to offer to God for escaping the danger of the floud for his mercy comming inter pontem fontem betwixt the bridge and the brooke inter gladium ingulum betwixt the knife and the throate when Abraham lifted vp his hand to haue killed his sonne for escaping the cruelty of Pharaoh when they were brought out of the land of Ham and once a yeere and that was in september g Leu. 23. 42. the Israelits must dwell in tents seuen daies that they might better remember their preseruation in the wildernesse But the Prophet Mulachie may charge vs as well as hee did the Iewes both with the forgetfulnesse of our owne sinnes for they said h Mar. 1. 6. 2. 17. 3. 8. 13. Wherein haue wee blasphemed thee i Wherein haue wee wearied thee k Wherein haue wee spoyled thee l What haue wee spoken against thee as also of Gods blessings for they said m Mal. 1. 2. Wherein hast thou loued vs Wee are like Lâ—ts daughters who quickly put out of their mind as well their owne deliuerance as the destruction of Sodome and when they were gone with their father from Zoar to the mountaine n Gen. 19. 33. committed such incest as they might seeme to haue beene carried to a land where all things were forgotten In this wee resemble Abraham who said the second time of his wife o GeÌ„ 20. 2. shee was his sister as though hee neuer remembred Gods former punishent vpon Pharaoh or his owne deliuerance from danger Surely saith Iacob God is in p Gen. 28. 16. this place and I was not aware and God is among vs and many times takes away his hand from vs whereas hee did hold our noses to the grind-stone and wee are not aware we thinke not of it in extremities wee vow and promise faire but being deliuered wee forget the griefe of our misery and comfort of our deliuerance Gods blessings goe round about earthly men and they are no more moued then the earth which hath the circumference carried about it and it selfe standeth still giue mee leaue to instance in two particular deliuerances one of the body another of the soule first from the gunpouder treason though a match should haue gone to the working of it yet a treason matchlesse for example for it is of the first impression neuer before seene or allowed nameles for vglynes or at least it hath no name adaquatum sufficient to expresse it the name of Legion comes nearest to it q Mar. 5. 9. it had in it so many murderous spirits which cared not though their friends did fall so as their foes might dye withall Which regarded not either safety of the King or of the Countrey of the Queene or of the Prince but would haue swept away both Moses and Aaron Prelate and Potentate Priest and people high and low one with another haue killed the young ones with the damme and haue made Acheldama a field of bloud both of Church and common wealth But when the proud did thus rise vp against vs and the assemblies of wicked men did seeke after our soules r 2 Cor. 1. 9. 10. when wee receiued as the Apostle speaketh of his owne dangers the sentence of death then God who raiseth the dead deliuered vs from so great a death kept all our bones that not one of them was broken he to whom the shieldes of the world belong couered vs and with his fauour compassed vs as with a shield he who standeth about his people as the mountaines stand about Ierusalem deliuered our soules from the lowest graue as for those traytors which willingly drew to sinne against their will were drawne to payne God was terrible out of his holy places they did drinke of the wrath of the King and of the the state which brought them to naught as the rockes repell breake and consume into froath the boysterous waues which beate against them conantia frangere frangunt so let thine enemies perish O Lord but they that loue thy name let them be as the Sunne when it riseth in its might and let the land haue peace Nestâ—rs yeares As Iob spake of his words so say I of this great worke of â— Iob. 19. 24. God in preseruing vs Oh that it were written oh that it were written euen in a booke and grauen with an yron pen in leade or in stone for euer that it might be a signe vnto vs vpon our hands and a remembrance betweene our eyes that it might be bound vpon the heart and goe downe into the bowels of the belly but it is almost forgotten as a dead man out of minde buryed in obliuion as Christ was buryed in the earth and in very deede we deale with all our preseruations They are so many as Salomon did with the brasse of the Temple t 2 King 7. 47. it was so much he weighed it not but if Moses will haue the u Ex. 12. 42. Israelites keepe the night holy in which they were brought out of Aegipt and bids them x Ex. 13. 3. remember that day in which they came out of the house of bondage then remember and keepe holy the day of this deliuerance and say This is the day which the Lord hath made we will reioyce and be glad in it If you be silent rowse vp one another with the fower lepers which being deliuered from death when they were in the middest of it y 2. Kin. 7 9 sayd one to another this is a day of good tydings we doe not well to hold our peace Come to the deliuerance of the soule from the tyranny of Satan the thraldome of finne and the very gulfe of hell for the diuell is a Pharaoh the world is an Aegypt subiection to Satan is a bondage but Christ is our Moses who hauing conquered sinne death and hell hath wrought our deliuerance z 1. Sam. 17 34. when Dauid the youngest sonne of Iesse kept sheepe there came a Lyou and a Beare and tooke a sheepe out of the flocke but he went out after them slue them both and tooke away the sheepe though they rose against him our Sauiour Christ not the youngest but a Rom. 8. 29. first begotten of his brethren is the true shepheard who watcheth ouer his flocke b Luc 2. 8. like the shepheard of Bethlem there came a Loyn c 1. Pet. 5. 8. that roaring Lyon which goeth about seeking to deuour vs and a Bears d Pro. 28. 15. like that hungry beare in the Prouerbes of Salomon and e Dan. 7. 5. like that beare in Daniels vision which deuoured much flesh and tooke not one sheepe but the whole flocke but the shepheard following tooke them out of his mouth As for the bondage and thraldome of sinne by nature it reigneth in our mortall bodyes it hath gotten such a iurisdiction ouer vs as Iulius Caesar had ouer the Senate Perpetuam dictaturam we obey it in the lusts thereof
require by vertue of this precept resteth in the soule you may dissemble with men you may set vp Idols in your heart and conceale it from them for I haue walled in the heart and mans eyes cannot be let into it but deceiue not your selues see you doe it not for I know the Anatomy of the heart and can gage the very bottome of the thoughts your doings are not behind my backe but before mee before my face in my sight I am all eye all hand all eare all foot I see worke heare all and am euery where I view all things as one and each one thing as all being whole together without diuision change or abatement Thus you see the streames into which this fountaine diuides it selfe now come to the waters and drinke raste of euery one as they present themselues in order to your view Wee must haue one God and he must be Dauids God a Ps 31. 14 I said vnto the e Lord thou art my God this God shall be our God vnto death therfore we must 1. loue him aboue all 2. feare him aboue all 3. trust in him aboue all for whatsoeuer we loue feare or trust in most that is a god to vs for the first loue him aboue all our Sauiour Christ said vnto Peter three seuerall times b Ioh. 21. 13. Simon Ioanna louest thou mee that his three-folde confession might wipe away the shame of his three-fold deniall or as Bernard c Mat. 26. 70. saith to teach thee that thou must loue God plus quam tuos tua te more then thy kinred more then thy substance more then thy selfe 1. More then thy kinred Great is the loue of children towards their parents it was a strange thing that Sarah d Gen. 18. 11. old Sarah when it ceased to be with her after the manner of women e 21. 7. should giue children sucke it was as strange that a childe should giue sucke to the parents yet Moses witnesseth the one the French Academy reports the other for when a father was condemned to die of famine his daughter gaue him sucke with her owne breasts which being made known to the Magistrates she obtained pardon for her fathers life here was loue much like the naturall loue of the Storke which feeds the dam when shee is old because the dam did feed her when she was young greater is the loue of parents towards their children magis discendit quā ascendit amor of the children the Poet said filius ante diē patrios inquirit in annos but the parents praied offred to the gods to preserue their children that they might ouer liue them therfore called superstitiosi the child is many times sicke of the father and weeps because his father liues so long whereas the father is ready to dye for sorrow that his child doth dye so soone When Iacob supposed verily that his sonne Ioseph was dead he would not be comforted but said f Gen. 37 35. surely I will goe downe into the grane vnto my sonne mourning and Dauid shewing his fatherly affection when hee heard of the death of Absolon wept as hee went and thus hee said g 2 Sam. 18 33. O my sonne Absolon my sonne my sonne Absolon would God I had died for thee o Absolon my sonne my sonne but this notwithstanding if our parents if our children stand betwixt vs and our God wee must not regard them nay in this case our holy carelesnesse must make them our footsteps God is loue and he that dwelleth in loue dwelleth in God and God in him yet loue it selfe speakes of hate in this respect and exhorts it h Ln. 14. 