all Arts either Liâ—â—rall or Mechaniâ—all we giue 〈◊〉 â—redit to them that are therein most eminent As to the best Diuine the best Physitian the best Lawyer and to him that is our best friend because we are fully persuaded that he will not deale doubly with vs but deliuer vs the very truth and represent things as they are In the saluation of the soule we will not beleeue our Sauiour who is the best Artist and our best friend but the diuell the world and the flesh which are our three mortall enemies The first being the father of lyes the first cause and first inuenter of them that is to say Ex proprijs loquitur out of his owne Mynt he coynes them the other two haue inherited and professed lying time out of mind fiue thousand yeares agoe and vpward If it be not as I tell you tell me I pray when did the world treat truth Salomon stiles it Diuitem mendacem A rich lyar As for the flesh when did that euer leaue off to lye it was one of Sampsons fooleries That he knowing the intention of his false hearted Dalila and that her purpose was to deliuer him vp into the hands of the Philistims and hauing thrice caught her with the theft as we say in her hand yet for all this faire warning would not take better heede but melting with two drops two poore teares that trickled downe her cheekes stickt not to reueale vnto her the secret of his strength and where it lay And Dalila complaining Thou hast thrice beguiled me and told me lyes yet this good honest man neuer titted her in the teeth with her lightnes and her treason It is a strange kind of blindnes That thy flesh should commit so many treasons and poppe thee in the mouth with so many lies and yet thou shouldest still beleeue her But the Moores beleeue Mahomet who lyes vnto them The Gentiles those Idols that deceiue them and onely Christ comes to be the descreydo a man of no credit among vs and to whom we will not giue beleefe S. Bernard talking in his name with a Christian askes him the question Why doest thou more affect my enemie and thine than me I did create thee I did redeeme thee with my blood I did beare thee vp in the palmes of my hands Sure it is because thy soule is full of euill humours A foole receiues not the words of Wisedome vnlesse thou tell him that which is in his owne heart It is Salomons As is an house that is destroyed so is wisedome vnto a foole There is nothing more pleasing and peaceable than a well built house and nothing more vnpleasing and vnpeaceable than an old ruinous house that is ready to fall And so is wisedome to a foole If I say the truth c. One of the most lamentable miseries of this age is That truth doth not carry that credit and estimation as a lye doth As the true sores of a poore wretched creature doth not mooue mans heart to that pittie as your false ones doe so truth doe not generally goe so farre as doth a lye For a lye is no sooner sowne but it presently growes vp and spreads it selfe amaine ô good God how easily is it beleeued how willingly entertained Our Sauiour Christ being risen the High Priests and other the Prelates of those times persuaded the souldiers that were set to gard the graue that they should giue it out that his Disciples had stolne him away But how my Masters replyde the souldiers can we doe this without danger to our selues or be able to answer the matter For if the President should call vs to account and examine vs about it eyther we must answer that we were asleepe and testigos dormidos you know no hazen â—e Sleeping witnesses will not be admitted for proofe nor stand good in Law Or that his Disciples did set vpon vs and tooke him thence by force which likewise will hardly be beleeued and will not sound halfe handsomely First that silly fishermen should set vpon souldiers Secondly the stone not being taken away we cannot well auouch that they stole him away yet notwithstanding the Clergie were instant vpon them and told them doe you but say as we bid you and it is enough for If it come to the Presidents eare we will worke with him well enough Whereupon hauing withall well greased their fists they published the theft And the glorious Euangelist Saint Matthew tells vs This saying is noysed amongst the Iewes vnto this day The like passeth in point of Heresie What hath ruined so many Kingdomes destroyed so many Churches and tormented so many Saints but the lyes of your Arch-Heretikes who will not pardon God himselfe In a word God was to come into the world for to giue testimony of the truth Whereas for the receiuing of a lye one wicked mans asseueration is sufficient Osee saith That there is no truth in the earth no mercy no knowledge of God but that all is lies thefts murders and adulteries Mendacium furtum homicidium inundauerunt Where the word inundauerunt is worthy your weighing A riuer while it runnes betweene two bankes and keepes it sâ—lfe within it's bounds the wayes are free and open to all But when it leapes out of his bed and ouerflowes the fields and the high wayes you know not in the world how to finde sure footing nor where you or your horse may safely tread There were euermore lyes in the world but now they haue broken their bounds in that strange manner and leapt so farre from forth their bed that no man well knowes which way to take What a world of Euidences did Dauid shew vnto Saul of his loue vnto him What notable seruices did he doe him in that hiâ— single combat against Goliah In getting so many victories against the Philistims In playing vnto him vpon the harpe when the diuell tormented him Afterward Saul pursuing him in the mountaines hunting after his death as if he had beene a beare or wild bore once Dauid tooke away his speare and the pot of water that stood at his beds head another time he cut off the lappet of his garment This Saul saw with his eyes and confessed it with his mouth saying Iustior me es Thou art more righteous than I. And yet in the end he gaue more credit to those lyes which your Court whisperers buzz'd into his eares than to those truths which himselfe felâ— with his hands He that is of God heareth Gods words ye therefore heare them not because ye are not of God Saint Augustine and Saint Gregory expound this place of your Prâ—cogniti and those thaâ— are predestinâ—ted And S. Iohn doth diuide al the whole world into two sorts of persons Qui ex deo est non peccat qui peccat ex diabolo est The children of God and the children of the diuell The one heares Gods Word the other heares it not And though this be not a
Dragons and Scorpions and therefore of the two it is the lesser euill to liue amongst these known wild beasts than such beastly minded men Your Wolfes that are clad in sheepes cloathing our Sauiour markes out to be the vtmost of euill S. Ambrose treating of the sorrow which the stones shewed at our Sauiours death and that they were so sensible thereof that they did split in sunder saith That our Sauiour found more pitty in those stones than in his peoples brests Whence by the way it is to be noted That when those that gouerne and sit at the helme are generally naught and wicked it is needfull then for vs to flye vnto the wildernesse for it is better to liue with Dragons and Scorpions than with them When there is an earthquake in the Citie all hast out of it and get them into the fields All the foundations of the earth shall be shaken What doe ye stay for then Why do ye stand looking and gazing one on another as if you had nothing to doe when destruction is so neere at hand In a word Daniel is cast into the Lyons Den and the same is sealed with the Kings owne Signet not for any hurt that he had done the Lyons nor for any harme that hee had done his companions and play-fellowes but throwne in thither by the malice of the Princes of the people and the Iudges of the land O Lord deliuer vs from the oppression of powerfull Princes and the vnconscionable dealing of corrupt Iudges That there should be but one bad Gouernour or but one bad Iudge it is ill because such a one is the fountaine whereof all doe drinke Si autem nequam fuerit totum corpus tuum tenebrosum erit But that there should be two such bad members in a Common-wealth is a great deale worse Of those two naughty Iudges that wronged Susanna God said Et egressa est iniquitas à Babylone Your briberies your thefts and your adulteries tooke life from them in whom they should haue dyed But when the whole Bench of Iudges shall be bad get thee gone into the desart flye to the wildernes for it is too great a boldnes then not to be as others are He that hath a mangie hand couers it with a cloth binds it vp close and dissembles the matter as much as he can but if he see other men in the same case as himselfe is in he looseth all shame The first day that a man enters into the Pallace or some place of gouernment c. He saith Dominus sit in corde meo God be in my heart but after some sixe weekes he changeth his mind and saith Let vs make profit of our places as others doe Birds that are free and at libertie talke as Nature hath taught them but being put into a Cage prate according to the vse and custome of the Country Your Thrush of Castile and that of Cataluna haue one and the same note in the field but in the Cage one sayes Deu and the other Dios. I feare me I haue troubled your patience too long and therefore I will rather here abruptly end than tyre you our God of his infinite goodnesse c. THE XXXVIII SERMON VPON THE SATURDAY AFTER PASSION SVNDAY IOH. 12. Cogitauerunt Principes sacerdotum vt Lazarum interficerent THe High Priests consulted that they might put Lazarus to death also This Gospell containeth diuerse and sundry mysteries but the first and chiefest is a resolution taken by the Priests to put Lazarus to death As if God could not raise him from a violent death who had raised him from a naturall death They thought with themselues that Lazarus holding his life by miracle it would be an addition of credit and reputation to our Sauiour And as to take away his life they had no other reason but his many Miracles so did they likewise seeke to cut off Lazarus thinking it very vnfit that he should be a witnesse to make good the greatest Miracle that euer our Saiuour wrought and that by his life and words he should notifie Christs Diuinitie to the Iewes and Gentiles that came to visit him The High Priests consulted That the Diuell hath the disposing of the gouernments and dignities of the world is a notorious lye though when he tempteth any he would seeme to make it haue some appearance of truth Hee said vnto our Sauiour Christ All this will I giue thee Representing vnto him a briefe Cosmographie of all the whole world Insinuating That hee was Lord of all and had the bestowing of all The like speech he vsed when being askt of God from whence he came he answered I am come from compassing the earth I haue rounded my Heritage And doubtlesse Hee that shall narrowly looke into those who command and rule the greater part of the world will I feare me beleeue that the diuell did put the same into their hands but the truth is That God is the sole Lord of all S. Iohn stiles him in his Apocalyps King of Kings and Lord of Lords and paints him foorth with many Crownes vpon his head And on his head were many Crownes in token that hee hath the donation of Scepters and Crownes Artaxerxes stiled himselfe the great King and had appertaining to his Empire 127 Prouinces Nebuchadnezzar was a mighty Prince but these and all that euer were or shall be are but Pigmies to God It is God that giues and takes away Kingdomes Per me Reges regnant By me Kings raigne And when he diuided it amongst the sonnes of Adam he did limit them their bounds beyond which they were not to passe When the most high God deuided to the nations their inheritance when he separated the sonnes of Adam he appointed the borders of the people according to the number of the children of Israel The Statue of Nebuchadnezzar which signified the Empires of the earth was but a Statue in a dreame and so vanished like a dreame The Kings and Emperors of the earth some dye others are borne are heere to day and gone to morrow Hodie est rex cras morietur But Gods Empire endureth for euer Pliny saith That the election of Traiane may be a sufficient argument to prooue That God setteth vp Kings not onely among Christians but the Gentiles Suting with that of Homer Ex Ioue Reges This truth being supposed some man may aske me How comes it then to passe that God places in that Citie where his name is called vpon where he hath his house and his Altar these high Priests who after they had decreed the death of Christ did treat of killing Lazarus Which difficultie is the more augmented because for the most part the gouernours of this world are naughtie men as was to be seene in the Roman Empire Thales Milesius the prime wise man of Greece being demanded what hee had obâ—erued in the world to be of most difficultie Answered Tyrannum senem To see a Tyrant come to be an old
