we bee not bound to the seuenth day neither doe wee in deede keepe the same day that was appointed to the Iewes for that was the Saterday But to the intent to shewe the libertie of Christians the day was chaunged because Iesus Christ in his resurrection did set vs free from the bondage of the law Col. 2.11.12 14. cancelled the obligation therof That was the cause why the day was shifted But yet must wee obserue the same order of hauing some day in the weeke be it one or be it two for that is left to the free choyce of Christians Neuerthelesse if a people assemble to haue the Sacramentes ministred and to make common prayer vnto GOD and to shewe one agreement and vnion of faith it is conuenient to haue some one day certeine for that purpose Then is it not enough for euery man to withdrawe himselfe into his owne house whether it bee to reade the holy scripture or to pray vnto GOD but it is meete that wee shoulde come into the companie of the faithfull and there shewe the agreement which wee haue with all the whole body of the Church by keeping this order which our Lord hath so commanded But what There a man may see too apparant vnhallowing of Gods seruice For as I haue touched afore are there not a great sorte which could well finde in their heartes to shewe that they doe but mocke God and that they would faine be exempted from the common lawe It is true that they wil come to a sermon a fiue or sixe times a yeere And what to doe there Forsooth euen to mocke at God at all his doctrine In deede they be very swine which come to defile Gods temple and are worthier to be in stables than there and they were better to keepe themselues at home in their stinking cabans To bee short it were better that such rascals and filthie vilaâ—nes were quite cut off from the Church of God than that they should come and intermingle themselues after that sort in companie with the faithfull But yet how many times come they thither The bel may ring wel enough for looke where a man left them there shall he finde theÌ„ So then we ought to bee the more diligent and careful in quickening vp our selues to make such confession of our faith as God may be honored with one common consent among vs. And besides that all superstitions must bee banished For we se how it is an opinion is poperie that God is serued with idlenesse It is not after that sorte that we must keepe holy the Saboth day But to the intent it may bee applyed to the right and lawfull vse we must consider as I sayd afore how our Lord requireth to haue this day bestowed in nothing else but in hearing of his worde in making common prayer in making confession of our faith and in hauing the vse of the Sacramentes Those are the thinges that wee bee called to Howbeit we see how al things haue bin corrupted confounded in the popedome For lyke as they haue alotted dayes to honoring of their hee Saints and shee Saints and set vp images of theÌ„ so haue they surmised that they were to be worshipped with idlenesse But seeing that y e world is so giuen to corruption it standeth vs so much the more in hand to marke well this discourse concerning the Saboth day as it is set downe here by Moses And let vs consider to what ende our Lorde commaunded the people of olde time to haue one day in the weeke to rest in to the intent that wee knowing how the same is abolished by the comming of our Lorde Iesus Christ may take our selues to the spiritual rest that is to say dedicate out selues wholy vnto God forsaking all our owne reason and affections Againe let vs reteine still the outward order so farre as is meete for vs that is to wit of forbearing our owne affaires and worldly businesses that we may intend wholy to the minding of Gods workes and occupy our selues in the consideration of the good thinges that hee hath done for vs. And aboue all thinges let vs streine our selues to acknowledge the grace that hee offereth vs dayly in his Gospel that we may be strengthened in it still more and more And when wee haue bestowed the Lord his day in praysing and magnifying Gods name and in minding his workes let vs shewe all the weeke after that wee haue profited in the same Now let vs kneele downe in the presence of our good GOD with acknowledgement of our faultes praying him to make vs feele them better than we haue done And forasmuch as wee can by no meanes serue him vntill the frowardnesse that is in vs be done away and inasmuch as he hath tolde vs that wee shall not cease to fight against his righteousnesse so long as wee giue heade to our owne lusts and imaginations it may please our good God to graunt vs such grace by the power of his holy spirit as wee may be fully fashioned lyke vnto him that dyed and rose again for vs to mortify vs and to quicken vs. So then let vs beare the marke of our Lorde Iesus Christ euen in renouncing our selues and let vs so submit vs to his will as our whole seeking may bee to be fashioned lyke to his righteousnesse that his lawe may bee fulfilled in vs euen as it is spirituall and wee be changed from flesh to spirit to liue vnder his obeisance And because there is alwayes so much in vs to be mislyked it may please the same good GOD to beare with our infirmities vntill his rest be fully brought to passe in vs and that he haue taken vs vp into his heauenly kingdome That it may please him to graunt this grace not onely c. On Friday the xxj of Iune 1555. The xxxv Sermon which is the sixth vpon the fift Chapter 13 Six dayes shalt thou labour c. 14 Thou shalt not doe anie worke therein thy selfe thy Sonne thy daughter thy manseruaunt thy womanseruaunt thyne Ox thyne Asse and thy cattle and thy Straunger which is within thy gates that thy manseruaunt and thy womanseruaunt may haue rest as well as thy selfe 15 Remember that thou wast a seruaunt in the land of Egypt and that the Lorde thy God brought thee thence with strong hande and arme stretched out And therefore the Lord thy God hath commaunded thee to keepe holie the Saboth day I Declared yesterday how and why the commaundement of keeping the Saboth day was giuen to the Iewes I told you briefly how it was a figure of the spirituall rest which the faithfull ought to obserue to serue God in Col. 2.14.17 20. Howbeit our Lorde Iesus Christ hath brought vs the performance thereof so as wee must no more stay vppon the shadowe of the Lawe Rom. 6.6 but content our selues with the crucifying of our olde man by the power of y e death and passion of our Lorde Iesus
to know that they had no other deliuerance than that which had beene promised so long before For had not that bin they might haue borne themselues in hand that their deliuerance from that bondage had happened by mere chaunce But when they were oppressed to the vttermost thē it made them to bethinke thēselues thus What Our fathers haue promised vs that God in the end will drawe vs out of this vnknowen countrie and straunge bondage wherein wee are This was then a preparatiue to make the Iewes to feele that fauour and grace which was promised vnto them For nowe the fit time was come to bring it to passe Now whereas here is speaking of the GOD of the fathers it is to bee referred to the promises least men might thinke themselues excused whē they call vpon such a GOD as hath bin taught them as the Papists nowadayes do ground thēselues vpō their fathers O say they I haue bin so brought vp I haue bin so taught from a child mine ancestors haue liued after this sort They beare themselues in hand that this is a sufficient warrant such a one as may not be gainsayd to make good whatsoeuer they doe but in deede it is starke follie because it is not for men to forge Gods vnto themselues at their owne pleasure for what else are they than very Idols But when as here is speaking of the God of the fathers it is because of y e promise that was made vnto Abraham Isaac and Iacob So then if we will call vpon the liuing God let vs returne vnto this point and say It is true in deed that there liued many men in the world before Abraham Isaac and Iacob but they neither ought nor deserue to be accounted for fathers For why They withdrewe themselues from God of whome commeth all fatherhoode and all kinred as sayth saint Paul We must therefore followe the Patriarkes and bee their children and secondly let the Apostles bee our fathers and let vs followe them and if wee frame our selues after their example let vs not doubt but that wee shall keepe the straite way vnto God and that hee also will take vs vnto himselfe Ye see then in what sense it is here sayd that the Iewes called vppon the God of their fathers And here wee are warned in fewe wordes to gather together all the proofes and argumentes that can bee to assure vs the better that all the good thinges which wee haue doe come vnto vs from GOD. For why Wee are not so sharpe sighted as it were needfull it is soone dazeled as I haue tolde you afore Yea rather we bee as blinde men wee must bee quickened vp to consider Gods benefites towardes vs or else wee shall neuer attaine thereunto And therefore let vs take as much paynes as wee can to consider it and say Go to God sheweth mee here how it is he that worketh and he giueth me a token thereof I must therefore apply it vnto mine instruction not say this happened vnto mee by chaunce I haue had good fortune but I know that my God hath holpen me that it is through his goodnesse that I prosper that it was his hand which hath succoured mee in such an extremitie Forasmuch then as wee are so rawe and weake of our selues that wee consider not the benefites of GOD except wee haue many helpes to guide vs thereunto let vs take all the proofes that wee can get to assure our selues the more throughly of them And to this ende is it that the Iewes say We haue called vppon the God of our fathers whereby first they put themselues in minde of the promise and secondly they see that God redeemed them by vertue of the same promise whereby hee freely bound himselfe vnto Abraham Isaack and Iacob And hereupon they might thus conclude We are not come out of Egypt by the hand of man that is to say wee cannot attribute it either vnto our selues or to any creature liuing but God must bee acknowledged for the onely author of our redemption and saluation Now in effect wee see here that whereas God deliuered vnto the Iewes such a sette forme of acknowledging his benefites it was to conuict them that in possessing of the land of Chanaan they could not say We haue conquered it by y e power of our owne arme we haue gottē it by our owne labour we haue bought it with our mony or wee haue some other title vnto it in respect of men No it was nothing so but we hold it of our God we possesse it vnder his hand the proprietie thereof is alwayes his Yee see then whereunto this confession whereof mention is made here did serue In deede all cannot bee handled at this time Let vs therefore learne this one short lesson that in this example God hath put vs in minde to acknowledge how much wee bee bound and beholden vnto him for all the benefits which he hath bestowed vppon vs. Wherefore considering our owne slowenesse in this behalfe let euery of vs quicken vp and pricke foreward himselfe to confesse and acknowledge in deede that wee holde all of the hand of God and let vs shewe in deede that we come to make such acknowledgement not as forced thereunto but of our owne voluntarie and free good will and that we be not vnthankfull for the good which hee doth vs in this worlde but doe attribute all vnto his freebestowed goodnesse wayting for the possession of that heauenly life whereunto he calleth vs. Now let vs kneele downe before the Maiestie of our good God with acknowledgement of our faults praying him to touch vs with such a feeling of them as our whole seeking may bee to rid our selues of all our corruption from day to day vntill wee bee renewed with his righteousnesse and that wee may grow and increase more and more therein in such sorte as wee may come in the ende into his heauenly glory and bee wholy fashioned lyke to the glorious immortalitie which hee hath already shewed vs in our Lorde Iesus Christ. And so let vs all say Almighty God heauenly father c. On Munday the xxiiij of Februarie 1556. The CXLVI Sermon which is the second vpon the sixe twentith Chapter 5. 6 And thou shalt speake and say c. 7 Then wee cried vnto the Lord God of our Fathers and the Lord heard our voyce and looked vpon our affliction our labour and our oppression 8 And the Lord brought vs out of Egypt with a mightie hand and a stretched out arme with great terror and with signes and wonders 9 And he hath brought vs into this place and giuen vs this land euen a land that floweth with milke and honie 10 And nowe loe I haue brought the first fruites of the land which thou O Lord hast giuen me and thou shalt set it before the Lord thy God and thou shalt bow thy selfe before the Lord thy God 11 And thou shalt reioyce in all the good things
interpreter or els hee sayth mee thinkes this is harde and as for that I cannot disgest it And so after as euery man mislyketh of the holy scripture so taketh he leaue to reiect one thing or other whereas notwithstanding wee should in all pointes haue our mouthes shut when God speaketh and our eares open to receiue whatsoeuer he sayth vnto vs. Forasmuch then as we see that the doctrine of the Gospell is so despised throughout the worlde and euery of vs shooteth foorth his owne bolt and wee will needes haue such shiftes and deuises as lyke our selues so as if any thing seeme euill vnto vs wee reiecte it it may easily be gathered by the sight thereof what horrible condemnation is prepared for all such as disobay the mouth of God And therfore let vs learn to temper our selues with such modestie and sobernes that as soone as we haue any record of Gods trueth wee may yeelde vnto it without gaine-saying Let that serue for one poynt And moreouer let vs extend this doctrine yet to a further vse which is not to be inquisitiue of Gods trueth furtherfoorth than it is vttered in the holy scriptures For God will not haue vs to fall as yee woulde say to pulling out of his bowels as they doe which will needes bee searching out of measure and more than they haue leaue to doe We shall see a nomber of fantasticall fellowes giddibraind persons which cast forth fond tryfling questions and turmoyle heauen earth are neuer contented but are alwayes busie full of vnquietnesse Now this is a cursed deadly disease And therfore let vs learne to hearken vnto God when he speaketh to vs not to couet to know any more than he hath taught vs setteth daily before vs in the holy scripture Let all our wisedome be to receiue y t which is vttered vnto vs by y e mouth of god It followeth how Moses vpbraided y e people that they murmured in their tentes saying Beholde because the Lord hateth vs therefore hath he brought vs out of the land of Egypt and brought vs hither as to a burial place For our brethren haue made our hartes to quaile telling vs that they sawe Giants in the land and that the townes are walled vp to the cloudes And to what purpose then shall wee goe Here wee see that when men begin once to doe amisse the mischief waxeth stil worse and worse vntill it become to the full measure It was an euill beginning aforehand when the people resisted God and would not followe to enter into the land at the commaundement of Moses But is this all No behold here is yet a much more cursed blasphemie in that the people spyteth GOD repyning at his bringing of them out of Egypt and charging him with hatred towardes them And whereof came this No doubt but hee maketh it playne namely for that men seeke couert in dooing euill and make no conscience to accuse God and to blaspheme his holy name to the ende to haue some colour wherewith to hide their owne wickednesse Thus you see how men deale when they cannot finde in their hartes to yeeld vnto God They will needes still iustifie themselues in their disobedience specially when God preaceth vppon them and holdeth them at a bay yea and layeth in such euidence against them as they be conuicted for then doe they seeke startingholes to iustifie themselues euen in despite of God accusing him and laying all the fault vppon him Truely this is a cursed kinde of dealing but yet we see it is common insomuch that men doe make euen an arte of it How many are there to be found that wil not blame God to cleare themselues If a man blame them for it and charge them with their faultes they will not graunt that their intent was so but yet the deede bewrayeth that it is so If a man bee rebuked for his vices with whom hath he to doe In deede it may be y t it is but a mortall man which findeth fault with him sayth thou hast done this or that but yet must he vnderstand that the iudgement is Gods When soeuer any man telleth vs that we haue done amisse wee must not looke at him that speaketh for Gods word is the iudge Therefore must euery man cyte himselfe and as oft as he is warned of any offeÌ„ce he must offer himself to Gods iudgemeÌ„t seat consider y t y t is the place where he must appeare to make his account Now let vs se how euery of vs is inclined or disposed to coÌ„fesse his faults Nay coÌ„trariwise we seeke al y e shifts we can to shroud our selues we haue our lurkingholes insomuch y t euen wheÌ„ we be too manifestly coÌ„uicted of our sins yet we cease not to wrangle still But our Lord will not suffer vs to scape him so by our fond excuses He followeth still vpon vs and then begin wee to gnash our teeth at him We see that these would excuse themselues But when they fall to replying with how so see we not that the euill is already apparant Therfore when men perceiue themselues to be so preaced at by Gods word they become as wilde beastes they spit out and cast vp their poyson they spite God apparantly rayle at his word And would God y â— examples thereof were not so common as we see they be Wherefore let vs marke that this text ought to serue vs as a looking glasse wherein to behold the frowardnesse that reigneth throughout the world And when we haue done amisse let vs learne to absteine from wilfulnesse For else in the ende we shall fall into the bottomlesse pit of blaspheming God if we continue in that stub bornes vnwillingnes to acknowledge our own vices in the end we shal fal to resisting God furiously as it befell to these wretches of whome Moses speaketh here For when men wil needes maintaine themselues after that sorte in their wicked quarels against God they fall not onely into disobedience but also into sturdinesse yea euen into most shameful beastly sturdinesse as we see here It was too grosse a fault already when the people had said how shall we goe or what can we do seeing the townes are so strong and the people so giantlyke It was too much already to resist God after that fashion But behold here is yet a more excessiue vnthankefulnesse For in stead 〈◊〉 bethinking themselues of Gods grace in deliâ—â—â—ing them from the thaldome of Egypt they fal to rayling at him What say they Would God haue fetched vs out of the land of Egypt if he had not hated vs Now alas what hatred was it When God pitied his poore creatures they were euen at the last cast they were intreated lyke wretched slaues yea euen to the drawing of the bloud out of their vaines they were so cruelly handled as was horrible to see in the end the tyranny was growen so farre that all their male
labours are not lost before him but are made account of and redound to our benefit Nowe then we see what is y e meaning of these wordes where Moses sheweth the people that y e Lande had bin promised to their forefathers by othe before they whom he speaketh to were borne Now for a conclusion let vs come to this saying That thou maiest driue out all thine enemies before thee Herein Moses doth the people to wit that no let can hinder them from possessing the land so they serue their God True it is that the land of Chanaan had people in it at that time to keepe possession of it we perceiue how y e spies brought word y t they were Giantes and such as would haue swallowed vp the people of God It shold seeme therfore to haue bin impossible for thē to haue set foote within y e land But God told them y t although his people were barred from al enterance to mans vnderstanding yet would he open them the way by his infinite power so they inclined to serue him Now remaineth that wee apply this to our own vse First of all let vs mark that whensoeuer God calleth vs to his seruice his promising of reward vnto vs not onely in this transitorie lyfe but also in the kingdome of heauen is not to puffe vs vp with selfweening or to make vs to beleeue that wee haue deserued aught but onely to quicken vp our slouthfulnesse and bicause wee bee so lasie in seruing him his intent is to spurre vs forewarde by that meanes Therefore let vs take courage and seeing wee loose not our labour in imploying our selues in Gods seruice let vs goe to it diligently and lustily And whereas he behighteth vs reward let vs assure our selues it is not bicause our workes deserue it Rom. 3.20 Eph 2.9 but bicause that he of his own infinite goodnesse taketh them in good woorth and giueth that tytle vnto them Let that serue for one poynt And let vs marke heerewithall that whereas God calleth vs to his inheritance although he doe it freely yet is it with condition that wee behaue our selues as trew children towards him Eph. 1.4.5.6 2.10 and consider that hee calleth vs vnto holynesse And in deede the very ende why hee calleth vs to bee his people and of his flocke is not that he will haue vs to be intangled and held backe still in this worlde but to sanctifie our selues vnto him that wee may liue holily vnder his obedience for as much as he hath washed and clensed vs by the blood of our Lorde Iesus Christe And Gods calling of vs thereunto is not for our woorkes sakes but for his owne mercie Now if vnder colour heereof wee will needes stand facing with him I haue tould you already what will come of it Therefore let vs haue regard to marche the thinges together which are inseparable that is to wit the free goodnesse of our God and the condition thereunto annexed which is that hee be serued and honored at our handes And besides this although wee see neuer so great lettes which may seeme to barre vs from all entraunce into the kingdome of heauen and that wee be cast vp heere for a pray vnto Sathan and we haue so many enemies that our life is as it weere in hazarde euery minute of an houre yet let vs not cease to hope and to beleeue that our Lorde will keepe vs safe and sure Psal. 8 5.10 if wee walke in his feare Then let vs not passe for all the worlde Although it seeme that all thinges should be turned vpsidowne yet let not all the troubles and incōberances which we see in the world stoppe vs frō going through to the end but let vs reason thus with our selues who is he that hath taken vs into his keeping Is it not our God Is it not he which hath promised vs the inheritaunce of the kingdome of heauen Yes Then is it his office to holde vs by strong hande True it is that wee on our part are feeble but yet his onely power will bee ynough to strengthen vs. True it is that we be inuironed with many enemies but yet our God is a good shield 2. Sa. 〈…〉 he wil be an inuincible fortresse for vs so wee put our trust in him We haue his promise that hee will neuer fayle vs. Thus yee see that God hauing once begun the worke of our saluation will goe through with it in suche sorte Phil. 〈…〉 as wee may glory that his calling of vs vnto him is not in vaine nor to disappoint vs of our hope wherein hee will haue vs to continue vnto the ende Now let vs kneele downe in the presence of our good God with acknowledgement of our faultes praying him that whereas heeretofore we haue abused his power and might too much we may hensefoorth be more diligent in practising his iudgementes and corrections and so make our commodity of them as the warninges which hee hath giuen vs may neuer out of our remembraunce and that as long as it shal please him to maintaine vs in prosperytie and quiet we may be watchfull and stand vpon our garde so as wee turne not from the right way ne tary till he powre out his vengeance vpon vs but indeuour to preuent it as we bee warned to doe and also that in al our lyfe we may continually so repent vs of our sinnes as we may still trauell the better towardes him vntill hee haue gathered vs fully to himselfe to frame vs to the perfection of the righteousnesse whereunto wee tend as nowe That it may please him to graunt this grace not onely to vs but also to all people and nations of the earth c. On Wednesday the last of Iuly 1555. The L. Sermon which is the sixth vpon the sixth Chapter 20 When thy child asketh thee in time to come saying What are these testimonies Ordinaunces and lawes which the Lorde our God hath commaunded you 21 Then shalt thou say to thy chyld Wee were Pharaose bondfolke in Egypt but the Lord brought vs out of Egypt with a mightie hand 22 And the Lord wrought signes and miracles great and euill vppon Egypt and vpon Pharao and all his house before our eyes 23 And brought vs out thence to bring vs in hither and to giue vs the land which he had sworne to our fathers 24 And the Lorde commaunded vs to keepe all these ordinaunces and to feare the Lorde our God that wee might alwayes prosper and liue as wee doe this day 25 And it shall bee counted vnto vs for righteousnesse if wee keepe and doe all these commaundementes before the Lorde our God as he hath commaunded vs. HEere wee haue two reasons to marke why Moses commaundeth that such as were to come after that time should be tolde why God gaue his Lawe to the Iewes and why he woulde haue them gouerned after that maner The one is that it is good reason that Gods
wherethrough hee hath chosen vs to be his childrē heires for our Lord Iesus Christs sake That it may please him to grant this grace not onely to vs but also to all people and Nations of the earth c. On Friday the second day of August 1555. The Lij Sermon which is the seconde vpon the seuenth Chapter 5 But thus shall yee doe vnto them You shall beate downe their altars and breake their pillours yee shall heawe downe their groues and burne their Images with fire 6 For thou art a holy people to the Lord thy God The Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be his peculiar people aboue al the nations of the earth 7 The Lord hath not set his loue vppon you nor chosen you bycause ye were moe in number than all other nations seeing you be the least of all nations 8 But for the loue which the Lord beareth you to keepe the othe which hee sware to your fathers the Lord hath brought you foorth with a strong hand and deliuered you from the house of bondage euen from the hand of Pharao King of Egypt YEsterday wee sawe howe God forbad his people to aly themselues in any wise with the Infidels and specially with y e people that dwelt in the lande of Chanaan Exod. 25.8 29 45. Forasmuch as it was said that God had chosen that lande to the intent that his name should be worshipped there it was his will to haue it purged from all the filthinesse and infections which had reigned there too long time afore And after hee hath spoken of the folke he addeth also that he will haue all y e tokens and markes of ydolatrie that were in the countrie put quite away For like as it behoued the Iewes worship God purely without intermedling any of the superstitions of the heathen so did it also behoue them to keepe the order in such wise as God had set it downe and to put away al things that were contrarie to the true religion and seruice of God so as there might bee no mingling nor corruption Wee see now in effect that the doctrine which is conteined here is that forasmuch as God had giuen his people the land of Chanaan hee would haue it cleare from all abhominations and his seruice to be so set vp as all the ceremonies of the heathen and vnbeleeuers might be taken away and nothing be mingled with it besides his owne Lawe And y t is the cause why hee speaketh expresly of Altars and Groues For as wee see that men haue no end nor measure in deuising of fashions to serue God withall there was not that Groue but they made some deuotion in it And like as men builded Abbeyes Pryories and Chappels in the Popedome so went the worlde among the paynims and the Iewes followed the same trade as we see But that was not for want of warning for God had prouided sufficiently for them that they might not set their minds vpon such paltry But what Hereby it appeareth howe harde it is to holde men in the pure simplicitie of Gods seruice Neuerthelesse howsoeuer men fare it is tolde vs here that such as will serue God vncorruptly must abstaine from the thinges that are deuised and forged by ydolaters and stick to the pure doctrin which God hath ordeined and not adde any thing to it of their owne or which they find here there or which y e world hath folishly brought in All those thinges must bee laide down if we will serue God purely But yet let vs mark y t there were two reasons why God commanded the Iewes to break downe the heathen mens altars to destroy their ydols The one was to the ende that his people shoulde not bee prouoked and tempted to wickednes superstition by looking vpon them for we bee so fraile y t we be caried away as soone as we spie any mark of superstition I said euen now that it is a harde thing to hold men fast in pure obedience to god as in respect of his seruice Why so For their eares doe alwayes itch to heare some newe doctrine although none be brought them from elsewhere yet their minds are so rouing y t they euer couet some newe thing or other Now then if wee haue any occasion to tempt vs vnto euill or to any corruption of Gods seruice wee bee ouertaken by and by God therefore perceiuing that his people might bee inclined to ydolatrie and that they would yeelde to it out of hand assoone as they spied any occasion willed them to wipe away all such thinges Beware saieth hee that yee suffer not anye of the markes of the ydolatries that haue reigned hitherto there for if any of them come in your sight ye shal be as it were rauished and ye will be following of them So then suffer not any thing that may make you to stumble or that may comber you so as the way shoulde not be leuell before you Haue you none other signes than those which I haue appointed you and let them serue to confirme you in my worde Let the thinges which I haue taught you bee as a burning Lampe to giue you light and if yee haue neede of helpes let the Sacraments and Ceremonies conteined in my Lawe suffice you but take heede to your selues that yee haue no stumblingblocke For though ye haue nothing to hinder your going on in the right way yet may yee euen of your owne nature turne aside from it and what will yee then doe if any occasion of euill be offered you That is one point Another is That Gods will was to haue that Lande as it were dedicated to himselfe and y t his people should shew how much they abhorred ydols by suffering none of the things to remaine which the heathen men had kept before God then ment to trie the zeale of the Iewes when he commaunded them to make cleane riddance of the ydols and by that meanes he intended to inure them to abhorre ydols and all things that belonged to them so as they might shewe not onely that they purposed to worship the onely one God but also that they could not abide his glorie to bee any whit abated Nowe we see the two reasons that God had an eye vnto in this place And nowe must wee apply them to our owne benefite For although some woulde restraine this to the Iewes as though it belonged not to vs in these dayes yet was it not Gods intent to speake for any one time onely And indeede as hath beene declared in the fifth chapter let vs looke into our owne hartes and euery man examine himselfe whether hee finde himselfe more stedfast and strong to withstande ydolatrie than the Iewes and other Nations were For surely that cursed seede is so rooted in all men as there is none of vs all but hee may keepe a schoole of superstition without hauing any schoolemaster to teach him Wee be so frowarde that although no bodie seduce vs
and haue all praise giuen vnto him Furthermore let vs consider well that wee knowe not why God hath preferred vs before others for it is only he that putteth a difference betwixt vs as sayth Saint Paul to the Corinthians 1. Cor. 4.7 Who is he saith Paul that maketh thee to excell And in deede God sheweth vs matter ynough why hee shoulde altogether cast vs downe in so much that when the faithfull haue throughly examined what is in themselues they see nothing there but vtter wretchednesse and those are they that knowe them selues best What is the cause that a number become so proude It is for that they keepe aloofe from God and are so full of hypocrisie that they take vice to bee vertue and which woorse is doe sooth themselues in their vices filth and wretchednesse But the faithfull beeing well wakened doe consider what Gods iustice is After they haue well examined themselues they haue an eye to their faultes and without flattering of themselues they take Gods worde to them to discouer all the naughtinesse in them whereby they knowe howe to condemne themselues in good earnest they hinder not themselues through any hypocrisie Therefore when God commeth to the faithfull they acknowledge their owne misdeedes and hate them in their hearts And when God hath refourmed them so as they feele that hee hath wrought in them by his holye Ghoste they father all vppon his free goodnesse knowing well that there is no thing in them woorthie to bee made account of And let vs marke herewithall that sith our Lorde vouchsafed to keepe the couenaunt which hee sware to the holy Patriarches wee neede not to dout but that hee will keepe and perfourme the promise at this day whereby he hath willingly bounde himselfe vnto vs. The worde Sweare is set downe because God considering mennes frailtie thinkes it not ynough to make them a single promise as I haue tolde you heretofore but also hath vouchsafed to sweare that they might haue the better warrant to rest vppon him and vppon his sayinges In deede God ought to bee heard and obeyed though hee giue but his bare worde but yet he condescendeth to our infirmitie and so hath hee vouchsafed to doe euen from the beginning so as hee hath not thought it ynough to giue vs his bare worde but hee hath also warranted it with a solemne othe Wherefore if in these dayes there rise any dout concerning our saluation yea or but euen concerning this transitorie life if wee dout what shall become of vs let vs haue an eye to his promises assuring our selues that they bee warranted to the vttermost to the intent wee shoulde haue no cause to cast any dout of them at all Beholde our God sweareth and yet wee charge him with vnfaithfulnesse yea and wee accuse him not onely of vntrueth but also trecherie yea and euen of periurie and what a diuelish blasphemie is that So then let vs learne to sticke to the promises that are so well warranted vnto vs vnlesse wee will bee blamed for blaspheming God after that fashion And let vs marke moreouer that if he haue kept the promise which hee made to Abraham who was but a poore mortall man and confirmed the same to Isaac and Iacob who were but weake creatures though they had receiued neuer so excellent giftes of grace Hebr. â—â— wee may much better trust that hee will not fayle vs in the couenant which hee hath made with vs by the hande of our Lorde Iesus Christ the king of glorie and head of Angels which is the fountayne of all righteousnesse and holinesse So then wee see howe this doctrine belongeth vnto vs at leastwise if wee stop not our eares and forsake not the thinges that are offered vs through the great bountifulnesse of our God as wee see the moste parte of the worlde doeth nowadayes seeking altogither to blinde their owne eyes that they might not knowe any whit at all of the thinges that are tolde them concerning Gods promises Let a man call them to the Gospell let him shewe them the way of saluation and they wote not what it meaneth they take no taste of it And why Because some of them bee traytours and hypocrites some be open despisers of Gods maiestie and othersome bee so forepossessed of their owne wicked affections as they will not giue any eare vnto God nor suffer him to haue any entrance in vnto them But as for vs let vs looke that wee submit our selues willingly to his sayings and receiue his worde with awe and reuerence and bee readie to fight vnder the Ensigne of our Captaine Iesus Christ in resisting all the temptations of this worlde stoutly and in ridding awaye of all our wicked lustes And in so dooing let vs not dout but that as GOD adopted vs before wee were borne and chose vs of his owne mercie and hath called vs to his Gospel and receiueth vs presently into his protection so in the ende hee will bring vs to his euerlasting inheritaunce to enioye the endelesse glorie which hee hath promised vs. Nowe lette vs kneele downe in the presence of our good GOD with acknowledgement of our faultes praying him to vouchsafe so to cleanse vs of them as wee may bee ledde to true repentaunce and learne to mislike more of our selues than we haue done that wee may hate the sinnes whereby we prouoke him to displeasure and hee so arme vs with his strength as wee quayle not and againe that forasmuch as this life is a continuall battell we may not be slothfull nor fall asleepe but euerie man indeuor to make the strength of the holâ— Ghost auayleable vnto him so as it may make vs to get the vpper hande of all our ghostly enemies euen vntil GOD haue taken vs hence into his rest That it may please him to grant this grace not only to vs but also to all people and nations of the earth c. On Wednesday the xxviii of August 1555. The Lxiij Sermon which is the seconde vpon the ninth Chapter 6 Knowe ye therefore c. 7 Remember and forget not that thou diddest anger the Lord thy God in the wildernesse Euen from the day yee came out of the land of Egypt vnto the time that you came vnto this place you haue rebelled against the Lord. WE haue seene already yesterday howe Moses warned the people that they shoulde not boast of themselues when they were come into the Lande of promise and howe hee tolde them that they had not obtained that benefite for their owne desertes but through Gods meere grace and goodnesse Wee haue seene the three reasons that he alleaged for the same Howebeit for as much as it is harde to bring men to humilitie so as they may knowe themselues as they be in deede and bee vtterly ashamed of themselues not attributing any thing to their owne power but depending altogether vpon Gods free mercie Moses addeth a plaine demonstration and sayeth If ye alleadge your owne
