one bewray the lightnes of the other what thing in the world is soe massie and soe weightie as the truth Therefore as the prophet saith If ye will heare the voyce of God harden not your hearts as they did in the prouocation and as in the day of temptation in the wildernes it is noe sinne to yeilde vnto God it is noe shame to lay apart all affections and to change our mindes to the deniall of all vngodlynes and imbracinge of true holinesse It is the part of a good Christian and a wise man to know himselfe and to know the nature of his flesh which hee beareth about him which fighteth alwayes so mightily against the spirit and to know the waywardnesse and crookednesse of his heart and the weaknesse and vanity of his mind Many are so farre from this they thinke all their ability is of themselues I haue saith one iudgement I haue the light of reason I haue sence I haue vnderstanding and Counsell and the ordering of mine owne way thus say they that neither know God nor themselues The will and power to doe well is of God and not of our selues therefore we must humble our selues vnder the mighty hand of God and acknowledge that we are nothing we must confesse with S. Paul I know that in me that is in my flesh dwelleth no good Ro. 7. Againe it is not in him that willeth not in him that runneth but in God that sheweth mercy Ro. 9. Our Sauiour Christ sayth that which is borne of the flesh is flesh and that is borne of the spirit is spirit Iohn â— And God sayth the immagination of man heart is euill from his youth Gene 8. this is his saying and his iudgement of vs this we find true for our will is froward and our vnderstanding blind therefore sayth the Prophet O Lord I know that the way of man is not in himselfe neither is it in man to walke and direct his steppes Iere 12. Againe the steppes of man are ruled by the Lord. How can a man then vnderstand his owne way Behold as the clay is in the Potters hand so are you in my hand O Israell I mould you and frame you to my glory sayth the Lord. Iere. 18. When the Apostle putteth the Corinthians in mind of that good successe which God gaue vnto his ministers among them hee sayth such trust haue we through Christ to God not that wee are sufficient of our selues but our sufficiency is of God Cor. 3. Christ sheweth this to his disciples saying ' I am the Vine you are the branches he that abideth in mee and I in him bringeth forth much fruit for without mee yee can do nothing Iohn 15. To the Collossians Paul saith It is God that worketh in you both the will and the deed euen of his good pleasure Colloss 2. It is God that disposeth our goings and turneth our hearts as seemeth him best hee is able to make of the stones in the Streetes children vnto Abraham hee is able to take away our stony heartes and giue vs heartes of flesh The Consideration heereof leadeth vs to seeke help and comfort by prayer at the hand of God and because wee stand in need of continuall help either to giue vs somthing that is good or to deliuer vs from that is euill the Apostle biddeth vs pray continually for the eares of the Lord are open to the righteous therfore saith Christ aske and it shall be giuen you seeke and yee shall find knoek and it shal be opened vnto you Math. 7. Let vs therefore go boldly to the throne of grace that we may receiue mercy and find grace to help in time of need Dauid a man according to Gods own heart prayed diuersly Open thou mine eyes lighten my darkenesse direct my feete into the way of peace incline my heart O Lord vnto thy testimonies establish O God that which thou hast wrought in vs take not thy holy spirit from vs bee thou our helper in trouble O forsake vs not veterly Dauid beeing a great prophet of GOD found no way to attaine vnto knowledge of the will of God vnlesse God would open his vnderstanding and endue him with his spirit faith is the gift of GOD or else was the Apostles praier in vaine therefore without the grace and mercy of GOD wee can doe nothing to the setting forth of his glory and to the attayning vnto our saluation The Apostle saith vnto the faithfull Let your conuersation bee in heauen from whence you looke for the Sauiour euen the Lord Iesus Christ Yee were once darkenesse but now yee are light in the LORD walke as children of the light approouing that which is pleasing to the Lord. The great day of the Lord shal be dreadful and come sodainely vpon the wicked but to you it shall not seeme sodaine which feare the LORD and put your trust in him and take all care to bee in readinesse against his comming Arme your selues therefore strongly the enemy is the diuell with all his force your strength standeth not in your owne prowesse or man-hood but in the mighty power of God put on therefore the brest-plate of faith and loue hee that beleeueth shal be saued hee that abideth in loue abideth in God and whosoeuer putteth his trust in him shall neuer be confounded For the grace of God that bringeth saluation vnto all men hath appeared saith the Apostle and teacheth vs to deny vngodlinesse and worldly lusts and that wee should liue soberly righteously and godly in this present world looking for the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of the great God and our Sauiour Iesus Christ which gaue himselfe for vs that hee might redeeme vs from all vnrighteousnesse and purge vs a peculiar people vnto himselfe zealous giuen to