are hyred into the field against Israel Fond Pagans that know not the value of a man their bloud cost them nothing and they care not to sell it good cheape How can wee thinke those men haue Soules that esteeme a little white earth aboue themselues that neuer inquire into the iustice of the quarell but the rate of the pay that can rifle for drams of siluer in the bowels of their owne flesh and either kill or die for a dayes wages Ioab the wise Generall of Israel soone findes where the strength of the battle lay and so marshalls his troupes that the choyce of his men shall incounter the vantgard of the Syrians His brother Abishai leads the rest against the children of Ammon with this couenant of mutuall assistance If the Syrians be too strong for mee then thou shalt helpe mee but if the children of Ammon be too strong for thee then will I come and helpe thee It is an happy thing when the captains of Gods people ioyne together as brethren and lend their hand to the ayde of each other against the common aduersary Concord in defence or assault is the way to victory as contrarily the deuision of the Leaders is the ouerthrow of the army Set aside some particular actions Ioab was a worthy Captaine both for wisdome and valour Who could either exhort or resolue better then he Be of good courage and let vs play the men for our people and for the cities of our God and the Lord doe that which seemeth him good It is not either priuate glory or profit that whets his fortitude but the respect to the cause of God and his people That Souldier can neuer answer it to God that strikes not more as a Iusticer then as an enemy Neither doth hee content himselfe with his owne courage but he animates others The tongue of a Commander fights more then his hand it is enough for priuate men to exercise what life and limmes they haue a good Leader must out of his owne abundance put life and spirits into all others If a Lyon lead sheep into the field there is hope of victory Lastly when he hath done his best he resolues to depend vpon God for the issue not trusting to his sword or his bowe but to the prouidence of the Almightie for successe as a man religiously awfull and awfully confident whiles there should bee no want in their owne indeuours he knew well that the race was not to the swift nor the battle to the strong therefore hee lookes vp aboue the hills whence commeth his saluation All valour is cowardise to that which is built vpon religion I maruel not to see Ioab victorious whiles he is thus godly The Syrians flee before him like flocks of sheepe the Amonites follow them The two Sons of Zeruiah haue nothing to doe but to pursue and execute The throates of the Amonites are cut for cutting the beards and cotes of the Israelitish messengers Neither doth this reuenge end in the field Rabba the royall city of Ammon is strongly beleguered by Ioab the City of waters after well-neare a yeares siege yeildeth the rest can no longer hold out now Ioab as one that desired more to approue himselfe a loyall and carefull subiect then a happy Generall sends to his master Dauid that he should come personally and encampe against the City and take it Least saith he I take it and it be called after my name Oh noble and imitable fidelity of a dutifull seruant that prefers his Lord to himselfe and is so farre from stealing honor from his masters deserts that he willingly remits of his owne to adde vnto his The warre was not his he was only imployed by his Soueraigne The same person that was wronged in the Ambassadors reuengeth by his soldiers the praise of the act shall like fountaine water returne to the sea whence it originally came To seeke a mans owne glory is not glory Alas how many are there who being sent to sue for God wooe for themselues Oh God it is a fearfull thing to robbe thee of that which is dearest to thee glory which as thou wilt not giue to any creature so much lâ—sse wilt thou indure that any creature should filtch it from thee and giue it to himselfe Haue thou the honor of all our actions who giuest a beeing to our actions and vs and in both hast most iustly regarded thine owne praise Dauid with Bathsheba and VRIAH WIth what vnwillingnes with what feare do I still look vpon the miscariage of the man after Gods owne hart O holy Prophet who can promise himselfe alwayes to stand when he sees thee falne and maimed in the fall Who can assure himselfe of an immunity from the foulest sins when hee sees the offending so haynously so bloudily Let profane eyes behold thee contentedly as a patterne as an excuse of sinning I shall neuer looke at thee but through teares as a wofull spectacle of humane infirmity Whiles Ioab and all Israel were busie in the warre against Ammon in the siege of Rabbah Satan findes time to lay siege to the secure hart of Dauid Who euer found Dauid thus tempted thus foyled in the dayes of his busie warres Now only doe I see the King of Israel rising from his bed in the euening The time was when he rose vp in the morning to his early deuotions when hee brake his nightly rest with publique cares with the businesse of estate all that while he was innocent he was holy but now that he wallowes in the bed of idlenesse he is fit to inuite a tentation The industrious man hath no leasure to sinne The idle hath neither leasure nor power to auoyd sinne Exercise is not wore wholsome for the body then for the Soule the remission whereof breeds matter of disease in both The water that hath beene heated soonest freezeth the most actiue Spirit soonest tyâ—eth with slackning The earth stands still and is all dregs the heauens euer moue and are pure We haue no reason to complaine of the assiduity of work the toyle of action is answered by the benefit If wee did lesse wee should suffer more Satan like an idle companion if he finde vs busie flies backe and sees it no time to entertaine vaine purposes with vs Wee cannot please him better then by casting away our work to hold chat with him wee cannot yeild so farre and bee guiltlesse Euen Dauids eyes haue no sooner the sleepe rubbed out of them then they roue to wanton prospects He walkes vpon his roofe and sees Bathsheba washing her selfe inquires after her sends for her solicits her to vncleanenesse The same Spirit that shut vp his eyes in an vnseasonable sleepe opens them vpon an intising obiect whiles sinne hath such a Solicitor it cannot want either meanes or opportunitie I cannot thinke Bathsheba could bee so immodest as to wash her selfe openly especially from her naturall vncleanenesse Lust is quick-sighted Dauid hath espyed her where she could espye no
another That blessed Sauiour of ours that was content to be led from lordan into the wildernes for the aduantage of the first tentation yeelds to be led from the wildernesse to Ierusalem for the aduantage of the second The place doth not a little auaile to the act The wildernesse was fit for a tentation arifing from want it was not fit for a tentation mouing to vain-glory The populous City was the fittest for such a motion Ierusalem was the glory of the world the Temple was the glory of Ierusalem the pinacles the highest peece of the Temple there is Christ content to be set for the opportunity of tentation O Sauiour of men how can wee wonder enough at this humility of thine that thou wouldst so farre abase thy selfe as to suffer thy pure and sacred body to bee transported by the presumptuous and malicious hand of that vnchaste spirit It was not his power it was thy patience that deserues our admiration Neither can this seem ouer-strange to vs when wee consider that if Satan bee the head of wicked men wicked men are the members of Satan What was Pilate or the Iewes that persecuted thine innocence but lims of this Diuell and why are we then amazed to see thee touched and locally transported by the head when wee see thee yeelding thy selfe ouer to be crucified by the members If Satan did the worse and greater mediately by their hands no maruell if hee doe the lesse and easier immediately by his own yet neither of them without thy voluntary dispensation Hee could not haue looked at thee without thee And if the Son of God did thus suffer his owne holy and precious body to bee carried by Satan what wonder is it if that Enemy haue sometimes power giuen him ouer the sinfull bodies