the LORD is still musing and thinking of him of his Grace and Glory his Power and Prouidence his Truth Iustice Mercy c. His Head is on him his Heart goes with him his Spirit is present with him For the soule is present as well Vbiamat as vbi animat where it loues as where it liues and lisens As GODS loue to vs made come downe as it were to vs so our loue towards him makes vs go vp to him as his loue to men made him conuerse with men so mens loue to GOD makes them conuerse with him And as his loue to vs makes him present with vs to helpe and guide vs so our loue to him makes vs present with him to cleaue vnto him and to follow him His loue causeth him to thinke on vs and our loue maketh vs to thinke on him So that hee which in heart is present with him and doth meditate and thinke often on him may bee assured that the loue of GOD is in him It is true a man cannot but bee where GOD is because hee is euery where Doe not I fill heauen and earth saith the LORD Yet this presence is rather absence when our heart is absent euen as his presence is but absence if his loue be absent A friend is then present when hee is at hand to helpe and his thoughts are to relieue and hee loues truely whose heart is present with his Loue continually not letting it to slide out of his memory Seuenthly hee that is not fickle and inconstant in his deuotion and deuote affection vnto GOD may know that hee loues him truely I say if hee loue like a true friend At all times as wel when the whether is foule as faire in winter as well as in Summer when the heauens are blacke as well as when the Sunne doth shine For onely true loue is constant it accounteth nothing hard nothing grieuous and intolerable Fel. quod amarum est id mâ—l faciet It will make gall which is bitter to bee sweete as hony Periculis insultat mortem irridet si amor est â—incit omnia It contemneth dangers it scorneth death if it bee true loue it ouercommeth all things insomuch that though the louer may bee kil'd yet Inuictiu moritur â—ee dies vnvanquished as wee see in the Martyrs whom neither pleasure profite nor promotion on the one side nor any torture or cruell kinde of death on the other could beguile inueigle astonish or deterre But through their loue by Him that did enable them they conquered and contemned all things stucke fast to GOD. Eighthly the keeping of GODS Word in the minde to remember it in the heart to beleeue and embrace it and in the life to liue by it and a contention of Spirit to obey his Precepts is an infallible argument of true loue vnto him This is the loue of GOD saith Saint Iohn that wee keepe his Commandements A child by obedience demonstrates his childe-like affection vnto his parents Hee sheweâ— his loue and loyalty to the King which makes account of his Edicts and Lawes In vaine doth a seruant say hee loues his Maister except hee bee carefull to obey his will So then hee that liues in any knowne enormity and preferres his gaine pleasure credite and fauour with men to GODS Commandements doth plainely shew that hee wants the loue of GOD without which his Loue his Baptisme hearing of Sermons receiuing the Communion and all his faire showes will stand him in no steed but rather further his condemnation And one thing more I adde although hee do many deeds in appearance good and seeme to keepe sundry precepts yet it is not of loue vnto GOD without which his doing and keeping shall not bee remembred in the world to come but for some other reason if hee shall in the meane while addict himselfe vnto some one sinne which hee knowes to bee a sinne For the power of true loue is such as it will moue a man to humour his friend in euery lawfull and conuenient thing and he giues not his heart that is disposed to thwart and resist him especially being his Gouernour in anything that 's honest and not vnseemely But GOD is our Supreme Moderator LORD and all his Commandements are lawfull and good For his Will is the rule of Law and reason and all his Commandements ate according to his will To conclude GOD will be loued in his Church in his Ministers in his Chilâ—ren and finally in that his beloued Sonne CHRIST IESVS so as that they which hate these loue not him First for the Church by which I vnderstand not so much the Catholique Church which is the Mother of vs all and which whosoeuer loueth not as his MOTHER loueth not GOD as his FATHER and so will proue himselfe to bee some Bastard-plant as I meane all True visible Chuâ—ches or Congregations And such I call True which GOD hath honoured with True Doctrine or meanes sufficient vnto saluation and with such men as haue a True Power or authority to Minister and Dispense the same Now heere I say whosoeuer loueth such a Church because shee is such a Church whosoeuer loues her for GOD and in GOD without doubt it argues his loue