tell them to our parents our wiues our children our seruants our friendes and our neighbours that they may bee signed by the same seale and saued by the same grace Thirdly God will haue none other to bee knowen in Israel but himselfe alone Whereby wee are taught not to stand in doubt whom where whē we ought to beleeue feare loue or worship but onely and perfectly to relie on the Lord. 1. King 18. 21. It is not good to halt betwixt two opinions but either we must bee constant professors or obstinate blasphemers I would they woulde consider this that say they know not whether to be papists or protestants for both liue alike and therefore both shall be saued alike But they must knowe that Cham escaped the flood as well as Sem but yet he escaped not damnation so easily and so wicked professors in this life doe many times as well as good but death and iudgement shall trie the cause The reasons first because the halting part is often turned out of the way Heb. 12 13. and indeede it is fearefull that alway euill doth surpasse goodnesse as weedes ouergrowe corne and sicknesse ouer commeth health Therefore let vs beware least when we doubt what is best we take the worst as Ieroboam did Moreouer while we doubt in religion wee are carried away by the craftie deceit of men Ephes 4. 14. For heretikes and euill men doe alway labour first to drawe vs into wauering and then to bring vs into condemnation Let vs then abide in that which we haue heard 1. Ioh. 2. 24. for that which is first is truth and that which is last is falshood Let vs not haue tickling and itching eares such as many in our daies haue which like not our doctrine our preachers our praiers our gouernment our sacraments our people and our prince and what will they doe shortly but fall in dislike with our God and all manner of religion Let vs also learne to bee constant 2. Tim. 3. 14. that we be not mooued from it but as Ioab would not come out of the temple but would die holding the altar by the hornes so let vs die holding fast by our altar Iesus Christ And that seeing we must die let vs die in his armes for his sake to his glorie and our owne saluation The xxx Sermon Vers. 28. And afterward I will powre out my spirite vpon all flesh and your sonnes and your daughters shall prophesie your olde men shall dreame dreames and your yoong men shall see visions 29 And also vpon your seruants and your maidens in those daies will I powre our my spirite THese two verses containe the second part of the spirituall benefits to be powred on them namely the spirite and the graces thereof for when hee saith that he will powre foorth his spirite he meaneth not to diuide the holy Ghost into parcels but by a vsuall figure of the scripture hee putteth the spirite for the graces because wheresoeuer any one grace is there is the holy Ghost 1. Cor. 12. 6 11. By this we may see that the olde fathers and the prophets had some knowledge of the Trinitie of persons in the Godhead for not onely here but in many other places is mention made of the Spirit and we knowe the name of sonne is and was very familiar in the scriptures Hee saith he will powre out his Spirite by a vsuall metaphor taken from water because the holy Ghost is resembled to water Heb. 10. 22. meaning also that hee woulde giue it abundantly in more plentifull manner then heeretofore so that all this pertaineth properly to the kingdome of Christ as Peter sheweth Act. 2. 17. and not to their returne from Babylon By the cohaerence of this verse with the former where is promised knowledge as is heere the holy Ghost wee may note that after God hath giuen vs knowledge hee also will giue vs the holy Ghost Act. 15. 8. so that there is not any one that can assure himselfe that he knoweth God by the word preached but he may also be assured that he is made the temple and dwelling house of the holy Ghost Ioh. 1. 12. this is the onely rewarde in this world of the obedience to the Gospell that we haue the spirit dwelling in vs and opening vnto vs the things of God If the affaires of Potiphar were blessed because he had Ioseph in his house much more blessed are the workes of a christian because he hath the holy Ghost in his hart Oh learne I beseech you to know the Lord by the scriptures for then shall you haue the Lord dwelling in you for then shall not sinne hurt you nor the diuell annoy you you shall not feare any danger nor any death for the spirit shal still comfort you and carrie your spirits into heauen The reasons First because we should euermore haue him in our soules Ioh. 14. 16. the Lord knoweth that wee haue a great deale of sorrow to suffer in the world and therefore he hath prouided for vs a comforter that may helpe vs to beare it and they which care not for their profession care not for the spirit and they which care not for the spirit care not for the Lord. By which we may see how fearefull a thing it is to forsake the profession of the Gospel for then the Lord forsaketh vs seeing vs giue ouer his spirit also the Spirit of the Lord is fire and if it purge vs not it will burne vs. Another reason bicause it may perswade vs that we are in the truth Ioh. 15. 