fellowship of his sufferings being made conformable vnto his death if by any meanes I might attaine vnto the resurrection of the dead Thus he and all tend to this that he may be sure of a blessed Resurrection at the last day The discretion of a man maketh him to prouide in Summer for Winter in youth for age But if the soule be better than the body heauen than earth God than the world things eternall than things transitory it shall be our Wisedome in the sight of God and men to lay vp a good foundation against that Day when the Lord shall appeare to Iudgement For first It is a dreadfull time for then the Lord Iesus shall be reuealed from Heauen with his mighty Angels in flaming fire 2 Thess. 1.8 By the dread of that Day is described some time of fearefull punishment on sinners in this life as some learned iudge or if that Day it selfe be there meant as others conceite marke the astonishment thereof Reuel 6.12 And loe there was for it is as sure as if already acted a great Earthquake and the Sunne became blacke as a sackeâ—loth of haire and the Moone became as blood and the Starres of heauen fell vnto the earth euen as a figge tree casteth her vntimely figs when shee is shaken of a mighty wind and the heauen departed as a scrole when it is rolled together and euery Mountaine and Iland were moued out of their places Should we see such things now What would our feare and amazement be How would not our hearts within vs melt with perplexity Surely that Day that shall end all times and the course of all things in this world must be to man a hideous time For the Kings of the earth and the great men and the rich men c. hid themselues saith the Spirit of prophesie making things present that are to come in dennes and in rocks of the mountaines and said to the mountaines and rocks Fall on vs and hide vs c. from the suffering perhaps of momentany things And what will they do at this Day As it was said of the last end of Ierusalem so of this time and most truely Then shall be great tribulation such as was not from the beginning of the world till then 2. T is the time of tryall and of the great Assize If a man be to be tryed for life how doth he prouide against the time to cleare his innocency or to plead his pardon Then it comports euery man to be ready with his plea that he be not condemned Magistrates Ministers people For we must all appeare before the Iudgement Seat of Christ that euery man may receiue according to that he hath done in the body whether it be good or euill Thirdly As it fareth with vs then so must it stand with vs for euer No reuersing that Sentence by a writ of error no appeale from thence to a Court of Chancery Mercy accepted in this our Day shall be shewed then refused here shall be denyed there And the execution shall follow To them on the left hand it shall be said Goe ye cursed To the on the right hand Come ye blessed And so long as eternity lasteth and the immortall soule liueth yea so long as God is God the reprobate shall be in the torments of hell and the righteous in the ioyes of heauen Now it would make a mans heart to shiuer and his flesh to tremble to see how in other matters men carefull of euery trifle and of euery complement obseruant neglect this matter of greatest consequence Would you thinke that a man that trots from Lawyer to Lawyer to secure and assure lands would not be a better husbandin greater matters When Parents be so carefull to get an estate to leaue to posterity would they be imagined to be vnprouided of a place for themselues at need If euill be towards another we can pity him if an Oxe be in a pit we can helpe him out we can euen pity a Dog in his hurt yet not be touched towards our selues in the extremest danger of extremest misery as if nothing were cheape with vs but our selues nothing vile but our owne soules If a man had the keeping of the blood of Christ in a violl how chary would he be of it We haue the custody of our soules committed to our selues dearer to Christ as Saint Bernard obserueth than his owne blood and shall we not be most tender of them Trifles in themselues are trifles and some things that beare some shew in comparison with others of more weight are trifles Now to the soule of man and his welfare at the Day of Christ all the Kingdomes of the world are but trifles for what shall it profit a man to win the whole world and to lose his owne soule or what recompence shall a man giue for his soule Be intreated therefore Brethren in conclusion be intreated by the sweet mercies of God by all the sufferings and intercessions of Christ by all the ioyes of heauen by the great charge which God and Nature haue committed vnto you of your owne soules oh by the glory and dread of that Day be intreated to prepare that it may goe well with you then and that ye may be numbred among the blessed Here to liue and lye with swine is abhorred and it is much more to be abhorred to liue with Deuils and damned spirits in hell Might those who now suffer the scorching of those hellish flames haue offer how readily would they apprehend it to be deliuered thence And how should we beware and vse all possible meanes that wee come not there They had their time and they lost it our time is now Behold now is the accepted time behold now is the Day of saluation 