beholde God complayneth of vs and accuseth vs of rebelling against his mouth And there are two partes of this rebelliousnesse The one is when we distrust Gods promises and the other is when wee disobey his commandement those two be the summe of all that is to bee learned in Gods word When wee haue tossed and turned ouer the leaues of all the holy scripture neuer so much there are but these two pointes contained in it that is to wit y t for as much as God being desirous to bee our father and Sauiour openeth vs the infinite treasures of his mercie calling vs to him and setting his free goodnesse and free loue before vs wee should beleeue his promises and rest wholly vppon them saying Lorde seeing thou art so freehearted as to offer thy selfe thus vnto vs behold wee cast all our care vpon thee and hope for all welfare through thy bountifulnesse The first thing then which we haue to doe is to settle our selues vppon Gods promises when he offereth them vnto vs. Secondly there is the obedience which God requireth as if he shoulde say vnto vs Go to I will haue ye to liue in such wise as ye obey me and yeeld me such seruice as your cōming to me be of your own accord And here Moses saith y t the people were alwayes rebellious against Gods mouth forasmuch as they obeyed not his commandements nor trusted to his promises Nowe let vs looke into our selues where is the faith y t we boast of In deede we cā wel vnough say y t we beleeue the Gospel but if gods promises touched vs effectually there wold be another maner of stedfastnesse in vs and wee would not bow with euery winde like wauering reedes as we do Our vnbeliefe bewrayes it self we be too much conuicted of it insomuch y t we cannot trust God euen in worldly things And if we cannot trust to him for small things howe is it possible that we should trust to him for the euerlasting life We haue dayly experience of his succour and helpe yet do we doubt thereof still And how shall we then trust in him whē the case concerneth inuisible things Col. 〈…〉 as the lyfe which is hidden from vs till God discouer it vnto vs Againe doeth not this rebelliousnesse of ours in resisting him shew it self in al our whole life In deede wee will make signes of willingnesse to serue God but yet is all but counterfetting For let vs see if any of vs doo liue so faithfully and vprightly as wee ought to doo Where is the louing kindnesse and charitie that ought to bee among the faithfull and among Gods children Nay we bee rather like Cattes and dogges And when the case requireth that wee should agree togither in well dooing the worlde sees howe wee goe to woorke It may seeme that wee haue conspyred to goe the cleane contrarie way to that which God willeth and ordaineth And this is not to be greatly wondered at For if in things that are small and light we shewe our selues to haue no great Christianitie in vs we wil shew no lesse lewdnesse when wee come to the thinges that are greater and more excellent I cal them smal things in comparison of the feare of God and the loue of his worde which men may say they see not in vs. For as concerning those small thinges if we intend to make any countenance of deuotion to Godward we can well abide that men should condemne both extortion deceit cruelty periurie and such other vices When we come to Sermons we can welinough pretend y t there is some agreement among vs and specially when we receiue the Lords supper yet notwithstanding euē in that behalf there appeareth such contempt of God as we ought to be ashamed of it For I know that vpon the last Lordes day while we were ministring of the cōmunion and while we should haue assembled altogither to make a general protestatiō of our faith and to offer vp our praiers vnto God about two hūdred people were occupied in gaming In their going by before the Sermon began a man would haue thought they had bin prepared to the Communion but their mindes are so vppon their playing that they spend euery Sabboth day in such vnthriftinesse And it is meete that this should bee tolde them openly seeing it is apparant that euen little children perceiue the shamefulnesse of it Now then let vs marke in feawe wordes that Moses spake not for his owne time onely but for vs also in these dayes who bee warned in the person of the Iewes to be ashamed of our selues and therewithall to seeke y e meanes that our God may receaue vs to pitie and mercie which is that after we haue acknowledged how guiltie wee bee before God euerie of vs may learne not onely to condemne our selues but also to bow downe our neckes to craue forgiuenesse of our former faultes at Gods hand to the ende that being acquit by him wee may also be guided and gouerned by his holy spirit that whereas wee haue bin stubborne against him heretofore so as he could by no meanes weeld vs wee may learne to yeeld our selues so obediently to him that in stead of being as woode beastes we may become meeke and mylde vnto him as sheepe and lambes and giue eare vnto his voyce giuing it such superioritie ouer vs as we may vtterly forsake all things that may hinder our honoring and seruing of him Now let vs kneele downe in the presence of our good God with acknowledgement of our faultes praying him to make vs feele them better than wee haue done so as wee may yeelde our selues to him with true repentance continue therein not for one day onely but all our life long and y t therewithal it may please him to beare with vs in all our infirmities euen vntill he haue rid vs quite and cleane of them And so let vs all say Almightie GOD heauenly Father c. On Munday the ix of September 1555. The Lxviij Sermon which is the seuenth vpon the ninth Chapter 25 Then humbled I my selfe before the Lord fortie dayes and fortie nightes for I humbled my selfe because the Lord had said that he would destroy you 26 And I prayed to the Lord said Lord God destroy not thy people and thine heritage which thou hast gotten by thy mightie power and whom thou hast brought out of Egypt by strong hand 27 Bethinke thee of thy seruants Abraham Isaac and Iacob Haue not an eye to the stubbornnesse of this people nor to their misbeleefe nor to their sinne 28 Least the inhabiters of the land from whence thou hast brought vs do say bycause the Lorde could not bring them into the land wherof he had spoken to them or because he hated them therefore hath he brought them forth to kill them in the wildernesse 29 Moreouer they be thy people and thine heritage whom thou hast brought out with thy great power and with
of September 1555. The Lxxiiii Sermon in which the last verse of the tenth Chapter is expounded and this is the first Sermon vpon the eleuenth Chapter 22 Thy fathers went downe into Egypt in number threescore and ten soules and now the Lord thy God hath made thee in multitude as the stars of the skie The eleuenth Chapter LOue the Lorde thy God therefore and keepe his appointmentes Ordinances Lawes and Commaundementes for euer 2 And consider you this day for I speake not to your children which haue neither knowen nor seene them the instruction of the Lord your God his greatnesse his mightie hande and his stretched out arme 3 And his wonders and workes which hee did in the middes of Egypt vnto Pharao king of Egypt and all his Land 4 And what he did to the host of the Egyptians vnto their horses Chariots when the Lord brought the waters of the read sea vpon their faces when they pursued you and how the Lord destroyed them vnto this day I Haue alreadie shewed y e meaning of Moses how that by rehearsinge y e wonders y t GOD had wrought for the deliuering of his people out of captiuity he shewed the Iewes that they ought to haue bin the more conformable to him in respect of the fauor and loue which he had shewed to them at al times For he had alwayes shewed by his doings that his promising to take Abraham all his ofspring into his protection was not in vain Ye see then an euident proofe y t God hauing receiued Abrahams ofspring into his free fauour hath also confirmed it by deedes experience And thereupon it is to be concluded that if that people had not beene altogether froward they ought of reason to haue serued God And that is the point that Moses shot at Consider with your selues saith he if ye be not bounde to giue your selues wholy to the obeying of your God For he hath multiplied you as the stars of the skie Through his gratious goodnes you are become so great a nūber y t euen you your selues may be astonished at it To be short if ye look vpō your body y t is to say your state you cānot but see such a wōderful fauor of your God as you could neuer haue once looked for or hoped Sith it is so there is now no excuse for you if you cannot find in your hartes to glorifie his name Gen. 15.5 seeing he hath shewed him selfe so good merciful towards you That is y e sūme of y e matter y t Moses intended to set down And he speaketh expresly of the stars of the skie because of the promise For God speaking to his seruāt Abrahā shewed him in a vision y e multitude of the stars which is infinite Euen as they be past reckening saith god so also shal thy seed be Now then the meaning of Moses in this text is y t Gods saying so was not in vain that Abraham was not disappointed of his hope in resting altogether vpon y t promise for we see the thing performed before our eies And this is wel worth the noting For if God haue done vs any good we wil indeed for maners sake say it was he y t did it but to be throughly persuaded of it in our hart that is a very hard thing Therefore is it requisit in respect of such rudenes y t we should be cōdemned by Gods word to the end we may y e better consider of his hand power As for example if we had neuer read any whit of holy scripture yet notwithstanding god should haue deliuered vs frō some aduersitie to say y e truth our own naturall wit would put vs in mind to think our selues indetted to God for y e same But when we be exercised in the holy scriptures and haue seene there y t God reserueth to himself the issues of death that it is in him to succor vs yea euē after a strange fashion when al seemeth to be vtterly forlorne so as if we call vpon him he will heare our sighes the performance therfore maketh it the easier for vs to conceiue his goodnes bicause we be taught aforehand the same things which we come to find by experience For why The word y t went afore is as a lampe to giue vs light Of our owne nature we be as it were blind True it is that God inlighteneth vs by his holy spirit but yet are we still in darknes cannot see two fingers bredth afore vs. But whē God teacheth vs by his word y t is as a lampe to guide vs shew vs our way Therfore let vs marke well y t to profit our selues by the benefits y t God bestoweth vpō vs it is good yea nedful for vs to be put in mind of his promises to compare thē together God had promised it now he hath performed it here we see a testimony y t he is alwaies faithful in his sayings y t a man may safely rest vpō his truth That is y e thing which Moses sheweth vs in this text in that he speaketh not simply of the great multitude whereinto the people had bin increased but also saith y t God had multiplied them as the stars of the skie to the intent that euery mā should think vpon y e promise which was vniuersally knowen among them thereby confirme themselues inasmuch as God had so kept touch with his seruāt Abraham euery man consider thus in himself Indeed we ought to receiue gods simple single word although the effecte of it were not scene But now that Gods hande his mouth go iointly together so as he hath shewed a true proofe of his presēce before our eyes and that he meant not to disappoint the hope of his seruants we know y t our God hath a care of vs forgat vs not at such time as we were in the land of Egypt For y e time of the peoples abode there was as a kinde of buriall in their graues so as it might haue seemed y t all Gods promises had bin quite dashed Whē he drew Abraham out of the land y t he was borne in he said vnto him I giue thee al this land frō one side to another Gen. 12.7 to thee to thine ofspring for euer And yet for al this yee see howe Abraham did but soiourne there as a strāger he was hunted faine to fleet frō place to place he trotted vp and downe like a poore man that had not a corner to hide him in Hebr. 11.9 The like befel to his sonne Isaac Iacob was banished thence during al the flower of his youth when he returned thither againe hee was faine to remoue oftentimes in his old age and in the ende God conueied him away into Egypt Thus was y t house as it were broken vp cleane banished out of the countrie And where is the lande of Chanaan which was
that when we haue company our minds may euer be the more stirred vp thereby to follow that holy vocation wherunto he hath called vs. For the doing wherof it may please him to raise vp true and faithfull ministers of his worde c. On Fryday the xiiij of February 1556. The CXLIIII Sermon which is the third vpon the fiue and twentith Chapter 13 Thou shalt not haue two manner of weightes in thy bagge a great and a little 14 Thou shalt not haue two manner of Ephas in thy house a great a litle 15 But thou shalt haue a iust and a right weight thou shalt haue a perfect a iust Epha that thy dayes may be prolonged in the lande which the Lord thy God giueth thee 16 For all they which doe such thinges and all they which deale vnrighteously are an abhomination before the Lorde thy God 17 Remember what Amalec did vnto thee by the way after your comming out of Egypt 18 Howe hee came against thee in the way and in the hindmost of thy traine strake all the weake which followed thee when thou wast fainte and wearie and he feared not God 19 Therefore when the Lord thy God shal haue giuen thee rest from al thine enemies which are round about thee in the lande which the Lord thy God giueth thee to possesse then shalt thou put out the remembraunce of Amalec from vnder heauen forget it not THere are two thinges especiallie wherein wee offende our neighbours to wit deceyte and open violence For some are giuen to deceite and malicious wilinesse to deceiue and beguile men others vse open wronging and iniuries In priuie deceite the most mischeeuous meane of beguiling that any man can vse is the falsifying of weightes and measures For the vse of them is the onely way for men to buy and sell by without strife or variaunce If we hadde not monie wherewith to buye thinges what a disorder should wee haue And wares also are commonly solde by weight and measure Nowe then if there bee deceyte eyther in monie or in weightes or in measures the bonde of that intercommoning which men haue together among themselues is broken so as they become like dogges and Cattes and there is no meanes for them to deale one with an other And therefore no maruell though our Lorde doe greatly mislike the falsifying of weightes and measures and tell vs that it is the worst and detestablest robberie that can bee If a theefe purpose with him selfe to take a bootie hee will set on a man and from one hee will goe to an other But wee are sure there is no theefe can passe his boundes so farre as to spoyle and robbe the whole worlde But he which vseth false weightes and false measures hath no regarde at all when hee robbeth but doeth wrong vnto all ingenerall and that is the next way to peruert all ciuill order so as no humanitie or common honestie may remayne any longer among men What shall Lawes doe Or to what purpose shall Iustice serue whē there is no more anie playne nor vpright dealing in those thinges which shoulde helpe men to mayntaine their estate Wee haue therefore a verie necessarie law in this place where mention is made of weightes and measures It is sayde Thou shalt not haue diuerse stones in thy bag And that is because in olde time they were woont to make their weightes of stone And this importeth asmuch as if it were sayde Thou shalt haue a iust weight and a iust measure Moreouer let vs beare in minde alwayes that which hath beene sayde before namely that GOD oftentimes vnder one speciall kinde giueth a generall doctrine And so it is all one as if we were commaunded generallie in all buying and selling to vse reasonable and vpright dealing without anie falsehoode For when a man selleth one kinde of ware for an other it is all one as if hee falsifyed his weightes or his measures A simple man commeth to a shoppe and asketh for cloath hee knoweth it not but trusteth the Marchant and the Marchant sayeth vnto him here is cloath of such a place and hee knoweth well that hee lyeth now this is all one as if he had giuen him halfe a yarde or three quarters of a yarde for a whole yarde So then wee see how GOD ordeyneth in generall that our trayding shoulde bee after such a sorte as that hee which buyeth doe bring lawfull monie and that hee which selleth doe deliuer his wares at a reasonable price and vse no falsehoode neither in weight nor in measure at leastwise if it bee such wares as are woont to bee measured by the yarde or ell or weyed in scales or balaunces but that on either part there bee true and iust dealing vsed And sith wee see so manie lawes tending all to this end that no man shoulde be deceyued but that euerie man shoulde haue his right let vs alwayes remember this saying Matt. 23.23 That GOD will haue mercie iudgement and iustice And therefore let vs haue compassion on them which are in necessitie to releeue and succour them And secondlie let vs not onelie yeeld to euerie man his right but also when wee see anie man wrong his neighbour let vs not suffer it nor bee consenting vnto it in anie case Loe wherein wee exercise our selues if wee will order our life according to the will of GOD. For excepte wee doe so what fayre countenaunce soeuer wee sette vppon thinges yet all shall bee but detestable hypocrisie in the sighte of GOD vntill wee haue learned to liue charitablie with our Neighbours and to obserue this vprightnesse which nature hath taught vs Matt. 7.12 of not doeing otherwyse vnto others than wee woulde haue doone vnto our selues Heere withall also wee be made to knowe our owne naughtinesse For it were enough to haue warned vs in one word if wee were disposed to doe well and had not such a rebelliousnesse within vs that wee euer drawe backewarde from that which is good Then if men were inclined of themselues to do right and to exercise humanitie it were enough to make but a signe vnto them and to say Yee see what your duetie is But nowe God is faine to make often repetitions he is fayne to strengthen the lawes which hee hath giuen hee is fayne to expounde them he is fayne to heape commaundement vppon commaundement And what is the cause hereof but that wee are ouerharde to bee ruled and that our desires are as fell and furious beastes so that one bonde is not strong enough to binde vs but wee must be hampered with many cordes nay wee must haue chaynes and fetters layde on vs So then let vs know that our willes and minds are farre from beeing disposed to obey God And therefore let euerie man quicken vp and inforce himselfe the more considering how it is not without cause that God maketh so often rehearsall of that which serueth to bring vs to brotherlie faithfulnesse and friendshippe
blessings and that when we be once graffed into the stocke of Abraham to be his children by faith wee may alwaies hold on stil in the course of our adoption that in the ende God may acknowledge vs for his children and we bee made partakers of the glorie which is prepared for vs seeing that in this worlde and in this short life wee haue inioyed blessings by the which hee maketh vs alreadie to taste of his loue Nowe let vs fall downe before the face of our good God acknowledging our faultes and beâ—eeching him that we may bee more and more cast downe in ourselues to haue such a horror and feeling of our sinnes as wee may not fayle to runne vnto him and to flee for refuge to his mercie that by forgiuing vs our sinnes from day to day he may amend vs euermore vntill hee hath quite ridde vs of them That it may please him to graunt this grace not onely vnto vs but also to all people and nations of the earth c. On Friday the x. of Aprill 1556. The CLXVIII Sermon which is the fifth vpon the nine and twentith Chapter 22 Thus will the generation to come â—ay namelie your children which shall succede after you and the straunger which shall come from a farre lande when they see the plagues of this lande and the diseases of it wherewith the Lord shall haue smitten it 23 The brimstone and sault wherewith hee shall haue burned all his lande so as it shall not bee sowed nor yeelde fruite nor haue anie grasse growing thereon as in the ouerthrowe of Sodome and Gomorrah Adam and Seboim which the Lord destroyed in his wrath and displeasure 24 Then shall all Nations say wherefore hath the Lorde doone this to this Lande O how fierce is his great wrath 25 And it shall bee aunswered because they forsooke the couenaunt of the Lorde GOD of their fathers which hee made with them when hee brought them out of the land of Egypt 26 For they went and serued other gods and bowed themselues before the the same gods whome they knewe not neither hadde they doone them anie good 27 Therefore is the wrath of the Lorde kindled against this land to bring vpon it all the curses written in this booke 28 And the Lorde hath rooted them out of their lande in wrath anger and great indignation and he hath throwne them out into an other land as it appeareth at this day 29 The secretes of the Lord our God be reuealed vnto vs and to our children for euer to the intent we should do all the wordes of this law MOses proceedeth here still with the matter which wee beganne yesterday namely to declare howe detestable our rebellion is vnto God when he hath once taught vs by his worde and can not winne vs but wee turne heade to the contrarie For it had beene enough to haue declared in one worde that none shoulde remayne vnpunished howbeit forasmuch as men doe not so quickely consider the vengeaunce of God to be mooued therewith to the quicke therefore Moses addeth threateninges vpon threatnings declaring that the punishmentes shall bee so greeuous that euerie man shall bee abashed at it according also as the Prophet Ieremie vseth this phrase of speach 〈…〉 3. saying y t al mens eares shal â—ingle at the hearing of the straunge thinges which God shall haue wrought in Ierusalem the lande of Iudah For if God chastise vs after the common order wee regarde it not we take it to be but haphazard or else we doe linger til y e plague be past but as for submitting ourselues to God it is no part of our care That is y e cause why Moses doeth in this place inhaunce the plagues which God woulde sende vppon that lande to the intent that the people might bee the better instructed and euerie man looke to himselfe and vnderstand that if they tempted Gods patience they must needes fall into this so horrible extremitie In which respect hee saith That the generations to come and those also which shoulde resort thither from farre countries shall inquire thereof as people abashed By which woordes hee doeth vs to vnderstande that the punishmentes which God woulde sende vppon the rebelles shoulde be straunge such as should make all folke astonished and amased at the sight of them and to say this is a matter that hath not beene woont to be it must needes be that the hande of God hath gone this way Nowe wee see the meaning of Moses And herein wee haue to condemne our slowenesse seeing that God must be faine to describe thinges vnto vs as it were in a painted table the cause whereof is for that wee bee not plyable to receyue the admonishmentes which hee giueth vs. We thinke our selues able folke but in so doing wee doe all of vs beguile our selues with selfesoothing vntill our Lorde doe as it were beate it into our braynes by force that if wee proceede on to offende him wee shall not escape his hande yea and that wee shall be handled with such rigour as shall make all them to tremble which see but the tracts thereof so that not onely wee that receyue the strokes shall be confounded but they also which come from farre shall confesse that it was the vengeance of God which was not without cause and that it must needes bee that wee did committe ouer greeuous and hainous offences seeing that God is thus inflamed against vs. Moreouer Moses sheweth that God will no more spare a whole country than one man least they should shroude themselues vnder the multitudes of people that giue themselues to wickednesse and thinke thereby to scape the better cheape before God It is expressely saide that if anie man sinne hee shall be punished Ezech. 18.4 and if a whole lande be faultie God will wrappe them all likewise into one fardell Therefore let vs not bleare our eyes wilfully as wee see the Papistes doe who vaunt themselues this day because y e number of such as are inclined to their superstitions is not small They boast them of their great multitude making it their buckler against both God and men And thereupon they doe despise vs and it seemeth to them that they may of good right condemne the pure and true religion But contrariwise God telleth vs that when a whole land hath forsaken the right way that rebellion of theirs shal not go vnpunished albeit that the multitude of them which be faultie be neuer so great Finallie wee must beware that we followe not one an other to do euill for if a blinde body doe leade the way hee shal fal into the ditch and likewise they that followe him hee shall not exempt them by his fal We must therefore vnderstand that when God calleth vs wee must sticke vnto his voyce and obey it and if all the worlde fall away and euerie man goe astray yet must not we ground our selues vpon the examples that wee see as if wee woulde say It
sins and be sorie that we haue offended our God and prouoked his wrath against vs and heerevpon let vs also bee alwayes resolued in this point that he will not so punish vs but hee will yet giue place to his goodnesse and pitie and that we shall finde mercie at his hande when we condemne our selues and confesse our offences and beseech him to receyue vs into fauour not for our desertes but in respect of the couenaunt which hee hath made with vs because hee hath chosen vs to bee graffed into the bodie of our Lord Iesus Christ. And like as in olde time hee declared by circumcision that the Iewes were a people sanctified vnto him euen so hath hee nowe giuen vs baptisme whereby he marketh vs as it were to be of his flocke and wherein wee haue a warrant that the bloude of our Lorde Iesus is our clensing so as wee bee thereby washed from all our vncleannesse Hauing this let vs come boldlie to our God for we haue here witnes that he wil receiue vs. But to the ende that this doctrine may bee the better vnderstoode let vs followe the order which is kept by Moses When all these thinges saith hee bee come vppon thee whether is bee the blessing or the curse Hee setteth the blessing foremost to shewe that the ende whereat GOD doeth alwayes ame is to drawe vs vnto him by gentlenesse and after a gratious and a louing manner In deede if hee should deale with vs according to our kinde hee shoulde bee rough vnto vs at the first but hee prooueth whether hee may winne vs by faire meanes and therefore hee doeth alwayes vtter his goodnesse towardes vs and maketh vs to feele it That is the cause why Moses saith Thou shalt first see the blessings and haue experience of them Psal. 30.9 And in that respect also is GOD called gratious liberall long suffering and slowe to anger This word therefore must bee well weyed for Moses sheweth what the nature of GOD is towarde vs to wit that hee desireth nothing but to handle vs gentlie as a father doeth his children and that hee taketh not anie pleasure in dealing with vs roughlie Thus much for one point And on the other side hee meant to doe the Iewes to vnderstand that seeing they had had experience as well of the one as of the other that is to say as well of Gods fauour and of the benefites which hee had promised them as also of his punishmentes and corrections the same ought to giue them the more light and confirme them the better in the thinges which they hadde hearde and that they had not beleeued As for example The Iewes were taught that if they serued God and obeyed him hee woulde keepe them as his flocke and haue a speciall care of them and as it were dandle them in his lappe and bestowe all his richesse vppon them and finallie deale with them as they coulde wishe And likewise they were threatened on the contrarie side that if they transgressed the lawe of God and were wilfull and frowarde against him they shoulde be driuen to feele his hande against them and like as they had fought against him so hee also woulde fight against them Thus yee see howe the threatenings are declared vnto them as well as the blessinges and they cared neither for the one nor for the other but played the brute beastes and tooke leaue to deale wickedlie insomuch that when GOD chastised them they regarded it not Neuerthelesse in the end it must bring them to consideration of themselues when they make comparison after this manner As howe God hath verified it vnto vs and shewed it as it were with his finger that he hath not said in vayne vnto vs I wil blesse you if you walke in mine obedience We haue perceiued it by experience Again as touching the threatenings hee hath put them in execution and wee haue beene blockish for a time but yet it behooueth vs nowe to consider the matter Thus ye see howe the blessinges beeing ioyned with the punishments serued the better to bring backe the Iewes vnto God and therefore they ought to haue touched them the neerer to the quicke And that is the thing which Moses ment in saying Gods chastising of you when you haue doone amisse is not the onely way whereby hee will instruct you In deede hee will punishe you but that is not the onelie meane whereby hee intendeth to teach you For he wil first make you to feele his goodnesse and patience and when you haue considered both twain of them then is it time or else neuer to call your selues to rememberance and not to continue still brutish and senselesse as you haue bin afore That is the thing which we haue to mark in the first place Nowe lastlie hee saith When God hath cast thee ouâ— among the strange nations if thou return there vnto thy hearte That is the worde which Moses vseth but hee taketh it for remembrance so as thou turne againe with al thine affection vnto the Lorde thy God to obey him hee will then haue pitie on thee Whereas he saith that the people shall bee driuen out of the lande it is the vttermost of all the punishementes whereof hee had made mention afore according to that which we haue alreadie touched namelie that the lande of Chanaan was as it were a warrant that GOD tooke the Iewes for the householde people of his realme of purpose to leade them from thence to the inheritaunce of the kingdome of heauen Nowe on the otherside when the Iewes were driuen out of the saide Lande they were as people aliened from God Alas might they say what a case is this For our God which stretched out his hande to bring vs out of the lande of Egypt did promise vs therewithall that we shoulde possesse all the lande that hee gaue to our father Abraham and that it was vnto vs a token and a mark of his Adoption but now be we depriued thereof and that is a token that hee hath vtterlie forsaken vs. Vppon this forewarning we haue to gather that seeing God after meane punishmentes did not onely promise and offer his mercie vnto the Iewes but also euen when the rigour seemed extreeme and the woundes incurable yet hee lefte them some hope howebeit not vnto all Deut. 28.62 Isa. 1.9 10.20 but vnto such as were reserued for seede like as wee haue seene here before and is also treated of aswel in the first chapter of Esay as also in the tenth The same may serue vs to great purpose For when our Lorde punisheth vs but meanely wee take courage to returne vnto him but if hee continue to punishe vs a long while and it seemeth that hee hath quite cast vs off and wee perceiue nothing but rigour then wee be so beaten downe that wee bee not able to open our mouth to call vppon him and wee bee so caught with feare and sorowe that wee hadde leauer to
giue ouer himselfe to all manner of loosenesse as some are seene to do or rather as the common manner is that as soone as GOD giueth men that which they doe long for and desire they become drunken and doe lose both wit and reason if a man say I doe then ouershoote himselfe after that fashion when GOD dealeth with him so gratiously is not his sinne so much the more haynous Yes certainely That is the thing which Moses meant to declare in this place where he sayeth They shal come into the Lande which I haue promised them there will I sustaine them there shall they bee filled and made fatte and then will they turne away after straunge goddes By these woordes we are made to vnderstande that the more our Lorde maketh vs to feele his fauour and fatherly goodnesse the more ought we to be allured to rest wholly vppon him that hee may possesse vs and the more ought all our wittes and affections to bee stayed vppon his loue so as the diuell may not finde any breach nor gap open to deceyue vs for so much as GOD hath so wonne vs vnto himselfe That is the instruction which we must learne by this text otherwise the complaynt that GOD maketh against the Iewes by his Prophet Ieremie shall lyght vppon vs. 〈…〉 25. My people sayeth he what haue I doone to thee Heere GOD entereth into disputation with the people bycause they were so defiled with Idolatry and had peruerted all together Goe to saith hee let vs nowe pleade together my people what haue I doone to thee that thou shouldest complaine I haue brought thee out of the lande of Egypt I haue stretched out my mightie hand to deliuer thee from thence I haue ledde thee and directed thee I fedde thee in the wildernesse I caused Manna to come from heauen I gaue thee the foode of Angels and when thou wast come into the lande which I had promised thee I fought against thine Enemies and I gaue thee victorie against them all But these bee not the cheefe matters I haue moreouer giuen thee my Lawe which is the couenant of lyfe and saluation I haue giuen thee my Sacrifices to the intent thou shouldest haue a Testimonie that it is not without cause that I would haue you to my selfe Also I haue made thee to finde so great riches of my bountie that it is impossible to value the benefites which I haue bestowed on thee and doest thou nowe fall to despising me and to breaking thy fayth and to turning away after straunge Gods Is this the recompence that I looke for If a man doe plant him a vine and tend it he meaneth to eate and drinke the fruit thereof And if the vine do yeeld a strange and a bitter fruite to choke the maister withall what wil come of it Deserueth not such a vine to be quite plucked vp Let vs therefore bethink our selues and not tarie till our Lorde accuse vs to haue greeued his holy Spirite but let vs turne this text to our profite And for as much as we knowe by experience that he is a liberall father vnto vs let it mooue vs to soften our hearts how heard soeuer they bee that wee may learne to giue ouer our selues wholly to him Thus ye see whereto this Text ought to serue vs where it is sayde I will set them in the Lande which I haue promysed to their fathers they shall bee nourished there and made fatte and they shall turne away vnto straunge gods And therefore seeing that GOD maintaineth vs let vs suffer him also to guide and gouerne vs vntil he hath brought vs to y t eternal inheritaunce which he hath promised vs and which we looke for Yet moreouer hee saith that this song shall aunswere them as a witnesse because it shall neuer depart from their mouth Hereby we do see how it is our Lordes will y t his word should serue not to some one vse onely but also for a continuall instruction euen vnto the end that the fathers should conuey it ouer to their childrē And the chiefe succession which we ought to leaue to them that come after vs is that when God hath once vttered his will vnto vs wee must beware that it be not buried so as none of vs bee so fond as to hold himselfe contented with his owne only knowing thereof as though the light of saluation ought to die with vs but rather that they which come after vs may inioy it also And therfore when we our selues haue knowen God and haue had his trueth preached among vs wee must to the vttermost of our power indeuor that it may continue after our death and that our children may come to receive y e doctrine which we haue followed And if the word of God slip away and men think not thereon as it is come to passe in the Popedome as it was afore time it commeth of their owne leawdnesse and they must needes yeelde a reckoning for their disanulling of so great a benefite Wee see that the law was lost for a time amongst the people of Israel and this song was out of the mouthes of both great and small but yet God at the last did not suffer the people to continue in such ignoraunce but it was his will that the Lawe was founde and that the people came with great solemnitie to receiue it and hee tolde them that they were woorthy of blame for defacing the doctryne of Saluation and therefore hee willed them to repent Nowe seeing it is so as I haue already touched when GOD hath once taught vs his will let vs learne as I sayde afore not onely to profite therein for the present tyme or for the tyme of our owne life but also to procure as much as in vs lyeth that our Children after our death may still enioy the same Religion and that the name of GOD may euer bee had in remembraunce And although there be many that cannot profit themselues thereby yet shall it turne to their condemnation and God shall not fayle to bee glorified For surely Moses speaketh in this place not onely of Gods elect and of such as were the true seede of Abraham but also of such as were willing to take profite by the lawe and were not altogether reprobates For seeing it was Gods will that this song should bee in their mouthes thereby wee ought to be so much the better aduertised that our Lord doeth oftentimes leaue his worde to the worlde to bee a message and a testimonie of his loue and goodnes howbeit not for the saluation of all men but for the condemnation of the greater part Wee see that euen among the Heathen there remained alwayes a remnant of the trueth wee see such sentences vttered by the heathen as it is impossible for a naturall man to thinke the least of them which they haue alleaged By what meanes then did they it It was Gods dooing who brought them so farre foorth to their greater