open to others view and their owne confusion Nor shall these our sinnes bee conspicuous onely to others but euerie offendor shall see and plainely perceiue his owne particular sinnes For there is no man that fully knowes his owne sinnes while hee liueâ— here in this world And so doth Saint Basil interpret that place of the Psalmist Arguam te statuam contra te faciem tuam Euerie man shall then behold himselfe as in a glasse In a word This day will be the summing vp of all those oâ—â— former dayes wherein as in a beadroll wee shall read all the loose actions of our life all our idle words all our euill workes all our lewd thoughts or whatsoeuer else of ill that our hearts haue conceiued or our hands wrought So doth a graue Author expound that place of Dauid Dies formabuntur nemo in eis In that day shall all dayes be formed and perfected for then shall they bee cleerely knowne Et nemo in eis This is a short and cutted kind of speech idest There shall not bee any thing in all the world which shall not bee knowne in that day The other wonder shall be That all this businesse shall bee dispatcht in a moment In ictu oculi saith Saint Paul In the twinckling of an eye The Greeke Text in stead of a moment renders it Atomo which is the least thing in nature Concluding this point with that saying of Theophilact Haec est res omnium mirabilissima This is the greatest wonder of all Statuet Oues à dextris eius Haedos à sinistris He shall place the Sheepe at his right hand and the Goats at the left Dayly experience teacheth vs That what is good for one is naught for another that which helpeth the Liuer hurteth the Spleene one and the selfe same Purge recouers one and casts downe another the Light refresheth the sound Eye and offendeth the sore Wisedome saith That those Rods which wrought amendment in the Children of Israell hardned the hearts of the Aegyptians the one procured life the other death darkenes to the one was light light to the other darknesse When Ioshuah pursued the Ammorites God poured downe Hailestones Lightning and Thunder to Gods enemies they were so many Arrowes to kill them to his friends so many Torches to light them In the light of thy Arrowes saith Abacuc Death to the Wicked is bitter to the Good sweete Iudgement to the Goats is sad heauie but to the Sheep glad ioyfull to the one a beginning of their torment to the other of their glorie And therefore it is here said He shall place the Sheepe at his right hand From this beginning ariseth the Iust's earnest desiring of this our Sauiours comming and the Wicked's seeking to shun it Which is made good by Saint Austen vpon that place of Haggie Hee shall come being wished for of all Nations And his reason is because our Sauiour Christ being desired it is fit that he should be knowne and for want of this knowledge it seemeth vnto him that this place doth not so much suit with his first as his latter comming Saint Paul writing to his Disciple Timothie sayes That the Iust doe long for this judgement His qui diligunt aduentum eius Agreeing with that of Saint Paul to the Romans That the Iust passe ouer this life in sighs tribulations expecting that latter day when their bodies shall bee free from corruption and from death Saint Iohn introduceth in his Apocalyps the soules of the Iust crying out Vsque quò Domine sanctus verax Non judicas vindicas sanguinem nostrum de his qui habitant in terra How long Lord holy and true c. Saint Austen and Saint Ambrose both say That they doe not here craue vengeance on their enemies but that by his comming to judgement the Kingdome of Sinne may haue an end Which is the same with that which we dayly beg in those words of our Paternoster Thy Kingdome come And Saint Iohn in his last Chapter saith The Spirit and the Spouse say Come Come Lord come quickely make no long tarrying That the Sinner should hate this his comming is so notorious a truth that many when things goe crosse with them would violently lay hands on themselues and rid themselues out of this miserable world if it were not for feare of this Iudgement And this was the reason why Saint Paul in saying It is decreed that all men shall die once presently addeth After death Iudgement Other wise there would be many as well discreet as desperate persons that would crie out Let vs die and make an end of our selues at once for a speedie death is better than a long torment This is that that keepes these fooles in awe and quells the vaine confidence of man in generall Tunc dicet Rex his qui à dextris eius erunt vsque esuriui c. Then shall the King say to them on his right hand I was hungrie c. Hee begins with the rewarding of the Good for euen in that day of justice he will that his mercie goe before as well for that it is Gods own proper worke as also for that it is the fruit of his bloud and death Venite Benedicti Patris mei Come yee blessed of my Father a most sweet word in so fearefull a season possidete Regnum Come yee and take possession of an eternall Kingdome Quia esuriui I was hungrie c. Some man may doubt Why Christ at the day of judgement being to examine all whatsoeuer actions of vertue doth here onely make mention of mercie I answer For that Charitie is that Seale and Marke which differenceth the Children of God from those of the Deuill the good Fisâ—es from the bad and the Wheat from the Chaffe Ecce ego judico inter Pecus Pecus so saith Ezechiel and in summe it is the summe of the Law as Saint Paul writeth to the Romans Secondly He maketh mention onely of the workes of mercie for to expell that errour wherein many liue in this life to wit That this businesse of Almes-deeds is not giuen vs as a Precept whereby to bind vs but by way of councel and aduice whereby to admonish vs. And this is a great signe token of this truth for that there is scarce any man that accuseth himselfe for the not giuing of an Almes But withall it is a foule shame for vs to thinke that God should condemne so many to eternal fire for their not shewing pittie to the Poore if it were no more but a bare councell and aduice Gregorie Nazianzen in an Oration which he makes of the care that ought to bee had of the Poore proueth out of this place That to relieue the poore and the needie is not Negotium voluntarium sed necessarium not a voluntarie but a necessarie businesse And Saint Augustine and Thomas are of opinion That we are bound to relieue the necessities of
if the inuisible things of God are manifested by the visible Sempiterna quoque virtus diuinitas and that they which may know him by them will not glorifie him in them they shall remaine inexcusable This was the Scribes and Pharisees case who saw so many miracles with their owne eyes c. Volumus à te signum de Coelo videre Wee woulâ— see a signe from Heauen Here likewise is their vaine curiositie to be condemned Some would haue miracles vt credant some vt videant one to strengthen his beleefe another to please his eye In both Lawes the Old and the New wee find that God did euermore with his friends shew those his signes and tokens In rebus naturalibus In things that were naturall as in his sending down fire from Heauen vpon Abels Sacrifice shewing thereby how well he accepted of it in his promise to Noah That there should not be a second Floud Arcum meum ponam in Nubibus I will put my Bow in the Clouds To Abraham when he past his word vnto him That his posteritie should possesse the promised Land In the old Testament we read of many signes and tokens King Ahaz might haue made his choice of miracles either from Heauen Earth or Hell But in the Law of Grace they were more in number and greater in qualitie But hese Pharisees comming vnto him Saint Marke tells vs That our Sauiour Christ sighed deepely in his Spirit and said Why doth this geâ—neration seeke a signe c. They doâ— not deserue it neither shall it be giuen vnto them for they doe not desire it for any loue to our Sauiour or thereby to bee brought to serue him but for to entertaine themselues A royall Merchant wil vnpacke all his wares open whatsoeuer he hath in his shop to him that comes to buy but to him that shall come only out of curiositie he will send him away packing and not trouble himselfe with him Herod did expect Videre signum aliquod ab eo fieri To see some signe wrought by him And though our Sauiour might haue freed himselfe by any one miracle whatsoeuer from a thousand calumnies and affronts yet would he not bestow so much as a few words vpon him for he knew it would haue beene but a casting of Pearles amongst Swine The Philistines did much desire to know whither or no the God of Israell were the Author of their miseries and by the aduice and councell of their Soothsayers they made a new Cart and taking two milch Kyne on whom there had neuer come any yoke tying the Kyne to the Cart and setting the Arke of the Testament thereupon they said If they go fore-right vp by the way of it 's owne coast to Bethshemish it is he that did vs this great euill but if not and that they shall turne backe their heads at the lowing of their Calfes wee shall know then that it was not his hand that smote vs but it was a chance that hapned vnto vs. The Gouernours of the Philistines followed after them they beheld with their owne eyes all the signes and tokens that they could desire they were astonished thereat yet for all this did they not forsake their Dagon for they desired those signes more to see than to beleeue Saint Paul preaching in Athens of our Sauiors Death and Resurrection those that were the best Disputants in their Schooles and the curiousest Schollers amongst them came vnto him and told him Wee much desire to heare and know this new Doctrine which thou preachest And it is noted in the Text That Ad nihil aliud vacabant nisi aut dicere aut audire aliquid noui That they gaue themselues to nothing else but either to tell or to heare some newes desiring as it should seeme to heare and know them but not to beleeue them Of this stampe are those who onely come to Sermons for curiositie some gaping for sharpe and wittie conceits others for elegancie of words others for the flower and creame as it were of the Scripture phrase and it 's prettie allusions and allegories this is that which their eares itch after nothing will down with them but quelques-choses made dishes and pleasing sauces for the Palate refusing that wholesome food of Gods Word and those substantiall morcells of sound Doctrine which should feed their soules to euerlasting life A veritate quidem auditum auertent Saint Austen makes a comparison of a golden Key which opens ill and of one of wood which opens well Now to him that hath no other pretension but to open it were meere follie in him to seeke after the golden one when that of wood will doe it better And in another place saith this sacred Doctor That as Pharaoh commanded the male children of Gods People to be killed but spared the females that he might thereby weaken them and bring them vnder so those Preachers which bestow all their paines in the neat dressing of words ornaments of wit and fluentnesse of stile not regarding strong arguments and sound reasons doe weaken the force of the truth and bring their Doctrine at last into contempt Salt in a Preacher is more necessary than Sugar that which shall season our Soules rather than that which shal sweeten our Palates that which shall strike home to our hearts than that which shall onely tickle our eares And in another place where he that treateth onely ofcuriositie in Doctrine he auowes him to be in danger of loosing the Faith because Curiositie is the Mother of Heresie And likewise in another place hee saith That that the curious man is like the scripulous man and that the Accessorie is the Principall and the Principall the Accessorie Curiosus ea requiret quae nihil ad se pertinet They afflict themselues with that which importeth them least And if those that are scrupulous ful of doubts are condemned for fooles of force it must follow that those that are curious inquirers must weare the same Liuerie Auerte oculos tuos à me qui ipsi me auolarâ— fecerunt If thou shalt goe about to behold God with a curious eye God will flie away from thee and thou shalt loose the sight of him Another Translation hath it Superuire fecerunt When men stand staring on the Sunne the Sunne then growes proud and shewes his power blinding those eyes that presse too neere vpon him And the most of the greatest heresies and errors that haue growne and sprung vp in the Church haue proceeded from mans too subtle search into Gods secrets This prying of ours dazeleth the eyes of our vnderstanding as it had here blinded the judgement of the Scribes and Pharisees Volumus signum de Coelo videre Wee would see a signe from heauen These Scribes and Pharisees are like vnto those who condemning Gods prouidence thinke with themselues That God hath not ordained conuenient meanes to bring them to Heauen and therefore goe about to ordaine new Lawes
