to clense vs from all iniquity And Dauid Psal 32. I did therefore confesse my faults And all my sinnes discouer Then thou O Lord didst me forgiue And all my sinnes passeouer After the confession and acknowledgement of our sinnes we must goe to Iesus Christ the iust who is our aduocate towards the father and the attonement for our sins and relie wholy vpon him touching the handling of our cause For hauing put it into his hands we are assured to get it And that when we shall appeare at the iudgement seate of God wee shall not be condemned what accusation or crime soeuer be alledged or produced against vs by our aduersaries He saith he that beleeueth and trusteth in mee Iohn 3. commeth not into iudgement And elswhere to comfort his disciples hee exhorts them to looke for the day of iudgement when they see it come neere to lift vp their heads on high Luc. 21. and to reioyce because their full and perfect redemption is reserued to that day And St. Paul confirmes it in the Epistle to the Romanes with a maruellous ornament and magnificence of words Who shall lay any thing to the charge of Gods chosen Rom. 8. It is God that iustifieth who is he that condemneth It is Christ which died yea rather which is raised againe which is also on the right hand of God and maketh intercession for vs wherupon we must conclude that which he saith in the beginning of the chapter That then there is now no condemnation for those that are in Iesus Christ that is to say that walke not according to the flesh but according to the spirit and that as Iesus Christ their head cannot be saued but with them that are his members also cannot they be damned but he must bee also with them by reason of the inseparable vnion that is betweene the head and the members Moreouer seeing that Iesus Christ dying for vs hath suffered the paine curse that was due vnto vs by our sins by consequence satisfied to the iustice of God we must not feare that hee should againe demaund of vs the payment of these debts that are already acquitted For it should be against all order of iustice not onely diuine but also humane to demaund to be paid one onely debt twise Hauing then remitted both our selues and all our causes into the hands of our Sauiour and Aduocate Iesus Christ let vs neuer feare to sink vnder the iudgement of God where the Sonne is alwaies before the face of his Father making intercession for vs Rom. 8. Heb. 9. and bearing vs vpon his shoulders and in his bosome as in times past the high Priest bare the names of the twelue tribes of Israel to present them vnto God as often as they entred into the Sanctuary with a plate of gold vpon his forehead wherein was ingraued these words The holy one of the Lord To the end as saith Moses to render them agreeable before the Lord. Which was a figure of the which Iesus Christ our great High Priest and euerlasting Priest according to the order of Melchisedecke did exhibite and represent the truth vpon the Crosse when offering himselfe to God a sacrifice for vs he sanctified vs and made vs agreeable to God for euer We must not then feare that being in the grace and fauor of God as we are and hauing an aduocate towards him in whom hee taketh all his pleasure hee can of will euer condemne vs when wee shall appeare before him in iudgement and likewise being cloathed with these goodly long roabes whereof is spoken in thâ— Reuelation the which because they are dyed and cleansed in the bloud of the Lambe shall beare our iustification with them After the sicke hath beene so assured against the feare which hee may haue of his sinnes of death of the diuell and iudgement of God if you see that he is in any sort sory to leaue the world and that the honours riches pleasures ease rest and the loue that he may yet beare to weake and corruptible things doe hold him as it were pestered and doe hinder his will from departing and going willingly whither God doth call him Then you must first shew him in generall that the world is altogether laid and soaked in wickednesse 1 Ioh. 5. 1. Ioh. 2. that it passeth away with all the lustes thereof that it knoweth not God that we are no more of the world that God hath taken vs out of it to the end we be not wrapped vp with it in one and the fame condemnation that wee cannot loue the world but we must be enemies to God that the diuell is the Prince of the world and by consequent that wee cannot loue the word nor all the things of the world but we must be subiects and slaues to the Prince of darknesse that we cannot be faithfull nor members of Iesus Christ but the world must be crucified to vs Gal. 5. and wee to the world that by the example of the Apostle we ought no more to esteeme the world with all the glory and excesse thereof then doung or a withered flower that being heere as passengers and strangers we outght not there to settle our dwelling as in a