Amos. 8. and I will darken the earth in the cleere day That is to say when men thinke it to bée the high noone of their age when they thinke that they haue yet many yéeres to liue when their minde is occupied about their gaine about theyr affaires about their honors buildings mariages and pleasures when they say vnto their soule Soule thou hast much goods laid vp in store for thée for many yeeres eate drink rest and be merrie then it shall suddenly be saide vnto them Behold death is at the doore thou foole this night shall thy life be taken away from thee Eccl. 41. and whose are then those things which thou hast gotten 9 Then death vnlooked for frustrateth all our counsels cutting off the webs of our deuises and with on stroke she casteth down and layeth flatte on the ground al those Towers builded in the ayer and then what a wound doeth the heart of the sinner receiue which loueth this present life when the Physitian saith vnto him Thou must from hēceforth thinke no more of life but of death 10 Here first of all all those things which he loued in time past offer themselues vnto him from the which he shal be pulled away and seperated by death whether he wil or no. The body shal dye once but the heart shal dye so often as the things be in number which he loued Then in very déede shal the most cléere light be turned into darkenesse because those things which were aforetime occasions of great ioy shal be now horrible vexations and torments It is a most swéete and pleasant thing to them which liue to sée their louing and faithful friendes to remember their honors to think vpon the pleasures past and to come But all these things in the time of death shal be as swords as torments and most bitter potions 11 But if it be so harde a matter to bée pulled away from those things which do not so néerely touch man how bitter I pray you will the seperation bée of the body from the life and soule For such two louing familiars which haue alwaies liued sweetly together euen from the mothers wombe cannot be seperated without great gréef If the Oxe do commonly lowe mourn when his yoke-fellow which was wont to draw with him is taken away how will euery one of vs mourn when the minde shal be seperated from the body Then wil the body and the mind with teares repeate againe and againe doest thou thus seperate bitter death O death dost thou thus seperate 12 And when the cogitation of so sharp a seperation is déeply setled in our mind then gréefes follow gréefes and sorrow commeth vpon sorrow for then it commeth presently into the minde what a miserable condition the body and soule shal be in after the seperation And first of all when a man beginneth to recount with himselfe that his body after a fewe houres shall be buried in a graue or dark tombe he cannot cease from wondring at so abiect and miserable a condition What the body that now liueth which seeth which heareth whith speaketh shal it be made after one houre in a moment blinde deaffe dumbe without sense without spirit without life Shal I haue then in stead of a large pallace a base sepulchre in stead of a soft bed the hard ground for delights rottennesse for swéete smelles stinkes and in stead of seruants and familiar fréends wormes And thus this cogitation of the graue will verie sore trouble and terrifle a man in these extremities 13 But yet notwithstanding euery man feareth much more when he beginneth to consider what condition remaineth for the soule For when he beholdeth that eternity and that new Region vnknown to all men liuing which hée then alone and naked is to enter and againe when he vnderstandeth that there is to be founde in the same both euerlasting glorie and perpetual paine and misery and knoweth not of which hée shal take his part it cannot bée tolde with how great feare with what carefulnes and with what excéeding sorrow he shal be tormented When hée perceiueth plainly that after two houres he shaibe either in eternal ioyes or in euerlasting paines Is not this a crosse farre surpassing all other crosses 14 This incertainty therefore of blisse or of a cursed estate which after two houres the sinner expecteth that remembreth his sinnes feareth the iust iudgement of God without hope of remission or faith in Christ bringeth a hell in minde not to be expressed For by how much the kingdome which hée desireth is of largenes and by how much the fierie furnace which he feareth is terrible by so much greater shal this perturbation be For from the one Angels shal come to carie the faithful vp into heauen and from the other diuels shal come to cary the wicked and infidels into hell fire 15 But there is yet a farre greater perturbation then this namely that he shal cal to mind the account which he is to make to God of all his words déedes and thoughts For of it selfe it is a horrible thing to enter into iudgement with God the which horror wil wonderfully vexe and disquiet the diuels themselues For as so long as we liue they set forth vnto vs the mercie of God and doe also commend the same and do striue all that they can to keepe vs from meditating of his iustice and iudgements Euen so now on the contrary part they extenuate and make his mercy insufficient and doe set before our eies the greatnesse and seuerity of the Lords Iustice 16 Then the sinner wil begin to tremble and to fall into desperation and wil begin to reason thus with himselfe If God for the sinnes of others spared not his onely sonne wil he spare me which am guiltie of so many sinnes If this be done in the greene tree what shal befal that which is feare and drie If the Prophets if the Apostles if the Martyres after they liued godly so many yeares entred not into the kingdome of heauen without tribulations what other place can be left for me but that of hell fire which know no good that I haue done 17 If the Scripture be true which saith He wil render to euery man according to his works I which haue done so great wickednesses what should I looke for but eternal torments If the Apostle lye not as indéede he doth not when he saith That which a man soweth that shall hee reape Gal. 6. what shal hée reape but eternall death which hath made so cursed sowing If no polluted thing shal enter into the kingdome of God how shal I which am altogether filthy and vncleane haue hope to make so happie and blessed an entrance 18 Then therefore all his sinnes which he committed with so great facility when hée liued shal violently inuade the sinful man like an hoast of his enemies Then the feare of punishment wil open the eyes which sléeping securitie in sinne before had
shut Then ambition pride thefts murthers adulteries fornications gluttonies drunkennesse lying periurie idle words vncleane thoughts and negligent slacknesse in all good workes wil come to remembrance O how heauy gréeuous wil they then séeme to bée which now séeme so light and are done with so much swéetnesse and pleasure And how greatly wil they then torment the mind of the Sinner 19 For who is able to expresse that last agonie wherein the soule fighteth with sore and paineful sicknesse with the temptations of diuels with feare of the iudgement to come and al this at one instant Then commeth that same last perturbation the failing of all the sences as the forerunner of death approaching which vehemently terrifieth at what time the breast swelleth the spéech groweth hoarse faint and hollowe the eyes sinke the nose beginneth to be sharpe the countenance waxeth pale the féet die and the Arteries send forth a colde sweat 20 These thinges which appeare outwardly are grieuous and ful of horror but they are without al comparison more gréeuous and horrible which are felt inwardly For if they as Saint Hierome writeth of blessed Hilarion which haue many yeares serued God doe feare at the time of their departure what shal they doe which many yeares haue serued the diuel and their execrable wickednesses and which haue prouoked God vnto wrath Whither shal they go whose help shal they craue what counsel shal they take If they looke vpwarde they shal sée the drawne sword of Gods Iustice if downeward they shal sée a great gulfe gaping and hel fire if the time past they shal sée al things vanished away like a shadowe if the