to GOD. Hee that loues a Ring for the Diamond â—hat is set in it or for the worke-man that made it questionlesse hee loues â—he Diamond and the Worke-man much more So certainely â—ee that loues a Church for the Word and Sacraments and power â—f GOD that is in her and because shee is the Church of GOD planted by his gracious blessing doth much more loue GOD Surely that thing for which wee loue an other thing that wee cannot hate but loue On the contrary if thou shalt hate a true Church of GGD how dwelleth the loue of GOD in thee Thou wilt say I know that iâ— thou wert assured that shee is a true Church thou weulâ—st not hate her but ioyne vnto her I say againe art thou sure that the Church which thou hatest is false If thou beest sure of it if thou darest pawne thy soule vpon it but be sure thou beest sure then auoide her depart out of her giue her a Bill of Diuorcement let her go But if thou beest not sure hate her not seuer not thy selfe from her Wilt thou hate and leaue her most certainely whiles thou art not certaine what to iudge of her Thou dost not see her Truth but canst thou spye her falshood A blind man cannot see the Sunne at Noone but they which caâ— see may see her But what if a man bee so blind aâ— that because hee doth not see the Sunne himselfe therefore he thinketh the Sunne is seene of none And what if thou with a few more as blind as thy selfe dost hate and forsake a Church because yee do not see her Truth I say what if all her Sister-Churches in Europâ— besides
The Christians LOOKING-GLASSE Wherein hee may cleerely see His loue to GOD liuely expressed His Fidelity truely discouered And Pride against GOD and Man Anatomised whereby the Hypocrisie of the times is notoriously manifested By THOMAS TVKE Minister of GODS Word at Saint Giles in the Fields LONDON Printed by Nicholas Okes and are to bee sold by Richard Bolton at his Shop in Chancery-lane neere Holborne 1615. TO THE RIGHT VERTVOVS AND HONOVRABLE LADY the Lady ALICIA DVDLEY MADAME THere are three necessary vertues well be-seeming euery Christian Man Charity Fidelity and Humility both towardes God and Man There are foure reasons to passe by many moe which should moue vs to the loue of God First because hee is our gracious Father who of his owne will begat vs with the word of truth that we should be as the first fruits of his Creatures Now if a childe shall loue his father of whom he hath receiued a part of his body how much more ought he loue God Qui animam suam infundendo creauit creando infudit of whom hee hath receiued his soule and to whose goodnesse he stands obliged both for soule and body both for the being continuing of them Therefore Dauid saith Thou hast possessed my reines thou hast couered me in my Mothers wombe Vpon thee haue I been staied from the wombe thou art hee that tooke me out of my mothers bowels And Iob long before him Thine hands haue made me and fashioned me wholly round about thou hast clothed me with skin and flesh and ioyned me together with bones and sinewes thou hast giuen me life and grace and thy visitation hath preserued my spirit Secondly God is to be loued for his most sweet and pleasing nature which the wicked indeed feeleth not because as Isidore saith he hath lost the palate of his heart with the feuer of iniquity Thirdly God by his beneficence hath deserued our loue for out of his meere loue he sent his own and onely Son into the world to saue vs when we were lost to redeeme vs when we were captiues and by his death to giue vs life when we had deserued nought but death Fourthly aske now the beasts they shall teach thee and the fowles of the heauen and they shall tell thee speake to the earth and it shall shew thee or the fishes of the sea they shall declare vnto thee Euen these things in their kindes do praise God and shew their loue vnto man for whom they were appointed and shall man shew no loue to God and in loue do nothing for God for whom his creatures doe so much good suffer so much euil being all put vnder his feet and subiected to his power All sheepe oxen yea the beasts of the field the fowles of the aire and the fish of the sea Now because a man hath in him life like a plant sense as a beast and vnderstanding proper to a Man therefore it behooues him to loue God with his life with his senses and with his reason Our Sauiour saith we ought to loue God with all our heart with al our soule and with all our minde We ought to loue him with all our heart that is with all our affections delighting and ioying in him more then in any thing For he loues not God that delights in any thing more then in God and as S t Austen saith Minus te amat qui aliquid tâ—cuÌ„ amat quod non propter te amat By how much the more the lower bowes of a Tree are multiplied by so much the lesse it groweth vpwards so by how much the