his Father Sanctify them with thy trueth thy word is the trueth And the Apostle teacheth that GOD doth sanctify the Church clense it by the washing of the water through the word Now thē the plaister must be applyed to the place that is wounded or sore If it be applied to any other place it will do no good If the disease come frō the hart or inward parts it is in vain to lay the plaister to the head to the eare to the hand or to the foote so long as the heart inward parts are not cured they will minister new corrupt matter to the outward parts If then our hearts be corrupt we must not onely be content to apply the word to the eares by hearing it to the head by vnderstanding it to the tongue by talking of it but also to the heart for the purging of it at the first and for the guiding of it alwaies afterward 2. Againe the heart is the seate of the affections you must therefore receiue the word into your hearts that so it may worke on your affections both to sanctifie them as also to stirre them vp vnto good Thou must loue the word trust in the word and reioyce in the word or rather thou must loue God trust in God and reioyce in God because of his word as was shewed before in the example of Dauid Thou canst not doe this vnles thou receiue the word with thy heart As meate cannot nourish thy body vnles it be receiued into thy stomacke And as seede can neuer sprout nor come vp vnles it be cast into the furrowes and clods of the earth no more will the word profit thy soule vnles it be receiued into thy heart 3. Moreouer the heart is the commander of the whole man and sets all on worke according to the disposition of it selfe Of the abundance of the hart the mouth speaketh as saith our Sauiour A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth good things and an euill man out of the euill treasure of his heart bringeth forth euill things As the primum mobile doth turne all the other inferiour orbes round about with it And as the watch wheele of a clocke guideth all the other wheeles If it stand they stand if it goe they goe if it goe slowly they goe slowly if it go swiftly they go swiftly So doth the heart of man rule and order all the senses and parts of his body either to good or euill they are exercised as it is affected Those then that would be obedient hearers of the word must needes receiue and embrace it with their hearts that so their hearts louing and lyking and beleeuing it may set all their senses and all the parts of their bodies on worke to practise it 4. Lastly the heart is the safest place for it As sowne corne if it lye on the top of the furrowes may easily be deuoured by the fowles of the ayre but if it be hid and couered is free from that danger so the word which thou hearest if it goe no further then thy eares or head it is easily taken from thee but if it descend to the bottome of thy heart it may there be safelie kept It is an heauenly treasure And therefore thou must imitate that man who finding a treasure in the field did hide it and for ioy thereof went and sold all that he had to buy that field Though men will suffer their baser stuffe and wodden vessell to be more common and lye more open and remaine in greater danger yet their best and most costly stuffe their iewells and coyne they will lay vp in the safest places So seeing the word of God is most precious of great value and worth lay it vp safely in the bottome of the heart And if this be a property of good hearers to heare the word with their hearts then those who bring their bodies to the Church and leaue their hearts at home who draw neere to God with their lippes and with their eares when their hearts are farre from him cannot be good hearers If thou wouldest be of that number prepare thy heart before hand and while thou hearest let not thy heart be thinking on any by-matters but onely attend to that heare with thy heart as well as with thy eares and then shalt thou be blessed by thy hearing 2. Againe note hence more specially the qualitie and disposition of their hearts who heare profitably they heare with an honest and good heart It is not any kind of heart that will make your hearing profitable it must be an honest and good heart Though thou shouldest heare with thy heart as well as with thy eares yet vnles it be a good heart it will little auaile thee For in the goodnes of the heart consisteth a maine difference betwixt these hearers and some of the former Those which be compared to stony ground did heare with their harts For they are saide not onely to heare but also to receiue the word with ioy Yet were they not good and honest hearts They were hard and stony and would not suffer the worde to take rooting deepe enough And those that be resembled to Thornie ground did heare with their hearts yet were their hearts not good They were full of worldly cares and carnall delights which afterward choaked the word But these receiued it