time to come they shal beholde the eternitie of worldes which shal last without ende 21 But how I pray you shal they be able to resist and abide the assaults of the Diuels who wil then bestir them with all their might and maine What shal sinful men doe which are left in this state Returne they cannot and longer to abide in this state wil not be permitted them 22 O that we might vnderstande and knowe what manner of battel this is and what maner of burthen is to be borne in this houre we would then verily be other manner of persons then heretofore we haue bene Al these things Faith teacheth Nature proclaimeth Experience testifieth and it is euident to euery one of vs that we shal come vnto that state wherein we wil desire with all our heart that wée had brideled our selues from al wickednesse that we had exercised al the works of vertue that we had liued in all holines and not spent our time in vaine Let vs not imitate foolish men which looke vpon present things onely let vs wisely prouide for things to come so by the grace of God we shal bring to passe that the same houre which to others is the beginning of sorowes to vs shal bée the beginning of ioy and felicitie 23 Thus farre wée haue shewed what may befal a man at the point of death vntil the moment of his departure now let vs sée how the body is bestowed after the horrible seperatiō of the life from the same The soule therefore being dissolued there lyeth vppon the ground not a humane body but a dead carkasse without life without sense without strength and so feareful to looke vpon that the sight thereof may hardly be endured To be short it is little better as touching the substance then the body of a horse or a dog which lieth dead in the fieldes al that passe by stoppe their noses and make hast away that they be not annoyed with the sight and stinke thereof Such is mans body now become yea though it be the body of a monarch emperour or king Where is now that Maiestie that Excellencie that authority which it had aforetime when men trembled to beholde it and might not come in presence therof without al reuerence and obeysance where are al those things become were they a dreame or a shadow 24 After these thinges the funeral is prepared the which is al that men can carry with them of al their riches and kingdomes and this also they should not haue if in their life time they did not appoint it for their dignitie and honour Psal 49. For the Prophet Dauid saith truly Bee not thou afraid though one bee made rich or if the glory of his house be increased for hee shall carry nothing away with him when he dieth neither shal his pompe follow him 25 Here now a pitte is digged seuen or eight foote long as if it should serue for Alexander the great whom the world coulde not conteine and therin the dead carkasse is contented to dwell alone continually the which so soone as it is come the wormes doe welcome and the bones of other dead men are constrained to giue place 26 In this house of perpetuall obliuion silence the carkasse being wound in a shéet and bound hand and foote is shut vp though it néede not to haue so great labour bestowed vpon it for it would not runne away out of that prison though the hands and féet were loose 27 And now if we do but consider a little of the Tombes and Sepulchres of Princes and Noble-men whose glory and maiestie wée haue séene when they liued here in earth and doe beholde the horrible formes and shapes which they now haue shall wée not cry out as men amazed Is this that glory is this that highnes and excellencie whither now are the degrées of their waiting seruants gone where are their ornaments and ieweis where is their pompe their delicacie and nicenes Al these things are vanished away like the smoake and there is now nothing left but dust horror and stinke 28 But now leauing the body in the graue let vs consider how the soule entereth into the new world Therfore so soone as the soule of the sinner is dissolued from the flesh it beginneth to passe through a Region vnknowen where there are new Inhabitants and a new manner of liuing What then shal the miserable sinful Pilgrime do when he shal sée him selfe alone in such an vnknowen Region full of horror How and by what meanes shall he defende himselfe from those most fierce théeues and horrible monsters which in those vast desarts do assaile passengers This verily is a fearefuli iourney 29 And yet the iudgement is much more fearefull which in that place is exercised Who is able to expresse the vprightnesse of the Iudge the seueritie of the iudgement the diligence of inquisition and the multitude of witnesses 30 In this iudgement teares will not preuaile praiers will not be heard promises will not be admitted repentance will be too late and as for riches honorable titles scepters and diadems these wil profit much lesse And the Inquisition shal be so curious diligent that not one light thought nor one idle word not repented of in the life past shall be forgotten For trueth
of this whole frame which is called the great worlde the Sunne shal be turned into darknes and the Moone into blood and the Starres shal fall from heauen the Ayer shall be full of whirlewindes stormes corruscations slashing meteors and thunders the earth with fearefull tremblings and swallowing gulphes the floods of the sea shal swel so high as if they would ouer flow the whole world and the roaring and raging noyse of the fretting billowes and tossing waues shal greatly terrifie Men therefore shal wither and waxe pale with feare and horror and trembling shal vexe them more and more expecting what these new monsters wil bring foorth at the last and what wil be the end of such horrible beginnings 14 When a tempest ariseth at the Sea and the boisterous waues begin to tosse and beat the shippe and the men which are in the same do beholde the horrible lightnings and fierie flashings in the ayre and the furious winds also making the sea to swel and rage in such wise that now they sée themselues tossed aloft and then anon caried down into the déepe they begin presently to cry to feare to tremble to call for mercie to multiplie their prayers to craue time of repentance to commend their saluation to almightie God and to be short they begin to thinke of the amendement of their manners and to haue better purposes Then thinke with thy selfe what manner of minde men wil haue when they shal sée heauen and earth and all the elementes to haue their peculiar and proper tempestes when the Sun shal strike a horror into mens harts with his fearful darkenesse and the Moone being turned into blood shal terrifie them that beholde it and the starres with their falles shal threaten for they shal fal so thicke that the Firmament shal séeme to be quite without light and the aire with continual fierie meteors shal séeme to burne the sea shal swel excéedingly and the most high mountaines being shakē with earthquakes shal fal with excéeding great noise 15 Who then wil take pleasure to eate who wil take delight in drinke who wil then haue any desire to sléep Nay who dare once then slumber or take the least rest amidst so many tempests and stormes O miserable and vnhappy sinners ouer whose heads al these signes doe hang and doe foreshew vnto them extreame calamitie O happie men yea thrise four times tenne times yea a thousand times happie and blessed whose conscience in that time wil make them merry and glad 16 Thus farre we haue considered the greatnesse of the last day the signes going before the same now let vs cal to minde certaine thinges concerning the resurrection of the dead and the comming of the Iudge 17 Therefore after those signes wonders which shal goe before the day of the Lord an Archangel shal come downe from heauen and with the feareful sounde of a Trumpette shal giue a signe to all that are dead to rise againe and to come to Gods iudgement This is that Trumpet which Saint Hierome thought that hée euer heard sounding in his eares whatsoeuer he were doing and not without cause For who can appeale from this citation who can refuse this iudgemēt who can pretend sicknes busines or any other excuse 18 Then shal death be compelled to make surrender of al the spoiles in a momēt which hée