things but in mans imagination and conceite onely and hinder themselues it may be others likewise by their bad example also from the sight and sense of sinne yea from religious repentance and godly sorrow for the same whereby they might be led vnto amendment of life not to bee repented of and plunge themselues into innumerable paines of bodie and soule here and without speciall fauour and grace of forgiuenes from God who onely forgiueth sinnes into euerlasting tormērs in the world to come Wheras Gods children are so far off from entering into these corrupted courses that many times before iudgements I will not say haue seazed vpon them but euen before they haue beene threatned against them haue yet in the reuerend feare which they haue had in their harts of them either humbled themselues and as we may say preuented the pouring foorth of Gods wrath vpon them or else at the thundering out of the same or the first stroake thereof laide vpon them haue soundly and speedily cast downe themselues at the feete of Gods mercie in faith vnfained and sincere repentance so if not remoued the temporary or outwarde punishment and yet vpon their submission God hath been pleased many times graciously to graunt the same haue notwithstanding found fauor from the Lord to vndergoe it for the present with patience and prayer and sincerely to profite by it yea indeed to ouercome it to Christian mortification and holy obedience As for the ends why God should strike vs we must know and beleeue that it is impossible that they should be whether wee respect them in themselues or as they proceed from him that is onely good of any other nature than hee is For as all his affections and actions are meerely and absolutely good so must also all his purposes and the ends that he aimeth at be likewise though alwaies happilie by reason of Satans malice and mans corruption they bring not forth this effect in man To make this plaine by some particulars His loue is absolutelie good and no man that knoweth what either GOD or nature meaneth can deny it for if the loue of earthly creatures as of parentes to children husbandes to wiues friendes to friends c. bee good and lawfull then that which is in and from the diuine maiestie must much more be so because it is more certaine more holy and indeed infinite he hauing it also in himselfe and of himselfe absolutely perfectly good whereas others haue it but by communication and that in measure and in men much vitiated and corrupted thorow the taint of originall sinne And yet this so excellently and absolutely good he laboureth to manifest as in the correction of all men generally so particularly of his owne people and children according to which the spirite saith in the Apostle to the Hebrewes My sonne despise not the chastening of the Lorde neither faint when thou art rebuked of him for whome the Lord loueth he chastiseth and hee scourgeth euery sonne that he receiueth And if we bee without correction whereof all are partakers than are we bastards and not sons and dauhgters Wherefore sith in this and such like actions hee aimeth at the manifestation of his loue and that is indeede the principall end of his chastisements specially as in regard of his owne people it cannot be but good True it is that flesh and bloud seeth not this nor thinketh so The reason is because their eyes are blind and their vnderstandings darke But as it is not reason because a blinde man beholdeth not the Sunne to conclude there is no Sunne so is it absurd to say because the wicked worldlings neither feele nor feare these things therefore they are not For these are as all the rest of the things of God specially as in respect of his purpose end spirituall and therefore must bee spiritually discerned but they are carnall and sold vnder sinne Againe in as much as since the deprauation corrupting of Gods image wee are nothing els but both in bodie and soule tainted with all manner of euill and sith that euen since our regeneration and new birth wee carrie about with vs so long as wee dwell in these houses of clay and earthly tabernacles the relikes and remainders of sinne and we know by the light of the word euery where almost reuealing it and by the stinging testimony of our owne heart which euen telleth it vs euery day that wee rise vp and euery night that we lye down that sinne displeaseth his blessed maiestie and God hath appointed punishments and corrections both outward inwarde as one speciall meane to represse the rage and power of euill in vs whilest it scoureth from vs the drosse of our corruption and so mortifying in some measure sinne in vs fashioneth vs the better and more effectually vnto sanctification for this wee may assure our selues of that the decay of the one is the increase of the other we may euen thereby see as if it were in a most cleere and liuely looking glasse that he aimeth at in these corrections which he hath sealed not onely his owne glorie but our good both temporall and eternal in this