for this purpose which is this world a place of intertainment and trial for a time which afterward is to be destroied again But yet in creating of this transitorie world which is but a cottage of his own eternal habitation what power what magnificence what majestie hath he shewed What heavens how woonderful hath he created What infinite stars and other lights hath he devised What elements hath he framed And how marvelouslie hath he compast them togither The seas tossing and tumbling without rest and replenished with infinite sorts of fish the rivers running incessantly thorough the earth like veins in the bodie and yet never to be emptie nor overflow the same the earth it selfe so furnished with al varietie of creatures as the hundred part therof is not imploied by man but only remaineth to shew the ful hand and strong arm of the creator And al this as I said was done in an instant with one word onlie and that for the use of a smal time in respect of the eternitie to come What then shal we imagin that the habitation prepared for that eternitie shal be If the cottage of his meanest servant that made onlie for a time to bear off as it were a shower of rain be so princely so gorgeous so magnificent so ful of majestie as we see this world is what must we think that the kings pallace it selfe is appointed for al eternitie for him and his frinds to raign togither We must needs think it to be as great as the power and wisdome of the maker could reach unto to perform and that is incomparable and above al measure infinite The great king Assuerus which raigned in Asia over an hundred twentie and seven provinces to discover his power and riches to his subjects made a feast as the scripture saith in his citie of Susa to al princes states and potentates of his dominions for an hundred and fourscore daies togither Esay the prophet saith that our God and Lord of hosts wil make a solemn banket to al his people upon the hil and mount of heaven and that an harvest banket of fat meats and pure wines And this banket shal be so solemn as the verie Son of God himselfe cheefe Lord of the feast shal be content to gird himselfe and to serve in the same as by his own words he promiseth What maner of banket then shal this be How magnificent How ful of majestie Especiallie seeing it hath not onlie to endure a hundred and fourscore dais as that of Assuerus did but more than a hundred and fourscore millions of ages not served by men as Assuerus feast was but by Angels and the verie Son of God himselfe not to open the power and riches of a hundred twentie and seven provinces but of God himself King of kings and Lord of lords whose power and riches are without end and greater than al his creatures togither can conceive How glorious a banket shal this be then How triumphant a joy of this festival day O miserable and foolish children of men that are born to so rare and singular a dignitie and yet can not be brought to consider love or esteme of the same 8 Other such considerations there be to shew the greatnesse of this felicitie as that if God hath given so many pleasures and comfortable gifts in this life as we see are in the world being a place notwithstanding of banishment a place of sinners a vale of miserie and the time of repenting weeping and wailing what wil he do in the life to come to the just to his frinds in the time of joy and mariage of his Son This was a most forcible consideration with good Saint Augustine who in the secret speech of his soul with God said thus O Lord if thou for this vile bodie of ours give us so great and innumerable benefits from the firmament from the air from the earth from the sea by light by darknes by heat by shadow by dews by showers by windes by rains by birds by fishes by beasts by trees by multitude of herbs variety of plants and by the ministery of al thy creatures O sweet Lord what maner of things how great how good and how innumerable are those which thou hast prepared in our heavenly countrie where we shal see thee face to face If thou do so great things for us in our prison what wilt thou give us in our pallace If thou givest so many things in this world to good evil men togither what hast thou laid up for onlie good men in the world to com If thine enimies frinds togither are so wel provided for in this life what shal thy only frinds receive in the life to come If there be so great solaces in these dais of tears what joy shal there be in that day of mariage If our jail contein so great matters what shal our countrie and kingdome do O my Lord and God thou art a great God And great is the multitude of thy magnificence and sweetnes And as there is no end of thy greatnes nor number of thy wisdome nor measure of thy benignitie so is there neither end number nor measure of thy rewards towards them that love and fight for thee Hitherto Saint Augustine 9 Another way to conjecture of this felicitie is to consider the great promises which God maketh in the scriptures to honor and glorifie man in the life to come Whosoever shal honor me saith God I wil glorifie him And the prophet David as it were complaineth joifullie that Gods frinds were so much honored by him Which he might with much more cause have said if he had lived in the new testament and had heard that promise of Christ wherof I spake before that his