Take heed of that man that hath his breath in his nosthrills Whereby it is signified That if hee should once grow angrie with vs hee would quickely make an end of vs. There was neuer yet any Prophet in the World so holy nor so soft-spirited but that somtime or other he did breake foorth into anger Esay called the Gouernours of his people The Princes of Sodome Saint Iohn Baptist stiles them Vipers Saint Chrysostome the Empresse Eudoxia Herodias And our Sauiour Christ these Scribes Generatio mala adultera A wicked and adulterous generation c. Generatio mala adultera An euill generation Ill for the ill and inueterated custom of their Vices Saint Stephen Vos semper Spiritui sancto resistitis sicut patres vestri ita vos Ye alwayes resist the high God euen as your fathers so yee Dauid Generatio praua atque exasperans Moses Generatio enim peruersa est infideles filij An vnthankefull hard-hearted and disloyall generation Vae semini nequam filijs sceleratis Woe to the wicked seed Ezechiel Generatio tua de terra Canaan pater tuus Amorrheus mater tua Cethea Thy ofspring is from the land of Canaan thy Father was an Amorite thy Mother a Hittite All these places doe blazon foorth the ill race of that people For albeit the herencie of Vice and of Vertue be not constringitiue and that there is no such necessitie in it nor alwayes followes the order of Nature for wee see a Dwarfe begot by a Gyant a Hare of a Lyon nor likewise in the state of Grace for of a holy Father sometimes issues an vngracious Son as Esau of Isaac and Absalon of Dauid yet notwithstanding if a man bee discended of a bad race it is a miracle if hee prooue good Arbor mala non potest bonos fructus facere An euill tree cannot bring foorth good fruit The Spanish Prouerbe sayth Bien aya quien a los suyos parece Gods blessing be with him hee is so like his parents hee suckt his goodnesse with his milke hee inherited his Fathers vertues Transgressorem ex vtero vocaui te sayth Esay Thou hast beene a transgressor from the Wombe Alenhornar se hazen los panes tuertos The loaues went away from their first setting into the Ouen All this is included in these words Generatio mala An euill generation Adultera Hee does not note them in this world for children that had beene begotten in adulterie for this had beene their parents fault and not theirs And Aristotle sayth Ab his quae a natura insunt nec laudamur nec vituperamur i. Whatsoeuer is naturally in vs redounds neither to our praise nor dispraise Both the ill the well born do confesse Ipse fecit nos non ipsi nos It is God that hath made vs and not we our selues For if it had beene in our choice to chuse our owne fathers wee would haue beene all gentlemen Two things did our Sauiour here pretend to notifie vnto vs. 1 The one that they had degnerated from the vertue of their forefathers and for this reason Dauid calls them strange chldren Filij alieni menti ti sunt mihi filij alieni inueter ati sunt And in another place Libera me de manu filiorum alienorum Deliuer mee out of the hands of strange children They did boast that they had Abraham to their father Nos patrem habemus Abraham But Christ giues them the lye and tells them Vos ex patre Diabolo estis For the workes the thoughts and the desires are not of Abraham but the Deuill 2 The other because they had married now the second time with Vntruth and made a match with false gods hauing diuorced from them the truth of the true and euerliuing God And for the better declaration of this Doctrine it is to be noted First That the vnderstanding and the truth haue a kind of marriage between them Quae sibi sponsam mihi assumere sapientiam I desired to marry hir such loue had I vnto hir beauty And one that Comments vpon these words sayth That from the Vnderstanding and Truth well vnstorstood there doth grow a greater vnitie than there doth arise from betweene the matter and the forme Secondly That betweene the Soule and God by the meanes of the Truth of Faith there is another kind of spirituall marriage made whereof Ose sayth Desponsabo te mihi in fide I will marrie thee vnto mee for euer yea I wil marry thee vnto me in righteousnesse and in iudgement and in mercy and in compassion I will euen marrie thee as if this were that wedding-ring that made all sure vnto mee in Faithfulnesse And this knot is knit so fast that Saint Paul could say He that cleaueth vnto God is one spirit with him And for that the people of the Iewes had fallen some while into Heresie another into Idolatrie falsely expounding the Law and forsaking the Fath of God to follow a Calfe and Idols whereof God taxes them euery foote in the Scriptures stiling them adulterers harlots children workers of fornication so here hee now sayth Generatio adultera Mala adultera Euill and adulterous First he sayes Mala and then Adultera Tearming them in the first place Ill in the second Adulterous For the ordinarie way to loose faith is an euill life But as the vomitting vp of our meate turneth sometime to our good so is it now and then in the ridding of our stomacke of Vertue And in this sence Saint Ambrose sayd Profuit mihi Domine quod peccaui It was well for me ô Lord that I sinned For repentance may restore Grace in a higher degree But if this weakenesse shall take such violent hold vpon vs that wee shall fall once to vomiting of bloud it will goe hard with vs if not cost vs our liues In like manner a sinner perseuering in his sinnes comes at last to loose his Faith And this is one of the seuerest punishments of Gods Iustice Whereof Ieremy sayd Peruenit gladius vsque ad animam Whence Saint Ierome gathereth that then the sword pierceth to the Soule when there is no signe of life left in it In your buildings the first danger doth not consist in their sudden falling to ground but they goe mouldring away by little and little and decay by degrees So likewise in this our Spiritual building the first danger is not the losse of our Faith nor our first demolishing our falling into Heresies but before we come to that wee goe by little and little first lessening then loosing our vertues and heaping sin vpon sin till at last Mole ruit sua all comes tumbling down to our vtter destruction Saint Paul doth much commend earnestly recommend vnto vs a good conscience Quam quidem repellentes naufragauerunt à fide Faith grounded vpon an euill conscience is like a house that is built vpon the sand which when the waters rise the
of Moses Chaire comprehendeth and includeth in it two things The one Iurisdiction for to command and chastise The other Authority for to teach and instruct In a Prelate likewise two other things are to be considered First Hâ—s Life Secondly His Doctrine As it was an especiall effect of his diuine prouidence That the vertue of the Sacraments should not be annexed and wedged to the goodnesse of the Minister for that many might thereby lose the fruit of receiuing them aright so likewise the goodnesse of the Doctrine is not tyed to the Prelates goodnesse I wil make this my Couenant with them saith the Lord My Spirit that is vpon thee and my words which I haue put in thy mouth shall not depart out of thy mouth nor out of the mouth of thy Seed saith the Lord from henceforth euen for euer S. Augustine in his book De Doctrina Christiana and in that which hee wrote against Faustum Manicheum saith Cathedra Moysi c. The Chaire of Moses wherein they sate and bare rule did inforce them to teach well though they liued ill besides Moses in his Chaire did not allow of any strange Doctrine And in case such a one shall read himselfe and vent in the Chaire the froth of his owne wit God is so farre from commanding this man to be obeyed that he coniureth both the Old and New Testament against him Ieremie speaketh thus to the Prophets Myne heart breaketh within me because of the Prophets those false Prophets which deceiue the People all my bones shake I am like a drunken man and like a man whom Wine hath ouercome for the presence of the Lord and for his holy words The Priest and the Prophet shake hands and ioyne both together in the perdition of my sheep and applaud themselues in these their errors but they shal haue no great cause to brag and boast thereof for I will giue them Hemlocke to eat and Gall to drinke The Prophets of Ierusalem haue defiled the Land and haue beene the onely Authors of all those mischiefes that are now afoot in the World The Priest and the Prophet are defiled and haue strengthened the hands of the Wicked These Prophets then ô Lord being that wee may not imitate their workes Shall we giue credit to their words They doe not teach vs that which God reuealeth vnto them but the inuentions of their owne braine and the foolish imaginations of their owne hearts All the whole thirteenth Chapter of Ezechiel is full of these complaints and threatnings And in the twentie third Chapter he repeateth that which was spoken by Ieremias Heare not the words of those that see vanitie and diuine lyes And in the thirteenth Chapter of Deâ—tronomie If thyne owne brother shall persuade thee to serue strange gods hearken not vnto him c. In the New Testament there are many cleere and plaine places to this purpose As in Math. 7. Rom. 16. Tim. 1. 3. Titus 3. and Thessalonians 3. And Saint Iohn in his Canonicall Epistle If any man shall declare any other Gospell 〈◊〉 him be accursed In a word The Doctrine which appertaineth to the Truth God commands vs to serue obey the same all the rest to shun and auoyd it Chrysostome expounding those words All things whatsoeuer they shall say vnto you doe saith All those things that are not repugnant to the Law of God And the phrase of Scripture is Children obey your Parents in all things and Seruants obey your carnal Masters in all things which is to be vnderstood in all those things wherein they ought to obey them There is sometimes in your Prelates a kind of sickenesse like vnto that of Iob who when all the rest of his bodie was full of sores and botches yet his lips remained whole and sound Onely my lippes are left about my teeth And because the lips of the Priest are the depositorie of the wisedome of God according to that of Malachie The Priests lips preserue knowledge and Ezechiel That God hath charged his Priests That they shall teach his people the difference betweene the holy and prophane and cause them to discerne betweene the vncleane and the cleane and that he wil giue them light to decide such controuersies as shal come before them wee may verie well giue credit to that which they shall say Quaecunque dixerint vobis facite shunne therefore their workes but obey their words Saint Augustine drawes in the example of the Vine enuironed with Bushes and Thornes willing thee to gather the Grapes and let the Briars alone Saint Chrysostome introduceth diuers other examples Out of the Mines take the gold and throw away the drosse From your Standards the Roses that smell sweet and put by the prickles that may offend thee From your soure Hearbes your sweet Honey from your durtie Shells your orientall Pearle and from your fruits take away the huskes and the parings Vpon one the same Tree there may be two sorts of Fruits the one wholsome the other mortall eat the good hate the bad Sampson suckt Honey out of the jaw of a Beast and let the bone alone Saint Chrysostome Si male vixerint c. If they liue ill that 's theirs if they teach wel that 's ours Take therefore that which is thine and leaue that which is anothers alone to himselfe In euerie Teacher there is a life and a doctrine the life is his the doctrine thyne chuse thou that which is thine and cease thou to examine what is his Si separaberis pretiosum à vili quasi Os meum eris If thou separate the pretious from the vile thou shalt be as my Mouth Pretious meat in a foule plate is the Doctrine of Heauen in an ill life Saint Augustine points out vnto vs three kind of Ministers Pastor mercenarius latro foue tolera fuge The Sheepheard the Hireling and the Theefe all enter into the Sheepefold but the Sheepeheard and the Hireling teach good Doctrine the Theefe bad Flie from the Theefe beare with the Hireling but loue the true Sheepheard Whatsoeuer they shall say vnto you doe If God command that wee respect and obey the Sheepheards for their good words though their actions bee naught he that shall contemne his Pastor who is holy both in his life and doctrine What fauour can he hope for One of those fauours which God promised to his people was To giue them Gouernours that should be Peace it selfe and Iustice itselfe Ponam visitationem tuam pacem prâ—â—positos tuos justiciam Hee stiles Iudges Masters and Gouernors with the name of Visitation and saith That they shall be his peace and his justice speaking it in abstracto which carrieth more force with it than if it had beene vttered in concreto For admit that a Prelat be a Lyon and that as Ecclesiasticus saith Euertit domesticos eius and that hee begin to rome and rage about the house there is not any whip comparable to
WEDNESDAY AFTER THE SECOND SONDAY IN LENT MAT. 20.18 Ecce ascendimus Hierusalem Behold we goe vp to Ierusalem OVr Sauiour Christ walking to Ierusalem where hee was to giue vs life and to lose his owne hee went discoursing of his death of the persons that should occasion it and of those circumstances which were to accompanie it For a traueller doth busie his thoughts in nothing more than in that which he is to doe when hee comes to his journeys end Pharaoh persecuting the children of Israell did eagerly pursue them and casting with himselfe what course he should take with them when he once ouertooke them I will take away saith hee the riches that they haue rob'd vs of and diuide the spoyle so shall my soule bee reuenged of them and my anger rest satisfied Those holy women which went to the Sepulchre to annoint our Sauiour Christ said amongst themselues as they walked along Who shall rolle vs away the stone from the doore of the Sepulchre This is not only a businesse well beseeming vs vpon the way but discouereth likewise the pleasure and content that the Traueller takes therein Commonly trauelling is tedious and wearisome vnto vs which that it may the better bee passed ouer he that vndertaketh a journey imployeth his thoughts vpon such things as may delight him most and by that means beguiles the wearisomenesse of the way Besides they that loue a thing well and haue their minds set vpoâ— it vsually take pleasure in talking thereof saith Plutarch refreshing thereby the remembrance of those things that are best beloued by them Epipha 〈…〉 saith That our Sauiours so much talking of his death was thereby to engage himselfe therein the more for by making all those that were there present with him witnesses of his words That he should now die it stood vpon his honour his credit and his truth there was now no stepping backe but with extreamâ— losse of his reputation But he being throughly resolued to die makes here vnto vs a more especiall and particular description of his death Behold we goe vpâ—â— Ierusalem this shall bee the last time that euer I shall goe vp to Ierusalem noâ— many goe along with me but ere long I shall bee left all alone The Sonne oâ— man shall be deliuered vnto the chiefe Priests and vnto the Scribes and theâ— shall deliuer him to the Gentiles to mocke and to scourge him to beat and buffet him about the cheekes to reuile him to his teeth and to spit in his face beeing relinquished and forsaken of all men For it is written I will smite their Sheapeheard and the sheepe shall be scattered The persons that shall take my life from mee shall be the Princes of the Priests and the Romane power the circumstances scoffes scornes scourges c. But after this so foule a storme I shall recouer a very cheerefull Hauen and rest in safety The third day will I rise againe Behold we go vp to Hierusalem Saint Marke saith Iesus