by to watch the same The prophet David to signifie the very same thing that is the infinite multitude of snares in this world saith God shal raign snares upon sinners That is God shal permit wicked men to fal into snares which are as plentiful in the world as are the drops of rain which fal down from heaven Every thing almost is a deadly snare unto a carnal and loose harted man Every sight that he seeth every word that he heareth every thought that he conceiveth his youth his age his frinds his enimies his honor his disgrace his riches his povertie his companie keeping his prosperitie his adversitie his meat that he eateth his apparel that he weareth al are snares to draw him to destruction that is not watchful 49 Of this then and of the blindnes declared before doth follow the last and greatest miserie of al which can be in this life and that is the facilitie wherby worldly men do run into sin For truly saith the scripture Miseros facit populos peccatum Sin is the thing that maketh people miserable And yet how easily men of the world do commit sin and how little scruple they make of the matter Iob signifieth when talking of such a man he saith Bibit quasi aquam iniquitatem He suppeth up sin as it were water That is with as great facilitie custome and ease passeth he down any kind of sin that is offered him as a mā drinketh water when he is a thirst He that wil not beleeve the saieng of Iob let him prove a little by his own experience whether the matter be so or no let him walk out in to the streets behold the doings of men view their behavior consider what is done in shops in hals in consistories in judgement seats in pallaces and in common meeting places abroad what lieng what slandering what deceiving there is He shal find that of al things wherof men take any account nothing is so little accounted of as to sin He shal see justice sold veritie wrested shame lost and equitie despised He shal see the innocent condemned the giltie delivered the wicked advanced the vertuous opressed He shal see many theves florish many usurers bear great sway many murderers extortioners reverenced honored many fools put in authoritie and divers which have nothing in them but the form of men by reason of money to be placed in great dignities for the government of others He shal hear at every mans mouth almost vanitie pride detraction envie deceit dissimulation wantonnes dissolution lieng swearing perjurie and blaspheming Finally he shal see the most part of men to govern themselves absolutely even as beasts do by the motion of their passions not by law of justice reason religion or vertu 50 Of this doth insu the fift point that Christ toucheth in his parable and which I promised heer to handle to wit that the love of this world choketh up and strangleth every man whom it possesseth from al celestial and spiritual life for that it filleth him with a plain contrarie spirit to the spirit of God The apostle saith Si quis spiritum Christi non habet hic non est eius If any man hath not the spirit of Christ this fellow belongeth not unto him Now how contrarie the spirit of Christ and the spirit of the world is may appeer by the fruits of Christs spirit rekoned up by Saint Paul unto the Galathians to wit Charitie which is the root and mother of al good works Ioy in serving God Peace or tranquillitie of mind in the storms of this world Patience in adversitie Longanimitie in expecting our reward Bonitie in hurting no man Benignitie in sweet behavior Gentlenes in occasion given of anger Faithfulnes in performing our promises Modestie without arrogancie Continencie from al kind of wickednes Chastitie in conserving a pure mind in a clean and unspotted bodie Against these men saith Saint Paul there is no law And in the very same chapter he expresseth the spirit of the world by the contrarie effects saieng The works of flesh are manifest which are fornication uncleannes wantonnes lecherie idolatrie poisonings enmities contentions emulations wrath strife dissention sects envie murder droonkennes gluttonie and the like of which I foretel you as I have told you before that those men which do such things shal never obtain the kingdome of heaven 51 Heer now may every man judge of the spirit of the world and the spirit of Christ and applieng it to himselfe may conjecture whether he holdeth of the one or of the other Saint Paul giveth two pretie short rules in the very same place to trie the same The first is They which are of Christ have crucified their flesh with the vices and concupiscences therof That is they have so mortified their own bodies as they strive against al the vices sins repeated before and yeeld not to serve the concupiscences or temptations therof The second rule is If we live in spirit then let us walk in spirit That is our walking and behavior is a sign whether we be alive or dead For if our walking be spiritual such as I have declared before by those fruits therof then do we live have life in spirit but if our works be carnal such as S. Paul now hath described then are we carnal and dead in spirit neither have we any thing to do with Christ or portion in the kingdome of heaven And for that al the world is ful of those carnal works and bringeth foorth no fruits indeed of Christs spirit nor permitteth them to grow up or prosper within hir thence is it that the scripture alwais putteth Christ and the world for opposite and open enimies 52 Christ himselfe saith that The world cannot receive the spirit of truth And again in the same Evangelist he saith that Neither he nor any of his are of the world though they live in the world