and Bishops is that which is according to the eye onely For God which saith Be of good comfort I haue ouercome the world Also Feare not those which can kill the body but are not able to kill the soule the same God alone I say is the very true greatnes to the which if you compare Satan and al the fury of the whole world what are they else but a bubble what are they else but grasse but light strawe and stubble But when they are considered with out God then doe they terrifie with a false fearefull shew and seeme to be great in deede Wherefore Christians must iudge not according to their opinion but according to the truth For an opinion is that which reason bringeth forth besides the word but truth is grounded vpon the word which iudgeth the fury the crueltie of the world raging against the faithful to be like vnto grasse vpon the house â—ops This promise being setled and surely fixed in the minde confirmeth the godly against the great power as to reason it seemeth of the world Satan Like as on the other side where the word is not that mind deceiued through a terrible shew of truth the iudgement of reason is oppressed with terror These things must not so be takeÌ„ as though we did vtterly condemne the power of Princes of the world which we count to be the creature of God but their presumption the abuse of their power is it that we condemne because they fight therewith against God and his church Let them be Princes on the earth Let them vse their power and authoritie in the world but when they will needes make warre in heauen and with their power go about to inuade and oppresse the word this is horrible this is execrable and damnable And who so compareth them to bubbles to grasse to stubble yea and to nothing he saith truely he iudgeth rightly For why doe they fight against God Thinke they that we knowe not what God is and what man is what the creature is and what the Creator is Wherefore they are rightly compared to grasse on the house toppes for more contemptuosly the holy Ghost could not speake of them For this grasse is such that it soone withereth away before the sickle be put vnto it Yea no man thinketh it worthy to be cut downe no man regardeth it euery man suffereth it to bragge for a while and to shew it selfe vnto men from the house toppes as though it were somewhat when it is nothing So the wicked persecutors in the worlde which are taken to be mightie and terrible according to the outward shew are of all men most contemptible For Christians doe not once thinke of plucking them vp or cutting them downe they persecute them not they reuenge not their owne iniuries but suffer them to encrease to bragge and glory as much as they list For they know that they can not abide the violence of a vehement wind Yea though all thinges be in quietnes yet as grasse on the house toppes by litle and litle withereth away through the heate of the Sunne so tyrannes vpon small occasions doe perish and soone vanish away The faithfull therefore in suffering doe preuaile and ouercome but the wicked in doing are ouerthrowne and miserably perish as all the historyes of all times and ages doe plainly witnesse Verse 7. VVhereof the mower filleth not his hand neither the glainer his lap Here the holy Ghoste maketh a comparison betweene grasse which yeeldeth no fruite and true corne which is fruitefull that thereby he may the better commend vnto vs the former similitude and withdraw our mindes from the false dreade and terror which that vaine and counterfet shewe bringeth Fruitefull corne sayth he is such that he which moweth it shall fill his hand and he that gathereth the sheaues shall haue plenty to carry into his barne Here ye see is a truth and not a vaine shewe But grasse on the house toppes maketh a shew of that which is not true because it is fruiteles So the Pope and his Prelates with other tyrannes and persecutors haue a resemblance and a counterfet shewe that they are the Church They hold and enioy dignities Prebendes benefices as grasse hath his stalke and â—are but in deede they are none of the Church like as grasse is no corne for it withereth away before it can bring forth fruite For this is the chiefest argument wherwith they fight against vs that for this glorious shew whereof I spake they vsurpe and chalenge to them selues the title of the Church But we are commaunded to take heed that we be not deceiued by outward shewes Yea and we are admonished also that such shewes are often times occasions of great calamities Beware saith our Sauiour Christ of false prophets which come to you in sheepes clothing Also by their fruites ye shall know them Wheras then they chalenge vnto them selues the name of the church for a goodly shew which the grasse also that groweth on the house toppes hath as well as they will be counted good corne this will not we graunt them For if they be good corne let them fill the hand of the mower but this doe they not They are vnprofitable grasse yea worse then grasse For in that filthines of their wicked lustes fleshly pleasures wherewith they are horribly polluted that crueltie which they exercise against the true Church they reteine not so much as the outward shew which they pretend Wherefore since there is nothing to be founde in our aduersaries but a naked and an hypocritical shew and the same also miserably and many wayes deformed and defaced since I say there is nothing else in them but meere hypocrisie we iudge denounce them not to be the Church of Christ but of Satan Wherefore they are prepared as