mee truely and charitablie deliuered There is vtterly a fault among vs to wit the great neglect of reading the word of GOD both priuatly in houses and publiquely also in the Church and congregation The matter were not so great and the fault were lesse if it were onely to be found in priuat houses and had not also set foote vvithin the Sanctuarie And pitty it is that Lay-men onely are not heerein faultie but some of them also who are Pastors and Ministers of Gods Church It is the custome and practice of many Ministers who are otherwise some of them zealous good men In the time appointed to diuine seruice in the Church and publick Congregation to curtall and shorten and sometime to omit the reading of such parts and portions of holy Scripture as are appointed to be read publiquely in the Church And in stead thereof after a few prayers sometime none at all to sing a Psalme and so presently to goe to their Sermons as if preaching were onely necessary and there were either none or very small vse either of publique reading or publique praying in the publique Congregation Whereas these ought to be ioyned and to goe together first in respect of God himselfe who is in some degree as well glorified in the reading as in the expounding of his holy word Secondly in respect of that decent and comely order established in our Church And thirdly in respect of the profit which commeth therof in that reading and praying going before in Gods house which by an excellencie is called the House of prayer they make preaching which followeth after more fruitfull vnto vs. And surely I thinke the greatest cause why preaching dooth so little good is for that we are now adaies so little acquainted with publique reading and praying in the Church And therefore it were not amisse that many men if they will needs be mincing and shortning and curtalling would mince and curtall and shorten their Sermons that so the Lyturgie and manner of seruing of God in the Church which consisteth as well in reading and praying as it doth in preaching might haue it due time and due respect among vs. And as some Ministers are heerein faulty so are many men and women their Auditors very much to be blamed who thinke they come time enough to the Church if they come but to the beginning of the Sermon making little account of ioyning with the Congregation in praying which both in nature in time and in order should goe before preaching And as for hearing the Scriptures read the chapters the first and second lessons the Epistles and Gospels they think that a matter not onely needlesse but some seeing it so omitted by their owne and other Pastors hold it to be a matter of needlesse formality and some of superstition I am no Patron of an vnlearned Ministery neither come I hither to plead the cause of such as are ignorant and onely reading Ministers if the Land could be without them it vvere no matter if there were none of thē but as I blesse God for those places which are already furnished so do I with my soule wish to all places Parishes that want them such Pastors and Ministers as know how to diuide the word of God aright to breake the childrens bread to giue to euery of them his portion in due season I am no enemy to preaching which I acknowledge to be the ordinary and most effectuall meanes of mans saluation I enuy not to the people of God the blessed benefit and fruit of preaching but yet withall and together with preaching I wish also that publique praying and frequent reading of Gods word were more vsed than they are For although preaching be a more excellent way to winne soules to God and although the word preached be incomparably a more effectuall and powerfull meanes for our new birth conuersion to God than it is when it is onely read and not opened and expounded vnto vs yet hath the bare reading and hearing thereof when it is read many excellent vses and doth many times leaue a blessing behind it Wee must so preferre or commend the preaching of the word before the bare reading thereof that we doe not disgrace the one in commending the other Wee prefer preaching before reading not as if wee preferred a good thing before that which is euill but as a thing which is more good to a good thing that is lesse good for both of them are good They are therefore too blame that in praysing the one labour to disparage the other for by both of them the soule may be edified Faith commeth by hearing hearing by the word of God which whether it be read or preached neuer worketh in vaine but like fire taketh hold of all matter which is apt to nourish it to be inflamed by it Christ commaundeth vs to search the Scriptures not because they stand vpon the Preachers authority or warrant but for that themselues in their owne heauenly strength beare witnes and haue a cleere and powerful record of him And that testimony of Dauid in the 119. Psalme Thy vvord O Lord is a lanthorne to my feet and a light to my