calleth all the nations of the earth together and exhorteth them to come to behold to beleeue to embrace to tast of the mercies of Christ Iesus which are as water to refreshe their thirstie spirits and as milke to nourish and comfort their hearts All you that thirst come to the waters c. In which exhortation the Prophet obserueth this order First he exhorteth the people to come Secondly he telleth whither and to whom they should come Thirdly he teacheth after what sort they must come Fourthly what commoditie such as come shal receiue 4 Come all that are thirstie Gods mercie is great and generall he hath no partiall respect vnto any person no countrey no kindred no age no condition no sexe is excluded He calleth Iewe and Gentile young and aged riche and needie bond and free man and woman He commaunded his Gospel to be preached to all Goe your waies preache the Gospel to euerie creature In the parable all are inuited to that magnificent mariage and kingly supper Christ himselfe cryeth in general words Come to me all that labour If all bee called and exhorted to come what cause can any man alleage sufficient to excuse his not comming the buying of fermes or the trying of oxen or the marying of wiues They haue base mindes that are withheld by these meanes But if any haue a feareful and a trembling heart who being called stand stil a farre off not because they wil not but because they dare not approche neere them God pitieth yea vnto them especially or rather onely vnto them he saith Come you Be thy sinnes neuer so great feare not to come for he that calleth thee hath stretcht out his armes of mercie at length they are wide open to embrace thee mercie is readie to all that will receiue it and to them that neede it most most readie A comfortable â—esson to all sinners 5 Come all that are thirstie He calleth not them which are full and neede neither meate nor drinke but such as be hungrie and thirstie them he calleth The proude Pharisey that was ful of his owne righteousnesse hungred not after remission of sinnes and they who are ouerfilled with works of supererogation and haue store to serue themselues and others neuer thirst to drinke of the cup of saluation In generall such as are drunke with the vaine trust of their owne merites wil neither tast of this bread nor drinke of this water The couetous man thirsteth after monie euen with the sale of his owne soule to get it The lewde after fleshlie delights and pleasures to the wasting of his patrimonie vpon them The proude after glorie that his itching eares may be tickled with his owne praise But what thirst the Prophet doth meane Christ sheweth in the Gospel where he also blesseth it Blessed are they which hunger and thirst for righteousnesse Such as see their owne nakednesse as feele their owne infirmities as grone vnder the heauie burthen of their sinne as confesse with Dauid I knowe mine owne iniquities as make request with the Publicane God be mercifull to me a sinner as crie with the Leper Lorde if thou wilt thou canst make me cleane such are inuited vnto such our Prophet speaketh He calleth not the iust but vnto sinners he saith Come Goe not away but come 6 Whither and to whom Come to the waters Not to such waters as either the wel or the riuer yeeldeth but to those that issue from the sonne of God to those that shalbe in him which tasteth them a wel of water springing vnto euerlasting life Vnto whom shall we goe thou hast the words of euerlasting life Come to these waters buy this wine and this milke Other bread is no bread Eate that which is good Vnder these names of water wine and milke all things necessary to a spiritual life are comprehended For as with these corporall meates and drinkes the bodie is nourished so in Christ thorough the beleeuing of the Gospel our soule is refreshed perfectly fed vnto euerlasting life Christ is the fresh fountaine whereof who so drinketh shall neuer thirst Christ is that bread which descended from heauen He that eateth that bread which is his flesh shal liue foreuer Christ is that wine which maketh merie the heart of man and quieteth the troubled conscience Christ is that milke which nourisheth and feedeth vs that we may growe to a perfect man Milke is fit for infants water is conuenient for young men wine agreeth with olde age So in the Scriptures there is foode both for such as are simple and weake and also for such as are learned and strong 7 This grace of God which saueth hath appeared to all men this heauenly foode Christ Iesus by preaching the Gospel is offered to all as Manna the heauenly bread by faith to feede vpon and as a liuely fountaine to drinke of to euerlasting life All are of mercie grace and fauour freely called al may come and freely feede without penie or penieworth The grace of God is free remission of sins is free freely graunted freely giuen without monie The price of our redemption is neither golde nor siluer Through grace ye are freely saued For it cannot be grace any way which is not euerie way free saith S. Augustine 8 Wherefore doe ye lay out your siluer for that which is no bread and your labour on that which is not to satisfie As before he exhorted vs to come and buie freely without monie because God is no monie man neither can any man deserue fauour at his hands but whatsoeuer wee haue of him we haue it of mercie so nowe he sharpely reprooueth all such as by monie or merchaundise by desert or merite seeke after saluation He dehorteth vs from false teachers craftie seducers which offer to sel the grace and mercie of GOD for monie Christ proposeth his heauenly treasures remission of sinnes iustification sanctification mercie grace and saluation freely He that sitteth in the Temple of God and termeth himselfe Christs Vicar doeth in like sort offer vnto the people bread water wine milke pardon of sinnes grace mercie and eternall life but not freely he is a merchaunt he giueth nothing and that is nothing which he selleth For although he make large promises to the buyer he selleth that which he hath not to deliuer Eternall life is the gift of God The Pope therefore selleth but wind and smoke for fire shadowes for truthes he deceiueth the buyers with false â—lights false measures false weightes Beware of this merchaunt loose not your labour cast not away your monie it is not meate but poison which he offereth you His phisicke cannot heale your diseases His holy water cannot wash away the spottes of a sullied and defiled soule as he vntruely would beare you in hand His blasphemous Masses doe not appease but prouoke Gods wrath they cannot benefite the quicke much lesse the dead which either neede no helpe or are
instituted by Christ to be receiued of Christians By the one which is Baptisme we are receiued and incorporated into the Church of Christ by the other which is the Eucharist or Lords supper wee are nourished and fed vnto life euerlasting These are pledges and assurances of remission of sinnes and saluation purchased by the death of Christ. These are Gods seales added vnto his most certaine promises for the confirmation of our weake faith weake by reason of the infirmitie of our fleshe For if we were spirituall saith Chrysostome wee should not neede these corporall signes We being now prepared and purposed to be partakers of this holie mysterie the sacrament of the bodie and bloud of Christ it standeth vs vpon to haue that due consideration which the waight of a matter so neerely concerning our saluation doeth require to the end that we may to our comfort and profite receiue the same Deepely to enter into this matter the shortnesse of this time wil not permit yet somewhat I will say and giue you a tast of things needefull 21 In this sacrament there are two things a visible signe and an inuisible grace there is a visible sacramentall signe of breade and wine and there is the thing and matter signified namely the bodie and bloud of Christ there is an earthly matter and an heauenly matter The outward sacramentall signe is common to all as well the bad as the good Iudas receiued the Lords bread but not that bread which is the Lord to the faithfull receiuer The spirituall part that which feedeth the soule onely the faithful doe receiue For he cannot be partaker of the bodie of Christ which is no member of Christs bodie This foode offred vs at the Lords table is to feede our soules withall it is meate for the minde and not for the bellie Our soules being spiritual can neither receiue nor digest that which is corporall they feede only vpon spirituall foode It is the spirituall eating that giueth life The flesh saith Christ doeth nothing profite We must lift vp our selues from these externall and earthly signes and like Eagles flie vp and sore aloft there to feede on Christ which sitteth on the right hande of his father whom the heauens shall keepe vntill the latter day From thence and from no other Altar shall he come in his natural bodie to iudge both quicke and dead His naturall bodie is locall for else it were not a naturall bodie his bodie is there therefore not here for a naturall bodie doth not occupie sundrie places at once Here we haue a sacrament a signe a memoriall a commemoration a representation a figure effectuall of the bodie and bloud of Christ. These termes the auncient Fathers Ireneus Tertullian S. Augustine S. Ierome S. Chrysostome doe vse Seeing then that Christ in his naturall bodie is absent from hence seeing he is risen and is not here seeing hee hath left the worlde and is gone to his father howe shall I saith S. Augustine laie holde on him which is absent how shall I put my hand into heauen Send vp thy faith and thou hast taken hold Why preparest thou thy teeth Beleeue and thou hast eaten Thy teeth shall not doe him violence neither thy stomacke conteine his glorious bodie Thy faith must reache vp into heauen By faith he is seene by faith he is touched by faith he is digested Spiritually by faith wee feede vpon Christ when wee stedfastly beleeue that his bodie was broken and his bloud shed for vs vpon the crosse by which sacrifice offered once for all as sufficient for all our sinnes were freely remitted blotted out and washed away This is our heauenly bread our spirituall foode This doth strengthen our soules and cheere our hearts Sweeter it is vnto vs than honie when we are certified by this outward sacrament of the inward grace giuen vnto vs thorough his death when in him we are assured of remission of sins and eternall life Better foode than this thy soule can neuer feede vpon This is the bread of euerlasting life They which truely eate it shall liue by it 32 Thus I haue briefly simply and plainely vnfolded vnto you the meaning of this most holy mysterie Time wil not suffer me to let you see the absurdities of the popish vnsauourie opinions in this matter neither to confute their vaine allegations and false collections abusing the scriptures dreaming euermore with the grosse Capernaites of a carnall and a fleshly eating Beholde the one part of this sacrament consecrated is termed bread the other a cup by the Apostle himselfe Because what they were according to the substance of their natures before consecration the same they remaine after saith Bertram The like hath Theodoret Those mysticall tokens after they be sanctified doe not leaue their proper nature for they abide in their former substance figure and shape This sacrament was deliuered to the Corinthians in both kindes As Christ saith so saith Paul Bibite ex hoc omnes Drinke ye all of this That the whole sacrament should be receiued of the people and no mutilation permitted the auncient writers are most cleare as Ambrose Ierom Chrysostom Gelasius Cyprian c. This sacrament is to be receiued in remembrance of Christ crucified As oft as yee shall eate this bread and drinke of this cup ye shewe the Lords death vntill his comming 23 In what maner we ought to prepare our selues thereunto Paul teacheth saying Let a man prooue himselfe and so eate of that bread and drinke of that cuppe This condemneth Anabaptists which thinking themselues to be without sin communicate with none but such as they thinke like to themselues Euerie man shal beare his owne burthen It behooueth therefore euerie man to trie him selfe and not other men Trie whether ye be in the faith or no. Faith hath his fruites It worketh repentaunce it causeth sorowe for sinnes committed feare of sinning againe and hope of pardon It breedeth loue towards God and loue towardes our brethren If incredulitie if impenitencie if hatred and malice haue possessed thine heart then abstaine from the Lords table least with Iudas thou receiue the Lords bread against the Lord the foode of saluation to thy condemnation But if thou beleeue repent thee of thy sinne purpose to liue a charitable and godlie life if thou be cloathed with the sweete garment of the sonne of God then sit thee downe at the table of the Lorde and at the feast of the lambe For this is his feast this is doone onely in remembraunce of him this is the blessed Eucharist a sacrament of praise and thankesgiuing as for al other godly benefites so particularly and principally for the death and passion of Iesus Christ Gods onelie sonne and our onelie Sauiour 24 These dueties being thus performed vnto God wee must also endeuour to liue and leade an honest life Peace is a great meane to procure pietie and pietie should breede honestie in vs. The one
As verily as he doth liue it is not the goodnesse of their religion but the strength of their faction and the wilinesse of flesh by which they stand 39 Wherefore briefly to conclude this matter and in fewe words to knit vp that which remaineth I haue as you see set before you life and death truth and error wholesome foode and noysome poison If ye tender the safetie of your owne soules be not as children readie to take whatsoeuer is offered you learne to iudge betweene good and euill lay not out monie for that which is no bread spend not your labour in that which cannot satisfie come to the waters whereunto God calleth you 40 The maner of comming is set downe by the Prophet in many words the summe of all is this Wee must not giue eare vnto lying spirits Heare not the wordes of the Prophets that prophecie vnto you and teache you vanitie they speake the vision of their owne heart and not out of the mouth of the Lord turne away your eares from such and hearken vnto me saith the Lorde Hearken diligently carefully attentiuely The word of life is of power and strength to saue your soules But if ye be as vessels that leake and runne out how should the doctrine of saluation profite you This food refusing all other we are exhorted both to take and to eate If sinners heretikes enemies of the truth say Come with vs shunne them turne away your feete from their pathes offer not you their offerings of bloud present not your selues in their temples tast not things sacrificed vnto their Idols Eate that which is good Labour not for the meate which perisheth much lesse for that whereby men perish but labour for the meate that endureth to euerlasting life which meate the sonne of man shall giue you For him hath God the father sealed He is the bread of life his flesh is meate indeede and his bloud is drinke in deede his word is the power of God vnto saluation his sacraments are seales of righteousnesse by faith in him are all the treasures of peace ioie rest comfort no eye hath seene no eare hath heard no heart hath conceiued the things which are hidden and laide vp in him Whereupon if we feede in such sort that our soules take ioie pleasure and delight in fatnesse then the fruite which hereby we shall reape is this 41 Your soule saith God shall liue and I wil make an euerlasting couenaunt with you euen the sure mercies of Dauid What Shall they then which hearken vnto him and put their trust in his mercie deliuer their liues for euer from the hand of the graue Shal they liue and not see death There is a first and a second death the one onely seuereth the soule from the bodie for a time the other tormenteth first the soule seuered and afterward both bodie and soule for euer The second death shal not touche them of whom the Prophet here speaketh But of the first Iob hath saide Death is the house appointed for all the liuing Wherefore God doeth not promise to prolong the daies of his children continually heere on earth but his promise is that their soules shal liue For touching outward things we cannot certainely iudge the hatred or loue of God by