Adam the tenour whereof runnes thus Hoc fac vives Doe this and thou shalt liue hee gaue it not vnto the person of Adam alone but vnto all those that were in his loines even to all his posterity who had the law printed in their hearts by nature In like manner when Christ commanded the Gospell of Faith and repentance to be preached he limited it not vnto a few but said vnto his Apostles Goe teach all nations and goe into all the world and preach the Gospell vnto every creature Neither from the law nor from the Gospell was any man excepted God is no accepter of persons the hand that swaies a scepter and that diggeth with the spade are both alike vnto him Idem ius Titio quod Seio one rule vnto all whether they be high or low noble or base rich or poore learned or vnlearned bond or free young or old of what state age sexe or condition soever they be God hath not strowed the way to Heaven with roses for great ones to dance vpon and with thornes for the meaner sort to tread vpon neither hath hee appointed a spacious and broad way for some and a strait narrow way for other some to passe vnto life everlasting by For the waies of the Lord are strait waies and as betweene two points there can be but one strait line drawne so can there bee but one strait way that leadeth vnto life Vno quisque modo bonus est mutisque nefandus a man may be wicked many waies but he can bee good only one way A thousand byâ—pathes are there which lead vnto destruction and but one only right path that leadeth to salvation For there is but one body and one spirit and one hope in which all are called one Lord one faith one baptisme one God and father of vs all in a word one Blessednesse which is the end and one Religion which is the way to that end through which way every man of necessity must passe that meaneth to arriue at that end Now I beseech you all that heare mee this day of what place soever you be whether high or low that you will be pleased every one to apply this individually and singularly vnto himselfe and to take notice that none of you can come after Christ but only by the same way Every one must deny himselfe every one must take vp his crosse daily every one must follow Christ or else yee cannot possibly come after him There is none of you so meane whom God overseeth or neglecteth none so great whom he priuiledgeth or exempteth And thus much of the generality of the Counsell The Forme of words in which the Counsell was deliuered is if any will let him which as wee haue said importeth the liberty of them that are counselled For it is as if our Saviour should thus haue said Behold I tell you all plainely no man can come after me vnlesse hee deny himselfe take vp his crosse daily and follow me Now if any will thus come after me I giue him good leaue let him doe so for my part I will neither force him from me nor after me if he come he shall come willingly If any will let him First therefore Christ putteth off and forceth no man from him For God would haue all men to be saved and to come vnto the knowledge of the truth neither is he willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance I haue no pleasure in the death of him that dieth saith the Lord God nay he sweares as he liues hee will not the death of a sinner but that the wicked turne from his way and liue And certainly seeing man is the creature of God and creation is the first emanation issue as it were of his loue it cannot be that hee should delight in his destruction He made not death as the wise man saith and when he inflicts it alienum opus facit he doth a worke not so pleasing him for he had rather shew mercy then execute iudgement Hence is it that he standeth at the doore of our heart and knocketh yea that he continueth knocking vntill his head be filled with dew and his lockes with the drops of the night that he requesteth vs so louingly to giue him entrance Open vnto mee my sister my loue my doue my vndefiled promising so bountifully that if wee shall open vnto him he will come in vnto vs and sup with vs and wee with him and threatning vs that as if we come vnto him wee shall finde refreshment so if wee draw backe his soule shall haue no pleasure in vs. Neither let vs thinke but that God meaneth seriously in all this for otherwise he should but mocke and deceiue vs pretending one thing and intending another and which I tremble to speake playing the hypocrite and dissembler with vs. Besides this he should make vs the ministers of the Gospell no better then false witnesses vnto him testifying things that are vntrue and which he never purposed whereas God being omnipotent needeth not our lye and being truth it selfe will not compasse his end by a lye Finally if Christ with his hands should push from him those whom by his word he inviteth to him then they that come not are the more excusable for every one may plead for himselfe that he suffered violence and Christ himselfe hindred him whose force no