seeke in him and to hope for from his bountie if first we be not lightened inwardly by his holy spirite and outwardly instructed by his holy worde So we cannot well knowe our selues nor thoroughly sound out the vice and mischiefe which lyeth lurking in our hearts if the spirite of God doe not giue vs eyes to behold our selues in the mirrhour of his Lawe For to beholde our selues perfectly and to see what is within vs we cannot doe naturally no more then the olde foolish woman Lamia could whom Fables report to haue had once two eyes but because shee woulde see nothing in her house shee pulled them both out and cast them both out of dores to goe spye and marke all that was done at her neighbours houses And to this agreeth verie well the Fable of Esope who saide that euery man carryeth a Wallet vpon his shoulder and in the hinder parte we put our owne faultes to the ende wee maye neuer see them and in the former parte wee carrye our neyghboures faultes to the ende that by seeing of them wee may finde some matter to speake yll of them and slaunder them But it is a meruaylous thing that our sinnes shoulde be diseases so grieuous so daungerous and so mortall and yet that they shoulde bee so little perceiued and regarded of those that are infected therewith For wee see how Idolaters hypocrits ambitious auaritious voluptuous persōs are mery and frollicke without any signe or conceit of sorrow to complaine in any wise of their maladie And more then that the Idolater neuer taketh greater pleasure then when he beholdeth kiss◅th adoreth his Idoll Againe the hipocrite is neuer better content then when by the shewe of some counterfait vertue he can come to in◅nuate himselfe into the good opinion of some and so get reputation and fame to be vertuous and godly And others thinke themselues neuer more happie than when they haue the full fruition and peaceable possession of the honours riches and pleasures of this world which they desire so much the cause of all this is that they feele not their sicknes the which is by so much more dangerous For as among the diseases of the body none are more pernicious than those which bring least dolour and paine as are the Palsies Letargies apoplexies and other colde Cathars and tetters for they are for the most part vncurable This made an ancient father say that he desired not to be sicke at all but if it chaunced that he were sicke he desired also to haue some feeling of his disease giuing vs to vnderstand thereby that there is nothing more daungerous then to be sicke not to perceiue or thinke it What shall we then saye to our selues who neuer think that we are so vicious as we are and yet we can thinke well ynough that we are farre more vertuous th◅n we be either For we neuer ballance and wey our vices and our vertues but with false weightes and measures For when we weigh our owne vices we take a verie light waight but we take one that is somewhat heauier for our vertues the which we esteeme alwayes to be greater then they be by reason of this furious fantasie or selfe loue which dimmeth our eyesight and iudgement And euen as the mistes and vapours which rise from the earth towardes the euening or morning beeing opposite betweene the Sunne and vs make the Sunne to seeme a great deale bigger then it is So when wee do contemplate our owne vertues cleane through this selfe loue of ours which doeth so blinde the eyes of our iudgement wee suppose them to be farre greater and per fecter then they are in deed What must we then doe to correct and amende this false iudgement of ours whereby wee esteeme our selues to be more vertuous and a great deale lesse vicious then in deede we be We must learne to knowe our selues and therefore must meditate in the lawe of God day and night directing by it all our thoughtes our affections our wordes our deedes and in summe the whole estate of our life as by a right and true rule by the which we ought to measure the same But for that wee are Treuants and negligent scholers and for that we do not our de◅oyre wholly to apply our selues to this studie God as a good scholemaster carefull for the profite of his children and scholers is faine to take his rodde oftentimes in hande to awake vs and set vs forwarde and by sickenes and other mortifications of our flesh to make vs knowe the vile corruption that lyeth hidden within vs. For there is nothing that holdeth vs better vnder the obedience of Gods holye will then good discipline as Esay saith Let men learne righteousnes when the iudgements of God are vpon the earth And Dauid saith Before I was afflicted I went astraye but now I keepe thy law And by and by he saith againe It is good for me that I haue beene afflicted that I may learne thy statutes It is then verie expedient for vs to haue some sickenes and aduersities if we can tel how to vse and apply them wel for they make vs know and feele our sinnes as on the contrary side health and prosperitie doe make vs cleane forget them for then when in the flower of our age wee are healthfull and lustie all things laugh and smile vpon vs we thinke vpon nothing but skip and fetch gambols as yong Fawnes and other beastes doe If any man would come neere vs to giue vs good counsell hee shoulde loose his paine for there are none more backewarde more vntamed more highminded and more vntractable than men tytled and fauoured by Fortune and ◅uffed vp by her prosperities That which God reproched the people withall by his Prophet How often haue I spoken vnto thee in thy prosperitie but thou wouldest neuer once heare and this hath beene thy fashion from thy youth vpward And Salomon speaking of the propertie of the foolish saith that it is their ruyne and vndoing Certeinly it is verie hard as Xenophon saith that a man should be wise and wealthie all at once and that being lifted vp to the top of honour and a bounding in riches and pleasures to confesse himselfe to be dust and ashes as Abraham did or to be nothing but vanitie as Dauid did but farre from this God wot the riche men when they are in the prime of their riches and prosperities they thinke themselues to be som Gods or else demie Gods so did Sennacherib Nabuchodonozor Antiochus Theus Xerxes Alexander king Herod Domitian who became so proud presumptuous and high minded because of their prosperitie that they woulde make themselues equall with God Phillip king of Macedonia considering this to the end he might not by the happie successe of his affaires fall into anye such insolencie commaunded a groome of his chamber to saye vnto him a lowde euery morning as soone as he waked Phillip Remember
being such good God what good faith or beleefe can wee haue in thee Faith as saith Saint Peter purifieth our hearts What faith then can they pretende to haue who haue their hearts yet full of filth and corruption Who haue them puffed vp and swollen with ambition pride auarice pleasures impatience reuenge hatred enuie and other like passions and affections of the flesh altogether disordinate and without all measure Faith doeth regenerate vs and make vs newe creatures of earthly it maketh vs heauenlye of carnall men it maketh vs become spirituall of the children of wrath and darkenes it maketh vs children of light and grace and to be short of verye diuels it maketh vs Angels of heauen Who so euer then hath his heart tyed to earthly things and thinketh nothing or little at all on the thinges which are from aboue who ioyneth not himselfe with the spirite in the battaile to fight against the flesh but being assailed and set vpon by his owne concupiscences geueth them place straighte and maketh him selfe his owne slaue and prisoner hee abuseth the grace of God and in steede of retaining it and keeping it still with him liuing in his feare and in the obedience of his holye will turneth it cleane away and driueth it farre from him by licenciousnes of life whereunto he doeth giue ouer himself vnder a vaine confidence that he hath to find it alwayes at his pleasure readie to excuse and couer all his sinnes So he deceiueth himself much weening to be faithfull and yet hath no better faith than the verie diuels neither can his faith assure him at the daye of iudgement more than theirs can Likewise doeth not faith exempt vs from the iudgement and condemnation of God as Iesus Christ sayeth He that beleeueth shall not come into iudgement at all And Saint Paul saith That there is no condemnation to them which by faith are graffed into the bodie of Iesus Christ but they which liue after the flesh and stand in no awe to do those things which God hath forbidden and contrariwise to omit and neglect those things which he hath commanded to be done howe can they escape the iudgement of death and of the curse pro nounced in the lawe against all them that transgresse it seeing that they doe it weetingly willigly and of deliberate purpose If their conscience condemne them God who is greater than their conscience who knoweth and soundeth the depth of their hearts howe shall he forgiue them Likewise faith when it is a true faith doeth inuest vs with Iustice and the spirite of Iesus Christ which are so linked together and doe so follow one another that the one cannot be found without the other Seing then that the spirit of God cannot be resident in vs but must needes worke his effect that is to saye must illuminate sanctifie quicken guyde and gouerne vs in all our counsels thoughtes affections wordes and actions What faith I pray you do we thinke we haue if we do not shewe it foorth by an holye and laudable conuersation mortifying and crucifying our flesh with all the lustes thereof putting off our old man with all his affections flying and detesting all kind of sinne and embracing all kind of vertue abstaining not onely from euill but also from all that which hath any shewe or apparance of euill And to conclude continuing this holy exercise without any interruption vnto the ende of our life For if any one shall as the Prophet sayeth doe the best he can to liue well for a while and after shal come to wander and goe aside from the right way before he be arriued at the ende of his iourney God shal haue no remembrance of any good deedes that he had done before and shall not allowe him so much as one of them when he shal come to heare his count For he promiseth not saluation life euerlasting to those that shall begin to doe well but to those onely who shall couragiously and with an inuincible heart perseuere to the end And he giueth not the price and crowne of immortalitie but to those that runne out to the ende of the lease and haue truely combated all the time of their life For what auayleth it a merchant which sayleth into India to rigg his shippe with some rich merchandize if after he hath escaped manye perils at Sea and sayled fortunately 14. or 15. Monethes together he then come to strike against some rocke suffer shipwracke before he euer come to his iurneyes ende All those which departed out of Egypt vnder the cōduct of Moses entered not into the land of Canaan for the greatest part were left behinde and dyed by the way and were shut out of the rest that God had promised to their fathers because of their infidelitie other vices which the Apostle nameth in the first Epistle to the Corinthians So we must neuer hope to enioy that life euerlasting and most blessed happie estate that he hath promised and reserued for his elect if we do not perseuere vnto the end in the faith of his worde and in the obedience of his holy will which thing to do is granted to verie fewe persons Moreouer faith when it is true liuely is it not accompanied with a certaine zeale dehemencie of the spirite which bringeth it foorth to confesse the name of God publikely to sing Psalmes to him to set foorth and tell of all his wondrous workes and to make also publike profession of Iesus Christ and of his gospell and without all feare shame and dissimulation to maintaine and defende the trueth constantly against all those which resist and withstand the same But if we will examine throughly and without all flatterie truely iudging of all our actions we must needes confesse and acknowledge that in the most of vs there hath been a maruelous great slacknes of duetie herein for that wee haue beene wonderfull colde fearfull when we should oppose our selues against the wicked and haue endured to see heare them blaspheme the holy name of God of Iesus Christ to speake yll of religion of the Gospell and of the truth holding our peace and suffering in our presence the honour of God not only to be dishonored spoken yll of but also to be trodē vnder foote without euer opening our lips in speaking one word in defence thereof What zeale haue we shewed also to restore the Tabernacle of Iacob which was thrown down to the ground What pitie cōpassion haue we had seeing the ruynes and horrible desolations happened so long time together to the poore citie of Syon Is there any one amongest you that can truely saye he hath laboured as much as in him lyeth by all meanes possible to builde againe the Temple of God and to make vp againe the breaches that the enimies had made in euery side of his church Howe many may be found amongest vs that may not