chaffe and stubble to the fire although vnder a shewe and colour of the Church they afflict and persecute vs neuer so much Verse 8. Neither they which goe by say we blesse you in the name of the Lord. This also commendeth and setteth forth vnto vs the similitude of the grasse For true corne hath this commeÌ„dation that it is the blessing of god They therefore which see it growe doe wish that God would blesse and prosper it This sayth Dauid shall not be sayd of that grasse that is to say of the tyrannes and the aduersaries of the Church but rather they shall be cursed of all men yea the malediction both of God and man shall be heaped vpon them Like as it hath also hapned to the Church of Rome which before our doctrine and preaching most gloriously floâ—rished But nowe that the Gospel hath plucked away her visour and sheweth that she is without fruite all her cursed hypocrisie is bewrayed and her memory is perished from among the godly Thus the Prophet comforteth the faithfull and sheweth that the wicked what glorious bragge and pretence so euer they make are in deede
Here is to be noted also that he sheweth to whom he wisheth euill namely to those which hate Sion And that hatred which they bare against Sion was an hatred against god For in that Satan hateth the Church he doth it not onely in respect of men but because he hateth God him selfe whom the church prayseth and magnifieth Moreouer Sion was a place which God had chosen vnto him self Like as therfore God had chosen that place to shew his great loue towards it so had Satan chosen the same to shewe his malice against it and with all his power to vexe it In like maner not onely Satan but also the malignant Church of the Pope doth persecute vs not because we are euil in the sight of the world For this they could wel suffer yea would be glad if they might heare that we are whoremongers murtherers as they are But the true cause why they so deadly hate and persecute vs is this for that it greeueth them that we in their eyes are innocent as touching the second table and also obedient to the first wherein we are commaunded to honour serue and prayse the Lord to feare him to trust in his mercie c. Verse 6. Let them be as the grasse on the toppes of the houses which withereth afore it commeth forth This is a goodly Psalme for the sundry excellent and most apte similitudes conteyned therein whereby the holy Ghost painteth out those great maiesties principalities of the world which fight against the gospel A litle before he compared them to plowers drawing out furrowes of a maruelous length To whom he so compareth them not in this respect as though it were graunted vnto them so long to abuse their power wealth and riches but in respect of the great tediousnes griefe and anguish of those which suffer the plowers the furrowes the wounds and treading vnder foote For vnto them it seemeth a tedious a long and as it were an infinite plowing Wherefore they desire to be deliuered and neuer so litle tarrying through this tediousnes and anguish of hart seemeth to them intolerable Against this wearines and this tediousnes therefore he comforteth the faithfull with this similitude of grasse in the toppe of the house As if he sayd Why seemeth the time so long and so tedious vnto thee Why doest thou not learne to vnderstand what these plowers thy aduersaries be Diddest thou neuer see grasse growing in the toppes of houses Who did euer complaine that that grasse flourished so long who euer went about to plucke it vp As though it were not wont of it selfe to wither and vanish away Learne therefore that the very same is the state and condition of thine aduersaries Thus with one similitude he fighteth against an other But if a man could effectually beleue that this similitude was made and here set downe by the holy Ghost close vp the same fully in his heart he should feare neither y Turke nor the Pope with all his cruel Prelats nor the tyranny of Princes but should contemne them all and as litle regard them as the grasse on the toppes of the houses But behold the outward shew of this grasse If any child should see it he would esteme it to be better then any barley for to barley it is most like since it groweth not as other thinges doe vpon the earth but in an higher and more notable place lodeth the topps of the houses But take a man that knoweth these thinges and he will say it is nothing else but a goodly shewe resemblance without any fruite Thus hath the holy Ghost chosen this similitude to teach vs not to wish that tyrannes may be like grasse but to knowe that they are in deede most like vnto grasse on the house toppes which withereth away before the haruest time come or any man goe about to cut it downe Senacherib who besieged Ierusalem did flie ouer kingdoms oppressed trode downe all things vnder his feete therefore he could not be counted of Ezechia and others like vnto grasse and yet before he achieued that he went about he was compelled not without great feare and also much slaughter of his souldiers to reise his siege and he him selfe also most miserably perished So Pharao seemed mightely to growe and encrease not vpon the earth but in the ayre vppon the house toppes but the miserable Iewes were oppressed and troden vnder foote like myre in the streetes This is a resemblāce of grasse not withering but freshly flourishing But how quickly did it wither and vanish to nothing For when Pharao did verely thinke to oppresse them he was suddenly oppressed him selfe and perished in the waters