true hearts of your subiectes Oh turne and employ these to the glory of God that God may cōfirm in your Grace the thing which he hath begun To this ende hath GOD placed Kinges and Princes in their state as Dauid saith that they serue the Lorde that they may see and cause others to see to the furniture of the Church The good Emperor Iustinian cared for this as much as for his life Constantine Theodosius Valentinian other godly Princes called themselues Vasallos the subiects and bond seruants of God They remembred that God furnished them in their houses and were not vnmindful to furnish his house When Augustus had beautified Rome with setting vp many faire buildings he said Inueni lateritiam marmoream reddidi I foūd it made of bricke but I leaue it made of marble Your grace when God sent you to your inheritance and the right of this Realme founde the church in horrible confusion and in respect of y ◠true worship of God a church of brick or rather as Ezechiel saith daubed vp with vnseasoned morter Your grace hath already redressed the doctrine now cast your eyes towardes the Ministerie giue courage countenance vnto learning that Gods house may be serued so shal you leaue a Church of God a testimonie that the zeale of the Lords house hath eaten you vp And you O dearely beloued if there be any such which are neither hot nor colde which doe the work of the Lord negligently which esteem the word of GOD but as a matter of pollicie which are ashamed to bee called Professours of the Gospel of Christ pray vnto God that he wil increase your zeale Let vs continue rooted and built in Christ and stablished in the faith Let vs haue care for the house of God Whosoeuer is not after this sort zealous is a man of a double heart We may not halt between two opinions If the Lord be God follow him but if Baal be he then go after him he that is not with Christ is against him Many talke of the Gospel and glorie in their knowledge but it is neyther talke nor knowledge whiche shal saue them in that day He that feareth the Lorde and serueth him with a pure heart and may truely saye the zeale of thine house hath consumed me he shall be saued If they shall not escape which haue zeale without knowledge what shall become of vs which haue knowledge without zeale And you whosoeuer you are that by such meanes haue decayed the Lordes House and abridged the prouision and maintenaunce thereof and see the miserable wracke of Gods Churche if there be any zeale of God in you if you haue any felowshippe of the spirite if any compassion and mercy if you loue God if you desire the continuance of the Gospel oh remember you haue the patrimonie due vnto them that shoulde attend in the Lordes house you take vnto your selues wrongfully that which was not lotted for you Giue vnto Caesar those things which belong to Caesar and vnto GOD the thinges which appertaine to him and make for the beauty and furniture of his house Enrich your selues by lawfull meanes and without the spoyle and waste of Gods Church Let not the Ministery by your meanes be despised You enriched them which mocked blinded deuoured you Spoyle not them now that feed and instruct and comfort you Let vs seeke the glory of God Let vs at length serue the Lorde and not our bellie and greedy wantonnesse So shal God blesse you and prosper you in al your affaires so shal he strike a terrour of you into all forreine Princes that dwell about you so shall your heart be kept stedfast in the hande of God so shal your heart be perfect before the Lorde so shall you leaue suche as shall alwayes praise the Lorde in Sion so shall you see your childrens children and peace vpon Israel And thou O most mercifull Father graunt that thy wordes be not spoken in vayne it is thy cause Thou art our father we are as claye in thine handes Thou hast the key of our hearts Giue zeale to them that haue knowledge giue knowledge to them that haue zeale that they may be inflamed and rauished with the loue of thy house to sorrow for the decay thereof and to doe al their indeuour to build vp and establish the same for euer Amen Matthew 9. Then said he to his disciples Surely the haruest is great but the labourers are few Wherefore pray the Lord of the haruest that he would send labourers forth into his haruest CHrist our Sauiour after he was baptized by Iohn tēpted by Satan in the wildernes began to execute y ◠Cōmission wherunto his father had sent him chose vnto him self a number of disciples to be at his commandement and so tooke his progresse through a great part of the Countrey In the meane way in euery place where he came he taught the people that the kingdome of God was come amongst them he healed their diseases wrought straunge miracles before their eies and gaue manye singular and euident tokens of his comming But specially he behelde in what state the poore people stood touching their readines in receiuing Gods truth in al the countrey where he had byn therfore at the end of his circuite he was moued w t pity said he saw thē in most woful case forsaken and lost as if they had byn a flocke of sheepe without a heard and that not through their owne malice but through the wilful blindnesse and negligence of them that were set to guide them Sheepe as Aristotle and Plinie write of them are a simple kinde of cattell profitable to many vses ready to receiue all maner wrongs without skil to helpe or succour it selfe it coueteth to breake out of the folde or close if it may espie any hole open it strayeth and wandreth abroade many times hangeth in the briers many times is taken vp by the Wolfe it is euer in dāger of the wynd rayne yea of the very grasse and water it liueth by and thereof is infected oftentimes with a number of maladies so that the health and safety of the sheepe resteth only in the care and diligence of the shephearde To such a kind of cattel are the people likened Christ saith not they were like vnruly sheep that would not be guided by their heard but he saith They were like poore lost sheep that had no heard at al. For the people of thēselues were not vnwilling to receiue the Gospel but there was none to instruct them And for that he addeth an other similitude to declare the same and saith The haruest indeed is great but the workmen are but few the corne is ripe ready to be cut but there lack hands to fetch it in The comming of these times was promised long afore euen from the first creation of mankinde but the perfourmance thereof at the first was darke and as it were wrapt vp and hid
the Gospel to be heresie and that the things which he hath done for vs are wrought by the power of Beelzebub and which as good watchmen attending their warde may stirre vp the people to knowe the season that the night is passed and the day is come that it is time to cast away the workes of darkenesse and to put on the armour of light shall witnesse for them what zeale they beare to the house of God If the ministers be mindefull to perfourme their duetie if the Lordes haruest be not neglected if the defence for the Gospel finde vpright Iudges if all that giue outward shew of zeale be in deede zealous and worke the fruites of zeale what hope may they of Iericho haue that their cursed dwellings shal stand or why shall Israel mistrust that the Temple of God shall not receiue againe the former and perfect beautie Nowe because euery where in these sermons hee commendeth the necessary vse of godly learning and is an humble suter for patronage thereof I can not but present them vnto your honours our patrones and fathers right honourable Chauncelours of both the Vniuersities that seeing the benefite of this your gracious protection hath and doeth and shall reache it selfe so farre to do so much good to the whole Church of God you may at home and with your selues reioyce in the comfort of a good conscience for the manifold fruites of your fauour bestowed in such sort and all that haue the loue of the trueth may earnestly praye vnto God for your honours that he will continue his goodnesse towardes you and giue you long and prosperous dayes in this life and after a ioyfull enterance into his glorie Your honours most humble to command Iohn Garbrande ⧠Certaine Sermons of B. Iewell Ioshua 6. And Iericho was shut vp and closed because of the children of Israel neither might any man goe out or in 2. And the Lorde saide vnto Ioshua behold I haue giuen into thine hand Iericho and the King thereof and the strong men of warre 3. And yee shall compasse all the Citie c. IN diuers maners god spake opened himselfe to our fathers by visions dreames by sacraments by angels by plaine expresse words by allegories by secret mystical vnderstanding where one thing is couered vnder another And al this did he that he might cōdescende to our capacitie that wee might bee conuerted and saued that we might be guyded in the right way and not goe aside neither to the right hande nor to the left By vision GOD spake to Ezechiel as appeareth in the firste Chapter of his prophecie The wheeles which he saw were horible to behold they were ful of rings and the rings were full of eyes the foure beasts were also terrible they had faces like a man like a lion like a bullock and like an eagle In dream God spake to Samuel saying Beholde I wil doe a thing in Israel wherof whosoeuer shal heare his two eares shall tingle c. Touching Sacramentes God him selfe saith Thou shalt shew thy Sonne in that day saying this is done because of that which the Lord did vnto me whē I came out of Egipt thou shalt set apart vnto the lord al that first openeth the wombe c. And whē thy sonne shal aske thee to morrow saying What is this thou shalt then say vnto him with a mighty hande the Lorde brought vs out of Egypt out of the house of bondage For when Pharao was hard hearted agaynst our departure the Lord then slue al the first borne in the lande of Egypt from the first born of man euen to the first born of beast therefore I sacrifice vnto the Lorde all the males that first open the wombe but al the first borne of my sonnes I redeeme Sometimes he spake by Angels as by sundrye examples it may appeare Sometimes by him selfe in his owne person as he spake to Moses face to face Sometimes by playne expresse wordes Thou shalt loue the Lorde thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soule and with all thy might And againe Thou shalt haue none other goddes before my face thou shalt make thee no grauen image c. These are playne woordes these are the woordes which our Lord GOD hath spoken Some tymes he expressed his holy will not in words or visions or in such sort as I haue shewed but onely by some mysticall or secret Allegory by some deede which the people sawe done before their eyes of which kynd is this which we haue now to consider Therefore hath God sayde by the Prophet What coulde I haue done any more to my vineyard that I haue not done vnto it What shoulde I doe but it hath byn done What shoulde I say but it hath been sayde what warning shoulde I giue but it hath byn giuen I haue byn carefull for my people that they shoulde repent and turne to me that all Israel shoulde be saued If they perish I am free from their destruction they perishe in their owne wilfulnesse they haue none excuse Now touching an Allegory whereof we are at this present to say God opened his minde sometimes not by wordes but by some notable kinde of deede and the people heard GOD speak vnto them not with their eares but with their eyes The people of Israel as they were passing through the wildernesse lacked water to drinke and were like to perishe there stood a mighty great Rocke of harde stone whiche Moses smote with his rodde it opened and yelded out a great streame of water the whole people dranke of it and was refreshed the same people being likewise in the same wildernesse vtterly voyde of bread and all other substenance was like to famish God sent them Manna from heauen aboue they gathered it they ground it and they ate of it it was sweet and delicate and full of comfort This was an Allegorie that is to say a secret and mysticall kinde of vtterance For by this Manna and by this Rocke the people was ledde to vnderstand and thinke on that bread and that water that should come from heauen Saint Paul saith the Rocke was Christ his side was clouen his blood issued out it is a water springing vp into euerlasting life we drink of it and liue for euer So likewise that Manna was the bodie of Christ the people did eate of it and liued by it Christ had not yet taken vppon him a naturall bodye yet they did eate his bodie he had not yet shedde his blood yet they dranke his blood Saint Paule saith all did eate the same spirituall meate that is the body of Christ and all did drinke of the same spirituall drinke that is the blood of Christ and that as verily and as truely as we doe nowe and who so euer then did so eate Christ liued for euer not because the rocke was turned into his flesh or the water into his blood it was an Allegory as
