be broughte to tryall and muche hinder the gratious growth of the Figge trée Let your godly heartes take that auncient precepte from Iehosophat that godly King vnto you which saith or rather Gods spirite in that place of the Chronicles 2. Chro. 19.6.7 Take heede what yee do for yee execute not the iudgementes of manne but of the Lorde and he wil bee with you in the cause and iudgements Wherfore now let the feare of the Lord be vpon you Take heede and doe it for there is no iniquitie with the Lorde our God neither respect of persōs nor receiuing of rewarde The Wine presse for you my brethren of the vulgare sorte is that Christian duety whiche of duty we owe one vnto an other teaching vs to liue godlily Titus 2 11. Gal. 6.9 soberly iustly and not to be weary of wel doing one to another but as candles alwayes light we so shine Math 5. that our workes may procure Gods praise Let vs doe good vnto all menne but especially to the Children of God And know wel that the Apostle to the Ephesians Gal. 6.10 teacheth this to be the end of our placing in the Vineyarde that we be wel exercized in the Wine presse saying Eph. 2.10 Wee are his workmāship created in Christ Iesus vnto good workes whiche God hath ordayned that we should walke in them And thus muche of the first part concerning the great goodnesse and grace of God to his Churche this aduāced Figge trée And now beloued we approche to the reste of our Texte whiche setteth sorth vnto vs the sharpe and seuere sentence of God vppon the same Figge trée that was before so happilye harboured The seconde parte Then saide hee to the Dresser of thys Vineyard beholde these three yeres haue I come and sought fruit of this Figge tree and finde none Cutte it down why kepeth it also the groūd barren THis second parte of our text deare brethren containeth two speciall points First the Lordes long suffering the vnfruitfull Fig trée to stand in hys Vineyard wherein his great goodnesse is yet further declared Secondely hys heauy sentence vpon the Fig trée after the long abuse of his greate patience Then said he to the dresser of his Vinyard beholde these three yeres haue I come c. Oh happy Vinyard that hath such a Lord who doth not only plant it defend it fructify it but also doth daily visite the same calleth vpon his people offereth them the remembraunce of the ende wherefore they are so planted and placed in his holy Church He commeth firste in long patience to his slouthfull trées to sée if at lengthe they can take blossome and bring him fruite Note then good people the ende of your calling it is to be holy Heb. 3.13 liuely workers in the Lordes Vineyarde Iude. vers◠20.21.22.23 Esa 58. to laboure the Lords increase by teaching exhorting one an other while it is to day helping vppe some and pulling out other from the fire comforting the weake walking with the strong deliuering the oppressed and setting the prisoners frée restoring eche man hys right vsing no violence to the litle flocke but by godly example in life and daily practise to their good so to yéelde our Figges to our brethren that they séeing our good workes maye glorifie our Father whyche is in Heauen Math. 5.16 And thus shall we make oure calling and election sure as the Apostle Peter hath taught vs saying Giue al diligence thereto to bee partakers of the godlye nature sleeing corruption and luste ioyne moreouer vertue wyth youre fayth and wyth Vertue Knowledge and wyth knowledge temperance and with tēperaunce patience and with patience godlinesse and with godlinesse brotherly kindenesse and with brotherlye kindenesse loue For if these things be among you and abounde they will make you that yee neyther shall bee ydle nor vnfruiteful in the knowledge of our Lorde Iesus Christe The Lords people muste doe the Lordes workes the working God doth require a labouring people Forget not beloued that the Lorde of this Vineyarde doth in visiting vs often séeke for fruite Thrée thinges are of this Texte to be considered Firste hée commeth not hastily to looke if the trée be full of fruit although his soule desireth the firste ripe fruites but he louingly looketh as a manne desirous of some and if the trée be very sparing he doth not spéedely depart as angry at the same but he taketh the boughes tendrely into his holy handes and he lifteth vp the leaues therof and searcheth diligently if so there be any one Figge there once twice and thrice and verye often and if he at anye time comming find but some fruit be it but here and there a Figge he yet kéepeth a blessing for that trée But if after oftē comming and paineful searching he yet from whome nothing can be hidde can finde no fruite then pronounceth he his cursse vpon that Figge trée and saieth Cut it down c Oh the long loking eies of Gods mercie vpon the Figge trées of Englande He came vnto them in the beginning of hir Maiesties raigne and did mercifully plant vs he hath daylye since come by his Prophets ordinary extraordinary and all to trimme and proine vs Io. 15. that we abiding in his Christ might bring forth more fruite But hée hath by his correcting hande to London oh London looke to it thou City of God and other places with punishing roddes of plagues and sodaine deathes continually of late visited vs as thereby reprouing our wantes of fruite And now he stirreth vppe the courage of his Prophets the godly Preachers whiche truly feare him with one consent to sound as it were the solempne blaste of a laste visitation that if we can not yet be fruitefull Esay 65.8.9.10.11.12.13.14.15 they shoulde tell thée O Englande that then this hys Vineyarde shall be taken from thée and thou caste out of it and shalt sée it giuen to a nation that shall bring forth his expected fruite Oh Englande GOD make thée carefull and mindefull of this seuere sentence Cutte it downe Secondly let vs here note how the Lorde saith not I haue come and found no Blossomes but I haue come and founde no fruite Fruite and apte fruit beloued is that whych the Maister of the Vineyard expecteth Blossomes are blowne awaye with a blaste Buddes are beaten downe with stormye tempestes but swéete fruite is moste méete for the Lordes mouthe But it is a harde thing for the bitter Figge trée to alter hys nature Wherefore he often draweth the vigoure of the earth to féede his bitternesse Looke vppon the Iewishe Figge trée and the Lord comming after long expectation for good fruite what fruites founde he Esay sayeth Esay 5.4 Hee looked that it shoulde bryng foorthe Grapes but it broughte foorthe Wilde Grapes viz. hee looked for iudgement but beholde oppression Vers 8. for righteousnesse but beholde a crying of them that are oppressed throughe
in substance sincerely by law established and by the godly Ministers likewise to Gods people administred without addition or defalking too or fro the worde of God For the Discipline of the Church we also haue it thoughe in some weaker sorte than either the auctoritie of the worde seemeth to me to affoorde or the grauitie of the cause in our pestiferous time doth require it Yet it cannot bée said but we haue established discipline by hir graces godly laws to this Churche of Englande and at thys laste Parliament agaynst the Papists haue the same Christianly augmented God grāt that our godly and reuerende Bishops Iudges Ecclesiasticall Commissioners and officers whych haue the authority may and would so vse thys aucthoritye they haue that God myghte be wonne as it were wyth theyr godly indeuor to enlarge the heartes of higher aucthoritye ouer vs in the Lorde by lawefull power to yéelde vs further and more seuere discipline to one and all in thys Churche of Englande Lord for thy mercies sake graunt it to this thy holy visible Vineyarde of Englande we beseeche thée And in the meane space brethren let vs be obedient to this we haue and heartilye praise God for the same and pray earnestly with conioyned hearts for a further by hir Graces aucthoritie and the strict rule of hys holy worde These holy and sufficient notes of hys visible Church we haue in our English Church at thys day the Lord be praised for them and contynue them wyth vs and therefore agaynste al your blasphemies to God your sinister but subtill suggestions to Princes and people o ye poore Papists we stand by proofe to bée the Figge trée planted indeede in the moste holy Vineyarde of the Lorde and haue our Churche consecrated a sacred member of the Catholike Churche of God visible wyth the rest of that Militante troupe and companye of sanctified men in the vniuersall earth And as for the other forged marks of Vniuersalitie and personall succession we count it sufficient to haue the society with suche the sonnes of God as haue their felowshippe with the Sainctes of Christe 1. Io. 11.2.3 4. and haue learned to forsake the company of the wicked and to auoide the way of sinners but greatly deteste to stoupe to that Cacolike Apostata of Rome Ps 1. whych so arrogantly setteth hymselfe in that chaire of the scorner But touching personall succession of Bishoprickes and Churches we holde it not to be always a sure marke of Gods holye Churche Except ye wil saye of the Church of Israel vnder Ieroboam that Idolatour that she was then the true Churche thoughe an Apostata by hir grosse Idolatrie bicause she could boast of personall succession from the Kyngs and Bishoppes of that people Or that the Churche of Iudah vnder Manasses that idolatrous King was notwythstanding the murther of Gods chyldren their sacrificing to Idols theyr racing out of the lawe of the Lorde and banyshing hys holy sacrifyces was I saye all thys admitted yet the true Church of God bycause they hadde and coulde shewe a personall succession of Kyngs and Byshoppes euen from the firste Moses and Aaron But yée wyll possibly presse vs wyth the auctoritie of the Fathers as wyth Tertullian that ancient whych boasted in truth to haue had succession of the Byshops of Rome for the furtheraunce of hys purpose But forget not you Papists that as yet the Fathers of that Church had not departed from the faith but wyth