God of all comfort that he will also care for vs. For which cause our Sauiour said to his disciples let not your hearts be troubled you beleeue in God beleeue also in me Ioh. 14.1 c. A little faith then euen as small as a graine of Mustard seed is able to make vs list vp our heads in the middest of all troubles and to remoue euen Mountaines of distrusts out of our soules Therefore in the description of the spirituall armour faith is compared to a buckler or shield Ephes 6.16 which guardeth especially the head and heart that is as it may be construed the vnderstanding and will ut non turbetur intellectus Diez com 1. in fest Phil. Iacol non formidet affectus that we be not troubled in our vnderstanding nor made fearfull in our affection By faith the children of God haue beene more bold then Lions and enabled to doe euen all things When Taxaris saw his Countriman Anacharsis in Athens he said vnto him I will at once shew thee all the wonders of Greece Lucianus in Scytha visâ— Solone vidisti omnia in seeing Solon thou seest all euen Athens it selfe and all the glory of the Greeks In like manner I may tell a true Christian hast thou saith and assured trust in the Lord thou hast more then all the wonders of Greece vpon the point all the wonderfull gifts of grace for faith is a mother vertue from whence all other spring and without which our best actions are but splendida peccata shining sinnes Rom. 14.24 most necessary then that we trust in the Lord. And not without great reason 1 Because if we trust not in the Lord as touching grace we are dead 1 Reason as long as we liue we breath and labour for life euen in death faith is the life of grace the death of all sinne Hab. 2.4 hence it is said the iust man liueth by his faith and liuing hereby his soule trusteth in the Lord hee looketh cheerfully to God hauing the spirit of boldnesse insomuch that we may say of him Si fractus illabatur orbis impavidum ferient ruinae if the mountaines should be remoued and cast headlong into the Sea still hee standeth his ground yea Terra fremat regna alta crepent ruat orcus ortus Si modo firma fides nulla ruina nocet If that all the world should crack in peeces neuerthelesse he standeth fast and firme grounded on the rock fixed like the Mount Sion Psal 129. not to be remoued at any time by any meanes for he trusteth in the Lord and vnder the shadow of his wings is the righteous mans refuge till the tyrannie of Satan Psal 57. sinne death and hell be ouerpast for he hath if I may so say the life-blood of the soule true faith in the Lord and relieth on his promises and therefore cannot miscarrie Whereas on the other side a faithlesse man and distrustfull in all troubles whatsoeuer is ready not onely to sincke vnder his burden but also to giue vp the ghost It is with them as it was with Nabal a distrustfull person hath a head like Nabal a heart like Nabal when he heareth of any troubles and crosses not to be vndergone but which hee hath escaped ignorantly â— Sam. 25.37 His heart presently dieth within him and he becommeth as a stone Physitians tell vs that in mans body the arteres running along the veines do beat vpon them and stir vp the blood lest congeling it should waxe cold so in the soule of the godly true fayth beateth in time of all distresse and keepeth it aliue in the wicked as in Nabal it moueth not and therefore in necessity either they die with griefe as he did or with Achitophel hang themselues or with Saul run in distresse to the witch of Endor to hell for helpe whereas the children of God wait vpon him for deliuerance with patience and with confidence trust in the Lord. Because fayth is the only meanes wherby
l. 1. c. 13. Deus uâ—que laborat in maximis neque fastidit in minimis Amb. in Hexam lib. 5. cap. 2. Indeed the Poet sayd Non vacat exigu is rebus adesse Iovi But the Scripture otherwise that the very haires of our head are numbred Mat. 10.30 and that not so much as a sparrow which is sold for a farthing can fall on the ground without our heauenly fathers prouidence Disponit membraculicis pulicis as Augustine In Psal 148. For besides his generall prouidence which is seene in the gouernment of the whole vniuerse Calvin Instis lib. 1. c. 16. he hath a speciall also mode rating euery singular action and accident Who dwelling on high Aquin. 1. part quaest 22. art 2. Caiet ibid. Heb. 1.3 Wisd 8.1 beholdeth vs as Emmots vpon the mole hils of the earth in whom we liue and moue and haue our being For it is written he supporteth all things by his mighty word He reacheth from one end to another and ordereth all things sweetly Omnia non solum permissa à Deo sed etiam immissa as one saith Lip sius Constâ—nâ— lib. 1. Cap. 14. so that nothing falleth out by blinde humane chance but by diuine choise The Lord doeth not onely suffer and see what is done heere below but also disposeth of euery particular euent to the glory of his name and good of his children He beheld Dauid in his trouble Daniel in his dungeon Peter in his prison and ordered their short affliction to their endlesse consolation In that then though