and owners You know what Christ himselfe confesseth that his Kingdome is not of this world and that he came not to be ministred vnto but to minister and therefore if they will be heires vnto him they must be heires of his Crosse He that will be my Disciple must take vp his Crosse and follow me Christ was heire of all things 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for a spirituall vse not for a temporall In such a sense as Saint Paul speaketh All is ours we Christs and Christ Gods But the Romanists are they that we are more troubled with therefore a word or two to them Christ is made heire of all therefore his Vicar must be confessed so to be therefore he may plant and plucke vp build and destroy hee may doe what he will Why the Apostle saith plainely that we haue this power he speaketh of himselfe and other Apostles and consequently their Successors to build and not to destroy and how then can they take vpon them to destroy or demolish And the Law saith that benefits from the Crowne are strictae nay strictissimae interpretationis because in such grants so much is taken away from the publicke which is chiefely to be tendred as is imparted to the Priuate Therefore they must shewe expresse words in their Patent to carry it or else they doe but trifle I grant they doe pretend Texts for their claime as for example All Power is giuen to me both in heauen and earth Mathew 28. Also The Nation and Kingdome that will not seruâ— thee shall perish and those Nations shall be vtterly destroyed Also he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written King of Kings and Lord of Lords But what of this These places shew that Christ is superexcellent and that his Dominion is ouer all and that they that rely not vpon him cannot be established But what maketh this for the man of Rome that he should be Paramount for authority that his doctrine should be held irrefragable his Commandements for little lesse than Diuine Truly no more then that reason of Peter Pinak Archbishop of Lions out of the sixt of Mathew was sound The Lilies of the field neither labour nor spinne therefore the Crowne of France that hath for her Armes the Lilies or Flowres de Lucâ— is not to descend to the Spinsters that is to the Female or that of Boniface out of Gen. 1. In the beginning God made heauen and earth In principio not in princiâ—ijs therefore there must be one vniuersall Head and all Soueraignty must be deriued from him or God made two great lights the greater light to rule the day the lesser to rule the night Therefore He of Rome is so many degrees greater and higher than the Emperour because the Sunne is so much and so much bigger than the Moone Or lastly for there must be an end of fooleries because God saith in the Psalme Thou hast put all things vnder his feet all sheepe and Oxen c. the fowles of the ayre the fish of the Sea Therefore he of Rome must weare a Triple Crowne one part in respect of his Dominion ouer Angels signified by the fowles of the ayre the second in respect of his Dominion ouer earthly creatures yea Princes signified by Sheepe and Oxen a very honest resemblance the third in respect of his Dominion ouer Purgatory which he may exhaust and cleane rid by his Bulls if they be well paid for them I will not stand to refute these not errors but fopperies Perfidiam eorum exposuisse superasse est Note and recite their errors and you confute them sufficiently Come we now to that which followeth By whom also he made the world The Apostle seemeth to speake thus Is not this a sufficient argument of the greatnesse of Christ that the Father made him heire of all things This then will satisfie you or choake you if you will not be satisfied that by him he made the world that they both concurred in the making of the world so saith Saint Iohn All things were made by him and withâ—ut him was nothing made that was made And Saint Paul By him the Sonne of God wâ—re all things created which are in heauen and which are in earth things visible and inuisible c. And Hebrewes 1. verse 10. Vnto the Sonne he saith O God thy Throne is for euer and euer and thou Lord in the beginning hast established the eaâ—th and the heauens are the workes of thy hands c. So then Christ made heauen and earth therefore God for it is aboue the power of a creature to make such Creatures yea to create any thing at all tâ—at is to produce a thing out of nothing for ex nihilo nihil fit of nothing comes nothing naturally as a Carpenter or Mason cannot make a house or wall vnlesse he hath timber and stone or the like So it is impossible for any creature be he man or Angell to forme any materiall thing otherwise than ex praeiacente materia Therefore the Prophet Ieremy giueth it for a rule and putteth it downe in Chaldee euen in the Hebrew Text he speaketh Chaldee to teach the Chaldeans among whom the Iewes were to liue in banishment or if they would not be taught to vpbraide them to their teeth in their mother-tongue at least if the Iewes should forget their Hebrew tongue yet they should not forget this Chaldee lesson Elahaija di shemija vearkâ— la ignabadu â—ebaddu me argna vmin techosh shemaija elleh that is The gods that haue not made the heauens and the earth euen they shall perish from the earth and from vnder these heauens But now on the other side Christ made the world or worlds 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 let me helpe the vnlearned and make them that are learned already more learned as the Hebrew word Cheleà in the old Testament that signifieth properly the lasting of the world is sometimes there taken for the fabricke of the world so is it with 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Newe it surely signifieth properly the lasting or continuance of the world yet in this place as in some other it is taken for the very masse or frame of it therefore God without question and because God therefore to be feared for he that made vs of nothing can consume vs to nothing if he hold but vp his finger Then further we are to adore him and to worship him as it is written Let vs kneele before the Lord our maker for he is our God and we the people of his pasture c. And yet further then we must serue him in holinesse and righteousnesse as it is written We are his workemanship created Gr. formed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in Christ Iesus vnto good workes which God hath prepared that wee should walke in them Lastly then wee must loue the brethren and not be bitter vnto
