reserued vnto that day When the creature shall bee deliuered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the Sonnes of God and vnto Faith whereby wee see onely as in a mirrour intuitiue beholding of the face of God by vision shall succeed And this is the glory of the Father Now to gloriâ—ie him cannot bee to giue or adde glory vnto him For as we haue shewed he is absolutely Perfect and lacketh nothing and his propertie is to giue vnto all but to receiue from none It is therefore to manifest his glory to make it publikely known throughout the world as if our Sauiour had said Father vnlesse thou glorify me the brightnes of thy glory will exceedingly be eclipsed obscured but if thou glorifie me then shall the Glory bee greatly manifested by me and I shall make it knowne farre and neere among the sonnes of men This being the meaning of these tearmes let vs now examine both the Propositions of the argument aboue propounded trie the truth of them The Maior is That by which I shall glorifie thee and without which I cannot glorifie thee thou maist not deny vnto me An evident and vndoubted truth else never would Christ haue said it especially in a matter so much concerning him For if as Solomon saith the lip of vanity becommeth not a Prince much lesse would it become him who is the wisdome of the Father and very truth it selfe And if nothing can concerne him more then his owne Glorification then certainely to speake sleightly and impertinently in a matter of such moment would haue argued much weaknesse And indeed it is so apparently true that our Saviour only affirmes it without vouchsafing it any confirmation at all as if hee knewe that his Father neither would nor could deny it Neuerthelesse the truth thereof may yet further appeare First by the continuall practise of all the Saints conformable vnto this of Christ. For in all their addresses vnto God they ever vrged him with his Glory as the strongest argument to perswade when the Lord had threatned to smite the people of Israel with the pestilence and to disinherit them because of their murmuring and incredulitie Moses thought nothing would sooner moue him to commiseration and pittie of them then the impeachment otherwise of his honour For saith he the nations which haue heard the fame of thee will speake saying Because the Lord was not able to bring this people into the land which he sware vnto them therefore hath he slaine them in the wildernesse As if he should say thou maist not doe it because it will discredit both thy truth and power Againe Daniel when the seauenty yeares of Iudahs captivity were neere at an end entreateth the Lord to remember them in mercy and to returne theÌ„ backe againe into their owne country But what argument vseth he to perswade For thine owne sake saith he because the citty and thy people are called by thy name As if he should say least otherwise thy Glorie by failing in performance of thy promise towards thy people should bee called into question what Psalme almost is there in which the Prophet David presseth not vpon God this reason Returne O Lord deliuer my soule oh saue mee for thy mercies sake For in death there is no remembrance of thee in the graue who shall giue thee thankes Bring my soule out of prison that I may praise thee the righteous shall compasse mee about for thou shalt deale bountifully with mee Quicken me O Lord for thy names sake for thy righteousnesse sake bring my soule out of trouble It were infinite to quote particular passages In a word did not our Saviour when he taught vs to pray direct vs ever to conclude with this argument For thine is the kingdome the power and the glory And did not St Paul according to this direction end his Prayer with ascribing Glory vnto God in the Church by Christ Iesus throughout all ages If then others haue mightily prevailed with God in vrging him with his Glorie shall we thinke that the Sonne of God can be lesse prevalent with his Father pressing him with the same argument Father glorifie me for so I shall bee able else not to glorifie thee Secondly the manifestation of the Fathers Glory is the architectonicall and soueraigne end of all things This he himselfe principally intended in all his works this he set vp as a marke for all to ayme at The Lord saith Solomon made all things for himselfe even the wicked for the day of evill The predestination also of the Saints and their adoption to be children by Iesus Christ was as S. Paul testifieth to the praise of the glory of his grace yea of him and through him and to him are all things to whom be glory for euer Amen For to the praise of the glory of his Power all things were created To the praise of the glory of his Wisdome all things are ordered and gouerned To the praise of the glory of his Mercy are wee ransomed in Christ from the bondage of misery And to the praise of the glory of his Iustice are impenitent sinners reprobated and condemned And reason it should bee thus For as out of him all things were educed as being the fountaine and prime cause of all so vnto him it was fit all things should be reduced as vnto the last and chiefest end of all Right even as out of the sea all riuers flow and then reflow back againe vnto it Neither indeed was it possible to be otherwise For God being in himselfe blessed and all-sufficient cannot rest in any thing that is extrinsecall and without himselfe In himselfe therefore he must find it and what other can that be then his Glorie