he dwelleth on high hee humbleth himselfe to behold the things below In that he keepeth Israel Psal 121.4 which doth neither slumber nor sleepe In that he graueth his children on the palmes of his hands Isay 49.16 In that he heareth the very grones of his children in their closets Psal 38.9 and maketh their beds in their sicknesse Psal 41.3 In that as Augustine sweetly hee taketh care for all his children as if all were but one Confes l. â— c. 11. and for euery particular as if one were all Because of this diuine and most blessed prouidence Trust in the Lord. Vnto these we might further adde many more forcible reasons grounded on the person in my text as namely sixthly from the power seuenthly from the mercy eightly from the loue ninthly from the wisdome tenthly from the goodnesse adde also the truth of Iehouah and looke how many meditations you may conceiue concerning God so many reasons you haue to Trust in the Lord. Whatsoeuer he is he is it to vs and for vs because hee is the Lord Iehouah our God wherefore let vs trust in the Lord. Thus farre of the Doctrine and the Illustration thereof by Scripture and by reason Proceed wee now to the vse of this Doctrine which is diuerse Vse 2 It serueth first for our information I. Iohn 14.1 we ought alwayes to trust in Iehouah Our Sauiour so enformeth and comforteth his disciples Let not your hearts be troubled yee beleeue in the father beleeue also in me in whatsoeuer dangers of soule or of body of life or of death ye may bee yet be not discouraged but trust in the Lord. Dolosum aerumnosum est cor hominis as the heart of man is aboue all things deceitfull so is it distrustfull For as S. Basill to this purpose speaketh In Psal 44. we are of one condition in prosperity but of another in aduersitie as it is most plainly exemplified vnto vs in that example of Peter in Matth. 26.33.69 Fortune saith Seneca freeth many from punishment Epist 61. 79. but none from feare many and manifold dangers like waues comming fast one on the backe of another one griefe calling on another as the clouds burst foorth with raine Many and fearfull are those dangers whereunto the life of man is liable yet if God be for vs what shall be against vs if our trust be grounded on the Lord Psal 46.2.3.4 if our confidence be sure we need not feare though the earth bee remoued and though the mountaines be cast into the middest of the Sea though the waters thereof roare and bee troubled though the mountaines shake with the swelling thereof though the world be lifted off the hinges and all things be turned vpside downe though all things goe the cleane contrary way in a word though the Sunne be turned into darknesse and the Moone into blood though the pillars of the earth and the powers of heauen be shaken yea though the frame of the world like the temple of Dagon fall ratling vpon our heads yet we will not feare for as Dauid saith Psal 18.2 The Lord is my rocke and my fortresse and my deliuerer my God my strengh in whom I will trust my buckler and the horne of my saluation and my high tower God is our Captaine therefore like Souldiers wee will rely vpon his warinesse and watchfulnesse God is our Shepheard therefore like sheepe wee shall sleepe in peace vnder his staffe God is our Pilot therefore like passengers sayling in great waters we shall be without feare vnder the protection of his care and experience God is our King therefore like subiects we will feare no inuasion of enemies no want of prouision vnder his so well-ordered gouernment God is our father therefore like to his children we will feare no ill vnder his armes O trust in the Lord for he is the Lord of hosts 1 Sam 15.45 Antigonus King of Syria as Plutarch speaketh being ready to giue battell by sea bard by the Isle Andros In Pelopida answered one of his men who told him that his enemies had more ships then he For how many men reckonest thou me indeed the dignity of the Generall is much to be esteemed when it is sorted with prowesse and experience But where is there prowesse where experience if it be not in the Lord Therefore Iob excellently saith hee is wise in heart and mighty in strength Who hath hardned himselfe against him and hath prospered Iob. 9.4 Surely saith Dauid Psal 3.8 Saluation belongeth vnto the Lord. And the Prophet Esay saith Esay 43.11 I euen I am he and besides me there is no Sauiour For as none can deliuer out of his hand so none can deliuer as he can To the righteous he is a shield Psalme 5.12 To the weake strength Psalme 22.12 To the oppressed a refuge Psalme 9.9 To the persecuted a fortresse Psalme 91.2.9 To the Sun-burnt with afflictions he is a shadow To those that are exiled for righteousnesse sake bee is a well furnished habitation To the thirsty he is a well of water as to Sampson To the pursued he is a wall of defence as to the Israelites To the hungry hee is the bread of life To the faint he is a bed of downe To the miserable he is a deliuerer neither are his deliueries palliatiue cures easing as cold water in a feuer onely for the
