giue them present death it giues them a heart to desire it Elias found himselfe so out of heart when he sate him downe vnder the Iuniper tree in the Wildernesse flying from the furie of Iesabel who sought after his life that he desired in this his melancholly mood that hee might die What despaire then may not that sorrow driue a wretched poore soule into whose griefe is as long as great and as great as it is long Seneca tells vs Melius est semel scindi quam semper premi Better is a short than a lingering death Iob passed ouer many a sorrowfull day and many a mournfull night Dies vacuos noctes laboriosas Companilesse and comfortlesse and his wife thinking it the lesser ill to die out of hand than to liue in such perpetuall torment said vnto him pittying his grieuous paine Benedic Deo morere Play the Renegado once curse God to his face that thou maist oblige him thereby to take away thy life But say that Iobs affliction was great it was not of 38 yeares standing as this poore mans was Eight and thirtie yeares Here we are to consider That this sicke man was at least fiftie yeares old and we may make this coniecture That hee lay in a little carre with his bed vnder him together with such ragges and clouts as were for his necessarie vse Whence it followeth that God had laid this long sickenesse of thirtie eight yeares vpon him for his sinnes as Saint Chrysostome Irenaeus and many other Saints inferre vpon that command which God laid vpon him Noli amplius peccare See thou sinne no more It seemeth that hee had committed these sinnes when he was but twelue yeares old for many times Praeuenit malicia peccatum it so falls out that our wickednes outstrips our age and that wee runne into great sinnes before wee come to great yeares young Youthes beeing herein like vnto Cakes that are baked vpon coles which are burnt before they come to their baking According to that of Osee Factus es Ephraim subcineritius panis qui non reuersatur i. Ephraim is as a Cake on the hearth not turned And this ought to be a warning-piece to those that are old and antient sinners and haue not yet beene questioned for their lewd liues nor neuer felt the lash of Gods wrath They that keepe Lyons vse to whip their young whelpes that they may make the greater Lyons to feare and liue in awe of them Fewer are the faults but more the stripes which the Poore feele a bad signe for the Rich that doe runne ryot Aristotle saith That punishments were inuented for the deterring of men from euill Saint Chrysostome That the marke which God set vpon Cain was not so much for his particular defence as for a forewarning to others and therefore God granted him so long a life that his example might adde terrour to posteritie Some punishments are quickely past ouer and therefore doe not so much good and others are verie profitable by reason of their length continuance Iob saith That God had as it were nailed his shafts on his sides they stucke so close to his ribs Esay and Malachie take their comparison from the Siluer-smith who sits long at his worke Et sedebit constans c. Now God by these his long afflictions punisheth him whom he loueth to the end that the sinner may take warning thereby and learne to feare the Lord Non videbit interitum cuâ— viderit Sapientes morientes i. He shall not see destruction when he shall see that Wisemen die Eight and thirtie yeares According to the common course which God taketh of punishing sinne in this life this of thirtie eight yeares seemeth somewhat too rigorous a correction Vpon this doubt diuers reasons are rendered and one more principall than the rest is That this prolongation was not because God wished him ill or loued him the lesse but because there is not any Medicine that preserues a man more from the plague of vice and of sinne than a long sickenesse Prisons and Fetters saith Vlpianus were not so much inuented for the punishing of disorders as the restraining of them being as a great logge of wood to an vntamed and vnruly Hey far a strap to the fleet Hound or a bridle to a Horse Iob calleth the Gout a paire of Stockes Posuisti in trunco pedem meum Thou puttest my feet in the Stockes and lookest narrowly to all my paths and makest the print thereof in the heeles of my feet And he stiles his dunghill his prison Nunquid Caete ego sum aut Mare quia circumdedisti me in isto carcere Am I a Sea or a Whale-fish that thou keepest me in ward Our Sauiour Christ healing a woman that bowed her bodie so downward to the earth that shee could not looke vp to heauen said Hanc filiaÌ„ Abrahae quam c. Ought not this daughter of Abraham whom Sathan hath bound eighteene yeares be loosed from this bond Salomon compares a Physition to a Iaylor for when God commits a delinquent to his couch causing him there to remaine prisoner hauing fettered as it were his feet to his sheets the Physition lookes vnto him and hath a care that hee stirre not from thence till God releaseth him of his sickenesse Thus did hee deale with this poore man who lay thirtie eight yeres as it were by the heeles vnable to wagge either hanâ— or foot so strangely was he benumm'd in all his limmes Some man will say 〈◊〉 haue a shrewd burning Feuer but this is a more common than proper phrase oâ— speech And the Euangelist corrects it thus Socrus autem Petri tenebatur magâ—â— febribus She had not the Feuer but the Feuer had her Infrenabo te ne interâ—â— With the bridle of Sickenesse he will hold thee backe that thou maist not headlong râ—n down the Rocke that leads to vtter destruction both of bodie soule Homer feignes That the Goddesse Pallas for the loue which she bare to Achilles kept him backe when he would haue encountred with Agamemnon King of the Greekes Dauid gaue thankes to Abigal because he beeing resolued to destroy Nabal and all his house she had withheld him from it Quâ—a prohibuisti me c. So may we likewise giue thankes vnto sickenesse because it detaines vs turns vs aside from the forbidden paths of humane pleasures so that these thirtie eight yeares are so farre from the rigour of Iustice that it is rather an act of mercie and pittie But if we consider these thirtie eight yeares in reason of Iustice it will not seeme rigorous to any He is not to be accounâ—ed an austere seuere Iudge who doth keepe a Delinquent long in prison if when he is in prison hee returne to a relapse in his delicts What hope can a Iudge haue that such a one should proue good being set at liberty or of a theef that shal fal a stealing while he is in prisoÌ„ Now this man