went before and they were amased and as they followed they feared Where we are to consider That hee that goes to receiue Death showes great content great courage and great valour But those that go to receiue Life great cowardize great sorrow and great feare Whence it came to passe that our Sauiour Christ went apace before and that his Disciples followed slowly after He went before them The pleasures hee tooke therein clapt wings to his feet Some may aske How can this his ioy sute with the sorrow which he suffered in the garden But this ioy was verie fitting and conuenient for him to the end that they who hereafter should see him sad might thinke that the winde of this his sorrow blew it selfe out of another corner the contentment of his death continuing still on foot Epiphanius sayth That this our Sauiours sorrow grew from the desire that he had to dye For if hee should alwayes haue exprest this his willingnesse that he had to dye the Deuil fearefull of his owne hurt would haue sought to haue diuerted it And as Pilats wife was drawne to solicite his life so would he likewise haue solicited all Hierusalem to saue him had hee so well knowne then as he did afterwards that Christs death would haue bin so aduantagious to mankind He was willing likewise to prouoke thereby his and our aduersary to put him more eagerly vpon the businesse persuading himselfe that this his sorrow proceeded out of feare Most men sayth Epiphanius feare to dye only our Sauiors feare was not to dye Christ by his feare of life sought to secure his death Howbeit we must withall acknowledge that he did truely both greeue and feare And as they followed they feared That our nature should suffer cowardize and feare seeing death neere at hand as wee haue seene the experiment of it in the greatest Saints that are in Heauen as in Elias Iob and Saint Paul so not to feare death is the priuiledge and fauour of Grace To feare it is the condition of nature which doth naturally desire the conseruation of it's beeing and the preseruation of it's life Nor is it much that Nature should discouer in man this weakenesse and cowardize when as being vnited to the God-head in our Sauiour Christ he did begge and intreat according to this his inferiour part to wit his humanity If it be possible let this cup passe from me Whereupon Leo the Pope sayth Ipsa vox non exaâ—diti magna est expositio sacramenti The mystery that Christ should begge and not be heard is That our Nature would not willingly purchase any good thing at so deere a rate as the price of it's life and being Nolumus spoliari sed superuestiri We would not be stripped but ouer-clothed And albeit the Disciples had so many lectures of death read vnto them yet could they not remooue the feare of death from them And if humane nature wrought vpon our Sauiour Christ according to that inferiour portion of his though so well incountered with his content and readinesse to dye it is not much that his Disciples should lagger behind and shâ—w themselues so lazie and cowardly as they did Filius hominis tradetur principibus sacerdotum c. The sonne of Man shall be deliuered to the chiefe Priests c. The reasons why our Sauiour made such a particular peice and exact draught of his death of his torments and his crucifixion are very many whereof some haue been formerly related and those that now offer themselues are as followeth The first Our Sauiour proceeded therein very leasurely with a great deale of deliberation for this so sad a storie that it may be of profit vnto vs is not to be posted ouer in hast nor to bee looked on all at once but by peecemeale and a leasurely gazing thereupon For there is not a wheale nor a stripe in that diuine Body but may very well take vp our thoughts in the contemplation
of them for many houres together especially in such an age as this wherein nothing is blotted more out of our remembrance than Christ crucified The Diuell sought to worke this wickednesse in the hearts of the Iewes Eradamus eâ—m de terra viuentium Let vs rase him out of the Land of the liuing Let there be no memoriall of him in the World let him be blotted out of our hearts by our vices And he hath got so much ground vpon vs that euen wee that are Preachers of his word dare scarce treat vpon the occasions of this his passion For one foole or other will not sticke in one corner or other to murmure out this his malitious censure That we show more passion in our preaching than in preaching his passion But the truth is that when in a battaile the Standard goes to the ground the Souldiers likewise fall with it And that there is no matter no subiect so soueraigne nor so diuine where good wits haue flourished and displayed the Ancient of their powerfull Eloquence than in the passion of our Sauiour Saint Paul neuer tooke any other Theame than Praedâ—camus Chrstum crucifixum Wee preach Christ crucified But we must chew it and digest it wel it is not to be swallowed downe whole for then it will doe vs no good Lactantius Firmianus treating of the Lambe which God commanded to be eaten in Exodus which was a figure of that Lambe which was crucified on the Crosse sayth That albeit hee commanded that they should eate it in hast in regard of the hast which the Iewes and the Gentiles should make in his iudgement and in his death yet notwithstanding he willed them to haue a care that they should not breake so much as a bone of his bodie And beeing it was to bee diuided amongst many they must of force be driuen to cut it in peeces and to eat it very leisurely beholding and charily considering the ioynts and ligaments of the least bones Wee must therefore leisurely and considerately meditate on that History which beeing well and truely weighed is the generall remedie to all our sores and diseases It is that true Fishpoole which healeth all our infirmities It maketh the Couetous man liberall in seeing the God of loue stript naked for our sakes of all that hee hath The Glutton Christs gall and vinigar makes temperate and teaches him to fast The Chollerick man our Sauiours patience makes milde and gentle The Reuengefull man his sufferings makes him to pray for his enemies The Proâ—â— man his humility makes him to be as lowly as the worme that lyes vnder our feet Humiliauit semetipsum vsque ad mortem crucis Hee humbled himselfe to 〈◊〉 death of the Crosse. If thy Crowne puffe thee vp with pride behold in rebuâ—â— thereof the Prince of Heauen with a Crowne of thornes vpon his head If thy great troupes and traines of followers which like so many Bees swarme abâ—â—â— thee behold the King of Heauen and Earth betweene two Theeues If thy beauty behold the greatest that God euer created slabbered and bespalled with the loathsome spittle and filthy driuell of the Iewes If the authority of a Iudge behold the vniuersall Iudge who in a few houres is posted ouer to so many Tribunalls and without any lawfull trial and nothing iustly to be laid against him dies notwithstanding by the sentence of Pilate If the praise and applause of men behold his scornes and his reproches Opprobrium hominum abiectio plebis If disasters infirmities or any other paine or torment whatsoeuer doe grieue and afflict thee What torment can bee grieuous in comparison of that torment of his Cantabiles mihi erant iustificationes tuae in loco peregrinationis meae Saint Ambrose vnderstands by Iustificationes those torments of our Sauiour Christ and saith That when Dauid was banished and persecuted hee sung of them as hee went vp and downe in this his exile to comfort himselfe and to beare his banishment and persecution the better calling that to mind which he was to suffer for him Fasciculus Myrrhae dilectus meus inter vbera mea commorabitur My Beloued is a bundle of Myrrhe hee shall lodge betwixt my brests That thy bitter Cup ô Lord which thou didst drinke of hath driuen out all bitternesse and sourenesse from forth my brest I made mee a bundle of Myrrh of thy torments which serue as a sweet and fragrant Nosegay to refresh and comfort my heart The Passion of Christ as it is in the Apocalyps is the booke of Life All the bookes of all the Libraries in the world all the Schooles and Vniuersities put together neuer taught that which this booke teacheth Saint Augustine saith Lignum morientis Cathedra fuit Magistri docentis There was neuer any Schoole in the world like to that of the Crosse nor any Master like vnto Christ that hung thereupon Saint Paul cries out O foolish Galathians who hath bewitched you that yee should not obey the truth to whom Iesus Christ before was described in your sight and among you crucified He had set before the Galathians Christ vpon the Crosse presenting himselfe vnto them so naturally and so to the life as if they had seene the verie originall it selfe as it stood all begoared with bloud in Mount Caluarie And that vnlesse they were mad men bewitched or starke fooles they could not but be taken and captiuated therewith nor for their liues refuse to loue him and beleeue in him If Saint Paul made him so rich and so glorious by his eloquence What a pretious peece must it needs be when Christ himselfe by suffering in those his delicate limbes did limne it forth vnto vs at his death his thornes his nailes his wan visage his bored hands and feet and his wounded side vttering more Rhethoricke in that last Act and Scaene of his life than all the eloquence of Paul or the pennes of the whole World since were euer able to expresse The second Saint Chrysostome saith That our Sauiour sought to oblige them vnto him by giuing them such a particular account that he was to suffer and to die out of his especiall loue towards them as also all Mankind and that this therefore ought not to giue them occasion to withdraw their respect from him or that he should thereby lose any one jot of his reputation among them Mori hominis est sed velle mori Dei i. To die is of man but to be willing to die of God And because herein I pretend your good I ought to lose nothing with you by losing my life One of the greatest indeerements of his loue was That hee did esteem it as a reward of all his indured troubles and torments that he should not lose his worth with vs. This made him to say Happie is that man who shall not thinke lesse worthie of me than I deserue Tertullian controlled an Hereticke that denied the diuinitie of our Sauiour Christ the cobwebs of the cratch the pouertie
shee bare mee but because she heard my word And this sence is taken out of two places of Saint Augustine The one in his tenth tract vpon Saint Iohn where he saith Mater quam appellas foelicem non inde foelix quia in ea verbum caro factum est sed quia Verba Dei custodit That mother of myne whom thou callest blessed was not therefore blessed because in her the Word was made Flesh but because she layd vp the word of God in her heart The other in his thirtie eight Epistle which he writes to a Gentleman called Letus who being newly conuerted was shrewdly layd at by his mother persuading him all that she possibly could that he should not proceed in this his determination And proouing vnto him That in this cause he ought to denie and hate that mother that had brought him forth according to the flesh and to follow the Church by which he was regenerated borne anew according to the Spirit Amongst many other weightie reasons to mooue him thereunto hee vrgeth this amongst the rest Thy King and thy Emperour Christ saith he had a mother and such a mother as neuer man had the like and being one day busie in preaching which was Heauens businesse they told him That his mother and his brethren were without at the doore expecting that he should come forth vnto them But he stretching out his hand to his Disciples said Quae mater Et qui fratres mei Who is my mother and who my bretheren My mother and my brethren are they who doe the will of my Father as for any other Kindred or bloud I acknowledge none Summing vp saith Saint Augustine in this number etiam ipsam Virginem Mariam euen the Virgin Marie her selfe For the name of Mother is terrestriall temporall and transitorie but that kindred which is contracted by hearing Gods Word is celestiall and euerlasting If this doubt had had it's occasion thus or that the case stood so that this good and holy woman Marcella had not knowne and acknowledged our Sauiour Iesus Christ to be God nor the blessed Virgin to be his mother this â—ence had then beene verie plaine and no scruple to be made of it for the dignitie of mother should not haue come to a lesser degree of grace than that which the Virgin inioyed The second sence or meaning is That this particle Quin imo is comparatiua comparatiuely spoken or by way of comparison Thou callest my mother blessed for that she is my mother thou sayest well but more blessed is shee in that she heares my Word This sence is likewise taken out of Saint Augustine Libro de sancta Virginitatepunc Where he saith Beatior suit Maria concipiendo â—ente quam ventre Marie was happier in the conception of her mind than of her wombe And anon after Foelicius gestauit corde quam carâ—e She bore him more happily in the Spirit than the Flesh. This opinion is followed by Saint Cyprian Iustine Martyr and generally by all the moderne Doctours and this of all other is the plainest and that which doth best open oâ—r Sauiour Christs intention and purpose First Because the Greeke word which answereth to Quin imo is neither a Negatiue nor an Affirmatiue Secondly because this happinesse beeing granted vnto those who saw and beheld our Sauior Christ with their eyes it is not to be supposed that it should bee denyed to his Mother that had brought him foorth and bred him vp Besides the Virgine said of her selfe All nations shall call me blessed Not only for that aboundance of grace which God had bestowed vpon her but also for that he had inriched her with so many great priuiledges whereof the dignitie of a Mother was not