Next vnto God what greater loue can be shewed then to our selues But wherein can greater loue to our selues bee shewed then in quieting of our consciences whereby our election may bee made sure This latter as touching our selues depending vpon the former viz. the peace of conscience this againe depending vpon our doing of good which by more then a multitude of examples might bee shewed what was that which quieted the conscience and sealed the election of good Hezekiah but onely this comfortable consideration of his well doing Remember O Lord how I haue walked before thee with an vpright heart Esay 38. And not onely Hezekiah but all the children of God in the middest of many fold temptations and spirituall conuulsions haue beene so mainly sustayned that with Paul Rom. 14. they haue beene comfortably resolued and constantly assured that whether we liue we liue vnto the Lord or whether we die we die vnto the Lord whether we liue therefore or die we are the Lords Except then wee endeauour our selues by doing of good we cannot haue a good conscience without a good conscience and peace with it selfe there is no peace to be had with God Hence in a common popular apprehension a good conscience is said to be a ioyfull remembrance of a well-led life ioyned with an hopefull expectation of a comfortable death and a glorious resurrection In respect whereof it hath beene termed the paradise of the soule the iubile of the heart laetitia cordis quasi latitia a surpassing inward solace so dilating and enlarging of the heart for some good in possession more in expectation that the ioy thereof can neither be suppressed nor expressed Bona conscientia saith Bernard is titulus religionis templum Solomonis ager benedictionis hortus deliciarum gaudium angelorum A good conscience is the title and crowne of religion the temple of Solomon the field of benediction the garden of delight the ioy of Angels and Sanctuary of the holy Ghost the tranquility of the minde that heauenly musick whereon the old Philosophers doubtfully harped but the good Christians heart only heareth it and antwereth it with iust measures of ioy which spirituall harmony as a song of three parts consisteth in a throefold peace supra with God aboue vs. extra with men without vs. intra and the soule within vs. O heauenly peace whereby we are at league with God with our neighbours with our selues O peace passing all vnderstanding which in respect of the minds tranquillity ioyned thereby is like to the hidden Manna and white stone wherein a name is written which no man knoweth but he that enioyeth it Reu. 2 17. O royall feast farre excelling that of Ahasuerosh which lasted but ninescore daies for this is for eternity whereat Angels are Cooks and Butlers and the blessed Trinity gladsome guests as Luther boldly speakes without intermission of solace or interruption of societie A feast in life refreshing the soule with daitnty cates of diuine comfort A feast in sicknesse when worldly hopes hang downe their head like a bulrush A feast in death when world and worldly comforts and comforters forsake vs. A feast in the resurrection and after that a feast for euermore If then this be not a sufficient motiue and reason to mooue vs to the doing of good let me shew you another Reason 3 Because in doing good we shall so shew our loue to our neighbours and that in a twofold respect 1 to witnesse our faith vnto them 2 to winne them to Christ That we shall thus make a reall manifestation of our faith Saint Iames sheweth when he saith Shew me thy faith by thy works Iames 2.18 Faith if it haue not works is dead being alone Yea a man may say thou hast faith and I haue works shew me thy faith without thy works and I will shew thee my faith by my works And againe Without works faith is dead And as the body without the spirit is dead so faith without works is dead also vers last Man can iudge no further then hee hath warrant from outward appearance although God doth iudge the heart it is necessary therefore that of a good tree there be also some good fruits So Christ either make the tree good and the fruit good or the tree euill and the fruit euill and that we should witnesse our faith to men our Sauiour most plainely sheweth where he saith Le before men that they may see your good works And that thereby they may bee wonne and so glorifie your Father which is in heauen To this purpose is that of the Apostle S. Paul 1. Cor. 7.14 The vnbeleeuing husband is sanctified by the wife and the vnbeleeuing wife by the husband else were your children vncleane but now they are holy And in the 16. verse For what knowest thou ô man whether thou shalt saue thy wife or what knowest thou ô wife whether thou shalt saue thy husband As if he had sayd Thou maiest by thy holy life and good conuersation be a meanes to winne him or her to Christ Euen as the barke of the tree is a beauty or ornament and secondly a couer to it so for men are likened to trees a good conuersation is an ornament to a Christian corpus tegens cor protegens decking the soule inwardly and protecting the body outwardly and moouing good respect to both A good outside though