so bold as blind Bayard your hope is but fancy and as a sicke mens dreame You hope you cannot tell what You have no ground for what you say For what hope can you have to be saved when you walke in no path of salvation What hope can a man have to come to London speedily that travelleth nothing that way but quite contrary What hope can a man have to reap a good crop of corne that useth no meanes neither ploweth soweth nor harroweth What hope can a man have to be fat and well liking of his body that seldome or never eateth any meat What hope can a man have to escape drowning which leapeth into the Sea Even so what hope can you have to be saved when you walke nothing that way when you use no meanes when you doe all things that are contrary to the some For alas there is nothing in you of thou things which the Scriptures doe affirme must be in all those that shall be saved There be none of the forenamed signes and tokens in you You are ignorant profane and carelesse God is not worshipped under your roofe There is no true feare of God in your selfe nor in your houshold You seldome heare the Word preached You content your selfe with an ignorant Minister You have no prayers in your family no reading no singing of Psalmes no infirmitions exhortations admonitions or any other Christian exercises You make no conscience of the observation of the Sabbath You use not the name of God with any reverence You breake out sometimes into horrible oathes and cursings You make an ordinary matter of swearing by your faith and your troth Your wife is irreligious your children dissolute and ungratious your servants profane and carelesse You are an example in your owne house of all Atheisme and consciencelesse behaviour You are a great gamester a riotour a spend thrift a drinker a common ale-house-hunter a whore-hunter and to conclude given to all vice and naughtinesse Now then I pray you tell me or rather let your conscience tell me what hope can you have to be saved so long as you walk and continue in this course Doth not St. John say 1 John 2.6 If wee say we have fellowship with him and walke in darknesse we are liers 1 John 3.4 Doth not the same Apostle avouch that such as say they know God and keepe not his commandements are lyers Againe doth hee not say Hee that committeth sin is of the Divell And 1 John â— 18 Whosoever doth not righteousnesse is not of God Doth not our Lord Iesus flatly tell the Iewes which bragged that Abraham was their father that they were of their father the Divell because they did his workes Doth not the Apostle Paul say Rom. 6. â—â— His servants wee are to whom we obey whether it be of sinne unto death or of obedience unto righteousnesse Doth not the Scripture say John â— 7 Hee that doth righteousnesse is righteous Doth not our Lord Iesus affirmâ— that Not every one that saith Lord Lord shall enter into the Kingdome of Heaven Mat. 7.21 but hee that doth the will of my Father which is in Heaven Therefore I conclude that forasmuch as your whole course is carnall carelesse and dissolute you can have no warrantable hope to be saved Phil. I doe verily think that this mans case which now you have laid open is the case of thousands Theol. Yea doubtlesse of thousand thousands the more is the pitie Asun Soft and faire Sir you are very round indeed Soft fire maketh sweet malt I hope you know wee must be saved by mercy and not by merit If I could doe all my selfe wherefore serveth Christ I hope that which I cannot doe he will doe for mee And I hope to be saved by Jesus Christ as well as the best of you all Theol. Oh now I see which way the game goeth You would faine make Christ a cloak for your sinnes You will sin that grace may abound You will sin frankly and set all upon Christs score Truly there be many thousands of your mind which hearing of Gods aboundant mercy in Christ are thereby made more bold to sin But they shall know one day to their cost what it is to abuse the mercie of God Rom. 2.4 The Apostle saith The mercy and loving kindnesse of God should lead us to repentance But we see it leads many to further hardnesse of heart The Prophet saith Psal 13.4 With him is mercy that hee may be feared But many thereby are made more secure and carelesse But to come nearer to the marke You say you hope to be saved by Iesus Christ I answer If those things be found in you which the Scripture avoucheth to be in all that shall be saved by him then you may have good confidence and assured hope otherwise not Now the Scriptures do thus determine it and set it down that if a man be in Christ and look to be saved by him he must be endued with these qualities following First he must be a new creature 1 Cor. 5.27 Nine things required of all that shall be saved by Christ Secondly hee must live not after the lusts of men but after the will of God 1 Pet. 4.2 Thirdly hee must be zealous of good