more a man doth loue these things beneath by so much the lesse is his loue erected and lifted vnto God aboue therefore such loue is to be pruned cut away as superfluous branches froÌ„ a tree that it may thriue the better God requires the whole heart My son giue me thy heart like some noble Bird of prey that seizeth vpon the heart for he alone created it he alone couers it and he only can content and fill it Totum exigit te qui fecit te totum he requires thee all that made thee all If we owe our selues wholly for our generation what shall wee adde for our regeneration Neither are we so easily new made as made In the first work God gaue vs vnto our selues in the second he gaue vs himselfe and restored vs vnto our selues Being therefore both giuen and restored we doe owe our selues for our selues and we do owe our selues twice But what shall wee repay vnto the Lord for himselfe For although we were able to repay our selues a thousand times what are wee vnto the Lord If a man had some speciall iewell which he is minded to giue away he would bethinke himselfe where hee might best bestow it Our heart is the best member which wee haue and God is our best friend let vs bestow it vpon him it is not lost that is giuen vnto him Secondly wee must loue the Lord with all our Soule induring rather the separation of the soule from the body then that our soule should be separated from God who is the soule of our soule the comfort both of soule and body And because our soule affoords life and sense vnto the body therefore to shew that we loue God with all our soule we ought to honour him with our liues all our life long and with all our senses suffering them to be guided by his will and chusing rather to bee depriued of them all then of him that gaue them all Thirdly we must loue him with all our minde and vnderstandings and cogitations being fixt vpon him and ruled by him His word should informe â—nd direct our reason our reason rightly informed should rule our wils our affections and conuersations in all which wee ought to seeke and apply our selues vnto God that our liues our affections our wils and our vnderstandings may be said to be Gods so as although we liue yet we may truly say We liue not but God doth liue within vs. And so much for our loue of God Loue of Man is either loue of our selues or of our Neighbour That a man should loue himselfe it is very necessary for he that loues not himselfe cannot loue another And as S t Austen saith Sinon nosti diligere teipsum timâ—o ne decipias proximum sicut teipsum if thou knowest not to loue thy selfe I am afraid least thou shouldst deceiue thy neighbour as thy selfe Yet is it no easie matter for a man to loue himselfe aright for he that loues iniquity hateth his owne soule and hee that loues himselfe in the way of sin doth loue a robber condemned to dye Si malè amaueris tunc odisti si benè odeâ—is tunc amasti If a man loue himselfe amisse hee hates himselfe but if hee hate himselfe well
the enmity of GOD Whosoeuer therefore will bee a friend of the world maketh himselfe an enemy of GOD. Loue not this world saith Saint Iohn neither the things that are in this world if any man loue this world the loue of the FATHER is not in him What is the world but a pleasant phrensie a Theater of vanity a siâ—ke of sinne a shop of deceit the center of inquities and a very miâ—rour of misery Shee is like that skarlet Harlot louely to looke on but dangerous to deale with who makes the Kings and Inhabitants of the earth drunken with the wine which shee presents vnto them in her golden cup. Hee which followes the world is like a foole or child that followes a shadow or a butterfly a thing of no valew and which mockes them most that loue her best and follow her fastest But say why wilt thou loue the world because shee is constant Erre not nothing is more inconstant then the world constant in inconstancy and as inconstant in her constancy Shee is in nothing the same saue in this that shee loues not to bee the same But GOD is the same for euer Thou art the same and thy yeares shall not faile With thee there is no alteration nor shadow of conuersion GOD is not as man that hee should lie nor as the sonne of man that hee should repent Hath hee said it and shall hee not doe it and hath hee spoken and shall hee not accomplish it The world is fleeting and floating vp and downe in her loue whom shee fauours to day shee forsakes to morrow But whom GOD loueth once hee loueth euer Once and Euer are all one with him The world will shake off her deerest louers as an Oliue her leaues or as a Colt doth his rider But GOD neuer casts off him that loues him Et te nemo amittit nisi qui te dimittit and no man doth loose him but he that leaues him Then loue the LORD and let go the world Why should thy Soule which is of an