causa It is not the punishmeÌ„t it is the cause that maketh a true Martyr For our parts we say vnto them as Optatus doth to their like Nulli dictum est Nega Deum Nulli dictum est Incende Testamentum Nulli dictum est Aut Thus pone aut Basilicas destrue â—stae enim res solent Martyria generare That is To none of them hath it beene said Deny God To none of them hath it beene said Burne the New Testament To none hath it beene said Offer incense or throw downe Churches for these things are wont to engender Martyrdomes Thus Optatus lib. 3. And I pray you is not our cause like to Optatus his and theirs to the Parmenians When haue our Magistrates vrged any of them that haue beene sent from Rome much lesse Recusants to deny God except they make him of Rome to be their God Nay both they and we doe exhort them with all instance to turne from that vanity and to trust in the liuing God Cursed be he that trusteth in man and maketh flesh his arme So When doe we vrge them to burne the Bible or any part of the Bible Nay this hath beene their fault and sticketh to them for infamy like the Leprosie of Gehezi To set fire vpon the translated Bibles wheresoeuer they could finde them and to burne them by hundreds on an heape yet the worst translation made by our men is founder and more agreeable to the Originall then the Translation of the Seuentie and yet the Apostles themselues suffered the same nay vsed the same as is euident to the Learned so farre were they from defacing it To be short When and where haue our men forced them yea or perswaded either to put Incense vpon the Altar or to throw downe Churches Nay it is their proper guise euen now in the time of the Gospell when shadowes and carnall worship should cease to perfume their Altar and their vestiments and many things that I know not nor care to learne and it hath beene their ordinary practice where they haue beene the stronger to destroy not onely Churches but also as many as haue beene assembled in them to heare Gods Word and to receiue the Sacrament euen bloudily and butcherly with a rage that reached vp to heauen Witnesse the Massacres that they made at Vassey at Merindol and Cabrias in Piemont in Calabria and where not So that we haue great cause to flee from them not onely to goe away and they no cause to flee from vs who neuer thirsted after their blood nor drew it but constrained and in our defence But to what purpose all this Since they whom it concerneth are not here and them that are here it doth not concerne yet as our Sauiour made full account that some of his Auditors would relate vnto Herod what opinion he held of him and therefore said vnto them Goe yee and tell that Fox So we are content that they take information by some of you that we maintaine and are instant that there is cruelty in their side and not in ours and a good cause with vs and not with them and therefore that there is cause why they should returne to vs and no cause in the world why we should turne to them And let so much be spoken of the Question It followeth Simon Peter therefore answered him Lord to whom shall we goe thou hast the words of euerlasting life And we haue beleeued and knowne for we doe beleeue know Heb. that thou art the Christ the Son of the liuing God In this answere Saint Peter doth two things First he denyeth flatly that hee or his fellow Apostles haue any such meaning Then he bringeth reasons of their constant adhering to him The denyall is set forth by way of Interrogation for more vehemency sake and containeth in it a reason drawne from the excellency of Christ before other teachers Lord to whom shall we goe meaning there was no Master worth the thinking of in comparison to him and therefore that they were farre from any such purpose The reasons drawne from the excellency of Christ are two The one from the excellency of his Doctrine Thou hast the words of euerlasting life the other from the excellency of his person Thou art the Christ the Son of the liuing God Our heart and conscience telleth vs so much therefore we are not men but deuils if we forsake thee To this effect is Saint Peters answer in the name of his fellowes Let vs take the words before vs in order as they lye and first speake of the Interrogation Simon Peter therefore answered him saying Lord to whom shall we goe The first thing that we are to learne out of these words is this namely That truth and a good cause hath alwayes some to maintaine it The Disciples fell away yea many of the Disciples fell away yea they fell away so that they came no more at our Sauiour as the Text hath it but yet hee was not left without witnesse he had the Apostles to beare record to him and to stand for him So the High Priests and the Elders yea and the whole multitude of the Iewes cryed out against him and would not otherwise be satisfied then with his death but Ioseph of Arimathea a Councellour a iust man and a good consented not to their plots and practices Luk. 23. So Obadiah was not carryed away with the streame of the time to kill Gods Prophets and those that worshipped the Lord with holy worship but hid them in Caues and prouided for them though it were with the jeopardy of his head So Ruben though he had sinned before a great sinne and had highly offended God thereby and his father too yet in this no question he pleased both that he dissented from his brethrens bloody designe to murder their bother Ioseph and both disswaded them and deliuered him The like example of constancy and magnanimity appeared in Caleb and Iosuah Numb 14. who opposed themselues not onely to their fellowes being tenne to two but also to the whole Congregation of the Children of Israel being an hundred thousand to one against all they stood boldly for the maintenance of Gods glory in the power of his might and the truth of his promise saying Rebell not against the Lord neither feare yee the people of the Land for they are but bread for vs their shield is departed from them and the Lord is with vs feare them not Thus they and this was counted to them for righteousnesse vnto all posterity for euer-more Yea that God that prospered the Midwiues of Egypt for not subscribing to the bloody decree of Pharaoh and his Councellors did also highly aduance these his seruants not onely bringing them into the Land of Promise the place of rest where they would be but also making one of them Generall Captaine ouer his people anâ— giuing him admirable victories and the other also a great man and a mighty and of such
