by this that hath beene spoken that they expose themselues to a thousand dangers Yea they tempt God and not knowing their owne strength or weakenesse rather do as it were dare and prouoke the Deuill to the combate But they say they are strong and feare no danger I answere with our Sauiour Christ in another case He that is able to receiue it Mat. 19.12 let him receiue it If they haue attained to such a measure of strength it is well But in the meane while they sinne against the Church Heb. 10.25 in breaking off the communion of Saints and in forsaking the fellowship of their brethren as the Apostle saith Secondly it serueth to admonish all men to auoide solitarinesse Vse 2 as much as may be But if a mans calling be such as he must of necessity be alone as a student in his studie or a workeman in his shop or a traueller by the high way then hee must carefully take heede of wandring thoughts and labour to keepe his minde occupied either about somthing belonging to godlinesse or else at least about the workes oâ— his lawfull calling c Cedet amor rebus res age tutus eris Ouid. de remed amoris and so hee shall preuent many occasions of sinne We that professe our selues to be Christians should be ashamed not to spend our solitarie houres at least as well as the Heathen man did who d Nunquam se minus otiosum quam cum otiosus nec minus solum quam cum solus Et in otio de negotijs cogitabat in solitudine secum loqui solebat vt neq cessaret vnquam interdum colloquio alterius non egeret Cic. offic l. 3. professed of himselfe that hee was neuer lesse idle then when he was idle and neuer lesse alone then when he was alone For when he was at leisure he thought of his businesse and when he was alone he vsed to talke with himselfe so that he was neuer idle at any time and yet stood inno neede of the conference of others Much more should we be occupied in good Meditations and haue our hearts continually stand bent therein least the Deuill returning as our Sauiour saith Mat. 12.44 and finding our soules emptie and swept c. he fill vs full of all vngodlinesse But of all other Melancholi ke persons are in greatest danger this way And therefore one calleth Melancholie the Deuils forge wherein vnlesse Gods grace do preuent him he frameth and worketh much mischiefe As we see by wofull experience that many times he preuaileth so farre with such persons as he causeth them to lay violent hands vpon themselues And therefore they are most carefully to performe this dutie And if when they haue done all they can they cannot preserue themselues from the Deuils tentations they must as speedily as may be runne into companie Eccles 4 9.10 for as Salomon saith Two are better then one for if one fall his fellow will lift him vp Qualis vita finis ita Went and hanged himselfe This is the end of Iudas A wofull end but yet agreable to his former life according to the common saying As the life is so is the death A wicked life a wretched death c Post redditum pretium laquca se suspendit vt qui se mulctauerat pecunia mulctaret vita Intelligens enim quantum scelus admiserit non sufficit ei sacrilegij carere mercede nisi careret salute Dâ—gnum enim se morte iudiâ—â—uit quod Christum vitam omnium tradidâ—sset Ambr. seem 51. de Iuda Iscar whereupon one saith That after he had restored the money he hanged himselfe that as hee had depriued himselfe of the money so hee might also depriue himselfe of his life For vnderstanding what an horrible sinne he had committed he thought it not enough to want the wages of his sacriledge vnlesse hee were without his life also For hee iudged himselfe worthy of death in that he had betraied Christ who was the life of all Now as I said his end was very horrible and very fearfull For besides that he made away himself the Lord shewed a strange token vpon him in his death For when he was hanged he brast asunder in the midst and all his bowels gushed out Act. 1.18 There is an old Tradition whereof Beza and Aretius doe both make mention that when Iudas hanged himselfe he leaped downe so desperately that he brake the rope and so liued still But not contented therewith in a most furious moode he cast himselfe headlong from the top of a steepe hill where he lay swelling after a wonderfull manner till a Cart went ouer him and crushed out his guts whereupon hee stuncke so filthily as no man could endure to come neare him Whether this bee true or no wee haue no certaine knowledge and therefore wee neede not beleeue it vnlesse we will But be it true or false that which the holie Scripture hath recorded of him is fearefull enough And yet this was not all his miserie For as the end of his body was very wretched so no doubt in his soule he went directly from the Gallowes to hell For so saith the Euangelist that when Iudas had hanged himselfe hee went to his owne place Act. 1.25 that is to Hell To which purpose Saint Bernard hath a good saying a Pulchre omnino Petrus Apostolus filium perditionis in locum suum abijsse testatus est quod in nere crepuit medius aerearum collega potestatum vtpote eâ—e veri Dei veri pariter hominis qui de coela venisset operaturus salutem in medio huius terrae proditorem nec coelum reciperet nec terra sustineret Bern. in Ps 91. serm 7 Suspendit se laqueo vt se ostenderet coelo torraeque perosum Aqum in locum Very well did the Apostle Peter testifie that the sonne of perdition went vnto his owne place in that he brast asunder in the middest in the aire being made a companion of the powers that rule in the aire that is of the Deuils For when he had betrayed the true God and true Man that came downe from heauen to worke our saluation in the middest of the earth neither the heauen would receiue him nor the earth sustaine him * Doct. Wicked hypocrites come to a fearfull end From this example wee may learne this lesson that howsoeuer hypocrites and wicked men may flourish for a time yet at last for the most part they perish and come to a fearefull end Iudas was in great account before so long as hee continued with the Disciples but now his hypocrisie being discouered hee dyeth a dogges death and becommeth his owne Hang-man Neither was this the case of Iudas alone but diuers others liuing wretchedly haue dyed miserably and haue beene so forsaken of God as that they haue beene their owne executioners 2. Sam. 17.25 Achitophel that was a type of Iudas reuolting from Dauid and
doth not take aduantage against vs but still mercy pleaseth him as the Prophet speaketh c. This doctrine serueth to admonish vs to take heede of this fearefull sinne of desperation and to trust at all times in the mercy of God for the forgiuenesse of our sinnes For as wee haue heard God is as readie to forgiue as wee can bee to aske forgiuenesse And therefore Bernard saith well a Tardius videtur Deo veniam peâ—â—tori dedâ—sse quam illi accâ—passa Isa 30.18 Sic â—â—â—m festinat misâ—ricors Deus absolâ—cre reum à tormento conscientiae suae quasi plus cruciet misericordem Deum compassio miseri quam ipsum miserum compassio sui De conscient aedis cap. 38. It seemeth longer to God to giue the pardon of sinnes then it doth to a sinner to receiue it according to that of the Prophet The Lord standeth waiting that hee may haue mercie vpon vs. For the mercifull God doth make such hast to absolue a sinner from the torment of his conscience as though the mercifull God had more compassion of a poore wretch then hee hath of himselfe And Saint Augustine saith b Non possum terreri multitudine peccatorum si mors Domini in metem venerit quoniam peccata illum vincere non possunt Extedit bâ—achia tua in cruce expandit manus suas paratus in amplexus peccatorum August Manual cap. 23. I cannot be terrified with the multitude of my sinnes if I can but call to minde the death of our Lord because my sinnes cannot ouer-come him hee hath stretched out his armes vpon the Crosse and spred abroade his handes as being readie to embrace poore sinners So that c Quecunque necessitas coâ—â—t ad poenitudine nec quantitas criminis nec breuitas teporis nec horae extremitas nec vitae enormitas si vera contritio si pura suerit voluntatii mutatio excludâ—t à venia sed in amplitudine sinus sui mater charitas prodigos suscipit reuertetes omni sepore Dei gratia recipit poenitetes Cypr. ser de Coen Dom. as another Father saith Whatsoeuer necessitie driueth a man to repentance neither the greatnesse of his sinne nor the shortnesse of the time nor the extremitie of the houre not the enormitie of the life past if there bee true contrition and an holy change of his will doth exclude him from pardon but the Mother charitie admitteth her prodigall children into the largenesse of her bosome when they returne and the grace of God at all times receiueth sinners when they repent For the Scripture witnesseth that hee despised not the Theefe that confessed his sinnes nor Marie Magdalene that washed his feete with her teares nor the Woman of Canaan that besought him for her Daughter nor the Woman that was taken in adulterie nor Matthew sitting at the receit of custome nor his Disciple that denyed him nor Paul that persecuted his Disciples nor the wicked Iewes that crucified him But yet this must not encourage any man to presume too farre of Gods mercy as though hee might liue as hee list and yet haue the pardon of his sinnes For the Lord hath denounced a fearefull threatning against all such impenitent persons Hee that blesseth himselfe in his heart saying I shall haue peace Deut. 29.19 although I walke after the stubbernesse of mine owne heart The Lord will not bee mercifull vnto that man 20. but the wrath of the Lord and his iealousie shall smoake against him and euery curse that is written in this booke shall light vpon him and the Lord shall put out his name from vnder heauen So that the mercie of God how great soeuer is restrained only to repentant sinners Hanged himselfe This fearefull example of Iudas giueth vs occasion Question Whether it be lawfull for a man to kill himselfe in the last place to discusse that Question Whether it bee lawfull for any man to lay violent handes on him selfe and to procure his owne death Many causes there are which driue men to these desperate courses but they may bee reduced to two heads either for auoiding of euill or for procuring of good For the first Many there are that when some great calamitie is either threatned against them or lyeth heauie vpon them which they thinke they are not able to beare seeke to escape it by offering violence to themselues As some to preuent bondage and thraldome a Plutarch in cius vita as Cato Vticensis because hee would not bee in subiection to Caesar killed himselfe Some in a long and languishing sicknesse haue desperately ended their dayes to ridde themselues from their paine as Plinius Secundus maketh mention of one that in this case famished himselfe to death Some hauing made themselues odious in the world by their wickednesse with Nero when hee saw himselfe censured of the Senate and hated of all good men beginne to loath their liues as being ashamed to liue any longer And wee haue both heard and seene that many wretched misers hauing hoorded vp corne in hope of a dearth when it hath fallen out contrarie to their expectation haue for very griefe hanged themselues Againe some to preuent sinne whereunto they were like to be forced or being forced to shunne the reproach and infamie that might redound vnto them haue killed themselues as Lucretia did among the Romanes Nemo polluto queat Animo mederi morte sanandum est sed is Hercules furens apud Senecam when shee was rauished by Tarquinius Last of all some not able to beare the horrour of their conscience by reason of Gods wrath haue sought to free themselues by being their owne executioners as did Saul and Iudas and diuers others For the second Some in a preposterous desire of euerlasting happinesse haue wilfully shortened their liues As one Cleombrotus who hauing read Plato his booke of the immortalitie of the soule that hee might the sooner attaine to it cast himselfe headlong from a wall Others haue made away themselues for vaine glorie to get them a name As Curtius among the Romanes 2. Maccab. 14.41.42 c. and Razis among the Iewes and many others But wee are to know that it is not lawfull for any cause whatsoeuer for a man to depriue himselfe of life The truth whereof may appeare by many reasons First death in it selfe naturally is euill inflicted vpon mankinde for a punishment of sinne yea it is one of Gods enemies as the Apostle saith 1. Cor. 15.26 The last enemie that shall bee destroied is death And therefore no man should wittingly and willingly procure it to himselfe Secondly that same naturall affection which is in all men should restraine them from so desperate cruelty against themselues Otherwise they rebell against God who is the author of nature which wee see the very brute beasts will not doe They may peraduenture goare and teare one another but whatsoeuer extremitie they are in they will neuer hurt themselues So that