26. for if our profession were but barely gathered out of the scriptures by men then might it be altered as the ministers thereof haue beene altered but the spirit abideth for euer and doth assure our hearts that this Gospell this faith this hope this obedience and this kingdome is the same that Christ taught the saints beleeued good men receiued the disciples liued and all the faithfull haue obtained So that if thou stand in faith and dost peaceably enioy the profession of religion and knowest by the infallible word of God thou art in the way of saluation then reioyce boldly because the holy Ghost is in thy heart as Simeon did when he had Christ in his armes But yet many haue peace in their harts thorough the diuel which are in errour in Poperie in Mahometisme and Idolatrie being perswaded they are in the truth but this perswasion is but counterfaite like as the miracles of the Magitians in Egypt were but counterfaite to the miracles of Moses and therefore not euerie one that is perswaded he is in the truth is to bee thought to haue the holy Ghost but onely they that are perswaded by the scriptures and relye vpon nothing in the world besides Let vs then trie whether as yet we haue had the holy Ghost giuen vnto vs or not for the Lord teacheth Iohn 16. 8. when the holy Ghost is come he will reprooue the
for their follies by preaching forsake their fashiōs of the world to be new fashioned in their minds that in stead of infidelitie wherwith the most of that crew are infected they may haue faith engraffed in them by hearing the Gospell least as they consume their purses they condemne their soules neither can robbe for more soules as they do for more purses Then will you say beloued you haue ploughed in vaine vpon the rocke but better let vanitie be vanitie then preaching be vanitie better let gamesters be deceiued then Apostles be falsified and better let Lordes and Ladies Gentlewomen and seruingmen and all the route which be contrary minded to this doctrine perish and depart from their pleasures then that the sonne of God the church of God and the ministers of God should depart from the truth It is no blasphemie to say with Paul It pleased God through preaching to saue them that beleeue Therefore no preaching no saluation or with Iohn He that heareth vs not is not of God Therefore they which stop their eares when they shoulde heare the preachers shall heare against their wils Go yee cursed into the fire of hell Nowe let vs come and see what particular vses the holy Ghost maketh of this doctrine in other places of Scripture And let that generall exhortation of our Sauiour Matth. 13. 9. be the first when he saith He that hath an eare to heare let him heare And this is as if our Lord had saide the Gospell of saluation is of such waight that it concerneth all the people of the worlde by the preaching thereof the gray headed the yoong men the tender women and the little children may and must receiue some profite old men must bee prepared to the graue yoong must be strengthened to fight with their pleasures women must be gouerned like the daughters of righteousnes and children instructed in the worke of redemption The king must heare as Dauid did the noble man must heare as Obadiah did the gentleman must heare as Sergius Paulus did the ladie must heare as Esther did the yeoman must heare as Elisha his host did the labourer must heare as Apollos did the women must heare as Marie did and the little children must heare as they did which when they sawe Christ cried Osanna in the highest For euery one that hath an eare to heare must lende the same to the worde of God The Gospell of Christ is not like other professions that when they haue most followers one marreth anothers trade but when all men if it were possible shall be ioyned to the Lorde in the profession of the truth then is the glory thereof greater then the brightnesse of the sunne Therefore my beloued rouse vp your heauie and hanging downe sences and consider with your selues that if the Lorde hath giuen you your eies to see withall your hands to worke withall your toongs to speake withal your feete to walke withall then thinke also that he hath giuen you your eares to heare his worde withall And if they which haue eares to heare must heare what shall they not forfaite their eares for not hearing Truely if the forging and counterfaiting of a noble mans seale or of a peece of euidence be by the lawes of man most woorthily deemed to be punished with cutting off their eares bicause it bringeth harme to a common wealth then also it may easily followe that in like case they deserue the loosing of their eares which will not lend them to the Lords preacher This I speake not to make any ciuill constitution