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
The means to keepe Sinne from reigning in our mortall Body A SERMON PREACHED AT PAVLS CROSSE May 26. 1629. By William Foster Master of Arts and Parson of Hedgeley in the County of BVCKINGHAM LONDON ¶ Printed by John Haviland 1629. TO THE RIGHT Honourable Robert Lord Dormer Baron of Wing Earle of Caernaruon Lord Lieutenant of the County of Buckingham my very good Lord As also To the right honorable and vertuous Lady the Lady Anna-Sophia Countesse of Caernaruon his most gracious deare and louing Wife Right Honourable I Formerly prouided this Sermon for you in a Country Auditory Your occasions then carried you elsewhere The approbation it receiued from such learned Diuines as hapned to be present made mee settle my thoughts and meditations againe vpon it Those second thoughts and meditations gaue it a new being and that growth that it came from the Country to the City Meeting there with the Presse it presumeth to presse from the City to the Court bearing your Honours name in the forehead For whither could it bee sent more fitly to cry downe the reigning of sinne than to Court where vertue and not sinne should reigne among the Peeres and Nobles of so vertuous and pious a King as wee haue who like the Emperors Theodosius the younger besides his priuate deuotions leauing his Princely sports is an assiduous frequenter of publike prayer and Constantine the Great besides his priuate reading is a great and constant hearer of Sermons the meanes to receiue sacred instructions to keepe sinne from reigning in his mortall body Let mee not be thought then presumptuous if I dedicate this small worke of mine to your Honours to be a Remora to stay you from yeelding to the inchanting allurements of such perdition-working Syrens as are alwayes seducing the fraile nature of man vnto sinne Neither doe I this because I any wayes deeme your Honours prone to follow such or because you want either good precepts or neere examples to follow For my good Lord besides your owne gracious disposition you haue been brought vp at the feet of Gamaliel in the Vniuersitie that hath furnished you with the one you haue those noble Lords your Vncle and Father in Law neere and bright shining Lights to you in the other you haue the daily attendance of such as are able and ready to direct you in both And you right noble Lady as inheritrix of your deceased Lady-mothers vertues are ready to ioyne in the practice of such actions as may bring eternall happinesse to you both But I dedicate these my poore labours to your Honours to encourage you to goe on in what you are For your Lordship well knowes that of the Poet Qui monet vt facias quod jam facis ipse monendo Laudat hortatu comprobat acta suo I deuote them to you as a sure testimonie of my vnfained respect to your Honours and heartie desire that you may be saued in the day of the Lord. For seeing this Sermon such as it then was should haue beene yours before seeing you haue beene graciously pleased to receiue mee for yours since to whom may it more fitly be appropriated than to your Honours So that I may say to each of you with the Poet Hoc lege quod possis dicere jure meum est Censurers I shall haue and doe expect many but I feare or regard none My aime is Gods glory to cast my mite into the Treasurie of the Church for the good of my Country in generall and to testifie my desire of doing your Honours seruice in particular This is the marke I looke at and I shall euer endeuour by Gods grace to hit it The criticall Spectators I passe by without any glance on them I shall neuer care to please them That Archer which lookes on the standers by and not on the marke cannot but misse his aime and that Writer which endeuours to please all shall please none neither God good men nor himselfe But if next to Gods glory and the Churches good your Honours out of your wonted candor will be pleased to accept it I shall attaine my wished scope and shall be encouraged further to shew my selfe Your Honours deuoted Chaplaine and humble seruant to be commanded WILLIAM FOSTER A SERMON PREACHED AT PAVLS Crosse May the 26. 1629. ROM 6. 12. Let not sinne reigne therefore in your mortall bodie that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof IN Adams being we had all our being and in his fall wee all receiued a fall His person being the first infected our humane nature our humane nature being from him infects our persons So that now no man liuing without the brand laid vpon him by S. Iohn of deceiuing himselfe and lying to others can say he is without sinne If we say that we haue no sinne we deceiue our selues and the truth it 〈◊〉 in vs 1 Ioh. 1. 8. Lawne and that the â—â—est hath his bracks Roses and those the sweetest haue their pricks Men and those the best haue their faults S. Iames outstrips S. Iohn and saith that we doe not onely offend all but we offend all many wayes In many things we offend all Iam. 3. 