work of fatherly chastisement and affliction And this sure cannot chuse but be good also howsoeuer somtimes by reason of the thicke clowde of our owne corruption interposed between Gods works and our reformed iudgement wee cannot so sensibly see or so plainly perceiue the same as we would or should Neither is this al the bettering of vs in this life but for as much as our good estate here is in the purpose and councell of God yet through his owne mercie and grace onely infinitely as I may say to be bettered in the life that is to come and afflictions doe not only frame vs to obedience in this world but in some sort pledge vp vnto vs the saluation of our soules in eternall blessednes according to which the Apostle affirmeth We are chastened of the Lorde in this world that wee should not perish with the wicked in that which is to come And againe the spirit in another place sayth By many tribulations we must enter into the kingdome of God Men by all this should be perswaded of the holy purposes blessed ends of Gods visitation and earnestly labour by these sith God also himselfe is pleased by them to aime at that end and to effect that grace in vs to be out of loue and liking with this present euill world and all the vanities and delights of the same vsing it and them no further than as by it and them we may be furthered in more excellent graces and to hunger and thirst after that eternal felicitie that is laid vp in the heauens for all those that in faith patience prayer and other good works looke for and long after his blessed appearing Thus we see what God mindeth to effect by striking vs but whether these fruites follow in mē let our own practise declare We are
TO THE HONORABLE AND HIS VERIE GOOD LL. SIR IOHN POPHAM Knight Lord chiefe Iustice of England and Sir William Periam Knight Lord chiefe Baron of her Maiesties Court of Exchequer T.W. hartily wisheth the abundant riches of al Gods mercies in this life eternal blessednes in that which is to come thorow Christ THough I doubt not my good Lords but that you haue ere this heard of the feareful and lamentable fire that in September last light vpon the towne of VVooburne in the countie of Bedford and am fullie perswaded that according to the measure of heauenly wisedome that God hath vouchsaued to you both you haue made spirituall profit not only thereof but of sundry other such like iudgments past alreadie in diuers quarters of our kingdom and iustly feared that hereafter may fall out vpon vs for our sinnes yet because the particularities of that punishment are not so wel and certainly knowne as were meete mens minds are so various and fame increaseth by going as wee say in the Prouerbe besides that euen in these things likewise there is a trueth fit to be vnderstood also because the generalitie of men either see them not because they are blind or els bee amazed at thē for a while because they haue no further insight or else make not good vse of them because they are of carelesse hearts I haue thought it sit and that vnder your Lordshippes protections and with your good acceptation also I trust to publishe though a short yet a true narration of that pitifull spectacle and therewithall some meditations of mine owne concerning that matter begunne within a daye or two after the aforenamed fire it selfe and finished in howe short a space I will not write least I might seeme to vaunt In regard of the matter I haue aimed at nothing but this that the trueth it selfe being laide open and some obseruations made thereupon men might bee lead by the hande to make some profitable vse of it they being drawne on to repentance for that which is past and carefully to looke to themselues for that which is to come least otherwise the flame of Gods wrath should break forth further against vs and that to our vtter wasting and destruction For the manner obserued in this discourse it is not so methodicall I confesse as it should be but the reason thereof was the sodain feare and great griefe that I conceiued vpon the very viewe and sight of the ruines it had made all making me vnfit indeed for that present especiallie for matter or manner to handle such a subiect as it ought both the one and the other then tooke such a deepe impression in me and that is the reason also and nothing else I assure you why I seeme as it were so confusedly to deale in the cause for how can a distempered mind be sit especially in methode to propound any matter sith that to the orderlie deliuerie of thinges there must of necessitie concurre a quiet hart and a staied head Howbeit this I dare notwithstanding protest that for the bodie of the treatie there is in it nothing vnsound or vncertaine and therefore in that respect may the more safely be receiued As for the reasons leading me to present this little labour to your Lordships though they bee many the same waightie also yet take them I beseech you in a worde as it were You haue vouchsaued me sundry honorable fauours and I would not