neuer be asswaged 530 562 Blind and simple in all her practises 592 c. Euer her owne foe 646 Man The name of man imports three things 3 The qualitie of his thoughts 601 His pride and vanitie 2 Two definitions of him 625 Deferres his promises 159 His attributes obliuion and basenesse 3 His best knowledge is to know himselfe 4 The benefit arising from this knowledge 6 7 His onely supporter God 160 Nothing his owne in this life 251 Nor can he doe any thing of himselfe 252 The Vine of all plants most resembleth him 255 God is able to make of him what he pleaseth 256 Good men are scarce 259 Nothing so foule as man without his God 279 He is the Deuils Cittadell 285 Why Sathan is so malicious against him 291 Of all creatures the most furious if not guided by reason 329 Christs Art in gaining him 637 The Deuill not more cruell 381 425 598 Why God suffers in him so many corporall weakenesses and defects 480 c. 506 Inferiour to the creatures in all humane goods 508 His wayes are two and he needs a guide 520 608 Masters How to vse and esteeme their seruants 25 c. They must visit and helpe them in their sickenesse 31 The benefit of hauing Christ our Master 115 Meditation Like Gun-pouder 5 Meekenesse Preuailes vpon the fiercest persons 51 Memorie The true vse of it 3 Mercy See Charitie Pitie Loue. Gods omnipotency seene most in his mercy 54 The practise of mercie brings with it the greatest glorie 55 It differenceth Gods children from those of the Deuill 100 Workes of mercie most enquired after in the day of Iudgement 105 Mercie and Iustice the two Poles of Gods gouernment 108 Mercie a sure motiue to Mercy 153 Merciful men the fittest to be about Princes ib. God defers not his Mercy but to augment it 159 Not so plentiful vnder the Law as vnder Grace 165 Gods Mercy euer in competition with mans malice 260 He that would find Mercy must seeke it 387 Iudges must incline to Mercy 421 455 c. An argument of goodnesse in whomsoeuer it is found 424 'T is Gods care to worke his children to Mercie 435 Hee delights in no attributes of his owne so much as this 481 'T is the Spring from whence all his other blessings flow 496 Sometimes so great that wee cannot thinke on it but with terrour 498 Merits Vtterly cryed down 148 321 Ministers See Preachers Magistrates Miracles When to be wrought 85 324 Why not in vse now Ibid. Hypocrites fauour them much 120 c. The nature of Christs miracles 122 c. How they differed from those of the Deuill ibid. Why miracles should be desired 123 More frequent in the time of Grace than vnder the Law ibid. Prophesies more auailable 190 Neither necessarie to saluation nor sufficient 326 Christs miracles all wrought for the reparation of our miseries 430 Mirth See Sorrow The best Phisicke 167 Money The instrument of all mischiefe 274 Moores Of all people the most fearefull and why 73 Mortification If true neuer without mirth 19 20 Moses Chaire What it meant 212 N Niniue THe greatnesse of it 132 How the Niniuites shall rise vp in Iudgement against Christians at the latter day 132 O Obliuion HAth two bosomes 535 Offence See Iniurie Offerings No honour to God when hurtfull to others 366 Offices The sale of them the ruine of a Kingdome 457 Oliue Why the Hieroglyphicke of Mercy 413 What was typified by the mount of Oliues 412 Order The want of it any where brings all into confusion 441 P Paradise See Heauen Parents MVst be loued of their children 275 They must haue a care of them 226 Partialitie In all things to be auoyded 440 Most of all in Iudgement 472 Passion See Christ. Death Christ glorious in his Passion three manner of wayes 192 Punctuall in discribing it 220 It should be seriously considered ibid. 222 'T is the fountaine of our glory 193 Passion alters all properties to it selfe 532 Patience Christs Patience more staggered the Deuill than all his Miracles 55 The excellency of it 68 Once wounded outragious 356 Patience and Hope the onely meanes to bring vs to Heauen 156 Acceptable to God and profitable to our selues 169 172 A patient Eare shall reape great profit 349 Patience when most to be applauded 533 A patient man whereunto resembled 534 Patience the badge of Christs Diuinity 622 People Nothing fiercer than their furie 314 Persecution Whether Lawfull to flye in time of persecution 551 Persuasions If false the most dangerous inuasions 202 Peter Two opinions concerning his deniall 607 How it may be sayd he lost his Faith ibid. The occasions of his fall 608 His sinne like that of Adam 610 More iniurious to Christ than all his Enemies 612 Why he asked not pardon for his deniall 614 Pittie Hath alwayes a Prayer for them that need it 378 Euer profitable to them that vse it 476 Pharisees and Scribes Their wicked behauiour towards Christ. 113 Their office 112 What they were 210 Physitians Ought to visit the poore 31 Christ the best 171 177 380 Bad Physitians the Butchers of a Common-weale 177 Place Many haue often fared the better for the place in which they were 388 Pleasures Of this life altogether vanitie 186 197 Whereunto compared 410 Power Neuer to be showne but in extremitie 552 Pouerty The whole life of our Sauiour was a patterne for it 636 The poore more respected of God than the rich 30 They haue vsually the nobler minds 189 Forsaken of all 277 As necessary for the rich as the rich for them 374 Praise All the retribution that man can make to God for all that hee receiueth from him is to praise him 401 Precedents More auaileable than Precepts 214 Predestination A speciall marke of it 155 Preachers Priests Prelats Ought to haue but one Wife one Vine one Liuing 254 Their seuerall names in holy Writ 260 How the World vseth them ibid. Hot fiery spirits vnfit for this office 567 The vnworthinesse of the Person no preiudicâ— to the Function 597 Christs preaching powerfull 100 106 The office of a preacher 133 The efficacie of Ionas his preaching 139 141 The best preachers haue not alwaies the most Auditors 141 Priests are to be both Sheep-heards and Christians 196 Three sorts of preachers 213 Those of looser life to what resembled 214 Their maine aime is the glorie of God 215 The honour of priest-hood 448 A Preacher should neuer boast of his parts 468 He must reprooue boldly 471 Preaching and Practise should neuer bee seuered 527 Like Priest like People 540 Kindred the ouerthrow of many Prelats 555 Ignorant and sluggish Prelats the destruction of Gods Vineyard 253 Prayer Prayer and Almes the wings of Faith 22 We must pray for our enemies 52 Reasons and inducements hereunto 53 The excellency of Prayer 114 efficacy 144 Why God sometimes denies vs what we pray for 130 149 Prayer must be our practise in aduersitie 138 Vocall prayer
Church And for this cause God calls them both but one flesh They are 〈◊〉 more twaine but one flesh let not man therefore put â—sunder that which God hath coupled together Where if you note it hee speakes in the singular for oâ—herwise they would not conueniently represent so strict a vnion Secondly Because God is the authour of marriage God created man and woman and being wedded each to other he said For this cause shall man leaâ—e father and mother and cleaue vnto his wife And for Dauid his adulterie the Lord said vnto him The Sword shall neuer depart from thy house because thou hast despised me and taken the wife of Vriah the Hittite to be thy wife it was not Vriah but I thâ—â— was despised Where I would haue thee to weigh well the word Me who in the beginning of the world did authorise marriage Me who in the Law of Grace was personally present at my friends marriage and there vnfolded the sailes of my Omnipotencie working there and at that wedding my first miracle S. Paul saith If the husband be of the houshold of the Faithfull and the wife of the Vnfaithfull non dimittat illam let him not forsake her but if she shall be vnfaithfull to her husband he may lawfully then leaue her So that God seemeth to be more offended that she should not keep her faith toher husband than that she should not professe the Faith of Christ. But this they said to tempt him They put on a shew of zeale and feigned a dissembled desire of knowledge and to be satisfied concerning this point but the truth was that they went a fishing to see if they could catch our Sauiour in some answer that he should giue them contrarie to the Law to the end that they might accuse him as a Transgressour The Scribes they were jealous of their Law the Pharisees of their Religion the one sought to picke a hole in his coat vpon some quirke and quiller of the Law the other for the wronging of their Religion and therefore they said vnto him Seeing thou art a Master to whom it belongeth to expound our Lawes and that thou takest vpon thee at euerie bout to vnfold Moses his meaning Moses law commandeth That such should bee stoned What sayst thou therefore Euthimius saith That they tooke our Sauiour Christ to be so mercifull a minded man that they did well hope that hee would wrest and wind the Law which way he listed if not vtterly ouerthrow it And they did ground these their suspitions vpon some Sermons of his which he had preached wherein he had deliuered to the People That it was lawfull to cure the Sicke on the Sabboth day which was a new kind of doctrine in their Law Saint Gregorie and Saint Ambrose doe both affirme That they did verily persuade themselues That our Sauiour Christ could not chuse but â—e caught in the trap and necessarily fall into an errour one while by pardoning contrarie to the Law another while by condemning contrarie to Grace Iesus autem inclinans se deorsum But Iesus stooped downe inclining his head towards the ground Saint Chrysostome saith That for the Pharisees it was a most seuere act of Iustice but for the Adultresse a most noble act of mercie These Hypocriâ—â— hee depriued of â—is sight and would not cast his countenance towards them which is one of Gods