imputed vnto him For as when wee walke abroad in the fields to take the aire ye cannot hinder the Fowles thereof from flying and houering ouer our heads but we may well hinder them from roosting building and making their nests there Euen so as long as wee liue in this vale of miserie clad with these weeds of mortalitie this bodie of ours wee cannot chuse but haue sinne houering vp and downe in vs but we may chuse whether we will let it roost there wee may chuse whether we will let it build and make his nest there to rule and domineere in our mortall bodie therefore the Apostle here in my Text saith Let not sinne therefore reigne in your mortall bodie that you should obey it in the lusts thereof In which Text I shall commend three things to your obseruation 1. Here is a King described by his reigning namely Sinne 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Let not sinne therefore reigne 2. Here are his lawes declared by obeying viz. his lusts 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That you should obey it in the lusts thereof 3. Here is his Kingdome specified by the place where he would reigne viz. your mortall bodie 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in your mortall bodie For Peccatum velut sedem quandam solium regni sui in nostro corpore collocatum habet saith Origen Sinne hath as it were the fear and throne of his kingdome in our mortall bodie In all which there is such an 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and disorder that this Common-wealth cannot stand long 1. The King he is insulting it is Sinne which at first got footing in Adam a little new inspired slime of the earth and by that wound it selfe into all the men of the earth 2. The kingdome that 's decaying it is your perishing mortall bodie which as soone as it hath life and being tends to dissolution and not being Like apples of Sodom a touch turnes it into dust and ashes 3. Lastly the lawes they are vnlawfull they are lusts Quicquid libet licet What it lusteth that it willeth Here is aliud ex alio malum Disorder vpon disorder A wilfull king a rufull kingdome and hatefull lawes S. Paul therefore the Embassadour of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords teacheth vs in my Text how to order this disorder and how to deale with each of these 1. Sinne must be suppressed and kept from reigning Let not sinne reigne therefore 2. Lusts the lawes they must not be obeyed obey it not in the lusts thereof 3. Your mortall bodie the kingdome that must bee repaired and of â—uinate decaying mortall bodies you must make your selues strong and liuely bodies For so it followeth in the verse after my Text. Neither yeeld your members as instruments of vnrighteâ—usnesse vnto sinne but yeeld your selues vnto God as those that are aliue from the dead and your members as instruments of righteousnesse vnto God And of these three in their order And first of sin that he must be suppressed Let not sinne reigne c. Let not sinne reigne therefore IT is the Parable of Iotham in the ninth of Iudges that of all the trees the Bramble that base hedge creeping shrub would needs take vpon it to be King So of all that mans nature is incident vnto sinne that base deprauitie of nature must needs take vpon him to be king and to reigne in our mortall body Nay that will not content him to reigne as a king but he will make hauocke of all like a tyrant For Sin is the greatest tyrant that euer the world had Other tyrants though monstrously raging killed but some persons Nero killed his mother that bare him and his Master Seneca that taught him he burnt the Citie of Rome that was vnder his soueraignty obeyed him but these are but petty slaughters in respect of those which sinne makes For that spares none it killed all those that liued before vs it will kill all vs that are now liuing and all that euer shall be borne after vs. It is good therefore to keepe our selues free-men from being slaues to so hauocke-making a Tyrant Let not sinne reigne therefore in your mortall bodie that you should obey it in the lusts thereof No man would be willing to serue a Master how great a Prince soeuer he were that when his seruant had spent his youthfull yeares cripled his sturdie limbs and wasted his plentifull estate in his seruice and comes for his reward will draw his sword and kill him surely none would be willing to receiue their pay in such crackt coine but sinne dealeth so with vs when we haue yeelded all the powers and faculties of our-soules and the members of our bodies to be commanded by sinne what 's the reward he giues vs but death so saith the Apostle in the last verse of this Chapter The wages of sinne is death but the gift of God is eternall life through Iesus Christ our Lord. Those then which neglect the seruice of God and giue themselues ouer to the tyrannous subiection of sinne are like the perfidious Iewes who reiected Christ the giuer of life and desired Barabas a murderer to be giuen them Matth. 