with good and honest hearts and therefore did both retaine it and obey it In describing of the qualitie of this their hart Christ here vseth two words which be of a neere yet not of the same signification There is some difference ketwixt them the one properly signifieth faire beautifull seemly and comely the other signifieth good and excellent The one noteth the outward apparent qualitie the other expresseth the inward nature and inherent propertie of the thing And so here by is signified that the heart of these hearers is good each way both outwardly before men manifesting it self to be good by open profession by aboundance of fruites and by constant perseuerance And also inwardly in it selfe and before God by a sincere sanctification and holie disposition And so their heart differeth from the heartes of the former hearers For though they in receyuing the Worde with ioy in belieuing it and bringing forth some fruites of it did make some faire showe and gaue some outward signe of a good heart yet their heart was not effectually sanctified within and they made those faire showes but for a time Afterward they reuolting in time of Tentation or failing in their fruites thorough worldly cares and voluptuousnes bewrayed the filthinesse of theyr hearts Those then that would bee good hearers must haue good hearts both waies Both inwardly in their owne nature and inclination as also outwardly before men by the fruites and testimonies As is the heart so will the hearing be Good meete will not nourish that mans bodie who hath a bad stomacke that cannot well
Christs body haue they more holines or more vertue in them thē Christs body had Seeing the diuell comes to hearers let vs before we heare and afterward we haue heard arme our selues against him 2. The diuels practise he taketh the word out of their hearts The heart is not here taken strictly and properly but generally for the minde and affections yet cannot the diuell immediately directly by himselfe worke vpon the soule or heart of man that belongeth onely vnto God who alone is the searcher of the heart The diuell worketh immediately indirectly by meanes euen by externall obiects outward senses and corporall phantasies he taketh the word out of the hart by interrupting the phantasie and making it vnfit to conuey any thing to the vnderstanding or to the heart and by conueying other thoughts into the heart and turning the minde another way so as it shall no longer affect the word nor thinke of it any more Neither can he take it by violence without their liking that heard it but with their consent he taketh it onely from them who were careles hearers who neuer suffered it to sinke deepe into their hearts but being like to the high way side did not couer it with the moyst mouldes of holy affections yea he taketh it from those who neuer had any great loue vnto it and therefore might easily be perswaded to let him take it In regard of this his practise Christ in the propounding of the parable compared him to the fowles of the ayre because as they will follow the sower and will picke vp that which lyes by the high way side or any other place vncouered so the diuell haunteth the assemblies where the word is preached that he may take from the hearers that which hath bene taught Yea in this respect the diuell is farre worse then any fowles They eate the seede of necessitie because they want other foode to nourish them but he of malice he needeth it not it doth no good to him And therefore he taketh it away not to doe himselfe any good thereby but to doe them harme from whom he taketh it Againe the birds are soone satisfied and that with a litle if they haue once eaten their fill they flye away and leaue the rest though it lye vncouered but the diuell is neuer satisfied till he haue picked vp euery graine that is not couered in thr bottome of the heart Birds are easily kept away or driuen away but it is an hard matter either to keepe the diuell away or driue him away from those that heare carelesly till they alter the manner of their hearing he will not be kept from them See then what an enemie the diuell is to hinder the efficacie of Gods word in mans heart As the preacher laboureth to cast the word into the heart so be to take it out He thrusteth many euill things into the heart he put treason into the heart of Iudas to betray Christ he filled the heart of Ananias to lye vnto the holy Ghost So also doth he keepe all manner of good from the heart by the one he would make vs bad by the other he would hinder vs from being good Except it be in praying hee doth not trouble a man so much in any busines as in hearing of Gods word because he is afraide lest man should be conuerted and saued thereby This his practise is euidently seene in many It appeareth by the euent that he taketh the word from many of our hearers for when the people haue heard the preacher speake a whole houre together