Such an image of tyrannes and tyranny the holy Ghost paynteth out vnto vs in this place Why then shouldest thou feare Why shouldest thou tremble Why shouldest thou despayre as though thou haddest neuer seene most flourishing grasse within few dayes to wither away of it owne accord or diddest not know the nature of it to be such as can not long continue Athanasius when Iulianus the Emperour did many wayes afflict both him the whole Church fought not onely with crueltie but also with craft and subteltie against the faithfull in so much that others as it were in a terrible tempest were vtterly discouraged and past all hope of deliuerance sayd that this persecution of Iulian was not a tempest but a litle cloude In deede this heart was full of fayth which could beleue that Iulianus was like not to a terrible and a violent tempest not to a mighty black cloud wrapping all things in darknes but vnto a very litle cloude which the Sunne doth quickly consume In like maner must we also extenuate and diminish the power of our aduersaries set at naught all their proude bragges and all their crueltie not in respect of our owne strength but because they are of them selues nothing else but a buble in the water grasse on the house toppes and a very shadow rather then men besides this that they prouoke God also against them selues whose fury and cruelty compared vnto his power is a thing more vaine then grasse on the house toppes or a bubble in the water for it is nothing else but a bare and a naked shew which semeth to be something when in deede it is nothing So are all the attempts of the aduersaryes full of threatnings but in the ende they come to nothing This is the wisedome of Christians to diminish the power of the aduersaryes contrariwise to amplifie the word the mighty protection of the lord The deuill sinne death and other spiritual tentations are greate but a Christian can make a distinction of greatnes For greatnes is vnderstand two maner of wayes The one is according to the eye which the eye iudgeth after the outward shew the other is according to the trueth which the truth iudgeth after the word The greatnes therfore of sinne death wicked kings Princes
nothing and because God blesseth them not they shall inherite nothing but malediction and shal be confounded like as Iudas the Phariseis Cherinthus Arius and Pelagius though they seemed to flourish most miserably perished with all their glory Wherfore let vs whose doctrine by the grace of God is sound and agreable with the holy Scripture remember this similitude that when we must suffer hatred sclaunder reproches and all maner of iniuries for the Gospels sake we be not afrayde but may learne hereby to iudge the Pope the Bishops and wicked Princes with their tormentors and executioners of their crueltie to be nothing else but grasse on the house toppes which seemeth to be somewhat when in deede it is nothing and therefore it is without all blessing To such it shall be sayd with the rich glutton in hell Sonne remember that thou in thy life time receauedst thy pleasures For if we consider the whole history of the church euen from the beginning of the world we shal see that God hath alwayes so wrought by his secret counsell that as grasse on the house toppes withereth away before the haruest come so tyrannes are suddenly cut of and neuer come to their fall time Wherefore let vs constantly abide and endure with patience in all afflictions vntill the ende doe shew that it was nothing but grasse and suddenly withered when it was most like to encrease and flourish The wicked do enioy all good things for the Churches sake like as the grasse on the house toppes hath the benefite of the rayne and of the Sunne as well as the corne in the fieldes But as they shall not liue halfe their dayes and as they shall see their owne counsells and deuises to be but vayne withont successe so shall they be as a perpetuall shame among men in so much that no man shall wish any good vnto them As at this day the memorie of Iudas Pilate the wicked Iewes Dioclesianus Maximinus and other tyranns is without honour yea most execrable and odious vnto all men This consolation is set forth by the holy Ghost by these grosse similitudes examples that we may conceaue in our mindes some shadow or resemblance of Gods workes since we can not rightly iudge and esteeme the thinges them selues according to the trueth but we iudge the enemies and persecutors of the Church by their goodly shew and outward appearance to be good wheate because they prosper and flourish so long vpon the earth Wherefore we must rest wholy in the worde which with such simlitudes paynteth out these thinges and we must withdraw our senses from all outward sightes and shewes and iudge no otherwise of the aduersaries of the worde then of most vile grasse that groweth on the house toppes and is contemned of all men For so sayth the spirite and fayth but our senses say otherwise In like maner must we doe also in spirituall tentations when our conscience accuseth vs giueth testimony against vs as well in the agony and daunger of death as in other conflictes Here if we follow that which appeareth to reason and our owne senses to be true it shall seeme vnto vs that our enemies are inuincible and almightie and that there is no remedy but we must needes be ouercome and vtterly perish The sight feeling of this greatnes perteyneth to the eyes and to the senses onely and ryseth of the iudgement of reason and not of the trueth But when we looke to the true