of our nature and the great defects of our hearts as he dooth of the fruits of the earth Gene. 3.17 notvvithstanding the same be accursed for mans sinne a point that may comfort vs greatly in those assaults that the children of God feele in themselnes by reason of the corruptions and imperfections that cling and cleaue vnto the best thinges they doe Whereof also this is the reason not that GOD delighteth in imperfections for that is contrarie to his nature which is most absolute and perfect in it selfe but bicause if men not onely in holy but worldlie wisedome also haue learned nowe and then to putte a difference betweene good and euill yea betweene their owne good thinges that other men haue of theirs and those men ill liking notwithstanding their owne good though other mens corruptions be intermingled therewith much more shall and will God performe this not only in as much as hee is better able to discerne than they betweene good and euil but more yea most staide in his iudgement not varieng or turning as they to which also this may be added euen as in respect of the graces themfelues that though mens good things may be marred by other mens euill and not only the qualities but the natures of them changed yet Gods graces cannot be so peruerted And therefore good reason why we shoulde comfort our selues Thirdly it is as seemeth vnto me verie comfortable in an other respect namely that as that of the first fruits that was dedicated to the Lorde was a pledge of the sanctification of that that remained behinde though it were imploied but to ordinarie and common vses yea was a continuall seale of sanctification to the people of God that both they themselues and all theirs vvere vessels vnto honour sanctified and meete for the Lord and prepared vnto euery good vvoorke I vse now the Apostles wordes 2. Tim. 2.21 so euen the beginning of Gods graces in his children shoulde assure them of continuance and groweth in the same notwithstanding their weakenesse and wants the reason is bicause God dealeth not as man putting his hand to an excellent worke and by leauing off but accomplishing and making perfect Phil. 1.6 and that vntill the daye of Christe Iesus the good things that he hath begone in them Wherein though wee bee much wounded bicause we feele not so muche as we woulde yet shoulde this comfort vs greatlie againe that we deale with God who is alwaies like himselfe and hath all both goodnes and power in his owne hands to dispense vnto vs so manie or so much of his graces as to his owne wisdome which knoweth what is best seemeth good for his owne glorie our comfort and the profit of his church All this wee haue spoken by occasion of these termes first fruits the Apostle naming them yet further for the more excellency of them the first fruits of the spirite both bicause they are indeede of their owne nature spirituall graces and also bicause that they flow and proceede from the spirit of God and are wrought in vs by his powerfull working in our hearts Which teacheth vs not onlie the more reuerentlie to regarde them as comming from so sanctified and holie a fountaine but the more carefullie 2. Cor. 7.1 to purge our selues from all filthinesse of the fleshe and the spirite and to grovve vppe into full holines in the feare of God that so the spirite of GOD maie take pleasure to abide in vs 1. Thes 5.19 vvhich delyghteth not to dvvell in an vnpure soule alwaies taking heede that we neither quench the graces of the spirit in our selues or in others nor in carelesnesse and contempt driue the same awaie from vs but that we foster it and make much of it that so Christ dwelling in our hearts by faith thorow his spirite hee maie make vs fruitfull to euerie good worke It followeth euen vve doe sigh in our selues He had spoken this before verse 22. sauing that heere hee doth somwhat more largely affirme the same there beeing this difference further that whereas there hee sayed the creatures together groaned with vs heere he affirmeth that the faithfull doe it among them selues shewing thereby that neither the doctrine of Gods worde nor the instructions that God will haue vs fetch from his workes are vnprofitable to his children to whome they are directed but serue to much good stand in great vse as to many good purposes generallye so particularlye to bring them out of loue and liking with the pleasurs and profits of this present euil world and to make them earnestlie to hunger and thirst after eternall blessednesse and euerlasting life thorowe Christ Euerie worde that the Apostle vseth heere carrieth with it also some weyght and force and offereth vnto vs occasion of some necessary doctrine or other for first that manner of speech euen vve he repeating againe or eftsoones naming the persons doth teach vs not onely howe necessarie it is and meete to speake plaine that so we may be the better vnderstoode of those that wee are to deale with but also that we should not neglect any good meane or way that may cause the parties to whom our speech is directed to conceiue and vnderstand the things that are propounded to them wherein though after repeating of one and the selfe-same point may seeme either to them or to vs our selues needelesse and superfluous yet if wee will weigh with an vpright iudgement either the hardnes and excellencie of the things that the word deliuereth or the manifold difficulties and lets that are in men to imbrace the same or the punishment of God vpon the sins of them that speake them wee shall well perceiue that it ought not to be grieuous vnto vs Philip. 