and deliuer many profitable points of doctrine and that very plainely yet few can repeate any thing at all many will say they like him well he is a good man and made a very good sermon yet cannot tell one word that he spake What is the reason hereof the diuell hath taken it out of their hearts and heads Report to them an humane historie tell them some strange newes or a tale for their worldly profit or corporall health they will keepe it well enough and at any time and in any company will relate it very readily but teach them a mysterie of saluation instruct them in a dutie to God or man they forget it as soone as they haue heard it What is the cause hereof but this the diuell knowes that the one will neuer profit their soules nor further their saluation and therefore he will not take it from them he is afraid lest the other should profit their soules and further their saluation and therefore he labours to depriue them of it If a man put coyne in a chest and wares in a chamber and within a while come and finde none there he will say a thiefe hath bene there So if people heare much and keepe little or nothing it is certaine the diuell hath bene there to steale it out of their he◅ts This should teach euery one of vs that be hearers to looke well to our selues and carefully to keepe that which we haue heard The diuell will doe what he can to depriue vs of it If he cannot keepe thee from hearing he will if he can rob thee of that which thou hast heard If thou be carelesse in keeping he will be sure to take all from thee You knowe that if a man haue some speciall goods and looke negligently vnto them and care not much whether he keepe them or loose them and a cunning thiefe be very desirous of them he is like within a while to get them Wherefore as Abraham droue away the Fowles that troubled him when he was sacrifising so driue yee away the Diuell who troubleth you whē you heare Euen as you chase away the birds that would eate vp the corne sowne in your fields And as by harrowing of your sowne fieldes you couer the seed with earth that so the Fowles may not deuoure it and that it may better fructify So couer the seede of the worde in the furrowes of thy affections and let it enter deepe into thy heart and so shall it both be safe from the Diuell and fit to yeeld fruit in thy life This practise of the Diuel is amplified by the ends of it which are two the one subordinate to the other The former is least they shoulde beleeue Whence we may obserue two things one in respect of the word and another in respect of the Diuell 1. In respect of the word namely that the hearing and receiuing of the word is a speciall meane to bring men to faith for the Diuell doth therefore hinder men in hearing least by hearing they should beleeue Saint Paul sayth That faith is by hearing and hearing by the word of God How can they beleeue in him of whom they haue not heard and and how can they heare without a Preacher And those for whom Christ prayed must beleeue in him through the Apostles word Was not the Eunuch brought to faith by Philips teaching Did not Cornelius beleeue by
are yet tangled againe therein and ouercome whose latter ende is worse then the beginning Fulfilling the Prouerbe The Dogge is turned to his owne Uomite the Sowe that was washed to the wallowing in the myre Now these doe not fall away in part only and for a time as the Apostles did at Christs Passion but wholly and perpetually This is a fearefull falling away Corporal relapses into naturall diseases are not so dangerous to the body as these relapses into errour and sinne are dangerous to the soule For by them men procure to themselues a double punishment Poenam damni poenam sensus A punishment of losse For they loose the reward of their former profession and obedience If the Righteous forsake his righteousnes and commit iniquitie all his righteousnes shall be forgotten and he shall die in his iniquitie saith the Lord. Likewise a punishment of sense and that so greeuous as it had bene better for them neuer to haue knowne the way of righteousnes theÌ„ after they haue knowne it to turne away from the holy coÌ„maundement giuen vnto them By their backsliding they more dishonour God and offend others then if they neuer had made any profession at all And therefore their punishment shall be greater then if they had neuer knowne the Gospell Here then see the danger of persecution it driues many from Christ Such is the disposition of some as they will not suffer any thing for the Gospell they like and loue it when it brings peace and prosperitie with it but they bid iâ— farewell when it brings persecutioÌ„ Though Christ hath suffered much for them yet will they not suffer any thing for him they would faine raigne with him but they will not suffer with him nor for him And therefore if they be called to beare the crosse they will rather renounce the Gospell then beare the waight