truth being reuealed let error how ancient soeuer giue place to truth So a Father in a Councell holden vnder Cyprian in Carthage For as Ambrose said against Symmachus Nulla aetas ad peâ— discendum ser a est nullus pudor est ad meliora transire No age is too late to learne it is no shame to proceed to the better Saint Peter was at the first of opinion that it was vnlawfull for a lewe to keepe company or come to one of another Nation So Act. 15. Certaine that were of the Sect of the Pharises Nazarites beleeued thought and taught that we must be circumcised and keepe the Law of Moses euen the Ceremoniall Law or else we cannot be saued But afterward St. Peter was let to vnderstand and so were those beleeuing Pharises too that Circumcision is nothing and vncircumcision nothing but Christ is all in all and as many as be in Christ are deliuered from the curse of the Law and from the bondage also So Saint Paul whilest he was in Iewishnesse was most zealous of the Traditions of the Fathers and a most bitter enemy to the Gospell who but he but after it pleased God who separated him from his mothers wombe and called him by his grace to reueile his Sonne vnto him and to make knowne to him the Doctrine of the Gospell whereby hee might saue himselfe and those that heard him did he once communicate with flesh and blood or did he asmuch as deliberate whether a cancred and inueterate error were to be forsaken and changed for a new and sauing truth No no but presently he ioyned himselfe to the true Church howsoeuer he had scorned nay detested it and raged against it before and chose rather to be a dore-keeper in Gods house then to be a great Rabby in the Synagogue of mis-beliefe Thus Saint Paul was not ashamed of the Gospell for all the nouelty thereof as the world counted nouelty No more let any of vs be at this day for the like imputation Where was the Gospell before Luther who liued within these hundred yeeres or before the Bohemians of whom Iohn Hus and Hierâ—me of Prague were chiefe who liued within these two hundred and sixty yeeres at the most before Wickliff who liued within these three hundred yeeres at the most before the Waldenses and Pauperes de Lugduno who liued within these foure hundred at the most before Henry of Tholous who liued within these fiue hundred yeeres at the most before Iohannes Scotus and Bertram who liued within these six or seuen hundred yeeres vpward towards Christs time and of fiue or sixe hundred yeeres from Christ downeward Adde these times together and then what great prescription not onely antiquity can our aduersaries bragge of It is certaine that as God neuer left himselfe without witnesses vnder the Law no more did hee vnder the Gospell And as he raised vp true Prophets which opposed themselues to the false prophets that brought in damnable Doctrines and Keraim Textuall men that stucke to the Word written that withstood the Pharises which made voyd the Commandements of God with their Traditions So did he in these later corrupt times for in the first foure or fiue hundred yeeres we claime and can proue that the learnedst and grauest writers be in the chiefe Controuersies of Religion wholy on our side alwayes stirre vp some that professed maintained the truth that now we stand vpon by the like grounds out of the Word of God and this we can shew out of our Aduersaries writings who you may be sure will not speake or write the best of them And haue we then any cause to be ashamed of the Gospell which howsoeuer it hath beene troden downe yet it was not so in the best times yet neuer so but that God left himselfe still a remnant that could not be brought to bowe the knees to Baal or to worship the Beast Now as we are not to be ashamed of it neither for the falsely so called newnesse nor for that some of our selues were peraduenture for a great while of another perswasion so ought we not chiefely for the holines purenesse and soundnesse thereof The Pharises and as many as were carnally-minded would haue Christ to restore the temporall Kingdome to Israel and to free them from the yoke of the Romanes but now the Gospell assureth vs that God hath deliuered vs from the power of darkenesse and translated vs into the Kingdome of his deare Sonne in whom wee haue redemption in his blood euen the forgiuenesse of sinnes And whether is more spirituall The carnally-minded Iewes would haue Ierusalem onely to be the place where men ought to worship the Tribe of Leui onely to be the Sacrificers and the flesh of Bulls and Goates and Lambes and Rammes to be the speciall Sacrifices But now the Gospell teacheth vs that not in Ierusalem nor in the Mountaine but the true worshippers worship God in sincerity and truth and that we are all become a Royall Priest-hood an holy Nation a peculiar people to offer vp spirituall Sacrifices the Sacrifice of righteousnesse the Sacrifice of a contrite heart the Sacrifice of thankesgiuing the Sacrifice of Almes acceptable to God in Iesus Christ. And whether is more pure The Pharises and their Disciples taught and beleeued that man had Free-will witnesse Iosephus to that which is good as well as to that which is bad That if a man keep the more part of the Commandement though he transgresse a few yet he is righteous with God witnesse Burgensis in â—ac cap. 2. add 1. That if a man will be Chasid that is an holy man indeed he must haue Ribbith letorah he must supererogate and doe more then the Law hath prescribed witnesse the Iewish books briefely that by Korban by that which they offer to their boxe men might be discharged of their bounden duty to their Parents That by fasting twice a weeke by vsing much washing by Touch not Tast not Handle not c. they were more iust then others witnesse the Scribes But now the wisedome of the Gospell speaketh on this wise touching Free-will No man commeth to Christ except the Father drawe him we are not sufficient of our selues to thinke a good thought as of our selues c. Touching the keeping of the Law that if a man will liue thereby he is a debtor to abide in all the Commandements of God to doe them that if a man keepe the whole Law and faile in one he is guilty of all c. Touching workes of Supererogation and voluntary obseruation that howsouer they haue a shew of wisedome yet for as much as they are after the Commandements and doctrines of men they doe all perish with our vsing Coloss. 2. For in vaine doe they worship me teaching for Doctrine mens precepts Who can tell how oft he offends Lord purge me from my secret faults sayes the Prophet And will any dare to bragge of his good workes yea that