fonde as that euen litle babes might haue mocked them for it Yet notwithstanding euē the wisest folke haue beene doted with them the spirit of giddinesse hath reigned ouer them And it hath beene Gods will to make men so brutish For when they would not hold themselues simply vnto him but were carryed away with their fickle lustes it was meete that they should come to that poynt For as much then as it is so let vs vnderstand that our Lorde giueth vs so many warnings the mo to the intent to hold vs in such awe as we may be well ware that wee be not by any meanes seduced Thus yee see what wee haue to note as in respect of the things which S. Iude teacheth vs concerning the body of Moses Now there is yet this saying further set down in the text No man hath knowen his graue vnto this day Wee knowe not which of the Prophets wrote this last Chapter The Iewes say it was Iosua but their coniecture hath no ground It is much more likely that the same Prophet which gathered the booke of Iosua did therewithall write the death of Moses also Neuerthelesse it is not without cause sayd that no man vnto this day For it doeth vs to vnderstand that it was not for one day onely that God woulde haue the bodie of Moses so hidden for then it might haue beene sayd true it is that the body of Moses was vnknowen to men but that was but at the beginning For the first boylings are somewhat too headie and God sawe that the people might haue beene moued with too great affection and by that meane they might haue corrupted themselues It is not then to be wondered at if Moses sepulchre had beene vnknowen for two or three dayes or for a moneth or for a yeare for these people were too farre in loue with him but when he was once buryed then it came to knowledge But our Lord sheweth that hee knewe well that men are subiect to ydolatrie and that not for a day onely but euen vnto the ende and that the same sinne is so rooted in vs that as soone as wee haue neuer so little an obiect by and by wee start out of our boundes Let vs marke well then that it behooueth vs to stande vppon our garde for ydolatrie is not for a time but for euer And wee take this cursed inclination from our mothers wombe so as wee bee easily allured away from the seruice of God That is the thing which wee haue to remember vppon this part of the text And therefore let vs indeuour al the time of our life to walke according to Gods ordinance and let vs also beware that wee bee not caried away after the illusions of Satan And when we our selues shall haue continued in the seruice of God let vs teach our children to doe the like that it may for euer be reteyned in the worlde so as God may be serued of al men with one common accord For if wee be recheles in that behalfe it wil abash vs to see howe the diuel will incontinently get the forehand of vs in the turning of a hand there wil followe a horrible change which will corrupt and marre all Sith wee see this let vs be steddie and constant and let vs bee so zealous to bring to passe that God may bee purely worshipped as it may continue not for one day onely but euen vnto the ende so as we may from age to age protest that Gods name is called vppon ouer vs and that he hath the whole preheminence and that the creatures howe excellent so euer they bee doe abyde in their degree and place and that they haue not occupyed the roome of God nor his soueraigne dominion Now let vs fall downe before the maiestie of our good God which acknowledgement of our faultes praying him to make vs perceiue them more and more that wee may be so cast downe in our selues as our whole seeking may bee to receiue mercie at his hand and hauing receiued it to bee so guyded by his holy spirite as we may giue our selues wholly vnto him to dedicate our selues fully to his obedience and to serue him with all purenesse both in body and soule and that hee impute not our imperfections vnto vs which are yet still in vs but that he rid them from vs day by day and reclaime vs of them more and more vntil he haue brought vs to the perfection whereunto he inuiteth vs. That it may please him to graunt this grace not onely to vs but also to all people and nations of the earth c. On Wednesday the xv of Iuly 1556. The CC. Sermon which is the second vpon the xxxiiij Chapter of Deuteronomie and the last vpon that booke 7 Moses was a hundred and twentie yeres olde when he dyed his sight was not dimmed nor his liuelinesse abated 8 And the children of Israel mourned for Moses thirtie dayes in the playne of Moab And after that the dayes of mourning and sorrowing for Moses were ended 9 Then Iosua the sonne of Nun was filled with the spirite of wisedome for Moses had laid his hand vpon him And the children of Israel obeyed him and did as the Lord had commaunded Moses 10 And there arose not vp a Prophet in Israel thenceforth like vnto Moses which knew the Lord face to face 11 In all signes and woonders for which the Lorde sent him to do them in the Land of Egypt before Pharao and all his seruants and all his Land 12 Nor in all the strong hand and al the great vision which Moses did before the eyes of all Israel IT was needefull that after the death of Moses the Iewes should know the good that God had done them by the meanes of such a man For we know that Gods gratious dealings are by and by forgotten and it is the point wherein men doe chiefly shewe their leawdnesse For although it be prooued to them that God hath helped them yea euen with signes and myracles yet woulde they passe it ouer slightly In this respect it is saide expresly heere that Moses had his liuelinesse and all his strength vnto the age of a hundred and twentie yeares Nowe wee knowe what is written in his song in the fowerscore and tenth Psalme That after a man commeth to threescore yeares 〈◊〉 90.10 there remaineth nothing but sorrowe paine and griefe and he doeth but linger and pine away Loe what our life is Although we haue beene strong yet doe wee decay in the twinkling of an eye when wee once passe threescore yeares and it is a great matter for a man to attaine thereto I meane in such strength But nowe whereas it is reported that Moses attained to double those yeares thereby it appeareth that God strengthened him aboue the common rate of men And that was not for his owne sake onely but to the intent he might be able to susteine the charge that was committed vnto him Had not
children were muâ—thered of purpose to make cleane riddance of them and to wipe out the very remembrance of them Euen at this pinch did God haue compassion vppon the people Could any greater goodnes haue bin shewed And when as he saith by his prophet Mich. 6.3 My people what harme did I thee in bringing thee out of the land of Egypt doeth it not appeare thereby that they were too too malitious and frowarde I planted a vine sayth God and looked for good fruite now thou wilt choke thy maister with thy sowernesse Now then seeing that this deliuering of them out of the land of Egypt was a singular warrant of Gods goodnesse loue and mercie towardes them must it not needes be that they were stark mad when they twited God with his bringing of them out of Egypt charging him that he did it of hatred towardes them Were it possible that men should ouershoote themselues so farre if they were not become starke deuils No but as I sayd afore this doctrine is written of the Iewes that were in the time of Moses to the intent that we should profite in the feare of God by their example and beare in minde that they which will needes stand so wilfully in their vices shall in the end fall to flat spiting of God and blaspheme his name turne good into euill deface his mercie as much as they can mingle heauen and earth together and make a hellishe confusion of all thinges Wherefore let vs stand in awe and walke on in humilitie and warinesse glorifying God Againe when we haue committed God any fault let vs be afrayd yea and euen mourne for it and not pretend any matter or quarell against God but rather flee to his onely mercie for refuge being vtterly ashamed and cast downe in our selues And so ye see what we haue to marke vppon this text where it is sayd that the Iewes murmured in their teÌ„ts saying that Gods bringing of them out of the land of Egypt was because he hated them Now furthermore it behoueth vs to marke that the cause of their rayling was for that they knewe not Gods power notwithstanding that it was apparant to them For although they had felt it enough more than enough to haue coÌ„firmed theÌ„withal yet neuertheles as soon as they heard speaking of the talnesse of their enemies of their walled cities of their strong holdes by and by their hearts failed them and they were vtterly dismaid And why Surely God had giuen them proofe of his mightie power to the intent they should haue trusted to him as I haue sayd heretofore But what for that They shut their eyes at all those thinges and therewithal fell to grudging assoone as they heard of any distresse And euen so doe we For when God calleth vs or commaundeth vs to goe we will see aforehand whether there be any lettes or no. How shall I goe say wee for there is this let and that let and as for me I haue no strength at all And in the meane season we consider not that God is strong enough for vs and that it is his power which maketh vs to walke on and to ouercome all that euer the deuill trumpeth in our way Now then wee can neuer yeeld God his due honor to trust in him to put our selues into his hand and to hope that he will helpe vs and giue vs the vpper hand of all thinges that may turne vs out of the right way except we haue an eye to the benefits we haue receiued before And so we see that Moses rehearseth not here a single storie y t we might the better know what God hath willed vs to doe but rather that he setteth before our eyes what we be together with the vices that are but too common among among vs to the end we should learne to put our trust in Gods strength What is to be done then We see our owne frailetie howbeit not so much as were requisite but yet that which we se ought to make vs hang downe our heads Neuerthelesse when we knowe once y t there is no power in vs to follow Gods will let vs step to the remedie let vs not be out of hart for it neither let vs doe as they doe which thinke themselues quit because they haue not wherwith to stead y e turne saying oh syr I am of flesh and bloud I am a man And what is that to say but that thou art in sin and vncleane but manie men say so to the intent to washe their handes of it They may well say as for me I haue not so great strength true it is that I ought to doe it but I am not able Yea marie but is there not a God y t can do it for vs yes and therefore when we once knowe our owne weaknesse let vs learne to seeke the remedie forasmuch as god hath promised vs y e spirit of streÌ„gth that being grounded thereupon wee may not doubt but that wee shall ouercome all our enemies and all the assaultes that can be made vppon vs. Furthermore let vs also consider y e power of our enemies and the greatnesse of temptations For wee haue not to doe with fleshe and bloud they that fight against vs are not mortall and transitorie men but they be all the powers of the ayre and the prince of the worlde practiseth all y t he can to discomfit vs. Now therefore when we once knowe the force of Satan and the meanes that he hath to breake vs and to vndoo vs let vs not faile to take courage and to bee of inuincible constancie And why for we know y t our God hath promised vs the vpper hand of al that euer SataÌ„ shal practise against vs. And therfore it is he y t we must trust vnto Thus we see generally how we ought to put this doctrine in vre Now haue we to goe through with the rest of the similitude which I glaunced at here before which is that we must consider that seeing God doth call vs nowadayes not to the possessing of the lande of Chanaan nor to be lodged here in this world for a fewe dayes but to come to the heauenly lyfe and to the immortall inheritance it becommeth vs to take courage and to acquaint our selues with this doctrine And seeing that God hath told vs 〈◊〉 138.8 Phil. 1.6 that his reaching of his hand once vnto vs is not in vaine and that he will goe through with his worke wee on our part must determine fully to goe through with our course and not to shrinke in the middes of the way Thus ye see first of all that we be more to blame than the Iewes of olde time if wee hearken not to Gods mouth considering that his intent is not only to giue vs an earthly dwelling place to lodge in but to call vs right foorth to the kingdome of heauen and to the immortall glorie â—om 8.23 whereof wee bee made partakers aforehand by
the time of the abominations of the Popedome so that to speake properly it should seeme that men become diuilles after their hearing of the Gospell What is it I pray you that a man shall see yea and that commonly That there is now no more loue of God no nor countenance of louing him that Religion is let alone colde and dead and that there is no more zeale in vs than in a timberlogge It is apparant then that Gods word is now adayes stained and defyled with our iniquities in so much that whereas wee should bee as burning Lampes to giue light to the sillie ignorant soules wee giue them occasion of stumbling Againe on the other side we see how the faithlesse doe fight against God seeking nothing else dayly but to ouerthrow his trueth and to cause it to be quenched out that it might neuer be spoken off more Seeing then that the whole world is so malicious and that as well the one sort as the other doe make open warre against God continuing still in their stubbornnesse which increaseth from day to day must not God after he hath waited for some conuersion and amendment execute his vengeance vppon vs as wee deserue Ye see then after what manner it behoueth vs to prepare our selues considering that wickednesse is so great nowe adayes and so farre past hope of recouerie But yet therewithall let vs comfort our selues and looke also that in punishing the offenders God will not fayle to keepe still some seed to himselfe so as he wil alwaies haue some little flock to cal vpon him and to worship him Let vs not doubt then but that our Lorde will alwayes maintaine his Churche to the intent to shewe himselfe sooth fast Although all thinges seeme forlorne and brought to confusion yet will God worke after such a fashion as wee shall see in the ende that he hath had a regard of his promise and that he will shew himselfe faithfull and prooue himselfe so in deede But let vs marke well that the Churche shall not alwayes be visible so as wee shall perceiue it It shall seeme nowe and then that all is come to nought Like as when God made the people to turne backe againe he said vnto them Get ye into the wildernesse towardes the red Sea as though they should haue returned againe into Egypt Here is such a great confusion as it might well seeme that he minded not any more that the land of Chanaan shoulde bee giuen for an heritage vnto those to whom it was promised Ye see then that for a time it seemed that God had falsified his promise and that there was not any more hope that the children of Abraham should haue entered into the place that was promised them Euen so shall it fall out with vs as in deede it is come to passe For when God withdraweth his light out of the worlde it will seeme that there is no more any Church at all If a man looke round about him he shall see that all is gone to hauocke And in good faith what desolation was there in the time of Poperie Yea and euen still at this day a man myght thinke that all shoulde goe to ruine and decaye But let vs marke that it is all one as if God shoulde cause those to goe backe againe which are not woorthie to goe forewarde and that yet notwithstanding he ceasseth not to holde on in such wise as his Churche shall still bee maintained and preserued Howbeit not that the same can bee discerned with the eye or perceiued by man but wee must shut our eyes vntill our Lord doe worke after his owne maner that is to say wonderfully beyond all our expectation and beyond all that we bee able to conceiue Thus you see howe wee may comfort our selues in this that although wee see it is not possible but y t God must not cast some horrible punishment in these dayes vppon mens wickednesse yet neuerthelesse hee will alwayes reserue some people to himselfe so as the thing that he speaketh by his Prophet Ioel shal be seene continually 〈◊〉 2.30 Though heauen and earth saith he do goe together though the sunne be darkened though the moone drop bloude though the starres lose their light and though the earth remoue yet for all that whosoeuer calleth vppon the name of the Lorde shal bee saued GOD will preserue them whom he hath chosen to call vppon him and albeit that their life bee hidde yet will not God faile to heare them in the end and to shewe them that hee neuer was vnmindefull of his promise but that he had a regarde of himselfe notwithstanding that men were not worthy to haue any one drop of goodnes and mercy offered vnto them This is the matter in effect which we haue to remember in this first place But herewithall we must marke the othe that God made against the Iewes Psal. 95.7 Heb. 3.7 4.7 as it is set downe in the Psalme and afterwarde applyed vnto vs by the Apostle saying To day if ye wil heare his voyce harden not your hearts as your fathers did in the wildernesse vnto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into y e land y t was my rest We see how it was y e wil of the holy Ghost that the Iewes should in al ages be mindful of this disobedience that had bin committed and that therevpon they should remember that for the same their fathers were bereft of the benefit that had beene promised them and shutte out from Gods rest For as I saide afore this serued not for the Iewes only but the Apostle applieth it also to our time God then directeth his speech to vs at this day Therefore wee must haue our eares open to hearken vnto him wee must not driue of from morrowe to morrowe wee must seeke no delay as soone as God speaketh wee must be readie to learne and not harden our heartes against him Whereby wee bee put in minde that there is nothing which hindereth our obedience vnto God but our own resisting of him through a certaine wilful frowardnes For he for his part applieth himselfe in such wise vnto vs as hee beareth with our rudenesse and infirmitie So then all they that are taught by the Gospell shall obey God without gainesaying if they poyson not themselues through a certaine wilful frowardnesse to withstande God and to driue backe his grace That is the cause why we be expresly warned not to harden our heartes Yea verily for wee must not think that God will suffer his grace to bee so scorned and dalyed with and set light by If he were inflamed with anger against the Iewes for refusing to enter into the Land of Chanaan if we nowadayes doe playe the restie iades and fall to kicking let vs not thinke that such vnthankefulnesse shall scape vnpunished And in good sooth if the Iewes were so punished at that time that all the sorte of them came to nought
aduaunced mee I must nowe giue vp this preheminence and thou must take my roome and I must indeuer as much as I can that the benefite which Gods will is to bestow vpon thee may auayle in thee So then if it please God to take any man to serue him let vs streyne our selues to helpe him and let vs not bee ashamed to put our shoulders vnder him to heaue him vp Let vs not haue any of these wicked respects to say O ho truely as for mee if God were so gratious to mee as to aduance me as wel as such a one I woulde bestirre mee But forasmuch as hee holdeth mee downe to the grounde I will not meddle with other men Let vs beware of such churlishnesse Nay rather when we see that God hath chosen a man let vs reason thus with our selues I see that God hath chosen such a man indeede hee is not the ablest that coulde bee deuised but yet is it Gods will to bee serued by him and wee see hee hath a good will therefore let vs helpe him let euerie of vs reach him his hande and let euerie of vs consider wherin hee may succour him to his furtherance Yee see then that the thing which wee haue to marke heere is that although our working beare no great outwarde shewe and that the thinges which we doe haue no great glosse to commend them to the worlde yet wee must not therefore cease to serue God according to our power and to linke in with those by whom it is Gods will to bee serued and not to imagine any thing that may foreslowe vs or make vs say At whose whose hande shall I bee recompensed That which I haue done is as good as lost men make none account of it It shall well ynough come in account before God And therefore let it suffise vs to be allowed at his hand These are y â— things that we haue to note vpon this that Moses was commaunded to strengthen Iosua Nowe finally it is saide that the people perceiuing their sinne answered Wee haue offended the Lorde and therefore wee bee nowe readie to goe vp And they not onely vsed those wordes but also euerie man prepared and armed himselfe and so they went vp to encounter with their enemies Heere wee see the nature of men When GOD biddeth them be stil they be too too forward they be as hot as fire to doe the thing that is forbidden them But when they were bidden goe then their legges were broken And yet notwithstanding it is saide that the people acknowledged their sinne when they had beene so disobedient against GOD. Whereby it appeareth that there is such a corruptnesse in our nature that euen in minding to doe good we doe euill and offende God ouershoote our selues without reason or measure Heere is then a faire lookingglasse for vs to discerne our owne vices by yea verily so wee consider in the person of y e Iewes that not only they themselues are condemned but also that God purposeth to giue a generall lesson whereby all men may fare the better Nowe I tolde you first of all that when God soundeth his trumpet and commaundeth vs to march we stir not a whit and that although wee haue some good liking of the matter yet we bee so colde and slowe as is pitie to see And on the contrarie part that if hee say Tary still wee bee lustie and moreouer so hot and hastie that wee desire nothing but to occupie both our armes our legs too When it was saide to the people Go for your God is among you bee not afraide so long as yee haue such a power to defende you The people replyed againe on the other side nay marie howe shall wee goe vp They bee Gyants they wil deuour vs with their lookes wee shal be vndone at the first chop it were better yet to returne into Egypt When the people had replyed so and it was tolde them againe What meane you thus to distrust your God He hath giuen vs this lande wee haue his promise of it and besides that you haue had proofe of his helpe alreadie many wayes and he offereth it you still howe thinke you of it you faithlesse and rebellious people When the people were thus laide at did they yet returne to their right wits Yea for yee see they repented What for that It is but a false repentance Goe to say they sith it is so we will goe and march against our enemies seeing it is Gods pleasure Nay yee see heere that God ment to trie their faith and obedience another way that is to wit by their forbearing to doe any thing at all Because hee sawe they had not obeyed him at the first nowe he will haue them ashamed of it and to tarie his leisure till hee haue pitie of them And forasmuch as hee had sworne that they shoulde not come there his will was that they shoulde after the example of Moses haue suffered themselues to bee bereft of that honour as they were worthie Wee see then that men haue but too greate frowardnesse when GOD commaundeth them to sit at rest and contrariwise that they bee but too colde when he would haue them to goe forwarde nay they will rather creepe into cranies than goe forth when God biddeth them Howbeit for the better vnderstanding of this matter let vs marke that this people offended in preacing forwarde without promise For as I haue saide afore we must not be hardie any further than God biddeth vs. Therefore when wee haue but a worde of his mouth we must take corage and put all letteâ— vnder foote that may turne vs away For the thing wherein GOD will bee glorified is that hee commaunde vs nothing in vaine And speciallie when hee promiseth vs good successe to our matters and to prosper our doings then must we rest thervpon assuring our selues that hee will giue vs good dispatch Neuerthelesse when God had sworne that the people should not come there then woulde they needes goe vp against their enemies not considering that in so doing they resisted GOD and aduaunced themselues against him True it is that if a man had asked them whether they minded to resist God or no and to doe cleane contrarie to his will or whether they minded to haue him to bee their aduersarie they woulde haue aunswered No Wee beleeue that God will helpe vs. For why Hee hath deliuered vs out of Egypt he hath promised our father Abraham to giue this lande in possession to his linage and the time is nowe come Yea but there is no promise to you and therefore it is but fonde presumption or rather starke madnesse when men take a toye in their heades and aduenture to doe this or that when in the meane while God hath not promised any such thing So then let vs marke well that wee must not be bolde vppon our owne heade but hearken till God speake and when wee haue his promise wee must rule
the thing that is sayd here is spoken of the Edomites But how is this obserued nowadayes I pray In deede there are Edictes and proclamations inow made but the world sees how they be kept Yea and who bee most troubled with the warres but such as beare the burthen of it And that is euē the countrie When a king or a prince is about to make war it seemeth to be for the cōmon weal so are men made to beleeue But in the meane while when the poore subiectes haue payed a sorte of tallages taxes and impostes for the maintenance thereof yet must they be still bitten to the bone so as the enemies shall not be more vexed thā they vnder whose name and title the warre is made They can well enough make markets for men to sel their wares in and beare them in hand they shall haue ready mony But what the thing that is woorth three shillings shall bee esteemed at one And most commonly they take vp vittels and pay for them as they list And so wee in effect that all the warres which are made nowadayes are but robberies and that the crueltie and vnnaturalnesse is so excessiue as tendeth to vtter confusion so as it should seeme that men are bent to banishe all equitie and that warre cannot bee made without the forgetting of all vprightnesse that there may be no more lawe but that men may become wood beastes Loe to what poynt the world is come But yet for all that lyke as this doctrine cannot be wiped out of the holy scripture so can it nor also be blotted out of gods booke of records that he should not iudge the worlde according as he hath pronounced thereof already that is to wit that the men of warre which will needes inrich themselues with other mens goodes are condēned at his hand whatsoeuer they alledge for thēselues notwithstanding that they haue taken it vp of custome to spoyle and rob because they haue not sufficient wages or whatsoeuer color else they can pretend They may well appeale to kings and princes for to bee their warrant for they shall leade the daunce and be driuen to answere as capteines of theeues and all their souldiers shall followe after them as parteners of their wickednesse Now forasmuch as wee see such disorders in the worlde wee be warned thereby to pray vnto God that hee suffer vs not to be wrapped in the same And when we aske him our dayly bread let vs haue consideration to thinke thus Ah good Lord graunt vs the grace that euery of vs may liue of his own labor and be in peace and that when the drum is striken vp wee may not play the madde bedlems nor giue our selues to spoyling robbing but holde our selues in quiet so as we may take paynes and yelde the thankes for thy susteyning of vs suffer euery man to inioy his owne without offering of violence to any man Besides this if they that make warre bee expressely commaunded to pay for their bread and water I pray you what ought wee to doe in peace For many misorders may seeme halfe excusable when there is open warre and it may so fall out that they which would faine bee gentle sometimes cannot but are inforced to doe thinges which they be loath to doe yea euen to their enemies And yet for all that it is apparant that if a man take any thing without paying for it so as the owner or partie be grieued GOD condemneth it vtterly and giueth sentence here against it yea euen though thinges bee neuer so farre out of order whereby some colour might bee giuen to iustifie their dooinges Nowe then I praye you what will he doe in peace when wee haue no cause to grieue one another but that they which can skill of husbandrie may finde themselues thereby the shoppes are open for marchauntes and handicraftes men and there is common policie for men to be ordered by Seeing that God induceth vs by such meanes to withholde our selues from all outrage and extorsion if we then goe about to robbe other men of their goods if euerie man seeke to spoile his neighbour to inriche himselfe with his goods if we be so spiteful as to eate vp one another without any cause must we not bee condemned dubble Yes certainly Now then seeing that men of warre are commaunded to passe without making spoile without offering any trouble or extorsion let vs learne that we are much more commaunded to walke vprightly iustly without doing any outrage or any pilling and polling seeing that God giueth vs greater meanes to auoide it Thus ye see the effect of that which wee haue to beare in remembrance And nowe for a conclusion here is made a rehearsall what GOD had done for this people The Lorde thy God saieth Moses hath led thee in the wildernesse he hath fedde thee with Manna thou hadst not any natural water to drinke but God gaue it thee out of the drie rock thou neededst not any money to buy thee clothes withall or to paye for thy charges as thou wentest and is it not reason now that this goodnesse and iust dealing should cause thee to deale reasonably with those by whom thou passest For the people might haue replied Yes marrie but wee haue not wherewith wee haue bene a long time in the wildernesse there were no mines of golde or siluer there we earned not a penny there neither haue wee had any trade of marchaundise whereby to get any thing But Moses answereth hereunto Consider howe the Lorde thy God hath gouerned thee As if he should say ye haue none excuse at all for ye haue wherewith to pay and content euery man And why For in the wildernesse ye spent not any whit of the spoile that ye brought with you out of Egypt ye were not driuen to buie bread vittelles apparell or any other thing So then nowe that you are at the point to possesse the land that God hath promised you ye shoulde bee too vnthankefull towardes God and too churlish towardes men if ye should refuse to content those by whom ye passe And of a trueth although yee had not wherewith yet should it not bee lawfull for you to rob them For our Lord chaungeth not the order that he hath set for any pouertie that is in men But if a man that hath no neede doe rob or fleece his neighbour of his goods therein appeareth so much the lewder and outrageouser naughtinesse And therefore let vs marke well that Gods alledging of this reason to the people was to the end they should bee the better perswaded and disposed to do the thing that was commaunded them And herein wee see first of all howe God beareth with vs for as a father flattereth his child and vseth great gentlenesse towardes him although he might cōmand him at one word saying doe this or that without alledging any reason at all yet he dealeth so gently with him as to say my childe marke
let vs inquire whether it concerne God or no. If wee perceiue that it concerne God then must wee submit our selues thereto saying Lord thou art righteous let thine onely will suffice vs without looking to haue any other reason let it not be lawfull for vs to goe beyond that rule forasmuch as it is the rule of all right Now then if we haue the discretion and skill to discerne betweene God and men then shall we not fayle to honor and glorify God and to yeeld him the prayse of Iustice and vprightnesse and so shall wee lykewise if wee indeuour to trye mens doings by Gods word as we be taught it For good reason it is that the same should ouerrule vs yea and that all our deedes and thoughtes shoulde be so measured compassed and directed thereby as wee may consider thus with our selues Hath God forbidden it then is it a wicked thing and therefore I must forbeare it but doth God allow it or permit it then let vs confesse that it is well done without inquiring any further Thus yee see what wee haue to remember for the conclusion of this text Now let vs kneele downe in the presence of our good God with acknowledgement of our sinnes praying him to make vs feele them better and to teach vs to condemne ourselues vtterly as in very deede there is nothing in vs but cursednesse and none but onely God deserueth to haue al praise of righteousness vprightnes yeelded vnto him and y t euery of vs may not only confesse it with our mouths but also sigh for our sinnes through true repentance so as wee may returne againe vnto him praying him to chaunge our wicked hartes in such wise that whereas now they be plunged in al naughtines and stonehard hee will vouchsafe to bring them to his obedience and to write and ingrose his lawes and commaundementes in them so as we may seeke nothing but to please him and to frame our selues wholy to his good will That it may please him to graunt this grace not onely to vs but also to all people c. On Tewsday the vij of May. 1555. The fifteenth Sermon which is the first vpon the third Chapter THen turned wee and went vp by the way of Basan And Og the king of Basan came out against vs he and all his people to fight in Edray 2 And the Lord sayd vnto me feare him not for I haue deliuered him into thy hand with all his people and land and thou shalt doe to him as thou diddest to Sehon king of the Amorrhites that dwelt in Hesebon 3 So the Lord our God deliuered Og King of Basan with all his people into our handes and we smote him so as nothing remained of him 4 The same season we tooke all his Cities and there was not anie Citie which we tooke not that is to wit threescore Cities all the Countrie of Argob which is of the kingdome of Og in Basan 5 All his Cities were fenced with high walles Gates and Barres besides the vnwalled townes which were manie in number 6 And wee destroyed them as wee had done to Sehon Bing of Hesebon in rooting out all his Cities men women and children 7 But all the cattle and the spoile of the Cities wee made a pray for our selues 8 So at that time we tooke the land out of the hand of the two kinges of the Amorrhytes which were beyond Iordan from the riuer Arnon vnto Mount Hermon 9 Which Hermon the Sidonians call Sarion and the Amorrhytes name it Sanir 10 Euen al the cities of the plaine and all Galaad and all Basan vnto Selcha and Edray which are cities of the kingdome of Og in the countrie of Basan 11 For onely Og king of Basan remained of the remnant of the Giants behold his bed which is a bed of yron is it not at Rabbath among the children of Ammon The length thereof is nine cubites and the bredth foure cubites after the cubites of a man IF we should take y e thinges that I haue read but as a simple reporte of a storie there would be no profite at all in the reading But if we be able to apply it to such vse as God meant by his holy spirit it is a very profitable lesson for vs. It is declared here that the people of Israell smote Og king of Basan as they had done Sehon king of the Amorrhytes That as ye see is the story But wee must consider to what purpose GOD meant to haue it registred in his lawe and published by Moses and brought againe to the peoples remembraunce It was to the ende that the people should knowe that they had bin guyded by the hand of God and that when they were deliuered out of the land of Egypt they wist not where to haue become vnlesse GOD had continued his fauour towardes them to put them in possessiō of the land which he had promised them for their inheritance But now wee must marke also that the people were not yet entered into the land of Chanaan there was yet great hardnesse in the matter And if they had not trusted in God they might haue bin so scared as would haue caused them to turne head and to murmur against God and to forsake the land that had bin promised them Therfore it was for them to be confirmed And Moses hath respect thereunto in that he setteth before their eyes the power where through they withstoode their enemies which was Gods assisting of them and his ouer throwing of their enemies And now that I haue noted that it was Gods wil to haue this story published and confirmed to the end aforesayd it behoueth vs lykewise to come to our selues and to apply it also to our owne vse For all was written for our learning 1. Cor. 10.11 Then let vs marke that whereas Moses hath sayd here that Og king of Basan was ouerthrowen the people should haue thought thus Behold God hath deliuered vs from a second and a third death For it had bin to no purpose to haue scaped out of Egypt to haue bin set free from the bondage of Pharao and to haue passed through the red Sea all this had bin nothing if our God had not strengthened vs seeing wee haue bin assayled by so mightie and strong enemies whome we had not bin able to resist And in good sooth wee ought to call to minde what hath bin declared before that is to wit that the people ran away as soone as their enemies came against them And why was that For it was not for them to looke for any succour at Gods hand because they ran foorth at aduēture with such foolish rashnesse God had sayd vnto them yee shall not goe to battell and yet would they needes hazarde the incounter Therefore it was meete that they should bee made to knowe their follie to their cost Yet notwithstanding the people of Israel knewe wel enough by experience that they were not of sufficient power to
