shewed already that here is no mention of any speciall and particuler benefits bestowed onely vppon the Prophet but that the causes pertaine as wel to the whole church of God as to him whereuppon it followeth that we vnderstanding this songe and seeing all the partes and vaynes of it we giue our selues to no lesse hartye and earnest praise of God then Dauid hath shewed vs example but that we cast ouâ— eyes aâ— he doth here on euery side to obtaine some furtheraunce and helpe to stirre vs vppe to praise the Lorde let vs then followe the Prophet as it were steppe by steppe and schole by schole that we may attaine to the like zeale Great are the workes c. Here we see the first schole the first maisters doctors that Dauid had eueÌ„ the works of God in the whole worlde Whereby we see what schole the spirit of God trained him vp in to learne to knowe the Lorde a schole in deede most fit to learne the knowledge of God in if we haue the eyes that Dauid had and the diligence which from tyme to time the children of God haue bestowed therein Therefore it is that 〈◊〉 Apostle in the first to the Romaines sayth that which was to be knowen of God that is his eternall power and Godhead may be knowen by them For which cause he condemneth all the wise men of the world euen by these witnesses of the glory of God who though they knew yet learned not by them to worship God as became them that is in spirites But they chaunged the glory of the euerlasting and holy God into the similitude of mortall and vncleane beastes Therefore in the first Epistle to the Corinth the Apostle calleth it wisedome which God set before the worlde when they were without the word and had onely his workes for bookes to read vpon Therefore last of all the Apostle calleth these workes of God the rayne and seasonable weather and ioy of harte witnesses of god We see then that that is in deede a schoole of wisedome by the doctrine of the Scriptures which also may appeare vnto vs by the effectes of that excellent and high knowledge which the Philosophers attained euen by them onely How many of them knewe the prouidence of God Howe many the immortalitie of the soule the creation of the world and many other truthes without the written worde of God But as th Apostle sayth they attained not to that poynt to worshippe him aright by these things but they mingled their deuises and imaginations together with the truth and their foolish harts were darkened that attained not to any profitable knowledge further then to make their condemnation iust But they might haue learned by them the feare and worship of God as Ieremy also witnesseth accusing the Iewes that euen by the blessinges of God they did not learne to feare him who so mercifully blessed them They might well haue learned seeing that we moue and liue and haue our being in God as certaine of their owne Poets taught them that Gods power is infinite euerlasting that there is one God aboue all things to whom onely honor and worshippe is due They that require further to see what the Heathen haue learned euen by reason I referre them to Iustine Martyr 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 where he setteth forth largely all that they vnderstoode by the workes of god If then the workes of God so clearely and manifestly haue shewed vnto men onely wise and cunning in thinges not pertayninge vnto saluation so muche of the knowledge of God it is a shame that we hauinge not onely the workes of those men but also our owne experience and the worde of God which teacheth vs further of these workes that men of them selues vse to seeke if we become not verie excellentlie and perfectlie learned in those things which the workes of the Lord do teach vs For we may not thinke that the heaueÌ„s were made to gape on or the earth for to tread vpon the creatures of God for vs and we for our selues but we must euen out of all them learne much wisedom concerning the knowledge of God and most out of our selues But we haue not that mind to profit that other of the children of God haue shewed and are leâ—t for our example Why are we not all SalomoÌ„s that be in Camb. that haue such helpes meanes left and lent vnto vs of God for our furtheraunce in the knowledge of the things that God hath made Nay we are as the most rude and ignoraunt men and yet seeke not for better If we looke to the heauens it is a sealed booke vnto vs we know nothing of those quarters we can not heare that excellent sound and noyce and same of God that they sound to his praise If we looke vnto the earth vpon the fruts herbs trees we can not read we knowe no more then is good for the pot for our bellies greater knowledge we neither folow nor desire I am perswaded that if that care had bene in men that might and ought to haue bene neuer a one of vs wheÌ„ we were first bachelers had bene so rude and ignorant in these most noble arts which many yet