workes Tit. 2.14 Fourthly hee must die to sin and live to righteousnesse Rom. 6.14 Fifthly he must be holy and unblameable Col. 1.23 Sixthly hee must so walke as Christ hath walked 1 John 2.6 Seventhly he must crucifie the flesh with the affections lusts Gal. 5.24 Eighthly he must walk not after the flesh but after the spirit Rom. 8.1 Last of all he must serve God in righteousnesse and true holinesse all the dayes of his life Luk. 1.75 Loe then what things are required of all that shall be saved by Christ Now therefore if these things be in you in some measure of truth then your hope is currant sound and good otherwise it is nothing worth For in vaine doe men say they hope to be saved by Christ when as they walke dissolutely The reason hereof is because the members must be sutable to the head but Christ our head is holy therefore wee his members must be holy also as it is written 1 Pet. 2.15 Be ye holy for I am holy Otherwise if wee will joyne profane and ungodly members to our holy head Christ then we make Christ a monster As if a man should ioyne unto the head of a Lion the necke of a Beare the body of a Wolfe and the legs of a For were it not a monstrous thing would it not make a monstrous creature Even such a thing they goe about which would have swearers drunkards whoremongers and such like to be the members of Christ and to have life and salvation by him But sith you doe so much presume on Christ I pray you let me aske you a question Antil What is that Theol. How doe you know that Christ vsed for you
with faith in those that heard it And again Heb. â— 1â— They could not enter in because of unbeliefe Here we sâ—e that unbeliefe did bar out the old people from entring into the Land of Promise which was a figure of Gods eternall Kingdome And sure it is that the same unbeliefe doth barre out thousands of us For many will beleeve nothing but their owne fantasies They will not beleeve the Word of God especially when it is contrary to their lusts and likings profits and pleasures Though things be manifestly proved to their faces and both the Chapter and the Verse shewed them yet will they not beleeve or though they say they beleeve yet will they never goe about the practice of any thing but reply against God in all their actions And for the most part when God saith one thing they will say another when God saith yee they will say nay and so give God the lye Some againe will say If all be true that the Preachers say then God help us Thus you see how infidelity doth bar men out of Heaven and cast them into Hell Phil. Let us heare of the second gate which is Presumption of Gods mercy Theol. This is set downe in the 29. Chapter of Deuteronomie where the Lord saith thus When a man heareth the words of this curse and yet flattereth himselfe in his heart saying I shall have peace although I walke according to the stubbornnesse of mine owne heart thus adding drunkenness to thirst that is one sinne to anotâ—er the Lord will not be mercifull unto him but the wrath of the Lord and his jealousie shall smoake against that man and every curse that is written in this booke shall light upon him and the Lord shall put out his name from under Heaven Here we see how the mighty God doth thunder downe upon such as goe-on in their sins presuming of his mercie and saying in their hearts If I may have but a Lord have mercy upon mee three houres before death I care not But it is just with God when these three houres come to shut them up in blindnesse and hardnesse of heart as a just plagne for their presumption Therefore the Prophet David seeing the grievousnesse of this sinne prayeth to be delivered from it Psal 19. Keep me O Lord saith he from presumptuous sins let them not reigne over mee Let all men therefore take hood of presumptuous sins For though God be full of mercy yet will hee shew no mercy to them that presume of his mercy But they shall once know to their cost that justice goeth from him as well as mercy Phil. Let us come to the third gate which is the Example of the multitude Theol. This is proved in the 23. of Exodus verse 22. where the Lord saith flatly Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evill In another place the Lord saith Levit. 