26 If any man come to me hate not his father and mother and wife and children and brethren and sisters hee can not be my disciple in this case odium in suos is pietas in Deum and if they lye in his way as he is going to God he must tread and trample them vnder his feet for loue vnto God forget his blood as i Gen. 29. 18. Iacob forsooke his kinred for loue he had vnto Rachell This serueth to reproue the father which maketh a God of his child as father Hely did he himself was a good man but his children of disposition vnlike himself the white Halciones hatch black young ones k Esa 5. 2. the vine in Esay brings forth wild grapes these children were young twigs that liked not vnder the old tree weeds that waxed out of measure noysome and fruit vpon which a bad aire falling it did quicklie rotte and fall from the tree and because their cockering father doting on them gaue them but light admonition for heauy sins and small l 1. Sam. 2. 23. 24. 29. rebuke for great offences Why doe you such things for of all this people I heare euill reports of you doe no more my sonnes for it is no good report I heare hee is said to honour his children more then God on the other side it serueth to reproue the child which maketh a god of his father Elisha was somewhat faulty this way who being too much wedded to his parents would first go m 1 King 19. 20. kisse his father and mother when he was called to the seruice of God more blameable was that disciple who being called to follow Christ would stay till his father was dead n Mat. 8. 21 Master suffer me first to goe and bury my father when the matter respecteth faith and religion and seruing of God o Mat. 23. 9 call no man your father vpon earth which should haue superiority ouer your faith or hinder you when God calleth for there is but one your Father which is in heauen 2. Loue God plus quam tua more then thy substance we may roue a riches but God must bee our standing marke Crates otherwise a wise man in this was reckoned but a Philosophicall foole to throw his mony into the sea with these words Ego te mergam ne mergar à te I will drowne thee lest thou shouldest drowne mee The Cappuchines are but Hypocrites who neither take nor touch siluer but start backe when it is offered as p Ex. 4. 3. Moses did from his rodde when it was turned to a serpent the prodigall man is blame-worthy who comming to his wealth before he comes to his wits runneth beyond his pale and liuing without compasse maketh his owne hands his executors and his owne eyes his ouerseers supposing he onely knoweth the value of the world and that others ouerprise it wee may haue riches as the Egyptians had their bondmen for vse onely and vse them as trauellers doe their third legge to helpe them along to their iourneies end but the immoderate loue of them must be left to the heathen which know no other heauen os homini sublime dedit whereas other creatures looke downewards to the ground God hath giuen man a contrary countenance that
out of thy Country and from thy kindred and from thy fathers house and Ioshua n Iosh 24 2 reckoneth this among the great blessings of God that God brought him from thence and o Gen. 11. 31. Terah his father an old man weake and broken hauing no commandement from God to goe with his son which might haue seemed tollerable excuses if he had abode behind yet when he knowes the place accursed for idolatry from which his sonmust depart he beares him company the contagion of spirituall diseases being as the lepers sore dangerous to them that dwell neere it and therefore the holy Ghost p Ier. 51 6. wisheth vs to goe out of Babylon and looking behinde vs see whether wee haue left it vpon our backes Bee not seperated from the company of good men thou maiest participate of their goodnesse as an impe grafted into a stocke participates of the influence and vertue of the roote so that it withers not but waxeth green and greater if there bee Moses and Elias good company good doctrine good example good report make choice of those places and say with Peter q Mat. 17. 4 It is good to bee heere but bee not like the Swine who had rather bee tumbling in the mire then laid in the cleanest places come not neere stinking carrion except thou haue the winde of it But let vs take a little further view of this peoples idolatry and then come to our selues The Egyptians were such as Saint Paul speaketh of r Rō 1 23. They 1 turned the glory of the incorruptible God to the similitude of the image of a corruptible man and 2. of birds and 3. foure-footed beasts and 4. of creeping things 1 Of a corruptible man they deified their King Axis 2 Of birds they worshipped the Hawke and Ebi◠for that he destroyed the serpents which came out of Libia into Egypt very hurtfull to their Country 3 Of foure-footed beasts they worshipped an Oxe a Dogge a Cat and a Swine for the inuention of tillage which he shewed them by rooting vp the ground with his groine 4 Of creeping things they worshipped the Crocodyll and some Ichneumon now called a mouse of Indie who killeth the Crocodyll for when the Crocodyll gapeth he creepeth into his body and eating his bowels slaieth him they had so many gods that a man had need to haue made a Catalogue of them as Vano did of the Romish gods for feare as he said they should stray away It may be this land had not the like variety of images but that here were canonized many new gods both he Saints and she Saints none can deny men thought God could not attend to so many things at once and therefore seuerall offices were committed to seuerall Saints and they dealt out the vertues belonged to God Saint Cornelis was an excellent Saint to keepe men from the falling sicknesse Saint Apolline as excellent to helpe men of the toothach these were not so good for men but other were as good for beasts as Saint Antony for Swine If men did heare that some blocke-idoll did sweate did speake did weepe did smile did shift it selfe from place to place would not their bare feet carry them thither with an offering what repaire was there to our Lady of Walsingam our Lady of Wilsdon the same Lady but distinguished by the place as Baal was a common name to many Idols but distinguished ſ Num. 22. 41. 25. 3. by the high places and hilles wherein it was worshipped but did God bring vs out of this land when it was infected with superstition surely he shewed this fauour to many of our predecessors who counted themselues happy if while those Mariana tempora continued they might goe to Geneua to Strasbourg and other religious places whereas many many which kept their station did sticke ad ignem inclusiue the father with the sonne the husband with the wife the mother with the new borne no not borne infant for in the I le of Garnesye the belly of Perotine Massey bursting asunder by vehemency of the flame the child with which shee was great fell into the fire and eft soone being taken out by one W. House was againe by the censure of the Prouost and Bailiffe cast into the fire so that this child baptized in his owne bloud both at once began and ended a Martyr but God hath shewed a farre greater fauour to vs then to those which auoided the land for many of them might say as Paul of himselfe Night and day t 2 Cor. 11 25. 26. 27. haue I been in the deepe sea in iorneying often in perils of waters in perils of robbers in perils of mine owne nation in perils among the Gentiles in perils in the citty in perils in the wildernesse in perils in the sea in perils among false brethren in wearinesse and painfulnesse in watching often in hunger and thirst in fastings often in cold and nakednesse But we without this trauaile without this trouble without this danger are freed from superstition God hath not brought vs out of an idolatrous land but hath taken idolatry out of the land and we continuing still in our natiue Country he hath cleansed it hauing swept idolatry and superstition from it he cast that Dagon of Rome downe to the ground when in the daies of King Henry the eight the Pope lost his supremacy when that King would sit no longer as in the distinguishing at Paris to pay the minstrels wages when England which before that time was counted the Popes Asse did now cast his rider he cut off his head and his hands when in the daies of King Edward the sixt men might not prostrate themselues before Saints seuerall shrines nor prouoke God with high places nor sacrifice vnto Baalim and burne incense to images but must take away their fornications out of their sight and their adulteries from betweene their breasts onely the stumpe of Dagon is left a few recusants which our mighty King Iames by the helpe of God will sooner cast out then it shall recouer it first wounds those disordered members the Papists are now but as parts of an adder cut asunder which may retaine some life for a time but neuer by the grace of God shall in this land grow into a body againe Now if the Prophet Ieremy blameth the Iewes for that they said not u Ier. 2. 6. Where is the Lord that brought vs vp out of the land of Egypt much more will he condemne our silence if we doe not open our lips and shew forth the praises of God who hath taken the superstition of Egypt out of our land If this was a blessing of God vpon Israell to bee brought out of Egypt because there the Egyptians entitle ◠creatures to the honour of the creator and gaue God for companions not men alone but fowles of the ayre and beasts of the field they then are much to be blamed who being bred and borne and