arguments as well against the substance of this Law as against the manner of complying with it that there will be necessarily required great fauour and assistance from Heauen for to make any setled and ful resolution amongst so many sundrie and diuers distractions But in conclusion it is the best and the safest councell to adhere to that which is the surest and not to make any reckoning of that course which is now a dayes held in the World not of that which is in vse but that which ought to bee vsed not so much the practise of the Law as of Religion For if the abuses of the world and traditions of men were to tontiâ—ue in force by pleading of custome by that means made iustifiable they would giue the checkmate stand in competitioÌ„ with the laws of God S. Paul saith writing to the Colossians Let your speech be gratious alwayes and poudred with salt that yee may know how to answer euerie man And S. Ambrose expounding this place saith That the Apostle begs grace of God that he might know how to speake with discretion when time place and occasion shall oblige him thereunto As also when vpon the same termes to hold his peace And this is that which I now desire of God If thy brother shall trespasse against thee Here sinne is put downe in the condition of this obligation For it is a kind of monstrousnesse which wee neuer or seldome ought to see Wee stiling that a monster which comes foorth into the world against the Lawes of Nature And in this sence sinne may be sayd to bee a monster because it is against the Lawes of God Ecclesiasticus sayth That God did not wil any man to sinne nor did allow him any time wherein to sinne but alotted him a life and place wherein to serue him and a time to returne vnto him and to repent as oft as hee should offend his diuine Maiestie but to sinne he neuer gaue him the least leaue in the world Dedit ei locum poenitentia He gaue him a place for repentance sayth the Apostle Saint Paul so likewise sayth Iob. And therefore God hauing made the Heauen the Earth and al that therein is he did not then presently make Hell For if Man had not sinned there had bin no neede of it For where no faults are committed a prison is needlesse The Prophet Esay was verie earnest with God that hee would come downe vpon Earth Oh that thou wouldst breake the Heauens and come downe and that the Mâ—â—â—taines might melt at thy presence c. Hee alludeth to that Historie of Mount Sinay where God descended to giue the Law vnto his people with thundering lightening and fire wherewith he strucke such a feare and terrour into them that the people had great reuerence to the Law And therefore this holy Prophet sayth What would they doe if thou shouldest once againe come amongst them A facie tua montes fluerent The proudest of them all would let fall their plumes and humble themselues at thy feete which are here represented in the word Montes or mountaines And those soules which are now frozen and as cold as yce figured in the word Aquae or waters would gather heat and be set on fire With this desire did the sonne of God descend from the bosome of his father but he bringing that humilitie with him that was able to make the highest mountaines to stoope and to bring downe the proudest heart and fire for to burne and dry vp many waters yet mens brests waxed colder and colder and their soules were more and more swolne with pride The Glorious Apostle Saint Paul writing to the Romans That God made his Sonne our propitiation Whome God hath set foorth to bee a reconciliation through faith in his bloud to declare his righteousnesse by the forgiuenes of the sinnes that are passed c. He did exercise vpon his sonne the seuerest Iustice that euer was or shall be seene againe for the remission of precedent sinnes To the end that Man considering how deere our former wickednesse and forepassed sinnes cost our Sauiour Man should be so affraid of offending that hee should neuer returne to sinne any more Some may happily aske me the question Why the death and passion of our Sauiour beeing so powerfull and effectuall a remedie against all kind of vices whatsoeuer yet sinne still reigneth so much in the World as neuer more Wherunto I answere That vpon the Crosse our Sauiour Christ gaue sentence against all whatsoeuer both present past and those that were to come And depriued the Prince of the World of that Seigniorie which he possessed so that all of them were to suffer death and to haue an end But they did appeale from this sentence of death to the Tribunall of our passions And for that they are such interressed such blind Iudges they haue set these our Vices againe at libertie giuing them licence to worke vs as much if not more harme than they did before So that Gods sending of his sonne into the World and his suffering death for our sinnes did not generally banish all vice but did serue rather to some for their greater condemnation If thy brother shall trespasse