zeale haue they who as saith Naziāzen defend Christ against Christ and defend the church against the church And these things do they not of malice nor of wilfulnes nor against their conscience but because they knowe not God the father nor his Christ whō he hath sent Therfore they trūble at Christe spurn away the gospel of God thinke ill speake euil of the word or life because they know not the Gospel of God nor the word of life Thus they perswade themselues that they defend the Church that they honour the sonne of God that they doe God great seruice and that they haue the zeale of God But this pride was euer in the heart of man and it appeared euen in our Graundsire Adam whatsoeuer liketh vs well wee thinke that cannot but please GOD. Suche is the opinion wee fondely conceiue in our fantasies in trust wherof whatsoeuer we doe we think our selues sure safe Origen writing vpon the place of the Apostle Zelum Dei habent sed non secundum scientiam They haue the zeale of God but not according to knowledge saith Similiter potest dicere Apostolus de alijs quod timorem Dei habeant sed non secundum scientiam de alijs c. In like maner the Apostle may say of others they haue the feare of God but not according to knowledge of others they haue the loue of God but not according to knowledge of another he hath the faith of God but not according to knowledge And another may be saide to fast but not according to knowledge And so in all thinges whatsoeuer we doe vnlesse wee haue knowledge vnderstanding it may be said vnto vs that we haue the zeale of a good worke but not according to knowledge Ideo danda est praecipue opera scientiae neres nobis infaeliciter accidat vt in fide positi frustremur a fide zelum habentes bonorum decidamus a bonis Therefore al heed is chiefly to be giuē to the attaining of knowledge least it goe not well with vs least we faile frō our faith whē we thinke we beleue thinking we haue a zeale of good workes wee bee founde voyde of all good workes The wise man saith This was not enough for thē that they erred in the knowledge of god but wheras they liued in great warres of ignorance those so manie and so great plagues they called peace The zeale that they had and the contentation of their heartes made them beleeue that all their superstition and idolatrie and other enormities was Catholike vnitie This zeale as on the one side it hath manye tokens of goodnes for that it hath a conscience and a feare and an obedience towardes God so on the other side it is very daungerous because it lacketh knowledge euen as a shippe for lacke of a Gouernaur is euer in daunger of the rockes and as the body whiche hath no eye is euer in daunger of falling Such kinde of zeale the greater it is the worser it is the more vehement it seemeth the more vthementlye it fighteth against God For our good meaning maketh not our doinges good our zeale is not a rule whereby we may measure our either our faith or our workes but onely the knowen will and pleasure of God Therefore speaketh God in this maner by the prophet Esai my thoughts are not your thoghts neither are your ways my wayes Therfore saith Salomon Trust in the Lord with al thine heart and leane not to thine own wisedome in al thy wayes acknowledge him and hee shal direct thy doings This counsel also doth Moses giue Take heed that ye do as the Lord your God hath commanded you turne not aside to the right hand nor to the left But the true and godly zeale proceedeth not from hypocrisie or intention but is led and trained by vnderstanding and is moulten into the heart and the vehemency and heat of it no man knoweth but he that feeleth it It taketh away the vse of reason it eateth and deuoureth vp the heart euen as the thing that is eaten is turned into the substance of him that eateth it and as iron whiles it is burning hot is turned into the nature of the fire so great and so iust is the griefe that they which haue this zeale conceiue when they see Gods house spoyled or his holye name dishonoured So saith Elias I haue been very ielous for y ◠Lord God of hosts for the childrē of Israel haue forsaken thy couenāt broken down thine altars slaine thy Prophets with the sword I onely am left and they seeke my life to take it away So when Moses found that the people had forsaken God and were fallen down before a moulten calfe did put their trust in the woorke of their owne hāds his wrath waxed hot he cast the tables out of his hād brake them in pieces beneath the mountaine His heart was so inflamed with zeale that he considered not what he had in his hande nor what hee did Ieremy when he sawe the disorder of the people and howe they were not mended with his preaching and woulde inwardly conceale the griefe he conceiued and purposed not to make mention of the Lorde nor to speake any more in his name yet could he not for his zeale found way and brake out His word saith he was in mine heart as a burning fire shut vp in my bones and I was weary with forbearing I could not stay And albeit there is much likenesse between the rage and fury of hypocrites and the godlye zeale of good men for either are hot either are vehement either wisheth redresse yet this is an euidēt differēce godly zeale is tempered seasoned with charity the vngodly is ioyned with bitternes reuenge y e godly seeketh to winne the vngodly to kill and to destroy The vngodly haue their handes full of blood they kill the Prophets they say We haue a lawe and by our lawe he must die They say Come let vs destroy them that they be no more a nation Let not the name of Israel be had any more in remembrance They burne the holy bookes of the Scriptures as did Aza and Antiochus They saye ransake it pull it downe case it to the foundation let nor one bee left aliue They digge vp the bodies of the dead out of their graues They shewe their cruelty vppon the bones and ashes which were long before buryed and well nigh consumed It grieueth them when they lacke vppon whome they may whet their blood thyrstie and cruell zeale It grieueth them no one thing else so much that they did not woorke surely and cut vp the roote Such is the zeale of the vngodly Euen such a zeale as was in Nero in Caligula of whom it is reported he wished that all the Romaines had but one necke that he might cut off all their beades at one stroke as was in Herode in Annas and Catphas
CERTAINE Sermons preached before the Queenes Maiestie and at Paules crosse by the reuerend father IOHN IEVVEL late Bishop of Salisburie Whereunto is added a short Treatise of the Sacraments gathered out of other his sermons made vpon that matter in his cathedrall Church at Salisburie Imprinted at London by Christopher Barker Printer to the Queenes most excellent Maiestie 1583 To the right honorable Sir William Cicil Knight Lorde high Treasorer of England and to the right honorable L. Robert Dudley Earle of Leicester two of her Maiesties most honorable priuie Counsaile most worthie Chauncelours of both the Vniuersities Oxforde and Cambridge VNtrue reportes and sclaunders can neither giue falsehoode any credite among the wise nor disgrace the due estimation of the trueth Howbeit it seemeth there are some which hope it will turne them to no small aduauntage if to other their secrete and wicked practises they ioyne a sleyght of ill speaking of sclaundering the writings the godly sayings the life and the death of those whome it hath pleased God to vse to the setting forth of his Gospel and thereby to the great comfort of his people Among others vpon whom this hath bene practised they haue made some especiall choice of the late Bishop of Salisburie a man of famous memorie whose life and death is truely and syncerely written by M. Doctour Humfrey Howsoeuer they dealt vncharitably with him in his life Christian and godly discretion would they should spare to reproche the dead Or if not so yet in wisedome they might foresee that when matters are called to tryall such things cannot passe for currant lawfull wherof some due proofe hath not bene yeelded Yet as though the discredit of that one man who in great humilitie did acknowledge himselfe inferiour to many godly fathers then liuing in this Church of England were ynough for them to ouerthrowe all that whole worke which the Almightie God hath by his right hand and strong arme established they deliuer by tradition certaine false obseruations of his either simple or negligent or wilfull and malicious gathering and abusing the holy Scriptures of God and the auncient writings of the Fathers It is a harde thing for him that speaketh much to speake nothing worthy iust reprehension But it is much harder to escape the reprehension of corrupt Iudges euen when he shal speake most vprightly His defence is abroade published by himselfe And notwithstanding the endeuour of a learned aduersarie was to empeache it yet by his last and a moderate answere he auouched it good and approued his plaine and syncere dealing to the consciences of all men Whom it may please to vnderstande after what sort he prepared himselfe to the accomplishment of those two notable bookes of the defence of the Apologie and the Replie which are as two double Canons prepared for the battery of errour and superstition must needes confesse his diligence and reuerent proceeding in such cause to haue bene such as for which he may well be compared with any whomsoeuer the former or this present age hath thought therefore worthie commendation For besides his aduised obseruation of all such things as in the aduersaries bookes deserued answere and besides that he disposed a summarie and full collection of such matter as he would vse for the disproofe of the same the which he conceiued in short notes this may be a notable testimonie that he had purpose to set downe the aucthorities out of the Fathers and the quotations truely and playnely whereas in times before hee