27. 21. Let vs therefore shake off the murthering yoke of sinne and by true and heartie repentance send a messenger of defiance vnto it saying with those citizens in the Gospell Nolumus hunc regnare super nos We will not haue this man we will not haue sinne reigne ouer vs. And as Origen exhorts vnusquisque pessimum regem regnantem in suâ carne depellat Let euery man expell this euill king reigning in his flesh Let not sinne reigne therefore in your mortall bodie Now Kings as the Politickes teach vs doe ordinarily obtaine their rule two wayes either by Succession and so are Kings as it were naturally or Election and so are Kings adoptiuely but this king sinne because he would be sure to be king some way claimes the rule of our mortal body both these wayes both by succession and election But his title of succession hath beene found weake long agoe That indeed shewes his antiquitie how Lucifer begot him when he was cast out of heauen That indeed shewes that hee hath free-hold of inheritance in our mortall body but truly no Lord to command it or King to rule it Elect him not therefore for your King so you shall preuent him of his kingdome so you shall keepe him from reigning in your mortall body Let not sinne reigne therefore in your mortall body And that you may not elect him you must know that as there are three things concurring to the election of a politicall King 1 Nomination 2 Consultation 3 Consent or Approbation So this spirituall King sinne comes to his kingdome by three steps For as S. Gregery obserues there are three degrees in sin 1 Suggestion offered by the Deuill 2 Delight administred by the flesh 3 Consent yeelded by our reason The first
Syrach saith that we must flie from sinne tanquam à facie colubri as from the face of a Serpent for if thou commest too neere 〈◊〉 it will bite thee the teeth thereof are as the teeth of a Lyon â—â—aying the soules of men Ecclus. 21. 2. We must flie from sinne as from the face of a serpent For as in the face of a serpent lieth all the danger because there is the poyson and the teeth so in obeying of lusts which are the faces and first appearings of sin we shall swell with the poyson of sin and be bitten with the teeth of death Or wee must flie from sinne 〈◊〉 from the face of a serpent that is from the heads and first lustfull motions of sinne A serpent hath a head a taile and a bodie Capite immisso totus statim illabitur And if she get her head into a place the whole bodie is so glib and â—ubricke that it will quickly enter in after So in yeelding to lusts which are the heads of sinne the whole bodie of sinne will quickly follow after For lusts the heads of sinne though they seeme small yet they will make no small worke where they enter They are like young rogues who getting their heads in at the windowes creepe in and open the doores for the great theeues to spoile the house For lusts the heads of sinne are not idle heads but like Iesuites heads working mischeeuous heads contriuing treason against the state both of soule and bodie Lusts will hatch sinne sinne will produce death and death will bring a thousand endlesse woes and miseries Now our lusts are many our acts of sinne many and the deaths produced by sinne and the lusts thereof as many Miâ—â—e â—â—dis homines miserâ—s mors â—na fâ—rigâ—â— Death assayes men a thousand wayes But death in generall produced by sinne and his lusts is threefold Viz. Mors 1. Corporis The death of the bodie 2. Anima The death of the soule 3. Corporis anima The death of both 1. The death of the bodie So dead was Laâ—arus Iohn 11. 2. The death of the soule So dead are such widdowes whereof S. Paul speaketh 1 Tim. 5. 6. So dead was hee to whom out Sauiour Christ said Let the dead burie their dead follow thou mee Matth. 8. 