had taken away from the world and she shal be sent away into euerlasting banishment beyond al lands and seas and beyonde the world and the borders of al liuing things For as Saint Iohn sheweth in his Reuelation then shal the sea yéelde vp her dead which it hath swallowed and death and hel shal doe the like 19 What a sight shal there bée then when sea and land shal bring forth in al places so many bodies so vnlike one to the other so different and so vnequal And when as at one and the selfe same place so many armies shal come together from all parts of the world In that place Adam the father of al the Nations of the earth shal sée al his posteritie come together and shal meruaile There we shal sée Xerxes Darius Alexander Caesar other Monarches of the world but yet hauing another forme other maners and other mindes then they had when they liued here For at the sound of the Trumpet kings and Nations and all the worlde shal tremble they shal strike their breastes and mourne 20 Moreouer although all men shal be restored vnto life yet neuerthelesse there shal be great difference betwéen those bodies which shal be restored to holy men and those which the wicked and vngodly shal receiue For they shal be more shining then the sun and shal bee beautified with vnspeakeable brightnes but the others most foule and vgly and more terrible then death it selfe 21 What pleasure I pray you shal the blessed soules haue when they shal be ioyned againe to their bodies as to their most swéet brethren after so long banishment neuer to feare any more a seperation What I beséech you shal flesh féele when it shal be raysed from dust and shal sée an vnwonted light and when the soule shal come vnto it and say God saue thée my sister and most swéete Spouse the winter is now gone the storme is past away arise my beloued and come the Lord hath fulfilled our desire thou hast bene the companion of my trauels and laboures thou hast for the Lordes sake suffered with me persecutions and iniuries thou hast bene with me in watchings in fastings and vnder the crosse of repentance thou hast liued with a temperate and spare diet to féede the poore thou hast not excéeded in apparrel that thou mightst cloath the naked Equitie therefore and reason requireth that the things which thou hast sowen with mée in teares thou shouldest also reape with me in ioy and that séeing thou hast bene a companion with mée in my labours thou shouldst also be partaker with me of my pleasures riches and glorie Then shal the soule swéetely imbrace the bodie and the bodie ioyfully kisse the soule and they shal be ioined together with most happy and indissoluble knots And then with how great ioy and gladnesse shal they dwel together in one for from thencefoorth appetite shal not contend with wil nor sence with reason but being ioined together in one with the league of amity peace and concord they shal enioy the delights and ioyes of heauen euerlastingly 22 And contrariwise with what anguish shal the soule of the sinner be tormented whē that foule il fauoured deformed and feareful body is offered vnto him With what words thinkest thou wil they salute one another O vnhappy body wil the soule say O the beginning and end of my calamities thou hast brought me to these torments with thy entisements and now I am come not as it were into a house to rest but as it were into a prison to be tormented I am compelled to enter into thée againe against my
make the eares of them that heare it to tingle O sentence intollerable which depriueth sinners of all good things and bringeth them to all woe The Lord sometime accursed the Fig-trée and immediately not onely the leaues but also the body and rootes were wholy withered Euen so that feareful curse of the last day shal be no lesse effectual For on whomsoeuer it falleth it shal so scortch them and shal so make them destitute of Gods grace that they shal neuer more be able to doe to speake to thinke or to hope for any good thing 31 Then therefore the wicked being stricken with this thundering sentence will lift vp their mouthes towards heauen wil spue foorth their shamefull blasphemies against God the Iudge they will curse this day and the houre wherein they were borne and their Parents which begat them and the wombs which bare them the aier which gaue them breath and the Earth which hath borne them but they shal not be suffered any long time to speake these things against the Iudge 32 For suddenly the Spirite of the Lord shal ouerwhelm them and shal with great violence caste them downe headlong into the déepe Apoc. 18. as in Saint Iohns Reuelation appeareth in these wordes Then a mightie angell tooke vp a stone like a great Milstone and cast it into the Sea saying With such violence shall the Citie of Babilon bee cast Apoc. 20. and be found no more And againe Whosoeuer was not found written in the booke of life was cast into the Lake of fire And this déepe shal be shut vp with gates of brasse and with yron barres which cannot bee broken with any force nor cut in sunder by any arte and there they shal drinke of the cup of the Lords wrath and the smoke of their torments shal ascend worlde wtout end they shal not rest day nor night 33 On the contrarie part the iust being in the fruition of ful blessednesse and of euerlasting glorie shall haue in their mouthes the prayses of the Lorde and giuing of thankes and shal with singing and with mirth extol the name of their Lorde and God with whom they shal reigne without ende 34 But although wée heare of those things often yet neuerthelesse wée are not awaked from the sléepe of sinne before wee be ouerwhelmed with the night of death and of darkenes Why doe we which haue this time now looke for another time which peraduenture wée shal neuer haue Now is the accepted time now is the day of saluation There is nothing more profitable for a man then to knowe his time and therefore in our worldly businesse wée obserue times and seasons as a conuenient time to eare a fitte time to sowe to plant and such like Yea the brute beast by the instinct of nature can make choyce of his time for benefite The Swallowe when winter approacheth prepareth himselfe to take his flight into a warmer Countrey The Bée and the Ant in the time of summer prepare their foode against winter And the Prophet Ieremie saith that the Storke knoweth his appointed time If brute beastes deuoide of reason haue this foresight to make choise of time for their good and if man him selfe in a worldly regarde can make choyse of a fitte and due time to gette earthly and transitorie things how much more prouident ought hee to bee for heauenly things that to attaine these hée lose not his fittest time to attaine saluation 35 The olde worlde that liued in the dayes of Noah knewe not their time that was the cause they then perished with the flood The Cities of Sodome and Gomer knew not their time that brought fire and brimstone from heauen vpon their heads to their destruction The foolish Virgins knewe not their time therefore when their Lorde came they being altogether vnready were shut out of the Lords ioy Let vs then knowe the season how it is time now that wee should awake out of sleepe Rom. 13.36 1. Thes 5. Let vs watch and be sober for they that sleepe sleepe in the night and they that are drunken are drunken in the night But let vs which are of the day be sober least the darkenesse come vpon vs wherein we can neither walke nor worke Let vs alwayes haue before our eyes that day and time wherein we shall appeare before God and his Angels and before the whole worlde to answere our cause and either to receiue a Crown of glory or else perpetual shame and confusion Let vs know that we haue here a very short time limitted vnto vs. wherein wée must so endeuour our selues that for short and transitory things we lose not that which is eternall If wee haue this consideration of that great day of the Lorde wée shal not only be the more secure in death but also be the better prepared to méet with our Lord and Sauiour when he shal come to iudgement CHAP. IIII. Concerning Hell and the torments thereof THere is nothing that the Diuell laboureth more then to perswade men that there is no hel that so the more easily hée