them In these externall euents The same condition is to the iust and to the wicked to the good and pure and to them that are polluted to him that sacrificeth and to him that sacrificeth not As is the good so is the sinner he that sweareth as he that feareth an oath Howe dieth the wise man Euen as the foole saith the Preacher Nay one is wicked and liueth in ease and prosperitie another feareth God and dieth in the bitternesse of his soule they sleepe both in the dust together the wormes couer them both alike This onely is the difference The wicked is kept to the day of destruction and shall bee brought foorth to the day of wrath But the iust shall liue by faith his soule shall liue The foundation from whence this life floweth is that couenaunt which was made with Dauid I wil set vp thy seede after thee which shall proceede out of the bodie and I will stablish his kingdome hee shal build an house for my name and I wil stablish the throne of his kingdome for euer Now as Dauid so the children of Dauid after him fulfilled their daies and fel asleepe the throne of Dauid was not established in them for euer But of Christ the Angel of the Lorde hath saide The Lord shall giue vnto him the throne of his father Dauid and he shall raigne ouer the house of Iacob for euer and of his kingdome shall be no ende Wherefore in Christ this couenaunt with Dauid is fulfilled The mercies which were promised vnto Dauid are the benefites and as the Apostle termeth them the holie things which we receiue by Christ Iesus This couenant is euerlasting If saith God by the Prophet Ieremie you can breake my couenaunt of the day and my couenaunt of the night that there should not be day and night in their season then may my couenaunt be broken with Dauid As the couenaunt made with Dauid is euerlasting so the mercies therein contained are sure Of the sure mercies of Dauid thus he speaketh in the booke of Psalmes Mine hande shall be established with him and mine arme shal strengthen him the enemie shall not oppresse him neither shall the wicked doe him hurt but I will destroy his foes before his face and plague them that hate him my mercie will I keepe for him for euermore and my couenaunt shall stand fast with him The couenaunt made with Dauid is made with vs his mercies are our mercies if so be we performe that which here is required at our hands If we hearken diligently vnto him that cryeth Come to the waters if we cleaue fast vnto his trueth if we embrace his promises with ioie eating that which is good shunning and loathing that which is euil surely his hande shall be established with vs as with Dauid his arme shall bee our strength the enemie shal not oppresse vs neither shal the wicked doe vs harme but God shall destroy all our enemies before vs and plague them that hate vs his mercies he shal keepe towards vs for euer his couenaunt shall stand fast with vs our soules shal liue he shal make an euerlasting couenaunt with vs euen the sure mercies of Dauid Which mercies the God of all mercie graunt vs vnto whom with the Sonne by whose blood they are purchased together with that glorious Spirite which hath sealed in our heartes ful assurance that they cannot faile be honour and glorie for euer and euer Amen A Sermon made before the Parliament at Westminster 1. SAMVEL 12. 23 Be this sinne against the Lord farre from me that I should cease to pray for you But I will shewe you the good and the right waie 24
are in authoritie that wee may leade a quiet and a peaceable life in all godlinesse and honestie MOSES speaking to the people of God concerning the institutiō of the Passeouer to be kept at the appointed season from yere to yere saith When thy Sonne shall aske thee What is this thou shalt say vnto him With a mightie hand the Lord brought vs out of Egypt out of the house of bondage and in remembraunce hereof wee celebrate this feast In like sort when your children shall aske you what this our assemblie meaneth you shall aunswere that it is to giue God thankes for that great benefite which we receiued at his hands as this day when in his mercie he gaue vs our gratious elect Elizabeth whom hee hath vsed as his mightie arme to worke our deliuerance to bring vs out of Egypt the house of Romish seruitude This is the day which the Lord hath made this is that our happie day the Lorde in his mercie hath made it let vs be thankefull for it let vs reioice and be glad in it This is the acceptable time the day of saluation the happie time of our deliuerance This day God shewed vs the light of his gratious countenance and had mercie on vs in bestowing vpon vs so great a treasure so good a gouernour so worthie a Prince The Lord graunt vs many of these daies and long continuance of these happie yeres And as our Apostle doeth exhort vs let vs both praise the Lorde and praie vnto him that vnder so good a gouernement we may liue a quiet a godlie and an honest life as the Lords goodnesse towards vs and our duetie towardes him and profession of his name require I exhort you therefore before all things c. Here are two things offered to our consideration first an exhortation Pray for all men especially for princes and rulers secondly a reason of this exhortation that by their good gouernement we may liue a quiet a godly and an honest life 2 In exhorting vs to praie he sheweth the benefite and fruit of our praier We must praie to God to giue vs good Princes and rulers vnder a good prince we ought to leade a good life a good prince should procure peace pietie and honestie to the people a good people should liue peaceably godlily and honestly vnder their prince The exhortation is Pray for all men especially Princes and rulers In this part we haue to consider what praier is To whom we should pray What be the parts of praier When where and how we should pray For whom we should pray 3 Praier is a lifting vp of the minde vnto God or a friendely talking with the Lord from an high and a kindled affection of the heart In the word God speaketh vnto vs in praier we speake vnto him Praier is the powring out of a contrite heart with a sure perswasion that God wil graunt our requests and giue eare to the suites which we make vnto him This praier must be onely vnto God It is praier vnto God that onely hath promise that onely hath example in the scriptures Call vpon me saith God Aske the father in my name saith our Sauiour Aske and ye shall haue When yee shall pray saith Christ pray thus Our Father which art in heauen So and none otherwise praied all the Patriarches Prophets Apostles and Christ himselfe and all true Christians in all ages In praier no creature may be ioyned with God God and our Ladie help vs is no allowable praier 4 This praier which must be made onely to God our Apostle diuideth into his partes Requests Supplications Intercessions Thankesgiuings Requests or petitions are when wee praie for the increase of Gods good gifts in vs and that of his mercie and fauour he would giue vs whatsoeuer is necessarie for bodie or soule and for as much as we cannot obteine any thing for our owne merites that he would graunt vs all things for his sonne our Sauiours sake 5 Supplications when we praie to be deliuered from euill as when we pray that the wrath of God which we haue deserued may through his mercie be remooued from vs as farre as the East is from the West that our sinne may be remitted and blotted out of Gods bookes 6 Intercessions are when we praie for such as doe afflict and wrong vs for our enemies which persecute vs that God would forgiue them turne their hearts and better them Or when wee praie for others either for remoouing of euill from them or for Gods fauour and blessing towards them 7 Thankesgiuings are when we praise and thanke God for the great mercies graces and gifts which wee haue receiued at his hands For we must acknowledge that euery good and perfect gift commeth downe from aboue from the father of lights and is by his mercie freely giuen Praier generally may be diuided into two parts Petition and Thankesgiuing in the one we aske of God in the other wee offer vnto God both are accepted as sweete smelling sacrifices pure and through the merite of his sonne pleasaunt in his sight I shall not neede to put you in remembrance that we must praie both for our selues and others that there is a priuate and a publike praier that we must pray for things perteining to saluation absolutely and for things that pertaine to this life conditionally These are matters wherewith yee are throughly acquainted 8 The next thing to be considered in praier is when where and how to praie When Alwaies without ceasing Where In all places especially that place which being sanctified to this vse is therefore called the house of praier How from the heart lifting vp pure and cleane hands that is to say in faith and in loue Our praier fethered with these two wings flyeth straight into heauen 9 Thus we are by the Apostle willed to pray before all things according to the commaundement of our Sauiour Seeke first the kingdome of God Let vs begin all our workes our enterprises our actions our iourneies our lying downe our rising vp our eating our drinking and all our studies with praier So our bread shalbe multiplyed our oyle encreased our meate sanctified all our endeuours and actions blessed If the very Ethnicks in the beginning of their bookes first prayed vnto their gods to prosper and giue good successe to their labours it were a shame for vs not to praie to our God before all things knowing that the praier of the iust is greatly auaileable before him Praier is a succour vnto vs a sacrifice to God and a scourge to Satan Examples are infinite Israel in praier groned vnto God and was deliuered out of Egypt Moses by praier so held God that he could not destroie his idolatrous people The blast of praier ouerthrew the walles of Ierico At the praier of Iosua the Sunne stoode stil. The young men prayed in the burning fornace
Prophet teacheth the selfesame in few words Let the wicked forsake his waies and the vnrighteous his owne imaginations and returne vnto the Lord S. Paul meaneth the same thing when he speaketh of denying vngodlinesse and worldly lusts and liuing soberly righteously and godlily in this present worlde But our Sauiour Christ shutteth vp the whole in one word Repent 18 The order of our repentance set downe by the blessed Apostle is this First of all we must remooue euill from vs. Cleanse your hands purge your hearts wash and scowre both bodie and soule make you selues cleane both from outward and inward sinnes For it is not sufficient to abstaine from euill in our externall actions but we must also chase from our hearts euil cogitations The proude Pharisee seemed to haue a pure life but he had a polluted heart If the fountaine and spring bee not pure and sweete the riuers that issue from it must needes be vnsauourie From the heart there proceede euill cogitations murthers adulteries fornications false witnessings reuilings These are the fruites of an impure heart and these are the workes of vncleane fingers The hand is but the seruaunt to execute that which the heart hath deuised It was follie in Pilate to wash his hands in token of his puritie when his heart had consented to shed the bloud of that Innocent 19 The hand hath sundrie significations in the scriptures Sometime it is taken for counsell as Is not the hande of Ioab with thee in all these things And againe They met together to doe whatsoeuer thy hand and thy counsell had before decreed to be doone Euill hands are the breeders of al mischieuous practises but such counsel is commonly woorst to the giuer Dauid praied to God to confound the traiterous counsell of Achitophel who conspired against his master and king And it came to passe that his fingers did knit a roape about his own traiterous throate to strangle himselfe withall It is written of Dauid that he fed his people in the singlenes of his heart and led them foorth in the discretion of his handes The swoord of gouernement is an edged toole it requireth the hand of wise counsell discreetely to weeld it Roboam being guided by the vnwise hands of those lustie young Counsellers who aduised him to oppresse his people with heauy burthens to bring them into bondage and to giue them short and sharpe answeres wrought in the people discontented minds alienated their hearts from their Prince which in the ende was the tearing of his kingdome into peeces Of twelue parts he lost tenne and better 20 The word Hand is also taken for crueltie and oppression because the hand is the instrument to worke these things Your hands saith the Prophet are full of bloud Such hands had Herod And such haue they not onely which kil but which hate malice and slaunder their brethren For hee which hateth his brother is a manslaier 21 Finally because the hand worketh most of al the members of the bodie in the necessarie actions of mans life therefore all pollutions in our outward deedes are conteined in the name of vncleane hands 22 The slanderer and libeller hath bloudie hands his tongue cutteth like a sharpe rasor his penne writeth in bloud For he killeth whom he defameth 23 The oppresser with his bloudie fingers pulleth the skinne off the peoples backes Aemilius being placed by Tyberius Caesar ouer Egypt oppressed the Egyptians with great vnwoonted exactions The Emperor hearing of it was wroth and wrote vnto him That he would haue his sheepe to be shorne but not flaied Such oppressers of the people greatly wrong the Prince who beeing faultlesse yet is forced to beare the burthen of that blame Such gleaners of other mens goods and pillers and purloiners although they ioine house to house yet the foundation of them being laide in bloud that building shall not continue That which commeth ill shal goe woorse away They loose as much in their consciences as they gaine in their cofers 24 Rewards likewise doe not onely blinde the eies and peruert the woords but they also defile the handes of the wise and righteous 25 All such as enter into the Church of GOD by corrupt meanes defile their hands and destroie their soules That saith S. Ambrose which the man gaue when he was ordeined Bishop was but gold and that which he lost was his soule 26 The vsurer doth so mire his fingers in monie that with his fowle filthie fists he can neuer take hold vpon the tabernacle of God 27 It were infinite to goe through all particulars We defile our hands whensoeuer our actions are corrupted infected and polluted with sinne seeme they vnto vs neuer so perfect holie and good Things highly esteemed before men are found to be as vanitie before God Our verie righteousnesse in his sight is polluted Yea many times euen when we doe good then we doe ill In our praier by coldnesse in our almes deedes by vaineglorie wee defile the hands which we lift vp vnto God and put foorth vnto men These fowle hands our Apostle biddeth vs wash Mundate manus vestras O peccatores 28 And as we must wash our fowle hands so must we purge our infected hearts The heart of man is not searched by man Who knoweth it Onely God is the searcher of hearts The hypocrite seemeth holie in the face of the world but his inward man is poisoned with sinne Of men hee is commended and reuerenced but his false impure heart the Lord doth abhorre Thy heart must bee purged before thy hands can be washed to any purpose For as all impuritie riseth from the heart and so pulluteth the hands so must first thy heart be purified and that will make all cleane If thine eye bee right all thy bodie will be cleare saith our Sauiour The stomacke well confirmed all the bodie will be in good estate But our hearts are impure neither can any man say My heart is cleane The Pharisee saide that he was righteous but he looked onely vpon his hands and did not see into his prowde and malitious heart The penitent Publicane wisely knocked vpon his heart for there laie the disease Euerie sinne breedeth in the heart from thence it hath his originall and euerie heart is possessed with sundrie sinnes and hath neede carefully to be purged 29 Pride polluteth mans heart This venome poisoned the heart of the great Angell of God of Adam the most perfect man of God of Nabuchodonozar the great and mightie Emperor of Ozias the king Their hearts were lifted vp and therefore GOD threwe them downe Pride is the first and greatest sinne and therefore with chiefest care to bee shunned This hidden poison cannot bee smothered it will burst foorth into the outward parts It will appeare in thy countenance in thy pace and in thy apparel Monstrous attire