permanent Citie and lodging but to lodge as in an Inne and to be alwaies readie to packe and be gone betimes that we may rid way vntill such time we attaine to the place where we pretend to soiourne for euer that is to say in heauen whither we should bee alreadie wholly transported in heart in thought in desire and in all our affection and there to haue all our conuersation as saith the Apostle Phil. 3. For being risen againe with IESVS CHRIST and vnited with him inseparably although that in bodie wee are kept off and separated yet ought wee to be conioyned and present with him in our mindes and in our soules and wholy to forget the world and the earth that wee may no more thinke vpon nor seeke after any thing but onely those that are from aboue Should not our heart bee where our treasure is and where is our treasure but in heauen where IESVS CHRIST is in glorie who hath all our life hidden in him Col. 3. and all the treasures not onely of the science and wisedome of God but also of all the giftes graces honours riches and blessings which God his Father hath communicated vnto him to impart vnto his Church heere beneath through hope and there aboue by possession when our soules going out of the filthie stinking and obscure prisons of our bodies shall like vnto that of poore Lazarus bee by the Angels conueied into Abrahams bosome there to rest and to reioyce for euer as it is written The children of thy seruants Lord Psal 102. Continually endure And in thy sight their happy seede For euer shall stand sure Although then that it bee so that wee doe nothing but languish in the world like poore men
ready to excuse and couer all his faults doth not he deceiue himselfe to thinke that he is faithfull hauing no better faith then that of Diuels nor that can any more assure them at the day of iudgement then doth theirs Item doth not faith take away from vs the iudgement and condemnation of God Iohn 3 â— 5. Rom. 8. as saith Iesus Christ that he that beleeueth commeth not to iudgment and S. Paul that there is no condemnation for those that are ingrafted by faith into the body of Iesus Christ Now those which liue according to the flesh and that haue no feare to doe that which God forbiddeth and to the contrary to omit that which he hath commanded how can they auoide the sentence of death and malediction giuen and pronounced in the law against all those that transgresse it seeing withal that they doe it wittingly and willingly of set purpose Iohn 3. Psal 44. Rom. 3. If their consciences condemne them God who is more then their consciences and who knowes and sownds their hearts to the depth how can he be able to absolue them Item faith when it is true doth clothe vs with the iustice and spirit of Iesus Christ which doe hold together and follow each other in such sort that the one is neuer found without the other As then albeit that the spirit of God cannot reside in vs but it must doe his worke that is to say but it must illuminate sanctifie quicken guide and gouerne in our counsailes thoughts affections wordes and actions what faith doe wee thinke wee haue if wee doe not shew it by a holy and laudable conuersation Gal. 5. Ephes 4. mortifying and crucifying our flesh with all the hists thereof putting off the old man with all his affections shunning and detesting all sorts of vices and applying our selues on the other side to all sorts of vertue 1. Thess 5. abstaining not only from euill but also from all things that may haue any shew of it And for conclusion continuing this exercise without any interruption vntill he end of our life Mat. 10. For if any one as saith the Prophet hauing done his duety by liuing well for a while Eze. 33. comes to stray and to decline from the strayte way before they bee gotten to the end God will haue no remembrance of all his precedent iustices and will not approue one of them when he shall come to heare his accompt for he doth not promise saluation and life to those that haue begunne well but to those only that with all alacritie and a heart inuincible haue continued vntill the end And giueth not the crowne of prise and immortality but vnto them that shal runne to the end of the race 1. Cor. 9. and haue duely fought all the dayes of their life Simil. For what good doth it to a Merchant that goeth to Sea towards the Indies to lade his shippe with some precious commodities if after he hath escaped many perils and sayled happily some fourteene or fifteen Moneths hee comes to split his shippe and to suffer ship-wracke before hee arriues at his port All those that went out of Egypt vnder the conduct of Moyses did not enter into the land of Canaan for the most part stayed by the way and were excluded from the rest which God had promised to their fathers by reason of their incredulity and other vices which the Apostle repeates in the first to the Corinthians 1. Cor. 