And yet further in his most vehement praier unto his father Pater iuste mundus te non cognovit Iust father the world hath not known thee For which cause S. Iohn writeth If any man love the world the love of the father is not in him And yet further Saint Iames that Whosoever but desireth to be frind of this world is therby made an enimie to God What wil worldly men say to this Saint Paul affirmeth plainly that this world is to be damned And Christ insinuateth the same in Saint Iohns Gospel but most of al in that wonderful fact of his when praieng to his father for other matters he excepteth the world by name Non pro mundo rogo saith he I do not aske mercie and pardon for the world but for those which thou hast given me out of the world Oh what a dreadful exception is this made by the savior of the world by the lamb that taketh away al sins
preachings of the Apostles the doctrine beleefe and practise of al Saints And finally is not this Verbum abbreviatum The word of God abbreviated wherin do consist al the riches and treasures of Christianitie 6 And this grace is of such efficacie and force in the soul where it entereth that it altereth the whole state therof making those things cleer which were obscure before those things easie which were hard and difficult before And for this cause also it is said in scripture to make a new spirit and a new hart As where Ezechiel talking of this matter saith in the person of God I wil give unto them a new hart and wil put a new spirit in their bowels that they may walk in my precepts and keep my commandements Can any thing in the world be spoken more plainly Now for mortifieng and conquering of our passions which by rebellion do make the way of Gods commandements unpleasant Saint Paul testifieth cleerly that abundant grace is given to us also by the death of Christ to do the same for he saith This we know that our old man is crucified also to the end that the bodie of sin may be destroied and we serve no more unto sin By the old man and the bodie of sin Saint Paul understandeth our rebellious appetite and concupiscence which is so crucified and destroied by the most noble sacrifice of Christ as we may by the grace purchased us in that sacrifice in some good measure resist and conquer this appetite being freed so much as we are from the servitude of sin And this is that noble and entire victorie in this world begun to be finished in the world to come which GOD promised so long ago to every Christian soul by the means of Christ when he said Be not afraid for I am with thee step not aside for I thy God have strengthened thee and have assisted thee and the right hand of my just man hath taken thy defence Behold al that fight against thee shal be confounded and put to shame thou shalt seek thy rebels and shalt not find them they shal be as though they were not for that I am thy Lord and God 7 Lo here a ful victory promised upon our rebels by the help of the right hand of Gods just man that is upon our disordinate passions by the aid of grace from Iesus Christ. And albeit these rebels are not here promised to be taken clean away but only to be conquered and confounded yet is it said That they shal be as though they were not Wherby is signified that they shal not hinder us of our salvation but rather advance and further the same For as wild beasts which of nature are fearce and would rather hurt than profit mankind being maistered and tamed become very commodious and necessarie for our uses so these rebellious passions of ours which of themselves would utterly overthrow us being once subdued and mortified by the grace of God do stand us in singuler stead to the practise and exercise of al kind of vertues as choler or anger to the inkindeling of zeal hatred to the pursuing of sin an hautie mind to the rejecting of the world love to the imbracing of al great and heroical attempts in consideration of the benefits received frō God Beside this the verie conflict and combat it selfe in subduing these passions is left unto us for our great good that is for our patience humility and victorie in this life and for our glory crown in the life to come as Saint Paul affirmed of himselfe and confirmed to al others by his example 8 Now then let the slothful Christian go Put his hands under his girdle as the scripture saith and say There is a lion in the way and a lionesse in the path readie to devour him that he dare not go foorth of the doores Let him say It is cold and therfore he dareth not go to plow Let him say It is uneasie to labor therforè he cannot purge his vineyard of nettles and thistles nor build any wal about the same That is let him say his passions are strong and therfore he can not conquer them his bodie is delicate therfore he dare not put it to travel the way of vertuous life is hard and uneasie and therfore he cannot apply himselfe therunto Let him say al this and much more which idle and slothful Christians do use to bring for their excuse let him alledge it I say as much and as often as he wil it is but an excuse and a false excuse an excuse most dishonorable and detractorie to the force of Christ his grace purchased us by his bitter passion that now his yoke should be unpleasant seeing he hath made it sweet that now his burden should be heavie seeing he hath made it light that now his commandements should be greevous seeing the holie Ghost affirmeth the contrarie that now we should be in servitude of our passions seeing he hath by his grace delivered us and made us truly free If God be with us who wil be against us saith the Apostle God is my helper and defender saith holy