steppes is not to be limited and restrained onely to the vvord when it is preached and expounded but is verefied also of the word of God in generall and therefore of it also euen then whē it is but read by vs or vnto vs. It is with the Scriptures as vvith sweet Spices they smell most sweetly when they are beaten or grated or pounded in a morter yet are they not voyd of all sweetnes vvhen they are but gently rubbed and bruised or handled with the hand so though they are indeed most sweet fragrant when they are diuided and expounded by preaching yet must we not deny them simply to haue any sweetnes or fragancie in them when they are but read vnto vs. For Gods truth is in the Scriptures not as the kernell is in the nut vvhich by no meanes can be come-by till the shell be broken for some parts thereof haue no shell at all they are plaine the sweet kernell the true sense of thē may be tasted or attained vnto by the serious and diligent reading of them onely although some other parts thereof be inuolued and wrapped about with shells of difficulty and obscuritie which must be broken by learned exposition and interpretation If it be obiected that this our Eunuch could not vnderstand what hee read for saith hee How should I vnderderstand vvithout an Interpreter or vnlesse I had a guide so ignorant men can take little profit in reading or hearing the word read vnlesse it be expounded vnto them My answer thereunto is that though he vnderstood not that part or those words of the Prophet Esay which he then read which did indeed containe in them such a mysterie as no eye but the eye of faith could pearce into as I said before yet might hee vnderstand many other
and slanders they doe loade the sacred Scriptures onely to this ende to make way for their owne deuises and to establish their vnwritten traditions which they are not ashamed to match and equall with the word of God But let vs learne as it becommeth vs to put as great difference between the sacred and written word of God and the vnwritten doctrines and traditions of men as there is betweene golde and brasse betweene siluer and the dust of the earth And howsoeuer there was a time wherein our Forefathers and Ancetors were gulled and deceiued with the fopperies and delusions of vnwritten verities and traditions yet let not vs be so deluded For want of bread made of wheat men are content to eat bread made of rie for want of bread made of rie to eate oaten-cakes but yet it doth not follow that the one is as wholesome as the other and when you may haue of the best that you should choose the worst So it is betweene the word of God and traditions of men when bread of wheate that is the worde of God was kept away from our fathers in an vnknowne tongue then was bread of rie and oates sauorie to their hungry soules for the soule is like the stomacke it must be fed and it euermore desireth somewhat that belongeth to religion and saluation but now seeing bread of pure wheat that is the word of God is by Gods mercy set before vs let vs not inuentis frugibus glandibus vesci eate acornes when we may eate wheate and forsaking the holy and wholesome written word of God basely feede vpon the vnsauorie vnwholsome vnwritten traditions of inconstant and corruptible men But rather as it is said Act. 19. Paul I know and Iesus I know but who are yee So let vs say to Traditions the olde Testament wee knowe and the new Testament wee knowe but who are yee We know the olde Testament and the new the Law and the Gospell to be those two dugges or breasts which yeeld milke sufficient for the nourishment of any that are babes and children in Christ We know the olde Testament the new the Law and the Gospell to be those two pence spoken of Luke 10.35 which are able to pay for and to discharge any surgerie and physicke which our sicke soules may need and to heale all the wounds all the sinnes and transgressions thereof We know the olde Testament and the new the Law and the Gospell to be those two swordes spoken of Luk. 22.38 of which our Sauiour there said They are enough for indeed they are enough both for the assaulting of whatsoeuer enemies and for the defence of our selues And therfore let them speake as gloriously as they can of their vnwritten traditions and magnifie them as they list we will onely build our faith vpon the holy and written worde of God this shall bee our onely guide in matters of faith Sic dicit Dominus thus saith the Lord. And yet wee doe not contemne the voyce of Antiquitie wee scorne not either the writings or opinions of the Fathers but gladly vse them and reuerently esteeme of them and giue vnto them as much credit as themselues desire should bee giuen vnto them that is as farre forth as they agree with Gods word wee reuerence them and subscribe vnto them no further because we dare not vnder their banner fight against God or vnder their countenance out-face his truth This is a good rule In the writings