servants should sit down and banket and that himselfe would serve and minister unto them in the kingdome of his father What understanding can conceive how great this honor shal be But yet in some part it may be gessed by that he saith that they shal sit in judgement with him and as Saint Paul addeth shal be judges not onlie of men but also of Angels It may also be conjectured by the exceeding great honor which God at certain times hath done to his servants even in this life Wherin notwithstanding they are placed to be dispised and not to be honored What great honor was it that he did to Abraham in the sight of so many kings of the earth as of Pharao Abimelech Melchisedech and the like What honor was that he did to Moises and Aaron in the face of Pharao and al his court by the woonderful signes that they wrought What excessive honor was that he did to holie Iosue when in the sight of al his armie he staied the sun and moone in the midst of the firmament at Iosue his appointment obeing therin as the scripture saith to the voice of
should yeeld a reconing of so much time spent in singing so much in daunsing so much in courting and the like who would not laugh at his accounts But being further asked by his maister what time he bestowed on his marchandise which he sent him for if he should answer none at all nor that he ever thought or studied upon that matter who would not think him woorthie of all shame and punishment And surely with much more shame and confusion shall they stand at the day of judgment who being placed here to so great a busines as is the service of almightie God have notwithstanding neglected the same bestowing their studies labors and cogitations in the vain trifles of this world which is as much from the purpose as if men being placed in a course to run at a golden game of infinit price they should leave their mark and some step aside after flies or fethers in the aire and some other stand still gathering up the dung of the ground And how were these men woorthie trow you to receave so great a reward as was proposed to them 9 Wherfore deer Christian if thou be wise consider thy case while thou hast time follow the Apostles counsel examin thy own works wais deceave not thy self Yet maist thou have grace to reform thy self bicause the day time of life yet remaineth The dreadful night of death wil overtake thee shortly when there wil be no more time of reformation What wil al thy labour and toil in procuring of worldly wealth profit or comfort thee at that hour when it shal be said to thee as Christ said to thy like in the gospel when he was now come to the top of his worldly felicitie Thou foole this night shal they take away thy soul and then who shal have the things which thou hast gotten togither Beleeve me deer brother for I tel thee no untruth one hour bestowed in the service of God wil more comfort thee at that time than an hundred yeeres bestowed in advauncing thy selfe and thy house in the world And if thou mightest feele now the case wherin thy poore hart shal be then for omitting of this thing which it should most have thought upon thou wouldest take from thy sleepe and from thy meat also to recompence thy negligence for the time past The difference betwixt a wise man a foole is this that the one provideth for a mischeef while time serveth but the other when it is too late 10 Resolve thy self therfore good Christian while thou hast time Resolve thy self without delay to take in hand presently and to apply for the time to come the great and weightie busines for which thou wast sent hither which only in deed is weightie and of importance and al others are meere trifles and vanities but only so far forth as they concern this Beleeve not the world which for running awrie in this point is detested by thy saviour and every frend therof pronounced an enimy to him by his Apostle Say at length unto thy saviour I do cōfesse unto thee O Lord I do confesse can not deny that I have not hitherto attended to the thing for which I was created redeemed and placed here by thee I do see my errour I can not dissemble my greevous fault I do thank thee ten thowsand times that thou hast given me the grace to se it while I may yet by thy grace amend it which by thy holy grace I mean to do and without delay to alter my course beseeching thy divine majestie that as thou hast given me this light of understanding to see my danger and this good motion to reform the same so thou wilt continew towards me thy blessed assistance for performance of the same to thy honor and my souls health Amen CHAP. IIII. Of the end of man in particular and of two special things required at his hands in this life HAving spoken of the end of man in general in the former chapter shewed that it is to serve God it seemeth convenient for that the matter is of great and singular importance to treat somwhat more in particular wherin this service of God doth consist that therby a Christian may iudge of himself whether he perform the same or no and consequently whether he do the thing for which he was sent into this world 2 First therfore it is to be understood that the whole service which God requireth at a Christian mans hands in this life consisteth in two things the one to fly evil the other to do good And albeit these two things were required of us also