brought vp in that Country void of idolatry in a Country which burne their images with fire ouerthrow their altars cut downe their groues pluck downe their high places and beaking in peeces the Calfe of Samaria will make no mention of it with ther lips yet leauing this their country conuey themselues into Egypt into places which bringing in Idols put God and his truth out of doores who with a wicked eye hasting to riches and coueting an euill couetousnesse and being desirous to loade themselues with thicke clay or vpon a discontented humour or to get them a name contrary to the commandement of God x Amos 5. 5. seeke Bethell when it is Bethauen enter into Gilgall and goe to Beersheba y Ioh. 4. 9. The Iewes would not meddle with the Samaritaus and this law among them was like the decree of the Persian King that altred not He that eates a Samaritans bread bee as he that eats swines flesh and on the otherside the Samaritans would not conuerse with the Iewes no if one of them had but toucht a Iew he would haue thoughi himselfe the worse till he had throwne himselfe into the water cloathes and all The cleane and the leprous will not dwell together nor the tame beasts keepe with the wilde What shall we say then of such as being separated from idolatrous wine will seeke to ioyne themselues vnto her againe when God is not serued and worshipped aright they forget what Paul taught Timâ—â—â— first by precept a â— Tim. 6. 5 from such separate thy selfe and then by 〈◊〉 when b Act. 19. 8. 9. he departed from Ephesus after the way of God 〈◊〉 spoken off before the multitude c Heb. 11. 24. Moses left Pharaohs Court and had rather wander in the wildernesse then be â—â—conciled to superstitious Egypt then fall againe what shall we say of such as being separated from idolaters will seeke to ioyne themselues to them Paul saith d 1 Cor. 1â— 14. Fly from idolatry then how are they to blame that flye to it to places full of it Which seate themselues there and seing their gaines come in set their hearts at rest and say this is my rest here will I dwell I haue a delight in it to be short if thou now makest thy abode in Idolatrous Egypt which is stained with it owne workes and goes a whoring whit it owne inuentions which boweth it knees vnto Baall and kisseth him with it mouth say not as Peter of an other place e Mat. 17. 4. it is good to be here but f Mat. 9. 5. arise and walke as Christ saith to the palsie man and thinke thou hearest the voice of the Lord speaking to thee as the Bridegrome to the Spouse g Chron. 2 10. 13. Arise my loue my faire one and come thy way if thou art come out of Egypt out of a place where thy fathers worshipped strange gods say not with Hobab h Num. 10. 30. I will againe to my Country and my kinred but thinke thou hearest the vioce of the Lord speaking to thee as Salomon to Pharaohs daughter Forget thine owne people and thy fathers house say not with the Israelites when they are i Ps 45. 10. come to the borders of Caanan k Num. 14 4. wee will returne againe into Egypt but say with Ephraim l Hos 14. 9 what haue we to doe any more with Idols Be not like Orphah who being in her way to Bethlehem m Ru. 1. 15 goeth backe againe to her gods nor like the ships n Ps 107. 26. which goe vp to the heauen and downe agoine to the deepe nor like swine o 1 Pet. 2. 22. which being washed turne againe to the muddle and to the mire Out of the house of bondage Nimrod was a tyrannicall oppressor an oppressing tyrant his cruelty was such that as hated both of God and man it grew into a prouerbe p GeÌ„ 10. 9. Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord hunting hath snares and nets and death at the last but Gaudeto Nimrod vincit te crimine Pharaoh Pharaoh thou hast not walked after Nimrods waies nor done after his his oppression but as though his hunting had been a very little thing â—â—ou hast been more cruell then hee his cruelty was not heard off in the day of thy oppression hee hath not vsed halfe thy tyranny but thou hast exceeded him iustified him comforted him and made his cruelty mercy but when God diâ—â—ee that Israell his first borne was calamitatis fabula infalicitatis tabula that it could not breath from it first crosse in body but it must feele a worse in losse of children the cruell commands did come from the King like Iobs messengers q Iob 1. no sooner one had told his tale but another stepped in r Ps 42. 7. as one departs calleth another then Å¿ Hos 11. 1. out of Egypt God called his sonne t Ps 105. 26. then sent hee Moses his seruant to be a deliuerer to bring Israell out of Egypt u Deu. 4. 20. out of the yron furnace out of miserable slauery out of the house of bondage x Ps 81. 6. then did God withdrawe his shoulder from the burden and his hand did leaue the pots so that the Israelites might say of their former miseries y Ioh. 8. as the Adultresse of her accusers they are all gon The Doctrins are two 1. Many cloudy daies goe ouer the heads of the godly and z Iob 22. 11. abundance of waters couer them 2. a Ps 3. 3. God is the lifter vp of their heads and b 2 Sam. 22 17. drawes them out of many waters God ioynes these two together c Deut. 32. 39. I kill and giue life I wound and I make whole so doth Hannah in her songe d 1 Sam. 2. 6 the Lord killeth and maketh aliue bringeth downe to the graue and raiseth vp and Eliphaz in his reproofe e Iob. 5. 18. 19. he maketh the wound and bindeth it vp he smiteth and his hands make whole he shall deliuer thee in six troubles and in the seuenth the euill shall not touch thee In the first Gods hand is heauy in the second his mercy is plentifull In the first the sun is shadowed with clouds in the second it shineth out bright in the first f Es 8. 17. God turneth his backe vpon Israell and hides his face from the house of Iacob in the second he g Ex. 2. 25. looketh vpon the children of Israell and hath respect vnto them In the first h Ps 10. 1. God standeth farre off in the second i Phil. 4. 5. the Lord is euen at hand But lest I should seeme with Abraham k GeÌ„ 18. 1 to sit still in the tent dore giue me leaue to goe a little further into the house of bondage and make priuy search what I can finde by the going in by the
teeth in all their Cities and scarsenesse of bread in all their habitations yet when God called for a famine on the land and destroyed the prouision of bread Iacob had rather remaine hungry and thirsty and haue his soule faint in him f Gen. 42. 38. then part with Beniamin his sonne to fetâ—â— prouision supposing it would bee to the danger of his life Moses sheweth that when his mother Iochebed was not able to keepe him any longer then three moneths from the tyranny of Pharaoh shee committing him to the prouidence of God g Ex. 2. 3. dawbed an Arke made of reed with slime and pitch and put it into the water not mentioning any thing that Amram his father did in the husines because he was so ouercome with griefe that he could not doe any thing for as luctus loquitur leâ—es ingentse stupent sorrowes in their mediocrities speake but in their extâ—emities are silent so in their mediocrities they worke but in extremities sit downe and let all alone When Agamemnon must offer vp but his daughter Ithigeniâ— only though happily not his only daughter such as was the h Iudg. 11 34. sacrifice of Iphtah the paintâ—r sets him out with his face couered because he could not sufficiently expresse his sorrowfull countenance neyther though the teares stole downe his cheekes could the sighes which brake from the center of his heart be discouered by the map of his looke Therefore when his colours would not serue to expresse that he meant hee shadowed him with a Veyle But so ready were the Iewes to this sinne of Idolatry i 1. Kin. 11. 5. that in honor of Moloch alias Milcon the Idol of the Almmonites they not only cast out one sonne with Abraham expose one sonne â—o danger with Iacob sacrifice one daughter with Agamemnon but k 2. Kin. 23. 10. burned and sacrificed many of their children both sonnes and daughters though they had l Leu. 18. 21. a straight Commandement to the contrary yea and that m Leu. 20. â— 5. vnder a grieuous payne no lesse then death which God would inflict though man should wincke at it and to the end nature might not moue them to compassion when they should heare the pittifull cry of their children they had instruments of Musicke and sounding of Bells to drowne their wofull noyse and lamentation It is a shame for any one to take away that which of right belongeth to another a shame for the father 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to bring vp a Childe with crooked nayles and for a husband to match with a wife that is as light on finger as Asahel on foot n 2 Sam. 2. 18. as light as a wilde Roe yet Rahel not regarding her owne shame the shame that might arise to her father Laban and to her husband Iacob nor the displeasure that she might incur of them both is so adicted to superstition that o Gen. 31. 19. she steales away her fathers Idols To come vnto ourselues a man may say of vs as Saint Paul of the Athenians p Act 17. 