iustly be reproched for seeling trimming their owne houses and yet let Gods house lye wast For in déed fewe there are that haue such a care and zeale as appertaineth by right to the pure and sincere seruice of God to restablish it when it is corrupted and prophaned and to maintaine it when it is in perfect estate And for all that we be so colde carelesse to labour to reduce the state order of the Church vnto her former dignitie and splendour that God might be preached knowen and adored in spirite and trueth as he requreth in his worde yet is there not he amongest vs who thinketh not himselfe to be as faithfull and as good a Christian as the best although he seeke the kingdome of God and the righteousnes thereof but when he hath leasure and when he hath dispatched all his other busines Yet to be short the surest iudgement that one may giue of a good tree is by the goodnes of the fruite Wee may also iudge of our faith that it is good when it setteth our consciences at rest and when we neither feele feare mistrust scruple remorse doubt payne or torment which may vexe vs before God but we are altogether resolute and assured to be acquited in his iudgement cleared from al crimes and accusations that the diuel can laye against vs by meanes of the raunsome that Iesus Christ payed by his death and bloud for our sinnes and by this payment satisfied fully for vs to hâ—…s owne iustice Likewise when it doth incite vs to praye continually be it in prosperitie to thanke and blesse him or be it in aduersitie to prostrate our selues before him humbly beseeching him that he will deliuer vs or if it please him to set downe otherwise to mitigate and asswage our aduersitie and on the other side so to strengthen vs that wee may conforme our selues wholly to his will to abyde and beare all patiently so long as it shall please him If to conclude it enflame and kindle the loue of God and of our neighbors in our hearts so that we burne with a feruent desire to serue and honour God to inuite and bring euery one to knowe and glorifie him and that nothing displease vs more then to see his holye name dishonoured and blasphemed and for our neighbours that we loue them as our owne flesh and bloud as members of the same bodie with vs as our owne brethren and as children of one the very same father that wee and they haue together in heauen and that wee make demonstration of the loue that wee beare vnto them by all meanes possible desiring their welfare ease honour quietnes preferment and profit as our owne proper good helping them in their necessities with money counsell fauour frindes labour good worde and without anye exception with all that shall lye in our power to doe But I praye you who is he amongest those that haue best profited and procéeded furthest in the knowledge and feare of God that dare vaunt himselfe to haue such a faith the which shall bee able to fight againste the diuell and against all the gates of Hell and make vs inuincible against al temptations wherewith we may be assailed and shal fetch all our cogitations from earthly matters and rauish vs carrie vs vp aloft aboue the heauens by a certaine hope of immortalitie and of the happie life that God hath promised and prepared for vs and this hope shall straight make vs forget the worlde and all the glorie thereof all her pompes pleasures riches and magnificence and to make no more account of these transitorie and corruptible things then of dung by reason of the pleasant taste that it shall giue vs of the sweetenes of the ioyes in heauen by the which shee shall blott out and extinguish by and by all feeling and remembrance of all other pleasures as it happened to the three Disciples in whose presence our Sauiour Christ was transfigured in the Mount For scant had they had but the least taste of the blessed and happye estate but euen then at that instant they lost cleane the remembrance of all thinges in this worlde desiring nothing else but the onely continuance of that happye estate wherein then they were Seing then that faith hope charitie which are the three principall vertues whichought to shine in al our liues in al the actions of a Christian man are in vs verie vnperfect God wot but weake and that in the perfectest and purest men that liue in the world there are found so many doubtes such vnbeleeue vaine feares cares presumption hatred malice choller and other infinite like passions and desires the which as staynes doe blot out all the lustre and beautie of the vertues that are within vs Wee must when wee come to present our selues before the face and Maiestie of our God with the sicke persons whome we will comfort and giue some good instruction beginne to make an humble confession of our sinnes first acknowledging oure ingratitude and great negligence to heare reade and meditate in his worde to put it in practise to take some profite by the singular giftes and graces that hee hath bestowed vpon vs to consider and haue still before our eyes the ende and scope of our vocation to referre and direct the whole estate of our life to walke in his feare not to stayne his Image which is renewed and grauen againe in vs by the fountayne of our regeneration to keepe the faith and loyaltie that wee promised him in the holye couenaunt that hee made with vs to liue and dye to his glorie to offer vp our bodies to him in sacrifice liuing holie and agreeable to his will and not to fashion our selues like vnto this world to liue and walke in the spirite not to accomplish the desires of the flesh to walke as becommeth children of light to keepe sure footing in the libertie into the which he hath freely set vs to take heede wee be not brought againe vnder the yoke and seruitude of sinne to fight valiantly against the lustes of our flesh to resist the diuell to haue a care that sinne rule not ouer vs to rule the whole course of our life so well that we may be free not onely from sinne but also from suspition of any cryme to take diligent heede that our libertie be not an occasion that our flesh growe too inordinate and that we commit none act that may scandalize our neighbours or may in any wise induce our aduersaries to blaspheme the name of God and of Iesus Christ and to defame the religion that we professe to seeke nothing but those things which are from aboue and to haue our heart our vnderstanding and all our affections fixed in heauen to keepe alwayes our lampes burning and our raynes gyrded vp to watch for the comming of our Sauiour and to be readie to followe him and to doe by his grace al
soule is buried when it pleaseth God to fetch it from thence it is not as though he should make it come forth of the graue and raise it vp againe What is the occasion then that men may haue to flye from this corporall death and to haue it in such horrour Séeing that seperating the soule frō the body setteth the soul out of prison and sendeth it to enioy liberty in heauen there to be made much of in the bosome of Iesus christ and to inioy with him and with all the happy soules the eternall comforts promised and reserued for the elect people of God The body on the other side liethe in the earth as in a bed there to sléep and take his rest at his ease being neuer wake or troubled in his sléepe neither by fearefull dreames nor cares nor feares nor cries noyses or any thing els that maye disquiet the same sléeping there til the day of the resurrection when it shalbe waked by the sound of Gods Trumpet and knit againe to the Soule hauing left behind in the earth his mortality dishonour and weakenesse hauing put on his robes of glory power immortality and corruption Whereby we may sée that it is without curse that men feare so much this corporall death the which doth but seperate for a time the soule from the body for y ◠great profite of the one and of the other For the body is by this meanes out of all daunger not onely of sinne and of the miseries that waite thereuppon but also of all temptation remaining and resting in the earth in certaine hope of the resurrection and of the life euerlasting And although it séeme to be altogether depriued of life lyinge in the earth because that the soule being departed from it leaueth it without any mo uing or féeling and it putrifieth and goeth into earth yet being alwaies accompanied with the spirit and infinit power of God which quickeneth all thinges it is not altogether void of life as Saint Paul saith If the spirite of him which raised Iesus Christ vp from the dead dwell within you He also which hath raised him vp shal also quicken your mortal bodies because of his spirit which dwelleth in you This is the reason why in another place drawing out vnto vs the portrature of the resurrection of our bodies to come he brings in an example of the séede which is cast into the earth the which hath life in it although being in the Garner it semeeh to haue none and holding it in our hands wee cannot iudge but that it is a thinge dead and without life Yet when it is cast into the earth where a man would think the life if it had any would be smothered and taken away it showes it selfe and growes as it were from the rottennesse from whence wee sée the eare commeth which nourisheth and grows afterwards shewing plainely by euident tokens the life that was hidde in it before it was cast in the earth So God in the holy scripture caleth himself the God of Abraham long time after Abrahams death and saith that he is not the God of the dead but of the liuing Then it followeth that not only the soule of Abraham which he redeemed by the death of his Sonne is yet liuing since it hath béen seperated from the Body but that the bodye which is partaker of the same redemption which is knit and incorporate to Iesus Christ to be one of his members and hath bene consecrated and sanctified vnto God that he may dwel therin as in his holy Temple is not clean without life although it be putrified in the bowels of the earth For so much as it is alwaies accompanied with the grace of God and iointly with the soule comprised in the euerlasting couenant that hee hath made with his people which couenant is a fountaine and vaine of life not onely to the souls but also the bodies of al the faithfull And if as Saint Iohn saith they bee most happy and blessed which die in the Lord and that no blessednes can be without life we must needes conclude the one of these two things either that no blessednes can come to the body or els if it may come that the body is not depriued and void of all life lying in the earth For although it be putrified and haue no signe of life in it at all yet retayneth it in it selfe as it were a séede and stack which shal appeare at the day of the resurrection when the spirite of God pouring out his infinite vertue on our bodies shal raise them vppe againe and shall make them shine with the glory and brightnes that hee hath promised his elect And euen as in an egge there is a chicken and a certain life which is euidently perceiued when the hen hath heated and hatched it by her heate so immortality and life euerlasting whereof both our soules and bodies are called to bée partakers from the time that we haue receiued the Gospell of Christ which is a worde of life and a séede incorruptible shal shut vp till the last day by the power of our God which shall then make vs newe againe as hee shall doe the Heauens the earth and all other creatures which then shall fully be deliuered from the bondage of corruption Whereof we are also assured by the baptisme that is giuen vs in the name of the Father of the Sonne and of the holy Ghost For the water which hath bene poured vpon our bodies whiche the Scripture calleth the lauer of Regeneration is not onely to assure vs that our soules are washt and purged cleane by the bloud of Iesus Christ for the remission of our sinnes but also our bodies And that being both together couered and clad with the righteousnes and innocency of the son of God and besides sanctified by his holye Spirite they are by and by put in possession of life euerlasting and altogether made frée and deliuered frō the slauery of death which hath no power as we said but onely where sinne raigneth which is the onely cause of death The holy Supper of our Lord in the which taking by faith breade and wine which are giuen vnto vs by the handes of the minister we are receiued to the partaking of the flesh and bloud of Iesus Christ and so vnited and incorporate with him that for euer as Saint Iohn saith he dweleth in vs and we in him doth it not assure vs also that being inseperably ioyned with the life and with him that is cause of life wee can neither die either in soule or body by reason of this vniō which is common both to soule and body The death of the body ought not to séeme so hor rible and hideous as it doth vnto others who are frighted as little children with a maske or false vizard For if the mother should come to her childe with a monstruous and vgly face to be séene he would be afraid and