greatnes which the word setteth forth vnto vs we are cōstrayned to say that death sinne Satan and the very gates of hell are in deede nothing else but grasse on the house tops but stubble but a very bubble swimming vpon the water which with the least occasion breakith and vanisheth away So must these thinges be amplified and set against all kindes of tentations whether they be persecutors of the word as the world and wicked Princes or else sinne death and Satan Al which we must learne to extenuate and lesson as much as we can because Christ liueth and we haue his word The consolation is able to swallow vp all terrors and maketh vs able to say that all these thinges are in very deede but one nothing But when we consider these thinges without the worde and Christ in respect of our selues and of our owne strength then are they in deede not grasse but suche high and mighty mounteynes as can not be passed ouer Wherefore when we fight against our enemies we must fight not as men consisting of body and soule but as Christians baptised in the name of Christ hauing the gift of the spirite and the word Now therfore when the deuill death hell it selfe the world and cruell Princes are compared to a Christian they are but grasse vpon the house toppes or if any thing can be saye to be more vile and contemptible For he hath the word which is almighty and moreouer he hath Christ him selfe Christians therefore are inuincible yea euen then when they are ouercome troden vnder foote For the power of Christ is made perfect through weakenes Thus did the holy Prophets and Martyrs comfort them selues against the world and the kingdom of Satan and therfore they did so valiantly suffer all kindes of afflictions being perswaded not that the grasse which withereth away of it selfe without mans endeuour but the word of God should haue the victory For true it is that Basilius writeth when he comforteth the people of Alexandria against the sury of Arius that through the persecutions of the enemies the Church doth more and more encrease and multiply Which thing we also haue proued and God graunt that we and our posteritie may stil so doe The 130. Psalme Out of the depth I call vnto thee O Lorde c. This Psalme we doe also account emongest the most excellent principall Psalmes for it setteth forth the chiefest poynt of our saluation our iustification I meane righteousnes before god The true and sincere knowledge whereof is it which mainteyneth and preserueth the Church for it is the knowledge of veritie and life Contrariwise where the knowledge of our iustification is lost there is no life no Church no Christ neither is there any iudgement left either of doctrine or of spirites but all is full of horrible darkenes and blindnes That we may therefore preserue and leaue this light to our posteritie we wil take in hand as God shall make vs able to expound this Psalme also And here first of all ye haue to note that the Prophets when they speak of God or name God do meane their owne God whose promises worship they had emongest them lest ye should thinke that we haue any accesse vnto God by our owne imaginations which we conceaue of God without the word as the Turkes the Iewes and the Papists do which seke after God altogither without his word or else they transforme the word from the right sense and
them to destruction And because the Church of God through lying and selaunderous congaâ—es suffereth now euery where the like tentation the cruell hatred of the worlâ— and all calamities for the confession of pure and sincere doctrine it is therefore necessary for vs to be feruent in prayer against y like pestileÌ„t tongues in those our dayes that they may haue no power to hurt so much as they would â–ª Verse .1 I called vnto the Lorde in my trouble and he hearde me This verse conteineth not onely an example but also doctrine whereby we may learne what we ought to doe in these tentations of the lying tongue namely when we haue to doe with such peruerse and obstinate heretiks as wil by no meanes be reduced from their false doctrine and errours into the way of truth For by long experience and after many and great conflictes haue we learned that as Paule sayeth they are condemned euen by theyr owne iudgement or the testimony of their owne conscience and therfore after they haue bene once or twise warned they ought to be geuen ouer and auoyded And this haue we found especially in the chiefe defenders and maintayners of wicked doctrine that for all that can be said or deuised they wil neuer be the better It may be that some times they will geue place to the trueth for by the power of Gods word they may be conuinced but they will neuer be conuerted For if you stop their blasphemous mouthes one way yet wil they not so geue ouer but seeke new occasions to fight against the truth This the histories not only of the Arians and other heretikes doe declare but also the examples of these our dayes geue witnes vnto the same It is impossible therefore for vs vtterly to stoppe the mouthes of heretiks To reproue them and to conuince them is all that we can doe Also to preserue others ouer whom God hath giuen vs a charge from their errours and pestilent doctrine For a minister of Gods word ought to be well armed and instructed that he may be able not onely to teache the simple but also to reproue and conuince the peruerse and obstinate Herewith let vs be content that such as are vnder out charge being thus forewarned may stand firme and stedfast But that we shall be able to