of the adopted Sons of God It is not the strength of faith that can secure vs from the outward violences of that euill One This difference I finde betwixt his spirituall and bodily assaults those are beaten backe by the shield of faith these admit not of such repulse As the best man may bee lame blinde diseased so through the permission of God he may be bodily vexed by that olde Man-slayer Grace was neuer giuen vs for a target against externall afflictions Me thinkes I see Christ hoysed vp on the highest battlements of the Temple whose very roofe was an hundred and thirty cubits high and Satan standing by him with this speech in his mouth Well then since in the matter of nourishment thou wilt needes depend vpon thy Fathers prouidence that he can without meanes sustaine thee take now further triall of that prouidence in thy miraculous preseruation Cast thy selfe down from this height Behold thou art here in Ierusalem the famous and holy City of the world here thou art on the top of the pinacle of that Temple which is dedicated to thy Father and if thou be God to thy selfe the eyes of all men are now fixt vpon thee there cannot be deuised a more ready way to spred thy glory and to proclaime thy Deity then by casting thy selfe headlong to the earth All the world will say there is more in thee then a man and for danger there can bee none What can hurt him that is the Son of God and wherefore serues that glorious Guard of Angels which haue by diuine commission taken vpon them the charge of thine humanity since therefore in one act thou mayst bee both safe and celebrated trust thy Father and those thy seruiceable spirits with thine assured preseruation Cast thy selfe downe And why didst thou not ô thou malignant spirit endeauour to cast downe my Sauiour by those same presumptuous hands that brought him vp since the descent is more easie then the raising vp was it for that it had not beene so great an aduantage to thee that hee should fall by thy meanes as by his owne falling into sinne was more then to fall from the pinacle still thy care and sute is to make vs Authours to our selues of euill thou gainest nothing by our bodily hurt if the soule be safe Or was it rather for that thou couldst not I doubt not but thy malice could as well haue serued to haue offered this measure to himselfe as to his holy Apostle soone after but he that bounded thy power tether'd thee shorter Thou couldst not thou canst not doe what thou wouldst Hee that would permit thee to carry him vp binds thy hands from casting him downe And wo were it for vs if thou wert not euer stinted Why did Satan carry vp Christ so high but on purpose that his fall might bee the more deadly so deales hee still with vs he exalts vs that we may be dangerously abased Hee puffs men vp with swelling thoughts of their owne worthinesse that they may bee vile in the eyes of God and fall into condemnation It is the manner of God to cast downe that he may raise to abase that he may exalt Contrarily Satan raises vp that hee may throw downe and intends nothing but our deiection in our aduancement Height of place giues opportunity of tentation Thus busie is that wicked one in working against the members of Christ If any of them bee in eminence aboue others those hee labours most to ruinate They had need to stand fast that stand high Both there is more danger of their falling and more hurt in their fall Hee that had presumed thus far to tempt the Lord of life would faine now draw him also to presume vpon his Deity If thou bee the Son of God cast thy selfe downe There is not a more tryed shaft in all his quiuer then this a perswasion to men not to beare themselues too bold vpno the fauor of God Thou art the Elect and Redemed of God sin because grace hath abounded sin that it may abound Thou art safe enough though thou offend be not too much an aduersary to thine owne liberty False Spirit it is no liberty to sin but seruitude rather there is no liberty but in the freedome from sin Euery one of vs that hath the hope of Sonnes must purge himselfe euen as hee is pure that hath redeemed vs Wee are bought with a price therefore must wee glorifie God in our bodies and spirits for they are Gods Our Son-ship teacheth vs awe and obedience and therefore because we are Sons we will not cast our selues downe into sin How idly doe Satan and wicked men measure God by the crooked line of their owne misconceit Ywis Christ cannot be the Son of God vnlesse hee cast himselfe downe from the pinacle vnlesse he come down from the Crosse God is not mercifull vnles he humor them in all their desires not iust vnlesse hee take speedy vengeance where they require it But when they haue spent their folly vpon these vaine imaginations Christ is the Son of God though hee stay on the top of the Temple God will bee mercifull though wee miscarry and iust though Sinners seeme lawlesse
hee to flatter any more when hee hath what hee would Now his onely worke is to terrifie and confound that hee may enioy what hee hath won How much better is it seruing that Master who when wee are most deiected with the conscience of euill heartens vs with inward comfort and speakes peace to the soule in the midst of tumult Ziglag spoyled and reuenged HAD not the King of the Philistims sent Dauid away earely his wiues his people and substance which he left at Ziglag had beene vtterly lost Now Achish did not more pleasure Dauid in his intertainment then in his dismission Saul was not Dauids enemy more in the persecution of his person then in the forbearance of God enemies Behold thus late doth Dauid feele the smart of Sauls sin in sparing the Amalekites who if Gods sentence had beene duely executed had not now suruiued to annoy this parcell of Israel As in spirituall respects our sins are alwayes hurtfull to our selues so in temporall oft-times preiudiciall to posterity A wicked man deserues ill of those he neuer liued to see I cannot maruell at the Amalekites assault made vpon the Israelites of Ziglag I cannot but maruell at their clemency how just it was that while Dauid would giue ayd to the enemies of the Church against Ifrael the enemies of the Church should rise against Dauid in his peculiar charge of Israel But whilst Dauid rouing against the Amalekites not many dayes before left neither man nor woman aliue how strange is it that the Amalekites inuading and surprizing Ziglag in reuenge kill neither man nor woman Shal we say that mercy is fled from the brests of Israelites and rests in heathens Or shall wee rather ascribe this to the gracious restraint of God who hauing designed Amalek to the slaughter of Israel and not Israel to the slaughter of Amalek moued the hand of Israel and held the hands of Amalek This was that alone that made the heathens take vp with an vn-bloody reuenge burning only the walls and leading away the persons Israel crossed the reuealed will of God in sparing Amalek Amalek fulfills the secret will of God in sparing Israel It was still the lot of Amalek to take Israel at all aduantages vpon their first cōming out of Aegypt when they were weary weake and vnarmed then did Amalek assault them And now when one part of Israel was in the field against the Philistims another was gone with the Philistims against Israel the Amalakites set vpon the coasts of both and goes away laded with the spoyle No other is to be exspected of our spirituall aduersaries who are euer readiest to assayle when we are the vnreadiest to defend It was a wofull spectacle for Dauid and his Souldiers vpon their returne to finde ruines and ashes in steed of houses and in steed of their families solitude Their citie was vanished into smoake their housholds into captiuity neither could they know whom to accuse or where to enquire for redresse whiles they made account that their home should recompence their tedious journey with comfort the miserable desolation of their home doubles the discomfort of their journey what remained there but teares and lamentations They lifted vp their voices and wept till they could weepe no more Heere was plenty of nothing but misery and sorow The heart of euery Israelite was brim-full of griefe Dauids ran ouer for besides that his crosse was the same with theirs all theirs was his alone each man lookt on his fellow as a partner of affliction