the least Saint Austen indeering the greatnesse thereof saith That the heart could not conceiue it nor the tongue expresse it And Anselmus That next to the greatnesse of the Son there was not any greatnesse either in Heauen or in Earth which was any way comparable to that of the Mother And S. Bernard That by how much the more was her vicinitie with the word by so much the more was her excellencie in Heauen Whence some Schoolemen inferre that this dignitie doth exceed al those other treasures of grace which were to be found in the Virgine Iustine sayth of Olimpia that howbeit she might boast herselfe much of the Kingdome of Troy from whence she was descended from other kingdomes which she might claime from her father her brother and her husband who was Philip King of Macedon yet could she glorie in no one thing more than that she was Mother to Alexander the Great who was Emperor of the world How much more strongly doth this reason hold in the most blessed Virgine Yet notwithstanding all this nothing comparable is the dignitie of a Mother to that of a daughter or a wife And if it had bin left to this our most blessed Virgins choice whether she had rather haue been the Mother of God or his Spouse and best Beloued shee would questionlesse haue rather chosen to haue beene his Beloued And the same is implyed by those seueral imployments of Martha and Mary As the Virgin was a Mother she did Marthas office affoording her breâ—â—s to our Sauior Christ wrapping him vp in his swadling clouts breeding him and attending vpon him But as she was a Daughter and a Spouse she did Maries dutie hauing her eare still eyed to his mouth and diligently listening to those heauenly words that proceeded from thence And there arising a quarrell betwixâ— these two sisters which of them loued our Sauior best our Sauior soon decided the controuersie when he sayd Mary hath chosen the better part And this is made cleere in the example of the Queene Mother and the Prince that is heire to his Fathers Kingdome The Queene no doubt hath a great part in the King and Kingdome But the Prince more who must one day commaund all King Sâ—lomon honoured his Mother much and as soone as he had taken possession of the Kingdome he offered his seruice vnto her and that he and all that he had was at her commaund but in conclusion he left that to his sonne Rehoboam Of his 〈◊〉 will saith Saint Iames begot he vs with the word of truth that we should be at the 〈◊〉 fruits of his creatures Vt Simus initium One Commentator hath it Vt principaâ—um habeamus that we may haue principalitie The Greeke That wee may bee the Majorasgos The elder sonnes and heires of his Kingdome In the Stockes and Linages of men there are innumerable differences of more and of lesse of higher and lower But that which doth aduance and aduantage vs most is the hearing of Gods word The glorious Doctor Saint Austen sayâ—h That which passeth amongst Naâ—â—ons passeth likewise amongst Men. God preferred the Iewes before all other Nations Non fecit taliter â—â—ni nationi c. He had not dealt so with any other
God would not haue that which was the beginning of it's life to be the instrument of it's death And this may be verified of the wearinesse and wounds of our Sauiour Christ neither the torments of the Deuill nor the fire of Sodom nor the water of the Floud which drowned all the world nor hel it selfe ought so much to feare thee as to see thy God thus wearied and wounded for thee Sedebat sic He sate thus Saint Chrysostome Euthymius and Theophilact say Sedebat sic non in cella aut in loco honoratiori sed in terra He sat thus not in a chaire or some more honorable place but on the ground Conforming himselfe according to the time and place he sate him downe as well as he could not being curious of the softnesse easinesse or conueniencie thereof Wherein are condemned two sorts of persons The one They who for one houres paines will haue a thousand dainties to delight themselues withall and for one houres labour a thousand refreshings They indeere this storme and tempest of theirs more than any Galley-slaue that tugs at the oare they extoll their labour so high aboue the skies that there is no earthly reward that can recompence their paines It is such a strange thing for them to put themselues to any trouble and so vaine is their presumption that the sea and the sands are too little to content them And this is commonly the condition of base people that are preferred to honourable place The other They who will not be pleased with accommodating themselues as well as they can or content themselues with that which is sufficient for them but are still seeking after more than is enough And this is too common amongst vs. He sate thus vpon the Well A woman saith Saint Augustine eame to the well and found a Fountaine there which she little thought of And he farther sayth That he sate him downe vpon the Well to the end that we should not seeke to draw water out of this depth but endeauour to draw water out of that Fountaine which is aboue all the waters in the world This Well is the water of life let vs draw from hence that we may drinke of the cup of Saluation One of the attributes of Christ is Oyle or Balsamum poured forth and scattered abroad whose propertie and qualitie is to swimme vpon the water The water drawne from the Well giues a great deale of trouble and little satisfaction it is a brackish water that quenches not the thirst but this soueraigne Fountaine affoordeth vs that sweet and comfortable water which quencheth the flames of the firie lusts and affections of this life and allayeth the thirst of our sinnes Of that water of the mysticall Rocke which in those dayes of old did quench the thirst of sixe hundred thousand persons Thomas and Lyra affirme That it followed the Campe and that God would not that any other water should giue them reliefe but the water of the Rocke which was a figure of our Sauior Christ This Water was Christ. This woman came for water to Iacobs Well but this could not quench neither her nor thy thirst but another Fountaine that sate vpon the lid or couer of this Well His Disciples were gone into the Citie to buy meat Saint Chrysostome hath obserued That our Sauior Christ and his Disciples had but little care of their bellie yet it being now high noone and hauing had so long and painfull a journey they were inforced to goe buy them some victuals Wâ—â— vnto that land whose Princes eat betimes in the morning and Woe vnto them that rise vp early to follow drunkennesse He that hath not broke fast at one of the Clocke in the afternoone what will he say or thinke of him that rises vp to eat by day-breake Seneca saith That Glâ—ttonie hath reached farther than possibly the wit of man could reach Natâ—â—e makes gold and pearles Art money and jewels of all this Gluttony makes a daintie dish to please the palate And in another Epistle he saith That we need not so much wonder at our many sickenesses and infirmities hauing so many Cookes and Kitchen Bookes so many inuentions of sundrie sorâ—â— of dishes and seuerall kinds of seruices euerie one of them beeing it selfe a sâ—â—knesse Philon paints forth a Glutton in the Serpent to whom God said Terram comedes First Because he trailes his brest vpon the earth which is his food Secondly In regard of the poyson which he alwaies beares in his mouâ—h so the Glutton hath alwaies his mind on that which he is to eat and poyson in his mouth because he goes eating of that which shortens his life Thirdly For that God admitting the excuse of Adam and Eue did not allow of the Serpents excuse Maledictus super omnia animantia Cursed art thou aboue all the Creatures c. Which was all one as if he should haue said That others sinnes might receiue excuse but to forsake God for to fill the bellie is inexcusable They went into the Citie to buy meat Saint Chrysostome saith That it is superâ—â—uous prouidence in a Traueller to carrie with him an Alforias or a Walleâ— because he shall neuer want vpon the way that which shall be sufficient to â—â—â—â—sfie his hunger and he farther addeth That it is a needlesse care in the Souldiers of Iesus Christ. The fiercest beast dies not of hunger nor the Corke tree in the Desert though neuer so much pilled at any time sâ—arueth All the trees of the field shall be filled c. And can the Seruant of God then want When I sâ—ntâ—yee forth without a scrip was there any thing wanting vnto you If there be any need at all of prouision saith the said Chrysostome it is for our journy for that other life for besides that it is a long one and a narrow one there is no baiâ—ing place by the way no Inne no Victualling house no Fountaine no Well no Brooke nor Sheepheards Cottage It is a Sea voyage wherein you must carrie all your Matalotage and prouision with you readie killed powdred vp The rich Glutton when he was gone hence because he made not his prouision before hanâ— could not meet with so much as one drop of water It was about the sixt houre Saint Cyril saith That the Euangelist sets downe this word About in token that euen in the least things we should haue a great care of the truth considering how hatefull a thing a lie is And here hee giues a reason of his Sedebat why he sate there The one was His extreame heat and wearinesse The other which was the maine cause His expecting of the woman of Sâ—maria's comming to the Well waiting there for her as an Hunâ—sâ—an for his Game and het want of water makes the way for her to come thither Iesâ—â— sitting there all the while Saint Augustine saith Sedeâ—aâ— iuxta pâ—tâ—um â—ed 〈◊〉 quiâ—sâ—ebat He sate by the Well but tooke no
vita sunt The words which I speake are spirit and life The other The elegancie and sweetnesse of his deliuerie Diffusa est gratia in labijs tuis such heauenly dew did drop from his lips and diffuse it selfe in that aboundant and plentifull manner Which graces of his poured forth thus gracefully the Spouse toucheth vpon in the Canticles His lips are like Lillies dropping downe pure myrrhe In the Lillies is painted forth our Sauiours beautie in the Myrrhe the profit we reap from him which is very great Myrrhe being a principall preseruatiue against corruption Mirabuntur omnes They all meruailed c. S. Chrysostome and Saint Cyril are of the mind That this admiration was amongst those that were the most incredulous of all that companie It is an ordinarie thing in your hearers when they heare a famous Preacher to admire him acknowledging his Doctrine to bee so deepe that it exceedeth mans capacitie for Wisedome is so superexcellent and so diuine a thing that in whomsoeuer it is found it causeth great admiration Things high and eminent shall not be so much as mentioned in comparison of her so saith Iob. And Salomon It is to be preferred before all riches Euerie man doth prise and esteeme it saue the Foole he that is most wise doth most honour the Wise but hee that is a Foole makes little reckoning of those that are wise Fooles hate knowledge Homer stiles wise Apollo a god multarum manuum of many hands because he hath a hand in euerie thing a hand for to lighten the blind vnderstanding a hand for to guide the soule in the way of vertue a hand for to gouerne the Common-wealth and to appease the tumults and rebellions rising therein a hand to conserue the same in peace In a word as Apollo who is the Sunne by expatiating and spreading abroad his beames through diuers parts both of sea land giues a beeing and a life to all things to mettalls in the veines of the earth to pearles in the shels of the sea to trees plants birds beasts men c. so a wiseman is Vita generalis reipublicae The generall life and liuelihood of a Commonwealth Themistius calls him Deum a God Horace Rex Regum a King of Kings c. And if any man shall say with Saint Paul Scientia inflat That Knowledge and Wisedome puffeth vp and affoords matter vnto man of pride and arrogancie Clemens Alexandrinus answers thereunto That the word Inflat doth likewise inforce that it doth breath and inspire into vs noble and generous thoughts Filijs suis vitam inspirat saith Ecclesiasticus The Greeke Text renders it Exaltat Euebit Wisedome exalteth her children it giues them a new kind of Beeing new hearts new resolutions to vndergoe glorious enterprises In a word Qui illam diligit diligit vitam He that loues her loues his lâ—fe So that if it be an occasion of arrogancie it is not so in it selfe but by accident when it lights on an insolent brest which conuerts good into euill Your Kings and Princes haue in all ages honoured wise men with great titles preferments and not only your wise prudent Princes but those of meaner parts and abilities and euen your worser sort of Kings Dionisius the Tyrant sent to Plato that he might come to see him one of his fairest Gallies with store of daintie prouision and well accompanied and at the Hauen where he was to land had prouided a Coach with foure horses to be readie to receiue him that he might come in the greater pompe to his Pallace and all this honour he was willing to doe him for that he was a wise man And if such men as he should cause such admiration in the world What admiration must he raise in mens minds in whom all the treasures of Gods wisedome were deposited Whence we may consider that if a few drops of that soueraigne fountaine did strike the People into such admiration when in Heauen we shall see the fulnesse of that riuer or rather immensitie of that great sea What admiration must it needs mooue Yet notwithstanding Saint Augustine saith Mirabantur omnes sed non omnes conuertebantur They were wonder-strucken but not spirit-strucken many did admire but few were conuerted The like successe for the most part haue the Sermons of your famous Preachers Ezechiel reporteth That it fell out so with himselfe That morning saith he that he was to preach the citisens would call to one another saying Let vs goe and heare