must he depart out of this life without his warrant that hath giuen it him least he should seeme to refuse the charge which God hath assigned him Yea it is condemned by the generall consent of all Christian Kingdomes Where if a man offer violence to himselfe in this manner all his goods are confiscate and himselfe is denyed Christian buriall And indeede if the Canons of the Apostles as Peter Martyr witnesseth doe condemne them that wilfully doe geld themselues and call them no better then selfe-murderers And if the Apostle reproue them that in a colour of Religion doe not spare their bodies Col. 2.23 but superstitiously doe excruciate them without any necessitie as the Priests of Baal did 1. Kings 18.28 and as the Papists many of them doe at this day how much more are they to bee condemned that vtterly kill and destroy the bodie And therefore Saint Augustine a In sanctis Canonicis libris nusquam nobis divinitus praeceptum aut permâ—ssum reperiri potest vt vâ—l â—psius adâ—pisâ—â—ndae immortalitatis vel vllius carendâ— cauendiue mali causa nobis mâ—tipsiâ— necem iuferamus De ciuit Dei lib. 1 cap. 20. is verie peremptorie in this case affirming that there is neither precept nor permission to bee found in all the Canonicall Scriptures that either for attaining of immortalitie or for preuenting or auoiding of any miserie wee may procure our owne death As the pleasures of this world though neuer so great should not make vs loue this life more then wee ought so all the calamities that the world can lay vpon vs should not cause vs to abridge the time of our life Yea forasmuch as the faith of Christians doth endue them with heroicall constancie no miserie nor discontentment whatsoeuer should cause them to lay violent hands vpon themselues And indeede it is to bee feared least while by this meanes they seeke to shun a temporall calamitie they fall into an eternall and euerlasting miserie As the fish that leapeth out of the boyling pan into the burning fire And therefore if any bee so assaulted as they begin to loath their life and which is worse intend to bee more cruell to themselues then homicides let them remember that they haue somewhat more to loose then a temporall life Woe bee to them saith the wiseman Ecclesiasticus 2.15 that haue lost their patience much more in such a desperate and distrustfull manner as this is Neither is it true fortitude and courage what so euer foolish men pretend to the contrary The Heathen Poet could say b Furor est no moriare mori It is a madnesse by death to preuent death And Saint Augustine saith c Magis mens infirma quae ferre non potest vel duram corporis seruitutem vel stultam vulgi opinionem Maiorque animus merito dicendus est qui vitam aerumnosam magis potest ferre quà m fugere De ciuit Dei lib. 1. cap. 22 It is rather a weake and abiect minde that cannot endure either the thraldome of the bodie or the foolish opinion of the common people And that is worthily to bee called a more stout valiant mind that can rather endure a wretched life then shunne it d Regulus maluit hostes ferre seruiendo quam eis se auserre moriendo victores dommosferre quam mortem sibi inserre maluit Ibid. cap. 24. And therefore he preferreth the constancie of Regulus farre before Cato for that he had rather endure his enemies by seruing of them then by death to rid himselfe out of their hands Againe they that by this meanes desire either to reuenge or to eschew another mans sinne it is to be feared they fall into their owne a Nonne satius est flagitium committere quod penitendo sanctur quam tale facinus vbi locus salubris penitentiae non relinquitur Aug. ibid. cap. 25. And is it not better for them as one saith to commit a sinne that may bee healed by repentance And therefore Saint Augustine concludeth this question in this manner b Ibid. cap. 26. This wee say this wee affirme this we approue by all meanes that no man ought willingly to kill himselfe neither for auoiding of temporall miseries least hee fall into perpetuall nor for the sinnes of another man least hee that was not defiled by another be guiltie of a grieuous sinne himselfe nor for his owne sinnes past in regard whereof he standeth more in neede to liue that they may bee healed by repentance nor for the desire of a better life after death because they that are guiltie of their owne death can hardly looke for a better life afterward Obiection But it wil be obiected that in the first persecutions of the Church there are examples of many that to preserue themselues from sinne haue procured their owne death As namely c Euseb Eccles hist lib. 8. cap. 12 in Antioch a certaine noble woman with her two daughters that were virgins cast themselues into a riuer least they should bee compelled to offer sacrifice to Idols And two other godly virgins rather then they would endure the violating of their chastitie drowned themselues in the waues of the Sea d Ibid. cap. 17. And one Sophronia whose husband was gouernour of Rome vnder Maxentius when the Emperour by his messengers enticed her to whoredome made her husband acquainted with the matter and perceiuing that hee for feare of the tyrant had giuen his consent she intreated the messengers to stay till she had made her ready and going into her chamber and first on her knees making her prayers to God she fell vpon a sword and killed her selfe These and many such like examples are highly commended by writers of those times as though these facts had beene done by the instinct of the holy Ghost as Sampson who procured his owne death to to be reuenged of the Philistims But we are to know that the comparison holdeth not betweene Sampson and these persons For it is certaine indeed that that which Sampson did hee was moued to it by the spirit of God For at his prayers God restored him his former strength which before hee had lost Iudg. 16.28.29.30 Heb. 11.32 And the authour of the Epistle to the Hebrewes giueth testimonie of his faith and pietie and reckoneth him in the Kalander of the Saints But the like cannot bee truely said of any of these Nay Saint Augustine seemeth vtterly to disallow the fact speaking of Lucretia a Si non est ea impudicitia qua inuita comprimitur non est haec iustitia qua casta punitur De Ciuit. Dei lib. 1. cap. 19. that if it bee not inchastitie when a woman is rauished against her will it is no iustice when a chast person is punished The like example haue wee of Iudge Hales in our owne stories who as wee haue heard before b Fox Mart. pag. 1393. hauing for feare consented to the Bishops in Queene Maries time was afterward so
Other mens ruines should bee your examples Now to the end that wee may not abuse these examples of Gods children to the incouraging of our selues in sinne let vs consider first that this was no ordinarie thing with them to fall in this manner It is testified of Dauid euen by the Lord himselfe that hee did that which was right in the sight of the Lord all the dayes of his life saue onely in the matter of Vriah 1. King 15.5 Dauid then made no occupation of sinning So wee doe not reade that euer Peter denied Christ Iesus any more no hee was most constant in confessing of his name euen vnto death Neither doe wee reade that Noah or Lot were euer ouertaken with drunkennesse againe And therefore the examples of their falles can bee no incouragement to them that continually adde sinne to sinne making whoredome and drunkennesse and such like horrible sinnes their ordinarie trade and common practise These men sinned indeede but it was of infirmitie through the violence of temptation and they did not lie along in their sinne but renued their repentance with griefe of heart and therefore God receiued them to mercy and forgaue them their sinnes But this is nothing to thee whosoeuer thou art that sinnest presumptuously with an high band and liuest and lyest in thy sinne impenitently God hath no mercy for thee so long as thou continuest in this estate Againe for our selues let vs consider what hurt wee receiue whensoeuer wee fall into any sinne For first of all that spirituall comfort and ioy in the holy Ghost which once wee felt 1. Pet. 1.8 and which before was in vs vnspeakeable and glorious vanisheth away and our soules are filled with horrour by reason of Gods displeasure and the conscience is made euen the picture of hell And therefore Dauid after his grieuous fall Psal 51.11.8 desireth the Lord to restore to him the ioy of his saluation And a little before in the same Psalme hee saith Make me to heare of ioy and gladnesse that the bones which thou hast broken may reioyce Insinuating that the the horrour of conscience that followeth vpon the committing of sinnes is like the breaking of a mans bones which is the greatest paine that can be Yea hee saith in an other Psalme Psal 130.1 Out of the deepe places haue I called vnto thee O Lord as though for the time hee had beene in the bottome of hell Secondly wee are made vnfit to any thing that is good so that till we be restored againe by repentance wee are made vnprofitable burdens of the earth There is no cheerefulnesse in Prayer no life in hearing the word no delight in receiuing the Lords supper Our soules are dull and lumpish within vs as if they were buried in the bottome of a dunghill that we cannot lift them vp with any feruencie in the performance of any holy duetie Thirdly on the other side we are made most apt and ready to runne into any sinne Whiles we lie impenitent in any transgression the deuill cannot offer a tentation to vs but wee are ready to yeeld as may appeare in this example of Peter as wee shall see afterward Fourthly we are sure to smart for it for God will correct vs with one rod or other till we bee throughly humbled as the Lord said to Dauid If thy children forsake my Law Psal 89.30.31.32 and walke not in my iudgements if they breake my statutes and keepe not my commandements Then will I visite their transgression with the rod and their iniquitie with scourges What a griefe thinke we Gen. 9.22.25 was it to Noah by reason of his sinne to become a laughing stocke to his owne sonne What a heart breaking was it to Dauid to bee thrust out of his Kingdome by Absalom his owne darling 2. Sam. 15.30 It is said that when he fled from him hee had his head couered and went barefooted and wept as he went Better were it therefore for a man to want all the pleasure that his sinnes can affoord then to endure the smart and shame that followeth after as the Apostle saith What fruite had yee then in those things whereof yee are now ashamed Rom. 6.21 Last of all when a man by his sinnes hath lost the feeling of Gods fauour it is hard to recouer it againe Peter wept bitterly Dauid crieth earnestly yea he caused his bed euery night to swim and watered his couch with his teares So will it be with thee whosoeuer thou art that hast by thy sinne lost the fauour of God it will cost thee many a broken sleepe many an aking heart and many a salt and bitter teare before thou canst bee reconciled againe And therefore to conclude in all these respects wee should bee carefull by all holy meanes to preserue our selues from sinne and not presume because God hath beene mercifull in forgiuing many great and grieuous sinners Before them all This is the maner of his deniall that hee doth it openly and publikely hee did not whisper it in the maides eare but spake it openly in the hearing of them all And this doth greatly aggrauate his sinne that hee is not afraid of a multitude of witnesses Hee is come to this passe that he careth not who heareth him denie his Master Doctr. These sinnes are most hainous that are openly committed Psal 139.12 Here then we may learne that as all sinnes are hainous so especially that which is openly and publikely committed The very sight and presence of men should somewhat keepe vs and restraine vs from sinne It is true that euen our most secret sinnes are odious in the sight of God because seeth them as well as if they were open For as Dauid saith The darkenesse hideth not from God Ier. 23.24 Psal 19.12 but the night shineth as the day the darkenesse and light to him are both alike he seeth as well at mid-night as at noone-day Neither can there be any place so secret wherein a man can hide his sinnes from the Lord. And therefore Hos 4.2 Jsa 3.9 Vultu morbum incessuque fatentur Iuuenal satyr 2. vnius cuiusque casus tantò maior ris est crim iniis quantò priusq is caderet maioris erit virtutis Bern. de conc aedif cap. 5 s 1 as Dauid prayeth for the pardon euen of his secret sinnes ackowledging that God could know and see sinnes in him when they could not see them himselfe But when mens sinnes breake out as the Prophet Hosea saith into the open vewe of the world and when once the triall of their countenance doth testifie against them when they are come to that height of impudency in sinning that they declare their sinnes as Sodome and hide them not then are their sins most odious The reason is because God thereby is most dishonored especially if they be professors of religion that doe offend For all that professe religion liue as it were vpon a stage where all men doe