In te against thee Saint Augustine expoundeth this In te to be contra te and in this sence it ought to be taken for it is the expresse letter of the former Texts as also of those that follow and generally agreed vpon by all the Doctors The Interlinearie hath it Si te contumelia affecerit Saint Peter anon after askes our Sauiour How oft shall my brother sinne against mee and I shall forgiue him Whereupon Theophilact taking hold of this word Contra me notes That if his brother should sinne against God hee could hardly forgiue him Saint Luke deliuers the same much more plainly and cleerely If thy brother haue trespassed against thee rebuke him if hee repent forgiue him If hee offend thee seuen times a day and seuen times a day shall turne vnto thee forgiue him Hugo Cardinalis hath obserued That if the word In te be the ablatiue case then it is the same with Coram te but if it be the accusatiue then it is all one with Contra te and the Greeke doth admit of no Ablatiues In Leuiticus God had said long before Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thy heart but reprooue him And vpon a second admonition Take vnto thee two witnesses and tell it to the Church Manle doe concur and runne along with this sence no difficultie in the world interposing it selfe The second sence which Saint Augustine also treateth of in the same place is If he shall trespasse against thee that is before thee This opinion Thomas followeth and the greater and better part of the Schoolemen howbeit there are great arguments and strong reasons to the contrarie and many graue Authours to whom this sence doth not seeme so plaine as to ground thereupon any diuine
as a Law Thou shalt hate thy enemie But giue you credit vnto me for I am a true Law giuer It is a hard case that truth should be in lesse esteeme than lying Heauen than Earth the true God than false Gods But though they lie neuer so much at thee to hate thyne enemie I shall neuer leaue beating it into your brests That you loue your enemie Laban when he pursued Iacob came verie eagerly vpon him at the first with a Valet manus mea reddere malum pro malo I am able to returne euill for euil but his courage was quickely cooled with a Caue ne quidquam durius loquaris contra Iacob â—eware thou speake not hardly against Iacob For the God of Iacobs father had charged him to the contrarie Where it is to be noted out of the Text That Laban did not say My God but The God of his father Whence I make this conclusion That if he that doth not take me for his God for Laban was you know an Idolater shall obey my command and not be his owne caruer in his reuenge What ought a Christian to do S Chrysostom seemeth to be much grieued that in matter of iniuries and reuenging of wrongs the World the Flesh and the Deuill should doe more with vs than God to whom onely vengeance belongeth What will not the Purse doe with some with other-some the intreatie of a great Person Dauids souldiers fingers itcht would faine haue set vpon Saul when they had him cub'd vp in the caue but Confregit illos sermonibus He detained them and wan them with good words to let him alone which they did not so much for Gods sake as for Dauids But I say vnto you Many presume so much on themselues that they wil not sticke to suffer martyrdome if occasion should be offered and haue sometime euen sought after it But that poore little valour which they experiment in themselues in matter of suffering and pardoning of iniuries may bewray this their errour vnto them For as Saint Gregorie saith He that shall faint in suffering an iniurie Quid faceret in dolore poenarum What will he doe in the midst of torment can he suffer the straining of the Racke or the rage of fire that cannot indure a hard word or brooke a slight iniurie Symon Metaphrastes reporteth of Sapricius That he would not pardon Nicephorus his enemie no though hee had oftentimes askt him forgiuenesse on his knees He was not long after apprehended in Antiochia for a Christian hee was condemned and carried forth to be martyred and in the way Nicephorus returnes againe to entreat his pardon but could not obtaine it Being brought to the place of martyrdome hee fainted and flew backe causing therewith so great a sorrow in Nicephorus that hee cried out aloud I am a Christian and will die in his place But I say vnto you S. Ambr. expounding that place of S. Paul Datus est mihi c. A Goad was giuen me in the flesh vnderstandeth by this pricke the persecutions of his enemies Carnis meae that is of mine owne Kindred and Countrie And Caietane addeth That this pricke was so necessarie for the Apostles saluation that without it he had beene damned When Saul vnderstood that Dauid had giuen him his life said I know now assuredly that thou shalt raigne ouer Israel And verie well doth that man deserue a Crowne not only here on earth but in heauen who spareth his enemies life But I say vnto you Antiently Lex Talionis was in vse with the Iewes and the Gentiles Oculum pro oculo dentem pro dente An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth And this to many seemed a naturall and iust Law as you may read in Aristotle Aulus Gellius Alexander and others Iulius reporteth That the first of the House of the Cornelij that was burned after his death was Scilla fearing the punishment of this same Lex Talionis for that hee had before pul'd his enemie Marius out of his graue But our Sauiour Christ crossing this Law saith This was the Law of Old An Eye for an Eye and a Tooth for a Tooth but I say vnto you That he that shall strike you on the one cheeke to him shall you turne the other Saint Austen expounding this place obserueth these two things the one That we are to answer an iniurie with two suffrings