but comparing sinne with sinne I would gladly manifest the great euil that hangeth on their neckes which haue their elbowes as ready to heare as their eares Most lamentable it is to consider that if they were all deafe that will not heare our sermons what a deafe world would this quickly prooue O my beloued brethren know you not that hearing is the sence of obedience and therefore you cannot iustifie your selues to obey vnlesse you testifie that you will heare God his ministers If he were accursed that layeth a stumbling blocke before the blinde then are they also accursed which stop their eares against the Lords ordinance Was it not a heynous thing to remooue but a land marke which our elders planted and therefore much more heynous is it to remooue hearing God his word from our eares which the Lord himselfe hath planted Come therefore my beloued and as you would be called Christians so fulfill the minde of Christ for as the vine branche is good for nothing but to beare grapes euen so the eares of man are but combrances into vs in most matters except in hearing the worde of God in the world they are too long in the Lord they are too little therfore for amending of our follies let vs apply our eares to heare while we can heare least it be too late when we would Secondly we make another vse thereof that seeing the ministers of God must call vpon the people to heare the word it is also requisite to shew you the true way for the sauing hearing of the Lords truth for in one and the same maner of preaching there is not one and the same manner of hearing therefore the holy Ghost speaketh by the author of the Epistle to the Hebrewes cap. 4. ver 2. Vnto vs was the Gospell preached as also vnto them but the word that they heard profited them not bicause it was not mixed with faith in those that heard it where we may learne if men and women heare the word of God with such diligence as the dearest seruants of the Lord doe yet are they many times neuer the better and he giueth the reason thereof bicause they do not mingle it with faith There are some seeds so smal and of that nature that when the gardiner will sowe them he must first take vp a great deale of earth and crushing it very small doth mingle it with his seed and then casteth it into the earth and it prospereth exceedingly euen so deerely beloued if you mingle not the pure earth of a sound faith with the seed of the Lordes word you shall neuer receiue any profit by our preaching And this is the verie cause that the Gospell groweth not mens hearts tremble not and their liues amend not because they bring minds full of infidelitie vnto the congregations The close Papist saith to himselfe I will heare this preacher but I will beleeue nothing that he vttereth contrary to my first receiued superstition the proude man saith to himselfe all the sermons in the world shall neuer humble me the couetous man he saith for all their preaching and telling me that I shall neuer enter into the kingdome of heauen yet I will not beleeue them if Christ himselfe say so the ruffians will not forsake their vanities for any instruction the common people say we preach but for our liuings and God forbid that all should be true which the scripture and
comming secondly by hoping for our glorification and thirdly by purging our selues in a word this is all We are made holy by regeneration and sanctification for a new minde is a holy minde as a new life is a holy life So then wouldest thou be holy the word must beget thee in the wombe of the church and the blood of Christ must purge thee in the tabernacle of thy flesh this is the way to make a saint first by the word thē by the blood of Christ and all of this must bee done in this life for they doe but mocke and delude the world which canonize saints after they be dead except they can bring them to life againe So then a pure life maketh not a saint that is holy without a new minde nor another minde without a cleane life Some are of opinion that there are no saints but in the kingdome of heauen but they are easily confuted by the scripture which calleth the godly at Corinth at Ephesus at Colossa and many other places by the name of saints But they say we do all them saints which the scripture calleth holy men and I pray what difference is there betwixt a saint and a holy man surely none at all but euery holy man is a saint in all toongs that euer I learned But if they vnderstand saints to be the soules of godly men in heauen then I say that in all good diuinitie and sound writers there are none such spoken of I meane that the blessed soules in heauen are onely called saints To conclude heare the gospell beleeue the promises waite for the appeering of our Sauiour and take but a drop of his blood to purge thy soule and life and thou shalt bee holy thou shalt be a saint otherwise thy life lead in long iniquitie shall ende in euerlasting woe paine and miserie And no strangers In these words he telleth them one benefit of his presence and their sanctification or holynes which is this that no strangers shall any more go thorough Israell meaning that they should neuer be ouercome by any enimies otherwise to harbour strangers is the commandement of God But by these wordes we are taught that onely religion maketh a common-wealth or kingdome to bee peaceable and happie 1. Sam. 12. 