heauenly beginning bee buryed and closed vp within the earth Why should it which is immortall bee pinned on things that are but mortall Why should it which is a Spirit and Inuisible be fixt on things that are grosse and visible Amor rerum terrenarum est viscus spiritualium pennarum The loue of the world is the lime-twigs of the soule Amicitia solâ— est inimicitia poli Friendship with the earth is enmity with heauen But wee will descend vnto particulars What wilt thou loue Wealth and Riches Wilt thou cast thine eyes vpon that which is nothing For riches taketh her to her wings as an Eagle and flyeth into heauen Riches haue sold more then they haue redeemed and rich men haue few friends but many flatterers that follow them as Ants do Corne or as crows do carrion PraedaÌ„ sequitur ista turba noÌ„ homineÌ„ Such follow the prey not the person loue the riches but care not for the man they would flea off his Hide to make themselues thongs with it An Ethnique could say when hee had lost all his goods Perijssem ni perijssent I had lost my selfe if I had not lost them But for GOD who is our greatest good whether wee loose our goods or not if wee loose him and will loose him if we loue riches more then him we loose our selues our comfort contentment Therefore if riches increase set not thine heart vpon them If thou aboundest not be contented for hee hath most that couereth least He is the richest that least admireth riches Hee is the greatest who is contented with the smallest portion What then shall haue thy loue shall Pleasures What are pleasures but pleasing vanities What are pleasures to the paines of hell which waite vpon them What sweetnesse is there in them to the sweetnesse which is in GOD If our soules were sweetned with the true taste of GODS loue all other things would seeme bitter to vs And that men feele not the sweetnesse of GOD it is because their mouthes are out of taste being corrupted with the ague of worldly loue Consider the example of Moses who chose rather To suffer aduersity with the people of GOD then to enioy the pleasures of sinne for a season esteeming the rebuke of CHRIST greater riches then the treasures of Aegypt Remember that ironicall speech of Salomon to voluptuous persons Reioyced yong man in thy youth and let thine heart cheere thee whilst thou art yong and walke in the waies of thine heart and in the sight of thine eyes but know that for all these things GOD will bring thee to iudgement Lysimachus to quench his thirst yeelded himselfe to the Scythians and when hee had drunke their cold water he said Quam breuis voluptâ—tis causâ quantam deposui foelieitatem O what great happinesse haue I forgone for a short pleasure Let vs beware that wee part not with our Birth-right for a little water-gruell and that wee loose not GOD and forgoe the ioyes of heauen for a small portion of vaine delights Malorum esca voluptas quâ homines capâ—untur vt hamo pisces Pleasure is the baite of euils of diuels wherewith men are caught as fishes with an hooke Either therefore we must shune them vtterly or take heed of the hooke which lies hid within them But what wilt thou set thy loue on Honour How vncertaine is it and subiect to bee lost Haman was Honourable and hanged in one day Olofernes was Honourable and Headed in one night How great and common are the fals of many Hee that is in account to day may bee contemned to morrow In pratis vt flos sic perit omnis honos Honour vanisheth like a vapour and great men are like great bubbles and all the glory of the world like grasse like the flowre of the grasse Caesar was stabd in his height Nebuchadnezer was abased in the midst of his greatnesse Alexander was poysoned in the top of his honours Herod was strucke with an Angell then when hee was applauded as a GOD. How vaine a thing is honour which like smoake mounted aloft doth vanish whiles a man is looking on it But great constant infinite are the honours which are laid vp for those that loue GOD. But peraduenture Beauty shall haue thy loue Heare the iudgement of beautifall Bathsheba vnto Salomon her sonne Fauour is deceitfull and beauty is vanity But a woman that feareth the LORD shee shall be praysed What is beauty indeed the Loadstone and delight of the eye very pleasing to the sight but exceeding brittle mutable and momentany like Summer Apples which last not long One wound one fit of an ague a little sickenesse or a few yeares will marre it Bion called it Bonum alienum a good but none of ours being able neither to giue it nor to keepe it Socrates