or a double kind of sufferance and that is to turne the other cheeke The other That to him that shall strike vs on the one cheeke we are to shew him a good countenance not giuing him halfe a face or ill face and this is to turne the other cheeke And Nazianzen addeth That if a man had ten cheekes he should turne them all vnto him But I say vnto you Nothing doth more greeue a Father than to see discord amongst his children Inimicitiae fratrum parentibus graâ—issimae Dauid when news was brought him That Absalon had killed all the Kings sonnes he grieued exceedingly Now if earthly fathers who are but fathers in Law haue so great a feeling thereof What shall God then Ego autem I who feele your hurtes I who loue euerie one of you as if you were all but one I who preferre your wrongs before mine owne and will sooner reuenge them if you loue me I say vnto you Dâ—ligite inimicos vestros Loue your enemies And that this senciblenesse may be the better perceiued two differences are to be noted The one That earthly fathers doe ordinarily loue their children disequally one better than another I know not why nor wherefore but God loueth all alike and maketh as much of one as another Philon asketh the question Why the precepts of the Decalogue speake to euerie one in particular as if they spake only to him alone Thou shalt not sweare Thou shalt not steale c. his answer is That euerie particular person by himselfe is as deere vnto God as all mankind put together And he prooueth it by this That he faith vnto euerie one I am thy God being the God of all The second That earthly fathers loue themselues better than their children but God loues his children better than himself his punishmeÌ„ts are likewise lesse seuere as we may see in Adam and in Caine. Againe in the Law of Matrimonie to marrie with an vnbeleeuing wife doth not dissolue that bond if shee consent not thereunto Non dimittat illam Let him not put her away it is S. Pauls but if she afterwards become an Adulteresse he might be diuorced from her and shee be condemned to be stoned to death Item in that precept Thou shalt not sweare a lawfull oath is not prohibited for composing of differences betwixt neighbour and neighbour and if in matter of profit one man shall exact vpon another and will not forgiue a mite let him assure himselfe that God will loose nothing of his right For three transgressions I will turne saith Amos
Saint Chrysostome In Gloria Saint Luke In Maiestate sua in Patris sanctorum Angelorum Where it is noted by Saint Ambrose That his Maiestie was greater than that of his father Quia Patri inferior videri non poterat For in what place soeuer the Father should be it could not bee presumed that hee should be lesse than his Son but of his Son it might perhaps haue bin presumed otherwise into which errour Arrius did afterwards fall In Maiestate sua c. Our words here want weight and our weake apprehension matter and forme worthie so great a Maiestie In a Prince a Lord and in a Iudge is necessarily required a kind of presence and authoritie beyond other ordinarie men Esay reporteth of his People That seeing a man of a goodly presence and well clad they said vnto him Thou hast rayment be our Prince Nor is this onely necessarie but that his greatnesse and his Maiestie bee euerie way answerable to the largenesse of his Commission and Iurisdiction And therefore our Sauiour Christ being then to shew himselfe a King of Kings and a Lord of Lords and an vniuersall Iudge ouer all persons and ouer all causes since the first beginning of the world to the end thereof his Maiestie must needs be incomparable First In respect of his person whose splendor and brightnesse shall eclipse and darken all the lights of the World At this his comming his glorie at the first I mean of his soule was reserued and hid so that therein they might not see the fearefulnesse of their punishment but in his comming to Iudgement the light of his bodie shall be so shining and so extreamely bright that the Sunne in comparison of it shall seeme as a candle Saint Ambrose calleth the Sunne the Grace of Nature the Ioy of the World the Prince of the Planets the bright Lanterne of the World the Fountaine of Life the Image of God whom for it's beautie so many Nations adored as a God But in that day the Sunne and the Moon it 's Vicegerent whom they call the Queene of Heauen shall be like vnto those lights of the Sheepheards which are hardly to be discerned afarre off Saint Iohn made in his Apocalyps a description of this Maiestie and beautie hee saw the Heauen opened and that a Horseman came forth riding on a white Horse from his eyes flamed forth two Torches of fire from his mouth issued a two edged Sword in his hand he had a Rod of Yron on his head many Crowns and on his thigh a Letter which beeing read spake thus The King of Kings and Lord of Lords Great Armies of Horsemen did attend him all on white Horses This is a figure and Type of our Sauiour Christs comming to Iudgement The white horse is his most holy and vnspotted Humanitie Those flaming Torches of his eyes betoken That all things both great and small shal be laid open to his sight there shall not be any sinne so secret nor any fault so buried vnder ground which shall not appeare at that generall Triall that beeing then to be verified of euery Sinner which God said to Dauid touching his murder and adulterie Thou hast done it secretly but I will doe it in the sight of the Sunne The two edged Sword signifies the finenesse and sharpenesse of the Iudges proceeding and that he is able to cut in sunder the marrow and bones of a Sinner and like a Razor meet with the least haire of euill that shall shew it selfe His Rod of Yron shewes the firmenesse and