10. Also wee must not hope once to enioy the happy euerlasting life which God hath promised and kept for his elect if we doe not perseuere vntill the end in the faith of his word and the obedience of his holy will the which is giuen to very few Moreouer faith when it is true is it not alwaies accompanied with a heate and vehemencie of Spirit which brings it forth for to confesse the name of God to sing his praise publikely Rom. 10. to preach and announce his Miracles euery where also for to make a publike confession and profession of Iesus Christ and his Gospell and without any feare shame or dissimulation to maintaine and defend the truth constantly against all those that resist and will contrary it But if wee will well examine our selues and iudge truely and without any flattery of all our actions wee must acknowledge and confesse that amongst the most of vs there is a maruellous slacknesse to doe our dutie in this behalfe and that we haue bene very cold and timorous when it hath bene question to oppose our selues against the wicked whom we haue heard and seene to blaspheme the name of God Iesus Christ religion and the truth holding our peace and suffering that in our presence the honour of God was not onely stained and offended but troden vnder foot without opening our mouthes to speake one word in the defence thereof Ah what zeale haue we also shewed to redresse the Tabernacle of Iacob which was quite throwne downe What pitie and compassion haue we had seeing the ruines and horrible desolations happened so long since to the poore Citie of Sion Is there any man that can say that he hath employed himselfe and meanes as he ought to reedifie the Temple of God and close againe the breaches which the enemie had made on euerie side of his Church How many is there of vs to whom it cannot be iustly reproached that hee hath bene too much more curious in building againe and repayring his owne house then Gods Aggee 1. For indeede there are very fewe that haue in such recommendation as they ought the pure and legitimate seruice of God for to reestablish it when it is broken and prophaned and to preserue it when it is whole And neuerthelesse although that wee are so cold and negligent to procure that the Order and Estate of the Church should be put into her first dignitie and splendour and that God may be there preached knowne and worshipped in spirite and truth as is required in his word there is none but thinke themselues faithfull and Christians yea of the most perfect although that they seeke not the kingdome of God and his iustice Mat. 6. but after other things and then onely when there remaines nothing of his smallest businesses to be done If to be short the most certaine iudgement that can be giuen of a good tree is the goodnesse of the fruite which it bringeth forth we may also iudge of faith that it is good when it sets our conscience at rest Rom. 5. and that in it we feele neither feare nor inistrust nor scruple nor doubt nor sorrow nor torment that can trouble or call it in question before God but are altogether resolued and assured to be absolued in his iudgement and iustified of all the faults and accusations which the diuell may there propose against vs by the meanes of the ransom which Iesus Christ hath these paied by his death and his bloud for
weapons wherein he trusted that is to say sinne death and the law leading euen with him captiuitie captiue Eph. 4. when he ascended into heauen so that the diuell being so disarmed hath no more meanes to hurt vs neither by our sins which Iesus Christ hath washed away in his bloud neither by death which he hath swallowed vp dying neither by the law vnto the which he hath fully satisfied accomplishing at and submitting himselfe for vs to the curse which in it was ordained for vs. And albeit that he be alwaies our aduersarie and that for the hatred that he beares vs and the desire which he hath to hinder vs and let vs from attaining to the felicitie from whence he was put away by his pride he walks like a roaring Lyon round about vs seeking whom he may deuoure neuerthelesse we may resist him being strong in the faith 1. Pet. 5. and abiding ancred in the perswasion which wee haue of the remission of sinnes which is euerlasting as is the vertue and efficacie of the death of IESVS CHRIST by the which it was obtained for vs it is the freedome of the Church in the which all that are faithfull ought to retyre themselues to bee in safetie when they are pursued by their owne consciences and the other Sergeants of the iustice of God VVhereunto Dauid also exhorteth vs. Let Israel then boldly In the Lord put his trust Psal 30. Hee is the God of mercy That his deliuer must For hee it is that must saue Israel from his sinne And to all such as surely haue Their confidence in him And else where Psal 51. The heauie heart the minde opprest