not alwaies argues a good inside a good conuersation a signe of sanctification Vertuous and holy maners are compared to precious treasures which are commodious to our selues and others To our selues ad iustificandum but not effectiuely for so we are iustified by Christ But not apprehensiuely for so wee are iustified by fayth But yet declaratiuely by iust and holy workes So our Sauior of himselfe The works that I haue done beare witnesse what I am 2. To others ad adificandum that they seeing our good workes may glorifie our father which is in heauen and so be wonne by our godlie life and conuersation For Vinitur exemplis man is led by practise more then instruction like pliable wax for any impression Nothing more forcible and perswasiue with the vulgar then examples which are as looking glasses to the eies of men Validiora sunt exempla quam verba as Bernard A good man saith a good Father carbo lampas est Grag in Ezech. bom 1. he is a coale burning and a lampe shining sibi ardet alijs lucet He doth warme his owne conscience and heats himselfe well and sheweth a good light vnto others also Euen as by the bush wee iudge that there is wine so men iudge of our hearts by the outward countenance and God of our workes by the inward conscience For Sermo interpres cordis apud virum cor interpres sermouis apud Deum saith Philo Iudaeus Men according to our outward parts but God according to our inward hearts Paul for this cause exhorteth those which professe Christ to haue their
neglected euen in many of vs who neither feed liberally by charity nor soundly by Doctrine nor religiously by life which made that proud fugitiue Campian as malitiously as spitefully to say ministris illorum nihil vilius Heauen and earth can beare witnesse that the Sunne neuer beheld a more learned amore religious Cleargie yet among so many pots of the Temple what maruell is it Doctor Hall if some be drie for want of liquor others rusty for want of vse others full of liquor without meat others so full of meat that they want liquor woe to those corrupted sonnes of Heli which through insufficiency or vnconscionablenesse poure contempt on their owne faces Againe for other degrees of men how farre in their places from Doing that which is good is plaine to behold The Lawyer bee it knowne vnto all men vseth the Law vnlawfully not making it a speciall and speedy remedy of wrongs but an Engine or trap to ensnare the weake and simple trebling their fees of vniust gaine and troubling the world with vniust suites The Shopkeepers also as we passe along to cast an eye of obseruance on them how righteous he is in his dealing is easie to iudge their houses are as full of deceit as a cage of birds if either lies and oathes or false lights false measures vniust and unconscionable gaines may make men righteous then there is no vnrighteousnesse in them Lastly what doing of good our rich men practise now a daies he that hath but halfe his sight with one-eyed Phocion may cleerly see for they are better a great deale at the rake then at the pitchforke as it is in the prouerbe readier to pull and rake to them then to lay out or giue any thing Aurum habet Ecclesia non ut servet sed ut eroget but their greedy desires of mony increase faster then their mony our extortioners are not rooted in charity their mindes are on their mines that 's the root where they root but if the Apostle spake true Philargury is the root of all villany These sell the ayre take mony for time contract with Satan giue their soules for surety and the Deuill keepes the bond till they pay in themselues for the principalls Doe our rich men resemble Saint Bafil the great who in a famine did not only giue to the poore himselfe but exhorted others to open their barnes and doe the like Or William Warbam sometime Archbishop of Canterbury who was so liberall to the poore that hee left but thrity peeces of gold behinde him which pleased as Erasmus saith him so well that he said It is well I desired alway to dye no richer Or Philip Melancthon who was out of a meane estate so bountifull that euery houre some or other were relieued at his dore Or es Dorcas full of good works Or as the Captaine Cornelius and other holy men of God Abraham Lot c. Surely they are the greatest part so farre from going out to meet the poore as Abraham met the three Angels vnknowne that they turne their backs and shut the dore vpon them and instead of feasting and refreshing of them with churlish and crabbed words rate them away with hungry stomackes No no their care is to build faire houses and when they haue done to lock the dore and goe their waies and leaue them empty we haue a great many of these mockbeggars in England which where they should doe most good like butterflyes are to be seene but once in a yeere yet that is not to make a feast with Nabal at their sheepe-shearing nor to relieue their poore neighbours neere them but to rack their rents and enhaunse their fines to make themselues very fine finem facere to vndoe the poore Tenant to call Courts to fill carts to fence God out and hedge the Deuill in