the spouse of Christ the Temple of the Holie Ghost and the image of God so changed and formed and refined that God cals it a newe heart Ezek. 36.26 Some haue a double hearte as it is in the 12. Psalme but God acknovvledgeth but one heart saying geue me thy heart not geue mee thy hearts declaring that a single heart is pleasing vnto him and that they vvhich haue a double hearte a heart a heart haue neuer a good heart God doeth not require the heart as though hee required no more then the heart like the Pope vvhich saith geue me thy hart it sufficeth To maintaine his Papistes pendant and crouchant vvhich liue amongst Christians hee requireth nothing of such but their hearte they may worship god vvith theire lippes and dissemble their religion and forsvveare their opinions and come to sermons and subscribe to other lavves and seem protestants as the deuill licenceth vvitches to seeme christians so they geue him their heart he dispenseth vvith theÌ„ to dissemble giue the rest as they list but God requireth the heart because vve should not dissemble for in the 12. to the Rom. hee commaunds the body too Offer vp your bodies a liuely sacrifice Which vve cannot doe vnles we giue heart hand tongue eies eares and all for the body is all but the heart is chiefe in request because if there be any goodnes it lies in the hearte because he vvhich giues the hart geues al for out of the aboundance of the hart the mouth speaketh the hand vvorketh the eye looketh the eare listneth the foote vvalketh to good or euill therefore there is such strife for the hearte as there vvas for Mâ—ses bodie geue it me saith the Lord geue it me saith the tempter geue it me saith the Pope geue it me saith riches geue it mee saith pleasure as though thou muste needes geue it novve here is thy choice vvhether thou vvilt geue it to God or the deuill Gods hearte or the deuils heart whose vvilt thou be Man hangs in a ballance like a young virgin vvhich hath many suters some she fauoures for parentage some for personage some for friends some for vvealth some for vvit some for vertue and after all chuseth the vvorst of all so the heart hath so many suiters besides God that sometime shee marrieth vvith one sometimes vvith another the vvorld keepes her the flesh keepes her the deuill keepes her vvhich haue no more interest in her theÌ„ Herod to his sister but seeke her spoile like them vvhich marry for riches are glad vvhen one dies that another may come These suters are like Absolom vvhich did not seek the harts of the people like Dauid but steale them vvith slatterie and lies but god vvoulde haue thee giue thy heart As a man considers what he doeth vvhen he geues so god licenceth vs to consider of that vvhich vve doe for him vvhether he deserueth it vvhether vvee ovve it vvhether he can require it â—â—â—st it shoulde come againste our vvil therfore geue me saith God as though he vvould not straine vpon vs or take from vs but if thou vvilt giue him thy heart then he accepts it it muste come freely like a gifte as his blessings come to vs then his demaund â—s graunted Here is no respect of time hovv long thou mayest stâ—y it or hovv long he vvill keepe it but geue it is the present time as though hee vvould haue it out of hand while hee askes before ye goe out of the church for vvhat can vve aske of him vvhile vve denie him but one thinge vvhich hee askes of vs therfore consider vvho is a suiter to you Novv I am a collector for God to gather hearts either you must graunt him or denie him thinke vvho shall lose by it if thou vvilt not pay thy landlord his rent Hovv many subiectes vvould reioyce if they had any thing to geue to the Prince and pray her to accept it that they might but say I haue giueÌ„ a present to the Queene So Mary reioiced that she had a litle oyle to sprinkle vppon Christe that shee vvould take no mony for it yea the vviddovv of Zarephath was so ioyfull that shee had a little foode for the Prophet that shee spared it from her children and her selfe to serue him first so they vvhich loue the Lord like his Disciples vvhich left al to follow him had rather that he shuld haue their riches their honours their heartes their liues then they themselues Why is Dauid called a manne after gods own hart but because wheÌ„ god said geue me thy hart his spirite ansvvered like to an Eccho I geue thee my heart is God so desirous of my heart vvhat good can my heart do to God It is not vvorthy to come vnder his roofe I would I had a better gift to send vnto my Lorde goe my hearte to thy maker the Bridegroome hath sent for thee put on thy Wedding garment for the Kinge him selfe vvill marrie thee Who is not sorry novv that he did not geue his heart before Is hee not vvorthie to die that vvill take his hearte from him that made it from him vvhich redeemed it from him which