O Lord thou neuer doest reiect And to say truth it is the best And of all sacrifice the effect And Iesus Christ who is the soueraigne medicine of our soules and who came into the world but to seeke those that were lost and to heale that which was sicke and as saith the Prophet to beare our infirmities Isa 53. can he take more pleasure then to see vs comming towards him to be discharged for our sinnes did he euer reiect a Publicane or sinner that came to present himselfe before him as saith the Prophet Psal 103. The Lord is kind and mercifull When sinners doe him grieue The slowest to conceiue a wrath And readiest to forgiue We may plainly see it in the examples of the Publicane of the woman sinner of the prodigall of the good theefe of Dauid of St. Peter Mat. 16. of St. Paul and of the seruant that was indebted tenne thousand Talents to his master which were acquitted him as soone as hee had confessed the debt and had requested and prayed his master to haue pitie on him Ha to what end hath the father sent hither his sonne why was he annointed by the holy Ghost Is it not to declare vnto the captiues that hee came from heauen to pay their ransom and to draw them out of captivity Isa 61. and to the prisoners that he is come to open the prison for them and to the indebted that he is come to acquit them and to the sicke for to heale them And the Apostles which he hath sent throughout the world as he was sent of his Father what charge had they was it not to publish the Gospell that is to say the remission of sinnes to all creatures in the name of Iesus Christ If then that their labour be not in vaine and that likewise of the faithfull Ministers which came after them we must assure our selues of the remission of our sinnes There is yet more that if they were not pardoned vs in beleeuing him the Birth the Death the Resurrection the Ascension the Intercession Briefe all the mysterie of Iesus Christ should be as nothing barren and fruitlesse 1. Cor. 15. and our faith altogither vaine Item how could we beleeue him to bee our Iesus and our Emanuel Mat. 1. if he did not saue vs from our sinnes Isa 59. Heb. 8. Iere. 3. and carry away by that meanes the enmities that are betweene him and vs which turne away and hinder him that hee cannot associate with vs What assurance would wee haue more then that the new alliance which hee hath contracted with vs was confirmed and ratified by his death and the blood which he hath shedde if hee had not forgotten all our iniquities and did not write his lawes in our hearts by his holy Spirit seeing that they are the promises and conditions vnder the which it hath beene conceiued and yeelded What fruit would come vnto vs of his Priest-hood and of the Sacrifice which he hath offered to his Father for our redemption if we remaine in our sinnes 1. Iohn 2. If also it were not purposely for our sinnes and not only for ours but also for those of the whole world How could we assure our selues that he is our Mediator and Aduocat and vnder that assurance goe to the throne of grace to obtaine mercy to finde grace to be aided in time of neede Wee must not then doubt the remission of sinnes And as saith Dauid Psal 103. God doth remoue our sinnes from vs And our offences all As farre as is the Sunne rising Full distant from his fall And how can we doubt of it seeing wee carry it printed and sealed not only in our hearts and consciences but also in our bodies with the two great seales of the Chancellor of the Kingdome of heauen to wit Baptisme and the Lords Supper Let then the sicke assure themselues that beleeuing the remission of his sinnes hee obtaine It presently For hee dealeth with vs according to our faith And S. Ambrose writes that all that we beleeue we obtaine for we cannot beleeue but what God hath told and promised vs who is so faithfull and true in his promises Rom. 3. that euen the vnbeleefe and infidelity of men cannot abolish his truth And although that the wicked reiecting and contemning the word and promise of God hinder that by their contempt and obstinacy it doth not bring forth his effect in not shewing the vertue which it should haue to saue them if they did beleeue it neuerthelesse that cannot preiudice others that receiue and obey it nor hinder that beleeuing in it and by faith receiuing it into their hearts but they shall be quickened Simil. euen as a man that should close his eyes against the light and flie from it cannot hinder but he that openeth his eyes shall enioy and bee enlightened with it For the light and colour are the obiects of the eye which being opened whole and well disposed apprehends them presently Also is the promise of God the obiect of the faithfull which causeth that man receiueth it so soone as it is denounced vnto him and that he hath heard it published prouided that by the spirit of God his heart be before hand prepared For otherwise if it should continue in its