had gathered sundrie bookes of common places out of the Greeke and Latine and later writers he did peruse a fresh the authors themselues and made euery where in them speciall markes for the difference of such places whereofhee made choyce Those were all drawen forth and layde to their themes by certeine scholers who wrote them out by such direction as he had giuen vnto them So reuerent regard had he to do the worke of the Lord and to defend the trueth faithfully With like reuerence also did he in all places where he was occasioned to preach handle the word of God Albeit his giftes of reading and vnderstanding memorie were great yet it appeareth he did seldome or neuer deliuer any exposition vpon any peece of scripture before any Congregation in the meanest parish of the countrie but vpon diligent studie and whereof he drewe his notes In this his care Gods prouidence wrought mercifully for his Church that so there might be some way to deliuer in common vnto all the fruites of those godly trauailes which he gaue forth to some one especiall part of the Church Hereby it is that these his Sermons preached before her Maiestie and at Paules crosse come nowe to the reading of all such before whome they were once spoken to seeke that of them in true practise of Christian religion for which they were in their times vttered Why I make choyce of these among so many so excellent his sermons pronounced in those places if any be curious to aske let him aduisedly consider the state of Gods Church amongst vs in these dayes and bestowe his paynes to reade these which are offered to his Christian iudgement and then make to himselfe a charitable answere And if at such seuerall times as that reuerende father in the feare of God moued his petitions before the conscience either of her highnesse or of your honors or of any others the good children and seruantes of God he were so well acquitted that he was thought to speake vprightly in true zeale for the aduauncement of Gods glorie and like a wise buylder of the house of God no doubt in this rehearsall of them altogether they shall worke that wholsome effect if through the assistance of Gods holy spirite they be considered now with as great diligence as hee was then heard with good attention Your honours haue wel declared that you measured not your louing affection to him by the short terme of his life which giueth great hope that his humble requestes so many as are to craue ayde and furtherance of aucthoritie shall in good time be preferred They are such as shew how desirous he was to see the peace and prosperitie of Ierusalem and that the kingdome of God might neuer againe be taken away from vs. He sheweth what thinges they are by which this may bee brought to passe that among all the meanes which mans wisedome can prouide next to the high meanes of princely authoritie the chiefest is that all particular Churches may bee furnished with sufficient learned and godly Ministers and therefore that tender due care be had to encrease the nomber of them Their seruice is most needeful in the ouerthrowe of Iericho the citie which God will haue destroyed and in the buylding vp vnto God his Temple at Ierusalem The care which Magistrates take hereof and that laborers may be sent into the Lordes haruest which may defende the cause of Christ against those which charge
al other Sacramentes be the people hereby was taught to consider of other things When the people was strong with Serpentes in the wildernesse and were swollen and heaued vp and perished in the wildernesse without hope of cure Moses erected vp a brasen serpent vppon a pole the people beheld it their anguish abated their swelling slaked and they were healed Christ was this serpent he was lifted vpon the crosse who so trusteth in him shal neuer be ashamed In certaine of their sacrifices they had a Lambe they stickte him they killed him and made sacrifice of him this Lambe was Christ the Sonne of GOD he was killed stickt and made a sweete smelling Sacrifice for our sinnes Of him sayeth God himselfe This is my beloued Sonne in whom I am well pleased Of him saith Iohn Beholde the Lambe of God which taketh away the sins of the world Of him Saint Peter speaketh among men there is none other name giuen vnder heauen whereby we must be saued In his righteousnesse onely we are receyued as righteous his blood clenseth vs from all sinne there is no other sacrifice wherewith we may be reconciled to GOD our heauenly Father all these were Allegories that is to say certaine resemblaunces and significations of secrete matters That striking of the Rocke that feeding vppon Manna that lifting vp of the Serpent that killing of the Lambe were certayne mysticall kinds of speaking And let no man thinke these things are impertinent or frō the purpose they are incident vnto the matter and grow necessarily of the things we haue to speake of When Iosuah that noble and worthy Captayne by Gods speciall conducte had past thorow the water of Iorden and taken possession in the Lande of Canaan a Land flowing with mylke and hony there to plant the people of Israel according to the promises that GOD had made them the Citizens of Hiericho that stoode in the frontiers of the Countrey rampyred their wall and placed their artillerie and appoynted them selues to resist him and to withstand his force To assault this City Iosuah practised a straunge kynd of battery He commaunded that the Arke of Gods Maiesty shoulde be carried reuerently about the Walles seuen dayes together and that the whole hoste in armour shoulde goe before it that after them shoulde followe seuen Priestes with seuen Trumpets that all the rest of the people shoulde followe after the Arke and that thus they should doe euery day once The seuenth day he encreased their labour and bade them to goe about seuen times in like order The people within laughed them to scorne to see their folly At the seuenth and last turne Iosuah commaunded them all to make a showte Straight way after so long silence they lifted vp their voyces and showted with a greate showte so many hundred thousands of men women and children the Trumpets blewe in euery corner the whole Heauen and earth was ful of their noyse and the Wall fell downe flat Here let vs consider and glorifie the power of God there was neyther mine nor ramme nor other engine nor warlike force nor worldly pollicy practised onely at this roare and sounde of Trumpets and voyces of men the rampyers were broken the walles fell downe and sunke and were made euen with the grounde the Souldiers went ouer and slewe without mercy man woman and child and cattell and whatsoeuer creature they found before them they fired the citie and consumed it and burnt it to ashes Then Ioshua sware at that time saying Cursed be the man before the Lorde whosoeuer hence foorth shall take in hande to restore this City of Hiericho let him lay the foundation thereof in the death of his eldest sonne and in the death of his youngest childe let him close vp and finishe the gates let him neuer more reioyce in the fruite of his bodie but let him liue as a manne accursed in the middes of the people let his name and memorie and all his posterity perish with him this was the tenure of Ioshuas curse Sixe hundred yeeres after in the time of the wicked King Achab one Hiel hauing no regarde to this curse set vppon to restore Hiericho and it came to passe euen as it was foresaide by Ioshua Gods curse fell vppon him he buryed his eldest sonne bee huryed his youngest sonne hee was left without comforte euen as a man that the Lorde had cursed for Gods will was that Hiericho shoulde lye waste and desolate for euer as an euerlasting remembraunce of his wrath that all people should feare to withstand his wil. This is the plaine story onely according to the letter But as touching the Allegorie or the matter which therein lyeth couered it hath a farre deeper meaning This Hiericho whereof the story speaketh was a citie in Canaan in a lowe sowre barren ground in the middest of a rotten and pestilent water by reason whereof before the same water was cured by the Prophet Elizeus the men that dranke thereof died of sundry diseases the women also became vnfruitfull This citie withstoode the people of God and laboured to keepe them from their inheritaunce that God had giuen them That Hiericho of whiche we haue nowe to consider is a spirituall power of darknesse that resteth onely in flesh and in worldy promises that withstandeth Gods people and exalteth itselfe against God For euen in this life as there is a Ierusalem so is there a Hiericho as truth hath her house so is there also a house wherein falshoode and errour dwelleth As there is a glory of the light so is there a power of darkenesse This Hiericho of falsehood and darkenesse God ouerthroweth when it seemeth good in his sight with the breath of his mouth and with the blast of his holy woorde hee doeth ouerthrow it and whosoeuer wil seek to restore it shalbe accursed Three things therfore I haue thought good by Gods sufferance to treate of 1 First how high this Hiericho is built and how strongly it is fenced and yet how easily it is ouerthrowen 2 How vainely and how miserably they loose their labour that seeke by any meanes to restore it 3 What good remedies may be deuised that this Hiericho be not restored againe Whatsoeuer my simple learning or vtterāce shalbe yet I doubt not but the very bare consideration hereof of it selfe vnto the godly must needs be comfortable They that goe down to the sea in shippes and occupy by the great waters they see the works of the lord his wōders in the deep For God is maruelous in the surges and tempestes of the Sea he is marueilous in the firmament of Heauen but much more marueilous is he in the surges and stormy Tempestes of his Church Here may we beholde the worke of his hands This is y e shop of his power of his wisdome of his light and truth and righteousnesse and patience and mercy Here may we see the children of light and the children of darknesse the