they doe any thing it is closely and couertly that no man may see them Ioh. 3.1.2 Like to Nicodemus that came to Iesus to be instructed but it was by night Though himselfe were a ruler of the Iewes Ioh. 19.38 9.22 yet he durst not auouch his loue to Christ And Ioseph of Arimathea was also one of Iesus his Disciples but it was secretly for the Iewes He durst not be to knowe of it So the parents of the blind man to whome Christ had giuen sight durst not confesse all that they knew of Christ for feare of the Iewes But this sinne is very grieuous Heb. 10.38 and therefore the Lord threatneth that if any man in faint-heartednesse for want of patience doe withdrawe himselfe his soule shall haue no pleasure in him And the fearefull and vnbeleeuing Apoc. 21.8 which for want of faith in Gods promises for that is the cause of fearefulnesse dare not stand to the profession of the truth shall haue their portion among murderers and whore-mongers and sorcerers and such like persons in the lake which burneth with fire brimstone which is the second death Neither is there any sin that in this life doth he so heauy on the conscience as this when a man for want of spirituall courage shall cowardly betray and forsake the truth As may be seene in the lamentable example of Iudge Hales Foâ— pag. 1282. 1392 1393. who in Queene Maries time being called before the Bishop of VVinchester then Lord Chauncelor for proceeding against certaine masse Priests that were indited before him according to the lawes of King Henry the eight and King Edward the sixt being then yet in force did stand in defence of the truth with good constancie But afterwardes being committed to the Fleet hee was there either by threatnings or flatterie brought to yeeld vnto his aduersaries Which he had no sooner done but he was grieuously afflicted in his conscience insomuch as he attempted to lay violent handes on himselfe and had killed himselfe with his penknife but that the mercifull prouidence of God preuented him But afterwardes being deliuered out of Prison and comming home to his owne house he could neuer find rest till hee had fearefully drowned himselfe in a little riuer Mark 8.38 To conclude our Sauiour Christ exhorting his Disciples to constancy vnder the crosse hee telleth them Whosoeuer shal be ashamed of me and of my wordes among this adulterous and sinfull generation him shall the son of man be ashamed of when he commeth in the glory of his Father with all his holy Angels If we be ashamed of Christ Iesus before a company of sinfull men like our selues what is he the worse for it or if wee confesse him before them what addition of glory hath hee by it He is euery way absolute in himselfe and can receiue neither diminution nor accesse of honour by any thing that we can doe But if he be ashamed of vs before his heauenly Father and the holy Angels if he doe not then acknowledge vs what shall become of vs And therefore in the second place let vs be exhorted to Vse 2 be stedfast and constant in the truth as well in time of persecution as in the daies of peace Wee haue a prouerbe that He is but an idle Swaine that will let his iourney for a shower of raine So he is but an idle Christian that dare not shew his head when a little storme of persecution beginneth to arise He that is truely godly indeed will willingly vndergoe whatsoeuer trouble shall accompany his profession as Moses did chuse to suffer aduersity with the people of God when if he would haue renounced his religion he might haue liued in great pleasure in Pharaos court Heb. 11.25 When we once enter into the profession of Christianity wee must first cast our accounts to see what it will cost vs to be Christians Luk. 14.28.31 as our Sauiour exhorteth We may not dreame of ease and security for then we shal be deceiued But wee must knowe that all that will liue godly in Christ Iesus must suffer persecution either one way or other 2. Tim. 3.12 And that wee cannot enter into the Kingdome of heauen Act. 14.22 but through many tribulations and therefore we must arme our selues against them before hand that we may endure them And to perswade vs the better let vs remember Heb. 2.11 that Christ Iesus our blessed Sauiour though he were the immortall and glorious God yet in loue to vs Was not ashamed to call vs brethren Yea suffered all extremitie for our sakes It was great praise in Moses that being so highly esteemed in Pharaos Court Exod. 2.11 Act. 7.23 yet hee would vouchsafe to visit his poore brethren the oppressed Hebrewes It was singular loue in Ioseph Gen 45.3.4 46.34 that being set next to the King himselfe ouer all the land of Aegypt yet hee was not ashamed of his brethren and of his Fathers house though they were heardsmen and shepheards Ester 4.4 It was great vertue in Ester that being so highly aduanced as to bee made Queene to so great a Monarch Phil. 1.29 yet she was not ashamed of poore Mordecai her vnckle a despised person But all this is nothing in comparison of this that Christ Iesus is not ashamed of vs. And therefore we must not be ashamed of him nor of any crosse that shall befall vs for his sake For this is certaine that whosoeuer hath faith giuen him of God to beleeue in him hee hath also grace giuen him to suffer for him as the Apostle saith * Doct. To dissemble our Religion is to denie Christ I wotte not what thou sayest Wee see that Peter doth not here deny our Sauiour Christ in plaine termes onely he would shift off the matter as cunningly as he could and yet this speech of his must be one of deniall or else hee did not denie him thrice as our Sauiour had foretold Where we may obserue that he that doth but dissemble his faith in Christ is guilty of denying him in the sight of God a Apud eos qui Christianae gratiae participatione redempti sunt peâ—è tâ—l est fidem nollâ—â—ssâ—â—cie quam negare Fulg. de myster Mediat ad Thras Van. sal regem ib. Among them that are redeemed by participation of the grace of Christ it is almost all one not to maintaine the faith and to denie it It is true Euasions are not alwayes vnlawfull nor on some occasion to dissemble the matter A bird is not bound to flie into the net that is set for her No more is a man bound to expose and offer himselfe to danger But so farre as may stand with a good conscience and so farre as hee may doe it without sinne it is lawfull to auoide it VVhen Samuel came to Bethlehem to annoint one of Ishai his sonnes to be King in steed of Saul 1. Sam. 16 1.2.3.4
ibid. The droppes of raine are but little in quantity and yet they make great shoures and cause mighty floods which beare down all before them f Parna saepe scintilla conteÌ„pta magnum excitauit incendiuÌ„ Qu. Curt. lib. 6. Wee see that many times a little sparke of fire neglected causeth a great burning and a little fire as S. Iames saith kindleth a great matter Iam. 3.5 And therefore if wee desire to preserue our selues from comming to the height of sinne to commit all vncleannesse with greedinesse as the Apostle saith Ephes 4.19 g Mens christo dicata sic caueat minora vt matora quia a minimis incipiut qui in maxima proruunt Bera de ordine vitae Non solum grauia sed leuia peccata cauenda sunt Multa enim leuia vnum grande efficiunt Bern. de conscâ—aedâ—s cap. 46. Wee must not onely take heede of grosse and hainous sinnes but euen of small sinnes Yea wee must as well beware of the least as of the greatest for according to the prouerb Many littles make a great and they that begin with little sinnes we see by experience do often rush into greater Secondly wee must be carefull to preuent the first beginning of sinne and labour to kill it in the first sprouting h Principijs obsta sero medicina paratur Dum mala per longas invaluere moras Ouid. de remed c. Opprime dum noua sâ—nt subita mala semina morbi Nam mora dat vires Ibid. Phisitions giue vs counsell in the diseases of the body to stop the beginnings least by continuance of time they grow inueterate as wee see by experience Many a disease that might easily haue been cured at the first and many a wound that might soone haue beene healed if it had beene looked to in time afterward beeing suffered to continue ouerlong Vse 2 doe prooue incureable So should we doe in the diseases of the soule euen labour by all good meanes to preuent them when we perceiue them growing vpon vs at the first Men are carefull to kill serpents in the shell and rauens in the neast and cubbes in the earth before they begin to run and all to preuent the danger which otherwise might grow by them if they were let alone g So must wee doe with our sinnes labour to strangle them euen in the birth that they may be like an abortiue fruit and neuer come to perfection The fire when it is newly begun to burne is easily quenched with a little water i Cura in ipso vtero pâ—ssimae matris praefocari germen Bern. de consider lib. 3. Gual in Hos Homil. 21. but if by negligence and delay it gather strength it rageth exceedingly and can hardly be extinguished In like manner sinne at the first beginning might easily be ouercome but if it be suffered to grow to any height it will be a most hard matter to suppresse it As the Crowe being about to breed first gathereth little sticks and other matter to make a neast and then layeth egges which by her heat she cherisheth til her yong ones be hatched brought forth So the Deuill being about to produce sinne first hee gathereth a great many vaine and idle thoughts whereof he maketh his neast in the heart of man and there layes delights as it were his egges which hee so long nourisheth fostereth till his young brood of sinne bee hatched by consent and after brought foorth by operation as S. Iames liuely describeth the beginning and birth of sinne Euery man saith hee is tempted when he is drawne away by his owne concupiscence and is entised Then when lust hath conceiued it bringeth forth sin and sinne when it is perfitted bringeth forth death Iam. 1.14.15 Now as hee that would hinder the breeding of the Crowe doth either pull downe the neast as soone as it is made or breake the egges or at least killeth the birds before they can flie so if we desire to stay the birth of sinne we must resist it in the very first thought of it not giuing entertainment thereunto and if the Diuell doe buzze ill thoughts into our harts against our wills we must take heede wee yeeld not consent vnto them at the least if we haue consented let vs vse all good meanes to preuent it before it come to action And the rather because the longer we giue entertainement to any sinne the harder it will be to ouercome it The spreading of sinne is like the spreading of the pestilence which first infecteth the aire the aire beeing infected corrupteth our breath and that conuaieth the infection into the vital spirits and the bloud and so it ouer-spreadeth the whole body and is past recouery so sinne by little and little and by degrees getting hold in the heart disperseth it selfe into all the parts both of body and soule so as without the grace of God there is no meanes to bee freed from it The longer that the Diuell or any sinne hath had possession in the heart the harder will it bee to dispossesse them Wood that hath long laine soaking in the wette will bee long before it receiue fire so the longer that any mans heart hath beene soaked or steeped in sinne the longer will it be before it receiue any impression of grace a Quae praebet latas arbor spatiantibus vmbras Quo posita est primum tempore virga fuit Tunc poterat manibus summa tellure reuelli Nunc stat in immensum viribus aucta suis Ouid. de remed Nil assuetudine maius Oâ—id de arte amandi A young plant may easily be pluckt vp by the roots but if it grow till it be a great tree it can hardly be remoued So long as there is nothing but dust in our floores a light broome will serue to sweepe it away but if it be stiffe clay a broome will doe no good there must bee a spade to spittle it out In like manner so long as our sinnes are young they may with little labour be rooted out but if once they be confirmed in our hearts wee shall finde it a very hard matter to displace them Hence it is that the prophet Ieremy saith Can the blacke Moore change his skinne or the Leopard his spottes then may you also doe good that are accustomed to doe euill Ierem. 13.23 Giuing vs thereby to vnderstand that it is the most difficult thing in the world for a man to leaue a custome or an habite of sinning euen as for a blacke Moore to be made white who is naturally so blacke as there is no meanes to alter his hewe Though a man should wash him with nitire and much sope yet it would not preuaile And therfore it is grown to a prouerb that when a man vndertaketh any impossible thing which cannot bee effected bee is said to wash a blacke Moore b Ars sit vbi a teneris crimen condiscitur annis Ouid. Epist Difficulter reciduntur vitia quae
why the word is so ineffectuall in many places as it is For first many of vs that be Ministers come to preach our selues and not Christ Iesus and to vent our owne gifts and let them take winde and not to seeke the saluation of our hearers and therefore God denyeth to worke by our Ministerie Againe a number of you that bee hearers come for gapeseede to gaze the Minister in the face or to see the variety of mens gifts or to gleane vp some quaint phrases and witty sentencess and not with any desire to further your owne saluation and therefore you goe away as you come without Gods blessing And so the word is made fruitlesse and vnprofitable vnto you Whereas if wee would account the soules of Gods people deare and precious in our sight Phillip 18. and long after the saluation of them all from the very heart rootes as the Apostle saith and therefore before wee come to deliuer his word craue Gods blessing by earnest prayer vpon our labour and if you would come to heare the word with a desire to profit and to growe in grace by it and for that end would pray to God to open your heartes as hee did the heart of Lydia that you may diligently attend to that that shal bee taught it would appeare that you should reape more profit then by one sermon then you doe now by twentie Then Peter remembred c. The Apostle Peter neuer came to himselfe hee neuer began to bethinke himselfe of the hainousnesse of his fact before such time as the Lord by the meanes aforesaid had moued his heart But what did Peter in the meane while did hee any whit further or helpe forward himselfe to repentance Surely he did as much as lay in him to further himselfe to hell For as wee haue heard hee was swearing and cursing himsele in most horrible manner that he neuer knew Christ But after that he was outwardly rowsed by the crowing of the cocke and inwardly awaked by Christs looking backe vpon him then hee began to consider the danger of that estate wherein he stood From hence then wee learne Doct. The whole worke of our conuersion is frō God alone Rom. 9.16 Heb. 12 2. that the whole worke of our conuersion is from God alone There is not the least endeauour in any man to further the worke of grace in himselfe as the Apostle saith It is not in him that willeth nor in him that runneth but in God that sheweth mercie And for this cause our Sauiour Christ is called both the authour and also the finisher of our faith Yea whatsoeuer good worke is wrought in any of Gods children Phil. 1.6 the Lord by his holy spirit doth both begin and performe the same Yea if there bee but any will or desire to doe good it is from the Lord. Phil. 2.13 For it is God that worketh in vs both the will and the deede of his good pleasure And therefore wee read Act. 2.47 that in the Primitiue Church The Lord added to the Church from day to day such as should bee saued It was not in their power to ioyne themselues with the Church of God and to become true members thereof but it was the gratious worke of the holy spirit of God But most fully and clearely doth the Prophet Ezechiel set out the truth of this point speaking in the person of God A new heart saith he will I giue you Ezech. 