creature is able to withstand Christ then forceth no man from him If so whence then is it that many who are invited come not I answere the fault is in themselues they will not come I called saith Wisdome yee refused I stretched out my hand no man regarded yee set at naught all my counsells and would none of my reproofe And againe I called saith God and yee did not answere I spake and yee did not heare but did evill before mine eyes and did chuse that wherein I delighted not Wherefore he protesteth by the prophet Osea Perditio tua ex te Israell thy destruction is of thy selfe oh Israell and complaineth by the prophet Ezechiell why will ye dye ô house of Israell as if he should say if yee dye it is because yee will needs dye They refused to harken saith Zacharie and pulled away the shoulder and stopped their eares that they should not heare yea they made their hearts as an adamant stone least they should heare the law In like manner in the new testament How often would I haue gathered thy children together as the hen gathereth her chickens vnder her wings and yee would not Marke the words I would therefore Christ forceth no man from him yee would not therefore the fault is in our selues The Pharisees and Lawyers saith St Luke reiected the counsell of God against themselues our Saviour testifieth of the Iewes that they would not come vnto him that they might haue life
to bee as wise and wariâ— as serpents but least yee should mistake mee knowe that I permit not vnto you an vnlimited wisdome to compasse your designes by what meanes soeuer No I would haue you so to be serpents as yee cease not to be Doues so to be wise as yee remaine also innocent Bee you Serpent-like Doues and Doue-like Serpents wisely innocent and innocently-wise Now of the parts in order if first by your patience I premise a word or twaine of the ground of this Oracle occasioned therevnto by the illatiue practise Therefore Be yee therefore wise as Serpents This illatiue argues the sentence to be a conclusion inferred vpon some premises That which Christ hath premised is this I send you as sheep among wolues What is that It is interpreted in the next verse following my Text Beware of men Before they were 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Wolues now 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Men which if yee ioyne together it maketh 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Men-wolues that is men of a wolvish nature disposition For although no man would wish vnto himselfe the body of a beast yet too too many are contented to assume vnto themselues the qualities of beasts and in the shape of men to carry about with them wolvish natures in ravin sauagenesse cruelty preying vpon poore innocent sheepe Seeing therefore yee are to liue among such Wolues Be wise as serpents True it is that in the golden age as Poets faine or rather in the state of innocency and integritie without all fiction the old proverb was true Homo homini Deus one man was a God vnto another For before man ambitiously affected to be a God he was like vnto God and as the coine of God bare his image and superscription And therefore as God being essentially good according to the nature of good communicated of his goodnesse vnto all creatures and specially vnto man so man partaking of Gods goodnesse was not envious of it but freely imparted it vnto others 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 neitther doth the fountaine say drinke not not the autumne gather not and man being made a fountaine as it were autumne of Gods blessing denied not the vse and benefit of them vnto others But that gold soone degenerated into hard yron and man assoone ceased to be as God For the Serpent stung him to the heart and transfused into every veine of his soule a most deadly venome and poison whereby his spirituall life was vtterly killed and then insteed of the old prouerb Homo homini Deus one man is a God vnto another began a new prouerb one man is a wolfe vnto another Homo hominilupus as appeares by that woluish fact of Cain euen in the infancie of the world murthering his owne brother And although about the time of the floud the world were yet in its minority yet as the scripture affirmeth men were waxen Giants in cruelty and inhumanity Neither may we thinke that as the world grew elder it waxed better for experience hath found it too true Aetas parentum pejor avis cuâ—it Nos nequiores mox daturos Progeniem vitiâ—siorem the time of our parents is worse then that of our grandfathers we are worse then our parents and we shall leaue behind vs a posterity worse then our selues The Prophet indeed saith that in the latter daies The Wolfe shall dwell with the Lambe and the Leopard shall lye with the Kid and the Lion with the Calfe and the Beare with the Cow c. as if men then should put off their wolvish natures and become innocent Lambs or Doues But this is not to be vnderstood vniversally