23. I perceiue that in all things you are too superstitious What great cost in former times haue great men bestowed in building of Abbeys and Cels of superstition and that in the fat of the land What free liberties did they grant them with how large priuiledge and possessions did they endowe them and though men did not really with the Iewes offer their sonnes and daughters vnto diuels yet did they in very deede delicate them to the seruice of images though with Rahel they did not steale away false gods yet did their Priests steale away the hearts of the people and entring vpon the right of the almighty rob the true God of his honour What pilgrimages did men make farre and nigh to Saintes seuerall shrines when the Bull of Pope Clement 6. giuen out An. 1350. for his yeare of Iubiley bellowed thus No paine of hell shall touch any which for deuotion sake take their Peregrination to the holy City what a number of calues flocked to Rome fiue thousand Peregrines did euery day goe in and out at the gates of the City Neither did this superstition rest onely in the common sort of people but King Henry 2. went on Pilgrimage to Thomas Beckets Tombe Edward the first escaping a danger it was the fall of a mighty stone from a Vawte directly ouer the place where hee sat playing at Chesse with one of his souldiers which place hauing no occasion giuen hee but euen then had voyded in stead of honoring the liuing Lord for his great deliuerance goes on Pilgrimage to our Lady at Walsingham that this hot deuotion in man might not wax colde there was many times a vow made the more to kindle it a vow did set a â—â—tor and ouerseer ouer the will to keepe it from going backe and indeed was an entring into band to performe it such was the vow of Queene Blanch who when Lewes the French King her sonne was sicke as it was thought vnto death vowed in the person of her sonne that if the Lord would visit him with health he should visit his Sepulcher there solemnely giue thankes in the land which hee had sanctified with his bloud But let this suffice to haue spoken of the prone inclination of man to this sinne of Idolatry for loue whereof he spareeth no cost he spareth no trauayle but goes his Pilgrimage to Caunterbury to Yorke to Beuerly to Karligton to Wilsdon yea beyond sea to Compostella to Ierusalem to Rome euen thither should his bare feet carry him with an offring This forwardnes in our predecessors to honor Idols in the time of darknes and blinde ignorance shall condemne our backwardnes for the true seruice of God in these sun-shining dayes of the Gospell they had zeale without knowledge without learning and therefore were blind we haue knowledge without zeale without discretion and therefore are pur-blind they had cause to wring their hands and take vp an howling that they did know so little we haue cause to rent our hearts and q 2. Sam. 13 91. with Tamar clasping our hands vpon our heads to goe to crying to cry as a woman trauailing or as one laboring of her first child because we haue known so much to so little purpose This knowledge is but contristans because wee run with our eyes open to sinne Wee may be ashamed to put on that loose and tattered garment in the day which they with lesse shame did weare in the night Our defects are so much the greater by how much wee haue better meanes to supply our wants r Mat. 11. 20. therefore were the Iewes worse then the Gentiles because these onely transgressed the law of Nature but they the law of Nature of Moses of grace therefore were they worse because they might haue been better This possibility gaue height to their sinne in a word let vs not who haue the bright light of
vnto it as it vnto him hee stumbles the second time at the same stone and though a sonne should not iumpe in euery foot-steppe of his good father and keepe the same pase and turning in all points as hee doth for ego pater meus in the Oeconomicks is no good plea though God registers the sinne of the father not for imitation but admonition of the sonne and though the father repents the ill hee did that the sonne might not doe that which hee repented yet Isaac the sonne of Abraham as though God in setting downe his fathers fall had said tu quoque fac simile treads in his fathers steps though hee did tread too much outward the imitation of his fathers euill did aequall the example or rather exceed it as much as the imitation of his fathers good Gen. 26. 7. came short of the paterne I know the hope of faring well and the danger which Abraham and Isaac foresaw to bee towards them in strange Countries if by this meanes they had not preuented it doth some thing extenuate their fact and may seeme to patronize it but now a dayes there bee diuers wittals who though there bee little hope of profit lesse feare of perill can bee content that their owne bosoms should bee false to them that others like fed Horses as the Prophet speaketh should â—eye after their Ier. 5. 8. Exod. 8. 3. GeÌ„ 49 14. 1 King 22. 11. wiâ—es and croke in their Chambers like the frogs of Aegypt they themselues being but cloakes for the raine while they smother the fault the blessing of Issachar bee vpon them let Zidchiah doe the best hee can for them let these Caffrani still father the craâ—le and with the wood-culuers or filly hedge sparrowes hatch and bring vp that which cuckows lay in their neasts Others of a more honest disposition thinke no iniury on earth can paralell this wrong they thinke this that others should haue the same coniunction with their wiues in wickednesse which they haue in holinesse and by the appointment of God to bee one of the greatest punishments inflicted by God or man by God for it is the first of the two punishments when God did gather his lappe full of plagues to powre vpon Israell for their idolatry Your daughters shal be Hos 4. 13. harlots and your spouses shal be whoors by man for it was the saying of a great man when diuers gaue their verdict what iudgement it were best to execute vpon a notable malefactor brought before them one saying hee should bee whipt at an horse taile an other that he should be hanged no saith hee I will punish him worse then so I will marry him to a whore Men of good minds and such as haue care of their credits thinke that if other men should vse their wiues more familiarly then honesty requireth that if other should gage the vessels and they should drinke the lees that if other should gather the grapes they should gleane the vine that if other should haue the entertainement of husbands with their wiues and they should see the staffe stand at their doores this staine they thinke to be the greatest blemish that might be to their reputation and a reproche which neuer could be put away as the woman for her part doth stomacke the matter when her husband hauing a wise of his owne is sicke of a plurisie And therefore Olympias the mother of Alexander the Great though Gen. 16. 3 Sarah for want of children gaue her seruant Hagar into her husbands bosome wrote vnto her sonne that he should not according to his custome call himselfe the sonne of Iupiter lest in so doing Iuno the wife of Iupiter might enuie her and take displeasure so on the other side the husband especially if hee be iealous cannot digest this villany Iealousie is the rage of a man therefore will hee not spare in the day of vengeance he will Pro. 6. 34. seeke his death that doth abuse his wife and diuorce his wife that takes her pleasure in dalliance with another man now God is a iealous God an husband that cannot abide a partner in his loue and therefore wee cannot wrong him more or dishonour him more then by going aftet other gods and coupling our selues to them nae his name is Iealous and Ex. 34 14. thererefore in any case he cannot away with a Riuall and therefore forsaking all other we must keepe our selues only to him so long as we both shall liue A good wife though her husband be not iealous yet will giue him her hand her heart and her body but if she know him iealous she will not giue him the least cause of suspition either by talking of others or walking with others so the spouse of Christ though her Lord were not a iealous God yet hauing betrothed her self to him and receiued pledges of his loue should delight in him and none other but considering hee is iealous shee should haue a greater care to retaine and keepe all her senses chast to obserue all loyalty and faithfulnesse she should not according to the precept of Moses and promise Ex. 23. 13. of Daaid not so much as make mention of other gods with Ps 16. 4. her lips But making protestation as they in the Psalme that she hath not forgotten the name of her God should reckon other Ps 44. 20. gods such strangers to her as though shee knew not their names neither should they euer bee heard out of her mouth much lesse should she euer come to Gilgall or goe vp to Bethauen desire oakes and chuse gardens bow herselfe and humble her selfe doe shamefully and follow her louers Visiting the sinne of the fathers vpon the children A good man hates iniquity not so much for the danger of it as the indignation but feare keepes backe the bad man when hee foresees the danger if he run into it A galley-slaue fals to rowing for he sees himselfe fast chained and knowes he shall be surely Ex. 8. 8. 10. 17. beaten if he row not Pharaoh becomes somewhat tractable but punishment driues him to it Balaam boweth and giueth NuÌ„ 22. 31. 34. good words but danger is towards him O derunt peccare mali formidine paâ—a As God therefore hath compassion of some so others hee Iude. 22. saues with feare in this place he hath salt in his speach and puts a wedge of yron into knotty wood God will wrestle with the wicked with them and theirs not vsing his right hand of mercy as he did with Iacob when he supported him GeÌ„ 32. 24. but his left hand of iustice as Iacob did with Esau when hee GeÌ„ 25 27. supplanted him and if he punish the posterity of wicked Idolaters how great then and terrible shall their owne destruction be when their issue shall perish thorough their default Visit Almighty God the Bishop of our soules goes his visitation he inquires of faults and