3.1 to vvrite or speake the same things vnto the people of GOD specially also sith it is a sure and profitable thing for them neither that vve our selues should be negligent to put them alvvayes in remembrance of such things 2. Pet. 1.12 though they haue knovvledge and be established in the present trueth For besides that wee forget the thinges that wee haue learned we had neede to be stirred vp in the things that we know And whereas the Apostle addeth that we do sigh we are to know that he reherseth this againe more fully to declare this feruent desire that the godlye haue yea the very sens and feeling that is in them not only of the miseries and calamities of this life but of the ioyes of heauen and the hope of eternall saluation which doth not onely cause him to saye a desire but a sighing for where there is either a sense of miserie or a feeling of mercie there cannot but be both sighes and groanes to bee freed from the one and to bee filled with the other Me thinketh that that which the apostle writeth in another place is fitte for the exposition of this point he telleth vs that if our earthlie house of this tabernacle
yet notwithstanding they beare it still in hope of that time that shall vtterly free them from the same And surely in that the holie ghost vseth in this place and so in the verses following so manie and suche significant wordes attributed to the creatures we may be bold to say that he hath not done it in vaine but rather that he would thereby giue vs to vnderstande that though they wait not or hope not as we do yet that there is in them some certaine instinct giuen them from God by which they are caried euen as it were by a certaine earnest desire to looke for their restauration If any man thinke this strange let him but consider the nature of the magnes or lodestone as we call it we see by experience that if we touch with the same stone the pinne or point of a diall or compasse and set the needle or compasse vpon it it wil not ceas til it cause it to stād directly South And this is generally obserued in al places of the known or habitable world whether a man be at sea or vpon the land or in places vnder the earth and yet the magnes hath not any reason neither the point of a diall or compasse any sense Now then if this be true that the needle or compasse by reason that the pinne or point therof is touched with the magnes is as a man would say by a certaine affection willingly as it were carried so that it staieth not till it point directlie to the South shal wee thinke it strange that creatures though voide of reason hauing yet a secret instinct giuen them from GOD should be carried forward to desire their owne restitution as the holie ghost affirmeth in this place Nay which is more doth not the Lorde himselfe in many places of his word declare that there is thorowe his almighty working not onlie a wonderfull difference of creatures and seuerall sorts of them but sundrie and seuerall instincts also putte into them by his owne holie order and appointment Otherwise if all creatures were of like constitution and qualities which we knowe to be false by naturall reason and experience why doth not the Lord send the sluggards as well to other creatures as to the small emmet Prou. 6.6 or the blockish and brutish Israelites Isaiah 1.3 as well to other beasts as to the oxe and the asse or the ignorant and careles people of Gods iudgements Ierem. 8.7 as well to other foules as to the storke turtle crane and svvallovv The apostle addeth vvhen the sonnes of God shall be reuealed that is the time wherein they that are indeede Gods children shall not only be manifest and knowne but also the blessednesse of their estate shall then appeare when hauing put off corruption and mortalitie they shal be clothed with heauenlie glorie and eternall life So that hee speaketh this not of this life present as we may well perceiue in that he speaketh of the time to come as also bicause that here partly by reason of the infinite swarmes innumerable multitudes of the wicked the godly cannot easily be perceiued partly also bicause of the manifolde persecutions and troubles that they do and must sustaine they are ouer-couered with darknes and blacknesse and driuen into holes and dennes and therefore not easily neither to be descried but cheefly by reason of a huge heape of hypocrites that are shuffled in the church of God togither with the good who in outward duties many times are matchable with the best if not exceede them Gods children can hardlie if at all be discerned but of that most blessed life to come of both which togither S. Iohn saieth euidently that vvee are novve the sonnes of GOD indeede 1. Iohn 3.2 but yet it is not made manifest vvhat vve shall be but vve knovve that vvhen our head and Sauior shall be manifested vve shall be like him for vve shall see him as he is And this no doubt serueth euery manner of way for the setting foorth of Gods great mercie and the strengthening also of our weake faith and hope his mercie appeering in a double respect not only in that he hath in this life giuen into our harts the pledge of the spirite of adoption Rom. 8.15 by vvhich vve crie Abba O father but also bicause he hath reserued a crown of incorruptible glorie for vs in the life that is to come for though certainely it is and must be accounted a great comfort to feele God our father and that we may with christian and holy boldnesse haue acces to the throne of grace during the time of our pilgrimage here