called it modici semporis tyrannidem a tyrant which raigned but a while Theophrastus said it was Tacitam deceptionem aut silentem fraudem a Still deceiuer or Silent fraud And as for beâ—utifull persons if vicious and voide of loue to GOD they are like Tulipees goodly to looke on but of no good sauour Or like Alablaster boxes filled with vineger like guilded pot-sheards or more properly like a ring of gold in a Sowes snowt or some precious iewell in a Beares eare And finally if beauty the gift of GOD be of so great request how much more then should GOD the giuer of it who is so full of beauty as that if His Beautifulnesse could bee seene it would draw the eyes and hearts of all that saw it to him But say if none of these what shall haue thy loue Thy selfe Beware if thou makest thy selfe thy GOD thou makest thy selfe thy diuill Certainely thou maist loue thy selfe so thou loue GOD in thy selfe and thy selfe in GOD and whilst thou dost loue thy selfe vnder GOD and not ouer GOD For GOD and not against GOD Otherwise if thou dost loue thy selfe thou dost but hate thy selfe if thou wouldst saue thy soule thou shalt destroy thy soule For GOD is the Soule of thy soule the Ioy of thy heart the Strength of thy life thy Shield and Shadow thy Sauiour and Deliuerer Much better were it therefore for a man to leaue his body and to loose his life rather then by louing what he should not loue at all or more then is allowed to loose and depriue himselfe of GOD who is the true Light and Life the Grace and Glory of all our soules and bodies also What shall therefore separate vs from the loue of GOD the Father of our spirits the Breath of our nosthrils the Castle of our comfort our Rocke of defence and the Fountaine of Life What shall extinguish this Sacred and Celestiall fire of loue vnto his Maiesty within our breasts What shall vnloose vs or cut the cords of our loue whereby wee are tyed vnto him What shall wipe him out of the Table-bookes of our hearts and blot him out of our memories Shall promotions profites pleasures beauty brauery tribulations life death men or diuels No no nothing no not the whole world and all that is therein What were it to gaine all the world and to loose thy soule What were it to bee Lord of all the world and to bee depriued of him for whom all the world was made What were it to bee beloued of all men and yet to bee hated of the GOD of men I will therefore loue GOD keepe GOD for hee that hath GOD wants nothing but hee that wants GOD hath nothing Now because to loue GOD truely and as euery good Christian ought is a duety so needfull equall excellent and commodious and because men are much abused by their immaginations the heart of man being a Sea of subtilty and a Mine of deceipt giuen to deceiue and beguile it selfe I will therefore propound certaine notes whereby wee may discerne if wee loue him truely with a sincere and regular affection or whether wee onely draw neere vnto him with our lips being far from him in regard of hearty loue First true loue is not lither but laborious Si operari renuerit amor non est it if it will not labour it is not loue What paines will not the Soldier take that affects the victory what wil not the worldling do to get or keep riches How did Ester labour to saue her kindred Country-men the Iewes Iacob indured the heate of the day the frost of the night and want of rest euen continuall toyle and trauell in a seruice of foureteene yeares vnder none of the kindest Maisters Laban his name turned but his nature retained a very Naball and all this for his loue to Rahell Our Gamesters will sit vp night and day at dice and cards Our gallant Dames out of their loue of brauery what cost will they spare what time will they not spend in making changing dressing pluming pranking And is the loue of GOD onely lazy sleepy sluggish and vnwilling both to do and suffer It is not doubtlesse Secondly hee that loues GOD truely and with a well regulated loue will loue GOD chiefly for GOD himselfe euen because hee is Good Excellent Perfect and Amiable in himselfe and not for those Loue-tokens onely which GOD in loue doth daigne to giue him For to loue one meerely for gaine is not to loue him that giues it but our selues that take it If this bee well considered it is to bee feared that many men loue GOD as they vse to loue their friends that is not for their friends sake but for themselues not because their friends are Religious Iust Wise Vertuous but because they receiue benefites as money meate credite and such things by them But Saint Paul was of a more generous and truer Spirit For he saith I seeke not myne owne profite but the profite of many that they might bee saued And againe I seeke not yours but You and doe all things that you may bee edified And againe yee haue done well that yee did communicate to mine affliction Not that I desire a gift but I desire a fruit which may further your reckoning And yet more fully I could wish my sefe to bee sepâ—rated anathematized from CHRIST my life my light my glory For my brethren that are my kinsmen in the flesh If they might be