18.3 After the doing of the Land of Egypt wherein ye dwelt shall ye not doe and after the manner of the Land of Canaan whither I will bring you shall ye not doe neither walke in their ordinances Against this Law did the children of Israel offend when they said in the stubbornnesse of their heart to the Prophet Jeremie The word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of the Lord wee will not heare but we will do whatsoever goeth out of our mouth and we will do as we have done both we and our Fathers our Kings and our Princes in the Cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem Jer. 44.16 Note here how they doe altogether refuse the Word of the Lord and how they follow the example of the multitude Wee see in these our dayes by lamentable experience how thousands are violently carried downe the stream and for defence of it some will say Do as the most men do and the fewest will speak ill of you Which is a very wicked speech For if we will follow the course of the most we shall have the reward of the most which is eternall perdition Let us therefore take heed of bending with the sway for the sway of the world doth weigh down all things that can be spoken out of the Word of God and openeth a very wide passage into hell Phil. Proceed to the fourth gate into hell which is the Long custome of sinne Theol. This is noted by the Prophet Jeremy to be a very dangerous thing For hee saith Jer. 13.23 Can the Black moore change his skin or the Leopard his spots Then may yee also doe good which are accustomed to doe evill Noting thereby that it is as hard a matter to leave an old custome of sinne as to wash a Black-moore white or to change the spots of a Leopard which because they are naturall is most impossible So when men through custome have made swearing lying adultery and drunkennesse as it were naturall unto them oh how hard it is to leave them For custome maketh another nature and taketh away all sense and feeling of sin Phil. Let us heare of the fifth gate which is the Long escaping of punishment Theol. This is avouched by the Wise man in these words Ecclâ—s 8.11 Because sentence against an evill worke is not executed speedily therefore the hearts of the children of men are set in them to doe evill Where hee sheweth that one cause why men are so hardened in their sinnes is because God winketh at them and letteth them alone not punishing them immediatly after they have sinned For if God should forthwith strike downe one and raine fire and brimstone upon another and cause the earth to swallow up a third then men would feare indeed But it hath beene shewed before that God taketh not that course but though he meet with some in this life yet he lets thousands escape and that makes them more bold thinking they shall never come to their answer even as an old theefe which hath a long time escaped both prison and gallowes thinkes he shall alwaies so escape and therefore goeth boldly on in his thefts But let men take heed For as the Proverb saith Though the Pitcher goeth long to the Well yet at last it cometh broken home So though men escape long yet they shall not escape alwaies for there will come a day of reckoning a day that will pay it home for all Thus you see how impunity leadeth numbers to destruction that is when men are let alone and neither smitten by the hand of God nor punished by the Law of the Magistrate Phil. Let us come to the sixth gate which is the Hope of long life Theol. This is affirmed by our Lord Iesus concerning that rich worldling who when hee felt the world come in upon him with full streame said he would pull dâ—wne his barnes and build greater and say to his soule Soule thou hast much goods laid up for many yeares Luke 12.19 live at ease eat drinke and take thy pastime But our Saviour calleth him
the true Sanctuary but is entred into the very Heaven Heb. 9. to appeare now in the sight of God for you The Apostle saith 2 Cor. 5.21 He hath made him to be sinne for you that knew no sinne that you might be made the righteousnesse of GOD in him Gal 3.13 Christ was made a curse for you that he might redeeme you from the curse of the Law Oh therefore how happy art thou that hast such a Mediatour and high Priest Rest therefore wholly upon him and upon that perfect eternall and propitiatory Sacrifice which he hath once offered Apply Christ apply his merits apply the promises to your selfe and to your owne conscience so shall they doe you good and bring great comfort to your soule For put case you had a most excellent and soveraigne salve which would cure any wound if it were laid to yet if you should locke it up in your chest and never apply it to your wound what good could it doe you Even so the righteousnesse and merits of Christ are a spirituall salve which will cure any wound of the soule but if wee doe not apply them to our soules by faith they can doe us no good You must therefore apply Christ and all the promises of the Gospel to your selfe by faith and stand fully perswaded that whatsoever hee hath done upon the Crosse hee hath done for you particularly For what is justifying faith but a full perswasion of Gods particular love to us in Christ The generall and confused knowledge of Christ and his Gospel availes not to eternall life Labour therefore to have the true use of all these great and precious promises and sticke fast to Christ for through him onely wee have remission of sins and eternall life Acts 10.45 To him all the Prophets give witnesse saith Saint Peter