but euery one lookt vpon Dauid as the cause of all their affliction and as common displeasure is neuer but fruitfull of reuenge they all agree to stone him as the auther of their vndoing whom they followed all this while as the hopefull meanes of their aduancements Now Dauids losse is his least griefe neither as if euery thing had conspired to torment him can he looke besides the aggrauation of his sorrow and danger Saul and his souldiers had hunted him out of Israel the Philistim Courtiers had hunted him from the fauour of Achish the Amalekites spoyled him in Ziglag yet all these are easie aduersaries in comparison of his owne his owne followers are so farre from pittying his participation of the losse that they are ready to kill him because they are miserable with him Oh the many and grieuous perplexities of the man after Gods owne heart If all his traine had ioyned their best helpes for the mitigation of his griefe their cordials had beene too weake but now the vexation that arises from their fury and malice drowneth the sense of their losse and were enough to distract the most resolute heart why should it be strange to vs that we meete with hard tryals when wee see the deare anoynted of God thus plunged into euils What should the distressed Son of Ishai now doe whether should he thinke to turne him to goe backe to Israel hee durst not to goe to Achish he might not to abide amongst those waste heapes he could not or if there might haue beene harbor in those burnt walls yet there could bee no safety to remaine with those mutinous spirits But Dauid comforted himselfe in the Lord his God oh happy and sure refuge of a faithfull Soule The earth yeelded him nothing but matter of disconsolation and heauines he lifts his eyes aboue the hills whence commeth his saluation It is no meruaile that God remembred Dauid in all his troubles Since Dauid in all his troubles did thus remember his God hee knew that though no mortall eye of reason or sense could discerne any euasision from these intricate euils yet that the eye of diuine prouidence had descryed it long before and that though no humane power could make way for his safety yet that the ouer-ruling hand of his God could doe it with ease His experience had assured him of the fidelity of his Guardian in heauen and therfore he comforted himselfe in the Lord his God In uaine is comfort expected from God if wee consult not with him Abiathar the Priest is called for Dauid was not in the court of Achish without the Priest by his side nor the Priest without the Ephod Had these beene left behinde in Ziglag they had beene miscarried with the rest and Dauid had now beene hopelesse How well it succeedes to the great when they take God with them in his Ministers in his ordinances As contrarily when these are layd by as superfluous there can be nothing but vncertainty of successe or certainty of mischeefe The presence of the Priest and Ephod would haue little auailed him without their vse by them he askes counsell of the Lord in these straits The mouth and eares of God which were shut vnto Saul are open vnto Saul are open vnto Dauid no sooner can he aske then hee receiues answer and the answer that he receiues is full of courage and comfort Follow for thou shalt surely ouertake them and recouer all That God of truth
counterfait Samuel he had not beene strook downe on the ground with words Now his beleefe made him desperate Those actions which are not sustained by hope must needs languish and are only promoted by outward compulsion Whiles the minde is vncertaine of successe it relieues it selfe with the possibilities of good in doubts there is a comfortable mixture but when it is assured of the worst euent it is vtterly discouraged and deiected It hath therefore pleased the wisdome of God to hide from wicked men his determination of their finall estate that their remainders of hope may harten them to good In all likelyhood on selfe-same day saw Dauid a victor ouer the Amalakites and Saul discomfited by the Philistims How should it bee otherwise Dauid consulted with God and preuailed Saul with the Witch of Endor and perisheth The end is commonly answerable to the way It is an idle iniustice when we do ill to look to speed well The slaughter of Saul and his sonnes was not in the first scene of this Tragicall field that was rather reserued by God for the last act that Saules measure might be full God is long ere he strikes but when he doth it is to purpose First Israel flees and falls downe wounded in mount Gilboa They had their part in Sauls sinne they were actors in Dauids persecution Iustly therfore doe they suffer with him whom they had seconded in offence As it is hard to be good vnder an euill Prince so it is as rare not to be enwrapped in his iudgements It was no small addition to the anguish of Sauls death to see his sonnes dead to see his people fleeing and slaine before him They had sinned in their King and in them is their King punished The rest were not so worthy of pittie but whose heart would it not touch to see Ionathan the good Sonne of a wicked Father inuolued in the common destruction Death is not partiall All dispositions all merits are alike to it If valour if holines if syncerity of heart could haue beene any defence against mortality Ionathan had suruiued Now by their wounds and death no man can discerne which is Ionathan The soule only findes the difference which the body admitteth not Death is the cōmon gate both to heauen and hell we all passe that ere our turning to either hand The sword of the Philistims fetcheth Ionathan through it with his fellowes no sooner is his foot ouer that threshold then God conducteth him to glory The best cannot bee happy but through their dissolution Now therefore hath Ionathan no cause of complaint he is by the rude and cruel hand of a Philistim but remoued to a better Kingdome then hee leaues to his brother and at once is his death both a temporall affliction to the Sonne of Saul and an entrance of glory to the frend of Dauid The Philistim-archers shot at random God directs their arrowes into the body of Saul Least the discomfiture of his people and the slaughter of his sonnes should not bee griefe enough to him hee feeles himselfe wounded and sees nothing before him but horror and death and now as a man forsaken of all hopes hee begs of his armor-bearer that deaths-blow which els he must to the doubling of his indignation receiue from a Philistim Hee begs this bloody fauour of his seruant and is denyed Such an awefulnes hath God placed in soueraigntie that no intreaty no extremity can moue the hand against it What mettall are those men made of that can suggest or resolue and attempt the violation of maiesty Wicked men care more for the shame of the world then the danger of their soule Desperate Saul will now supply his armor-bearer and as a man that bore armes against himselfe hee falls vpon his owne sword What if he had dyed by the weapon of a Philistim So did his Son Ionathan and lost no glory These conceites of disreputation preuaile with carnall hearts aboue all spirituall respects There is no greater murderer then vain-glory Nothing more argues an heart voyd of grace then to be transported by ydle popularity into actions preiudiciall to the Soule Euill examples especially of the great neuer escaped imitation the armour-bearer of Saul followes his master and dares do that to himselfe which to his King he durst not as if their owne swords had beene more familiar executioners they yelded vnto them what they grudged to their pursuers From the beginning was Saul euer his owne enemy neither did any hands hurt him but his owne and now his death is sutable to his life his owne hand payes him the reward of all his wickednesse The end of hypocrites and enuious men is commonly fearefull Now is the blood of Gods Priests which Saul shed and of Dauid which he would haue shed required requited The euil spirit had said the euening before To morrow thou shalt be with mee and now Saul hasteth to make the diuell no lyer rather then fayle he giues himselfe his own mittimus Oh the wofull extremities of a dispayring Soule plundging him euer into a greater mischiefe to auoyd the lesse Hee might haue beene a patient in anothers violence and faultlesse now whiles hee will needs