of him Rulers were not sent indeed but as it were sent Which is so shallow a shift that it is not worth the confuting Of like moment is the other which Innocent and the Glosse hath in the same place that it is a Counsell and not a Commandement for the Lords sake If we will supererogate we may but we are not bound Whereas it is euident to euery one that hath but halfe his eye open that Saint Peter hath the same meaning that St. Paul namely to yeeld obedience not only for feare of man and of punishment but also and especially for loue towards God and for conscience sake But I haue stood ouerlong vpon this point of the Romish Gospell touching the authority of the Bishop of that See and touching his shamelesse eluding of such places as make for the Princes Soueraignty It is well said by Optatus Cùm supra Imperatorem not sit nisi solus Deus c. Forasmuch as there is none aboue the Emperour but onely God who made the Emperour while Donatus exâ—olleth himselfe aboue the Emperour he had now as it were exceeded the bounds to esteeme himselfe as God and not as man c. Let him of Rome thinke that of Optatus to be spoken to himselfe and so I leaue him for that matter What if I should now enter vpon an Antithesis betweene other points of the Romish Gospell and the true Gospell of our Sauiour Christ should there not be matter of shame and confusion ministred to our Aduersaries and to vs of glory and reioycing Their Doctrine of the Head of the Church militant you heare is carnall while they reioyce in a thing of naught and make flesh their arme also seditious while they will haue him to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to meddle out of his Dioces and to haue an Oare in euery Princes Boate. Now what is their Doctrine of the body it selfe the Church what of the food thereof the Word what of the badges and seales thereof the Sacraments what of the Keyes thereof the power of binding and loosing what of the exercise thereof prayer and fasting what of the life thereof Faith in the Sonne of God what of the Iustifier and Sauiour thereof Iesus Christ and that with that one bloody Sacrifice of his body and blood once for all c As Tertullian saith De praescript Ipsa Doctrina eorum cum Apostolica comparata ex diuer sitate contrarietate suapronuntiabit non Apostoli alicuius authoris esse neque Apostolici c. Their Doctrine it selfe being compared with the Apostles Doctrine by the diuersity and contrariety thereoâ— will pronounce that it came not from any Apostle nor Apostolike man So if wee lust to enter the comparison wee shall soone finde how much their Doctrine differeth from the Gospell and how agreeable ours is to it We teach that Christs true Church being his body and a Communion of Saints consisteth onely of such as belong to God They that it comprehendeth bad as well as good Reprobate as well as Elect They that the visible Church is discerned by multitudes and succession of Bishops c. We that it should be rather by purity of Doctrine and sincerity of ministring the Sacraments Whether truer and more consonant to the Gospell of Christ Doth not our Sauiour teach that when he commeth he shall scarsely find faith in the earth Where then be multitudes and the visibility thereof Doth not Saint Paul that after his departure there should enter grieuous Woolues What reckoning then of Succession Malè vâ—s pariâ—tum amor caepit c. Your loue that you beare to the walls of the Church is but a bad loue You doe euill to reuerence the Church by roofes and buildings c. Anné ambiguum est in ijs Antichristum esse sessurum Is there any doubt but Antichrist will sit there Montes mihi Spinae Lacus Carceres Voragines tutiores sunt iâ— illis enim Prophetae aut manentes aut demersi Dei Spiritu prophetabant Mountaines and Woods and Lakes and Prisons and deepe Caues are safer for me I may more safely haue recourse to them for direction and safety for in them the Prophets did either abide or being drencht there did prophecy Thus Hilary against Auxenâ—ius As for the Word the Food of the Church how many wayes blessed God! doe they adulterate it or make it vnprofitable and so make it no Gospell at all They equall their Traditions they call them the Apostles Traditions but while they cannot shew them in the writings of the Apostles Non accipio quod extra Scripturam de tuo infers as Tertullian saith with the written Word of God So doth the Councell of Trent yea the Decretall Epistles of the Popes Inter Canonicas Scripturas Decretales Epistolae connumerantur So hath my Gratian dist 19. in the Title and the Glosse also taketh it so I know not whether they be ashamed of it and haue corrected it in the later Editions This is one way Againe they keepe it in an vnknowne tongue as it were vnder locke and key or a booke that is sealed or if it be translated by Godly Learned men they storme as much as Alexander did when he heard that Aristotles bookes wherein he would be onely cunning were published nay as much as Herod was troubled and all Ierusalem with him vpon the newes that Christ was borne for that now their Kingdome was neere to an end They pretend that it is not well translated by our men and therefore they are so much against it but why doe not they translate it better Why in their forty seuen yeeres of leisure for so many it is since they left their Country haue they set forth the New Testament onely and that in such sort as all men may plainely see how much against their hearts it is that the people should haue any knowledge of the Word of God whereby they might discouer reproue the falshood of their Doctrine They that would not haue a Lyon or an Elephant to stirre they hudwinke them They of Mitelene when they would vse their subiects like slaues and oppresse them with tyrannie tooke order that they should not put their sonnes to schoole and that they might learne nothing witnesse Aelianus The like practice Nahash the Ammonite attempted with them of Iabesh-Gilead That if they would haue peace they must buy it with their right eyes If you will haue this applyed take the simplest of the people and make them applyers Their Kingdome is a Kingdome of darkenesse dumbe Images for their Teachers dumbe signes in the Masse for their Preachers dumbe or not-vnderstood Seruice for their deuotion c. And therefore without darkenesse and ignorance it cannot be vpholden Come we to the Doctrine of the Keyes of the Church Christ deliuered to Peter and in him to all the Apostles as Origen Cyprian Chrysostome Augustin and which not of the ancient Fathers doe teach the Keyes