before the coming of Christ as appeareth by Dauid whose cōmandement is general Decline from evil and do good and by Esay the prophet whose words are Leave to do perversly and learn to do wel Yet much more particularly and with far greater reason are they demaunded at the hands of Christian people who by the death and passion of their Redeemer do receave grace and force to be able in some measure to perform these two things which the law did not give albeit it commanded the same 3 But now we being redeemed by Christ receaving from him not only the renewing of the same cōmandement for the performance of these two things but also force and abilitie by his grace wherby we are made somwhat able to do the same we remain more bound therto in reason and dutie than before for that this was the fruit and effect of Christ his holy passion as Saint Peter saith That we being dead to sin should live vnto righteousnes Or as Saint Paul more plainly declareth the same when he saith The grace of God our Saviour hath appeared to al men instructing vs to this end that we renouncing al wickednes and worldly desires should live soberly iustly and godly in this world 4 These two things then are the service of God for which we were sent into this world the one to resist sin the other to folow good works In respect of the first we are called soldiers our life a warfare upon the earth for that as soldiers do alwais lie in wait to resist their enimies so ought we to resist sin and the temptations therof And in respect of the second we are called labourers stewards fermers and the like for that as these men attend diligently to their gain and increase of substance in this life so should we to good works to the glorie of God and benefit of others here in this life 5 These therfore are two special points which a Christian man should meditate upon two special exercises wherin he shuld be occupied two special legs wherupon he must walk in the service of God and finally two wings wherby he must flie and mount up unto a Christian life And whosoever wanteth either of these though he had the other yet can he not ascend to any tru
our happinesse Which Christ also affirmeth when he saith to his father This is life everlasting that men know the tru God and Iesus Christ whom thou hast sent Saint Paul also putteth our felicitie In seeing God face to face And S. Iohn In seeing God as he is And the reason of this is for that al the pleasures and contentations in the world being only sparkles parcels sent out from God they are al contained much more perfectly and excellently in God himselfe than they are in their own natures created as also al the perfections of his creatures are more fully in him than in themselves Wherof it followeth that whosoever is admitted to the vision and presence of God he hath al the goodnes and perfection of creatures in the world united togither and presented unto him at once So that whatsoever deliteth either bodie or soul there he enjoieth it wholy knit up togither as it were in one bundle and with the presence therof is ravished in al parts both of mind and bodie as he cannot imagin think or wish for any joy whatsoever but there he findeth it in his perfection there he findeth al knowledge al wisdom al beautie al riches al nobilitie al goodnes al delite and whatsoever beside either deserveth love and admiration or worketh pleasure or contentation Al the powers of the mind shal be filled with this sight presence fruition of God al the senses of our bodie shal be satisfied God shal be the universal felicitie of al his saints containing in himselfe al particular felicities without end number or measure He shal be a glasse to our eies musik to our ears honie to our mouths most sweet and pleasant balm to our smel he shal be light to our understanding contentation to our wil continuation of eternitie to our memorie In him shal we enjoy al the varietie of times that delite us heer al the beautie of creatures that allure us heer al the plesures and joies that content us heer In this vision of God saith one Doctor we shal know we shal love we shal rejoice we shal praise We shal know the very secrets and judgements of God which are a depth without bottom Also the causes natures beginnings ofsprings and ends of al creatures We shal love incomparablie both God for the infinite causes of love that we see in him and our companions as much as our selves for that we see them as much loved of God as our selves and that also for the same for which we are loved Wherof insueth that our joy shal be without measure both for that we shal have a particular joy for every thing we love in God which are infinite and also for that we shal rejoice at the felicitie of everie one of our companions as much as at our own by that means we shal have so many distinct felicities as we shal have distinct companions in our felicitie which being without number it is no marvel though Christ said Go into the ioy of the Lord. And not let the Lords joy enter into thee for that no one hart created can receive the fulnes and greatnes of this joy Heerof it followeth lastly that we shal praise God without end or wearines with al our hart with al our strength with al our powers with al our parts according as the scripture saith Happie are they that live in thy house O Lord for they