thoroughly sifts them out 1 Pet. 2. 25 then ministers the quantity of the punishment according to the quality of the offence this is the right visitation Among vs are some visitations non morum sed nummorum visitationes But God visits not the purse but visits the sinne he will not spare the poore for pitty nor the rich for bribes hee will not commute the penance or respect any externall thing whither it be comelines of body excellency of wit nobility of stocke antiquity of descent the soule that sinneth shall die and there is Rō 2. 11. no respect of persons The sinne of the Fathers vpon the children Men are dull vpon the spurre and doe not easily bend when God bids them bow therefore God threatneth to extend his rigour to their posterity hee will lay vp the sorrow of the father for his children but Iob. 21. 19. doth this stand with the iustice of God to punish the childe for the fathers offence how then is the Scripture true euery Gal. 6. 5. man shall beare his owne burden how is the prouerbe true euery fat shall stand on his owne bottome if it be so let that prouerbe which was out of date be renewed againe the fathers haue eaten Eze. 18. 2. sowre grapes and the childrens teeth are set on edge The Ciuill law to fetch this point from our first originall saith Partus sequitur ventrem the birth followes the wombe that is the child shall be as the mother if shee be free her child shall bee free though shee marry a bond-man and according to the lawes of the Realme the child shall be as the father but when father and mother are bond both as ours are then there is no question but the children are bond The whelps of wolues though they can doe no hurt with hunting yet already doe sport themselues in biting and delight in bloud the brood of serpents like the disciples of the Pharisees yonger in yeeres Mat. 22. 16 but like in malice are shorter in stature but aequall in poyson and who will blame him that shall kill these whelpes and destroy the young serpents though they haue yet no strength to hurt and cast forth their poyson non prius nati quam damnati And though children being young bring forth no bad fruit in the boughs yet are they infected at the roote but leaue this originall and goe on if the father be a traitor to his Prince doe you maruaile if his children doe smart for it if the husband hath publike notice of his wiues adultry shall hee not giue her a publike discharge shall he smother the fault which shee is not ashamed to set abroach the disease of marriage is adultry and the medecine is deuorcement shall he put away the mother and retaine her children which he knoweth to bee an adulterous generation now God is the husband of his Church he marryed Israell to himselfe but she in ioyning her Hos 4. 12. selfe to Idols went a whoring from vnder her God God therefore Hos 4. 12. Esa 50. 1. forsakes her and giues her a bill of diuorcement and therefore if her children feele the smart God bids them reason the case with their mother and not lay the blame vpon him pleade Hos 2. 2. with your mother with an ingemination pleade with her Againe God may punish the sinne of the parents on the Children yet the cause of punishment may be in themselues as if any being sicke of the plague infect other and they dye euery one of them is said to dye of his owne plague God will not haue this prouerbe vsed in Israell the fathers haue eaten sowre grapes Eze. 18. 3. the Childrens teeth are set on edge but if they eate sowre grapes as their fathers did no maruaile though their teeth be set on edge When God takes away his grace they eate sowre grapes and drinke their owne poyson then are they as shippes cast vpon the rockes dashed in pieces or sunke in the sandes when God not giuing them his grace they want all their tackling then are they as a house which falles of it selfe because God as a Sampson Iud. 16. 29. hath withdrawen the pillers then are they as olde lame men which sinke of themselues when God will not lend them his grace as a staffe to vpholde them This God doth visit the iniquitie of the fathers on their Children not by taking away any thing they had but because he will not supply that they wanted this is no iniustice in God for euery good gift commeth from him grace is his he may giue it to whom hee will he may withold it from whom he please it is lawfull for him to doe with his owne what he list and hee many times withholdes Mat. 20. 15 it from the Childe when he considers the sinne of the father and for that the father ran further and further into wickednes he giues ouer the Children so that they sell themselues to worke wickednes that filling vp the the iniquitie of the fathers they might haue their punishment cast into their bosome And this is that wich Hosee saith concerning Israell because Hos 2. 5. the mother played the harlot and shee that conceiued Hos 4. 13. them did shamefully therefore their daughters shal be harlots that they might be punished for their owne faults but mediately for the sinne of their parents which caused God to giue ouer their of-spring that so they might giue head to their lusts and bring a speedy destruction vpon themselues This must teach both parents and children each of them a seuerall lesson Parents to haue a greater care then other of discharging their duty to God for the neglect hereof brings a plague on themselues and on those which come out of their loynes and if God accomplish not his iudgements assoone as a sinne is committed hee can well worke them vpon the ofspring of such as seeme to haue escaped his hand I haue seene saith Eliphaz the foolish well rooted and suddenly I cursed his habitation saying his Children shall be farre from saluation and they shall be Iob. 5. 3. 4. destroyed in the gate iudgement shall finde out the Children though happely sometime it passe by the father his bloud be on Mat. 27. 25 vs and on our Children say the Iewes to Pylate concerning the bloud of Christ cruenti plane genitores saith Saint Augustine qui ante facti sunt paricide quam parentes O cruell fathers which were paracides before they were parents but though this wish had not been yet this cruell crying sinne had come home to their Childrens doores and been powred into their bosomes Wee haue a prouerbe happy is the Childe when the father goes to the diuell for example the father not so much as rouing at God makes the world his standing marke he neuer thinkes of compassing heauen but as Satan came from compassing the earth to and fro and from
shalt see wee set not so much by the life of the liuing as bones of the dead What an euill sonne then was this Euilmerodach who himselfe would worke that cruelty the like whereof the Barbarians to dye for it would not suffer their enemies so much as to attempt But I proceed The second point of honour required in children is to obey their parents precepts and to suffer themselues to be led and guided by them in matters of marriage men are commonly carried by affections their choise is not so much led by vertue and religion as by gaine or pleasure their flesh sleepeth not while their wines are chufing as Adam slept while his wife was â— Gen. 2. 21 making this makes them like those whom they soone mislike againe and to take wiues as men doe flowers which they cast away when they are once withered but Isaac in matching himselfe is well content to be at his fathers disposition for otherwise f Gen. 24. 3. Abraham had reckoned without his host wheÌ„ he sent his seruant to take a wife vnto his sonne Isaac and the seruant would haue cast a doubt of Isaac as well as of Rebecca but he sayd onely what if the woman will not come with me he makes no question of Isaac for he saw before g Geu 22. 6. how obediently he went with his father to the Altar though he saw no burnt offring he perceiued that he shewed no semblance of dislike though hee saw no reason of the thing commanded Mordecai was not father but in stead of a father to Easter yet being made Queene a Est 2. 20. she was obedient to him that had brought her vp This serueth to reproue First those children which shaking off their fathers yoake slatly deny their obedience Secondly those which promise fayre but are slacke in performing patternes of both these we haue in the Gospell by Saint Mathew for of the two sonnes which the father bids goe worke in his Vineyard b Mat. 21 28. the elder sayd I will not yee afterward he repeuted himselfe and went the younger sayd I will sir yet he went not in the one is a deed without shew in the other a shew without deede worse are they in whom is neither deede nor shew of obedience such were those graceles waggestringes in Terence Clitipho and Clinia of which the first when his father Chremes giues him good counsell to wit that he should not giue himselfe to Wine and women that he should resist the beginning of euill for that by continuance it gathereth more strength and more and will hatch if her eggs in time be not broken O saith he Quam iniqui sunt patres in omnes adolescentes iudices qui aequum esse censent nos iam a pueris ilico nasâ—i senâ—s c. is not this a prety matter that our fathers would haue vs in our dotage before we are past our nonage shall not we take our swinge as well as they did when they were of our yeares the crafty old fox telles me now that I should make vse of other mens harmes ne ille haud sâ—it quam mihi nunâ— surdo narrat fabulam I wis little wots he what a deafe eare I lend to all his talke let him say what he will I will doe as I list here is true patterne of a child past grace to whom truth is vntoothsome because it treadeth downe his owne likeing to him I send other children to schoole but as that cunning Musition who set his schollers to an ignorant and homely minstrell but before hee sent them out he bad them take this lesson with them see you shunne your masters doings the matter of his songs the manner of his playing his lessons his fingring is naught so when you see graceles Clitipho pensiled out vnto you see you follow not his floting iumpe not in his steps he treades too much outward and will not be vnderlayde yet make this vse of such carrions gather hony out of their weedes by their enormities learne to correct your owne otherwise goe ye not after them fashion not your selues like vnto them be not as c 1. Sam 2. 