is it nowe with vs For wee haue enemies which are much stronger and stouter in comparison of vs than had the Israeltes when they were to enter into the land of Chanaan It should seeme that they might eate vs vp at one bit as they say Wee see what treasons and conspiracies they make wee see that the more gratious and fauourable God sheweth himselfe to vs the more doe wee seeme to take pleasure in grieuing him and in reiecting of his grace And therefore let vs looke to it that wee minde well this doctrine if wee will haue God to giue vs victorie against Satan and all his assaultes And besides this when wee haue concluded that God will strengthen vs against all temptations let vs not doubt but that he hath a care of vs also for this transitorie life 1. Tim. 4. â— And if men goe about to roote vs out let vs put our selues to his protection and let vs looke to bee preserued and defended by him and no doubt but that if hee reached out his mightie arme in olde time to succour the people of Israel his power is not abated nor his goodnesse diminished to doe the like for vs at this day Thus ye see howe wee shall bee safe both in life and death and as well in body as in soule if our Lorde bee readie to succour vs. But without that wee must needes bee worse than forlorne Wherefore let vs looke that wee profite our selues by this doctrine by putting away all pride and foolish presumption so as wee rest wholy vppon God and learne to exercise our selues in his promises earely and late and to renew the rememberance of them to the end that by that meane wee may bee armed against all temptations Let not the diuell finde vs vnprouided when he commeth to assaile vs but let vs haue wherewith to resist him And that we may so Eph. 6 1â— 1. Peâ—â— let vs take to vs Gods worde for when we bee armed with that wee bee well ynough fenced to beate back Satan and al y t euer he can practice against vs. And therefore it behoueth vs to be so much the more watchfull that we may giue eare to this doctrine Nowe let vs kneele downe in the presence of our good God with acknowledgement of our faultes praying him to make vs so to feele them as wee may bee vtterly cast downe by them at leastwise to mislike of them and to forsake them so as our whole seeking maye bee to frame our selues altogether to the righteousnesse of our God and to proceede more more in his feare and obedience vntil he haue ioyned vs fully and perfectly to himselfe beseeching him to beare with vs in the meane while and that forasmuch as it is his will that wee should bee in continuall warre in this worlde he vouchsafe to strengthen vs with his power vntill he haue taken vs vp into his heauenly rest to make vs enioye the glorious immortalitie that hee hath promised vs. That it may please him to graunt this grace not onely to vs but also to all people c. On Wednesday the viij of May. 1555. The xvj Sermon which is the second vpon the third Chapter 12 The same time wee tooke possession of the land From Aroer which is vpon the Riuer Arnon And I gaue one halfe of mount Galaad with the Cities thereof to the Rubenites and Gadites 13 And the rest of Galaad and all Basan which was of the kingdome of Og I gaue to the halfe tribe of Manasses that is to wit all the Countrie of Argob and all Basan which is called the land of the Giantes 14 Iair the sonne of Manasses tooke all the Countrie of Argob vnto the borders of Gessuri and Machati and called them after his owne name that is to wit Basan Hauoth Iair vnto this day 15 And vnto Machir I gaue Galaad 16 And vnto the Rubenites and Gadites I gaue from Galaad vnto the riuer Arnon the middes of the riuer and the end and vnto the riuer Iabocke which is the border of the children of Ammon 17 And the plaine and the Iordan and the borders thereof from Kenereth to the sea of the wildernesse that is to wit the salt Sea vnder Asdodphasga towardes the East 18 And the same time I commaunded you saying the Lorde your God hath giuen you this land to possesse All you that are strong men goe armed before your brethren the children of Israel 19 But your wiues your children and your cattell I know ye haue much cattell shall tarie in your Cities which I haue giuen you 20 Vntill the Lord haue giuen rest to your brethren as well as to you and that they likewise possesse the land which the Lorde your God giueth them beyonde Iordan Then shall yee returne euerye man to his possession which I haue giuen you 21 And the same time I commaunded Iosua saying Thine eyes haue seene all that the Lord your God hath done to these two Kings So will the Lord doe to all the kingdomes through which thou shalt passe 22 Feare them not for the Lord is your God it is he that fighteth for you HEre Moses continueth still his matter to shewe the people of Israel the great good that God had done them beyond their hope For as I haue declared heretofore the kingdomes of Basan and Hesebon were as an ouerplus besides that which had bene promised to the fathers of olde time God then shewed himselfe more liberall than he had promised to bee in that behalfe Therefore it became the people to haue signified Gods grace according as Moseses intent also was Furthermore to the intent the people should not thinke that they had gotten and conquered that Countrie by their owne power and strength it is tolde them howe it was of necessitie that God guided them considering that their enemies were much stronger than they in respect whereof here is mention made of their stature and the land is named y e land of Giants to put the people in remembraÌ„ce and to make them consider y t they could not haue compassed those things vnlesse God had gouerned them And so the whole matter is to be referred to this ende that the people should knowe Gods goodnesse in deliuering them from the thraldome of Egypt not onely in that he had giuen them the land which he had promised them for their inheritance but also had added more than they looked for that is to wit y e two kingdomes that were beyond Iordan And nowe herewithall Moses saieth That hee gaue that Countrey to the Children of Ruben and to the children of Gad that is to say to their Tribes and to the halfe Tribe of Manasses Not that Moses offered them that Countrie in partition but they did sue for it as is written more plainely in the two and thirtie Chapter of Numeri In so much as it is saide there that Moses was angrie when he sawe them so hastie to bee aforehand for
follow the doctrine that our God hath giuen vs and whereby it is his will to draw vs to him Thus yee see that the meane for vs to put this saying of Moseses in vre is not to looke onely to the myracles that haue bene wrought for the ratifying of the Lawe but to goe to the Gospell and there to perceiue that God hath shewed himselfe to vs againe in farre greater perfection than he did to y e fathers of olde time Besides this let vs beare in minde the warning that I spake of afore namely that when we once knowe the myracles whereby God vouchsafed to confirme his Maiestie we must repaire to his worde assuring our selues that that is the verie meane whereby God draweth vs to him Therefore whensoeuer we haue Gods word preached vnto vs let vs vnderstand that it is a confirmation to assure vs that he raigneth ouer vs. And therefore let vs take heede that wee make our profit thereby seeing he graunteth vs this grace and priuiledge Eph. â—â—â— which as we see is not common to all men And let vs pray him to seale the doctrine in our heartes by his holy spirit which we heare with our fleshie eares that seeing he hath once called vs to the knowing of him he will increase the same more and more and so guide vs as we may rather looke vp to heauen than pore vpon the creatures and things that are mortall Therefore let vs haue a constant and inuincible fayth in God which hath once manifested him selfe to vs so as wee may defie Satan and all the abuses and errours that haue bene brought in by men According to this holy doctrine wee will cast our selues downe in the presence of our good God with acknowledgement of our faults praying him to make vs so to feele them as it may bring vs to true repentance and wee therewithall acknowledge the grace and benefites which he hath powred out vpon vs so as we may know better to make our profit by them than we haue done and not bee negligent in considering his workes but diligent therein as becommeth vs and moreouer so receive the doctrine y t is dayly preached vnto vs as wee may apply our eyes to the discerning of the things that are dayly shewed vs and our good God make vs to finde his power and goodnesse by experience as he hath done to others in all ages that we may bee the better confirmed in the loue and obedience which wee owe him so as wee may neuer be turned from it whatsoeuer the Diuell practise to turne vs away from it That it may please him to graunt this grace not onely to vs but also to all people and nations of the earth c. On Wednesday the v. of Iune 1555. The xxviij Sermon which is the tenth vpon the fourth Chapter 36 He made thee to heare his voice from heauen to instruct thee withall and on earth he shewed thee his great fire thou heardest his words out of the middest of the fire 37 Because he loued thy fathers and chose their seede after them hee made thee to come out of Egypt in his presence by his great power 38 To driue out Nations before thee greater and mightier than thou to bring thee in and to giue thee their lands to inherit as is seene this day I Told you heretofore that if God had but only wrought myracles when he brought his people out of Egypt it would haue beene to small purpose for they had had no instruction to leade them to right knowledge But in asmuch as his word was matched with them now there wanted nothing at all And that is the cause why Moses exhorteth the people yet againe to consider howe it is long of none but themselues that they know not God yea euen to attaine to the heritage not onely of the land of promise but also of the kingdome of heauen Furthermore he telleth them that Gods word had such maiestie as the people had no cause to doubt but it was God that spake it Assure thy selfe saith he that the voice which thou herdest was not a humain or earthly voice but thy God spake as it were from heauen It is true that the voyce sounded from the middes of the fire that was seene vpon the mountaine but here Moses meaneth that the doctrine was not darke for asmuch as God gaue certaine signes of his maiestie to the ende that the peoples faith might bee assured throughly And for the same cause doeth he vse the worde instruction which signifieth not onely to teach with words but also to traine on with often chastisement As if he should say thy God in this case hath as it were helde thee in awe so as it is not nowe lawfull for thee to despise his lawe as though it came from an vncertaine place For why It hath soueraine authoritie thou canst not but thereby perceiue that God hath declared himselfe to thee to the inteÌ„t thou shouldest worship his maiestie and do him homage Now then we see that the effect of the thinges which Moses declareth heere to the Iewes is that God had giuen them visible signes at hande and as it were familiarly to the ende that his worde shoulde haue due reuerence and bee receiued obediently and all things bee done to the instruction of the people And although Moses rehearse but the things y t were done in mount Horeb where the lawe was put forth yet may we gather a general doctrine thereof For wee see howe God stoopeth to our infirmitie Because we cannot mount so high as to come vnto him he coÌ„meth down to our slender capacitie Seing that he doeth so ought not we to be the more prouoked to submitte our selues to him and if wee doe it not shall it not bee cast in our teeth that there was no lette in him that wee had not meanes and helpes to instruct vs with all But what for that In steede of comming to God we haue turned our backe vppon him and rebelled against him Wherfore let vs consider after what manner God applieth himselfe to our rudenesse that wee may bee the more moued to resort vnto him And besides that let vs referre all thinges to the same ende that Moses noteth heere which is y t forasmuch as God is so gracious to vs as to shewe vs his truth wee must imbrace it assuring our selues that it groweth not in the worlde but commeth from heauen Therefore let the doctrine of saluation be receiued among vs with al obedience For else it is to no purpose for vs to protest that we call vppon God and are willing to honor and serue him For the proofe that he requireth therof is that we should hearken quietly to his worde and that our faith should bee setled so as wee resemble not the vnbeleeuers who are alwayes doubting but stande vpon this sure foundation that it is God which speaketh it therefore it is not lawful for vs to reply against it
Esaie vpbraideth the Iewes Esa. 51. â— The trueth is that he exhorteth them to be of good cheere though they be scattered abrode and cast downe Haue an eye saith he to the quarrie whence ye were taken and vnto your originall What was it was it a great and infinite people No It was a sillie olde man al alone without child or issue Behold your mother Sara was barren all the time of her life and her age was a further let that she might not conceiue and yet hath God taken ye out of that quarrie that is to say of one man alone Why then should yee bee afraide though yee were vtterly consumed But yet for all this hee vpbraideth them with their vnthankfulnesse because they trusted still in their owne greatnesse and if there were any likelihood at all by and by it puffed them vp And therefore let vs learne by this text first that Gods choosing of our forefathers was not for any worthinesse or nobilitie in them selues but because he had pitie on them which pitying importeth that they were in wretched case and had beene vtterly forlorne if God had not gathered them into the hope which they coulde neuer haue conceiued of themselues Marke that for one point And secondly if wee see Gods Church scattered so as wee be fewe in number and it seemeth that there is no certaintie nor assurance for vs but all is like to goe to hauock in y e turning of a hande Let it not dismay vs. And why so For God hauing once chosen Abraham did also multiplie his seede notwithstanding that hee was a man stricken in yeares drooping and childlesse So likewise nowe although there be but a handfull of vs and we be despised and without power or strength to maintaine our selues yet can God increase vs and hauing increased vs he can preserue vs. Wherefore let vs learne to looke wholly to his goodnes when the state of the Church lieth in hazarde and let vs not be out of heart but although that to the worldwarde wee see it cast downe and so diminished as it seemeth as good as nothing at all yet let vs not cease to be of good courage still and to waite till God performe that which he hath done in all ages For the manner of setting vp of the Church in good state againe and of the preseruing thereof must be wonderfull to the sight of men Now after that Moses hath spoken so he addeth Thy God chose thee euen of purpose to bring thee out of the land of Egypt before his face He sheweth that the deliuerance of the people out of the lande of Egypt proceeded of the said election and consequently of Gods free loue And it is a point which wee ought to marke well For it behooueth vs to be led from one thing to another As for example when God doeth vs any good we doe indeede perceiue his goodnesse but wee must mount yet higher Wherefore hath GOD prouided so for vs not for any worthines or desert of ours but because he had chosen vs. And when or wherefore chose hee vs Wee must not range any further but holde our selues to this grounde of Moseses But in any wise let vs marke whereof hee speaketh that wee may the better make our profite thereby Thy God deliuered thee out of the lande of Egypt because he had chosen thee before yea euen before thou wart borne In so saying hee sheweth that although this redemption was to see to but a deliuerance of the bodie yet was it a figure of y e saluation that God had promised afore in the person of the Redeemer and although the deliuerie of the people of Israel out of the lande of Egypt was but as a temporall redemption yet doth Moses say that it depended vpon Gods freebestowed adoption Seeing it is so in that case what is to bee thought nowe when wee bee to be brought out of the gulfes of hell to bee conueyed into heauen For by nature wee bee cursed Eph. 2.3 6. and plunged in the gulfes of hell are wee able to get thence Doeth it not belong onely vnto God to deliuer vs thence And if it were meete that God should choose the people of Israel to deliuer them from the tyrannie of Pharao let vs conclude that by a more strong reason it was meete that when he shoulde deliuer vs from the bondage of the diuell and from the bottomles pittes of hell hee shoulde declare this vnto vs that he had chosen and adopted vs. Wherfore let vs not onely take holde of the death and passion which our Lorde Iesus Christ suffered for vs and of his sauing of vs by his grace but also let vs come to the meane degree namely that the cause why wee bee made partakers of the saluation that Iesus Christ hath brought vs is for that GOD hath adopted vs. And when did hee that After hee had founde some vertue or some good forwardnesse â—n vs no but before wee were borne and before wee had done either good or badde yea eueâ— at such time as wee were alreadie vowed and giuen vp to endelesse destruction â—om 9.11 â—ph 2.5 This is it which we haue to note in the first place Neuerthelesse it is not for nought that Moses saieth also that God brought out the people before his face as if hee shoulde say hee was their guide For had GOD reached out his hande to his people but for once and thencefoorth haue let them alone to what purpose had that beene It is not ynough for a mother to helpe vp her young childe when hee is falne downe for hee may fall a hundred thousande times and in the ende breake his necke but shee must holde him vp still Euen so our Lorde declareth that it was not ynough for him to haue shewed himselfe to bee a deliuerer of his people for a day or two but hee helde on still and conueyed them before his face as a man that hath his eye continually vppon his childe To bee short hee sheweth heere that his goodnesse abode with the people euen to the ende so as hee helde on in helping and succoring them and mainteined them throughout And why for else his bringing of them out of the lande of Egypt had beene in vaine And afterwarde hee addeth To destroy people mightier and stronger than they that their lande might bee giuen them to inherite Hee sheweth that God ceased not to goe through with his fauour towardes the Iewes till hee had performed the promise that hee made to their fathers that is to wit of putting them in possession of the lande of Chanaan as hee had promised But as I haue saide alreadie wee must compare our selues with the state of that people And therefore let vs learne that God not onely draweth vs out of the gulfe of hell and out of the cursednesse wherein wee were borne and which would holde vs alwayes locked vnder his wrath but also holdeth on and continueth his goodnes towards
vs so as hee will not misse but haue his eye still vpon vs to watch ouer vs vnto the end And if our Lorde had not such a care to defende vs in what taking were wee Should not the diuell snatch vs vp euerie minute of an houre We see he trotteth vp and downe seeking euer to deuour 1. Pet. 5.8 and hee hath meanes to doe it And could we scape his pawes if we were not defeÌ„ded from theÌ„ by y e goodnes of our God So then let vs vnderstande that God doth not onely beginne our saluation and then let vs alone to shift for our selues but that he goeth through with vs as long as we haue nede and performeth the thing that he hath begunne Thus doth he keepe vs alwayes in his sight that is to say hee neuer forgetteth vs but considereth our necessities to prouide for them and to remedie them in due season Now if God haue his eyes so open to thinke vppon vs that hee may succour vs at our neede Let vs on our side also walke as before his face Psal. 116 9. Esa. 29.15 40.27 And let vs marke that wee cannot hide our selues from him and therefore seeing he yeeldeth vs such fauour and honour as to haue a care of vs it is good reason that all our life should bee answerable thereunto And so Gods goodnesse ought so little to make vs negligent that it shoulde rather spurre vs forward to repaire to him with an earnester minde In deede a man shall see some dogges and swine that will defame this doctrine of Election When it is tolde them that God knoweth which are his and that he wil neuer suffer them to perish very wel say they then wil I cease to doe well and so they mocke at God and his doctrine shewing indeede that they neuer wist what the worde Election or Choyce meaneth But as for vs Phil. 2.12 wee must take assurance by Gods grace to liue warely and circumspectly and good reason haue we to humble our selues considering that we were damned and forlorne and our God hath deliuered vs and moreouer shewed himselfe so bountifull towardes vs as to make vs heires of his kingdome Eph. 2.5 Col. 2.13.14.15 Phil. 2.13 euen vs that were the bondslaues of Satan And on the otherside it standeth vs on hande to walke in feare seeing wee can do nothing at all of our selues furtherforth than Gods grace vttereth it selfe in vs. Againe it behooueth vs to pray vnto him forasmuch as if he shoulde let vs alone from the one ende to the other wheras we be now aduaunced vp aloft we shoulde tumble into the pitte euerie minute of an houre Therefore wee haue cause heere to call vpon our God and to resort vnder his protection Furthermore seing it is said that hee guideth vs and keepeth watch for our welfare Deut. 11.21 Ier. 16.17 it becommeth vs to bee the more wakened to walk as in his presence knowing that he marketh not onely all our doings Act. 1.24 but also our affections and thoughts Besides this seeing that Moses knitteth here the deliuerance of the Israelits out of Egypt with their possessing of the lande of Chanaan Let vs marke well that God will haue all his benefits linked together which he bestoweth vpon vs vntil we be brought to the full perfection of our saluation For it is not to be thought that God letteth vs alone when he hath once called vs vnto himselfe so as we shoulde be in daunger of being left vp to the spoyle but contrariwise let vs mark that he will go through with the thing that he hath begunne as S. Paul declareth in the first to the Philippians where hee saieth y t this his calling of vs Phil. 1.5.6 importeth a warrantise that wee shall neuer bee left destitute of his defence vntill hee haue brought vs to euerlasting saluation Thus yee see that the thing which we haue to beare in mind is that as God is the beginner of our saluation so is he the finisher thereof also And as touching Moseses interlacing of Gods destroying and driuing out of people that were stronger and mightier than they it is true that God vsed an extraordinarie manner of dealing in his rooting out of the Chananites and such other like as dwelt in the countrie which the Iewes possessed but yet haue wee cause to thinke vppon the like at this day For whither is it that wee ought to goe whither doth our Lorde call vs To the heauenly life froÌ„ whence euen the verie Angels are falne For wee know that the diuels which as nowe are not onely banished from the glorie of the heauenly kingdome but also appointed to horrible damnation were sometime as the children of God and helde the roome whereinto our Lorde calleth vs at this day And nowe are wee worthyer than the Angels which fell in that sort from aboue Rom. 11. â— 17. Eph. 2. â—â— Moreouer if wee come but to men were not the Iewes as holy lynage Sprang they not of the roote of Abraham Yes and what are we on our side did the kingdome of heauen belong to vs No no more than to the wilde Canniballes But yet those natural children and as it were lawful heires by y e adoption of their fathers are cast off and banished from the saluation wherevnto God calleth vs at this time They be driuen out and we succeede as it were in an emptie place Haue not wee cause then to magnifie the grade that God sheweth vs in these dayes Doeth it not appeare that this text serueth not onely for the Iewes but also ought rather to be applyed to our vse at this day Then let vs vnderstande that seeing God hath chosen vs to himselfe wee ought in any wise to be wholy his to continue setled in the possession of his grace howbeit not by walking in statelines presumptioÌ„ so as we should be proud of it but by acknowledging with all lowlinesse that wee hang wholly vppon the free goodnesse of our GOD. And let vs not cease to assure our selues that he will go through with the thing that hee hath begunne in vs at leastwise if wee abide vnder the guiding of his hand to suffer our selues to be ruled by him Nowe let vs kneele downe in the presence of our good God with acknowledgement of our faultes praying him to rid vs of them by forgiuing them for our Lord Iesus Christes sake and therewithall to worke in such sort as wee may daily labour to renounce all our wicked lustes and whatsoeuer else hindreth vs to serue him and altogether to rule our selues according to his commaundements And so let vs all say Almightie God heauenly father c. On Munday the xvj of Iune 1555. The xxix Sermon which is the eleuenth vpon the fourth Chapter 39 Vnderstand therefore this day and lay it vp in thyne heart that the Lord is God in heauen aboue and vppon the earth beneath and there is none other but
first vpon the fifth Chapter 44 This is the Lawe which Moses did set before the children of Israel 45 These are the Couenants Ordinances and Lawes which Moses shewed to the children of Israel after they were come out of Egypt 46 Beyond Iordan in the valley against Bethphogor in the Lande of Sehon King of the Amorrhytes which dwelt in Hesebon whom Moses and the children of Israel smote after they were come out of Egypt 47 And possessed his land and the land of Og King of Basan two kings of the Amorrhytes which were beyond Iordan towards the Sunrising 48 From Aroer which is vpon the banke of the riuer Arnon vnto the Hill of Sehon which is Hermon 49 And all the plaine beyond Iordan Eastwarde vnto the Sea that is in the plaine vnder Asdoth of Phasga The fifth Chapter ANd Moses called all Israel and said vnto them Heare O Israel the ordinances and Lawes which I set before you this day that ye may learne them and keepe them in deede 2 The Lord our God made a couenant with vs in Horeb. 3 The Lorde our God made not this couenant with our fathers but with vs which are all here aliue at this day FOr as much as it is hard to keep men in subiectiō to GOD therfore after hee had chosen him a people he vouchsafed to rule thē not for once and awaye but euen so long time till they ought to haue bin well inured to his yoke And after the same maner doeth he deale dayly with his Church One worde ought to bee ynough to make vs vnderstand the trueth of our God But forasmuch as wee beleeue not so speedily as were requisite when wee haue begunne wee start away againe and finally forget the things that he had taught vs therefore he thinketh it not ynough to haue tolde vs once what is needefull for our saluation but he doeth also put vs oft in minde of it printeth it in our heartes as much as is possible That is the cause why Moses rehearseth in this text y t he not onely deliuered them y e law in Horeb but also taught it them new againe after he had gone about with them a fortie yeres or fast vpon it yea and ceased not of al that time to set the things continually before them which GOD had earst commaunded him to vtter vnto them as hath bin touched already heretofore But the diligence of Moses is not superfluous in that hee sayth that being come to the side of Iordan and hauing vanquished Sehon king of the Amorrhites and Og the king of Basan his neighbour hee did stil put the people in minde of Gods lawes and ordinaunces that they might stand to them and put them in vre and that if they had not had sufficient teaching already they might at leastwise euen then know Gods trueth and sticke to it That is the matter which moses meant by this text And here he setteth downe expresly the Lawes Couenants Statutes and ordinances to expresse the better as I haue tolde you heretofore that God taught not his people by halues ne gaue them a doctrine that was darke short or vnperfect but such a lawe as comprehended al that was for their benefite welfare so as if they sticked thereunto they should not neede to seeke any further for they should haue wherewith to direct themselues in all poyntes and all respectes Yea verily for the lawe is a full doctrine accordingly also as the worde hath his originall thereof Againe there are Couenantes which is as much to say as y ◠God couenanteth and indenteth with men so as he neither forgetteth nor leaueth any thing out that may make for the maintenance of the couenant betwixt him and vs in that it hath pleased him to adopte vs for his children and Church to take vs to himselfe Whatsoeuer concerneth the spirituall aliance betweene him and vs is comprehended vnder the worde Couenant because they be articles For when men intende to couenant they set downe articles as well on y e one side as on the other We see then how God protesteth here that the Lawe hath enough to teach men withall so they hold themselues to it Afterwarde followe Statutes and ordinances It is a wonder to see how painefull GOD is in teaching of vs and how hee telleth vs that he hath not omitted any thing and yet for all that our wittes are so fugitiue that wee still couet some better thing than wee finde in Gods word This diuelish curiositie hath reigned at all times in the worlde And we see that euen at this day do what wee can this cursed desire cannot be ouer-mastered but that men will still needes be wiser than God would haue them to be And why For when his worde is preached vnto vs there is no cause for vs to finde fault that hee hath not shewed vs all that is for our behoofe Yet notwithstanding wee be ticklish still and woulde faine haue this and that besides that which God hath shewed vs. Seeing then that such faultinesse bewrayeth it selfe in vs it standeth vs so much the more on hand to remember the counsel that is giuen vs here that is wit that if wee will suffer God to bee our maister wee shall finde all perfection of wisedome in his schoole For his lawe is of sufficient abilitie to make vs wise And againe Colos. 1.28 Deut. 6. as I haue sayd heretofore it conteineth all the poyntes that serue to vnite vs vnto our GOD wherein consisteth our whole happinesse and glorie Moreouer it sheweth vs the rule of well doing so as we need not to seeke any where else what GOD alloweth for wee haue there his statutes and ordinances Then may wee well knowe and assure our selues that our lyfe shall please GOD when wee passe not the boundes that hee hath set vs. But if wee adde any thing at al to it let vs not thinke that GOD alloweth that as righteousnesse or as a good thing for hee forgate not any thing that was necessarie or behoofefull And these two poyntes are well worthie to be noted For they serue to make vs to set the more store by the doctrine that is dayly set foorth to vs in the name of GOD. Sith wee see it is the perfect wisedome ought wee not to apply all our wittes to it and to holde vs to it Sith wee see that GOD foresloweth not but continueth to teach vs dayly ought not wee also on our side to bee attentiue and diligent to profite vnder him And though wee bee not so well giuen to it at the first as were meete wee shoulde ought wee not to inforce our selues all our lyfe long to know Gods will still more and more till wee bee quite rid of all ignoraunce which shall bee when wee be taken out of this world 1. Cor. 1.9.10.12 and not before Surely that which Moses did ought to serue vs for a rule and example at this day For hee did it not
by saying it is true but we must also bee diligent in keeping it all our life long And for further proofe of that which he had said he addeth Thou shalt doe thâ—â— which is right good in the sight of God Herein he sheweth vs that we must not doe whatsoeuer seemeth good to our selues nor followe our owne good intentes as they terme them And he will set out this matter yet better in another place which we shal see hereafter Deâ—â— â—â— For there he wil forbid men expresly to do the things y t seeme right in their owne eyes for whatsoeuer seemeth excellent vnto vs Luke â—â— shal be condemned for abhominable at Gods hand as is said in S. Luke Therefore let vs take good heede y t we ouershoote not our selues in our conceites to say How so Why should not God allow this for good seeing we do it to such a purpose seeing wee be desirous to obey him Yea but how will he be obeyed Not y t men should be Iudges Vmpers of the things y t they do to say this is good or y t is euill he reserueth y t authoritie to himself alone Now then will we order our life aright Let vs not open our eyes to be wise in our owne conceites for we see that y t hath cost vs deare Wee see I say y t our father Adam saw too much when he could not content himselfe with the measure y t was giuen him And therefore let vs not be too sharpe sighted to say I finde y t this is good therfore it must be done Cursed be such wisdome for it is a diuelish pride Will we then be allowed of our God Let vs take good heede to that which he speaketh for whatsoeuer is right in his eyes must needes be allowed in the end the things which we shall haue imagined to haue bene best shall be condemned when wee bring them before him For why He seeth more clearely than wee doe he knoweth things which wee knowe not And therefore he misliketh all our imaginations will haue vs to followe the thinges which he vttereth with his mouth simply without mingling any thing of our owne For the verie sacrifice that he requireth at our handes is that wee should serue him obediently and therewithall learne to distrust al our owne strength wit and reason and not to presume vppon any thing that wee our selues haue inuented for all that euer our mindes can conceiue is but follie vanitie and leasing but to bee well aduised that we doe the things which are good and right in the eyes of the Lord that is to say that we frame our whole life according to his commaundements But now let vs come to the promise That thou maist goe into the land saith he which the Lord hath sworne to thy fathers to possesse it Here we see how God is desirous to win the heartes of his people by gentlenesse in setting the possession of the land of Chanaan before them for a reward and inheritance As if he should say Truth it is that yee bee bounde to serue mee but yet will I not haue yee to serue mee for nought beholde the recompence that is prepared for you is that ye shall possesse the land of Chanaan But yet wee must alwayes marke with what condition It was not y t the people should liue there at rest like swine in a stie but so as the land might bee as a pledge of the endlesse lyfe and that they might consider thus God hath adopted vs to bee his heires and therefore let vs mount vs hygher to the euerlasting lyfe See heere how GOD telleth vs that if wee serue him hee will keepe touche with vs so as wee shall possesse the lande that hee hath promised vs. Nowe heere wee see first the thing that I haue touched already that is to wit that God stoopeth to mens rudenesse and infirmity in promising them recompence though hee bee not bound thereto Marke that for one poynt But by the waye wee haue to marke also that God bindeth not himselfe as though wee could deserue aught For he saith not I will giue you the land for the seruice you haue doone to mee as a thing that you haue earned but you shall goe into the lande which I promised to your fathers Heere are two thinges vttered couertly The one is that God promised the lande of his owne meere goodnesse and not as a due debt that had beene deserued at his hande For the promise thereof had bine made before the people was borne foure hundred and thyrtie yeeres before their departure out of Egypt God had sayd vnto Abraham this land shall be thine and thy seedes Let vs note then that this people had not deserued aught at Gods hande and that the rewarde which is mentioned heere befell them not in respect of their workes Marke that for a specially poynt And God telleth vs also that hee termeth the thing by the name of Hyre Recompence Wages which he giueth vs onely of his owne free liberalitie without being bounde thereto by any kind of meanes and without any desert at all at our handes And why To the intent that men should bee prouoked to serue him and not that they should become proude or father any thing vpon themselues which God shoulde accept for payment or admit for any recompence And this wee see euen in Abraham himselfe Gen. 17.1 For before hee had doone any thing at all God sayd vnto him I am thine abundant recompence Abraham I haue giuen thee this land I will bee thy God and the God of thy seede after thee I will be thy defender Yee see then that all the promises which are possible to bee wished were giuen of God vnto Abraham before he had shewed any signe of faith or of the feare of God But when he was willing to haue sacrificed his sonne Isaac our Lorde sayd I will blesse my seruaunt Abraham bicause hee hath feared mee and seeing hee hath not spared his owne sonne for the loue of me I will multiplie my blessinges vpon him And that was saide afore But God giueth so much the greater beautie to his goodnesse of purpose to strengthen Abrahams heart not that hee intended to exalt Abrahams desertes that hee might presume of himselfe but to make him know my God hath of his own mere mercie giuen me the thing y t he promised me I had the promise of it long agoe and now he sheweth that he accepteth my seruice in asmuch as he performeth the promise that he made to me of his owne free goodnesse Thus we see howe we ought to take the textes of holy scripture where god behighteth vs recompence We must not conclude therevppon that wee deserue aught or that our workes are of any valew or that God is any thing bounde vnto vs but that he doth it to quicken vs vp to harten vs the better to serue him in as much as our
