accoūt that we go about a very hard worke that we go to encoūter with Satā hand to hand who seketh then most busily to steale away our hart that he may make the word fruitles in vs cause vs to sinne greuously against God Ther is no one man which maketh cōscience of hearing the word rightly which setting these things together the reuerēce we owe vnto it the stedines of our mind which should be vpon it and the care to kéepe it but will easily graunt that it is as hard and painful a trauell to do this as for the man that worketh in the sorest bodely labour Héere is therefore a lesson for euery man to apply to himself when he is going to heare the word to thinke I am now going about a great worke I shall be too weake if the Lorde God doe not mightelye assist me for I am not to sit down there at ease but to wrastle and struggle with the Diuell with all the corruptions of mine owne flesh and hardnesse of my heart that my minde maye be kept stedfast vpon the word that I maye receiue it with all reuerence feare as the worde of the great and glorious God not to iudge of it at mine owne pleasure but to craue wisedome from the Lord not to heare it and to let it go but to kéep it as a most precious Iewell locked vp in my heart that I may guide my selfe thereby And we shall be a great deale the rather moued to this diligence if we consider what a companion we carie about with vs and what a guest we lodge withall when we he such as heare the word and doe not kéepe it For Christ telleth vs that it is the diuell which doeth this which as a gréedie Fowle deuoureth the séede which was sowen in our heart if any make none account to haue him possessing their minde hardening their harts against the word then let them continue in their sloth to heare with drousie minds to heare not to vnderstand to regard the holy word but as the word of a man to make little account to kéepe it But if he thinke it a most miserable thing to haue so filthy a beast and so foule a spirit to lodge in his brest if he thinke it to be a most vile slauery to be vanquished ouercome of so horrible an enimy to be lead captiue kept thrall vnder such a tyrant then let him thinke also how miserable a thing it is to be such a kind of ground as doth receiue the séede by the way side for vndoubtedly howsoeuer men seeme to defy the diuell and curse him as though he should not come nigh them yet séeing it is no mortall man but the Lord Iesus Christ himselfe who telleth vs héere that the diuell is not onely nigh but in these kinde of hearers euen hardening theyr heartes blinding their eies we ought most constantly to beléeue it He that shall déeply weigh the estate of our church at this day wil soone be brought to confesse that there be many of this first sort of hearers they shall perceiue it right well by this that they are not able in any wise to iudge or put difference betwéene sound and sincere preaching and vaine pratling they know not when the Preacher doth minister vnto thē wholsome foode when there is nothing but chaffe winde ye shal heare them highly commend some Sermon as a matter worthy to be written in letters of gold when as indéed it deserueth not so much as to be noted with a coale I speak not of those sily wretches which were neuer as yet acquainted with preaching for it is no great maruell though they be not able to discerne chalke from chéese or being blind for to iudge of coulours but to such as long time haue ben hearers yet neuer the wiser because they are not able to iudge when sound and necessary conclusions are drawne out of the word but is al one with them whether the reason that is made be good or bad strong or weake yea further ye shall perceiue that euen a little shew of a reason although neuer so doltish being against true godlinesse doth more preuaile with them then a multitude of infallible proofes although they be neuer so sure and that which is so grose absurd that a childe may laugh at séemeth to them a verye strong piller to leane vnto Ther néedeth no more when a man preacheth vnto them but a glorious shew of learning a swéet ringing voice matters so strange straungely handeled that they may be brought into a wonderment of that they know not And Satan hath many chapplaines fit for this turne to serue the vain humor of such people to set forth thēselues after a pompous sort more séeking their owne vaine glory then the glorye of the Gospell in the conuersion of the people The second kinde of ground are they which receiue the séed vpon the hard rock where ther is some entrance the word hath a shallow root in them for as it were the top of their heart is soft after a sort and there it is couered a litle it groweth vp quickly and springeth fresh they séeme to be stout and excellent professours they brag of great zeale a man would take them to be sincere so they take themselues but when the Sun ariseth that is the firie trial or parching heat of persecution they stumble fal away and because the word had no déepe roote in them it withereth and bringeth forth no fruit these also are not profited by the word of grace but are stil cast awayes and damned creatures in this kinde of