25. Hophni and Phinehas the sonnes of Eli for they obeyed not the voice of their father therefore d 1. 5. 4. 11. the Lord slew them harken rather what Saint Paul saith e Eph. 6. 1. Children obey your parents but hee addeth in the Lord obey your parents in the Lord for parents loose their right to be obeyed when they command against God f Luc. 2. 51 ver 29. Our Sauiour Christ went downe with his parents to Nazareth and was subiect to them but yet preferreth his dutie to God before any dutie to them and therefore he saith g Heb. 12. 9 knew yee not that I must goe about my fathers busines Wee haue fathers of our bodyes and of them we haue esse naturae our being in Nature we haue a father of our spirit and of him wee haue esse gratiae of the one our being of the other our well being both these we call father we obey both so long as they both inioyne the same duties but when they command contraries and he whose sonne thou art by nature will haue superioritie ouer thy faith and lye in thy way as thou art going to God in this case a Mat. 23. 9 call no man your father vpon the earth for their is but one your father which is in heauen now goe from thy father as b Gen. 12. 1 Abraham from his fathers house now c Luc. 14. 26 hate thy father as charitie it selfe doth exhort now let thy holy carelesnes make thy father thy footestep The third thing wherein this honour of children consisteth is in supplying their parents wants if they be in case able to relieue them to raise their fathers out of the dust when they are impouerished and fallen in decay and cannot see the riuers nor the floudes and streames of hony and butter this doth very nature teach for we see that all boughes doe incline and bend themselues toward the roote from which they tooke their originall and more then so in sommer time receiuing from the roote leaues and flowers and fruite doe in winter time let them fall againe to the fatting and nourishing of the roote The Storkes and Pliny writeth the same of the birds Meropes doe feed their dammes when they are old because their dammes did feed them when they were young if Nature worketh thus in creatures which haue life without sense and sense without reason shall not Nature and grace doe the like in children which besides life and sense haue a reasonable soule The good nature of Ioseph shall be remembred to his great commendation d Gen â—6 29. 31. who after that for honours sake he had gone to meete his father comming into Egyt had his next care that hee might dwell in the land of Goshen the fatt of the
Countrey and the naturall affection of that daughter shall not be forgotten who seeing her father had his iudgement to be famished and that none might be suffred to bring him meate did giue him sucke with her owne breasts On the other side to blame were the Iewes who disanulled this law for it is written in their Talmud a man is bound to honour his father and mother vnlesse he did vow the contrary and accordingly Hubaldus as Gratian noteth in the decretals would not helpe his mother in her neede for he had vowed he would not too blame were the scribes and Pharisees whom our Sauiour Christ reproueth for this that they dispensed with children which neglected their parents though they stood in need of their supportation so as they would giue as they vse to say to the Church e Mar. 7. 11 as though the commandement did not rather driue them to their parents care then to the Priests Corban In a word to blame are all such children as being fat vpon earth and seeing their Tabernacles to florish are ashamed of their parents when they are filled with pouertie when Opus and Vsus knocks at their doores when they are brought to a morsell of bread and drinking of the beggars dish tast the smart of needy want which without all pittie and compassion will suffer them still to goe to the fountaine for their best cellar to the ground for their bed to the gate for their bread to the brokers shop or I know not whose wardrob for cloathes to couer the nakednes of their bodyes these I say because they will not raise their parents out of the dust and lift them vp from the dung-hill run into the breach of this commandement honour thy father and thy mother The mother is the weaker sex and commonly most doteth vpon her children which maketh her looke for lesse honour and them lesse to esteeme her therefore there is expresse mention made of the mother honour thy mother and f Deu. 21. 18. Moses speaketh of harkening both to the voyce of the father and voyce of the mother to shew it is as well the mothers dutie to instruct her children as it is the childrens part to submit themselues as well to the one as to the other nay more then so in Leuitiâ—us the mother hath the Bedels seniority and though she be the iunior yet hath the first place g Leu. 19. 3 yee shall feare euery man his mother and his father that none might take exceptions against his mother or thinke himselfe exempted from her iurisdiction This serueth to reproue such sonnes as being without naturall affection are ready to hold their mothers short when the Church-yard hath the length of their fathers bodyes such as empayring their mothers true titles are ready to turne them out of doores such beastes are like young Kites who when their dammes haue hatcht them taken payne and gone about the campe with much danger to bring them meate to feede them doe not withstanding when they are growne strong beate them with their wings will not suffer them to eate of their prey but with their bill and with their wings expell them from their nest I neede not speake here against Parricides there are few Christians growne so barbarous except some moth which destroyes the cloth wherein it bred or some few vermin which eate into the flesh wherof they came or some Salamander which being a long while nourished in the sire at last quencheth it or some worme which being bred at the foote of the tree and growing with it at last killes it or some frozen snake in Aesop which intoxicateth and infecteth him with poyson who warmed her in his bosome such a monster in nature was Nero who caused his owne mother Agrippina to be slaine and ript open that he might see the place where he lay in her little better were the Bactrians among whom was such in humanitie that when there parents were sicke or old they threw them to dogges to teare them in peeces Caspij a people in Tartâ—â—iâ— nourished dogges of purpose to doe the like peece of seruice here in England in the daies of persecution I know not whether I should more cry out of the cruelty of the persecutors in commanding children to set fire to their parents which in the reigne of Henry the 7. 1506. one Ioane Clarke the only daughter of William Tilsworth and afterward the children of Iohn Scriâ—ener were enioyned to doe with their owne hands or of the vnnaturall fact of the children in obeying this cruell command Iacobs children though they were not guilty of this sinne by committing the fact yet might haue been somewhat charged with it for omitting that comfort which they might haue miâ—istred to their father for when Iacob saw his sonne Iosephs â—aâ—ti-coloured coate all imbrued with bloud he was euen at deaths doore and sayd a Gen. 37. 33. it is my sonnes coate a wicked beast hath deuoured him Ioseph is surely torne in peeces whereupon hee rent his clothes put sackcloth about his loynes would goe downe into the graue vnto his sonne mourning and mourne for him as long as he liued yet none of them sayd be of good cheere thy sonne Ioseph liueth this coate was but dipped in the bloud of a Kid the worst that hath befallen thy son is this he is solde to the Ishmalites but nature it selfe doth so much abhorre the sin of parricide that me thinkes I haue a Supersedeas to meddle no more with it If you would know the reason why children run into the breach of this CoÌ„madement is the turning of the coÌ„mandement topsie turuy for therefore the sonne doth not honour his father because the father doth honour his son that is doth not correct them but cocker them for therefore is b 1. Sam. 2. 29. Ely said to honour his sonnes because he gaue them but light rebukes for heauie sinnes and the quantitie of the punnishment was not answereable to the qualitie of the offence c Heb. 12. 9 wee haue had the fathers of our bodyes saith the Apostle which corrected vs and we gaue them reuerence first he speaketh of correction and then of reuerence as though reuerence would not follow except correction as an vsher did goe before it what was it that caused Adoniah to deale so treacherously with his father as to vsurpe the Kingdome but this d 1. Kin. 1. 5. 6. his father would not displease him from his childhood to say why hast thou done so will you keepe meate well sauoured yet will yee neur salt it will you haue sprigges sprout well and yet will yee neuer loppe them can children haue list in age to liue as they should and yet you giue them libertie in youth to liue as they list cast away correction the childe becommeth rude as e Ex. 4 3. Moses rodde cast from him turned to aserpent but bring it forth it makes him bring forth good fruite as f