that through his Name all that beleeve shall receive remission of their sins Where the Apostle tells us that if a great Iury of Prophets were pannelled to testifie of the way and meanes to eternall life they would all with one consent bring in a verdict that remission of sins and eternall life are onely in Christ Let us heare the Fore-man speake and one or two of the rest for in the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word stand The Prophet Esay saith Esay 54.5 He was wounded for our transgressions he was broken for our iniquities the chastisement of our peace was upon him and with his stripes wee are healed This great Prophet we see plainly affirmes that Christ suffered for our sins and by his suffering we are saved The Prophet Jeremy testifies the same thing Jer. 23 5. saying Behold the day is come saith the Lord that I will raise to David a righteous branch and a King shall reigne and prosper and shall execute judgement and justice in the earth In his dayes Judah shall be saved and Israel shall dwell safely and this is the name whereby they shall call him The Lord our righteousnesse This Prophet jumps with the other For he saith that Christ is the righteous branch and that he is our righteousnesse which is all one as if hee had said our sinnes are pardoned onely through him and through him we are made righteous Moreover hee affirmes that Juda and Israel that is the Church shall be saved by him The Prophet Zachary that I may speake it with reverence telleth the same tale word for word He avoucheth the same thing with the other two Prophets for hee saith In that day a fountaine shall be opened to the house of David Zach. 13.1 and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sinne and for uncleannesse The meaning of the Prophet is that in the dayes of Christs Kingdome the fountaine of Gods mercy in Christ should be opened and let-out to wash away the sinnes and uncleannesse of the Church So then we see that these three great witnesses doe all agree in this that through Christ onely we are washed from our sinnes and through him onely wee are made righteous Seeing then that eternall life is onely in the Sonne therefore he that hath the Sonne hath life Be of good courage therefore O Asunetus for no doubt you have the Sonne and therefore eternall life Feare not your sinnes for they cannot hurt you for as all the righteousnesse of Abraham Isaac and Jacob and all the most righteous men that ever lived on the face of the earth if it were yours could doe you no good without Christ so all the sinne in the world can doe you no hurt being in Christ Rom. 8.1 For there is no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus Plucke up a good heart therefore be no more heavie and sad for if you be found in Christ clothed with his perfect righteousnesse being made yours through faith what can the Divell say to you what can the Law doe They may well hisse at you but they cannot sting you they may grin at you but they cannot hurt you For who shal lay any thing to the charge of Gods Elect It is God that justifies Rom. â— 33 who shall condemne It is Christ which is dead or rather which is risen againe who also sitteth at the right hand of God and makes request for us Phil. 4.4 Rejoyce in the Lord therefore againe I say Rejoice for greater is hee that is in you then hee that is in the world Our Lord Iesus is stronger then all None can pluck you out of his hands hee is a strong Mediator hee hath conquered all our spirituall enemies hee hath overcome hell death and damnation hee hath led captivity captive Col. 1.15 hee hath spoyled principalities and powers and hath made an open shew of them and triumphed over them on his crosse Hee hath most triumphantly said O death Hos 13.14 I will be thy death O grave I will be thy destruction O death where is thy sting 1 Cor. 15.55 O hell where is thy victory Seeing then you have such a Mediator and high Priest as hath conquered the hellish army and subdued all infernall power what need you to doubt what need you to feare any more Moreover you are to understand and to be perswaded that Gods mercy is exceeding great towards penitent sinners and all such as mourne for their transgressions according as hee saith At what time soever a sinner doth repent him of his sinnes from the bottome of his heart hee will put them all out of his remembrance The Prophet David doth most lively and fully describe unto us the mercifull nature of God in the 103. Psalme where hee saith The Lord is full of compassion and mercy slow to anger and of great kindnesse hee will not alwaies chide neither keepeth his anger for ever hee hath not dealt with us after our sinnes nor rewarded us according to our iniquities For as high as the heaven is above the earth so great is his mercy towards those that feare him
