be at paines nor charges to ease them and deliuer the opprest but most men beare this mind that they would take more paines and be at more cost to pull one of their owne beastes out of the ditch then to pull a poore wronged Christian out of the pawes of the persecutor But Ionathan was not of this minde he ventured his owne life to saue Dauids and deliuered him out of the hands of Saule his father though it seemed Dauid only stood betwixt him and the crowne And Obadiah when he being the kings steward had as one would thinke need to looke that hee loose not the kings fauour and Ahab his master raised an hot and sharpe persecution and would haue slaine all the Prophets and he should haue scaped but ill in liklihood if his master had perceiued that he had beene a fauorite of them and aboue that the famine was so great in the land that no bread water almost could be gotten for money so that it was not only dangerous but exceeding chargeable to keepe an hundreth men now whom the king sought with all diligence to put to death yet notwithstanding all these impediments he stood faithfully for God and his Prophets and kept an hundreth of them with bread and water sufficiently in the heat of persecution and the midst of a great famine Rahab also so soone as she had any sparke of religion and the feare of the true God defended the spies and that with the hazard of her owne life for when the king would faine haue gotten them and he had a purpose to make them sure enough she hid them and saued their life and by that meanes also saued her selfe and all her household and had this priuiledge that after Christ Iesus came of her stock and posteritie But on the contrarie most cursed and hellish of all are these that be so farre from helping and succouring Gods afflicted saints as that they reioyce at their trouble recount it one to another as a verie ioyfull tidings that makes them merrie and they put an hand to it and to their power helpe it forward these be cruell wretches inspirde with the malice of the diuell and vnlesse they repent shall bee miserable wretches hereafter freed with the vengeance of God as a reward of their crueltie The third and last dutie heere commaunded is to shew mercie to the needie that want according to your abilitie and their necessitie This Christ commaunds Luke 12. 33. Sell that you haue and make you bags that waxe not olde Where Christ exhorting them to be mercifull meets with a common obiection Indeed I would willingly bestow something vpon Christ I owe him a good turne and could finde in my heart to pay him but alasse I haue nothing to giue yet haue you nothing to sell neuer a strike of corne neuer a peece of land no spare household stuffe that you can spare for Christ If you haue sold it and giue it to Christ for Christs sake euen as wicked a man will rather sell something to serue his lust then that he will haue it vnserued so do you rather sell something for Christs sake then let him goe vnserued shew that you loue him as well as they loue their lust O but if I should sell and giue thus I should be beggerd nay Christ wils no man to beggar himselfe but make you bags this is such a treasure as no other is like it you should get a more excellent encrease for no other treasure but it is of that nature that eyther of it selfe it wil corrupt the canker rust will set on bring it to naught or else the theefe may meet with it so that one is in cōtinuall daunger to loose it become poore But this is such a kinde of treasure as in it selfe it is eternall and it is so surely kept that no man can deptiue vs of it by force or craft and then another benefit is Where your treasure is there is your heart also This is a good effect that if you lay vp a treasure in heauen your hearts will follow also What is the reason that many men can come so hardly and with such difficultie to thinke or speake of heauen that we may as easily make a great milstone ascend vp into the skies as to draw their thoughts to heauenward it cannot be because their treasure is not their they haue sent nothing before them thether Worldly men can talke nimbly and readily of grounds mony and beasts because they haue laid vp their treasure in these things and let one goe whether he will from one end of the world to the other his heart will still be there where his treasure lies of this he will talke at his table in the field as he walkes as he lies euerie where and he is not weary The treasure drawes the hart vnto it But these haue neuer laid vp one pennie in heauen haue reposed nothing in Christes bosome therefore haue no mind to thinke of him and one may sooner pull their heart out of their bodies then put any heauenly and constant meditation of God and the life to come into them But if one would let his chiefe wealth be with God and lay vp his speciall good in heauen his chiefe thoughts and speciall desires and meditations would be of God and of heauen he would talke of it as willingly as nimbly readily as constantly and with as little tediousnesse as the most couetous man of his money and cattle and nothing should be so delightfull to him as to conferre and meditate of things pertayning to the life