know not almost by name as we are nowe euen after some yeares that we haue taken the profession of them vpon vs we may take heede by the ignorance negligence of the daies that are past if we haue not such amongst vs as can teach them let vs by rewards and liberall stipends prouoke some to the study of them who may be after lightes to other therein Sure the least pece of learning coÌ„sisteth in vnderstanding quiddities and I thinke meanes might be fouÌ„d to haue euery scholler in this house within foure yeares if men had humble mindes that they woulde harken to other although then inferiours not onely well learned in the three noble tongues but also in the seuen liberall artes sciences This is peraduenture vnsauery to some and seemeth to haue small edification but to him that iudgeth a right he shall finde that in Colledges and in Trinity Colledge it should seeme hye time for men to lay their handes to it if we looke either for godlines or learning to florishe in it For howe shall we see into the workes of God without eyes howe shall we heare without eares and howe shall we vnderstand what they meane if they still lye hidden from vs They are all great excellent notable but as Dauid sayth sought out and searched and inquired into And if we stand to consider them from Behemoth of whom we read in Iob to the Oistrich from the Egle to the flie from the Cedar of Libanus to the Isope that groweth vpon the hill from the starres of heauen to the dust of the earth from the Angells of God to the wormes that creepe vpon the grouÌ„d These are the bouÌ„ds of our knowledge in the workes of god
declared by the hand of Moyses and Aron in the middest of the lande of Egypt vpon Pharao and al his seruantes the turning of the water into blood the destroying of trees and fruites of the earth by the caterpillers the filling of the lande full of frogges and hee those other which are written of by Moyses the 9. of Exod. and repeated in the Psalme 78. but aboue all these he vnderstandeth the cause and the occasion of all these the naâ—â—â—â—tie and as it were the creation of the Church which was a greater more excellent worke then the making of the whole world For the heauens earth as sayth the Prophet shall waxe olde and perish but his fauour grace to his church shall endure for euermore Therefore the Lord in respect of Ierusalem maâ— tâ—â—o accompt of the whole worlde as â— say in the person of God reasone â— with that proude Sanacharib who thought that he could as easily haue one 〈◊〉 â—d Ierusalâ—◠〈◊〉 he had done Samaria and the other 〈…〉 desolation Hast thou not heard sayth the how I haue tourmed it of olde not naming but meaning and emphaticall noting Ierusalem whom he preferreth before all the whole worlde And the prophet Esay prophesieth that the kinges and Monarches of the earth shall like the dust of her feete thereby noting what honour she shall be in euen with her enemies Seeing then the preseruation of her as appeareth is so precious in the eyes of God that in the respect therof he contenâ—neth al things â—lâ— the begettâ—ng and birth of it must needes be the gâ—eatest most excellent worke that euer was and therfore the remembrance of it all those signes wonders which the Lord wrought for it turning the whole course of nature for his Church ought perpetually to be with care and diligence celebrated So Moyses wondreth at it sayth was eueâ— the like heard that God should come to a people take theÌ„ out of another people in such signes tokens wonders The Lord therefore hath printed the memorie of his maruelous works so that they caÌ„not be forgotten Nay Egypt shal be a witnesse froÌ„ generation to generation for euer that the grace of God to his Church passeth all vnderstanding This marke shall remayne for euer which the Lords mighty hand naked arme printed sealed vpoÌ„ his enemies by ten strokes The Prophet by this kind of speaking exhorteth all Israel whoÌ„ the Lord hath so maruelously deliuered to remeÌ„ber these works tell them further with gladnes as in diuers Psalmes This doctrine therefore of the remembrance of the wonderfull workes benefites of God is something to be declared For if euer there were nede to speake of it behold the dayes of ioy and gladnes of security ease of sport and play and of piping dauncing of riote and wantonnes euen the dayes of forgetfulnes of Gods benefites And if euer there were feare of the fulfilling of the prophesie amoÌ„gst the Iewes that being ful they would forget the Lord as Moyses prophesied this is the day howre that Moyses as if he had senâ— so long before prophesied euen of vs Euery one of vs sitteth vnder his vine and vnder his figge tree in his seeled and garnished chamber and the troubles that are so greate and manye bothe in our owne countrey and abrode they touch vs not by Gods mercy And why haue we all this case of God to abuse our time other benefits or rather