name should be magnifyed in all ages and that wee shoulde indeuour to the vttermost of our power that it decay not with vs but continue still vnappayred and florishe and reigne euen after wee be dead The other reason is that hee intended to quicken vp the Iewes to serue God with the better courage by putting them in minde of the deliuerance which God had wrought for them for needes must they haue bin too vnthankefull if that had not prouoked them to serue God Now then the intent of Moses is that those to whom he had declared the Lawe should not onely indeuour themselues to serue GOD during their owne liues but also finde the meanes that their children and successors should followe them in the same trace And this lesson belongeth to vs as well as to them For wee know that God calleth vs with the same condition not onely that we our selues should serue and honor him to our liues end but also that we should haue a care to cause them that come after vs to doe the lyke Verily there are very few that dischardge themselues in that behalfe but yet are we bound vnto it and there will be no excuse for vs if wee doe not our indeuour Therefore let euery man haue an eye to himselfe and let vs not thinke it enough to haue serued God so long as wee our selues liue but that we must also findy y e meanes that his name may continue for euer and that his trueth may alwayes bee knowen so as although wee bee taken out of the world yet they that come after vs being taught by our meanes may linke in with vs into the same fayth and so fashion themselues thereunto as God may alwayes be gloryfyed honored vnto the worldes end And specially they y t haue children ought to thinke that it is they to whom this warning is giuen True it is that euery one of vs is bound thereto for himselfe yea and we must teach eueÌ„ the most straungers so as the man needeth not to be my sonne or my nephew or my kinseman whom I should indeuour to cause to serue God to be of the same faith and religion that I am of but yet they which haue children ought to consider that they shall yeelde account for it if they doe not what they can to hold them in the feare of God and to see them so instructed and stablished in the pure doctrine as they may continue in it and as the knowledge of Gods trueth may still be conueied ouer from hand to hand Thus yee see what we haue to remember vppon this place where Moses sayth If thy childe aske hereafter what these commaundementes statutes and ordinances meane Now there is also a second poynt which is that Moses intended to stirre vp the people to honor God and to obey him because they had bin deliuered by his mighty hand Therefore it is all one as if hee should say Bethinke your selues well of the good which your GOD hath done for you for he hath shewed himselfe to be your redeemer hee hath smitten the realme of Egypt a people that did set greatly by themselues yea and which was rich and wealthie and where was nothing but all maner of pompe and glory to the worldward and yet notwithstanding your God hath loued you so dearely that he hath not spared the Egyptians for your sakes but hee hath smitten them with plagues and powred out such vengeance vpon them as is horrible to thinke of Hee hath stretched out his strong arme to bring you to this land which hee promised to your fathers Seeing then that God hath shewed himselfe so gratious and liberall towardes you and preuented you of purpose to be your father is it not reason that you should giue your selues to him all your lyfe long and indeuour to serue him and at leastwise shew that yee haue not forgotten his so great and inestimable benefites Yes And so wee see that forasmuch as the Iewes might bee negligent in keeping Gods lawe Moses renewed the rememberaunce thereof and set their deliuerance before them that they might bee the better minded and consider that they were bound at leastwise to serue GOD in such wise as they might acknowledge themselues to bee the same people whome hee had once deliuered after a maruellous fashion and with wonderful power Like as at this day if a man should speake to vs of the Christian religion and say Beholde our GOD hath vouchsafed to make vs partakers of the redemption which hee wrought in the person of his Sonne and therefore it is good reason that wee shoulde bee gathered here together vnder his worde to take him for our father and Sauour because hee hath chosen vs to bee his people And whereas Moses declareth that the Iewes were deliuered out of Aegypt hee meaneth to doe vs to witte that God intended to shoule them out from all other nations specially by assigning them the inheritaunce of the Lande which hee had promised to their fathers Yee see then how they should haue sanctifyed themselues to the seruice of God and haue held theÌ„selues in obedience to his law because he suffered them not to be intermingled with y e infidels but made a seuerall nation of them alone by theÌ„selues And hereupon we haue to note y t such as seeke counsell at Gods law doe alwayes finde instruction our Lord procureth them ayde help to bring theÌ„ to the knowledge of the truth It is sayd If thy sonne aske thee what meane these statutes He presupposeth that the children are not so brutish as at leastwise not to be willing desirous to knowe why they vse such maner of seruing God And wee see it is Gods ordinance that the fathers should helpe their children True it is that the fathers ought not to â—ary for that but if they see their children to be despisers of God or vnruly and carelesse both of the saluation of their owne soules and of all Christianitie and fayth they ought to correct such vices But the matter which wee treate of as now is that if children bee willing to learne and to profite God here assigneth them their fathers to be their teachers and schoolemasters to shewe them why the lawe was giuen Herein then wee see that if wee haue any good will to knowe the trueth our Lorde will not suffer vs to bee disappoynted but wil finde the meanes that wee shall know whatsoeuer hee thinketh profitable for our saluation And although hee appoynt not mortall creatures to teach vs yet will hee worke in such wise by his owne power as wee shall not bee destitute of knowledge But our owne slothfulnesse is the cause that GOD shutteth the gate against vs and that wee abide still in darknesse lyke blinde wretches For what is hee that vouchsafeth to seeke after the will of his GOD Wee bee giuen to worldly thinges to our owne pleasures to our owne vanities and to all manner of worldly businesses
yet we rather tende still to some corruption than holde our selues in the purenesse of gods seruice What is to bee done then seeing that ydolatrie is so rooted in our nature If occasions be offered to drawe vs away is it not like as when nettes are spred before birds And wee bee so vnconstant that we tumble into them immediatly And therefore as for them that thinke themselues to haue such constancie strength that although they haue images Chappels and such other thinges yet they shall not hurt them at all they tempt God and experience shewes it to bee so Therefore there is no better way than to know our infirmitie and vpon the knowledge thereof to vse the remedie that God hath giuen vs. If a man perceiue himselfe to haue a weake heade so as he is not able to beare three glasses of wine but he shall be ouertaken if hee drinke without discretion is he not as badde as a swine Doeth he not tempt God Ought he not to thinke vppon the default that is in him and to preuent it Yes Nowe it is certaine that in this behalfe we haue so weake braines that we shalby and by be made dronke with superstition yea and as good as bewitched with superstition so as there wil be no discretion in vs but wee shall goe on still to seeke further occasions and meanes of it and is not that a manifest spiting of God It is a point therefore which ought to bee well marked that GOD knowing the weakenesse which is in vs is not willing that wee shoulde haue images altars and such other thinges to seduce vs but that all such thinges shoulde bee wyped out from among vs to the intent may not bee any thing to hinder vs from giuing our selues simplie vnto God But nowe let vs come to the seconde reason It is not ynough for the faithful to refreine from all ydolatrie but they must also shewe that they abhorre and hate all thinges that are against Gods seruice And to the vttermost of their power they must indeuour to haue them all wyped away so as the rememberance of them may be rooted out that they may neuer bee spoken of any more For else what zeale haue we to the honour of God when we see ydols set vp in steed of him and looke vppon thinges that serue to corrupt and deface the true and pure religion If wee doe but laugh at them and take them as small trifles or as childrens games is it not a token that we esteem the honour of our God no more than a thing of nothing For if our desire to haue God glorified were as earnest as it ought to be surely it would wound our hearts to see ydols so set vp in his place and to see men bereaue him of his maiestie of attribute the same to deade creatures and that so precious and holy a thing as religion is should be so marred corrupted turned vpsidedown When these marks come before our eyes surely if we haue any one droppe of good zeale it must needes vex vs and greeue vs and wee must to the vttermost of our power deface all those signes and marks of ydolatrie and cause Gods honour to be maintained vnappayred And indeede when hee requireth that wee shoulde make confession of our faith vnto him this also is comprehended therein For as the mouth ought to vtter what is in our hart Rom. 〈…〉 that is to wit that wee haue but the onely one God which hath redeemed vs if wee yeeld him such record with our mouth our outward doings must also bee answerable thereunto so as both feete and handes tende that way If we were at that point wee woulde not wittingly and willingly suffer any superstitions if it lay in vs to abolish them But yet there is a thing in it which is that Moses commaundeth the people expresly to doe it when they bee come into the Lande which God had appointed theÌ„ to inioy for their inheritance For if we be in a straunge Countrie where wee haue no authoritie it is not in our power to put downe ydols neither doeth this commaundement stretch thereunto It is true that in passing through places where ydolatrie is vsed we must sigh and mourne and thinke our eyes to bee as it were defiled with the sight of such wickednesse contrary to the honour of god so as it must greeue vs and vex vs at the heart that we bee driuen to see such sights And forasmuch as our hands be tyed and we haue not any soueraintie or authoritie in the place or Countrie where such superstitions reigne wee haue no more to doe but to pray God to put to his mightie hande and to destroye it euerywhit and in the meane while to holde our selues quiet But if we haue authoritie then behold Gods voyce crieth out vp vp such abhominations must not reigne any longer When yee bee come to the Countrie which your God giueth you to possesse then let all such geere bee put downe Nowe then out of this text wee must drawe a rule which is that according as God giueth abilitie wee must indeuour to haue all ydolatrie and all the tokens therof vtterly abolished both publikely and priuately As howe When a Countrie is at libertie and our Lorde hath planted his word there such as beare sway and haue autority must find y t meanes that al such things as haue corrupted the true religion may be abolished brought to nought If they doe it not it is a negligence which God condemneth And if a man will put downe ydolatrie it is not ynough to saye no man shall worshippe ydolles anye more but all thinges which imbaced the purenesse of the Religion must bee quite and cleane wyped away As for example if men should keepe still the Altars that were in the time of the diuelish Masse what a thing were it Wherto serued they but to committee abhominable trecherie against God so as there shoulde remaine neither faith nor feare towardes him so long as such abhomination indured The Altars serued to sing their Masses on By meanes whereof the death and passion of our Lorde Iesus Christ was vtterly defaced in spyte of the redemption that he had wrought Insomuch that if it bee admitted that Iesus Christ was sacrificed dayly Heb. 9.26 it is all one as to reiect the benefite that was purchased vs by his death and passion Nowe then if the Altars were suffered to stande still were it not a reteyning still of some memoriall of the leawdnesse which ought to mislike vs Yes for otherwise what were our zeale When wee call to rememberance that wee haue hearde Masse in times past and had cast our selues into that dungâ—on wee ought to bee sorie and to craue pardon for it and to bee abashed at the blindnesse whereinto wee were falne wherethrough wee became so beastlie as to goe seeke our saluation by renouncing the redemption that was purchased for vs long agoe by our Lorde
and rooteth them out Nowe if this were saide of temporall enemies what is to be sayde of Satan and of the enemies of our soules Are wee able to ouercome them Will the bringing of our owne free will our merites and our good workes bee able to ouercome the diuel the worlde death it selfe and hell No but the blinde wretches are well apayd that they may bee deceiued in bearing themselues in hande that they can do much that they be verie able folke Yet notwithstanding they bee disgraced heere by the holye Ghost and it is tolde vs that nothing wee be ne nothing can do of our selues but that all y e good which wee do commeth of God Phil. 2.13 and it is he that doeth it in vs. For if a man cannot stirre one finger towardes the sauing of this transitorie life can he saue his soule vnto the kingdome of heauen If a man cannot doe any thing against his aduersarie which is a mortall and fraile creature as well as himselfe howe shal he ouercome the worlde and all the diuels in hell So then let vs learne to deceiue our selues no more with these fonde imaginations in thinking our selues to haue free will to doe this and that but let vs knowe that if God reache vs his hand then shall wee be able to stand through him not through our selues Saint Paul glorieth sufficiently but howe is that I can doe all thinges sayeth hee through Iesus Christ which strengtheneth mee Phil. 4.13 He sayeth he can doe all thinges and by that meane he defyeth the diuell which maner of boldnesse wee see he vseth chiefely in the Epistle to the Philippians but yet he reserueth nothing to himselfe He sayeth that he is strengthened by Iesus Christ. Then if wee be strengthened from aboue wee shall get the vpper hande But yet as I sayd wee must alwayes acknowledge how it is God that strengtheneth vs and that it is in him and by him that wee stande out and get the victorie The thirde reason that Moses alleageth is this that God in setting his people in possession of the promised Lande had an eye to the promise which he had made and sworne to Abraham Isaac Iacob Hereby the Iewes are put in minde that God chose them not as more worthie more noble more excellent than other men as hath beene shewed alreadie but because hee had made promise to their forefathers But nowe let vs see what cause moued and led God to giue this lande to Abraham and to his seede If he had had an eye to mans worthinesse Abraham deserued much more than any other to haue beene set in possession of that lande And yet contrariwise his dwelling there was but as a stranger he was driuen out of it and hee was so farre off from hauing of it at his commaundement Heb. 11.9 that he was kept euen from water not onely when he would haue borowed it at other mennes pittes but also when he had digged pittes by his owne labour both hee and his successours were driuen from them Gen. 21.25 Lo how the holy Patriarches were tossed too and fro and how men mocked them did them many outrages wrongs and of all that while they had not one foote of grounde more than a burying place In so much that at length Iacob was driuen to pay for the grounde where he lodged and pitched his tents Gen. 32.18 33.19 46.1 and finally constrayned to goe into the lande of Egypt by reason of dearth which draue him out of the lande of Chanaan Now seeing that the holie fathers were not putte in possession of it during their liues shall wee say that their posteritie were worthier than they No it followeth then that Gods couenāt was merely of free gift and that he had no respect to any desertes of mē And why Because he loued that people Wee must not aske whether he founde any vertue in them or no but it must suffice vs that hee listed to magnifie his mercie As if he should say I seek no cause in men to doe them good But I find it in my selfe For of men that are worthie to bee vtterly reiected I choose out some and take them to bee my children to the intent they shoulde giue mee all the prayse thereof That is the thing which Moses had an eye vnto in alleaging the couenant which God had made with their fathers Nowe wee knowe as I said afore that this couenant was made before these people were borne They could not say that God regarded what they were as some phantasticall persons do which say that God foresawe what men woulde be If he doe but foresee surely he shall finde vs all diuels that is to say vnhappie and cursed creatures full of all wickednesse and such as haue nothing but vtter abhomination in vs. Those are the thinges that God shall finde in vs if he doe but foresee Nay if he wil haue vs good he him selfe must frame vs thereto for wee bee his workemanship as sayeth Saint Paul in the seconde to the Ephesians Eph. 2.10 And the same is also expressed plainly in the fourescore and fifteenth Psalme Psal. 95.6 where it is sayde that it is he that made vs. And Dauid in that place speaketh not of Gods first creating of vs when wee were set into the worlde as his creatures but hee meaneth it of his reforming of vs by his grace Nowe then if God did but foresee things then sawe he nothing in vs but vtter rebellion and wickednesse To bee short wee bee damnable in all respects and heires of endlesse death And therefore if hee chose vs before wee had done either good or euill it was to magnifie his owne grace as Saint Paul declareth in the nyenth to the Romanes Rom. 9.11 And so yee may see what Moses telleth vs here But nowe must wee come backe againe to the sayde comparison that I touched afore which is that if God woulde haue the saide couenant which hee made concerning the lande of Chanaan and the temporal succession to bee knowen to be of his free goodnesse it is much more reason that when he calleth vs to be heires of his kingdome and sheweth him selfe to bee our God and Sauiour his goodnesse shoulde haue the highest degree and all respectes of deseruing be layde awaye so as men shoulde not imagine themselues to haue I wote not what power of their owne to preuent Gods goodnesse Then let vs marke well that Gods calling of vs and his vouchsafing to inlighten vs in the beliefe of his Gospell is because he had chosen vs not onely from our mothers wombes but also before the worlde was created yea and because it pleased him to haue vs and to take vs for his owne Ephes. 1.4 euen before all eternitie And so wee haue no cause to alleage any thing at all in our owne behalfe but rather to bee ashamed of our selues that God may onely bee exalted
payed very deere for their shotte because they were not contented with the inestimable good that God had done them For the Manna was a heauenly foode yea and a foode of Angelles as it is sayde in the Psalme Psal. 78.25 But although they felt Gods punishmentes and both sawe and felt the vengeance that ouerwhelmed them yet notwithstaÌ„ding they ceased not to prouoke him to angernewe againe after other fashions somtimes by committing whordome sometimes by banding against Moses and Aaron sometime by murmuring and sometime by rayling To be short there was neither ende nor measure of their doinges And therefore not without cause doeth Moses say vnto them heere Bethinke yee of the great number of faultes which yee haue committed euer since the day that yee came out of the lande of Egypt euen vnto this present time that God hath brought you into this Lande Whereas he sayeth God hath brought you it serueth to quicken them vppe the better As if hee shoulde say Who hath beene your leader Leaude folke as ye be your GOD hath well mainteyned guided and ledde you hee hath vphelde you and helped you in all your necessities and yet will you needes come and sette vp your bristles thus against him Nowe sith wee heare this of the Iewes lette it not make vs to blame them but lette it make vs behoulde our selues in their persons and consider howe neere this example toucheth vs that euerie of vs may looke into himselfe and all of vs acknowledge generally that wee bee no better than they And for proofe thereof we be not in a wildernesse neither is there a time of fortie yeares sette a forehande vnto vs but lette euerie of vs take his whole life euen from the time that GOD did put vs into this woâ—lde vnto our buryingday Howe liue wee God for his part powreth out so many benefites vpon vs as wee haue good cause to serue and honour him yea though there were no more than that which he hath done alreadie But seeing hee continueth in doing vs good still is it not ynough to soften our heartes though they were of yron or steele Yes verily and yet wee cease not to spite him by going on still from euil to worse Nowe then like as Moses vpbrayded the Iewes with their continuaunce in euill dooing so lette euerie of vs consider that our prouoking of our GOD hath not beene for once onelie but that whereas wee should haue beene drawen vnto him wee haue shrunke away from him and rebelled against him And whereas wee shoulde haue offered our selues readily to beare his yooke wee haue beene so stubborne as hee coulde not wealde vs and one naughtinesse hath so drawen on an other that our sinnes are come to a horrible confused heape Thus then must we compare our selues with those to whome Moses speaketh here Here it might be demaunded howe Moses can say that they which liued at that time had rebelled against GOD euer since the time that they came out of Aegypt For at that time the most parte of them were babes or at leastwise not of full yeares of discretion For we haue seene expressely in the first Chapter Deut. 1. â—â— that GOD was minded to haue destroyed all that companie euen young children and all For they that were come to mans estate had made themselues vnworthie to enioye the inheritaunce that was promised them and they were banished and shutte out from it Howe then doeth Moses vpbrayde them that they had not ceased to prouoke Gods wrath continually For they might haue replyed Howe soâ— Though our fathers misse behaued themselues so as they were vnthankefull disobedient rebellious and full of murmuring and wicked lustes shoulde those thinges bee layde vppon vs No for wee coulde not doe withall But let vs marke that heere the whole bodie of the people is so blamed that the children are rightly condemned in the persons of their fathers For it was still one bodie and whereas the fathers behaued themselues naughtily and wickedly the children amended not but continued in the same euill as is to bee seene And therefore forasmuch as the children linked in with their fathers it is meete that they should be knit vp as it were all in one bundle and that GOD should condemne them all in generall And after the same manner are they spoken of in the fourescore ninth and also in the threescore and eighteenth Psalmes Psal. 〈…〉 32.33 〈…〉 9.10 â— For there our Lorde sayth Remember your selues howe yee were disobedient to me in the wildernesse And afterwarde the prophete rehearseth their fauke againe howe oftentimes they had misbehaued themselues and thereupon concludeth y t they had alwaies persisted in euill euen froÌ„ their first entering into the lande of Chanaan Insomuch that if the fathers liued naughtily in the wildernesse their children followed the same trade yea and became much worse For when they were once in possession of the heritage which was Gods resting place they should haue giuen themselues to the seruing and honoring of him to the vttermost of their power But all their indeuour was to defile the lande which God had hallowed to himselfe by filling it full of superstition and ydolatrie God gaue them the inheritaunce freely as if he should haue sayde I aske no more of you but that ye serue me acknoweledging that I haue beene a good louing father to you and that I haue alwayes mainteyned and kept you But in steede of doing homage to God for these things the people fel to setting vp of idols borowing all the corruptions of the heathen and bringing in false and counterfet Religions Ye see then that they deserued well to be estraunged and quite cut of from God Also wee see that the prophetes did continually vpbraide the children of Israell with their vnthankfulnes yea euen generally according also as euery man was giltie thereof And S. Steuen hath declared my sayd reason yet better Act. 7.51 For he sayth ye haue euer resisted the holy Ghost like as your fathers did afore you If the Iewes of that time had quietly submitted themselues to the Gospell and receaued Iesus Christ as their sauiour so as they had honored and imbraced him with fayth and repentance S. Steuen would not haue gone about to rip vp the shame of their forefathers For that was hidden But for as much as they turned all thinges vpside downe and beleeued not the Gospell but forsooke the grace of God and trampled it vnder their feete aduauncing themselues with diuelish pride and furie to abolish the name of our Lorde Iesus Christ and to deface the goodnesse that GOD had shewed them it was requisite that the sinnes of their fathers should be put into their account and that God should set himselfe against them to condemne the malicious wilfulnesse of that people and the faultes that had beene committed by the space of two or three thousand yeeres afore And therefore let vs learne that although God pardon the
the heritage y t God had promised theÌ„ They were bereft of it Indeed Iacob caused his body to bee conueied thither againe when he was dead but yet did the people abide still in Egypt god seemed to haue mocked theÌ„ in saying ye shal inherit this land But when god brought them again out of the captiuitie cruell tyranny wherein they were it was as a rising again froÌ„ the dead as a taking of them againe out of their graues So then y e people are exhorted in this text to vnderstand that they ought to impute this redemption of theirs to the promise that had beene made long time before And we on our side haue generally a very profitable lesson which is this As oft as we fal asleep and minde not Gods benefits so sufficiently as might make vs to perceiue his working power we must resort to his promises y t they may be as a light vnto vs to shew vs the good way Let that serue for one point And now by the way we see how God vttered his power in multiplying the people after y t fashion For who would haue looked that of threescore ten persoÌ„s there should haue issued seuen hundred thousand aboue It is incredible if wee looke no further than to the course of nature y t in three huÌ„dred yeres threescore ten persons shold increase multiply to so great a number Had there come of them ten thousand or twentie thousand it might wel haue bin imputed to the course of nature But when it came to a hundred thousande or a two or three hundred thousand yea to so huge a number as seuen hundred thousand al men must needes be abashed at it it was not to be thought y t euer it could haue bin possible But we must not mesure Gods power by our wit for it was his wil to work after that strange vnaccustomed fashion that men might be driuen to think it to be his worke For if God worke after an ordinary maner w t vs we be so vnthankful y t we take the thing to happen by chance or by our own policie or by some mans fauor or other meane which we haue fouÌ„d in y e world we bereaue God continually of his honour In deed we wil not say y t we purpose any such thing nay we protest the cleane contrarie but yet for al y t men are so wickedly giuen y t they alwaies deface Gods power goodnesse to the vttermost y t they can God therfeore is faine to bring vs perforce to the acknowledging of his works so as we must be compelled to confesse y t it is he which helpeth succoureth vs. Let vs mark wel then y t when he multiplied his people after y t sort he meant to work a myracle that had neuer bin looked for to the intent y t men should no more doubt that it was he that spake vnto Abraham that he had not in vain promised him to become y e defeÌ„der of him of al his ofspring Nowadais there ar a sort of skoffers who to make al things doubtful wil cauil after this maner Is it possible y t in so short a space of time threescore ten persons should grow to so huge a number as seauen hundred thousand Is it possible Yea if that people had bin increased but after an ordinarie maner what would they say then Came not this of other men should we then say that god gouerneth vs Why y e order of nature afordeth as much After y t maner would the mockers prate And therby we see the lewdnes y t is in meÌ„ For if God goe not beyond the ordinarie course of nature they haue no sight at al to discerne his hand but to their seeming it is fortune or their own wisdom or some inferior meane of y e world And on the other side if God lift vp his mighty hand do a thing beyond mans capacitie and such as men would haue thought coulde neuer haue bin done then wil they say how coms this to passe And they could find in their harts euen to deface gods power quite clean vnder color y t it surmounteth their reason capacity But for our part let vs learne to do god so much honor for so hee well deserueth as not to iudge of his workes after our own fancy specially when they be miraculous And here wee haue as it were a looking glasse wherein to see how God raiseth vp his Church according also to this his speaking of it by his prophet Esay Esa. 51.1.2 Loke backe to the quarrie of stoâ—e saith he whereout of ye were hewen haue an eye to the womb of your mother Sara Loke vpoÌ„ Abraham your father was not he alone yes yet haue I now made you manie in number as y e thing it selfe declareth In that place God likeneth Saraes womb to a quarrie of stone See here saith he from whence ye be come Howe is it possible that such a multitude of people as you be nowe growen vnto shoulde be drawen out of one quarrie of stone And yet notwithstanding from thence haue I fetched you all of you are but onely aunswere Let GOD bee obeyed according to the praiers which he hath coÌ„manded folke to make with this solemne protestation Amen 1. Chro. 16.36 so as there may not be any replying at all to y t which God hath once vttered with his mouth And that is the verie cause why the word Keepe is set downe here For men wil needs haue manie things to keep and they beare theÌ„selues in hand that they haue kept the law very well after what fashion so euer it be But our Lord telleth vs that we haue things enough to keep and to obserue in following his lawe so as we neede not to adde any thing to it Furthermore to the intent y t the people may be the more moued Moses confirming here the matter y t we heard euen now saith thus Bethinke you therfore for it is not spoken to your children which haue neither seen nor heard of it but to you your selues which are witnesses of the great myracles mightfull workes and tokens which God shewed in bringing you out of the land of Egypt and specially in your passing of the read sea where he wrought with a woÌ„derful power For what a thing was it y t the sea shronk aside to make you way to passe through it And that afterward it swallowed vp al your enemies that folowed you with so great puissance y t you thought your selues vtterly vndone You haue seen those thinges with your eyes saith he What a thing were it then if ye should forget such wonderfull workes of God and suffer them to vanish away Might it be imputed to any ignorance No but to vnthankefulnes it were malicious spitefulnes for you to tread the thinges so vnder foote which God hath shewed vnto you And wheras he
vppon vs yea and a confusion more horrible than Turkishnesse in that they durst so openly pronounce all those leawd speaches Let vs marke then how it is not without cause that Moses sayth here The commaundementes which I set before you as if hee should say come not hither to protest dissemblingly that your intent is to serue God but say flatly y t ye wil not admit his Lawe because it is preched vnto you by me by me I say which am a mortall man as you be and not your God least ye should make an idoll of me Alledge none of all these shiftes sayth he for God hath ordained me to set forth his Lawe and he will haue it receiued at my hand And seeing he hath giuen me that charge and office it behoueth you on your side to obey Now againe wee knowe that our Lorde Iesus Christ intendeth not to dwell here visibly in his owne person among vs. Hee hath ordeined Pastors in his Church and hee will be heard by their meanes that is the perfection whereunto hee bringeth vs vntill wee come to that happy meeting 1. Cor. 13.12 to bee throughly ioyned vnto him Those are the wordes of Saint Paul Now if wee will not submit our selues to that order it is as if we would rend asunder the body of Christ as much as in vs lyeth Therefore let vs beware that wee yeelde due authoritie to Gods word and accept it reuerently when it is preached vnto vs. So then whensoeuer we haue to deale with Gods seruice and religion let vs not fall to fancying of high speculations as if we would say Let God shewe me what pleaseth him and I wil doe it For that is but a vaine excuse as wee shall see that Moses himselfe will tell vs hereafter where he sayth Deut. 30.11.12.13.14 Thou needest not to goe ouer the sea nor to mount vp into the ayre nor to goe downe into the deepe forasmuch as thou hast the worde in thy heart and in thy mouth Rom. 10.8 And this word saith S. Paul is not only that which was preached by Moses but also the same word of faith which we preach at this day Sith it is so let vs beare in minde y t God ment as it were to bridle vs by telling vs y t it was his wil to make vs subiect vnto him and y t for the bringing thereof to passe it behoued vs to obserue the doctrine which he did set forth by the hand of Moses And cōsequently it behoueth our Lord Iesus Christes gouerning of vs nowadays to be such as we receiue and beleeue whatsoeuer is preached to vs in his name Ye see thē that the way for Gods word to haue due preheminence and authoritie among vs is that wee gouerne not our selues after our owne lyking but hearken to the voyce of Iesus Christ to submit our selues thereto so as hee may haue the souereintie ouer vs that is giuen him by God his father and we receiue his word without exception or gainsaying knowing that that is the meane whereby God intendeth to try what obedience wee yeelde vnto him Now let vs kneele downe in the presence of our good God with acknowledgement of our faultes praying him to make vs perceiue them better than wee haue done heretofore so as we may fare the better by all the instructions that are giuen vs as well by the benefites that are dayly bestowed vppon vs at his hand as by the chastisementes which hee sheweth vs that thereby we may be brought to feare him and to honor him by all meanes and not take vppon vs the name of Christianitie falsely but become his people in very deede being separated from all worldly infections and from all wiched lustes that are contrary to his lawe or which striue against it That it may please him to graunt this grace not onely to vs but also to all people and nations of the earth c. On Tewseday the xxiiij of September 1555. The Lxxvi Sermon which is the third vpon the eleuenth Chapter 8 Therefore keepe all c. 9 And that yee may prolong your daies in the lande which the Lorde sware to your fathers to giue to them and to their seede euen a lande that floweth with milke and honnie 10 For the land which thou goest vnto to possesse it is not as the lande of Egypt whence thou camest where thou diddest sow thy seede and water it with thy feete as a garden of herbes 11 But the Lande which thou goest vnto to possesse is a land wherin are hilles and plaines and it drinketh raine water from the skie 12 It is a land which the Lord thy God regardeth the eyes of the Lorde thy God are continually vppon it from the beginning of the yeere to the end of the yeere 13 And if ye be diligent in obeying my commaundementes which I commaunde you this day so as ye loue the Lorde your God and serue him with all your hart and with all your soule 14 Then will I giue the foreraine and the afterraine in season vppon your lande that thou mayest gather vp thy Corne thy Wine and thyne Oyle 15 Also I will giue thee grasse vpon the feeld for thy Cattell So shalt thou eate and haue thy fill AFter that Moses hath warned the people to keepe Gods commaundements now hee harteneth them by setting Gods promises before them as if GOD should tell them that his will was they should not serue him but for good wages And in deede God perceiuing how loth slowe we be to follow him allureth vs to it by promising vs that wee shall not lose our labor in so doing Not that he is bound to doe it or that he intendeth to haue vs as hirelings or that we can deserue or earne any thing at his hand wee must rid away all such imaginations It is meete y t wee should yeeld obedience vnto God though no reward at al were behighted vs. For we ought to loue him for his owne sake not for any recompence that can be looked for Againe on y e other side our affection must be francke free and not lyke theirs that wil doe nothing except their profite be alwayes before them We must loue God w t a free heart Thirdly we can deserue nothing at all by our doings doe what we can God is neuer y t more bound vnto vs for it For we be his already what can we bring which is not due to him already by nature Yet is he contented to apply himselfe to our rawnesse in saying y t if we serue him there is a reward ready for vs so as we shall not neede to be afraid y t our Labor in honoring him shoulde be vnprofitable to vs if we indeuour so to honor him Now we see what a fondnesse it is for men to conclude that because God promiseth rewarde to such as keepe his Lawe therfore men can deserue at his hand For that is not his meaning but