22. A strange speech Let the dead burie their dead As if the dead had not as much need to be buried themselues as to burie other dead and as vnable to burie other dead as themselues But our Sauiour Christ meant it of those which followed sinne and not him being via vita veritas The way the life and the truth that they were dead alreadie in their soules that in them as Theophylact speaketh 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 their liuing bodies were nothing else but coffins of their dead carrion stincking soules 3. The death both of bodie and soule So was Diues Luk. 16. He prayed therefore he had a soule Hee had a tongue to be cooled therefore a bodie He was dead therefore dead both in bodie and soule Thus die all they that suffer sinne to reigne in their mortall bodie Nay they are not onely dead but buried while they liue Their sinnes become their graues Tumulusiste mali mores saith S. Ambrose Their throat is an open sepulcher saith the Prophet Dauid Psal 14. 5. Nay they are not onely dead and buried but they are dead and buried and in hell whilst they liue Nobiscum videntur vinere sed sunt in infernâ— saith S. Ambrose They seeme to liue with vs but in verie deed they are in hell For where are presumptuous sinners but where the Deuill is that first presumed to sinne And where is hell but where the Deuill is that was without redemption cast out of Heauen O then my beloued take heed of going on in wickednesse nip sinne in the bud yeeld not obedience to the lusts of sin Lusts are the iawes of sinne and the king reignes where his lawes are obeyed Lusts will goe on to acts acts will goe on to custome custome will goe on to the death and destruction both of bodie and soule For God will wound the hairie scalpe of such as goe on still in their wickednesse Psal 68. 21. The sinner goes on in his sinnes and God goes on to punish their sinnes sinne followes sinne and one death followes another The second death followes the first the death of the bodie begins and the death of both bodie and soule followes after The death of the bodie is cum anima deserit corpus when the soule forsakes the bodie and is by order naturall statutum est omnibus c. It is decreed for all men once to die Heb. 9. 27. The death of the soule is cum animam descrit Deus when God forsakes the soule and is by diuine Iustice iudiciall the soule that sinneth shall die Ezech. 18. 4. The death of both bodie and soule is cum anima à Deo deserta deserit corpus when God forsakes the soule and the soule forsaken of God forsakes the bodie and is by equalitie proportionall For both bodie and soule haue sinned therefore they both die both are punished Qui iâ—â—guntur in culpâ non separantur in poenâ saith S. Cyprian Those that are partners in the fault must also bee partners in the punishment for the fault But yet a man may so die the first that he may escape the other death Hee may so die that he may repaire the ruines of his mortall bodie and not die for euer For as a ruinous house though the wals bee fallen downe and the roofe perished may by reparation be sustained and be made more beautifull than at first so long as the maine and principall posts thereof are kept sound So this mortall bodie of ours though it be ruinous and the fleshy walls falling downe and the thatch of the roofe thereof decaying with hoatie haires yet so long as the principall pillars thereof bee not pulled downe as Samson did the house vpon the Philistins that is so long as the members of our bodie the pillers thereof are not yeelded as instruments of vnrighteousnesse vnto sinne to let sinne reigne but yeelded as those that are aliue from the dead as instruments of righteousnesse vnto God and sinne suppressed wee may repaire this mortall bodie and make it more beautifull than before Corruption putting on incorruption and mortalitie putting on immortalitie death being swallowed vp in victorie O death where is thy sting O hell where is thy victorie 1 Cor. 15. 44 45. And this leads me by the hand to the last part of my text to speake of the kingdome our mortall bodie and the repairing thereof Let not sinne reigne therefore in your mortall bodie 3. In your mortall bodie ANd here by our mortall bodie we must not vnderstand onely our lumpe of flesh part of man but totum