his opportunity against us that hee may infect and breathe into us all filthy lusts and adulterous desires when wee lye open unto him by idlenesse Wisely therefore to this point saith the Greeke Poet Hesiodus Much rest nourisheth lust And another Poet saith Quaeritur Aegystus quare sit factus adulter In promptu causa est dâ—sidiosus erat Slothfull lazinesse is the cause of adultery And therefore another saith Eschew idlenesse Our 〈…〉 and cut the very sinews of lust The fourth cause of Adultery is wanton apparell which is a minstrellesse that pipes up a dance unto whoredome But of this enough before The fift and last cause of adulterie is the hope of impunity or escaping of punishment For many being blinded and hardened by Sathan think they shall never bee called to any account for it and because they can blear the eyes of men and carry this sinne so closely under a cloud that it shall never come to light they thinke all is safe and that God seeth them not And therefore Job saith Job 24.15 The eye of the adulterer waiteth for the twi-light and saith No eye shall see mee And in another place Job 23.13 How shall God know Can hee judge thorow the dark cloud But verily versly though the adulterer do never so closely and cunningly convey his sinne under a canopy yet the time will come when it shall be disclosed to his eternall shame For God will bring every work to judgement Eccl. 12.24 with every secret thought whether it be good or evill Psal 9â— For hee hath set our most secret sinnes in the sight of his countenance 1 Cor. 4. And hee will lighten the things that are hid in darknesse and make the counsels of the heart manifest For this cause Job saith Job 10. When I sinne thou watchest mee and wilt not purge me from my sin Phil. Now you have shewed us the causes of adultery I pray you shew us the remedies Theol. There be six remedies for adultery which no doubt will greatly prevail if they bâ— well practised Phil. Which be they Six remedies of adultery Theol. Labour Abstinence Temperance Prayer Restraint of our senses Shunning of womens company and all occasions whatsoever Phil. Well Sir now you have waded deepe enough in the second signe of damnation I pray you let us proceed to the third which is Covetousnesse And as you have laid naked the two former so I pray you strip this stark naked also that all men may see what an ugly monster it is and therefore hate it and abhor it Theol. I would willingly satisfie your minde but in this point I shall never doe it sufficiently For no heart can conceive nor tongue sufficiently utter the loathsomenesse of this vice For covetousnesse is the foulest fiend and blackest Divell of all the rest It is even great Beelzebub himselfe Therefore I shall never be able fully to describe it unto you but I will doe what I can to sttip and whip it stark naked And howsoever the men of this earth and blind worldlings take it to bee most sweet beautifull and amiable and therefore doe embrace it entertaine it and welcome it as though there were some happinesse in it yet I hope when I have shewed them the face thereof in a glasse even the true glasse of Gods Word they will be noe more in such love but quite oâ—t of conceit with it I will therefore hold out this glasse unto them St. Paul to Timothy brandeth this stâ—ne in the forehead and boareth it in the eares that all men may know it and avoyd it 1 Tâ—â— â— 1â— when he saith Covetousnesse is the root of all evill Our Lord Iesus also giveth us a watch-word to take heed of it saying Take heed and beware of covetousnesse 〈◊〉 12.15 As if hee should say Touth it not come not neare it it is the very breath of the Divell it is present death and the very ratsâ—bane of the soule The Apostle layeth out the great danger of this sinne and doth exceedingly grinde the face of it â—â—il 5 19. when he saith That the end of all such as mind earthly things is damnation Let all carnall worldlings and muckish minded men lay this to heart and consider well of it lest they say one day Had I wist Phil. Good Sir lay open unto us the true nature of covetousnesse and what it is that wee may more perfectly discerne it Theol. Covetousnesse is an immoderate desire of having Phil. I hope you do not think frugality thriftinesse and good husbandry to be covetousnesse Theol. Nothing lesse For they be things commanded being done in the feare of God and with a good conscience Phil. Doe you not thinke it lawfull also for men to doe their worldly businesse and to use faithfullnesse and diligence in their callings that they may pâ—ovide for themselves and their families Theol. Yes no doubt And the rather if they doe these things with calling upon God for a blessing upon the workes of their hands and use preyer and thanksgiving before and after their labour taking heed all the day long of the common corruptions of the world as swearing cursing lying dissembling deceiving greedy getting