to come And in the Prouer. it is said He that is merciful to the poore rewards his own soule as if he had said Euerie man will yeeld that it is a good thing to be beneficiall to himselfe and to doe good to his soule But this is most certaine that nothing in the world no purpose no bargaine shall bring so much profit vnto the soule as a mercifull heart and a liberall hand to bestowe his goods upon poore christians the members of Christ Iesus so the Apostle saith 2. Cor. 9. He that sowes liberally shall also reape liberally It is otherwise in this matter then it is in other haruests for let a man sow neuer so good seede and vse all diligence in preparing and fitting the ground yet some casualtie may befal which will spoile the haruest and a man shall not haue the seede againe but heere it is certaine one shall haue a good haruest nothing shall marre his crop if owne sow but a cup of cold water for conscience and in loue it is sowne vpon Christ Iesus and he is the ground as in Matt. 25. I was hungrie and thiristie c. and ye fed and gaue drinke to me Therefore vnlesse wee thinke that Christ will be a barren ground it is most certaine that hee that scatters seed here shall find a large increase that which is cast
and dutie as he was desirous kindly to grant it and offer it there should be no let but Dauid should without delay espouse his daughter and become his sonne in law therefore he willed all his seruants to commend his good will vnto Dauid and to shewe him howe highly he was in the Kings fauour when all this while GOD knowes and hath made the world to know that this was but to entrap him and bring him into a snare that by her means he might the sooner priuily dispatch him But when Dauid in modestie was vnwilling to take so high a place and therefore excused himselfe for his pouertie and inabilitie to giue a dowrie befitting the greatnesse of such a personage Saule verie glad of so good an occasion as he thought would not let it slip but as he made shew in great kindnesse tels him what is the dowry all that you stand vpon if that be all the impediment I will soone remoue this let and the matter shall bee effected Let not Dauid thinke but that his nature will afford a dowrie good enoughe for a princes daughter and let him not imagine that Saule is so farre in loue with mony as that he will looke for so great a summe of him whō he hopes to find a valiant couragious sonne no Dauid thy valure is a treasure and some of this courage is that which my soule desires and which shall fully accomplish this mariage we desire let mee but see heere 100. foreskins of the Philistines those enemies of God and Gods people by whose meanes we haue sustained much losse and daunger Doe then I say take reuenge of these my deadly foes which thy valure I know can doe without delay and these shall be to me in stead of so many masses of gold and siluer this shall be a price for which and in recompence whereof I will bestow my daughter vpon thee which I doe not aske doubting of thy valure and courage but that a further experience may more amply proue that of which we haue had continuall tryall in thy selfe that thou wilt be a valiant son vnto me This was a colourable speach pretēded great good will whē in the meane while all Sauls mind burned with malice and desire of Dauids death and he hoped by this meanes to make him fall by the hand of the Philistians Now Saule well knowing his owne falsehood and double dealing was hereby brought into a vehement but a most false and iniurious suspicion of Dauids infidelitie and treacherie towards him So those that haue poluted their owne soules and bodie with most filthy facts and are the most vncleannest and wicked persons in a countrie will soonest imagine and suspect an other to be most filthie and are readie to iudge all men sore where their sores runnes An other cause of this is hipocrisie when one neuer examineth his owne heart then he is most readie to prie into an other mans life and he that spares himselfe will lay load vpon an other Thus the Scribes and Pharises were dissembling hipocrites and neuer medled with their owne hearts to condemne any sinne there and therefore Christ and his disciples could haue no peace by them but they were continually misdeeming and suspecting and ready to censure hardly of them without a cause for if they would haue bestowed but some time in truth to haue entred vnto their owne soules and made a narrow search of themselues they would haue founde so much businesse there as other men might haue liued quietly enough by them So Saint Iames saith 3. Chap. 17. vers That true wisdome which is from aboue is without iudging without hipocrisie He shewes the cause why the best men be neuer the rashest iudgers neuer so hastie to passe sentence vpon other men because they hauing true hearts desiring to be as good as they seeme to be haue so much to doe in fighting and striuing with their owne corruptions as that they cannot spend so much time to be examining other mens dealings and marking what other men doe amisse So on the other side take me an hipocrite that cares for nothing but to make a shew before men that neuer labours to approue