the Prophet let vs see what new thing will now come from him they enter in thronging sit them downe beare themselues verie grauely and hearken diligently to my words but are farre off from putting them in execution being onely vnto them like a smooth verse or a musicall Song with a sweet and pleasing eire nor was there any of that harsh eare who wil not one while commend the voice another while the tone this man the dittie that it 's ayre but goe not a step further setting vp their rest there Musicke passes along by the doore at mid-night it wakens thee thou â—isest out of thy bed thou gettest to the window thou hearest it thou takest delight in it but when it is gone out of thy hearing thou returnest backe againe to bed layest thee downe and fall'st againe asleepe as if thou hadst heard no such thing at all Leuani oculos meos saith Zachary I turned me and lifted vp mine eyes and looked and behold a flying booke Then said he vnto me This is the curse that goeth forth ouer the whole earth Saâ—nt Gregorie saith That this booke is the sacred Scripture wherein as Lyra notes it are written the curses and chastisements against the â—infull men of this world A flying booke When there doth appeare in the ayre any new strange sight the Vulgar he wonders at it the wise man he is afraid of it because it is a vsuall prognostication of miseries and disasters As those fearefull fightings that were seene in the ayre in the time of the Maccabees your Comets your Crucifixes of fire and your showers of blood The like effect doth Gods word worke Some stand wondring at it and some grow sad vpon it The Seuentie translates it Vidi falcem volantem I sawe a flying sickle Which as Pierius noteth signifieth the time of Haruest Mitte jam falces quâ—â—iam maturae sunt messes Thrust in your sickles for the haruest is ripe In token that when the word of God and the malediction in holy Scripture comes to be little or nothing at all regarded and when the earth in stead of corne brings forth nothing but thistles and thornes it is high time to cut it downe Saint Iames compares the word of the Lord to a looking-glasse And Saint Bernard calls it the Looking-glasse of Truth which nor flatters nor deceiueth any man But hee that shall looke therein shall finde himselfe to be the same he seemes Saint Aâ—gustine
the fire did serue there in stead of water Suting with that of Saint Paul Licet is qui foris est noster homo corrumpatur for by how much the more the bodie is dried vp and withered away by so much the more doth the soule grow greene and flourish and by how much the more the outward man waxeth weake by so much the more the inward man waxeth strong For the glorie of God c. Before your great battells are fought they first begin with skirmishes in your Tilts and Tournaments they begin with proffers and flourishes betweene Loue and Death after eithers brauado's the warre is now ended Loue skirmisheth with Death and hath gotten himselfe such great glorie in this conflict that with a generall shouting all crie out aloud That Loue will win the field There are many who not truly looking into the cause of their punishment crie out with Iob O that my griefe were well weighed and my miseries were layd together in the ballance for it would be now heauier than the sand of the sea And in another place He hath multiplied my wounds without a cause And Dauid complaineth I did not enter into the cause of those many stripes which God had laid vpon me But to al this it may be answered That the cause thereof is the glorie of God The stench vapours it selfe from forth the earth it inuirons the circumuicining aire the Wormes are knawing on Lazarus carkasse all this loathsomenesse this stench and these Wormes turne to the glorie of God That Mary which annoynted the Lord with oyntment c. The titles whereby the Spirit of God makes these Sisters and their brother knowne are those their seruices expressed to our Sauiour Christ. Mary who annoynted his feet Martha who feasted him and Lazarus his beloued friend For the greatest noblenesse that a soule can inioy is To serue and loue God Feare God and keepe his Commandements c. This is the onely true valour in man Philon expounding that place vpon Genesis These are the generations of Noah c. He saith That God willed Moses to make a Pedegree or Genealogie of Noah but hee did not make it by fetching it from his famous ancestors as your Noblemen and Gentlemen doe now a dayes but from his Vertues Those forefathers and great grandfathers which made Noah so renowned were his obedience his constancie his fortitude and his pietie This is the true nobilitie of Gods Saints The diuine Histories that blazons foorth Iob describes him thus Hee was an vpright and iust man one that feared God and eschued euill c. But why did hee not make mention of his Fathers and his Kindred and Alliance Because Gods Saints boast not their parentage but their vertue Saint Chrysostome prooueth at large that a man ought not to be commended for any thing but his vertue And hee rendereth three very good reasons for it The first is That all other our goods end with our liues but vertue indureth for euer The rest are bona aliena they are not ours but of others But vertue is bonum proprium It is our owne proper good And Saint Chrisostome treating of Nabuchadnezzars Statua much condemneth the meanes that was vsed for the increasing of his honour and authoritie For he dishonoured himselfe by hauing that to be honoured shewing thereby that he relied more vpon a Statue of mouldring mettalls than his owne bodie and soule representing those therein that are honoured more in the world for those outward goods of the body than those inward goods of the soule confessing as it were that because they haue not any thing in them that deserueth honour they erect them Statues to bee adored The second None of all these exteriour goods doth satisfie the soule but Vertue fills the Vessell of mans heart Saint Ambrose interpreting that verse of Dauid Accedite ad Deum illuminamini id est illuminabimini addeth therevnto Accedite satiamini accedite liberamini accedite dimittemini Come vnto God and yee shall be illightned for he is the Light come vnto him and yee shall be satisfied for he is the Bread of life come vnto him yee that are thirstie for he is the Fountaine of liuing waters come vnto him and be freed for he is freedome it selfe come vnto him yee that desire pardon for he is the Remission of sinnes The third These humane goods are so base and so vile that none can truly commend them Art thou bold A Lyon is more bold than thou Art thou strong A Beare is farre stronger Art thou beautiful a Peacocke goes beyond thee Art thou braue and gallant A Horse in his rich Caparisons is a more glorious sight Liuest thou in great Pallaces a Iackedaw nay a Spider liues in greater and farre more sumptuous Art thou a curious Workeman The Bee is a better Art thou nimble of bodie The Hart is more Hast thou a good eye The Eagle hath a quicker Hast thou a quicke sent euerie Dog will out-nose thee Art thou a good husband The Ant is a better It is a shame therefore that thou shouldst boast thy selfe of those things wherein the bruit beasts do surpasse thee In a word it did stead Lazarus more to be our Sauiour Christs friend than nobly borne or antiently descended Which annointed his feet with oyntment Here are two truths touching the goodnesse of Gods condition pointed forth vnto vs The first That during all the time of Marie Magdalens perdition and profanenesse there is not the least print or shew in Gods booke concerning any such matter nor any memorie thereof remaining vpon Record Marrie the World calls her Maria la Peccadora Marie the Sinner and represents nothing else vnto vs but her sinnes but God doth not so nay he doth not so much as thinke vpon them or once offer to call them to mind Projecisti post tergum tuum It was the saying of good King Ezechias omnia peccata mea Thou hast cast all my sinnes behind thy backe It is a Spanish phrase Echar al trançado of that which is no more to be seene Saint Augustine expounding that place of Ieremie Ecce ego obducam ei cicatricem saith That the Chyrurgeon cureth the wound but doth not take away the skarre but there is some marke thereof still remaining but God not onely cures the wound but therewithall quite quits the signe as if there had neuer beene any such thing at all Saint Chrysostome addeth hereunto Cum sanitate reliquit pulchritudinem Nor shall it bee an excesse of speech to affirme That Marie Magdalens repentance made her appeare more faire and beautifull than Saint Agnes the Martyr S. Agatha or S. Cicile The second is That God neuer blotteth out of his remembrance those seruices that he receiueth from vs nor will suffer his friends to bee forgotten And therefore our Sauiour saith touching this sinfull woman Verily I say vnto you wheresoeuer this Gospell shall be preached throughout the whole
Ioab aduised Dauid of the siege of Rabbah and what a number of men he had lost in that seruice the King might haue iustly cut off his head for his rash and vnaduised approach to the wall But Dauid durst not condemne him and put him to death because he was an Accessorie or rather the principall in the busines and therefore Ioab charged the messenger that carried the newes saying If the Kings anger arise so that he say vnto you Why went you nigh the wall c. the storie is worth your reading then say thou Thy seruant Vriah the Hittite is also dead This point did that kingly Prophet touch vpon in those words so diuersly commented on Tibi soli peccaui O Lord my sinne was against Vrias against those souldiers that died for his occasion against those which did blaspheame thy name and against the people whom the robbing of another man of his wife and the killing of her husband hath scandalized and beene an occasion of great offence vnto them But that which doth most affâ—ict and torment me is That I haue committed this against thee and that I haue thus sinned against thee For in any other person whatsoeuer in my kingdome the rigour of Iustice might haue restrained him from so foule a sinne but this did not once enter into my thought And therefore he comes with a Tibi soli peccaui iumping with that saying of Saint Paul Qui iudicat me Dominus est He that iudgeth me is the Lord. The world hath not that man in it whom his Propria culpa The sinnes which himselfe hath committed doe not mooue or daunt him and make him turne Coward sauing Christ who was made perfect by nature Nemo mundus à sorde neque â—nfans vnius diei How can he be cleane that is borne of a woman Iohn Baptist was sanctified in the wombe of his mother and was bred vp from a child in the wildernesse Saint Peter was he that loued most Saint Iohn that was most beloued Saint Paul past through the third heauen and did afterwards defie all the world Who shall separate me from the loue of Christ And Iob was so bold to say Would my sinnes were weighed in a ballance c. And in another place Shew mee my sinnes and my iniquities what they be Also Dauid I haue run without iniquitie Iudith passing through the midst of an Armie of Barbarians breakes out into these words The Lord liueth that would not suffer his handmaid to be defiled There was not that rough-hewne souldier that did so much as offer to touch her Let vs set side by side with these Saints the vnspottednesse of those Virgins the constancie of those Martyrs and the courage of those Confessors that suffered for Christs sake In a word all the worthy squadrons of those blessed Saints that are now in heauen will say thus as Saint August hath noted of themselues which Saint Iohn did confesse If we say we haue no sinne we deceiue our selues and the truth is not in vs. As also Iob If I wash my selfe with snow water and purge my hands most cleane yet shalt thou plunge me in the pit and mine owne cloathes shall make me filthie For to be without sinne is the blazon or cognisance of God alone Many did liue very well assured of their innocencie in particular cases as Iacob That the Idols of his father in Law Laban were not receiued by the seruants of his house As Beniamin and his brethren that Iosephs cup was not in their sacks Saint Peter that he should not deny his Sauiour Christ had a thousand more importunate women set vpon him The Pharisee he thought with himselfe I am not as other men c. yet all of them may say with Saint Paul I am conscious of nothing to my selfe yet am I not hereby iustified for Gods eyes see that which mans eyes see not In a word the noble Acts of the greatnesse and power of God as his creating of the world his conseruing it his redeeming of mankinde his iustifying of soules his seeing the thoughts of the heart his calling things that are not as if they were his commanding the waters the windes death and life and all those other wonderfull things which Iob specifieth of God to whose 38 chapter I referre you may make him confidently to say Quis ex vobis arguet me de peccato Which of you can rebuke me of sinne Which of you can c. Saint Chrysostome saith That the greatest testimonie of our innocencie is that of our enemies Non est Deus noster sicut Deus eorum iâ—imici nostri sint Iudices Our God is not as their God let euen our enemies bee Iudges And fit it was that this testimonie should precede and goe before as well in regard of our Sauiours life as his death In regard of his life for publike persons that are placed in authoritie seated in high and eminent throanes that haue great gouernments offices and dignities committed vnto them are not onely bound to be vertuous and holy but also to be so esteemed which they must mainely striue and indeauour So that in a Prince be he Ecclesiasticall or Secular two obligations ought to concur in him One of Conscience The other of Fame A particular Christian which doth not giue occasion whereby to bee condemned of his neighbour may liue satisfied and well contented with the testimony of his owne conscience but not a Prince or a Prelate For if he suffer in his good name or in his fame and be ill reported of it is the destructionoftheir Subiects Saint Augustine saith That he that relyeth on his conscience and is carelesse of his good name is cruell towards himselfe We must not doe good onely in Gods sight bâ—t also before men For fame though false doth fall heauy vpon publike persons In the Temple there was a vessell of brasse a very faire one out of which there ran a conduit pipe of water and was without adorned with those Looking glasses which women that repented them of their sinnes had offered who forsaking the world had consecrated themselues to God to the end that the Priests which did enter to offer sacrifice should wash themselues in that water and behold themselues in those glasses and it was Gods intent and purpose according to Philon That they should place no lesse care in the cleanenesse of their life for to offer sacrifice than those women did in appearing good to the world beholding in those glasses the least marke or spot in the face And in the 28 chapter of Exodus God commanded That when the Priest should enter or goe foorth in the Sanctuary he should beare bells about the border of his garment to the end that the noyse and sound thereof might make his going in and his comming forth knowne And the Text addeth Ne moriatur Least hee dye the death And the glorious Saint Gregorie saith That the