2 Cor. 6.2 Heauen may be had oh deare Christians lose it not cast vp your account mourne for your sinnes make your peace with God through the blood of Christ bring forth fruits of Regeneration Offer your selues sacrifices to God holy and acceptable and if ye finde these things hard if to you impossible call in Christ to your helpe Christ will informe your minds mollifie your hearts regenerate your wits subdue your affections purge your consciences rebuke Satan and giue the victorie the Crowne Assure your selues as the Church doth her selfe saying His left hand shall be vnder mine head and his right hand shall embrace me he will stay me with apples and comfort me with flagons And as our Saint Paul himselfe I am able to doe all things through the helpe of Christ that strengthneth me Idle not out your time with the foolish Virgins lest the gate be shut against you but with the wise Virgins get oyle into your Lampes the oyle of knowledge the oyle of faith the oyle of holinesse the oyle of praises let your Lampes be trimmed and your lights flaming that ye may enter with the Bridegroome into the bridechamber
commendable duty and very necessary to stand in the wayes of godlinesse and truth and to hearken after the same yet to stand in the wayes of sinners of superstitious and seditious and Idolatrous persons which weaue Spiders webbes nay which sit vpon Cockatrice egges it is not safe Therefore our Prophet doth wisely and necessarily adde in the second place That wee See or looke about vs. For as the mother of the ouer-hardy doth neuer want woe no more doth the rash hasty The blind man swalloweth many a Fly taketh hold of a Scorpion in stead of a Fish yea falleth in the ditch groapeth and stumbleth at noone-day Our eyes are therefore compared to the Sentinell or Watch-men of a City or Campe that forewarneth the body of danger approaching and biddeth it beware Now the Eye is not more needfull to the body for the direction thereof against stumbling and falls then Prudence and circumspection is to the Soule against error in iudgement and crookednesse in will and affection 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the vnderstanding that is the eye and the eare too as Clemens Alexandrinus citeth out of an old writer And 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Vnderstanding and a good mind and much fore-cast is the high-way to happinesse said Demosthenes against Aristogiton Therefore Saint Paul chargeth vs to walke circumspectly not as vnwise but as wise And our Sauiour Be wise as Serpents The Serpent is very quicke-sighted tam cernis acutum quà m aut Aquila aut Serpens Epidaurius and therefore he is called Draco of seeing So we must beware that we be not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 such as cannot see a farre off as Saint Peter speaketh but must anoint our eyes with eye-salue as Saint Iohn biddeth that so we may discerne things that differ light from darkenesse truth from error the sweet bread of sincerity and truth from the leauen of the old and new Pharises yea that we may be able to ken a farre off the sleights of Satan and his cogging 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 This is one property that we must learne if we will be wise as Serpents we must espy the frauds of deceiuers a farre off Praesens sit longè insidias praesaga mali mens Secondly the Serpent stoppeth his eare against the charmer and will not be gotten out of his hole And so if many among vs had turned the deafe eare vnto Inchanters who laboured first to withdraw them from loue to the truth and then from loyalty to the Prince many worshipfull houses had continued vntill this day which now wee see ouerthrowne Demosthenes would needs be gazing vpon Harpalus his plate was he not corrupted thereby The sonnes of God would needs be staring vpon the daughters of men did they not beget Gyants vpon them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by looking comes liking you know the Prouerb This I speake onely for the simpler sort that they cast not their eyes vpon euery pelting Pedlers ware lest they be coozened by them lest they lay out their money and not for meat and their siluer for that which will not profit as the Prophet Esay speakes They that haue knowne the Scriptures from their youth as Timothy did and are rooted and grounded in the truth there is no danger for them to conferre with deceiuers for greater is He that is in them then he that is in the world Therefore I speake not to such as haue their Antidot or preseruatiue in their bosome A third property of the Serpent is remembred by Augustine and Ambrose too and that is this That he is wont Totum corpus pâ—o capite fertentibus obijcere To seeke to saue his head whatsoeuer becommeth of the rest of his body so wee must be sure to hold the Head Christ his Gospell to be our Loadestone his merits to be the Anker of our hope his obedience to be our satisfaction his death to be our life howsoeuer for other matters they seeke to carry vs about with euery blast of vaine doctrine This is one thing that we are admonished of in that we are called vpon to See Another thing we are put in mind of and that is this namely that we stirre vp the holy Ghost that is in vs and that we doe not despaire by the helpe thereof