His Glorie therefore did he necessarily propound vnto himselfe as the soueraigne end of all his actions and vnto it here doth our Saviour subordinate his owne Glorification So that hence also the truth of our Maior plainely appeareth that vnlesse the Father will be without his Glory and without his Glory he neither will nor can be he must needs grant to his Sonne that without which hee cannot glorifie him Thirdly and lastly the glory of the Father is most deere and pretious to him It is vnto him as the apple of his eye which at no hand may be touched yea as his very selfe because it is himselfe Hence it is that hee is so iealous of his glory neither can endure that it should be giuen to any other And hence it is also that he threatens never to hold him guiltlesse whosoeuer taketh his name in vaine yea that he will most severely bee revenged of all those that any way dishonour him Because saith S. Paul when they knew God they glorified him not as God nor were thankfull c. therefore God also gaue them vp to vncleannesse through the lusts of their own hearts to dishonour their bodies
you beloued brethren tandem hoc agamus let vs at length attend the businesse which Christ hath charged vs withall What errand hee hath put into our mouthes that and no other let vs freely deliuer And let vs striue to deliuer it in such manner as may make most to our end that is the building vp of men in their most holy Faith This shall we the better doe if we looke vnto Christ and what forme he vsed A better precedent can we not possibly follow for neuer spake man as he did Him did the holy Apostles make their patterne and by vertue thereof converted the world vnto the Christian Faith If we looke vnto any other and for the pleasing of them forme our Sermons after the humour of those whose humour we should rectifie neither shall we please God nor happily in the end them A certaine Painter hauing with all his skill drawne two pictures as like as possibly hee could reserued the one in his chamber and set forth the other on his stall to the view and censure of all that passed by and whatsoeuer they misliked he would with his pencill alter according to their iudgement vntill it was growne every way deformed At length setting forth his other picture by it and the people commending it as an exquisite peece condemning the other as a deformed monster yet that quoth hee I drew according to your judgement this according to my owne art and skill Certainely certainely if we shall attend the seuerall censures of our auditors and patch vp Sermons according to their liking monstrous and enormious must they needs bee Much better were it therefore by our owne art our art being learned from the example of Christ and his Apostles to frame all our Sermons so shall wee gaine many soules vnto Christ and purchase to our selues true praise with God and in the consciences of all good men What though this way we cannot make so much shew of learning and eloquence Yet therein shall we be like the Apostle S. Paul whose preaching was not in the entising words of mans wisdome but in demonstration of the spirit Yea like vnto Christ himselfe who though hee were rich yet made himselfe poore that he might make many rich In a word let vs duly remember that although we be dispensers of heavenly treasures yet is it the pleasure of God wee haue them in earthen vessels that the excellencie of the power may be of God and not of vs. But of what Iesus spake enough After he had spoken these things then hee lift vp his eyes and prayed Not but that without Prayer he was able to effect what he prayed for For being perfect God and the absolute dispencer of all grace wee cannot without fearefull impiety thinke that out of infirmitie he seekes that by request which of himselfe he could not accomplish No but as Ambrose saith though he were Potestatis author Lord of power yet would be Obedientiae Magister the teacher of obedience by due performing his owne dutie For as we haue said he was a Priest and the duties of Priesthood are three Docere Orare Sacrificare to teach to pray to sacrifice As for the first he hath already carefully taught them and giuen them the words which his Father gaue him As touching the third hee was now ready to offer vp himselfe as a propitiatory sacrifice for the sinnes of the world for so saith he by and by Father the houre is come Betwixt these two intercedit intercessio he maketh humble suit that both the one and the other might be effectuall to the eternall saluation of all those whom his Father had chosen out of the world and giuen vnto him And thus as in Christs Priesthood so also in his practise Preaching and Prayer were vsually ioyned together What Christ therefore hath conioyned let no man dare to put asunder The dispensation of the Word and Prayer are by the ioint testimonie of all the Apostles the two principall offices of the Ministery Hardly therefore can they bee divorced without maiming or mangling thereof As in Preaching we are the mouth of God vnto the people so by Prayer ought we to bee the mouth of the people vnto God By the one we teach them the will of God by the other we blesse them in the name of God As we are bound to plant and water by Preaching so are we by Prayer to mediate vnto God for increase For that will affect but coldly except this quicken and inflame it It is not the Word or Prayer severally but the Word and Prayer ioyntly that both sanctifieth the Creature vnto vs