renewed betwéene the parties and the solemne promises and protestations first that GOD made respectiuelye to his people assuringe them of his fauour for euer and then that his people made vnto him promising him neuer to goe from him but to kéep his couenant for euer and neuer change his true seruice euer hereafter honoring him only and sanctifying his holy name And sure such assembles of y â— militant church wherof some steps we haue séen in this latter age if Antichrist and his adherents did not disturbe them would bee an excellent thing and most to be desired of all earthly treasure as the Prophet saith O Lord I haue loued the habitation of thyne house the place where thine honor dwelleth And also here he saith As the heart braieth for the riuers of waters so panteth my soule after thee O God my soule thirsteth for God euen for the liuinge God when shall I come and appeare before the presence of God And in the 92. Psalm It is a good thing to praise the Lord and to sing to thy name O most highest To declare thy louinge kindnesse in the morning thy truth in the night These places and infinit other doe shewe sufficiently what accounte we ought to haue of holy asseÌ„blies which he did prefer before all worldly pleasures And to say the truth euery man which knoweth and féeleth in himselfe what is the loue bounty swéetenes mercy goodnes wisedom faithfulnes patience truth power greatnes maiesty iustice liberality and other soueraigne and infinite vertues of God can neuer content himselfe sufficiently to thinke vpon them to declare them to others to admire and adore them and to inuite not onely the angels and all the holy company of Heauen but also all the elements al liuing creatures al plants yea all creatures without life to magnifie his holy name and to bee filled with ioye when he shall heare it exalted and glorified Albeit the praises and thankesgiuing that men yet liuing doe sing vnto the Maiesty of God cannot be so holy or wel directed but they want somewhat for being alwaies vnperfect as we are vnto what degree of faith and charity soeuer we haue attained and hauing besides this flesh with vs which doth fight continuallye against the spirite and kéepeth it in bridle and pulleth it backe when it would lifte it selfe vp vnto God it is impossible that we should heare the word of God with such zeale attentiuenes as we ought neither that we should make our confessions praiers and thankesgiuing with such humility and affection as is required of vs. Yet when we heare in the midst of the assembly the Psalmes and spirituall songs resound from the mouths of the faithfull although they be but weak fraile poore and miserable sinners we reioice and are rauished with the ioy that we fele inwardly in our hearts What may we then thinke of the pleasure and ioy that we hope to receaue in Heauen when our soules being departed out of our bodies and asceÌ„ded thither shall heare the swéete musicke and harmony of Angels and other blessed spirites singing together the praises of God with so melodious a tune that â—…he contentment and pleasure that they shal take thereby shal make them in an instant forget not onely all other displeasure but also all other pleasure that euer they felt As a pale of water being cast into the sea is by and by no more perceiued and as the brightnes of the starres appeares no more as soone as the Sunne beginneth to shine and to cast his glorious beames ouer the face of the earth Moreouer when we die in the faith of our Lord Iesus Christ at that very instant we are blessed and moste happy that is to say wee haue no more thoughts and desires but such as are pure and holy and at the very houre of death haue their full periode Which is no small felicity for we haue the flesh no more contrary to our spirite our appetites no more rebelling against reason nor the lawe of our members no more repugning the law of God but all tumultes and troubles being asswaged in our hearts wee haue a soule spirituall calme peaceable liuing to God altogether which doth alwaies cleau so fast vnto him that it can no more by any temptation or any otherwayes bee withdrawen from his loue or his seruice nor from beholding of his face Is there any thing more pleasant to behold then a City gouerned with good pollicy where al the Citizens and inhabitants are so louing one to another firmely ioyned together with an vnfaigned bond of amity which committeth no wranglinges strifes debates quarrels partiallities diuisions tumults or seditions to arise amongst theÌ„ they doe hold so together and liue all in amiable loue and concord Is there likewise any thing more to be desired then to sée a family well ordered where the father and mother the children seruants do liue together in the feare and obedience of God and doe containe themselues within their dutie and doe not let slip or go beyonde in anie thing the rule measure that God hath set downe in his lawe Saint Paul in many places doth tel vs of the wonderfull harmonie which is betwéene the meÌ„bers of mans bodie of their mutuall communication faculties powers not one enuying the dignitie of another or despising his companion for his basenes by this comparison teaching the Church what fraternitie iust proportion ought to be betwéene the members thereof for the health preseruation of euery member in particular and of the whole bodie in generall What goodlier sight is there then this to be séene amongst men And what better melodie can there be then a Lute well tuned and well touched But what heauenly harmonie is there in the soule when it agréeth so well in all her powers that our vnderstanding thinketh on nothing more then on God our will loueth desireth and aspireth to nothing but to him our memorie hath nothing to remember but him for so is it with her when hauing lefte this bodie she is receiued into Paradice For then shée is filled with GOD who is in her From thence forwarde all things as the Apostle saith that is to saie all her thoughtes all her loue and desire all her cogitation to bée bréefe all her good all that euer shee hath all her wishing and contentation is fixed in God Séeing then that by death wée doe atchieue so greate a benefite that in all this life in what estate so euer wée bée wée cannot finde the like for there is liuing in this miserable worlde neither King nor Caesar noble man of marke or marchant lawyer or labourer who complaineth not of his estate often and hath iust occasion so to doe when his affayres fall out contrarie to his desire hope and expectation are not wee then greatly beholding to death that in the twinkling of an eie doth giue vs the fruition of the soueraigne felicitie which doth consiste
of Almightie GOD among them That after these spirituall exercises to the which hee ought chieflie addictâ—… himselfe on the Sabboth daie as to heare Sermons and Exhortations with feare and reuerence to bée assistaunt in all humilitie at the confessions prayers and thankesgiuings that are made to GOD for all the assemblie hée hath not employed the rest of the time to visite prisoners to comfort the sicke to inquire after the poore and helpe to reléeue their necessitie Then when wée haue briefly discoursed vnto the sicke person the faultes that he maye haue committed agaynst the commaundementes which are in the first Table wée must goe vnto the seconde and doe also in the lyke manner 5 First that he hath not yéelded such honour and reuerence vnto his superiors nor shewed his obedience so dutifully and readily nor lastly had so great feare to offend as God doth command in his lawe And if at anie time he hath performed his dutie toward them then it hath béene rather sleightly and more for fear of punishment if he shoulde haue neglected it then for anie respect that he bare them in conscience or desire that he had otherwise to obey vnto God therein That he hath not alwaies praied so duly vnto God for their health and prosperitie to direct them by his holy spirite in all their counsels and giue them grace so to order themselues in all their actions by his holy word and generally to blesse and guide them in all their waies as he is bound by the expresse commandement of God That he hath not spoken of them at all times reuerently as his dutie is and if in his presence some haue spoken euill of them he hath held his tongue and answered nothing for them at all That he hath not thought so reuerently of his Pastors who haue had charge of his soule to giue vnto it the spirituall food that he hath alwaies respecteâ—… theyr authoritie hearkned to their voice taken their good lessons obeied vnto the true doctrine that they preached and bended his necke willingly vnder the swéete yoake of Iesus Christ that they haue laide vppon him in his name 6 That he hath not loued his neighbours as himselfe desiring and procuring their good as well as his owne That hee hath hated them when hee thought to receiue some domage or iniurie by them desiring their death and some ill hap to befall them That he hath desired sought means to be reuenged of his enemies litle regarding how God hath forbidden it reseruing vnto himselfe the appeale and vengeance of all iniuries done vnto him his children and seruants That he hath not taken pittie of the poore nor done what hee coulde to helpe with his goods to nourish cloath and harbour them and to aide them with necessarie things for their comfort and solace in their miseryes and calamities wherewith they are compassed in rounde about That hée hath not resisted the wicked and vngodly which did oppresse them and employed all his power and meanes that he coulde make to defend them from the violence and outrage that is offered them That hée hath not reioyced at the prosperitie of his neighbours but hath bin icalous and enuious of their felicitie when he hath séene God hath blessed them and preferred them in anie higher degrée then himselfe 7 That he hath not kepte and possessed his vessell that is to saie his bodie in honour and holynes as hee ought to doe nor considered that it was the temple the which God by his holie spirite had consecrated vnto himselfe and that hée ought for this regard to kéepe it from al filthines and pollution That hee hath not kepte his eies from wanton looking so carefully as hee ought but in stead of curning them aside to auoid such sightes hee hath let them gaze and runne after their owne lusts and wantonnes That he hath not so chasâ—…ned brought his flesh vnder as he ought to make it obedient to the Spirite in all things That he hath fedde himselfe to daintie and hath not alwayes vsed such sobrietie and abstinence as is requisite to represse his passion and to quench the heate of his concupiscence That by deuises letters presents laughters lookings dauncings iesture and immodest mouing of the bodie hée hath made attempt to defile the chastitie of his neighbours wife daughter or maide seruant That in his fashion of apparelling himselfe he hath sought rather to trimme vp the outwarde man thinking thereby to please the world then by a modest shew and behauiour of himselfe in his manners and apparell to edifie the Churche of God That he hath not bene carfull inough to kéepe the chastitie of his eares and tongue neyther to speake or heare anie dissolute or dishonest purpose 8 That he hath coueted to enrich him selfe siby nister meanes That in the trafique and affaires that he hath had with his neighbours he hath not alwaies vsed that vpright dealing iustice sinceritie and equitie that God commandeth according to the rule of humane societie that God will haue kept and obserued amongst all men That he hath béene readie in time of dearth and famine to enhance the price of his wares and marchandise so to make his owne profite by the publike miseries and calamities of many That he hath reserued and locked vp in his coffers caues and garners the surplus of his goods that God hath giueÌ„ him for the maintenance of himselfe and his family being due vnto the poore robbing and defrauding thereby those vnto whom it did of right appertaine That not considering at all that godlines with a contented minde as the Apostle saith is great riches and therefore it should suffice vs to haue our clothing and foode and that onely which is néedfull for our bodies hee hath not thought himselfe to be rich if besides this hee haue not many superfluous things That he hath not béene liberall nor readie to giue of his goods to whosoeuer should aske him considering and beléeuing that it is a more blessed thing to giue then to take That he hath not paide his worke men euerie daie theyr wages but hath made them staie till the morow 9 That he hath not loued the truth in word and déed doing nothing foolishly and vnaduisedly but shewing a grauitie and sinceritie in all his affaires customes and countenances which should be worthie a man of truth and sinceritie That in him there hath béene false shewes and disguising to exalte and magnifie his vertues or els to hide and excuse his vices by some counterfaite colours That he hath not béene so constant to confesse defend the truth against the blasphemers and enimies of the same nor so valiant to fight against those that by lyes and errors séeke to impugne the same as he ought to be That vpon enuie and mallice hée hath gone about to backbite and speake euill of his neighbors falsly condemning them in their actions that are not blame-worthy séeking by false accusations to obsure the glorie