36.26 and a new spirit will I put within you and I will take away the stony heart out of your body and I wil giue you an heart of flesh And I will put my spirit within you 27. and cause you to walke in my statutes c. Where the Prophet wholly disableth man for the worke of his regeneration and ascribeth both the beginning and progresse thereof vnto the Lord. For as there is not any softnesse in a stone nor the least disposition to bee made soft and pliable so in the stony heart of man there is no root from whence this blessed worke of grace might bee produced no inclination to good whereby it might be furthered no faculty wherewith it might be effected As we were not able at the first to effect our naturall generation and make our selues men or women nay as our Sauiour saith Mat. 5.36 wee cannot make our haire white or blacke So it is not in our power to effect our spirituall regeneration to make our selues the sonnes or daughters of God But we must confesse in both respects Psal 100.2 as Dauid saith It is he that hath made vs and not we our selues And for this cause the Apostle saith wee are his workmanshippe created in Christ Iesus vnto good workes c. Epbes 2.10 And this made Dauid to pray Create in mee a cleane heart O Lord and renue a right spirit within me Psa 51.10 acknowledging that there was nothing at all in him whereby this worke might bee furthered but God by his almightie power must miraculously create it of nothing § Sicut in natiuitate carnali omnem nascentis hominis voluntatem praecedit operis diuini formatio sic ia spirituali natiuitate nemo potest habere bonam voluntatem motu proprio nisi mens ipsa id est interior homo noster reformetur ex Deo Fulg de incarnat grā Christi cap. 19. And indeede if the matter bee well considered the worke of regeneration will be a farre more hard and difficulte worke and of greater labour then was the worke of creation For as Dauid saith By the word of the Lord were the heauens made and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth Psal 33.6 and hee commaunded and they were created Psal 148.5 As we see in the story of the creation that when God beganne to raise this wonderfull and glorious frame of heauen and earth and to furnish them with varietie of creatures hee did but speake the word saying Let there bee this and that and presently it was so Gen. 1. But for effecting our regeneration there was a great deale more to doe Christ Iesus must leaue the heauens and the glory which hee had with his Father and bee incarnate in the forme of a seruant and suffer a shamefull and an accursed death to the killing and subduing of our sinnes and the efficacy of his resurrection to the reuiuing and quickning of vs to newnesse of life a Praegrauatus animus quasi pōdere suo a beatitudine expellitur nec redire potest effusts perditis viribus nisi gratia conditoris sui ad paenitentiam vocātis peccata cōdonātis Quis enim infelicem animū liberabit a corpore mortis nisi gratia Dei per Iesū Christum Aug. de Trin. lib. 12. cap. 11. And to this purpose S. Augustine hath many excellent sayings The soule of man saith he being as it were oppressed with the owne burden is expelled and banished from blessednesse and hauing
young man in whom the heate of his affections is more violent Wherewith saith he shall a young man redresse his way in taking heed thereto according to thy word Psal 119.9 Wee read in the booke of Nehemiah that when the people of Israel had sinned in taking them wiues of the Idolatrous Nations and had lien in that sinne a long time without repentance Ezra that learned Scribe put them in minde of the hainousnesse of their sinne Nehem. 8.18 9.1.2 c. by rehearsing to them the law of God in that behalfe which wrought so vpon their consciences as presently they repented of the fact in sackecloath and ashes Yea though peraduenture while the word is in preaching it doth little affect a man yet if afterward by some occasion he can call it to his remembrance it will stirre him vp to repentance For the word as also the Sacraments doth not onely profit a man for the present while hee heareth it but it is many times effectuall afterwards And therefore it is called long-lasting foode the strength whereof abideth with a man euen all his life Yea as Physicke with a man taketh which no great desire nay many times euen against the stomacke doth yet worke profitably vpon the body So the word of God which a man at the instant heareth with no great deuotion may afterwardes be called to minde with great benefit Adam at the first did not regard the word of God as hee should when he tolde him Gene. 2.17 3 11. c. that in what day he tasted of the forbidden fruit hee should die the death but afterward when the Lord put him in minde of it againe hee remembred both what God had said and what himselfe had done and so came to repentance 2. Chro. 33.2 â— 2. King 21.16 Manasses thought it no sinne to commit Idolatrie and to cause the streets to swimne with innocent bloud euen from corner to corner But after God had humbled him by captiuitie the remembrance of the word brought him to a sight of his sinne and made him seeke reconciliation with God Yea which is more The remembrance of the word is a notable meanes to preuent the falling into sinne and not onely to recouer a man that is fallen As Dauid saith hee hid the word of God in his heart Psa 119.11.105 that he might not sinne against him And to this purpose hee calleth the word a lanthorne to his feete and a light vnto his path As a man that hath a candle and a lanthorne carried before him may keepe himselfe from falling in a dark night so if a man alwayes carry the word of God before him it will preserue him from falling into sinne Psal 19.11 And he affirmeth by his owne experience that the word had made him circumspect and warie in all his wayes that hee might not offend And Saint Iames saith James 1.25 that the hearing of the word with remembrance of it doth make a man a doer of the worke The word is a wonderful meanes being well remembred to keepe a man in a holy awe and order that he shal not breake out into sinne Yea it is possible by remembring the precepts of the word to be armed against all sinne whatsoeuer As Salomon testifieth at large Prou. 2.10.11 When wisedome saith he entreth into thy heart and knowledge delighteth thy soule Then shall counsell preserue thee and vnderstanding shall keepe thee And deliuer thee from the euill way c. 12. And a little further And it shall deliuer thee from the strange woman c. And againe 16. he exhorteth to binde the precepts of the word vpon our heart and to tie them about our neckâ— That is alwayes to haue them in remembrance and before our eyes and hee giueth this reason 6.21 It shall lead thee when thou walkest it shall watch for thee when thou sleepest 22. and when thou wakest it shall talke with thee 23. For the commandement is a lanthorne and instruction a light 24. c. to keepe from the wicked woman c. Where hee ascribeth a singular efficacy to the word of God diligently remembred to preserue a man not onely from sinne in generall but euen from that particular sinne of whoredome the inticements whereof are so pleasing to the flesh So that it is apparent that it will euen breake the necke of all our sinnes Whereas on the contrary side the forgetfulnesse of the word is the cause of all euill VVhen men are forgetfull hearers as Saint Iames faith and cast the word of God behind their backes Iam. 1.24.25 Psal 50.17 no maruell if they fall into any sinne And indeed what knowledge soeuer they haue of the word otherwise yet when they fall into sinne they forget all As Dauid no doubt knew well enough what a filthy sinne adulterie was 2. Sam. 11.4 yet for the present his eies were blinded that hee had not the vse of his knowledge and so occasion being offred he was ouercome If a Zech. 53. Ecclc. 23.11 swearers b Iere. 17.27 Nehem. 13.18 if prophaners of the Sabaoth c Gal. 5.21 1. Cor. 6 9.10 Ephe. 5.5.6 if couetous persons whoremasters and drunkardes could but remember the fearefull threatnings denounced in the word against those sinnes doubtlesse they would neuer be so cruel to their owne soules as to rush so desperately into these sinnes 2. Cor 4.4 or to continue so impenitently in them as they doe But the God of this world hath blinded their mindes and for the time raced out of their heartes the remembrance of the word and so holdeth them captiue in sinne This doctrine to make vse of it in a word Vse doth serue to admonish vs not onely to be carefull that the word may often sound in our eares but also to doe our indeauour to remember and lay vp the instructions thereof for the amendment and reformation of our liues And to the end wee may the better performe this dutie wee must often and diligently meditate of the word which we haue heard As the Lord commaunded Ioshua saying Iosh 1.8 Let not this booke of the law depart out of thy mouth but meditate therein day and night that thou mayest obserue and doe according to all that is written therein c. A man can neuer performe the duties that God requireth nor auoide the sinnes that God forbiddeth vnlesse hee occupy himselfe in meditating of the word And therefore Dauid maketh it a propertie of a godly man Psal 1.2 to meditate in the law of the Lord day and night And hee saith it was his owne practise O how I loue thy law 119.97.101 it is my meditation continually And this made him refraine his feet from euery euill way This is a notable meanes to confirme and strengthen the memory that it may retaine the word Yea when the word is almost forgotten meditation of one
suddenly they goe downe the graue as Iob saith and are cropt off as an eare of corne Haue wee not examples euery day almost of some that go well to bed at night and are sound dead in the morning and of others that droppe downe by the high way side and dye in the field As the candle burneth bright for a time but if one blast of wind come ouer it it is put out and there remaineth nothing but a stinking snuffe so many a man flourisheth for a while but in a moment God taketh away his breath and there remaineth nothing but a filthy stinke of his sinnes whereof hee had not repented Wee may not take vpon vs to determine peremptorily of such Rom. 11.33 because the iudgements of God are vnsearchable and his waies past finding out But yet the case is fearefull and that which befalleth one may befall another Death is fitly compared to an Archer For as the Archer somtimes shooteth ouer and sometimes short sometimes on the one hand and sometimes on the other but at last he hitteth the marke In like manner death sometimes shooteth ouer thee and hitteth thy superiours sometimes hee shooteth short and hitteth thy inferiors sometimes he shooteth on thy right hand and taketh away thy friends somtimes on thy left hand and killeth thy enemies Arist problem loc 34. Omnem crede diem tibi dilux isse supremum Grata superueniet quae non sperabitur hora. Horat. l. 1. Epi. 4. but at the last he wil hitte thy selfe thou knowest not how soone And therefore it was good counsell that Eleazar the Iew gaue to one that asked his aduise in this case Namely that a man should repent one day before his death and when the other replyed that no man knoweth saith he the day of his death therefore saith hee repent to day least it be too late to morrow But suppose that this doe not befall them but that they dye an ordinary death yet for the most part there are so many hinderances in sicknesse Quoniam multa sunt quae impediunt languentem retrahant periculosissimum est interitui vicinum ad mortem protrahere remedium Aug. de vera falsa paenitentia cap. 17. as a man can haue but little leasure for this businesse For besides the painefulnesse of the disease which is no small impediment in this case a man shal be so accombred with taking order for his worldly estate and so vexed and disquieted with the weeping and wailing of his freinds that hee can little attend to thinke of his soule And therefore Saint Augustine saith well that seeing there are so many pulbackes to hinder a man at that time it is most dangerous and neare to destruction to put off the remedy vntill death But bee it that hee preuent much of this trouble in his health by setting his house in order before hand as the Prophet Isaias commaunded King Hezekiah 2. Kings 20.1 yet many times by the iudgement of God vpon him he dyeth suddenly bereft of all sense and feeling of his sinnes and of all comfortable assurance of the pardon of them and possest with dulnesse of heart and drowsinesse of spirit As one saith well a Saepe moriens obliuiscitur sui qui dum viueret oblitus est Dei 1. Sam. 25.37.38 A man oftentimes forgetteth himselfe when hee lyeth a dying that forgot God while hee liued Thus was it with