stony nature the spirituall seede were not able to take roote therein nor to fructifie no more then the bodily seede cast vpon a stone for a land vntilled The sicke being then thus resolued of the remission of all their sinnes neede not in any sort to doubt but that they are in the grace and fauour of God and that from thence they may infallibly hope for eternall life For there is nothing that can exclude vs from it but sinne only the which being not imputed vnto vs but being couered and quite blotted out what is it that can hinder or keepe backe God from vs And if by faith as hath been said we remaine conioyned and vnited inseparably with him who is a fountaine of life Ephes 3. and the scope of all good things what can we desire but we shall presently finde it in him Psal 56. What mishap or misery can wee feare being in his fauour If he be with vs who shall be against vs Then are we assured that the good will that hee beares vs shall be continued for euer and that there is no creature in the world that shall be able to turne it from vs as writeth S. Paul to the Romans I am assured that neither Death nor Life nor Angels nor Principallities nor Power nor things present nor things to come nor heigth nor depth nor any other creature shall bee able to separate vs from the loue of God which he beareth vs in Christ Iesus our Lord. And a little before this passage What shall separate vs from the loue of Christ shall it be tribulation or anguish or persecution or hunger or nakednesse or perill or sword All men then that haue beene ingrafted once by faith into the body of Iesus Christ and by consequent adopted of God and receiued into his fauour and into his house as his child neuer departs from thence afterwards But as he is assured of his election by his vocation and iustification which haue followed Rom. 5. also is he of his glorification which is the conclusion and as it were the crowne of his saluation For the gifts and the vocation of God are without repentance which the Apostle writes very plainly to the Romans Rom. 8. Those that he hath predestinate he hath also called and those that he hath called he hath also iustified and those that he hath iustified he hath also glorified And although that there are alwaies many vices and infirmities in vs and that it euen happens sometimes vnto vs to fall very heauily as it happened to Dauid S. Peter S. Paul and almost to all the Saints yea the perfectest that euer were neuer he lesse there is a point vpon the which we should be alwaies grounded and which ought greatly to comfort vs and vphold vs against all the assaults and temptations of Sathan which is that which Saint Iohn saith 1. Iohn 3. Whosoeuer is borne of God doth not sinne meaning to death for the seede of him remaines in him and hee cannot sinne because he is of God which he declares yet better else where 1. Iohn 5. All iniquity faith he is sinne but there is some sinne which is not to death we know that whosoeuer is borne of God sinneth not For by that hee giueth sufficiently to vnderstand that faith and the word of God which is in the soule and in the foundation are neuer altogither drawne away and exterminate out of the hearts of the elect and that by that reason they cannot commit that sinne which S. Iohn cals to death For although that faith bee sometimes as it were buried in them hauing not any mouing nor feeling no more then a dead thing neuerthelesse it is not altogither quenched no more then a fire couered in the ashes Simil. although it neither shew his light nor heate nor likewise dead no more then a tree in winter when the sappe being drawne to the roote bringeth forth neither flowers nor leaues nor fruit that shew any life which neuerthelesse is clasped vp within and hidden in the roote There is the reason for the which Dauid speaking of the faithfull man in the 27. Psalme saith Though that he fall Psal 37. yet is he sure Not vtterly to quaile Because the Lord stretcheth out his hand At neede and doth not faile And eeke his seede I will sustaine Psal 89. For euer strong and sure So that his seate shall still remaine While heauen and earth endure If that his sonnes forsake my law And so beginne to swerue And of my iudgments haue none awe Nor will not them obserue Or if they doe not vse aright My statutes to them made And set all my commandements light And will not keepe my trade Then with my rodde will I beginne Their doings to amend And with scourging for their sinne When that they doe offend My mercy yet and my goodnesse I will not take him fro Nor handle him with craftinesse And so my truth forgoe But sure my couenant I will hold With all that I haue spoke No word the which my lips haue told Shall alter or be broke Psal 23. And finally while breath doth last Thy grace shall me defend And in the house of God