of their vertues That he hath delighted to heare flattering tongues that doe nothing but glose with him and make him beléeue that hée was more vertuous and lesse vicious then his owne conscience could witnes and accuse him in secret 10 Lastly to shut vp his confession we must shew him that all his nature as also that of all other men that liue here on the earth is most vile vicious corrupt and that of himselfe he can bring forth but bad fruit as a bad trée doth that is to say all wicked thoughts all inordinate affectiens all filthie and dishonest talke and all things contrarie to the will of God leauing vndone all that is conformable to his will and expresly commanded by him Then when we haue shewed vnto him in this manner his faultes to make him haue a better féeling of them and to conceiue in himselfe a greater displeasure and sorow for them we must aggrauate them vnto him by the circumstances of place time and person where hee hath committed them And then by féeling them if we perceiue him to be humble and contrite wée must lift him vp againe and comfort him in denouncing vnto him the remission and pardon of his sinnes and to assure him of it in the mercie of God Then must we discourse vnto him the reasons contained in this treatise to take awaie the feare that he may haue conceiued of death the deuill the iudgement of God and lastly the sorrowe that hée may haue to forgoe and leaue this worlde and the things that are therein in lieu of the hope and desire that he ought to haue of those heauenly incorruptible blessings This done we must knéele downe our his knées and praie vnto God for him and all the assemblie in this manner A Praier O God the Father of all consolation who hast promised to heare all those that call vpon thée in sinceritie and truth and to reiect none that commeth to prostrate himselfe before thy Maiestie with a sighing soule and sorrowfull heart humble contrite and repentant with the remembrance and féeling of his most grieuous sinnes wée beséech thée altogether in the name of thy sonne Iesus Christ our sauiour and redéemer that it will please thée to extend thy mercie vppon vs all that are héere assembled together and specially vppon this our brother whome it hath pleased thée to afflict and visite by sicknes and by the same to couer forget and forgiue and cleane to blot out all his sinnes by the which he hath so grieuously offended in all his lyfe Beséeching thée that 〈◊〉 woulde please thée of thy great grace and fauour to seale confirme in his hart by the holy spirit the forgiuenes that thou doest grant vnto him by the promise of all his sinnes That he may féele in his conscience and that with ioy and full assurance hée may make himselfe readie to appeare before thée when it shall please thée to call him out of this world assuring him that there is no condemnation neither for him neyther for all those which by true faith are vnited and incorporate in thy sonne Iesus Christ. That not his sinnes death and the deuill nor anie other creature whatsoeuer shal be able to separate him from thy loue or cast him out of thy fauour and grace and that thy throne is not a throne of rigorous iustice but an hauen of health a throne of mercie a sanctuarie a place of libertie and fréedome for all the faythfull Good God strengthen and increase his faith héerein so that he may couer him selfe as with a shéeld be by this meanes made strong and inuincible against all temptations wherewith hée may bée assayled and that reiecting all other confidence hée relie vpon nothing but the sole righteousnes obedience and sacrifice of thine onely sonne to assure him agaynst the daie of thy iudgement And now wée heséech thée good God to giue him grace to pardon and forgiue from the bottom of his heart all his neighbours who haue by anie wise offended him to the end that hée béeing vnited by true charitie with all the members of the bodie of thy Church may also be knit and ioyned with thée who art the head thereof Lastly we beséech thée that it woulde please thée to giue vs also grace so well to looke into the person and disease of this our brother that séeing how short and vncertaine the course of our lyfe is wee may thinke betime of our owne selues and retiring our mindes from the vanities of this worlde wee may bestowe that litle time that we haue to liue here in learning the wisedome of God that is to beléeue firmely and to trust in his promises to shewe our obedience in all thinges that he doth command and to take diligent héede to flie and auoid all things that hee defendeth vs in his holy word FINIS A SHORT CONsolation for the sicke taken forth of the holy Scriptures WHosoeuer is of God heareth Gods word and doeth not onelie heare it but kéepeth and followeth it also for all things shall haue an end and wax olde as doth a garment but the worde of God abideth for euer Now séeing it is so that by a man sin is come into the world and by sinne death and therevpon by consequent all afflictions and aduersities doe depend verie well may the life of man bée termed a continual fight here vpon earth where the flesh doth fight against the spirite and the spirite against the world the flesh and the deuill who are the deadly enemies of our soules But following the counsel of the Apostle to get the victory in the spirituall battaile wee must resist and striue against them constantly by faith For the victorie which ouercommeth the world is our faith the which is an assured knowledge of the loue of God towardes vs by the which hée declareth in his Gospell to bée our Father and sauiour by the meanes of Iesus Christ his sonne Hauing then such a firme faith for our prinicpall foundation acknowledge and confesse your selfe before the maiestie of God to be a poore and miserable sinner conceiued and borne in sinne and corruption redie and apt to doe euill vnreadie and vnapt to doe anie good and that by your vice and sinne you haue transgressed without measure the holy commandementes of God so that you haue purchased by his iust iudgement vtter ruine and perdition vpon you Yet you haue great sorrowe in your selfe to haue offended him so grieuously condemning your selfe and your vices with true repentance desiring that the grace of God woulde succour you in this your great calamitie Praie you then with a firme faith if you cannot with your mouth yet from your heart That God our most mercifull Father woulde not enter into count or iudgement with you but that hée woulde take some pittie on you in the name of his sonne Iesus Christ our Lord and that hée woulde blot out our sinnes and staines by
fountaine of life of all felicitie might proceede any miserie or affilction wherin they were not deceiued but in this onely that from a good Maxime they drewe a naughtie conclusion For in trueth the good in so high degree as God is that is to saye soueraigne and infinite cannot produce any euill no more than fire can any thing that is colde light darknen or life death And the reason is because God after that he had created the world and all that therein is contained considered throughly all the workemanship of his hands beare witnes that they were all perfect good And this is not simply to be vnderstood of all things that God created and made but it extendeth also to all things that God doth without any exception For séeing that God is alwayes like to himselfe and that in him as Saint Iames sayth there is no changing at all no not the least shadowe of alteration and as his bountie is eternall so at all times can it produce nothing but good workes and doe those things that are good And this is the reason which he gaue aunswering by his Prophet to the people who complained of the grieuous calamities that did ouerpresse them that he was by no meanes the causer thereof as for him he onely had procured their benefit and safegard but that they were cause of their owne ruine and of all the desolatioÌ„s that happened to them in their countrey For as the fire kindleth but fire and other things semblably do produce things of their own qualitie and nature alike so doeth God to from whom can proceede none euill because he is perfectly good But then wil some man saye why sicknes and diseases famin pouertie dearth warres are not these euils plagues that God doth sende vpon vs and is not he then the author and causer of them God sendeth them in deede as well vpon the good as the bad on the one to punish their sinnes which is a verie good déede and a deede of Iustice on the other to trye their patience or to bring them to repentance Thus if we would be good seruants and fitly applye these sicknesses that God doeth send amongst vs referring them to their right ende wee should reape thereby much profit many goodly instructions First then there is nothing so needefull as to knowe our owne sinnes the corruption and vice that is in vs to the ende wee may humble our selues before God and dispose our selues to beseech and seeke his grace and fauour the onely meane whereby they may be remitted couered and hid before him that so wee may auoide and escape his iudgement and the condemnation which otherwise shall be appointed for vs if our sinnes be not pardoned But wee are so naturally blinded in our owne iudgement by reason of the excessiue selfeloue that we haue in our selues which doth blindfolde our eyes that wee cannot perceiue nor discouer the malice hipocrisie false dealing pride vanitie defyance of one another iniustice impietie idolatrie inhumanitie and all this lumpe of wickednes which lurketh in our heart from our birth hatcheth euery day more and more as occasions shall serue to commit euil For although we séeke to keepe close for a while the malice which we haue conceiued in our hearts as women do which say they are not with chyld till their bellie begin to swell and til the daye of their deliuerie drawe neere and then they must needes confesse that which before they stoutly denyed So doe wee neuer confesie our sinnes vntil wee be by manifest proofes conuinced and yet then wee stand to debate and diminish still some thing from the enormitie of our faultes and offences whereof we haue a notable example in our first Parents who when they stood before the face of God from whom nothing maye be concealed or hidden their owne consciences accusing them yet they sought by all craftie means they could to counterfait and laye one from another the fault that they had committed coulde not be induced neyther by the feare and reuerence of God who being present spake vnto theÌ„ neither by the accusation and witnes of their own consciences which vrged them sore on euery side but to confesse clearely and without any doubling their disobedience their ingratitude and ambition by the which they were cast headlong from the happie blessed estate wherein they were a little before Whereby we may see how harde a matter it is for men to acknowledge and confesse their sinnes sincerely and without hipocrisie Wee may see also by the Patriarches who dissembled all their wickednes cruell and inhumaine-conspiracie that they had wrought against their poore brother which they neuer acknowledged til they were constrained by the anguish and distresse into the which God brought them to make them remember call to minde And how long time was Dauid a sleepe in his sinne and neuer once thought vpon it till he felt the hande of God touch him so sore that he found himself almost intrapped of his enimies as he confesseth himselfe Thy hand is heauie vpon mee day and night my moisture is turned into the drought of Summer Then I acknowledged my sinne vnto thee neither hid I mine iniquitie for I thought I will confesse my selfe my wickednes vnto the Lord and thou forgauest the punishment of my sinne And Saint Peter after that he had so often times denyed his maister swearing and cursing himselfe if he euer had knowen him before had he not perseuered still in his sinne and abandoned himselfe wholly from the Church of God as Iudas did and many other Apostataes which do so daily if Iesus Christ had not cast his eye vpon him by his looking vpon him pearced so déep within his conscience to make him feele and bewaile his sinne And likewise S. Paul who like a madde raging beast ranne about euery where seeking to kill and slaie all the poore Christians he could come by in what case had he beene if he had not repented him of his sinnes But contrariwise had he not persisted in his obstinacie and hardnes of heart to waste and scatter the flocke had not the strong and mighty arme of the shepheard wâ—…o watched carefully to saue his flock stopt him of his iourney and kept him short by force making him to acknowledge perceiue the great hurt and iniury he did to the poore sheepe By these few examples wee may easily perceiue that men although they beouer whelmed and filled with an infinite number of sinnes yet they cannot acknowledge them or haue feeling of them if God do not giue them the grace to set them before their eyes And this is the reason that in many places of holy Scripture Repentance which partly consisteth in the knowledge and displeasure that man conceaueth of his sinne is called the gift of God For as we cannot know God nor those good thinges which wee ought to