lap Or who wil deny that God gaue the Israelites victory against the Medianites because they brought Pitchers into the field and light in the Pitchers Or that God did not feed them with bread from heauen and water out of the rocke for that they gathered the one and brought vessels at the least their mouthes to receiue the other It is one thing to be the true cause of a thing the conduit-pipe or fountaine another thing to bring a bucket nay not so much as that but to bring onely a mouth or a hand to take it Indeed i◠God should say to vs as Marius did to his Souldiers I can helpe you to water but you must buy it with blood or as Saul did to Dauid 1. Sam. 18. Thou shalt haue my daughter in marriage but shee must cost thee an hundred foreskins of the Philistims or as Caleb said to his men Ioshua 15. I will bestow my daughter vpon one of you but hee that will haue her must first win Kiriath-Sepher hee must quit himselfe like a man and fight valiantly then it were another matter then might some say The way of the Lord is righteous onely it is not liberall it is but hire for seruice wages for merit He loued vs for we loued him first doth for vs for we did for him But now when he saith vnto vs Beleeue onely and the Lord will doe great things for thy soule trust perfectly in the grace of God that is brought vnto thee in the Gospell and thou shalt become a child of Abraham an heire of God and fellow heire with Christ euen a vessell of Saluation who can impeach or blemish Gods bounty and liberality with the least note of mercinarinesse for he that saith Beleeue the Gospell and it will saue thee seemeth to say in effect no more then this He that hath an eare to heare let him heare as it is in the Gospell or Open thy mouth wide and I will fill it as it is in the Psalme or Wash thy selfe in Iordan and be cleane as it is in the holy Story Now as this maketh much against our Aduersaries that are merit-mongers So it maketh nothing at all for Gospellers that turne the grace of God into wantonnesse and thinke that because they pretend a faith that they may doe all things and be excused for all things This therefore shall be the twofold vse of this Circumstance of the quality that ought to be in the persons to be saued by the Gospell both for confutation that the Aduersaries of our free iustification by Christ preached in the Gospell be proued to be false Teachers deceitfull workemen c. And for reprehension that if any man thinkes he may vse the cloake of faith for a colour of vnrighteousnesse that he be vnmasked Which points I cannot stand now to enlarge vnto you hauing already pressed vpon your patience but will referre the handling thereof to some other time To God the Father God the Sonne and God the holy Ghost three Persons but one euerlasting and indiuisible God be ascribed all power might Maiestie and Dominion now and for euer Amen Amen A SERMON VPON THE SECOND OF KINGS· THE FIFTH SERMON 2. KINGS 18.13 Moreouer in the foureteenth yeere of King Hezekiah Sennacherib King of Asshur came vp against all the strong Cities of Iudah and tooke them THE Prophet hauing declared in the foure verses immediatly going before my Text what griefe King Hezekiah and his faithfull subiects had suffered by hearing what Gods enemies had done to their brethren those of the ten Tribes in destroying their Country burning their Cities killing a great number of them carrying away the remnant of them into captiuity all this because oftheir wickednes rebellion against God Now here at the 13. verse he beginneth to shew what and how much they suffered in themselues And what was that Surely they were not onely afflicted with present euils as of the spoiling and sacking of most of their Townes of the exhausting of their Treasures both prophane and sacred and with blasphemous reuilings of them and of the true God whom they worshipped c. but also with feare of future euils as namely that the mother-Citie it selfe the glory of that Kingdome Hierusalem should be taken their Temple destroyed their King and Nobles led away their young men slaine with the sword their women abused c. And which did most of all vexe the soule of the righteous that they that were so sawcy with God as to blaspheme him before the victory would if they should preuaile be hardned in their villanies and say of a truth that the Iewes worshipped a thing of nought This is the summe of the euils mentioned in this Chapter and in part of the next partly suffered indeed of the faithfull partly suffered in feare and expectation Now what mercy the Lord shewed them in the end and what confusion he brought vpon their enemies the same is described towards the later end of the Chapter following Let vs now take the Story in order as it lyeth hauing thus before-hand pointed at the generall heads The first thing that I note vnto you is The continuance and progresse of troubles to the Church noted in this word Moreouer Good Lord might one say what a world is this one depth calleth on another one misery in the necke of another Finis alterius mali gradus est futuri The end of one mischiefe is a step to another as Seneca saith and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Labour bringeth labour vnto labour as it is in Sophocles Why no sooner came Hezekiah to the Kingdome but hee must presently in hand with a reformation and what reformation Surely not of slight matters which might be borne with but of things which immediatly concerned the glory of God he was to purge out Idolatry which had taken deepe roote in the time of his wicked father and to settle an order for the right seruice of God which for a long time was decayed This and more hee was to doe which purchased to him great charges great jarres and great contradiction Now he was no sooner out of this but his neighbours nay his brethren according to the flesh the Israelites are inuaded by the common enemie These hee dare not helpe lest hee should bring present mischiefe vpon himselfe Againe he must see them perish before his eyes though hee knew that his owne day was comming and after that the enemy had done with them then he would haue a saying to him This was bitter euen as bitter as death but yet for all this the wrath of the Lord is not turned away but his iealousie burneth like fire and catcheth hold vpon the Iewes themselues In the foureteenth yeere of Hezekiah Sennacherib came vp against all the Cities of Iudah c. Loe not long after they had beene the beholders of a Tragedie they were made to be Actors that is sufferers in it themselues This is the image of mans life