may leade them thether as it were blindfolde by the way of sinnes while they haue no feare of any punishment euen as shéeues are wont to bee ledde with a vaile before their faces when they are going to the gallowes as Ezechias was serued whose eyes Nabuchadnezer commanded to be put out whē he was caried away captiue into Babilō 2 But it may bée shewed by many reasons and authorities that there is a hel For as a Princely magnificence requireth that a King haue a beautiful Pallace for to entertaine the best sort of men and a prison for the worst Euen so the king of kings and Lord of all glorie and principalities hath a Pallace wherein there are many mansions as our Sauiour Christ in the Gospel testifieth which is the kingdom of heauen and he hath also a darke prison or dungeon which is hel 3 The lawe of nations requireth that malefactors for their offences be driuen into exile for euer euen so God doth banish from his presence Luke 16. the impenitent sinners into hel For so it is said of Diues that he dyed was carried into hel Esay 5 And the prophet saith Hel hath inlarged it self hath opened his mouth with out measure and their glorie and their multitude and their pompe and he that reioyceth among them shall discend into it Also S. Iohn saith that the feareful and vnbeleeuing and murderers Apoc. 21. the whormongers sorcerers and Idolaters and all lyers shall haue their part in the Lake which burneth with fire and brimstone which is the second death And Christ Iesus saith Feare him which hath power to cast body and soule into hell 4 But forsomuch as God hath not made Death nor the kingdom of Hell vpon earth Wisd 1. We must vnderstand that the principal procurer of this Hell is Sathan the Prince of darkenesse who béeing in
in one part of his body as on his little finger but one houre how intollerable shal the paine of the damned be when they shal wholly burne within and without Which of you saith the Prophet Isaias can dwel with burning fire And yet our fire here is but a picture shadowe of that vnquenchable fire there in hel where one drop of colde water wil be more worth then all the iewelles of the worlde though onely to coole the tongue 35 All the sences of the body shall bee here tormented and that not with heat only but also with extreame and moste freezing colde as Gregorie affirmeth in these words In hel is intollerable colde vnquenchable heate an immortal worme a stinch not to be endured a scourge euer striking darkenesse palpable a feareful vision of diuels confusion of sinnes and a desperation of all good things 36 This endlesse miserie shal enforce them to houle cry cursed be the day wherein I was borne and let not the day wherein my mother bare me be blessed Cursed be the man that shewed my father saying A man child is borne vnto thée and comforted him Cursed be he that he slue me not Ier. 20. euen from the wombe or that my mother might haue bene my graue or her wombe a perpetual conception How is it that I came forth of the wombe to sée labour paine and sorrow that my dayes should be consumed with shame 37 Thrée things among many other torments shal enforce the wicked to blasphemie and curse first that before the day of doome they daily sée the downefal of those into Hell of whose damnation they themselues haue bene the authors And for this cause Diues in Hell prayed Abraham to send Lazarus to his fathers house to forewarne his brethren that they might not come into that place of torment 38 Secondly because in Hel the waters which they could wish might serue for their refreshing shal be like to burning pitch which shal neuer be quenched the smoke whereof shal ascend for euer 39 Thirdly because they shal be gathereth together as the prisoners in the pit fagoted vp in a band like a bundel of stickes for the fire For as heauen is as touching the many maÌ„sions wherof christ speaketh is in it self infinit answering the esseÌ„ce maiesty power of God being placed aboue all orbes spheres and farre beyond all circle and compasse of mans capacitie euen so Hell is limited in a smal orbe capeable of no more than the damned and the instrumentes of their torments which cannot be very spacious in regard the whole earth is much lesse then the circumference of the Sun The straitenesse of which place shal bring to the huge heapes of the damned packt vp therein increase of torment with palpable darkenesse 40 Now if this Hell were but a temporal paine as Origen thought then hope would cheare the tormented sinner but the torments are eternal the tormented quite destitute of hope The worme of conscience is ther for euer without solace and gnashing of téeth shal be continually without gladnes Thus the torments of the damned shal continue so many worlds as there be starres in the firmament as there be graines of sand by the sea shoare and as there be droppes of water found in the sea And when these worldes are ended the paines and torments shal not cease but begin afresh and thus this whéele shal turne round without ende 41 For when the motion of the Primum Mobile and of the Heauens shall cease then shal time also cease Now in this world there is a time past now there is a time present and a time to come but then there shall bée no time past nor any time to come no wéek no moneth no yeare nor any variation of time Apoc. 10. It shalbée as the day wherof the Prophet speaketh which shal be neither day nor night This shal bée a very long daye Zach. 14. For it shal bee for euer and euer For one day is with the Lord as a thousand yeares Pet. 3. and a thousand of yeares but as one daye of darkenesse and of blacknesse 42 What â—an considering these things will endure these hellish torments euerlastingly to inioy for a litle while the vain pleasures of the flesh Although a man by liuing in sin might procure vnto himselfe the wisedome of Salomon the strength of Sampson the beauty of Absolom and Susanna the riches of Cressus the power of Augustus and the yeares of Mathusalah what would all these profit at the last if after a while being in death thou canst neither deliuer thy body from wormes nor thy soule from hel fire and as our Sauiour Christ saith What doth it profit a man to win all the world and to loose his own soule If thou ofteÌ„ meditate these things thou shalt both leade a good and holy life and after a while make a blessed and happy ende of thy pilgrimage The fifth houre Concerning the small number of them that shall be saued STriue to enter in at the narrow gate for many I say vnto you wil seeke to enter in and shall not be able Luk 13.24 With what purpose and meaning ha◠〈◊〉 Lord vttered this senteÌ„ce Verily to no other end as it may be gathered by the words going before then to shewe that they are few in number which are saued and many which perish 2 For there are some which had propounded this question to the Lord saying Lord are there fewe that be saued To the which question the Lord aunswered so wisely that by his answere he taught that they were but few which would be saued and also rendreth a reason why they were but few Striue saith hée to enter in at the straight gate for many I say vnto you will striue to enter and shall not be able the which is all one as it hee had more plainely said they are but fewe which shal be saued and that for no other cause but for that the gate of life and saluation is straight and narrow 3 This thing the Lord goeth about to print in our minds wheÌ„ as he so often times repeateth Many are called but fewe are chosen And when hee cryed againe Wide and broade is the way which leadeth to perdition and many there bee which enter thereat but narrowe and straight is the way which leadeth vnto life Mat. 7.1.3 and fewe there bee which finde it 4 This thing Isaias setteth before our eyes by a very plaine and yet feareful similitude For thus he speaketh Surely thus shal it be in the middest of the earth among the people as the shaking of an Oliue tree and as the grapes when the vintage is ended Isaias Chap. 24.13 These shal lift vp their voice and shall sing praises when the Lord is glorious and magnificent that is to say how seldome doe Oliues hang vpon the tree after they are shaken and how seldom are grapes found vppon the vines after the vintage