seuerest chastisements Thou turnedst away thy face from me saith the Psalmist and I was troubled For a King to turne away his face from a Fauorite it wil shrewdly trouble him What perturbation must that then cause When God shall not cast his eye towards vs but turne his fauourable countenance from vs Hide not thy face ô Lord from me lest I be like vnto those that descend into the pit O Lord to denie the light of thy countenance is to condemne me vnto Hell and the greatest torment of the Damned is that they are debarr'd thy sight Cur faciem 〈◊〉 abscondâ—â— arbitrarâ—◠〈◊〉 inimicum tuum All my happinesse consists in those thy eyes and to denie them vnto me is to vse me like an enemie Towards the Adulteresse our Sauior carried himselfe as became a soueraigne Prince for it is a common thing with Kings and Princes to turne their eyes aside from a woman that is shamelesse and of a lewd and infamous life the sight of a husband is a fearefull thing to a wanton wife so is the eye of a seuere father to a gracelesse sonne so the austere looke of a King to his seruant that hath played the Traitor how then shall Gods countenance skare vs when hee shall looke askew vpon vs and knit the brow of his heauie displeasure When the Adultresse did behold her selfe in that Crystall Glasse Christ Iesus in whome there was no spot nor least specke of blemish in the world and did see what a freckled soule she had of her owne how foulely bespeckled with a loathsome morphew of this ouerspreading sinne In what a confusion must she needs bee and how dasht out of countenance Dauid was as valiant a King and as braue a soldier as euer drew sword one that fought the Lords battels yet he considering the foulnesse of this his adulterous sin weeping sorrowing for the same when he saw Gods eye was fixed on his fault and that hee had withdrawne his woonted fauor from his person he felt such torment in himselfe that in the bitternesse of his soule he was forced to crie out Turne away thy face ô Lord from my sinnes What then should this weake this poore and wretched woman do in this case Iesus stooped downe Saint Cyril saith That our Sauiour herein did aduise your Iudges that before they proceed to sentence they should well and truly consider of the cause alone by themselues and proceed with a great deale of leisure deliberation Before that God did condemne the pride of those that built the Tower of Babell he said Descendam videbo I will goe downe and see what they doe And the crie of the sinnes of Sodome comming to his eares hee sayd the same againe for there is no wisdome nor discretion in it as Nicodemus said to condemne a man Vnlesse he first heare him speake for himselfe and know what hee hath done This is that which Dauid said Doe righteous iudgement ô ye sons of men Suting with that of our Sauior Iudge not according to the face or outward appearance Daniel summarily shuts it vp all in this The Iudgement was set and the Bookes opened He stooped downe For albeit a Iudge ought to beare himselfe vpright yet he ought still to stoope and incline himselfe to mercie Christ looked downe vpon the earth and considered with himselfe that he had made this woman of earth If a Iudge may euen in justice saue a Delinquent if hee shall find a way open for mercie he may comfort himselfe that it is Gods fashion so to doe and this may be
him Now the Church seeing that true death kills a man and that that which represents it giueth life like vnto the brazen Serpent which being beholden and lookt vpon gaue life to those which had beene wounded by those true Serpents it cannot be too often inculcated Memento c. Those that entred triumphantly into Rome had a thousand occasions giuen them to incite them to pride arrogancie and vanitie as their great number of Captiues their Troupes of Horse their Chariots drawne with Elephants or Lyons and Ladies looking vpon them from their windowes and the like But the Senat considring the great danger of the Triumpher ordred one to sit by his side to whisper this stil in his eare Hominem memento te i. Remember thy self to be a man The Princes of the earth haue many motiues to make them forget themselues not regarding the complaints of the poore and needie yet Nullus ex regibus aliud habuit natiuitatis initium i. No King had euer any other beginning of birth They are as other men Terrigenae filij hominum i. The off-spring of the earth and the children of men And to them also it is said Terra es Earth thou art c. The third attribute giuen to the name of man is Excellencie and Dignitie Faciamus hominem ad imaginem similitudinem nostram i. Let vs make man after our owne similitude and likenesse Vpon this point see Gregor Nissenum de Opific Hom. cap. 16. Tho. 1. p. q. 97. art 2. ad 4. But man did fall from this heigth of happinesse and being lost through sinne God seeks to restore him by putting him in mind Puluis es Dust thou art c. Lastly I would haue you to note that the word Memento doth implie a continuall remembrance and a deepe meditation that it may stirre vp fire in vs according to that of Dauid In meditatione mea exardescet ignis i. A fire waxed hot in my heart while I was musing Meditation is like gunpouder which in a mans hand is dust and earth but if you put fire thereunto it will ouerthrow Towers walls and whole Cities a light remembrance and a short meditation of what thou art is like that dust which the wind scattereth away but a quicke liuely memorie and inflamed considerations of our own wretched estates will blow vp the towers of our pride cast downe the walls of our rebellious natures and ruine these Cities of clay wherein we dwell As the Phoenix fannowing a fire with her wings is renewed againe by her owne ashes so shalt thou become a new kind of man by remembring what thou art Moses casting ashes into the aire made the Inchanrers and their Inchantments vanish the ashes scattered by Daniel put the King out of doubt made it appeare vnto him that that was no God which he adored Iob came forth from his ashes in better estate than hee was before and as Ioseph came out of prison from his taâ—tâ—â—'d ragges had richer robes put vpon him so you from out these your ashes shall be stript of the old man put on the new Memento homâ— Remember man c. Forgetfulnesse of other things may bee good sometimes but of thy selfe and what thou art neuer this will require a continuall Memento This Memento is the father of two good effects first it mooueth man to repentance by putting him in mind of his frailtie for beeing dust and ashes how dare he contest with his Creator Vae qui contradicit factori suo testa c. Wo to him that gainsaith this the pot against the Potter c. Thou glasse of Venice thou dish of China why contendest thou with him who as hee made thee can in an instant dash thee in pieces Secondly it inclines God to mercie Memento quaso quod sicut lutum feceris me Consider ô Lord that thou madest me of earth as a cheese that is prest thou didst mold vp in me a masse of bones sinewes and flesh if thou shalt lay thy heauie hand vpon me what strength is mine that it should be able to indure it if thou shalt not take pitty of this poore piece of earth this crazie vessel of clay what will become of thy mercie of old and of all thy woonted kindnesse if that steele and stronger mettall of the Angells was broken by thee it is no great matter if earth split and breake in sunder This Memento is so powerfull with God that it workes two great effects with him the one that it inclines him to clemencie the other that it makes him to bridle his power First no father so pitties his children when hee sees them miserable Quomodo miseretur paterfiliorum i. As a father pittieth his children saith Dauid of an infant that falleth into the dirte and is bemoyled and bebloodyed and all because he is weake and ignorant the like pittie doth God take of those that feare him and presently giues a reason of this his pittie Recordatus est quoniam puluis sumus i. He remembreth that wee are but Dust. The like is elsewhere rendred where it is said Non accendit iram suam recordatus est quia carâ— sumus i. He kindleth not his wrath because he calls to mind wee are but flesh God in Deutr. speaking of the iudging of his people fayth he will take pittie of them in regard of their miserie and frailtie Vidit quod infirmata sit manus i. Hee saw the weaknesse of their strength and considered their poore abilities and this did often occasion him to alter the purpose of his vengeance That the wind should struggle with the Oake that resists his rage and that he should teare his limbes from him and rent him himselfe vp by the roots it is not much that he should take that course with him for his proud resistance but with the Reede or the Rush that submits and humbles itselfe obeying his Empire and acknowledging his power his furie falls not vpon them c. Secondly The acknowledgement of our miserie and weakenesse it bridles the omnipotencie of God Iob debating this businesse cries out Et dignum due is super huiusmodi I am a Flower that is withered within the compasse of a few houres I am a shaddow that at euery step changeth it selfe and vanisheth away Et dignuÌ„ ducis super huiusmodi Canst thou think it an honor vnto thee to reuenge thy self vpon so sillie miserable a worme as man Contra felium quod vento rapitur ostendis potentiam tuam stipulam siccam persequeris I am but as the leafe of a Tree one while the East wind of pride tosses me this way anotherwhile the West wind ofdespaire driues me that way one while the South wind of luxury another the North of rage anger Memorare qua mea substantia Remember what my substance is The Lyon preyes not vpon children and women nor the Eagle vpon the lesser birds nor your Irish Greyhounds vpon shepheards