conuert the peruerse and obstinate let vs neuer hope How often did Christ stoppe the mouthes of the Pharises not onely with manifest Scriptures but also with the finger of God and with miracles and yet remayned they still as obstinate in their impiety and infidelity as they were before Arius was vtterly conuinced and his heresie confounded and yet he set forth his heresie againe with greater audacity successe then he did before What shall we say of our Papistes Doe we not see euen the very same thing in them also Such therefore as wilfully striue against the trueth and will not be conuerted after oâ—ce or twise warning let vs geue ouer by the example of Dauid let vs with prayer fight against them Like as we must pray also for our brethren that with the deceitfull shew of trueth they be not seduced More then this we can doe nothing For the deuil the father of all heresies is such a Proteus so slippery and full of sleights that we shall neuer knowe howe or which way to lay hold on him For if we stoppe one crest he will finde twenty moe whereby he will wind him selfe out againe and as the winde enclosed by force will seeke and search euery way howe he may get out For against him chiefly we fight when we haue to doe with heretikes Wherefore by disputing and contending we shal not preuaile against him Notwithstanding we must doe herein what we may that the ministers of Satan may be reproued and conuinced for the behoofe of the Church But to the externall word we must ioyne prayer whereby specially the wicked spirit is repressed and bridled This prayer did beate downe Arius Manicheus Sabellius This confounded the Pharises and vnbeleuing Sinagoge This hath subdued the authors of sects in these our dayes And they that will not heare vs exhorting and reprouing them shall feele the force of our prayer crying out vnto God for the sanctifying of his name the coÌ„ming of his kingdom This is the only way to obtayne the victory So that these pestilenâ— tongues although they seeme to preuaile against vs for a time yet shall they at the length be vtterly rooted out We must therefore goe wisely and circumspectly to worke in this daungerous case and cast away all confidence of our owne wisedom yea although we haue the word of God neuer so much on our side For we fight not against flesh and blood but against spirituall wickednes If we had to doe with flesh and blood onely we would so defend and fortifie our cause with matter and force of argument sufficient that nothing shoulde be able to counterueile the same But now we haue experience that when they are with arguments and authority of Scripture vtterly confounded yet do they still with toth and nayle hold fast their errour and labour by all meanes possible to defend the same This sinne therefore I am wont to compare to the sinne of Iudas who coulde not excuse his deuelishe purpose that he went about in betraying of Christ and yet he neuer rested vntill he had brought the same to passe for Satan moued him so to doe Euen so when these authours and maintayners of hereticall doctrine are manifestly conuinced yet Satan will not so geue them ouer nor suffer them to rest Wherefore it is necessary that herewithall we adioyne prayer and with prayer specially we must fight according to the notable and most comfortable example of Dauid here in this place which sayth I called vpon the Lord in my trouble c. As if he shoulde say in this daunger of wicked doctrine whilest I sought the conuersion of the false prophetes and to bring them to the knowledge of their errour all that I did was but in vayne For Satan who had possessed their heartes is so slipperie that it is not possible to take any holde on him Moreouer if ye looke to the number they which set them selues agaynst me were both moe in number and more mightie in power What shoulde I miserable man doe in this distresse Euen thus doe I. After that I haue diligently taught and set forth the worde of the Lorde both warning my brethren of the daunger the other also of their errour I ascende vnto my God by prayer and shewe vnto him myne affliction being vndoubtedly perswaded that he will heare my prayer Thus Dauid setteth forth vnto vs his owne example and sheweth what he himselfe was wont to doe But to talke of these thinges and to teache them vnto others as it is an easie matter so by experience we finde and in our selues we feele howe hard it is to performe
vs in this Psalme with thankefulnes to acknowledge this singular benefite of the word and to beware of the horrible contempt thereof Howe much better is it to suffer pestilence famine and the sword howe much more tolerable for Dauid to become both an adulterer and a murtherer so that there remaine a reuerence to the word which repentaunce necessarily bringeth with it then to fall so farre as to contemne the word For this is to heape wrath vpon wrath like as it is to heape grace vpon grace with Dauid to hold fast the word and withall to acknowledge the great benefite thereof To be briefe like as there is no greater ioy and felicitie to the godly then to heare and to know the voyce of God speaking vnto them offering grace peace remission of sinnes and life euerlasting so can there be to them no greater crosse then the contempt of the worde For what doest thou else but contemne God him selfe yea crucifie againe the sonne of God and treade thy Sauiour vnder thy feete when thou contemnest the word of God which for thy saluation is reueiled offered vnto thee No mortal man can abide such intolerable