wil. Is this that fleshe for the which I haue committed so many fornications so many wickednesses For the which I haue so many times giuen my selfe to gluttonie and carnal pleasures Is this that face which with so great care I haue kept from sunburning O vnhappy pallace for thy sake I haue wearied my selfe by land and by seas O vnfortunate belly how became I such a foole that I would worship thée for God Haue I lost the kingdome of heauen for this most abiect body for this most foule stinke of al filthinesse and haue purchased to my selfe euerlasting torments O ye furies O ye spirits of hel why doe ye stay why teare ye me not in péeces why doe ye not bring me to nothing These such like words shal the soule vtter against the flesh with excéeding rage and hatred the which notwithstanding it liued so wel when it was here vppon earth that it worshipped the same for a Lady and God and to fulfil the lustes thereof if feared not to violate and breake the lawe and commandements of God 23 And when all are risen againe and are gathered together into the place which God hath appointed for this iudgement then shal hée appeare in the clowdes of heauen with power and great maiestie whom God hath appointed to be the iudge of the quicke and dead And he shal not come alone but accompanied with an innumerable multitude of heauenly Princes 24 The feare which shal come by reason of that maiestie shal be so great that the prophet Isaias saith Isay 2. They shall goe into the holes of rockes into the caues of the earth from before the face of the Lord and from the glory of his maiestie when he shal arise to destroy the earth Apoc. 20. And the Apostle Saint Iohn addeth I sawe a great white throne and one that sat on it fron whose face fledde away both the earth and heauen For as when the flood of the Ocean swelleth they are wont to tremble which dwel vpon the shore and yet can take no harme euen so when the Lord beginneth to poure foorth his wrath and indignation vpon wicked men the Saints also and the Angels and men which are in no peril shal after a sort tremble and feare If therefore the iust shal feare and the pillers of heauen shal shake what shal the wicked and vngodly doe 25 And in very déed so soone as the Lord shal appeare there shal be heard immediatly a great cry and howling among the Nations Mat. 24. Apoc. 1. Zach. 12. for then as the Lord himselfe saith shal al the kinreds of the earth mourne and they shal sée him whom they pearced and they shal lament for him as one mourneth for his onely son and he sorie for him as one is sorry for his first borne O how many causes of wéeping howling shal miserable and vnhappy men then haue They shal wéepe because they shal sée that their euils and miseries are past all remedy They shal wéepe because they shal sée that their repentance is too late and vnprofitable They shal weepe because they cannot appeale from Gods sentence neither can flée the iudgement at hand and it shal séeme a thing intollerable to bée at the iudgement and to heare the sentence of euerlasting condemnation They shal wéepe because when they liued here on earth they despised those which forewarned them They shal wéepe because the pleasures which are gone as a shadow haue brought vpon them endlesse sorrowes and torments To be briefe as men beset on euery side and brought into ineuitable straights destitute of al counsaile and hope they shal wéepe because they shal sée that they cannot preuaile any thing at all neither with wéeping nor yet with scratching and tearing of themselues 26 Neither wil the Iudge bée moued by any meanes with these cries and sorrowes but wil rather seperate the wéepers from those that reioyce that is to say the wicked from the godly euen as a Shepheard diuideth the Sheepe from the Goates and shal set the godly on his right hand and the wicked on his left 27 And then hée wil beginne to discusse the cause of euery one and hee wil not forget any one offence For wée shal sée all things registred in perfect bookes by which bookes all men shal be iudged I sawe saith Saint Iohn the dead both great and small stand before God and the bookes were opened and another booke was opened which is the booke of life the dead were iudged of those things which were written in the bookes according to their workes So that al our workes are written in those euerlasting bookes Thou hast scarcely committed an adulterous thought but the same wickednesse is written in Gods booke 28 And not onely Church-robbings and sacrileges parricides periuries and such like faults but also impure thoughtes and idle wordes the neglecting of good workes or the same done to no good ende shal bée brought into iudgement For so great is the excellencie estimation of Christian integritie purity that no one or the very least vice that may be is not permitted to Christian men 29 The cafe standing thus whereof I beséech you commeth it that there is in vs so great loosenesse so great carelesnesse so great sloothfulnesse and such securitie Do we not flatter our selues when so great iudgement hangeth ouer our heades Holy was the prophet Dauid a man after Gods own hart and yet he so feared this iudgement that hée saide Enter not into iudgement with thy seruant O Lord for no man liuing shal bée iustified in thy sight Holy was the Apostle Paul and yet he saith I knowe nought by my selfe and yet hereby I am not iustified it is the Lord that iudgeth me as if he should say therefore I dare not pronounce my selfe iust because he that iudgeth me is the Lord. For such are the eyes of the Lord that the starres are not cleane in his sight and many times his eyes doe beholde wickednesse where we sée nothing but holines Holy also was the friende of God Iob. 31. Iob and yet he said What shall I doe when God ariseth to iudgement and when he maketh inquisition what answere shal I giue him Why doeth this man of God so commended of Gods owne mouth who was so iust and simple that hee could say without lying I was an eye to the blinde and a foote to the lame Iob. 29.27 and againe My heart doeth not reproue mee in all my life why I say is a man of such singular innocencie so afearde of Gods iudgement namely because he knoweth that God hath no eyes of flesh and that he iudgeth far otherwhise then men doe 30 Moreouer when all mens causes are diligently discussed and examined the Iudge wil pronounce against the wicked the irreuocable sentence of eternall damnation Depart from me yee cursed into euerlasting fire which is prepared for the diuell and his Angels O bitter word which wil
his first Creation a bright shining Lucifer beautified as a precious stone and more excellent than al the Angels of Heauen in resplendant brightnesse through his pride against God lost his light glory and beautie and as he was worthy became a foule féend deiected from heauen into this Elementall world lower than al the Spheares into the Fire Ayre Earth and Water 5 I saw saith S. Iohn a starre fall from Heauen to the earth Apoc. 1. and to him was giuen the key of the bottomlesse pit Further he saith There was a battel in heauen Michael and his Angels fought against the Dragon Chap. 12. the Dragon fought and his angels But they preuailed not neither was their place found any more in Heauen And the great dragon that olde Serpent called the Deuill and Sathan was cast out which deceiueth all the world He was cast euen into the earth and his Angels were cast out with him And being thus deiected hée now neuer ceaseth compassing the whole earth Iob. 1. but in his circuite séeketh like a roaring Lyon whom hee may deuoure 1. Pet. 5. Luk. 22. Apoc. 12. For the which cause S. Iohn pronounceth this woo saying Wo to the inhabitants of the earth and of the Sea for the diuel is come down vnto you which hath great wrath knowing that he hath but a short time 6 For albeit the world séemeth to be the parent the bringer foorth and nourisher of bodies yet is it the prison of Spirits the exiling of soules and a place of all wretchednesse and paines For as the worlde is a place of sinne and transgression a Station of Pilgrimage and of woe a habitation of wailing of teares of trauaile of wearines of fearefulnesse and of shame of mouing of changing of passing and of corruption of insolence and of perturbation of violence and opprssion of deceit and of guile and finally the laystall of all wickednesse and abhomination so also by GODS Iustice it is appointed the place and pitte of punishment and euerlasting torment wherin the euill Angels that rebelled with Lucifer and the damned spirites of wicked men departed this life haue endlesse paine without rest 7 And albeit the Apostle calleth Sathan a Prince that ruleth in the Ayre Ephe. 2. yet is that Rule so slane-like and his power so weakened by the Almightie that when the Lorde intending to punish the sonnes of Adam and to strike the earth with tempestes of lightning and thunder Hée thereby also beateth Sathan and the whole rable of his hellish féendes that in their fury and rage therewith they terrifie men by ougly shapes and aparitions and by GODS permission to murther man and beast sometimes do ouer-throwe buildings Iob. 1. and doe fire and consumne houses leauing a most noysome and horrible stinke behinde them of the hellish place from whence they come For it is not the diuell but the glorious God that maketh the thunder and as testifieth Syrach Psal 29. Eccle. 