preserues it from him vvhich vvil glorifie it to geue it vnto him vvhich vvil infect it torment it coÌ„demne it Will a seruant reach the cup to a stranger when his maister cals for it Or vvill a man sell his coat if he haue no mo What hast thou reserued for God vvhen thou hast giuen Sathan thy heart Christ hath promised to come and dvvel vvith thee vvhere shal hee stay vvhere shal hee dine if the chamber bee taken vp and thy heart let foorth to another Thou art but a tenaunt and yet thou takest his house ouer his head and placest in it vvhom thou wilt as if thou were Land-lord Canst thou possesse another mans goodes but hee wil molest thee and trouble thee vntil hee haue his owne And doost thou thinke to keepe that which is Gods and hold it in peace No hee vvil neuer suffer thee to rest but crie vppon thee day and night as Moses vexed Pharaoh vntil hee let the people goe so thou shalt be distracted vvith feares and thoughts as one plague followed an other vntill thou let thy heart goe that it may serue God as if a man shoulde pull out thy heart and take it from thee so grieuous it is vnto God to keepe thy heart from him Therefore let all suiters haue their aunsvvere that thy heart is married alreadie as Isaac answered Esau Iacob haue I blessed and he shal be blessed So thou mayst say God hath my heart and he shall haue it and them that craue it hereafter sende them to Christ for it for it is not thine to geue if thou haue geuen it to God alreadie But take heede thy hearte doe not lie to thy selfe and saie it is Gods vvhen it
THE CHRIstians Sacrifice Scene and allowed LONDON Printed by Thomas Orwin for Thomas Man 1589. TO MY LATE AVDItors the congregatioÌ„ of Clement Danes al the good wil which I can shevve BEloued in Iesus Christ my first fruites I haue nothing but this myte to leaue with you which is the summe of al my sermons ye haue heard it already as th'apostle cals the Corinthians his epistle so ye should be my sermon that is my sermon should be printed in your hearts as this is printed in paper If ye haue not giuen your hâ—râ—s yet to him which sent for them nowe thinke that god hath sent for them againe and heare me writing whom ye cannot heare speaking Take not custome for religion shun occasion aswel as sinne seâ—k the vse of euery thing desire not to haue your Kingdome here And so I leaue you all with Christ whom I haue preached to bring forth the fruit of that seede which is sowen beseeching you for al the loue that you haue of heuen that ye would not count any thing in this world worthy to keep your harts from God but think of the day when you shal giue account of euery lesson which ye haue heard and hee which hath called you in this prison wil glorifie you in his pallace where ye shall see him to whom yee haue geuen your hearts and enioy that blessing of blessings which makes all the worlde to worship him The father of our lord Iesus Christ which hath begunne to draw you to his Kingdom neuer leaue you vntil you come vnto it Amen Your late vnworthy seruant for the Lord Henry Smith THE CHRISTIANS SACRIFICE My sonne geue me thy heart TO binde all the Lessons togeather vvhich yee haue learned since I came this Setence did come to my mind My sonne geue me thy heart vvhich is the summe of all that ye haue heard and shews in vvhat chest you shoulde lay vp these treasures in your heart then geue that heart vnto God and hee vvil keep all safe A supplication is come as it were from God to man that man woulde sende God his hearte penned by Salomon vnder the name of Wisedome directed to her sons vvisdome entreateth her sons that they would giue her their harts this wisdome is god vve by adoptioÌ„ are his sons our hart is that which christ cals spirit trueth vvithout hypocrisie Geue me that heart saith God Hee vvhich geues any thing to another coÌ„siders before what he loues giues that which he thinks wil be accepted that he may be loued for his gift therfore Dauid as though he vvere at a staÌ„d sorrowed that hee could not doe inough for God breakâ— forth to himself What shall I giue vnto the Lord for al that he hath giuen me The Lorde hearing as it vvere these sighes of his seruaunts which care study what they may doe to please him comes in their suspence like a friend vvhich desires nothing but good wil answers froÌ„ heauen My son giue me thy hart Vnder vvhich suite he taxeth them beside vvhich are suiters alvvaies to him and looke still to receiue like the Publicanes but neuer caste in their minds what they should giue threfore their tribute is set dovvne by equall measure vnder the kings seale euery man must homage his hart He vvhich alvvaies gaue novv craues and hee vvhich craued alvvaies novv geues Christ standes at the doore like a poore man asks not bread nor clothes nor lodging vvhich vve should geue to his meÌ„bers but