receiued he passed not though himselfe were reiected if they might be saued hee cared not though himselfe were excluded out of heauen so they might bee blessed hee could wish himselfe were accursed Thus the Galatians loued the Apostle They despised not his trials not his pouerty and afflictions but receiued him as an Angell of GOD and to haue done him good could haue found in their hearts to haue pulled out their owne eyes and haue giuen them vnto him This true loue also was seene in Moses to GOD and his Country-men For when they had in his absence made them an Idoll and prouoked GOD against them by their idolatry insomuch that GOD speaking to Moses said Let Mee alone for I will consume Them but I will make of Thee a mighty people which was a tempting offer but marke how Moses took it Hee most earnestly besought the LORD to spare them preferring their good to his owne greatnesse which argued the truth of his loue vnto them and intreated the LORD to turne from his wrath and why Least his enemies should blaspheme his Name and say Hee brought them out maliciously to slay them in the mountaines esteeming more of GODS glory then his owne greatnesse and aduancement Yea so louing hee was of the people but especially so iealous of GODS glory that rather then hee would haue them destroyed or it eclypsed hee wisheth himselfe To bee razed out of GODS Booke So
likewise Abraham out of his deuotion vnto GOD is ready at GODS commandement to sacrifice to slay his onely Sonne his Hope and Honour Indeed this is the nature of a mans sincere and regular loue to GOD to loue GOD for himselfe to obey him without scruple and to neglect ones selfe for the respect of GOD. And though wee ought to loue GOD for those good blessings which hee communicates vnto vs as a friend his friend for courtesies receiued yet wee must not rest there if wee will proue our loue to bee vpright and sound but wee must go further and learne to loue him for that louely and peerelesse Excellency and that immense and profound Sea of Goodnesse which is in him esteeming those his benefites conferred on vs as certaine streames flowing from the same and prizing of them not so much in their owne worth as for being effects and tokens of his fauour to vs. Euen as a man should not so much value the good turnes of his friend according as they are worth in their owne nature as because they are fruits and arguments of his vertu-full and bounteous disposition And this is the purer degree or kind of loue such as was in Iob who though GOD seemed to bee his Enemy For hee saith that the arrowes of the Almighty were in him the venome whereof drunke vp his Spirit and that the terrours of GOD fought against him that hee feared him with dreames and astonished him with visions yet did hee continue to loue GOD and profest that though GOD should slay him yet his confidence should be reposed in him Thirdly whosoeuer shall loue GOD cheerefully and in conscience of GODS commandement euen because GOD bids him loue him hee doth euidently declare the truth of his loue vnto him For hee that doth a thing simply because hee is bidden doth shew a louing and reuerent respect vnto the bidder Fourthly hee demonstrates a sound heart and entire loue vnto GOD that suffers nothing to dominere within him but his GOD Not Mammon not Bacchus not Venus not the loue of any Man not of Himsefe nor of any other thing whatsoeuer but deturbs and cast out all that GOD alone may haue possession of him and reigne within him as hee may bee said to bee a chaste and louing husband who suffers no other to steale away his loue from his lawfull wife to whom hee hath vowed his loue and plighted his Troth Non bene cum socijs Regna Venusque manent Nec Regna socium ferre nec tede sciunt Lordship and loue will broke no fellowship Aut Casar aut nullus GOD will be either alone or gone He wil admit no copes-mate Hee will not part stakes with any He will allow thee to entertaine some thing that shal be subordinate vnder him but none that shall stand in opposition vnto him or which shall draw against him If therfore thou permit nothing to draw thine affection from him it argues thy loue is firme and fast vnto him Fiftly as a worldly-minded man doth shew his loue of riches by his vnsatiable desire of hauing more and more For the more hee hath the more hee would like those two daughters which cry Giue giue or like the earth That as Agur saith cannot bee satisfied with water So may wee proue our loue of GOD if whilst wee liue on earth wee couet to haue more and more interest in â—im and neuer rest contented whiles any thing liueth in vs besides himselfe And as Ahab was tormented in minde for Naboaths vineyard and as Ammon was so sore vexed that hee fell sicke for his sister Tamar And as the Spouse in the Canticles exclameth Stay mee with