David whom shal I fear or at whom shal I tremble If whole armies should rise against me yet wil I alway hope to have the victorie And what is the reason For that thou art with me O Lord thou fightest on my side thou assistest me with thy grace by help wherof I shal have the victorie though al the squadrons of my enimies that is of the flesh the world the devil should rise against me at once and I shal not only have the victorie but also shal have it easily with pleasure and delite For so much signifieth Saint Iohn in that having said that the commandements of Christ are not greevous he inferreth presently as the cause therof Quoniam omne quod natum est ex deo vincit mundum For that al which is born of God conquereth the world That is this grace heavenly assistance sent us from God doth both conquer the world with al difficulties and temptations therof and also maketh the commandements of God easie and vertuous life most pleasant and sweet 9 But it may be you wil say Christ himselfe confesseth it to be a yoke and a burden how then can it be so pleasant easie as you make it I answer that Christ addeth that it is a sweet yoke a light burden Wherby your objection is taken away and also is signified further that there is a burden which greeveth not the bearer but rather helpeth and refresheth the same as the burden of feathers upon a birds bak beareth up the bird and is nothing at al greevous unto hir So also though it be a yoke yet is it a sweet yoke a comfortable yoke a yoke more pleasant than hony or hony comb as saith the
to God O Lord I am thy servant I am thy servant and the child of thy handmaid thou hast broken my bonds and I wil sacrifice to thee a sacrifice of praise This benefit also acknowledgeth Saint Paul when he saith that Our oldman was crucified to the end the bodie of sin might be destroied and we be no more in servitude to sin understanding by the old man and the bodie of sin our concupiscence mortified by the grace of Christ in the children of God 27 After this privilege of freedom followeth another of no lesse importance than this and that is a certain heavenly peace and tranquillitie of mind according to the saieng of the prophet Factus est in pace locus eius His place is made in peace And in another place Pax multa diligentibus legem tuam There is great peace to them which love thy law And on the contrarie side the prophet Esay repeateth this sentence often from God Non est pax impijs dicit Dominus The Lord saith There is no peace unto the wicked And another prophet saith of the same men Contrition and infelicitie is in their wais and they have not known the way of peace The reason of this difference hath been declared before in that which I have noted of the diversitie of good and evil men touching their passions For the vertuous having now by the aid of Christ his grace subdued the greatest force of their said passions do passe on their life most sweetly and calmly under the guide of his spirit without any perturbations that much troble them in the greatest occurrents of this life But the wicked men not having mortified the said passions are tossed and troubled with the same as with vehement and contrarie winds And therfore their state and condition is compared by Esay to a tempestuous sea that never is quiet and by Saint Iames to a citie or country where the inhabitants are at war and sedition among themselves And the causes heerof are two first for that the passions of concupiscence being many and almost infinit in number do lust after infinit things and are never satisfied but are like those blood-suckers which the wise man speaketh of that cry alwais Give give and never ho. As for example when is the ambitious man satisfied with honor Or the incontinent man with carnalitie Or the covetous man with money Never truly and therfore as that mother cannot but be greatly afflicted which should have many children crieng at once for meat she having no bread at al to break unto them so the wicked man being greedily called upon by almost infinit passions to yeeld them their desires must needs be vexed and pittifully tormented especially being not able to satisfie any one of their smalest demands 28 Another cause of vexation is for that these passions of disordinate concupiscence be oftentimes on contrary to the other do demand contrary things representing most lively the confusion of Babel where one tong spoke against another and that in divers and contrarie languages So we see oftentimes that the desire of honor saith Spend heer but the passion of avarice saith Hold thy hands Lecherie saith Venture heer but pride saith No it may turn to thy dishonor Anger saith Revenge thy selfe heer but ambition saith It is better to dissemble And finally heer is fulfilled that which the prophet saith Vidi iniquitatem contradictionem in civitate I have seen iniquitie and contradiction in the selfesame citie Iniquitie for that al the demands of these passions are most unjust in that they are against the word of God Contradiction for that one crieth against the other in their demands From al which miseries God hath delivered the just by giving them his Peace which passeth al understanding as the apostle saith and which the world can never give nor tast of as Christ himselfe affirmeth 29 And these many causes may be alledged now besides many others which I passe over to justifie Christs words that his yoke is sweet and easie to wit the assistance of grace the love of God the light of understanding from the holie Ghost the internal consolation of the mind the quiet of conscience the confidence therof proceeding