his heart to God and neuer striues against his owne secret sinnes you shall haue him so nimble and so quicke in searching out other men that he cannot see a fault where it is but he hath such sharpe sight that hee can see a fault where none is in an other because he cannot see a fault where it is in himselfe They thought that the cause why they could so quickly condemne other men was because they were more holy thē other men and therefore tooke a priuiledge to themselues to giue what verdit they thought good on euerie mans actions but Saint Iames tels them an other tale and brings the true cause indeede what made their hearts so readie to conceiue amisse and to thinke wrongfully of an other because they had not as yet learnd to thinke aright of themselues for more hipocrisie alwaies breedes more rash iudging and misprision Thus we see what be the causes of this euill suspicion namely at the lest foolishnesse and vncharitablenesse or else an ill conscience and deepe hipocrisie and the one of these is alwaies a cause Now the effects are euen as bad for if the heart bee infected thus it makes one apt and readie to speake do euill if one allow himselfe to thinke euill hee cannot withhold his tongue to speake it and his hand to practise ill if occasion serue for what euer is within in the thought that will shew it selfe opēly it will bewray it selfe in the mouth in the hand in all ones actiōs As appeares in Daniels enemies that hauing cōceiued an ill opinion of him that he kept them from honour did nothing else but practise and lay diuilish plots till they had brought him into danger of death and founde him within the compasse of a law All this malice arose from hence that they falsely suspected Daniel to forestall them of honour and to haue kept them from that high place that they thought themselues as worthye of and euery way as fitte for it as hee The vse of this is that if we would not be found culpable of the breach of this commandement and trangressing against the name and fame of our christian brother then must we not giue ourselues allowance to conceiue any ill opinion of them without sufficient warrant and due ground for the same for though the thing which we suspect be so indeede that is not the question if we haue no warrant nor noe good proofe and foundation for our suspicion we are guiltie of the hurting the fame of our neighbour for what though it may he so in matters of our neighbours credit we must not take such light coniectures as a sufficient cause to moue a suspicion we must doe as we would be done by and I pray you what man aliue almost is there that
that they may prolong thy daies namely thy parents when they shall haue occasion with a glad and ioyfull heart to thanke God for that comfort which they haue receiued by the obedience and dutifulnesse of their children this brings with it a blessing of God vpon the soule and bodie of such a childe to prolong his life in all happinesse But on the other side when the father and mother through the rebellion and obstinacie of a childe are driuen to sigh and mourne before God with a troubled soule that hee that should haue bene one of the greatest comforts is one of the greatest griefes and he that should haue built vp the house doth pluck it down this brings a curse and prouokes God to cut of his life vntimely and his soule also vnlesse he repent to his damnation An example of this we haue in the Rechabites the sonnes of Ionadab Ierem. 35. 19. They did reuerence their parents so much and had such a regard of him as that when he seeing the excessiue abuse of wine to drunkennesse and the abuse of lands and houses to couetous greedinesse commanded them to drink no wine nor build no houses nor buy no land which might seeme an hard commandement abridging them of their pleasure and profit yet in loue to their father they kept it all their daies faithfully Now God he comes vpon the Israelites and condemnes them by the example of Ionadabs sonnes shewing that he had beene a better father vnto them then Ionadab had beene to his sonnes and his commandements restrained them from no lawfull delight but onely from sin that would damne the soule yet they would not be so obedient to him as the Rechabites to their father Therefore in the last place he comes to giue a reward to the Rechabites and saith that Ionadab the sonne of Rechab shall neuer want a man to stand before me Such a good thing and so acceptable is it vnto God that children should submit themselues vnto their superiours And so Ioseph hauing beene a good sonne to Iacob Iacob prolonged his daies for he prayed so heartily for him that God could not denie Alwaies when Ioseph came then Iacobs mouth was full of blessings and he was so nimble to pray for him with his whole hart as that he could haue powred out his soule in a prayer for him to haue done him good and these did not goe into the ayre and vanish fruitlessely but tooke place and God indeed blessed Ioseph in himselfe his posteritie aboundantly So that the best diet and the best ayre that one can liue in to make children haue a long and happie life is to be obedient to their parents Therefore let children learne