of all but only of those Wolues and rauenous beasts which are tamed by the spirit of God and dwell in the mountaine of his holinesse among whom is the vnity of the spirit in the bond of peace although euen in these also as the Poet speaketh Pauca quideÌ„ superant pristae vestigia fraudis some relicks of the old leuen still remaine For being but in part regenerate no marvell if from the principle of flesh inhabiting in them some inordinate inconsiderate actions at times proceed Otherwise wee finde the prophecie of the holy Apostle duly fulfilled who foretold that in the last daies men should be without naturall affection truce breakers false accusers in temperate fierce despisers of them that are good traitors heady high-minded And doth not this fulnesse of iayles this abundance of law-quarrels these tyrannies and oppressions of the poore plainely argue that although wolues are long agoe banished out of this Iland yet of Men-wolues there still remaines too great store plenty Now yet happier were it for the poore sheepe if these Wolues did shew themselues onely in their owne cases but so it is many times they put on the sheepes fell And therefore if it be true which one saith Perierat innocentia si prudens esset nequitia innocence had perished long agoe if wickednesse had beene cunning the greater danger to poore innocents A hard thing is it to escape Ioabs stab when his salutation shall be how dost thou my Brother or Iudas treason when it is smoothed ouer with a kisse and an all haile or Herods butchery when he pretends to worship the Infant So that is most true which Salomon saith that Daily we walke in the midst of snares and that as our Sauiour saith Wee are sent abroad as so many sheepe among wolues Now then in regard of these manifold and great dangers what course are we to take Must wee be simple as asses to beare all wrongs Or make our selues as butts for every one to shoot the arrowes of his injuries against vs Not so for so doeing wee should but invite men to lay more load vpon vs then in the end we should bee able to beare and if theeues as the Poet speaketh rise vp at midnight to rob and kill men vt teipsum serves non expergisceris should not wee speedily shift vs of our beds to saue and preserue our selues The best rule then that we can follow is this of our Saniours Bee yee therefore wise as Serpents for now I come to the first part which is the counsell And here it were easy for me to play the Physiologer in discoursing at large of the nature of a Serpent and the Morall Philosopher in reading vnto you a lecture of Prudence But so doeing I should much forget the place where I stand namely the chaire of Divinity transgressing that maxim and principle that Parables and Allegories are no farther to be vrged then the author himselfe intended to extend them And therefore although it be no difficult matter to finde out many witty resemblances betwixt the nature of a Serpent and a wise Christian yet I leaue them all to such as loue such witty impertinences will keepe my selfe to the plaine meaning of Christ. In every similitude are contained either expresly or inclusiuely two propositions which Artificers call 〈◊〉
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Proposition and Reddition In this similitude the Proposition is this As serpents are wise the Reddition so ought yee also to be wise So that first I am to speake of the one and then in the second place of the other That Serpents are naturally wise and subtill Moses witnesseth saying that the Serpent was the subtilest beast of the field and the act of the Divell also argues as much in that he made speciall choice of the Serpent as the fittest instrument to beguile the Woman Wherevpon in some languages they vse to say by way of proverbe He is wiser then a Serpent Now the wisedome of the Serpent is double either Offensiue or Defensiue Offensiue whereby he is cunning to hurt man For there being a naturall Antipathy betwixt the Serpent and Man and the Serpent knowing well that Man beares him a deadly hatred hee seeketh all opportunities and lyeth in ambush as it were to take his advantage to sting him by the heele This appeareth by the sentence of God passed vpon them both Hee shall breake thy head and thou shalt bruise his heele as also by that of old Iacob Dan shall be a serpent by the way an adder by the path biting the horse heeles so that the rider shall fall backward and finally that of Salomon If the serpent bite when he is not charmed no better is a babler His Defensiue wisdome is whereby he is cunning to defend preserue himselfe For first if hee sees a Man whom hee knoweth to be his enimy forthwith hee hastneth away into his hole to safegard himselfe Secondly if he cannot so escape he foldeth all his traine about his head to preserue it as wherein his life principally consisteth Lastly if enchanters goe about to charme him hee layeth one of his eares close to the ground and