the libertie of soul and bodie with the sweet rest of our spirits both towards God towards our neighbour and towards our selves By al which means helps privileges and singular benefits the vertuous are assisted above the wicked as hath been shewed and their way made easie light and pleasant To which also we may ad as the last but not the least comfort the expectation of reward that is of eternal glorie and felicitie to the vertuous and everlasting damnation unto the wicked O how great a matter is this to comfort the one if their life were painful in godlines and to afflict the other amidst al their great pleasure of sin The laborer when he thinketh on his good pay at night is incouraged to go thorough though it be painful to him Two that should passe togither towards their country the one to receive honor for the good service done abroad the other as prisoner to be arraigned of treasons committed in forrain dominions against his soveraign could not be like merrie in their In upon the way as it seemeth to me and though he that stood in danger should sing or make shew of courage and innocencie and set a good face upon the matter yet the other might wel think that his hart had many a cold pul within him as no dowt but al wicked men have when they think with themselves of the life to come If Ioseph Pharaos baker had known both their distinct lots in prison to wit that on such a day one should be called foorth to be made Lord of Egypt and the other to be hanged on a paire of gallows they could hardly have been equally merry whiles they lived togither in time of their imprisonment The like may be said and much more truly of vertuous and wicked men in this world For when the one doth but think upon the day of death which is to be the day of their deliverance from this prison their harts cannot but leap for very joy considering what is to insu unto them after But the other are afflicted and fal into melancholy as often as mention or remembrance of death is offred for that they are sure that it bringeth with it their bane according as the scripture saith The wicked man being dead there remaineth no more hope unto him 30 Wel then deer brethen if al these things be so what should stay thee now at length to make this resolution which I exhort thee unto Wilt thou yet say notwithstanding al this that the matter is hard and the way unpleasant Or wilt thou beleeve others that tel thee so though they know lesse of the matter than thy selfe Beleeve rather the word and
who never persecused his son in law Iacob until he would depart from him And yet more was this expressed in the doings of Pharao who after once he perceaved that the people of Israel ment to depart from his kingdome never ceased greevously to afflict them as Moises testifieth until God utterly delivered them out of his hands with the ruin and destruction of al Egypt their enimies Which event the holie doctors saints of the churh have expounded to be a plain figure of the deliverie of souls from the tyranny of the devil 35 And now if thou wouldest have a lively example of al this that I have said before I could alledge thee many but for brevitie sake one only of Saint Austens conversion shal suffice testified by himself in his books of confession It is a mavelous example and containeth many notable and comfortable points And surely whosoever shal but read the whole at large especially in his sixt seventh eight books of his confessions shal greatly be mooved and instructed therby And I beseech the reader that understandeth the Latin toong to view over at least but certein chapters of the eight book where this Saints final conversion after infinite combats is recounted It were too long to repeat heer though indeed it be such matter as no man need to be wearie to hear it There he sheweth how he was tossed and troubled in this conflict between the flesh and the spirit between God drawing on the one side and the world the flesh the divel holding bak on the other part He went to Simplicianus a learned old man devout Christian he went to S. Ambrose bishop of Millan after his cōference with them he was more trobled than before He consulted with his cōpanions Nebridius Alipius but al would not ease him Til at the length a Christian courtier captain named Pontition had by occasion told him and Alipius of the vertuous life that Saint Anthonie led who a little before had professed a private a solitarie life in Egypt as also others he then heard did even in Millan it selfe where then he was Which when he had heard then with-drawing himselfe aside he had a most terrible combat with himselfe Wherof he writeth thus What did I not say against my selfe in this conflict How did I beat and whip mine own soul to make hir follow thee O Lord But she held bak she refused and excused hir selfe and when al hir arguments were convicted she remained trembling and fearing as death to be restrained from hir loose custom of sin Wherby she consumed hir selfe even unto death After this he went into a garden with Alipius his companion and there cried out unto him Quid hoc est Quid patimur Surgunt indocti coelum rapiunt nos cum doctrinis nostris sine corde ecce ubi volutamur in carne sanguine What is this Alipius what suffer we under the tyrannie of sin Vnlearned men such as Anthonie and others for he was altogither unlearned do take heaven by violence and we with al our learning without harts behold how we lie graveling in flesh and bloud And he goeth forward in that place shewing the woonderful and almost incredible tribulations that he had in this fight that day After this he went forth into