owne cause remember thy dayly reproch by the foolish man So strong is the holde of this spirituall Hiericho and so stoutely it fighteth against the Lord. Albeit Hiericho was so strong and the walles thereof seemed inuincible such as no power could pearce yet at the sound of seuen truÌ„pets and the showt of the people they fel downe flat to the ground So mightily did God in such weake meanes shew foorth his wonderfull and fatherly care to woorke the râ—st and peace of his people Pharao had Israel euen in his mouth as a pray the Sea was before them and the hilles on eche side they were vnarmed he had the power and all the pollicie of his countrie it seemed vnpossible they shoulde euer bee able to escape that daunger but marke the turning of Gods mighty hande sodainly the Sea opened Israel passed through the middes of it as vppon dry land Pharao followed after and was swallowed and drowned with all his men Israel looked back and sawe the marueilous workes of God howe it was now perfourmed which God had sayd vnto Pharao Thou shalt perish from the earth and in deede for this cause haue I appointed thee to shew my power in thee and to declare my name throughout all the world Therfore they reioyced in God and feared him and made him sacrifice Nabuchodonosor when he fell vpon Iurie made the whole countrie to shake with the terrour of his name Hee was like to a mightye great tree whose height reached to the heauens and the fight thereof through all the world yet sodainly was this mightie tree hewen downe as the holy one that came downe from heauen had said Hew downe the tree destroye it Nabuchodonosor was driuen froÌ„ men and had his dwelling with the beasts of the field did eate grasse fodder as the oxen seuen yers til his heares were growne as Eagles feathers his nailes like birds clawes The power of Senacherib was terrible y â— people of Israel were not able to withstande it hee did glory in the pride therof he said no god was able to deliuer Ierusalem nor to saue it out of his hands yet sodenly the Angel of the lord in one night smote in the campe of Asshur an hundred fourescore and fiue thousande of his men he fled away with the rest was slayne by his sounes and the people of God left at libertie Though Babylon said she should neuer mourn nor feele any heauenes yet an Angell came downe from heauen and cried out mightily with a loude voyce saying It is fallen it is fallen Babylon the great citie and is become the habitation of Deuils and the hold of al foule spirits and a cage of euery vnclean hateful bird It were an infinite labour and yet very comfortable to consider how marueilously God in the old times hath ouerthrowne his enemies and deliuered his poore seruants Dauid to saue his life was faine to run froÌ„ king Saul and remained in a mountaine in the wildernes of Ziph Saul sought him euery day but God deliuered hym not into his hand Dauid was not only w tout ayde or hope of ayde but also without sustenaunce looked when he should be taken thought it not possible to escape for Saul his men compassed Dauid his men round about to take theÌ„ But there came a messenger to Saul saying hast thee and come for the Philistims haue inuaded thy Land Wherfore Saul returned from pursuinge Dauid and thus poore Dauid was deliuered God is a helper in due season he commeth with aide when things are desperate hee helpeth when there is no hope of help els where the counsels attempts policies of the wicked are in vaine He that dwelleth in the heauens shal laugh theÌ„ to scorn The prophet Dauid found himselfe disquieted at the worldly prosperity of the wicked saith As for mee my feete were almost gone my steps had welneere slipt for I fretted at the foolish wheÌ„ I saw the prosperitie of the wicked c. theÌ„ thought I to know this but it was to painful for me vntil I went vp into y â— Sanctuary of God theÌ„ vnderstoode I their end Surely thou hast set them in slipperie places castest theÌ„ downe into desolation How sodenly are thei destroied perished coÌ„sumed As for me it is good to draw nere vnto god therfore haue I put my trust in y â— Lord god that I may declare al thy workes A King is strong a woman is stronge and wine is stronge but trueth dooth abyde and is stronge for euer Truth is great and strongest Whither may a man go from the spirit of the lord or whither may a maÌ„ fly from his preseÌ„ce If he ascend vp into heauen the lord is there or if he descende into hell the Lorde is there also The face of the Lord is vpon them y t doo euill When they shal say peace and safetie then shal come vpon them sodaine destruction Let no man be deceiued and think that these thinges are wrought by the power of starres or by the pleasure of princes it is God that ruleth the world and not the starres It was not Ioshuah that ouerturned the walles of Hiericho nor the crie of the people sounde of the trumpets It was neither Constantinus nor Iouinian nor Valentinian nor Theodosius that planted the Gospel and changed the heartes of the people These were vertuous and godly Emperours yet those changes were not made by their power but it was God which sent forth his spirite and renewed the face of the earth Christe Iesus the sonne of righteousnesse had looked vpon them The morninge starre from an high had risen ouer them Good princes and good rulers are the good instrumeÌ„ts by whom God setteth foorth his glory their hearts be in the handes of God hee â—endeth them and enclineth them to his purpose but the trueth of the Gospel is not planted and setled in our hearts neither by the wyll of man nor by the authority of princes No creature can claime part of this glory this glory belongeth vnto God but vnto vs and to our fathers to our kinges and to our prophets the confusioÌ„ of our faces This is the Lords doing and it is maruelous in our eies This is y e day which the lord hath made let vs reioyce be glad in it This is a chaÌ„ge wrought not by the Starres but by the righte hand of the most high The soÌ„nes of God euen they which beleeue in him ar borne not of blood nor of the wil of flesh nor of y e wil of man but of god as by the Prophet Ezechiel God himself declareth A new heart wil I giue you a new sprit wil I put within you I wil put my sprit within you cause you to walk in my statuts And by y e prophet Ieremy I wil put my law in their inward parts write it in their harts
worlde was made to lie downe on all foure that Sapores might set his feete on his shoulders and so get to horsebacke Al this notwithstanding the Gospel of Christ grewe stil and went forwarde Suche successe shal they haue that take in hand to builde Hiericho The Lorde wil smyte his enemies vpon the cheeke bone he will breake the teeth of the wicked Well may they barke they shal not byte God knoweth the way of the righteous and the way of the wicked shal perish God resisteth the proude but giueth grace to the lowly Yet a little while saith Dauid the wicked shall not appeare and thou shalt looke after his place and hee shall not be found The remembraunce of him shall perish Euery plant which our heauenly father hath not planted shalbe rooted out Put not your trust then in princes nor in the sonnes of men which cannot saue themselues their breath departeth and they returne to their earth It is God that is king of kings which loueth the righteous ouerthroweth the way of the wicked All flesh is grasse and al the grace thereof is as the floure of the field the grasse withereth the floure fadeth but the word of our God shall stande for euer Was God able in those daies to auenge the crâ—elty of Tyrantes to withstand the proud to defend the humble and lowlie shal we thinke that his hande is shortened great is our God his power is wonderfull and there is no ende of his iudgements O what leagues and confederacies what practises pollicies haue we seene defeyted what aboundaunce of blood hath been shed by sword and by fire the workers thereof are gone the end of many of them was horrible yet the Gospel continueth and encreaseth in all places Aeneas Siluius who was afterward Pope and called Pius the seconde sheweth in his storie of Bohemia what great preparation was made to mainteyne the Church of Rome and to destroy al those which professed the Gospel whom they called Hussites and Calixtians because they defended the receyuing of the cup as well as of the bread in the Lordes Supper Two Cardinals the one of them Cardinall Beauford an English man Bishop of Win the other Iulianus were sent into Germany to leauy power at whose intreaty the Emperour and States appoynted three armies of men to fulfill the Popes purpose But saith the story Non visum hostem fugerunt They fled before they did see the enimie And againe the secoÌ„d time Priusquam hostis vllus daretur in cospectu foedis sima caepta fuga They fledde away with shame before any enimy came to fight here of one of the Cardinals Iulianus writeth thus to Eugenius the fourth Nonne videbitur hic digitus Dei Ecce exercitus armatorum toties fugit à facie eorum nunc similiter Ecclesia vniuersalis fugit ecce nec armis nec literis vinci possâ—t Videbitur miraculum Dei euideter demonstrans illos ver a sentire nos falsa Is not the power of God here to be seene our armies of souldiers haue fled before theÌ„ many times and now the vuiuersal Church fleeth They cannot be ouercome neither by weapons nor by learning This must needs appeare a miracle wrought by God to declare that their opinion is true and ours false Thus we see how vainly and miserably they encumber themselues which take vpon them to restore Hiericho God withstandeth them defeateth their purpose as wee may see this day Let vs therfore reioyce in God and let vs saye with the people of Israel I will sing vnto the Lord for he hath triumphed gloriously the horse and him that rode vpon him hath he ouerthrowen in the sea It is not enough that wee looke backe and gaze at this decayed citie of Hiericho and beholde the rampiers loosed the walles throwen downe the houses burned and the people thereof slayne God can giue peace God can withdrawe it we haue seene the iudgements of the Lord vpon them wee haue seene the turning of the Lords hand towards vs. That thing whiche hath bin done may be done again The Arke of God was taken by the Philistims and God suffered his temple to be spoyled not that he was offended with the Arke or with the temple but for the vnworthines of the people He neuer forsaketh but he is first forsaken As he saith Seeing ye haue forsaken mee I wil also forsake you God himself telleth vs by the prophet Ieremie as you heard before That which I haue built wil I destroy that which I haue planted wil I plucke vp When Christ rebuked the vnthankfulnes of the Iewes he said vnto them The kingdom of God shalbe taken froÌ„ you and shalbe giuen to a nation whiche shall bring forth the fruites thereof And agayne The children of the kingdom shalbe cast out into vtter darknes for many are called but fewe are chosen It behoueth vs not therfore ouermuch to glory in victory It is fickle and casuall and may be lost Let vs humble our selues vnder the mighty hande of God let vs acknowledge the woonderfull woorke that he hath wrought in our dayes and praye him to continue the good thinge hee hath begunne among vs. In him we haue our lyuing our mouing and our being We are nothing but claye before him that he which reioyceth may reioyce in the Lorde Now it remaineth we consider what wholsome remedies may be deuised that Hiericho be neuer againe restored Here of I wil say somewhat the time so requireth Heere might wee marke the practises and policies of noble coÌ„querors what wayes they take to keepe themselues in safety and their conquered subiectes from rebellion Some when they had gotten a citie thought it enough to ouerthrow the walles therof Some razed al the castels threw down al the holdes Others haue built strong places and Towers and furnished them with munition to bridle the people Others haue spoyled them and kept theÌ„ poore Others haue vnarmed them kept them from all weapon Others to withdrawe them from vnquiet fancies haue set them to Plough the ground and to other bodily labour Others haue cut off their captaines and al such as might seem able to leade the people and to moue rebellion Some haue killed their male children Some dissolued the old Lawes and gaue them new Others haue forbidden banquets feasts and al other conuenticles or asseÌ„blies to make them strange one to another Others haue purposely sowed and mainteined factions set city against citie surname against surname blood against blood that no man might safely trust another Some haue deuised othes and bands of conscience some haue deuised lawes martial other crueltie some haue transported and caried away the whole people man woman and child as Nabuchodonozor did the Iewes into BabiloÌ„ put others in their place By these and such other like wayes as much as wisedom and pollicie could deuise they thought to keepe countries and nations in