of it But let them know that if they deny Christ or his word before men he will deny them before his father in heauen he that setteth his hand to the plough and looketh backward is vnfit for the kingdome of God Let vs arme our selues against this danger that we may continue constant in the day of triall Let not any crosses make vs wearie of well doing knowing that in due season we shall reape if we faint not And because persecution can neuer harme vs if our hearts be good let vs take heede as we are exhorted by the Apostle left there be in any of vs an euill heart and vnfaithfull to depart away froÌ„ the liuing God but exhort one another daily lest any be hardened with the deceitfulnes of sin If any of your hearts be not yet mollified so as the word of God cannot take deepe rooting in the bottome of them troubles for the Gospell can no sooner befall you then you will renounce it but if your heartes bee throughly mollified if the word take deepe rooting and worke iustifying faith in you neither tribulation nor anguish nor persecution nor famine nor nakednes nor perill nor sword shall separate you from the loue of Christ but in all these things you shall be more then conquerours And finally if it be such an hainous offence to fall away in time of persecution what shall we say of them who fall away in time of peace those doe it by compulsion by force and violence these of their owne accord those doe it halfe against their will but these most willingly those to saue their own goods and preserue their liues these to saue neither being in danger of neither those by constraint these through contempt Those among their enemies who were readie to hurt them if they would not recant these among their friends who will helpe them if they abode constant Those in the field where they feared an ouerthrow these in a laÌ„d of peace where they expected no combat These must needes be more faultie and more inexcusable Those subiects who yeeld to the enemies through feare and for safegard of their liues are more fauoured and more easily pardoned then they who being in no danger did willingly run to the enemies and of their owne accord ioyne with them against their lawfull Prince Oh then what fauour can those expect at Gods hand who in these our happie daies and in this our peaceable land doe fall away from the truth of the Gospell to poperie and profanenesse These are farre worse then dastardly cowards for they yeeld not till they see some danger these yeeld before any danger appeareth These are like those wicked ones who flie when none pursueth them We should resist vnto blood striuing against sinne As Christ shed his blood for the saluation of our soules so should we be readie to shed our blood for the maintenance of his Gospell How farre are they from this who fall away before they sawe any enemies to resist what hope can they haue of mercy from Christ who are so easily turned from the sincerity of his Gospell which they should defend with their dearest blood Thinke seriously of this and take heede of declining in such an happie season Remember Lots wife as Christ biddeth you And consider that she for looking backe toward Sâ—dome was turned into a pillar of salt and that to season vs withall as Augustine thought Deceiue not your selues but knowe for a certaintie that the hearing of the Gospell will not further your saluation but rather aggrauate your condemnation if you fail away from it either in the time of persecution or in the time of peace Vers. 14. And that which fell among thornes are they which haue heard and after their departure are choaked with cares c. NOw followeth the exposition of the third kind of ground which noteth vnto vs a third kind of hearers And those also are bad hearers The ground is full of thornes There is some reasonable depth of soyle yet the seede and the corne sprouted is choaked by thornes and bryars that come vp among it so as it yeeldeth no good crop at haruest In like sort there be some hearers whose hearts are not so hard as the former and who are not tryed by tentation and persecution as they weâ—e whose hearts seeme to be much mooued and deepely pierced with the word and liue in such peaceable times and places that they are neuer called to suffer for the word and yet all is afterward marred by corrupt affections which are not yet mortified but still liue and raigne in their hearts And so these hearers suffer much from both the former kindes The first sort were hindered in their fruitfulnesse by the Diuell who tooke the word out of their hearts The second sort were hindered by other meÌ„ who persecuted them for the Gospell But this sort are hindered by their own carnall and worldly lustes They differ from the first kind because those vnderstood not the word but these vnderstand it and would haue embraced and obeyed it but that it crossed