an orchard and there he had yet a greater conflict For there al his pleasures past represented themselves before his eies saieng Demittes ne nos à momento isto non erimus tecum ultra in aeternum c. What wilt thou depart from us And shal we be with thee no more for ever after this moment Shal it not be lawful for thee to do this or that no more heerafter And then saith Saint Austen O Lord turn from the mind of thy servant to think of that which they objected to my soul. What filth what shameful pleasures did they lay before mine eies At length he saith that after long and tedious combats a marvelous tempest of weeping came upon him and being not able to resist he ran away from Alipius and cast himselfe on the ground under a fig-tree and gave ful scope unto his eies which brought foorth presently whole fluds of tears Which after they were a little past over he began to speak to God in this sort Et tu Domine usquequo Quam diu quam diu cras cras Quare non modo Quare non hac hora finis est turpitudinis meae O Lord how long wilt thou suffer me thus How long how long shal I say to-morow to-morow Why should I not do it now Why should there not be an end of my filthie life even at this hour And after this followeth his final and miraculous conversion togither with the conversion of Alipius his cōpanion which bicause it is set down breefly by himselfe I wil recite his owne words which are as followeth immediately upon those that went before 36 I did talk this to GOD and did weep most bitterly with a deep contrition of my hart and behold I heard a voice as if it had been of a boy or maid singing from som house by and often repeating Take up and read take up and read And straightway I changed my countenance and began to think most earnestly with my selfe whether children were woont to sing any such thing in any kind of game that they used but I never remember that I had heard any such thing before Wherfore repressing the force of my tears I rose interpreting no other thing but that this voice came from heaven to bid me open the book that I had with me which was Saint Pauls epistles and to read the first chapter that I should find For I had heard afore of Saint Anthonie how he was admonished to his conversion by hearing a sentence of the Gospel which was read when he by occasion came into the church and the sentence was Go and sel al thou hast and give to the poore and thou shalt have a treasure in heaven and come and follow me Which saieng Saint Anthonie taking as spoken to him in particular was presently converted to thee O Lord. Wherfore I went in haste to the place where Alipius sate for that I had left my booke there when I departed I snatched it up and opened it and read in silence the first chapter that offered it selfe unto mine eies and therin were these words Not in banketings or in dronkennes not in wantonnes and chamber works not in contention and emulation but do you put on the Lord Iesus Christ and do you not perform the providence of the flesh in concupiscence Further than this sentence I would not read neither was it needful For presently with the end of this sentence as if the light of securitie had been powred into my hart al the darknes of my dowtfulnes fled away Wherupon putting in my finger or
wherby to shew his abilitie and good wil unto his deer frind so God which hath al occasions in his own hands and passeth al his creatures togither in greatnes of love and nobilitie of mind worketh purposely divers occasions and opportunities wherby to shew and exercise the same So he brought the three children into the burning fornace therby to shew his power and love in delivering them So he brought Daniel into the lions den Susanna unto the point of death Iob into extreme miserie Ioseph into prison Toby unto blindnes therby to shew his power and love in their deliverance For this cause also did Christ suffer the ship to be almost drowned before he would awake and Saint Peter to be almost under water before he would take him by the hand 16 And of this one reason many other reasons and most comfortable causes do appeer of Gods dealing heerin As first that we being delivered from our afflictions might take more joy and delite therof than if we had never suffered the same For as water is more grateful to the waifaring man after a long drith and a calm more pleasant unto passengers after a troublesom tempest so is our deliverie more sweet after persecution or tribulation according as the scripture saith Speciosa misericordia Dei in tempore tribulationis The mercie of God is beautiful and pleasant in time of tribulation This signified also Christ when he said Your sorrow shal be turned into ioy that is you shal rejoice that ever you were sorrowful This had David prooved when he said Thy rod O Lord and thy staff have comforted me that is I take great comfort that ever I was chastised with them And again According to the multitude of my sorrows thy consolations have made ioiful my mind that is for every sorrow that I received in time of affliction I receive now a consolation after my deliverance And again in another place I wil exult and reioice in thy mercie O Lord. And wherfore good king wilt thou so rejoice It followeth immediately For that thou hast respected mine abasement and hast delivered my soul from the necessitie wherin she was and hast not left me in the hands of mine enimie This then is one most gracious meaning of our loving and merciful father in afflicting us for a time to the end our joy may be the greater after our deliverance as no dowt but it was in al those whom I have named before delivered by