not according to this worde it is because there is no light in them Chrisostome saith Nullo modo cognoscitur quae sit vera Ecclesia Christi nisi tantummodo per Scripturas By no meanes may it by knowne whiche is the true Church of Christ but onely by the Scriptures Without them our faith is no faith without the helpe of them wee cannot knowe Christ from Antichriste wee cannot know the Church of Christ from the Sinagogue of Sathan Hereby let vs learne to knowe Hierusalem hereby let vs learne to knowe Hiericho Certainely if the woorde of GOD and the breathe of his mouthe bee not able to shewe this tradition and custome shall be much lesse able It is a good thinge to bee thankefull and to prayse the Name of the most high the seruants of God finde cause of thankfulnes in consideration of the great wonderful mercies continually powred vpō them Moses comanded Nisan to bee the firste moneth in the yeere because God had deliuered Israell from the hande of Pharao in that month In like sort Mardocheus the Iewe and Esther the Queene sent letters vnto al the Iewes that were through all the prouinces of the king Assuerus both nere farre enioying them that they shoulde kepe the fourteenth day of the month Adir with ioy and feasting for that vppon that daye God had deliuered them from the hande of Haman and that they woulde not fayle to obserue the fame euery yeare Upon this day euen vpon this day I say the xvii of this moneth God sent his handemaide and deliuered vs. Let vs be kinde and thankfull vnto God for so great blessing I say not let vs make it the first day of the yeere Yet this I say let vs haue it in remembrance let vs singe with the prophet When the Lord brought againe y e captiuitie of Sion we were like them that dreme thē was our mouth filled with laughter and our tongue with ioy The Lord hath done great things for vs wherof we reioyce Let no man be offended herewith it is onely a remembrance of the mercy of God it behoueth vs to remember it it is good to speake of it For if we haue eyes to see and neglect not our owne saluation wee haue nowe much greater cause to reioyce then Dauid had because the things which are this daye restored vnto vs by the goodnesse of our God are farre greater and worthyer then those which Dauid and the people of Israell receiued in their deliuerance out of the capitiuitie of Babylon For by howe much the heauens are greater then the earthe and God is more excellent then a creature so much doeth the knowledge of God and his true worshippe passe all worldly blessinge and all other felicitie that can bee deuised vnder the Sunne For what knoweth hee which knoweth not God Or what worshippeth he whiche worshippeth not God Hee that worshippeth not God hath not the comforte of GOD but hee that hath God and knoweth God and serueth God hath a sure helpe and defence in all assayes Let vs therefore bee glad and reioyce let vs witnesse our ioye and singe vnto the Lorde a new songe Let vs kindle in our heartes the fire of the loue of God and of our neighbour and let the flame thereof breake out to the glory of God Let vs decke the Altars of our heartes with the florishing branches of vertue and good woorkes let vs sacrifice and kill our lustes and affections In this maner if wee shewe our thankefulnesse towardes GOD wee shall hinder the wicked purpose of thē that wish the restoring of Hiericho we shal see the lande of Gods promise and enter into his rest The fourth stay to hinder this buyldinge is discipline whiche is so needefull that neyther without it shall yee be able throughly to discomfort those that seeke to build vp Iericho againe nor your selues happely and prosperously to goe on forward in setting foorth the glory and maiestie of our God and to passe safely to the countrie promised It is as the sinewes of the church to strengthen it and to ioyne and knit the parts thereof together But because the time is passed and this matter weightie and worthy of larger discourse I wyll leaue it to your godly considerations and for some other time And thou O mercifull father rise vp we beseeche thee to iudge thine owne cause stablishe the thinge thou hast begonne in vs guide our feete in the way of peace giue force vnto thy worde blesse thine inheritance blow downe the walles of Hiericho so shal Hierusalem prospet and her walles be made strong so shall the daye starre lighten our hartes so shall Israel reioyce and all the people truly know thee and prayse thy name for euer Amen Aggaeus 1. Thus speaketh the Lord of hostes saying This people say The time is not yet come that the Lords house should be builded Then came the word of the Lord by the ministery of the prophet Hagge saying Is it time for your selues to dwell in your seiled houses and this house lie waste THese words be written in the first Chapter of the Prophet Aggaeus For better vnderstandyng wherof I must call to your remembrance the storie of that time vpon occasion wherof these words were spoken Almighty God beinge for many and sundrye causes highly displeased with his people the Iewes after he had chastened thē many wayes and sawe none amendement at the laste gaue them ouer into the handes of their enemies and suffered both the kinge and all the people of the countrie to be carryed away prisoners into Babylon where they continued in miserie the space of seuentie yeeres In the meane season their countrey partly lay waste and grewe full of wylde beastes partly was inhabited by foreyners the temple that Salomon had built them the stateliest richest work of the whole world was burnt to the grounde and all the ornaments therof rauened vp and caried into Babylon After fiftie yeres king Cyrus shewed fauour towardes his people did lycence them to depart home agayne But as they were aboute the building vpon occasion of cōplaint of their enemies the whole worke was stayed At y ◠length after 70. yeeres God remembred his promise and mercy and stirred vp the heart of king Darius king of Persia who had then conquered the Chaldees to lycence the Iewes to depart home agayne into their countrie and to reedifie theyr Citie and Temple This king Darius as the Rabbines or Doctors of the Iewes and most parte of learned men coniecture was sonne vnto the king Assuerus begotten of the good Ladie Queene Hester which Ladie Hester he maried after he had imbased diuorced from hym the prowd and stubborne Queene Vasthi This was Gods marueylous prouidence by that meanes twice to deliuer his people Fyrst by the good Lady Hester from the tyranny of Hamā as it appeareth by the storye and after by her child Darius cleerely to delyuer them and
because our frowarde nature maketh them so The man as Christ saieth in the Parable that was bidde to the marriage feast sent word that he was marryed and coulde not come Esay saith The harpe and viole and Timbrel and pype and wine are in their feastes but they regarde not the woorke of the Lorde The fantasies and pleasures of this life rauishe our mindes and pull them cleane from GOD. So sayeth the Prophete You can haue your houses sieled and furnished in the meane while my House lyeth forsaken O that Aggeus the Prophete were nowe aliue and sawe the rearing vp of Gods Temple heere in Englande What thinke you he would say You builde your owne houses and leaue the house of God forsaken Nay he would say you builde your owne mansions and pull downe the house of God The Maisters of the woorke builde benefice vpon benefice and Deanry vpon Deanrye as though Rome were yet in Englande The poore flocke is giuen ouer to a Woolfe the poore children cry out for bread the bread of life and there is no man to breake it to them The Noble man or Gentleman the Patrones of Benefices giue presentatations of benefices either to bee Farmours them selues or else with exception of their owne Tenthes or with some other condition that is worse then this The poore Minister muste keepe his House buye him Bookes relieue the poore and liue GOD knoweth howe and so doe you too O good my Lordes and brethren I come not hither to bee a Patrone for money matters GOD seeth my hearte before whome I speake it But I see Gods Temple by this meanes is forsaken Young men suche as are of moste to wardenesse turne them selues to be Phisitions or men of Lawe yea Clearkes or Apothecaries The matter is so vsed that they are ashamed to bee Ministers in Gods Churche They shoulde not so doe saye you no neyther yet you as your dooinges are can bee angrye with them They are not Angelles but your owne children your brethren your Cousins of your owne affections of your owne fleshe and blood and they thinke themselues too good to become your slaues O mercifull GOD at the beginning of the Gospell euerye man brought his goodes and layde them at the feete of the Disciples Nowe euerye manne is readye to pull out in a manner necessarye sustenaunce euen out of the mouthes of Christes Disciples Then that that was euery mans owne euerye man made it common and no man counted it to bee his owne Nowe that appertayneth to others and is appointed to the building and preseruing of Gods Church that euery man layeth handes on and counteth to bee his owne In the meane season the poore Uniuersities are neglected the schooles euerye where vnfurnished the youth driuen and chased away from the building Thinke of this in your heartes Consider with your selues There lacke already Ministers throughout the Realme to teach the people to builde vp the walles of Gods Church One poore hireling is driuen to serue two or three Parishes The sicke hath no man to comforte or counsell them the dead haue no man to burie them one man burieth another That thing I knowe is not materiall yet it seemeth not so to al men and our bodies are the Temples of the holy Ghost and ought reuerently to be brought to their graues Uiew your Vniuersities view your schooles which euer haue beene nourceries to this purpose alas how many shall you finde in both the Uniuersities and in all the Schooles through England not onely that are already rype but also that are mynded to the Ministerye If they be not founde there alas where thinke you to haue them Where thinke you will they be found Thinke you that they will spring out of the grounde or droppe downe from the Heauens No no they be of you and must be bred and reared amongst you If there be none to be founde nor hope of any to be hereafter be you wel assured that Actes of Parliament and Proclamations are not enough to content the conscience of the people and to build vp the Temple Oh that the Queenes Maiesty knewe the great scarcitie and miserable neede of Ministers that is abroade And I beseech you good my Lordes and other Honourable and Worshipfull that are heere that haue or maye haue accesse vnto her to put her in remembraunce that her grace will be mindefull of the house of GOD and redresse the greedinesse both of corupt patrones and of such who engrosse and gather into their handes many liuinges being them selues the remnaunt of the ignoraunt and persecuting Babylon and yet leaue to take charge ouer the people blynde Syr Iohns not onely lacke Latin but lacke honestie and lacke conscience and lack religion It would be a great furtherance to the Church of God a wonderful way to increase schooles and the Uniuersities