act the Philistims part vpon himselfe hee liued and dyed a murderer The case is deadly when the prisoner breakes the Iayle and will not stay for his deliuery though wee may not passe sentence vpon such a Soule yet vpon the fact we may the Soule may possibly repent in the parting the act is haynous and such as without repentance kills the Soule It was the next day ere the Philistims knew how much they were victors then finding the dead corpes of Saul and his Sonnes they begin their triumphs The head of King Saul is cut off in lieu of Goliahs and now all their Idoll temples ring of their successe Foolish Philistims If they had not beene more beholden to Sauls sinnes then their Gods they had neuer carryed away the honor of those trophees In steed of magnifying the iustice of the true God who punished Saul with deserued death they magnifie the power of the false Superstition is extemely iniurious to God It is no better then theft to ascribe vnto the second causes that honor which is due vnto the first but to giue Gods glory to those things which neither act nor are it is the highest degree of spirituall robbery Saul was none of the best Kings yet so impatient are his subiects of the indignity offered to his dead corps that they will rather leaue their owne bones amongst the Philistims then the carcasse of Saul Such a close relation there is betwixt a Prince and subiect that the dishonor of either is inseparable from both How willing should wee bee to hazard our bodyes or substance fo the vindication either of the person or name of a good King whiles he liues to the benefit of our protection It is an vniust ingratitude in those men which can endure the disgrace of
them vnder whose shelter they liue but how vnnaturall is the villany of those miscreants that can be content to bee actors in the capitall wrongs offred to soueraigne authority It were a wonder if after the death of a Prince there should want some Pick-thanke to insinuate himselfe into his Successour An Amalekite young manrides post to Ziklag to find out Dauid whom euen common rumor had notified for the anoynted heyre to the Kingdome of Israel to bee the first messenger of that newes which hee thought could bee no other then acceptable the death of Saul and that the tydings might be so much more meritorious he addes to the report what he thinkes might carry the greatest retribution In hope of reward or honour the man is content to bely himselfe to Dauid It was not the speare but the sword of Saul that was the instrument of his death neither could this stranger finde Saul but dying since the Armour-bearer of Saul saw him dead ere he offred that violence to himselfe The hand of this Amalekite therfore was not guilty his tongue was Had not this messenger measur'd Dauids foot by his owne last hee had forborne this peece of the newes and not hoped to aduantage himselfe by this falshood Now he thinks The tydings of a Kingdome cannot but please None but Saul and Ionathan stood in Dauids way Hee cannot chuse but like to heare of their remouall Especially since Saul did so tyrannously persecute his innocence If I shall onely report the fact done by another I shall goe away but with the recompence of a lucky Post wheras if I take vpon mee the action I am the man to whom Dauid is beholden for the Kingdome he cannot but honour and requite me as the author of his deliuerance and happinesse Worldly mindes thinke no man can be of any other then their owne diet and because they finde the respects of selfe-loue and priuate profit so strongly preuailing with themselues they cannot conceiue how these should bee capable of a repulse from others How much was this Amalekite mocked of his hopes whiles he imagined that Dauid would now triumph and feast in the assured expectation of the Kingdome and possession of the Crowne of Israel hee findes him renting his clothes and wringing his hands and weeping and mourning as if all his comfort had been dead with Saul and Ionathan and yet perhaps he thought This sorrow of Dauid is but fashionable such as great heyres make shew of in the fatall day they haue longed for These teares will soone be dry the sight of a Crowne will soon breed a succession of other passions But this error is soon corrected For when Dauid had entertained this Bearer with a sad fast all the day he cals him forth in the euening to executiō How wast thou not afrayd saith he to put forth thy hand to destroy the Anoynted of the Lord Doubtlesse the Amalekite made many faire pleas for himselfe out of the grounds of his owne report Alas Saul was before falne vpon his owne speare It was but mercy to kill him that was halfe dead that he might die the shorter Besides his entreaty and importunate prayers moued mee to hasten him through those painfull gates of death had I striken him as an enemy I had deserued the blow I had giuen now I sent him the hand of a frend why am I punished for obeying the voyce of a King and for perfiting what himselfe begun and could not finish And if neither his own wound nor mine had dispatched him the Philistims were at his heeles ready to doe this same act with insultation which I did in fauour and if my hand had not preuented them wherehad been the Crowne of Israel which I now haue here presented to thee I could haue deliuered that to King Achish and haue beene rewarded with honour let mee not dye for an act well meant to thee how euer construed by thee But no pretence can make his owne tale not deadly Thy bloud bee vpon thine owne head for thine owne mouth hath testified against thee saying I haue slaine the Lords Anoynted It is a iust supposition that euery man is so great a Fauourer of himselfe that he will not mis-report his owne actions nor say the worst of himselfe In matter of confession men may without iniury be taken at their words If he did it his fact was capitall If he did it not his lye It is pittyany other recompence should befall those false flatterers that can be content to father a sinne to get thankes Euery drop of royall bloud is sacred For a man to say that he hath shed it is mortall Of how farre different spirits from this of Dauid are those men which suborne the death of Princes and celebrate and canonize the murtherers Into their secret let not my soule come my glory be thou not joyned to their assembly Abner and Joab HOw mercifull and seasonable are the prouisions of God Ziglag was now nothing but ruines and ashes Dauid might returne to the soyle where it stood to the roofes and walls he could not No sooner is he disapointed of that harbour then God prouides him Cities of Hebron Saul shall dye to giue him elbow-roome Now doth Dauid finde the comfort that his extremity sought in the Lord his God Now are his clowdes for a time passed ouer and the Sun breaks gloriously forth Dauid shall raigne after his sufferings So shall we if we indure to the end finde a Crowne of righteousnes which the Lord the righteous Iudge shall giue vs at that day But though Dauid well knew that his head was long before anoynted and had heard Saul himselfe confidently auouching his succession yet he will not stirre from the heapes of Ziglag till hee haue consulted with the Lord It did not content him that he had Gods warrant for the kingdome but hee must haue his instructions for the taking possession of it How safe and happie is the man that is resolued to do nothing without God Neither will generalities of direction be sufficient euen particular circumstances must looke for a word still is God a piller of fire and cloude to the eye of euery Israelite neither may there be any motion or stay but from him That action cannot but succeed which proceeds vpon so sure a warrant God sends him to Hebron a city of Iudah Neither will Dauid goe vp thither alone but he takes with him all his men with their whole housholds they shall take such part as himselfe As they had shared with him in his misery so they shall now in his prosperity Neither doth he take aduantage of their late mutinye which was yet fresh and greene to cashier those vnthankefull and vngracious followers but pardoning their secret rebellions he makes them partakers of his good successe Thus doth our heauenly leader whom Dauid prefigured take vs to raigne with him who haue suffered with him passing by our manyfold infirmities as if they had not