will I My life for euer spend Psal 30. For why his anger but a space Doth last and slacke againe But in his fauour and his grace Alwaies doth life remaine Though gripes of griefe and pangs full sore Shall lodge with vs all night The Lord to ioy will vs restore Before the day be light Psal 65. The man is blest whom thou doest chuse Within thy courts to dwell Thy house and temple he shall vse With pleasures that excell Psal 119. Of thy goodnesse still shewd to me Thou wilt not Lord I frustrate be All these passages and others like out of the Scripture must be alleaged to the sicke to strengthen their faith on euery side and to furnish and arme it strongly against the inflamed darts and arrowes of the Diuell to the end that on which side soeuer hee may shoote them hee may not finde any place bare where hee may reach or wound him For wee must not doubt but then hee will vse all his forces and all his sleights for to shake our faith and to ouercome vs. But the meanes to defend our selues is to keepe our selues alwaies in our fortresse and neuer to depart from the promises of God whatsoeuer hee can alleadge to the contrary Let vs propound vnto him that which I say saith that Israel is saued by the Lord with an eternall saluation Isay 45. and that we shall not be confounded nor ashamed from this time forth for euermore And elsewhere Isay 51. The heauens shall vanish away like smoake and the earth shall bee worne out like a garment and the inhabitants thereof shall likewise bee abolished But my saluation shall be for euer and my iustice shall neuer faile And to the end that the demonstrations which
presently without deferring till the next day 9 That he hath not loued the truth in his wordes and deedes saying and speaking nothing foolishly and slightly nor shewing a grauity and sincerity in all his speeches workes fashions and countenances that might be worthy of a true man in deede That in him there hath beene much hypocrisie colouring and disguising whether it were to exalt and magnifie his vertues or to palliate and excuse his vices with some false pretence That hee hath not beene so couragious nor so constant to confesse and defend the truth against the blasphemers and enimies thereof and to the contrary to combate against errours and lyes as he ought That through enuie and malice hee hath detracted and spoken euill of his neighbours and falsly to accuse their actions which might haue beene excused and by his exceptions vsed meanes to obscure the brightnesse and the glory of their vertues That hee hath taken pleasure to heare flatterers and these that indeauoured to make him beleeue that hee was more vertuous and lesse vicious then his conscience it selfe in secret did witnesse vnto him 10 That in fine to close vp his confession you must shew vnto him that all his nature as also the nature of all men vpon the earth is vicious and that of it selfe it cannot bring forth nothing but bad fruits no more then a bad tree to wit all euill thoughts all disordinate affections all noysome and dishonest speeches and all workes contrary to the will of God leauing and omitting on the other side all that which is conformable and commanded by him Now after hauing shewed him his faults to make him the better to feele them and thereby to conceiue the more displeasure for them they must bee exaggerated vnto him by the circumstances of the person of the place and of the time that hee did them And when you see him humbled and beaten downe with the feeling of them you must raise him againe and comfort him in shewing him the remission of his sinnes and for to assure him thereof intirely You must deduce and discourse particularly the reasons contayned in the Treatise and going on take away the feare that hee may haue of Death of the Diuell and of the Iudgement of God and finally the griefe for the world and those thinges which hee leaueth therein by the hope and desire which ought to bee laid before him of the neare enioying of heauenly and incorruptible goods and that done to kneele downe and pray to GOD for him and all that are in the company in this manner Prayer O GOD and Father of all consolation who hast promised to heare the prayers and graunt the requests of all those that call vpon thee in verity and not to reiect any one that presents and prostrates themselues before thee with a sorrowfull soule and a contrite heart subdued and deiected with the remembrance and feeling of his sinnes wee beseech thee altogither that in the name and for the loue of thy sonne Iesus Christ our only Sauiour and Mediatour thou wouldest please to stretch forth thy mercy ouer all vs that are here assembled in thy name and singularly vpon our brother whom thou hast pleased to visit and afflict with sicknesse and by it to couer forget remit and quite blot out all his faults whereby hee may haue offended thee in all