Now remayneth the last part that I haue taken in hand to speake of that is of the manner of the buylding Where of because y ◠matter of it selfe is long and I scanted of time I will speake two wordes and so make an ende And what better waye can be deuised to restore Christes Churche then that wee see vsed by Christ himselfe Christ when he was apposed of the Pharisies in the case of diuorce whether it were lawfull for a man to put away his wise vppon any kinde of matter and to marry another called them backe to the scriptures Ab initio non fuit sic Scriptum est From the beginning it was not so It is written And so in other places in like matters he saith scriptum est and euer returneth them to the scriptures The same order vsed Esaias Ad Legem ad Prophetas Haue recourse to the Law the Prophets So Iosias so Ezechias so Iosaphat reformed the Temple of God when it was polluted according to the patterne of the Scriptures For as Tertullian saith Peraeque ad vniuersas haereses iam hinc praeiudicatum est idesse verum quodcunque primum id esse adulterum quodcūque posterius By this rule we may equally prescribe against al heresies that is true y ◠was first appointed that is false that was afterward deuised Saynt Augustine saith In Seripturis didicimus Christum in Scripturis didicimus Ecclesiam has Scripturas communiter habemus quare non in eis Christum Ecclesiam communiter retinemus In the Scriptures we haue learned Christ in the Scriptures we haue learned the Churche these Scriptures wee haue indifferently betweene vs why doe wee not after one sorte holde Christ and the Churche by them And againe where hee writeth against Petilian a Donatist Non audiamus haec dico haec dicis sed audiamus haec dicit Dominus Sunt certi libri Dominici quorum authoritati vtrique consentimus vtrique credimus vtrique seruimus Ibi quaeramus Ecclesiam ibi discutiamus causam nostram Let vs not heare thus I saye thus thou sayest but let vs heare Thus
Gods hands is to haue prophets preachers by whō they may be instructed When y ◠prophet declareth y ◠mercy of God towardes Israel y ◠he would put an end to their afflictions bring thē home again from Babylō he saith thus Behold saith the Lord I wil send out many fishers they shal fish thē In the like sort saith Esai How beautiful vpō y ◠moūtaines are the feet of him that declareth publisheth peace that declareth good tydings publisheth saluatiō saying vnto Siō thy god reigneth The voice of thy watchmē shalbe heard they shal lift vp their voyce shout together And Baruch Nor the Agarēs that sought after wisdom vpō the earth nor the marchāts of Nerrā Themā nor the expoūders of fables nor the scarchers out of wisdom haue known the way of wisedome There were the giāts famous frō the beginning that were of so great stature so expert in war Those did not the Lord choose neither gaue he the way of knowledge vnto thē but they were destroyed because they had no wisdome perished through their own foolishnes He hath foūd out al the way of knowledge hath giuē it vnto Iacob his seruant to Israel his beloued And againe O Israel we are blessed for the thinges that are acceptable to god are declared vnto vs. He hath not dealt so with euery nation neither haue they knowledge of his iudgmēts saith the Prophet Dauid But when God taketh away his ministers whiche should preach peace open vnto the people the wil of God make known his iudgemēts it is a token that God is highly displeased with his people Where there is no visiō the people decay they know not what to beleeue Of this misery speaketh Iere. The young children aske bread but no mā breaketh it vnto them Of this speaketh Esay The poore needy seeketh water there is none They would haue some counsell some comforte and there is no man to giue it them My sheepe wandered saith God through al the mountaines and on euery high hill yea my flock was scattered through all the whole earth and none did seeke or searche after them They were full of diseases they were pined for hunger and taken vp by the wolfe but none had care to deliuer them In such state as the flocke is in which hath no shepheard or the shippe which is tossed by the tempestes amiddes the surges and rockes of the Sea and hath no skilful Pilote to guide it or the yong sucking childe that hath no nource to feede it euen in such stace are your soules if you haue not the ministery of Gods worde abyding with you You are children the Preacher is your nource you are a shippe in daunger of many wreckes through the boysterous tempests of this worlde the Preacher is your Pilote to guide you safely towardes the hauen of rest you are the flocke the Preacher leadeth you from dangerous places to feede vpon the whole some pastures of Gods holy worde Whosoeuer they be which reioyce not in the increase of the Lords haruest hee forsaketh them and leaueth them comfortlesse and giueth them fewe or no labourers Wherfore pray the Lorde of the haruest that he would send forth labourers into his haruest It is the Lorde which casteth the firste seede into the earth whiche doeth moysten the ground and maketh it fruitful and giueth forth his sunne that it may come to ripening Al the soile field corne and the husbandry therof is the Lordes Let vs pray to him to send forth labourers to trauaile and take paines Notwithstanding we ought to praye to God that hee will stirre vp and set foorth men to instruct his people yet that nothing embarreth the authority of princes For as God calleth him inwardly in the heart whom he wil haue to bee a minister of his word so must he be authorized of his Prince by outward and ciuil calling as I could shew at large if time would suffer it So Salomon the king deposed Abiathar the high priest and set vp Sadoc So Iustinian deposed two bishops of Rome Siluerius Vigilius authorized others And the same Iustinian was wont to say that he had no lesse regarde to the Church of God thē he had to his own soule So Constantinus Valentinianus and Theodosius called themselues Vasallos Christi The vasals of Christ And Socrates in his story saith Wee haue also herein comprised the Emperours liues for that sithence the Emperours were first christned the affaires of y ◠church haue depended of them the greatest counsels both haue byn are kept by their aduise It pertaineth therefore also to kings and Princes to send out labourers into the haruest Labourers they must be and not loyterers For Christ compareth the teaching of his people to thinges that be of greate labour as to plowing and fallowing of the grounde to planting of a Uine to rearing of a House to threshing of Corne to feeding of sheepe to leading of an Hoste and keeping of warre in which thinges is required much diligence and labour Cato in his bookes of husbandry saith it was an old saw among husbandmen Qui terram colit ne sedeat est enim aliquid semper quod agat He that plougheth the ground must not sit stil for he hath alwaies somwhat to do The worke of the husbandman is neuer ended hee falloweth stirreth soweth harroweth weedeth and tendeth his land Therefore if they he Pastours let them feede the flocke if they be Doctours let them teach the people if they be watchmen let them stande vppon their watche if they bee messengers let them doe their erraunt This is the way to buylde vp the Churche of Christ This commission Christ gaue vnto his Disciples Ite in mundum vniuersum c. Goe ye into al the world and preach the Gospel vnto euery creature Thus by twelue poore Apostles al the world was conquered Princes and kings and Emperours were subdued to the faith of Christ This is the key that openeth the conscience this is the two edged sword which entreth through euen to the diuiding asunder of y e soule and the spirit Therefore the Apostle saith The weapons of our warfare are not carnall but mighty through God to cast downe holds casting down the imaginations euery hie thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God and bringing into captiuity euerie thought to the obedience of Christ This is the only instrumēt wherwith we may cut down and haue in the haruest of God For all mens deuises Actes Iawes or commandements be the authority thereof neuer so great yet are not sufficient to content one mans conscience For the wisedome of man is but follie before God God knoweth the fancies and cogitations of men that they be but vayne and foolish Aristotle the great wise Philosopher on a time being sick when the phisition came to him to minister him
so shall we stande strong boldely against sword and fire and death so shall we like faithfull Souldiers of our captaine Christ manfully stande agaynst the gates of hell and resiste al the assaultes and quench al the fiery darts of the wicked then shal we eate of the fruite in the middest of Paradise and shall receaue the Crowne of euerlastynge glory Let vs walke honestly as in the day not in gluttony drunkeÌ„nes neither in Chambering and wantonnes nor in strife and enuying He setteth downe three things as three botches and carbuncles of the soule they oppresse the body defile the minde and breake the bonde and vnitie of the Church of God The first is gluttonie and drunkennes the roote and mother of al euill nothinge standeth safe where wine preuayleth This was the iniquitie of Sadome abundance and fulnesse of bread they abused the gifts of God to the dishonour of god This was y e cause of all her filthynes her filthines was the cause of her destruction Here of God speaketh My chosen people My darling is waxed fat Therefore he forsooke god that made him and regarded not the strong God of his saluation And againe by the Prophet Esay The harpe and viole timbrell and pipe are in their feastes but they regard not the work of the Lorde neyther consider the worke of his hands And in the xxiichap Behold ioy and gladnes slaying oxen and killing sheepe eating fleshe and drinking wine eating and drinking for to morowe we shall die So through gluttony and drunkenn es they despised the threatnings of God and entered not into the way of repentance but continued in their sinnes and made scorne of the Prophets of God The people of Israel sate them downe to eate and drink rose vp to play They forgat God and the mercies he had shewed vpon them and worshipped a golden calfe So grosse and so deadly are the cloudes of drunkennes Our Sauiour Christ saith towardes the latter day the people shall eate and drinke and be voyd of care as in the daies of Noah and distruction shall sodainely fall vpon them therefore Christ sayth Woe be to you that are full for you shall hunger Many haue bene slaine in the field but manie more haue taken their deadly wounde by surfeting many haue bene drowned in the sea but many more haue perished by the strength of wine It is not set downe that the rich glutton was an oppressour an extortioner an vsurer or y â— he came vniustly by his goods but that he abused the same y t be fared deliciously and became vnthankefull and therefore was punished in hell fire Then he which before had aboundance and did swimine in wine had not one droppe to quench his thirst Many make their belly their God They haue more comfort in the caste of sweete fare then in the consideratioon of the workes of God Their table is turned into a snare their glorie is to their shame Here will I speake nothing of forcing and quaffinge God keepe it farre from Christian tables it is too too wilde barbarous the heathens hate it nature