to distinguish betweene a right course and a wrong For surely if there were not some thing in vs I doe not say of vs that are enlightned by Gods grace haue tasted of the good gifts of God some ability of discerning I say the Prophet would neuer haue commanded vs to lift vp our eyes or to cast our eyes about to See For is a blind man called to iudge of colours or a lame man to try masteries I know I know that without Christ we can doe nothing nâ— man can say that Iesus is the Lord but by the holy Ghost And We are not sufficient of our selues to thinke a good thought as of our selues but all our sufficiency is of God But these places are not against my purpose Bel. for I speake not a word for pride that any man should say as Nabuchadnezzar said Is not this great Babel that I haue built by the might of my power and for the honâ—ur of my Maiesty Are not we wise are not we intelligent are not we sharp-sighted No but against heedlesnes imprudence that we be not wanting to our selues that we quench not the Spirit Know ye not that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you except you be Reprobates Now where the Spirit of God is there is light there is the searching of Gods secrets there the secret of the Lord is made knowne to them that feare him Who euer was enlightned by him slept in death Who euer sought him in humility and faith and was denyed him He that commeth to be cleansed God will ioyne himselfe vnto him the Iewish Doctors haue such a speech When the Eunuch vsed his eyes in reading the Prophet Isaiah Philip was commanded by the Spirit of the Lord to ioyne himselfe vnto his Chariot For albeit God worketh in vs both the will and the deed of his good pleasure as Saint Paul saith yet he will not saue a man against his will 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by force as Nazianzen speakes And sure it is that hee that hath giuen vs reason and vnderstanding and the same 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 hath not giuen vs these Talents in vaine but that we should labour by all meanes by ardent inuocating of the Name of God by crauing the assistance of his Spirit by Spirituall exercises and meditations to increase them to sharpen them to direct them For to him that hath shall be giuen and he shall haue aboundance and God will not be weary of giuing till thou be weary of asking A graine of mustard-seed at the first is the least of all seeds but what groweth it vnto afterwards Into so great branches that the fowles
shift for themselues by flight before they had put their Generall Sertorius in safety So the Galles had their Soldurios that is deuoted men which vowed to liue and dye with their Lord as Bodin out of antiquity doth gather So the French Protestants are much commended by the equall for that they bâ—stowed the young Princes of Nauarre and Condie in a strong Castle out of gun-shot before they hazarded the great battell of Moncounter The King is so to the Common-weale as the helme is to the shippe or rather as the shippe is to the passengers while the shippe is safe there is hope to recouer the land be we neuer so farre from it though the Sea and winds doe neuer so much swell and rage but if the Shippe sinke or be dashed on the rockes there remaineth nothing but a fearefull looking for of drowning and destruction Therefore the safety of the King being the safety of all what maruell if the Prophet begin with Kings and aduise them to looke about them This may be one cause Another this We know that there is no cloth that doth so kindely take the colour that the Dyer would staine it with as the people are apt to imitate the guize and carriage of their Prince the similitude is not mine but Nazianzens therefore because the conuerting of him is the conuerting of hundreds at a clap and his auersenesse or stiffenesse the auersenesse or standing out of multitudes this also may be thought to be a cause why he beginneth with Kings When was there a good King in Iuda for there were but few in Israel after that Ephraim departed from the house of Dauid that sought the Lord with all his heart but he drew the people to be well-giuen at the least-wise in comparison On the other side when was there a wicked King that did set set vp Idols in his heart or worshipped the Hoast of heauen or burnt incense vnto Baal but the people were as forward and as sharpely set vpon Idolatry as he 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is The subiect is wont to emulate and imitate the life of his Gouernour or Prince saith one Historiographer and another Princeps quum Imperio maximus sit exemplo maior est that is Be the Prince neuer so great for command yet he commandeth most by his example It is somewhat strange Circumcision is a painefull thing specially in them that are out of their Infancy it may be gathered hereby for that the Turkes vsing it at this day vpon their children being of sâ—me yeeres doe vse such dissembling towards them for the circumstance of the time when they doe it and yet when the King of Sichem had yeelded thereunto the whole City followed So Diodorus writeth of the Aethiopians that when their King had caught some mayme or marke in any part ofhis body the manner was for all his Fauorites to maime or marke themselues in the same part Is it