them that this Tempest was miraculous Gods prouidence had before hand prouided a Whale readie to receiue Ionas and when as he thought he should haue beene swallowed vp in the Deepe and that the waters should enter into his soule crying out in his meditations Pelagus â—peruit me vestes terrâ— concluserunt me The â—â—ouds compassed mee about all thy surges and all thy waues passed ouer me c. Then did the Whale open his mouth then when in his affliction he cried vnto the Lord I am cast away out of thy sight the waters compassed me about vnto the soule the depth closed mee round about and the weeds were wrapped about my head then euen then did the Whale open his mouth and swallowing him vp whole into his bellie defended him from the jawes of death Ionas being herein like vnto a delinquent whom the Gaoler takes into his custodie to secure his person Iob saith That God hath girt in the sea on the one side with mountaines and valleys Circumdedit illud terminis suis and on the other side with sand Posuit arenam terminum Maris And as Ionas was shut vp in the Whales bellie as in a prison so was the Whale inclosed in that prison of the Sea Nunquid Mare ego sum aut Caete Am I a Sea or a Whale fish that thou keepest mee in ward Now if God had both before and behind on this side and that side pitcht so many nets for Ionas hee could verâ—e hardly escape him his flying could not saue him but in this Whales maw contrarie to all the lawes of Nature God maintaines and preserues his life If the stomacke of a Whale will digest an anchor of Yron as Tertullian tells vs it must then of force consume Ionas and if instead of aire he drawes in water he must necessarily be choaked But he that deliuered Daniel from the hungrie mouths of Lyons and those three children from the flames of the firie Furnace it is not much that hee should conserue Ionas in the deepest and darkest dungeon that euer liuing man was clapt vp in The wonder was that though himself were prisoner yet he had left vnto him so free an vnderstanding that hee was able to make so elegant an oration to God out of so foule a Pulpit The Prophet did dwell vpon this great miracle which God had vsed towards him and did recouer so much strength and confidence that he stucke not to say Rursus videbo templum sanctum tuum Yet will I looke againe toward thy holy temple I liue in good hope not onely to see my selfe freed out of this loathsome Gaole but to humble my selfe on my knee in thy holy Temple giuing thee thankes for the great mercie and fauour which thou hast shewed towards me For the present I will make this sluttish corner my Oratorie assuring my selfe that from thence my prayers shall be acceptable vnto thee who like some great Prince or Monarch of the world is respected in any place whatsoeuer of thy jurisdiction so that there is no doubt that any thy poorest vassall whatsoeuer may bee heard by thee The Children of Babylon were heard from the Furnace Daniel from the Lyons Den Iob from the Dunghill Dauid from amiddest the Thornes and Bushes And so I make no question but I shall be from the bowells of this Beast In omni loco dominationis eius benedic anima mea Domino O my soule blesse the Lord in euerie place of his power These three dayes Ionas spent in prayer at the end whereof God commanded the Whale to cast out Ionas vpon the Coast of Niniuy And the Whale obaying his Empire crost the Seas many Leagues and there threw the Prophet forth vpon drie Land though full of froathie slime and vnctuous stuffe free from the horror of that deepe and darkesome dungeon From hence did the Gentiles faigne those their fabulous tales of Hercules beeing swallowed vp by another Whale of Arion playing on his harpe riding on the backe of a Dolphine For as it is noted by Clemens Alexandrinus and Saint Basil the Heathen Philosophers did steale these truths from vs founding thereupon their falshoods And giuing credit to their lyes they did not beleeue our truths Many of the Niniuites comming downe to the shoare-side were strucken with admiration to see such a monstrous strange prodigious man and the fame thereof flying to the Citie before they were affrighted with the sad news that hee brought they stood astonished at the strangenesse of the case which questionlesse was a great cause that they did afterwards harken vnto him and giue creditto what he said In the end taking this for his Theame Adhuc quadraginta dies Niniue sâ—â—uertetur â—et forty dayes and Niniuie shall bee ouerthrowne Not threatning onely the ruine of the Citie but also of the Towers Walls Pallaces Citizens Children Women and Old men euen to the very beasts of the field so great was the feare that entred into all their breasts that without any further Miracles laying their beleefe vpon the Prophet they presently gaue beginning to that their great repentance which was the strangest that euer was yet heard of The King layd aside his purple roabes and his rich and costly clothes the throan of his Greatnesse Maiestie and couered himselfe with sacke-cloth and â—ate in ashes causing his clothes of State to bee pulled downe his walls of his pallace to be left naked of their hangings of cloth of Gold and other peeces of Arras beeing no lesse curious than glorious For Sardanapalus was one of the loosest and most licentious men that hee had not his like in all the World The like did all the great Officers of his Pallace the Princes and Wealthyest men of his Citie as also all the faire and beautifull Ladies And there was a Proclamation presently made through all Niniuie by the Councell of the King and his Nobles with expresse charge That neither man nor beast bullocke nor sheep should tast any thing neither feed nor drinke water but that man and beast should put on sack-cloth and cry mightily vnto God To the end that the bellowing of their bulls the bleating of their sheepe goats the howling of their dogs the teares of their children the sighes lamentations of their mothers might mooue Heauen to take pitie of them And aboue all they did cry out most grieuously for their sinnes For albeit they are offences towards God yet are they miseries vnto man and as quatenus peccata so farre foorth as they are sinnes they prouoke and stirre vp Gods Iustice against vs So quatenus they are miseriae as they are miseries vnto vs they incline and mooue our good God to take mercie compassion of vs. The same reason which wrought God to destroy the World the same likewise mooued him neuer to destroy it more Cogitatio hominis prona est ad malum Mans thoughts are proâ—e vnto euill One while hee considers it as an offence vnto
God another while as a miserie incident to man The word Zagar signifies Vociferatio A crying out aloude as when a Citie is set on fire and in danger to be burnt Some perhaps may conceiue that this was too strict a commaund to inioyne this punishment vpon dumbe beasts and poore little infants that had not yet offended But first of all they did therein pretend to incline Gods mercy towards them Secondly to mooue the more repentance by a common sorrow Thirdly as at the funeralls of Princes and Generals not onely the principall and meaner persons mourne in blackes but their horses weare the like liuery of sorrow their drummes beat hoarse couered with blacke Cypres their auncients are trailed along on the ground their swords and their lances with their points the contrary way in token that both the horses the drums the auncients and the armes haue lost their Master so likewise did the case stand with the Citie of Niniuie c. Ionas put Niniuie to such a strict penance and sorrow for their sinnes that it did appease the wrath of God towards them The Prophet presumed it should be destroyed and therefore Ionas went out of the Citie and sate on the East side thereof and there made him a booth and sate vnder it in the shadow till he might see what should bee done in the Citie Thinking perhaps with himselfe that God would not now make an end of the Citie all at once but that he would destroy a great part thereof as he did in the adoration of the golden Calfe when as pardoning the people hee slew a great number of them Now God had prepared a Gourd for Ionas and made it to come vp ouer him that it might bee a shadow ouer his head and deliuer him from his griefe Other Authors giue it other names But the strangenesse of it was that it grew vp all in a day The Prophet was exceeding glad to see himselfe so wel sheltred by this Gourd from the heat of the Sunne which did shrewdly scortch him Laborauerat enim It vexed him verie sore So that before it went verie ill with him and his ioy was so much the more encreased for that he saw God had such a care to cherish and make much of him Sure thought he he makes no small account of me that vseth me thus kindly But God shortly after prepared a worme which smote the Gourd that it withered Et percussit Sol super caput Iona astuabat The Sunne beat vpon the head of Ionas and he fainted Who could haue the patience to endure this Was it the Sun or was it fire that should thus prouoke him to cry out Melius est mihi mori quam viuere It is better for me to die than to liue But God reprehended Ionas for this desperate speech of his Putas ne bene irasceris Iona How nâ—w Ionas What 's the matter with thee Doost thou well to bee angrie for the Gourd Doost thou find thy selfe grieued that I haue made this Gourd to wither which came vp in a night and perished in a night and wilt thou not suffer me to be sencible of the destruction of this so great a Citie wherein there are sixescore thousand persons which cannot discerne betwixt the right hand and the left Doth it touch thee that thou art not esteemed in thine owne Countrie And wilt thou not pittie Niniuie whom thou hast drawne by thy preaching vnto them to repentance Niniuie yeelded vnto thee at the first words of thy voyce but Iuda still stands out obstinately in her malice against my calling vpon her And therefore