and is now payed with the bloud of his son how shall I hope to speede better but he opens his doores with a bold cheerefulnesse and notwithstanding all those terrors bids God welcome Nothing can make God not amiable to his owne Euen his very Iustice is louely Holy men know how to reioyce in the Lord with trembling and can feare without discouragement The God of Heauen will not receiue any thing from men on free cost hee will pay liberally for his lodging a plentifull blessing vpon Obed-Edom and all his houshold It was an honour to that zealous Gittite that the Arke would come vnder his roofe yet God rewards that honour with benediction Neuer man was a loser by true godlinesse The house of Obed-Edom cannot this while want obseruation the eyes of Dauid and all Israel are neuer off from it to see how it fared with this entertainment And now when they finde nothing but a gracious acceptation and sensible blessing the good King of Israel takes new heart and hastens to fetch the Arke into his royall City The view of Gods fauours vpon the godly is no small encouragement to confidence and obedience Doubtlesse Obed-Edom was not free from some weaknesses If the Lord should haue taken the aduantage of judgement against him what Israelites had not been dishartned from attending the Arke Now Dauid Israel was not more affrighted with the vengeance vpon Vzzah then encouraged by the blessing of Obed-Edom The wise God doth so order his iust and mercifull proceedings that the awefulnesse of men may be tempered with loue Now the sweet singer of Israel reuiues his holy Musicke and addes both more spirit and more pompe to so deuout a businesse I did not before heare of trumpets nor dancing nor shouting nor sacrifices nor the linnen Ephod The sense of Gods passed displeasure doubles our care to please him and our ioy in his recouered approbation wee neuer make so much of our health as after sicknesse nor neuer are so officious to our frend as after an vnkindnesse In the first setting out of the Ark Dauids feare was at least an equall match to his ioy therefore after the first sixe paces hee offred a sacrifice both to pacifie God and thank him but now when they saw no signe of dislike they did more freely let themselues loose to a fearelesse ioy and the body stroue to expresse the holy affection of the Soule there was no limme no part that did not professe their mirth by motion no noyse of voyce or instrument wanted to assist their spirituall iollity Dauid led the way dauncing with all his might in his linnen Ephod Vzzah was still in his eye he durst not vsurpe vpon a garment of Priests but hee will borrow their colour to grace the solemnity though he dare not the fashion White was euer the colour of ioy and linnen was light for vse therfore he couers his Princely robes with white linnin and meanes to honor himselfe by his conformity to Gods ministers Those that thinke there is disgrace in the Ephod are farre from the Spirit of the man after Gods owne hart Neither can there bee a greater argument of a foule Soule then a dislike of the glorious calling of God Barren Mical hath too many Sons that scorne the holy habit and exercises shee lookes through her window and seeing the attyre and gestures of her deuout husband despiseth him in her hart neither can shee conceale her contempt but like Sauls daughter cast it proudly in his face Oh how glorious was the King of Israel this day which was vncouered to day in the eyes of the Maidens of his seruants as a foole vncouereth himselfe Worldly harts can see nothing in actions of zeale but folly and madnesse Piety hath no relish to their palate but distastfull Dauids hart did neuer swell so much at any reproch as this of his wife his loue was for the time lost in his anger and as a man impatient of no affront so much as in the way of his deuotion hee returnes a bitter checke to his Micall It was before the Lord which chose me rather then thy Father all his house c. Had not Mical twitted her husband with the shame of his zeale she had not heard of the shamefull reiection of her Father now since shee will be forrgetting whose wife she was she shall be put in minde whose daughter she was Contumelyes that are cast vpon vs in the causes of God may safely bee repayed If we be meal-mouthed in the scornes of religion wee are not patient but zeale-lesse Heere we may not forbeare her that lies in our bosome If Dauid had not loued Mical dearely he had neuer stood vpon those points with Abner Hee knew that if Abner came to him the Kingdome of Israel would accompany him and yet he sends him the charge of not seeing his face except he brought Mical Sauls daughter with him as if he would not regard the Crowne of Israel whiles hee wanted that wife of his Yet heere hee takes her vp roundly as if she had bene an enimy not a partener of his bed All relations are a loofe off in comparison of that betwixt God and the Soule He that loues Father or Mother or wife or childe better then me saith our Sauiour is not worthy of me Euen the highest delights of our harts must be trampled vpon when they will stand out in riuality with God Oh happy resolution of the royall Prophet and propheticall King of Israel I will bee yet more vile then thus and will bee low in mine owne sight he knew this very abasement heroycall and that the only way to true glory is not to be ashamed of our lowest humiliation vnto God Well might he promise himselfe honor from those whose contempt shee had threatned The hearts of men are not their owne hee that made them ouer-rules them and inclines them to an honorable conceit of those that honor their maker So as holy men haue oft-times inward reuerence euen where they haue outward indignities Dauid came to blesse his house Mical brings a curse vpon her selfe Her scornes shall make her childelesse to the day of her death Barrennesse was held in those times none of the least iudgements God doth so reuenge Dauids quarrell vpon Mical that her sudden disgrace shall bee recompenced with perpetuall Shee shall not bee held worthy to beare a Sonne to him whom she vniustly contemned How iust is it with God to prouide whips for the back scorners It is no maruell if those that mocke at goodnesse bee plagued with continuall fruitlesnesse Mephibosheth and Ziba SO soone as euer Dauid can but breathe himselfe from the publique cares hee casts backe his thoughts to the deare remembrance of his Ionathan Sauls seruant is likely to giue him the best intelligence of Sauls sons The question is therfore moued to Ziba Remaineth there yet none of the house of Saul and lest suspition might conceale the remainders of
or mourning To dwell in sieled houses whiles the Temple lyes waste is the ground of Gods iust quarrell How shall wee sing a song of the Lord in a strange land If I forget thee ô Ierusalem let my right hand forget her cunning If I do not remember thee let my tongue cleaue to the roofe of my mouth yea if I prefer not Hierusalem to my cheefe ioy As euery man is a limme of the community so must hee be affected with the estate of the vniuersal body whether healthfull or languishing It did not more aggrauate Dauids sin that whiles the Arke and Israel was in hazard and distresse he could finde time to loose the reynes to wanton desires and actions then it magnifies the religious zeale of Vriah that he abandons comfort till he see the Arke and Israel victorious Common dangers or calamities must like the rapt motion carry our hearts contrary to to the wayes of our priuate occasions Hee that cannot bee mooued with words shall be tryed with wine Vriah had equally protested against feasting at home and society with his wife To the one the authority of a King forces him abroad in hope that the excesse thereof shall force him to the other It is like that holy Captaine intended onely to yeeld so much obedience as might consist with his course of austerity But wine is a mocker when it goes plausibly in no man can imagine how it will rage and tyrannize he that receiues that Traytor within his gates shall too late complaine of a surprizall Like vnto that ill spirit it insinuates sweetly but in the end it bites like a Serpent hurts like a Cockatrice Euen good Vrias is made drunk the holyest soule may bee ouertaken It is hard gaine-saying where a King