our heart that is euen the continent of all and gouerner of mans house vvhich sittes on the bench like the Iudge to geue the charge and teach the tongue to speake the hande to vvorke the foote to vvalke the eare to attend the eye to obserue the minde to chuse and the flesh to obey That vvee must present to GOD like a burnt sacrifice vvherein all is offered together a vvise tongue a diligente hande a vvarie foote a vvatchefull eye an attentiue eare an humble minde an obediente fleshe put all together and it is but the heart My sonne saith God geue me this heart Here thou arte the geuer God the petitioner thy heart the gifte vvhich he claymeth by the name of a sonne Shoulde GOD bee a suppliaunt vnto thee and mee but that our vnthankefulnesse condemnes vs that for all the thinges vvhich hee hath geuen vs we neuer considered as yet what wee should giue vnto him before hee asketh hee is faine to put in his petition like a suter and saie giue me thy heart Marke what God hath chosen for himselfe not that vvhich any other shall loose by like the demaundes of them vvhich care for none but themselues but that vvhich being geuen to God mooues vs to geue vnto euery man his due as Zacheus vvhen hee gaue his hearte to Christ parted his goods to the poore restored to al that which hee had got by vvrong Once God required offeringes and sacrifices vvhich men vvere vnvvilling to geue because it vvas a deer seruice of God but novv he saith that the hearte is more then all burnte offerings and sacrifices Iacob loued Ioseph more then al his bretheren so God loueth the heart more then all her follovves this myte God vvill haue for all his benefits vvhich vve may best affoorde him thy almes to the poor thy counsel to the simple thine inheritaÌ„ce to thy childreÌ„ thy tribute to Caesar but thy hearte to God hee vvhich is a spirite requires the spirite and delightes to dvvel in the heartes of men Here God plantes himselfe as in a castle vvhich is alvvaies besieged vvith the vvorlde the flesh and the deuil If the enemie get a thought or a vvord or a vvorke yet he hath but rased the vvalles but if hee take the hart then the fortresse is lost From that time al our thoghts vvords and vvorks are captiue vnto him he bids them goe they goe doe and they doe it That man is like Esau vvhich had an inheritaunce vvhich had a hart but now he hath not possession of his ovvne therefore geue God thy heart that he may keep it not a peece of thy heart not a rovvme in thy heart but thy heart The heart deuided dieth God is not like the mother vvhich vvould haue the child deuided but like the naturall Mother vvhich said rather then it should be deuided Let her take all Let the deuill haue all if he vvhich gaue it be not vvorthie of it God hath no copesmate therefore he vvil haue no parting offtakes but all or none and therefore he vvhich askes here thy heart in the 6. of Deut. the 5. asks all thy hearte all thy soule all thy strength thrice hee requireth all least vvee shoulde keepe a thought behinde yet it is thy heart that is a vaine heart a barren heart a sinfull heart vntill thou geue it vnto GOD and then it is
is the vvorldes like Ieroboams vvife vvhich vvould not seeme Ieroboams vvife By this thou shalt knovve vvhether thou haste geuen it to him or no If thy hearte bee gone all vvill follovve as the Sunne riseth firste and then the Beastes arise from their dennes the Fovvles from their neastes and men from their Beddes so vvhen the heart settes forvvard to God all the members vvill marche after it the tongue vvil praise him the foote vvil follovv him the eare vvill attend him the eye vvil watch him the hande vvil serue him nothing vvill stay after the heart but euerie one goes like handemaydes after their mistresse this Christ verifieth saying Make cleane vvithin and all wil be cleane that is the eye and the eare and the tongue and the hande and all as the Father gaue vs all vvhen hee gaue his Sonne so vvee geue him all vvhen vve geue our hearts This is the melodie which Paul speaketh of Ephe. 5.19 Make melodie to the Lorde in your hearts shevving that there is a consort of all the members when the heart is in tune that it soundes like a melodie in the eares of God and makes vs reioice vvhile vvee serue him vve haue example hereof in Christ vvhich said that it vvas meate and drinke vnto him to doo his Fathers vvil and Dauid vvhich danced to see the Arke and the Israelites of vvhome it is saide that they reioised vvhen they offered frō their heart vnto the Lord. Therfore Salomon pricking out the heart for God speaks as though he vvold set vs the pleasantest and fairest and easiest way to serue him vvithout any grudging or toyle or vvearines touch but the first linke and al the rest vvil follovv so set the heart a going and it is like the poize of a clock vvhich turnes