willingly seeme or be thought either vnmindfull of them or vnthankefull for them in any dutie that God hath or shal be pleased to inable me to performe You execute the iustice of the land nay which is more the verie iustice of God himselfe euen deriued from himselfe by her Maiesties holy hand and power How fit therefore it is that his example should bee set before you whose person you doe in some sort beare and whose iudgement also you execute in your functions that so you might in your places tread also in some good measure in his pathes your selues can more wisely iudge than I am able to relate You both professe the holy gospell of Christ and may in some sort and sense be reckoned amongst them that mourne for your owne sinnes and for the transgressions of the land also How meet it is that you and others with you shuld see that you haue not taken vp this lamentation without cause as welfor that which is past present as for that which is feared to come But I will represse my selfe in these thinges and will not cease according to all the graces that I haue receiued frō God to commēd these causes into his most merciful hands who only worketh wonderful things both in heauen and in earth that so turning vs from our euil waies vnto himselfe and knitting our harts daily more and more vnto him wee may haue assured hope of the bettering of our estate in this life according to his owne good pleasure or at the least of the euerlasting sauing of our soules notwithstanding all the troubles and turmoiles that may fal out in the world The Lord alwaies and in all things also direct your Lorships both by his holy spirite and vntill the daye of Christ make perfecte in you all good works that hee hath begun for the prosperitie of Sion or the commoditie of the common wealth to his glorie and your euerlasting comforte thorowe Christ London the 1. of Nouember 1595. Your Lordships bounden and readie euer in Iesus Christ Tho. Wilcocks the Lords vnworthie A short narration of the fearefull fire that fell in the towne of VVooburne in the Countie of Bedford on Saturdaie the 13. of September last 1595. Lord Iesus begin and make an ende MEN brethren and fathers yea whosoeuer amongst you truly feareth God vnfainedly loueth his lawe stedfastlye beleeueth his promises and sincerely obeieth his wil to you and to euery one of you I say are the words of trueth and exhortation following directed not of a hatefull heart I assure you against any for I wish would labour your good generally and especially the saluation of your soules as mine owne nor yet of a minde curious in other mens causes with the neglect of them that belong to my selfe for I know it to bee displeasing before God and vnprofitable to my selfe but of an earnest desire in christian charitie by al meanes lawful and that according to my vttermost abilitie to assay to doe good vnto others as vnto mine owne soule and to labour what I can the setting forth of his glory that hath created vs and placed vs in this worlde for that speciall end and purpose that so at the last also after we haue a little glorified him here we might thorough his mercie and Christs merites obtaine the fruition of euerlasting life and the immortall glorification of our bodies and soules in that great and last day Wherein if either thorow the vncleanenes of my heart or the pollution of my hands or
so far off from taking these things as pledges of his loue that the more he layeth vpon vs that way the more we thinke he hateth vs. And the reason is because we measure these matters not by the line or elne of reason reformed or religious reason but by our vnderstanding much corrupted defaced frō that integritie which it had in creation And then how can we in that darkenes see light seeing that hindereth vs frō beholding graces more cleere than these that are to be seene in afflictions and corrections And if wee cannot see in them his loue till the thicke scales of our ignorāce be pulled frō the eies of our minds and vnderstanding howe shall wee perceiue that he assayeth our good therem til the same also be remoued and taken away For as we are hardly perswaded of this that strokes testifie the fauor of him that soundly roundly layeth them vpon vs so shall flesh bloud neuer yeelde to this that blowes better vs till the hearte specially inlightned beleeue the same and wee know either by experience in our selues or by obseruation in others that they haue not by nature but by grace gained that glorious issue The like may wee say of pledging vp vnto vs the hope of heauen For what man if hee haue not more in him than man will imagine that so harde a measure of afflictions and sorrowes as lie not onely vpon the backs but are in the soules of men yea godly men should testifie vnto them such heauenly graces wee rather say and see that the father that beateth the child much and often hardly mindeth to giue him the inheritance and to make him Lord and heire of all Howbeit Gods word telleth vs that it is far