shal praise thee eternally without end 13 Of this most blessed vision of God the holie father Saint Austen writeth thus Happie are the clean of hart for they shal see God saith our Savior then is there a vision of God deer brethren which maketh us happie a vision I say which neither eie hath seen in this world nor eare hath heard nor hart conceived A vision that passeth al the beautie of earthly things of gold of silver of woods of fields of sea of air of sun of moon of stars of Angels for that al these things have their beauty from thence We shal see him face to face saith the Apostle And we shal know him as we are known We shal know the power of the Father we shal know the wisdom of the Son we shal know the goodnes of the holie Ghost we shal know the indivisible nature of the most blessed Trinitie And this seeing of the face of God is the joy of angels al saints in heaven This is the reward of life everlasting this is the glorie of blessed spirits their everlasting pleasure their crown of honor their game of felicitie their rich rest their beautiful place their inward and outward joy their divine paradice their heavenly Ierusalem their felicitie of life their fulnes of blisse their eternal joy their peace of God that passeth al understanding This sight of God is the ful beatitude the total glorification of man to see him I say that made both heaven and earth to see him that made thee that redeemed thee that glorified thee For in seeing him thou shal possesse him in possessing him thou shalt love him in loving him thou shalt praise him For he is the inheritance of his people he is the possession of their felicitie he is the reward of their expectation I wil be thy great reward saith he to Abraham O Lord thou art great and therfore no marvel if thou be a great reward The sight and fruition of thee therfore is al our hire al our reward al our joy and felicitie that we expect seeing thou hast said that This is life everlasting to see and know thee our tru God and Iesus Christ whom thou hast sent 14 Having now declared the two general parts of heavenly felicitie the one appertaining to our soul the other to our bodie it is not hard to esteem what excesse of joy both of them joined togither shal work at that happie day of our glorification O joy above al joies passing al joy and without which there is no joy when shal I enter into thee saith Saint Austen when shal I enjoy thee to see my GOD that dwelleth in thee O everlasting kingdome O kingdome of al eternities O light without end O peace of God that passeth al understanding in which the souls of saints do rest with thee And everlasting ioy is upon their heads they possesse ioy and exultation and al pain and sorrow is fled from them O how glorious a kingdome is thine O Lord wherin al saints do raign with thee Adorned with light as with apparel and having crowns of pretious stones on their heads O kingdome of everlasting blisse where thou O Lord the hope of al saints art and the diadem of their perpetual glorie rejoising them on everie side with thy blessed sight In this kingdome of thine there is infinite joy and mirth without sadnes health without sorrow life without labor light without darknes felicity
have little cause to fear it and then proportionably fear it as little surely it were no great pleasure to any of us to be delivered from the hurt therof that doth not hurt us nor from the fear of that wherof we stand in no fear at al. As for the spiritual censure of the church rightly proceeding against any we know it is to be feared indeed of those whom it toucheth But we are long since persuaded that we can so distinguish betwixt these two that we need not take the one for the other Then as touching those further representations of spiritual comfort such as they are which they I grant have mo than we we find no such substance in any of them neither in that they have both sacraments and ceremonies mo than we neither in that themselves alone have al the images and we are utterly void of any but that we may think our selves to be wel alreadie with those that we have although of one sort we have none at al and can further hope likewise that if themselves had no mo than we their inward comfort should be so much the greater For if in the examination of them it should fal out that they have no sufficient groundwork in the word of God as we are sure that they have there no warrant at al then are they but very cold and desperate comforts and never yeeld any sound comfort at al. For though we are not in any dowt but that they are in other respects very il as they are used by them yet now we say no more but this that al things considered we find so little comfort in them that we need not think the want to be great now that we are without them nor that it were any great benefite for to obtain them The benefite that in outward government we should get therby is no more than this that so we should be under the government of the bishop of Rome which how good it should proove I am not able certainly to say But if first we should esteeme therof by reason we may very wel dowt that no one man were able to govern us wel that should rule al the world besides notwithstanding al the under-magistrates that could be appointed and that although some one man could do it by his rare and singular wisdome