not written of Rehoboam expressely that when he forsooke the Lord all Israel did so with him Also is it not to be obserued in the Ecclesiasticall Story that when Iulian fell from Christ vnto Paganisme Valens in stead of the truth imbraced a lye the vile Heresie of the Arians a great part of the Empire did so likewise On the other side when Iosiah serued the Lord with all his heart all Iuda did so all his dayes And when Constantine the great and Theodosius the great gaue themselues to aduance the faith of Christ and to purge out the old leauen of Heathenisme there was such a change in the Empire on the sudden that Zosimus and Eunapius being Pagans doe much complaine thereof in their writings therefore me thinkes Fulgensius speaketh to good purpose and agreeable to true experience that although Christ dyed indifferently for all the faithfull yet the conuerting of the mighty Ones of the world is of speciall seruice to winne soules vnto Christ. Hee doth symbolize with that learned Writer that allegorizng vpon those words of Saint Iohn touching the taking of so many great Fishes doth congratulate vnto the Church the happy conuerting of Princes because by their conuetsion many were brought vnto Christs Fold Yea Plutarch a Heathen man saw in a manner as much touching the great force that is in the example of Princes for he in the life of Dio speaking of Plato his sayling into Sicily to doe some good vpon King Dionysius maketh this to be the speciall motiue for that the reforming of the King would be the reforming of the whole Iland So then the Kings piety and sound perswasion being as effectuall for the winning of the soules of his subiects as his bodily safety is auaileable for the conseruing of their worldly estates Our Psalmist without doubt had great reasâ—on to doe as he doth to begin with Kings This may suffice for the naturall placing of the words and withall touching the incomparable good that redoundeth to the common Estate by the Kings piety and safety I come now more closely to the Duty of Kings for of that onely and of the touch of the time Now which shall be for application I shall speake at this time Be wise now therefore O Kings Two kindes of wisedome are required in Kings and Princes wisedome or knowledge in Gods matters otherwise called Diuinity and wisedome or knowledge in matters of the world otherwise called Prudence or Policy Both are contained in the Originall word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 It signifieth also good successe to note that God many times crowneth pious prudence prudent piousnes with many a temporall blessing Both are not onely for ornament like the two Pillars that Salomon put in the Porch of the Temple but also for speciall vse like the hands of Aaron Hur which did support the armes of Moses for the discomfiture of the Amalekites For if they be pious only in Gods matters be not otherwise prudent then they are fitter for the Common-weale of Plato then for the corrupt estate of Romulus for the Cloister then for the Court Againe if they be prudent or politicke onely be not pious then they are fitter to be Kings of Babel where dwelleth confusion then of Hierusalem where Gods glory is seene and more rightly to be called the children of this world which goeth to nought and perisheth then the children of God who loue truth in the inwards and caâ—e for none but for such as worship him from a pure heart with a good conscience Well they must bee Diuines as it were this is first required I say not in profession but in knowledge they must know God the onely Lord and whom he hath sent Iesus Christ they must know Christ and him crucified and the power of his Crosse and vertue of his resurrection and the fellowship of his afflictions that they may be conformable vnto his death they must separate and distinguish truth from error cleane from vncleane right from
wrong yea they must be able to put a wise difference betweene the great things of the Law as Righteousnesse Mercy and Iudgement and the lighter things of humane obseruation which perish with the vse or abuse If Iephthah had knowne and considered what things might lawfully be vowed and how farre vowes do binde he would not haue immolated his owne daughter If Saul had knowne and considered what is written in the Law Yee shall not doe what seemeth good to your selues but what I command you that you shall doe you shall turne neither to the right hand nor to the left he had not forfeited his Kingdome If Vzziah had knowne and considered that none but the sonnes of Aaron were to approach to the Altar of the Lord and there to burne incense he had not beene smitten with the leprosie To be short If those Kings of Iuda and Israel that built high places and sacrificed vnder euery greene tree had knowne and considered that Hierusalem was the place whither they should haue brought their oblations being the place that God appointed to put his name there they had not been so bitterly inueighed against nor so fearefully threatned by the Prophets as they were To conclude If the Machabees had beene wise and knowne what that meaneth I will haue mercy and not sacrifice that which was the kernell of the ceremony from the beginning how-soeuer the shell was not so cracked and opened in former time as it was by