theyr succession had contynued the Apostolicall doctrine vppon whiche point Tertullian chiefly stoode as it may appeare by hym And also would God you would not wyth malitious heartes séeke to darken that notable doctrine of hys in that hys Booke of prescriptions that althoughe manye Churches haue not to shewe theyr personall succession of Byshoppes yet if so they haue the Apostolicall doctrine taught sincerely in them for that consāguinitie and kinred in Doctrine those Churches are and are to be accompted Apostolicall The Orientall Churches hadde due succession til Arrius had infected them with hys poyson shall personall succession nowe approue the sect of the Arrians to be the church of God So had the Churche of Rome before Antichristes possession therof Shal we therfore now say whē their doctrine theyr malice theyr ambition theyr pride theyr dyuelishe conuersation dothe conuince them to be that whore of Babilon Shal we I say now say bycause they possibly can shew vs a great Catalogue of Byshops from Linus or Anacletus that therefore they are nowe the true Churche of God And yet were that a sufficient proofe of Gods Churche our Bishops in England then haue their personall succession from the firste euen the firste that you can name as by time and nexte course succéeding one an other Thus you sée dearely beloued howe apparant it is that this noble Realme of Englande is planted by Gods greate mercy into the Catholike Vineyarde of the Lorde the visible Churche of God and is it selfe a notable member of the same Now time requireth that we speake something likewise of the inuisible cōpany and Church of God to the greater comforte of the godlye in thys visible Churche whiche this day heare me or hereafter may heare of this holy labor to their further benefite If thou wouldest knowe certainly beloued in thine owne conscience whether thou arte verily and indéede the member of Christ and so a liuely braunche of the virident Vine end a fruitful Figge trée examine thy selfe by these thrée pointes The true notes of the inuisible Church al which the spirite of God againe hathe laide vp in one most sacred Sentence and thys it is The end of the commandement is loue out of a pure hart 1. Tim. 1.5 and of a good conscience and of saith vnfained In thys sentence beloued in Christ is laid forth vnto vs the verye true and infallibe tokens to euery mans soule whether he be the sonne of God or no. For by degrées from the fruite to the trée from the childe to the parent he goeth fetcheth thence vnto vs the certaine markes whereby we are sealed to the Lorde The purpose of God giuyng his worde is saith the Apostle that yée purely loue one another but your loue muste procéede from a good conscience not from a corrupted hart and this conscience hath his purging from an vnfained faith Then take hence your certaine notes of Gods children and these they are First by the vertue of the spirite and word of God a pure faith vnfained Secondly a renued minde whiche here is called a pure heart And thirdely by the same spirite suche charitie as neither can be cold or hypocriticall In whom soeuer these be vigent warme let him be assured though al the Popes in Rome had sēt their curses against him this honorable natiō yet he is of god the member of Christ one of his inuisible Churche whyche can not be caste forth of the dores But that we maye the better knowe
Metaphor Euery mā hūteth his brother with a net And my brethren lette vs examine the common condition of most parts now in Englāde shal not we perceiue these sins to aboūd in the same looke to our earnest profession of the Gospell in the beginning of hir Maiesties raigne whō God in his mercie long preserue ouer vs euer in hys Christ how we hungred the truth thē how we ioyed of Gods Ministers how we desired heauēly encrease prepared our liues to answere the Gospel we clensed our Churchs our hearts houses of popish Idolatry we reedified the same with the squire of the word that in such zeale namely the Potentates Bishops Citizens of London other many godly ones as we were no whit inferior to the Iewes whiche with Nehemias Ezra Esra 3. 5 Nehe. ca. 3. ca. 4. repayred the ruinous walles of Ierusalem But beloued let vs with a simple eye looke into euery state almost in Englād now we shal right sorowfully sée a catholike cooling of this former zeale to Gods house Partly by the malice of Sathā in his seruants the Papists séeking by persuasion al policie to hinder the former work offring vs their help to build whose purpose is wholy to pul down And partly Esra 4.2 by our owne wearinesse of well doing which contenting oure selues with our firste building Haggai 12.4 haue taken surcesse for a time to build pul downe rebuild againe to our great cost the Countries great paine our braue bowers sumptuous towers to féed our fantasies and pore mēs eies but the building of Gods holy house to the encrease of faith vertue in true religiō we haue almost laide aside except a few sommer gatherings by grace conserued vnto God May