boyling So by withdrawing the vsuall store of food from the body the pride and sustinesse of the flesh is abated 2. It is like the agility nimblenesse of a little bird For as a little bird can easily by flying aloft eschew the snares of the Fowler Frustra enim iacitur rete ante oculos pennatorum In vaine is the snare of the Fowler laid before the bird that can take her wing Prou. 1. 17. But grosse and fat fowles which cannot fly are taken So the minde of a temperate and abstinent man may easily by mounting aloft to heauen vpon the wings of his contemplation eschew the snares of the deceitfull fowler the Deuill whilest those which with swine giue themselues ouer to feeding are carried into a sea of misery 3. It is like the hollownesse or concauity of a musicall instrument For as a Lute or Viall yeeldeth no delightfull and musicall sound vnlesse the belly thereof be hollow and emptie So a man vnlesse his belly be so hollow and emptie that his bones desire not rest yeeldeth no musicall and delightfull harmony of prayers and thanksgiuing in the eares of the Lord. For fasting is not commended of it selfe ex opere operato of the thing done as Chemnitius saith some Papists teach though Bellarmine disauowes the opinion but it is commended ex opere operantis out of the faith and deuotion attending the action Deuout prayers diuine eiaculations and heauenly meditations must accompany our fasting It was a caueat therefore which Saint Hierom gaue to Calantia Caâ—e ne si ieiâ—nare aut abstinere caeperis te pâ—tes esse sanctam Hac enim virtus adiâ—mentâ—m est non perfectio sanctitatis Beware lest if you begin to fast or abstaine you presently thinke your selfe holy For this vertue of abstinence is but the helpe not the perfection of sanctitie We must therefore to suppresse sinne and to keepe it from reigning in our mortall body not only abstain from meat and drinke but from all vice and impiety and exercise our selues in acts of deuotion spend our time in prayer and meditation releeue the needy and performe workes of charity Qui ieiunâ—â—t à cibâ— non abstinent à malo â—â—â—les sunt Diabolo qui non manducat tamen à malo non cessat saith Saint Ambrose They which fast from meat but abstaine not from impietie are like the Deuill who eats neuer but is wicked euer Therefore saith Saint Origen Ieiuna à maliâ— actibus abstine à malis sermonibus contiâ—e te à pesâ—â—â—â—is cogitatioâ—â—bus Fast from euill actions abstaine from vaine speech refraine thy selfe from naughtie cogitations To our watching then we must ioyne fasting and to our fasting we must ioyne deuout prayer and holy meditation and this is the third and the last helpe to repaire our mortall body and to keepe sinne from reigning in it Let not sinne therefore reigne in your mortall body that you should obey it in the lust thereof The first helpe that is watching is the besieging of sinne the second fasting is the disarming of sinne but this last helpe praying is the vtter vanquishing and suppressing of sinne For as Moses lifting vp his hands Israel preuailed against their enemies Exod. 17. 9. So let vs lift vp our hearts and hands to God in humble and heartie prayer and wee shall preuaile against sinne and keepe it from reigning in our mortall bodie The deadly serpent the B. siliske as Isiodorus Hispalensis reporteth is killed by the breath of a Weasell So the breath of a faithfull praying man is able to kill sinne and driue away the old Serpent the Deuill who suggesteth vs to sinne and desires that it should reigne in our mortall bodie I will reduce all for you into three words and so conclude Explora Deplora Implora Explora Let each Christian to keepe sinne from reigning finde out his sinne by watching Deplore Let him driue it out when he hath found it by weeping and fasting Implora Let him desire the gracious assistance of God that he may continue this combat by praying So shall Sinne Hell and Satan be confounded your mortall bodie here be repaired and after death most gloriously be crowned So saith God Be thou faithfull vnto death and I will giue thee a crowne of life Reâ— 2. 10. Thus doing though wee cannot altogether acquit and cleare our selues of sinne yet we shall haue but few sinnes and those few sinnes shall be remissible and pardonable sinnes vnto vs. Not for that they doe merit remission or are so small that they are vnworthy Gods punishment but because remission doth follow such sinnes neither shall they be imputed to vs to our condemnation Herein we shall be happie that our sinnes shall not be imputed vnto vs. For they are not blessed which haue no sinne for then no man could be blessed we are all miserable wretched sinners but saith the Prophet Dauid Blessed is he whose vnrighteousnesse iâ— forgiuen and whose sinne is couered Blessed is the man to whom the Lord imputeth no sinne Psal 32. 