Giue they are so farre from giuing that like spunges good must be wrung out of them perforce like vnto Nabal churlish and euill in their doings which notwithstanding they haue good cause 1 Sam. 26.3 yet are so farre from helping that they say who is Dauid or what is the sonne of Iesse there be many seruants now a dayes that breake away euery one from his master shall I then take my bread and flesh that I haue killed for my shearers and giue it to these whom I know not whence they be Or like Cain nunquid ego fratris custos am I my brothers keeper Or like Iudas ad quid perditio haec to what end is this waste yea so farre are many from helping and relieuing them that because they are rich they presume they may tread them downe oppresse them by authority keepe back their maintenance take away their meanes as Ahab did poore Naboths Vineyard and their life too especially if mistris painted face Iezabel can beare rule what are they not rich art not thou a King art not thou a Lord of that Mannor are they not thy Tenants bridle them and saddle them and spurre them to death to keepe the slaues downe c. Yet I must confesse many rich men doe giue now adaies but it is according to that rule formerly set downe Surely no for First there are that regard not what they giue they giue that for which they deserue no thanks but shame they feed the poore at another mans table and make them free of another mans trencher such an almes-giuer was the Deuill who would giue the world to our Sauiour a liberall almes but out of Gods Exchequer yet as these hee said all is mine and to whom I please I giue it So Alexander the sixt gaue America to the King of Spaine as in 88. the Pope gaue England to him to a great gift but out of the Indians and Christians freehold and so indeed many an vpstart Gentleman giues by keeping of a good house for his company when like the lewes he crucifies Christ in his poore Tenants he feedeth some few poore as his wicket and hath made many poore to furnish his dresser his charity reliues ten his cruelty hath vndone ten thousand If euer the prouerbe be true t is true in this here is robbing of Peter to pay Paul Secondly there are that regard not why they giue not out of any care to obey Gods Commandements not out of any loue to their brethren not out of any loue chiefely to Gods glory or the like but to get a name to become famous for ostentation sake as the Scribes and Pharisees these are obstreperous benefactors which cackle like hens and blow a trumpet in the streets of their deeds haue not I done this giuen him that preferred him to his liuing or place did not I settle him yes but not out of any zeale to Gods glory but for some by-respect to make some other vse of him in such or such occasions and seruice but almes shold be like Oyle which is silent in pouring downe and maketh no noise yet it lies aloft So thou needest not
proclaime thy owne worth for he that seeth in secret will reward thee openly But because there are more rare therefore I hasten to the next Thirdly there are that giue and drop siluer but not with discretion to those which either haue no need or are not worthy Some feed the Spaniel I meane the Sycophant who neuer will leaue begging while any continues giuing some feed the Gray hound the riotous prodigall some the Mastife the gullet theefe still gaping for more some the Curre the criticall slanderer for whom the hooke is a fitter morsell then the bait some to the Cormorant which study nothing but Apicius in his art of Munchers whose greatest manhood is seene at the table in quartering and caruing dead carkases but this is giuing of the childrens meat to dogs some againe to the poore but not so made of God but from the Deuils bones and books cards and dice wine and women and such like husbandry Fourthly there are that regard not how they giue they giue but with grudging with pining with pinching with constraint being drawne like a Beare to the stake they part from a penny as from a drop of blood nor will they be any further bountifull then the statute law compels them Fifthly there are that giue but regard nor the time for either they giue when there is no need or when they can no longer keepe the poore shall be fed at their dore when they are carryed to their graue and so bee clothed when they must be naked for which charity they are more beholding to their testament then will for it should not haue beene giuen if it could haue beene kept And for this they are more beholding to their death-bed then them where it often falleth out that the poore mourne indeed not so much for their death as for that they dyed no sooner Here is a generation of crooked carnall and faithlesse giuers like Saint Iohns generation of vipers which although they continue giuers shall not be gainers whom yet I forewarne to fly from the wrath which is to come by bringing forth fruits worthy of amendment of life Let this lastly be the vse for obedience Vse 4 Wherefore dearely beloued whilst the wizards of the world like to that couetous Cardinall which preferred his portion in Paris before his part