good workes Titus 2.11.12 Therefore wee must not alwaies be children but grow vp and increase and profit more and more for wee must neuer rest walking till wee come to God if we haue faith wee must proceede from faith to faith if wee haue loue wee must abide and increase in loue if wee haue zeale wee must endeauour to bee consumed with zeale if wee bee liberall to the Saints distressed wee must double our liberallity and that with cheerefulnesse if wee read the Scriptures wee must goe on and continue in praier so wee must still increase till wee come to perfection Let vs bee led forward saith the Apostle vnto perfection Hebr. 6.1 As God hath ordained a heauen for all true faithful Pilgrims so hath he appointed a way to come to it which way hee that trauaileth not shall neuer come to the end of his race for there be many wrong waies as there are many errors but there is but one right way as there is but one truth To knit vp this part with that warning and exhortation of the Apostle saying Let vs drawe neere with a true heart in assurance of faith sprinckled in our hearts from an euill conscience and washed in bodie with pure water let vs hold the possession of the hope without wauering for hee is faithfull that promised for if wee sinne willingly after that wee haue receiued the knowledge of the truth there remaineth no more sacrifice for sinnes but a fearefull looking for iudgement and violent fire which shall deuoure the aduersaries Hebr. 10.22.23.26 So it cannot be that they which were lightened and haue tasted of the heauenly gift and were become pertakers of the holy ghost and haue tasted of the good word of God and the powers of the world to come and they fall away should be renued againe into repentance crucifying to themselues the sonne of God a fresh Heb 6.4.5.6 The Apostle therfore admonisheth the faithfull to haue discretion in their walking saying Take heed that yâ—e walke circumspectly not as vnwise but as wise redeeming the time because the daies are euill Wherefore bee yee not vnwise but vnderstanding what the will of the Lord is Speaking vnto your selues in psalmes and hyms and spirituall songs singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts Giuing thankes alwaies for all things vnto God the Father in the name of the Lord Iesus Christ Now as al these parts of Scriptures going before in this Booke are needfull special means to teach all true Christians to walke the right way towards heauen whereby we may bee able not only to walke aright but also to make a right and sound reason of our religion agreeable to the word of God a sound reason of our faith and a sound reason of our saluation agreeable to the same word of truth and so to continue to the end of our race then shall wee bee made happy for euermore and be procured happy in the great day of our Lord by our Lord and you blessed of my Father inherite the Kingdome of heauen which is prepapared for you from the beginning which kingdom grant vs Lord for Christ Iesus sake Amen FINIS
profession of him before men Math. 10 This is that which S. Iames meaneth where hee saith Abraham our father was iustified by works when hee offered Isaack vpon the Aultar seest thou not saith hee that the faith wrought with his workes and through the workes was the faith made perfect c. that is Abraham by this meanes was knowne and declared to be iustified and his faith beeing effectuall and fruitfull by workes was thereby knowne to bee a true faith and not a ded faith for S. Iames speaketh not of the causes of iustification but by what effects we may know that a man is iustified true is the distinction therefore euen of Schoolemen themselues Christ doth iustifie a man effectiue effectiuely by working his iustification faith doth iustifie a man apprehensiue by apprehending because it taketh hold of Christ who is our iustifier And workes doe iustifie also but declaratiue declaringly because they shew that a man is iustified as hath beene said so Christ faith and workes doe all iustifie but diuersly Also it is that Barnard saith workes are via regni but not causa regnandi that is the way to the kingdome but not the cause of the raigning there And now wee see and vnderstand that faith being the onely speciall meane for euery true Christian to attaine vnto saluation and Christ Iesus the speciall cause thereof therefore it behooueth euery child of God to imbrace the benefit of the Gospel seeing God doth so mightely vse the preaching of the same to beget faith to confirm the same in the hearts of the elect so to bring them to saluation We shold greatly therfore esteem of the preaching of the word and haue it in great price as in the 1. Cor. 1.18.21.24 Tim. 4.16 2. Tim. 3.15 Ioh. 5.25 The grace of God and saluation is giuen vnto them onely that haue faith and beleeue in Christ for they onely are iustified Mark 16.16 Therefore neither doth saluation nor the doctrine therefore belong at all vnto infidels or vnbeleeuers Ioh. 3.18 As vnto the beleeuers the Gospel is the power of God vnto saluation so vnto the vnbeleeuers it is the sauor of death vnto death because they either condemn or corrupt it 2. Cor. 2.15.16 The promise of saluation belongeth not onely vnto certaine men as Prophets Apostles but generally vnto all beleeuers Mark 16.16 wherefore no man ought to dispaire or to thinke himself exeÌ„pted but repent beleeue only Lu. 8.50 