that he should please to commaund vs to praye and praise God vncessantly to depende whollie vpon his prouidence to referre our selues and all our affaires vnto him to resigne our will whollie vnto his and finally to loue him with all our heart with all our soule and all our thought and to loue our neighbour as our owne selues Then after wee haue proposed vnto the sicke person the faultes that he hath committed to make him affeard and by this meanes to prepare him to require and receiue the grace of God we must set before his eyes what he hath iustly deserued by his sinnes that is to be swallowed vp by the anger and displeasure of God which he hath heaped vp vnto himselfe perseuering in his sinnes abusing so long time the pacience and long sufferance of his mercie and likewise to be ouertaken by his iudgement which as the Apostle sayeth is readie for all them which disobey God and especially for those his seruaunts which know his wil and being throughly instructed of their duetie neglect and make none account thereof Likewise that all the curses contayned in the Lawe set downe for the transgressours thereof fall vpon his head for that he hath not onely once or twise by reason of ignorance and fraylenesse behaued himselfe lewdly but hath violated the holy ordinances of God as often as he hath beene prouoked thereunto by the instance of the diuell and of his owne concupiscence likewise that he is banished and shut out from the kingdome of heauen for that the flesh after the which he hath liued cannot inherite the kingdome of heauen For if our first parents were chased shamefully out of Paradice wherein they were placed after their creation for one onely disobedience What doeth he deserue now that doeth suppe vp and drinke dayly so manye rebellions and iniquities as it were water Likewise that hee is condemned to death eternall and appointed for euer to the â—…ire of Hell with diuels and the reprobate for that is the rewarde and hire of sinne And to bee short that hee hath deserued to goe straight downe to Hell and there to bee buryed and to suffer in the vnquenchable flames such â—…ormentes as the wicked riche man did for hauing disdayned the poore in their affliction and neglecting to succour them in their neede not vsinge such humanitie towardes them as he desired of others being driuen to the same necessitie himselfe When he haue layde all this to the sicke mans charge and in the Lawe as in a Mirrour wee haue set before his eyes to beholde his iudgement and sentence of condemnation When we perceiue him wounded and pearced to the heart with sorrowe we must then laye to his wounde some asswaging medicine do as the Masons do when they hewe their stone first they giue great blowes with their hammer make gret péeces fall off then they poolish it ouer so with a plaine that the strokes are no more séen so must we do after we haue handled the sickpatient roughly thrust him down to hel by the rigorous threats of the lawe we must comfort him and fetch him againe by the swéete and amiable promises of the Gospel to the ende the sowplenes of this oyle may asswage the nipping sharpnes of the law for the good tydings and newes that he shall heare of the grace of God shall make him cleane forget all the sorrowe and desperation into the which the lawe had before driuen him shewing him first that the handwriting that is against vs which was contained in the lawe is cleane torne in pieces abolished hung vpon the Crosse of Iesus Christ and that Iesus Christ hath redéemed vs from the cursse of the lawe when he became cursed for vs himselfe For it is written cursed is euery one that hangeth on the tree and this he suffered that the blessing of Abraham might come vpon the Gentiles and that we might receiue the promise of the Holie Ghost by faith And that Christ is the ende of the law in righteousnes to al beléeuers who by the perfect obedience that he shewed God his Father in fulfilling all his commandements in euery point not missing one iote forsaking not the cursed death of the crosse for our sakes for such was the will of his father he hath purchased vs a pardon and generall abolishing of all our sinnes and a release of all our debtes and obligations the which he hath payde for vs not in gold siluer or precious stones but with his owne bloud which is a price and raunsome incomparable to be spoken of Hauing purchased vs besides a righteousnes the which he alloweth vnto vs by our faith the assurance that wee haue by his worde and sacraments whereof his holy spirite doth beare witnes within our heartes we ought to cast awaye all feare and conceit of our sinnes of death the diuell of the rigour and curse of the lawe and finally of the anger curse of God For to begin with our sinnes we being clothed with the righteousnes of Iesus Christ must assure our selues that all our sinnes are so hid and couered that they may not be perceiued or discouered before the eyes and face of our God but being altogether wyped out as with a sponge and scattered as a clowde with the winde and the Sunne and although they were as redd as Scarlet yet shall they be as white as snowe as Esaie sayeth and before him Dauid Purge me with Hysope and I shall be cleane Wash mee and I shall be whitter then snowe And it skilleth not what nor in what number they be so that they be not sinnes against the Holy Ghost neither skilleth it in what manner they haue been committed be it by ignorance infirmitie or deliberate malice for sinne cannot so abound but the grace of God which is our meanes and mediatour by the death and righteousnes of Iesus Christ must needes abound more And albeit the sinne which is committed against the Maiestie of God which is infinite be therefore reputed infinite yet that argueth not that the bloud of Iesus Christ which by the eternall spirit is offered vp to God himselfe without any spot doeth not purge and make cleane our consciences from dead workes to serue the liuing God as the Apostle writeth to the Hebrewes For the diuinitie being inseparably vnited with the humanitie in the person of Iesus Christ is cause by his omnipotencie that his death hath an infinite vertue to redeeme vs his righteousnes an infinite power to sanctifie vs and his life to quicken vs and to make vs happie immortall and blessed for that being God as he is stronger than the diuell so also are his workes more of force to saue vs than are those of his enimie to confounde and destroye vs. His righteousnes hath more force and efficacie to iustifie vs than sinne whereof the diuell is authour hath to condemne vs. His innocencie and purenesse
to wash vs and make vs cleane then this vncleane spirite hath filthines and vncleanes to polute and defyle vs. His light is clearer to lighten vs than the darkenesse of the prince of this world to make vs blinde His trueth to instruct vs then the lyes and errours of the father of lyes to deceiue vs. To be briefe his life hath more vertue to raise vs vp to life againe then the enuiâ—… of the murtherer and man-slayer hath to kill and slaye vs. Wherein we see that the sonne of God as Saint Iohn sayeth is not come into the world but to destroye the workes of the diuell and that in his bloud all our enemies that is to saye all our sinnes haue béene drowned as Pharao and the Egyptians enimies of the people of God were discomfeted and swallowed vp in the red Sea This is the stronger man whome S. Luke saide came vpon another strong man fought with him and ouercame him and tooke from him all his weapons and armour wherein he did trust that is sinne death and the lawe leading with him Captiuitie captine when he ascended vp into heauen so that the diuell being now disarmed hath no power to hurt vs any more neither by our sinnes which Iesus Christ hath washed awaye in his bloud nor by death which he hath ouercome and swallowed vp in dying for vs nor by the lawe which he hath fulfilled and satisfied fully submitting himselfe for vs to the curse which was to light vpon our heades And although the diuell be alwayes our aduersarie and that by the enuie that he beareth vs and the malice that he oweth vs to do vs a mischiefe and to hinder vs for euer attaining to that felicitie from the which he was cast downe headlong by his pride he runneth about like a roaring Lyon seeking whome he maye deuoure yet we may resist him well ynough standing firme in our faith and anchoring in the assurance that we haue of the remission of our sinnes the which is perpetuall as is the vertue and efficacie of the death of Iesus Christ by the which it hath been obtained for vs this is the freedome of the Church within the which all the faithfull must retyre themselues when they are pursued by their owne consciences and followed with other Sergeants of Gods Iustice whereunto the Prophet Dauid doth exhort vs Let Israel wait on the Lorde for with the Lord is mercie and with him is great redemption and he shall redeeme Israel from all his iniquities And in another place The sacrifices of God are a contrite spirite a contrite a broken heart the Lorde will not despise And Iesus Christ the soueraigne Phisition of our soules who is come into this worlde but to seeke that which was lost to cure and heale that which was sicke and as the Prophet sayeth to beare our infirmities and langours vppon him shall hee haue any greater pleasure then to see vs runne to him to be disburdened of our heauie sinnes hath he at any time refused a sinner or publican that hath come vnto him He is as the Prophet Dauid sayeth The Lord is full of compassion and mercie slowe to anger and of great kindnesse He will not alway chide neither keepe his anger for euer Wee may see that clearely by the examples of the Publican of the poore woman sinner of the prodigall sonne of the good thiefe of Dauid of Saint Peter of S. Paul and the Steward that owed his master tenne thousand Tallents which were forgiuen him as soone as he by acknowledging and confessing the dett had desired his master to haue pittie on him Tell mee for what ende hath the father sent his sonne into this worlde Wherefore was he annointed with the holy Ghost was it not to tell the poore Captiues that he was come from heauen to paye their raunsome and to fetch them out of captiuitie and to tell the poore prisoners that he was come to set open the prison doores vnto them to tell those that were endebted vnto him that hee would forgiue them all and to the sicke that hee woulde heale them all The Apostles that he sent into all partes of the worlde what did he giue them in charge was it not to publish the glad tydings of the Gospell that was the remission of sinnes to all In the name of Iesus Christ If then their labour were not in vaine and in like manner the labour of all the true and faithfull ministers of Iesus Christ that haue been since their time we must assure our selues of the remission of our sinnes And more ouer if our sinnes bee not pardoned by beleeuing in him the birth death resurrection ascension intercession and in summe all the mysterie of Iesus Christ and our redemption shoulde be nothing woorth made of no efficacie and valour and all our faith but vaine Likewise how can wee beleeue that hee is our Iesus and Emmanuell if he doe not saue vs from our sinnes and so take awaye the enimitie that is betweene vs and him which let him that he cannot ioyne himself vnto vs And what assurance should we haue that the newe aliance and couenant that he hath made with vs hath beene good in lawe and ratified by his death and bloud which he hath shed for vs if he had not forgotten quite all our iniquities and written his lawes in the tables of our hearts by his holy spirite seeing that those are the promises and conditions vpon the which it was bargained and agreede vpon What profit should we haue by his priesthood if the Sacrifice that he offered to his Father for our redemption if wee abyde yet in our sinnes And what shall it auayle vs if he were not the propitiation and agreement for our sinnes and not onely for ours but also for the sinnes of the whole worlde How can wee assure our selues that he is our aduocate and mediatour and vnder this assurance go to the throne of Grace to obtaine mercie fauour to helpe vs in time of neede We must not then doubt of the remission of our sinnes And as Dauid sayeth As farre as the East is from the West so farre hath he remoued our sinnes from vs. How can we stand in doubt of this seeing that we beare the marke print not onely in our hearts and consciences but also in our bodies of the two great broad seales of the Chauncellor of the kingdome of heauen that is to wit Baptisme and the Holie Supper of the Lorde Let the sicke man then assure himselfe if he beléeue in the forgiuenes of sinnes he obtayneth it by and by For God dealeth with vs according to our faith Saint Ambrose writeth that all that we firmely beléeue we obtaine for we can beléeue nothing but that which God hath promised vs who is moste faithful and so true in his promises that the verie infidelitie and vnbelife of men cannot make him a lyar And albeit the