Nabal his heart dyed within him and hee was like a stone he had a faire time as wee say hee lay sicke tenne dayes after before he dyed But how could hee repent when his heart was dead before Our times are full of such And I feare mee it is the case of a number of those whose death the world so much admireth and commendeth that they dye like lambes I wish they dye not rather like blocks giuing no comfortable testimonie of their faith in Christ or sorrow for their sinnes And such are they that Dauid speaketh of that there is no bands in their death Psal 73 4.19 but they depart as meekly or as stil as a child in the cradle and yet for all that he saith they are suddainly destroyed and horribly consumed Yea our Sauiour hath taught vs that a man may haue good wordes in his mouth and call vpon God and yet goe to the Deuill Mat. 7.22.23 Last of all though hee escape all these dangers yet who can tell whether God will heare him when he cryeth at the last gapse or no b Iustum est vt a Deo contemnatur moriens qui Deum omnipotentem contempsit viuens Prou. 1.24.28 Quid enim quod differas An vt plura peccata committus Ambros de penitent lib. 2. cap. 11. For is it not a iust thing that God should contemne him in his death that contemned God almightie in his life And hath not the Lord threatned in plaine tearmes that because hee hath called and men refuse and hath stretched out his armes and none would regard therefore they shall call and crie vpon him euen till their hearts ake and he will not heare them And therefore let vs not deferre this so gratious a worke but presently addresse our selues to repent of our sinnes otherwise the longer wee put it off the more wee shall increase the number of our sinnes But notwithstanding al that hath beene said it is strange to see how the most men labour to confirme themselues and to harden their heartes in their sinnes And all because God is mercifull It is true indeed that God is rich in mercy Ephes 2.4 Yea his mercies are ouer all his workes Psal 145.9 And therefore if men would make a right vse thereof they should rather bee led to repentance thereby then any way setled in securitie Romans 2.4 For as Bernard saith well a Quae maior iniquitas quam vt inde à te creator contemnatur vnde plus amari merebatur Quae maior iniquitas quam cum de potentia Dei non dubitas quinte destruere possit qui condere potuit confisus tamen de multa eius dulcedine qua speras eum nolle vindicare cum possit malum pro bonis odium pro dilectione retri buas Certè si talis est qualem putas tantò nequius agis si non amas c. Ab sit tamen ab eius perfectione vt quod dulcis est iustus non sit quasi simul dulcis iustus esse non possit cum mel or sit iusta dulcedo quam remissa imò virtus non sit dulcedo sine iustitia Bern. de gradib humilitatis what greater iniquity can there be then that thy creatour should for that bee contemned of thee for which he deserued more to be loued What greater iniquitie can there bee then that seeing thou doubtest not of Gods power but that he that made thee is able to destroy thee yet thou trusting in his great mercy whereby thou hopest that though hee can hee will
pro L Flacco that many haue friendly and familiar countenances that haue angrie and wrathfull minds and is there not often hidden displeasure where there is open flattery This is a very odious and an abhominable thing c Tuta frequesque via est per amici faâ—ere nomen Tuta frequensque licet sit via crime habet Salomon compareth him that vnder pretence of friendship is an enemie vnto a potshard ouerlaid with siluer drosse Prou 26.23 And Dauid saith that his enemies came about him like Bees Psal 118.12 and very fitly as one obserueth because the Bee hath sweet honey in her mouth and a venomous sting in her taile Yea and such kinde of persons are most dangerous taking away the vse of humane societie For how can a man liue and conuerse safely with that man that bloweth both hot and cold as the Satyre said d Altera manu fâ—rt lap dem altera ostentat panem Pâ—aut Aulular that carieth fire in the one hand and water in the other Though a man be neuer so wary and circumspect yet he can hardly in this case auoide danger e Nullae sunt occultiores Insidiae quam â—e quae latent in simulatione officij aut in aliquo necessitudinis nomine Nam cam qui palam est aduersarius facile cauendo vitare poâ—sts hoc verò occultum intestinum ac domesticum malum non â—â—do tion existit verumetiam opprimit antequam perspiccré atque explorare potueris Cic. in Verr. lib. 1. For there is none more secret and hidden trechery then that which is cloked with pretence of friendship An open aduersarie may easily bee shunned but this close mischiefe will oppresse a man before he can perceiue it As Dauid saith of his enemies Surely mine enemie did not defame me for I could haue borne it neither did mine aduersarie exalt himselfe against mee for I would haue hid mee from him But it was thou O man my guide and my familiar c. Psal 55.12.13 By this meanes it commeth to passe that a man cannot tell whom to trust f Non hospes ab hospite tutus Non socer a genero Ouid. Metam lib. 1. If there bee falshood in fellowship it is not safe for any man to trust his friend Yea hee must keepe the dores of his mouth from her that lyeth in his bosome Mich. 7.5 This doctrine serueth to admonish euery one of vs Vse to take heede of this sinne As we desire to approue our selues to be members of the Church in this life and heires of Gods Kingdome afterwards we must speake the truth in our hearts Psal 15.2 We may not pretend loue to any man in word and in tongue only but we must loue in deede and in truth Especially 1. Ioh 3.18 we must keepe all bonds of friendship inuiolable with those that trust vs and relie vpon vs. Then when he saw that he was condemned Aquinas in locü. Aquinas moueth a question how Iudas could see this when as yet Christ was not condemned For Pilate had not yet examined him much lesse pronounced sentence against him But hee answereth out of Origen that hee easily saw what the end would bee because hee perceiued Vers 1.2 that the chiefe Priests and Elders had taken counsell to put him to death and for that purpose had deliuered him to the Deputy Now when he saw the matter was come to this passe then he beganne to repent himselfe of that he had done It is like that he thought before that Christ might escape and that there was no danger of death But now seeing indeed what the issue would be his conscience is troubled and his heart beginneth to smite him Hee could neuer before see the hainousnesse of his sinne till hee saw that this was the end of his treason that so innocent a person should be put to death And now at the last comming to himselfe he beginneth with sorrow and griefe to waigh the enormitie of his fact and to be displeased with himselfe for it * Doctrine Mens eies are blinded before the coÌ„mitting of sinne and opened afterward Where we may obserue the craft and subtilty of the Deuill that he dazeleth mens eies and blindfolds them that they cannot see the foulenesse of their sinnes till hee haue brought them whether he would but afterward when it is too late he letteth them see what they haue done a Non permittit Diabolus cas qui non vigitant videre malum antequam persiciant Aquinas in locum First he extenuateth a mans sins to draw him on the more easily but afterward he aggrauareth them and maketh them appeare out of measure sinnefull hee seduceth them with a false perswasion as though either no hurt at all or at least not much hurt would follow vpon their sinnes b Malè humanis ingenijs natura consuluit quod plerunque noÌ„ futura sed transacta perpendimus Qu. Curtius lib. 8. Yea there is euen in nature a disposition neuer to waigh the issue of a thing throughly till it be done and past Which being furthered by the Deuill must needes be so much the worse Hence was it that Iudas neuer saw the hainousnesse of his bloudy thoughts against his Master till he was condemned otherwise he would neuer haue done so cruell a deede He had often heard from our Sauiour Christ himselfe that hee must be betrayed and deliuered into the hands of the high Priests and by them be crucified He had heard a grieuous woe denounced against him that should betray him Mat. 26.24 that it had beene good for that man if he had neuer beene borne But the Deuill soone extinguished the remembrance of these things and made them no better then a tale told to a deafe man No doubt he made him beleeue that Christ should neuer be put to death but that hee might enrich himselfe with the money and yet his Master should do well enough He perswaded him that either his owne innocencie would acquite him when he should be brought to his trial or else if his enemies should be so malicious as to condemne him without cause yet by his diuine power he could easily when he listed Mat. 8.26 Luke 8.29.30 rescue himselfe out of their hands It was not likely that he that with a word could still the raging of the Sea and with a word could cast out a legion of Deuils would suffer mortall men to preuaile so farre as to put him to death Besides he had had experience of Christs power in this case When the men of Nazareth Luke 4 29.30 offended at his preaching thought to cast him head-long from the top of an hill hee passed through the midst of them and went his way Yea when himselfe with a rabble of Souldiers came to apprehend him in the garden Joh. 18.6 hee did but speake a word and they all went backward and fell to the ground But now perceiuing contrary to his opinion
that hee was condemned to death at the last he acknowledgeth the grieuousnes of his sinne and is touched with remorse As the Deuill dealt with Iudas so hee dealeth with all sinners hee leadeth them long hoodwinckt through many sinnes and at the last when their eies are opened that they see the odiousnesse of their sinnes but cannot see the mercy of God he casteth them headlong into horrour and anguish of heart Adam and Eue saw no harme by themselues Gen. 3.7 till they had indeed eaten the forbidden fruit but then their eies were opened and they saw their nakednesse and in it their miserie Peter saw nothing in the denying of his Master till the cocke crew Mat. 26.74.75 and Christ looked back vpon him but afterwards his heart melted within him and he wept bitterly Dauid saw nothing in his adulterie and murder but slept full securely and neuer thought worse of himselfe for it till Nathan the Prophet awaked him 2. Sam. 12.13 then he cried out in the bitternes of his soule I haue sinned against the Lord. The reason why the Deuill doth thus blind mens minds is this He knoweth they would neuer be caught nor brought to commit sinne if they should see the danger of it And therefore he is most carefull to hide that If Dauid and Peter had seen as much before as they did after they would neuer haue fallen in so fearful a manner And herein the Deuill resembleth the fowler a Frustra iactatur rete ante oculos pennatorum Bern. in Psal 91. serm 13 that will not spread the bare net before the birds but straweth corne or vseth stales or some thing or other to allure them and draw them to it And the fisher that couereth his hooke with a baite the better to beguile the fishes If he should cast a naked hooke into the water he should catch but a little fish Gen. 3.5 So the Deuill when hee fished for Adam hee baited his hooke with hope of preferment 2 Sam. 11.2 I sh 7.21 2. Kings 5.20 1. Sam. 15.21 perswading him that hee should better his estate and become like God himselfe knowing good and euill To catch Dauid he baited his hooke with pleasure and delight He caught Achan Gehezi and Iudas in this place with gaine and profit And he ensnared Saul with pretence of religion Thus he dealeth still with euery man knowing his disposition and how hee is inclined hee fitteth his baits accordingly He neuer comes bluntly and rudely to a man and biddeth him simply transgresse Gods Commandement but alwaies vseth some deuise or other to make his sinne please him He entiseth the drunkard with voluptuousnesse hee allureth the theefe with hope to better his estate hee draweth on the whoore-master with delight of the flesh Yea and all this while he doth what he can to extenuate the sinne and make it seeme light making but litle mole-hils of great mountaines As he perswadeth men that drunkennes is but good fellowship that adultery is but a litle dalliance and a tricke of youth that pride is but a desire to be handsome and cleanely and that couetousnesse is but an honest care to liue in this world But afterwards when hee hath wrapped them in indeed then he aggrauateth euery sinne and lodeneth and ouerwhelmeth the soule and conscience with vnspeakable horror Iul. Solynus Polyhist cap. 27. And herein he is like the Panther which hath the body all ouer painted with little spots very pleasant to the eie and delightsome to the smell whereby many beasts come very hastily to gaze vpon her But withall shee hath a very vgly and grimme face which maketh them afraide to come neare And therefore because shee is slow of pace and cannot by running get her prey shee hideth her face and sheweth only her painted skinne to allure the beasts within her reach and then sodainly shee deuoureth them In like manner the Deuill seldome appeareth in his owne vgly shape and likenesse for then euery one would be afraide of him but alwaies appeareth vnder some colourable pretence or other that he may more easily deceiue poore sinners Vse This doctrine serueth for our admonition that wee take heede we be not beguiled with false perswasions and so fall into grieuous sinnes least when the filthinesse and hainousnesse of them shall bee once brought to our knowledge we be not able to beare the horrour that will follow vpon them Sinne may well bee compared to the strumpet that Salomon speaketh of Prouer. 