at the day of judgement the men of Niniuie shall condemne them for a stiffe necked generation and a hard hearted People seeing they without any miracles were conuerted and turned vnto me at the preaching of one poore â—â—nas Et ecce plus quam Ionas hîc And behold a greater than Ionas here Hierusalem seeing so many miracles perseuereth in her incredulitie and therefore Niniuie shall stand and Hierusalem shall be destroyed At the day of judgement thou shalt stand confounded and ashamed that a barbarous ignorant and vnbeleeuing Nation which is a great disgrace to a man of honor that one that is so farre inferiour to thee should come to be so farre preferred before thee As those Cities where most of our Sauiours great workes were done were vpbraided by him because they repented not pronouncing a woe to Chorazin and a woe to Bethsaida For if saith he the great workes which were done in you had been done in Tyrus and Sydon they had repented long agone in Sacke-cloath and Ashes Regina Austri The Queene of the South shall rise in judgement c. Some man may say The historie of Niniuie was sole and without example in the world it 〈◊〉 not it's fellow For which cause he sets downe another example of the Queen of the South of whom there is mention made in the third of the Kings and in the second of Chronicles The Queene of the South came from Morol an Islâ—â—â— of Aethyopia as Origen Saint Hierome Saint Austen Anselmus and Iosephus saith and onely to heare the wisedome of Salomon Et ecce 〈◊〉 quam Salomon hîc And behold a greater here than Salomon It was much that the barbarous people of Niniuie should beleeue Ionas who sought after them and not they after him But much more is it that an Aethyopian Queene should seeke after â— King to hir so great trouble and cost Ecce plus quam Salomon hîc When the Preacher is of that great power and authoritie that he both sayes and does the little fruit that they reap thereby is euermore attributed to the hardnesse of the hearer And that he might teach this People this lesson he saith Ecce plus quam Salomon hîc Behold a greater than Salomon is here He was greater than Ionas for if he were obeyed by the Niniuites our Sauiour had obeysance done him by all the Elements if Ionas had a grace in his deliuerie and spake with a spirit it was our Sauiour that gaue it him if Ionas did inlighten a Citie our Sauiour did illuminate the whole world if Ionas did preach bloud threatnings and death our Sauiour did publish our saluation life and hope of Heauen He was better than Salomon for his wisedome was humane and earthly but that of our Sauiour diuine and heauenly Salomon neuer wrought any miracles but those of our Sauiour were without number In a word betweene the Queene of the South and the Pharisees betweene our Sauiour and Salomon there is a great antithesis and contrarietie The Queene was a Barbarian and ignorant they Doctours and learned in the Lawes she wonderfull desirous to heare a man they loath to heare a God she offered to Salomon great gifts they to our Sauiour vinegar and gall shee did so wonder at Salomons wisedome that she said Fame had belied him and that Report came too short of his praise but
his warrant Elisha said vnto Elias by way of petition I pray thee let thy Spirit be doubled vpon me This was a hard suit Theodoret askes the question Wherein the difficultie did consist And he answereth That it did not consist in miracles nor in grace but in that Elias his Spirit was so sharpe and so bitter I destroyed the Israelites with fire from Heauen and punished that people with three yeres famine if my spirit should be doubled vpon thee vpon the like occasion thou wouldst consume them all and make an end of them at once He lift vp himselfe When he was to giue sentence he stood vp for albeit a Iudge should in the medijs incline vnto mercie yet in principio and in fine hee ought to deale vprightly and exercise integritie Let a Iudge vse a Delinquent with a great deale of courtesie and sweetnesse let him seeke out all the meanes that he can to saue him and to set him free but in the apprehending of him and the sentencing of him let him be vpright and sound in that hee shall resolue vpon And in point of Iustice let not the beame of the ballance lean aside nor his fancie ouersway him nor any feare of great mens displeasure terrifie him Gratious anâ— righteous is the Lord therefore will he teach sinners in the way The Lord as he is sweet and gratious so is he vpright and iust and therefore it is fit that a Iudge should not onely know the Law but should also sincerely execute the Law not interpreting the same according to his owne pleasure but according to reason and equitie With his finger he wrote on the ground All that comment vpon this place do agree in this That he wrote in this manner and why he did it And first of all Saint Hierome saith That hee wrote on the ground the sins of those that had accused this Adultresse According to that of Ieremie They that depart from thee shall be written in the earth their names shall not bee registred in the booke of Life wherewith he left them confounded and ashamed and did prooue thereby vnto them that they had neither any zeale to the Law nor any desire to obserue the same This was a blazoning forth of the honour and glorie of our Sauiour Christ beyond that of the Romans here was a parcere subiectis to the purpose and a debellare superbos with a witnesse And whereas the Scribes and Pharisees set vpon him in this their pride and brauerie when they saw their own sinnes set downe before their eyes which to a Sinner is a terrible and most fearefull sight they let fall their plumes and hung downe their heads for shame being so basely deiected as none could be more I will lay all thy abhominations before thee O this is a sad and heauie spectacle What humane eye can indure to behold them especially when God shal raise vp our old sinnes which we thought had beene forgotten and buried in the pit of obliuion O how true is that of Ieremie and how pat to our present purpose The yoke of my transgressions is bound vpon his hand they are wrapped and come vp about my necke My heauie sinnes are continually before his eyes as he that tieth a thing to his hand for a remembrance the horrour whereof hath made my strength to fall What a dismall thing is it to see those my wickednesses which I thought had beene quite out of his remembrance and that he had cast them behind his backe to be brought before my face and he to hold the beadroll of them in his hand written in great capitall letters Circumuoluta sunt in manu eius like a piece of corke vnder a clew of thred Esay paints forth certaine impudent and shamelesse Sinners and presently anon after saith Their destruction is written downe and when I see my time I will speake thereof O how doth Iob complaine hereof Thou writest bitter things against me and makest me to possesse the iniquities of my youth He calls these bitter things the sinnes of his youth Saint Chrysostome saith That hee borrowed this metaphor from a Iudge who takes the penne in his hand for to pronounce sentence setting downe the offences of the Delinquent And therfore Iob saith I see that thou lookest narrowly vnto my paths as though thou wouldest pronounce sentence against mee And therefore Saint Hierome saith That Christ wrote on the ground And as a Iudge exposeth a Butcher to publique shame by hanging his false weights about his necke so thou ô Lord hauing readie written in thy hand the yoke of my transgressions thou exposest mee to shame by wrapping them about my necke Saint Ambrose sayth that our sauiour wrote that which Ieremy prophecied of Ieconiah Terra terra sâ—r be hos viros abdicatos O Earth earth write these men destitute c. And in one of his Epistles he sayth Thou seest a moat in thy neighbours eye but not the beame that is in thine owne A late Commentator hath this note hereupon That our Sauior wrote downe the sinnes of this Adulteresse that he might see them satisfied bearing himselfe like a pittifull Iudge who freeth a poore debtor but takes a note of the debt that is to bee payd Wholly to forgiue the same the party not beeing satisfied could not stand well with his Iustice and to condemne her wholly could not sute well with his Mercie And therefore he was bound to pay the debt for her Supra dorsum meum fabricauerunt peccatores Another letter sayes Scripserunt He entred into bond for vs all But although it be most certain that he wrote some letters or some sentence against the sinnes of these her accusers and therefore the Greeke text sayth Hoc digito scribebat in terra yet what that was which hee then writ there is no certaintie thereof And it is a great indicium or token that they did not well vnderstand those Characters because vpon that writing they did not depart and goe their way But vpon those words which our Sauiour afterwards said vnto them Qui sine peccato est Let him that is without sinne And presently thereupon the Euangelist addeth Audientes haec vnus post alium abijt That hearing these things they went their way one after the other Secondly Saint Austen saith That he wrote on the ground for to signifie that the names of the Accusers were not writ in Heauen Alluding vnto that which he said vnto his Disciples Reioyce because your names are written in heauen Or for to show that it was he himselfe which with his own finger had writ the Law in those Tables of stone and withall to intimate that the new Law was not to bee written in ragged stone but in fruitfull ground not in the roughnesse of the Law but in the softnesse of Grace And Saint Ambrose in the Epistle formerly alledged doth in a manner repeat the verie same words So that by all these circumstances