ground or in these hearers if we note well we shall sée that which is straunge and wonderfull when Christ sayth and testifieth of them that they receiue the word with ioy these hée not blasphemers or persecutors of the word they be not contemners which regarde not at all to heare it they come not vnder a shew or pretence as to a thing which otherwise they haue no care nor féeling of or which they delight not for to heare but how They receiue it with ioy take such pleasure therein that returning they can say surely this was a very notable péece of worke wel handeled I am glad that I heard it it doth me euen as much good as my meate I would go a mile to heare the like again Is not this then meruailous and fearefull that a man may goe thus far yet be a castaway and a forlorne wretch It is not a thing to be wondered at when the holy scriptures giue sentence against those traiterous villaines which set thēselues against God and tread down his laws but when God vttereth this sharp sentence against this zealous kinde of men if it cause vs not to wonder yet it may make vs to tremble when we see y◠a man may procéed thus far in religion yet be damned When
we vnderstand that a man may be zealous redy to heare preaching vnderstandeth carrieth away letteth it grow in his hart hath some ioy in it and yet neuer the better abiding still vnder the curse But there be some which will obiect against me say this is no good manner of teaching for the vse of true teaching is to build vp and edifie the faith but this séemeth to take away the certeintie of faith from al so that no man can tell whether he shall be saued For by what meanes can a man make a better triall proofe of his faith then this that he giueth eare to Gods word vnderstaÌ„deth it carieth it away ioyeth in it If such a maÌ„ may be damned who may not dispaire I auniÌ„were with S. Paule 1. Cor. 10. 12. He that thinketh he standeth let him take héed he do not fal If yâ— admonition were necessary to the Corinthes it is necessary for vs al One of the principall ends vses of preaching is to giue men warning that they doe not deceiue themselues with euery kind of faith or ioy in the word but to looke for good sound triall in themselues which is not the way to bring men to dispaire but to bring them to true godlinesse to cause them to shake of securitie loosenesse in the seruice of God to beware least their heartes be hard still within it causeth men to try theÌ„selues least they shuld be deceiued by a vaine shadow of a dead fruitlesse faith for Christ saith that these beléeue for so it is expressed by S. Luke the 8. 13. ioy in the word and yet are damned Then let vs come to the particular applieng of this point to sée howe wée are to deale with our selues WheÌ„ ye receiue the word take héede that ye giue it depth of earth inough looke that your heart be not soft and pliable inough a little aboue and a hard rocke of stone within but sée that it be digged and softened to the bottome that the word may take root déepe inough Alas what a miserable thing is it when Christ hath giuen vs warning héere so plainly for a man to be a zealous Gospeller not onelye willing to heare but hath an earnest desire and trauelfeth to heare taketh pleasure delight when he heareth yet neuertheles because he taketh no héed therto his heart within is so stony that he heareth but to his further increse of damnation Many think it goeth well with theÌ„ when as they receiue this testimonie froÌ„ men he is a sound Protestant he fauoureth delighteth in the truth these indéed be great tokens of yâ— feare of god but yet we are not to rest in theÌ„ our chiefe dealing is betwéene God our heart that in this thing whether our heart be not hard and rockie Those are a thousand times happie which féele melting hearts soft affections so that Gods word doth pearse into them and causeth them to tremble at the maiesty power of the same their tender heart doth sigh mourne for their iniquitie As on the coÌ„trary part they which make no conscience of sinne but are hardened in their affections although they séeme to be in good case yet are they cursed and miserable Let euery man therefore that goeth from the Sermon carry this with him I heare by Christes owne words that there is a stonie ground where the séede falleth where it groweth but not déep inough it springeth vp but doth not bring forth fruite this is a wofull case if I should be in the number of these for then all my labour is lost which I bestow in frequenting Sermons yea it were much better that I had neuer heard I féele that I ioy in it I would not for any thing but I had heard it but Christ saith that the reprobate some of them do heare the word with ioy so that if I looke not narrowly to mine owne hart I may for all this be damned therfore I must not satisfie my selfe with this but see that I couer the worde déepe inough that my heart be softned in such sort that I féele the roote goeth déepe yea so déepe that it can neuer bée rooted out And therefore let him continually crie vnto God and say O Lord make softe my harde and stonie heart let it be a melting heart that thy holy worde may growe in it