flagons for I am sicke of loue Euen so hee that doth truely loue GOD is not quiet till hee do enioy him And because there is no full fruition of Him till wee come in heauen therefore if wee truely loue him wee shall not meete with full contentment till wee come in heauen but shall as that Spouse our Mother bee Sicke of loue and wounded with longing after him till wee doe enioy him to the full Indeed the sickenesse of minde is not loue for loue it selfe is most sweete and pleasing but it is the fruite of Desire which waiteth vpon loue till loue do perfectly enioy the thing it doth loue And if delay be made that it cannot enioy the thing which it would as it would and so soone as it would then this delay by reason of the desire doth engender a certaine griefe and sickenesse in the minde which sickenesse and the desire which doth produce it shall both end when that which is desired is perfectly obtained and enioyed But then loue hath that it would and then ends not as the desire but is at her highest pitch in all her iollity and in her proper element there where shee would bee and would neuer but bee Now whosoeuer hath in him this longing after GOD this sickenesse and griefe to torment and vexe him seeing that heere on earth a man sometimes looseth his feeling of GODS loue vnto him and neuer enioyes him fullâ— hee may assure himselfe that hee truely loueth GOD. And this gâ—iefe of heart should be so farre from causing diffidence doubting or desperation that a man should rather gather strength and comfort by it For where this is there is the loue of GOD as there is a loue of drinke where there is a thirst and earnest desire after it and a certaine trouble and griefe of soule because it cannot bee had or is long a comming As Dauid saith My soule thirsteth for thee my flesh longeth greatly after thee which argues the desire and languishment of his spirit so he likewise saith My soule cleaueth vnto thee which declares his loue Now he that loueth GOD may bee bold to thinke that GOD loues him And the proper and principall ground of our consolation and saluation is in this that GOD loues vs not in this that Wee loue GOD in this that GGD is gracious vnto vs and not in this That the graces of GOD are in vs. Of which loue and grace of GOD vnto vs this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 free-grace of Loue wherewith our hearts are enflamed towards GOD is an vndoubted token and effect as breath is of life or ice of cold appropriated to GODS Elect and faithfull Children Sixtly as the mindes of adulterers runne vpon their harlots as the thoughts of worldlings are on their wealth as the heads of the ambitious are occupied about their honours as the hearts of Epicures are with their pleasures as the braines of Schollers are beate about their bookes as the minde of Souldiers is on the victory and as hee that loues the Law hath his meditations in the Law O how I loue thy Law saith Dauid It is my meditation continually so hee that loues
I am wise and so he did for by his Angell he kild in one night an hundred fourscore and fiue thousand of his Army gathered against Hezekiah and not long after his owne sonnes Adramelek and Sharezer slue him as he was in his Idols Temple worshiping of Nisrech his God Proud Nebuchadnezzar for his pride was banished the company of men and depriued of his kingdome and after comming to better sense he could praise God and say That those which walke is pride he is able to abase Proud and bragging Hâ—lofernes by Iudith lost his head so likewise was that wicked and insolent Antiochus met withall as he had deserued his head being first well battered with stones and afterwards cut off The iudgements of God vpon Pharoh for exalting himselfe against God and in his people were many and famous Timotheus the Ateenian neuer prospered in any enterprise after he had in his account giuen to the state often intermingled this speech And in this fortune had no part so disclaiming Gods prouidence and sacrificing to his owne nets Apryes a king of Aegypt which gloried that neither God nor Man could put him by his kingdome was afterward strangled Caphaneus when he had said that he would ouerthrow Thebes Inuito Deo whether God would or no was strooke with lightning Aiax said that Cowards could win with the helpe of God But I saith he wil win this glory without God not long after God punisht him by permitting him to kill himselfe with a sword which he had receiued of Hector Herod Agrippa for not giuing glory vnto God when the people madly flatter him in their acclamation The voyce of God and not of Man was suddenly smitten by Gods Angel and eaten of wormes and so ended his life Simon Magus also to nuzzle the people in their foolish opinion of him who for his wonders thought him to be a God boasted that hee would flye