begins an health to a subiect Where oh where will this wickednesse end Dauid will now procure the sin of another to hide his owne Vriahs drunkennesse is more Dauids offence then his It is weakly yeelded to of the one which was wilfully intended of the other The one was as the sinner the other as the tempter Had not Dauid knowne that wine was an inducement to lust he had spared those superfluous cups Experience had taught him that the eye debauched with wine will looke vpon strange women The Drunkard may bee any thing saue good Yet in this the ayme failed Grace is stronger then wine Whiles that with-holds in vaine shall the fury of the grape attempt to carry Vriah to his own bed Sober Dauid is now worse then drunken Vriah Had not the King of Israel beene more intoxicate with sin then Vriah with drinke he had not in a sober intemperance climbed vp into that bed which the drunken temperance of Vriah refused If Dauid had beene but himself how had he loued how had he honoured this honest and religious zeale in his so faithfull seruant whom now he cruelly seekes to reward with death That fact which wine cannot hide the sword shall Vriah shall beare his owne Mittimus vnto Ioab Put yee Vriah in the fore front of the strength of the battle and recule backe from him that he may bee smitten and die What is becomne of thee ô thou good Spirit that hadst wont to guide thy chosen seruant in his former wayes Is not this the man whom wee lately saw so heart-smitten for but cutting off the lap of the garment of a wicked Master that is now thus lauish of the bloud of a gracious and well-deseruing Seruant Could it be likely that so worthy a Captaine could fall alone Could Dauid haue expiated this sinne with his owne bloud it had beene but well spent but to couer his sinne with the innocent bloud of others was a crime aboue astonishment Oh the deepe deceitfulnesse of sinne If the Deuill should haue comne to Dauid in the most louely forme of Bathsheba her selfe and at the first should haue directly and in termes solicited him to murder his best seruant I doubt not but hee would haue spat scorne in that face on which he should otherwise haue doted now by many cunning windings Satan rises vp to that tentation preuailes that shall be done for a colour of guiltinesse whreof the soule would haue hated to be immediately guilty Euen those that find a iust horrour in leaping downe from some hie tower yet may be perswaded to descend by stayres to the bottome Hee knowes not where hee shall stay that hath willingly slipt into a knowne wickednesse How many doth an eminent offender draw with him into euill It could not be but that diuers of the attendants both of Dauid and Bathsheba must be conscious to that adultery Great mens sinnes are seldome secret And now Ioab must bee fetcht in as accessary to the murder How must this example needes harden Ioab against the conscience of Abners blood Whiles he cannot but thinke Dauid cannot auenge that in me which he acteth himselfe Honor is pretended to poore Vriah death is meant This man was one of the worthies of Dauid their courage sought glory in the difficultest exploits That reputation had neuer bene purchased without attempts of equall danger Had not the leader and followers of Vriah beene more trecherous then his enemies were strong hee had comne off with victory Now he was not the first or last that perished by his frends Dauid hath forgotten that himselfe was in like sort betrayed in his masters intention vpon the dowry of the Philistim-foreskins I feare to aske Who euer noted so foule a plot in Dauids reiected predecessour Vriah must be the messenger of his owne death Ioab must be a traytor to his frend the host of God must shamefully turne their backs vpon the Ammonites all that Israelitish blood must bee shed that murder must bee seconded with dissimulation and all this to hide one adultery O God thou hadst neuer suffered so deare a fauorite of thine to fall so fearefully if thou hadst not meant to make him an vniuersall example to mankinde of not presuming of not despayring How can wee presume of not sinning or despaire for sinning when we finde so great a Saint thus fallen thus risen Nathan and Dauid YEt Bathsheba mourned for the death of that husband whō she had bene drawn to dishonor How could shee bestowe teares enow vpon that funerall whereof her sinne was the cause If shee had but a suspicion of the plot of his death the fountaines of her eyes could not yeild water enough to wash off her husbands blood Her sin was more worthy of sorrow then her losse If this griefe had beene right placed the hope of hiding her shame and the ambition to be a Queene had not so soone mittigated it neither had she vpon any termes beene drawne into the bed of her husbands murtherer Euery gleame of earthly comfort can drye vp the teares of worldly sorrow Bathsheba hath soone lost her griefe at the Court The remembrance of an husband is buryed in the iollity and state of a Princesse
by the sin of his sons whom his act taught to offend Maacah was the daughter of an Heathenish King By her had Dauid that beautifull but vnhappy issue Absalom and his no lesse faire sister Thamar Perhaps thus late doth Dauid feele the punishment of that vnfit choyce I should haue maruelled if so holy a man had not found crosses in so vnequall a match either in his person or at least in his seed Beauty if it be not well disciplin'd proues not a frend but a traytour three of Dauids children are vndone by it at once What els was guilty of Amnons incestuous loue Thamars rauishment Absaloms pride It is a blessing to bee faire yet such a blessing as if the soule answer not to the face may lead to a curse How commonly haue we seene the foulest soule dwell fairest It was no fault of Thamars that she was beautifull the candle offends not in burning the foolish flye offends in scorching it selfe in the flame yet it is no small misery to become a tentation vnto another and to be made but the occasion of others ruine Amnon is loue-sicke of his sister Tamar and languishes of that vnnaturall heat Whither will not wanton lust carry the inordinate mindes of pampered and vngouerned youth None but his halfe-sister will please the eyes of the young Prince of Israel Ordinary pleasures will not content those whom the conceit of greatnesse youth and ease haue let loose to their appetite Perhaps yet this vnkindely flame might in time haue gone out alone had not there beene a Ionadab to blow these coles with ill counsell It were strange if great Princes should want some parasiticall followers that are ready to feede their ill humours Why art thou the Kings son so leane from day to day As if it were vnworthy the heyre of a King to suffer either law or conscience to stand in the way of his desires Whereas wise Princes know well that their places giue them no priuiledge of sinning but call them in rather to so much more strictnesse as their example may be more preiudiciall Ionadab was the cozen german of Amnon Ill aduise is so much more dangerous as the interest of the giuer is more Had he been a true frend he had bent all the forces of his disswasion against the wicked motions of that sinfull lust and had shewed the Prince of Israel how much those lewd desires prouoked God and blemished himselfe and had lent his hand to strangle them in their first conception There cannot bee a more worthy improuement of frendship then in a feruent opposition to the sinnes of them whom wee professe to loue No enemy can be so mortall to great Princes as those officious clients whose flattery soothes them vp in wickednesse These are traytors to the Soule and by a pleasing violence kill the best part eternally How redy at hand is an euill suggestion Good counsell is like vnto well water that must be drawne vp with a Pumpe or bucket Ill counsell is like to Conduit-water which if the cocke be but turned runs out alone Ionadab hath soone proiected how Amnon shall accomplish his lawlesse purpose The way must bee to fayne himselfe sicke in body whose minde was sicke of lust and vnder this pretence to procure the presence of her who had wounded and only might cure him The daily-increasing languor and leanenesse and palenesse of loue-sicke Amnon might well giue colour to a kercheife and a pallet Now it is soone told