either out of necessitie curiositie or out of malice All the Court doth attend and wait vpon thee because thou commandest all but thou art neuer more alone than when thou hast most companie for all those that accompanie thee are not all of thy companie they goe not along with thee but with themselues following thee not so much out of affection as affectation more to see thy miracles than to receiue thy instructions The pledges of true friendship indeed are to hazard a mans life for his friend to condole with him in his miseries and to reioyce with him in his happinesse but since wicked presumption as Ecclesiasticus speaketh hath sprung vp to couer the earth with deceit and that priuat interest like the Iacke-Daw hath only learned to prattle the language of loue there is no trust to be had in these pledges There is some friend which is onely a friend in name and hast thou not seene that when heauinesse remaineth vnto death a companion and friend hath bin turned to an enemie There is some companion which in prosperity reioyceth with his friend but in the time of trouble is against him There is some companion again that helpeth his friend for the bellies sake taketh vp the buckler against the enemie There are perhaps some such that dare nay will not sticke to lay downe his life for a good friend indeed And there are some likewise which for their own interest wil hazard both goods and life and all that they haue but if they did thinke they should faile of their ends and that it should not turne to their greater aduantage they would not venture one farthing though it were to saue thy life When Adoniah vsurped the Kingdome and proclaimed himselfe King the Princes of the Bloud tooke part with him Ioab Dauids Generall besides diuers other principall Captaines and Commanders and most of the valiantest men of Warre as also Abiathar the High-Priest In a word the Clergie and the Laitie were both mainly for him and yet hauing all these on his side he was all alone All the strength of the Armie was not with Adoniah many vnderstand this of the Kings Guard but for our purpose it may be better vnderstood of all those who profest themselues to be Adoniahs fâ—iends but were not true in heart vnto him nor did not sticke so close vnto him as they made shew for they did not so much respect Adoniah as their owne ends The Kings sonnes thought he would prooue their best brother the Nobilitie their best King Ioab that hee would pardon his murdering of Amasa and Abner and that hee should hold his place of Generall Abiathar That he would not put him out of the Priesthood though there was I know what prophecied to the contrarie But the proclaiming of Salomon was no sooner heard but they left one by one and went their wayes till they had left him like a single proposition to stand alone by himself hauing no champion to make good his Title Seneca pressing this Argument saith Many Flyes come to the Honie many Wolues to the Sheepefold many Ants to the Wheat yet the flyes are no friends to the honie nor the wolues to the sheepe nor the ants to the corne Nor art thou to esteeme those thy friends that accompanie thee for they are no better than flyes wolues and ants which seeke not thee but themselues And if thou shouldst but heare after they haue profest themselues thy friends fawn'd vpon thee with flattering tearmes and vow'd what a deale of loue and affection they beare vnto thee what they talke of thee behind thy back and what they mutter and whisper of thee in by-corners thou wouldst then see and perceiue that all thy prosperitie is the fable and common by-word of their wrongs and discontents Because they saw his Miracles which he did on them that were diseased All the Miracles of our Sauiour Christ were directed to the repayring of our miseries First for the furthering of our Faith which depending vpon the Will comes by benefits to bee well affectioned thereunto and to incline to Knowledge and Vnderstanding The other To show by sencible signes the end which caused him to come into the world which was to cure our Soules infirmities The third That it might appeare vnto Man that the onely motiue thereunto was his Mercie Now the Iewes did neither fixe their eyes nor their thoughts vpon any one of these but onely vpon their owne proper ends Either because hee should heale them or fill their bellies And therefore albeit some say that the Euangelist did set downe this reason that he might thereby aduise vs that our Sauiour was bound as it were to doe that he did for these people that followed him yet I doe rather beleeue that he set downe this passage to giue vs thereby to vnderstand how vnobliged he stood to doe them this so great a fauour and how kind hee was of his owne accord to those that did so ill deserue any kindnesse at his hands And therefore hee discouereth their mindes layeth open their intentions and manifesteth their priuate interests Because they saw his Miracles c. And therefore Saint Paul saith He did shut vp all in vnbeleefe That is Hee did permit that they should all fall into the net of sinne that hee remaining wholly disingaged his obligation should by his mercie his pittie of them be the more esteemed by how much the more it was vndeserued Quia videbant signa As if he should haue said That they sought rather after meat than after him that was to giue it them and therefore hee said vnto them elsewhere Yee haue followed me because I haue filled your bellies and giuen you fulnesse of bread For there are some people that seeke after God for worldly blessings and neuer thinke vpon him but in time of want and necessitie and then if God doe not relieue them they care not a pin for him Elisha was with Iehâ—ram and reprooued him because he neuer sought after him but in time of hunger and thirst Micah went weeping and crying after those that had stolne away his siluer god but because hee made vse thereof for his owne priuate interest when a greater conueniencie of gaine was offered vnto him hee forgot the former and thought thereof no more It is better for thee sayd they that thou shouldst bee a Priest of a whole Tribe than of one particular House Philon commenting vpon Cains answer vnto God the Seuentie rendering this Translation Si proijcis me à facie tua à facie tua abscondar If thou cast me from off the face of the earth let me be hid from thy face saith That it was all one as if hee should haue said If thou wilt not bestow vpon mee the blessings of the earth keepe those of heauen to thy selfe if I may not enioy the pleasures delights of this world let vertue and goodnesse for me goe a begging I care
from him Nor is there any man so rich or so happy that is not forced to be one of Gods beggars And that Kingly Prophet Dauid saith the like of the beasts of the field in diuers places The eyes of all waite vpon thee ô Lord and thou giuest them their meat in due season Thou openest thy hand and fillest all things liuing with plentiousnesse Hee giueth fodder vnto the Cattell and feedeth the young Rauens that call vpon him By Cattell hee vnderstandeth whatsoeuer beasts of the field And by the Rauen whatsoeuer fowle of the ayre And hee did purposely and more particularly put here the Rauen either because those old ones doe not acknowledge their young for that they are white when they are hatcht the damme and her mate beeing of a contrarie colour Or because it is such a rauening bird that according to Ariâ—â—otle and Pliâ—ie the old ones doe banish their young ones as soone as they are able to flie and shift for themselues into some other region further off that they may not rob them of their food and sustenance In a word great and small high and low haue their maintenance from God Who is it but God that feedeth the yong Rauens when they call vpon him Of the trees and plants that holy King Daâ—id sayth Saturabuntur ligna campi Ceâ—ri Libani c. Of the Angells Planets Starres a Phylosopher saith Greges Astrorum semper pasciâ— And as the Sheepheard numbreth his sheepe and puts a marke vpon euerie one of them so our Lord God doth number the multitude of the Starres and caâ—â—eth them by their names The glorious Saint Chrysostome tells vs in a metaphoricall language That in those immense spatious walkes in Heauen there are other more beautifull fields other Fountaines other Floures other Groues and that God doth sustaine and maintaine them all All liue vnder his protection Since then that all things liue so secure vnder his diuine prouidence Why should man distrust especially seeing that he hath an eye and a care to his wants and necessities Who is like vnto the Lord our God who dwelleth in the highest clouds and yet doth behold from aboue whatsoeuer is in heauen or in earth The sight is not qualified by seeing great things but by perceiuing the least atomes or motes that are in the Sunne In an Epistle which the glorious Apostle Saint Paul wrote to the Romans he calleth God the God of Hope for he looking downe vpon vs doth inrich vs with such assured hopes that we may hold them more firme and sure vnto vs than any present possession of those lands or goods which we enioy The second reason is That if any thing can grieue Gods heart it is our miserie and necessitie and therefore he makes such hast to helpe vs as if it were his owne case My sister my Spouse thou hast wounded my heart with one of thyne eyes and with one haire of thy necke The haires are the symbole of thoughts and cares for as the head is full of haire so is it full of care The â—ye of the Huntsman doth more harme than the Arrow which hee shoots for he that doth not throughly eye his game seldome kills and therefore the Spouses Beloued sayes vnto her Euerie one of thy cares especially when I see thee looke vpon me are so many darts sticking in my heart Abbot Guaricus discoursing of the Prodigall saith That when his father saw him so ill accoutred compassion did more strongly possesse him than the passion of sorrow for his sins did his sonne When Abraham