it be in an halter and therefore the Lord compareth those whom he corrects not vnto bastards If yee be without Heb. 12. 8. correction then are yee bastards and not sonnes besides all this the Iewish law doth not allow such children the same priuiledges which it doth those which are lawfully begotten for first they were not called to places of publicke gouernement either in Church or common wealth and secondly they were excluded from inheritance and therefore when Iphthas brethren were come to age they thrust out Iphtah the onely base borne in the Scripture which wee reade of came to good and hee is set downe lest bastards should despaire and none but he lest parents should presume and said vnto him thou shalt not inherit in Iud 11. 2. our fathers house for thou art the sonne of a strange woman A wise traueler when he cometh to his Inne though many plesant dishes be presented to his sight yet he forbeareth them in consideration of the price we are here trauelers towards Ierusalem which is aboue this world is but a baiting place to goe to another here the harlot saith as in the Prouerbes I haue Peace offrings meate at home to make good chere I haue decked Pro. 7. 14 my bed with ornaments c. Come let vs take our fill of loue vntill the morning let vs take our pleasure in dalliance all this founds well but taste of her cates and delicates and how hard is the reckoning the body must pay for it for howsoeuer Dalilah speakes faire yet in the end shee bereaues Sampson of Iud. 16. 19. his strenghth of his sight and of himselfe and yet the shot is not paide but thy soule must goe to the reckoning for thou postest to hell on the backe of vnciuill pleasures if thou thinkest that now all is discharged thou reckonest without thy host and therefore must reckon twice thy goods must goe to the paiment This sinne maketh euen the couetous man prodigall as thy goods so thy good name must make vp the shot when thou thinkest all is discharged there comes an after reckoning and thy posterity must pay it thy bastardly generation the children wich are not yet fashioned in their mothers wombe I had rather want a little hony then thus be stung with the paiment I like not the Scorpion which goeth ouer the body very smothily but stingeth with the tayle nor yet the gnats which making musicke about the eares doe euermore sting or they part nor yet such pleasures as like tragedies haue as bitter ends as they haue sweete beginnings When that famous or rather infamous harlot Lais demanded of Demosthenes a round summe of money for one nights lodging hee gaue off his suite with these words Nolo tanti emere poenitentiam I will not buy repentance so deare If one single coarde was strong enough to drawe Demosthenes from fleshlie delights then what shall a threefold coarde doe vs nay a coarde which is fiue times doubled When the mother of Lemuel would disswade him from giuing his strength vnto women she puts him in minde that he is a man Por. 31. 2. 1. Cor. 6. 20. of worth Wee are men of worth bought with a price but if we yeeld to fleshly delights we shew our selues base pleasures they say are for the body and the body for the soule and therefore if this sinne reigne in vs we are become seruants to our seruants seruant And therefore the lawe of Nature before the lawe of God was written did punish this sinne with death Iudah when he heard his daughter Tamar had played the harlot and with playing the harlot was with childe gaue this sentence bring Gen. 38. 24. her forth and let her be burnt The Aegyptians cut off the womans nose and the mens members Augustus Casar permitted the father to kil his daughter taken in adultery Canutus a Danish King in this land did banish them Tenedius a King in another land did cut them in sunder with an axe Lex Iulia and the lawe of Romulus did put them to death and therefore the Pope is to blame who alloweth of Courtisans which pay tribute for licence to be commen whores Much to be misliked was that iudgement giuen against Theodora in the 7. persecution of the primitiue Church who because she refused to doe sacrifice to the Idols was therefore condemned to the stewes though by the pollicie of Dydimus a Christian who came and tooke on him her apparrell and sent her out in his shee kept her selfe chaste let the Church which is a Virgine married to Christ keepe one faith and let all that are married one to another keepe the same office in flesh which the Church keepeth in faith let young men with Ioseph striue manfully to subdue this sinne Cen. 39. 9. knowing that chastity is grace to the body beautie to the soule and peace to the desires A third sinne which the Apostle reckons among the workes of the flesh is vncleannes which is a generall word comprehending the two former sinnes and stretcheth yet further condemning the sinne of the Sodomites when man with man workes filthines and therefore to blame was Sixtus the 4. who built a costly Stewes in Rome appointing it to be both maseuline and feminine making a gaine of that most beastly sinne giuing the whole familie of the Cardinall of Saint Luce free leaue in Iune Iuly and August to vse that sinne for committing whereof God reigned vpon Sodome and Gomorah fire and brimstome from â—en 19. 24 heauen A bird of the same feather was Iohn Casus Archbishop of Beneuentane the Popes Legate to the Venetians who magnified this sinne not in word alone but commended the same in writing but as Phoâ—ion did thinke he had spoken somewhat amisse because the common sort commended his Oration so thinke the worse of this sinne because such lewde persons giue it such allowance and so great commendation Buggery with beasts is another sinne comprehended vnder this vncleannes a sinne so hated of God that the innocent Leu. 20. 15. and harmeles beast should dye as well as the party that committed the fact Other sinnes of like sort which nature doth abhorte and chaste eares will not willingly heare the very thought whereof woundeth the heart with horrour I purposely passe ouer and come to the last branch which is wantonnes and this is either inward or outward inward in the heart for he that lusteth after a woman hath committed adultery with her Mat. 5. 28. already in his heart and God did punish the resolution a Gen. 12. 17 in Pharaoh and b Gen. 20. 3 Abimelech though neither of them had come nigh vnto Abrahams wife we haue a saying thought is free but the Apostle saith I had not knowne that lust had been sinne except the Rom. 7. 7. law had said thou shalt not lust I know this sinne shrowdes it selfe vnder the habit of vertue and as cleanlynes doth
his wife or the woman bee false to her owne bosome God punished this sinne in a GeÌ„ 12. 17. Pharoh and b Gen. 20. 3 Abimelech though God kept them that they came not nigh Abrahams c Gen. 39. 9 wife and therefore when Putiphar committed all that hee had into Iosephs hand he barred him of his wife and in this case Xenophon was put to his non plus for being asked if his neighbour had a better house then he whose he had rather haue his or his owne he answered his if he had a fairer horse then he whose had he rather haue he answered his if he had a better or fairer wife then he whose had he rather haue hic Xenophon ipse tacuit at this Xenophon was silent a man must hold his owne wife for better for worse so long as they both shall liue corrupt affections like Eue lie in our bosome and will seduce vs vnruly motions are to our vnderstanding as Dalilah to Sampson they burne within vs as brimstone at the match let this law draw out the burning venome of those fiery serpents that lurke in our hearts if a man bee vpon a horse that flingeth and kicketh and doth what hee can to run ouer all the field the cunning rider will reine him vp and bring him to a good pace so a good Christian will ouer-master his passions and suppresse them when they are miscarried to rebell he will direct humors to their right courses and draw the flood of affections into their owne chanell Wife In that God setting downe the houshold goods and chattles and all that a man hath put the wife in the first place I note that to be true which Salomon saith a Pro. 31 10 the price of a vertuous woman is farre aboue the pearles which teacheth first the husband to loue his wife more then any earthly thing when Alexander had ouercome Darius Darius seemed little to regard his estimation if he were to die he seemed little to regard his life but when he heard his wife was taken prisoner hincillae lacrimae then his eyes did spout forth teares as the conduit waters each teare did ouertake other he did ouerweepe his weeping and sighes did breake from the center of his heart as fast as the teares stoale downe his cheekes againe it teacheth that of all other things a man should not wrong his neighbour in his wife as the wife of Hieron was acquainted with no bodies breath but her husbands for when he his enemie casting in his teeth his stinking breath blamed his wife who neuer told him of it she desired him not to thinke the worse of her for shee thought euery mans breath had smelt like vnto his so on the other side should the husband be acquainted with no bodies breath but his wiues she for her part must be as the Marigold which of all the Plants opens onely to the Sunne let not him for his part be as the sed horse â—eigh after his neighbours wife and croake in the chamber like the froggs of Egipt his eyes must be eyes of Adamant which will turne onely to one point let not his be wandring eyes let him not make the faces of other mens wiues like glasses which the Larke-taker hath in his day net least while like the birds he gaze too much he be taken in the net it is set downe as one of b 2 Sam. 11 4. Davids greatest faults that