to remember them perpetually and vse them lawfully to the prayse of god This is therefore our time of daunger our time of forgetting the goodnes of our God our time of falling away from the Lorde If you the Lordes ministers and watchemen make it not your time of care diligence of holding and staying vs of remembring and repeating and night and daye remembring and repeating the goodnes of our God vpon vs his statutes and his ordinances his lawes and his coÌ„maundements which he hath appoynted for vs to do theÌ„ what daunger are we in Therfore I woÌ„der and maruell at it that you see not the slippery places we stand on and seeke to helpe vs The goodnes of God hath so prouyded that in this Colledge there might be euery morning at prayer a SermoÌ„ euery euening with prayers a sermon euery sonday of the forenoone afternoone together with prayers the word of God preached that the words of God perpetually sounding in our eares maye make this Colledge as it is called Trinitye Colledge to be named the Lorde is there There be thirteene places appointed for Preachers beside those that are not accompted for the house and yet this is not done whereas I am perswaded that three doing their office in care zeale in godlines faithfulnes were able by Gods grace to make this Colledge together with the Magistrat a Colledge of Saincts a Colledge where no blasphemer no idle no prophane person no sonne of Belial no Cananite could be found And if so many can not in their course maintaine this order in preaching how many wil doe it Is there any iâ— the places that are vnworthy that are not al able theÌ„ let the booke licence be takes out of his hand giuen to his fellow that is better theÌ„ he I am sure there is none of the wise godly sort but wishe and desire that which I say For as the benefits of the Lord are perpetually euerlasting so ought also the remeÌ„brance of them to be but there be men of corrupt coÌ„sciences wicked childreÌ„ vngodly prophane persons which conteÌ„t them selues with a face or visard of religioâ— who know not what it is to serue God that will securely deride this and laughe it to scorne Wel the Lord would haue his benefits to be remembred let vs looke how we remember then â–ª but it were an infinit thing to speake of all let vs consider the remembraunce but of this one wonderous maruelous benefit euen the greatest that euer was God manifested in the fleshe This I speake of admonished by this time of the feast of the Natiuity that the worde which was spoken the last daye may stande in the mouths of two witnesses And if neither you of your selues neither at the word of God wil giue place I pray God that a terrible heauy iudgement be not the third witnes of this truth vnto vs Hath Iesus Christ comen into the flesh to lay the bridle of our necks to runne after our vayne deuises hath he obtayned by his comming twelue dayes of God the Father for carding dising and lotting for masking and mumming for mocking mowing for crying and laughing for the practising of euery vayne deuise that commeth to our heades all the yeare or doe we thinke that this prophaning of so holye a thinge this mocking of so earnest a matter this tâ—rning of the grace of God into licence and wantonnesse that it shall
Amen It followeth in the 7. verse The workes of his hande are veritie and iudgement all his flaâ—â—â—es are true I haue heretofore declared the wonderfull and notable workes which the Lorde executed in the placing of the people of Israell in the land of the Cananits Hitits Heresits c. and shewed by it that which the Prophete speaketh of the strength of God which benefit as hath appeared was to be accounted of aboue the other of the deliueraunce and pray of Egypt which notwithstanding were as I haue shewed wondrous maruelous workes In this verse the Prophet rendreth a reason of this wonderfull counsell of god And first he declareth that it was so beâ—â—â— by God appoynted For he calleth the performance of it â—â—â—eth And because as fleshe and and sinne is prowde and quickely leapeth into the throne of iudgement euen ouer God him selfe his doings such vile and abhominable deuills are we The Prophet giueth a further reason when as he saith the works of his hands are iudgement He saith not â—â—ger least any shoulde thinke crueltie in god The workes of his hands are truth The Hebrewes vse this worde when they speake of a sure and certaine performance of that which is promised Therefore they ioyne these two words mercy and truth together whether they speake of God or man Dauid praiseth God for mercie and truth that is for his mercifull promise and faithfull and true performance And Iacob sweareth Ioseph to do this mercy truth to him that he be caried to be buried in the land of promise These examples shall suffise although I might bring almost infinit But this is enough to vnderstande the meaning of Dauid Nowe that the worke