must resist being grounded in the faith And Saint Iohn saith Ye are strong and the word oâ—… God remaineth among you and ye haue ouercome the wicked spirit And Iesus Christ speaking of faith did hee not promise that the gates of hell that is to saie all the counsell craft fetches meanes and power that the deuill is able to deuise and make are not able to encounter with her and cannot resist the worde of God That which we sée cléerely appeare in the example of Iesus Christ. For the deuill being come to assaile him and hauing assaied all meanes possible that he could to make him fall in distrust of God he could bring nothing to passe but lost his labour for he founde him so well armed on euerie side with the word that he was gladde to forsake the field and was glad to be gone with shame leauing him If wee then bee also well armed we néede not feare what he can hurt vs nor stand in doubt but wée shall bée couquerours both of him and of all our other enemies As Saint Paul sayth The weapons of our warre are not carnall but mighty through God to cast downe holdes casting downe the imaginations euerie high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God Whosoeuer then would stand in feare of the deuill béeing armed with saith and with the worde of GOD shoulde shewe thereby that hée knoweth not what is the force of the one or of the other nor what is the power and might of him who conducteth vs and knoweâ—…h not vnder what standarde wée fight For hath not our Captaine broken the serpents head Hath hée not dispossessed the strong man of his fortresse and taken all his armour from him Is it not hee that hath cast out the Prince of this worlde and destroyed all the workes of the deuill Is it not this grand Captaine Michael who already hath got the victorie against the Dragon and his Angelles and hath them in chase till hée haue defeated and vlterly ouerthrowen them for euer But to take better héede of him we must note two speciall pointes of pollicie in him whereby hée thinketh to ouer-catch vs if he sée vs vertuous to puffe vs vp with a vaine presumption of our selues of our owne workes and vertues But on the contrarie side if hee sée that wee are vicious and that in this life we haue béene licentious and dissolute then will hée laie before our eies as much as possiblie hee can the grieuousnes and enormitie of our sinnes that he may thrust vs heaâ—…long into a desperation of the grace of GOD. These are the two halters wherewith as Saint Augustine saith this hangman of mankinde doeth vse to strangle men But wee haue alreadie shewed how we may auoide these temptations And as for our good workes we knowe that they are al so filthy vnperfect y â— we can make no more account of them before the face of God then of olde and vncleane rags And againe y â— our sins cannot be so great but y e mercy of God doth surmouÌ„t them nor so vncleane but the righteousnes blood of Iesus Christ is able to wash theÌ„ cleane make theÌ„ as white as snow Nor finally so damnable but in confessing them with humilitie and contrition God will shew himselfe faithfull to pardon and forgiue them euery one It resteth nowe that we set down some assurance to comfort the sick man against the feare that he may haue of y e iudgemeÌ„t of God For wheÌ„ we sée our selues cited by sicknes to appeare quicklie personally before his tribunall seate if we haue in vs but the least sparke of grace we shall call to mind that which is sayd in the holy Scripture that is to say that it is an horrible thing to fall into the hands of the liuing God First that there is no partialitie or exception of persons that is to say no respect vnto greatnes dignitie noblenes riches beautie knowledge parentage allyance to no such matter which is of account and much regard among men causing them oftentimes to swarue a little go awry in their iudgementes from the true rule of iustice but it is not â—…o in the iudgements of God which beeing immumutable and impassible can nothing at all alter his will By reason whereof all his iudgements are measured by the rule and pronounced according to the rigour of the lawe Then that all our thoughtes affections wordes déedes and actions and generally all the course of our life from the beginning to the ending is vnfolded and sifted out throughly That the bookes and registers are brought forth wherein are noted all the faults that euer we haue coÌ„mitted by thought worde or déede with all their circumstances Likewise that iudgement shall be giuen without mercie and to be short that no vertue of ours is allowed of nor any righteousnes accepted that is not pure and perfect in all pointes I saie then when wee come to set these thinges before our eies concerning this fearefull iudgement the which we can by no meanes auoide or escape And on the other side wheÌ„ we come to set these things before our eyes the vice the corruption and imperfections which are in vs and y â— infinit number of sins that we haue committed against the first and second Table that is to say against God and man it must néeds be that we remaine greatlie astonished and forlorne considering that we haue so many aduersaries and accusers which will not cease to persecute vs extreamly that is to saie the deuill the lawe and our owne consciences which produce against vs a thousande a thousand informations séeking to condemne vs considering the qualitie of the crimes whereof we are conuinced And these things caÌ„not we withstand nor any wise escape the rigor of the iudgement of God but in confessing our debts first and then next to haue recourse to the death of our sauiour Iesus Christ to bée forgiuen For it is otherwise in the iudgement of God then in the iudgement of men by the which a person accused is condemned as soone as he hath by mouth confessed himselfe to be guiltie of the offence but contrariwise the confession of our offences is one of the meanes whereby wee obtayne remission and are absolued and iustified before God as saith Saint Iohn If wee confesse our sinnes God is faithfull iust to pardon them and to make vs cleane from all iniquitie And Dauid sayth I acknowledged my sinne vnto thee neither hid I mine iniquitie for I thought I will confesse against my selfe mine wickednes vnto the Lord thou forgauest the punishment of my sinne After the confessing and acknowledging of our sinnes wee must haue recourse vnto Iesus Christ the iust who isour aduocate to God the Father and the propitiation for our sinnes and repose our selues wholy vpon him referring our cause vnto him for hauing put it into his handes it cannot choose but
our vertue Giuing vs by this means matter and argument to make demonstration of the faith and trust that we haue in him to craue his mercies by our earnest prayers and sorrowfull sighings to acknowledge and confesse our faultes and offences by our griefe and displeasure And to bring the sicke person so farre to cause him to make an humble true confession of his sinnes wee must first set before his eyes what is the spring and principall cause of all diseases as well corporall as spirituall and how that to heale them vp hée must take awaie the causes that engeÌ„der them that is to saie our sinnes from the which we cannot otherwise be deliuered but by the remission and pardon that God doeth giue vs through his grace so that as S. Iohn sayth wee doe confesse them vnto him and be assured that Iesus Christ is our aduocate and propitiation to God-ward by meanes of his iustice by the which hée doth hide and deface them so that they shall not be laide to our charge at the day of iudgement And for that the loue which by nature we beare vnto our selues doeth so blinde vs that we cannot sée or think our selues to be so vicious and corrupt as we are we must pul awaie this vaile from before the sicke mans eyes setting before him the lawe of God wherein as in a glasse hée may view and behold all the course of his life to make him know that by the same not onely all our actions but also all our nature is condemned to be abhominable naught and vicious For proofe and confirmation hereof we must alleadge vnto him in generall that we are conceiued in sin that we are all borne the children of wrath that wée are but flesh and vanitie that we are sold vnder sinne that in vs there dwelleth no good thing that our righteousnes is lyke olde rags and filthie clothes And to conclude that we are altogether nothing but dust and rottennesse Then must wee discourse vnto him all the commandements of God and shew him particularly that when he would examine himselfe throughly he should finde none of them but hée hath oftentinms transgressed and beginning with those of the first table to call to his minde 1 That he hath not done his best indeuour to inquire after God and to séeke to know him That he hath not loued him with all his hart with al his strength and with all his soule That hee hath not alwaies put his trust in him That he hath oftentimes doubted of his promises and mistrusted his aide and succour That he hath trusted to the strength of the flesh and such meanes that men might prouide rather then to the succour and aide of God That hee hath not looked for all his prosperitie and increase from the onely fauour and blessing of God That he hath not alwaies called vppon him in all his actions with full assurance and hope to be heard and helped of him That he hath not alwaies dreaded and reuerenced him as appertaineth to his high and soueraigne maiestie That he hath not thanked him and blessed his holy name for all things at all times and as well for his aduersities as prosperities 2 Then next that thinking vppon GOD hée hath imagined him to bée vnder some humane and bodilie shape That hée hath not conceiued him to bée a spirite incomprehensible infinite inuisible immortall impassible immutable soueraigne in power in bountie mercie iustice and veritie as an example and myrrour of all vertue and perfection the spring of all lyfe and light the fountaine and fulnes of all goodnes the heape of all happines and blessednes the beginning and end of all things who is all in al and by his onely word doth cause all creatures to bréed and subsist That he hath not serued and worshipped him in spirite and truth as hée requireth of vs and commandeth vs in his lawe That he hath béene more curious of ceremonies and exterior shewes of piety then of pitie it selfe and rather to séeme a good Christian then to be one in déede And lastly that he hath not alwaies thought in his minde that the true lawfull seruice of God doth consist in the only obedience of his will That speaking of the name of God it hath not béene with such respect and reuerence of his maiestie as is méete That he hath neuer studied and giuen his minde to sanctifie and glorifie his holy name as he ought That by wicked life and conuersation he hath béene cause that the ignorant and infidels haue blasphemed his name That he hath not heard read and meditated tâ—…e word of God with such attentiuenesse desire feare and zeale as is requisite to honour the Lorde which speaketh by it and the name of him of whom it is announced That hee hath not alwaies spoken of the workes of God nor acknowledged in them the greatnes of his power wisedome and bountie with such praise and admiration as they deserue for their abundance and magnificence That being at the table of the Lord euerie time that the holy Supper hath béene celebrated he hath not vsed such humilitie deuotion and contemplation of the holy mysterie nor hath not lifted vp his heart on high tâ—… heauen where Iesus Christ sitteth on the right hande of God the father as he should do That in the dayes ordayned to abstaine and rest from prophane and bodiliâ—… workes to apply our selues wholy to the sanctifieng of his holy name hee hath not giuen himselfe at al to the meditation and exercise of spirituall things thinking vpon and séeking nothing else but onely those things which are from aboue That he hath bene oftentimes more carefull for his worldly affaires then to séeke the kingdome of God and the righteousnes thereof preferring by this meanes this transitorie and corruptible life before the eternall and blessed life the care of this bodie before that which hee ought to haue of his soule the seruice of the world and his flesh before that wherewith hee ought to honour God aboue all things That vpon small and light occasions he hath absented himselfe from the place of Conuocations and publike assemblies ther to make publike confession and protestation of his faith to shewe his deuotion and the feare of God that is in him to edifie the congregation by his good ensample and to make knowne to euerie man without any shame feare dissimulation and hypocrisie the religion that hee will followe and kéepe resoluing to liue and die in the same That hée hath not laboured to instruct and catechise his wife his children his seruantes and all his familie as a good Christian ought to doe calling them morning and euening to Prayers exhorting them to reade and meditate the worde of God to sing Psalmes hymnes and spirituall songs in his praise and to conferre among themselues of holy and godlie things and neuer to minde anie thing more then that which may aduance and increase daylie the knowledge and feare