Dauid that his eldest Sonne is cast vpon his sickebed there needs no suit for his visitation The carefull father hastens to his bed-side not without doubts and feares He that was lately so afflicted with the sickness of a childe that scarce liued to see the light how sensible must we needs thinke he would be of the indisposition of his first borne Sonne in the prime of his age and hopes It is not giuen to any Prophet to foresee all things Happy had it beene for Dauid if Amnon had beene truly sicke and sick vnto death yet who could haue perswaded this passionate father to haue beene content with this succession of losses this early losse of his successor How glad is hee to heare that his daughter Tamars skill might be likely to fit the dyet of so deare a patient Conceit is wont to rule much both in sicknesse and the cure Tamar is sent by her father to the house of Amnon Her hand only must dresse that dish which may please the nice Palate of her sicke brother Euen the children of Kings in those homelyer times did not scorne to put their fingers to some workes of huswifrie She tooke floure and did knead it and did make cakes in his sight and did bake the cakes and tooke a panne and poured them out before him Had she not beene sometimes vsed to such domestique imployments shee had bene now to seeke neither had this bene required of her but vpon the knowledge of her skill She doth not plead the impayring of her beauty by the scorching of the fire nor thinkes her hand too dainty for such meane seruices but fettles to the worke as one that had rather regard the necessities of her brother then her owne state Only pride and idlenesse haue banisht honest and thrifty diligence out of the houses of the great This was not yet the dish that Amnon longed for It was the Cooke and not the cates which that wanton eye affected Vnlawfull acts seeke for secrecy The company is dismissed Tamar only stayes Good meaning suspects nothing Whiles shee presents the meat she had prepared to her sicke brother her selfe is made a pray to his outragious lust The modest virgin intreats and perswades in vain she layes before him the sinne the shame the danger of the fact and since none of these can preuaile faine would win time by the suggesting of vnpossible hopes Nothing but violence can stay a resolued sinner What he cannot by intreaty he will haue by force If the Diuell were not more strong in men then nature they would neuer seeke pleasure in violence Amnon hath no sooner fulfilled his beastly desires then he hates Tamar more then he loued her Inordinate lust neuer ends but in discontentment Losse of spirits and remorse of soule make the remembrance of that act tedious whose expectation promised delight If we could see the back of sinfull pleasures ere wee behold their face our harts could not but bee forstalled with a iust detestation Brutish Amnon it was thy selfe whom thou shouldst haue hated for this villany not thine innocent sister Both of you lay together only one committed incest What was she but a patient in that impotent fury of lust How vniustly doe carnall men mis-place their affections No man can say whether that loue or this hatred were more vnreasonable Fraud drew Thamar into the house of Amnon force intertained her within and droue her out Faine would she haue hid her shame where it was wrought and
the Giuer not of the Refuser We cannot forbid leudeies to look in at our windowes we may shut our dores against their entrance It is no lesse our praise to haue resisted then Satans blame to suggest euill Yea ô blessed Sauiour how glorious was it for thee how happy for vs that thou wert tempted Had not Satan tempted thee how shouldest thou haue ouercomne Without blowes there can be no victory no triumph How had thy power been manifested if no aduersary had tried thee The first Adam was tempted vanquished the second Adam to repay and repaire that foile doth vanquish in being tempted Now haue we not a Sauiour and High-Priest that cannot bee touched with the feeling of our infirmities but such an one as was in all things tempted in like sort yet without sin how boldly therfore may we goe vnto the Throne of grace that wee may receiue mercy and finde grace of help in time of neede Yea this Deuil was for vs Now we see by this conflict of our Almighty Champion what manner of Aduersary we haue how hee fights how hee is resisted how ouercomne Now our very temptation affords vs comfort in that wee see the dearer we are vnto God the more obnoxious we are to this trial neither can wee be discouraged by the haynousnesse of those euils wherto we are moued since we see the Son of God solicited to Infidelity Couetousnes Idolatry How glorious therfore was it for thee ô Sauior how happy for vs that thou wert tempted Where then wast thou tempted O blessed Iesu or whither wentest thou to meet with our great aduersary I doe not see thee led into the market-place or any other part of the city or thy home-sted of Nazareth but into the vast wildernesse the habitation of beastes a place that caryeth in it both horror and oportunity why wouldst thou thus retyre thy selfe from men but as confident Champions are wont to giue aduantage of ground or weapon to their Antagonist that the glory of their victory may be the greater So wouldst thou O Sauiour in this can but with our common enemy yeeld him his owne tearmes for circumstances that thine honour and his foyle may be the more Solitarynesse is no small helpe to the speed of a tentation Wo to him that is alone for if he fall there is not a second to lift him vp Those that out of an affectation of holines seeke for solitude in rocks and caues of the deserts doe no other then runne into the mouth of the danger of tentation whiles they thinke to avoyd it It was enough for thee to whose diuine power the gates of hell were weakenesse thus to challenge the Prince of darknesse Our care must be alwaies to eschue all occasions of spirituall danger and what we may to get vs out of the reach of tentations But O the depth of the wisdome of God How camst thou ô Sauiour to be thus tempted That Spirit whereby thou wast conceiued as man and which was one with thee and the Father as God Led thee into the wildernesse to bee tempted of Satan Whiles thou taughtest vs to pray to thy Father Lead vs not into temptation thou meantest to instruct vs that if the same Spirit lead vs not into this perilous way we goe not into it We haue still the same conduct Let the path bee what it will how can wee miscarry in the hand of a Father Now may we say to Satan as thou didst vnto Pilate thou couldst haue no power ouer me except it were giuen thee from aboue The spirit led thee it did not driue thee heere was a sweet inuitation no compulsion of violence So absolutely conformable was thy wil to thy deity as if both thy natures had but one volition In this first draught of thy bitter potion thy Soule said in a reall subjection Not my will but thy will be done We imitate thee ô Sauiour though we cannot reach to thee All thine are led by thy Spirit Oh teach vs to forget that we haue wils of our owne The spirit led thee thine inuinâ—ible strength did not animate thee into thiâ— combat vncalled What doe we weakelings so far presume vpon our abilities or successe as that we dare thrust our selues vpon temptations vnbidden vnwarranted Who can pitty the ship-wracke of those Mariners which will needs put forth and hoise sayles in a tempest Forty dayes did our Sauiour spend in the wildernesse fasting and solitary all which time was worne out in temptation how euer the last brunt because it was most violent is only expressed Now could not the Aduersary complaine of disadvantage whiles he had the ful scope both of time and place to doe his worst And why did iâ— please thee ô Sauiour to fasâ— forty dayes and forty nightsâ— vnlesse as Moses fasted forty daies at the deliuery of the law and Elias at the restetution oâ— the law So thou thoughtest fit at the accomplishment of the law and the promulgation of the Gospell to fulfill the time of both these tipes of thine wherin thou intendedst our wonder not our imitation Not our imitation of the time though of the act Heere were no faulty desires of the flesh in thee to be tamed no possibility of a freer and more easie ascent of the soule to God