for euer I woulde to GOD this doctrine of our Sauiour Christ might make euerye of vs to tremble and shake as indéede if it were well weighed it is so fearfull that it might cause the haire of our heades to stand vp for then would we not so loosely and securely walke in the hardnes of our hearts there would not be so manye backsliders in time of persecution there would not be so many braue boasters and praters of Religion who are ready to pull in their horns and to kide their heades so soone as there is anye feare of daunger or lykelyhoode of persecution neither would men beare themselues in hand that they â—e iolly Professors when they haue but a little tasted of the word and are no more but emptie barrels which giue a great sounde Héere then we be set a work with great toyle to haue this same harde stonye ground made soft and fit to receiue this heauenlye séede And he which is not carefull in this poynt to take paines ye shall sée him waxe so hard that euen as a continuall rayne dropping vppon a Rocke of stone maketh it neuer the softer so nothing can make his heart to relent This may teach vs then to cease maruelling when we sée so many which willingly giue themselues to be taught and haue still little remorre of sinne The Lord for his mercie sake make vs wise and sharpe sighted to iudge of our selues not to be leade on forwarde in a carnall profession but to giue credite to our heauenlye teacher who hath héere opened his holy mouth to instruct vs so plainlye and before hande to warne vs of the great daunger that we may stir vp our selues and de quickened in our dull spirits with all humble submission and boowing downe our neckes to receiue the doctrine of our Lorde and to open our heartes in such sorte that hée may digge in them and thrust in his spade to the bottome For otherwise it cannot goe well with vs. If this wer practised among vs we shoulde not haue so many olde rustie Protestants which if a man talk with them from morning to night they are able to continue speach in reciting stories and places of Scripture and will vtter matter agaynst the doctrine of the Pope but let a man vrge them with the doctrine of regeneration and stande vpon the necessitie of sincere repentaunce showing them that they must be trulye humbled vnder the burthen of theyr sinnes that they must mortifie and subdue their carnall lusts this is to hard a crust for their old téeth This matter doth marre all this
doeth robbe them of their glorie and therefore they cannot willynglye abide to heare of it Let vs come now to the third kinde of ground which receyueth the séed among the thorns héere is depth inough of earth so that as the second sort of hearers séemed to go far beyond the first so these séeme to goe farre beyond them and to come nigher to eternall life for héere the word doth grow and hath roote so déepe that it springeth foorth so farre that Christ saith it groweth vp and the thornes grow vp with it the stalk doth shoote foorth the eare and lacketh but riping For this may be proued by Saint Luke who saith that they be not Telesphorountes that is such as beare ripe and timely fruite for these professors doe many good workes and séeme to bring forth the fruites of the Gospell and that in such wise that men cannot alwayes discerne them but thinke their déedes to be notable but Christ Iesus doth shew that their works before God who onely cannot be deceyued are as Corne which lacketh riping which béeing ouershadowed with bushes withereth in the eare and commeth to naught this is a daungerous case if we looke not to it That a man may heare the Gospell preached carrie it away be moued thereby to doe many good workes and yet be damned He is a thousande folde madde therefore which doeth not looke to himselfe in this point to trye what soundnesse there is in the fruits of his faith and how sincerely he doth imbrace Gods word As before I sayde that some would obiect and say this wil destroy the faith so am I sure that héere it will be said much more because this séemeth to take away the surest tryal of faith if a man may not by and by saye I haue good workes therefore I haue the true and lyuely faith I aunswere that whosoeuer hath any good worke in him the same hath the true faith which hath brought foorth that good worke because it is impossible without faith to do any good thing or to haue any good motion or intent but withall I saye that it is one thing to séeme good before men and another thing for to be good indéede before God In outwarde appearaunce there is little difference betwéene the good déeds of them which feare God sincerely and the vntimely fruite of worldlyngs but God whose eye doth not looke vpon the outward shew but the inward affection séeth which procéedeth of faith and which doth procéede of vaine glorie or some other sinister respect putteth as great difference betwéene them as he did betwéen the sacrifices of Cayn Abel We must take héed then that the fruits of our faith be ripe timely otherwise they be good but in shew We must come then to sée first what these thorns are in S. Mathew they are called the cares of this world the deceitfulnes of riches in Saint Luke the cares of riches pleasures of this lyfe And in very deed these thornes doe grow together For were it not for the pleasures of this life there would be no cares of riches he which doth séeke gréedelye for wealth it is eyther because he woulde be able to haue wherewithall to fill the lusts of yâ— flesh and to pamper his body delicately or els to set forth himselfe in pride to clyme ambitiously to honour For so long as a man doth take pleasure in any of these so long he is couetous raketh together so much that as the common saieng is he raketh vp the Diuell and all What must we doe then Our heartes are as a ground that is ranke bringeth foorth many wéeds we are set a work as God speaketh by his Prophet Ieremy chap. 4. 