will deceiue those that trust to them They will faile vs in our greatest neede as namely at the houre of death That rich man who enlarged his barnes and laid vp goods for many yeares when he was in great hope of enioying them long had his soule taken from him that night and knew not who should enioy them Naked came we into this world and naked must we returne wee brought nothing into it neither must we carry any thing out of it hic acquiruntur hic relinquntur here they are gotten and here they are left All those waies doe riches deceiue men And whom they deceiue in their hearts they choake the word Such impediments are they to the word as they hinder many from receiuing and professing it Christ said the poore receiue the Gospell And Paul said you see your calling that not many mightie or many noble are called but God hath chosen the weake ones to confound the mightie and base and despised ones to confound the noble So likewise they hinder men in the obedience and practise of the word Rich men are more bound to serue the Lord then the poore for on whom he bestoweth much of them he requireth much As he is more bountifull to thē so should they be more dutifull to him yet oftentimes it commeth to passe that they seldomer heare it and lesse obey it then others doe But the greater is their sinne and the more fearefull shall be their iudgement if they doe not amend You then that be rich looke well about you take heede lest your riches deceiue you and in deceiuing you make the word fruitles It had bene better neuer to haue enioyed them then thus to be deceiued and hindred by them Salomon thought this to be an euill sicknes which he saw vnder the sunne to wit riches reserued to the owners thereof for their euill And is it not verified in them whose Riches doe choake the worde in their hearts and make it vnfruitfull in their liues what greater euil could befall them Do they not hereby endanger their owne soules In a woefull case they are and farre worse then the poorest in the world CHRIST sayth vnto such Woe be vnto you that are rich for yee haue receyued your consolation Some comfort they may find now but none hereafter And Iames saith to them Go too now yee Rich men weepe and howle for the miseries that shall come vppon you your gold and siluer is cankred and the rust therof shal be a witnes against you and shall eate your flesh as it were fire Ye haue heaped vppe Treasure for the last dayes Though now they feare no danger yet one day they shall feele it to their great sorrowe It is strange to see howe craftie and wise Rich men bee in worldly affaires In all their dealings they take such good heed that they can hardly bee deceiued by any yet in spirituall matters touching the saluation of theyr soules they may easily bee ouer-reached They are to theyr great losse often deceyued and yet doe not perceiue it Their owne riches deceiue their soules and yet they cannot discerne it nor will acknowledge it Oh consider that as the Diuell may deceiue you and as other men may deceiue you so also your own wealth may deceiue you and that as dangerously as any It may so deceiue you as it may procure your euerlasting destruction if in time you do not espie it and redresse it CHRIST would neuer haue said that the deceitfulnes of Riches as Thornes choake the seed of the word vnlesse riches did deceiue men and make them vnfruitfull hearers Let his words then be an admonition to make you take better heede There is not any one of you but if a Friende tolde you of a Couzener that had beguyled manie and went about to deceyue you to your great dammage you would take warning and eyther refuse to haue any dealings at all with the man or else if by necessity you were compelled thereunto you would be so very circumspect in your dealings that hee should hardly defraud you Christ Iesus here lets you vnderstand that riches are deceitfull and that in deceiuing men they hinder them in that which serues for Gods glory and the good of their owne soules And will not you receiue warning and beware of them Take heede of them they seeme to be your good friends and much to pleasure you yet is there falshood in their fellowship The better you like them the more you loue them and the more you trust them the more readie are they to deceiue you And indeed this is one of the strangest and grossest deceits that can be found in the world In other matters men are deceiued against their wills but in this with their wills In other things the deceiued doe of themselues soone espie the cosenage and seeke to helpe themselues but in this many are deceiued continually and yet cannot discerne it yea if another tell them of it yet will they not beleeue it In other fraudes the deceiuers are most in fault but here the deceiued are in greatest fault for riches deceiue you not through their owne craft but through your corruption not through their fraudulēt perswasions but throgh your fond affections not through their bad practises but