failing in the middes of our way This is it y t Moses meant in saying y t when the people were once entered into y e lande it behoued them to haue an eye to y e euerlasting inioying possessing thereof which had bin promised them with the same Hauing said so he addeth that the land of Chanaā is not as the land of Egipt And why For your being in Egipt saith he was as it had bin in a garden For men doe water their gardens so as when they haue sowed or set their herbes they wil haue water at hand to moysten thē w tal After y e same maner was it with you in y e land of Egypt which is watered partly by cunning partly by nature For we must vnderstād y t that land hath one propertie which all other landes haue not We reade not y t any other coūtrie of the world is vnmoystened with raine and showers frō aboue saue only Egypt For once a yeere y e riuer Nilus ouerfloweth his banckes according to y e growing therof so doth it behight thē abundance of fruites Insomuch y t if it ouerflowe not aboue fiue or sixe foote deep it is a token of dearth as who should say y t God threateneth famine to y e whole countrie If it rise to twētie foote or somewhat vpward well there will be some abundance But if it increace to thirtie or fortie foote then will there be much more so as in Egypt they haue none other signe of a good yeere a fruiteful haruest than the ouerflowing of Nilus Whereas all other riuers doe marre the landes where they ouerflowe and although they be muddie yet doe they much harme This riuer by his ouerflowing causeth y t land to yeeld great abūdance That is y e cause why it is said y t at y t time y e Israelites had as it were euery man his garden were faine to haue water to moistē thē w tall after y e maner of y t coūtrie which is cut into many ditches trēches to water the land w tall all this is according to y e ordinance which God hath set there But here Moses telleth the Israelites that it shall not be so with thē in the land of Chanaan For why There is small store of riuers in many of the countries yea and in the most part of them True it is that Iordan passeth through it and there are certaine lakes also but that is all and yet one of them serues but to infect the land For the lake where Sodom stood did rather marre the countrie than yeeld any commoditie And therewithall wee see how the fathers had much adoe to digge pittes and were in daunger to be vndone with drought insomuch that they were driuen frō place to place for lacke of water Ye see then that the land of Chanaan was not watered after the maner of Egypt neither had it water at hand and at commandement as Egypt had And therefore is it sayd vnto them See how God visiteth the land of Egypt but once a yere and if the riuer flowe lustily ouer all the countrie it is as good as if he had rayned neuer so much vpon it so as the Egyptians are sure of a good haruest when the riuer hath increased after that fashion But your God must be faine to send you raine and conuenient moysture from aboue from the one end of the yeere to the other When yee haue sowen your seede ye must waite for raine from aboue and thinke thus with your selues Alas Lord wilt not thou make the seede to increase which wee haue layd into the ground Now must thou shew that thou regardest vs and that it is thy wil that our labour shal prosper And when thou hast so giuē vs raine we must be faine to returne againe and looke vp still to heauen that thou our God maist haue thine eyes cōtinually vpon the land to make it yeelde fruite For it is not enough for you y t your God send you rayne once but he must be faine to hold on still for other way there is none to water y e land except your God power out his blessing vppon you from heauen Otherwise land must needes lye dry and vntilled Thus doe we see how Moseses meaning is to stirre vp the people to liue in awe and feare and to prouoke them to call vppon God continually and therewithall to submit themselues to his gouernment and to consider how great need they haue of his help so as they may say Alas Lord what will become of vs if thou blesse vs not Moreouer hee putteth them in minde also to consider what a fatherly care God had of y e land of Chanaan sith it was his pleasure to raine so vpon it not for once a yeere onely but yerely from the beginning of the yere to the ende of it That is the effect of the thinges that Moses intended to say here And thereby wee be done to vnderstand that Gods bringing of vs into distresse and necessitie is to prouoke vs to repaire vnto him and to looke vp to his goodnesse so as wee should not onely haue cause to giue him thankes for his benefites but also bee driuen to call vpon him by being held at the staues end and thereupon dayly resorte vnto him After the same maner wee see nowadayes how wee haue neede of faire weather and that not for fower or fiue dayes in a yeere but as oftē as seed is to be layde into the ground or the lande is to be tilled or else we see men coulde not put the plough into the ground nor sowe their corne if they should it would rotte immediately and neuer take roote in the earth Againe the grapes would rotte vppon the vines and neuer ripen Neuerthelesse when corne is layde into the ground it requireth rayne and it is mard if there followe an vnmeasurable drought Afterward in sōmertime when haruest commeth the time must be fit for it and likewise for dressing of vines and for mowing of grasse To be short all the yeere long God calleth vs to him by making vs to haue neede of him And although wee were not prouoked at all yet the very wit and vnderstanding that he giueth vs by nature may cause vs to see that hee calleth vs dayly to come vnto him and to put our whole trust in his goodnesse This is the thing in effect which we haue to remember vppon this text But the chiefe point is to put this lesson well in practise And therefore whensoeuer we see that our God hath looked vppon vs throughout all the yeere let vs vnderstand that his intent was to shewe the more familiarly what a fatherly care he hath ouer vs. For if wee had any riuer lyke to Nilus which watered the land in stead of rayne wee would thinke thus with our selues well now hath God done pitying of vs for this yeere it would not touch vs so wel as when we
from it WHen we heare that Moses warneth the Iewes that they turne not away from the right seruing of God after his setting of them in possession of their inheritance we may thinke they were a very malicious people right hard to be gouerned For what is it that Moses requireth of them That they should not forget the partie that had redeemed them and afterward giuen them his lawe but that they shoulde holde themselues at a stay and not defile themselues with the superstirtions of the heathen And they had two thinges to hold them to the seruice of God For they ought to haue borne in minde after what maner he had deliuered them from the bondage of Egypt and did not such a gracious goodnesse well deserue that they shoulde haue persisted continually in the acknowledging of their redeemer Againe they had very faire lookingglasses set before them for example in that they sawe that Gods rooting out of the inhabiters of the Lande of Chanaan was a token that hee coulde not away with any of all their abhominations and ought not the Iewes to haue fared the better by their beholding of such examples But nowe that wee knowe the naughtinesse of that people let vs come to our selues and bee well assured that wee bee not better than they were but haue neede of the warning that is giuen heere And for proofe hereof God doth dayly renew his gracious goodnes towards vs. Had we felt his goodnesse but once iâ— all our life it ought to serue vs for a bridle to hold vs vnder his obedience But he ceaseth not to increase his benefites still dayly and yet wee forget it in the turning of a hand and wee neuer think vpoÌ„ it any more to benefit our selues by it To bee shorte it seemeth that all our indeuour is to burie Gods benefites that hee bestoweth vpon vs that we might haue no occasion to honor him Lo how our vnthankfulnes bewraieth it self too much on y e one side Yet notw tstaÌ„ding we see how God giueth vs sufficient warnings by chastising others y t haue doone amisse before our eyes and by sparing vs and ought wee not to bethinke vs better of the iudgementes which hee executeth after that fashion Yes for they bee no thinges done in hudder mudder there is no more for vs to do but to take heede to them But it should seeme that wee play the blinde bussardes wilfully and liâ—â— not to knowe any of the thinges which are too too apparant and notorious Therefore whether it bee that God do drawe vs to him by the great number of benefites which he bestoweth vppon vs or that hee teache vs to feare him by punishing offenders in our presence al this booteth vs not for we be vnthankfull and the time is but lost in doing vs good insomuch that although wee see howe hee hath shewed himselfe iudge against such as haue offended him yet wee thinke not vppon it but let it slippe Can wee cast our eye any where nowadayes but wee must needes see a great number of manifest examples whereby wee ought to take warning to liue warely and aduisedly Wee see howe whole Nations and Countries are not spared and wee see the like in priuate persons all is full of sighing and crying and it is all one as if God should sounde a trumpet to the punishing of some offender that euerie man might bee warned to take example by him Wee see these thinges but howe doe wee benefite our selues by them Let vs not thinke then that in this place Moses speaketh but onely to the Iewes but let vs vnderstand y t it was Gods will to shew vs by them that euen after wee knowe him to be our father and Sauiour and euen after hee hath powred out the infinite riches of his mercie vppon vs Yet haue wee still neede to bee warned to liue in his feare for otherwise wee will turne our backes vppon him Againe when hee hath warned vs by many examples that is not ynough vnlesse hee quicken vs vp to set our minds vpon it so as wee may perceiue wherein it was his will that we shoulde fare the better by it But there is yet another point which is that when wee bee so taught by other mens harmes and by Gods bearing with vs in that bee listed not to punish our faultes we shoulde â—t leastwise preuent his anger and seeing there bee so manie that suffer yea and which suffer to serue for our instruction the same shoulde bee as a schooling vnto vs that when wee see our Lorde vtter his rigour after that sort and shewe himselfe to bee a Iudge wee shoulde not tarie till hee smite vs on the heades but come meekely vnto him acknowledging our faultes and taking good heede that wee wrappe not our selues in his curse with those against whom he hath shewed himselfe such an enemie and aduersarie That is the thing which we haue to beare in minde And Moses saieth expresly Beware thou fall not into the snares after them As if hee shoulde say If yee bee not starke blinde yee must needes shunne these people and not followe their example seeing that God hath punished them after that fashion For if yee meddle with their corruptions God can make you to fall into the same pitte well ynough Yee see into what case they bee faine and therefore take heede to your selues or else it will be an open tempting of God as though ye sought your owne destruction euen in despite of him Neuerthelesse wee see howe men playe the beastes in that behalfe For when wee haue seene GOD correct a man for some offence by and by wee faile not to prouoke his wrath in the selfesame sorte that they did which were punished Indeede wee haue witte ynough to condemne them that suffer the punishment O it is good right say we they haue well deserued it they bee worthie of such correction Wee can skil to talke after that fashion but in the meane while when wee plaied the Iudges towardes other men wee cannot finde the fault in ourselues and therefore must wee bee double condemned at Gods hande because our hypocrisie blindeth vs and wee looke not into our selues to correct our own misdoings Moses therefore speaketh heere expresly of the snares that the Cananites were falne into As if hee shoulde say whatsoeuer you see in any vnbeleeuers is all one as if God warned you long aforehande to beware that yee fall not into the like curse by following their steps and therefore shunne them For wee must vnderstande that as oft as our Lorde punisheth those that haue offended him and wee knowe it and hee will haue it so it is all one as if hee shoulde make some signe to vs or rather arrest vs with his owne hande and say Take heede to your selues proceede no further goe not on still for if yee doe yee bee vndone yee bee forlorne Seeing that our Lorde giueth vs such warning may it not bee saide that wee bee
him for fashions sake but in deede make none account of him so as we should make a faire face of it to the worldewarde and in the meane while foster some secret poyson within but that we come right foorth to our God as he commaundeth vs. Thus ye see in effect what we haue to remember vpon this sentence of Moseses where hee speaketh of the firstborne Besides this our Lords meaning was that the first borne should be valued at a summe of mony as well of the cattell as of other things so as the thing that was alwayes aimed at was the mindefulnesse of Gods benefites But as concerning these things we will not enter into them as now for this text requireth it not neither doth y e time serue for it It sufficeth vs in fewe words to know that our Lordes meaning heere is that when we haue receiued any gratious good turne or that he hath bestowed any benefit vpon vs the remēbrance thereof should continue with vs not for a day or two but for euer and that the fathers should tell their children the same to the ende that he may be honored among vs for euermore Finally let vs not offer beastes vnto him in sacrifice as they did vnder the Lawe as appeareth by this figure but let vs assure our selues that y e acceptable sacrifice which God requireth is the offering of ourselues vnto him both in bodie and soule Rom. 〈…〉 1. Cor. 〈…〉 so as our whole seeking may be to be guyded and gouerned altogether by his holy spirite and that all that euer wee haue be dedicated to his seruice and applyed to the vse which he hath shewed vs that he may be glorified in all points Nowe let vs fall downe in the presence of our good God with acknowledgement of our faultes praying him to make vs feele them better and that seeing there is nothing in vs but all manner of frowardnesse leaudnes we may seeke to be renued in such sort that as long as we liue in this mortal life our whole seking may be to be guided to the happie ende which we looke for in heauē and y t in the meane time we may liue after such a sorte in this worlde as he may be glorified in vs and that whē it shall please him to take vs hence wee may yeelde our selues obediently into his handes assuring ourselues y t sith he sheweth him selfe so gratious and liberall towardes vs as to gouerne vs in this transitorie life of his goodnes giueth vs al things behoouefull necessary wee neede not to doubt but that he will make vs to attaine to the perfection of the thinges which are nowe hidden which shall not bee opened vnto vs vntill the comming of our Lorde Iesus Christ. That it may please him to graunt this grace not onely to vs but also to all people and nations of the earth c. On Tewsday the fifth of Nouember 1555. The XCvij Sermon which is the first vpon the sixteenth Chapter THou shalt keepe the moneth of new fruites that thou maiest keepe Passeouer to the Lorde thy God For in the moneth of new fruites the Lorde thy God brought thee out of the Lande of Egypt 2 And thou shalt sacrifice the Passeouer to the Lorde thy GOD euen Sheepe and Oxen in the place which the Lorde thy GOD will choose to put his name therein 3 Thou shalt eate no leauen breade in that feast Seuen dayes shalt thou eate vnleauened bread euen the bread of sorowe For thou camest in haste out of the Lande of Egypt to the ende thou be mindefull of the day of thy departing out of the Lande of Egypt all the dayes of thy life 4 And there shal no leauen be seene in thy house during the seuen daies in all thy coastes Also ye shall not leaue of the fleshe that is sacrificed from the euening of the former day till the next morning THis present chapter treateth of the three feasts which God ordeined among the Iewes that is to wit the feast of Easter or passouer y e feast of Pentecost or Whitsontide the feast of Tabernacles or Tentes First hee treateth of the Passeouer God ordeineth that it should be diligently obserued for it was a memorial of great importance whereby the people were put in mind how they had beene redeemed put in possession of the inheritance that had bin promised vnto them It was behoouefull that y e same should be knowen for it was the fundation of all the benefits which the Iewes had receiued at Gods hande which they looked for afterwarde Without that they had bin no people separated dedicated to god neither had they had any hope of saluation for the couenāt made with their fathers had bin disfeated Therefore is it not without cause that God would haue that day kept holy with such ceremonie In like case was it with the feast of Tabernacles as wee shall see heereafter For it serued to put the Iewes in minde of their going out of Egypt and that whereas they had dwelt long time in the wildernesse without house or home and yet God had euer preserued them it behooued them likewise to acknowledge y e same benefite But we will treate of euery feast in his dewe order Presently we haue to speake of the passeouer But before I go any further we must marke also that God respected not only what he had done already but also ment therewithall there should be a figure of thinges to come whereof we haue now the trueth substance since the time y t our lord Iesus Christ hath bin discouered to y e world That is the cause why S. Paul telleth y e Colossians y t these thinges were but shadowes Col. 2 17. y e body wherof is in Christ Iesus True it is y t he speaketh not there expresly of Easter day by name but yet vnder the name of Sabbat he comprehendeth all the feastes likewise al the Ceremonies that depended vpon thē To be short God had a double respect in ordeining the day of the Passeouer The one was to do the people of Israel to vnderstand y t they came not into possession of y e Land of Chanaan by their own power but y t they had bin led in thither by the hande of God And because they had bin deliuered by miracle out of y e land of Egypt Gods wil was y t the same should be declared Againe forasmuch as the same deliuerance was a figure of the deliueraunce y t was to be hoped for by our Lorde Iesus Christ this feast of Passeouer extēded yet further y t is to wit y t whē the people ate of the pascal Lamb as they called it they should thinke thus with thēselues This is a shadow figure of the Sacrifice which shal be once offered vp wherby the world shal be reconciled set free And although the thing were not yet apparant to the eye Yet behoueth it the
faithfull to inure thēselues to the hope of the redeemer whō God had promised them And in that respect sayth S. Paul in the first to y e Corinthians 1. Cor. 5.7 y t Iesus Christ is our Passeouer or Pascall Lambe and y t he is sacrificed for vs and that we must now eate of that sacrifice howbeit not with the leauen of malice and deceitefulnes but with righteousnesse and soundnesse That is the one point which we haue to remember And that the Pascall Lamb was not a bare ceremonie without doctrine it appeareth by that which is written in y e twelfth of Exodus Exod. 12.26 where it is said y t when the Lamb is sacrificed as it is a eating if their childrē aske what it meaneth their fathers shall answere The Lorde brought vs out of the land of Egypt where we were in bondage therfore he wil haue this thing done yerely in remēbrance thereof not y t the doing thereof one only day may discharge vs but y t the same should continue printed in our hearts so as in inioying the land of Chanaan we may vnderstand y t wee cōquered it not by our own strēgth but through his good pleasure because it was his will to harbour vs here according to y e promise which hee had made to our forefathers We see then howe the feast of Passeouer was not a ceremony without instruction but y t it conteined doctrine in it And it is an article of great importance For the world would alwaies haue a great number of ceremonies to no purpose in the meane while it seemes ynough to haue store of gay showes But on y e the cōtrary part God telleth vs y t ceremonies are but toyes trifles vnlesse they leade vs further behight vs things cōcerning our saluatiō so as we be taught cōfirmed in the faith by meanes of them If y t be not in thē they be starke baggage nothing worth Nay they be nothing els than a corrupting of y e seruice of God and the high way to lead vs to superstition and ydolatry As for example wee see howe they make a great number of disguisinges in the Popedome but in the meane while they wote not what any of those things meane If ye come to their Masse there they play an enterlude where there are as many fonde toyes as can be In deede the wretched worlde is rauished at them but that is because they knowe nothing but are vtterly sotted and yet they beare themselues in hande that they haue done a dowtie deede and y t God ought to like very well of it when they haue so bestirred themselues But as I tolde you afore they be but vaine fonde Apish toyes And why so For God neuer ment to ordeine any ceremonie among his people which conteined not some good instruction and serued not to some good ende And therefore lette vs marke well that whereas the Iewes had y e feast of Passeouer they had Gods worde also whereby they were warranted y t it was not inuented at the pleasure of men For God not onely gaue a prefixed commandement as saying You shall obserue such a day but also a doctrine with it willed y t the fathers should teach it their children put thē in remēbrance of the deliuerance y t had bin made as in deede it was as excellent a deede as might be That then was of his appointment And so let vs beare in minde that if we nowadayes haue ceremonies without instruction they shal be all condemned of God who vtterly misliketh them and we can not alleadge them to be his seruice For he declareth and auoweth it to be but foolish superstition when men turne away from that marke and that it is the next way to put vs quite besides our saluation And heerein we may defie all the houge heape of pompes wherewith the Papistes will needes serue GOD for there is nothing in them that God auoweth Also wee be warned to mingle nothing with the pure simplicitie of the Sacramentes and Ceremonies which GOD woulde haue to bee obserued noweadayes Let vs holde vs contented with that which is shewed vs for if wee adde neuer so little to it surely wee shall make such a minglemangle as will bee nothing worth after the manner of the Papistes who as wee see haue inuented many thinges of their own head Wee must haue this and that say they Why so To what purpose O say they it will serue for such a thing but in the meane whyle there is no instruction to Godwarde Is it their part to cause a doctrine to bee brought in It were meete that God should speake And when men heare him then euery one shall be edified But when men thrust themselues in and fall to forging of fonde deuotions without authoritie from GOD all must needes be cast downe The worlde sees how the Papists haue corrupted the true Sacramentes In Baptisme the water hath beene esteemed as nothing in the Popedome for it is no matter if the infantes pisse in it But as for the holy creame that is in it O it is not for any man to touch that for that is too heauenly a thing And yet notwithstanding the water is the substance of that Sacramēt and the whole perfection thereof But as for the ceame who deuised it It is a stinking greace that men haue charmed and blowed vpon like sorcerers And should that be had in such reuerence that the Sacrament which proceedeth from the sonne of God shoulde be had in no estimation for it Moreouer the water by their reckening is not good vnlesse it haue beene coniured and that a number of charmes haue beene made ouer it to amaze the ignorant And therefore so much the better ought we to beare this lesson in minde that wee may be fenced against all Satans inuentions which is that sith wee see our mindes so tickelish that wee woulde faine still inuent some newe thing and we beare ourselues in hande that wee haue spunne a faire threede when some newe Ceremonie is come foorth by our meanes it standeth vs in hande to thinke thus yea but GOD dispiseth all this geere yea and he sheweth vs that we do but peruert his seruice when wee adde any thing after that fashion of our owne Then is it an infallible doctrine that no Ceremonies are behoofeful or to be made account of among the faithful vnlesse they carry instruction with them And that instruction must come of GOD for it is his office to teach vs hee reserueth that authoritie to himselfe And therfore it is to be concluded that the ceremonies which are set forth by men are but trifles geugawes howe great a show of wisedome soeuer there seeme to be in them And hereby we see also that it was superstitiously done of such as beare the name of Christians to bring in a feast of Passeouer vnder pretence that the Iewes had it for the respectes are farre diuers
that wee must saye Giue vs this day our daily or ordinarie breade For thereby wee confesse that they which haue neuer so much haue nothing at all except God make it auaileable to their vse So then let euery man haue consideration to say What may this boote mee Although I bee stored and furnished with all thinges yet God may bereaue mee of all he hath the heauens in his hande to shut them vp and hee sayeth that hee will make the heauens as harde as yron 〈◊〉 26.19 and the earth shal bee hardened like brasse so that wee shall not wring out of it one droppe of sustenance for vs. Will wee then that the Lorde who hath hitherto fed vs and beene our foster father euen vnto this present time shall continue to doe the like vnto the ende Let vs take heede that wee distrust not his goodnes and thereby bee hindered to bee kyndhearted towardes them which haue neede of our helpe Let vs therefore helpe them yea euen without staying vppon any other thing than this present promise That the blessing of God shal bee vppon vs. Let vs be enclyned vnto pitie and compassion to releeue them which stande in neede of our helpe knowing that when God hath giuen vs one good yeare if wee bee gentle and kindhearted to succour our neighbours hee will alwayes encrease his benefites and blessings more and more vpon vs as Saint Paul also sheweth in the second Epistle to the Corinthians 2. Cor. 8. 9. Chapt. where hee handleth this matter at large Let vs therefore haue this alwayes before our eyes as y e verie point whereunto the scripture leadeth vs namely y t we must be fully assured and thorowlie resolued that our Lord wil neuer forget vs. WheÌ„ we are once thorowly perswaded of this doubtles we wil esteeme more of the onlie blessing of God than of all y t euer we might haue gathered heaped vp together Though we haue al y e prouision in y e world it would not suffice vs so well as this onlie contentment will doe to say I haue my God which hath promised not to forget me but to continue his bountifulnes alwayes vnto me I haue euer found him liberall towards me euen vntill this day and hee wil doe yet more for me if I coÌ„mit my selfe wholie vnto him and to his prouideÌ„ce Ye see then what we are to learne as touching this promise Let vs come now vnto that which God addeth that is That the Iewes were seruants in Egypt and that he brought them out from thence as we saw yesterday But he repeateth the same thing againe that not without good cause For as it was yesterday touched if men be welthie there is much crouching vnto them because of their riches they separate themselues as it were from mankinde and they beare themselues in hand that they are a degree aboue them the poore may not touche any thing of theirs To bee short if God would haue beleueed them he should haue made a seueral world for them for to their seeming the poore are not woorthie to haue any dwelling with them And that is because they are not touched with other mens afflictions to saie Alas behold he is my flesh how wreched soeuer he be as the prophet Esaie saith Esa. 58.7 Col. 3.12 1. Iohn 3.17 who leadeth vs to y e minding of this point when hee woulde haue vs enclyned to pitie and compassion so as our bowels shoulde yearne at the afflictions of our brethren as the scripture speaketh But there is not one which thinketh hereon God therefore perceiuing that riches doe blinde men in such wise and that their eyes are readie to burst for that is the similitude which Dauid vseth in the 73. Psalme sayeth Remember that thou wast a seruaunt in the lande of Egypt And so whereas the Iewes are exhorted in this wise it is to the intent they shoulde not bee puffed vp with pride through their aboundance or that beeing fatte and well fed they should not become like restie Iades as it is saide in the song but that they shoulde alwayes bethinke themselues thus Wee were sometimes in bondage and that in such cruell bondage as none could bee greater wee were in thraldoâ—e like poore slaues but God hath deliuered vs. The remembrance of this one thing ought to abate all the pryde of the Iewes and moreouer to leade them to pitifull compassion to helpe those which were poore and needie among them As for example if there were straungers which had neither vineyardes nor other possessions if there were widowes and fatherlesse among them they ought to think Alas when our fathers were cruelly afflicted in the lande of Egypt they woulde faine haue beene somewhat releeued is it not reason then that wee nowe shoulde doe the like This say I is the meaning of God when hee speaketh of the bondage of Egypt Moreouer hee warneth the Iewes as wee haue declared afore that they possesse not the lande of Chanaan for their inheritaunce by any other title than because it was giuen them by GOD. It is therefore all one as if the chiefe Lorde shoulde require his royalties his homage his other right which are due vnto him For God seemeth thus to say I haue giuen you the land of Chanaan but I haue reserued the gleaning such like things for my selfe And therefore deceiue mee not of that which is mine Beholde I appoynt the poore in my behalfe to goe and gather vp these things Nowe as for vs it is true in deede that wee dwell not in the land of Chanaan as did the Iewes wee haue no such order of gouernement as they had neither are we of the stocke of Abraham there are no such portions of land allotted vs as are written of in Iosua and yet neuerthelesse this ought alwayes to bee in force amongest vs that hee which is of wealth is bounde according to his measure and aboundance to releeue them which are in need Saint Paul speaketh not vnto the Iewes 2. Cor. 8.14 he speaketh not for the time of the figures vnder the lawe but hee setteth foorth this doctrine this rule vnto all the faithfull in generall and will haue men obserue it vntill the ende of the worlde Therefore let vs note that whensoeuer through our niggardlinesse wee withdrawe our selues from helping our neighbours as wee ought we are reprooued by this worde What whatsoeuer thou hast thou hast it from the hande of God And vnder what condition For see I pray you how men discharge them selues with slightnesse What sayeth one Is not this mine Yes but yet oughtest thou to bee kindehearted towardes such as are in neede For art thou riche It is not because of thy faire eyes as they say In deede God hath giuen more to thee than to many others but for all that hath hee reserued nothing for himselfe Hath he giuen all ouer vnto thee to make hauock of it Although euery man enioy his
to employ our selues likewise for our neyghbour by that meanes shewe that wee are his children seeing it hath pleased him to shewe himselfe a father towardes vs. Nowe I graunt that there are many which are wonderfully greeued when a man putteth them in minde what they haue beene in time past If a man bee become riche and is aduaunced to honour hee woulde haue no man to remember him what hee was afore but hee is carryed away with such an headlesse ouerweening that hee surely thinketh that hee is fallen from the clowdes and woulde gladly so blinde the eyes of the whole worlde than men shoulde consider nothing but his present excellencie But our Lorde notwithout cause bringeth vs backe agayne And why For as I tolde you men are subiect to this forgetting of them selues when God hath once exalted them and thereupon they disdayne their neighbours and pride ingendreth crueltie as it is said in the sixteenth Chapter of Ezechiell where Sodome is set downe for an example thereof God sayth that the pride which was founde in Sodome prouoked his wrath and vengeance against that citie For when they had once aboundaunce of all things and were growen fatte when they had meate and drinke at will then began they saith hee to bee puffed vp in pryde and afterwarde withdrewe their handes from the poore and thought that it was ynough so that they themselues were furnished Let vs therefore know that our Lorde perceiuing the vice whereunto wee are ouermuch enclyned and giuen meant to prouide such remedie for it as hee knewe to bee fit and conuenient for our saluation So then if wee bethinke our selues well wee shall alwayes finde iust reason to moue vs vnto kindnesse towardes our neighbours There is yet another thing which ought to induce vs heereunto namely if wee consider thus with ourselues euen that I am a man and that I am endued with some speciall qualitie aboue others it is of God I am beholden to him for it it is he that hath giuen mee that prerogatiue But how soeuer I fare I cannot cut my selfe off from mankinde I am descended from the stocke of Adam which is wholly accursed and as for that knowledge which I haue of Gods trueth it is a speciall gifte which hee hath giuen mee I haue it not by nature and farther I am subiect to all the miseries and wretchednesses in the worlde if I bee to day in honour to morrowe God may put mee to infamie and shame if I be in health God may cast mee into sicknesse Wee see how Kings and Princes themselues haue beene eaten vp sometimes with vermine and with rottennesse Act. 12.23 and haue beene so stinking that they haue loathed euen themselues whereby a man might perceiue the hande of God visibly vppon them Therefore when wee see such examples it ought to humble vs. And shall not this humilitie breede a brotherly kindheartednesse in vs to helpe our neighbours or at least wise to bewayle and to pitie the miserie wherein they are seeking as much as lyeth in vs to relieue and succour them So then let vs alwayes thinke on this Thou wast a seruaunt in the lande of Egypt and therefore I commaunde thee to doe thus Nowe when our Lorde sayeth I commaund thee to doe so he taketh that as granted which I haue alreadie touched to wit that because hee is the Redeemer of this people therefore they are bounde vnto him You owe all thinges vnto mee sayeth hee and seeing it is so I will haue you pay such a tribute in way of reknowledging of those goods and lands which you holde of mee and I require nothing but that which is mine Nowe when wee haue wel considered hereuppon let vs take the exposition hereof as Saint Paul deliuereth it vnto vs in the fourteenth Chapter of his Epistle to the Romanes and wee shall see howe profitable this doctrine is for vs. For for this cause sayeth he Iesus Christ dyed and rose againe to the intent that wee should be his both while wee liue and when wee dye Beholde here a bond which wee cannot escape and woe be vnto him which seeketh to exempt himselfe from it to wit to dedicate both our life and death vnto his seruice who hath so loued vs and helde vs so deare that hee hath not spared his owne life to winne vs vnto himselfe and vnto God his father Seeing then that hee hath so redeemed vs that we are his inheritance and that hee declareth that we are wholie his that wee belong properly vnto him it is good reason that whensoeuer hee commaundeth vs any thing wee should lay our hande on our mouth and receiue without any gainsaying whatsoeuer he putteth vnto vs. For seeing hee is our Redeemer and that wee hold of him whatsoeuer wee haue are wee not ouer blockish if wee submit not our selues vnto him and rest altogither on his will And that is the cause also why GOD vseth this preface in his lawe Exod. 20.2 I am the euerliuing thy God which haue brought thee out of the lande of Egypt Before that God setteth downe any commaundement to rule the life of his people by hee saith Know yee that I haue alreadie purchased you to serue mee I graunt wee haue not beene brought out of the lande of Egypt but yet the redemption which hath beene wrought for vs is much more precious for wee are deliuered from the bottomlesse pit of hell For as much therefore as wee of our owne nature are so slowe to serue God or rather so restie that wee drawe cleane backewarde from his will because wee receiue not the yoke quietly but are as young vntamed and vnhandled heiffers or rather as stiffenecked buls For we see how some are so headstrong and brainsicke that a man can by no meanes rule them and others are spitefull and froward full of rebellion and vnreclaymable Sith we see it is so harde a matter to bring vs in subiection vnder GOD let vs quicken vp our selues in this sort and saye Howe nowe Knowest thou not who it is that speaketh Is it not hee who hath redeemed vs And seeing that wee are his must hee haue so much a doe to winne vs vnto himselfe Shal wee so resist him Must hee bee fayne to fight with vs when hee woulde frame vs to his wil Doe not we shewe our selues monsters in so dooing And are we not to be holden for detestable persons Verily if wee looke well to our selues wee shall finde that this is not the onely cause whereby wee are bound vnto God hee might vpbrayde vs with his creating of vs. And if wee bee his creatures is it not good reason that hee shoulde quietly haue the maystrie of vs And what creatures are wee He shal bee serued of the Oxen and Asses hee shal bee serued of the earth which is without all sense and feeling and of corne and of wine and of all other senselesse thinges for wee see howe God imployeth them as it