43. It is the sound of the Lords thunder that beateth the earth 8 Thus by Gods iust iudgement hée raungeth like a runagate in the sphere of his Hell vntill the day of doome for which season he is let loose and yet with such prohibition and restraint that in his mallice hée can procéed no further than shal séeme fit to the mightie Iehouah his Creator and then hée shall receiue that punishment whereof S. Iude speaketh in these words The Angels which kept not their first estate 2. Pet. 3. Apoc. 21. but left thier owne habitation hee hath reserued in euerlasting chaines vnder darknesse vnto the Iudgment of the great day at which time there shall be a new heauen and a newe earth wherein shall dwell nothing but righteousnes when the are refined with the fire of Gods iustice and then al the creatures of those new heauens and new earth shall be made perfit for which perfection and restauration euery creature waiteth being now subiect to vanitie Rom. 8. for the which they groane that they may be deliuered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious libertie of the sonnes of God For albeit the fashion and forme of this world goeth away as saith the Apostle yet they subtance shall reamine 1. Cor. 7. whether of the heauens themselues or of the Elements or of men al which shall abide for euer 9 At this time of restauration when al things shall become new and when the dead are raised vp againe to life in their corporall bodyes then shal be prepared an out-set habitation which shal be a Chaos ful of confusion deuoyd of the first most excellent thing that God made Light and in steed thereof replenished with darknesse a thousand times worse theÌ„ the palpable darknes of Aegypts plague Exod. 10. wherein the burning and intollerable tormenting fire giueth no light where the freezing colde which causeth gnashing of téeth Iob. 10. mittigateth nothing at al the burning heate 10 The holy Scripture to inable the weake capacitie of man to comprehend and vnderstand the excéeding horror and most feareful torment of this place calles it a Bottomles pit â—ophet á Dùnge on déepe large Apoc. 1. Esai 30. Apoc. 21 the burning whereof is fyer brimstone the lake of the second death which burneth with fyer and brimstone And in regard of the weeping howling roaring secréetching in that place it is compared to the valley of Hynnom neere Hierusalem where the idolatrous people at the sacrificing of their children so the Idole Moloch Iere. 32. made a confused noyse of crying howling together with singing and sounding of Instrumments that the pitifull screetching of the children tormented in that diuellesh sacrifice might not be heard And for this cause Christ calleth Hell Gehennon which the Prophet Dauid calleth the neithermost Hell 11 And albeit to men that measure all things by Philosophy and humane reason it may seeme absurde that Fyer should aflict the soules of the reprobate departed and the damned spirites in Hell forsomuch as the Agent is euer reputed more noble than the patient but no corporal body is more noble than the Spirit and according to the minde of the Philosopher in his booke of Generation Those things are only agent and patient in themselues which communicate in the same matter yet in this poynt as also in many other things which leane onely on Faith and not on humane reason we must beléeue it because the word of God so deliuereth it For the soule of Diues in Hell cryeth and shall crye for euer Luke 16. I am tormented in this flame Which is no Parable but really acted This then is no immaginarie fyer but a true corporal fyer working really vpon body soule on the soule before the day of Iudgement and on both together in a higher degrée of torment after the day of doome not by a proper vertue and naturall action which the fyer hath but as the
are carried after death by the diuel and his angels euen as contrariwise the soules of Gods children which liue in his feare in Christian obedience in this world are caryed vp into Abrahams bosome as was Lazarus and are in the hands of God Luke 16. Wisd 3. Greg. lib. 9. moraliū where no torment can come neere them For as S. Gregory saith Inasmuch as the wicked haue in this life forsaken their Creator both in body and in minde they shall in hell fire bee tormented both in body and in minde together And now that we haue hitherto spoken at large concerning Hell it resteth that somewhat be declared as touching the paines and torments that are now shall be for euer in the same In the which albeit there is but one fire yet saith S. Gregory it doth not torment sinners after one manner For euery one shall be punished according to the qualitie and quantitie of his sinnes 22 As in sin there are to be séene 2. turnings namely a turning away frō the chiefe and increate good or felicitie called Summum bonū a conuersion or turning to the lesser created good which be the things of this world Euen so in the punishmēt which is answerable to that sinne there shal bée found two sorrowes The one which shal arise of the losse of euerlasting blessednes the other which shall arise of the paine and torments which shal be brought vpon the body soule Both which sorrowes and torments the Schoolemen cal the pain of losse the paine of sence 23 But first of all we wil speak of the losse of felicitie which is the greater punishment There cannot be immagined or deuised any paine or punishment so greiuous which is comparable to the losse of felicitie For if to liue in exile and banishment in a close prison from our deare friends in this world it may séeme a punishment how greatly wil that seperatiō from God vexe torment vs whose onely sight is so great happines that sodainly it maketh a man blessed and happy 24 It was to the Cittizens of Rome a great punishment and almost the greatest of all other when for some great offences they were compelled to forsake the Citie and the company of Cittizens and to dwel in certain desert Ilands among the Barbarians Wherfore Marcus Tullius when he was brought againe from banishment as if hee had entred into a new world had gotten heauen for earth said as a man amazed how beautifull is Italie how faire are the regions thereof what goodly fieldes what pleasant fruites what famous cities how great humanitie of Citizens what an excellent common wealth and so forth How great griefe and sorrow then shal they féele which are absent from the Pallaces of heauen from the commonwealth of Saints from those most happy Regions where peace charitie tranquilitie and ioy raigneth where the voyce of praise and reioysing and a continual Alleluia is sung And finally to be absent from that most pure light which maketh the beholders ioyful and happy and when they shal bée compelled to dwell for euer in most filthy prisons and as it were in a sinke of al filthinesse where there shall bee no order but continual horror where there shall bée no voice but of such as mourne and blaspheme where there shal be heard no sound but of beating maules and of whips and with a rable of all sorts of diuels both