1 2. So that all men being sinnerâ— here is the difference betwixt the sinnes of the wicked and the sinnes of the godly The sinnes of the wicked are committed with an high hand they meditate on them in their beds they commit them with all greedinesse they draw sinne with cart-ropes they sinne without repentance therefore their sinnes are peccata regnantia sinnes reigning in their mortall bodie and neuer forgiuen them but death and hell reignes ouer them they die the second death the eternall death the death both of bodie and soule But the sinnes of the godly are committed without meditation through infirmitie they are committed with a reluctancie there 's a combat betwixt the flesh and the Spirit they are resisted by watching they are suppressed and kept vnder by fasting they are cast out by praying they are repented of with repent mee neuer to be repented of therefore their sinnes are 〈…〉 sinnes noâ— reigning in their mortall bodie but by the great mercie of God in Christ Iesus forgiuen and not imputed vnto them so that death hath not full power of them they die the death of the bodie onely the first not the second death and so die in the Lord and die blessedly For blessed are they which die in the Lord euen so saith the Spirit they rest from their labours and their good works follow them Reu. 14. 13. In one word then to conclude all with a true and liuely faith in Christ Iesus resist sinne let it not reigne in your mortall bodie and then you haue done all which is required to your saluation then you shall liue happily die blessedly be rewarded plentifully and possesse Heauen euerlastingly Which God of his infinite mercie grant vnto euerie one of vs. To which God the Father the Creator of all and hater of sinne God the Sonne the Sauiour of all and Redeemer from the punishment of sinne God the Holy Ghost the Sanctifier of all and Purifier from the prauitie of sinne three Persons one only wise God bee ascribed of vs all all honour glorie power dominion might and maiestie now and for euermore AMEN FINIS Errata PAg. 2 lin 15. read and he pag. 16. lin 31. for iawes read lawes pag. 20. in â—argine read câ—ntra 〈◊〉 histor 〈…〉 4. 3. Eusâ—b de vit 〈◊〉 l. 4. â— 33 D. Pridâ—â—ux his Maiesties Professor or Diuinitie in the Vniuersitie of 〈◊〉 The Earle of Pembroke Lord Steward and the Earle of Montgomery Lord Chamberlaine to his Maiesties houshold * D. Williams with others Ouid. Martiâ—â— 1 Ioh. 1. 8. 〈…〉 Psal â—9 12. 〈◊〉 â—9 13. 〈…〉 Origen in Epis ad Rom lib. 5. cap. 6. tom 2. 〈…〉 〈…〉 48. 〈◊〉 9. 25. Rom. 6. v. vlt. 〈◊〉 27. 21. Luke 19. 14. Origen in Epist 〈◊〉 Rom. lib. 5. cap. 6. tom 2. Gregor Mag. Pasâ—or Curae par 3. admon 30. tom 1. 〈…〉 〈…〉 Matth 4. 7. Chrysâ—st hom 5. in opere imper◠〈…〉 Iames 4 7. luâ— Scalig. de Subtil 〈◊〉 181. 〈…〉 Matth. 4. 11. Ephes 6. 16 17. 2 Cor. 11. 14. Greg. Mag. Moral expoâ—it in Iob sib 16. 〈◊〉 in 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Par. 〈◊〉 â—â—en 3. 〈◊〉 contra 〈◊〉 â—â—â—â—tarch in Aâ—â—â—heg regum 〈◊〉 August in Ioan. cap. 11. tract â—9 〈◊〉 9. Aug. in Psal 36. August de doct Christ l. 4 c. 24 tom 3. Idem Ibidem â—â—â—kg Confes l. 2. cap. 3. tom 1. Ierâ—â— 3. 3. 〈…〉 Vergerius in Historiá Spierae Sladanus Surius Crispinus Balâ—us alii Ier. 13 23. Psal 58. 7. 〈◊〉 Gell. Noct. 〈◊〉 lib. 32. c. 18. â—am 1. 15. Rom. 6. 2â— Eccluâ— 21. 2. Procop. in Exod. Iohn 11. 1 Tim. 5. 6. Matth. 8. 22. Theophylact. in 〈◊〉 cap. 7. Luk. 16. 24. 〈◊〉 Luc. 〈◊〉 tom 1. Psal 14. 5. Ambros de Bon. 〈◊〉 c. vit tom 5. Psal 68. 21. Heb. 9. 27. Ezek. 18. 4. August de Ciâ—it Dei lib. 13. cap. 2. Cyprian Epist lib. 1. epist 4. 〈◊〉 16. 29. 〈…〉 Genes 49. 5. Pet. Mart. in 4 Reg c. 4. pag. 215 Ambros de fide 〈◊〉 c. 5. â— Cor. â— 27. 〈◊〉 vtra 〈◊〉 Bernard in Seut Matth. 15. 19. Psal 14. 1. Ierem. 17. 9. Prou. 4. 23. Matth 12 37. Luke 19. 12. August â—n Psal 38. â—om 8. Ber. de 3. custed Bernard Iob 4. 2 Psal 12 4. Gregor expos Moral lib. 5. cap. 12. tom 1. 〈◊〉 39. â— Matth. 12. 32. 〈◊〉 3. 2. 〈◊〉 1 26. 1 Cor. 15. 33. Ambros in Eph. cap. 4. 10. n 3. Matth 26. 37. Prou. 13. 3. Prou. 12. 22. Ephes 4. 29. 〈…〉 〈…〉 〈…〉 Esay 56. 2. 〈…〉 〈…〉 〈…〉 1 Cor. 9. 27. Matth. 17. 21. Basil the 〈…〉 1. 〈◊〉 1. Ambros Exam. lib. 6. c. 4. tom 1. 〈◊〉 â—lia ieiun c. 3. tom 1. Idem Ibidem 〈◊〉 Diat Salut tit 2. c. 6. Opusc tom 2. Chemâ—it Exam. Concil Trident. part 4. Bellar. de Bon. operib in partic lib. 2. cap. 11. Controâ— tom 4. Hieron ad Calant epist 14. tom 1. Ambros in Dâ—m 4. Quadrag tom 5. Origen in Leuit. cap. 16. â—om 10. tom 1. Exod. 17. 9. â—sâ—od Hispal Aeâ—imolog lib. 12. cap. 3. Reuel 2. 10. Psal 32. 1 2 Reuel 14. 13.