contempt as the Lord our God continually suffereth For he is patient and would that we should conuert and repent but he payeth home at the length as we may see by the fall of the Synagoge and the destruccion of Ierusalem For Christ plainly sheweth that the cause of such horrible calamities was for that they did not knowe the time of their visitation Let vs learne then by these examples what a great blessing it is to heare the Lorde our God speaking vnto vs and as a tender mother with her children most louingly talking with vs For this is it which Dauid meaneth when he speaketh of the ascending vppe of the tribes to Ierusalem and to the house of the Lord to testifie vnto Israel that is there to teache and to heare the word of the Lord and to giue thankes vnto him for his benefites This is that citie therfore that is worthy to be decked with all precious ornaments This is the people of whom our Sauiour Christ sayth Blessed are they that heare the word of God keepe it with a good heart Here is the kingdom of heauen here is the true paradise here are the open gates to euerlasting life Verse 5. For there are the seates of iudgement euen the seates of the house of Dauid This may be vnderstand both of the ciuill gouernment and also of the Church but specially it is spoken of the church And here note that iudgement is taken for doctrine As if he sayd This is the glory of this people that in this place is stablished the chayre and seat in the which the word of the Lord is published taught weake consciences comforted and instructed and the way of saluation layd open vnto men Likewise in the first Psalme he sayth The wicked shall not stand in iudgement that is they doe not perseuer and abide in the doctrine of faith and therefore they are as chaffe which the winde scattereth from the face of the earth The Church of Rome wil now be called the seate of iudgement and euen there also the Lord had once his seate but nowe through wicked doctrine and damnable idolatrie it is the seate of Satan the chayre of pestilence and a denne of wicked spirites This is then the true sense and meaning of these words In this place the word of the Lord is fulfilled promising that he will leaue a memoriall of his name For here he is to be founde here he dwelleth Therefore here is life here is saluation here is remission of sinns here is the tyranny of Satan vanquished c. For all these he meaneth when he nameth the seates of iudgement that is the administration of truth the ministerie of faith the voyce of Gods maiestie speaking vnto his people For as I sayd iudgement signifieth here found sincere doctrine concerning grace faith works magistrates ciuill ordinances c. Where this doctrine is there are the seates of iudgement As we also may nowe glory of our Churches for the sincere doctrine wherby men are truely taught out of the word concerning grace sinne righteousnes faith works obedience to parents and magistrats This doctrin is as it weare a bright shining sunne from whence the Churches doe receiue their light And contrarywise where the word of God is not there are the seates of iniquitie and of Satan him selfe For the worde maketh the seate and not the seate the worde as the Antichristian Church of Rome most damnably teacheth Now whereas with a repetition he addeth Euen the seates of the house of Dauid this is the cause for that he looketh to the promise made vnto Dauid namely that the seate of the tabernacle or the temple should be builded by his sonne Salomon in Ierusalem where iudgement should be exercised that is to say mens consciences comforted terrified instructed by the word and also because the Lord would that Dauids posteritie should reigne after him vntill the eternitie of the heauenly Ierusalem should be reueiled Here is the image of the heauenly Ierusalem also to be consiâ—dered The earthly Ierusalem was builded on a hill so that there was no accesse vnto it but by ascending vpward The celestial Ierusalem is builded in heauen whereunto none can come but by mounting vp with alacritie of spirite out of this earthly mansion and corruptible life and therefore no earthly and carnall men can come there The earthly Ierusalem was builded as a citie for the people of God where they might meete together to serue worship god Likewise the celestial Ierusalem is builded for the tribes of the Lord the elect and faithfull people there to meete togither first in this life by faith and afterwardes by eternall societie both in soule body This Ierusalem Saint Paule meaneth when he saith If ye be risen againe with Christe seek for those thinges which are aboue And the author of the Epistle to the Hebrues admonisheth vs that by faith we are already come to this heauenly Ierusalem Ye are come saith he to the mount Sion and to the citie of the liuing God the celestiall Ierusalem and to the company of innumerable Angells and to the congregation of the first borne which are written in heauen to God the iudge of all and to the spirites of iust and perfect men and to Iesus the Mediatour of the newe testament c. The earthly Ierusalem celebrated the name of the Lord with praise and thankes giuing in the congregation In the heauenly Ierusalem the Angells and company of holy spirites doe praise and shall praise the Lord for euer more The earthly Ierusalem had in it the seate of Dauid The heauenly Ierusalem hath the throne of Christ the sonne of God the King of Kings the Lord of Lords of whom Dauid was a figure The earthly Ierusalem had tribunall seates where all things