that could be affected of thee who wast perfectly vnited vnto God but as for vs thou wouldest suffer death so for vs thou wouldst suffer hunger that wee might learne by fasting to prepare our selues for tentations In fasting so long thou intendedst the manifestation of thy power in fasting no longer the truth of thy manhood Moses and Elias through the miraculous sustentation of God fasted so long without any question made of the truth of their bodies So long therefore thou thoughtest good to fast as by reason of these precedents might be without preiudice of thine humanity which if it should haue pleased thee to support as thou couldst without meanes thy very power might haue opened the mouth of cauills againsâ— the verity of thine humane nature That thou mightest therfore well approue that therâ— was no difference betwixt theâ— and vs but sinne thou thaâ— couldst haue fasted withouâ— hunger and liued withouâ— meate wouldst both feed and fast and hunger Who can be discouraged with the scantnesse of frends or bodily prouisions when hee sees his Sauiour thus long destitute of all earthly comforts both of society and sustenance Oh the policie and malice of that old Serpent when he sees Christ bewray some infirmity of nature in being hungry then he layes sorest at him by tentations His eye was neuer off from our Sauiour all the time of his sequestration and now that he thinks he espies any one part to lye open he driues at it with all his might We haue to doe with an aduersary no lesse vigilant then malicious who will bee sure to watch all opportunities of our mischiefe and where he sees any aduantage of our weakenesse will not neglect
and their glory were only to be represented to his imagination the valley would haue serued If to the outward sence no hill could suffice Circular bodyes though smal cannot be seene at once This show was made to both diuers kingdomes lying round about Iudea were represented to the eye The glory of them to the imagination Satan meant the eye could tempt the fancy no lesse then the fancy could tempt the will How many thousand soules haue dyed of the wound of the eye If we doe not let in sinne at the window of the eye or the dore of the eare it cannot enter into our hearts If there bee any pompe maiesty pleasure brauery in the world where should it be but in the Courts of Princes whom God hath made his Images his deputies vpon earth There is soft rayment sumptuous feasts rich Iewels honorable attendance glorious triumphs royall state these Satan laies out to the fairest show But oh the craft of that old Serpent Many a care attends greatnesse No creature is without thornes High seats are neuer but vneasie all those infinite discontentments which are the shaddow of earthly soueraignety he hides out of the way nothing may bee seene but what may both please and allure Satan is still and euer like himselfe If tentations might be but turnd about and showne on both sides the kingdome of darknesse would not be so populous Now whensoeuer the Tempter sets vpon any poore soule all sting of conscience wrath iudgement torment is concealed as if they were not Nothing may appeare to the eye but pleasure profit and a seeming happinesse in the inioying our desires those other wofull obiects are reserued for the farewell of sinne that our misery may bee seene and felt at once When we are once sure Satan is a Tyrant till then he is a Parasite There can be no safety if we do not view as well the backe as the face of tentations But oh presumption and impudence that hell it selfe may be asham'd of The Diuell dares say to Christ All these will I giue thee if thou wilt fall downe and worship mee That beggerly spirit that hath not an inch of earth can offer the whole world to the maker to the owner of it The slaue of God would be adord of his Creator How can we hope he should be sparing of false boasts and of vnreasonable promises vnto vs when hee dares offer kingdomes to him by whom kings raigne Tentations on the right hand are most dangerous how many that haue bene hardned with feare haue melted with honor There is no doubt of that soule that will not bite at the golden hooke False lyers and vaineglorious boasters see the top of their pedigree If I may not rather say that Satan doth borrow the vse of their tongues for a time Whereas faithfull is he that hath promised who will also doe it Fidelity and truth is the issue of heauen If Idolatry were not a deare sinne to Satan he would not be so importunate to compasse it It is miserable to see how hee drawes the world insensibly into this sin which they professe to detest Those that would rather hazard the furnace then worship gold in a statue yet doe adore it in the stampe and finde no fault with themselues If our hearts be drawne to stoope vnto an ouer-high respect of any creature wee are Idolaters O God it is no maruell if thy ielousie be kindled at the admission of any of thine owne works into a competition of honor with their Creator Neuer did our Sauiour say Auoid Satan till now It is a iust indignation that is conceiued at the motion of a riuality with God Neither yet did Christ exercise his diuine power in this command but by the necessary force of Scripture driues away that impure Tempter It is written Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and him only shalt thou serue The rest of our Sauiours answers were more full and direct then that they could admit of a reply but this was so flat and absolute that it vtterly daunted the courage of Satan and put him to a shamefull flight and made him for the time weary of his trade The way to bee rid of the troublesome solicitations of that wicked one is continued resistance Hee that forcibly droue the tempter from himselfe takes him off from vs and will not abide his assaults perpctuall It is our exercise and triall that hee intends not our confusion Simon called AS the Sun in his first rising drawes all eâ—es to it So did this Sun of righteousnes when hee first shone forth into the world His miraculous cures drew Patients his diuine doctrine drew Auditors both together drew the admiring multitude by troopes after him And why doe wee not still follow thee ô Sauiour thorow deserts and mountaines ouer land and seas that wee may bee both healed and taught It was thy word that when thou wert lift vp thou wouldst draw all men vnto thee Behold thou art lift vp long since both to the tree of shame and to the throne of heauenly glory Draw vs and we shall run after thee Thy word is still the same though proclaimed by men thy vertue is still the same though exercised vpon the spirits of men Oh giue vs to hunger after both that by both our soules may be satisfied I see the people not onely following Christ but pressing vpon him euen very vnmannerlinesse findes here both excuse and acceptation They did not keepe their distances in an awe to the Maiesty of the Speaker whiles they were rauished with the power of the speech yet did not our Sauiour checke their vnreuerent thronging but rather encourages their forwardnesse Wee cannot offend thee ô God with the importunity of our desires It likes thee well that the Kingdom of Heauen should suffer violence Our slacknesse doth euer displease theee neuer our vehemence The throng of Auditors forced Christ to leaue the shore and to make Peters ship his Pulpit Neuer were there such nets cast out of that fisher-boat before whiles hee was vpon the land he healed the sicke bodies by his touch now that he was vpon the sea he cured the sicke soules by his doctrine and is purposely seuered from the multitude that hee may vnite them to him Hee that made both sea and land causeth both of them to conspire to the opportunities of doing good Simon was busie washing his nets Euen those nets that caught nothing must bee washed no lesse then if they had sped well The nights toyle doth not excuse his dayes work Little did Simon thinke of leauing those nets which hee so carefully washed and now Christ interrupts him with the fauour and blessing of his gracious presence Labour in our callings how homely soeuer makes vs capable of diuine benediction The honest Fisher-man when hee saw the people flocke after Christ and heard him speake with such power could not but conceiue a generall confuse apprehension of some excellent worth