abhorreth it the horse and mule woulde not vse it S. Augustine saith Ebrius non peccatuÌ„ facit sed ipse totus est peccatum A drunken man doth not commit sinne but hee is altogether sinne And therefore his rewarde is death S. Paul saith Drunkardes shall not inherite the kingome of God They shall drink the cup of y â— wine of the lordes wrath Therefore Christ sayth Take heede to your selues least at any time your heartes bee opressed with surfeting and drunkennes and the cares of this life least that day come on you at vnwares Therefore saith the Apostle let vs not walke in eating and gluttonie it will drowne our senses it will oppresse our nature The kingdome of God is neither meat nor drinke our meat is to do y e wil of our father Let vs not abuse the creatures of God Let vs eate drinke that we may liue only to y â— sustenaÌ„ce of our bodies y t we by the moderate sober vse of those thinges may be the better hable to folow please God in our vocation The meat for the bellie the bellie for the meats but God shal destroy both it them Let vs think of the cuppe which Christ had on y â— crosse his cup was eisel tempered with gall at his hande let vs take the cup of thankes giuing and call vpon the name of the Lord. Let vs whether we eate or drinke remeÌ„ber who it is that hath bestowed his giftes vpon vs and whatsoeuer wee doe let vs doe it to the glory of God An other boâ—ch and carbuncle is chambering and wantonnes Of this also the Apostle warneth vs for adulterers and fornicators God shall iudge they shal haue their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone whiche is the second death the Lorde is the auenger of al such It is the will of God that our bodies be kept in holynes they are the temples of GOD hee hath called vs to be vessels of honour that wee shoulde bee holy in body and holy in spirit that we serue him in holynes and righteousnes all the dayes of our life The last is strife and enuying We are one body in Christ Iesus wee are indued with one spirit we are meÌ„bers one of another The Gospel of Christ is the gospell of peace he hath broken the stoppe of the partiton wall hee hath set al thinges at peace Hee hath taught vs learne of me for I am humble meeke Let vs not saith S. Paul bee desirous of vaine glorye prouoking one another â—nuying one another Let not one of you say I am Pauls and another I am Apollos the body of Christ is one it is not deuided If you bite and deuoure one another take heede least you consume one another If there bee â—nuying and strife and dissentions among you you are yet carnall you sauour not of the spirit of God You are but a litle flocke the worlde hateth you ioyne together loue one another beare you one anothers burthen and so fulfill the law of Christ The fruite of the spirit is loue ioy peace longe sufferinge gentlenesse goodnes faith meekenes temperancie Loue suffereth long it is bountiful loue enuieth not loue doeth not boast it selfe it is not puffed vp it disdaineth not it seeketh not her owne things it is not prouoked to anger it thinketh not euil it reioyceth not in iniquitâ—e but reioyceth in the trueth it suffereth all thinges it beleeueth all thinges it hopeth all thinges it endureth al things loue is the bonde of perfection The seruant of Christ is not quarrellous let vs keepe the vnitie of the spirite in the bonde of peace Let not dissention or malice trouble our hearts let vs walke after this maner and so let vs glorifie God in our mortall bodies Let vs auoyde these thinges gluttonie
dronkennes chambering wantonnes strife and enuying They be the vnfruitfull workes of darknes the way of them leadeth vnto damnation But put you on the Lord Iesus Christ If we beholde our selues consider our owne nakednes we shall find y t by nature we are nothing els but the childrē of wrath Who can cal that cleane that is conceiued of vncleane seede Dauid saith Behold I am conceiued in sinne my sinnes haue ouer gone my head there is no health in my flesh Nōe that liueth shalbe iustified in thy sight who can vnderstand his faults Clense me from my secret fultes Iob saith Verebar omnia opera mea I stood in feare of al my workes knowing that thou wilt not iudge me innocēt Again The starres are vncleane in his sight How much more man a worme euen the sonne of man which is but a worme In like sort saith Esaie We haue al bene as an vncleane thing and all our righteousnes is as filthie cloutes Our vertue our holines our fasting our prayers are filthy whē they come to his sight Wee can not say our heart is cleane Wee can not say wee haue not sinned God hath shut vp al in vnbeliefe that hee may haue mercie vppon all That is borne of the flesh is flesh The sperit fighteth against the flesh and the flesh against the spirit Open shame belongeth to vs and to our fathers Cursed is hee that abideth not in al thinges that are writen in the booke of the law And whosoeuer offendeth in one is made guiltie of all the commaundementes When the miserable and writched soule boasteth it selfe sayinge I am rich and increased with goods haue need of nothing the spirit of God maketh answere Thou art wretched and miserable poore and blinde and naked Thou hast nothing to put vpon thee to couer thy shame I counsell thee to buy of me golde tried by the fire that thou mayest be made rich white rayment that thou mayest be clothed that thy filthy nakednes do not appeare and anoint thine eies with eie salue that thou mayest see The same spirit in the Apostle giueth this counsell that wee put on vs Iesus Christ Let him couer vs with his body and with his blood as with a garment his blood hath clensed vs from al our sinnes Hee is the lambe of God that taketh away the sinnes of y e world Hee is become vnto vs wisdome and righteousnes sanctification redemtion S. Hierome saith S◠merita nostra consideremus desperandum est If we weigh our owne deseruings if we appeare in our owne apparel wee must dispaire And Basil saith Qui non fidit recte factis nec sperat ex operibus iustificari solam habet spem salutis miserecordias domini Hee that trusteth not to good deedes nor hopeth to be iustified by his workes hath no other hope of saluation but by the mercies of the Lord. Let vs therefore put on vs Iesus Christ Let vs couer vs vnder his apparell as Iacob couered him selfe vnder the coat of his brother Esau so let vs present our selues before our heauenly father The phrase of puttinge on is vsuall wherby he meaneth we must be wholy clad possessed with Christ In like phrase it is said in the twelfe of the reuelation There appeared a great wonder in heauen a woman clothed with the sun And in the 104. psalm My soule prayse thou the Lorde O my God thou art exceeding great thou art clothed with glory honour And which couereth himself with light as with a garmēt And to the Colos Put on tender mercie kindnesse humblenes of minde meeknes long suffering Chrisostome saith Dominum ipsum quod horribile est vestimenti loco tradit Behold hee giueth vs Christ to be put on as a garment which is a hainous thing to be spokē It passeth al sence of nature it passeth the iudgement of flesh and blood Here remember these wordes may not be taken as if christ were a material earthly coate made of cloth to couer our bodies they are spiritual words haue a spirituall vnderstandinge Chrisostome saith Omnia tibi factus est Christus mensa vestimentum domus caput et radix Christ is become all thinges for thee thy table thy garment thy house thy head thy roote Origen saith verbum dei et caro dicitur et panis et lac et holera The worde of God is called flesh and bread milke and herbes-Nazianzen also saith Quemadmodū dominus Iesus appellatur vita via panis vitis lux vera et mille alia ita etiam appellatur gladius After the same maner as our Lorde Iesus Christ is called the lyfe the way the bread the wine the true light and a thousand things else so is he also called the sword He is spiritually a table a garment a house a roote a head flesh milke herbes the waye the light a sworde bread or drinke we dwel in hym spiritually wee are clothed with hym spiritually We grow out of hym and walke vpon hym and are made one with him euen members of his bodie spiritually We do spiritually eat him and drinke him wee liue by him spiritually wee eate him by hearing and digest him by fayth Origen saith appallatur panis vitae vt habeat gustus animae quod degustet he is called the bread of lyfe that the soule may haue whereon to feede O brethren O that wee had senses to feele this foode that we could sauour of the breade of lyfe and taste and see how sweete the Lorde is hee that thus tasteth of this breade shall liue for euer Chrisostome saith Dentes inserimus in earnes Christi We thrust our teeth into the flesh of Christ And Cipriā Intra ipsa vulnera redēptoris nostri linguam figimus We fastē our tonge within the woundes of our redemer These be vehement and spirituall kinde of speeches to raise vp our senses and to teach vs to feele the vnspeaeable sweetenes of this heauenly feeding Likewise said Bernard Desidero totum Christum videre et tangere et non id solum sed accedere vsque ad sanctum vulnus lateris eius ostium arcae quod factum est in latere vt intrem totus vsque ad cor Iesu I desire to beholde whole Christ to touch him not so onely but also to come to the holy wound of his side which is the doore that was made in the side of the arke that I may enter wholly and go in euen vnto the heart of Iesus Thus are we taught to lifte vp our heartes and to seeke those thinges which are aboue where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God Why shoulde we then followe the fleshly errour of the Capernaites why shoulde wee bee so insensible in heauenly things Let vs haue some feeling hereof in our heart Salomon saieth The wise mans eies are in his head but the foole walketh