so cruelly with vs But now when the Precept of humiliation is to the Creator of all things shall flâ—sh and blood disdaine to submit it selfe to God weake flesh and blood to the mighty hand of God It was a reason that Iosephus vsed in his Oration to his Countrey-men to perswade them to submit their neckes to the yoke of the Romanes for as much as they had gotten the Dominion of the greatesâ— part of the world The same reason vsed Rabshakâ—h to them that were besieged in Ierusalem that for as much as the King of Assyria had subdued many other Nations strong and mightie therefore they might with credit enough yeeld Dignitate Domini minùs turpis est conditio seâ—uâ— By the honor of the Master the base estate of the seruant becommeth more tolerable It was some comfort to Marcus Antonius hauing wounded himselfe to death in desperation that he was ouercome not by any base coward but by a valiant Roman AEnaeae magni dextrâ cadis So Aeneas bade one comfort himselfe Salâ—em ne lixae manu cadam saith the valorous Admirall of France Slay me and spare not but yet not by the hand of a skullion Let not a boy slay vs said Zibah and Zalmumah Iudg. 8. but rise thou and fall vpon vs for as the man is so is his strength Therefore for as much as we are required to humble our selues vnder Almighty God who made the heauens and the earth by his great power and by his stretched-out Arme and nothing is hard vnto him Ieremy 32. Behold he will breake downe and it cannot be built he shutteth vp a man and he cannot be loosed Iob 12. He putteth his hand vpon the Rockes and ouerthroweth the mountaines by the roots Iob 28. For as much I say as he is the Creator of the Spirits of all flesh not onely of their bodits and doth what he will both in heauen and earth turning man to destruction and againe saying in mercy Turne againe ye children of men Shall we bridle it or bristle it against him shall we scorne to answer when he calleth obey when he commandeth sorrow and mourne when he chasticeth shall we receiue good of the Lord and then to be vnthankefull euill and then be impatient Nay rather let vs hearken to the Commandement in my Text Humble your selues vnder the mighty hand of God and to the promise annexed that he may exalt you Foelix Ecclesia saith Austin cuise Deus debitorem fecit non aliquid accipiendo sed omnia promittendo Happy is the Church to whom the Lord hath made himselfe a debtor not by receiuing any thing at her hands but by promising all things Surely though the Lord had onely commanded bade vs on our Alleageance to imbrace humility and to remoue arrogancy farre from vs we were bound euen for the Commandement sake to yeeld all obedience to it For doth not a sonne honor his Father and a seruant his Lord And are we not his workemanship created in Christ Iesus vnto good workes which he hath appointed that we should walke in them Againe if he had tendered the vertue humility vnto vs in it owne kind without any painting without any sauce as it were were it not worthy to be looked vpon nay to be tasted nay to be swallowed downe as most wholesome meate Whatsoeuer it seemeth to you of the wise it hath beene esteemed either the most excellent or the most necessary of all vertues Some call it the Rose of the Garden and the Lilly of the field Some the Queene of all vertues Some the mother Some the foundation and ground-worke Some the roote Certaine it is saith Bernard Nisi super humilitatis stabile fundamentum spiritale aedificium stare non potest A spirituall building cannot stand steady except it be placed vpon the sure foundation of humility Augustine goeth further and saith to Dioscorus that it is the first thing in Christianity and the second and the third and almost all in all for saith he except humility doe both goe before and accompany and follow after all whatsoeuer we doe well pride will wrest it out of our hands and marre all Therefore humility is to be thought vpon and by all meanes to be coueted after euen for the very worth of it though there were no promise annexed to it to drawe vs on But now when God is so good and gracious to vs as to promise vs promotion for the issue and cloze wee must needs shew our selues very dull and very vnhappy if we doe not striue for it as for siluer and digge for it as for treasure The Husband-man is content to goe forth weeping and to bestow his precious seed so that he may returne with ioy and bring his sheaues with him So euery one that proueth Masteries is content to abstaine from all things so that he may obtaine a Crowne though the same be a corruptible one So the Souldier to approue himselfe to him that hath chosen him to the Warfare The Captaine and specially the Generall to get glory what paine and hardnesse doe they sustaine or rather what doe they not sustaine It is written of Alexander I will trouble you but with one Story that being in the farther parts of Asia one while striuing against heat and thirst another while against cold and hunger another while against craggy Rockes another while against deepe and dangerous riuers c. he could not containe but burst forth in this exclamation O yee Athenians what difficulties and dangers doe I endure for your sakes to be praised and celebrated by â—our pennes and tongues Now if to be extolled by the pennes and tongues of vaine men could preuaile so much with a Prince tenderly bred and of great estate should not wee much rather submit our selues to Gods will and pleasure and prouidence and euen deny and defie whatsoeuer worth may seeme to be in vs that hee may aduance vs and bring vs to honour God surely vseth to make great ones small and smal or meane ones great as Xenophon speakes Nay the blessed Virgin being moued by the holy Ghost acknowledgeth as much He pulleth downe the mighty from their seat and exalteth the humble and meeke He maketh high and maketh low yea he maketh them high that before were low if in humility and meekenesse they possesse their soules Dauid kept his fathers sheepe and was not ashamed nay he braggeth of it in an holy kind of reioycing in the Psalme That the Lord tooke him as he followed the Ewes great with Lambe to be a Ruler in Iacob and a Gouernour in Israel So Agathocles so Willigis to trouble you with no more the one was exalted to bee King of Sicily being but a Potters sonne the other to be Archbishop of Mentz a Prince Elector in Germany being but a Wheelers sonne They acknowledged Gods prouidence and worke in their aduancement and were so farre from being ashamed of their base parentage that the one would not