14 15. Although humane policie and worldly wisedome do much in the gouernment of any nation yet there is not any thing that so establisheth a people and maketh them happie as religion which is the wisedome and written word of God Why was not Ahabs gouernment as good as Dauids or Ieroboams a most politike king as good as Salomons Surely because the one was stablished in the law of God and the other was mingled with filthie idolatrie Let all the Polititians of the world and cursed Machiuillian Atheists murmur what they dare into the eares of kings and great persons that they must sometime regard Stratagems contrary to the Scriptures or else thrones cannot stand yet they are all deceiued for no policie nor counsell can stande against the Almightie Oppression breach of promise toleration of malefactors insinuations examinations extortions creations of offices and all the like policies cannot stand without religion for there was neuer yet any Polititian but he ended his life in great sorrow as did Achitophel I meane such as are not ruled by the scriptures We haue reade many policies of wicked men as of Pharaoh to keepe the Israelites in Egypt of the Philistims to keepe them without weapons of Ieroboam to keepe them from Ierusalem of the kings of Assyria to keepe them from returning home againe of Herod to kill our Sauiour Christ but what gained they all by their policie◠surely nothing but their owne sorrow and death for as Dauid saith The Lord intrappeth the wicked in the net that he laid for other Psalm 9. The reasons of this doctrine are these First because for sinne God dissolueth kingdomes Prouerb 28. 2. and therefore for religion he establisheth them for there is not any thing so contrarie to sinne as is the Lords worship I meane religion for all other humane vertues are rather in the compasse of sinne then in the shadow of true godlinesse Neither yet are all policies so condemned as it is vtterly vnlawfull to vse any for some are godlie and may bee practised as wee may see in Ioseph with his brethren who was a great courtier and yet vsed no vnlawfull extremitie of his authoritie so wee may reade of Moses that sent spies into the land of Canaan of the Israelites fighting with the Beniamites and of Gedeon when he slew so many of the Ephramites whom he found out by pronuntiation of the word Shibboleth but if policie bee grounded vpon any sinne or accompanied with any vnlawfull thing then better abide the hazard than that wee should do euill that good may come of it Another reason because Kings raigne by the Lord and by him Princes beare rule Now we must not thinke that he fauoureth or accounteth any nation blessed without his worship for he regardeth not a soule that feareth him not For this cause he droue Nebuchadnezzar from the throne to the heards of cattle that he might teach him that his throne depended vpon him Now shall we say that God is where there is no God accounted or if accounted yet not worshipped or if externally worshipped yet not sincerely where euery fancie of a worldly wise man is preferred before that truth which is sealed with the Lords blood I graunt that Iethro a heathen gaue Moses counsell how to behaue himselfe in his gouernment but GOD approoued it and so let euerie man speake for the good gouernment of a nation but let the word of GOD gouerne their sayings The vses first let vs take that counsell of the wisest king that euer was Prou. 25. 5. Take away the wicked from the king and his throne shall be established in righteousnesse If the wicked be remooued wicked counsell will be silenced and if wicked counsell be silenced then will the princes throne bee established in righteousnesse Dauid would not haue them to be his courtiers that slew Ishboseth his enemie and no more woulde he haue any vaine persons or liers to bee his seruants Psalm 101. 5 6. for as Gedeons armie was most honorable when he had sent away all dastardes and fearful soldiers although it was small so a kings court is most glorious when all wicked are banished from it although very fewe be left Multitudes are verie dangerous many men many wicked men Our Sauiour Christ had but twelue and yet one of them was a traytour and so it is most likely there is not any great company liuing in court or countrey but there are some wicked among them Although wicked men may bee good for the common wealth yet they cannot establish the kings throne in righteousnesse therefore I woulde that all the princes of the world would say with Dauid Psal 119. Awaie from me yee wicked