taketh away because the world is not worthie of them and some because they are not worthie of it He cut off Iofias for his souâ—e pleased God therefore he made hast to take him away from the midst of iniquities He cut off Achab Agag and Herode because they were bloudie and wilie men therefore they did not liue out halfe their daies 18 So true it is Man that is borne of a woman hath but a short time to liue it is euen as true that followeth in the same sentence that his fewe daies are full of miserie He commeth vp and is cut downe like a flower he fleeth as it were a shadowe and continueth not Mans life is as vnlasting as a flower Hee commeth vp and is cut downe as a flower He vanisheth away like a shadowe of a flower And while he liueth he is full of miserie He commeth into the world with sorowe and weeping whilest hee liueth in the worlde hee is hated of the worlde or else which is woorse of God assaulted of Satan in continuall warre subiect to the manifold diseases both of the bodie of the soule the one truely miserable but the other most intolerable He neuer continueth in one state To day in his princely throne to morowe in his dustie graue to day placed in great authoritie to morow cast out of countenance to day in high fauour to morow in high displeasure now rich now poore now in wealth now in woe now sound now sicke now ioiefull now ful of sorowe to day a man to morowe nothing O how short how changeable and howe miserable is the state of mortall man which we neglect but Iacob well considered when he aunswered Pharao of his age The daies of my peregrination are pauci mali fewe and euill Walke therefore circumspectly saith S. Paul for the daies are euill Wee are fallen into those euill daies and perillous times of the which both Paul and Peter forewarned vs. These may bee rightly called dismall daies The God of this world hath blinded the eyes of men Let him therefore that standeth I say it againe take heede that hee fall not Let vs expect our change and pray the Lord to increase our faith that wee may bee able to stand before him in that day that dreadfull day of his iust iudgement 19 As our daies here are short and euill so is the time of our change either to better or woorse vncertaine What is most certaine Death What most vncertaine the time of death saieth Bernard We are all tenants at will vncertaine how long to remaine in this our earthly tabernacle Of this we are put in minde in the Lords praier Giue vs this day our daily bread We say this day as vncertaine of to morowe It is written of one that beeing inuited to a dinner on the morowe by his friend hee aunswered These many daies I neuer had to morowe Therefore saith S. Iames let vs not appoint for to morowe but with conditions If the Lorde will and if we liue The Egyptians considering the vncertaintie of mans daies were accustomed at their great feasts in the midst of their iollitie to haue one sodainely come foorth with an image of death and shewing it to the gests to pronounce this speeche Eate drinke be merie within a while thou shalt be such as this And the Israelites dwelt in tents vncertaine of their abode euer readie to shift whereby they represent vnto vs our peregrination in this mortalitie wherein because we are vncertaine to stay long wee ought at all times to be readie to depart so that we may enter into that celestiall Canaan This time of mans life and death God hath made vncertaine for two causes the one that his minde might not be troubled the other this present text giueth and it is the last member of our diuision 20 This ende or chaunge is daily to bee looked for Seeing that death is certaine our daies short and the time of our dissolution vnknowen wisedome would haue vs to put our selues in readinesse looking for our change the end of this bad life that it may be to vs the beginning of a better It is good counsell which S. Augustine giueth Death looketh for thee eueriewhere if thou bee wise looke thou eueriewhere for him The remembraunce of this our end would bridle sinne well in vs. Remember thy ende and thou shalt neuer doe amisse Christ saith Watch for you knowe not at what houre he will come He commeth sodainely as a theefe in the night The Lorde will come when thou lookest not for him and in an houre that thou knowest not Let vs watche therefore with the wise virgins hauing our lampes continually burning waiting for the comming of the bridegroome that wee may enter with him into his ioie 21 And as mans life is short so is the comming of Christ at hand Waite for it will surely come and will not stay The time is short This we knowe though it be not in vs to knowe the definite point of time which to the Angels of heauen is vnreuealed But Christ hath set downe certaine tokens of the ende which all are fulfilled and amongst others he saith Iniquitte shall abound charitie shall waxe colde the Gospell shall be preached in all the world and then shall come the end Neuer more iniquitie neuer lesse charitie the Gospel neuer so liberally taught behold the ende Peter saieth The end of all things is at hand If then at hande howe much neerer now If those were the latter times surely these are the last times the verie ende of the ende Heare the counsell of a wise man Make no tarying to turne vnto the Lord and put not off from day to day for sodainely shall the wrath of the Lord breake foorth and in thy securitie thou shalt be destroied and thou shalt perish in the time of vengeaunce 22 By procrastination driuing off forslowing our turning to the Lord and looking for our change three great dangers doe ensue First if we slumber and sleepe in securitie if we accustome our selues with sinning not looking for our chaunge neither remembring the fearefull comming of our Lord our custome will waxe to be our nature and hard will it be for vs to rise from sinne in which we haue beene so long and so deepely buried After that Lazarus had laine foure daies in the graue Christ vsed many circumstances for the raising of him againe who raised others with a woord 23 Secondly it is daungerous in respect of the sodaine taking away which happeneth to many in so much that they haue not time sufficiently to think vpon God or once to crie Lord help The first age in all their iollitie not thinking on death were sodainely drowned The Sodomites sodainely by fire consumed Pharao with his armie swallowed vp in the sea The Israelites gnawne of deadly serpents Dathan
with his complices eatē vp of the earth Herode sodainely deuoured with lice The riche man after all his prouision sodainely smitten with death Lying Ananias sodainely fel downe dead Eglon the Moabite Abner the captaine sodainely murthered by the swoord of Aod and Ioab All histories all ages are full of like examples 24 The third danger is that in driuing off to the lest day we shall finde hard time then to turne vnto our God Sickenesse wil sore disquiet vs Satan wil extremely tempt vs Our friends with talking and crauing will molest vs the terror of our ouglie conscience will astonish vs so that hard it will be for vs then to bee rightly mindful of our end so in this extremitie to turn to God that hee in our extreme case may turne his mercie towardes vs. And as S. Augustine saith The remedies come too late when perill of death is neere Remember that which hee also saith elsewhere Hee that hath liued well cannot die ill and hee can hardlie die well that hath liued ill Hee saith hardly not vnpossibly but questionlesseverie hardly 25 Put thine houshold in an order for thou shalt die and not liue saith Esay to Ezechias Giue thy goods whilest they be thine for after death thou hast no interest in them Stand with your loines girded and your shoes on your feete and your staffe in your hande that you may bee readie Wee haue slept too long in sinne to our great danger Let vs now awake to our speedie deliueraunce It is sufficient for vs that we haue spent the time that is past of our life after the will of the Gentiles Let vs now imitate that woorthie souldier who after long warring vnder Adrian the Emperor returned home and liued as Christs souldier a most godlie life and after 7◠yeeres died and caused to be written on his tombe Here lyeth Similis a man that was many yeres and liued but seuen Let vs these fewe yeres that we haue liue them to God For that onely is woorthie to be called a life which bringeth vs from a transitorie life to an eternall from a miserable to a most blessed and glorious Let the trumpe euer sound in our eares Rise you dead come vnto iudgement Let vs daily remember that we must die and so shall we contemne these things present and make hast to things to come Truly if we shal rightly consider the vanitie of the worlde the miserable estate of man that we are here but pilgrims and haue no permanent citie that whilest we liue in this rotten tabernacle wee are meere straungers and men from home that wee daily slide yea and fall into sinne that our righteous God hateth it and that the stipend therof is eternall death and withall propose before our eyes the celestiall kingdome the crowne of glorie the eternall felicites which the Lord hath prepared in heauen for such as loue his comming we wil not onely watchefully looke for but most greedily desire the same In our heart wee wil daily crie with S. Iohn Come quickely Lord Iesu wee wil bee like affected to S. Paul desiring to depart hence and to be with Christ we wil sigh and mourne as hee did O wretched man that I am who shall deliuer me frō the bodie of this death We wil with Iob euen be wearie of our liues and crie with Elias It is ynough O Lord take my soule it wil be with vs as it was with al the blessed Patriarches and Prophets and Apostles and holie men now glorious Saints in heauen who continually beeing heere thirsted after God and now most blessedly haue enioied him we will vtterly contemne this earthly trash worldely vanities and transitorie things and desire and seeke those things which are aboue where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God we will whilest wee haue our beeing heere which is but a while humble our selues to walke with our God and although wee tread this earth yet our conuersation wil be in heauen from whence also we looke for the Sauiour the Lord Iesus Christ who will change our vile bodie that it may bee fashioned like to his glorious bodie according to the working whereby he is able to subdue all things vnto himselfe 26 Thus wee see that funerals are Christian auncient and commendable that the causes are sundry good godly yet neither our preaching nor praier neither any other ceremonie nor circumstance can profite the dead but are helping comforts to such as liue that onely in this life mercie remaineth for man and after this life onely iudgement As we now sowe so we shall then reape Here we are Christs souldiers to fight a good fight so wee may hope for the crowne of glorie Which thing Iob doeth wel declare vnto vs First telling vs that wee are in continuall warre wherein both the generals the captaines the trumpetors and common souldiers that is the prince the nobilitie the ministers and the people must take to them a good courage be faithful dutiful and manfull in fighting the battle of the Lorde euerie man keepe his standing and answere his office But we must all striue for Gods truth and not struggle against it not ambitiously contending for superioritie or malitiously howe to vndermine and wrong one another This is no lawfull combat no Christian warre this is not to fight a good fight But wee must wage warre against our common and our deadly enemies the diuell the world and the flesh The diuel is a roaring lyon a subtile serpent who hath ouercome the perfectest the strongest the wisest The world is all wrapped in wickednesse The flesh wrestleth against the spirite We must put on the armour of God resist the diuell and he will flie from vs crucifie the world chasten our flesh and bring it into subiection vnto the more noble part our spirit At length this our warrefare will come to an ende wee may looke for a change All the world is mutable and of all thinges in the world man most mutable We would change our condition our magistrates our ministers our religion all things But the change that Iob speaketh of we least remember wee litle thinke vpon the change of this mortall life Wee may assure our selues that we all shall die It is an act of Parliament that shall neuer be repealed it is the way of all flesh The daies of man are short and wretched short a spanne long wretched full of miseries All flesh is as grasse and as a flowre both do fade but the flowre sooner Cares wantonnesse ambition yea God in sundrie respects cutteth off both the good and the bad good flowers bad flowers but all as flowers The time of our change is vncertaine and often sodaine that our minde be not troubled that we alwaies be in readinesse Iobs example admonisheth vs of this I looke still when my changing shall come Let vs after his example
For he is our God not whom we professe but in whom we repose our trust and whom we serue and obey When the Lord commaundeth one thing and his monie perswades an other will not his obedience declare whom he maketh his God God saith Lend freely and looke for no gaine But wil the vsurer whose monie is his God remit his interest because of this because the Lord hath so charged him No he will not so let goe his tenne or twentie or thirtie in the hundred To him the glorie of God yea and his owne soule is vile nothing is pretious but onely money What the Prophet speaketh of putting foorth monie to vsurie he full litle regardeth but feedeth still vpon his mast and blesseth himselfe when hee waxeth fat not perceiuing that God hath alreadie plagued him with a plague of all plagues the obduration of his heart And although that God hath giuen him ouer into a dull and senselesse minde his eares beeing so dammed vp that nothing can haue entraunce to mooue or touche his hard heart yet he still blesseth himselfe and his accursed soule Thou vsurer thou idolater that doest glorie in thy shame in thy euill gotten golde doest thou not knowe that thy wealth shall melt like snow before the sunne thinkest thou still to holde it O foole this night shall they tâ—ke away thy soule perhaps this instant and then whose is all this After that Zacheus fell to the seruice of Christ and that Christ entred into his house hee presently forsooke the seruice of Mammon made a large restitution of that which he had gained by such vnlawfull meanes and then began to bee liberall not onely to lend freely but to giue for nothing he gaue the one halfe of all his goods to the poore If God would at this day work thus in the heart of one Zacheus a rich vsurer how many poore might be relieued by such a restitution He might mainteine many a needie man and saue his owne soule Well this one thing we knowe This woord that proceedeth out of Gods mouth against vsurie shall not returne in vaine if it cannot worke reformation it wil worke confusion 11 As these serue their monie so there are some Domino non seruientes sed suo ventri seruaunts to the bellie and not to the Lord. He serueth the bellie who frameth himselfe to be of any religion so that in this world he may liue by it when poperie hath the vpper hand then a papist when the Gospell is in due estimation a protestant all things to all men that somewhat may be gained or saued to himselfe Hee maketh no difference betweene the Masse and the Communion Christ and Beliall but for his bellie sake wil halt on both sides serue all times and turnes Such a one was Leontius Bishop of Antioch who being in heart an Arrian couered his religion and ioined with the counsell of Nice in outward profession of the trueth So his soule was led by the diuel and his bodie by the world 12 Some and those many are seruauntes of men as those which in matters of religion wholly hang their soules vpon humane authorities and iudgements So did the Corinthians I hold of Paul I of Cephas and I of Apollos So doe al the Popes fauorites And so doe those that choose to themselues newe masters newe teachers according to their itching and wandering â—ares esteeming such and despising others So doe they which praise and flatter men in their follie thereby to winne themselues estimation with them which haue mens persons in admiration for gaines sake Finally so doe they which repose their trust in the merits of men that seeke iustification or remission of sinnes eyther by their owne woorkes or by the desertes of others For to knowe that hee is our redemption sanctification and iustice is no small part of Gods seruice to giue this to any other is to take it from him which who so doeth is not woorthie to bee named his seruaunt He that serueth him must serue him alone 13 Not him and the worlde For the worlde is wholly set on vanitie and mischiefe it hateâ—h him and therefore wee must hate it If ye be his seruaunts let not sinne beare rule in your bodies or haue dominion ouer you We must die vnto sinne that we may liue vnto God through Iesus Christ our Lord. He that doth sinne is the seruaunt of the diuell the diuel is but a bad master to serue he is a lier a theefe and a murtherer And hee entertaineth no seruants but such as be like himselfe whose wages are fire cheines brimstone darkenesse wailing howling and gnashing of teeth in a word euerlasting death and damnation Wee are nor ransomed out of the hands of our enemies to serue these masters mammon the bellie men sinne the world or the diuell But wee are redeemed to serue him onely to serue our Christ our redeemer that hath full deerely bought vs. Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and him onely shalt thou serue 14 Him we must serue without feare In the Psalme it is saide Serue the Lord with feare and reioice vnto him with reuerence And here wee are taught to serue him without feare As there is but one God so the scripture is alwaies one There is a feare which children haue towards their parents and a feare of seruants towards their masters God will be feared of vs as children but not as seruaunts or if as seruaunts not as slaues The beleeuing Christian the regenerate childe of God who through faith in Christ is certaine of his deliuerance from the diuell and from hell assured of remission of sinnes and of life euerlasting in the death and resurrection of Iesus Christ our Sauiour he serueth in the reuerent feare of loue and not in that dreadfull feare of death and euerlasting damnation wherewith the reprobate minde is daunted He feareth not death for hee is sure of life hee feareth not damnation for he is assured of saluation he beleeueth that which Christ hath promised and doubteth nothing of the obteining of that which Christ hath procured for him He is surely perswaded with S. Paul that neither death nor life nor tribulation nor affliction nor any thing present or to come shall separate him from the loue of God which is in Christ Iesus Hee feareth therefore neither the sting of death nor the power of Satan But this certaintie of Gods loue towards him in Christ and the testimonie of his loue towards God againe casteth out all feare of eternall punishment For ye haue not saith the Apostle receiued againe the spirite of bondage vnto feare but ye haue receiued the spirit of adoption by which wee crie Abba father This spirit testifieth with our spirit that God is our gratious father and if he our father wee his children and if his children heires of his glorious kingdome The preaching of the Lawe letteth vs see
our sinne but no remedie against the sting therof so that it maketh vs feare and with trembling looke for the reward of sinne which is euerlasting death But the spirite of adoption by the preaching of the Gospel telleth vs that in Christ we haue remission of sinnes we are reconciled vnto God and adopted by him we are his chosen children and may boldly and ioyfully call him father And this certainetie of our saluation the spirit of God testifieth to our spirit whereby we put away all seruile feare of punishment beeing assured of Gods constant fauour and eternall loue towardes vs who neuer leaueth vnfinished that which he hath begun nor forsaketh him whom he hath chosen 15 Therefore daungerous and desperate is that doctrine of the Papists which doth teache vs euer to be doubtfull and in suspence of our saluation A lamentable discomfortable and miserable estate Here it is in one woord confounded For Zacharie saith we are redeemed to serue him without feare or doubtfulnesse For where doubt is there is feare and what greater feare than of a thing so fearefull Hee that will serue God must serue him in a quiet and ioiefull conscience with a sure and vndoubted confidence of mercie and saluation in Christ the Lord of mercy With thee is mercie saith the Prophet that thou maist be feared As if hee should say Thou art full of clemencie and compassion and therfore we serue thee with a reuerent and without a seruile feare being perswaded of thy great mercie 16 Feare is euer of the inferior to the superior It is not required in the prince to feare the subiect the master the seruaunt the father the childe or the husband the wife but contrarie in all God feareth not man his creature man ought to feare God who hath created him to feare him as a louing father and not as men doe feare a fierce tyrant 17 The true feare which is required of vs is euer ioined with loue The good childe feareth to offende his father for that loue and reuerence he beareth to him and not in respect or for feare of punishment The honest and well natured wife that truely loueth her husband for the same cause feareth and taketh great heede least in any thing she should offend him Euen with such feare ought we to serue our God who is our father our Christ who is our spouse Of this godlie feare the Prophet Dauid saith Serue the Lord in feare And againe Feare the Lorde all yee his Saints Of this Christ speaketh Feare him which can destroie both bodie and soule This feare great goodnesse and happinesse doe accompany It is the beginning of true wisedome For all wisedome without the feare of God is but earthly fleshly and diuelish They that haue it shall be satisfied with all good things There is no want to them that feare him It causeth men to decline from euill it banisheth sinne woorketh repentance in mans heart and happie are all they that feare the Lorde as they cursed which feare him not If the Angell had feared the Lord he had still kept his place and glorious estate and not beene made of an Angell a diuel cast out of heauen into hell If Adam had loued and feared God hee had not beene banished out of paradise and throwne vpon the face of this cursed earth If the feare of God had not of old wanted the whole world had not beene drowned If the citie of Sodoma had feared God they might haue remained in prosperitie vntill this day If Cain had feared God he had not so trecherously murthered his brother If Cham he had not so shamefully discouered his father If Laban he had not so deceitfully dealt with Iacob If Pharao he would haue let Israel depart when GOD commaunded If Israell had loued and truely feared God they would not haue loathed Manna despised magistrates followed fleshly lusts murthered the Prophets crucified Christ and persecuted his Apostles If the Corinthians had feared God they would not haue beene so contentious so proude so adulterous neither would they so vncharitably haue iudged their brethren in things indifferent they would not haue condemned mariage the institutiō of God neither in such sort prophaned the holy Sacramēts of Christ. The feare of God wold haue brought forth better fruit in all these and the want therof brought forth this bad fruit 18 If the feare of God dwelt in our hearts the Gospel so truly and plentifully preached among vs would no doubt bring forth far more fruite after so many monitions perswasions and entreaties we would leade a better life When there are amongst vs many that breede contention and make diuision that lend out their monie vpon vsurie that pollute their neighbours bed with adulterie that shut vp the bowels of mercie and compassion and suffer Christ to begge crie and starue in the streetes that neither regard the heauenly message of their saluation nor esteeme the messenger by whom it is brought that shewe no reuerence to the woord of God but manifestly hate loath and despise it is it not too cleare and manifest that we feare not the Lord 19 If the feare of God were in vs would wee deale with the seruaunts of God as wee nowe doe The dealing of Hanun the sonne of Nahash towards Dauids seruaunts was not more villanous than the dealings of the world are with the honorable Embassadors of the most high God at this day Dauid sent his seruauntes to the king of the children of Ammon to comfort him straight vpon the death of his father The malitious Ammonites misconstruing their intent whispered in the eare of their Lord Thinkest thou that Dauid doth honour thy father or that he hath sent comforters vnto thee Are they not rather sent as spies to searche the citie and so to ouerthrowe it He had no sooner heard the name of a spie but hands were laide vpon Dauids seruants they were sent away with their beards halfe shauen and their coates cut off in the vnseemeliest place to his owne euerlasting ignominie and shame which so despitefully vsed men sent vnto him of meere loue and heartie meaning For the good king had no other drift or purpose in his heart but this I will shewe kindenesse to Hanun as his father shewed kindnesse vnto me The true Dauid the most mightie Prince the king of all kings hath in fauour mercie and reconciled loue sent his embassadors his ministers vnto you to comfort you in your griefes and to bring you ioiefull tidings of a kingdome which it hath pleased his father to bestowe vpon you These messengers ought of right to be honourably receiued Entreate such with honour saith the Apostle Nay such messengers are woorthie of double honour But behold they are taken as if they were spies they are accounted as the offscourings refuse baggage of the world not as the embassadors of the great
in their blinde zeale crucified their Lord Christ. They haue a zeale saith the Apostle but not according to knowledge If they had knowne the Lord of glorie they would neuer haue crucified him This blinde zeale causeth poore deceiued soules to thinke themselues zealously affected towardes Christ when they are stubbornely set for Antichrist Zeale without knowledge is not zeale but stomacke It is not true zeale but rather a brainsick giddinesse which causeth many to forsake their naturall home and to wander to Ierusalem there to woorship God as if they thought with Benadab king of Syria that God were the God of the hils and not of the valleies It is another thing to be eager and another thing to be zealous They deceiue themselues which thinke they doe the dutie of seruants zealously bent in their masters cause when they are sharpe without all sober and staied consideration reproouing them openly whom they ought priuately to admonish rashly condemning them whom they ought charitably to iudge as brethren 34 We must bee zealous in Gods cause For Angels themselues without zeale are nothing But our zeale must be as I saide with iudgement Ye are not ignorant what heroicall zeale there was in Moses in Elias in Iehu in Phinees in Mattâ—â—thias in Christ. This zeale this loue this true holinesse and heartie feare of God is abated in the best vtterly banished out of most men Where nowe in what corner of this earth shall we finde a man in zeale comparable vnto Dauid whom when the woord of God was contemned and his ministers despised the griefe the of had like to haue wasted away My zeale saith he hath euen melted me because mine enemies haue forgotten thy words What a crosse what atorment was the sinne of Sodom to the heart of iust Lot The small remorse which we haue for sinne sheweth our zeale is not verie great Let vs pray therefore to God as to increase our faith so to kindle true zeale in vs that wee may as Phinees with the sword of the holie ghost the woâ—d of God run through cut asunder and destroie all the filth and vncleannesse which lieth lurking in our hearts that wee cut off all our lewde affections our carnall lusts our lasciuious thoughts that wee may so mortifie the members of the bodie and rectifie the affections of the mind that with a chast life in bodie and soule we may glorifie our God Let vs pray for the zeale that was in Christ Iesus that wee may with the sharpe whippe of vnfained repentance driue out of our bodies which are the temples of Gods holie spirit all buying and selling all couetousnesse vsurie enuie lying deceite that wee giue not our bodies and soules to any such prophane vse but to be kept vncorrupt and pure as beseemeth the temples of his holie spirit that we may offer vp vnto God in the midst of these temples the sacrifice of an humble and of a contrite heart the sacrifice of righteousnesse the sacrifice of praise Let vs beseech him I say to inflame our hearts with true zeale that earnestly seeking our owne saluation and the safetie of others we may be zealous as the blessed Apostle was with the zeale of God euen holy and zealous before the Lord. 35 For as our zeale must bee coupled with iudgement and knowledge so with truth and synceritie God will not bee serued with fained holinesse and with counterfaite religion with outward shewes and with the lippes but with the heart In our praiers we must powre out our hearts before him in repentance our hearts must be rent asunder in our almes we must keepe a single heart when the word is preached we must open our hearts to receiue it whatsoeuer we doe in his seruice we must doe it heartily as to the Lord. For all our seruing of him is in vaine nay it is damnable if we seeke onely which way we may appeare holie and righteous vnto men Such as we would seeme to be we must bee in deede such we must appeare in truth before that Lorde who seeth our verie hearts and examineth our in most reines Let vs euer remember that God looketh vpon vs with open eyes he beholdeth in greatest darkenesse hee seeth the vnsearchable heart and thought of man no secret can be kept secret from him This would bridle in vs all inward wicked cogitations all outward wicked workes if we could well and as we should consider it For if we be ashamed and afraid to offend in the sight of man who hath onely power ouer our mortall bodie how much more should we be ouercome with shame and feare to sinne in the sight of that eternall God who hath power ouer bodie and soule to cast them both into eternall fire 36 Thus we are to serue our redeemer we are ransomed and bought to serue not for a day but for al our daies we are redeemed for euer to serue him for euer He that runneth is not crowned til he haue ended his race and then beginneth his glorie Iudas and Demas began to serue the Lorde but they were soone wearie their seruice was vnrewarded because it was vncontinued Onely he that continueth to the end shall be saued which saluation of our soules and bodies the Lord of his infinite mercies grant that wee may aspire vnto him in this life and attaine vnto him in the life to come through the merits of Iesus Christ to whom with the father and the holie ghost c. The eleuenth Sermon A Sermon made at Yorke ROM 13. 8 Owe nothing to any man but this to loue one another for he that loueth another hath fulfilled the Lawe 9 For this thou shalt not commit adulterie thou shalt not kill thou shalt not steale thou shalt not beare false witnesse thou shalt not couet and if there be any other commandement it is brieflie comprehended in this saying euen in this thou shalt loue thy neighbour as thy selfe 10 Loue doth not euill to his neighbour therefore is loue the fulfilling of the Lawe 11 And that considering the season that it is nowe time that we should arise from sleepe for nowe is our saluation neerer than when we beleeued it 12 The night is past and the daie is at hand let vs therfore cast away the works of darkenesse and let vs put on the armour of light 13 So that we walke honestly as in the day OVR Apostle in the former part of this Chapter hath diligently set downe as well the office and authoritie of a magistrate as also what dutie and obedience the subiects doe owe vnto him Hee was occasioned hereunto for that the Iewes the elect nation of God who therefore claimed to be a free people could not abide so to subiect theÌ„selues as to liue obediently vnder forrein Princes The Gentiles which nowe were become Christians thought it not agreeable to their holie profession to yeelde obedience vnto wicked magistrates