suffering lust to enter in at the windowes of his eyes he gaue way to his sinne till he did lie with the wife of Vriah and therefore set not the thoughts on fire by affection much lesse follow the lusts of the flesh much lesse fulfill the lust of the flesh much lesse prouoke the lust of the flesh but put the axe of Gods iudgments to the roote of wanton nature and cut it off circumcise the foreskin of the hart that is the true circumcision in the spirit not in the letter whose praise is not of men but of God Nor his manservant nor his mayde As well Salomon the diuine as Aristotle and other Humane Philosophers in their Oeconomicks set downe not the wife and seruants onely but the children also and God commanding to hallow the sabbâ—th sayth in it thou c Exo. 20 10 shalt not doe any worke thou nor thy sonne nor thy daughter thy man-servant nor thy maide a question then may here be asked why sonnes and daughters are not mentioned as well as the wife the manseruant and the maide the reason I take to bee this men are addicted either to their pleasure or their profit Pleasure like â—yrâ—e inchanteth the minde transformeth men into swine and mastereth reason with sensualitie neither was it a greater miracle to see the three children walke vntoucht in the midst of the fiery furnace then to see how Ioseph held his body short of pleasures in the present prouocation therefore couet not thy neighbours wife was a necessary precept againe for profit it is true which the Apostle sayth d Phil. 2. 21 All seeke their owne and therefore like Martha they are e Luke 10. â—0 cumbred with much busines are so farre from serving one another f Gal. 5. 13. by loue as the Apostle aduiseth that as though they did enuâ—e that another should haue a better servant then they they are readie to lay baites to draw him to them and therefore it was not without neede to say thou shalt not couet thy neighbours seruant but children are a charge to him that keepe them must be led into wholsome pastures because they be Gods lambes watred because they be the seed-plot of heauen they must be kept cleane because they be Gods vessels and kept in that after flowers of youth may follow fruits of good liuing they haue no list in age to liue as they should which haue libertie in youth to liue as they list because men are loth to take this care and this charge therefore they neuer couet other mens children nay they will hardly be intreated to take another mans sonne or his daughter nay let a father giue money with his child that another may take him but as his apprentise yet hardly wil he take him and teach him the trade of his way and bring him vp in instruction and information of the Lord in a word therefore as well sonnes as seruants are commanded to keepe holy the Sabbath because both sorts are readie to transgresse it but none are forbidden to couet sonnes as they are to couet seruants because that without a prohibition men are readie to obserue it Manseruant nor his maide As God hath made the seruants lower then the wife so he hath here giuen them place before the Oxe or the Asse which must teach the master to make more reckoning of his seruants then of any Cattell he keepeth he must haue an especiall care of their bodies and of their soules of their bodies in sicknesse and in health in
sicknesse not to let Gods visitation be an excuse to discarde them that so they may lye at g Lu. 16. 20. the gate with Lazarus but with the good h Mat. 8. 6. Centurion let them lye at home with them and seeke the best meanes they can to recouer them in health not to lay more on them then they are able to beare for a good man is i Pro. 12. 10 mercifull to his beast much more to his brother 2. with the good housholder to giue them their penny which labour in the Vineyard 3. with the good housewife to giue k Mat. 20. 9. the portion to l Pro. 31. 15 their seruants and ordinary to their maydes As he is carefull for their bodies so he must labour to fashion their mindes to goodnesse m Iob. 11. 14 Zophar telleth Iob it is not enough for him to serue God in his owne person but he must see that no wickednesse dwell in his Tabernacle and therefore Dauid had a care to haue n Ps 101. 4. his houshold well reformed and the care of Iohn for his Disciples was at libertie when he himselfe was bound in the prison the reason that the Master should haue this ◠Mat. 11. 1. care is very good for as it is here sayde they are his seruants and in deede Masters are not more their owne then their seruants are theirs and therefore the faults of the Familie reflect vpon them and the sinnes of their seruants are their reproach Againe they of the family because they are seruants must serue must with the labourers in the vineyard beare the burden and heate of the p Mat. 20. 12 day and when necessity requires not suffer their eyes to sleepe nor eye-lids to slumber but with Iacob incroach vpon the night q Gen. 31. 40. for him they must not be like the seruant in the Gospell who r Mat. 24. 49. playes Rex as though he would throw the house out at window but like those which are vnder the Centurion which goe when s Mat. 8. 9. he bids them goe come when he bids them come which doe this or that when he bids them doe it neither must they be seruants onely but men and not beasts mayds and not strumpets there be many that will not eate the bread of idlenes but eate the labour and fruit of their hands who diligently willingly put their singers to their masters businesse who knowing they are borne to labour as the sparkes flye vpward rise vp early late take rest gird their loynes and strengthen their hands to work but there is more force in one vice they haue to disgrace all their paines then in all their paines to maintaine that vice Nor his Oxe nor his Asse He hath made a good steppe to perfection that can say with Samuel u 1 Sam. 12 3. whose Oxe haue I taken or whose Asse haue I taken but he that can say thus may yet say with the yong man x Mat. 19. 21 what lacke I yet with Elizabeth he hath y 1 Kin. 19. 7 a further iourney to goe for the law of God is of such perfection that it not onely bindes the hand to the good abearing that it take not but the heart that it couet not condemning 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 though the motion dies in the conception and the graue preventeth the cradle Nor any thing that is his The holy Ghost in the Epistle to the Romanes hauing expressed many Cōmandements of the second Table which forbid speciall sinnes by name at last comes in as it were with a statute of Additions which cuts off all in generall z Rō 13. 9. If there be any other Commandement it is briefely comprehended in this saying euen in this Thou shalt loue thy neighbour as thy selfe so if God hath not set downe euery particular thing in this Commandement by expresse name which we are forbidden to couet it is briefely comprehended in this saying namely Thou shalt not couet any thing that is his Some will say I desire not my neighbours house but he hath a peece of land bordering vpon my ground I would that were mine but this is forbidden by flat statute a Deu. 5. 21 for Moses repeating the Law sayth Thou shalt not desire thy neighbours house his field And b Mic. 2. 2. Micah chargeth Israel with this they covet fieldes and c 1. Ki. 21. 1. Ahab is much blamed for that he was sicke of Naboths vineyard which lay neere to his house but were it not expressely forbidden yet it came within the reach of this addition Thou shalt not covet any thing that is his Another sayth I covet not my neighbours wife happily he thinkes he hath too much wife of his owne as that young man who at first was in hand with his father to giue him two wiues his father because of his importunity gaue him one in hand promising at the yeers end to giue him another but when the yeare was expired he told his father he had wife enough and did finde compact in a little flesh a great number of bones too hard to digest and if other mens were like vnto his they were all molten out of that salt piller into which Lots wife was transformed neither doth he happily couet any seruant of his house but fayne he would haue some of his houshold-stuffe his goods or chattels but Paul who sayth Be followers of me doth patterne against this d Act. 20. 33 I haue sayth he coveted no mans siluer nor gold nor apparell but were there no particular example or law to the contrary yet this prohibition meets with it Thou shalt not covet any thing that is his Our nature is readie to find a starting hole to get out when we haue offended sinnes and shifts are borne at a birth we will haue a salue for euery sore as he that sels Anchusam or Orchanet complexion for euery face Saul sayth a 1 Sam. 15. 13. I haue kept the Commandement of the Lord b Mat. 25. 44. they on the left hand say they haue ministred vnto Christ though they neglected his members and were it not for this closing vp some would say with the elder sonne c Luc 15. 29 at no time brake I thy Commandement therfore to prevent all pleas the law sayth he hath transgressed that coveteth not onely this thing or that thing but any thing that his neighbour hath it is his therefore hand of that thou doe not take it it is his therefore heart of that thou doe not couet it Is his There be some things in which man hath a propertie which maketh against 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 communitie of the Anabaptists and in deede if all things were common what vse could there be of charitie which the second Table requireth How could the Common-wealth endure who would labour take payne if mens goods were mingled altogether if there were not