2. The Prophet Dauid though this be alreadie too much for our store augments the store and makes the many sins many many sins so many that we know not how many Who can tell how oft he offendeth Lord cleanse me from my secret faults Psal 19. 12. So that then the righteousnesse of man consisteth not in hauing no sinne for then no man could bee iustified no man could be righteous but it consisteth in mans stout resisting and suppressing of sinne that it reigne not in him and presumptuously get the dominion ouer him and Gods free remission of sin that it bee not imputed vnto him hee condemned for it Dauid therefore prayes against the dominion of sinne that he may be innocent from the great offence and S. Paul exhorts vs to resist and suppresse sinne and his lusts that it reigne not in vs and wee incurre the irreuocable sentence of eternall death for our offence Let not sin reigne therefore in your mortall bodie that yee should obey it in the lusts thereof As if the Apostle had sayd To exhort you to an absolute puritie were to enjoyne you an absolute impossibilitie For there was neuer yet any man altogether pure and without sinne Christ Iesus excepted who was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 both God and man but yet a man need not be all sinne he need not yeeld the powers and faculties of his soule and members of his bodie as instruments of vnrighteousnesse vnto sinne and so let sinne haue his full careere in him and rule and reigne in his mortall bodie but hee may by the grace of God resist sinne and so haue but few and those but vnderling sins and those few vnderling sinnes by the great and superabundant mercie of God in Iesus Christ forgiuen and not
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
kingdome and keepe it from reigning in our mortall bodie Saint Augustine therefore addeth a fourth degree of sinne and that is the vse and custome of sinning The three first degrees of sinne may easily be resisted but if it once come to the fourth and grow to a custome it will hardly if euer be remoued Consâ—â—tâ—dinem vincere dura pugna It is hard to ouerthrow a custome saith the same Father For custome makes the face impudent we blush not to sinne the heart senselesse we feele not our sinne our sinne tyrannous our mortall body is ruled by sinne For though sinne it selfe he a tyrant yet custome will set a sharper edge vpon it Custome is a monstrous tyrant it rules both Church and Common-wealth staâ— pre ratione volum as if it be customes pleasure that it must be so it shall be so Law will not controule it sufferance hath made it aboue all law Saint Augustine in his fourth booke and 24 Chapter De doctrinâ Christianâ tells 〈◊〉 that the people of Casâ—â—ea had an ancient custome once a yeare for certain dayes together to meet and diuide themselues into parts and throw stones one at another the father not sparing the sonne nor the sonne the father Which custome though it were a most barbarous custome and yearely the occasion of the slaughter of many men yet Saint Augustine whom we count the most learned and eloquent of all the Fathers found it an exceeding hard matter to disswade them from their custome â—gi quidum granditèr quantâ—â—â— valui I dealt with them saith â—e with all the might and maine I could But let vs come home to our selues It was taken vp for a custome for Carriers and Drouers to labour themselues and their cattell vpon the Lords day Which custome though it were expresly against the Commandement of God and for aboue sixty yeares together daily cried out against by zealous Preachers in their Pâ—lpits yet it continued and looked the Law in the face till the Parliament made a penall Statute to reforme it And if we should come yet nearer and take a suruey of personall sinnes we shall finde them by custome and habite made as hard to be cast off as locall and nationall sinnes For Consuetudo peccandi tollit sensum peccati in alteram naturam vertitur The custome of sinning quite bereaues vs of all sense and feeling of our sinnes and is changed into another nature The common swearer makes it a matter of nothing to thunder out a multitude of â—oulevgly oathes together nay the more mouth they giue their oathes the more gentleman-like grace they thinke their oathes giue them Like Saint Augustines companions of his youth Tanto gloriantes magis quantâ— sunt turpes magis Glorying in that most whereof if they had any grace they should be ashamed most Nay I haue knowne some whom the custome of swearing hath carried so head-long to sweare that they know not when they sweare so that being reproued for their swearing they would presently sweare they did not sweare The common drunkard whilest he swallowes his liquor is so swallowed himselfe that no remorse for his sinne appeareth in him he puts on a whâ—res face â—â—d refuseth to be ashamed Ierem. 3. 