our Sauiour the Sabbath was made for man not man for the Sabbath they would not haue suffred themselues to bo knocked downe like Oxen in the Shambles or to be led as sheepe to the slaughter but would haue stood vpon their gard and vpon their defence euen vpon the Sabbath day On the other side Dauid was not afraide to eate of the Shew-bread which was appointed onely for the Priests Dauid was wise and knew that Necessity ouer-ruleth Ceremony So Salomon was not afraid to command Ioab to be slaine euen in the Tabernacle of the Lord although he caught hold of the hornes of the Altar Salomon was wise and knew that there was no Sanctuary for murder So briefely Hezechiah was not scrupulous to goe forward with the celebrating of the Passeouer though there were some present that had not beene cleansed after the purification of the Sanctuary Hezechiah was wise and knew that there was a maine difference betweene those things which God commanded principaliter and those things which he commanded consequentia as Iraeneus saith Thus knowledge of Gods matters cleareth the vnderstanding chaseth away superstition sheweth the more excellent way and bringeth a King to glory Looke what the light is to the eye the eye to the head the head nay the soule of a man to his body the same is wisedome to the soule of a King It filleth him with grace in beleeuing it giueth light to his mind reformeth his will sanctifieth his affections snubbeth and crosseth all vnlawfull designes In crosses it maketh him patient in dangers vndaunted in prosperity moderate in what estate soeuer he be content On the contrary side where this knowledge is wanting there the Sunne goeth downe at noone-day there the light that is in them is turned into darkenesse and how great is the darkenesse They are not so much to be tearmed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is pore-blind which are Saint Peters words but are stricken with grosse darkenesse and blindnesse like the Sodomites they stumble at the threshold nay they doe in Montes impingere as Augustin speaketh and are as ready to enter into the gates of their enemies as of their friends like the Assyrians The Grecians talke of the great helpe that a certaine great Commander had from Philosophy for the quieting of his owne mind and of those that were about him in the time of an Eclipse by shewing by a familiar example the reason thereof So the Romans tell of the great satisfaction that was giuen to their Army in Macedony when one Sulpitius Gallus skilfull in Astronomy fore-told them of an Eclipse before it hapned This was some-what I grant to be heaued vp as it were by the hand of naturall reason to the obseruing of Gods vniforme power and prouidence in causing the Planets to keepe their courses in their Spheares and the reuolutions of the heauens to be certaine and ordinary but yet in respect of the good that is reaped by Diuinity I meane by the knowledge of Gods will in his Word it is but as sounding brasse or as a tinkling Cymball For light it is but as the light of a rush candle to the light of a great burning Torch as Clemens Alexandrinus saith For profit as drosse is to siluer or the chaâ—le is to the wheat as the Prophet speaketh Princes therefore are to haue their hearts stablished by faith and therefore first they must be stored and furnished with the Word of God it must dwell in them plentâ—ously they must be exercised and skilfull in the same so shall they be sufficiently prepared and furnished to euery good worke so shall they be sufficiently armed against error and heresie There haue beene since Christs time many corruptions and deprauations of the truth in the Church of God it is confessed and it cannot be denyed but a great part of them either sprang originally or was much increased through want of wisedome and knowledge in the chiefe Gouernours What maruell if the Mystery of iniquity which began to worke in the time of the Apostles grew to such a head and strength euen in Constantines time or shortly after when that shall be allowed for a good collection out of these words Ye are Gods therefore the Church of Rome hath a speciall priuiledge neither to be looked into for their liues nor to be quâ—stioned for their doctrine So what maruell if the Imperiall dignity did decay and sinke as fast as the Papall did swell and pearke vp as Otho Frisingensis doeth obserue nay the rising of the one was the ruine of the other as wisemen men know When Kings and Princes doe suffer themselues to be gulled with the sweet words of Peter and Paul and of the Church and especially with those words Math. 16. touching the Rocke and Iohn 21. touching the Feeding of Christs Sheepe by these words I say fouly mistaken to be stripped of their Regalities and to cast downe their Crownes not before the Lambe but before the Beast Whereas the former place touching the Rocke viz. Vpon this Rocke will I build my Church containeth a promise common to all the faithfull as the most ancient and learned Fathers doe agree and the latter place touching the Feeding of Christs Sheepe and Lambes containeth a duty belonging to all true Pastors as not onely Saint Paul in the Acts but also Saint Peter himselfe by whom they would make their claime doe most plainely shew I might thus run ouer most points in