through your madde behauiour Riches are no causes but occasions of the deceit Men take occasion by them vse them as meanes to deceiue themselues As Paul sayd of Sinne and the Law Sinne tooke occasion by the Commaundement and deceiued me and thereby slew me So may we say of mans corruption and riches His corruption taketh occasion by riches to deceiue himselfe and therby to destroy himselfe He is deceiued by the supposed pleasantnesse of riches as Eue was deceiued by the pleasantnes of the Apple And as Eue was more to be blamed then the Apple so is the rich man more to be blamed then his riches If riches doe so dangerously deceiue men how may we vse riches that they may not deceiue vs nor like thornes hinder the fruit of the word You neede not to cast them away as Crates the Thebane and some other Philosophers did They are the good blessinges of God and may be well vsed for Gods glory and mans good Obserue these 5. Rules and they shall not deceiue you nor choake the word in your hearts 1. Set not your affections on them desire them not too earnestly loue them not too dearely according to the instruction of the Kingly Prophet If riches increase set not your hearts thereon but rather as the Apostle exhorteth They which vse this world let them be as though they vsed it not It is your inordinate affection toward them that makes them to deceiue you and hinder you in the obedience of the word The more you loue them the lesse will you loue the word the lesse desire wil you haue to heare and learne it and the lesse care to
vanitie and an euill sicknesse Some are so miserable as they cannot finde in their hearts to vse their riches for their owne comfort but let them lye by them as a sicke man doth his meate Againe there be many who liue in pleasure and yet enioy little wealth who waste their wealth in wantonnesse and care little for riches so that they may haue their pleasure for a time Such are the wanton youthes of our age who like the prodigall Sonne spend their patrimonie by riotous liuing These carnall pleasures will no lesse choake the seede of the word and hinder the fruites of it then cares of the world or deceitfulnesse of riches Salomon was a myrrour of wisedome yet when hee gaue himselfe to voluptousnesse he forgat himselfe neglected his dutie to his Creator and gaue way to abhominable Idolatrie And for this cause did Iob sacrifice for his children when they were feasting lest the pleasures thereof should make them blaspheme God in their hearts And Paul sayd that the widdow which liueth in pleasure is dead while she is aliue because such are no more able to performe the duties of Christians then one that is dead is able to performe the office of a man These pleasures hinder the fruitfulnes of the word in three respects 1. In regard of the nature of the word the obedience therof it affordeth no such carnal pleasures as the natural man desireth though it yeeld spirituall and heauenly pleasures yet it it yeeldeth no corporall or carnall pleasures And therfore voluptuous persons who minde nothing but their pleasures haue no care to obey the word which bringes them no such pleasures as they desire Nay the word doth crucify our lusts doth curbe moderate our pleasures And therefore the naturall man who hath his heart wholy set on pleasures and will not be stinted in the vse of them cannot endure it 2. In regard of the effect of pleasures they breede securitie in the heart make it more vnfit for grace more prone to vice lesse fearefull of sinne and punishment And therefore it is sayd That Whoredome and Wine take away the heart Pleasure like another Cyrce so enchanteth mens mindes that like bruite beastes they are altogether giuen to sensuallitie and wholy neglect their dutie to God 3 In regard of the matter of pleasures for many carnall pleasures consist in the vse of vnlawfull thinges and in the practise of some sinne Now if a mans heart bee set on pleasure then to satisfie his pleasure hee will sinne against GOD as Eue did in eating the forbidden fruite And as Herode did who though hee heard Iohn Baptist gladly and did many thinges that he taught yet he would not put away his brothers wife as he was commaunded Voluptuous persons wil not embrace such doctrine nor follow such teachers as condemne their vnlawfull pleasures They will not suffer wholesome doctrine as Paul fore-told but after their owne lusts get them an heape of teachers to trie whether any will tollerate their sinfull pleasures and them will they like best Uolupt as est escamalorum Pleasure is the baite of sinne And man is taken with pleasure as the fish with an hooke As the Fisherman couereth his hooke with a baite that the fish biting at the baite may be catched with the hooke So the Diuell doeth baite many sinnes with pleasure that man receiuing the pleasure may be catched with the sinne In regard whereof the voluptuous man who will not bee abridged of any