not to feare it at all but rather to take delight and pleasure in it to commit it as the Apostle saith with a kinde of greedinesse to count sinne no sinne to swallowe it down without any remorse or contradiction Their case is lamentable which are thus fallen asleepe and for the most part their end miserable Such was the sleepe of that riche man who hauing filled his barnes and prouided store for many yeeres incouraged himselfe to sensualitie Soule take thy rest You that loue the rest of your soules in deede keepe your soules waking and doe not suffer them to take rest Awake thou that sleepest and takest thy rest stand vp from the dead and Christ shall giue thee light It is time to awake we haue slept too long God would not haue vs to sleepe vnto death but to awake vnto life for he wil not the death of a sinner his desire is rather that we should repent Now is the time nowe Christ calleth thee nowe he stretcheth out his armes nowe he offereth mercie come vnto him and thou shalt finde true rest for thy wearied soule Long hath beene thy sleepe great hath beene thy sinne but God is full of compassion prest and readie not onely to graunt but to offer pardon If nowe wee refuse it offering it selfe to vs it will refuse vs hereafter when wee offer our selues to it 24 Of this we are not afraide because we sleepe as well in securitie as in sinne We must therefore be raised out of this sleepe also Mans life is a warfare and men are souldiers we must keepe our standing and watche least we be vnawares both assaulted and surprised We haue both many and mightie and fierce aduersaries The diuell who is violently and greedily set as an hungrie Lyon that roareth for his pray The worlde which hath infinite slights to deceiue vs The flesh which mightily striueth wrastleth against the spirite There is no place of securitie left for a Christian souldiers there being so many great dangers There is no where any place wherein it is safe to be secure Not in heauen saith Bernard nor in Paradise much lesse in the world In heauen the Angels fel from the verie presence of the Godhead Adam fel in Paradise from the place of pleasure and Iudas in the world from the schoole of our Sauiour In the time of Noe they liued in great securitie and the floud sodainely ouerwhelmed them In the time of Lot the Sodomites liued in as great securitie and were as soudainely consumed with fire Thus with fire and water securitie hath beene plagued God hath armed the verie elements against that thing wherein notwithstanding we continue as if we would trie whether hee which wakened them by sending water vpon the one and fire vpon the other would waken vs by causing the earth to swallowe vs vp What we should looke for GOD doth best knowe our securitie being the same with theirs can denounce no lesse to vs than it brought to them Wee crie peace peace what more euident token can there bee that our sodaine destruction is at hand Men are commonly neerest vnto perill both corporall and spirituall when their mindes are furthest from thinking of preuenting it It is written of the people which were in Laish that because they had no businesse with any bodie nor any bodie with them no man raised any tumult or vsurped any dominion in their Land and the place which they inhabited was good and lacked nothing therefore they dwelt carelesse quiet and sure Which when the spials sent foorth from the children of Dan had once perceiued they made no doubt of conquering the Land but encouraged their brethren and set them forward Be not slouthfull to goe and enter to possesse the Land If yee will goe ye shall come vnto a carelesse people the countrie is large surely GOD hath giuen it into your hands They went vp being onely sixe hundred men came to Laish found the people without all mistrust of danger put them to the sword and burnt vp their citie Their peace bred plentie their plentie securitie their securitie their destruction And as in daungers of the bodie so likewise or rather much more in perils which beset the soule we shal find those temptations most grieuous which assault vs at vnawares For this cause we are in scriptures so often called vpon to be watchefull Watche and praie saith our Sauiour that ye fall not into temptation Hee that falleth into temptation asleepe hardly riseth out of temptation aliue For if they that watch continually be not conquerors but with much adoe what shall become of them vpon whom Satan then laieth hands when beeing lustie and strong hauing whatsoeuer their hearts can wish they are at peace take their rest and because they haue no change therefore feare not GOD Surely their destruction is as the swelling of an high wall it commeth sodainely downe and they are fearefully consumed Watch therefore and sleepe not in securitie Blessed is he that watcheth 25 Our saluation is neerer than when we beleeued This is the second reason why we should cast away the workes of darkenesse and put on the armour of light We haue entred our names into the profession of Christianitie in our Baptisme we haue receiued the trueth by it wee seeke saluation wee haue beene long scholers we ought nowe to growe to some good perfection we draw now neere vnto the end therfore we shold amend our pace in this our course The neerer we come to the end of our race the faster we should run if we desired to get the reward we runne for Let vs doe so And seeing the race that we haue to run is euen in a maner finished and the crowne we run for is immortall let vs be earnest in the cause let vs cast off all hinderaunces and striue industriously vnto that saluation which is set before vs. Nowe that wee are almost as it were within the reache of the crowne of glorie let vs take strength vnto vs let vs double our courage encrease our zeale adde more and more vnto euerie good and perfect gift which wee haue receined from the father of light This the neerenesse of our saluation doth now especially require 26 Let them that sit in darkenesse and in the shadowe of death sleepe on But vnto vs the night is past Night in the scriptures is taken for ignorance the times whereof are now past The day starre is risen and hath appeared vnto vs. Christ the true light is come into the world he that nowe will walke in darknesse is not blinde but wilfull and runneth with open eyes to his owne damnation If the light had not come into the world if I had not spoken vnto them saith Christ they might haue pleaded ignorance but I haue tolde them the trueth therefore they are left without excuse Christ that light of the worlde hath appeared his crosse is painted out before our eyes If our
not into the temple as did Aaron wil hardly behaue themselues in the house of the Lord as Aaron did Iason obteined a superioritie in the Church by monie But howe behaued he himselfe in this his purchased function Began he not immediatly to drawe his brethren to the customes of the Gentiles Did hee not by and by change their Lawes and policies and bring vp newe statutes contrarie to their Lawe As the good sheepeheard entring in at the doore when he is entred guideth his sheepe as Dauid in the discretion of his hands feedeth them carefully with wholesome doctrine walketh in all vprightnesse of holie and vndefiled conuersation before them so he that climeth vp an other way after hee hath gotten himselfe in seeketh nothing but to steale kil and destroie The theefe commeth not but to steale to kill and to destroie Hee hath no other ende or purpose 13 The onely thing that should be desired by the pastor is the weale and benefite of his flocke For if the marke whereat wee shoote be but to make our commoditie by the Gospell of Iesus Christ wherein doe we differ from theeues and robbers Is not our intent and purpose the very selfesame with theirs Wherefore S. Peters exhortation is Feede the flocke of God caring for it not for filthie lucre but of a readie minde If a man haue al knowledge in so much that he be able to speake with tongues yea and to prophecie yet if the thing for which he laboureth be his owne gaine if he vse this vocation than which nothing is more pretious and holie onely as a way or trade to liue by whatsoeuer hee receiueth with such a minde he stealeth rather than receiueth it This is that whereof the Lorde complaineth so grieuously by his Prophets The priests teache for hire the prophets prophecie for monie yet will they leane vpon the Lord and say Is not the Lord among vs And againe These sheepeheards cannot vnderstand they all looke to their owne way euerie one for his aduantage and for his owne purpose Moses blessing Leuie before his death saith first They shall teache Iacob thy iudgements and Israel thy Lawe they shall put incense before thy face and then addeth Blesse O Lord his substance accept the worke of his hands As if he should haue saide So long as Leuie and his sonnes doe not seeke their owne commoditie but thy glorie thou art righteous and canst not forget to prouide in large maner both for them and theirs As indeede till the men of that sacred order tooke fleshhookes in their hands and sought to better their estate by force til they became like to greedie mastiues rauening curres who euer sawe the Leuite of the Lord forsaken or the sonne of the Leuite begging his bread So likewise the Church of GOD was neuer spoiled till her pastors were ouercarefull to be inriched In the prime and first appearing of Christian religion as long as that heroicall contempt of earthly things continued in the guides and leaders of the people what heapes of worldly treasure were brought and laide downe euen at their feete Men thought themselues to performe nothing worthie of that profession into which they were entred vnlesse they sold away their lands goods and possessions and gaue al to make thē rich by whose meanes thēselues were become righteous The contrarie to which affection as in other parts of the Christian world so in this also hath taken such roote and is growen nowe so strong that God may iustly charge vs as sometime he did his owne people saying Ye haue spoiled me euen this whole Nation If therefore we be grieued as who is not grieued to see the hauocke that is made of the Church of GOD let vs change our earthly and worldly affection that he may change the condition of his Church God is no puruey or for theeues and robbers Let vs in synceritie and in truth heartily and in deede despise our own gaine for his glorie and prooue him if hee will not rebuke these deuourers for our sakes 14 The next thing which Christ obserueth in theeues is this they destroie the flocke and make as litle conscience to kill as to steale They kill not the bodies but the soules of men The life of the soule is the word of truth wherein whosoeuer hath taken vpon him to instruct the flocke of Christ and either cannot or wil not doe it what doth he else but kil and destroie Moses speaking of the obedience of Israel to the Lawes and statutes of their God This is saith he your wisedome But howe came Israel by that wisedome Did they naturally knowe the Lord as beasts doe naturally knowe their dammes No The Lord said vnto me saith Moses Gather the people together and I wil cause them to heare my woordes that they may learne to feare me all the daies that they shall liue vpon the earth and that they may teache their children So they came neere and stoode vnder the mountaine and were taught of God which spake vnto them out of the midst of the fire Thus God taught Israel then Afterward he raised vp prophets among them of their owne brethren and they were taught by men like vnto themselues Neither hath God at any time ceased and left off but from the beginning of the world to this verie houre he hath giuen men knowledge by instruction and saued his elect by teaching Can not God then giue wisedome from aboue without a teacher Yes God is able to mainteine the life of man without bread But why doe we talke of his absolute power when his wil is that Cornelius be taught by Peter Lydia by Paul Paul by Ananias the Eunuch by Philip euerie soule that is wise in the doctrine of saluation by Apostles Prophets Euangelists teachers appointed for the gathering together of the Saints for the worke of the ministerie and for the edification of the bodie of Christ. As therefore he that wil liue must eate so he that will bee saued must haue a teacher Wherefore when the Lorde meant a blessing to his people hee made them this promise I will giue you pastors according to my heart which shall feede you with knowledge and vnderstanding When their pastors were voide of knowledge and vnderstanding this was euer a token that their ruine and destruction was at hande Come nowe saith the prophet all ye beasts of the field come to deuoure euen all the beasts of the forrest this people cannot continue nowe they must needes perish for their watchemen are all blinde they haue no knowledge they are all dumme dogges and cannot barke they lie asleepe and delight in sleeping We are vnworthie of our liues if we doe not acknowledge the woonderfull blessing of God in our ministerie at this day For howsoeuer it bee debased by some yet is it so farre off God be thanked from the state of the Iewish Clergie in those daies that I am perswaded
lawfull when maidens are asked to wiues of their parents and are giuen by them openly to their husbandes otherwise they are not mariages but whoredomes The best writers both olde and newe subscribe hereunto Tertullian Ambrose Chrysostome Augustine with all the learnedst of latter times whose particular sentences I omit to recite for breuities sake But if youthfull children haue so litle reuerence both of God and men that such admonition wil not make them leaue such disordered mariages it behooueth magistrates who are the common parentes of the weale publike to bridle their lusts with seuere Lawes for the redresse of this euill and the mischiefes ensuing of it And thus much of S. Peters entraunce into his sermon the sermon doeth followe 33 Ye knowe the word which God hath sent to the children of Israel preaching peace by Iesus Christ and so foorth The summe of the sermon is this Iesus Christ which is Lord of all the preacher and author of peace did faithfully performe the office for the which he was sent preaching to the people the glad tidings of the Gospell and healing all their diseases for God was with him and hee was slaine and hanged on tree the thirde day he arose again from death he ascended into heauen from thence shall he come to iudge the quicke and the dead to whom all the prophets beare witnesse that through his name all that beleeue in him shall haue remission of their sinnes Such as this is were the sermons of the Apostles Here is all things necessarie to saluation expressed This is that which God commanded his great Apostle S. Peter to preache In this doctrine would hee haue his people trained vp The people receiued it as a sufficient doctrine Peter and Paul were directed by one spirite they neither esteemed to knowe any thing but Iesus Christ and him crucified neither could they testifie or preache ought but him This sermon is diuided into three parts the first that Iesus Christ the Lord of all was sent vnto the people of Israel to preache peace the next that he died rose againe from death to procure vs this peace the last that we are made partakers of this peace by faith in his name Iesus Christ the Lord of all was sent vnto the people of Israel to preache peace Let vs weie the words seuerally they are most effectuous fully setting foorth the mysterie of our saluation 34 Iesus by the interpretation of the Angel is a sauiour Thou shalt call his name Iesus for he shall saue his people from their sinnes The Angel appearing to the sheepeheards saide Behold I bring you tidings of great ioie that shall be to al the people that is that vnto you is born this day a Sauiour The Ethnikes doe seeke their safetie in their idols the Iewes in the obseruances of the Lawe and traditions the Papistes in their pardons purgatorie masses merites the true Christians seeke it in Iesus Christ the Sauiour and in none but him He will not be matched therein with any other but he is a full perfect and onely Sauiour He is the Lambe of God that taketh away the sin of the world There is neither water nor fier buls nor bels masses nor merites pope nor pardon that can saue vs. There is neither diuel or flesh nor world if he saue vs that can condemne vs. For who can condemn whom he doth iustifie And whom he iustifieth not who can saue Christ is annointed And Iesus is called so because hee was annointed of God aboue his fellowes Whereupon Esay the prophet writeth of him The spirit of the Lord is vpon me for he