and be heard also through the name and mediation of Christ in the thinges that we stand in neede of and pray for according to faith Yet doubtles it is a greater grace and a matter of more singular consolation to make vs heires of eternall life yea fellow-heires with our sauiour himselfe And as for our faith that likewise is confirmed not onely in the truth strength of the promise it selfe a principall proppe vnto our persuasion but also by the excellencie and worthinesse of the thing promised to wit eternall life through Christ in the delay whereof though wee be greatly greeued as what good man either wearie of sinne heere or desirous of euerlasting perfection in that life will not mone and waile in the want thereof yet this shoulde againe comforte vs that it shall at the length be recompenced with the fulnes of all ioy for euermore The Apostle addeth in the next verse following that is to say Vers 20. Bicause the creature In this and the verse following the Apostle sheweth two causes why the creatures wait for the time of the reuealing of the sonnes of God That which is contained in this vers respecteth the pains and troubles that they are subiect to heere in this worlde That which is comprehended in the other verse toucheth the hope that they haue of freedom from this fearefull bondage they paciently sustaining the one and earnestly looking for the other bicause that vntill then they are and must of necessitie by Gods ordinance and the ende of their creation also be subiect to death and corruption which thing being once performed finished they shall be no more subiect to that wretched and painfull estate but vtterly altogither freed from the same The word creature heere is taken in the same sense that it was before ver 19. of this chapter whereof also there is great reason sith the Apostle continueth his speech of the selfe-same matter He addeth is subiect to vanitie that is not onely vnto man vvho is vanitie Psalm 62.9 yea lighter than vanitie it selfe laid vpon the ballance vvith it as the prophet in plaine termes affirmeth and his vaine delights but to vanishing flitting weake and vnsound estate Of both which points we need no great or long proof bicause our owne daily and continuall experience doth againe
and that not onely as in regard of seuerall senses of the same but also touching the very words themselues some supposing them to be maruellous easie and plaine othersome taking them to be wonderfull intricat darke and hard Of a truth freely to speake my mind in this behalfe what I thinke there is not to me any place specially in the bookes of the new testament I except alwayes many things in the Reuelation of S. Iohn more darke and difficult and that not so much by reason of it selfe either as in regard of the words wherin it is expressed or the matter therein contained though I denye not but that both those waies it is very hard as partly by those corrupt gloses that some haue made vppon it and partly also by such curious questions as othersome haue moued out of it and lastly by such vnresolute resolute conclusions as many fantasticall men haue laboured to raise and gather out of the same All which or any of which almost if a man should stand either to rehearse answere or confute it woulde be both tedious and vnprofitable also Neyther vtter I this wyth a dispitefull heart to twite men for their corruption and sins or with the iust dispraise of some to purchase an vniust commendation to my selfe or in declaring the hardnes of the word to hunt after worldly praise in the curious handling thereof vices foule faults that are too rife and common in the world nowadayes but rather dutifully to stir vp my selfe and all the faithful of God not only in this but in al such like places whatsoeuer to attaine and that with vnwearied labour and studie to the sound and sincere meaning thereof Wherevnto bicause we are altogither vnfit aswel by reason of the natural blindnes that is in vs before regeneration as of the remainders of our corruption euen after some measure of light and knowledge receiued we know that without some special grace from God we can neuer reach thereto that therfore we should be earnest with the Lord by prayer not onely by the bright beames of his blessed spirit to chase away the darknes and dulnes of our owne vnderstandings but euen to induce vs after a sort as it were with extraordinary iudgment and wisedome of heart and vtterance of mouth and words in as much as the places which we deal with are more than ordinarily or commonly heard The want or neglect of which duty maketh many of vs the Lord be mercifull vnto vs in the forgiuenes of all our sins to haue the worde when it is read and taught vnto vs Isai 29.11 to be as it were the wordes of a booke that is sealed vp and when we come to handle it wee deale with it vnreuerently as in regard of God and vnrightly as in regard of it self and coldly and carelesly as in respect of our selues vnfruitfully altogither and vnprofitably as in consideration of the people so that a man may safly say that without offence either of god or good men I assure you the more is the pity that there is little difference betweene some of our sermons and the bare reading of the ignorant ministers But to the matter it selfe in the diducting laying out wherof we wil keep this course as first propound the Apostle his general drift purpose as it were then afterwards come more particularly to handle the very words in order as they lie deliuering the sense obseruing such doctrines out of the