and the people vnto God Whence it followeth also that as the Minister is to Preach and Pray so are the People to Heare and Pray For Preaching is to no purpose without Hearing and to what end Praying in the Congregation if none concurre with him Heare therefore they must that they may beleeue for Faith commeth by hearing and hearing by the word of God And Pray they must both for their Pastors faithfully and diligently to dispense the word of truth amongst them and for themselues that God would open the eares of their hearts also that what they heare may be even the savour of life vnto life vnto them This condemneth all those who either out of a disrespect of Preaching are all for Prayer such as were the ancient Euchetae and too many also amongst vs now adayes or out of a contempt of Common Prayer are all for Preaching seldome presenting themselues in the Church vntill the Preacher be in the Pulpit No marvell if the Hearing of the one be fruitlesse seeing they despise the Prayers of the Church by which the blessing is obtained and if the Prayer of the other be vneffectuall seeing they little regard Preaching by which it is to be guided But here happily it will be demanded whether of the twaine Preaching or Prayer is the more noble A question much debated of late and with too much faction and vehemence Wherevnto this I haue to say that if the cōparison be intended betweene Preaching and the Prayer of private men without doubt Preaching is the more excellent For it is publike and therefore more profitable A publike embassage from God and therefore more honourable then a private supplication vnto God To say nothing of the more solemne promise made vnto it of shining as the brightnesse of the firmament and the starres for ever and ever Yea but Preaching is subordinate to Prayer and the end is more worthie then that which is subordinate thereto Nay but it is preordinate rather as the Intelligences are to their orbs or Prudence vnto vertuous actions Or if it be subordinate yet is it in order to the chiefest good as the kingly office is vnto meaner trades for the publike weale and the Mediation of Christ to the salvation of man for the glory of Gods grace which yet are not therefore inferiour But if
bee made acquainted with the mystery of the Gospell In earth also hath hee power not only ouer men as is aboue declared but also as the Psalmist witnesseth over the beasts of the field the foules of the ayre the fishes of the sea and whatsoever passeth through the paths thereof Whence it is that the creature being sensible of the vanitie wherevnto it is now subiect longeth and waiteth for his second comming in hope then to be freed from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the sonnes of God Even the divels themselues and whatsoeuer is vnder the earth is subiect vnto him While he liued here on earth he cast them out commanded and restrained them at pleasure yea to others also he gaue power to cast them out in his name It is hee that hath the keyes of hell and death and by force of them he reserueth the sinning Angels in euerlasting vnder darknesse vnto the iudgement of the great day Finally vnto him is put in subiection not only this present world but that also as S. Paul saith that which is yet to come If all this be so will some say and Christs power bee so large why is it here restrained only vnto all Flesh that is vnto Mankinde I answere that these words are not to be vnderstood exclusiuely as if his power reached no further then vnto man but principally and especially and that for two causes First because he tooke flesh and therein suffered not for Angels or any other creature but only for vs men according to that in the Nicene Creed who for vs men and our saluation came downe from heauen and was incarnate Wherevpon saith the Apostle Hee tooke not on him the nature of Angels but tooke on him the seed of Abraham Secondly for that as all things in the first creation were made for man so in the recreation and restoring of man it was fit that power should be giuen ouer all things for man Wherevpon saith the Apostle All things are yours and yee are Christs and Christ is Gods The consideration of this large power of Christ extending it selfe not only over all flesh but all other things also for our benefit should teach vs in any caâ—e not to rebell against our Liege Lord but as becommeth dutifull and loyall subiects with all humblenesse to submit our selues vnto his soueraigne authority That which he requireth at our hands is according as S. Paul teacheth first to confesse with our tongues that Iesus Christ is the Lord to the glory of God the Father aduancing him aboue all powers thrones and dominations whatsoeuer and neuer to be afraid or ashamed to professe our selues to bee his Christian seruants notwithstanding any danger might accrew vnto vs thereby And secondly to bow the knee at the name of Iesus that is in heart to honour to adore to worship him to loue and feare him to put all our trust confidence vpon him and in one word to obey him And to this end we are to vse all possible meanes to settle and confirme this faith in vs that he is our Lord and hath absolute power and authority ouer vs and then diligently to study and enquire what his lawes are that so wee may both knowe what he commands and wherein we are to obey For the ignorance of the law excuseth not and it is good to see with our owne and not with other menseies For how doe we knowe whether