constancie of his Iudgment which shall not like those white Wands which the Iudges bare before be wrested this way and that way at pleasure Those many Diadems on his head intimate those Crownes that he shall clap on the heads of the Righteous and those that haue done well That glorious Letter of Rex Regum because he shal there shew himselfe to be King of Kings Lord of Lords many Kings of the earth shall haue their knees smitten like Balthazar 's and their hearts throb within them when they stand before his presence expecting their fearefull doome Lastly hee shall come accompanied with many Horsemen on white Horses to shew vnto vs that hee shall bee waited on by all the Court of Heauen Salomon saith Tria sunt quae bene gradiuntur quartum quod foelicitèr incedit Three creatures haue a goodly kind of gate the Sheepe the Lyon and the Cocke but a King whom none can resist carries more state with him than them all Saint Gregorie typifieth this prouerbe to our Sauiour Christ who did gallantly beare himselfe in foure of his most famous mysteries First In that of his Redemption represented in the sheep which is made readie for the Sacrifice Secondly In his Resurrection figured in the Lyon Vicit Leo de Tribu Iuda Whereunto Saint Paul doth attribute our justification Resurrexit propter justificationem nostram Thirdly In his preaching of the Gospell fitly expressed in the Cocke who with his crowing and clapping of his wings awakeneth those that are asleepe in sinne But his comming to judgement which is deciphered vnto vs in his beeing a King doth farre exceed all the rest For many were not bettered by his Death nor his Resurrection nor his Doctrine though these were most pretious Treasures proffered to Mankind because that Age wherein Christ came was an Age of contradiction but in this his comming to judgement that prophecie of Zacharie shall be fulfilled And there shall bee one Lord ouer all the earth and his name shall be one Till then this King shall goe by little and little ouercomming and subduing his enemies but when he shall come in his glorie then shall wee see a most stately triumph and a quiet and peaceable possession and that Stone which Daniel saw loosed and vnfastned from the Mountaine shall then cease to pound and beat into pouder all the Empires and Seigniories of the earth Thou shalâ— breake them like a Potters Vessell In a word in this world while wee liue heere God is not absolutely obâ—yed nor serued by vs as he should bee no not of the Iust themselues and those that are the Elect children of God So doth Saint Austen declare that place of the Canticles Exui me tunica mea quomodo induâ— illa Laui pedes meos quomodo inquinabo illos I haue put off my coat How shall I put it on I haue washed my feet How shall I defile them How is this to be borne withall how is this to be suffered saith this sacred Doctor that the Spouse should vse this libertie with her best Beloued Whereunto he answereth That the Iust do not denie vnto God his entrance into the house of their Soules but the Spouse doth there discouer the resistance which the Soule makes in the behalfe of the Sences at that time when as God calls her vnto him But in the day of Iudgement the Soule shall be no more mis-led by the Sences but
winds blow is suddenly throwne downe and carried away Optimum est gratia stabilire cor It is an excellent thing that the heart be established with grace that when ye shall be set vpon with diuers and sundrie strange Doctrines yee may stand immoouable and not be shaken with euerie vaine blast of wind Signum non dabitur eis nisi signum Ionae A signe shall not bee giuen them but that of Ionus Now Ionas his signe was the death and resurrection of our Sauiour which Austen calls Signum signorum miraculum miraculorum The signe of signes and miracle of miracles And hee that will not benefit himself by that What other miracle or signe can he expect shall doe him good It is much greater than any other vpon earth by how much the harder it is for one to come out of the heart of the earth and to bee restored to life after he is once dead a greater miracle by farre than that of Ionas his being spewed out of the Whales bellie And the said Saint prooueth that our Sauiour Christ is God and man man because hee entred dead into the bowells of the earth and God because hee came forth from thence aliue So that our Sauiour came to grant them much more than they desired For if they desired miracles from Heauen at our Sauiours death there appeared fearefull ones vnto them Athanasius saith That the Sunne was darkened in token that all those great and noble acts which God had done were eclipsed and darkened in this one of our Redemption Theophilact saith That our Sauiour after his Resurrection wrought no more miracles for that to die and rise againe by his own proper power was the vtmost both of his power and miracles Iudaei signum petunt c. The Iewes require a signe the Graecians seeke after wisedome but I preach vnto you the greatest Signe and the greatest Wisedome in the world to wit Christ crucified Eusebius Emisenus dwelleth much vpon Iacobs wrestling with the Angell In which conflict Iacob remaining Victor craueth a blessing of the Conquered And this is mystically meant of our Sauiour who representing himselfe in the shape of an Angell shewed himselfe vpon the Crosse tortured torne and ouercome yet grew thereby more powerfull and more free hearted for to blesse the world No signe shall be giuen them It is not without a mysterie that our Sauior saith No signe shall be giuen For that signe of his death and resurrection hee knew would profit them so little that it was needlesse to giue them any at all Christ treating of his bloud saith by Saint