4. Plow vp your falow sow not among the thorns we must put all diligeÌ„ce care that our hearts may be rid of such noisome wéeds as will choke the word of God make that it shal not bring forth fruit in vs. So long as we suffer any of these in vs either to loue daintie delycate féeding of our flesh and to fill our selues with the lusts thereof or to be gallant in the eies of men hautely to lift vp our selues in our vainglorious mindes for the maintenance of these delights bend our care to the world so long shall we be vnprofitable scholers in the school of Christ Alas poore men which wold faine come to God yet are glewd to the world they offer one hand to Christ the other to the diuel they can talke of the spirit yet are led by the flesh the gospel is in their mouth couetousnesse lodgeth in their hearts their workes glister are gréene before men and are withered before God they séeme to be faithfull are faithles to be heires of glory yet are the children of coÌ„fusioÌ„ Ther are great pleÌ„tie of these herers specialy in such places wher ther is wealth and honours how many fall away cheked with the world And yet we are not afraid of our selues to take héede that we stand fast A great mercie of God it is that we haue not onely the doctrine layed before vs but also fearfull examples so that we may buy our wit with other mens cost For when we sée the world with delights and pleasures with conetousnesse and ambition to carrie away those which professe the Gospell is not our owne matter in hande are not we made of the same mettall they are doth not the world assault vs as it doth them Yes and we shal be ouercome also if the Lorde haue not mercie vpon vs. The hardnesse of this worke ought not to discorage or make vs slack but hearing what Christ saith whome we ought to beléeue the more harde the more we are to stirre vp our selues vnlesse we make small reckoning of the saluation of our soules He that shall yéeld and giue ouer the digging vp of these thornes because he perceiueth they grow déepe in his heart and spring as fast as he can cut them is not worthy to enter into life be which will not continually till and wéede this grounde may well haue the Gospell in some sorte for to grow in him but not to saue him Déerly beloued we must be surely perswaded of this that as there be many godly men so haue they atteined it with great labour and toile yea they are still set a worke and cannot come to an end because these thornes cannot be vtterlye roâ—ted out Those are greatly ouerséene which thinke it to be an easie thing to professe Christ vnto saluation make no further account but to bée Gospellers at ease if they can vanquish in disputatioÌ„ to thinke they haue won the field no no they haue a heart which is harde to ouercome they haue thornes which wil not easily be destroied héere lieth the victory and getting of the spurs this man shall be crowned because he hath willingly giuen vp himselfe to the power of Gods grace
to purge his heart and to make roome for the holy worde that it may grow there alone and not be ouershadowed and choaked Now let vs marke well that which is sayde héere both of the stonie and also of the thornie ground how farre they procéede in professing Christ and imbracing his Gospell and we shall plainely sée how greatly those carnal Gospellers which will not haue faith to be tried by the fruits are deceiued Faith faith say they is that which doth iustifie it is true indéede but not a fruitlesse faith whosoeuer beléeueth shal be saued it is euen so but not after euery kinde of beliefe for then why should not these two sorts of herers be saued it is meruailous when the Scripture is so euident our sauiour Christ speaketh so plainly that this grose doltish errour shoulde possesse the minds of so many But indéed it is a swéet doctrine when a man may let loose the raines to all the lusts of the slesh at the least thus farre not to vere torment himselfe in subduing them yet by faith to be saued When heauen hell méete together and God and the diuel be reconciled then shal these fleshly Epicures and vaine proude men come to their happinesse When Christ shall denie that which he hath héere vttered then shall these bée true beléeuers Let men therfore take héede that they be not deceiued nor made slacke in looking to the fruits of their faith mortification of vaine fleshly lusts through the prophane pratling of such