Gods mercy I mean Abraham Ioseph Daniel Sidrach Misach and Abdenago Susanna Iob Tobias Peter and the rest who took more joy after their deliverance than if they had never been in affliction at al. When Iudith had delivered Bethulia and returned thither with Holofernes head there was more hartie joy in that citie than ever there would have been if it had not been in distresse When S. Peter was delivered out of prison by the angel there was more joy for his deliverance in the church than could have been if he had never been in prison at al. 17 Out of this great joy resulteth another effect of our tribulation much pleasant to God and comfortable to our selves and that is a most hartie and earnest thanksgiving to God for our deliverance such as the prophet used when he said after his deliverance I for my part wil sing of thy strength and wil exalt thy mercy betimes in the morning for that thou hast been my aider and refuge in the day of my tribulation Such hartie thanks and praise did the children of Israel yeeld to God for their deliverance when they were passed over the red sea in that notable song of theirs which beginneth Cantemus Domino And is registred by Moises in Exodus From like hartie affect came also those songs of Anna Debora and Iudith mooved therunto by the remembrance of their affliction past And finally this is one of the cheefest things that God esteemeth and desireth at our hands as he testifieth by the prophet saieng Cal upon me in the day of tribulation I wil deliver thee and thou shalt honor me 18 Besides al these God hath yet further reasons of laieng persecution upon us as for example for that by suffering and perceiving indeed Gods assistance consolation therin we come to be so hardie bold and constant in his service as nothing afterward can dismay us even as Moises though he were first afeard of the serpent made of his rod and fled away from it yet after by Gods commandement he had once taken it by the tail he feared it no more This the prophet David expresseth notablie when he saith God hath been our refuge and strength and helper in our great tribulations and therfore we wil not fear if the whol earth should be trouble the mountains cast into the midst of the sea What greater confidence can be imagined than this 19 Again by persecution and affliction God bringeth his children to the exercise of many of those vertues that do belong to a Christian man and to enter into some reasonable possession of them As for example Faith is exercised in time of tribulation in considering the causes of Gods exercising of us and beleeving most assuredly the promises he hath made for our deliverance Hope is exercised in conceiving and assuring hirselfe of the reward promised to them that suffer patience Charitie is exercised in considering the love of Christ suffering for us and therby provoketh the afflicted to suffer again with him Obedience is exercised in conforming our wils to the wil of Christ. Patience in bearing quietly Humilitie in abasing our selves in the sight of God And so likewise al other vertues belonging to a good Christian are stirred up and established in man by tribulation according to the saieng of S. Peter God shal make perfect confirm and establish those which have suffered a little for his name 20 Finally Gods meaning is by laieng persecution and affliction upon us to make us perfect Christians that is like unto Christ our captain whom the prophet calleth Virum dolorum scientem infirmitatem A man of sorrows and one that had tasted of al maner of infirmities Therby to receive the more glorie at his return to heaven and to make more glorious al those that wil take his part therin To speak in one word God would make us by tribulation crucified Christians which is the most honorable title that can be given unto a creature crucified I say and mortified to the vanities of this world to the flesh to our own concupiscence and carnal desires but quik and ful of al lively spirit to vertu godlines devotion This is the heavenly meaning of our soveraign Lord God in sending us persecution tribulation affliction in respect wherof holy Iob dowteth not to say Blessed is the man that is
loveth us and tendereth our case most mercifully 31 But yet heer is one thing to be noted in this matter and that is that Christ suffered the ship almost to be covered with waves as the Evangelist saith before he would awake therby to signifie that the measure of temptations is to be left only unto himselfe it is sufficient for us to rest upon the apostles words He is faithful and therfore he wil not suffer us to be tempted above our strength We may not examin or mistrust his doings we may not inquire why doth he this Or why suffereth he that Or how long wil he permit these evils to reign God is a great God in al his doings and when he sendeth tribulation he sendeth a great deal togither to the end he may shew his great power in delivering us and recompenseth it after with as great measure of comfort His temptations oftentimes do go very deep therby to try the very harts and reins of men He went far with Elias when he caused him to fly into a mountain and there most desirous of death to say They have killed al thy prophets O Lord and I am left alone and now they seeke to kil me also He went far with David when he made him cry out Why dost thou turn thy face away from me O Lord Why dost thou forget my povertie and tribulation And in another place again I said with my selfe in the excesse of my mind I am cast out from the face of thine eies O Lord. God went far with the apostles when he inforced one of them to write