al the vvheeles one vvay such an oile is about the heart vvhich makes all nimble and currant about it therefore it is almost as easie to speake vvell and do vvell as to thinke vvell If the heart indite a good matter no maruell though the tongue be the penne of a ready writer but if the heart bee dull al is like a left hand so vnapt and vntovvard that it cannot turne itselfe to any good Therefore Gods suites haue so hard passage in our counsailes iudgemēts and parliamentes because men doo not giue him their hearts vvhich should be the first offering of all if they did giue him their heartes before they sit dovvne to heare his cause they coulde not denie him any thinge that is for his honor though it vver against their profite but as Christ saith not my vvill but thy vvill so they vvould say it is not our kingdom but thy kingdom it is not our Church but thy church therefore not our vvill but thy vvil not our lavv but thy lavv not our disciplin but thy disciplin raigne in it all that giue their heartes subscribe to this the rest say not thy wil but our wil not thy lavv but our lavve not thy disciplin but our discipline because as the Apostle saith they seek their own glory and not Christs Phil. 2.21 This hath bin the rubbe euer since reformation began Herod cannot see how he shoulde bee King if Christ should raigne therfore as the imagemakers cried stormed whē images should goe down alledging that they liued by this crafte so if ye mark what kind of men they be which preach and write and labor so hotly against the discipline it is they that are like to lose some of their dignities or their commodities by it if the gouernment should change the Scribes Pharisies resisted Christ more then the people because he denounced wo to them and misliked that they shoulde bee called Rabbi hovv hard it is to follovv Christ when he saith leaue all nay if hee bid vs to leaue any thing for him though vvee should leaue our very selues Mat. 16.24 The tongue will not praise because the heart doeth not loue the eare vvill not heare because the heart doeth not mind the hand wil not geue because the heart doeth not pitie the foot vvil not goe because the heart doeth not stir al stay vpon the hart like the Captaine that should giue the onset Secondly God requiring the hart sheweth that all the thinges of this worlde are not worthie of it nor a peece of it nor a thought vnlesse it be to contemne them as Salomon thought of vanitie Thirdly that all should consent so with the heart that we shoulde speak as if the heart did speak pray as if our heart did pray heare as if our heart did heare giue as if our heart did giue remit as if our heart did remit counsell as if our heart did counsell as the Apostle saith Doe all thinges heartily Coloss. 3.23 which if we would keepe nothing that we doe should trouble vs because nothing is troublesome but that vvhich goeth against the heart Fourthlie that vve shoulde serue god for himselfe and not for our selues as he vvhich giues his heart dooth all for loue This christ requires vvhen hee castes off that disciple vvhich offered to follovv him for aduantage The birds haue nests the foxes haue holes saith christ but the sonne of man hath not a place to hide his head shevving this disciple if he vvill follovve him he must not looke for a place to hide his head vve must leaue all to follovv christ as Peter did and not seeke al by follovving him as they that vvent after him for bread Fiftly that vve should not serue god by fits as vve vse to pray vvhen the night comes to hear vvhen the Saboth comes to fast vvhen Lent comes to repēt when death comes but the seruice of the heart is continuall seruice like in that 1. Thes. 5 Reioyce euermore praye continuallie in all thinges geue thankes Who is this which reioiceth and praieth thanketh continually The tongue praieth but sometime the eare attēdeth but sometime the hand giueth but sometime but the heart prayeth and praiseth and vvorshippeth alvvaies a man may serue God alvvaies vvith his heart and neuer be vvearie because the heart cannot serue him vnlesse it reioyce in his seruice and therefore they praised God vvith musicke vvhich did not delight god but shevved that they delighted in his seruice as they did in musicke 1. Chr. 15.16 but if the tongue or the hande or the eare thinke to serue God vvithout the heart it is the yrksomst occupation in the vvorld the houre of tediousnesse like a long sicknesse hee is tired before hee beginne and thinketh himselfe in the stockes till the sermon be ended till his praier be doone that hee may bee at libertie and turne to his byas agayne Lastly this shewes how God mislikes our coldnesse in hearing or praying if wee cannot say with the Virgin My hearte doth magnifye the Lord. Al that comes short of this is hipocrisye and pleaseth GOD like the