cannot stande steadfast one minute of an houre strengthen vs by thy holy spirite and so arme vs with thy spiritull giftes and graces that wée may constantly perseuere in the faith without the which it is not possible to please thée Strengthen vs then day by daie in the same faith whereof we will make confefsion vnto thée with heart and mouth saying I beleeue in God the Father c. Then may they looke howe the sicke person doth vsing gracious and Christian spéeches vnto him but if no signe of amendement appeare soone after they may find out a fit timeâ—…to aske of him if he would willingly heere to speake of God and to heare his worde whilest hée is in perfect sense and memorie then may they beginne this little Catechisme which followeth A SHORT CAtechisme to refresh the memorie of the sick person in points of Christianitie and to make him chieflie vnderstand the mysterie of our Redemption The Minister N. BRother euerie man who knoweth himselfe well and séeth of what condition and qualitie hee is must surely confesse that albeit he be created after the image and likenesse of God yet that he is conceiued and borne in the sinâ—…e of olde Adam and so made a poore and miserable sinner ignorant vnconstant and full of all iniquitie and by consequent subiect to all miseries afflictions and aduersities and finally to death Of all which sinne is the cause the which God wil not suffer to bee vnpunished but afflicteth vs therfore daily and doth plague and punishe vs in this worlde least hée should condemne vs with the worlde Wherefore déere brother N. haue patience in your sicknesse and affliction and you shall possesse your soule in spirituall ioy Confesse your sinne and accuse your selfe before the maiestie of Godvnto whome you must cast vp your eyes to contemplate him by faith confessing your faith with heart and mouth before all this assistance of your faithfull Brethren For it is written With the heart man beléeueth vnto righteousnesse and with the mouth man confesseth to saluation Hearken then to these questions that I shall demand of you and answere to them faithfully according to the vnderstanding that God hath giuen you But if you cannot answere by reason of your féeblenesse I will answere for you and it shall suffice vs verie well to vnderstande your meaning and the constancie of your faith in the which you must liue and die Nowe I must first aske you wherefore and to what end were you created in this world The Sicke To know God The Minister Was it necessarie for you to know God S. Yea verily for séeing that he is my soueraigne God without the knowledge of him sure I had béene more miserable then the brute beastes M. Séeing that you know God you know well that he is power wisedom and infinite bountie one God in thrée persons the Father Sonne and the holy Ghost The onely God that A braham Isaac and Iacob haue worshipped in spirit and truth The onely eternall God who hath created heauen and earth and all thinges therein contained Is not the knowledge that you haue of God such S. Yes M. But so simple knowledge of God is it sufficient to bring you to life euerlasting S. Uery hardly For it is life euerlasting to confesse and to know one onely God and him whom hee hath sent his onely Sonne for euer our Lorde Iesus Christ. M. Wherefore is it necessarie for you to confesse and know the Lorde Iesus Christ S. Because I must recouer in Iesus Christ all that I lost in my selfe by the sinne of old Adam in the which I was borne and conceiued therefore it was méete for my saluation that Iesus Christ verie God and verie man inuesting our flesh should giue me of his grace and fauour againe that which I had lost in Adam M. Uerie well saide And therefore was Iesus Christ conceiued of the holy Ghost and borne of the virgin Mary to purge and sancttifie you but you for your part were conceiued and borne in sinne and of sinfull parents Wherefore you must confesse that without Iesus Christ you had remained a poore and miserable sinner iudged to eternall death S. So in déed I had But I firmely belieue and confesse that this good Iesus Christ hath reconciled mee to God his Father M. But how hath he reconciled you to God the Father S. By his death and passion in shedding of his most precious bloude for to deliuer mee from euerlasting paines This good GOD Iesus Christ hath suffered for mee vnder Pontius Pilate manie afflictions iniuries and tribulations This Iesus Christ was crucified for mee as one accursed vppon the trée of the Crosse to deliuer mee from the eternall cursse vnto the which Adam had made me subiect This my Sauiour Iesus Christ was verily buried to burie with him all my sinnes to the ende that they shoulde not bee imputed vnto mee before God This is my Lorde and Sauiour Iesus Christ who descended into hell suffering an extreame anguish and pangue for the time to deliuer mee from eternall paines of hell M. All this that you haue now confessed of Iesus Christ is it sufficient to saue you S. No for the holie scriptures must bee in all thinges fulfilled For what had this profited mee that Iesus Christ was borne crucified dead and buried and gone downe into hell onely for mée and if hée had not rose againe Wherefore I belieue and confesse that my Lord my heade and Sauiour Iesus Christ is risen from the dead to make me rise againe with him as one of his little members into euerlasting life M. Consequentle it is writen that he is ascended vp into heauen sitting now at the right hand of God his Father But what profit get you by his ascention S. My Lord my heade and Sauiour Iesus Christ is ascended vp into heauen to make me ascend after him for where the head is the members are also and I constantly belieue that sitting at the right hand of God his Father he is mine aduocate intercessor and mediator towards him assuring me that nothing may hurt me he being both mine aduocat and Iudge Wherefore I néede not to feare the day of his iudgement when he shall come to iudge the quicke and the dead for I belieue and confesse with a stedfast beliefe that there is no iudgement or 〈◊〉 for them that are faithfull members in Iesus Christ. M. Who hath giuen you the grace to vnderstand and doe these things S. It is by the grace of the holy Ghost one onely God with the Father and the Sonne by whom wee receiue all these gifts and graces which are offered vnto vs in Iesus Christ. M. Séeing y â— you haue already coÌ„fessed y â— you are one of y e meÌ„bers of Iesus Chrst it followeth then that you are incorporate also into his church the which you
must beliue to be holy catholike vniuersall S. I belieue verily the holy Church vniuersall to be washed and made cleane in the precious bloud of Iesus Christ and I giue him most humble thankes that he hath giuen me grace to bee a little member of his church And being baptised in his name hath made me liue in the communion vnitie and charitie of the same hauing taught and instructed mee by his holy word nourished me with his verie bodie and giuen mee his most pretious bloud to drinke in hope of eternall life M. Séeing you are so surely grounded vpon the corner stone which is Iesus Christ in knowing your selfe pefectly you must also acknowledge the principall good that you haue receiued of this good God Iesus Christ. S. Not without good reason For I will not bee ingratefull to acknowledge the gifts and graces which I haue receiued at Gods handes Therefore I confesse that I am a poore and miserable sinner who haue grieuously offended the bountie and iustice of God hauing transgressed his most holy commandements wherein I haue deserued eternall death and damnation Neuerthelesse appealing to the mercie of God I aske him forgiuenesse and belieue and confesse without all doubt that he hath giuen mée full absolute forgiuenesse of all my sins by the onely merit of the death and passâ—…on of my Lord and sauiour Iesus Christ in the shedding of whose most precious bloud I assure my selfe sufficiently and throughly to be washed and made cleane which is the greatest benefit and contentment that I could euer receiue This is my faith in the which I wil liue and dye by the grace of his holy spirite M. Séeing that you haue receiued so greate a benefite at Gods hand by the meanes of his sonne Iesus Christe it is meet also that you shoulde doe that which he commandeth you For euen as he hath pardoned and remitted all your sinnes so likewise must you pardon from the bottome of your heart all those that haue at any time offended you for otherwise you walke not in Gods commaundements S. Herein I acknowledge the law of Iesus Christ to bée moste holy and perfecte commanding vs to loue our neighbours our friends and enemies as our selues Wherefore I beséeche all those whom by word or déede I haue offended to forgéeue me with as good a will as I forgéeue all those that by any means haue euer offended mée wishing with al my heart that I might do them as good seruice pleasures as vnto my best friends dearest brethreÌ„ M. Séeing that it is the ordinaunce of God that all men shall die wée cannot resist his ordinaunce But we must alwaies conforme our selues to his most holly wil. Wherefore deare brother you must not think il if I speak vnto you y â— which y â— holy prophet Esay told vnto king Ezechias hauing his message from God Set thine house in order for thou shalt dye and not liue This good counsell should moue you to haue a great care for the spirituall disposing of your conscience that is first to turne your selfe vnto the Lord and bewaile your sinnes as this good king did crauinâ—… pardon and pittie at his handes and crying him mercy for your sinnes say from the bottom of your hart Lord God haue pitty and mercy on me a poore wretched sinner for the loue of thy deare sonne Iesus Christ my Lord and Sauiour Secondly you must not forget your familie which by your last will and testament you must set in so good order that after your decease it may be in peace and quiet without strife contention or going to law Then must you sâ—… order your familie that euerie one haue their owne without defrauding any person Leaue your wife your heire your children and kinsmen in good loue and charitie one with an other that there arise afterwardes no diuision amongst them This done you must so forget all cares and sorrowes of this wicked world which shall passe and 〈◊〉 awaie with all the 〈◊〉 therof But he which doth the will of God shall abide for euer As for your children you are but onely their naturall Father for a time but God is their spirituall Father for euer who hath then in his timely and holy protection to kéepe nourish and preserue them from all euill so that they will walke in his waies Moreouer being that you are a Christian borne a newe in the holy Sacrament of Baptisme you know long since that we haue héere no abiding Citie but wee looke for a better dwelling place that shal continue for euer Therfore I besech you in y â— name of God not to be sorrie to â—…orgo any thing in this world For here we are all but strangers as our fathers were If it please the Lord God then that you shal dislodge and come before him are not you readie to obey his will and commandement Or if he sée it more expedient for your saluation to prolong your life as he did to this good King Ezechias will not you bee content with that which it shall please him to doe with you Yes surely For he is your Lord and maâ—…ter you are but his seruants hee is your creator you are but his creature and the workmanship of his hands So then you must dispose of your selfe at his will vnto the which onely you must conforme and submit your selfe saying from your verie heart Lord God thou knowest my necessitie before I aske if it be thy will to prolong my life thy will be done if it please thée to cal me to thée ward thy will be done also for thy creature Lorde hath none other will but thine Now déere brother comfort your self in the Lord who if hee haue ordayned to call you your calling shall be most happie for you must beléeue hope with a strong faith that hee will raise you vp againe in your owne bodie in a glorious immortalitie the which is alreadie purchased and giuen vnto you gratis by the vertue and efficacie of the precious bloud of our Lorde and sauiour Iesus Christ. In the name of which Lord and Sauiour God blesse you and kéepe you and make the light of his countenance to shine vppon you and be mercifull vnto you Therefore God turne his chéerefull face towards you and kéepe you in good prosperity for euer So be it This done if the sicke person doe not amend but drawe towards his end in the agonie of his death they should reade vnto him aloude the Christian Consolation which is before and beginneth Whosoeuer is of God c. And God no doubt shall giue him his grace to die his true and faithfull seruant like a good Christan and member of Christ Iesus So be it FINIS Psal. 82. Psal. 49. Psal. 89. Psal. 90. 2. Sam. 14. Psal. 62. 2 Chro. 16. Psal. 38. Rom. 13. 1. Cor. 13. 1. Cor. 12. Ephes. 4. Lament 3. 38. Amos. 3. Psal. 6. Psal. 38.