7.13 At the first it will flatter a man and vse many perswasions to allure him but if he yeeld and consent he shall be as an Oxe that goeth to the slaughter-house and as a Foole to the stocks for correction Till a dart strike through his liuer c. Vers 22.23 That which is spoken of the bread of deceit Prouerb 20.17 is true of all sinne whatsoeuer That at the first putting into the mouth it is sweet as Manchet it hath a pleasant rellish but afterward the belly is filled with grauell The pleasure that accompanieth the committing of sinne is not so certaine as the heart-burning and horrour of conscience that followeth afterward a Aug. in Psal 58. Saint Augustine compareth sinne to a kind of bramble called Christs thorne which at the first sprouting is like an herbe soft and tender but after there followeth sharpe prickles So sinne at the first is pleasing to the flesh but afterward it leaueth a pricke in the conscience which whosoeuer would not feele hee must now strike himselfe with the pricke of repentance As the flower breedeth a worme which afterward eateth and consumeth it So sinne that a man liueth in with delight breedeth a worme that gnaweth the conscience and vexeth it with endlesse woe b Voluptas transijt peccatum remansit Bern. de vijs vitae which remaineth and abideth when the pleasure is vanished and gone c Transit totus ille pruritus delectationis imiquae voluptatis illecebra tota breui finita est sed amara quaedam impressit signa memoriae vestigia faeda reliquit Bern. de conuer ad Schol Citò praeterit quod delectat permanet sine fine quod crueciat Aug. de honest mulierum And indeed all the itching delight and all the inticeing pleasure of sinne is soone at an end but it imprinteth bitter tokens in the memory and leaueth foule footsteps in the soule d Qui in principijs norunt praedicant qui in fine expèrti sunt non iniuria execrantur Iul. Solinus cap. 24. And therefore wâ—e may say of sinne as was said of the riuer Hypanis which is sweet and wholesome at the spring head but after falling into an other riuer the nature of it is changed and it is exceeding bitter that all that tast of it at the first doe like and commend it but they that haue experience of the end of it haue cause to curse it We vse to say we will not buy
gold to deare Why then should we buy the momentanie pleasure of sinne at so high a rate when the fish hath swallowed the hooke had shee not better haue beene without the baite when the bird is caught in the net had she not better haue wanted the corne that allured her Let vs therefore learne to knowe the enterprises and sleights of Sathan as the Apostle calleth them 2. Cor. 2.11 and the deceitfulnesse of sinne Heb. 3.13 least wee bee circumuented therewith e Mentitur vt fallat blanditur vt noceat bona promittit vt malum tribuat vitam pollicetur vt perimat Cypr. Lib. 1. Epist 8. The Deuill as one saith lyeth that he may deceiue vs flattereth that hee may deceiue vs flattereth that he may hurt vs hee promiseth vs good things that hee may doe vs a mischeife hee promiseth vs life to the end he may kill vs. Hee promiseth pleasure but God knowes f Nocet empta dolore voluptas it is deare bought there is neuer a dramme of it but it bringeth a pound of sorrow And therefore Saint Augustine complaineth greatly in this case g O peccata quam faciles aditus habetis dum suadetis quam difficiles exitus habebitis dum suadetis inungitis sed postquam suaseritis vsque ad mortem animae pungitis Delictae mea an eratis tum tam noxia sutura cum animam meam vestra dulcedine pulsabatis cum cor meum vestra dulcedine vngebatis cur hoc ante celabatis cur me tradebatis de contrit cordis Math. 16.26 O my sinnes how easie passage had you into my heart when you began to perswade me and how hard will your issue be when you began to perswade me you flattered me but after I was once perswaded you wounded mee euen to the death of the soule And a little after O my sinnes saith he were you like to proue thus hurtfull when you allured my soule with your sweete pleasures Oh why did you conceale this before Oh why did you betraye me c. Againe the Deuill promiseth profit but alasse what will it profit a man to winne the whole world and loose his owne soule Had not Iudas beene better without his thirtie peices of siluer Had not Achan beene better without his goodly Babylonish garment and his siluer and wedge of gold And had not Gehezi beene better without his talents of siluer and change of garments Let vs therefore euermore suspect the Deuill and pray to God to open our eyes in all temptations that before wee commit sinne wee may see it in the true likenesse of it how odious and ougly a thing it is how dishonourable to God and how hurtfull to our owne soules then would we neuer fall into such grosse sinnes as otherwise we doe Repented himselfe Hetherto wee haue spoken of the circumstances of Iudas his repentance now follow the partes of it which are three his contrition his confession and his satisfaction This is in a manner all that the Papists require in repentance that there be contrition in the heart confession of the mouth and satisfaction of the worke And therefore by their doctrine Iudas repented truely But let vs examine them seuerally and wee shall see that hee was farre short of true repentance And first for his contrition It cannot be denied but that he had a great measure of sorrow in his heart but his sorrow was not right nor such as it should bee He saw indeede what punishment hee had deserued his conscience was vexed with the guiltinesse of his sinne and with feare of hell fire which he saw burning before him yea felt already kindled within him and this made him grieue Otherwise he neuer sorrowed for that by his sinne hee had so highly offended and displeased God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And this doth the word signifie that is vsed in this place which properly is as much as to be sad and pensiue after any deede done Beza Paenitere and it answereth to the Latine word which signifieth to be Penitent and may bee vsed as well in euill part as in good For it doth not properly containe any change of the minde and life vnto better but simply expresseth a kind of heauinesse and discontentment causing a man to wish that vndone which he hath done bee it good or euill Some call it contrition which is nothing else but an high way to any grieuous sinne and so at last to desperation So that here it signifieth nothing else but the sorrow wherewith Iudas was swallowed vp after he considered the foulnesse of his sinne But there is an other word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 many times vsed in the new Testament which properly signifieth to be wise after any fact and so to bee sorrowfull for the fault committed as to reforme it Resipiscere answerable to the Latine word that signifieth to repent and therefore properly it is neuer taken but in the good part From hence then we may gather this instruction Doct. Onely godly sorrow causeth true Repentance 2. Cor. 7.10 that euery sorrow for sinne though it be neuer so great causeth not true repentance but onely godly sorrow This the Apostle Paul affirmeth in plaine wordes when he saith that godly sorrow causeth repentance neuer to be repented of namely when a man is grieued for his sinnes committed not for feare of punishment but because hee hath offended God that hath beene so good so gracious and so mercifull a Father to him Euen as a good Sonne when he seeth his Father angry hee is sorrowfull not so much for feare of the rod as because his Father hath beene so louing and so kind vnto him So it is with all Gods children as appeareth by many examples in the Scripture When Dauid had committed those great sinnes of adultery and murder and was reproued for them by the Prophet Nathan he confessed with great remorse and anguish of heart 2. Sam. 12.13 I haue sinned against the Lord Psal 51.4 and in another place Against thee against thee onely haue I sinned c. All the iudgments that Nathan threatned against him which were graat and fearefull did not so much affect him as the dishonour which by his sinnes he had done against God And againe when hee had numbred his men 2. Sam. 24.10 his heart smote him and he cryed out I haue sinned exceedingly in that I haue done The pestilence which raged so horribly in the land did not so much moue him as his pride against God in presuming more of the strength of his souldiers then of Gods protection whereof hee had so good experience So the Church of God considering the great indignitie she had offered to her spouse Christ Iesus that shee would not open to him though hee intreated her so faire Cant. 5.2.3.4 but suffered him to stand without till his head was full of dew and his locks wet with the drops of the night shee was so
suum satisfactione humili simplici consitentes Si qui autē sunt qui putant se ad Ecclesiam non precibus sed minis regredi posse aut existimant aditum sibi non lamentationibus satisfactionibus sed terroribus facere pro certo habeant contra tales stare Ecclesiam Domini nec castra Christi inuicta fortia Domino tuente munita minis cedere Sacerdos Dei Euangelium teneus Christi praecepta custodiens occidi potest vinci nō popotest Lib. 1. Epist 1. And this was the practise of St. Cyprian as himselfe testifieth I doe willingly saith he and louingly embrace such as returne penitently and confesse their sinnes with humble and vnfained satisfaction But if there be any that thinke they may come againe to the Church not by intreaty but by threatnings or suppose to procure their admittance not by lamentations and satisfactions but by terrours let them know for a certainty that the Church of God standeth out against such persons and that the inuincible and strong tents of Christ guarded by the Lords protection will not giue place to threatnings The Priest of God that holdeth the Gospell and keepeth the precepts of Christ may bee killed but hee cannot be ouercome And this was the resolution of Saint Ambrose when he heard that the Emperour was comming towards the Church before he was absolued c Ego vero praedico quod cum ingredi sacra limina prohibebo si vero Imperium in tyrannidem mutabit necem libenter suscipiam Vbi supra I protest saith he I will debarre him from going ouer the holy threshold and if he will turne his power into tyrannie I will willingly die in the quarrell To this purpose St. Augustine hath a good saying d Qui multos offendit peccando placare multos oportet satisfaciendo vt Ecclesia prius offensa per culpam in conuersione flectatur in misericordiam De vera falsa poenit cap. 11. he that hath offended many by sinning ought to pacifie many by making satisfaction that as the Church hath before beene offended by the trespasse so by the repentance it may be moued to compassion And indeed he that is truly touched with a sense and feeling of his sinnes will not be tender of his owne credit nay hee will not care how much he disgraceth himselfe so that by his confession he may glorifie God and edifie the Church And therefore they may iustly suspect their repentance that hauing publikely offended cannot be brought to make publike confession And as this publike confession is required so in priuate offences priuate confession is also necessary First in respect of our selues that by emptying our hearts into the bosome of another wee may receiue comfort And this is that which St. Iames exhorteth saying Iam. 5.16 Acknowledge your faults one to another and pray one for another that yee may be healed But here we are to know that a man is not bound to confesse his sinnes only to the Minister and to none else as the Papists teach men to lay open their sinnes to a greasie bald Frier but he may make choise of any other Christian friend of whose godlinesse and faithfulnesse he hath good experience Jsa 50.4 Yet because euery godly Minister hath from God the tongue of the learned and therefore knoweth best to minister a word in season to him that is weary therefore it is fittest to make choise of him Psal 19.12 Neither is a man bound to make confession of all his sinnes as the Papists would haue it for who can tell how oft he offendeth but only of such as doe most afflict his conscience Secondly in respect of others And first of such as we haue offended by our sinnes according to the rule of our Sauiour Christ Mat. 5.23.24 If thou bring thy gift to the Altar and there remembrest that thy brother hath ought against thee Leaue there thine offering before the Altar and goe thy way first be reconciled to thy brother c. Now here Iudas failed in that hee goeth to the high Priests and confesseth to them but doth not prostrate himselfe before his Master whom he had betrayed and desire him to forgiue him his sinne which if he had done a Arbitror quod etiam Iudas potuisset tanta Dei miseratione non excludi à venia si poenitentiam non apud ludae or sed apud Christū egisset Ambros de poenit lib. 2. cap. 5. so great is his mercy to poore sinners he might haue obtayned pardon Secondly of such as to whom wee haue giuen occasion of sinne or haue beene any meanes to draw them to sinne And in this Iudas did well For in going to the high Priests he doth not only confesse his owne sinne but withall giueth them occasion to repent likewise For if he sinned in betraying Christ Iesus surely they also sinned in apprehending condemning and putting him to death And thus we see the persons to whom we are to make confession of our sinnes Now for the manner we are to know that euery kinde of confession will not serue the turne And therefore these properties are required First it is not enough to confesse our sinnes in generall as ignorant men vse to thump themselues on the breast and say I am a sinner but we must confesse our particular sinnes If any man shall obiect that this is needlesse because God knoweth our sinnes better then we our selues doe 1. Ioh 3.20 for he is greater then our hearts and knoweth all things I answere that it is true indeede all our sins are most perfitly knowne to the Lord. Psal 139.3 c. Who is accustomed to all our waies as Dauid saith And therefore wee doe not confesse our sinnes to informe God but wee doe it for our owne benefit that thereby we may be brought vnto godly sorrow which is attained by a distinct acknowledgement of our sinnes And thus haue the children of God confessed their sinnes When Dauid had numbred his people and his heart did smite him for it he confessed particularly I haue sinned exceedingly in that I haue done 2. Sam. 24.10 And in the title of the 51 Psalme hee confesseth his adultery in plaine termes And so doth the Apostle confesse how he had persecuted the Church Act. 22.19 20. yea by name how he had been a great stickler in the Martyrdome of blessed Steuen Yea Iudas in this place performed this duty And surely if it were not necessary the Deuill would neuer labour to hinder it so much as he doth as wee see how hard it is to bring one of an hundred to doe it as they ought for he knoweth that if once men come to a true sight of their particular sinnes and so to godly sorrow his Kingdome will soone decay and therefore he maketh men so vnwilling to yeeld to it as they are Secondly we must in confessing our sinnes aggrauate them to the vttermost against our selues and