The Maiesty and excellency of the gospell must needs be great seeing in times past it was promised by the Prophets as a singular and admirable guift being thus promised was commended in wryting for the perpetuall nourishing of the hope of the faithfull The Gospel or Euangel by the very sound and signification of the word is discerned from the law the gospell to speake properly is not a doctrine teaching precepts or perfecter Counsels then the law of God but a doctrine bringing from heauen most ioyfull newes touching the sauiour and grace of God in Christ towards all such as by faith lay hold on the Mediator Hereupon Christ said that the eies and eares of his disciples were happie when they had heard the preaching of the Gospell and seene the same confirmed with miracles for that they saw and heard those things which many Kings and Prophets desired to see heare and yet could not But wee at this day are no lesse happy then the Disciples yea we are much more happy now theÌ„ they were then for albeit they saw Christ in the flesh and heard him teach yea at that time they had not heard that hee died for vs and that our sins being altogether washed away by his death that he had risen againe froÌ„ death ascended into heauen and sat at the right hand of God the father all which are in the gospel declared to vs. By the bookes of the new Testament we bee taught also that Christ afore promised which is God aboue all things most blessed for euer euen he which was shadowed in the bookes of the old Testament and in sacrifices figured that he was sent at the last from the father the self same time which the father did constitute within himself at that time when all wickednesse abounded in the world then he was sent this Iesus our Sauiour being borne in the flesh suffered death and rose again from the dead which acts of his were not done by him in respect of the good works of any man for we are all sinners but that this God our father should appeare true in exhibiting the aboundaÌ„t riches of his grace which he promised and that through his mercy he might bring vs to saluation Wherevpon it is euidently shewed in the new Testament that Iesus Christ being the Lambe the true sacrifice of the world putting away the sins of men came into this world to purchase grace and peace for vs with the father washing vs from our sinnes in his blood should deliuer vs from the bondage of the Diuill whom by sinne wee did serue and so we should bee adopted by him to be the sonnes of God and heires with him of that most excellent and euerlasting kingdome Now that we should acknowledge this singular and excellent benefit of God towards vs Almighty God giueth vs his holy spirit the fruit effect of which is faith in God in his Christ for without the holy Ghost by which we are instructed sealed neither can we beleeue that God the father sent Messias nor yet that Iesus is Christ So no man saith S. Paul can say that Iesus is the Lord but by the holy Ghost the same spirit witnesseth to our spirits that we are the children of God and powreth into our bowels that charity which S. Paul describeth to the Corinthians Furthermore that holy spirit doth giue vs hope which is a sure looking for eternall life whereof hee himselfe is the certaine token and pledge Also hee giueth vs spirituall gifts of which Paul writeth to the Galathians therefore the benefit of faith is not to be despised or so little to be set by for by the meanes of this trust and fayth in Christ which worketh by charity and sheweth it selfe forth by the works of haritâ—â—y moouing men therevnto we are iustified and sanctified that is to say God the father of our Lord Iesus Christ which is made our father also by him being our brother doth accompt vs to be iust and holy through his grace through the merit of his sonne Iesus Christ not imputing our sinnes to vs so farre forth that wee should suffer the paines of hell for them Finally Christ himselfe came into the world to the intent that we through him being sanctified and clensed from our sinnes following his will in good workes should deny the things pertaining to the flesh and freely serue him in righteousnes and holines all the dayes of our liues And that by good works which God hath prepared for
deceiuers So if you would apply your harts as throughly to knowledge and goodnes you might then become like the Apostle which teacheth you therefore when Salomon sheweth men the way how to come by wisdome he speaketh often of the heart As giue thy heart to wisdome Let wisdome enter into thine heart get wisedome keep wisdome embrace wisdome Thus we haue learned how to apply our harts to knowlede that it may doe vs good that we may say with the Virgin Mary My heart doth magnifie the Lord and then the heart will apply it to the eare and the tongue as Chrict saith out of the aboundance of the heart the mouth speaketh The second note to be obserued is that remembrance of death maketh vs to apply our hearts to wisedome as many benefits come vnto vs by death so many benefits come vnto vs by the remembrance of death And this is one that maketh a man to apyly his heart vnto wisdome for when he considereth that he hath but a short time to liue he is carefull to spend it wel like Moses of whom it is written that when he considered hee had but a short season to liue hee chose rather to suffer affliction with the children of God