goe on our sides For when wee appeare before the iudgement seate of God we cannot be coÌ„demned what accusation or crime so euer be brought and alleged against vs by our aduersaries He which beleeueth in me saith he commeth not into iudgement at al. And in another place to comfort his disciples he exhorteth them to haue an eie to the last iudgement day séeing it draw nigh to lift vp their hands and to reioyce for that the full and perfect redemption is reserued vnto that daie And S. Paul confirmeth the same in his Epistle to y e Romans with a meruailous grace magnificency of spéech Who shal coÌ„mence any accusation against the elect of God god is he which iustifieth who shal theÌ„ be able to condeÌ„ne Christ is he which is dead who is moreouer riseÌ„ again who is also at the right hand and doth make intercession to God for vs. We must theÌ„ conclude that which he saith in y e beginning of the Chapter That there is no condemnation to those that are now in Iesus Christ that is to say which walke not according to the flesh but after the spirit And that as Iesus Christ their head cannot be saued but with those that are his members so they cannot bée condemned but he should also be condemned with them by reason of the inseparable vnion which is betwéene the head and the members Moreouer that Iesus Christ beeing dead for vs hath suffered the punishment and curse which was due vnto vs because of our sinnes and by consequent hath fully satisfied the iustice of God we néed not feare that he wil exact of vs anie more the paiment of debts the which hee hath forgiuen and acquited vs for that were to go against the iustice not onely of God but also of man to demand to be pardoned debt twice hauing then yéelded our selues wholly and referred all our matters into the handes of our Souiour Iesus Christ let vs not feare to bee ouertaken by the iugdement of God where the Sonne is continually before the face of the Father making intercession for vs carrying vs vpon his shoulders and in his brest as the high Priest did in old time carry y e names of the twelue Tribes of Israell to present them before the Lord although hée entered into the Sanctuary with a plate of gold vpon his forehead wherein were engrauen these words The holie one of the Lord. To the ende hée might make them acceptable to the Lord which was a type of that which Iesus Christ our high and euerlasting Priest after the order of Melchisedech did exhibite and represent in verie déede vpon the Crosse when offering himselfe in sacrifice for vs to God his Father he did sanctifie and make vs acceptable vnto God for euer We must not then feare that being in state of grace as we are hauing an Aduocate towardes God in whom he is well pleased hée can or will condemne vs when we shall appeare before him in iudgement and shall be clothed in these goodly long garments whereof is spoken in the Apocalippes the which are dyed and washed in the bloud of the Lambe and shall bring tustification with them When we shall thus haue exhorted the sicke man to take a good heart and not to bée afraide neither of his sinnes nor of death nor of the Diuell nor of the iudgement of God if wée sée that hée bée loath to leaue the worlde and that his honours riches pleasures case and that hée beareth yet to these earthly and corruptible thinges dooth make him loth to forgo them and troubleth his minde wonderfully that it cannot resolue to mâ—…rch merily whether God dooth call it Then first must wée make relation vnto him that this world is altogither set vpoÌ„ wickednes drencht in sin that it shall passe away quickely be faded away with all her concupiscences that it doth not know God at all that wée are no more children of this worlde that God hath taken vs cleane out of this world to the ende we should not be condemned with it that we cannot loue this world but we must néeds be enemies vnto God That the Diuell is the Prince of this world and that by consequence wée cannot loue this world or the things that be in this worlde but we must néedes be vassals slaues of the prince of darknes That wee cannot bee faithfull nor true members of Iesus Christ but the worlde must be crucified to vs and we to it That by the example of the Apostle we make no more account of the world with all his glorie pompe and superfluitie then of the dung of the earth or of a floure that is faded and withered that wée are here but as passengers and straungers and cannot make any long time of abode as in a Citie and habitation that shall last for euer but wée lodge héere as in an Inne and must bée readie to gird vp our loynes and dislodge betimes in the morning to bée trudging still outwarde till we come to the place where wée meane to take vp our lodging and rest for euer that is to wit in heauen wherein wée ought to haue our hearts our thoughts our desires and all our affections altogether fixed alreadie and there as the Apostle saith shoulde wee haue all our conuersation For béeing raised vp from the dead with Iesus Christ and vnited vnto him vnseperably although our bodies be far seperate and distant from his yet ought we alwaies to be present with him in our spirites and soules and to forget cleane the worlde and the earth séeking after and thinking on nothing more then of those thinges which are from ahoue Our heart should it not bée where our treasures are and where are our treasures but in heauen where Iesus Christ is in his glorie who hath our lise hidden in himselfe and not onely all the treasures of the knowledge and wisedome of God but also of all the gifts graces honours riches and blessings that God the father hath giuen him to bestow vpon his Church whilest shée is here militant in hope and when shée is alone triumphant shée shall enioy the full fruition thereof when our soules leauing these filthie stinking and obseure prisons of our bodies shall be carried as was that of poore Lazarus into the bosome of Abraham by the Angels there to rest and reioyce for euer as it is written The children of thy seruants shal continue and their seede shall stande fast for euer in thy sight If then wée doo but languish in this worlde where wée liue as poore strangers in exile amongst a number of barbarous and rude people ought wée not to bée full glad when God calleth vs away to reclaime vs into our own country where with our brethren the Patriarches the Prophets Apostles and Martirs of all other blessed spirits we shal peaceably enioy togither the glory honour trust rest and all that perfect felicitie that
he promised and prepared in his kingdome for all his elect A maruell then that men yea the faithfull themselues who are not only instructed by the word of God but also by daily experience they finde that all lustie and glorie of this worlde are but méere vanities illusions and dreames which passe away quickly doo suffer themselues so to bée bewitched and enchaunted by their flatteries and delicacies that at the last they became senceles beastes as were the companions of Vlysses by the charmes and enchantments of Cirre For is not their iudgement corrupt and simple that béeing loth to leaue this worlde to goe vp into heauen and preferring the thinges that are mutable vncertaine transitory and corruptible which aske infinite paines to get them and as manie cares to kéepe them and more gréeses and sorrowes to forgo them before the blessinges which God doeth promise vs in his kingdome which are certaine immutable incorruptible eternall and assured which cannot chuse but bring to them which possesse them a true and perfect contentment of the minde Wherein wée doo as our first fathers did for one Apple forgo not an earthly but an heauenly Paradice where are such delights and pleasures as are not to be imagined For one messe of pottage wee sell our birthright and all that belonges therevnto as Gsau did Wée desire rather Garlike and Oynions of Egypt then the holie lande with all her abundance and blessings Wée had rather with the prodigall childe liue with Hogges with draffe and washing them to bee nourished and brought vp in the house of our heauenly Father with bread of Aungles And lastly after the example of Lots wife we cannot forgo the infamous pleasures of our Sodome but we had rather perish with them then to be saued in forsaking them So lamentable is our case that we may say of our selues with the holy Prophet Vnderstand yee vnwise among the people and ye fooles when will ye bee wise For what maketh vs make so great account of this world and that which is in it but a damnable desire the which doeth bâ—…nde vs so that it maketh vs often times take light for darkenes and darkenes for light againe sowre for swéete and swéete for sowre againe To the ende then that wée be not deceiued in our owne iudgements wée must not ground them vpon any outward apparance nor vppn the common error of men who being sensuall approue and reiect all thinges as they are agréeable and contrarie to theyr sense and appetite But wee must iudge all thinges as the Apostle saieth by the worde of GOD which is an infallible rule to discerne truth from falshood and not to follow in our owne iudgements our own reason or carnall wisedome the which is enemy to God and doth for the most part iustifie that which he doth condemne Let vs now sée then what the word of God doth teach vs concerning the world and those things which are in the world Loue not the world saith Saint Iohn nor the things that are in the world For if any man loue the world the loue of God remaineth not in him For that which is in the worlde to wit the concupiscence of the flesh the lustes of the eyes pride and presumption are not of God but of the world Sée then what the Apostle dooth teach vs of the world that we must not loue it if wée will that God loue vs. And Salomon when he speaketh of it saith that after hée had long time with great diligence considered the estate of this worlde the varietie and inconstancie of humane spirites the diuexsitie of studies wherunto they apply themselues the mutabilitie and sodain change of their counsels the simple iudgement that they haue to praise or dispraise to estéeme or neglect to loue or hate to purchase or disdain or let slippe those things which were set before them in this world hee knewe not only by reason but also by experience that the desires of most men were but only foolishnesse and vanities which they do as it were worship mooued thereunto by the rashnes and temerity of their own appetites the which for that they are blind and will not be directed by any good reason are easily carried euerie where whether pleasure and the Diuell doth pricke them forwardes some ambitiously purchase the honours and promotions of this world and in climbing vnto them violate all law and right forget all pietie and humanitie care not what trouble and confusions they make stirre vp fauour and enterleague with the wicked hate and reiect the good and vertuous warre vpon the countrie wherein they haue béene begotten brought vp and suckled depriue it of libertie if they can and by a cruell tyrannie which they vse bring into a miserable slauerie as Iulius Caesar did his and before and after him manie others doth not this plainely shewe that there is nothing more true then that which Iesus Christ sayde vnto such ambitious fellowes That which is highly esteemed among men is for the most part abhominable before God And how can they please him séeing the gretest part beléeue not in him nor in Iesus Christ As it is written in S. Iohn How can ye beleeue seeing ye seeke glory one of an other and seeke not the glorie that commeth from God alone And in another place the Pharasies and chiefe rulers of Ierusalem condemning themselues saide is there any of all the Princes that hath beléeued in him meaning Iesus Christ And in Saint Mathew I thanke thee O Father Lord of heaueÌ„ earth that thou hast hid these thinges from the wise and men of vnderstanding and hast reuealed them vnto babes We must not then be loath to forgoe the honours and promotions of this worlde which causeth vs for the most part to forget God and our selues and doe distract our mindes from the studie and exercise of vertue which perswade vs rather to séeke our owne glorie then the glorie of God make vs disdaine our neighbours and forget that wee are but dust and ashes and lastly bring vs to worshippe the verie Diuell and make vs senselesse as brute beastes as saieth the Prophet Man is in honour hee vnerstandeth not hee is like to beastes that perish And a little before he speaketh of the driftes and foolish imaginations of these ambitious hearers They thinke their houses shall continue for euer euen from generation to generation and call their landes by their names but man shall not continue in honour he is like the beastes that die Now as we ought not to be heauie and sorrowfull to beare the honour and great estate that we have in this world for those reasons which are alreadie set downe so must wee not be sorrowfull for riches and temporall goods when departing this life wee are constrayned to leaue them behinde vs. For to speake properly they are not the true riches of Gods children nor the inheritance that their father kéepeth for them and that Iesus