was swallowed vp as it were with sorrow as hee vnsheathed his sword to sacrifice his son Isaac Dominus videbit saith the Text id est prouidebit which was the good old mans answer when his sonne askt him Vbi est victima pater mi My father where is the Lambe for the burnt Offering The Septuagint read Apparebit the Tigurine Videbitur For God seeing vs suffer for his sake is of it selfe a present helpe in our time of need Many of the Saints do ponder the griefe which God did discouer for that dearth which Israel indured and the care that he tooke in allaying the sharpenesse and tartnesse of Elias his austere and sowre disposition who when he had caused the windows of heauen to be shut vp for three yeares yet he appointed him a Rauen to bee his Steward to bring him in prouision that hee might not suffer in that common calaâ—â—â—tie yet giuing him this checke by the way It is not fit that thou alone shouldeâ—t eat and 〈◊〉 the rest of my people starue but since I haue past my word this Rauen shal take care of thee Saint Chrysostome saith That this was a seuere reprehension of the Prophet Elias That a Bird that hath no pittie of her owne brood should take pittie of thee that a bird that by nature is cruell and liues vpon rapines and spoyle of others should be a Minister of mercie vnto thee and thou that shouldest haue been a mediator betwixt God and his people shouldst be a prouoker of him to vengeance he cries out against him Absurdum est ô Elias Thou hast committed a great absurditie ô Elias Saint Augustine further addeth That the Rauen which heretofore shewed himselfe vnthankefull in not returning again to Noahs Arke is now so farre altred from that he was that he brings thee bread and flesh affoording thee thy dayly food it had not been much for thee to haue expected an alteration likewise in the Children of Israell Procopius tells vs That the Rauen is an vncleane creature by the Law and beeing that I who was the Law-giuer did dispense that thou shouldest take thy food from him Why mightst not thou as well haue asked a dispensation of me for this so long an interdiction And he entertained them kindly The griefe which our Sauiour had conceiued for the death of Iohn Baptist did not cause him to withdraw his sweet and comfortable countenance from others For the mourning for the Iust is not a hooding of the face to conceale our selues and our sorrow from the world The Saints of God lament the losse which the Earth sustaines by the taking away of the righteous from amongst vs but not their death For hee beholdeth not his death with the eyes of death but quickely passes it ouer It is the foole that thinkes all is ended with them in death But it is nothing so Whence shall wee buy bread that these may eat He here tooke counsell what were best to be done in this case It beeing as Plato sayth amongst all other things the most Sacred and the most Diuine And Ecclesiasticus telleth vs that counsel makes things stable durable secure As a frame of wood ioyned together in a building cannot bee loosed with shaking so the heart that is established by aduised counsel shal feare at no time Whence shall wee buy bread Here our Sauiour consults with Philip how
Augustine saith That this Conuersion was an especiall Myracle of Christs affronts and wounds He deliuered vp himselfe to the shame and reproch of the Crosse that he might glorifie this theefe That he might saue a theefe was the intent of his dying betweene two theeues And in another place he saith That he was nayled on the Crosse and suffered his blood to be shed that he might cleanse a will that was growne so aged and foule with sinne Thomas saith That it is Gods great mercie that those that are growne old in their sinnes should be saued For hauing by ill and long custome their taste so quite marred and spoyled they abhor that which should giue them health and dye in the end by the hands of their owne foolish longings On their graues that died by the fire of Gods wrath whilest the flesh of their quayles was yet betweene their teeth this Epitaph was put Sepulchra concupiscentiae For commonly these their masters and their delights are both buryed together And therefore S. Paul saith Now these are ensamples to vs to the intent that we should not lust after euill things as they also lusted The truth is alwayes answerable to the figure and if you prolong your longings as they did in your life time your death like theirs will be likewise bad Saint Bernard treating vpon that place of Saint Matthew The axe is now put to the root of the tree saith That the tree doth for the most part fall to that side whereunto the weight of it's boughs causeth it to incline and that our lustfull longings and desires are the boughs of this tree inclining the contrary way And therefore if a mans whole life shall leane wholly vnto sinne and incline it selfe to wickednesse it must be Gods exceeding great mercie if it fall at last vnto Grace Gods mercy was also the more in regard of this theeues blaspheming of him The theeues likewise reuiled him Saint Augustine Epiphanius Anselme Saint Ierome Saint Ambrose and Beda saith That the plurall number is put here for the singular and that onely one thiefe did blaspheme by the figure Synedoche or Analogia as it seemeth to Saint Augustine which according to Saint Ierome is a figure frequently vsed in Scripture Saint Luke saith That the souldiers gaue our Sauiour vinegre to drinke whereas the rest of the Euangelists speake onely of one Of the calfe Exodus saith These ô Israel are thy Gods Nebuchadnezzar said to the three children Sydrach Misech and Abednego speaking of the Statue of gold Ye will not worship our Gods Dauid treating of Herod and Pilat as appeareth by that of the Acts saith The Kings of the earth band themselues and the Princes are assembled together against the Lord and against his Christ. Saint Paul in his Catalogue which he makes of the Saints saith They stopped the mouths of Lyons Daniel being the onely man that did it so Secti sunt When it was onely Esayas that was sawne asunder Againe Circuierunt me loris which had onely reference to Elias And it is a very vsuall phrase both in the Latine and the Spanish tongue to say Alexandros Annibales Scipiones c. And a maine argument hereof is that sharpe and seuere reprehension wherewith hee rebuked his companion that blasphemed Christ saying vnto him Fearest thou not God seeing thou art in the same condemnation Who if he had blasphemed our Sauiour would neuer haue so roundly reprooued him Of a contrary opinion to this is Saint Ierome Saint Chrysostome Cyril Hilary Thomas Origen Theophilact Euthimius Saint Ambrose and Saint Marke and Saint Matthew seeme to expresse as much in plaine termes but be it in that sence that they would haue it it is but so much the more indeering of Gods mercie who also hath compassion euen of the beasts of the field According to that which Esay prophesied The wild beasts shall honour me the Dragons and the Ostriches because I gaue water in the desert and flouds in the wildernesse to giue drinke to my people euen to mine elect as if he should haue said It is not much that the starres of heauen should praise me or the Quire of Angels or the children of God which are captiuated by their knowledge of me the benefits that I haue heaped vpon them But that a theefe a villaine one that was bred vp in bushes and lay lurking to doe mischiefe in the thickest of the woods and in mountainous places that such a one should praise and magnifie my name it must haue an Epithite beyond more than much Lastly The diuine prouidenc◠shew'd it selfe in hauing hid and laid vp such it's treasures in a theefe Hast thou entred into the treasure of the snow or hast thou seene the treasures of the hayle which I haue hid against the time of trouble c. In the frozen brest of a sinner and in those stormes of our sinnes as thicke and as hard as hayle God hath hidden and stored vp as Saint Gregorie saith against the day of trouble the great and rich treasures of his grace There were two theeues crucified with him one on the right hand and the other on the left The doubt which in this storie doth most grauell mens thought is That of two theeues which were crucified on either side of our Sauior the one should be saued and the other damned S. Aug. renders two reasons thereof And first of all we are to suppose that there it not any cause of predestination Before that they had done either good or euill I loued Iacob and hated Esau So saith Saint Paul And in another place Hath not the Potter power out of the same masse or lumpe to make one vessell for honour and another for dishonor Some for to serue in the kitchin and some to set vpon the table The iudgements of God are secret which wee must rather reuerence than inquire into crying out with the same Apostle O altitudo aiuitiarum c. Secondly it is to be supposed that of our vocation to faith there is likewise no cause giuen And therefore in this point we must take Saint Augustine along with vs who saith Quare hunc trahat hunc non trahat id est Ad fidem noli iudicare si non vis errare Iudge not why he drawes this man to Faith and not that And here Saint Augustine brings in the example of Pharaoh and Nebuchadnezzar whom God sought to draw vnto him with one and the selfe-same kind of force and violence But the one did follow him that lent him his hand to direct him and the other refused to be guided by him They were both men according to nature both Kings according to their dignitie both had sinned alike Quoad culpam for they had made Gods people slaues and vsed them very ill and hardly and quoad poenam they were both of them punished with stripes from heauen The warning was alike to both but how then comes it to passe That the