sence so sutable to the Text because Christ doth there point out the immediat cause of that their incredulitie and that this was not so much a predestination or reprobation as that their present hardnesse of heart and vnbeleefe yet notwithstanding I must giue you to vnderstand That to heare the word of God is a great Prenda and pledge of our predestination especially being accompanyed with these foure concurring circumstances The first is Audire To â—eare the word· Blessed are they that heare the word of God This is the first step And he that doth not put forward a foot to this is not to be accounted a child of God The husbandman in the Gospell sow'd his seed in foure seuerall parts of the ground and if in any one of them hee forbare to sow it was because he did not take it to be his Many birds are taken and delighted with the light as your partridges and your pigeons But your wolfes beares bores and other wild beasts flye from it all that they can It is Chrysostomes note That when God went about to catch Paul the light went afore the voyce For the voyce will affright the blind but the light will make him in loue therewith Saint Paul preaching to the Iewes said The light of the Gospell was principally ordained for you But seeing ye put it from yee ye iudge your selues vnworthy of euerlasting life And treating of the Gentiles he saith That they did glorifie the Word of God and that they did beleeue it and giue credit thereunto And when the Gentiles heard it they were glad saith the Apostle and glorified the word of the Lord and as many as were ordained vnto eternall life beleeued I am the way the truth and the life And he that looseth this way looseth the truth and looseth life euerlasting The second is Aâ—dire cum frequentia To heare the word frequently and very often The earth that is extraordinary dry and scorched with heat the drops of water which it receiueth it turneth into toades And hee that seldome frequents sermons it is to be feared they worke little good vpon him if not turne to his hurt Many will come to heare Sermons but with a preiudicate opinion and are more carefull to picke a quarrell against the Preacher than profit themselues The franticke patient that throwes stones at the Physitian that cures him puts himselfe in great pâ—rill In a word The Word of God is the Soules sustenance and being ministred slowly it is no meruaile if it fall into a Consumption The third is Audire cum attentione To heare diligently and with attention freeing the soule from all worldly cares and incumbrances for as the eyes cannot ioyntly and at once behold both Heauen and Earth so the Soule cannot attentiuely at one and the same time behold the things of the World and of God If any man loue the world the loue of the Father abideth not in him When a great and principall Riuer is diuided into many Riuolets or little streames so much the lesse water will euerie one of them haue The like succeedeth with that heart which is diuided into many cares and desires Foolish and noysome lusts drowne men in perdition and destruction And Salomon saith When thou sittest with a Prince obserue what is before thee and put thy knife vnto thy throat if thou bee a man giuen to thy appetite A Christians sitting at the King of Heauens Table is the hearing of his Doctrine this is that Boord whereunto Wisedome inuiteth vs. Where the Bread of wholesome Doctrine is set before thee which strengthneth the heart of man and the Wine of Grace which cheereth and comforteth the heart At which Table whosoeuer shall come to sit must consider with attention that which is set before him casting out of his mind all other worldly things Those Ministers that were imployed for the apprehending of our Sauiour Christ finding him preaching to the People they hearkened vnto him with that earnest and diligent attention that they had quite forgot to put that in execution which was giuen them in charge by the Pharisees and being demanded by them Why did yee not bring him along with you They returned this answer Neuer any man spake as he spake The glorious Doctor Saint Augustine before that he had vnwinded himselfe out of the errour of the Maniâ—hees hee went of purpose to heare Saint Ambrose but not with intention to giue any credit to his Doctrine but to delight himselfe with the elegancie of his phrase and being rauished with the sweetnesse of his words had his heart taken as well as his eâ—re his attention supplied the fault of his intention this was that putting of the knife to the throat The glorious Apostle Saint Paul goes a little further and calls Gods Word not only Cultrum but Gladium not a Knife but a Sword Take vnto thee the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God What then Marrie he giues thee a caueat in these insuing words Si tamen habes in potestate animaâ—â— tuam That thy soule be not distracted with the troublesome businesses of this world Saint Chrysostome compares the soule of the Iust to a Poole of Water which stands all alone in some low Valley where there is all stilnesse reposednesse freshnesse cleerenesse and the Sunne-beames purest brightnesse Salomon likeneth the Soule of a sinner to a troubled and tempestuous Sea The heart of the Wicked is as a raging sea The fourth is Audire cum conseruatione To heare with a retention and to lay vp the Word of God in our hearts Blessed are they that heare the Word of God and keepe it Not they who heare the Word of God and forget it taking it in at one eare and letting it out at another but they which heare it and keepe it It is Saint Gregories obseruation That the Physition doth despaire of that Patients stomacke that cannot keepe it's meat but throwes it vp as soone as it receiueth it Saint Chrysostome aduiseth That he that heareth a Sermon should doe as he doth that comes out of a Bath presently to retyre himselfe get him to his Chamber there keepâ— himselfe warme wrap good store of cloathes about him that the ill humors may the better be exhaled and drawne from him Plutarch telleth vs That many take no pleasure in Flowers or care any further for them than to looke vpon them smell to them and haue them in their hands buâ— the Bee drawes from them both honie and wax and the Apothecarie makes many medicines of them against diuers and sundrie diseases Many heare Sermons onely for their pleasure for the elegancie of the stile delicacie of words grauity of sentences and the gracefulnesse in their deliuerie but this is but to make a nosegay to smell to for a while and cast it anon after into a corner Say we not well that thou art a Samaritane and hast a Deuill One of the greatest miseries than
they should not tyre out themselues any longer in persecuting of him seeing it was to no end but all went crosse with them Saint August yet saith That they were the speeches of his enemies which bemoned their owne disgrace and misfortune There could not bee any blindnesse more foule and beastly than that of the high Priests and Pharisees who hauing had so many tryalls how little their power and their trickes could preuaile against our Sauiour Christ that all this while they could not perceiue that this was Gods businesse against which nor counsell nor wisedome can preuaile Saint Peter preaching Christs resurrection the high Priests and Pharisees called him before them notifying vnto him That he should not any more touch vpon that point but hee told them That he was bound rather to obey God than man And perceiuing his resolution Dissecabantur cordibus suis They burst for anger when they heard it and consulted to slay both him and his companions But Gamaliel a Doctour of the Law being there present and one that was honoured of all the people aduised those that sat there in Councel to put the Apostles forth for a little space out of the Councell house which done he then said vnto them Men of Israel bee well aduised what ye doe concerning these men Time will prooue whether this be a Truth or a Lye that these men vtter It is not long since that one Theâ—des boasted himselfe to be a Prophet who was followed by some foure hundred Disciples but in the end he was condemned to death and they al which obeyed him were scattered and brought to nought After this man rose vp Iudas of Galilee and drew away much people after him but he in the end also perished and all his followers And therefore I now say vnto ye forbeare a while and refraine your selues from these men and let them alone For if this their doctrine be of men it will come to nought but if it be of God ye cannot destroy it In a word Time will bring this to light but to go about to take away their liues now from them were to set your selues to fight against God The like did the Prince of the Ammonits deliuer to Nebuchadnezzars Lieutenant Generall at the Siege of Bethulia If God fauour and protect this people all Nebuchadnezzars forces are not able to subdue them And this was that which made Iob so confident Be thou on my side and let all the world be against me I care not Saul did vse all his best endeauours and employed all the force and strength he had to worke Dauids death one while in his owne person seeking to nayle him with his Speare to the wall another while by setting vpon him with his souldiers but neuer yet could the power of a King preuaile without Gods permission against a silly flye Gods protection is aboue all his workes so the Princes of the earth the high Priests the Pharisees the Clergie and the Laytie did cry out against Christ but were forced to say in the end We preuayle nothing at all They were strangely blinded that they could not perceiue Gods power herein Lord so open our eyes that we may see the light of thy glorious Gospell To whom c. THE XXXIX SERMON MAT. 26. MARC 14. LVC. 22. IOH. 18. Of St. Peters Deniall and Teares OF Peters deniall there are two opinions as opposite as false The one That Peter had lost his Faith Grounding the same vpon the testimonie of Saint Ambrose Postquam Petrus fidem se perdidisse defluit maiorem gratiam reperit quam amiâ—it After that Peter had bewailed his lost faith the grace he found was more than that he lost And in that our Sauiours reprehension to his Disciples at his departure to heauen Hee reprooued their vnbeleefe and hardnesse of heart Where he excepted not Peter This opinion is primarily contrary to those words of our Sauiour Christ I haue prayed for thee Peter that thy faith might not faile thee Secondly it is contrary to naturall reason For to passe sodainly from one extreame to another though God doth it by extraordinary wayes yet neyther Nature nor Art nor the Diuell doth it be it either from ill to good or from good to ill Nemo repentè turpissimus said the Poet. The sanctitie of Peter sure was one of the greatest and to passe sodainely from a Saint to an Infidell which is numbred amongst those sins that are the most hainous it cannot sinke into my head Besides Faith is like vnto your Ermine who had rather mori quam foedari rather dye than durtie it selfe And therefore Faith is cloathed in white a colour wherein the least spot or soyle shewes foulest Corresponding with that of Saint Paul Hauing the mysterie of faith in a pure conscience The conscience wherein Faith is to reside must be pure and cleane and as it goes soyling so it goes lessening and losing it selfe And as is the blood of the soule and the last humour which is vomited forth as it is to be seene in those that are sea-sicke so is it in the vertues of Faith Peruenit gladius saith Ieremie vsque ad animam The sword hath entred euen vnto my soule Saint Ierome That the sword is come vnto the soule Quando nihil in anima vitale reseruatur When there is not any vitall thing that is reserued in the soule when all goodnesse is gone out of it But Saint Peter was not come to that desperate passe his case was farre otherwise And if Saint Ambrose say That he lost his Faith he vnderstood thereby that loyaltie and fidelitie which Peter ought better to haue kept or that confession of his faith which vpon that occasion he was bound to haue made according to that of Saint Paul With the heart we beleeue vnto righteousnesse but with the mouth wee confesse vnto saluation And for that reprehension which our Sauiour Christ bestowed vpon his Disciples at his departure for heauen it is a cleere case that it was not directed to Peter as appeareth by the words following where it is said That the rest when they were told by the women that he was risen from the dead it seemed vnto them as a feigned thing neither beleeued they them But Peter was one of the first that ranne vnto our Sauiours Sepulchre and reuealed to the rest the glorious resurrection of his Lord and Sauiour Other Doctours excusing Peter say That in this Deniall he spake Amphibologically his words carrying a doubtfull or double meaning and yet might admit a good construction and this opinion S. Ambrose S. Hilary and S. Cyril toucht vpon but the truth is that S. Peter did grieuously sinne therein and that he had lost his loue but not his faith Some treating of the occasions that made God to turne his eye from Peter some they say were on Peters part others on our Sauiours And the first and chiefest occasion was Saint Peters confidence and