into Heauen and as he was in his flight Saint Peter commanded the wicked spirit by whose helpe he flue to throw him downe so that he fell and was bruised to death Alexander the great was also sicke of this disease for he practised with the Priests at the Oracle of Hammon to be pronounced the Sonne of Iâ—piter but not long after hee was wounded in India which made him confesse hee felt the infirmities of a man and a little after being returned to Babylon as he was there in all his pompe and iollity he was poysoned in a banquet after supper and so dyed Empâ—docles desirous to be counted an immortall God threw himselfe into Aetna where he perished Domitian likewise was so blinded with pride that he would be called a God and worshipped but how did God reward him He was slaine of his seruants with daggers by his wiues consent in his priuy chamber his body was buried without honour his memory cursed and his trophies defaced Demetrius Alexanders successor was by the foolish Athenians entitled a Sauing God and had a Priest to doe Sacrifice vnto him which honour he liked well of but how did God like of it He spoyled a number of his ships with his windâ—s he ouerthrew him in battell by Saleuchus and after this suffered him to stuffe himselfe so ful with vittails that he burst in sunder To all these we may adde those that haue by their deuises counterfeited lightnings and thunders that they might be feared as Gods as did Alladius a king of the Latines before Romulâ—s and a certaine king of Elide both which were notably punished for their insolency by that God into whose thâ—one they would haue aduanced themselues For Alladius had his house fired with true lightning and ouerthrowne with a tempest of raine together with the ouer-flowing of a pond hard by it so that he perished by fire and water being both burnt and drowned all at once The other was destroied with a thunder-bolt from heauen and so suffered a iust punishment of his wicked pride Histories furthermore report how Qâ—eene Venda daughter to Gracus the famous King of Poland out of her proud stately nature refused to be ioyned in marriage with any and at length least her fortunate gouernement should bee disgraced by some vnlucky mishap and so her pride eclypsed to preuent this feare desperately cast her selfe from an high bridge into the Riuer Vistula and so suffered the punishment of her proud and stately minde by a shamefull and base death When Ierusalem was taken by Herod and Sosius there was a Iew that had hid himselfe in a Caue with his wife and seuen children to whom Herod offered both life and liberty if hee would come forth But hee out of the pride and wilfulnesse of his spirit refusing this offer first threw downe his children from an high Rocke and brake their neckes then flung his wife after them and lastly cast himselfe after them a fearefull spectacle of a proud and obstinate spirit And many waies doth the LORD meete with the pride of men sometimes giuing them vp to hardnesse and impenitency of heart sometimes bringing them into disgrace and open shame and opprobry sometimes suffring them to fall into other sinnes whereby the lawes of men take hold of them either to depriue them of their liues or of their places offices and honours One way or other hee doth vsually punish them euen iâ— this life to say nothing of those punishments of the life to come And his mildest and most mercifull corrections of them are when either by cutting their combes and abasing them by some notable affliction hee teacheth them by his grace to confesse their pride and to see their weakenesse or when hee suffers them to fall into some grieuous sinne at which by his grace hee makes them to blush and moues them to distast their proud opinions of their owne strength and to seeke in all humblenesse of heart for his assistance and protection By the former meane hee schooled Nebuchadnezzar and by the latter Saint Peter who by his fall did learne euer after not to vaâ—nt or build vpon his owne strength but to depend vpon the grace and aide of GOD. Now the consideration of these things teacheth vs these two duties First to detest eschew and abandon pride Then which nothing is more foolish more base more inhumane more impious For what can bee more foolish then not to see how fraile and brittle all the things of the world are how soone all things are changed and by what suddaine and grieuous chances men are depriued of their riches glory greatnesse and life it selfe What can be more base and abiect then to haue the minde pinned and nayled to the ground and not to looke on heauenly things and eternall but earthly and momentany and to bee puffed vp with wealth and honours mortall and vaine things that delight to flit and change their Maisters What more inhumane and lesse beseeming the state of man