was truth we shall vnderstand if we remeÌ„ber the notable promise which the Lorde made vnto Abraham and confirmed it vnto Isaac and afterward to Iacob that he woulde geue to them and to their seede after them the lande of these seuen nations For the Lord after that Lot was departed from Abraham coÌ„maunded Abraham dwelling in the lande of Canaan to lift vp his eyes and looke from the place he stoode in to the East the West the North Sowth promised to giue it vnto his sede after him for euer This was done fiue times to Abraham And Abraham died and was buried in the land of Canaan In the xxvj chap. the Lord promiseth Isaac to kepe the same oth that he sware to his father Abraham And in the xxviij chap. the Lorde appeared to Iacob in the way to Mesopotamia in a dreame promised to make his seede also to florishe and to spread euen to the North and Sowth East West although he was then a straunger and alone And the same also is in the xxxv chap. with this addition that euen Kings should come out of him These are the promises other which the Lord made bound him selfe to kepe to this people which as we haue seene after 400. yeares the Lorde accomplished This truth which Dauid speaketh of shal be more excelleÌ„t famous if we coÌ„sider those hinderaunces which seemed to haue bene able to haue made all these promises vaine First consider what daungers perills that Abraham was often in being but one man and dâ—iuen from country to countrie And as Dauid saith both of him and of Isaac and Iacob they were driuen from one kingdom to an other people And this came to Abraham what time he had no feede So that by the enmity of the Philistians by the daunger he was in for his wife the promise of God concerning his posteritie was in great daunger Consider the barennesse of Saraâ— and so many yeares after this first promise so that it might haue bene thought he had forgotten his promise After this what was the condition of Isaac in whom now all the hope of the promise rested howe farre of from death was he when his father had already stretched out his hande for his death and that at the Lordes commaundement where then seemed any hope of this promise or of this trueth that Dauid commendeth in this place After this the barennes of Rebecca which when it was taken away behold a newe hinderaunce The children fought in her wombe together that she was in great feare that th one woulde haue destroyed thother Then the feare of daunger that Iacob was in of his brother Esaw who had vowed his death And after that he was returned out of Siria when Simion and Leui destroyed the Shecamites what hope was there then that one of all the â—â—â—cke shoulde haue bene left aliue Which Iacob also feared and had not that God of trueth who to bring to passe his promise had before so miraculously preserued his father from his enemies as it were holden him vnder his arme and kept him in his bosome they had at that time beene all destroyed But the feare of them fell vppon the nations about them and they escaped daunger Then followed also an other enemie for the hinderaunce of his promise euen the famine which was in the lande of Canaan nowe risen as it were against the trueth of god After that the bondage of Egypt in whiche fornace muche more hotte then the fornace of Nebucadnesar yet neuerthelesse they were not consumed These circumstaunces considered which were as so many contrarie windes against this purpose of God or like so many red seas to their entrance into this lande or so many walls of iron gates of brasse thorowe which they must breake before they coulde come into this promised city These circuÌ„stances of hinderaÌ„ce I say considered which notwithstanding the great mighty God for his promise sake remoued doe make the arme of the glory power of God so much more famous and glorious more greatly to be praised neither that onely but comfortable also vnto all that waite for his promises in faith and pacience For here we see an exaÌ„ple drawn before vs by the finger of God to looke vpon for the confirmation of our faith and hope if we waite also for those thinges which the Lord of his mercie hath promised to vs We see that the Lorde hath promised that he will giue the Gospell free passage in the kingdom of Christ And this we looke for all they whose harts are touched with the loue of the glorie of God waite looke for it till their eyes dasell in their heads For we see mountaines hills seas waters kingdoms peoples Kings Princes and Counselers of the earth lift vp them selues stand against it yet we may coÌ„fort our selues with these words that the Lord of mercie is the God of truth and will bring this promise to passe as we see it begun this day For we see these kingdoms of England Scotland Denmarke Germany Polonia and diuers other kingdoms which together with Italy Fraunce Spayne were as a Scepter or mace in the hand of the deuill of Rome