they will direct vs But then vnto faith and knowledge are we to ioyne practice yeelding vnto him absolute constant and cheerefull obedience and that not only actiuely but if need bee passiuely also even with the expence of our dearest blood Neither need we to make question of doing any thing he commandeth For his scepter as Dauid â—aith is a right scepter and whatsoeuer he commandeth is iust It is also easie and not hard to be done For my yoke saith he is easie and my burthen light and his commandements â—aith S. Iohn are not greiuous The law indeed of workes is a rigorous law and vnsufferable Wherefore by S. Paul it is called a killing letter But the law of Christ is a law of grace requiring only repentance from dead workes beleefe in him that hath merited forgiuenesse of sinne and sincere â—ndeauour of new obedience God accepting the will for the deed To this therefore if wee willingly submit our selues we shall finde first Protection from him and he is the stronger man against all our enimies then provision in all our needs and necessities lastly rest to our soules by peace of conscience here and eternall refreshment in the next world Nay we our selues also shall haue power over the nations and raigne with him as kings world without end But if through stiffeneckednesse wee refuse the yoke and pull backe the shoulder rebelling against him knowe we that he who sitteth in heauen will laugh vs to scorne the while and in the end recompence vs with weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth All those that will not bow vnto him with the yron mace in his hand will he breake them to powder and hew in peeces all such as would not haue him to raigne over them Let vs therefore betimes serue the Lord with feare and kisse the sonne least he be angry and we perish from the way when his anger is kindled but a little O how blessed are all they that put their trust in the Lord. And thus much of the second point in quos over whom he hath power The third is A quo whence or from whom he hath his power Not of himselfe but from some other for thou hast giuen saith our Saviour Who is that He to whom he speaketh He speaketh to his Father Father glorifie thy Sonne It is his Father therefore of whom he receaued it and receaued it by gift And indeed the power hee hath quâ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as he is the Word hee hath receaued from his Father and that by gift donatione naturali ab aeterno by naturall donation and from all eternitie For as hee is God of God and light of light so is hee also Lord of Lord the Father being the origen source and fountaine of the Deitie If so then the power he hath qua Emanuel as he is God-man must needs be much more from him I saith God haue set my king vpon my holy hill of Sion And that it is the Father speaking so of his Sonne appeareth when by and by he saith Thou art my sonne this day haue I begotten thee So saith our Saviour also Omnia mihi tradita sunt à Patre all things are deliuered vnto mee of my Father And againe The father loueth the sonne and hath given all things into his hands And S. Iohn Iesus knowing that the father had giuen all things into his hands And finally S. Peter God hath made that same
hatred he beares vnto him so the divill to testifie how much hee hates God himselfe spends all his fury vpon him that beareth the image of God Hence is it that he is so wroth with the woman and from this Wrath is it that hee still persecutes her casts out floods of water to overwhelme her and maketh warre with the remnant of her seede which keepe the commandements of God and haue the testimony of Iesus Christ. As Satan so Satanicall and wicked men are deadly enimies vnto the Saints and holy members of Christ. Qui male agit odit lucem he that doth evill hates the light Now the whole world lyeth in wickednesse and therefore cannot endure the light either of Christs truth or their life If they were of the world the world would loue his owne but because they are not of the World but chosen out of the world therefore the world hateth them They thinke it strange that the Saints run not into the same excesse of riot with them What marvell then if hating them and being separated in life and conversation from them they continually stirre vp persecutions against them But it will bee said why doth not God hinder them being able Doth he not loue his Church yes he loues her as the apple of his eye and because her therefore he permits them For as our Saviour saith As many as I loue I rebuke and chasten the Apostle to the Hebrewes whom the Lord loueth he chastneth and scourgeth every sonne whom he receiueth Whereby it appeareth also that God not only permitteth but hath a hand in the afflictions of his children himselfe delivering them over vnto their adversaries to correct them Yea the Apostle S. Paul yet farther saith that wee are appointed to afflictions predestinated to be conformed vnto the image of the sonne of God as in other things so also to suffer with him that we may be glorified together The ends which God propounded to himselfe herein are partly his owne glory partly our good His owne glory in the manifestation of his iustice power and wisdome Iustice in that he beginnneth iudgement at his owne house not sparing them whom he loues most dearely nor suffering them to recover paradise so easily who had abandond it so wilfully Parvo parari tanta res non debuit it was not fit that such a peece should be