hath annointed me Annointed he was to be a king and priest for they among the Iewes were woont to be annointed Hee is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords The wise men of the East did acknowledge him a king Where is he that is borne king of the Iewes Zacharie sheweth further what maner of king Behold thy king commeth to thee meeke and riding vpon an asse and vpon a colt the foale of an asse This our king doth gouerne vs with a right scepter The scepter of thy kingdome is a scepter of righteousnesse He doth defend vs with a mightie and stretched out arme against whose power no power can stand He is that triumphant prince which hath most victoriously vanquished and throwen vnder foote our enemies They labour in vaine that kicke against the prickes that striue against his Gospel For he is a prince of might that doeth defend it and the gates of hell shall not preuaile against it The sunne wil runne his course the passage of the Gospel cannot bee stopped The Gospel is not bound While it is persecuted it is inlarged The bloud that is spilt for it is the very seede of it Nowe as he is our king so our priest and prophet too at whose mouth wee should require the Lawe of God That prophet like vnto Moses the searcher of truth That very sonne of God of whom the father hath saide Ipsum audite Heare ye him He is the priest which once for all hath sufficiently sacrificed for our sins by himselfe and by none other once and not often vpon the crosse and not vpon the altar sufficient for all such as shall be saued He is the priest the high bishop that maketh intercession for vs the onely mediator betweene God and man to teach man the wil of God to reconcile God to man to make intercession betweene God and man These are the peculiar duties of Christ as wee are taught in the Epistle to the Hebrues 35 Which is Lord of all Least the Gentiles should conceiue that Iesus Christ was promised and sent to be a Sauiour onely to the Iewes hee answereth that obiection by a preuention so to terme it calling him Lord of all the Lord of the Gentile as wel as of the Iewe. Christ wil that all men shall be saued that is men of all sorts He was sent to preache peace to all both Iewes and Gentiles He is the Lord ouer all euen the Lord of glorie to whō all power is giuen both in heauen and in earth He hath bought vs al with a great price that we should serue him in holinesse and righteousnesse Let vs remember therefore that of the prophet If I be a Lord where is my feare saith the Lord of Hosts Feare not them which kil the bodie but be not able to kill the soule but rather feare ye him which is able to destroie both bodie and soule in hell 36 Which God hath sent When the fulnesse of time was come God sent forth his sonne made of a woman and made vnder the Lawe that he might redeeme them which were vnder the Lawe He was made man for vs that in our nature he might suffer for vs. He was sent of his father being equall
Come apart into the wildernesse and rest a while This lesson is gladly learned and too much practised Requiescite pleaseth euerie man The trueth is that the bodie and minde of man must after labour be refreshed with rest But he which laboureth not is altogether as vnwoorthie to rest as to eate Againe such as will take rest and ease after labours must learne of Christ as well to measure their ease as their paines Hee permitteth his Disciples to take their rest but he limiteth and restraineth his permission saying Rest a while For by too much rest men are not made the more fit but the lesse willing to take paine There is no one fault from which the wise man doth so much indeuour to withdrawe men as from sloth For this cause he putteth vs so often in minde of the great blessings which God doth heape vpon the painefull man The hand of the diligent shall beare rule Hee that tilleth his land shall he satisfied with bread c. Againe indeuouring to set out the liuely paterne of a perfect woman such a one as can hardly be found amongst a thousand hee noteth this as a chiefe and principall vertue in her She laboureth cheerefully her candle goeth not out she ouerseeth the waies of her houshold and eateth not the bread of idlenesse As for the slothfull he did not onely hate them himselfe but laboured by all meanes to make them odious sometime by setting their forlorne estate before mens eyes I passed by the field of the slothfull and by the vineyard of the man destitute of vnderstanding and loe it was all growne ouer with thornes and nettles had couered the face therof and the stone wall therof was broken downe sometimes by shewing their excuses and shifts to auoide labour The slothful man saith A Lâ—on is without I shall be slaine in the streetes sometimes by describing their lasie gestures As the dore turneth vpon his hinges so doth the slothfull man vpon his bed he hideth his hand in his bosome and it grieueth him to put it to his owne mouth sometimes by deriding their vnwillingnesse to take their leaue of their rest Yet a litle sleepe a litle slumber a litle folding of the hands And what is the ende Pouertie commeth as one that trauelleth by the way and necessitie like an armed man Wherefore though wearinesse though labour and trauell doe cause thee to desire necessarie rest yet beware that the sweetnes of rest doe not cause thee to thinke that labour is vnnecessarie Rest but rest a litle 10 The last cause that I gather of Christs going into the wildernesse was as it may be coniectured to auoide the feast of Easter at Ierusalem For so the Euangelist speaketh Easter a festiuall daie of the Iewes was nowe at haâ—de It seemeth strange that Christ the example of all good order behauiour should flie from this solemne feast of Easter which he himselfe by his Prophet Moses had straitly commaunded to be obserued and kept You must therefore consider that the Iewes neglected the commandement of God and in stead thereof set vp their owne traditions as S. Paul recordeth so that the temple was nowe become a denne of theeues Christ therefore auoyded too much fellowship with this wicked generation For what societie hath righteousnesse with vnrighteousnesse what communion hath light with darkenesse what concord hath Christ with Belial what part hath the beleeuer with the infidell what agreement hath the temple of God with idols In this we ought all to followe Christ all to flie as he did from the place where the seruice of God is openly prophaned and his name intolerably blasphemed Depart depart goe out from thence Choose rather to suffer want in the wildernes with Christ than to enioye the pleasures of the worlde with an euil conscience to be partakers of the word of life in a desert than to raigne where the aduersarie of Christ and Christianitie beareth sway God be praised for euer in our Churches of England to our great comfort God is serued euen in such sort as him selfe by his holie woord hath prescribed So that no miscontented person can alleage any reason sufficient why to withdraw him selfe from our assemblies Our Church-praiers are the Psalmes our lessons the scriptures our sacraments according to Christes institution Which thing not many yeeres sithence I alleaging vnto one of no small account nowe in Louain his aunswere was I must confesse that is good which you haue in your Churches but the trueth is you haue not ynough Indeede wee haue lesse in their eye than ynough But if we weie things according vnto that rule What soeuer I commaund you take heede you doe it thou shalt put nothing thereto nor take ought there from then can it not be denied but that our litle is sufficient and their more is too much 11 As these considerations droue Christ into the wildernes so the Euangelist setteth foorth some motiues which caused so great a multitude to followe him Some were drawne with the strangenesse of those things which hee wrought and taught amongst them To whom in these our daies wee may compare them which haunt sermons for no other end but either vainly to hearken for newes or curiously to note what order eloquence they may finde in the preacher or maliciouslie to take holde of things spoken when they may by froward construction be drawen to an offensiue meaning These labour to their owne losse they are vnprofitable followers 12 Others followed Christ for bread Such followers our times haue brought out to many So long as the Gospell can feede cherish and mainteine them they are willing and glad to be professors of it but when persecution commeth they shrink A great sort of halting and dissembling ministers doe now occupie roomes in the Church which in heart hate the Gospell yet for bread sake they are contented to goe in the same ranke with the followers of Christ Iesus But he knoweth their secret cogitations and will one day make them knowne vnto others what they are 13 Sundrie there were which followed for a desire which they had of bodilie health For Christ went about healing euerie maladie and euerie infirmitie in the people We see by daily experience that the bodie is more cared for than the soule the flesh than the spirite the carcase than the minde If the bodie be diseased we seeke phisicke and are willing to paie well for it to preserue the bodie from griefe and sickenesse who is not carefull but where is hee that studieth howe to auoide the diseases of the soule that mortifieth the noysome desires of the fleshe that keepeth his heart in awe and subiection that dieteth himselfe according to the rules which that blessed Physitian hath prescribed Chrysostome findeth great fault with parents in this behalfe who if their children fall sicke in bodie weepe and lament but if they be neuer so grieuously
vexed and tormented with sinne they make light or no account of it These men loue the bodies of their children as it seemeth better than their soules So this fraile carcase this bodie of claie is much made of To procure things good and comfortable for it we can be content to trauel sea and lande to be at any cost to endure any paines If health may be had though it be in a wildernesse it wil be sought 14 The last and best sort of followers were such as followed Christ to heare his word This is that trauell that chiefly is required of a Christian. Seeke first the kingdome of God This declareth vs to be his children to be his flocke He that is of God heareth Gods woord My sheepe heare my voice Thus you see the causes why Christ was followed of the multitude 15 Christ was quietly set with his Disciples in the mount when this people approched The hill as S. Chrysostome noteth may represent the kingdome of God the inheritors whereof are alwaies delighted to clime vpward to seeke those thinges that be aboue to take pleasure in nothing but that which is from heauen Christ and his Disciples being on the top of the mount were quiet And the Church of Christ euen in the wildernesse in the midst of affliction doth in him finde rest In the worlde saith our Sauiour You shall haue distresse but haue confidence I haue ouercome the world these things haue I spoken vnto you that in me you may haue peace Vpon this assurance Peter being in prison and in cheines slept quietly the Prophet Dauid in the midst of persecution tooke sweete and pleasaunt rest I lay mee downe saith he and sleepe in peace for thou Lord onely makest mee dwell in safetie 16 Nowe followeth the miracle which our Sauiour wrought by occasion of the multitude which was there assembled together with him and his Disciples In this there are many things conteined very woorthie of your good and godlie considerations which for orders sake we may reduce to the persons of the people of the Disciples and of Christ. Concerning the people the words of the Euangelist S. Iohn are these Sequebatur eum turba multa A great troupe followed him But S. Marke more liuely expressing the great zeale and desire they had to the Gospel of Christ saith They ran flocking thither on foote out of all Cities In whom we haue first to obserue that they were not of the Princes nor of the priests which came vnto him but turba the common and vulgar sort Num quis ex principihus Doth any of the rulers or of the Pharisees beleeue in him Not many noble not many wise saith the Apostle The noble and mightie loued libertie of life and feared mutations The wise were circumspect and sawe that the Gospel would marre their workes Onely the people they which were basely accounted of in the worlde they which knewe not the Lawe came vnto Christ. 17 The second thing to be obserued in them is their cheerefulnesse their alacritie their zeale and courage They came not dragging their legges after them they ran vnto Christ. Neither care of things at home nor feare of daunger abroade neither the length of the waie thither nor the lacke of lodging and foode there neither the feare of the Priests the Scribes and Pharisees the knowne and professed enemies of Christ nor any other by respect in the worlde was able to staie them Shall not this people rise vp in iudgement thinke you against vs whom God hath by so many blessings allured and as it were entised to come vnto him and notwithstanding findeth vs so farre from this cheerefull and gladsome following of him that when hee doth followe and seeke after vs we turne our backes and flie from him Could wee doe thus if indeede we did beleeue that he hath the woords of eternall life and that as many as continue with him to the end they shall be saued 18 The thirde thing especially to be noted in this people is that their willingnesse to come was not greater then their readynesse to obey him vnto whom they came For when they were willed to sit downe vpon the grasse although they were so many and had so little in sight before them for what were fiue loaues and two fishes to relieue almost fiue thowsand men neuerthelesse they made no aunswere they gainsaide not but without contradiction did that which they were commaunded Elisha prophecied in the name of the Lorde and promised plentie to the people of Samaria being grieuouslie afflicted with extreeme famine But a Prince in great fauour and authoritie with the king replyed against the man of God Though the Lorde woulde make windowes in the heauen could this thing come to passe The same Prophet sent one to Naman the Syrian with this message Goe and washe thee in Iordan seuen times and thy fleshe shall come vnto thee againe and thou shalt bee cleansed But Naman replied Are not Abanah Pharphar riuers of Damascus better than all the waters of Israell may I not wash me in them and be clensed This is the manner of the wise ones in the worlde when they should obey God they reason and dispute the matter with him as if he knewe not what hee did But the faith of this people did subdue their witte and reason to the sacred worde and will of God 19 This may suffice concerning the people Of the Disciples of our Sauiour it is said that They made the people to sit downe Hence Ministers Pastours and Teachers may learne that sith God hath ordained them as the meanes whereby the elect must be brought to the obedience of Christ Iesus they cannot approue their fidelitie vnto him except they bee carefull to fulfill the worke for which he hath appointed them I say vnto you that many shall come from the East and West and shall sit downe with Abraham Isaac and Iacob in the kingdome of heauen In this sense that wee might also sit downe Christ hath established those high and holie functions before mentioned Wherefore S. Paule professeth that for this cause he receiued grace and Apostleship that obedience might be yeelded to the faith amongst all nations For this he laboured as in other places so in Corinth also both deliuering them the doctrine which he had receiued and executing amongest them the discipline which their grieuous abuses did deserue 20 The seconde thing to be noted in the Disciples is that they neither purloyned nor chaunged the peoples foode They receiued bread and they deliuered bread But there are deceiptfull workmen which haue entred by a postern gate into the Church which preache and deliuer not what they haue receiued at the handes of Christ but what Antichrist hath deliuered them For sweete breade they giue soure leauen for wheat darnell for wholsome meate venimous poyson for the word of God the doctrines of man for