same as it shal please god to make manifest vnto vs. The apostle Rom. 8. doth most fruitfully intreat of many notable points namely amongst the rest of such assured testimonies both outward inward as god hath bin plesed to giue to his faithful people for the certainty of their election that eternal life of theyrs that God hath in Christ laid vp for them with himselfe before the foundations of the worlde were laid The outward witnes therof are the infallible fruits of sanctificatiō that god frameth vs vnto by his word outwardly the powerfull working of his holy spirit inwardly The inward witnes is that same vndeceuable record of the spirit 2. Cor. 1.22 Ephes 4.30 that God hath giuen into our harts by vvhich vve are sealed vp to euerlasting life against the day of our redemption he declaring yet further that through Gods meere grace towardes vs in Christ onelie wee are become Rom. 8. not Gods seruaunts alone but his sonnes and not his sonnes onelie but heires also and not onelie his heires but euen fellovv-heirs togither vvith our sauiour Christ so that we are sure we shall enioye the selfe-same eternall blessednes in heauen Iohn 4.2 3. that he now doth VVhither he is gone before hand to prepare a place for vs and to take possession of it to our vse and behalfe that where he is as the head we might also be as the members Great graces certainly if either wee consider our owne wretchednes on the one side or the person of the giuer on the other side or the excellencie of the things bestowed vpon vs in the third place wee the most miserable and wretched of all his creatures excepting alwayes the diuels and damned spirites not so much as in regard of our creation for that way foorth we are the chefest of all his workes but as in respect of transgression and sinne which hath pulled all manner of iudgement both vppon our selues and the rest of the creatures for our sinnes sake Neither doth this circumstance of our own basenesse and vnworthinesse extoll the excellencie and worthinesse of the gift but his person also that hath bestowed the same vpon vs Psalm 50.1 1. Tim 6.15 who being God of gods and King of kings hauing all power in his own hand with the least blast of his mouth to ouerwhelme vs wyth all manner of iudgements hath beene pleased notwithstanding rather to manifest in vs the riches of his infinite grace in the sauing of our soules than otherwise to declare against vs the testimonies and tokens of his wrath to eternall condemnation Yea the very excellencie of that life it selfe dooth serue to the woonderfull commendation of that his vnspeakable goodnes towards vs it being so farre passing all the things of this life though otherwise neuer so glorious and glittering that they are not in deede and trueth so much as a shadowe of the good things to come Nay which is more man Psalm 8.5 6 the lorde of all though the thoughts of his hart may be extended very far nay I wil say more godly men though in the meditations of their minde they comprise great and excellent thinges yet can they neuer attaine in this life to the exquisitnes and excellencie thereof God hauing reserued that rather for the dayes and times of a better state and condition And all these things before recited are plainely affirmed and prooued also euen from the very beginning of this eight chapter vntill
it were and beating againe and that al to peeces the sweete perfumes that so we may haue all our senses seized and wholie taken vp not only with the wholesome but with the most pleasant and delightfull smell thereof I meane spiritually that is to say that so wee may come at the length to the full meaning thereof and to the fitte obseruation of such profitable doctrines as do arise and may rightly be gathered out of the same Vers 18 For I count c. The very word wherewith the apostle beginneth this verse being a particle causall as wee vse to say doth sufficiently proue that it is a reason of the premisses or things before going of which bicause we haue spoken sufficient already wee shall not nowe neede to stand much vpon it here And when the Apostle saith I hee meaneth it not of himselfe onely for it is the common iudgement and beleefe of all the faithfull and the whole church of God also who being inlightned by the same spirite either be of that minde togither wyth him or should so be bicause in this point he speaketh not by his own light but according to the truth and power of the spirit Neither yet doth he speake it of himselfe as of a natural man for the thing that he vttreth is far beyond nature yea altogither contrary to the same for what worldly wise naturall minded man can either see in afflictions the glory that the sons and seruants of God behold and fal in the same or else can oppose the incomprehensible ioys of eternall life against those exceeding hardnesses and great distresses They rather suppose all thinges to be directed by secondarie causes or to speake as they themselues say by the course of nature or direction of fortune who indeede are so far off from perceiuing these heauenly ioys and comforts that they are carried away with conceits eyther to vse vnlawfull meanes to free them from afflictions or else fearfully fall into all muttering and repining against God or to all impaciencie before men the reason is bicause they are not acquainted with the comforts of Gods children nor haue no feeling of the ioys of the life that is to come Alas alas they knowe not indeede what either the one or the other meaneth 1. Cor. 2.14 for these things are spirituall