his life And we pray thee to doe him yet this fauour to seale in his heart by thy holy Spirit the remission which thou giuest him of all his sinnes to the end he may feele peace in his conscience and that with ioy and full assurance he may prepare himselfe to appeare before thee when it shall please thee to call him out of this world Assuring himselfe that there is no condemnation neither for him nor for all those that by a true faith are ancred vnited and incorporated into thy sonne IESVS CHRIST That his Sinnes Death the Diuell nor any creature can separate him from thy loue nor cast him out of thy fauor and that thy throne is not a throne of rigour and iustice but a hauen of health a shelter and saueguard for all the faithfull Doe him this good good God to fortifie and strengthen him in the faith of all these things in such sort that hee may couer himselfe with them as with a Target and may by that meanes bee strengthened and made inuincible against all the temptations wherewith hee may bee assailed and that leauing and casting behinde him all other trust he may make no reckoning nor relie vpon any thing else but vpon the onely iustice obedience and sacrifice of thy sonne to assure himselfe against thy iudgement Wee beseech thee moreouer to giue him the grace with all his heart to pardon his neighbours all the faults by the which they may haue offended him To the end that being conioyned and vnited in true charity to all the members of the body of thy Church hee may bee so likewise with the head and with thee Lord. Finally wee beseech thee that it would please thee to giue vs the grace so well to behold in the person and sicknesse of our brother how vncertaine and short the course of our life is that wee may looke about vs betimes and that withdrawing our hearts from the vanities of this world wee may employ that little time that wee haue here to liue to learne thy wisedome that is to say firmely to beleeue and to trust to thy promises quickly to obey to that which thou commandest and carefully to shunne and auoid that which thou forbiddest FINIS COMFORT FOR THOSE THAT ARE SICKE DRAWEN OVT OF THE HOLY SCRIPTVRES TO PREPARE them to die MORE A short Catechisme which is not only to instruct the Sicke but also to refresh his memory with the great mysterie of our Redemption MATTHEW 24. The negligent seruant that makes not himselfe ready shall bee surprised and hewen in peeces and haue his portion with the Hypocrites there shall bee weeping and gnashing of teeth Death is the end and beginning of life PRINTED 1611. Ecclesiasticus 18. Take physicke before sicknesse and examine thy selfe before iudgment and thou shalt finde pardon in the presence of God Reuelation 3. If thou doest not watch I will come vnto thee as a theefe and thou shalt not know at what houre I will come vnto thee Reuelation 16. Happy is hee that watcheth and keepeth his garments to the end that hee walke not naked and that his shame bee not seene Matthew 24. Luke 12. Bee ready for the sonne of man will come in an houre that you thinke not To the faithfull Reader Health FRiendly Reader take in good part this present comfort the which I haue here written for the good and profit of euery one that hath the feare of God to make vse of it at his neede when it shall please the Lord to call him But be aduertised that thou maist vse it well that these three letters B.S.N. the first signifieth
patience to the end to bring them to repentance as the theefe by night stealeth vpon the Master of the familie while he sleepeth they shal be foūd without clothes and shall walke naked Reu. 2. Reu. 16. 1. Cor. 5. their shame shal be seene for when they shall say peace and security then shall sudden destruction come vpon them like to a woman in trauell and they shall not escape 1. Thes 5. but shal be marueilously affraid by reason that it shall be a day of darkenesse vnto them Amos. 5. and not of light an obscure and not a cleere day and then they shall be condemned by their owne consciences like vnto Caine giuing praise to God seeing the Lord with his Saints come which are by millions for to giue iudgement against those that haue not had the feare of God before their eyes and to the end to conuince all the wicked of all the euill workes which they haue wickedly done and of all the rude speeches which the wicked haue preferred against him Sap. 4. 