the forgiuenesse of their former sinnes may well receiue this sacrament of their regeneration So when they which heard Peter were pricked in their heartes and saide to Peter and the other Apostles Men and brethren what shal wee doe Peter said vnto theÌ„ Amend your liues and be baptized euery one of you in the Name of Iesus Christ for the remissioÌ„ of sinnes They were buried with Christ by Baptisme into his death and made partakers of his blood and continued in the Apostles doctrine and fellowshippe Christ saith the Apostle loued the Church and gaue himselfe for it that he might sanctifie it and clense it by the washing of water through the word Againe According to his mercie hee saued vs by the washing of the newe birth and the renewing of the holye Ghost For this cause is baptisme called saluation life regeneration the forgiuenes of sinnes the power of God to resurrection the Image and pledge of resurrection and the weede of immortalitie And yet are not these thinges wrought by the water for then what neede had wee of Christ what good did his passion what doeth the holie Ghost woorke in our heartes what power or force is lefte to the woorde of God Augustine saith Quare non ait mundi estis propter Baptismum quo loti estis nisi quia etiam in aqua verbum mundat detrahe verbum quid est aqua nisi aqua Why doth not Christ say nowe ye are cleane because of the Baptisme wherewith ye are washed sauing that because in the water it is the word that maketh cleane take away the worde and what is water more then water It is the couenant and promise and mercie of God which clotheth vs with immortalitie assureth our resurrectivn by whiche wee receiue regeneration forgiuenesse of sinnes life and saluation His woorde declareth his loue towardes vs and that woorde is sealed and made good by Baptisme Our faith which are baptized and our continuance in the profession whiche wee haue made establisheth in vs this grace which wee receiue As it is sayde Verus Baptismus constat non tam c. True Baptisme standeth not so much in washing of the bodie as in the faith of the heart As the Doctrine of the Apostles hath taught vs saying By Faith purifiyng their heartes And in another place Baptisme saueth vs not the putting away of the filth of the flesh but the examining of a good conscience before God by the resurrection of Iesus Christ Therefore Hierom saith They that receiue not Baptism with perfect faith receiue the water but the holie Ghost they receiue not The water wherein wee are baptized doeth not clense the soule But the blood of Iesus Christ his sonne doth clense vs from al sinne Not the water but the blood of Christ reconcileth vs vnto GOD strengtheneth our conscience and worketh our redemption We must seeke saluation in Christ alone and not in any outwarde thing Hereof saith Cyprian Remissio peccatorum siue per Baptismum siue per alia Sacramenta donetur propriè spiritus sancti est Verborum solennitas c. The remission of sinnes whether it be giuen by baptisme or by anie other Sacraments do properly appertain to the holy ghost The solennitie of the words and the inuocation of Gods holy Name the outwarde signes appointed to the ministerie of the Priest by the institution of the Apostles worke the visible outward Sacrament But touching the substance therof it is the holy Ghost that worketh it Saint Ambrose also saith Vidisti fontem vidisti sacerdoteÌ„ c. Thou hast seene the water thou hast seen the Priest thou hast seen those things which thou mightest see with the eies of thy body and by such sight as man hath but those things which worke doe the deede of saluation which no eye can see thou hast not seene Such a change is made in the sacrament of baptisme Through y t power of Gods working the water is turned into blood They y t bee washed in it receiue the remission of sinnes their robes are made cleane in the blood of the lambe The water it selfe is nothing but by the working of Gods spirit the death and merits of our Lorde and Sauiour Christ are thereby assured vnto vs. A figure heereof was giuen at the redde Sea The children of Israel passed through in safetie but Pharao and his whole armie were drowned Another figure heereof was giuen in the Arke The whole worlde was drowned but Noah and his familie were saued aliue Euen so in the fountaine of Baptisme our spirituall Pharao the Deuill is choked his armie that is our sinnes are drowned and we saued The wicked of the worlde are swallowed in concupiscence and vanities and wee abide safe in the Arke GOD hath chosen vs to bee a peculiar people to himselfe wee walke not after the flesh but after the Spirite therefore wee are in Christe Iesus and there is nowe no condemnation vnto vs. Nowe touching the Minister of this Sacrament whether hee bee a good man or an euil man godly or godlesse an heretike or a Catholike an Idolater or a true worshipper of God the effect is all one the value or woorthinesse of the Sacrament dependeth not of man but of God Man pronounceth the worde but GOD setleth our heartes with grace man toucheth or washeth vs with water but God maketh vs cleane by the Crosse of Christ It is not the minister but Christ himselfe whiche is the Lambe of GOD that taketh away the sinnes of the worlde Againe whether the infant be signed with y t signe of the crosse or be put into the water once or thrise whether one or two or three or more be Godfathers or witnesses of the Baptisme it maketh nothing to the vertue of the sacrament they are no part thereof without these baptisme is whole and perfect Hereof Gregorie saith In vna fide nihil officit consuetudo Ecclesiae diuersa The Faith beeing one the diuersitie of customes hurteth nothing Christ left no order for the vse of these thinges neither did by his word or example require them The Church of God hath libertie to dispose herein as may bee most â—itting for decencie and godlines Some make doubt of those infantes the children of the faithfull which depart before baptisme whether they be saued or not What shal wee say that they are damned It is a hard matter and too curious for man to enter into the iudgements of God his mercie is infinite and his purpose secrete Hee sheweth mercie vnto those vpon whom hee will haue mercie Who can appoynt him or set him an order what hee shall do It is not good nor standeth with Christian reuerence to bee contentious and busie in searching out or reasoning of matters which the wisedome of God hath hid from our knowledge Yet if any would faine bee resolued hee may thus safely reason It is true that children are borne in sinne and
heauen before men for ye your selues go not in nether suffer ye theÌ„ that would enter to come in Of these and against them God speaketh by the Prophet Ieremie Wo be vnto the pastors that destroy scatter the sheepe of my pasture And by the Prophete Zacharie O Idol-shepherd that leaueth the flocke Thou hast eares and hearest not thou hast eyes and seest not thou hast a tongue and speakest not and a heart but vnderstandest not thou art an idole Christ sayde to thee feede my lambes feede my sheepe but thou carest not for them Thou hast the roume of an Euangelist and Pastour and Teacher but thou gatherest not the saintes together thou doest not the worke of the ministerie thou buildest not vp the bodie of Christe They shall perish in their wickednesse but their blood wyll I require at thy handes Here note this ministerie of the Churche was not ordeined to offer sacrifice for forgiuenesse of sinnes Whosoeuer taketh that office vpon hym be doeth wrong iniurie to the death and passion of Christ He only is called of god an high Priest after y e order of Melchisedec He onely by his owne blood entred in once into the holy place obtained eternall redemption for vs. He only with one offeringe hath consecrated for euer them y t are sanctified He only hath said Consummatum est It is finished The ransome or price for mans saluation and for forgiuenesse of the sinnes of the worlde is payde in mee in my death vpon the Crosse Of hym alone and onely of hym hath it bene spoken This is my well beloued Sonne in whom I am well pleased And by Esay With his stripes only we are healed It is he only which hath made of both one It is he only which did put out y â— hande writing of ordinaÌ„ces y â— was against vs he euen tooke it out of the way and fastened it vppon the Crosse He alone is our hye Priest the Lambe of God the Sacrifice for sinnes the Altar the Propitiation for sinners and redeemer of the world He only hath appeased the wrath of god He onely appeareth in the sight of GOD to make intercession for our sinnes All others whatsoeuer Apostles Prophetes Teachers and Pastours are not in office to offer any propitiatorie sacrifice but are called to the ministerie of the Saintes to the edification of the bodye of Christe and to the repayringe of the Church of God Thus muche of the holy ministerie of the Church which standeth in the setting foorth of the mysterie of our saluation both by the Preachinge of the woorde of GOD and by the due and reuerent ministration of the Sacramentes The principallest parte of this office is to preache repentance that so wee may amende our lyues and bee conuerted vnto GOD. So Ioel the Prophet followed hys ministerie sayinge Rent your heartes and not your garmentes and turne to the Lorde your God for he is gracious merciful So S. Paul teacheth that true circumcision is by putting off the sinnefull body of the fleesh that it is in mortifying our members that bee on the earth Fornication vncleanesse the inordinate affections euil concupiscence couetousnes which is idolatrie y â— it is in putting away al these thinges wrath anger maliciousnes cursed speakinge filthy speakinge out of your mouth in putting of the old maÌ„ with his works and putting on the new which is renewed in knowledge after y e image of him that created him So Iohn Baptist said Repent for the kingdome of God is at hand Prepare ye y â— waies of the Lord make his pathes straight So our Sauiour Christ when he began to preache said Am end your liues for the kingdome of God is at hand Therfore it wil not bee amisse now to speake of repentaunce which some of late yeares haue chaunged into pennaunce and there of haue also made a Sacrament Here it behoueth to rippe vp the whole lyfe of man There is not any man that liueth and sinneth not God sayeth The imagination of mans heart is euyll from his youth The Prophet Ieremie saith The heart is deceitful and wicked aboue all things who can know it Saint Iohn therefore saith If wee say that we haue no sinne wee deceiue our selues trueth is not in vs. Of hymselfe Saint Paul saith I know that in me that is in my flesh dwelleth no good thing Of hymselfe the Prophet Dauid sayeth There is nothiÌ„g sound in my flesh because of thine anger neither is there rest in my bones because of my sinnes For mine iniquities are gone ouer mine head as a weighti burtheÌ„ they ar to heauy for me He saith If thou O Lord straightly markest iniquities O Lord who shal abide it So sayth the Wise man A iustman falleth seuen times God is a righteous God and the auenger of all them that offendeâ—â— Saint Paul saith The wages of sinne is death And the Prophet Ezechiel The soule that sinneth shall dye For this cause then God ordayned the ministerie of his worde and appoynted certayne to this office that they shoulde warne his people of theyr sinnes and feare them by the terrour of Gods assured displeasure and heauy wrath As is seene by y t to Esay Cry aloude spare not lift vp thy voyce lyke a trumpet and shewe my people their transgressions the house of Iacob their sins So Saint Paul vnto Timothie I charge thee before God the Lorde Iesus Christ which shal iudge the quick and dead at his appearing in his kyngdome preach the word be instant in season out of season improue rebuke exhort with all long suffering and doctrine So woulde God haue our filth layde open before our eyes that wee might weigh and iudge our owne heartes that euery man might make charge vppon him selfe and saye I am an vnprofitable seruant my righteousnesse is as a foule and steined cloth My soule hath sinned and hath deserued to dye the death In this case some fall into desperation and saye as sometimes dyd Caine My sinne is greater then can be pardoned God withdraweth his mercie from mee I am vnworthie of it I haue offended against the holy spirit of GOD mine owne conscience accuseth me I haue no parte in the kingdome of GOD and of Christe there is no sacrifice left for my sinnes Thus the wicked liue in trembling and agony as dyd Cain thus they leaue their lyfe with horrour and miserie so haue they no grace to repent no taste nor feelyng of the mercie of God But the children of God though they bee wounded yet they finde reliefe in the certayne hope of Gods mercie Though they say I am a sinner my sinnes are more in number then the heares of my head I haue offended against heauen and earth Yet they know that Christ came to call sinuers to repentance that hee healeth those that are