won without striking any stroke His power in preseruing such earthen vessels notwithstanding all the knocks and blowes laid vpon them not suffering the bush to consume though flaming and all on fire yea multiplying his Church the more they are slaine and making the bloud of his Martyrs the seede of his Gospell and finally in her greatest distresses and extremities delivering her most miraculously His Wisdome in proportioning the body to the head for it was not fit that Christ should weare a crowne of thornes and we be clothed in purple and fine linnen and fare sumptuously every day but as he entred into glory by the crosse so should wee aspire to the same end by the same way As God in the afflictions of his Church respected his owne glory so also hee intended our good and benefit It is good for me saith David that I haue beene afflicted Hee chastneth vs for our benefit saith the Apostle to the Hebrewes First by the crosse he fanneth away from the church paleaâ— levis fidei the chaffe of those that are vnstable in the faith For the seede that falleth in the stony ground that is he that hath no root in himselfe dureth but for a while and when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word by and by he is offended And so the chaffe flying away the heape of corne remaineth more cleane in the garner of God as Tertullian speaketh Againe by it are wee much bettered for as a Corrosiue it frets away our ranke flesh and as a fire it purgeth away the drosse of corruption and refines vs. It worketh repentance of sinnes past it preventeh future sinnes it quickneth the spirit of grace within vs and maketh vs more carefull to obserue Gods commandements Thirdly it honours vs greatly by making our vertues knowne vnto the world For as the valour of a souldier is best seene in the battle and the skill of a pilote in a tempest so is the fortitude and patience of a Christian best discerned in tribulation Spices brayed yeeld the sweetest smellâ— as the broaching of heresies tries how much we know of God so the fire of persecution discouereth how much we loue the truth of God Fourthly it weaneth vs from the loue of this world and worketh in vs a longing to be dissolued and to bee with Christ which otherwise wee would hardly doe even as children would hardly forbeare sucking vnlesse the teat bee striken with wormewood or some other bitter and distastfull iuyce Lastly si compatimur etiam conregnabimus if wee suffer with Christ wee shall also raigne with him Exceeding great shall be our reward in heaven saith Christ. Here on earth shall we reape the peaceable fruite of righteousnesse and in heaven an exceeding weight of glory wherewith our sufferings are no way to be compared Thus by Scripture experience malice of adversaries divine ordinance it plainly appeares that every one that will come after Christ must of necessity beare his crosse I adde farther he must not only beare it but hee must take it vp also and that Daily He must not only endure it with patience but also willingly ioyfully thankfully Willingly for so did Christ who foreseeing it and hauing power to avoide it yet would not Nothing that is forced pleaseth God but only that which is voluntarie Ioyfully so did the Apostles reioycing that they were accounted worthy to suffer shame for the name of Christ and our Saviour commanded vs in the midst of persecutions to reioyce be exceeding glad Nor but that affliction is in it selfe and for the present greevous not ioyous but inasmuch as it is for Christs sake and to giue testimony vnto the truth Thankfully in regard of the benefit and reward we reape thereby So did Moses esteeme the reproach of Christ greater riches then the treasures of Aegypt And it is reason wee should thanke the Chirurgion that cures vs as well for his Corrosiues as his Lenitiues Neither must wee only take vp the crosse willingly ioyfully thankfully but also daily that is with constancy and perseverance He fighteth not the good fight that finisheth not his course It is not sufficient to beare out a brunt or two vnlesse hauing done all we stand God regardeth not so much the beginning as the end Finis coronat opus it is the end that crowneth the worke The reward is promised non pugnanti sed vincenti not to him that fighteth but to him that overcometh In a word he that continueth to the end
the naturall light of humane reason can afford which what a glow-worme it is and how subiect to mistaking who sees not Aristotle whose eyes were as sharpe sighted and peircing into these matters as ever any mans yet confesseth we are but owly-eyed in them and the Pyrrhonian Philosophers saw so much vncertainty in most things that they grew to maintaine an impossibility of knowing any thing So vaine is man in his imaginations and so full of darkenesse is his foolish heart that when they professe themselues to be most wise they become the starkest fooles But the truths of this divine science being supernaturall haue their certainty from a supernaturall light even the revelation of Gods spirit which can neither deceiue nor bee deceiued according to that of our Sauiour Flesh and blood hath not revealed this vnto thee but my Father which is in Heauen This is the light shining in the darke vntill the day dawne the day-starre rising in our hearts the Certitude of Faith which is simply and absolutely so because no falsehood can possibly be vnder it and being as Chrysostome saith more firme then all Demonstration as