of the Fathers that which is prooued out of the Scriptures is Vox Dei the voyce of God that which is probably spoken and deliuered is Vox hominis the voyce of man that which is affirmed falsly is Vox serpētis the voyce of the Serpent And as wee are to stop our ears to deny all consent to that which is falsely deliuered so are wee not to open our eares or to giue any farther consent to those things which are probably deliuered in the case of Religion and matters of Faith than as they may bee either directly prooued or necessarily and strongly collected and deduced out of the written word of God In the 3. of King 1. when contention was between Adoniah and Salomon who should bee King after Dauid with Adoniah stoode Abiathar the Priest and Ioab the Captaine with Salomon stood Zadock the Priest and the mighty men which were with Dauid Here were Priests against Priests mighty men against mighty men Bathsheba the mother of Salomon seeing this contention knew not what to doe Nathan the Prophet therefore said vnto her Come I wil giue thee counsell to saue thy life and the life of thy sonne Salomon so hee willed her to goe to Dauid the King and of himselfe to learne his pleasure in that businesse Thus the case standeth with Relion at this day Adoniah standeth against Salomon Antichrist against Christ Ioab the Captaine and Abiathar the Priest are on the one side and Zadock the Priest and the mighty men of Dauid on the other side mighty men against mighty men Priests against Priests great men on both sides You therefore like Bathsheba are diuided in your opinions and distracted in your iudgement harken therefore to Nathan the Prophet who doth giue you counsell to saue your liues and the liues of your sons and daughters In these matters of controuersie in these matters of faith goe to Dauid himselfe goe to God himselfe looke and obserue what he hath set downe in his holy word and what hee hath decreed touching matters of faith and hold that fast and as for vnwritten traditions and vnwritten verities let them passe for they are not of necessitie to be beleeued they binde not your consciences He preached vnto him Iesus Secondly by occasion of these words I obserue that the summe and substance of Philips Sermon to this Eunuch is cōtained in this one word Iesus It is most true indeed that the sum and substance the marrow and pith the power and life of all our Sermons and preaching vnto you is grounded and contained in this one word Iesus the second person in Trinitie the Son of God For as all the lines which either are or may be drawn in a round or circular figure though they be infinit yet all of them haue terminum suum in centro they all meet and are terminated in the middle point or center of the circle so all the lines and rules of faith and of religion and all the parts of Gods holy diuine truth though they be otherwise and in themselues infinite yet all of them haue terminum suum in centro they all meet and are terminated in Christ Iesus who is the very center and foundation of all truth And as all the Axioms precepts of euery Art and Science if they be rightly and duly deliuered haue relationem ad subiectum a true dependence or necessary reference to the Subiect of euery the said Arts Sciences so all the axioms of pietie and godlinesse all the
of the like blessing And although it bee not enough onely to reade the booke or worde of God but that there bee more required at our hands euen to beleeue it and to frame our liues according to the prescript forme and rules thereof yet shall wee finde by Gods blessing that the frequent and diligent reading thereof shall be in good time the beginning of better things vnto vs. A small wedge though it cannot cleaue great logges and such as bee hard and knotty yet may it and doth it often serue to make way for greater and stronger wedges by which they may bee clouen So your often reading of the word only may make way in you to some greater more powerful operation of Gods Spirit by which your knotty and hard hearts may bee clouen asunder and so made woode fit for sacrifice fit to be laid and vsed vpon the Lords Altar I knowe right well that Cathedram habet in coelo qui docet corda in terris that he hath his seat in heauen which teacheth mens hearts on earth That it is our Sauiour Christ that opened the vnderstanding of his disciples that they might vnderstand the Scriptures Luke 24.45 That of him and of him onely it is said Reuel 5.9 Thou art worthy to take the booke and to open the seales thereof That he and he onely hath the key of of Dauid which openeth and no man shutteth and shutteth and no man openeth Reuel 3.7 And therefore except hee open the doore of the Scriptures they shall be shut vnto you notwithstanding you doe often reade them Yet if you doe often reade them you do stare in via qua trāsit Dominus you doe stand in the way by which the Lord passeth and if you doe but stand in the way by which the