as Saint Hierome saith this their slander with a truth The like befell him in the case of the Adultresse when the Pharisees askt him If they should stone her or no to death according as the Law commanded whereunto he answered Let him that is without sinne cast the first stone it is but a slouerâ—ly tricke to go about with foule hands to make another bodie cleane Aristotle faith That the eyes haue no colour nature so holding it fit to the end they might the better receiue and discerne all other colours In like manner he that will reprehend other mens faults must himselfe be blamelesse Dauids sinne was knowne to all the world yet he made confession thereof onely vnto God Against thee onely haue I sinned c. because God onely had the power to punish him For he onely saith Saint Augustine doth iustly punish in whome there is not any thing to be found that deserueth punishment and that man is fit to reprehend another in whom nothing is to bee found worthie reprehension Those of Israell sallyed twice out against those of Beniamin desiring justice at Gods hands of that cruell sinne which they had committed but were both times ouercome Saint Gregorie saith That they went forth against them to reuenge Gods honour and the wrong that was done to their Neighbour but God did not giue them the victorie because they had an Idoll amongst them which they adored Now hee that will punish another mans sinnes must first purge himselfe of his owne sinnes The representing of mans owne sinnes to himselfe is a great Tapaboca or stop-game to play vpon other mens faults To that Sinner who vseth to cast his sins like a wallet ouer his shoulder God saith Statuam contra te faciem tuam I will make thee to see that which thou doost not see and I will bring those sinnes which thou hast throwne behind thy backe before thy face to the end that being ashamed of thyne owne doings thou maist not find fault with other mens actions Woe is me I am vndone saith Esay because I am a man of polluted lips The Prophet had seene God in a Throne of great and wonderfull Maiestie and hee would haue published and proclaimed the same to all the World but hee sayth That he durst not presume to do it because his lips were polluted The Chaldae word is Grauis ore My lips are of too heauie a dulnesse for such high Misteries The seuentie Interpreters render it Vae mihi doleo compunctus My sinnes stop my mouth when I consider myne owne life I dare not question another mans The Pharisee censured Marie Magdalen to be a Sinner and our Sauiour Christ to be no Prophet but our Sauiour setâ—ing before him a reconuention of many grieuous sinnes he left him amased and ashamed God tooke away the poore innocent babe which Dauid had by Beersheba pretending therein according to Theodoret to burie this his sinne vnder ground because he beeing appointed by God to punish Adultrers Murdrers they might not tit him in the teeth say vnto him And why doe you the like Saint Paul askes the question Is God then vniust And he answers thereunto God forbid else How shall God iudge the world If thou shouldest aske a Phylosopher Whither it were possible for God to sinne He would answer It is not possible because he is Causa prima norma vniuersalis The prime cause and vniuersall rule But Saint Pauls answer is That it is not possible that God should sinne because he could not then conueniently gouerne the world For he can hardly reforme sinne in another man who had need to reforme what is amisse in himselfe Three Kings did conspire against the king of Moab they besieged his Citie and he seeing himselfe in a desperate taking tooke his eldest sonne that should haue raigned in his stead and offered him for a burnt offering vpon the wall Cajetan saith That this Sacrifice was not done to the God of Israell as some haue imagined but to those Idols which that King did worship and that after this so cruell an act there insued so great a plague in the Israelites Campe that they were forced to raise the siege Facta est indignatio magna in Israel The Hebrew hath it Ira magna The Vulgar renders it Israel was sore grieued and departed from him and returned to their Countrie but the wrath of God entred into their Armie for that they had sacrificed their sonnes daughters to Deuils according to that of Dauid Sacrificauerunt filios filias suas daemonio By whose example the King of Moab learned to offer this kind of sacrifice and God was highly offended with them for it and therefore would not suffer such as had playd the Idolaters in sacrificing their children to take away the KingdoÌ„s of other Idolaters who perhaps were lesse faulty than themselues Alexander layingit to a Pyrats charge that with two ships he had robbed at sea hee returned him this answere Thou rob'st all the World and no man sayes any thing vnto thee and I who to picke out a poore liuing put foorth to sea but with two poore little barkes must haue theft and pyracie layd to my charge The like answere did a Bishop make to Pope Gregorie the second when hee kept his Sea at Auignon Who giuing him a shrewd checke for that he did not reside in his Bishopricke he told him It is now full three score and ten yeares that the Popes Sea hath beene kept out of Rome and your Holinesse now reprehends me for liuing but three dayes from my Bishopricke To this purpose sutes that answere which Vriah gaue to King Dauid This valiant Captaine tooke vp his lodging and layd himselfe downe to sleepe in the porch of the Kings pallace And the King asking him why he did not goe home to inioy the ease and pleasure of his owne bed He made him this answere The Arke of God dwelleth in Tents and my Lord Ioab Generall of your Army and the seruants of my lord abide in the open fields shall I then beeing but an ordinarie souldier goe into my house to eate and drinke and lye with my wife By thy life and by the life of thy soule I will not doe this thing This was a seuere reprehension in Vriah to his soueraigne For if a subiect shall out of such honest respects refraine from going home to his owne house much more ought the King to haue abstained from lying with another mans wife Nor is that Historie of Iudas much amisse who being Gouernor of the people and finding Thamar great with child would needs execute that law against her of adulterous women But Thamar proued That he that was to iudge others should not himselfe be a delinquent Now wee come to the last reason of this our Sauiours sharpe and quicke answere vnto them There were two Truths prophecied of our Sauiour Christ The one his Meekenesse and Gentlenesse And of
this there are many prophecies The other The stoutnesse and courage wherewith he was to reuenge the wrongs and iniuries done to the poore Saluos faciet filios pauperum humiliabit calumniatorem He shall saue the children of the poore and shall humble the slanderer Saint Austen Iustin Martyr and many others vnderstand this to be spoken litterally of Christ. For Calumniatorem the Greeke reades Sycophantam And so doe they call your Promooters and Informers Whether it were because in Athens they had a Law that none should bring figges to that Citie to sell Or whether it was forbidden in Greece that any should enter to gather figs in another mans orchard Whence he that informed thereof came to bee called a Sycophant Or vpon that wittie conceit of Aesops who when a certaine seruant had eaten some figges and layd the fault vpon one of his fellowes gaue order that both of them should drinke luke-warme water and the eater of them hauing vomited vp the figges they called him Sycophant Our Sauior then shal saue the poore and humble the slanderer Hee shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth and with the breath of his lippes shall he slay the wicked Iraeneus expoundeth this place to be spoken of Gods protecting and defending of the poore He is their tower of defence in the day of trouble their hope in distresse and their shield of comfort in their tribulation And that God doth reuenge with greater seueritie the wrongs that are done to his friends than those that are offered to himself is a fauor so vsually with him and so generally known that I need not to insist therupon One while because hee thinkes himselfe much beholding vnto them that they wil resigne vp their owne right and leaue the cause of their wrongs to him and that they will put their hope and their trust in him Sub vmbra alarum tuarum sperabo donec transeat iniquitas i. Calamitas Defend mee ô Lord whilest this storme passeth ouer my head Another while that he may shew more loue to his friends than to himselfe In the old Law hee gaue great proofes of this Truth and in the new hee gaue farre greater testimonies thereof Esay drawes a comparison from the Lyon who hauing his prey betweene his clawes a companie of Sheapeheards come crying after him making a great noyse and clamor but he makes no great reckoning of it And is all one with that saying of our Sauior Non rapiet quisquam de manu mea No man shall snatch them out of my hand Abimelech tooke Abrahams wife from him and God at midnight appearing vnto him in the midst of his mirth and lust he spake vnto him in a fearefull voice Eâ— morieris Thou art but a dead king The like befell Pharaoh Procopias saith That God did declare as much when he appeared in the firie bush They did whippe his people with the rods of briars and did burne them vp by inforcing them to find straw for to heat the ouens wherein they were to bake their brickes and God sayth It is I that am whipped it is I that am burned in the fire Moses treating of this protection of God takes his comparison from the Eagle whose care and vigilancie in breeding vp of his young ones is exceeding great but in the end shews himselfe verie cruell to that young of his whose eyes hee exposeth to the beames of the Sunne All this loue and care ran along with the written Law But in that of Grace giuing vs greater pledges of his loue he drawes his comparison from the Hen whose loue and care exceedes all other indeerings whatsoeuer Shee scorneth and contemneth her owne life for the safegard of her chicken she fasts that they may feed she is content to bee leane that they may be fat and now and then dyes that they may liue Saint Austen hath obserued that because the Deuill spake vnto Christ That hee would make those stones bread for to releeue his owne hunger he refused to doe it But if it had bin to releeue thine or mine he would haue done it As he turned the water into wine at the wedding not for himselfe but for others And at that meale in the mountaine where he multiplied the loaues and the fishes whereof himselfe did not eat a bit Why do ye also transgresse the Commandement of God He wounds them with their own weapon retorts the force of this their argument vpon themselues and sends them away ashamed He driues them to a demur and puts them to ponder vpon this Vos custodias Of the Law These sunnes that were to lighten this commonwealth these North-starres by which the people were to saile through the sea of this world Concupiscentia spadonis euagâ—nauit iâ—uencam Eunuchs were appointed for the guarding and keeping of women as the vse is now in Constantinople But that a gelded man through lust should defile a maid beeing bound to preserue her honour That he that should cloth the naked should strip them bare That hee that should keepe the Lawes of the Commonwealth should bee the first that should breake them is as strange as shamefull Phiâ—â—â—â— thrust Zambri and a daughter of the Prince of Midian through with his speare and pinning them to the ground did an acceptable sacrifice to God Zaâ—bri was of the Tribe of Simeon who in the companie of his brother Leâ—ie had taken that cruell reuenge of the Prince of Sichem for the rauishing of Dinah that they left not a man liuing nor a house standing Now his grandfather hauing vsed so great rigour in punishing of such a dishonestie he of all other should not haue committed this sinne For this reason the Angell vsed the like rigor with Moses whither it were because he had not circumcised his children or whither it were because he tooke his wife along with him in that his journy or whither it were that he had manifested the cowardise feare that he had of Pharaoh the Angell made semblance that hee would kill him for hee that is a Lawgiuer a Captaine and a Gouernor is bound to much more And why doe you also c. Here is a Why for a Why they haue as good as they bring And here two considerations offer themselues vnto vs The one That he that shall doe a wrong shall bee paid in his owne coyne that verie day that a man shall doe an iniurie by taking away the good name of his brother he puts a taxe vpon his own reputation seales the same makes it his owne Act and is bound to make repayment thereof And this is a Quare vos Why doe yee also c. This is to throw stones against Heauen or to â—pit against the wind Dauid cut off Goliah his head with his owne sword after that he had reuiled Gods people Iacob with Esau's owne cloathes stole away the blessing from him by putting on his hands and his necke the skinne of