stoppeth the other with his taile to the end he may not heare their charmes and callings in regard whereof saith David they are like the deafe adder that stoppeth his eare which heareth not the voice of the inchanter though hee be most expert in charming These and other such things shew his Defensiue wisdome so that the Serpent both offensiuely and defensiuely is very wise which is the Protasis or Proposition The Reddition is Be yee also as wise What Offensiuely as wise I know many that are of vindictiue revengefull spirits would be glad to bee warranted in their humor by Christs counsell But such wisdome cannot bee here meant inasmuch as it cannot stand with that which our Saviour presently adds Be innocent as Doues What is it then Saint Augustine elegantly thus expresseth it Estoâ—e astuti non studio nocendi fed nocâ—nâ—â—s cavendâ— be yee wise not to doe hurt but to avoide those that would doe hurt So that the maine doctrine and rule is this That it is lawfull yea expedient and requisite in dangers and troubles prudently and warily to decline and avoide them Need I to spend time in prouing of this doth not the very instinct of nature command it vnto all creatures We see how the hound flies before the hound and vseth many naturall sleights and stratagems to escape the danger so doth the Partridge also to avoide the talons of the Falcon. Yea even in sencelesse creatures may wee obserue the same The fire fleeth from the aire vpward to preserue it selfe in its element and heavy things fall downeward as knowing they are not well till they are in their proper place But in man it is much more seene for even in suddaine perils when a man hath no leasure to thinke of avoiding them if a blow bee reached at him the hand naturally and of it selfe will put it selfe forth or lift it selfe vp to guard him And indeede to this end hath nature instilled into man a loue towards his owne selfe for as the Philosopher saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 every man naturally is a friend to himselfe Wherevpon the schoolemen say Charitas incipit a seipso charity ever begins at a mans owne selfe and where this selfe-loue is it must needs breed a naturall desire to preserue himselfe Besides this loue nature hath put into him feare also feare of whatsoeuer evill would either hurt or destroy him Now feare as the same Philosopher teacheth is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a preseruer wherevpon the woman because she is ordained to keepe preserue things at home is made more fearfull then the man And for this cause also hath God put his feare into the heart of all his Saints to preserue them from that horrible and dangerous sin of Apostasie and falling away from him as the Prophet saith So that Feare is as it were the sentinell of the heart because danger maketh it vigilant and the nature thereof is contrary to security Lastly besides this loue and feare there is in man an vnderstanding also and a memory out of which is bred Experience and from experience proceeds the morall habit of Prudence by which man is enabled against dangers both to foresee them and to prevent them For Prudence as Cicero saith is ars vivendi vt medicina valetudinis the art of liuing as physick is of health And what doth all this argue but that it is mans duty to preserue himselfe For as men haue beene most provident and circumspect this way so haue they ever beene counted and esteemed most Prudent Vnto this instinct of nature may we adde the warrant of the Gospell For Grace takes not away nature but subordinates nature unto it selfe and according to the rule of Logicians subordinata non pugnant things subordinate one vnto another doe not destroy one the other Now that the Gospell of grace allowes it as well as the law of nature is manifest for doth not Christ himselfe allow it nere when he saith be wise as serpents Doth hee not say when they persecute you in one citty fly into another Doth not Saint Paul also giue vs this caveat beware of dogs beware of concision And advize vs elsewhere to walke wisely to walke warily to walke circumspectly and againe Alexander the Coppersmith hath done me much evill of whom also doe thou beware Many counsells to this effect haue were in the Proverbs of Salomon among the rest let this one serue for all A prudent man seeth the plague and hideth himselfe but the foolish man goeth on still and is punished Conformable vnto these rules hath the practise of the Saints of God ever beene Noah to avoide the danger of the flood builds an arke and puts himselfe into it Ioseph in Egypt laies vp store of corne against the deare yeares to avoide famishing Ioseph and Mary with their young babe retire into Egypt to avoid the fury of Herod David wisely provideth for himselfe to escape all the snares and plots of Saul Christ himselfe carefully seeketh to deliuer himselfe from the treacherous designes of his malitious enemies And memorable is the