standing not in the enticeing speech of mans wisdome but in plaine evidence of the spirit and of Power True it is that this our Science sometime receiueth from humane wisdome yet not because shee needs it but because wee neede it nor for any defect or vncertainty in it but for the weaknesse of our vnderstanding which by those things that are knowne to naturall reason is more easily brought to vnderstand those things which are aboue reason For otherwise she is so farre from receiuing her Principles from any other Science that shee either allowes or controls all their rules and maxims as being their soveraigne Queene and Mistresse And thus much of the excellency of the Science of Divinity now of the Efficacy of the Ministry As is the man so is his strength saith the Proverbe in like manner as is our science so is our Ministry that the most noble therefore this the most powerfull That is most powerfull which worketh most effectually to atchieue ' its end and the more difficult the end is to bee attained the greater is the power that attaineth it Now what is the end of the Ministry It is as Saint Paul saith to build vp the body of Christ to open mens eyes and to turne them from darkenesse to light and from the power of Satan vnto God that they may receiue forgiuenesse of sins and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith in Christ that is in a word to make men partakers both of the state of grace in this life and of eternall glory in the life to come An employment as of highest consequence so of greatest difficulty that Saint Paul wondreth who might be sufficient for it Chrysostome saith that the Angels themselues would tremble to vndergoe the burthen Yet hath it pleased the wisdome of God in earthly vessels to convey vnto vs these heavenly treasures and to make the Ministry of weake mortall men mighty in operation able to pull downe strong holds and to cast downe imaginations and every high thing that exalteth it selfe against the knowledge of God and to captiue every thought to the obedience of Christ. Hence is it that Esay calleth the word of God the arme of the Lord and Saint Paul the preaching of the Gospell the power of God vnto salvation Hence that God himselfe affirmeth that his word shall never returne vnto him void but shall accomplish that which he will and prosper in the thing whereto he sends it Is it is not strange that the wolfe should dwell with the lambe and the leopard with the kid and calfe and the lion and the fat beast lye together and a little child lead them That the cow and the beare should feede together and their young ones lye downe together and the Lyon eate straw like the Oxe That the sucking child should play on the hole of the aspe and the weaned child put his hand on the Cockatrices den and all without either hurt or danger Yet all this is done through the knowledge of the Lord and by the power of our Ministry This is it that filleth vp every vally and levelleth every mountaine and hill that maketh the crooked straight and the rough waies smooth that all flesh may see the salvation of God The meaning of which allegoricall speech I cannot better expresse then in the words of Lactantius giue mee the man that is cholericke a railer vnruly and with a few words of God I will make him as meeke as a lambe Giue mee him that is greedy covetous gripple and I will make him liberall and giue bountifully with his owne hands giue me him that is fearefull of paine and death eftsoones shall he contemne his gibbets fires and Phalaris bull Giue me the lecher the adulterer the taverne haunter and by and by shalt thou see him sober chast and continent Giue me the cruell and bloud thirsty man and his fury shall soone be turned into clemency Finally giue me the vniust man the foole the sinner and forthwith hee shall be iust and wise and innocent Such and so great is the power of this divine wisdome that it quickly changeth a man and transformes him into another shape so as ye can hardly know him to be the same Neither let any man thinke that these are but words no they haue ordinarily beene and are daily done Did not Ionas with one sermon humble the pride of the King of Niniveh and all that mighty citty into sackcloth and ashes Did not Peter at his first preaching to the Iewes pricke them to the heart and at once adde about three thousand soules vnto the Church Did not Paul discoursing of iustice and temperance and iudgement to come make Felix the governour although a heathen yet to tremble But what speake I of particulars which are infinite Never did Alexander or Cesar with their huge hosts of armed men win so great victories or erect such troopes of honour to themselues as did the holy Apostles vnto the name of Christ. They were in number but twelue for the most part poore fishermen and vnlettered and despised in the eye of the world and yet within a few yeares armed only with the sword of the mouth and the power of this Ministry they conquered the whole world and subdued it to the obedience of Christ. And whom they subdued they so setled in the Faith that rather then they would renounce it they were content to endure most exquisite torments and to loose a thousand liues In like manner hath the Ministry hitherto prevailed and shall successiuely vnto the worlds end How many families of Philosophers haue heretofore failed without successor How many sects of Hereticks are vanished and melted away as dew before the sunne But the Church