pleasure committeth many sinnes against God and fayleth often in the obedience of the word He may often heare the word yet will not obey it in any point which crosseth his pleasure As some sicke patients are content that the Physition prescribe them a dyet and sometime aske him a question whether such meate be good for them or no though the Physition who best knowes what is hurtfull for him doe forbid them some kinds of meate yet haue they so strong an appetite to some of those meates as for all his direction they will not forgoe them but onely would haue beene glad if he would allow them So men come to heare the worde and thereby to learne what is good and ill for the health of their soules though the Preacher giue them good direction yet so earnest is their desire of pleasure that they will take their delight in those thinges which hee by the worde doeth forbid This may teach vs to take heede of pleasures If our hearts be drawne away with them wee shall be barren soyle We professed and promised in our Baptisme to renounce the vaine pompe and glorie of the world and all carnall desires of the flesh shall we then by seeking following them choake the word in our hearts Although before our conuersion we were as the Apostle speaketh of himselfe and others disobedient deceiued seruing the lusts and diuers pleasures yet now after our conuersion we must forgoe many pleasures that so we may yeeld better obedience to the word of God It was foretold by Paul that in the last daies shall come perilous times for men should be louers of pleasures more then louers of God I may say to you as Christ sayd of Isaiahs Prophecy This day is this Scripture fulfilled in your eares now are come those perilous times Now doe many men loue their pleasures more then they loue God The loue of God is seene in keeping his Commaundements Those then that are more carefull take more paines and defray more charges to satisfie themselues in their pleasures then to glorify God by the obedience of his word Are they not louers of pleasures more then louers of God And those that wilfully breake Gods Commaundements that so they may enioy their pleasures as some by whoredome others by surfetting and drunkennesse others by scoffing and iesting others by lasciuious dancing riotous gaming wanton sports prophane pastimes on the Sabboth day Are they not louers of pleasure more then louers of God And if they loue their pleasures more then they loue God they may rather be counted prophane Epicures then godly Christians The greater their pleasures is now the greater will their paine be hereafter Many of these are so addicted to their pleasures as they will not by any meanes be reclaymed wee finde it an harder matter to reforme them then to reforme other offenders The Phylosophers obserued that many fel from other Sects to the Epicures but not any from the Epicures to other Sectes When we speake against their pleasures wee but speake to the bellie which wanteth eares Surdo canimus they are like the deafe Adder that stoppeth her eare But if they will take no warning let them goe on and trie what will become of them in the end Reioyce O young man in thy youth as Salomon speaketh and let thine heart cheere thee in the dayes of thy youth and walke in the wayes of thine heart and in the
is God that giueth the encrease Wee haue receiued and taken vpon vs Curam non curationem A care and a charge not a curing Non est in medico semper releuetur vt ager It is not in the power of the Physition to cure his sicke patient at his pleasure Euery one of vs shall receiue a reward Secundum laborem non secundum prouentum according to his labour not according to his fruit As Bernard well obserued And therefore Paul sayd not I haue profited more then all but I haue laboured more then they all And rather reioyced in the abundance of his labours then in the fruitfulnesse of his laboures It a quaeso fac tu quod tuum est Nam Deus quod suum est satis absque tua solicitudine auxietate curabit Doe then I pray thee that which is thy office and dutie God will haue care enough of that which belongeth vnto him sayd the same Bernard But if we conuert and edifie some by our poore Ministerie we may comfort our selues by them and say of them as Paul did of the Corinthians Yee are the seale of our Apostleshippe in the Lord. And as hee did of the Thessalonians What is our hope or ioy or crowne of reioycing Are not euen you it in the presence of our Lord Iesus Christ at his comming When wee sow good seede in the Lords field the enuious man soweth tares Wee must not looke that in a populous congregation all should be good and true hearers If some onely be good and profitable hearers let vs praise GOD for them and pray vnto him dayly to encrease their number But to come neerer to the properties of these hearers in particular In the description of them and by comparing them with the former hearers wee may