c. Phil. Wherein I pray you doth covetousnesse especially consist Theol. In the greedy desire of the mind For we may lawfully doe the workes of our calling and play the good husbands and good huswives but wee must take heed that distrustfullnesse and inward greedinesse of the world doe not catch our hearts For then wee are set on fire and utterly undone Phil. Sith covetousnesse is especially of the heart how may we know certainly when the heart is infected Theol. There be four speciall signes of the hearts infection Phil. Which be they Theol. The first is an eager and sharp set desire of getting Therefore the holy Ghost saith Pâ—oâ— â—8 Hee that hasteth to be rich shall not be unpunished Pâ—o. 20.2 And againe An heritage is hastily gotten at the beginning but the end thereof shall not be blessed Deâ—â—stâ—â—nes in Olinth 2. The heathen man also saith No man can be both justly and hastily rich The second is a pinching and niggardly keeping of our owne that is when men being able to give will hardly part with any thing though it be to never so holy and good use And when at last with much adoe for shame they give something it cometh heavily from them God wot and scantly The third is the neglect of holy duties that is when mens mindes are so taken up with the love of earthly things that they begin to slack and cool in matters of Gods worship The fourth and last is a trusting in riches and staying upon them as though our lives were maintained by them or did consist only in them which thing our Lord Iesus flatly denyeth saying Though a man have abundance Luk. 12.15 yet his life consisteth not in the things that
it For God is true and all men lyars Hee is faithfull that hath promised His word is more then the faith of a Prince more then ten thousand obligations Why then doe wee not rest upon it why goe wee any further why doe we not take his word why doe wee not depend wholly upon him why are wee still covetous why are we still distrustfull why doe we dissemble and deceive Oh wee of little faith Our Lord Iesus knowing right well the distrustfulnesse of our nature and the deep root it hath in us is not only content to make these great and royall promises unto us which were enough but also strengtheneth and backeth us with many strong reasons to support our weaknesse in this behalfe He therefore bringeth us back to a due consideration of things Consider saith hee the Ravens Luke 12. consider the fowles of the heavens for they neither sow not reap nor carry into barnes and yet God feedeth them they want nothing Consider the lillies how they grow they neither labour nor spinne yet Solomon in all his royalty was not clothed like one of these Oh therefore that wee would consider these Considers Oh that wee would consider that our life is more worth then meat and our bodies then raiment Oh that wee would consider that with all our carking and caring wee can doe no good at all no not so much as add one cubite to our stature Truely truely if wee would deeply ponder these reasons of our Saviour and apply them to our selves they might serve for a bulwark and sure defence against covetousnesse If men would consider how that great King of heaven who hath his way in the whirle-wind Nahum 1.3 and the clouds are the dust of his feet careth for the little Wren and silly Sparrow how hee looketh to them how he tendreth them how hee provideth for them every day both break-fast dinner and supper it might serve to correct our distrustfulnesse For who ever saw these or any other fowle starve for hunger so good a Father and so good a Nurse have they And are not wee much better then they Hath not God more care of us then of them Yes verily a thousand times For he loveth them but for our sakes how much more then doth he love our selves Therefore I say again and againe If wee would consider these things and lay them to heart they would nip covetousnesse on the head and drive it quite out of our hearts Let us consider therefore that God provided for man before man was then how much more will hee provide for man now that hee is Is hee our Father and will hee not provide for us Is he our King and will he not regard us Is hee our shepherd and will hee not look to us Hath hee provided heaven for us and will hee not give us earth Hath hee given us his Sonne Christ and shall hee not with him give us all things Doth hee provide for his enemies and will hee not provide for his friends Doth hee provide for whoremongers and will hee neglect his chosen Doth hee send his rain and cause the sunne to shine upon the unjust and shall hee not upon the just Doth he provide for them which are not of the family and will hee not provide for his owne family Will a man feed his hogges and not care for his servants Or will hee care for his servants and not regard his own children Oh then let us consider these reasons let