praise of it 41 Apparell How to be limitted 235 The abuse of it 236 B Baptisme THe foundation of Christian building 558 Bethesda the figure of it 165 Beloued A name of good preheminence 502 Bells The vse of them 526 Beelzebub Why resembled to a flye 295 Benefit See Courtesie Well bestowed if much desired 546 Beautie The force of it 571 Blessing Why Isaac would haue conferred the blessing on Esau. 227 God measures out his blessings to vs more by Loue than Wisedome 262 He substracts them from the vngratefull 270 C Centurion HIs behauiour iustified 36 His faith commended 34 Capernaum The glorie of it 23 315 Why Christ would worke no myracles there 318 There began the preaching of the Gospell 315 Change A change to be seene in all things 247 Charitie See Mercy and Vnmercifulnesse Much respected of God 100 praised of Men. 307 Must be practised towards all 337 How it differs from couetousnesse 439 Chaire What is meant by Moses his Chaire 212 Chastisement See Punishment Gods chastisements whereunto resembled 244 To what purpose they serue ibid. More in shew than in substance 452 Children What care Parents should haue of them 226 If vertuous their Parents glorie 310 Christ a Schoole-master euen to these 462 Foure degrees of child-hood and whereunto alluding 602 Christ. See Death His comming to Iudgement 93 With what Maiestie it shall be 96 97 His combat with the deuill 71 How called the hope of the Gentiles 142 Why called the Sonne of Dauid rather than of Abraham 149 His transfiguration and the reasons of it 184 c. The necessitie of it 187 The qualitie 188 Glorious in his Passion three manner of waies 192 His bodie two-fold Naturall and Mysticall 193 His Passion the fountaine of our glorie ibid. He suffered onely because he would 200 His willingnesse to dye 219 Why called the Sonne of Man 223 His blood why shed in the Vine-yard 265 If conceiued in the heart soone discouered 309 His Pedigree the noblest that euer was 310 His workes of two sorts 318 No Monopoly to bee made of his Worth 326 As he was meeke in reprouing so he was stout in reuenging 359 He brings Health and Holinesse wheresoeuer he commeth 374 Compared to the Sunne 388 The onely Well of liuing Water 394 A Controller of curious nicenesse ibid. The prerogatiue of his flesh 379 More mooued at our disasters than he was at his owne 494 Why without peccabilitie 524 c. His innocency exemplified both by his life death 526 Neuer any so abused by the World as he 537 543 Hee must be sought while he may be found 543 His power neuer more seene than in his Passion 549 605 He prooues his Diuinity by no other testimonie than his workes 556 Alwayes ready to forgiue Sinners 583 Why called a Bull. 605 His life was to bring the Iewes to knowledge his death the Gentiles 605 His Humility the character of his Loue. 637 His company a sure protection 622 Euery part of him affoords a Sinner confidence 645 His Dietie when most concealed ibid. His bloud ought to be much regarded 647 The difference betwixt his Triumph those of Men. 16 Christians Led more by Custome than Deuotion 414 Many now worse enemies to Christ than were the Pharisees 267 Many Christians why called sheepe 567 Church Why persecuted 65 Likened to a Rocke ibid. Her greatest persecution is to want persecution ibid. Her firmenesse 250 Gods fauour towards her 345 Why stiled a well ordered Army 440 In her infancie she needed miracles 326 She thriues because watered with the blood of Christ and his Martyrs 251 Clemencie A profitable vertue 534 Communion Two dignities to be considered in it One of the Person that receiueth Christ the other of the Preparation wherewith he doth receiue it 33 636 Confession When to be made 203 The onely way to absolution 281 Without it no true comfort 288 Sathan would keepe vs from it ibid. Contemplation Must not bee seuered from action 488 Nor preferred before it 413 Conscience If guiltie the greatest torture 567 Cooperation Necessarie in things that concern the sauing of our Soules 147 Counsaile Where good Counsell is wanting all runs to ruine 436 State Counsells more to pill the poore than to preserue them 437 No man so wise but may need good Counsell 587 Ill Counsel produceth ill effects ibid. Countrey Euery man must loue his owne Countrey 275 316 Conuersion Three conuersions celeberated by the Church 615 That of the Theefe miraculous 616 Couetousnesse Foolish and vnnecessarie 8 The roote of all euill 234 Nothing worse than a couetous man 263 No Vice more seuerely punished ibid. None so hard to be reformed ibid. The onely God that commands the World 264 Men vsually couet what is especially commended 407 Couetousnesse and Mercy how they differ 439 Neuer satisfied 441 Naught in a Magistrate ibid. Worse in a Minister 448 457 489 Courtesie The receit of a courtesie is the ingaging of our libertie 226 A good turne is a strong fetter 253 Courteous behauiour the greatest gaine 445 Court Courtier The Courts of Princes like the poole of Bethesda 162 The life of a Courtier is wholly vpon hope ibid. Crosse. Heauens key 623 The death of the Crosse an iniurie to nature 644 Crueltie See Vnmercifulnesse Curiositie Dangerous in diuine matters 125 as also in searching into other mens liues 477 Curiositie and Temperance are stil at variance within vs. 521 D Death THe Glorious change whereunto it brings the child of God 242 No greater dishonour than to dye by the hand of a base enemie 74 Naturall to shunne Death and to seeke Life 219 Christs willingnesse to dye ibid. Christs death to be considered two manner of wayes c. 222 c. As a mans life is so is his death 243 Why called a change 247 We ought to pray against suddaine death 331 492 The death of the wicked full of terror 332 The death of the Saints is the weakening of the place in which they dye 426 Little regarded or remembred 489 The remembrance of it affoords two benefits It is incident to all 490 c. The liuing more to be pitied than the dead 494 Death a large draught but Christ swallowed it downe 499 Why termed a Sleepe 509 c. Christs death how different from ours 510. The death of the Soule a true death that of the body onely a shadow 512 Why the Heathen erected Pyramids ouer their dead 514 Christs death the Deuills worst torment 528 549 Why Christ desiring to dye fled to auâ—yd death ibid. c. Christs death did alter the nature of things 645 The Deuil neuer more deluded than by Christs death 646 Preparation against death necessarie 597 Deuill He layes vpon Man three burthens 17. His description 71. His trade is wholly to doe euill 80 Why he appeared to Eue in the forme of a Serpent 81 His subtiltie 82 A great prouoker to Gluttonie and why Ibid. His malice oftentimes outrunnes his Wit 85 He is
Enableth vs to doe what Nature cannot 50 The order of it different from that of Nature 108 Not obtained without diligence 166 H Haire HAire hath bin hurtfull vnto many  Harlot The price of a Harlot no lasting portion 397 Her manners ibid. Hardnesse of heart In the Iewes without paralelle 206 They that liue in it iustly suffered to dye in it 58 117 Markes whereby to know a hard heart 296 A hard heart can neuer be mollified 537 Health Life is no life without it 239 Heart It cannot loue and hate both at once 117 Mans heart Gods temple 557 c. Of the whole man God desires only the heart 369 What is vnderstood by heart 371 It hath many enemies and all within it selfe ibid. The heart of the Earth what 130. Hearers Curious hearers reprooued 124 Heauen The ioyes of it 194 Not purchased without violence 230 391 545 In our passage to it no tyes of Nature to be regarded 311 The glorie of it 627 Hell The paines of it how dreadfull 244 c. All other paines but pastimes to these 453 Honour Despised of Christ. 327 Neuer without it's burden 35 Gods children more ambitious to deserue it than inioy it 192 Earthly honours brooke no partnership 228 The desire of honour not alwayes to bee condemned 327 Honours where no merit is addes but to our shame 554 Desired of all 555 Hope More prevailent with man than feare 190 The nature of both 619 Sathans practise to depriue Iob of his hope 620 Hospitalitie Pleasing to God 375 God the onely keeper of it 443 Humilitie Twofold one of the Vnderstanding another of the Will 33 The onely way to Heauen 217 No Humilitie like our Sauiours 635 Hunger A great temptation 80 Why Christ would hunger 78 Hypocricie Feignes the good it hath not 15 A kind of Stage-play 16 The Hypocrite hath no hope of Heauen 18 The danger of hypocriticall and luke-warme Christians 268 301 Hypocrisie straines at a Gnat and swallowes a Camell 262 368 I Ego I. A Word of great authoritie 45 Iealousie A true symptome of basenesse 338 Iewes A jealous and enuious people 315 Gods many fauours toward them 316 Their subtiltie and incredulitie 565 566 The murderers of all Gods Saints 602 In nature both like the Bore and the Beare 604 Ignorance A maine cause of all our euill 401 591 Images What difference betwixt the maker of them and the worshipper 151 Incredulitie A maine let to Christs miracles 322 Incontinencie Is a Sinne which hath two properties 570 Informers Like the flyes of Aegypt in a common weale  Ingratitude The first fault that euer was committed 143 Neuer vnpunished of God 144 No cut to vnkindnesse 224 God substracts his blessings from the vngratefull 270 It is vsually the requitall of goodnesse 330 The Embleme of it 383 568 To returne euill for good a diuelish sin 635 Inheritance Gods inheritance may run a twofold danger 248 Iniuries Must be patiently digested 47 When and how to beforgiuen 333 c. To suffer them is true noblenesse 533 Intercession Not to be vnderstood but of the liuing 379 Two things required to make it effectuall 378 Ionas Whence descended 132 Reasons mouing him to flye 133 Why he would be cast into the Sea 136 The Marriners charitable affection towards him 137 Iugde No small comfort that Christ shall bee our Iudge 94 Two properties of a Iudge 95 He must not be rash 137 Iudges must incline to mercie 421 A good Iudge compared to a Crane 458 Iudgement Why attributed to Christ. 