shift for themselues by flight before they had put their Generall Sertorius in safety So the Galles had their Soldurios that is deuoted men which vowed to liue and dye with their Lord as Bodin out of antiquity doth gather So the French Protestants are much commended by the equall for that they bâ—stowed the young Princes of Nauarre and Condie in a strong Castle out of gun-shot before they hazarded the great battell of Moncounter The King is so to the Common-weale as the helme is to the shippe or rather as the shippe is to the passengers while the shippe is safe there is hope to recouer the land be we neuer so farre from it though the Sea and winds doe neuer so much swell and rage but if the Shippe sinke or be dashed on the rockes there remaineth nothing but a fearefull looking for of drowning and destruction Therefore the safety of the King being the safety of all what maruell if the Prophet begin with Kings and aduise them to looke about them This may be one cause Another this We know that there is no cloth that doth so kindely take the colour that the Dyer would staine it with as the people are apt to imitate the guize and carriage of their Prince the similitude is not mine but Nazianzens therefore because the conuerting of him is the conuerting of hundreds at a clap and his auersenesse or stiffenesse the auersenesse or standing out of multitudes this also may be thought to be a cause why he beginneth with Kings When was there a good King in Iuda for there were but few in Israel after that Ephraim departed from the house of Dauid that sought the Lord with all his heart but he drew the people to be well-giuen at the least-wise in comparison On the other side when was there a wicked King that did set set vp Idols in his heart or worshipped the Hoast of heauen or burnt incense vnto Baal but the people were as forward and as sharpely set vpon Idolatry as he 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is The subiect is wont to emulate and imitate the life of his Gouernour or Prince saith one Historiographer and another Princeps quum Imperio maximus sit exemplo maior est that is Be the Prince neuer so great for command yet he commandeth most by his example It is somewhat strange Circumcision is a painefull thing specially in them that are out of their Infancy it may be gathered hereby for that the Turkes vsing it at this day vpon their children being of sâ—me yeeres doe vse such dissembling towards them for the circumstance of the time when they doe it and yet when the King of Sichem had yeelded thereunto the whole City followed So Diodorus writeth of the Aethiopians that when their King had caught some mayme or marke in any part ofhis body the manner was for all his Fauorites to maime or marke themselues in the same part Is it not written of Rehoboam expressely that when he forsooke the Lord all Israel did so with him Also is it not to be obserued in the Ecclesiasticall Story that when Iulian fell from Christ vnto Paganisme Valens in stead of the truth imbraced a lye the vile Heresie of the Arians a great part of the Empire did so likewise On the other side when Iosiah serued the Lord with all his heart all Iuda did so all his dayes And when Constantine the great and Theodosius the great gaue themselues to aduance the faith of Christ and to purge out the old leauen of Heathenisme there was such a change in the Empire on the sudden that Zosimus and Eunapius being Pagans doe much complaine thereof in their writings therefore me thinkes Fulgensius speaketh to good purpose and agreeable to true experience that although Christ dyed indifferently for all the faithfull yet the conuerting of the mighty Ones of the world is of speciall seruice to winne soules vnto Christ. Hee doth symbolize with that learned Writer that allegorizng vpon those words of Saint Iohn touching the taking of so many great Fishes doth congratulate vnto the Church the happy conuerting of Princes because by their conuetsion many were brought vnto Christs Fold Yea Plutarch a Heathen man saw in a manner as much touching the great force that is in the example of Princes for he in the life of Dio speaking of Plato his sayling into Sicily to doe some good vpon King Dionysius maketh this to be the speciall motiue for that the reforming of the King would be the reforming of the whole Iland So then the Kings piety and sound perswasion being as effectuall for the winning of the soules of his subiects as his bodily safety is auaileable for the conseruing of their worldly estates Our Psalmist without doubt had great reasâ—on to doe as he doth to begin with Kings This may suffice for the naturall placing of the words and withall touching the incomparable good that redoundeth to the common Estate by the Kings piety and safety I come now more closely to the Duty of Kings for of that onely and of the touch of the time Now which shall be for application I shall speake at this time Be wise now therefore O Kings Two kindes of wisedome are required in Kings and Princes wisedome or knowledge in Gods matters otherwise called Diuinity and wisedome or knowledge in matters of the world otherwise called Prudence or Policy Both are contained in the Originall word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 It signifieth also good successe to note that God many times crowneth pious prudence prudent piousnes with many a temporall blessing Both are not onely for ornament like the two Pillars that Salomon put in the Porch of the Temple but also for speciall vse like the hands of Aaron Hur which did support the armes of Moses for the discomfiture of the Amalekites For if they be pious only in Gods matters be not otherwise prudent then they are fitter for the Common-weale of Plato then for the corrupt estate of Romulus for the Cloister then for the Court Againe if they be prudent or politicke onely be not pious then they are fitter to be Kings of Babel where dwelleth confusion then of Hierusalem where Gods glory is seene and more rightly to be called the children of this world which goeth to nought and perisheth then the children of God who loue truth in the inwards and caâ—e for none but for such as worship him from a pure heart with a good conscience Well they must bee Diuines as it were this is first required I say not in profession but in knowledge they must know God the onely Lord and whom he hath sent Iesus Christ they must know Christ and him crucified and the power of his Crosse and vertue of his resurrection and the fellowship of his afflictions that they may be conformable vnto his death they must separate and distinguish truth from error cleane from vncleane right from