Luke Which for you and for many shall bee poured out And by Saint Mathew Which shall be poured out for all But many shall not take the benefit of this effusion of his bloud Some did wash their stoles in the bloud of the Lambe others said Sanguis eius super nos id est Let his bloud be vpon vs accusing themselues herein to bee guiltie of the shedding of his bloud And amongst the Faithfull there are many of whom Saint Paul saith Reus erit corporis sanguinis Domini who receiuing it vnworthily shall remaine guiltie of this so pretious a Treasure And in another place That they shall incurre great punishment which doe defile this bloud Et sanguinem testamenti pollutum duxerit Signum non dabitur ei nisi signum Ionae No signe shal be giuen them but that of Ionas For the miracle of Christs death and resurrection was not to bee denied to any Saint Thomas protested That he would not beleeue vnlesse hee might see the prints of our Sauiours wounds which being so strange a capitulation and to outward seeming so discourteous a proceeding our Sauiour Christ yeelded vnto his request and made towards him and made shewe thereof vnto him for the signes of our Sauiours death and Crosse were neuer yet denied to any Esay saith And in that day the root of Ishai which shall stand vp for a signe vnto the People the Nations shall seeke vnto it and his rest shall be glorious The Septuagint and Saint Hierome read Et qui stat The root of Iesse that is to say Ille qui stat in signum populorum congregabit profugos Israel dispersos Iuda colligit à quatuor plagi◠terra He shall set vp a signe to the Nations and assemble the dispersed of Israell and gather the scattered of Iuda from all the foure corners of the world Hee borrowes the metaphore from a militarie Ensigne and saith That Christ our Sauior that suffered on the Crosse and died for our sinnes and rose againe for our saluation shall gather together those that are dispersed through the foure corners of the earth Which is all one with that of Saint Iohn who said That he was not only to die for his People Sed vt Filios Dei qui dispersi erant congregaret in vnum But that he might gather together into one the children of God that were dispersed Into one that is into one Church by Faith Signum non dabitur nisi signum Ionae God did not graunt vnto them that which they desired for God will not be propitious in yeelding to our desires when they are to turne to our owne hurt Moses desired that he might see his face but God told him Faciem meam videre non poteris Hee will not giue what thou wilt demand one while because it may cost thee thy life another while because God shall no sooner turne his back but like the children of Israell thou wilt presently fall adoring the golden Calfe Saint Paul did desire freedom from his fetters those torments which hee indured But he was told Thou knowest not what thou askest for Virtus in infirmitate perficitur In a word God doth denie vs many things in his Mercie which he will grant vnto vs in his Anger as the imperfect Author noteth it In corde terrae tribus diebus tribus noctibus In the Heart of the Earth three days and three nights Beda and Euthimius vnderstand by the Heart of the earth the Sepulchre or Graue of our Sauiour Christ. And many of our Commentators make this exposition though others misinterpreting it inferre from thence that our Sauiour Christ did not descend to the lower-most partes of the earth contrarie to that of Saint Paul denying that Article of our Faith Descendit ad inferos Now in that he ascended what is it sayth the same Apostle but that hee had also descended first into the lowest parts of the Earth yet those two interpretations may bee verie well accorded forasmuch as that the Bodie remained in the graue and the Soule descended Vsque ad inferos And for the better proofe hereof it is to bee noted that it is not spoken of any other that dyed saue onely of our Sauiour that hee was in the Heart of the Earth Besides it is an vsuall phrase amongst the Hebrewes to call the Heart
vnto them but they loued Darknesse their Messâ—â— came and they killed him What will the Lord of the Vineyard doe He did direct this question to the repairing of their perdition for as yet they were in the state of saluation And 〈◊〉 they would but haue beene ashamed of that which they had done and repented them of their sinnes hee would haue runne with open armes to haue receiued them into grace Plutarch saith That Loue takes any occasion bee it neuer 〈◊〉 light to doe good vnto him whom he loueth it hath no need of baits snares himselfe beares those baits about him wherewith he is taken for Gods loue neuer takes his leaue of a Sinner Our Lord and Sauiour Iesus Christ remained dead in Mount Caluarie yet for all that did he not forsake vs but he returnes 〈◊〉 hundred times and more intreating and calling vnto vs Be thou instructed ô Ierusalem lest my Soule depart from thee lest I make thee desolate as a land that 〈◊〉 inhabiteth In that generall inundation he repented him of what he had 〈◊〉 and promised neuer to doe so no more Nequaquam vltra There shall bee no 〈◊〉 waters of a floud to destroy all flesh What will the Lord of the Vineyard doe He askes the question What he 〈◊〉 doe and takes councell with himselfe signifying thereby vnto vs That great chastisements require great consideration The Prophet Esay threatning Edom saith He will measure it out with a Line that he may bring it to naught No man doth measure a Building to destroy it the Rule and the Square were ordained for to build I answer Amongst your Artificers here vpon earth it passeth so as thou sayest but he that was that onely Artizan of Heauen dwelt longer vpon the destroying of Niniuie than hee would haue