thinke scorne to be reproued of so base a man as they account the Minister As Amaziah King of Iuda when the Prophet reproued him from the Lord for his Idolatrie What saith hee 2. Chron. 25.15.16 Haue they made thee the Kings Counsellers cease why should they smite thee This doctrine may admonish vs Vse to take heede of this sinne There is in euery one of vs so much selfe loue as maketh vs very prone to it But wee must labour to subdue it and yeeld our selues meekely to the reprehension of the word that so wee may come to the acknowledgement of our sinnes without which as hath beene said there can be no true repentance If these cheife Priests as they could not but be conuinced in their conscience so they had freely and sincerely acknowledged their sinnes they might haue found sauour with the Lord but they rather as wee see maintaine their sinnes and therefore they perish in them a Qui ad mortem peccant tantam habent ignorantiam caecitatem vt nec turbentur in sceleribus nec paenitentiae dolâ—re crucientur Glossa ordinar in locum Heb. 13.22 As indeede it is a token that a man sinneth vnto death when hee is so ignorant and blinde that hauing his sinnes discouered to his conscience yet is not moued at all with them Let vs therefore suffer the wordes of exhortation as the Apostle saith and though we be sharply reproued let vs submit our selues Thus haue the children of God done from time to time 2. Sam. 12.13 When Nathan had ripped vp Dauids sinne to the quicke hee humbled himselfe with all meekenesse and said I haue sinned against the Lord. So when the Prophet Haggai had rebuked the people of his time Hag. 1.12 for neglecting to repaire the Temple of the Lord it is said they were so farre from stomacking the matter Acts 2.37 that they feared before the Lord. And the Iewes that heard the Apostle Peters Sermon wherein their very particular sinne was laid open they were pricked in their hearts and cryed out Men and brethren what shall we doe So the Corinthians being reproued by the Apostle Paul for suffering the incestuous person vnpunished were so farre from taking offence at it as that they humbled themselues by godly sorrow vnto repentance 2. Cor. 7.10.11 Yea we should indeede desire such a Minister as may awake vs to the sight of our sinnes and not suffer vs to sleepe securely in them As Dauid doth Psal 141.5 Let the righteous saith he smite me for this is a benefit and let him reproue me and it shall be a precious oile that shall not breake my head for within a while I shall euen pray in their miseries he would be so farre from being stirred thereby as that in token of his thankfulnesse he would pray earnestly to God for them What is that to vs As these chiefe Priests are not moued to any remorse for their sinne by Iudas his confession so they doe not comfort him whome they saw wounded in his conscience but leaue him to himselfe to sinke or swimme Which was another sinne of theirs Of which Saint Augustine speaketh in this manner a Iudas paenitens iuit ad Pharisaeos reliquit Apostolos Nihil invenit auxilij sed argumentum desperationis Dixerunt enim quid ad nos tu videris Si peccasti tibi sit non tibi succurrimus non peccata tua charitatiuè suscipimus non comportanda promittimus non qualiter deponas onus docemus Quid enim nobis misericordiae quinec opera sequimur iustitiae Isset ad fratres ad condiscipulos Juit ad diuisos diuisus perijt Aug. de vera fal paen cap 12. Iudas when he repented went to the Pharisees for comfort and left the Apostles but hee found no ease at their hands but rather matter of desperation For they said What is that to vs See thou to it If thou hast sinned at thine owne perill bee it wee will not relieue thee wee will not in charitie vndertake to beare thy sinnes wee will not teach thee how to cast off the burden of them For what haue wee to doe with mercy that follow not the workes of iustice Hee should haue gone saith hee to his brethren and fellow Disciples he went to the diuided ones and perished diuided alluding both to the manner of Iudas his end that burst asunder in the middest c. and also to the name of the Pharisees which as some b Caelius Rhodig lectionum antiquarum li. 5 c. 9. thinke were so called because by a strict kinde of life which they led they had sequestred and separated themselues from others And herein they verified that speech of our Sauiour which hee spake in another sense Mat. 23.4 They laid an heauie and a grieuous burden vpon him and would not helpe to ease him with one of their fingers From whence ariseth this doctrine Doct. They that are distressed in conscience should bee comforted Iere. 23.1.2 Ezech. 34.2.4 that it is a grieuous sinne not to comfort those that are distressed and afflicted in conscience The Prophets euery where reproue the neglect of it Woe bee to the Pastours that destroy and scatter the sheepe of my pasture saith the Lord ye haue scatered my flocke and haue not visited them And the Lord commaundeth the Prophet Ezechiel to prophecie against the shepheards of Israel because they had not strengthned the weake nor healed the sicke nor bound vp the broken c. And the Prophet Zechariah crieth out against Idole-shepheards that looke not for that which is lost Zech. 1.16.17 nor secke the tender lambes nor heale that which is hurt c. Whosoeuer he is that taketh vpon him to bee a Minister should haue both skill and will for the performance of this duety For his skill 2. Tim. 2.15 he must study to shew himselfe a workman that neede not be ashamed diuiding the word of truth aright Hee is the steward of the Lords house Luke 12.42 he must giue euery one his portion of meate in due season Hee must know the estate of all men and frame his instructions accordingly As all meate is not fit for all stomackes but they that are weake and sicke must haue food of more easie digestion and better nourishment then they that are strong and in health so all instructions will not serue for all men They that are sicke in their soules with a sight and feeling of their sinnes must haue the promises of the Gospell applyed vnto them for their comfort And therefore hee must pray to God to giue him a tongue of the learned Isa 50.4 that he may knowe to minister a word in season to him that is weary And for his will hee must knowe that this is one maine end of his calling whereunto withall diligence hee must apply himselfe euen to preach the Gospell to the poore to heale the broken hearted to preach deliuerance to
tithes are due only to the Church and cannot be alienated to any other vse nor turned to the maintenance of Laie men For where tithes are paid there must be a matter of giuing and receiuing Phill. 4.15 1. Cor. 9.11 The Minister giueth spirituall things as the Apostle saith and receiueth carnall things Now because Lay men cannot performe this duty they haue nothing to doe with the tithe for not keeping the condition they cannot claime the couenant a Qua fronte qua conscientia oblationes vultis accipere qui vix valetis pro vobis nedum pro alijs Deo preces offerre With what face or with what conscience can they receiue tithes and other offerings that cannot offer vp praiers for themselues much lesse for others I doe not presse this as though I meane to determine that the Ministers of the Gospell might not bee maintained by some other meanes For I am perswaded that it is in the power of ciuill Magistrates to allowe anie other maintenance to the Minister so that it bee competent But this I say that for as much as tithes are by law established amongst vs for this purpose to be the hire of the Lords labourers and the wages of his workemen it will be as great a sinne to defraude the Minister of his portion as to keepe backe the meat or wages from an ordinary labourer Which as the Apostle Iames saith Iam. 5.4 is a sinne that crieth loud in the eares of God for vengeance And yet for all this the matter is come to this passe that he is well that can catch anything from the Church Yea I could name a Knight of no small worth in the Countrie that maintained openly that a small allowance is fittest for a Minister to keepe him sober for reckoning least hauing too much he should waxe idle Indeede it is true they that neuer were sincere hearted are soone corrupted with preferment As God knowes wee haue experience of too many who whiles they had but a poore maintenance were very diligent and painefull Preachers but after they haue added steeple to steeple and liuing to liuing the fire-edge is taken off them and then as though now they had got that they preached for they waxe so hoarse and so rusty as if some bone stucke in their throats that they can hardly preach at all But they that entred into the ministerie with a sincere affection and made the glorie of God and the saluation of his people and not filthie lucre the end of their preaching a Honos alit artes omnes incenduntur ad studia gloria Cicero 2. Chro. 32.25 are by preferment stirred vp to greater diligence in their callings and the more bountifull that God is vnto them in their maintenance the more carefull are they to render according to the reward bestowed vpon them wretched therefore and wicked are they that are thus minded whosoeuer they bee And this is the miserie of our Church that it is pilled and polled in this manner Nehem. 13.10 and that by this meanes many faithfull Ministers of excellent gifts are brought to extreme pouertie because as it was in the daies of Nehemiah The portions of the Leuites are not giuen Nay in many places the Minister hath scarce the allowance of Michah his Leuite b Ten shekels is of our coine 23. shillings 4. pence euery shekel being 2. shillings 4. pence which was ten shekels of siluer by the yeare and a sute of apparell and his meat and drinke Iudg. 17.10 For I know a Minister that hath but bare foure pounds to liue on for the whole yeare Hence commeth it to passe that many yong schollers of great hope and singular towardnesse doe leaue the studie of Diuinitie and betake themselues to the Lawes or to Phisicke And hence the Church is pestered 1. Kings 12.31 I say pestered with Ieroboams Priests such as were neuer brought vp in the schooles of the Prophets but taken from base trades and as one saith well Iohn Lambert holy Martyr were made Priests before euer they were good Clerkes Hence it commeth to passe Prou. 29.18 that prophesying faileth in many places and therefore the people perish Hence is it Iob. 16.2 13.4 that many that haue care of mens soules are miserable comforters as Iob saith Phisitians of no value Hence is it that the poore people of God are pittifully dispersed Mat. 9.36 Ioh. 4.35 and scattered abroade as sheepe without a shepheard Hence is it in a word that the Regions are euerywhere white vnto the haruest Mat. 9.37 but few labourers to put in the sickle I doe not all this while pleade mine owne cause I thanke God none of these rauenous Harpies and greedie cormorants haue preyed vpon my Church But I haue all the reuennues of it with as little preiudice as the most of my brethren But as the Prophet said in another case For Zions sake I cannot hold my tongue Jsa 62.1 and for Ierusalems sake for the poore Churches sake I cannot cease And I would to God that all we that be Ministers and haue any thing to doe with these persons bee they neuer so great would euen crie aloude against them Isa 58.1 and spare not but lift vp our voices like trumpets to rowse and awake them out of this sinne Here wee should all bee right Boanerges Sonnes of thunder Mar. 3.17 to threaten and thunder out the iudgements of God against this horrible sinne of sacriledge But alas wee may crie till our hearts ake before wee shall preuaile with the belly that hath no eares vnlesse Christian Magistrates Isa 49.23 who are nursing Fathers to the Church doe by their power worke a reformation a Mr. Perkins in a Treatise of the duties of the Ministerie This sinne as a worthie Minister in our Church once said is the Kings euill and therefore no hand but his can heale it There was indeede the like calamitie in the Church of the Iewes but it was only then Iudg. 17.6 when there was no King in Israel but euery man did that which was good in his owne eyes But seeing wee haue by Gods blessing a wise a godly and religious King let vs pray to God to put into his heart that care of Nehemiah for the good of the Church that hee will not suffer euery man to robbe and spoile it as it pleaseth his couetous minde but cause them and compell them to bring their tithes of Corne Nehem. 13.11.12 and Wine and Oile euen of all their fruits vnto the house of God And in the meane while let all such persons know that they must one day giue account of their sacriledge vnto God The lawes of men doe rather Patronize then punish them Psal 119.126 and therefore let them be sure that God will at last take the matter into his owne hand Horrible are the examples of Gods iudgements vpon this sinne in former ages