3. He riseth early to pâ—â—ire in strong drinke as Esay speaketh Hee thinkes there is no kindnesse where there is no drunkennesse and makes one drunkennesse a medicine to cure the distemper of another and professeth that nothing but a haire of the same dogge can allay the distemper of his dog-like appetite Oh to what an height of impietie doth euill custome bring men It makes a man Peccare quasi pecucare So to sinne that he degenerates and becomes a beast in his sinne as Iunius obserues I could shew you the like of gluttony and luxurie so that Pope Iulius the third being by his Physitians for his health sake forbidden porke missing it one day at his table gluttony made him reproue his serâ—â—â— and command him to fetch him porke for saith hee I care not what the Physitian saith I will eat porke in dispight of God himselfe And Ioannes à Pisa Archbishop of Beneuentum and the Popes Nâ—â—cio for Veâ—ice wrote a booke and printed it in commendation of that sin that I tremble to name that sin for the reigning of which in Sodome the Lord rained vpon them brimstone and fire from heauen and consumed them But let these examples teach you how hard a thing it is to remoue and alter an euill custome Can the Aethiâ—pian change his skin or the Leopard his spots Euen so may they doe good that are accustomed to doe euill saith the Prophet Ier. 13. 23. O then beloued if you will preuent sinne of his kingdome preuent the custome of sinning so you shall keepe sinne from reigning in your morâ—all body Let not sinne reigne therefore c. But you must remember that I told you that this was but vltimum refugium a last refuge and a last refuge is to be embraced only when our case growes desperate The best and safest way then to suppresse sinne is to deale with him in the first or second degree thereof Nay in the very first â—ustfull motions we must crush this cockatrice in the shell and make out lusts and suggestions like the vntimely fruit of a womâ—n which perishâ—th ere it see the Sunne Psal â—8 7. For lusts are the lawes of sinne and if you would not haue sinne reigne ouer you you must not obey the lawes thereof Therefore saith Saint Paul Let not sinne reigne in your mortall body that you should obey it in the lusts thereof So that as sinne is to be suppressed so his lawes which are his lusts must not be obeyed Obey not the lusts thereof And this leads me by the hand to the second part of my Text that the lawes of sinne must not be obeyed Obey not the lusts thereof 2. Obey not the lusts thereof DRaco the Athenian Law-giuer made such cruell Lawes that Solon abrogated them and Demades the Orator said that Sanguine non atramento scribebantur They were written in bloud not in inke But wee haue more need to abrogate the lawes of sinne and it may be more truly said of Lusts these lawes that they are written in bloud not in inke For lusts the lawes of sinne are not barren lusts but they are teeming and conceiuing lusts Lusts if they be obeyed bring forth sinne and sinne finisheth his worke with nothing but death so saith S. â—ames When lust hath conceiued it bringeth forth sinne and sinne when it is finished bringeth forth death Iam. 1. 15. And S. Paul saith that The wages of sinne is death Rom. 6. 23. Lusts the beginning are deceitfull sinne the progresse hatefull death the conâ—lusion dreadfull For six malis praemissis nunquam colligi potest bona conclusio Out of so ill premises can neuer be gathered a good conclusion Iesus therefore the sonne of
composuum the whole man consisting of both bodie and soule For by a Synecdoche the part is put for the whole The whole man both bodie and soule haue sinne in them working their ruine and destruction therefore the whole man both bodie and soule are to be repaired and we are to labour for their restauration I know there is a great dispute betwixt the bodie and soule each endeuouring to put off the enormitie of sinning to the other The bodie pleads for it selfe that that is but inanimis truncus a dead and senslesse trunke voyd of all action and motion and so could not sinne nor exercise any operation if the soule did not actuate and enforce it The soule that pleads for it selfe that that is purus simplex spiritus a pure and simple spirit voyd of all organs without eyes to behold vanitie without hands to commit folly without feet to follow enormitie and if the bodie did not detaine it as prisoner it would mount aloft to take vp its residence in the place of spirits and therefore the fault of sinning must needs rest on the bodie But the verie truth is that neither the bodie sinnes without the soule nor the soule without the bodie but like Simeon and Leui they are brothers and partners in mischiefe and so tend both to eternall destruction vnlesse we wisely endeuour their timely reparation Peter Martyr in his Commentarie on the fourth booke of the Kings illustrates this by a prettie Simile There was saith he a master of a family that committed the custodie of his Orchard to two seruants one of them lame of his feet and the other blinde The lame seruant being taken with the