barbarous and cruel and also in the companie and fellowship of most wicked men 25 Then shal their eyes be opened then shal the vaile be taken away frō before their face then shal they sée with excéeding sorrow that betwéene the euerlasting felicitie and these fraile transitory things there is incomperable difference when they shal behold most euidently that they haue lost the ioyes not to bee tolde and permanent for euer for certaine shadowes and dreames 26 Here shal be so great sorrow that although the damned doe know that al accesse vnto euerlasting blessednes is shutte vp from them O Lord open our hearts and giue vs grace to seeke thee while thou art to be found and that there is a most great Chaos and vniuersal confusion set betwéene them and the place of the elect and blessed yet being compelled with a certaine natural desire they shal not refraine themselues from these cries Lorde Lorde open to vs Lorde Lorde open to vs. 27 Hell therefore is an intollerable thing and the paine therof most horrible and yet if it were a thousand times bigger yet is it not comparable to the separation from the honor of that blessed glorie in the kingdome of heauen and to the hatred of Christ Math. 25. O remember the poore mēbers of Christ Iesus and the Lord vvill remember you when he shall say I knowe you not and to this reproach and checke When I was hungry and thirstie ye gaue me no meate nor drinke c. For we shall more easily endure a thousand thunder-claps then to haue his most méeke and louing countenance turned away from vs. 28 Moreouer the losse of this felicitie bringeth with it selfe the losse of all good things For the eyes of the damned shall sée no comely shape or forme their eares shall heare no manner of harmony their tast shal haue no swéete or sauerie thing to delight it their féeling shal haue no safte thing to serue it and their smelling shal haue no fragrant sauours to refresh and comfort it For they which shal bee once shutte out from the companie of God are at one instant drowned in the Ocean of all calamities and miseries without hope of deliuerance Let vs then déeply weigh and consider how great a matter it is to lose felicitie 29 Now let vs come to intreat of that torment which is therefore called the paine of sence by the schoolmen because it is as wel laied vpon the outwarde sences of the bodie as vpon the inward faculties of the minde And that wee may first deale with the torment of the inward sence yee shal obserue that there are foure faculties of the soule which shall bee vexed in hell with wonderful torments The first is that which the Grecians cal Phantasia and we Cogitation The second is memory The third vnderstanding And the last will 30 Cogitation therefore shall be most vehemently vexed with the féeling of those tormentes into the which both the body and the minde shal be cast For if now some great griefe doe so possesse our Cogitation that a man cannot would hee neuer so faine but thinke of that griefe what wil the torments of hel doe in the mindes of the damned which shal bee greater without al comparison Therefore cogitation shal increase the griefes and sorrowes and those sorrowes shal whette and stirre vp cogitation and they both shal so féede one another that they shal leaue no place of rest neither in the mind nor in the body of the damned These therefore Holy
come nigh our dwelling O most blessed Tabernacle O most safe refuge O region most resplendant and glorious All thy inhabitants weare crownes of glory sit in thrones of Maiestie liue in life eternall and possesse a paradice of infinite pleasures which as S. Bernard saith are so many that they cannot bée numbred of such eternitie that they are without all ende so precious as they cannot be estimated so great as they cannot bee measured For the which cause the Apostle saith neither the eye hath seene nor eare heaerd 1. Cor. 2. Apoc 2. nor the heart of man conceiued what things God hath prepared for those that loue him And Christ saith No man knoweth it but he that enioyeth it 2 Yet notwithstanding as it is reported of a skilfull Geometrician that finding the length of Hercules foote vpon the hill Olympus made a portraiture of his whole bodie by that one part Euen so by those demonstrations which in Gods word are found we may make a coniecture of this Tabernacle and the felicitie in the same although we can not expresse the full perfection thereof 3 We haue therefore a most comfortable description of this Tabernacle in the 21. and 22. chapters of Saint Iohns reuelation comparing it vnto a citie which is made of pure gold with a great and high wall of the pretious stone called Iaspis The wal wherof had also twelue foundations made of twelue distinct precious stones which he ther nameth also 12. gates made of 12. rich stones called Margarites and euery gate was an entire Margarite The stréetes of the citie were paued with gold enterlayed also with pearles pretious stones The light of the Cittie was the clearenesse and shining of Christ himself sitting in the middest therof from whose seat proceeded a riuer of water as cleare as Christall to refresh the Cittie and on both sides of the bankes there grew the tree of life giuing out perpetual and continual fruit there was no night in that Cittie nor any defiled thing entred there but they saith he which are within shal raigne for euer and euer 4 By this description wherein Saint Iohn vseth such words as hée could and not as hée would hée giueth vs to vnderstand that the greatnes of the felicity prepared for vs in heauen is such that as I noted before we may very well thinke with S Paul that no tongue of man is able to declare it nor heart imagine it 5 This cittie or tabernacle shall in amplenes and in beauty be far beyond the reach of mans reasō to comprehend Yet the greatnes and amplenes may partly be conceiued by the view of the starres For if the least of them be of such greatnes as all the Princes of the world haue not within their power so much compasse and space and yet an innumerable multitude of stars haue place in the firmament where there remaineth stil roome and space for many moe how great then is the amplenes and capacity of heauen it selfe The which giueth iust cause to the Prophet Baruch to cry out say Bar. 3.24 O Israell how great is the house of God and how large is the place of his possession 5 And now what shal wée say of beautie delicacie and glory of paradice This our earthly worlde which is as it were in comparison of that other but a stable of beasts a place of exile and a vale of misery and tears if this be so decked garnished by the great and most skilful worke-maister that it séemeth not to be a stable of beasts but a garden of delight and pleasures the firmament adorned with so many stars like goldē knops the earth paued with swéet smelling hearbs and glorious flowers decked shith flourishing trées and gréene woodes watered with seas and riuers replenished with great maiestie of cities and townes garnished with all manner of fruits and spices and furnished with all liuing creatures as beastes fowles and fishes scruing for mans necessary vse pleasure If I say this frame of the world be made so glorious for man which is but a seruant and also for so smal a time in respect of the eternity to come what then shal wée imagine that the habitation prepared for the eternity and the Kings pallace it self shal be Surely no lesse then the power and wisdome of the maker who is omnipotent and wisdome it selfe could make and finish 6 But the chiefe praise of a citie consisteth in this to haue many Citizens which are noble peaceable and quiet the which are to bée found in most excellent manner in the celestiall Hierusalem For if wée consider the holy Angels doth not Iob say Iob. 25.3 Can his Souldiers bee numbred And the Prophet Daniel saith Dan. 7.10 A hundred thousand ministred vnto him and tenne thousand thousands stood before him And if wée consider the number of holy men that shall bée there then harken to the wordes of Saint Iohn in the Reuelation I beheld Apoc. 7.9 and loe a great multitude which no man coulde number of all nations and kindreds and people and tongues stoode before the throane and before the Lambe