siely gyrle and shee not free but a bondmaide bearing no great office in the house but onely keeping the doore is made an instrument to beate downe that high conceite he had of himselfe And this is the Lords ordinarie proceeding with proud persons Doct. God beateth downe the pride of men by vile and base meanes 1. Cor. 1.27.28 Hee vseth many times euen by vile and base meanes to subdue and punish their pride According to that speech of the Apostle God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise and God hath chosen the weake things of the world to confound the mightie things And vile things of the world and things which are despised hath God chosen and things that are not that is things which in mens account are nothing worth so abiect and base that they are not regarded to bring to nought things that are Thus dealt the Lord with Pharaoh King of Aegypt he was so proud at the first as there was no dealing with him he scorned that God should command him to let his people goe Exod. 5.2 Who is the Lord that I should heare his voioe and let Israel goe I knowe not the Lord neither will I let Israel goe But God made him knowe before hee left him and that euen by the weakest meanes that could bee He could haue hissed for some warlike nation Isa 5.26 to haue van quished him and led him away captiue Jer. 52.9 as he dealt with Zedekiah He could haue sent Lions to haue slaine him as hee did to the Assyrians that dwelt in Samaria 2. Kings 17.25 2.24 Hee could haue sent Beares to haue torne him in peices as hee did to the children that mocked Elisha Exod. 8. But he vseth none of these meanes Vide Aelianum var. Hist. lib. 14. cap. 4. but onely sendeth frogges and lice and flies and such like vile and weake creatures to plague him and to checke his pride And indeede euen these things which in themselues are contemptible were a greiuous annoyance to him vers 3. and to the whole Land For his very bed-chamber yea his bed it selfe was pestred with frogges c. In like manner Goliah that mightie gyant of Gath 1. Sam. 17.9.10.50 that defyed all the Host of Israel with proud and brauing termes as if none had beene able to fight with him and ouercome him was quelled by little Dauid with a sling and a stone Judg. 5.29 4.21 So Sisera the captaine of Iabins Host that came against the Isralites in such confidence of the victory Iud. 9.53.54 was slaine by Iael a weake woman with a naile and a hammer And Abimelech in the hight of his pride was also brought to his death by a woman who from a tower cast a peice of a milstone vpon his head and brake his braine pan And Herod who was lifted vp and swelled in pride at the voice of those flatterers that told him he spake more like a God then a man was suddenly smitten by the Angell of the Lord Act. 12 22.23 Brentius in Luc. 22.56 and was eaten vp of wormes And indeed this is a worthy punishment for pride that the more arrogant a man is the more hee should bee shamed and deiected Luc. 18.14 as our Sauiour Christ saith He that exalteth himselfe shal be brought lowe And therefore Peter is worthily more disgraced then his fellowes because hee had arrogated more to himselfe then they though without cause Vse 1 This may admonish vs to labour for humilitie to thinke basely of our selues and to bee lowly in our owne eies and so shall we be more acceptable to God Our Sauiour Christ hath euer beene louingly affected towardes those that were of humble mind When that good Centurion had such a base conceit of himselfe that he thought not himselfe worthy that Christ should come vnder his roofe oh how highly our Sauiour commendeth him I haue not found saith hee Mat. 8.8.10 Mat. 3.11 11.9.11 so great faith no not in Israel Iohn Baptist confessed of himselfe in all humilitie that he was not worthy to beare the shooes of our Sauiour Christ But hee affirmeth of him and that very earnestly that he was a Prophet yea and more then a Prophet yea that among them that are begotten of women there arose not a greater then Iohn Baptist The deeper the Well is the sweeter is the water so the more humble any man is in his owne conceit the more acceptable hee is to God And indeed if we could seriously consider how vnable we are of our selues to doe any thing that is good without Gods assistance wee should see there were no cause for vs to be proud Nay if wee had any found grace or vertue at all in vs their would be no place left for pride For as wee see the sunne the higher hee is in the firmament the shorter shadowes he maketh and the neerer he comes to the earth the shadowes of all things are the longer So vertue grace the higher and the more eminent it is the lesse oftentation it maketh Whereas on the other side where grace is wanting there is nothing but pride and arrogancie euen as the eares of corne that haue nothing in them but light stuffe stand perking vp aboue all the rest but they that are laden with full come hang downe their heads Secondly this may be a good warning to vss not to contemne Vse 2 nor despise the meanest persons no nor the vilest creatures in the earth because we see God can make them instruments to correct our pride 1. Sam. 17.42.44.49.51 The proud vncircumcised Philistim when hee saw poore Dauid come to him with a staffe in his hand he disdained him and threatned to giue his flesh to the foules of heauen and to the beasts of the field Quem vidit dies veniens superbum hunc vidit dies fugiens iacentem Yet this Dauid by Gods assistance brought him groueling to the earth and afterward cut off his head with his owne sword Yea wee see how troublesome euen gnattes and fleas are vnto vs in Summer time And indeed there is not the weakest creature in the world but if God arme it against vs it is strong enough to chastise vs for our sinnes As the Lord calleth the grashopper the canker worme Joel 2.25 the caterpiller and the palmer worme all of them in themselues silly creatures his great host which he sent among them And there is a memorable history of the Archbishop of Mentz that hauing put a great number of poore people into a barne promising them some almes and hauing set it on fire ouer their heads the mice that were in it by the iust iudgment of God pursued him to death Sphinx Aenig mat And we read of a whole towne in Spaine that was vndermined and cast downe with conies And diuerse people haue beene driuen from their habitations by the annoyance
of moles frogges mice and hornets and such like creatures And thus much for the occasions of Peters sinne now it followeth to speake of the sinne it selfe But he denied c. This is the sinne of Peter that hee denyed his Master If our Sauiour Christ had beene but an ordinarie friend to the Apostle Peter it had beene too much for him to haue denied him in this manner For as Salomon saith Prou. 17.17 27.10 A friend loueth at all times and therefore he giueth counsell in this case Thine owne friend and thy fathers friend forsake not And hereupon when Hushaâ— Dauids friend had vnder a colour and by Dauids consent ioyned with Absalom the better to discouer to Dauid all his plots and purposes Absalom thinking hee had reuolted indeede 2. Sam. 16.17 entertaineth him in this maner Is this thy kindnesse to thy friend c. But Christ was not onely Peters friend but hee was his Master yea such a Master as had alwayes beene most kind vnto him and had continually graced him with his fauour For first Mat. 4.18.19 when as Peter by his calling was but a poore fisherman Christ called him to be one of his Disciples and made him a fisher of men Yea hee made him an Apostle which was the most high and honourable calling in the Church Besides our Sauiour neuer wrought any great miracle but Peter was alwaies admited to be present As when he raised vp Iairus his daughter Mark 5.37 He suffered no man to follow him but Peter and Iames and Iohn Mat. 17.1 And when he was transfigured in a glorious manner on the mount Peter was admitted to be a beholder of it Yea when he was in that grieuous Agony in the garden Peter was called to be a witnesse thereof He tooke Peter and the two sonnes of Zebedeus with him 26.37 All the rest of the Disciples were left at the doore Yea more then this he was euen his God and his Lord as himselfe had before confessed All this then doth aggrauate his sinne in that hauing seene our Sauiour worke so manie excellent miracles as to walke vpon the Sea with a word to still the rage of the winds with a word to heale all manner of diseases to restore strength to the lame sight to the blind yea and life to the dead all which conuinced him in his conscience that he was the Sonne of God yet notwithstanding he did so shamefully denie him a Nescio an in altero hoc genus peccati tanti ponderis esse possit in beatâ— Petro fuisse manifestum est Quisquis enim fortè in aliqua persecutione graui negauit filium Dei in comparatione Petri vâ—debitur leuius deliquisse si negauit quem non vidit si negauit quem non agnouit si negauit cui nihil promisit c. Optatus contra Donatist lib. 7. Doctr. Gods Children fall many times into grieuous sins If Peter had neuer seene nor knowne our Sauiour Christ if hee had neuer acknowledged and confessed him if hee had neuer promised him the contrarie it had beene something but now after all this to denie him it maketh his sinne so hainous as it is hard for any other man to commit the like This example of the Apostle Peters fearefull fall doth teach vs that there is no sinne so grieuous nor so hainous no wickednesse so odious and abhominable but euen the deare child of God being left to himselfe may fall into it except the sinne against the holy Ghost It is most true that there are the seedes of all sinne whatsoeuer naturally rooted and inbred in vs which if they bee not preuented are ready to breake out vpon any occasion that shal be offered Who would haue thought that the Apostle Peter b Petrus qui omnibus erat sanctitate praestantior amore deuotior fide robustior c. Christum negauit Bern. de câ—n dom serm 6. Iuc 7.37.38 Mar. 16.9 1. Tim. 1.13 Gal. 1.13 so excellent in grace so deuout in loue so strong in faith could euer haue beene brought to this passe to denie Christ Iesus after this manner So that hereby it is euident that in respect of their outward estate many times there is little or no difference betweene the child of God and a reprobate And this is true First before their conuersion to God When they liue in such grosse and notorious sinnes as they may seeme euen to be shackled by the foote with reprobates As may appeare in Mary Magdalen who before her conuersion was a common strumpet and possessed with seuen Deuils And in the Apostle Paul himselfe who as he confesseth before he was called Was a blasphemer a persecutor and an oppressor Yea hee persecuted the Church of God extreamely and made hauocke of it And hee saith of himselfe Act 26.11 and Titus and the rest of Gods children Tit. 3.3 Wee our selues also were in times past vnwise disobedient seruing lusts and diuerse pleasures liuing in maliciousnesse and enuie c. So likewise he putteth the Corinthians in minde 1. Cor. 6.9.10.11 what manner of persons they had beene before they were sanctifyed namely some of them had beene Idolaters Adulterers Buggerers Theeues Drunkards Ephes 2.1.2.3 and as wretched sinners as could bee And hee concludeth both of Iewes and Gentiles that whiles they remained vnregenerate 2. Tim. 2.19 they were by natuae no better then the children of wrath Indeed in respect of Gods decree there is great difference For the Lord Knoweth who are his though they be hid as it were ouer head and eares among reprobates but in respect of their outward conuersation there is no difference at all Neither is this any whit preiudiciall to their saluation Indeede if our saluation depended vpon any merits of ours as the Papists say then it were much materiall what manner of persons wee were But according to his mercie he saueth vs Tit. 3.4 as the Apostle saith without respect of any thing in vs whatsoeuer And therefore the Lord saith Isa 55.8 My thoughts are not your thoughts neither are your wayes my wayes When we bestow a benefit on a man we respect something or other in him but it is not so with God he both beginneth and perfecteth the worke of our saluation Ephes 1.5 6. according to the good pleasure of his own will and to the praise of the glory of his grace And indeede what can make more for the glory of God then this to saue a wretched a miserable sinner that neuer deserued any thing but hel fire Euen as the clemencie of a Prince appeareth most in pardoning the most capitall offenders and horrible Traitors Secondly this is true also euen after their conuersion when as many times they fall into such foule and enormous sinnes that for the present their outward conuersation is as bad as if they were reprobates And this appeareth plainely in this example of the Apostle Peter if