Lord often passeth it may be he will at one time or other turne in vnto you as he did to Abraham Lot as they stood in the way by which he passed And as the Prophet Elisha turned into the the house of the Shunamite when she had prepared a chamber for him and a bed and a table and a stoole 4. King 4.10.11 So I say if the Lord shall see that you stand in the way by which he passeth and that by your often reading his most sacred word you haue prepared a chamber in your hearts with conuenient furniture therein to receiue him and to entertaine him it may be he will turne in vnto you and so open vnto you the hidden mysteries of those Scriptures which you read to your euerlasting comfort And as here to this noble Eunuch after he had worshipped God at Ierusalem and was now in his returne home-warde reading of the Prophet Esay the Lord sent Philip who ioyned himselfe to his Chariot expounded that Scripture and preached Iesus vnto him baptized him and so left him a most faithful and most ioyfull seruant and professor of Christ So if we frequently reade the worde and meditate therein though therein wee meete with many things we vnderstand not the Lord in his good time will send some Philip that shall ioyne himselfe vnto vs some godly and faithfull Pastor and Minister that shall open and expound either priuately or publickly so much thereof vnto vs as shal beget a liuely and true faith in vs and shall bee needfull and helpfull to our saluation But here exception may be taken and it may bee obiected that as hee read the Prophesie of Esay but vnderstood it not and Legere non intelligere negligere est so to reade as wee doe not vnderstand is but in vaine lost labour The answer may be that although the Prophet Esay hath the same place and bee the same in respect of other Prophets as Saint Iohn is in respect of the other Euangelists like an Eagle that flieth an high pitch and soareth and pearcheth aboue the other birds that is bee full of high and heauenly mysteries which the eye of reason naturall vnderstanding cannot pierce or attaine vnto Yet are there many things both in Esay and so also in the whole bodie and all the seuerall parts of the holy Scripture that are plaine and easie to be vnderstood in which are contained and expressed the power the wisedome the goodnesse of God together with that dutie and obedience that feare and reuerence which all creatures doe owe and ought to performe to his most heauenly Maiesty as also such things as inuite men to faith and exhort to holinesse of life And these things and the like this Eunuch did without doubt both often read and well vnderstood Howsoeuer he doth most freely ingenuously confess that he could not vnderstand that place or passage of the Prophet which he then read vvhich was prophetically and mystically deliuered concerning the person of Christ and the saluation of mankinde by his death and passion which is indeed a mysterie which no eye but the eye of faith can pearce and looke into And from hence we may learne this point of Christian wisedom Not to neglect or carelesly to passe by those parts and passages of holy Scripture which when we read wee doe not vnderstand as if they either appertained not vnto vs or it concerned vs not at all to search out the sense and meaning thereof whereas by often reading searious meditating and frequent and deuout praying wee might many times with comfort vnderstand the same Chrysostome vpon the 16. of Luke hath this saying Etiamsi non intelligas illic recondita c. Although thou vnderstand not the mysteries that are hidden in the Scripture yet of the very reading of them great holinesse groweth And Ierom in his fourth booke vpon Esay and eleuenth chapter saith Frequenter euenit c. It commeth often to passe that lay men beeing ignorant of the mysticall sense are yet fed with the plaine and simple reading of the Scriptures To this exhortation of mine for the frequent reading of holy Scripture and by the example of this noble Eunuch for the reading of thē though perhaps some part of them be not vnderstood by vs to this exhortation I say giue me leaue I pray you before I shut vp this poynt to adde or vse a reprehension also I loue not I confesse to be ful of reprehensions I delight not in publick reproofes neither take I pleasure in searching the wounds or ripping vp the soares and faults of others and yet that vvoe which the Prophet Esay denounceth against them that call good euill and euill good maketh mee afraid to acquire offenders and maketh mee also bold to call error by it owne name and to tell them plainly which misse the right path that they are out of the way and are deceiued Let not my meaning be misconstrued neither let that which is well meant be ill taken The testimonie of mine owne conscience shall sufficiently witnesse to my selfe my good meaning and the iudgement of charitie should hold you frō misconceiuing or misreporting of that vvhich shall be by