done in building of it Cogitauit Dominus dissipare murum filiae Syon tetendit funiculum The Lord hath determined to destroy the wall of the Daughter of Syon he stretched out a Line he hath not withdrawn his hand from destroying The Lord had a determination to destroy the citie of Ierusalem but first hee tooke a measure thereof as wee say by line and by leisure Rupertus hath noted it that he was seuentie yeres about taking this measure Lastly he askes the question What shall the Lord of the Vineyard doe because to destroy and to kill is to bee vsed where no other meanes will serue the turne After that they had ill intreated his Seruants stoned some slaine other-some and last of all his heire yet euen after all this doth he seeke to make peace with them In the twentieth of Deutronomie God hath commanded That when thou commest neere vnto a citie to fight against it before thou shalt set vpon the same thou shalt offer it peace Abishai besieging Abel a woman cryed out there within Knowst thou not that they spake in the old time saying They should first aske peace of Abel and hence it is said Qui interogant interogent in Abel Why doost thou not first demand Sheba of vs wee shall deliuer Sheba vp into thy hands Quare pracipitas hereditatem Domini Why wilt thou destroy the Lords Inheritance Chrysostome saith That Gods sending of Ionas to preach Yet forty days and Niniuie shall be destroyed was no other but a profering of peace vnto them What shall the Lord of the Vineyard doe All these and other larger proffers God vseth to make to Christendome in generall and to euery one of the Faithfull in particular He hath planted a Church hee hath watred it with his owne bloud and that of the Apostles and Martyrs he hath ploughed and tilled it and sowne it with the seed of his Doctrine he hath affoorded thee strange fauours as riches discretion beautie the dainties of the Earth of the Ayre and of the Sea and all these hast thou made as weapons to offend him Quid faciet Dominus Vinia It is no meruaile that many Christians are worse now in part than the Pharisees were then for in the brests of the Pharisees there was no faith nor no knowledge of Christ which occasioned their sinnes against Christ but the Christians beleeuing in him and adoring him doe not sticke to offend him The Pharisees would not receiue Christ our Sauior Redeemer because then they must haue laid aside their couetousnesse their ambition their hypocrisie dissimulation but they beeing so proud a People would not admit of so humble a God A poore King and rich Vassals doe not sute well together but to beleeue in him and yet not to regard him this is a foule fault among Christians Samaria being subiect to the Assyrians God sent a fearefull scourge amongst them Lyons which euerie where slew them and tore them in pieces The King desiring to repaire this losse sent Priests among them to instruct them in the Law of that Land and to persuade them to the feare of God and to teach them the manner of the God of the Countrie but the Text saith They feared the Lord but serued their Idols withall They offered their Vnderstanding to God but their Will vnto Idolls The like kind of course a great part of Christendome taketh they acknowledge a God but adore Vice and their Faith they thinke shall serue them for a safe Conduct that God may not destroy them in his wrath Beeing herein like vnto your Marshalls men who onely therefore serue the Marshall that they may liue the looser and sinne with more safetie Two mischiefes seeme to threaten such kind of Christians The one That this their Faith may turne to their greater condemnation The other That they may runne the hazard of loosing it By Balaams aduice the King of Moab sent many faire and beautifull women to Gods People to the end to draw on their loue the more but charging them withall that they should not in any hand yeeld to their longings and their lustings vnlesse they would first worship those Idolls which they themselues adored And it so fell out Affection ouer-ruling Religion that many of the Faithfull by this meanes fell away and did linke themselues in marriage with them making little or no scruple of the condition whereunto they were tyed Wee may verie well giue great thankes to our Vices and vnto God who hath so ordred the businesse for vs that though our Vices bring with them vnlawful pleasures and delights yet they doe not bring Idols with them which if they did I feare me that many would echaran la soga tras el Caldero Hurle the rope after the kettle or as we say by way of Prouerbe Fling the helme after the hatchet Aiunt illi Malos male perdet They say vnto him He shall destroy those wicked ones Him in Scripture we call ill who does ill Si ergo vos cum sitis mali nostis bona dare filijs vestris c. Wee dayly pray vnto God to deliuer vs from euill yet sticke not dayly to
precept But leauing this to the Schooles the precept of brotherly correction concurreth with any whatsoeuer heinous â—in or grieuous trespasse whither it be Against thy selfe Against thy neighbour or Against God For to prooue this truth diuers Authors follow these two paths The one That although our Sauior Christ in this his first instance speake of that sinne or trespasse which is committed against my selfe yet by a necessarie kind of consequence he inferreth likewise any sinne that is committed against my Neighbour and against God Against my neighbour because I ought to loue him as my selfe and to bee as sensible of his hurt as of myne owne Against God Because I am bound to prâ—ferre his glorie before myne owne good And if I being wronged God will 〈◊〉 I not onely pardon him but that I also complie with the precept of brotherly correction how much more will