feare me whose God is their bellie and whose felicitie is meate and drinke Our excesse this way is intollerable and abhominable we striue to equall almost Vitellius who had serued vnto him at one feast 2000. fishes 7000. birds and Heliogabalus that monster of the worlde who at one supper was serued with 600. ostriches There is no birde that flieth no fish that swimmeth no beast that moueth which is not buried in our bellies This excesse is an enemie both to wealth health it hath cut off much housekeeping and brought many men to extreme beggerie and as many great diseases are cured by abstinence so fulnesse hath beene the cause of sundrie straunge and vnwoonted sicknesses Aurelian the Emperour did neuer sende for phisitian in time of his sicknesse but cured himself only by thin diet And as immoderate feeding doth much hurt to the bodie so it is more noysome to the minde For as the grounde if it receiue too much raine is not watered but drowned and turneth into myre which is neither fit for tillage nor for yeelding of fruite so our flesh ouerwatered with wine is not fit to admit the spirituall plough or to bring foorth the celestiall fruites of righteousnesse The herbes that growe about it will be lothsome and stinking weedes as brawling chiding blasphemie slaunder periurie hatred manslaughter and such like bad workes of drunkennesse and darkenesse Are not these vnsauourie fruites ynough to make vs abhor the tree A drunken bodie is not a man but a swine fit for Diuels to enter into For these sins are against nature which being moderately refreshed is satisfied being stuffed is hurt violated deformed God hath giuen vs his creatures soberly to vse and not so shamefully to abuse we should if we did well feede the body to serue not to rule to obey not to leade the spirite I chastise my body sayth S. Paul and bring it into seruitude Is it not perillous trow you to pamper make strong our aduersarie or haue we a greater or stronger enemie than our rebellious flesh Ful bellied drunkards are no better then traytors in this spirituall warre Ge â—deon a figure of Christ would no other souldiers to fight against the Madianites but such as stood tooke vp water in their haÌ„d lickt it out of such there were but 300. in number the rest y t were afraide or lay downe to drinke their fill he sent away they were not for his purpose Such filled bellies were not fit to serue God nor able to fight against the Madianites Satan and sin Gods and Gods peoples enemies The Israelites lusted after quailes but to their owne confusioÌ„ Esau for his belly sake sold his birth right inheritance Beware their examples Lucullus a Romaine had a seruant alwaies at his elbow to pul him by the sleeue at such times as he porred in too fast But we haue the blessed Apostle of Christ the seruaunt of God to put vs in minde of sobrietie in diet Nor in diet onely but also in attire 10 A mans apparell laughter gate doth shew his nature In apparell this is to be obserued that auoyding vanitie pride therein euery man weare according to his calling Iohn Baptist ware a rough cote of camels haire But SalomoÌ„ vsed rich glorious apparel yet both vsed y t which did become theÌ„ There is no more holinesse in a Fryers coule than in a sheepheardes cloke Yet that is comely in one which is not seemely in an another Saint Paule is verie earnest with women and requireth them to goe in sober apparell decking themselues with shamfastnes and modestie not with brodered haire or with golde or pearles or sumptuous attire but as becommeth women that professe the feare of God And S. Peter telleth theÌ„ that their godlie mother Sara went soberly apparelled Sara was a good woman a rich woman and a noble woman such as followe hir footesteppes neede not be ashamed Yet doe I not condemne all other apparell yea euen such apparell as is costlie and gorgious may be fit for some states and personages I doe not doubt but that Hester and Iudith did weare golde and were gorgiously decked But if Paule and Peter did liue in our dayes they would not spare the vanitie of our women much lesse of our men The vaine and monstrous apparell of all other countries and nations Englande hath scraped together and in a brauerie put it on the estimation whereof is this A light wauering minde matched with a vaine proude heart desireth a light vaine strange proude and monstrous apparell to couer and cladde it withall But sobrietie is content with that which is seemely Be sober in your apparell 11 Be yee sober also in your speech and gesture Be slowe to speake and when you speake let your woordes be so seasoned that they may be wholsome and not offensiue to the hearer Let no lewde speech proceede from your mouthes A mans speech and gesture will bewray his thoughtes The talke of a foole is vnsauourie altogether and his gesture vncomely but a wise mans vnderstanding is seene euen in his lookes A foole exalteth his voice in laughter but the man that is soberly minded will scarcely smile to himselfe He that is guiltlesse hideth not his face but the murderers heade is in his bosome Our outwarde actions are liuelie tokens of our inwarde disposition from which they proceede Wherefore it greatly behooueth al estates and conditions of men both inwardly in minde and outwardly in diet attire speech and gesture to be sober 12 With sobrietie S. Peter ioyneth watchfulnesse Be sober and watching I will not heere recite vnto you the manifolde kindes of watching whereof the Scriptures make mention but rather note a fewe vnto you most necessarie and such as the Apostle chieflie meaneth Before we can watch we must be wakened Wherefore he sayth Awake thou that sleepest and stande vp from the dead and Christ shall giue thee light He speaketh not of naturall sleeping but of a sleepe which is in death He that liueth in pleasures is dead being aliue and they that wake vnto sinne are asleepe vnto righteousnesse All such as liue in error and lie in sinne are but dead men in the sight of God Aristotle saith that seuen houres of sleepe suffice naturally the bodie Let it suffice the soules of men to haue slept in the lappe of Antichrist 700. yeares and to haue beene rocked so long in the cradell of that deadly errour It is now high time to awake and arise from the dreames of poperie for they are not sickly but deadly At the length let Christ shine vnto thee the light of his Gospell if thou embrace it will driue away the darke cloudes of errour and ignoraunce Awake I say at the sounde of Gods woord from thy former superstition and at length embrace the trueth which will be as a lanterne nay as a bright shining starre to guide thee vnto
wee are not consumed because his compassions faile not but are renewed euerie morning great is his faithfulnesse Being mindfull therefore of these his mercies let vs as thankfull seruauntes offer vnto this our mercifull God this sacrifice of righteousnesse neuer ceasing to magnifie and praise his name O Lorde we acknowledge this to be thy worke without any merite or deserte of ours Wee blesse thee wee praise thee we thanke thee for it accept O Lorde this our seruice and sacrifice in thy great mercie 22 The seconde part of this our sacrifice of praise is to poure out requestes and supplications Let vs herein with humble and penitent heartes with sure trust that God will heare vs out of heauen craue at his mercifull handes the deliueraunce of his annointed our Soueraigne Ladie out of all distresse from the rebellion of Absolon from the counsell of Achitophell from the rage and furie of all that conspire to do hir harme Thou knowest O Lorde that shee hath not deserued this treacherie at their handes being most milde and mercifull doing good vnto all hurting none Therefore O Lorde according to thy mercifull woont as thou hast done hitherto so deliuer protect and defend hir still finish that which thou hast most graciouslie begune bridle O Lorde hir enemies and ours let them knowe their madnes open their eies and cause them plainely to see that they cannot preuaile against thy chosen seruaunt that they cannot cast downe or bring into ignominy hir whom thou hast set vp and placed in honour Giue grace O Lorde if it bee thy good pleasure that they may enter into themselues examine their own heartes see their sinne repent them of their wickednesse abstaine from farther proceeding that thou in thie mercy maiest shew them grace and fauour in the ende And graunt O Lorde that we which professe thy holie name may still offer vnto thee the sacrifice which thou requirest euen the sacrifice of righteousnesse that the minister of thy worde may sincerely and diligently preach thy Gospell that being a good example to the flocke and leading a godlie an vpright life he maie bring thee the offrings of many soules vnto the stretching out of thy glorious kingdome amongst men Grant that princes Magistrats whom thou hast set in authority may without feare or fauor offer also this sacrifice in vpright deciding of controuersed causes and seuere punishing of malefactours Finallie giue this grace O Lorde wee beseech thee to thy whole flocke for wee are thy flocke the sheepe of thy pasture that wee all may offer vnto thee our goodes our bodyes and our soules for they are thyne Graunte that we maie liberallie bestowe our goodes to the needefull reliefe of thy poore Sainctes that wee may mortefie our bodyes and cheerefullie offer them if neede so require to anye kynde of tormente for thie sake that in soule wee maye offer thee the sacrifice of true repentance for our sinnes of hartie thankes for thy great grace of earnest sute for continuance of thy mercie and fauour towardes vs. We humblie beseech thee O father for the merites of thy deere sonne vpon whom as vpon our aultar we offer vp all our sacrifice bowe downe thy mercifull eare to our petitions extend thy mercies to thy litle flocke preserue our gracious Queene and so direct the heartes of all which beare authority vnder hir that by their good gouernment wee may leade a peaceable and a quiet life in all godlynesse and honestie To thee O mercifull father with thy Sonne Christ Iesus our onely redeemer and that blessed spirit our sweete comforter three persons one God be all honour and praise both now and euer The two and twentieth Sermon A Sermon preached at Pauls Crosse at his remouing to Yorke 1. COR. 13. 11 For the rest brethren fare yee well be perfect be of good comforte be of one minde liue in peace And the God of loue peace shalbe with you AFTER that our Apostle S. Paul as a faithfull teacher a wise stewarde a louing father a vigilant watchman a diligent labourer a seuere punisher of all sinne had with a good conscience painefully trauailed a long time with the famous citie of Corinth omitting no part of Apostolicall dutie opening vnto them all the mysteries of Christ the whole counsell of God all the secretes of his truth at the length by the goodwill and calling of God being else where appointed to preach the Gospell hee forgetteth them not in the time of his absence but as by word afore so stil by writing endeuoureth to leade them on Wherfore being now to make an ende both of speaking and writing vnto them hee most louinglie taketh his leaue and with his farewel giueth them this sweete exhortation Be perâ—it be of good comfort be of one minde liue in peace and the God of loue and peace shall be with you 2 My present case is not much vnlike although I my selfe bee most vnlike for happie were hee that might followe so blessed a guide though it were with far vnequall paces The citie is like the people are like my departure from you is like but the performing of my office amongest you I must confesse hath ben much vnlike And good cause why for God alike hath not bestowed his gracious giftes Yet my conscience beareth me record I haue endeuored to treade in the same steps And in doctrine which is the chiefest point I dare affirme euen the same which the holy Apostle doth I haue deliuered no other vnto you then that which I haue receiued of the Lord yea safely in the sight of the most high God I may saie with him you haue receiued of vs not the word of men but as it was in deede the worde of God In distribution whereof neither haue I vsed flatterie as you know neither coloured couetousnesse the Lorde will testifie neither haue I sought mine owne praise my heart is witnesse And this testimonie of conscience that I haue dealt sincerely in the house of God as touching doctrine hath bene my great reliefe and comfort in all the stormy troubles which by the mighty assistance of almighty God I haue waded throwe Concerning diligence in the execution of mine office although I haue had a ready will yet my weake body being not answerable to my desire as all flesh herein is faultie so for my part I must pleade guiltie One debt and duety with S. Paule I protest I haue truelie paide you for with a tender affection I haue loued you The nurce was neuer more willing to giue the breast vnto hir childe then I haue beene that you shoulde sucke not onely milke but also bloude from mee if it might stande you in steede or serue to your safetie God hee knoweth that with this loue I haue loued you In vsing correction I haue sought reformation and not reuenge to punish hath bene a punishment to my selfe I neuer did it but with great griefe I haue alwaies
of the Prophet might neuer be more trulie and generallie applied there is no feare of God Zeale is euen quenched religion almost dead true deuotion abolished from the heartes of men There is not a godlie man left vpon earth or if there be if God haue reserued to himselfe at this present manie thousandes as I doubt not but hee hath of godlie men yet howe harde is it to finde one amongest those many thousandes which daylie goeth forwarde profiting and perfiting himselfe in Godlinesse 13 Whereat we can not greatlie merueile For if men growe so colde as wee daylie see they doe in charitie loue and brotherlie kindenesse towardes men whom they see they must needes be colder in loue towardes God whom no man euer sawe Thus because our profiting in all these partes of inwarde perfection hath beene hitherto very slowe it is therefore needefull to put you in minde of this present exhortation Concerning that which remayneth brethren be perfect 14 It is not ynough to seeke for inward perfection vnlesse we also indeuour to be outwardly perfect If we haue the ripenesse of men in knowledge we may not shewe the fondnesse of children in behauiour To say we haue faith what auaileth it except we haue workes also See we not that the faith of Abraham was effectuall and wrought with his workes and that through his works his faith was made perfect Are we sincerely religious towardes God Pure religion and vndefiled before God euen the father is this to visite the fatherlesse and widowes in their aduersitie and to keepe our selues vnspotted of the worlde Doe wee professe loue and charitie towardes our brethren Let the whole course and practise of our life as neare as possiblie we can be sincere vpright sounde and perfect For broken dealinges are as odious in the sight of God as they are grieuous and offensiue towards men Let your loue appeare by your good fruites your workes of Charitie And if yee haue layde a good foundation of this alreadie finish the worke which ye haue begunne in that which ye doe studie howe to abounde Be not wearie of well doing As in that which is past so for that which remaineth brethren we beseech you and exhort you in the Lorde Iesus that yee increase more and more not onely coueting spirituall giftes and being studious of good workes but also seeking to excell in them that in all thinges ye may be made rich in Christ in all vertue and in all speech 15 The mouth of the foole sayth Salomon is fedde with foolishnesse But let your speech sayth the Apostle be gracious alwayes and powdered with salt Perfection herein ought so much the more earnestly to be desired by howe much it is the more hardly obteyned in this than in other thinges As by vsing the bitte in the mouth of a horse his whole bodie is turned about and as by mouing the rudder a ship is directed whether soeuer it pleaseth the minde of the gouernour so he that is perfect to rule the tongue with skill is able to rule all the bodie with ease But the tongue is an vnrulie euill full of deadly poyson Therefore as many as desire to be perfect must keepe a continuall watch before their lippes that if an vnsauourie worde escape them they may lay their handes on their mouthes betimes that if they haue spoken vnaduisedlie once they may answere no more or if twise yet proceede no further This vse shall breede such perfection in the end that all our talke shall be gratious