otherwise with Gods elect for if wee suffer with Christ wee shall raigne with him and being made conformable vnto him in his afflictions wee shall also bee like him in glory wee knowing that the momentany and light afflictions of this life doe cause vnto vs or bring with them a farre most excellent and eternall waight of glory Nowe whether in these points it be better for vs to beleeue God and his holy worde or to trust our owne reason and humane iudgement I had almost said let all the world iudge but let the godly especially speake their mindes and deliuer their sentence according to truth and right Whatsoeuer hitherto hath beene deliuered concerneth especially either the narration it selfe and the thing done as we say or els some profitable pointes arising therefrom or appertaining thereto All which no doubt of it are profitable if they bee laide to heart to build vs vp in knowledge and iudgement But there is another thing besides that as in all causes generally so particularly in this wee must carefully labour to attaine to and that is conscience of the things that wee know care to profite by them to the bettering of vs in this life before God and man and in our owne hearts also that so in the comfortable feeling of it we may haue assurance of hope and heart that we shall not be confounded in that which is to come And to this we cannot come or bee brought but by making speciall vse of and particular applying vnto our owne soules the points of instruction or the seuerall and sundrie actions that God doth for or amongst the sonnes of men Without which indeed as in the publike ministerie all paines taken is but labour lost and as it were wordes spoken in the aire as the examples of former ages and the experience of our owne times doe but too sufficiently shewe so in al priuate doctrines or documents whether they be deliuered by the audible voice of man or propounded vnto vs by the workes of God in his mercie towards his owne people or in his iudgements towardes the wicked will bee at the most but as a wonder of nine daies as we say in the Prouerbe and like vnto water spilt vpon the ground True it is and I am sure euery good man will confesse it that neither the one nor the other can indeed either do vs good in this life or further vs vnto eternall saluation to make vs without excuse and defence before God and in our selues I denye not but some power they haue otherwise than as they are sanctified by the almightie working of the blessed spirite And therefore when or where or howsoeuer God dealeth with vs we should presently and vnfainedly humble our selues in prayer and call and craue for grace to profit thereby Howbeit though that I meane the gracious worke of Gods spirit in our hearts be a principall meane of our spirituall profiting yet neither is it the only neither indeed doth it fol low thereupon that the others aboue recited should be reiected or refused For euen as in our naturall life the first and chiefe cause of all is God himselfe who as he giueth it vs so vpholdeth it and maintaineth it according to his good wil that being here true that the Apostle saith In him we liue we moue haue our being and yet no man so vnwise as to refuse meate drinke cloth sleepe and other necessary helps and aides that way for that were to tempt God and to liue if some one or other could doe it rather a miraculous than a naturall life so in our spirituall life though God by his holy spirite worke all in all in the hearts of them that he hath marked out vnto eternall blessednes yet no man that feareth God or careth for his owne saluation neglecteth much lesse despiseth the worde sacraments prayer admonitions exhortations rebukes publike priuate c. but more carefully frequenteth and more religiously vseth the same and laboureth more to treasure thē vp in his heart for goodnes than hee doth all or any of the outward things appertaining to the body or naturall man And euen so is it in this case of applying to our purpose and making vse in our soules of the waies and works of God generall or particular open or secret To that therefore wee come as indeed vnto the life and soule of the other thinges before going and therein direct our speech as first to the whole land generally who vpon euery such particular occasion should make speciall profite as well because all the seuerall members in a kingdome or in a Church make but one politicall or ecclesiasticall bodie and therefore if one suffer all should suffer and if one reioyce all should do likewise as also because some in Gods purpose and iudgement are striken that all or many others at the least might amende because all haue sinued and gone astraye and stand in neede of the grace of God And this is that surely that our Sauiour meaneth when in the Gospell hee saith were those Galileans whose bloud Pilate mingled with their sacrifices greater sinners than all the other I tell you nay but except ye amend your liues ye shall all likewise perish so secondly to the