he tie me that I should deale â—indly in â—his kind with my brother hee hauing not sinned against me The second part is That this sinning or trespassing whither it be against my Neighbour or against God Thomas saith That I knowing it it is done against me because by scandalizing and proooking of me it doth hurt and offend me And Hadrianus the Lawyer saith That he that sinnes against God sinnes against any whatsoeuer faithfull beleeuer and leaues him iniured and offended For he that wrongs the Father in the Sonnes presence wrongeth also the Sonne and he that wrongeth the Master in the presence of the Seruant wrongeth likewise the Seruant besides Loue which makes things common makes others iniuries ours And if God take those iniuries which are done to thee to be done to himselfe as he said to Saint Paul Why doost thou persecute me And by Zachariâ— He that toucheth you toucheth the apple of myne eye it is not much that thou shouldest reckon those wrongs that are done to God to be done vnto thy selfe The zeale of thy house of thy honor authoritie seeing how the enemies of thy word slight coÌ„temne it consumes my flesh drieth my bones The like loue must make vs sencible of the sins of our neighbor for that they are members of this mysticall bodie of the Church Who is sicke saith Saint Paul and I am 〈◊〉 grieued Either forgiue them this offence or blot me out of the Booke of Life said Moses hauing a fellow feeling of his brethrens faults as had they beene his owne and therefore begs of God that he would either forgiue them or blot him our of the booke of Life Againe Another mans sinne prooues to be my hurt for Gods Iustice punisheth the Righteous with the Sinnefull For the the sinne of Achan there died in Ay three thousand souldiers for the sinnes of the sonnes of Ely Gods people were ouerthrowne by the Philistines and the Arke of the Testament taken captiue for Dauids sinne in numbring the People seuentie thousand of his subiâ—cts perished by the Pestilence By Ionas his disobedience they that went iâ— the same bottome with him were shrewdly indangered the Apostles ranne the like hazard by Iudas Moreouer Sinne is sometimes woont to make the earth barren and to shut vp the windowes of Heauen that they may not send downe any raine to water the drie and thirstie places of the Land and so Sin being a generall hurt to all it is generally done against all If thybrother shall trespasse against thee c. The verie name of a brother is a reason for this Precept for it was condemned in the Leuite and the Priest That they passed by saying their prayers to themselues but tooke no pittie of that poore man that lay almost for dead vpon the way wounded by Theeues Contrarie to that lesson of Ecclesiasticus He gaue euerie man a commandement concerning his Neighbour and a Turke or a Moore may as well bee our neighbour as another And if that housekeeper bee condemned that hath not a care of the Cat or Dog that liues within his doores for al this did S. Paul vnderstand when he said He that prouides not for those of his familie is worse than an Infidell How much more then will God that thou bee carefull of thy brothers health whâ— hath one and the same Father with thee in Heauen and to whom yee both daâ—â—â— say Our Father c. And who hath one and the same mother with thee to wâ—â— the Earth in whose wombe yee were both ingendred and borne anew by Baptisme For three transgressions of Edom saith the Lord and for foure I will 〈◊〉 turne to it because hee did pursue his brother with the sword and did cast off all 〈◊〉 c. Edom was the Metropolis of Idumea and her sinnes beeing come to the number of seuen which in Scripture expresseth a kind of infidelitie God faith I will not turne to it But suppose they were fewer yet some of them it should seem were verie foule ones amongst the rest this of their vnsheathing of their sword against their brother The Idumaeans were descended of Esau as the Iewes were of Iacob And in the conquest of the Land of Promise God commanded his People That they should not doe that hurt to the Idumaean as they had done to the rest of the Nations Quia Frater tuus est Hee is thy brother and thou ougtest to procure his good as thou wouldst thyne owne This benefit by the Idumaeans was repayed to Gods People with a thousand iniuries when the Philistines and those of Tyre ouercame the Israelites as you may read in the second of the Chronicles and the second For the Idumaeans did buy many Iews with intent to make them their slaues Likewise when Gods People had necessarie occasion asking leaue of the Edomites to passe through their Countrie in peace they withstood them with their swords in their hands In a word the enmitie which Esay bare to Iacob for his messe of pottage the blessing that he had stolne from him neither hee nor his posteritie could euer yet digest it though hee and his House had receiued many and those verie good courtesies at the others hands And therefore it is not much that God should condemne an enmitie so antient and so inueterated a hatred especially of one brother against anotheâ— Tell him his fault betweene thee and him alone c. And this is the diuine Law as it appeareth by the Epistle oâ— Saint Paul to the Galathians If a man be fallen by occasion into any fault yee whâ—ch are spirituall restore such a one with the spirit of meekenesse considering thy selfe least thou also be tempted Beare yee one anothers burthen and so fulfill the Law of Christ. And in that of his to Timothie and in that of S. Iames If any of you haue erred fâ—om the truth and some maâ— hath conuerted him Let him know That he which hath conuerted the Sinner from going astray out of his way shall saue a soule from death and shall hide a