We wil not have you ignorant brethren of our tribulation in Asia wherin we were oppressed above al measure above al strength insomuch as it lothed us to live any longer But yet above al others he went furthest with his own deer Son when he constrained him to utter those pittiful most lamentable words upon the crosse My God my God why hast thou forsaken me Who can now complain of any proofe or temptation whatsoever laid upon him seeing GOD would go so far with his own deer only Son 32 Heerof then insueth the third thing necessarie unto us in tribulation which is magnanimitie grounded upon a strong and invincible faith of Gods assistance and of our final deliverance how long soever he delay the matter and how terrible soever the storm do seem for the time This God requireth at our hands as may be seen by the example of the disciples who cried not We perish before the waves had covered the ship as Saint Mathew writeth and yet Christ said unto them Vbi est fides vestra Where is your faith Saint Peter also was not afeard until he was almost under water as the same Evangelist recordeth and yet Christ reprehended him saieng Thou man of little faith why diddest thou dowt What then must we do in this case deer brother Surely we must put on that mightie faith of valiant king David who upon the most assured trust he had of Gods assistance said In Deo meo transgrediar murū In the help of my God I wil go through the wal Of which invincible faith Saint Paul was also when he said Omnia possum in eo qui me confortat I can do al things in him that comforteth and strengtheneth me Nothing is unpossible nothing is too hard for me by his assistance We must be as the scripture saith Quasi Leo confidens absque terrore Like a bold and confident Lion which is without terror That is we must not be astonied at any tempest any tribulation any adversitie We must say with the prophet David experienced in these matters I wil not fear many thousands of people that should inviron or besiege me togither If I should walk amidst the shadow of death I wil not fear If whole armies should stand against me yet my hart should not tremble My hope is in God and therfore I wil not fear what man can do unto me God is my aider and I wil not fear what flesh can do unto me God is my helper and protector and therfore I wil despise and contemn mine enimies And another prophet in like sense Behold God is my savior and therfore wil I deal confidently and wil not fear These were the speeches of holie prophets of men that knew wel what they said and had often tasted of affliction themselves and therfore could say of their own experience how infallible Gods assistance is therin 33 To this supreme courage magnanimitie and Christian fortitude the scripture exhorteth us when it saith If the spirit of one that is in authoritie do rise against thee see thou yeeld not from thy place unto him And again another scripture saith Strive for iustice even to the losse of thy life and stand for equitie unto death it selfe and God shal overthrow thine enimies for thee And Christ himselfe yet more effectually recommendeth this matter in these words I say unto you my frinds be not afraid of them which kil the body and afterward have nothing else to do against you And S. Peter addeth further Neque conturbemini that is Do not only not fear them but which is lesse do not so much as be troubled for al that flesh and blood can do against you 34 Christ goeth further in the Apocalips and useth marvelous speeches to intise us to this fortitude For these are his words He that hath an eare to hear let him hear what the spirit saith unto the churches To him that shal conquer I wil give to eat of the tree of life which is in the paradise of my God This saith the first and the last he that was dead and now is alive I know thy tribulatition and thy povertie but thou art rich indeed and art blasphemed by those that say they are tru Israelites and are not but are rather the synagog of satan Fear nothing of that which you are to suffer behold the devil wil cause some of you to be thrust into prison to the end you may be tempted and you shal have tribulation for ten daies But be faithful unto death and I wil give thee a crown of life He that hath an eare to hear let him hear what the spirit saith unto the churches he that shal overcome shal not be hurt by the second death And he that shal overcome and keep my works unto the end I wil give unto him authoritie over nations even as I have received it from my father and I wil give him besides the morning star He that shal overcome shal be appareled in white garments and I wil not blot his name out of the booke of life but wil confesse his name before my father and before his angels Behold I come quikly hold fast that thou hast lest another man receive thy crown He that shal conquer I