cloathed with white long Robes and Palmes in their hands And this multitude shal not be confused but passing wel ordered 7 As touching the Nobilitie of these heauenly Citizens what shal wée say when as they shal be triumphant kinges princes the sonnes of God and after a sorte Gods themselues and inhabitants of the kingdome belongeth to the body cōsisteth in the change and glorification of our flesh after the general resurrection that is to say whereby this corrupted body of ours shal put on incorruption and of mortal become immortall All this flesh I say of ours which now so burdeneth and grieueth the soule which is now subiect to so many chaunges vexed with so many sicknesses infected with so many corruptions oppressed with so many crosses and vexations shall bée freed from all these and made perfect to endure for euer with the soul without any alteration For it shal be deliuered from al the infirmities diseases pains troubles and incombrances of this life and in stéed thereof it shal haue a most perfect and glorious estate which shall neuer fade and decay any more Mat. 15. And then saith Christ they shall shine as the Sunne in the kingdome of their Father And if one Sunne can lighten and fil the whole world with his brightnes if the maiesty glory of his beames be such and so great that some Ethnickes doe worship him for God and if he haue bene called of the auncients the Father of gladnesse the eye of the world and the fountaine of light What shal so many glorified bodies of the blessed be surely they shal be so many suns so many lampes and so many shining lights to lighten the heauenly Hierusalem 11 Nowe to say somewhat concerning the soule as the principal part of man Wée must vnderstand that although there be many things which make vs
Iesus in the supper in that we are made flesh of his flesh and bones of his bones in that we liue by his holy spirit ought not this vpon good cause to exhort vs to conforme our selues to the Image and likenesse of the holines of our Lord Iesus Christ Can he dwel in vs nourish vs with his own substance quicken vs with his holy spirit ioyne vs vnto himself by the bond of Faith yet so that he his holy spirit and faith bring not forth in vs good holy works Moreouer for so much as he doth not giue himselfe vnto vs halfemeale and destitute of his qualities and riches accompanied with all spirituall giftes and blessings adorned with righteousnesse and perfection accompanied with innocencie sanctification how can we receiue Iesus Christ enriched with all his graces that the righteousnesse of our head may not shine in vs which are members yea shine in all our parts as well inward as outward Must it needs be that the two partes of our soule that is to say our mind and heart which ought to apprehende and take hold of the promises of God which ought to receiue by faith the body and blood of our lord Iesus Christ that is to say whole Iesus Christ true God equal in euery respect to God his father and true man made of humane body and soule that this minde heart I say must be applyed to the meditation and loue of worldly and wicked things being destitute of the knowledge and loue of God and of the loue of our neighbour Doth it behoue our body which is the temple of God to be prophaned That our eares which were created of God to heare his voice shuld be stopped against it and be opened to vanities wanton talke vnchast worldly songes Doth it behooue our tongue which is bound by the right of creation to sing the praises of God and by the right of redemption to shew forth the Lords death till he come h That this tongue which is so proper an instrument of the glory of God should be mute to goodnesse incessantly occupied in backbiting slaundering blaspheming or at the least in speaking idle words whereof one day wée shal yéeld an account before the throne of the Maiesty of God i Mat. 12.36 Doeth it behoue our mouth which ought to receiue the blessed signe of the body and blood of our Lord Iesus to suppresse the benefit of our redemption and to haue adders poyson in it Doeth it behooue our hands which ought to take at the supper the assured gage of the loue of God the infallible pledges of his league with vs the earnest penny of our saluation to be voide of goodnesse beside that be giuen to extortion theft murther oppression violence Doth it behooue our féete which ought to runne and make hast to goodnesse to be ready and light to runne to mischiefe No surely but as he which calleth vs is holy so likewise must we also be wholy holy as he hath brought vs by holy Baptisme into his holy house which is his Church the Cōmunion of Saints Euen so likewise must we lead therein a good holy conuersation as he hath washed vs from our sinnes by the precious blood of his sonne Iesus Christ so must we dye to them liue in righteousnesse as he hath called vs to the the incorruptible hope of the blessed resurrection eternal life so must we lift vp our harts on high and not be buried like Moles in this fraile and transitorie earth To be short séeing that the grace of God is set before vs euery day and his holy word soundeth in our eares l Tit. 2.11 12.13.14 to this onely end that it may be saluation vnto vs and that renouncing all vngodlinesse worldly desires we should liue soberly iustly and godly in this present world looking for the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of the mighty God and of our Sauiour Iesus Christ We must pray vnto this good God that he would giue vs grace so to behaue our selues towardes him in liuing godly so towards our neighbours in liuing iustly so towards the poore in reléeuing them charitably so towards our selues in liuing soberly that we may be found at the day irreprehensible by the meanes of that his wel beloued Sonne our Lord Iesus Christ 3 Thirdly Of thankes giuing we must giue thanks to this good God for the benefit of our redemption for this cause it is that the Auncients called the holy supper Eucharistia that is to say gratefulnesse good grace giuing of thankes For if so be that our ordinary food and daily bread which GOD giueth vs for the nourishmēt of our bodies ought to be sanctified by the word receiued with thankesgiuing ought we not much more to thanke God for the heauenly bread for the nourishment of our soules which is offered vnto vs really giuen vs in the holy Supper of Iesus Christ And we sée also how Iesus Christ himselfe sheweth vs an example hereof For when he tooke the bread of the Supper S Matthewe and S. Marke say that Iesus Christ blessed And S. Luke expoundeth this word to blesse when he saith that he gaue thankes Now then séeing that we sée that Iesus Christ when he tooke the bread of the supper gaue thankes to God his father as he did also when he tooke the cup that for the redemption of mākind it is our duty to do the like And that we may be the better moued to giue thanks to God we haue to consider the greatnesse of the benefit of our redemption and the excellency of the gift which God giueth vs at his holy table which cannot bée done vnlesse we consider our miserable condition which was before figured by the temporall captiuitie of Egypt We see there how Pharaoh was strong and mighty how he knew not the generall how he went about to kill all the séede of the Israelites Exe 1.3 by the suppression and death of their men children we sée also how excessiuely he caused the Israelites to worke without any hope of wages how he would not suffer them by any meanes to sacrifice to the Lord nor to goe forth of the land of Egypt Which thing continued not for one yeare or two but for the space of foure hundred and thirtie f Exo. 12.30 yeares Here may we liuely beholde a draught of our misery We were all lost and destroyed in Adam Wee were holden captiues in the helly Egypt vnder the Tyranny of a spirituall Pharaoh which is the Diuell This Tyrant was strong and mighty hee suffered vs not to serue our GOD. He made vs to labour incessantly in slauish and vnfruitfull workes of sinne to the establishment of his owne kingdome He slew not onely our men children but he led vs all indifferently to vtter ruine and destruction And this Tyranny had not onely continued for a certaine time but had béene eternall and