beautie of the apples told his blinde fellow-seruant that if he enioyed the vse of his limbes and could goe as well as he it should not be long but he would be possessed of some of those apples The blinde seruant said he was as desirous of them as himselfe and if he could but see as well as he they should not rest long vpon the tree In the end they agreed to ioyne together the whole-limb'd blinde man tooke the well-sighted lame man on his shoulders and so hee reached the apples Their master comming and missing his fruit expostulated the matter with them Each framed his excuse The blinde man said he could not haue them for hee could not see so much as the tree they grew on The lame man said he need not be suspected for it was well knowne he could not climbe or stand to reach them But their master perceiuing their craft how they had both ioyned together put them as they were one vpon the shoulders of the other and punished them both together So in verie deed neither the bodie sinnes without the soule nor the soule without the bodie but corporis animique communis est actus saith S. Ambrose It is the common act of both therefore both bodie and soule tend to death and if they be not repaired will fall to vtter ruine and destruction Wherefore as sinne the tyrant must not reigne nor lusts the lawes be obeyed So our mortall bodie his kingdome must not runne to vtter ruine but be repaired corruption must put on incorruption and mortalitie put on immortalitie And the meanes to repaire our mortall bodie is three-fold Viz. 1. Diligent watching 2. Often fasting 3. Zealous praying Fasting that 's good to repaire the bodie that though it be cast downe it may be raised againe and not become a cast-away 1 Cor. 9. 27. Praying that 's good to repaire the soule it consecrates it to God makes the soule the temple and habitation of the euerliuing God Templum mentis amat non marmoris aurea in illo Fundamenta manent fidei Watching that 's good for both bodie and soule By watching we may see and know when the lusts of sinne doe tempt vs and so keepe them off and auoyd them By fasting wee may so tame our bodies that concupiscence shall not delight vs and by praying we shall so rectifie our depraued will and reason that it shall not consent vnto sinne to obey it in the lusts thereof First we must watch that sinne enter not into vs. And here we must doe as is done in besieged cities keepe the strictest watch where the places are weakest and the enemie the most likely to enter The places where sinne would enter are three the heart the mouth and the hands Therefore S. Bernard saith that euery man must keepe a three-fold watch There must be Vigilia 1. Cordis 2. Oris 3. Manus super Cogitationes affectiones Verba Opera A Watch of the Heart Mouth Hands ouer our Thoughts and affections Words and speeches Workes and actions First we must watch ouer our hearts that they be not stained and polluted with euill thoughts For saith our Saâ—iour Out of the heart proceed euill thoughts murders Adulteries fernications thefts false witnesses blasphemies Mat. 15. 19. And the foole said in his heart there is no God Psal 14. 1. The heart saith the Prophet Ieremie is deceitfull aboue all things and desperatly wicked who can know it Ier. 17. 9. It is good therefore to follow the counsell of wise Salomon Keepe thy heart with diligence for out of it issueth life Prou. 4. 23. Secondly we must watch ouer our mouthes that wee speake no euill words For saith our Saâ—iour Christ By thy words thou shalt be iustified and by thy words thou shalt be condemned Matth. 12. 37. And the wicked seruant was condemned out of his owne mouth Luk. 19. 12. For the tongue in vdo est ideo facile labitur saith Saint Augustine is placed in moisture and therefore is apt to runne ouer to our owne destruction Facilè volat ideo facilè violat saith Saint Bernard It runnes glibly and offends quickly Our euill words saith the same Father are like arrowes Leuitèr volant sed grauitèr vnlâ—erant The fly lightly but they wound deeply Saint Gregory in the fifth of his Moralls saith there are three sorts of men viz. 1 Some that let loose both heart and tongue to impietie they trauell with mischiefe in their heart that they may vtter and bring it forth with their tongue Such was Eliphaz the Temanite to Iob Though he knew he should grieue him yet he must speake Who can with-hold himselfe from speaking Iob 4. 2. Such are the proud vngodly men which haue said with our tongue we will preuaile we are they that ought to speake who is Lord ouer vs Psal 12. 4. 2 Some that though their hearts conceiue euill yet they refraine their lips they bridle their tongue from speaking euill 3 Others that keep a watch ouer both heart and tongue that so neare as they can they neither thinke nor speake euill Thus the Prophet Dauid I said I will looke to my waies that I offend not in my tongue Psal 39. 1. I said I will looke
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.