to be dutifull and to serue their parents as Paule saith that Timothie did serue him as a sonne serueth his father so that a good childe should be his fathers best seruant This doing they shall bring Gods blessing vpo their soules and bodie otherwise they shall haue a short life and a miserable life alwaies in bondage to some foule lust or other that shall play the tyrant ouer them and reuenge their parents quarrell vpon them This serues also secondly to instruct parents that if they would haue it goe well with their children they must not then so much labour to get great matters in the world for them but to take them downe by time to instruct them and narture them in godlinesse and to labour to bring obedience and pietie into their hearts or els be they as greate as they will they shall bring a curse vpon them As we see in Dauid sonnes whē he was negligent in bringing them vp in the feare of God but let them haue their owne way and could not find in his heart for foolish fondnesse to correct them we see how Gods curse pursues them one commites incest the other seeing Dauid would not punish so soule a sinne vsurps authoritie and he becomes his brothers iudge and executioner and after also driues his father out of his kingdome and seekes his life till he died a miserable death and a strange Gods hand taking vengeance on his wickednesse An other by treasonable practises came to death by his brother iustly So all these came to a violent and fearefull end why because he would not reproue thē nor checke them as is noted but for Solomon his father instructed him his mother instructed him he was kept in not suffered to runne after vanitie so and therefore we see what blessings befell to him what a curse ouertooke the rest So Eli for foolish pittie grew so tender that hee would not correct his children according as he ought therefore miserie came vpon himselfe and both they died in a day Therefore as parents may and must desire an happie and longe life for their children so they must also vse the meanes to get it for them by good nurture and mastring them to make them know and doe their dutie for better parents master them by correction then God destroy thē in indignation for if they be not staid at first they will proceede from rebellion against parents to rebels against magistrates and then they will rebell against god also till he cut them of by distruction This serues also for the comfort of dutifull children who happily can see nothing but pouertie and are destitute of all worldly meanes of helpe But let them not looke on the outside so much turne to the inside a little how haue they behaued themselues to their parents how haue they dealt with them what affections haue they carried toward them what good haue they beene willing to doe for them what obedience haue they shewed them Make account then that God will blesse thē and succour thē that they shall liue a long and happie life vpon the earth And it is iust that their children also should reward the like to them to couer their infirmities as Noahs chrildren did so that either God will not let them breake out or else they shall hide them and not lay them open to their shame But those that be now so rebellious as they be sicke of the father or mother and desire the parents landes more then their life Looke for it a daye will come that they shall bee sicke of their children to But here seemes an obiection to arise We see it far otherwise ofttimes vilde persons liue long and those that bee obedient die quickely but to this we may answere that the reprobate liues but to heape vp wrath against the day of wrath and to make vp a greaer measure of his sinnes that God may make vp a greater measure of vengeance so that the greatest promotiō for reprobates were to dye so soone as they were borne for the longer they liue the more sins they commit and the more shal be their torments For the godly if God take them away sooner it is to take them to a better place that they may be taken from the euill
they be so easily prouoked to such foule and reprochfull tearmes must confesse before God that they bee miserable breakers of this commaundement For this though it be a drie blow yet it is a sowre blow and strikes to the heart and dries vp the bloud with sorrow and vexation But that we may be freed from this euill tongue set on fire on hell we must pray God first to set a watch before our tongues that we may not speake vnaduisedly And secondly to giue vs a good heart For according to the aboundance of the heart so the mouth speaks that is the guider of the tongue and as it were the warehouse to the mouth looke what stuffe good or bad is laid vp in the warehouse that you shall see stirring abroad in the shop The tongue no man can tame but God can tame it To him therefore we must runne that he will take away the euill of our hearts and set such a watch ouer vs as that we may speake good wholsome speaches profitable to Gods glory and the good of our brethren So this commaundement is broken in word Now it followes how it is broken indeede and that first when one strikes to the heart only without death This hurting of our neighbour in reueng God