which notwithstanding were such a thing as never was yet yet that it were in no wise convenient for so many and al the whole to hang upon one and such an one too as might somtime be so weak a man to bear such a burden as that many others under his government might be found much stronger than he Then if we come unto experience and lay before us in what sort he governed us before when as he had us under his government or in what sort he governeth yet those that abide under his obedience whether any thing may be said more hardly or not as yet I say not but surely thus much we may be bold to abide by that in comparison of the government under which we are now it were no very singular benefite to be holpen bak to that other again So for ought that yet appeereth we cannot see that any great benefite could come unto us if we should turn to their profession 2 What inconvenience might come therby is a thing very hard to be fully gathered being so great and so divers withal as in our judgement it seemeth to be Where first of al we cannot like that we should be so much deprived of the scriptures themselves as under them we were partly by the laws that they made against such as should read them otherwise than themselves thought good and partly for that they do so much inhibite al translations in our vulgar toong Which one thing only we take to boad very much il and whatsoever after insueth to come almost only of it For the inconveniences that we are persuaded would come in therby would be as we take it many and great some in matters of religion others as touching our civile estate heer in this life In matters of religion first we dowt that our selves should be much therby corrupted and be occasion to many others to fal to the same corruption likewise then also that on the consciences of many there should be laid over greevous burdens Our selves might be corrupted by their profession two principal wais in the aestimation of Gods goodnes to us and in the performance of our dutie to him The goodnes of God toward us is infinite but now we have to enter no further into the consideration therof than to this present purpose doth appertain And that is only in these two things first in the work of our redemption then in his providence towards us in other matters In the work of our redemption Christ hath both satisfied for us to the justice of God and therwithal himselfe directeth us towards the attaining therof In both these points we dowt very much that by joining with them in their profession we should be found blasphemous to God and very hurtful to our own souls health first in joining and that no further than their selves do either the sufferings or else the good works of any of the saints in heaven or on earth with the sufferings and merits of Christ then by helping our selves unto it by the mediation of angels or saints or by the doctrines of men on earth only so far as themselves do it and not seeking the same alone by the mediation of Christ and by the written word of God For we take the satisfaction of Christ his mediation and word to be such as that no other satisfaction mediation or word can be found any thing meete to be so far matched withal Again we find not that the work of redemption that is wrought in Christ is available to the salvation of any but only of those that so cleave unto it that they utterly renounce al other helps whatsoever they are In the former therfore we see not how it may be avoided but that needes we must be found to have done great dishonor to Christ in the other we are persuaded that we should clean overthrow our own salvation Concerning the providence of God towards us in other matters their profession we fear would lead us somwhat aside and teach us to attribute many of those things that fal out among us to some other than God alone somtimes unto creatures as the angels and saints in heaven or to the power of man on earth and somtimes to a fiction of mans devise as fate or fortune And although we willingly grant that in divers of these they use such limitation withal that it seemeth they would be loth for to go over-far therin yet going but so far as they do in their common profession we see not how we could avoid it but that if we should join with them therin we should be far amisse persuaded in
Wherin although they could never be able either to condemn us or else but to justifie themselves yet is it more than we need to give them and more than we think they use wel when they have it Therfore to cōclude both these points as I said before so say I again that it is no marvel if divers of them think that joining with us they should utterly depart from the church so long as they do wander so far both in determining what the church is and what it is to depart from the same 16 For amendement wherof it must needs be a good and a readie way more truly to learn what the church is indeed and what is the undowted departing from it Concerning the former it shal be needful not onlie to consider what the church is in the whole but also what it is in the several parts that is who are the tru members therof Concerning the whole there is a way which if we take we shal never be able plainly to find out the thing that we seeke yet notwithstanding determin therin the very truth Again there is a way which if we take we