us remember that our heavenly Father hath as great care for the preservation of his creatures as once hee had for their creation Let us therefore remember that he which giveth the day will provide for us the things of the day Let us remember that God alwayes giveth for sustentation though not for satiety Let us remember Pâ—â—v 10.28 that God will not famish the souls of the righteous Let us remember how God never faileth his For who ever trusted in the Lord and was confounded Phil. What then is the cause that many do want these outward things Theol. The cause is in themselves because they want faith For if wee had faith wee could want nothing For faith feareth no famine as saith an ancient Father Hieron ad Heliodorum Cypr. in oratione Dominica Another saith Forasmuch as all things are Gods hee that hath God can want nothing if himselfe bee not wanting unto God Therefore to have God is to have all things for if we have him our friend wee have enough we need goe no further For hee will make men our friends yea hee will make Angels and all creatures to bee serviceable unto us hee will give them speciall charge to looke to us to guard us and to doe continuall homage unto us Therefore let us make God our friend and then have we done all at once that may concerne our good both for this life and a better But if hee stand not our friend if wee have not him on our side if hee back us not then all other things whatsoever can doe us no good All is not worth a button For August Quid prodest si omnia habes cum tamen qui omnia dedit non habeas What is a man the better though hee have all things and bee without him which is the author of all things Phil. Herein you speak very truly no doubt For we see many have great plenty of outward things but because they have not God they can have no true comfort in them or blessing with them Theol. True indeed For Matth. 4. Man liveth not by bread only saith our Lord Iesus but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God And again heâ— saith Lâ—ke 12. Though a man have abundance yet his life consisteth not in the things that hee hath For without Gods blessing there can bee no sound comfort in any thing Wee see by daily expeâ—ience how the Lord curseth the wicked though they have abundance For some having abundance yet are visited with continuall sicknesses Some having abundance pine away with consumptions Others having abundance dye of surfeiting Others are snatched away by untimely death in the midst of all their jollity Others are visited with great losse both by sea and by land Others are vexed with curst wives and disobedient children Some againe commit murthers and treasons and so lose all at once Others are wasted and consumed by the secret curse of God no man knoweth how Some having great riches are given over to the murtherer some to the thiefe some to the poysoner Therefore the wise King saith There is an evill sicknesse under the sun riches reserved to the owners thereof for their evill Eccl. 5.12 Zophar also the Naamathite saith When the wicked shall have sufficient and enough Job 20.23 hee shall be brought into straits The hand of every troublesome man shall be upon him When hee shall fill his belly God will send upon him his fierce wrath
not trouble any widow or fatherlesse child If thou vex or trouble such and so hee call and cry unto mee I will surely heare his câ—ie Then shall my wrath be kindled and I will kill you with the sword and your wives shall be widowâ—s Deut. 12. and your children fatherlesse Againe he saith Thou shalt not oppresse an hired servant that is needy and poore but thou shalt give him his hire for his day neither shall the Sunne goe downe upon it for hee is poore and therewith sustaineth his life lâ—st hee cry against thee unto the Lord and it be sinne unto thee Exod. 22. Moreover the Lord saith Thou shalt doe no injury to a stranger for yee were strangers in the and of Egypt Mal. 3. And God himselfe threatneth that hee will be a swift wi nesse against those which keep backe the hirelings wages and vex the widow and the fathe lesse 1 Thes 4.6 The Apostle saith Let no man oppâ—esse or defraud his brother in any matter For the Lord is an avenger of all such things Eccl. 5.6 Solomon also saith It in a countrie thou seest the oppression of the pooâ—e and the defrauding of justice and judgement be not astonied at the matter for hee that is higher then the highest regardeth and there be higher then they All these holy Statutes and Lawes enacted and provided against oppressors doe plainly shew what care the Lord hath for his poore distressed no desolate people Phil. But these oppressing hell-hounds are such as care for nothing No law of the Almighty can bridle them nothing can feare them nothing can restraine them they have made a covenant with hell and death They are frozen in their dregs they are past