but they themselues are carnall sold vnder sin and therefore vnmeete to discerne of the same Rom. 7.14 bicause they must be spiritually iudged Out of all which laide togither wee may learne sundry good lessons as first that howsoeuer we do either for the expressing of our own feelings or the better fructifieng of the word in the hearts of those to whom it is directed speake particularlie of our selues or as it might seeme in our owne names yet that we neuer swarue from that trueth of doctrine that is commended vnro vs in the word written is sealed vp in our harts by the pledge of the spirit and is approoued by the common consent of the church of God The neglect of this specially whilest men go about to magnifie their owne persons and opinions hath beene the meane heretofore of many heresies sects and errors in the church of God and may bring foorth the same bitter fruits hereafter except it pleased God to giue men better grace to looke vnto themselues Secondly it teacheth vs that so soone as God beginneth to lay vpon vs his rods and crosses of trial that then we should learne not only in the spirit of patience comfort to submit our selues vnder his mighty hand but with alferuency of praier to craue the clearing of our vnderstanding Iames 1.5 and all holy vvisdome also as S. Iames calleth it that we may both see his ways in his works learne to espie out and feel the consolations and comforts that he hath prouided for vs that so wee sincke not downe vnder the burthen of our calamities but be raised vp rather to al feeling hope A point that we had neede to striue vnto by al holy meanes possible aswell by reason of the blindnes blockishnes of our own nature and the diffidence and distrust of our own hearts as also bicause of Satans continuall malice who laboureth at all times but specially in the days of our greatest heauinesse our most fearefull destruction And whereas the apostle saith I count he meaneth that he commeth with an vpright iudgement in an euen pair of balance scales as it wer hauing rightly religiosly examined resons on both sides and gathering all into a iust summe to weigh the troubles of this worlde and the ioies of heauen togither not dealing therein as either the worldlie man doth who regardeth nothing but his miseries and afflictions by meanes whereof he becommeth not onely impacient and waiward but past all hope of admitting comfort and consolation nor playing the part of the prophane and insensible Stoiks who againe on the other side by reason of their beastlie blockishnes that they get vnto themselues hauing both their soules and bodies benummed as it were are no whit at all touched with the sense of the same nor yet being so rapt and rauished with these eternall ioyes that they vtterly forget or feele not at all the miseries and afflictions of this life a matter that the contemplatiue persons in their traunces dreames and reuelations make the height and top of all perfection in this world but as wise physitions yea as good christians intermingling sweet things and sowre things togither and comparing one of them so with an other that as they see in their afflictions an euident patterne of the miserie mortalitie of their own liues and a plaine proofe of the iustice and iudgement of God against sinne so they make the same a profitable meane to themselues not onely in a christian and comfortable death but in an holy life also so long as GOD will haue them to liue vppon the face of the earth to meete wyth the Lorde and to glorify his most blessed name And this doth teach vs vprightly to weigh and to examine as all things generally so specially and particularly spirituall points Which indeede by reason that they be more excellent than bodilie matters and in that respect also in their owne nature more remooued from our comprehension than the rest had therefore neede most deepelie to be looked into for though by the line and light of our reason we may be somewhat holpen to wade into worldly things yet in matters of faith and religion we cannot not only not perse any thing at all by the light sight of our owne vnderstanding but shall be much hurt and hindered thereby from the same if wee yeelde to followe it yea many times euen in the things of this life wee are so blockish deuoide of iudgement that what by reason of colours cast vppon worldlie thinges and what by the blindnesse and ignorance of our owne heart on the one side and the parcialitie that
holie conuersation and godlines to looke for the comming of the Lorde declareth that the heauens being on fire shall be dissolued and the elements shall melt vvith heat and the earth vvith the vvorkes that are therein shall be burnt vp And though this be most true that the Apostle vnderstandeth by that worde creature heauen and earth with all creatures therein contained yet wee must notwithstanding except from that generall and that for the causes and reasons following also these particulars insuing namely the holie and elect angelles the faithfull and godlie people of the worlde the diuelles and damned spirits as also the wicked and vngodlie of the earth spirits as also the wicked and vngodlie of the earth For as for the angelles they haue already the full fruition of the thing it selfe our Sauiour himselfe affirming that they alvvayes beholde the face of God in heauen Mar 18.10 And they can not be wel saide to wish for that that they haue in continuall and most assured possession If anie man will obiect against this trueth 1. Pet. 1.12 that that Saint Peter saith