wée not therfore admonish Magistrats Ministers godly men to apply this voice of the spirite of God to his holy churche which firste was sente to Ephesus viz. I knowe thy workes sayth God and thy labour Reuel 2.2 and thy patience and how thou canste not forbeare them whych are euil and hast examined thē which say they are Apostles and are not and haste found them lyars and haste suffered for my names sake and hast patience and for my names sake haste laboured and haste not fainted Neuerthelesse I haue somewhat against thee bycause thou haste lefte thy first loue Remember therefore from whence thou haste fallen and repent and doe thy firste workes or else I will come shortly and remoue thy Candlesticke We are all lesse louing lesse labouring and lesse zealous in religion than earst we haue béene yea one and all of vs which the Lordes spirite the true discerner of all things doth call here a falling from our first loue and threatneth a comming to cut vs downe if we preuent not his spéedy cōming to our candlesticks O Lord for thy mercies sake graunt to our godly Prince and all hir noble Counsellors to the Bishops and learned Fathers to the Iudges Preachers and godly people thoughe Sommer gatherings thy grace that they may all in their callings and spirites take hold of their first loue and do their firste good workes in thée and by thy Christe that our Candlesticke thy holy gospel and Church hir Maiestie and this our hapy state may firmely stand to thy glory and our continuall comfort for thy holy names sake But if ther be such a weaknesse in Gods Sommer gatherings in England whiche yet are the best beloued of the Lord what are wée to looke for in the rest whyche are but hypocriticall Nemo rectus sayth the Prophet No man kéepeth hys heart and his hand by that line that the lawe of his God the simplicitie of his soule doth direct vnto him And surely if you wil not wilfully be blinde when didde you euer reade heare or sée of greater hypocrisie than is nowe resiante in Englande The Papist supposeth it his greatest grace to coulour his Italian hearte with hys Papisticall hypocrisie For lette hym bée accompted Papisticall by the superiours and Lorde howe hée protesteth the contrarye and if hys inferioure enforme him then he frowneth sweateth sweareth and taketh it hotely but yet there is no greater poyson in the Toade nor fixed hatred in the Serpente or rigoure in the roaryng Lyon huntyng for hys praye Gen. 3. than lurketh vnder the sugred tongues of oure Italienated Papistes For the poison of Aspes is vnder their lippes Againe what dissimulation amongest menne of all sorts in eache degrée O Lorde it is a worlde to sée Abels countenaunce but Caines hearte amongest confederates friendes parteners and cobrethren vniuersallye abroade It hathe béene called the holy water of the Courte but in euerye corner of the lande at thys daye are greate Welsprings of this infernall Lake If yée buy but corne of the husbandmanne there is deceit if you deale with the Artificer beholde swéete wordes and sleightie subtiltie But trafique or craue counterchaunge with the Marchaunte or Vsurer in Citie or Towne excepte some speciall man of GOD and beholde a graue countenaunce a sugred tong and séemely welcome but if thou deale wyth hym he is as a thornie hedge Thou takest hym for a shilter but if he haue delyuered thy clothes from some stormy raine yet ere thou escape from vnder him he will all to scratch thy fleshe If he bit thee not to the very bones Oh séeming friendship and sure hypocrisie O Lorde preserue thy holy ministery from hypocrisie and kéepe hir farre from Iustice seate But Micah Micah 7.3 saide in his time of it thus To make good for the euil of his handes the Prince viz. the great Rulers in the lande asked and the iudge iudged for a rewarde therfore the great man hee speaketh oute the corruption of hys hearte and so they wrappe it vppe The beste of them is as a bryar and the moste righteous of them is sharper than a thorny hedge The daye of thy watchemen and thy visitation commeth then shall bee theyr confusion No maruayle beloued for a generall iniquitie can not but begette an vniuersall cutting downe Woulde God hypocrisie had not spred his wings so largely in Englande pierced so déepe as to the harts of many sorts in hir or so cunningly couloured his vgly shape as he hathe at this day For no where shal religion godlinesse or honesty offer hir selfe in England but hypocrisie dare aduenture to presume of some preferment in that place He is the vesture of the proude the habite of the adulterer the gowne of the Vsurer and the beste attyre for the Macheuil The Atheist girdeth him about him and no treason can be broched besides him He delighteth not to dwell with beggers but offereth salutations to sacred states the Lorde graunte all godly Princes and Potentates eies to sée hym and spirites to discerne him for his glorye and oure beste good But haue we likewise vniuersall Crueltie and doe wée lay watch to forstall our brethren surely thys sinne