feeling And as Job saith Job 24.14 These are they that abhorre the light they know not the waies thereof neither continue in the paths thereof Their hearts are as hard as the Adamant Nothing can move thâ—m nothing can worke upon them There is great crying out every where of the stone in the reines which indâ—ed is a great torment to the bodie buâ— th re is no complaining of the stone in the heart I meane a stony heart which is the sorest disease that possibly can fall into the soule of a man and yet in thâ—se times it groweth very rife For mens hearts are as hard as brasse and as the neather Mill-stone as the Scripture speaketh For many especially of these unmercifull and oppressing tyrants s y in their hearts God will doe neither good nor evâ—ll Zeph. 1.23 Therefore they put the evill day far from them and approach to the seat of iniquity They are at â—ase in Sion they lye upon beds of I vorie and stretch themselves on their beds and eat the Lambs of the flocke and the calves out of the stall They sing to the sound of the Viol Amoâ— 6.3 9. they invent instruments of musick like David they drink wine in bowles and no man is sorry for the affliction of Joseph that is the troubles of Gods people The Prophet Esay also complaines of these kinde of men Isa 5.12 saying They regard not the work of the Lord neither consider the worke of his hands And another Prophet saith Psal 10.11 They say in their hearts God hath forgot he hides away his face and will never see They are so proud that they seek not for God They thinke alwayes there is no God his Judgements are farre out of their sight their wayes alway prosper and therefore they say in their hearts Tush wee shall never bee moved nor come in danger Theol. You have spoken very well touching the steelinesse and hardnesse of these mens hearts who are so unmercifull to their poore neighbours that almost none can live by them They doe so disturbe and disquiet all things that poore men can dwell in no rest by them Therefore truly saith the wise King A mighty man molesteth all both hireth the foole hires those that passe by but the poore man speaketh with prayers That is by the way of entreaty and supplications For the poore are affraid â—im they quake when they see them as the beasts quake at the roaring of a Lion Many poore Farmers poore Husbandmen poore Herds poore Labourers poore Widowes and Hirelings doeâ— quake and tremble when these greedy Wolves come abroad And as Job saith The poore of the earth hide themselves together For alas Job 24.4 in their hearts they cannot abide the sight of them they had as leeve meet the Divell as meet them for feare of one displeasure or another For either they feare that they will warne them out of their houses or parley about more Rent and straiter covenants or beg away their best kine or borrow their horses or command their carts or require a weeks work of them and never pay them for it or a twelve-months pasture for a couple of Geldings or that they 'le make one quarrell or another unto them one mischiefe or another So that these poore soules cannot tell what to doe or which way to turne them for feare of these cruell Termagants They are even weary of their lives For they have no remedy for these things but even to beare it off with head and shoulders Therefore they often wish they were out of the world and that they were buried quicke They say it any will knock them on the head they will forgive him O most piteous case O lamentable hearing These poore silly creatures are faine to drudge and moile all the yeare long in Winter and Summer in frost and snow in heat and cold to provide their Rents that they may be able to pay their cruell Land-lord at h s day For else how shall they be able to looâ—e him in the face Yet their Rent is so rack't that all they can doe is little enough to pay it and when that is paid alas the poore man and his wife and children have little left to take to or to maintaine themselves withall they are faine to gnaw of a crust to fare hardly and goe tâ—inly clad Sometimes they have victuals and sometimes none The poore children cry for bread Poore widowes also and poore fatherlesse children are found weeping and mourning in their housâ—s and in their streets So that now we may with Solomon Eccl. 4.1 Turne and consider all the oppressions that are wrought under the Sunne We may behold the teares of the oppressed and none comforteth them For the mighty ones doe wrong the weaker even as the stronger beasts doe push and harme the feebler These giuing oppressors doe pinch the poore even to the quicke They pluck away from the fatherlesse widowes that little which they have If there be but a cow or a few sheep left they will have them If there be a little commodity of house or land oh what devices they have to win iâ— in and to wring it away Those tyrants will goe as nigh as the