easilie perceiue that in some thinges they doe agree with them in some thinges they differ from them and doe much excell them There were some commendable thinges in diuers of the former hearers and would haue wrought good in them if they had beene well vsed In these things doe these good hearers agree with them They haue the selfe-same things though in a better maner and with better vse 1. They agree with them in that they heare as well as the rest All the persons spoken of in this Parable are hearers both good and bad and they all heare one and the same doctrine though not after one and the same maner nor with the like efficacy and fruit And therefore those which refuse to heare eyther through error as our Recusants or through contempt and negligence as some carelesse and carnall people are so farre from beeing the ground here mentioned as that they are worse then the bad ground spoken of before There cannot be any goodnesse in their hearts nor yet in their liues Can any field yeeld a good crop of corne at haruest which was not sowne at the seede time They are worse then many reprobates haue beene and are How then can they looke to be as good as the Elect are and shall be 2. They agree in the vnderstanding of the word for it is sayd in Mathew He that receiueth seed in good ground is he that heareth the word and vnderstandeth it And although the first sort of bad hearers are sayd to heare and not vnderstand Yet the other two sortes are insinuated to haue vnderstood for how could they receiue the word with ioy vnlesse they vnderstood it How could cares of the world the deceitfulnesse of riches and voluptuous liuing choake the word after it was heard vnlesse it had beene vnderstood So that as the vnderstanding of the word is not sufficient to make you good hearers so on the other side the want of vnderstanding declareth you to be bad hearers All good hearers vnderstand the word though not onely they Good hearers must practise that which is taught them But how can they practise that which they vnderstand not 3. They agree in their affection to the word Those that be as stony groūd receiue the worde with ioy So also doe these good hearers though the thing it selfe be not expresly mētioned The Gospell is glad tydings and reioyceth the hearts of all that embrace it There is no commendable propertie in the reprobate and vnprofitable hearers but it is found in the elect and profitable hearers and that in a more excellent manner And therefore those who are nothing mooued nor comforted by the word are worse then some bad hearers and must not be reckoned in the number of good hearers Notwithstanding in this description of these good hearers wee may perceiue that in diuers other things they differ much from all the former hearers and therein doe greatly exceede and excell them all They are described by three properties and by them all they differ from the rest 1. By the manner of receiuing the word They receiue it with an honest and good heart 2. By the maner of reteyning it They keep it 3. By the maner of practising it They bring forth fruit and that with patience and plentie Touching the first propertie 2. things may bee noted The one more genenerall and that is the instrument of hearing it is with the heart The other more speciall and that is the qualitie and disposition of their heart it is an honest and good heart 1. Concerning the former we may hence obserue that those who will be profitable hearers of Gods most holy word must heare it with their hearts not onely with their eares to harken vnto the sound of it while it is vttered nor onely with their heads to vnderstand that which is deliuered but likewise with their hearts to keepe it and obey it The Lord required of the Iewes that the words which he commanded them should be in their heart The wise man thus exhorted his sonne Forget not thou my law but let thine heart keepe my cōmandements binde them on thy necke and write them vpon the table of thine heart And for this cause when Lydia went to heare Paul the Lord opened her heart that so she might attend to the things which Paul spake If her hart had bene shut so as the word could not enter in she had bene an vnprofitable hearer but God opening her heart that shee might receiue the word into it shee became a profitable hearer And there is great reason why al profitable hearers should receiue the word with the heart and into the heart 1. For the reformation and direction of the heart by nature mans heart is corrupt yea all the imaginations of the thoughts of his heart are onely euill continually And out of the heart remayning corrupt come euill thoughts Murthers Adulteries Fornications Thefts false Testimonies Slaunders such like sins which defile the man as Christ teacheth Now the worde is an Instrument of sanctification Christ said his Disciples were al clean through the word which he had spokē to them And praied to