thou one day lament and bewail and be hartily sorrie for this delay which now thou makest So that by how much the more thou prolongest and increasest thy sin so much greater wil be thy pain and sorrow in thine amendement Alto vulneri diligens longa adhibenda est medicina saith Saint Cyprian A diligent and long medicin is to be used to a deepe sore Our bodie that hath lived in many delites must be afflicted saith Saint Ierom our laughing must be recompensed with long weeping Finally Saint Ambrose agreeing therunto saith Grandi plagae alta prolixa opus est medicina Vnto a great wound a deepe and long medicin is needful 15 Mark heer deer brother that the labor of thine amendement must be very great and that it cannot be avoided What madnes is it then for thee now to inlarge the wound knowing that the medicin must afterwards be so painful What crueltie can be more against thy selfe than to drive in thorns into thine own flesh which thou must after pul out again with so many tears Wouldest thou drink that cup of poisoned liquor for a little pleasure in the tast which would cast thee soone after into a burning fever torment thy bowels within thee and either dispatch thy life or put thee in great jeoperdie 16 But heer I know thy refuge wil be as it is to al them wherof the prophet saith Mentita est iniquitas sibi Iniquitie hath flattered and lied unto hir selfe thy refuge I say wil be to alledge the example of the good theefe saved even at the last hour upon the crosse and carried to paradise that same day with Christ without any further toil of amendement This example is greatly noted and urged by al those which defer their conversion as surely it is and ought to be of great comfort to every man which findeth himselfe now at the last cast therfore commonly tempted by the enimie to despair of Gods mercie which in no case he ought to do For the same God which saved that great sinner at that last hour can also and wil save al them that hartily turn unto him even at the last hour But alas many men do flatter and deceive themselves with misunderstanding or rather misusing of this example 17 For we must understand as Saint Austen wel noteth that this was but one particular act of Christ which maketh no general rule even as we see that a temporal prince pardoneth somtime a malefactor when he is come to the very place of execution yet were it not for every malefactor to trust therupon For that this is but an extraordinarie act of the prince his favor and neither shewed nor promised to al men Besides this this act was a special miracle reserved for the manifestation of Christ his power and glorie at that hour upon the crosse Again this act was upon a most rare confession made by the theefe in that instant when al the world forsooke Christ and the apostles themselves either dowted or lost their faith of his Godhead Beside al this the confession of this theefe was at such a time as he could neither be baptised nor have further time of amendement And we hold that at a mans first conversion there is required nothing else but to beleeve and to be baptised But it shal not be amisse to put to Saint Austens very words upon this matter For thus he writeth 18 It is a remediles peril when a man giveth himself over so much to vices as he forgetteth that he must give account therof to God and the reason why I am of this opinion is for that it is a great punishment of sin to have lost the fear memorie of the judgment to come c. But deerly beloved left the new felicitie of the beleeving theefe on the crosse do make any of you too secure and remisse least peradventure some of you say in his hart my guiltie conscience shal not trouble nor torment me my naughtie life shal not make me very sad for that I see even in a moment al sin forgivē unto the theefe we must consider first in that theefe not only the shortnes of his beleefe and confession but his devotion and the occasion of that time even when the perfection of the just did stagger Secondlie shew me the faith of that theefe in thy selfe and then promise to thy self his felicitie The devil doth put into thy head this securitie to the end he may bring thee to perdition And it is unpossible to number al them which have perished by the shadow of this deceitful hope He deceiveth himselfe maketh but a jest of his own damnation which thinketh that Gods mercie at the last day shal help or releeve him It is hateful before God when a man upon confidence of repentance in his old age doth sin the more freely The happie theefe wherof we have spoken happie I say not for that he laid snares in the way but for that he tooke hold of the way it selfe in Christ laieng hands on the pray of life and after a strange maner making a bootie of his own death he I say neither did defer the time of his salvation wittingly neither did he deceitfully put the remedie of his state in the last moment of his life neither did he desperately reserve the hope of his redemption unto the hour of his death neither had he any knolege either of religion or of Christ before that time For if he had it may be he would not have been the last among the apostles in number which was made the former in kingdom 19 By these words of Saint Austen we are admonished as you see that this particular fact of Christ maketh no general rule of remission to al men not for that Christ is not alwais ready to receive the penitent as he promiseth but for that every man hath not the time or grace to repent as he should at that hour according as hath been declared before The general way that God proposeth to al is that which Saint Paul saith Finis secundum opera ipsorum The end of evil men is according to their works Look how they live so they dy To that effect saith the prophet Once God spake and I heard these two things from his mouth power belongeth to God and mercie unto thee O Lord for that thou wilt render to every man according to his works The wise man maketh this plain saieng The way of sinners is paved with stones and their end is hel darknes and punishments Finally Saint Paul maketh this general and peremptory conclusion Be not deceived God is not mocked looke what a man soweth and that shal he reape He that soweth in flesh shal reap corruption he that soweth in spirit shal reap life everlasting In which words he doth not only lay down unto us the general rule wherto we must trust but also saith further