to wit that the very Angelles desire to beholde the publishing of the gospell in this life and the inioyeng that vvhich the gospell promiseth in the life to come I answere that that is not spoken neither must or can be vnderstoode of their owne wants as though they wished that for themselues for as was said before they haue all fulnesse but as in regard of their zeale to the glory of GOD which shall then be perfected when the wicked shall be troden downe for euer and the godly continually exalted and as in respect of vnfained loue to vs and our saluation which is so deare and pretious vnto them that as they are alwayes readie according to the appointment and good will of God what they can to aduaunce and further the same so doubtlesse they doe much reioice therein of which our Sauiour himselfe beareth witnesse in an other place saying â—uke 15 10. that there is ioy in the presence of the angelles of God for one sinner that conuerteth And as for the elect and faithfull people seeing they are of two sorts and yet al making but one bodie that is to say some whome the Lorde hath taken to himselfe and finished the dayes of their pilgrimage heere and othersome that doe and must tarrie the Lordes good leasure for the time of their dissolution and departure hence wee feare not to affirme that either of these may iustly in a true and holie meaning and vppon very good reasons and causes also be excepted from being comprised vnder this generall terme creature for as for the first sort they being in that state and condition that the Angelles are that is alwaies beholding the face of God in heauen they can not nor doe not any more wish the same than they And if at anie time they seeme as the Angelles before are saide to doe the same and for and in regarde of the same considerations and causes they finding also now that they are in heauen that to beleeue in themselues which while they were on the earth they did as in regard of the forefathers of their faith beleeue to be true bicause the holy ghost hath spoken it That they vvithout vs can not bee perfect Hebr. 11.40 And the latter must needes be excepted likewise as who are by the spirite of God in the mouth and penne of the Apostle excepted in the 22. and 23. verses following Philip. 1.23 who daily desire euen in this life to be loosed from hence and to be vvith Christ vvhich is best of all and continually sigh and grone 2. Cor. 5.2 that they may be clothed vvith their house vvhich is from heauen As for the diuels and damned spirites which are the third in number that are excepted from this we haue also good reason to except them both bicause that in their peruersenesse against God and man they do not onelie not carry that loue toward the adauncement of Gods glorie or the accomplishment of the number of Gods elect and their saluation that the Angelles and faithful people do but rather would if they could tel how to the vttermost of their power continually deface both the one and the other and also bicause that they know that when that time commeth then there shall fall vpon them in most dreadfull maner the fulnesse and perpetuitie indeede of their endles condemnation they themselues after a sort confessing the truth of this when they saide to our Sauior Christ Art thou come to torment vs before the time Mat. 8.29 Lastly that the wicked themselues should be excepted there is a double reason likewise one is bicause they are so far off from desiring that day that they do rather prophanely scoffe scorne at as al truth vniuersally so particularly that which is deliuered touching the generall iudgement and the day of the restauration of all things Of whome S. Peter speaketh notably calling them mockers 2. Pet. 3.3 4. and men that vvill vvalke after their ovvne lusts vvhich say vvhere is the promise of his comming for since the fathers died all thinges continue alike from the beginning of the creation the other bicause they labor as much as in them lieth partlie by the manifolde pleasures that they possesse in this life and partly by benummednesse of heart and growing into forgetfulnes to put far from them the euil day wishing that either it might neuer come or els that it might be de ferred as long as possibly might be That wee may say nothing of this that euen they theÌ„selues as the diuels likewise whose slaues and seruants they are do in the sight of their sin the fear of the punishment that they know they haue deserued for it treÌ„ble quake we knowing this also to be true by coÌ„mon experience that no malefactor wisheth the day of his arraignement much lesse the time of his execution for if he might be left to his libertie or put to his choise he woulde be glad rather to liue though it were in all miserie and that therfore neither the diuelles nor the wicked can or will desire that time that shall be vnto them not so dreadful as death only but so fearful terrible both for bodies soules and that for euer and euer world without end as cannot be either thought or expressed In these exceptions I haue freelie according to my poore measure deliuered my minde not meaning yet therein either to attribute perfection to my owne words or to barre or stop vp the way to other who in these deep points may certainly see say more than I do from adding hervnto Only in this behalfe as in all other let vs looke to vtter that we do vpon good grounds and warrants of the word onelie It followeth vvaiteth to wit as it were with a certaine kind of patience and quietnes for howsoeuer the burthen be greeuous vnto them