all out words well seasoned all our speech and communication become such as that whereof the wise man speaketh in the booke of Ecclesiasticus saying The talke of him that feareth God is all wisedome 16 With these thinges if we ioyne that perfection also which S. Iames mentioneth Let patience haue her perfect worke wee shall then fully answere our Apostles exhortation we shall be perfect and entire lacking nothing Nowe the God of all grace which hath called vs vnto his eternall glorie by Christ Iesus make you perfect confirme strengthen and stablish you 17 Our Apostle verie fitly hauing exhorted vs to be perfect addeth in the next place consolationem habete be of good cōfort For as many as seeke to be perfect shall finde many greeuous hinderaunces to staie them in their course necessarie therefore it is that in this respect they should be comforted There is no one part or degree of perfection wherin the righteous godly do not finde many great occasions offred quite to discourage and daunt their hearts S. Paul was perfect and ripe in the knowledge of Iesus Christ and it was obiected against him as a token of extreme furie Multae literae te ad insaniam redigunt much learning makes thee mad Abraham for the great perfection of his faith is called the father of them that beleeue but howe sore were those assaultes that withstoode his hope and assurance in the promise The godlines of Iob was so absolute and perfect that God him selfe doth as it were make a vaunt of him vnto Satan Has◠thou not considered my seruant Iob howe none is like him in the earth an vpright and iust man one that feareth God escheweth euill Yet howe neere was he brought to the gulfe of destruction both of bodie and soule The loue wherewith the holie Apostle embraced the Church of Corinth was so strong and perfect that hee wished euen to be bestowed and spent for their soules but what a discouragement was this vnto him that the more he did loue the lesse he was loued Touching the prophet Ieremie whether we consider his dealinges his speakinges or his sufferinges we see there was great integritie in all but his wrestlings and striuinges with the wicked were so irkesome and tedious vnto him that he seemed sometimes more then halfe resolued to giue ouer all as if it were but bootlesse to striue longer All which notwithstanding wee are heere exhorted to be of good comfort for as much as although our hinderances be great yet sure we are safelie to passe through them they can not damme vp the way betweene vs and the kingdome of heauen Through this strait way our brethren haue passed before vs and wee neede not feare to followe after Christ himselfe hath gone before by a farre harder passage than his meaning is to leade any of vs by Thinke it therefore no strange thing for the perfect to suffer be not discomforted or dismayde at it knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren which are in the worlde If we patiently suffer with him and thē we shall gloriously be crowned with him and them It is true that the godlie the iust and perfect haue fierce aduersaries mightie enemies the diuell with his lost and forsaken traine the worlde full of baites and allurements vnto euill the flesh euer readie and greedie to take them But haue confidence sayth our sauiour
into them also the selfesame blessing of increase and fruitfulnesse And as vnto these so likewise vnto man the greatest in honour though in order the last of all his creatures he gaue the same power to spread out himselfe by propagation and to replenish the face of the earth 2 For the seemelier and better ordering whereof to the ende that as God himselfe is most pure and therefore hateth all vncleannesse so the actions of men who in nature resemble him might be framed according to the paterne of his image hee prescribed a way how man as beseemeth the excellencie of his creation nature might not after a brutish beastly maner but in al honestie cleanlines bring forth the honorable fruit of his bodie that so Gods creation and work might be continued his kingdom inlarged his name by reason of the multitude much more praised And this meane or way appointed by God was matrimonie a state whereof the chosen vessel of God writeth this as the iudgement of the holie Ghost Mariage is honourable Wherein for your better instruction and learning my purpose is to shew you the reasons of the honour which it should haue and also of the great disgrace which it hath amongst men 3 Mariage is honourable first in respect of the author by whom it was ordeined Secondly in regard of the causes thereof Thirdly for the dueties which are required of the parties maried Touching the first it appeareth in the beginning of the booke of Genesis howe after that God had perfectly accomplished his creation and had giuen the Lordeship ouer all liuing creatures vnto Adam he saide It is not good that man be alone let vs make him an helper that may be before him let vs make woman Whereupon our Sauiour in the Gospel inferreth That therefore which God hath ioyned together let no man separate approouing mariage to bee the institution of God and a naturall order proceeding I meane from the God of nature to bee obserued and vsed for euer Neither did hee onely confirme this lawe and ordinaunce of God in plaine woords and in his teaching but he also did honest and honour the same with his presence For being called to a mariage he his mother and kinsfolke gladly went there to feast with others where it pleased him miraculously to increase their cheere and withal their honour For it is not nothing which this doth adde to the holy and reuerend estimation thereof that the first miracle which Christ wrought was wrought at a mariage and is so by the holie Ghost recorded Nowe besides this that almightie God himselfe ordeined mariage and that in Paradise a most heauenly habitation and that before the innocencie was stained with sinne besides this that Christ did allow and many waies approoue the same yea and moreouer vouchsafed to resemble his spirituall coniunction with his Church vnto this estate we finde that the Patriarkes the Priests and Prophets the holiest men of God Abraham Moses Aaron and the rest of that blessed companie haue chosen to liue rather in mariage than otherwise acknowledging thereby the state of mariage to be vndoubtedly no lesse allowable if not more honourable than single life 4 Concerning the second point that is to say the honour which riseth from the causes for which GOD did institute the state of wedlocke the scripture noteth especially three The first is mutuall societie helpe and comfort And this were a cause sufficient to esteeme of mariage highly if there were no other For God hath saide It is not good that man be alone Let vs make him an helper and helper and not an hinderer 5 The second cause why matrimonie was ordeined and must be honoured is increase and propagation For although that this may be as we see it it is in lewde and shamelesse persons too often without this estate of mariage yet this is so much against the dignitie of humane nature that such broodes haue beene alwaies basely accounted of by men which haue had but the bare light of naturall vnderstanding Wherefore the blessed Apostle hath saide I will that the younger sort marie and bring foorth children giuing vs thereby to vnderstand that there can be no seemely propagation of mankinde saue onely in mariage Children begotten in the state of matrimonie are the blessing of God and the fruite of the vndefiled wombe is a reward as Salomon wisely acknowledged in the Psalme For a man to be honoured with the name of a father to be renued and continued in his posteritie if it be not a speciall blessing of God a very exceeding great reward why are men women so desirous to see the fruit of their bodies Why was Anna so exceeding in crauing children at the hands of God Why was barrennesse so grieuous vnto Sara Why did it seeme reprocheful vnto Elizabeth Is it a small benefit that God hath raised out of the bodie of Abraham so many Patriarchs Priests Prophets Iudges and Kings such a multitude not onely of men of reputation on earth but also of blessed saints and citizens in heauen If it were an honour vnto Abraham to be a father of many nations surely mariage which made him a lawfull and an honourable father ought very honourably to be esteemed 6 Another cause of honour giuen vnto mariage is for that it is a remedie against vncleannesse Let euerie man haue his wife and euerie woman her husband for the auoiding of fornication Vpon which words of S. Paul Ambrose writeth verie aptly Qui abstinēt a licitis in illicita prolabuntur They which forbeare things lawfull to vse fall many times to vse things which they should forbeare And he bringeth in the Manichees for example as we may bring in the Papistes and namely that ponde of Rome adioyning to a Nunrie wherein were founde the heads of seuen thousand bastards It is true that all haue not neede of this remedie because all are not subiect to the daunger and perill of this disease But if any man be subiect to this disease let him beware howe he despise this remedie There bee no doubt that haue the gift of chastitie by birth and there be that haue made themselues chast by indeuour but of all this men are not capable As it is the gift of God so it seemeth to be a rare and not a common gift Such as haue it and so liue sole they are more fit to labour in Gods Church it must needes be graunted for they are combred with fewer cares But be these cares neuer so many and great better it is to marie than to burne and to be burthened with ordinarie and nest cares than with vnordinarie and dishonest carelesnesse to be destroied There are many that deceiue themselues thinking a single and a chast life to be all one To bee pure in bodie and in spirite this is chastitie Hee that seeth a woman and in his heart hath
a lewde desire towards her hath defiled his heart and is in soule vnchast If euerie man trie himselfe according to this rule exactly peraduenture hee shall see a disease in himselfe that needeth remedie Which if he neglect and so perish whom may he blame The medicine is commended with a title of honour that thereby we might be allured to vse it The daunger of not vsing of it if neede require is death For harlots and adulterers the Lord shall iudge 7 Thus much beeing spoken of the causes for which honour is giuen vnto mariage I wil briefly speake of the duties of honour required betweene parties maried Howe honourably a man should vse his wife S. Paul teacheth plainly in many places but especially in his epistle to the Ephesians Men loue your wiues as Christ hath loued his Church In which place he instructeth not onely by precept but also by setting a paterne before our eyes to followe and that is Christ the true spouse to his Church the congregation of the faithfull The husband ought to loue his wife euen as Christ did his Church But Christ suffered death to redeeme his Church Euen so the truely the husband if necessitie so required to saue his wife should ieopard his owne life His life is wel spent in sauing of her and by loosing of her ill spared Christ purged and made his Church beautiful voide of spot or wrincle that it might resemble himself as neere as might be in puritie Euen so the husband shold labour to reforme his wife to instruct frame her to discretion sobrietie al matron-like vertues all godlinesse A wise wife maketh a happy husband and in her goodnes he shal find gladnes The husband is called y e head of his wife as Christ is of the congregation When as the head espieth faults in the members of the bodie it doth not studie how to cut them off make separation but doth muse vpon a remedie labour to procure a medicine to applie vnto the hurt parts to recouer the bodie to couer the fault if he cannot cure it A good husband is a good head his indeuour will be to cure his diseased wife and not to cut her off from him especially to winne her vnto Christ if she wander out of the right waie Her faults will make him sorowfull not furious and to pitie her infirmities without hating of her person Wisedome is required in the head to rule and gouerne well the bodie which is placed vnder it He that braggeth and boasteth that hee is the head and yet wanteth the prudencie which the head should haue is vnwoorthy to be named that which indeede he is not A wise husband must winke at many faults and beare with many of his wiues infirmities He that foolishly champeth vpon those griefes which wisedome would haue be swallowed if hee liue in continuall miserie may say that hee onely liueth happily which liueth wisely no greater wisedome than to deuoure follies Yet the husbands lenitie ought not to be such as to nourish foolishnesse Vertue is alwaies discreete and in all things the mediocritie S. Paul giueth the reason why men should giue this honour to their wiues for he that loueth his wife loueth himselfe they two beeing one flesh No man euer hated his owne flesh Our owne bodies wee loue as Christ hath loued his Church If a mans natural bodie were neuer so mangled so sicke so corrupted so crooked and euill fauoured he would yet loue and feede it and cherishe it so much the more by howe much more it needed comfort Euen so ought a man to nourish comfort and helpe his wife bee shee neuer so deformed or out of fashion whether it bee by nature or by casualtie in bodie or in minde Wee haue Christ for our example When the Church ran a whoring and committed lothsome idolatrie he did not forsake it neither yet doth our gratious Lord forsake his beloued spouse wonderfully spotted with sinne but couereth and forgetteth faults and vseth all meanes possible to reforme and make vs fit for him The like should appeare in the husband to his wife seeing Paul setteth foorth Christ to be a paterne to followe This is that which S. Peter meaneth when he exhorteth men to dwell with their wiues according to knowledge He would haue husbands to rule according to wisedome and not to play the tyrants not to be sowre cruell rash rageful but to gouerne them according to y e order of Gods word in al sobrietie grauitie gentlenesse loue and discretion prouiding for them by honest meanes as for thēselues For if he that prouideth not for his familie bee woorse than an infidell there is none so bad as he that is carelesse for his wife No infidell neglecteth his owne bodie And as S. Paul in the place aboue mentioned so S. Peter in this which was last alleaged sheweth reasons why the husband should giue this honour to the wife 8 Giue honour vnto her velut infirmiori as to the weaker This may seeme rather to bee a cause to contemne than to honour For such is the vse The rich despise the poore the learned the ignorant the strong the weake But this vse is wicked Hath not God chosen the weake of this worlde to ouercome the strong the foolish to confound the wise Are not the ignoraunt as well as the learned Gods Haue the riche one foote more of possessions in heauen than haue the poore Despise not therfore the weaker creatures least thou dishonour the creator of them But seeing that man and wife are members of one bodie they especially ought to beare one with anothers infirmities to couer to dissemble and to forgiue eche of them others weakenesse Yea the viler the members of our bodies seeme to bee the more carefull we are to couer and to honour them for so S. Paul speaketh In like maner the more weake the woman is the more diligent should her husband be to giue her this honour to couer her infirmitie and not to broache it abroade For in dishonouring her he dishonesteth his owne bodie Wee easily forgiue children when they offend by reason of their age The want of discretion is for them excuse sufficient So a man ought to consider the infirmitie of his wife and to beare with her for it The second cause of honouring her is for that God doth giue her honour God maketh her partaker with thee of his spirituall graces and fellow heire of euerlasting life Dishonour thou not therefore her on earth whom God hath honoured with a place in heauen The third cause why the wife should bee well esteemed of is for vnities sake For contempt doth breede contention and contention is an hinderance to deuotion Honour your wiues therefore Ne preces vestrae interrumpantur that your praiers through strife bee not interrupted and broken off Thus much for the duetie of the husband 9 Touching the duties of honour which the wife doeth owe to the husband