94 Iudgement how to be guided 471 c. All shall appeare in iudgement 98 The day of Iudgement desired of the Iust. 99 Pilats Iudgement against Christ. 640 The most vniust that euer was 641 Iudas Foolish two wayes in the sale of our Sauiour 634 The vilenesse of his fault ibid. Iustification A greater worke than either the creation of the World or of Angels 294 572 The first step to it is mercie and pitie 397 Set out by diuers apt similitudes 573 582 K Knowledge See Learning Wisedome TO know thy selfe the beginning of perfection 480 L Lambes A Name attributed to the iust and why 154 Law Whereunto vsefull 40 The law of Taliation 46 Lawes if many gainefull to some but losse to the most 363 Learning See Wisedome Not gotten without labour 464 c. God the giuer of it 466 Lent Why called the Spring of the Church 10 Liberalitie Must be waited on by Frugalitie 444 Life This life onely a procession of quicke and dead 489 True life is to meditate on death 1 4 490 c. Short life content with short allowance 8 542 Whether better a publique or a priuat life 107 An euill life the losse of Faith 128 Long life the enlargement of sinne 136 Life seldome wearisome to any 174 The euills of this life are onely seeming euills 179 180 Life without health no life 239 Why desperat sinners are suffered to liue long 241 Nothing permanent in this life 243 This life is onely toyle and labour both to the wicked and the iust 396 Light Twofold 188 The excellencie of that light which is spirituall 189 Christ why called the Light of the World 517 The benefit of this Light ibid. c. Reasons why some hate and shun it 519 What is meant by Light of life 522 Looking-Glasses Why placed about the Lauer in the Temple 526 Lord. A name implying Honour and Power 32 Loue To loue our selues wee need not be commaunded 42 We must loue our enemies 43 The causes why we cannot 49 How our loue must be ordered 56 The perfection of it how to be discouered 57 Neuer without feare 92 How God should be loued 377 Gods loue is alwaies working 388 435 475 c. 477 It cannot be repayd but with loue 475 No loue where no reliefe 503 Gods loue seene by his delayes in punishing 513 Loue and Hate transforme a man alike into their obiects 564 Nothing more tedious to one that loues than the absence of what he loues 633 Loue triumpheth ouer God himselfe 635 Lyar Lying The World the Flesh and the Deuill all lyars 528 The mischiefe of lying 529 M Madnesse TWofold 604 Magistrates Should bee free from what they punish in others 360 457 Like sheepe-heards they should feed their flockes rather than fleece them 437 In choice of State ministers what ought to be regarded 441 Magistrates should be bold in reforming publique abuses 454 c. More heede the conuersion of the offendor than the correction of his offence 455 Two things they should specially looke vnto their conscience and their fame 526 They must be examples 527 Christ in his proceeding against the Deuill a patterne for all magistrates ibid. That Common-wealth is lost in which the magistrates and their ministers are both bad 563 They should euer haue Gods Laws before their eyes 588 Ill Rulers sent by God to punish the people 600 They should account no time their owne but other mens 631 Malice Will
Eccle. 24.23 Eccle. 5 23. He that tasteth the well of life will no more relish the bucket of Samaria Prou. 31. Men vsually couer what is specially commended Ob. So◠〈◊〉 30 1â— Gal. 6.1 Baruc. 3 3â— Wiues â—ot to doe any thing without the 〈◊〉 of their Husbâ—â—d Maâ—ach 2. Womens incontinencie Sinne at one time or other growes loathsome through saâ—â—etie Worldly pleasures whereunto compared What is typified by the Mount of Oliues Luk. 10. Esay 1.6 Cant. 1. Our Sauiours ordinarie Stations and employments Action is to be preferred before contemplation Ob. Sol. Most Christians are led by custome more than by deuotioâ— Gen 4. Sin if nothing will be it owne discouerer Iob. 24.14 Psalm 104.20 Eccle. 23.18 Sin cannot bee concealed froÌ„ God Sin while it is hid more dangerous to the Soule than when it is discouered Iosh 7. Hose 4. Mans disrespect is oft an occasion of the womans fall Adultery how punished in former times Prou. 6. The foulnesse of this sin and how heinously the Saints haue thought of it Iob. 31. Iud. 20.6 Dan. 13. Osee 7. Iob. 3â— Adulterie disalowed euen by Nature Prou. 6.35 2. Reg. 2. 1. Cor. 7. Leuit. 20. Deut. 22. Iohn 7.51 Dan 7. Iudges must incline to mercie Ob. Sol. Psal. 25. Ierem. 17.13 Iob. 13. Ierem. 22. 2. Reg. 12. Satisfaction must goe before absolution Gen. 20. Mercie an argument of goodnesse in whomsoeuerit be found Hosea 11. 2. Reg. 24. When the Saints either dye or otherâ—wise depart from a places it is much weakned Esay 30.20 3. Reg. 22. Hose 8.11 Esay 31.9 Esech 8.6 Deut. 31. Iud. 16.20 Marc. 6. â—â— Luk. 11. Râ—st is to be â—ounted pains wâ—eâ— we take iâ— but to enable vs for further paines Psal. 34. Eccles. 37. A true friend hard to bee found 3. Reg. cap. 1. A true friend hard to be found 3. Reg. 3. Iud. 18. Malach. 1. No labour or cost more tedious to man than that which is bestowed vpon Religion Esther 5. Iob. 27.19 1. Sam 6. The eye is a preualent orator with God Num. 21. Leuit. 25. 3. Reg. 8.29 Psal. 145. Psal. 147. Cant. 4. â— Gen. 22 3 Reg. 17. Gods care to work his children to mercy Good counsell the only prop of euery commonwâ—ale Eccl. 22.16 3. Reg. 12. Christ neuer commanded vs to sheare the sheepe but to feede them Philip regarded more Christs purse than his power and so doe many their owne Psal. 65. Act. 14.17 Onely our Sauior impouerished himselfe to make others rich Mat. 22.4 Ester 1. The Church why stiled a well ordered Armie â— Chron. 22. Want oforder brings in all confusion Partiality in all things to be auoided Ministers of State seldome good if needy if couetous neuer Couetousnesse neuer satisfied Clergie men ought to be liberall Then God haue mercie vpon many Iob. 13. The worlds entertainment meane and vncertaine Ecc. 21. Apoc. 6. Liberalitie must be waited oâ— by frugalitie Luc. 6. Ier. 2. Mat. 16. Marc. 8. Iob. 38. Courteous behauiour is the greatest gaine Fit qualities for a King The greatest miracle that ouâ— Sauiour euer wrought was this Zephan 2. Ier. 11. Esay 16. Esâ—y 60. Deut. 14. The honor of Priesthood Exod. 28. Numb 18. Couetousnes worst when cloked witâ— a shew of Holinesse Malac. 2.3 Iosh. 5. The nature of â—â—ue zeale Loue and zeale wherein different Gods chastisemeâ—ts here more in shew than substance Mat. 24. Wisd 3.5 Iob 40. God hath two wayes one of iustice another of mercy Prou. 5. Ezech 28 1â— God needs no weapons to destroy the wicked All paines but pastimes to those of hell Magistrates must be bold in reforming publike abuses Eccles. 47. 2. Reg. 23. 1. Chron. Magistrates must heede morethe conuersion of the offendor than the correction of his offence 1. Reg. 10. Sap. â—1 20 Act. 17.30 Mercy to be preferred before justice Zac. 4. Prou. 23. Old sores requiâ—e much scraping Ezech. 22.26 Iob. 24. Sale of offices the ruine of a Kingdome Act. 3. Apoc. 22. Apoc. 22. Act. 2.3.4.5 Iohn 21. Iob. 6. Iob. 11 Leuit. 25. Ioh. 6.40 Iob 13. Wisd. cap. 8. Christs doctrine pleasing and profitable Esay 48.17 Iob. 8. Cant. 5.13 Wisedome despised of none but fooles Iob 28. Prou. 3. Prou. 1. 1. Cor. 8. Eccl. 4. Zachar. 5. Iames 1. Learning is not gotten without laboâ— Eccl. 1. Prou. 2. Admiration vsually the child of ignorance Mat. 13. Mark 9 2. Tem. 2. Deut. 29. 3 Reg. 5. 2. Chron. 2. Iohn 3.34 1. Reg. â— Amos 1. Gal. 1. Mat. 10.20 Iohn 5.45 Iohn 12. Marc 9.37 1. Cor. 15.10 Ier. 23.15 Ezech. 13.3 Cant. 4. 1. Coâ— â— 7 1. Cor. 4.7 1. Cor. 8.2 Prou. â—0 2 A Preacher should neuer boast of his parts The Doue of all Fowles the most thankful Iohn 3. Iohn 6. Gods word the truest wisedome Psal. 119. Hosâ—a 10. Iohn 8. Ierem 1.10 Cant. 1.8 Amos. 7. Deut. 17. Wisd. 6. Deut. 1. Rash iudgement altogether to bee auded Power and Wisedome are not to be seuered in a prince The eye of diuine pitty euer fixed vpon pouertie Iohn 9.39 Esay 9.2 Esay 59.9 Esay 29.14 Esay 6â— 1 Iob. 3 9. Ezech. 16. Loue cannot be repaied but with loue Christ euen in his sufferings mindfull of our solace Cant. 5. Pitty euer profitable to them that vse it 1. Kings 30. Iob. 6. Whom God once fauours he still followes Gen. 21. Psal. 142. 4. Reg. 19. Sin the occasion of all euill Man the Epitome of the World the Eye of Man The Eye is the Hearts market place 2. Pet. 2. Sin the only Security that God could haue of man for his Glory Reasons why God suffereth many corporall defects and weaknesses in man 2. Reason 3. Reason God neuer takes any thing â—rom vs but 〈◊〉 return a better 4. Reason Nothing which God inflicts vpon vs can sauour of injustice 5. Reason No man but dâ—serueth more than God doth lay vpon him 6 Reason 7 Reason It is God aloue must fashion vs anew Baruc 6. 1. Reason 2. Reason 3. Reason Wee must make hay while the Sun shines Humilitie a great helpe to the curing of a sicke soule 4. Reg. 5. The like are Obedience Faith Sicke patients may pray but not prescribe Eccl. 47. Esay 35. Psal. 68. Act. 9. Dan. 3. Naturall inclinations hardly admit a chaÌ„ge Contemplation and action must neuer be seuered This life is nothing but a Procession of quicke deâ—d No obiects more vsuall than those of our mortalitie None lesse regarded or remembred 2. Reg. 14. Prou. 30. The remembraÌ„ce of death affoords two benefits 2. Reg. 2. Why the reward of the bodie is deâ—erred till the day of Iudgement Nâ—m 13. Ezech. 12. Prou. 7. We should set it alwaies before our eyes Luk. 9. 1. Cor. 1â— Neither youth nor age can priuiledge from death Psal. 7. As soon goes the Rich as the Poore the strong as the weake Ier. â— Iob. 24. Esay 2â— 1. Thess. 4. Eccl. 22. Iob. 7. Châ—ist more mooued with those disasters which happen vnto vs than we