shal quikly find that which is not onlie tru in it selfe but also carrieth such a light with it as that easily we shal be able to perceive the truth of the thing that we have in hand The former of these is when as we go about to compas those things that are beyond our reach and cannot come under our capacitie As namely when we labor to finde out the church in heaven either in the secret election of God or in the glorie wherunto it shal come in the end or on earth by the largenes of the bounds which it hath being spred al over the face of the earth For thogh it be very tru that that indeed is the tru church which is chosen from the beginning and which shal be glorified in the end yet are not we able by either of those to finde out who they are For we cannot looke into the secret purpose of God nor in the end it selfe espie the end before it come we must either have better tokens than these or else can we do no good at al. So likewise the earth is so very large that we are not able to reach foorth our knowledge unto the outmost bounds therof and so consequently can never see what faith it is that is there professed nor so much as whether there be any people at al that there inhabit If therfore we should take such a course as that we could not in our conscience set down with our selves that we knew the church until we could get the view of the whole then could we never resolve our selves but must needs remain uncertain so long as we live And in this our adversaries have as it seemeth at the first a just occasion ministred unto them to turn aside their adhaerents eies to the church of Rome being such as for neernes and evident shew that it hath may easily come under our knowledge and for that many others hang therupon carrieth a special credit withal Howbeit althogh they have rightly espied the inconvenience on the one side yet have they not sufficiently holpen the same on the other They see in deed what is the disease but the medicin that they give for the same wil not serve Therfore now concerning that other way that wil serve our turn we have the direction alreadie given as in manie other places of scripture besides so namely by a special place of Christ himselfe at his last going up to Ierusalem a little before the time that he suffered At what time being disposed to leave that point decided unto them before he should leave them he first asked his disciples what opinion others had of him and when that came short what was their own persuasion of him Wherunto when Peter answered in the name of himselfe the rest that they beleeved that he was the Christ the son of the living God he plainly declared that that was the tru profession indeed that it was not an opinion or conceit of mans wisdome but was given unto them from his father in heaven that it was the rok plot of ground wherupon he would build his church that against it the power of hel should never praevail and that by it they should open and shut the kingdome of heaven to al the world setting at libertie from the danger of hel those that beleeved and binding up al others to aeternal perdition In which place we have to consider what is the faith that is so commended and what cōmendation is given unto it But bicause to the praesent purpose that we have in hand we need but the former of these two therfore in the other we need to consider no more but this now that there is so special cōmendation given unto it as that it cannot be but that whosoever are of the same they must needs be of the church indeed The faith it selfe that is there professed resteth in two principal points one that he was the Christ the other that he was the son of the living God Of which two the latter is with so ful consent received of al and so cleer from al maner of dowt among us and every point therunto belonging that it again may for this time be set aside though otherwise in it selfe it be as needful as the other And so to find out what is the sense of the former of them that is that he was the Christ it is as much to say that he was the annointed or that very savior which before was promised unto them In which his annointing there are two things to be considered that he was appointed and made able to be our savior and so consequently appointed and made able to be our preest our prophet and king Our preest to make a ful attonement betwixt God and us to the purchasing of aeternal redemption in him and to the attainment of the same our prophet to teach us whatsoever is expedient for us to know and our king under whom we have to live until by his government he shal bring us thither Out of which we may safely set down and that by the authoritie of Christ himselfe who they are that may be accounted the church of God that is the universal assemblie of those that professe the Son of the virgin Marie to be the promised savior by God himselfe both ordained and enabled to save so manie as do beleeve in him Or if we go more specially to work those that rest in Iesus Christ alone for the whole work of their salvation in his preesthood for the ful satisfaction of the justice of God both to escape hel and to come unto heaven in his doctrine and scepter to bring us unto it So commeth it to passe that whersoever there be any countries or nations that do professe this faith in Christ those must we needs acknowledge