5. Gen 4. Rom. 14. Iude. Rom. 3. Reu. 19. Eph. 5. then for to weigh downe the Wine-presse of the anger and wrath of Almighty God because they haue persecuted Iesus Christ in his members which are bone of his bones and flesh of his flesh so that they shal be in such great agonies and afflictions feeling the terrible iudgment of God to come vpon them Heb 10. Rom. 2. that they shall hide themselues in holes and betweene the stones of the mountaines and shal say to the mountains stones fal vpon vs Reu. 6. and hide vs from the face of him who is set vpon the throne from the wrath of the Lambe for the great day of his wrath is come Reu. 9. and who is it shall be able to subsist They shall seeke for death and shall not find it and shall desire to die but death shall flie from them they shall strike themselues with despaire and shall be as dead for feare by reason of the expectation which they haue of those things which shall come suddenly vpon them Luc. 21. they shall lament before the Lord who shall haue a flame of fire to doe vengeance and iudgement according to truth and iustice vpon those which haue not acknowledged God and who haue not obeyed the Gospell of the Lord Mat. 24. Reu. 1. 2 Thes 1. Rom. 2. 3. Ioh 5. 1. Thes 4. and shall punish them in body and soule with eternal perdition in the face of the Lord and in the glory of his strength The bodies of those which were dead before shall come out of the earth and of those which shall be found liuing shall be changed and put on immortality and shall be charged with oprobrious infamie before God and his Saints for hee shall make cleare the things that are hid and shall manifest the counsels of hearts of tremblings and incomprehensible sufferings Reu. 16. Dan. 12. Isa 66. 1. Cor. 4. Reu. 20. being charged with the burthen of their sinnes for afterward to be throwne downe into the bottomlesse pit Their immortall soule shall bee loaden with feare with sorrow with frightnings with griefe with desolation Mat. 24. Luc. 21. Marc. 13. Reu. 1. and with such despaire that it is vnpossible for vs to comprehend it Then being in such opprobry in body and soule the image of Sathan their head shall appeare vpon them that is to say infidelity iniquity wickednesse abhomination filthinesse hatred cruelty tyrannie periury lying enuie and all that is of impiety and vniustice which is the blacke roabe of the reprobate and euen so as the elect haue Christ for their head of whom they are the body 1. Cor. 11. 12. Eph. 1. 5. Mat. 25. vnto whom they shall be made alike so likewise the reprobates haue Belzebub for theirs vnto whom they shall be made conformable For although that all the Diuels are all apostate Angels neuerthelesse the Scripture in sundry places attributes the principality to one alone to the end to gather all the wicked vnto him as members in one body for to be put to perpetuall ruine Then the wrath indignation of God shal shew it selfe cleerely vpon all the infidelity and vniustice of the fearefull 2. Cor. 4. Ephes 2. Mat. 9.10.12 25. Marc. 3. Luc. 11.21 Rom. 1.2 Rom. 2. Reu. 21. 17. Rom. 9. vnbeleeuers and execrables which shall not be found written in the booke of life for which they shal receiue sentence of condemnation being separated from Christ shall be driuen from before the presence of the Lord as the dust before the wind cast like dogs forth of the Citie of the children of God sent with their Captain Satan his Angels who did accuse the elect before God night and day in perpetuall malediction Psal 1. Isa 17. Reu. 21. 22. Reu. 12. Mat. 25. for to drinke of the wine of the wrath of God yea of the pure wine filled into the cup of his wrath and shall be tormented with fire and brimstone before the holy Angels and before the Lambe and the smoke of their torments shall mount for euer Reu. 14.15 16. and they shall haue no rest neither day nor night Now this place of torment for the wicked is so horrible 2. Thes 1. that it is incomprehensible vnto vs and euen as God is eternall also this ruine shall be eternall The Scripture for to declare it vnto vs Psal 55. Reu. 9. Isa 30. vseth many comparisons Dauid saith that the wicked shal be cast into the pit of ruine and of the bottomlesse pit Isay saith that the torture is already prepared for the wicked which God hath made deep large the building of it is fire much wood the breath of the Lord like vnto a brooke of Brimstone doth kindle it Isa 66. then he saith that the worme of the wicked shall not die and therefore shall not be quenched and they shall be hatefull to all flesh Dan. 12. Daniel sayeth also that they shall bee in perpetuall shame and contempt Malachy declares that the day of the Lorde shall come Mal. 4. burning like an Ouen and all the proude and those that doe wickedly shal be like the stubble and the day of the Lord shall burne them and shall leaue them neither root nor branch Mat. 3. S. Iohn Baptist saith that the chaffe shall be put into the fire which shall neuer be quenched Mat. 13. The Lord saith that they shall be cast into the Furnace of fire which is the euerlasting fire Mat. 25. Luc. 16. Saint Luke sheweth that the euill rich man whose soule is in hel is in such great heate that he greatly desires to haue a drop of water which he shall neuer be able to get how much more shall he be tormented when hee hath put on his body Heb. 10. Reu. 19.20 21.