worldly belly Gods beléeue not them but beléeue Iesus Christ who telleth you that it is not inough to heare the word to receiue it with ioy to let it grow in vs vnlesse it bring forth reasonable and timelye fruit in vs. Againe let vs marke how strong and inuincible an Argument may be gathered out of this text against all contemners and despisers of the word such as care not for hearing these thrée sorts of hearers are before theÌ„ néerer to christianitie then they and yet come short therefore it must néeds follow that such ignorant Atheists as neither know nor desire to knowe any thing aboue this world are very far from God although they would séeme with their mouth lips to draw néere vnto him For if this matter were well obserued men would not regard nor haue those men in estimation to be good honest who are very dogs or swine not regarding the precious pearle of the Gospel but redy to bark bite at those which bring it Let a man inquire thus not of a few but of the greatest part of men how saie yée to such a man what thinke ye of him he is saye they a verye good man a good natured man a gentle person trustie to his frieÌ„d sure of his word doth kéepe as good an house as anye man of his calling in all this shire But how is he affected vnto Gods word is he zealous in religioÌ„ Nay surely I did neuer heare that he did deale yâ— way he is a very quiet man no medler at al. O notable honest man as deuout in the laws of God as the horse which he rideth vpon as careful to haue gods glorie aduaunced as the swine in the â—â—ie a great deale behinde these vnprofitable hearers which are â—â—â—â—â— waies yet forsooth being very bruit beasts before God in the state they be in yet vnlesse the Lord call them to bée zealous of his glorye they must be reputed for the best men Our fieldes are full of such Cattell as these and if the Lord do not put too his helping hand our case is very miserable If any of those which were so zealous to heare that they woulde to their hinderaunce in worldly matters leaue off their businesse and follow preaching as these which flocked to heare Christ wer yet neuerthelesse relected because they did not so sincerely as they should what shal we say of those which wil not step out at their dores euen when they haue nothing to do vnles it be to sit at cards or tables If such a man maye be damned as is mooued with some delight when he heareth the worde preached What shall we iudge of those woodden blockes and sottish men who féele no more ioye in it then a post when it is vttered vnto them If ther be some go to destruction which conforme themselues and haue a shew of fruite by the worde wher shal those wretches appeare whom the holy word of God cannot moue one whit to reforme their disordered beastly behauiours I néede not stande to mueigh out of this place against those helhounds which dare opeÌ„ their mouths to reproch and slaunder the setting forth of the Gospell The Lord diminish the number of them The last kind of ground are the good hearers which do not onely receiue the séede but also bring forth the fruits ther of Although not euery one a lyke or in the same measure for some bring forth an hundreth folde some sixtie fold some thirtie folde according to the measure of Gods graces in them Although héere be great ods in bringing forth the fruits yet they be all accepted and accompted for good grounde true Christians and sincere professors of godlinesse now as we be taught héere that it is required of all to be doers as S. Iames saith and not hearers only cha 1. ver 22. so are we also taught not to despise or rashly to condemne those which do not bring forth so great a measure of fruit as others do True it is as Christ saith héerein is my father glorified that ye bring forth much fruite Iohn 15. 8. But it is also as true which he saith in the second verse of the same chapter Euery braunch that bringeth forth fruite he purgeth that it may bring forth more fruite Then to bring forth most is most of all to be desired that God maye haue the greatest glory to bring forth the least is not to be contemned because the Lord in time doth purge theÌ„ make them more fruitfull I néed not to stand héere for to handle manye things or to make large exposition the matter is excéeding plaine ther is no more but this that all our care in hearing professing the Gospell be to receiue it into good ground and to bring forth the fruites thereof What should I stand to rip vp the shamefull abuse in the contrary to vtter how manie euill fruits ther be in many which are Gospellers This shuld be but as it were to light a candle in the cléere Sun shine for all men do sée them I do not speake this as though it should not be good to crie out against them but because the former things which I haue now vttered doe fully disclose them And therefore I will héere ende desiring the Lord to write these things in our harts which we haue heard with our outward eares and to make vs good ground to receiue the heauenly séede to bring forth fruites of the same that glorifieng him in this world we may be glorified of him in the world to come through Iesus Christ our Lorde Amen FINIS