swaruing aside one way or other Yea hee will haue them to waite for the worde from his mouth and hee telleth vs that hee vtterly mislyketh all that euer men doe bring of their owne Esa. 1.13 and that it is not only vaine but stinking and abhominable in his sight Neuerthelesse it is an ordinarie matter in Poperie to forge such pelting trifles and gewgawes without number Yea and it is a common prouerbe among them That whatsoeuer is doone of a good intent is well done yea but God saieth the cleane contrarie So then let vs note that as the people is in this place warned that they haue no libertie graunted vnto them to choose what place euerie man listed as who shoulde saye wee will serue God in this place and hee will accept well of it but that they must come vnto the place which hee himselfe had appointed and not attempt any thing vppon their owne heades but onely followe the saide rule of resorting to the place which God had marked foorth Whereby we see that when the case concerneth the seruing of him we may not attempt any thing of our selues but holde vs vnto that which hee hath ordained Nowe in deede it is true that at this day there is no such peculiar place appointed wherin God wil be worshipped or wherein he will haue sacrifices made as was the temple of Ierusalem yet notwithstāding vnder one particular we haue here a generall instruction that it is not lawfull for vs to doe what we thinke good to worship God withall but that we must haue an eye vnto that which he requireth and lyketh of and neuer passe beyond those boundes Let vs come now vnto this saying That the man shall offer himselfe vnto the Priest and say Beholde I protest here that my father was a Syrian a very beggar and came into this land lyke a poore hunger staruen soule and was afterward driuen into Egypt from whence at length God brought him backe againe and gaue vnto vs this Land wherein wee dwell now through his fauour Now by this manner of protestation the Iewes were done to vnderstand that they ought to come vnto GOD without compulsion as if it were sayd I looke not to be thrust foreward I looke not to bee called vp by processe as one that minded not to doe his duetie but by force but I protest that is to say I offer my selfe here of mine owne good will I come aforehand In deede God had appointed this law as I haue already tolde you it was to reproue the people of their vnthankfulnesse but yet for all that his intent was that the people shoulde come their owne good will and that is the thing which I haue already touched I might seeme at the first blush that GOD constraineth vs but yet hee meaneth not to stand vpon this poynt it is but to inure vs to an vnfayned and freehearted obedience At the first wee be lyke the young Heiffers which cannot skill to beare the yoke For when a man setteth a young Heiffer first to the plowe he turneth away his head he strugleth striueth and chafeth and in stead of going forewards he draweth backward vntil he be tamed In lyke case is it with a horse there is much a doe with him at the first before hee can be broken God vseth vs in the same manner howbeit but to make vs tractible that whē we be once brought to subiection then we may come with a free franke wil to yeeld ourselues obediēt vnto him Let vs not therfore abide stil in this slauish feare but let vs know y t God is our father and that we ought to take pleasure in framing our selues according to his will Let euery man therefore enforce and set foreward himself herein that we may truely say Behold I protest that I am bound vnto my God Now it is sayd afterwardes My father was a Syrian No doubt but this is meant of Iacob not that he was borne in Syria for he was borne in the land of Chanaan and his father was a straunger there and had not one foot of ground to dwell on he had onely a burying place which he bought for his monie and they were faine to remoue often out of one place into an other as men draue them out They were lyke byrdes vpon a bough 〈◊〉 37.41 Besides this Iacob was banished out of his fathers house and forced to get him away because his brother Esau threatned to kill him By reason whereof he abode a long time in the land of Syria he dwelled there fourteene yeere to get him those wiues which hee had namely Lea and Rachel and after that he serued his father in Law Laban for sheepe because he would not depart home altogether naked Ye see then how Iacob was first a poore wanderer and had soone forgotten the land of Chanaan when he was gone out of it In deede God alwayes kept him in sure trust of y e promise which was made vnto him concerning that land and that was the cause why hee made that vowe of his Gen. 28.20 when he went out of the land which was giuen vnto him yet neuerthelesse he was olde before he went out of Syria Behold being a man broken with age and striken farre in yeares he entreth againe into the land of Chanaan that as a Syrian for he is altogether new he commeth thither as one that had neuer bin there before and although he had then some wealth yet were all his miseries there brought new again to his minde My father a Syrian was in the very way of destructiō For how was he afflicted when hee was constrained to leaue his fathers house He hath the knife held as it were to his throate Gen. 30.31 for behold Esau his brother seeketh to put him to death Esau is possessed as it were w t a diuelish spirite to persecute his brother Iacob And when Iacob meant to returne into the land of Chanaan behold that cruel beast namely Laban deuoureth him not onely fleecing the wool from his back but also oppressing him after a tyrannous manner In the end he must yet appease his brother Esau in which miserie of his he is as it were halfe dead and maketh no other account but to be vtterly cast away he thinketh neuer to saue his familie Gen. 32. Neuerthelesse he diuideth it into foure bandes that if the one might not be saued the other might escape Beholde to what shift hee is put and how hee deuiseth with himselfe well if there bee no remedie but that thou must dye well yet some one of thy children maye escape and although I cannot saue all yet God will keepe some one aliue to performe his promise in him Such was the comming home of Iacob So then it is not sayd without cause in this place that hee was at the poynt to be destroyed yet did God succor him as it is sayd here Neuerthelater Iacob is yet farther
constrained to fly into Egypt by reason of famine wherewith he is so pinched y t he goeth to seeke foode in a strange countrie and for a time forsaketh the inheritance which was promised him Afterwards hee remaineth there in cruel bondage and his ofspring is after a sorte drowned in Egypt They were not onely put to great taxes and tallages but also oppressed as bondslaues yea and in the end commaundement was giuen that all their male children should be destroyed so as that people might neuer be spoken of any more Thus ye see in what horrible bondage they were and a man would thinke that the children of Abraham dwelt in Egypt as in a graue so as all was now past hope of recouery But it is sayd wee cryed vnto the God of our Fathers and he heard vs and hath giuen vs this land in possession And therefore I protest this day that I held it of him Here we see first of all how men are led to acknowledge the state and condition wherein they were when God first tooke pitie on them For assoone as we are once at our ease we beare our selues in hand that it is a fit occasion for vs to runne astray and thereupon followeth pride this pride is accōpanied with y e contempt of God There is therfore no other way to humble vs to make vs to feele the goodnes of God than to know y t before he reached vs his hand and helped vs we were the most wretched miserable of all creatures And this is a very necessary poynt to be noted For ye shall see men so blinde or at leastwise so bleare eyed that they will thinke we are of I wote not what abilitie vntill our Lord bring vs vnto this poynt of knowing and acknowledging our selues to be the children of Adam and consequently accursed and that from our mothers wombe Wee bring nothing with vs but sinne and destruction If this were not declared vnto vs in the holy scripture how wonderfully would men stand in their owne conceites For euen yet for all this they cannot stay themselues from boasting such beastes are they neither vnderstand they how it is a certeine kinde of drunkennesse that turneth them so away to vaunt thēselues after that fashion and to beare themselues so in haud that they haue this and that which they haue not Thus yee see how men presume maruailously of themselues vntill their prating bee daunted but when God once thundreth vpon all mankinde and sheweth that we are all heires of death that we are the bondslaues of Satan that there is nothing in vs but cursednesse that all our wisedome is starke foolishnesse y t we cannot bring any thing vnto him which he shall not mislyke and condemne Whē we see that the holy scripture painteth vs forth after that maner so as there remaineth nothing to vs but vtter shame then wee beginne to hang downe y e heads But vnlesse God vsed this maner of dealing with vs it were vnpossible to win vs but we would alwayes lift vp our hornes Let vs therefore beare this lesson well in minde as it is taught vs here which is to bethinke vs of our first originall whence we are come whence wee are sprong what we were when God first tooke pitie of vs and what we shoulde yet haue bin if hee had not preuented vs with his goodnesse After that we haue once knowen this in generall let euery man particularlie also haue an eye vnto himself He which thinketh that he hath somwhat to glorie in as touching the world as there are many which will say I am borne of such a kinred there is such a thing in me and another will glory in his wisedome and another in his vertue and another in his riches an other in his byrth let him I say looke vpon himself and say yea but for all this how many shamefull markes hath God imprinted in me as well as in all others And first of all that how highly soeuer a man be exalted yet assoone as God withdraweth his strength behold he is no better thā a wretched carrion and again what is the soule but a bottomlesse gulfe of al wretchednes And if any man haue a good vnderstāding it is without doubt the especial gift of God And moreouer they which are the most excellent of al others and best accounted of in the world haue yet many spots and staines in them so as they haue wherefore daily to lament For although a man haue something in him which is worthie to be accounted of yet shall hee finde so many wantes and defaultes in himselfe as shall make him to cast downe his head So thē let vs learne not onely to haue an eye to that wretchednesse which is in vs inasmuch as we are the sonnes of Adam but also let euery man throughlie examine the faults vices and infirmities which are in him and therby learne to stoope and enforce ourselues to yeeld vnto God the glorie which belongeth vnto him reseruing nothing at all vnto our selues as in deed we haue nothing good of our owne To be short let euerie man exercise himself in the vewing of his owne miseries and let vs not doe as some fooles doe who take a glasse to behold their own beautie in but let vs take it rather to see what blemishes wee haue And that is the very thing whereat God also amed when he meant to haue the Iewes euē of purpose put in minde that their father was a poore begger that he was as a creature halfe dead For he was so despised a person in the eye of the world that they had no cause to bee prowde of him or to presume to attribute any thing vnto themselues in that behalfe Againe not only he speaketh of their father Iacob but they also say Our kindred went downe into Egypt and there were we trampled vnder feete aboue measure which thing serued well to beate downe the pride of the Iewes to the intent they should no more attribute any worthinesse to themselues seeing they were so euill intreated in Egypt Also it serued well to make them forget whatsoeuer moued them to pride when they were there as bondslaues and were so heauy burdened as it would pitie a man to beholde yea and y t in the end they were condemned to haue their remembraunce rased from out of the earth When they were so far oppressed it was an occasion to make thē to forget all their hautines and ambition and to confesse that they helde their lyfe of God Now in the end it is sayd We called vpon the GOD of our fathers and hee hearde vs and hath placed vs in this lande which wee doe nowe possesse True it is in deed that God tarried not vntill he was called vpon for he had already made a promise vnto Abraham that at the end of foure hundred yeres hee would take pitie of his seede when it had bin so oppressed so that God would haue the Iewes
which the Lord thy God hath giuen vnto thee and to thy houshould both thou and the Leuite and the straunger that is among you 12 When thou hast made an end of tithing all the tithes of thyne encrease in the third yere which is the yere of tything and hast giuen it to the Leuite to the straunger to the fatherlesse and to the widowe that they may eate in thy gates and be sufficed WE haue declared afore whereunto the confession which the Iewes made in offring of their first fruites did tend namely that on y e one side they should therby acknowledge the wretchednesse and miserie from which God had deliuered and set them free and againe on the other side that they should so much the more prayse and magnifie the grace and fauour which God had bestowed on thē for we see how men forget themselues in prosperitie pride blindeth them or at leastwise maketh them drunken so as they thinke no longer eyther on themselues what they were or on God And therfore it is more than needefull for vs to haue an eye vnto our owne estate to thinke how miserable it were if God had not taken pitie of vs. For wee haue skill enough to protest and say that God hath shewed vs fauor neuerthelesse our doing thereof is but frō the teeth outward vntil it be proued to our faces that if GOD had not vsed mercie towardes vs we should haue bin in a cursed case we should haue bin vndone there had bin no way to saue vs. If we be not touched with a liuely feeling of these thinges all the protestations which we make of the benefites of God will be nothing but fainednesse and hypocrisie For we see commonly that men will readily say It is God that hath done this for me it is his worke but yet for all that this goeth no farther than our mouth Now as touching the wordes themselues I will note you something by the way Where as we reade My father a man of Syria was lost or vndone others reade The Syrian woulde haue destroyed my father referring it vnto Laban But as I tolde you before Iacob is called a Syrian because he was banished a long time out of the land of Chanaan and was so setled there as if it should haue bin his graue I meane in the countrie of Syria But yet the word signifyeth rather to be destroyed and vndone than to intend or to minde to destroy an other It is most agreeing then with the sense of the wordes that the Iewes shoulde in this place protest that their father Iacob was driuen out of his owne house and accounted as a Syrian and that when he came vnto the Lande which God had giuen him it was as if hee had newlie come thither and as if he had neuer entred into it before This betokeneth therefore a more full expressing of that which I tolde you of before to wit that men haue neede to be warned that whatsoeuer they haue they receiue it from the freebestowed goodnesse of God and that he saued them yea euen when they were in a most miserable case Now as touching the second point we see how Moses hath here declared their comming out of Egypt in such maner as the Iewes must needes bee awakened to consider how mightilie God had wrought for them For hee sayth not simply that God deliuered them out of the land of Egypt but hauing made a long rehearsall how the Egyptians had set their feete on the throate of this poore people how they had afflicted and molested them how they had exercised grieuous and cruel tyrannie vppon them it is sayd Wee called on the GOD of our fathers and hee hearde our voyce hee sawe our affliction and miserie and hee deliuered vs out of it And how By strong hand and stretched out arme Neither yet is this all with terriblenes with signes with wonders Loe in what sort our God succoured vs. We see then how Moses is not content to say in one simple worde that GOD was the Redeemer of that people but hee hath largely shewed that the Iewes cannot attribute their deliueraunce neither to fortune nor to their owne policie nor to any other meanes in the whole worlde but they were forced to knowe the wonderfull power of God who so stretched forth his arme as if hee had come after a visible maner to redeeme his people Now then if wee will yeelde vnto GOD the honour which hee deserueth let vs learne to consider of his power not as it were at a glance or sleightly but as diligent markers of the things which he sheweth vs to the intent wee may bee the more throughly certified that when it pleased him to shewe mercie on vs hee meant not to leaue vs in doubt whether it were hee which wrought our deliueraunce or no but that hee hath so playnely certifyed vs thereof that the thing cannot bee but knowen and apparant vnto vs. Thus yee see what wee haue to beare in minde concerning this place And let vs note by the way that albeit God heard the cryes of his people yet he shewed it not by his dooinges at the first Wee see how the people came to extreme miseries ere they were succoured And that is the cause why it is expresly sayd in Exodus 〈◊〉 3.7 I haue seene I haue seene the affliction of my people God sayth not simply that he hath seene their affliction but hee repeateth it againe as if hee should say Because I made no countenaunce of helping you assoone as you cryed you thought that I was deafe at your requestes or that I thought no longer vpon your miseries but I tell you that they were alwayes before mine eyes and yet I haue delayed and deferred to helpe you vntill now howbeit that was not because I had no care of you whom I had adopted for my children So then let vs note well that when we are of opinion that wee profit nothing by praying vnto God wee must continue and not bee greeued as if our prayers were vaine and vnprofitable For God considereth of vs although we perceiue it not and in the ende he helpeth vs. But we are warned here to be patient not to be greeued at the matter though God satisfie not our desires at the first Loe what we haue to gather cōcerning these words where the Iewes expresly confesse That GOD hearde their voyce although hee graunted not their requestes at the first Nowe remaineth that wee speake of the signes and wonders But because this hath bin handled alreadie it were needelesse to stand longer vpon it it sufficeth to be put in minde y t the deliuerance which GOD brought at that time was such as a man might perfectly perceiue that it was his hand which wrought it and that it came not through any creature GOD coulde well ynough haue subdewed Pharaoh and his subiects without shewing any miracle But he would haue him stubborne And why It is said I haue raised
out of the way Now in deede here might be a question put whether God could not haue restrained y t people of Israel better if he had would for we knowe y t if he list to restraine mens harts by his holy spirite he is able to do i◠And why then wrought he not so with this people We cannot binde God to giue vs such constancie as y t we might continue in his seruice And therfore we must not argue against him in this case nor say that this sōg was not sufficient that it had bin better that God had wrought effectually by his holy spirite For it was not his will he left the people in their own frailtie Howbeit wee must not say as some blasphemers do that God mocked them in that hee vsed such a remedie as hee knewe to be vnsufficient for God may wel still vphold that he hath discharged his office towardes men when he hath once giuen them his worde insomuch y t although it cannot touch them to the quick but remaineth as a dead letter vnto them yet neuerthelesse they continue iustly condemned But this woulde bee darke if it were not better declared Let vs marke therefore first of all that by this song according to the storie therof reported by Moses Gods will was that the people before they were fallen away and estranged from the way of saluation shoulde haue a testimonie against themselues as wee shall see more at length hereafter But it sufficeth for this present to touche the contentes and summe of this song which is that God being the creator of all the worlde chose the lyne of Abraham whome hee adopted and bestowed vppon them all the blessings that were possible to bee wished and lastly brought them out of the lande of Egypt and put them in possession of the lande which hee had promised them for their inheritance and there fedde them fatly notwithstanding all which things that people rebelled against him as horses that bee too much pampered in the stable and bee too fat and therefore doe kicke against their masters and turned away after strange Gods And therefore that God being prouoked to anger stirred vp strange nations to chastice them and to punish them for their rebelling after that maner howbeit that it grieued him to deale so roughly with them like a father that is very sory to vse rigor towards his children after which maner we shal see y t God setteth forth himselfe like a man sore griued as if he should say were not this people very far ouerseene or had they any drop of reason good vnderstanding to consider their owne ende they would not haue bin so turned away from me After that manner then is the song as we shal see Now it was a cōmon song God willed that it should bee in euery bodies mouth both great smal to the end that euery man should be daily called vpon to walke in the feare of God And so we be warned of that which may happen vnto vs. God doeth first declare vnto vs his curse and to what end but that euery one of vs should keepe himselfe from it Againe he sheweth vs the inconuenience wherinto we shal fall he telleth vs that he wil reuenge our rechlesnes therefore let vs beware of it For to what end doth he it but that he woulde not haue vs to tempt him but rather y t it should reteine vs in his seruice Ye see then howe the people ought to haue taken warning hereby But now we aske whether that ought to haue sufficed and whether the people had power to restrayne themselues as it is imagined that men haue free wil to choose good or euil The answer is that it was not ynough for GOD to put his word in their mouth but it behoued him also to imprint it in their harts by his holy spirit We see how it is said farther in this place Thou goest to dye and the people after thy death will fall away and runne a whoring after strange gods It is God y t speaketh on this wise to Moses Now it must needes be y t he foresaw what would come to passe yea but they will allege y t Gods foresight kepeth not men back frō turning vnto God whē they list In deed it is certaine y t the foresight of God is not y e cause that men do either good or euil but yet god did know very wel y t this people whatsoeuer doctrine or religion they should haue would not cease to be wicked froward he knew very wel y t his warning of thē aforehande would not suffice to conuert them God knewe it welynough Wherefore then did he not prouide for it See here how men do take vpon them to pleade against God but they must bee stopt with their presumption If they alleage Wherefore is it that God when hee seeth men go out of course doeth not remedie it The aunswere therunto is this that God is neither tyed nor bound therto it is ynough then that they bee made thereby inexcusable And therefore although God doeth knowe aforehande that wee because of our infirmitie shall not bee able to continue in his obedience and that there wil bee such malice in vs that wee shall not ceasse to prouoke his wrath yet is it ynough y t he doth instruct vs by his word that we bee accused condemned by him Yea but in deede it lyeth not in vs to do well Al these replyes be friuolous before God For men cannot allege that the euil commeth from any where else than themselues Although we be enclyned to sinne although we be altogether thereto giuen by nature shall we say that it is by any constraint Shall we say that the fault therof is not in vs It is impossible Seeing then that our mouth is stopt in this case we must condemne our selues humble vs before God And albeit that his word serue but to make vs guiltie not to change our hearts from euil to good yet neuerthelesse it is not superfluous neither ought we to say that God doeth daly or that hee doeth mocke vs for hee doeth the office of a teacher towarde vs telleth vs what his will is Wherefore let vs desire him not onely to teache vs by the mouth of men but also to print his worde in our heartes and to make it preuayle to the ende it bee not in vaine Such request must wee make sith wee see what is contained in the song of Moses Moreouer we must honor the wonderfull prouidence of God in that it is sayde vnto vs that the foreseeth what shall befall vnto men yet notwithstanding taketh no order for the redresse therof as wee woulde if hee should followe our appetite It seemeth a straunger matter at the first sight that God shoulde say This people wil runne a whoring and goe and defile themselues with strange Gods He sayth it and yet he giueth none other remedie but a song
sheweth yet better how God hath vttered his goodnesse towards the people of Israel He found him saith he in a desert land in a desolate place in a dredful wildernes where was nothing but roring of wild beasts There he led him vp down there he nurtured him there he kept him as the apple of his eye If the people of Israel had not serued as slaues in Egypt and trauelled through the wildernesse Gods goodnesse had not bin so well knowen and so glorious as it is at this day For why Whereas God tooke Abraham out of his countrie and brought him into a strange Land and afterward gaue him a sonne when hee was vppon the point of a hundred yeres old that of that one child there issued such an infinit multitude it might well haue bin sayd that God had shewed fauor to that linage but yet so blind are men in considering Gods goodnesse towardes thē that it would neuer haue bin perceiued how God vttered his bountifulnesse towards y t stock vnlesse Iacob had gone downe into Egypt and that the people of Israell had bin kept in cruell bondage Exod. 1. as Moses reporteth in Exodus But when they had bin held in such slauery that the king of Egypt had commaunded all their men-children to be slayne then were they come to y e vttermost pinch And then did God fetch them away and make thē to passe the red sea hauing wrought a great number of miracles before By meanes whereof they were after a sort wakened that they might the better bethinke them howe dearely God loued them how much he set by them seeing he vouchsafed to yeeld so great so stately recordes of the goodnesse and fauour which he bare towardes them Moses therefore following the same reason saith here Looke backe to your first originall from whence you be issued Did God find you in a fat and fertile coūtrie as though he should say I wil maintaine you in the state wherein yee be for it is not enough for men to haue a conuenient and easie dwelling place vnlesse I preserue them and hold thē vnder my protectiō You therefore shal be mine and I will bee your safegarde Did God finde his people in such state No. And therefore Moses sayeth to the children of Israel Consider from whence ye came from whence your God hath fetched you Were ye not in a wildernesse sayeth hee Yes that then is the place from whence hee hath fetched you and so much the more ought you to consider the fauour which he hath shewed you that yee may perceiue howe much you be bounde vnto him Now then ye were in a wildernesse and after what sorte There was not one graine of Corne to feede you withall there was not one drop of water for you to drinke he was faine to make water to issue out of a dry rocke miraculously for you hee made Manna to fall from heauen Ye were in a place where yee coulde not build you one house ye were there among the wild beasts so as ye must needes haue perished and therfore a man needes not to vse long discourses to shew how God was bountiful vnto you For ye were as good as in a graue by the space of forty yeeres and yet God kept you aliue after a straunge fashion vnknowen to men Ye were destitute of foode and drinke God furnished your turne Your shooes your hose your garments did not rotte all that while Now then seeing that God maintained you after that manner against the commō order of nature did he not shew thereby what care he had of you and what loue he bare vnto you So then looke that ye neuer forget so great benefites specially being so many and so huge in number as he hath done for you Nowe we see the meaning of Moses in that hee sayeth that God founde his people in a wildernesse a dry and barraine ground a desolate place And the selfesame thing meaneth Ezechiell in his sixteenth chapter where he vpbraideth the people of Israell with the vnthankfullnesse which they had shewed 〈◊〉 16.3 What are yee sayeth hee For I tooke you comming out of the land of Egypt as a Child borne out of time The Child y t so commeth out of his mothers wombe is al to berayed and he should perish in his own filth if he were not rid of his spottes and blemishes and washed from the vncleannes which he bringeth with him To be short he rehearseth all the thinges that are wont to bee doone to a child that is newely borne Againe he vseth another similitude which is as if a man should finde a wretched harlot that were starke rotten and readie to fall in peeces by reason of her infections And I haue washed you made you cleane 〈◊〉 15.8 yea and I haue taken you in mariage and doe ye not knowe that to bee a benefite Thus we see that Ezechiell hath followed the same order which Moses did in abasing the Children of Israell by bringing them backe to their first state to the intent they shoulde learne that Gods aduancing of them after that fashion beyond al expectation of man was to the end his grace might be the better knowen in them And now to apply this doctrine to our owne instruction let vs consider what wee be before God chooseth vs. It is sayd that hee found his people in a wildernesse True it is that he had adopted them before that time insomuch that the promises were made vnto them before they went downe into Egypt But it is enough that the people were there in so miserable state to the end they shoulde perceiue that God had at that time giuen them as it were a second byrth and so dooth the scripture customably terme it But not let vs come to our selues In what case dooth God finde vs In what state dooth hee take vs We bee the children of Adam that is to say cursed and heires of euerlasting death There is nothing in vs but sin there is nothing in vs but corruption God must needes reiect vs and hate vs he must needes become our deadly enemy and vtter his vengeance vppon vs. To bee short wee be in the dungeons of hell vntill God haue reached vs his hand and had pitie vppon vs. It is not for any man to exempt him selfe from this confusion for from the greatest to the least of vs we be all plunged in it Now let vs boast of the thinges which we haue of nature For God findeth vs voyd of all goodnesse we haue not one droppe of vertue wisedome or righteousnesse but contrariwise wee be full of corruption wee bee ready to burst for filth and vncleanesse wee bee bondslaues to Satan vnder the tyranny and bondage of death and at a worde we bee plunged in hell At that poynt are wee when God chooseth vs that is the poynt whereat hee beginneth our saluation Now sith it is so let vs learne first of
their paunches well ynough but they can no skill to lift vp their heades to heauen to honor him that findeth and maintaineth them so wealthily their groynes mussels are euer grubbing downewarde to their feeding Therefore let vs not resemble them If God giue vs wealth let vs not pamper or pranck vp our selues but rather let it bee as a spurre to quicken vs vp to come vnto him the nearer that hee approcheth vnto vs and the more that hee maketh vs to feele his goodnes the more wholly let vs yeeld our selues thereto That is the thing which we be taught in this text Now whereas Moses saith Hee forsooke the God which made him and skorned the strong God of his welfare thereby hee sheweth vs after what manner we abuse Gods benefites namely by shrinking away from him whereas he would haue vs to bee brought neerer to him For as I saide afore all the commodities which God giueth vs in this world ought to be as ladders whereby to climbe vp to him And if we be wedded to the earth it is the way to make vs turne the benefits of our God to the cleane contrarie Therefore let vs take good heede that we prouoke him not to displeasure And whereas Moses saieth that it was God that created his people hee meaneth it not alonely as in respect that he is the maker of the world but as in respect that hee had chosen that people and had made as it were a newe worlde of them For Gods fetching of the children of Israel out of the lande of Egypt his feeding of them in the wildernes and his putting of them in possession of the land which he had promised vnto them were as a newe creating of them He had not onely made them men but also newe men So then the making that Moses speakes of here is not of the first making whereby the children of Israel were brought into the worlde but of Gods reforming of them to bee his children And it is the very same thing that is ment in the fourescore and fifteenth Psalm Psal. 95.7 Now then saith Moses will ye spite him which hath twice made you after that fashion What an vnthankfulnes were that The like condemnation lyeth vpon vs nowadayes if we walke not in the obedience of our God seeing he hath not onelie placed vs in the worlde but also called vs to the hope of the endlesse life reforming vs by his holy spirit and calling vs to the knowledge of the Gospell of our Lord Iesus Christ. Sith it is so let vs beware we forget it not or that we shrink not away from him in any wise Yea and let vs marke well the word that Moses vseth in saying that they mocked or skorned the strong God of their welfare The terme that hee vseth commeth of a foole or thing of nothing as if a man would say they befooled him or they louted him Whereby he aggrauateth the ouergreat skornefulnesse of that people in not honoring God as they ought to haue done Then if wee yeelde not God his due glorie and praise it is all one as if wee made no account of him or as if wee bleared out our tongues at him in way of mockage And that were too excessiue vnthankfulnesse or rather vntolerable trecherie Therfore let vs beware that we be not guiltie of such a crime as is the despising of him which is the strong holde of our welfare that is to say him vpon whom we stay without whom we can by no meanes continue which keepeth vs vnder his protection and to be short of whom we hold our life and all that belongeth thereunto Must we not needes be worse than brute beastes when we forget him Let vs vnderstand then that besides the other benefites which God bestoweth vpon vs we be also setled vpon his power so as he hath y e gouerning of vs and we be after such a sort in his tuition that we finde him alwayes the fortresse of our welfare to the intent that wee holding our selues to him may knowe also that hee is euer readie and forwarde to increase his gratious giftes and to multiplie them vntill hee haue brought vs to the full perfection of our saluation Nowe let vs fall downe before the maiestie of our good GOD with acknowledgment of our faults praying him to make vs feele them more and more and therewithall that hauing shewed himselfe so gratious towards vs hee suffer vs not to forget his benefits nor to abuse the sustenāce which hee giueth vs in this worlde but that wee may be drawen further by it namely to seeke the heauenly foode of our soules least they shoulde starue and that our whole stay and contentation may be in the doctrine which is dayly deliuered vs by the Gospel and in the grace of our Lorde Iesus Christ so as all his spirituall gifts may bee applied by vs to the glorifying of our good god that when his glorie shineth forth in this world we may perfectly be partakers thereof after wee bee rid of this mortall flesh and dispatched from the transitorie state of this earthly life That it may please him to graunt this grace not onely to vs but also to al people and Nations of the earth c. On Wednesday the iij. of Iune 1556. The CLXXXII Sermon which is the fifth vppon the two and thirtith Chapter 16 They haue prouoked him with their strange gods stirred him to displeasure with their abhominations 17 They haue offered sacrifice to Deuils and not vnto God to gods whom they haue not knowen to newe gods lately come vp whom your fathers feared not 18 Thou hast forgotten the strong God that begate thee and beene vnmindefull of the God that shaped thee 19 The Lorde sawe it and was sore grieued at it by reason of the prouocation of his sonnes and daughters HEere Moses declareth the vnthankfulnesse of the people in that they peruerted the seruice of God hauing the lawe whereby they were taught after what manner God woulde bee honored and being instructed at his hande that they ought to giue themselues wholly to him and not go seeke vnto ydols nor borrowe any thing of the heathen and Infidels But notwithstanding all this the people ceased not to take the bridle in their teeth and to mingle a sort of superstitions with the seruice of God Insomuch as it sufficed them not to haue God to their father but they woulde needes haue a number of other patrons as men terme them And this befell not onely when Moses wrate this song but also the holy ghost informed him of the things that were then to come vpon that people and this record was of necessitie to bee giuen thereof And so this song serued to shewe the transgressours of Gods lawe that they coulde not scape the hande of the heauenly Iudge seeing their sinnes were knowen so long aforehande For howe is it possible that God should forget the faultes that wee haue committed or howe is it