in Paradise exercise themselues wholly in ioyning house to house and land to land and account it the greatest point of cunning to gaine and retaine good estates good farmes good fields good friends good houses good horses good clothes euery thing else good for themselues but neuer exercise themselues in Doing good to others let vs all of vs if we would be accounted godly wise and prouident indeed be most of all carefull and earnest for the world which is to come wherewith that we may be really possessed and so royally blessed let vs neuer be weary of well-doing for in due time we shall reape if we faint not And for you whom it hath pleased God to endow with a more liberall portion of the things of this life so to account it the best Christian policie by your good works on earth to lay vp treasures for your selues in heauen and and euery day to bring in somewhat into Gods Exchequer as the Israelites into the Tabernacle the remembrance whereof may long after both in life and death comfort you It is an hard sentence of some Casuists concerning their fellowes that few rich mens Confessors shall be saued for that hapily they dawbe vp their consciences with vntempered morter soothing them vp in their sinnes let this be the care of those whom it may concerne For vs wee desire to be faithfull to God and you and therefore roundly tell you Doe good O ye rich men if euer you looke to receiue good if you be not rich in good works you cannot be rich in heauen as Cyrus said that he made himselfe rich while he enriched his friends so lay vp treasures for your selues in heauen whiles you make the poore your friends on earth If you looke for the interest of glory in heauen you must pay the principall of beneficence in earth Be not therefore like mount Gilboah fruitlesse and barren Be not like the Oliue tree which when Goats lick it fruitfulnesse doth leaue it Be not like a Vine tree the more boughs the lesser and sewer grapes Be not like a Cloue tree so hot by nature to rob the neighbour plants of moisture But be thou like that tree of Dauid planted by the waters side by regeneration bringing forth fruit in due season by sanctification whose leaues shall not fall by continuation Goe thou and doe likewise bring forth and multiply if euer thou hope to be planted in the new Ierusalem thou must bring forth twelue manner of fruits yea the leaues must bee beneficiall Bring forth then not flowers or flourishes blossomes or semblances onely but fruits not fruit of the world for that 's folly nor fruit of the flesh that 's frailty nor fruit of the eyes that 's fancy but meet fruits for contrition of heart reformation of life sanctification of soule Let not the children of this world excell the children of light they are fruitfull but not beneficiall multum sed malâ—â—â— there is greene fruit of imperfectnesse red fruit of blood thirstinesse yeallow fruit of gall and bitternesse 〈◊〉 colored fruit of drunkennesse earth-colored fruit of couvetousnesse pale-colored fruit of lasciuiousnesse these are trees but not of Gods planting these the Deuill plants suggestion waters continuance encreaseth necessity ripens iudgement gathers and bell burneth Be not thou like vnto those Indian Pandorae of whom it is reported that they haue white hoare heads in their youth and black haire in their age Or like Hermogenes of whom Antiochus said that hee was in his childhood an old man and in his old age a child be not thou more expert vnder thy Catechizers in principles of piety and as thou growest vpward in yeeres to grow downewards in grace like the she Wolfe which they say hath an yeerly defect in her procreation the first time she beareth fiue the secoÌ„d foure the third three the fourth two the fifth one and then remaineth barren the child of God must not so doe he must goe from strength to strength and grow from grace to grace bringing forth most good in their age like Caleb strong in his old age for gouernment and warre like Ruth shewing more goodnesse in the latter end then beginning like the Sunne in the Firmament which is swiftest at his setting so the sonnes of God must be best at their ending Let a good Christian be like vnto a sheepe in which euery thing is good and vsefull his fleece good his fell good his flesh good his entrals yea all is good and so a sanctified Christian is a seruant to all the seruants of God euery good gift in him is profitable to some he lendeth his fleece clothing the naked to some his bread in feeding the hungry to some his eyes in becomming a guide to the blinde to some his strength in becomming feet to the lame to some his vnderstanding in becomming an instructer to the simple at all times and to all persons in all places Doing of good Wherefore let vs be of Vlysses minde in Euripides 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. let vs see our Tombes honored by Doing good while we liue this is the way to make our names truly famous and our memories eternall here lasting hereafter euerlasting here renowned among men there crowned among Saints and Angels in the Kingdome of glory FINIS