then to enioy the pleasures of sinne for a season This wisdome the fathers called the wisdome of the crosse which we call the best wisdome because it is dearest bought it is hard to thinke of a short life and to thinke euill or to thinke of a long liâ—e and thinke well Therefore when Ieremy had numbred all the calamities and sinnes of the Iewes at the last he imputed all to this she remembred not her end Lam. 1.9 So it may be iudged why natural men care for nothing but their pompe why great men care for nothing but their honour and dignity why couetous worldlings care for nothing but their gaine why voluptuous Epicures care for nothing but their pleasures that it may be said with Ieremie they remembred not their endes Seeing then that so much fruit groweth of one stalke which is the numbring of our dayes Let vs therefore consider what an haruest we haue lost which happily before this day haue neuer prayed with Moses that the Lord would teach vs to remember our dayes but also how many dayes haue we spent and yet neuer thought why any dayes were giuen vs. It may be that thou hast but twenty yeares to serue God wilt thou not liue twenty yeares like a Christian that thou maist liue many thousand yeares like an Angel It may bee that thou hast but tenne yeares to serue God wilt thou not serue ten for Heauen which wouldst serue twenty yeares for a farme If thou be a man halfe thy time is spent already if thou be an old man then thou art drawing to thine Inne and thy race is but a breath for this cause God would not haue men know when they should dye because they should make ready at all times hauing no more certainty of one hower then an other Thus you see that death is the last vpon earth and that the time of man is set and that his race is short and that he thinkes not on it and that if he did remember it it would make him apply his mind to good as he doth to euill And thus I end as I began the Lord our God teach vs to remember our dayes that we may apply our heartes vnto Wisedome Amen Amen The Pilgrims iourney towards Heauen These two parts going before are chapters of preparatiues wherein euery Christian ought to prepare himselfe to become truly religious that he may learne to know the way to walke before God whereby he may attaine to eternall happinesse which way is manifestly declared vnto vs by the word of God And for asmuch as there can be no sound Deuine or learned Gramarian but he must first come to it by degrees in learning as appeareth in schooles of learning so is it with the Church of God for our Sauiour Christ sayth plainely that None can come vnto him but he must be drawn of the father Iohn 6.44 aleadging the scriptures how we are drawne saying it is written in the prophets And they shall all be taught of God euery man therefore that hath heard and learned of the father commeth vnto me Isaie 54 13. Iere 31.33 Therefore we are to apply our selues to those meanes which God hath ordained for that purpose that is the preaching of his word and meditations thereof for the holy Ghost is giuen for the working of the same in euery Christian therefore it is written in the Book called Eccl. 6 33. saying My son if thou wilt take heed thou shalt be taught and if thou wilt apply thy mind thou shalt bee wise if thou wilt bow downe thine eare thou shalt receiue doctrine and if thou delight in hearing thou shalt be witâ—y Againe Salomon saith O giue eare vnto good counsel and be content to be reformed that thou mayest be wise in thy latter dayes Pro. It is also written in the 22. of the Pro. saying Bow downe thine earer and heare the wordes of the Wise apply thy mind vnto my doctrine for it is a pleasant thing if thou keepe them in thine hart and order them in thy lippes that thou maist put thy trust in the Lord. Therefore sayth the Prophet Dauid The mouth of the righteous wil speake of wisdome and his tongue wil talk of iudgement for the law of his God is in his heart his lips shall not slide Psa 37. Therefore sayth Salomon get wisedome and get vnderstang forsake her not and she shal preserue thee loue her and she shall keepe thee for the cheefe poynt of Wisdome is to possesse wisdome and before all thy gooods get vnderstanding make much of her and she wil promote thee yea if thou embrace her she shal bring thee vnto honor she shall beautifie thy head with manifold graces and garnish thee with a Crowne of glory Pro. 4.5.6.7 Whosoeuer therefore findeth Wisdome findeth life and shal obtaine fauour of the Lord. Pro. 8. Now this Wisdome is called the wisdome of the word of God which proceedeth from God himselfe and all to teach vs to walke in holy obedience and conuersation all our dayes and therein to find saluation and eternall happines For in matters concerning the trueth of our walking we must profes with Dauid Thy word is a Lanthorne vnto my feet and a light vnto my pathes for whatsoeuer therefore doth not fully consent with the word of God in matters of truth and saluation mast euer be suspected For the wisedome of man when it wandreth without the pales of holy scriptures is meere foolishnes which wil euer be confounded and brought to nought 1. Cor. 1. Therefore wee must attribute nothing vnto naturall reason when it is not grounded by some consequent vppon the word of God So that we are there by aught that God hath ordayned the meanes so wee must prepare our selues to these meanes