They talke in fabulous Stories such as Wittikindus and Gregorie Turonensis are that such a City could not be taken because the body of Saint Author lay there such an one could not be taken because the body of Saint Ambrose lay there such could not be taken because such Saints and such Saints prayed for them Strong illusions of Satan or rather grosse and palpable credulities in men of a degenerous mind that had sold themselues to belieue lyes The truth is the prayer of a righteous man can doe much with God if it be feruent 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 if it be operatiue or haue 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is an efficacy in it But the Apostle speaketh of the righteous that are liuing not that are departed as is apparant in the Text As also Eusebius did when he said that a righteous prayer 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is such a thing as there is no fighting or standing against It is such a thing indeed when it is offered by a faithfull people for a faithfull Prince It pierceth the heauens and thrusteth into the Throne of grace and will not be repelled till it hath obtained at Gods hands both the safety of the Prince and the reuenge of the Elect. Prayer therefore is the best guard that we can yeeld vnto our King and piety is the best Armour that his Maiestie can put on Other habiliments munitions and policies haue their place and are profitable for somewhat but godlinesse is profitable for all things hauing the promise of this life and of that which is to come Be wise now therefore O Kings and Princes serue the Lord in feare and reioyce before him in trembling kisse the Sonne lest he be angry and kisse the Sonne and he will be well pleased but kisse him with the lippes of your heart wiâ—h faith and with loue Be pi usly wise and wisely pious in Colendo sapere debemus in sapiendo colere as saith Lactantius So shall the King haue pleasure in your beauty for he is your Lord God and you must worship him So shall he giue his Angels charge ouer you to keepe you in all his wayes So shall he blesse your going forth and your being forth your comming home and your being at home yea the Lord shall so blesse you that you shall multiply your yeeres vpon earth and see your childrens children and peace in Hierusalem and ioy vpon Sion all your life long which God the Father grant for his Sonne Christs sake to whom with the holy Ghost be all honour and glory Amen A SERMON VPON THE FIRST TO THE HEBREVVES THE ELEVENTH SERMON HEBREVVES 1. verse 1 c. God who at sundry times and in diuers maners spake in times past vnto the Fathers by the Prophets Arab. Gnalei alshan that is by the tongue of the Prophets 2. Hath in these last dayes spoken to vs by his Sonne whom he hath appointed heire of all things by whom also hee made the worlds 3. Who being the brightnesse of his glory and the expresse Image of his Person 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and vpholding all things by the Word of his power Syr. Bechaila Demelletheh that is by the power of his Word when he had by himselfe purged our sinnes sate downe on the right hand of the Maiestie on high c. AMong all the passages and portions of Scripture which yeeld fit matter of discourse and which doe not euen from the beginning of Genesis to the latter end of the Reuelation there is none in my iudgement that affordeth greater store either of heauenly doctrine or of spirituall comfort than this doth that I haue in hand For when the ,Apostle saith that God hath reuealed himselfe vnto vs in his Sonne and that he appointed his Sonne heire of all things and that his Sonne is such an one for power for person for nature for glory what a floud or rather Sea of Diuinity doth it containe Againe when he tells vs that the Sonne of God hath ,purged our sinnes by himselfe and is sate downe on the right hand of the Maiestie 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is that hee is aduanced on high and is able perfectly to saue them that come vnto him what hope are we to conceiue thereby yea strong confidence yea vndauntable consolation that we cannot want whilest our Sauiour hath it and cannot be lost whilest he liueth and raigneth The Prophet Ezekiel and Saint Iohn in the Reuelation speake of a tree the fruit whereof is for meate and the leaues for medicine So Nauigators tell vs and many that be aliue haue seene it with their eyes and felt it with their hands and with their mouthes haue tasted of the excellency of the tree that beareth the Nutmeg the barke the huske the filme the fruite all aromaticall all good for the Braines or for the Stomacke or both So the Pomegranate is a very extraordinary fruite the hard rinde being dryed is medicinable many wayes as for the iuice and kernels they are not onely wholesome but also delightsome yet for all that it is obserued and the Iewes vse it for a Prouerbe amongst them that There is no Pomegranate so sound but it hath some rotten kernels in it fewer or more and we also vse to say Euery Beane hath his blacke And Plutarch reporteth it to haue beene the speech of Simonides that as euery Larke hath his tuft so euery man hath his imperfection Now it is not so in the Word of God euery part of it is Homogenâ—ous euery part like it selfe as being deliuered by one Spirit and leuelled by one rule You know what is deliuered by the Prophet All the words of the Lord are pure words as the siluer that is tryed in a fornace of earth and fined seuen-fold and by Saint Paul that the Law euen the Law is holy and the Commandement holy and iust and good But as it is a fault in the building of a City to make the gate vaster than for the proportion of the Perimeter or compasse thereof Shut your gate said a Philosopher to the men of Mindas lest your Towne runne out at it so long Preâ—aces in a small scant of time and a great field being to be surueyed are very vnseasonable to speake the least It was said of long time by Callimachus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is a great book is as bad as a great deale of euill the like is to be said of a long tedious Preface For our Text it containeth at once two seuerall declarations the one of the excellency of the Gospell aboue the Law from the beginning of the first verse to the middle of the second The second declaration is of the excellency or rather superexcellency of our Sauiour aboue Moses and the Prophets yea aboue euery name that is named both in heauen and in earth from the middle of the second verse to the latter end of the third where my Text endeth so