hath appointed to be punished of the Magistrate by inflicting the same hurt vpon him that he in his heart of reuenge hath done to another An eye for an eye an hand for hand foot for foot c. And that most iustly to that he should drinke of his owne cuppe He thinkes it a light matter in his passion to strike out ones eye therefore he shall feele himselfe how small a thing it is He makes no bones to cut of a leg or an arme well if he like it so well he shall make triall in himselfe how good it is which shewes also that God doth exceedingly hate this venturousnes and boldnes of men to run vpon their brother in reuenge And that we way the better see the foule vnlawfulnesse of this sin of reuenge consider what wrong it doth both vnto the partie and to God and to his owne selfe that would be reuenged For the person on whom he seekes reuenge he takes vpon to punish him without any calling or authoritie and therefore is iniurious Why but may not I doe to him as he did to me No God giues no such allowance therfore he goes beyond his calling and for this cause is iniurious Then to himselfe he doth iniurie that seekes reuenge For it imbitters his enemie more and makes him more madde against him And then he is not sure to speed better but he may get more hurt to himselfe or if he be to strong for the other yet he hates him more and watcheth him a mischiefe besides he strips himselfe of Gods protection he neither can pray for a blessing nor haue a blessing because he is out of Gods defence he promiseth no shelter nor his Angels watch not ouer him that is out of his waies therfore he is subiect eyther to hurt an other and so to imbitter him more or to be hurt and then he hath no comfort for he ranne into his owne daunger and sought his owne hurt Then he wrongs God most of all for he takes Gods office out of his hand for God hath said vengeance is mine and I will reuenge Who made you a Magistrate now to take Gods turne What commission haue you to lay hands on his image But if I suffer this he would alwaies be medling and saucie I should not haue any quiet by him But God saith I will reuenge Thinke you God hath left gouerning the world or is hee a sleepe trow you that he cannot see these troublesome persons or doth hee want iustice or power that hee cannot or will not punish them sufficiently but you must needs rush vpon the breach and passe sentence your selfe Nay you doe God great wrong he hath said he will doe and will you presume to step before him and say I will doe it my selfe But God is fittest to rewarde and reuenge iniuries for he is not partiall and he tries the hearts and sees all circumstances why he hated you how long and with what minde he did thus and thus to you and he also can and will proportion the punishment to the fault whereas commonly if men might carue to themselues here they would cut a greate deale to deepe or be to sparing the one But sith God can doe it in best time and best measure and manner and hath said he will doe it what should you doe medling with reueng vnlesse you will hurte your selfe wrong an other and shoulder God out of his place Now for murther That is either Secret or Open. Secret as by poyson or some cunning deuice such as was Ahabs deuice he would not openly murther Naboth but he lets Iesabell haue his ring and concents and conceales the matter of that cursed and bloudie fetch against Naboth Therefore the holy Ghost tearmes Ahab no better then a murderer In like case Dauid woulde not slaye Vriah with his owne hands nor by any of his owne subiects but he puts him a forlorne hope casting him in such perill that he could not escape and that with a desire of his death to and then by this plotte to couer all but God discouered both to himselfe and to the whole world to that Dauid was guiltie of murther But the grossest and most barbarous of all is when one with his owne hands openly doth take away the life of a man This was condemned Gen. 6. and a reason added Thou shalt not kill a man for he was made in the image of God This is therefore to deface Gods image and as it were to rase the princes picture and broad seale yea this thing is so hatefull vnto God that if a beast slay a man he must be slaine and his flesh must not be eaten Now if God will haue the beast stoned which hath slaine a man though he haue neither lawe nor reason to restraine him much more those worse thē beasts that hauing Gods cōmandement and reafō to hold them backe yet by al these bars cannot be kept in from violating the image of God and the soule of man Besides they haue seene how ill murderers haue sped as Caine what a curse what a brande did God set vpon him that he was alwaies a runnagate and vagabound and could find no rest vpon the earth And in Numb 35. It is said that the lande is polluted and cannot be made pure but by the death of him that was the murderer Now this is so much the more vilde by how much those bee nearer bounde in any lincke or bond to him that doth this wronge As a brother the brother the child the father the wife the husband or such like which makes the sinne a great deale more haynous and odious But most monstrous and most indigne of all is it for one