for himself to this seruice so as his glory may shine forth in vs but yet is not that enough For wee shall see men vnhallowe the name of God some by blaspheming him and some by rushing out into all vices and enormities Now therefore whē we see such thinges our zeale ought to be kindled to withstand them to the vttermost of our power to shewe that we desire nothing more than that God should bee honored and abide vnappayred so as men should not abridge him of any thing When wee haue this zeale then shall we sanctify Gods name not onely in our owne soules and bodies but also euen among those which doe so vnhallowe and defile it And for that cause are we commaunded to be as burning Cressets in the midest of a froward crooked generation Phil. 2.15 When wee dwell among the vnbeleeuers and enemies of Gods word or among such as despise it and make no account of it then in stead of our accustomed seeking of vaine excuses with I would faine serue God but there are so many corruptions that I must needes howle among woolues as they say then say I is the time for vs to streyne ourselues so much the more and to enforce our selues to sanctifie y e name of God And where Euen in y e midst of those among whom we be conuersant That is y e thing which is shewed vs in this place True it is that Moses was most bound thereto because God had chosen him aboue the rest Yet neuerthelesse it behoued euery other man also to streine himselfe thereunto And let vs vnderstand that seeing hee taketh vs for his children wee ought at the least to maintaine his honor as much as wee would doe the honor of our earthly fathers And for that cause it is sayd that he and Aaron had transgressed Wherby we see that men may well acquit themselues and besprinkle themselues with holywater as they say but yet must they passe by the sentēce which God hath pronounced for only he is the competent Iudge Although then y t Moses was not ware that he had offended and although also y t wee cannot discouer his offence yet doeth our Lord say y t he had offended so as it was not ynough for him not to haue done any euill deede nor to haue absteined from murmuring nor also to haue withheld his consent from the murmurings of the people but he was a transgressor in that he was too cowardly had not y e foresayd inuincible courage that I spake of to set himselfe against the mischiefe and to stoppe it as he ought to haue done Nowe for a conclusion we haue yet to marke this saying which is added Thou shalt not goe in thither but thou shalt see it euen the land which I giue to the children of Israell to possesse For here Moses had occasion to bee further out of patience whē our Lord exempted him alone saying All y e rest of this people shall inioy y e land but thou shalt be set beside it If we be driuen to indure any cōmon aduersitie we make y e lighter of it But if a man be cut off alone see that God leueleth at none but him y t is much harder and heauier And at the same point was Moses But it was Gods will to trye his obedience and subiection Also hee meant to set vs a faire lookingglasse before our eyes to the intent we should not be prouoked to rebel though hee deale more roughly with vs than with our fellowes and neighbors For we be wont alwayes to alledge How now Haue I offended more than others I see God dealeth full roughly with me and yet there are others which are no better than I and what fault findeth he in me Such complaintes shall a man oftentimes heare But it is not for vs to looke how God handleth others Let vs content our selues that he knoweth what is meete for vs and let euery of vs beare his owne burden patiently and not fall to vsing of such replyes for we shall win nothing thereby Thus ye see what is set downe here in the person of Moses in that he was faine to bee banished out of y e land when all the children of Israell and all the rest of the people went in among whom neuerthelesse there were many despisers of God and many hypocrites to bee short they were as a clowte patched together of many peeces Yet notwithstanding as in respect of possessing the land they were to be preferred before Moses And therefore let vs vnderstand that when God hath once made vs to enter into the way of saluation it is not enough for vs except wee attaine vnto it and that for the bringing thereof to passe we hold out to the end I haue told you heretofore that the land of Canaan was as a common Pawne which GOD gaue to all the children of Israell of his calling of them to the inheritance of the heauēly kingdome namely to as many as entered into the land that is to say to those which were newe sprong vp in y e wildernesse For as for those which came out of Egypt Num. 14.29 30. none of them all but onely two did enter into y e land of Canaan But those which were then little children as it were about a foure or fiue yeeres old all those entered in Neuerthelesse there were many of them which serued not God faithfully but played the naughtipackes and backslyders Whereby we be done to vnderstand that seeing God hath once reached vs his hand it behooueth vs to liue in such sorte as we quaile not ne turne not our backes vppon him but continue still in his obedience so as faith may euermore reigne in vs to withdrawe vs from the lustes and cares of this world And although we haue not the land of Canaan at this day for a visible signe let vs resort to our Lord Iesus Christ who is much more woorth without all comparison than the outward inheritance which was giuen to the people of olde time And seeing we be entered into the trace of Iesus Christ that is to say be put as it were into his body and he accounteth vs as of his flocke and is become our shepheard let vs looke that we behaue our selues towardes him as sheepe hearkening to his voyce and following him whithersoeuer he calleth vs. And in y e meane while let vs pray this good God to holde vs so vnited to him in the person of his onely Sonne as wee may continually hold out to the end in all holynesse and all goodnes and that at the last wee may be gathered vp by him not as children of Adam in the generall curse but as children of Abraham in the promise of saluation which was made to vs in our Lord Iesus Christ. Now let vs fall downe before the maiestie of our good God praying him to make vs feele our faultes and offences more and more and that for the more mislyking of
them wee may exercise our selues continually in calling them to our remembrance and in mourning for them so as hee may haue pitie vpon vs and not onely forgiue vs all our sinnes whereby wee haue offended him but also rid vs cleane of them and redresse vs in such wise by his holy spirite as our whole seeking may be to dedicate ourselues vnto him and that his name may be so sanctified among vs as that in the end wee may come to his glorie as he hath prepared it for all such as doe here yeeld and submit themselues to his yoke That it may please him to graunt this grace not onely to vs but also to all people and Nations of the earth c. On Saturday the xx of Iune 1556. The CXCI. Sermon which is the first vpon the three thirtith Chapter HEere followeth the blessing wherewith Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death and sayde 2 The Lorde came from Sinai and rose vp from Seir vnto them He appeared brightly on mount Pharan and came with ten thousands of Saincts hauing at his right hand the Lawe giuen in fire for them 3 Yet loueth he the people and all the Sainctes are in thy hands and they bow downe to thy feete to receiue of thy wordes WEe knowe that Gods word is ordaind chiefly to this vse that we shoulde be assured of y e good wil loue which he beareth vs. For w tout that also there is no hope of saluation wee be vndone and to be shorte there is no religion For how shall we feare God vnlesse wee knowe that all our welfare lies in him and that we dare seeke him with a right faith But that is vnpossible vnlesse he call vs vnto him and that wee haue assurance that if wee come vnto him we shall be receiued That is the cause why God in all ages ordeined that those which are the teachers of the people should blesse them in his name that is to say assure them that God receiued them and was mercifull to them For so dooth y e worde Blessing import True it is that wee blesse one another by prayer And when it is sayd of a priuate person that he blesseth his neighbor it betokeneth that he wisheth him all good But there is a speciall kinde of prerogatiue in those whom God hath appointed as in his owne person to beare abroad his worde and to preach it For they in blessing are as witnesses of God and agentes in his behalfe And in very deede as we haue seene heretofore as oft as Gods word is preached it is a solemne act whereby he couenanteth with vs and lyke as he will haue vs to professe our selues to be his children and to giue our selues to his seruice so dooth hee bind himselfe to be our father and sauiour That is the cause why we haue now here y e blessinges of Moses which he made before his death And it is lykely that this was thē done when he was ready to yeelde vp his spirit vnto God For he had bin commaunded afore to go vp into the mountaine where he had nothing else to doe but to go seeke his graue which notwithstanding remained vnknowen Deut. 34.6 as we shall see hereafter At such time as he was to take his leaue of the people he pronounced these blessinges here present By what authoritie As one appointed to yeelde record of Gods good wil. Also he ratified that which had bin done before by Iacob to whome God had giuen the lyke charge commission For wee reade of the blessinges which Iacob made ouer his children Gene. 49. how they were not as a houshold prayer when a father making his last will beseecheth God to bee mercifull to his fatherles children Iacob went not that way to worke but being a Patriarke and knowing whereto God had called him hee vttered what was to come accordingly also as we see how hee speaketh by the spirit of Prophesie And in good sooth yee see he was a poore man such a one as was constreyned by famine to goe into Egypt he possessed not a foot of land in y e whole world and yet hee assigned inheritaunces to his children Thou shalt haue such a portion by the sea-coast Gen. 49.10.13.20 Thou shalt haue the pasture grounds Thou shalt be a delicate soyle for kinges so as y e bread which shall be made there and y e sweete fruits of thee shal bee their strength thou shalt haue y e royall scepter thou shalt be aduanced thou shalt reigne among thine enemies As for thee thou shalt be scattered but yet shalt thou haue ease of body although thou be faine to remoue here and there Seeing then that he tooke order after that maner for the land of Canaan that although he was driuen thence by famine yet he alotted it out by portions to his children spake he as a mortall man Let vs knowe then that God gouerned him by his holy spirit and there came not that worde out of his mouth which was not as a heauenly oracle Now hereby the people were edifyed so as they knew that God had chosen them with condition that they should enter into the inheritance which he had promised them When the children of Israell were in Egypt after the decease of their father they were by this meanes certifyed y t God had not forgotten his promise but that hee woulde performe it when the time came They were fed with y t hope and to hold them thereunto God had giuen thē occasion enough if their own vnthākfulnes had not letted thē This being done after that they had bin deliuered out of the land of Egypt and were to inioy the Land which had bin assigned them long afore God made Moses to speake and draue him to vtter that which he had determined to doe as touching the childrē of Israell And in verie deede wee see that the things which had bin spoken afore by Iacob are partly rehearsed here againe for the larger confirmation of them And againe the things which were not reuealed at that time are set downe here so as the people of Israell might here beholde their owne state to come whereby they were taught that God had a speciall care of thē For seeing hee declared first by the mouth of Iacob and secondly by the mouth of Moses all that hee meant to doe to the people of Israell did hee not shewe that hee was neere them and that hee tooke them to bee as of his flocke and that hee preferred them before the rest of the whole worlde For it was not with them as with those which are straungers to God Although hee held and accounted those for his creatures yet did hee not take them for his Children to gouerne them and to direct all their steppes so as nothing shoulde befal them but they might know howe it was God that wrought it who did also tell them of it aforehande Therefore let
Baptisme the marke of Gods free bestowed Adoption 1110. b 40 It auaileth vs not any whit to haue hearde Gods worde vntill our Adoption be sealed by the holy Ghost 440. a 30 Why the couenant and Adoption that God had made with the Iewes was broken off 420. b 20.30 Whereunto the Adoption of vs to bee Gods children tendeth 355. a 10 Of the fauourable Adoption of almightie God most notable doctrine 169. a 10.20.30.40.50 At what time God vouchsafed y e Iewes his Adoption 181. a 10 In what respects we doe what we can to ouerthrowe Gods Adoption 300. a 40 Our Adoption to bee the members of Christ is by the Gospel 62. b 60 Howe we blot out the writing of our Adoption 313. a 10 Of the Adoption of the Iewes and to what intent the same was 917. a 10 The end of our Adoption and wherto the same serueth 910. a 30.40 The benefite of our Adoption in Iesus Christ. 28. a 50 Of our Adoption that be Christians vnder what condition the same is 882. b 50.60 The warrant of our Adoption must suffice vs against al troubles and aduersities 105. a 10.20 What our behauiour ought not to be when God hath vouchsafed to make vs his children by Adoption 43. b 40. Looke Election Aduance That wee Aduance our selues against God though we wil be acknowne of no such thing 410 b 10. c. Howe men behaue themselues in their Aduancement and a warning vnto them 363. a 30.40 Aduanced How he that is Aduanced to some degree should bethinke himselfe 363 b 40.50 Howe we must behaue our selues when we are aduanced by God 363. a 60. b 10 Aduancement Of the AduancemeÌ„t of Iosue into Moses roome being but his seruant 51. a 10.20.30 How we ought to reason with our selues touching others Aduancement 52. a 20.30 AduancemeÌ„t made Ieroboam to turne away from the true religion 64. b 10 20.30 We ought to repine or grudge at y e Aduancement of others 51. b 20.30 Euerie man seekes his owne Aduancement 51. a 30 To what intent God vouchsafeth men Aduancement and preeminence 51. a 40.50 Aduantage Howe the Iewes construed al the promises of the holy scripture to their own AduaÌ„tage 580. a 20.30 Looke Gaine and Profite Aduenture The meaning of this sentence spoken by God I will come against you at al Aduenture 990. a 10 Of this word Aduenture vsed in scripture and whereto the same hath relation 989. b 30 Of walking at all Aduenture and howe that word vttered by God is meant 989. b 30.40.50.60.990 a 10 Aduersitie Euen in our abundance wee must bee mindfull of our Aduersitie Reade how 368. b 30 Gods mercy becoÌ„meth better knowne vnto vs if the Aduersitie whereout we are deliuered bee recorded vnto vs. 366.110.20.30.40 Our behauiour in Aduersitie noted to our shame 156. a 60. 10 Why it is good reason that we shoulde passe the way of Aduersitie 359. a 40 How we must call our selues to remembrance when wee see any folke pinched with Aduersitie 210. b 40.50 How farre foorth Aduersity must ouermaster vs. 156. b 10 Howe long and during what time wee must be patient in Aduersitie 156. b 10 How we hauing had experience of Aduersitie should bethinke our selues of others being in the same case 589. b 50.60.590 a all Aduersitie likened to a fornace why 349. b. 20.30 A meditation to bee vsed of vs both in our Aduersitie and in our prosperity 348. b 20.30.40 Patience knowen in aduersitie 349. a 20 Aduersities Gods purpose in suffering vs to languish in our Aduersities 106. a 10 How God will haue vs vse our selues in Aduersities 140. b 20 Who they bee that are willing to returne to God in their Aduersities 156. a 30 How we thinke vpon the Aduersities wherewith God yerketh vs. 348. a 10.20.30.40 All the Aduersities that God sendeth vs are instructions c. 347. b 10 How wee shoulde bee priuileged from all the Aduersities that trouble vs. 360. b 10.20 Men themselues are to be blamed for all the Aduersities and miseries which they endure in this worlde 263. b 30.50 Whereof God putteth vs in minde by the Aduersities which he layeth vpon vs. 410. a 20. Looke Afflictions Chastisements Adulterer Touching these wordes Thou shalt not be an Adulterer read page 224 a 20. the whole sermon through Looke Fornicators Adulterers In what respects God esteemeth vs for Adulterers 225. a 10.20.30 Looke Whoremongers Adulterie How we ought to loath the worde Adâ—ltetie when we heare it 225. a 10 The literali meaning of these words to commit Adulterie 224. b 30.40 Adulterie the chiefe breaking of mariage 224. b 50.60 Howe the lawe forbidding women to weare mens apparel expoundeth the commandement Thou shalt not commit Adulterie 774. a 50.60 b 10.20 The commandement Thou shalt not commit Adulterie explaned where adulterie is throughly described 788. all What we haue to learne in that God punished Adulterie so grieuously 788. a 30.40 What we haue to gather by that fact of Christ in that he punished not the woman taken in Adulterie 790. b 60.791 a 10 Diuorsement permitted by Christ in y e case of Adulterie 839. b 60.840 a 10 c. Looke Fornication WhoredoÌ„ Adulteries The true cause why Adulteries are so ranke and rife 977. b 50.60 Aduocate We must let Christ alone with the office of Aduocate where also the Papistes doctrine twyted 418. the whole page Looke Mediator Aegypt A description of the people of Aegypt 599. a 20.30 Why Aegypt is termed the house of bondage 185. a 20.30 Aegypt was fuller fraught with ydoles than all the worlde beside 185. b 10 The lande of Aegypt watered partly by raining and partly by nature 466 b. 30.40 c. The lande of Aegypt hath one propertie which all other lands haue not 466. b 40 Aegyptians The vaine boast of the Aegyptians touching their long continuance 1129. a 20 The reason why God commaunded the Iewes that they shoulde not abhorre the Aegyptians 808. all and so forwarde in the sermon 132. In what cases the Isrealits were bound and beholden to the Aegyptians 810 a 30.40.50 Why it is saide that the Aegyptians shall be receiued into the Church 810. a 20.30 c. Why the Aegyptians are holden for the cursedst people of all nations in the worlde 811. a 40.50 c. The Aegyptians in Moses time noted for their grosse idolatrie 101. b 40.50 Affaires Who bee aduised and who hastie in dispatching their affaires 340. a 30 Looke Labour and Workes Affections Vntill when our Affections will be inordinate whether it be in mirth or in mourning 554. a 10 How wee bee carried and driuen by the headinesse of our affections 518. b 20 In the executing of iustice all Affections of friendship and kinred c. must be suppresed Read sermon 130. and page 801. a 10.20 The cause why wee bee entangled in earthlie lustes and Affections 3. b 40 Our naughtie Affections turne vs away from God c. 114. a 10 Our Affections
561. b 50. We wil needes haue Ceremonies to coÌ„tent God withall to discharge our dutie towards him 561. a 60. b 10. c. Ceremonies in the time of the law including certeine prohibitions from crueltie 560. a 60. b 20 The Iewes were diligent in obseruing the Ceremonies but negligent in performing the substance of them 579. b 50.60 580. a 10 How farre foorth we ought to vse Ceremonies 562. a 10 Ceremonies without instruction are condemned of God why 598 a 30.40.50 Of popish Ceremonies why the wretched world is rauished at them 598. a 10.30.40 God is now contented with a few ceremonies what those be 505. a 30 Reasons why God gaue his people so manie lawes rules Ceremonies at their going into the lande of Chanaan 503. a 10.20 The signification meaning of diuerse Ceremonies vsed in the temple b all Why God listed not to giue the Iewes the Ceremonies at the first in such maner as they be set downe in Leuiticus but reserued them a long time 503. a 50.60 Why God hath now abolished the ceremonies of the lawe that were of his owne appointing 505. a 20 All the Ceremonies of the Lawe had some certeine vse whereto they serued 299. b 10 God ordeined not y e Ceremonies without further consideration of some reason in them 299. a 40.50.60 Why Gods will was to teach his people humilitie by visible signes outward Ceremonies 425. b 20.30 Why we vse the Ceremonies of putting off our caps lifting vp our handes in praying 497. a 30.40 God giueth vs such Ceremonies as are meete for vs why 497. b 20.30 A rehersal of certaine particular Ceremonies which the Iewes were bound to obserue 501. b 40.50.60 We deceiue our selues if wee thinke to content God with Ceremonies 128. a 40 The Ceremonies of the lawe are no more in vse 163. b 30.40 A repetition of diuerse legall Ceremonies w t their significatioÌ„s 302. a 10.20 Certeine For what cause God termeth his plagues Certeine 1001. a 50 Certeintie God would haue his people in the time of the law to stand vpon a Certeintie and what we haue to learne thereby 485. b 50.60 The malice of men noted in that they had leuer followe vncerteintie than Certeintie see howe 485. a 50.60 b 10 We must be grounded vpon Certeintie so as we knowe the God whome wee worship is no idol 489. a 20 How the papistes reconcile themselues to god but w t no Certeintie 1051. a 10 God hath euer shewed his will to the faithfull so as they haue had such Certeintie in their doings as was requisite 501. a 50. b 30 Chanaan The fathers had not an eye to the visible land of Chanaan but only took it as a representation of the euerlasting dwelling place c. 10. a all How the lande of Chanaan was seene to be at the people of Israels commandement 26. b 10 A similitude or comparison betweene y e land of Chanaan the kingdom of heauen 27. a 20.30.40.50.60 To what end Gods setting forth of the land of Chanaan to the Iewes serued 465. b 30.40.50 By what kind of people y e lande of Chanaan was inhabited before y e Iewes tooke possession thereof 295. b 40 What the Iewes should haue considered by their enioying of the lande of Chanaan 295. a 20 All that is spoken of the land of Chanaan must serue vs for a figure and shadow 8. b 40 The land of Chanaan was as a mirrour of the heauenly life 152. b 20 The cause why so great a sight to viewe all the countries of the land of Chanaan was giuen vnto Moses 106. a 50 The meaning of God in calling the lande of Chanaan the lande of his rest 46. a 10 The land of Chanaan was not watered after the manner of Aegypt 466. b 50 60. 467. a 10.20 The fertilitie fruitfulnes of the land of Chanaan 1124. a 40.50.60 b all The fatherlie care that God had ouer the land of Chanaan in sending rain vpon it 467. b 50 Of the hie situation of the land of Chanaan in respect of Aegypt the couÌ„tries circumiacent 1124 a 30 What moued God to giue the land of Chanaan to Abraham and his seede 377. a 60. and b 10 The Patriarches were not put in possession of the land of Chanaan during their liues 377. a 60. b 10.20 The causes why God commanded the Israelites to root out all the follie out of the land of Chanaan 327. b 50.60 328. a 10.30.40 Howe vilely Seruettus the heretike thought of the land of Chanaâ—n 1124. b 40 The land of Chanaan lent of God for a time to the old inhabitants therof and who they were 1116 a 40 Seuen sundrie nations inhabited y e land of Chanaan before the Iewes had possession thereof 1116. a 60. b 30 God appointed the lande of Chanaan purposely to his own honor 330. a 30 Wherof the resting place of the land of Chanaan was a figure 347. b 50 The land of Chanaan was a mirror as it were of the kingdome of heauen 1047 a 20.30 What things are to be considered in the land of Chanaan c. 279. b 60. c. What things Moses comprehended vnder this terme The lande of Chanaan 290 b 60 A description of the land of Chanaan as it was in the time of the Iewes as it is now 1093. b 10.20 A speciall consideration in the Israelites conquering of the land of Chanaan 95. a 60. b 10 Vnder this word the lande of Chanaan all the benefites that God bestowed on his people were comprehended 551. b 10 How Iacob dying three hundred yeres before the partition of the lande of Chanaan could make a partition thereof notwithstanding 1212. a 30 What wee haue to learne by Moseses not entring into the land of Chanaan 1178. all None of all those which came out of Aegypt entred into the land of Chanaan but only two and those which were newe sprung vp in the wildernesse being then but little children as it were about a foure or fiue yeres old 1183. b 10.20 The land of Chanaan was to Moses a signe and sacrament of the kingdom of heauen 107. a 10 The state of the land of Chanaan what it is at this day 921. a 10 Whereunto y e land of Chanaan should haue guided the Iewes 503. a 50 Why it is said that the land of Chanaan was a land flowing with milke honie 920. b 50.60 That all the people of Israel possessed not all the land of Chanaan that was giuen them and why 711. b 20 Why God commanded that the people of the land of Chanaan shoulde be vtterly rooted out and slaine by the Israelites 728. a all 730. a 10 Why God gaue the land of Chanaan to the Israelites 8. b 20. Looke Land of Promise Change Wee must not seeke to bring in any Change or alteration into Gods church Read the whole 75 sermon and page 461. b 30.40 That it is in
howe God trieth their charitie 511. a 10.20 Of a kind of intercommoning y t ought to be between the Rich the poore 587. a 10.20.30.40 A lesson for the Rich mans learning 233. a 10.20 The daunger of coueting to be Rich. 232. a 30.40 Looke Welthie Riches Of the Riches of Salomon Read at large 653. a 50.60 Dauids and Salomons Riches gathered together in a huge masse excused and why 654. b 10.20.30 What vengeance lighteth vppon such as gather their Riches by wicked practises 571. a 10.20.30 The true meanes whereby men attain to Riches 367. a 50.60 b 10 In what respect men deserue to be berest of their Riches at Gods hande is taught vs by comparison 367. a 10.20 To what intent God giueth Riches to the wicked 367. a 40.571 a 10 How we ought to vse our Riches when we haue them 364. a 60. b 10.369 a 60. b 10. Looke Welth. Riding What is meant by Gods Riding vpon the heauens 1229. a 50.60 b all Right What it is to wrest or hinder the Right 932. a 90.20 and that God himselfe will take vengeance in such cases ibidem 30. c. Of peruerting a mans Right and howe the same is done 863. a 20.30 c. Of defrauding God of his Right and what right is meant in that place 571. a 60. b 10 A cursse vppon such as wrest the Right of the stranger the widowe and fatherlesse 931. b 30.40.50.60.932 a 10 The meaning of Moses that GOD doeth Right to such as are wrongfully trodden vnder foote 448. b all 449. a b all Rightfull What wee haue to note vpon this title Rightfull attributed to the Iewes 1125. b 30. c. Righthand Gods meaning in forbidding vs to bow to the Righthand or to the left 262. b 20.30 Looke Hand Righteous The Papists vpholde that they become Righteous by keeping the law 302. a 30 God cannot bee God if hee bee not Righteous 88. b 60 Whether wee be made Righteous by the law or by faith 301. a 10.20.30.40 938. a 50.60 Looke Faithfull Righteousnesse The agreemēt betweene mans nature and Gods Righteousnesse 244. b 20.30.40 Howe men must examine themselues if they will needs challenge Righteousnes to themselues 380. b 50.60 The beginning of all the lawe and of all Righteousnesse what it is 266. b 30 There is no grace or Righteousnesse in vs for the which wee might obteine loue at Gods hande this excludeth merits 408. a 20.30 Wherupon our true Righteousnesse dependeth and howe God alloweth it 1192. b 30.40.50 What the Righteousnesse of the lawe respecteth in men 273. b 10.946 a 10.20.941 b 30 What kind of obedience our true Righteousnesse is 380. b 60. 381. a 10 Of the Righteousnesse which wee haue by Christs resurrectiō 1064. a 30. c. The Righteousnesse of Angels scarsely answerable to Gods lawe 245. b 50 Of the sacrifices of Righteousnesse and what doctrine wee haue to obserue therein 1220. a 60. b all Of our Righteousnesse what it is and how short it commeth of that which the lawe requireth 483. a 40.50.60.566 b 30.40.835 b 10 What our true Righteousnesse is reade in short summe page 386. a 10 Why it is purposely said of Moses Thy Righteousnesse before God 300. b 40.50.60 301. a 10 If God allowe of our doings then is it perfect Righteousnesse 518. a 10.20 Who may say y t he hath perfect Righteousnesse 753. b 10.20.939 b 30 The glosse of Righteousnesse in part which the papists haue forged must be refused and whie 939. b 10.20 Howe and by what meanes we are saide to haue Righteousnesse 940. a 30.40 That God hath bereft vs of all Righteousnesse to what intent 940. a 30 Of Righteousnesse imputatiue and by whom wee haue it 940. a 30.40 b 10.20.763 b 20.30.300 a 60. b all 856. a 50.60 b 10 Of the papisticall Righteousnesse called righteousnesse in part 939. a 10.857 a 50.60 When howe and why our vnperfect keeping of the lawe shall not faile to be taken for Righteousnesse 30. b 10.20.30.40 Our Righteousnesse consisteth not in the worthinesse of our owne workes 301. a b There is no Righteousnesse where there is no humanitie or gentlenes 856. b 10.20 c. 857. b 10 How Moseses wordes y t a mans almes-deeds shall be counted vnto him for Righteousnes are ment 857. b 30.40.50.60.858 b all What is ment by this that faith was reckoned vnto Abraham for Righteousnesse 857. b 50.60 Looke Faith Iustification Rigor The reward of the Israelits for shewing mercie there where they ought to haue shewed Rigor 890. b 30.40 There is no Rigor in God though hee seeme in mans reason too too seuere reade the place 1143. all 1144. all 154 b 50.60 Gods Rigor against the Iewes testified by the threatnings denounced in the 148. Sermon beginning at page 1140. To what ende God vseth Rigor sometimes in afflicting vs. 988. b all That the Rigor of God in threatning vs doth profite vs. 963. a 20.30 Gods shewing of Rigor is to be imputed to our selues 155. a 10 What we haue to do when we see God vtter his Rigor towards others 327. a 30.40 b 10 Why God vseth mercie to some Rigor to other some 190. a 50.60 In what respect Rigor rather than mercie is to be vsed 328. b 50.60 How a Iudge when he vseth Rigor must be mercifull 330. a 10 Of yeelding to God when we feele nothing but Rigor at his handes 358. b 40 The Rigor that Iehu executed at his pleasure noted 329. b 10.20 Rioting Rioting and drunkennesse comprehendeth all kinde of vice 758. a 10 Vnto what vices he falleth that is giuen to Rioting 758. a 30.40.50.60 Riuer Of the Riuer of Nilus and how it watereth y e lande of Aegypt once a yeare 466. b 40.50.60 Looke Nilus Riuers Small store of Riuers in manie of the countries of the lande of Chanaan 467. a 10 Robberie That Robberie shal be punished with robberie by Gods iust iudgement 975. b 10.20.30.40 Looke Steale Robberies Of sundrie kinds of Robberies threatened by God against vs in diuerse thinges belonging vnto vs. 976. a 10 20. c. b 30.40.50.60 c. Looke Theft Robbers A threatning against theeues and Robbers 234. a 40.50.60 In what respect it was saide that the tribe of Beniamin shoulde be Robbers 1209. b 40.50.60 What such as feare God should haue in their minds when Robbers possesse their goods 977. a 10 That theeues and Robbers faile not to serue Gods turne purpose 975. all b 10 Of Robbers that beare great sway and that other robbers shall robbe such robbers 975. b 20. Looke Theefe Rocke Why God is termed a Rocke in the scripture 1132. a 30.40 Roges Of begging Roges howe they like their idle trade and what becommeth of them in the end 586. b 30.40 That Roges become theeues in y e end and why 586. a 30. Looke Beggers Rome Ierusalem and Rome after a sort compared 498. b 60.499 a 10.20 Rome is now a very
thine arme stretched out MOses goeth foreward here with the matter that he had begunne afore which was to make the people vnderstand howe great the faulte was which they had committed For wheras he boasteth of Gods hearing of him he doeth not to the intent the people should thinke themselues so much the more beholden to him therefore that is not the thing which he looketh at but that the people should thenceforth liue in awe and humilitie and beare in minde the faulte that they had committed and consider howe they had well deserued to haue beene vtterly rooted out if God had not shewed them mercie And he sayth that after he had lyen vpon the ground fortie dayes and fortie nightes he was heard and this is to the end that by such circumstance the people may the better learne that if GOD had not hearkened to that vehement and earnest prayer of his they had beene vtterly vndone It is an extraordinarie thing that a man should continue sighing and weeping before God fortie dayes and fortie nightes together and no doubt but this power was giuen to Moses by miracle lyke as was his fasting of fortie dayes and fortie nightes before And to what purpose To the end that the Lawe might bee the better authorized thereby For it might well seeme that the couenant which God had made with the people was quite broken and vtterly disanulled and therefore it was expedient that Moses should once againe be separated from the company of men fortie dayes and fortie nightes that by that meanes new authoritie might be purchased But yet for all that we must marke well that whereas Moses forbare meate and drinke fortie dayes and fortie nights together it was not done by humaine power neither was it to speake properly a fast of sobrietie for hee was exempted from hunger and thirst but it was done to the end that the Lawe should be receiued with the greater reuerence forasmuch as it came not of men but Moses came downe from the mountaine as if an Angel had come downe from heauen And his praying was for the sinnes of the people that God would not looke vppon the idolatrie that had bin committed but hold on still in his owne purpose For although Moses had broken the tables and that he had done it through the impulsion of Gods spirit yet notwithstāding as hath bin said already he ceased not to haue compassion vppon the people which was worthie to haue bin rooted out That is the effect of the matter which wee must looke vnto here And thereby we be put in minde that if God forgiue vs any fall or offence wee must not so forget it but we must bethinke our selues to liue in the greater awe and consider all our lyfe long how greatly we be bound vnto God for vttering so great goodnesse vnto vs. There are a number to bee seene which doe but wring their mouthes when they woulde haue their faultes forgiuen them and they neuer passe to thinke any more vppon them to yeelde God his deserued prayse Contrariwise it is shewed vs here by the example of the Iewes that although God bee mercifull to vs and list not to call our faultes to account yet must not wee therefore thrust them vnder foote but rather cal them to minde euery day that it may first of all prouoke vs to repentance assuring our selues that wee may fall eftsoo ne if God preserue vs not and secondly make vs to consider that we stand not but through his free mercie and finally incourage vs to magnify his name for drawing vs out of y e dungeon whereinto we were fallen Seeing then that we be so much bound vnto him let vs bee the willinger to serue and honor him Thus yee see in effect what wee haue to remember vppon this place Besides this let vs marke well by the example of Moses that it is not enough to pray vnto God in two or three wordes and as it were in poste but that wee must continue in praying without being weary And that is a poynt right necessarie to bee marked For whereas there are many faults in vs this is one of the greatest that we cannot settle our selues vnto prayer but wee bee fleeting so as our mouthes are no sooner opened but our wittes are by and by wandering elsewhere And besides that if we haue prayed vnto God once wee thinke it enough and too much Contrariwise wee see that Moses was fortie dayes together in continuall mourning for the offence of the people Therfore in our praying vnto God let vs learne to haue the perseueraunce whereunto our Lorde Iesus exhorteth vs Luk. 〈…〉 saying that we must be importunate and that it is not enough for vs to haue vttered our griefe vnto GOD lightly and once for all but that we must resorte to him stil vntill he haue heard our requestes Now then here is a second lesson which we haue to gather vppon this place which is that in praying vnto God we must haue a setlednesse of holding out to the end Also this praying of Moseses sheweth vs what their duetie is which haue the charge of other folke namely to pray to God to pitie such as shall haue offended For it is not enough for such as haue publique charge to discharge their duetie to the worldewarde but they must also turne vnto God Wee see how the Apostles say that they must not onely preach the Gospell Act. 〈…〉 but also giue themselues to prayer and supplication Now this belongeth to all the faithfull For to pray vnto God is the chiefe duetie of our faith And forasmuch as the Apostles had the chiefe charge of the Church it behoued this calling vpon God to belong chiefly vnto them 2. Cor. 〈…〉 And that is the cause why Saint Paul sayth that hee humbleth himselfe for the Corinthians as who should say hee ought to beare the chastisement of their sins in his owne person For inasmuch as God had set him ouer that Church it behooued him to beare the chiefe burden vppon his shoulders Therefore such as haue the charge of preaching Gods word and of teaching in the Church must not onely imploy themselues that way but also to prayer And chiefly when they see things go amisse and disorders among the people then ought they most specially to resorte vnto GOD that he may prouide a remedie for it This is the thing that is shewed vs by the example of Moses in that it is sayd that hee taryed not till the people resorted to God for mercie but shewed them the way as he whom God had appointed to beare the burthen of the people and to procure their welfare Now let vs come to the forme of the prayer that Moses maketh Lord God saith he destroy not the people of thine heritage whō thou hast redeemed by thy mightie power strong hand out of the land of Egypt Bethinke thy selfe of thy seruauntes Abraham Isaac and Iacob and haue not an eye to the